Lifestyle Challenge | Week Eight Update

Today is a bit of an up and down emotions day for me.  On one hand I have my weekly weigh-in results and on the other, the baseball playoffs story... either way, let's get started!

This weekend was the end of the Rookie Select season for the Clarington Colts.  Playoffs started on Friday night and continued through a rain soaked Saturday (including many tornado warnings) and on into Sunday.  Sadly, our guys didn't come in at the top of the league so our season has come to and end... bittersweet as I didn't want it to come to an end BUT I also didn't want to have another weekend away in London for the Provincials.  Either way, I feel a little blah today knowing that the team we cheered for all season will never be the same... BOO!  However, they did amazing and it was so much fun being on the sidelines with great parents and watching some fantastic kids do what they love!

2015/16 Rookie Select Clarington Colts (second place finishers)

As for the weekly weigh-in results, well, WE HAVE A VICTORY on the scale!!  I lost another 2.5 pounds this week for a new weight loss today of 22.5 pounds.  WHOOP!  We are now officially 4 pounds away from my first goal of 10% body weight lost (26.5 pounds).  So happy to see the weight continue to drop and the efforts that I am putting in be proven on the scale... yes, I know it's just a number but it's still nice to see it drop each week!

WINS for the week:

1. GYM - Still making the gym a priority in my schedule.  Now that baseball is over, scheduling will be a little easier, but I have gone 4 times per week for the last two weeks and I am really happy with that.  
2. Cravings - Odd win, I know, but last night was our 12th anniversary and we actually talked about how we would have been eating, pre-lifestyle change, on a weekend with baseball AND an anniversary.  Neither of us even has the cravings for fast food or junk like we used to.  It's so funny to picture eating a McDonald's meal now because I don't have any desire to get one.  Even things like Dairy Queen or a simple chocolate bar, the cravings are gone!  Will they come back, I have no idea but for now, I just don't want them!

CHALLENGES for the week:

1. Shin Splints - OMG... I am not even kidding when I say that shin splints are some of the worst pain that I have had.  SO MUCH OUCH!  I had been getting them here and there since starting this journey but this past week it was beyond my abilities to even walk.  I got them so badly on Thursday that I ended up skipping the gym to go and buy new running shoes.  Thankfully, they seem to be working and I have been able to walk at a slightly increased speed without any issues.  Fingers crossed that was the cause of the problem.
2. Baseball - Last weekend for this one (at least this year).  We had playoffs this weekend so I wasn't able to get to the gym and even though they were planned days off, the guilt factor still crept up.  I was able to get in all my steps (10,000 a day) and even had some nice longer walks with my parents but, missed my hourly goals and was a little less active than normal.

Asics Gel-Kayano 21's

All in all... a great week!  I took some new progress pictures yesterday to show the difference between one and two months but I am still a little 'shy' to show them here... maybe when I lose a few more inches I will be comfortable posting them!  

The Next 28 Days | Fit Girl's Guide

WOW, am I actually sitting here, typing out this post, and able to say that I have almost made it to the 28-day mark of my Diet Challenge? I can't believe how far I have come in such a short period of time.  Not only am I happy but I am getting healthy and feeling more fit!

So, what does the next 28-days look like?  Well, I have decided to step up the game just a little and join the Fit Girl's #28daychallenge (look up the hashtag on Instagram and you will see all sorts of amazing inspirational pictures).

I purchased the Fit Girl's Guide & The Jumpstart Journal to not only teach me how to become more fit but to also help me along the way... both with diet and fitness.  The book was great and I was able to power through it in an evening and the Jumpstart Journal is so much fun... I even grabbed the pencil crayons and coloured the cover page!

After reading the book, I printed out the exercise/fitness portion and am ready to start using that on Monday but I am still a little stuck on the menu/food planning portion.  While I would love to go into this full tilt, I found that a lot of the foods they suggest are just not to my liking (like avocado, sweet potato & mushrooms).  I am willing to give most things a whirl but I know that these things are not up my alley of likes so will need to tweek the recipes to get them to work for me.  If I can get these worked out by Monday, then I will definitely give the diet a whirl too.  However, I am feeling really good about my food choices thus far that I really don't think it is THAT big a deal if I follow my own diet plan (counting calories using the Fitbit App) and incorporate the new fitness aspect.  We shall see how that works out and if needed, perhaps I can add the full diet in for the THIRD 28-day cycle!

So, this weekends plans are to get some 'before' pictures taken (okay, not officially before but close enough) and to take my measurements.  I won't post any of that right away but at the end of this 28-day cycle, I will post a comparison photo to see what kind of change took place!

Here goes... as I have said, my motivation is just as strong now as it was when I started.  Being past that 21-day hump really gives me hope that there are many brighter days ahead!

Diet Challenge | Week Two Results

Another week has come and gone and the results are in... I am happy to say that I am down another 3.5 lbs for a two-week total of 11 lbs lost!  WAHOO!   I wasn't expecting such a big loss this week because of how much I lost last week but I will not complain.  It has now been two weeks since I have eaten out (other than a trip to Subway which I only had a 6" sub) or had any pop... which was a slight addiction that snuck up on me.

WINS for the week:

1. Planning - Still making a menu for family dinners and ensuring that I have all of my fruit and veggies for the week prepped and ready for easy to grab lunches.  Honestly, this takes about 30 - 45 mins on the weekends and saves so much time in the morning... also makes it easy to have healthy options for lunch.
2. Steps - I participated in a 'Workweek Hustle' this week and there were 8 of us working to have the most steps from Monday - Friday and I came 4th.   I hoped to win but the leader killed it and was a ton of steps ahead of me.  However, I was so motivated to put in a good showing that I did over 10,000 steps a day (my goal was 8,500).

CHALLENGES for the week:

1. Period - Oh the joys of being a woman... not only do we lose weight slower than men but we get that one week a month of bloating, water retention and cravings.  
2. Canada Day BBQ - Yep, week two and we hit a long weekend which means a family BBQ and no option of planning my meal.  However, I knew ahead of time what the menu was so was able to plan for some additional calories and do some extra steps during the day to compensate. 

All-in-all, a great week.  I felt like I kicked butt on my goals and am still feeling very VERY motivated.  Being over 1/5 of the way to my '50 by Christmas' goal is so thrilling... yes, I know that the losses will slow but for now, I am taking it as I can get it!!