The Struggle Can Be Real

It's not a shock to me that there are ups and downs in this lifestyle journey but what is surprising to me is that I had my first 'down' day yesterday.

Something felt 'off' all day but it wasn't really anything I could put my finger on.  I continued to do my workouts as I normally do, including hit up the gym for my 4th of 6 straight days (need this so I can take Friday and possibly Saturday as a 'rest' day for baseball playoffs).  While at the gym, my stomach felt bloated and gassy and just unhappy so I called it a day after 30 mins on the treadmill and headed home.

Let's look back for a second... (two things)

1. I received my first workout 'outfit' from Fabletics in the mail and was super stoked to wear it to the gym.  The leggings are a XXL as is the tank and the sports bra an XL... all currently the size that I am wearing from Walmart... just prettier (read more expensive).  Got home all geared up for another great workout and not a single piece fit... in fact, the pants wouldn't even go past my upper thighs.  UGH!  Not how I was hoping that would go.  So, I pulled out my normal, more boring (read cheap) duds and put them on.  Feeling slightly demoralized that the XXL was too small, I went off to the gym
2. I spend a lot of my time on Instagram looking at accounts of those who have paved the road, so to speak.  The people who have been where I am (or further away) and made it to the finish line.  I like to go to the start of the account and go picture by picture through the journey and see how it all went... the ups, downs and the wins and the losses (literally).  Well, on top of the whole workout outfit and the gassy/bloated (read make you feel fat) feeling in my stomach, I started getting those 'why can't I be at the finish line?', 'why is it taking me so long?' feelings.  

So, now you understand what I mean by the 'down' day.  No, I didn't skip a workout making me feel guilty.  No, I didn't eat a 'cheat' meal or 'cheat on my diet' making me feel like a failure... I just had a moment of doubt.  A moment where I wondered if the effort of losing the weight and changing my lifestyle is really worth all of the hard work.  It was time to take a step back and regroup... so, I hit the shower, had some dinner and went to bed early.

Today, I can see clearly again.  The scale this morning showed that I am still moving in the right direction (no, I don't typically weigh in any day but Monday's but felt I needed it today), that the hard work I am putting in is, in fact, worth it!  Those Instagram accounts are amazing for inspiration, motivation and ideas for making it to the end of the journey.  However, I have to remember that while I may not be where they are, they have all been where I am.  They all have had moments of doubt and felt like quitting.  Taking one day to go through 2 years of pictures only makes it seem like they did it so fast and the weight just FELL off but no, they put in the hard work and had the same results I'm having day in day out.  It takes weeks, months... heck, even years to get to the finish line (is there even one) and once there, looking back at the time it took, will be awesome!  The dedication that it takes to stick to it will be worth every single struggle along the way!

Just remember, Mama always said there would be days like this.  Don't let it take over the whole picture... wallow in the moment and then pick yourself up and move on!

Diet Challenge | Week Seven Update

Happy Monday!  It is the start of another week and that means that it is time for the weekly diet challenge check-in... speaking of which, I think I want to change the name from 'diet' challenge to 'lifestyle' challenge because that's really what I am doing, changing my lifestyle.  A diet makes it feel like there is an 'end' date and once I get to my goal weight (swooooon) I don't plan on stopping.

With that out of the way, I am happy to say that the scale was very good to me again this week and I was down another 1.5 lbs for a new weight loss total of TWENTY POUNDS!  Let's dance!!  I am thrilled to hit this little mini-milestone and it is one that I have tried to hit again and again over the last couple of years.  Gotten close but never succeeded in reaching it.  Twenty pounds makes me feel like I am here... I am on the right track to changing my life for the better and I can't wait to see what else I can do!

We are now in the home stretch of baseball season so one more weekend to go... it will be a tough one though because it is playdowns (or playoffs to us regular people) which means Friday, Saturday and possibly Sunday.  UGH!  Not that I don't love watching my little man play ball but it really does make it hard to schedule in time at the gym and planning meals a little more challenging.  Oh well, that's why this is a lifestyle change... life has moments that are hard to plan and it all part of the game!

WINS for the week:

1. GYM - I did it!  I joined the local community centre gym on Tuesday (first visit was Wednesday) and went 4 times.  My plan is to focus on going to the gym and get in a routine for the month of August... doing cardio and then come September, I will get a personal training session to learn about adding weights into the routine as well.  I am pumped, excited and totally motivated to see how life will change with adding this into the mix!
2. Loose Jeans - Technically I think this was a win for last week but it still applies!  I am able to pull my size 22 jean capris up and down without undoing the button.  WHOOOP!  When I started this journey, they were slightly tight (as in 'get these off me' status when the day was done) so this is a total NSV (non-scale victory).  I also went through my pants drawer and realized that I have sizes to get me all the way down to size 12!  So that should help the wallet out a bit!

CHALLENGES for the week:

1. Schedule - Not really anything new but with the addition of the gym into the routine, scheduling time has been a little more challenging.  However, with baseball ending and Murray's summer hockey coming to a close, those schedule conflicts should come to a close soon.

That's all I can think of this week... it wasn't a really up or down week (other than the awesome of 20 pounds and joining the gym)... these far outweighed the challenges!

So, for now... time to keep on keepin' on!