Accountability

Good morning!

I try to be open on this blog and share all of my struggles with my weight loss. I don't have it all figured out and coming across like I do is fake and phony. I do have a much better understanding about my body and how it works, and about the way I am losing weight this time. I have come A LONG way from before but still have struggles sometimes.

The past two weeks I have relaxed slightly with my eating plan. I have been doing awesome and killing it, so it was easy to slip into the mentality of "I'm doing SO well having this _____ won't hurt that". Well technically that is right but the problem is when you have too many of those ______ is a row/week. I have not gone crazy and completely blown it but just more had some extra treats that were not planned. For example I had TWO extra treats yesterday that were not planned at all. I still wrote them down and accounted for them, but that is not the point. I did not say no when I really didn't need those treats. I like having treats when they are planned for and then I can enjoy them fully.

This morning when I woke up and was lingering in bed (love weekends!) I was doing some mental visualization and positive self talk. I was reminding myself how good it feels to be completely in control and making healthy, wise food choices.

The day is going to be good today as most of what we are eating is at home. Tonight, however, we have a pot luck that we are going to that could pose as being difficult since I don't know what foods will be there to plan ahead. Here is my pot luck strategies:

- don't go hungry. Eat a piece of fruit or starter salad before you go.
- survey all of the food before you pick what you want. Go through the whole table to get a good idea then pick your top choices and take small portions of them.
- drink lots of water before and during your meal to avoid going back up for seconds.
- get some activity before hand so you will feel empowered to make better choices and have burned some extra calories.
- give your self some positive reinforcement before you go. Yes I mean talk out loud to yourself. Are you going to have one piece of dessert? If so, talk yourself through how it will feel when you stick to that! How will it feel if you don't stick to that and eat more than you planned. Ect. 

It also doesn't help that this is a stressful situation to make sure Rylee has food as well. We have to cut up her food ect. My plan of attack for that will be to go through the line once and get Rylee's food (also allowing me to survey the full table) then get her food ready and have my husband watch her while she eats and I will then go get my food. 
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Today the weather is really nice out. It is supposed to be a high of 6 or 7 degrees and looks really sunny. You can bet I will be getting out for a long walk once Rylee get's up from her nap. After church I plan on making a new muffin recipe, doing some cleaning, and meal prep for the week ahead. I got all of my groceries yesterday so my fridge and cupboard is full of healthy food choices. The best place to start is in your own kitchen!

Yesterday evening I spent some time writing out my workout plan for the week. Pair that with a good solid meal plan, I see an awesome week ahead.

On a side note -- I have bought a few new items for summer, all in smaller sizes. My pants are all officially a size 12 now (won't be long until I fit into my size 8 wardrobe!!!)

Talk to you all soon!

Pity party for 1

I was going to write a post last night but I was too busy holding a pity party for 1.

I have been working on my sleep hygiene and it is actually really tough to get into a sleep pattern. I am still really really tired and hoping that I start to feel the benefits soon (Google says it's about two weeks before you notice a difference). I've been having a very hard time saying awake during the day, and especially in the evening. My sleep time is 10 pm so it is very tough to stay away that long especially when I am SO tired. I have been waking up with headaches everyday too, that go away shortly after having a shower and eating.

So after work yesterday I met Sean at the gym and we got changed to do our workout. Then we sat there for 5 minutes and complained that we were both so tired and just wanted to go home. We contemplated leaving before working out but I was like that would be SO lazy and lame to get dressed then just change again and go home when we were already there. So we pursued our workout. I started my warm up walking on the treadmill and then went to the mats to do a good stretch. When I was stretching there were three females that were working out in the area that were super fit and it made me feel really crummy. I know you shouldn't compare yourself to others but I was down on the fact that I had let myself get like this (put some weight back on). I ended up doing a half an hour cardio workout then we went home.

I am feeling a bit better today, although still down, but I am trying to focus on the positive. The good thing is that I did NOT go home and eat my feelings! I made dinner, ate good portions, then had a portioned snack. Previously I would have just said "forget this" and eaten what ever I wanted. I am still determined to lose 8 pounds this month - and I am going to do it!

Today I am going to try a new idea - right as I am leaving work I am going to have a lift off to help power me through my workout. I have a really good workout plan for this week so I just have to stay focused on it.

Monday - gym
Tuesday - Lee
Wednesday - soccer
Thursday - gym
Friday - Lee
Saturday - gym
Sunday - hiking with Sean and Levi

I am going to finish this Debbie Downer post with three things that I am grateful for right now:

1. My back is no longer hurting me (for the most part)
2. I have a lot of exciting trips to looks forward to
3. I am starting to feel like my old self, little bit by little bit - but I notice them more obviously when they happen little bits at a time.