Finding Focus

I know. I'm late again. But let me tell you, I have been swamped at work. You're lucky you're getting anything this week.

Moving forward:

While I didn't do as well as I had planned/hoped last week with my nutrition plan, I will still able to bring the number on the scale down a bit. Looking at the past couple of months, it seems that since the Transformation challenge ended, I've been doing a lot of back and forth.

I could be so much further in my journey if I hadn't been slacking off so much, but here we are today, looking for more ways to get back the focus.

The plus side of all of this is that I have not missed a gym session. So I'm still right on track with that.

I've tried so hard, planning out my meals, cooking all my meals the weekend before; it just seems that I let my emotions and moods get the best of me. I make rash decisions and eat without being mindful of my stomach, or my wallet.

Oh yeah, the no-spend challenge, I did so well with it for the first 3 weeks then fell off on the 4th. Oh well. I did learn a thing or two from it though.

Back to my emotional eating...

I can sit here and say "I need to get a grip on this!" but the fact is that, those are just words, and no matter how much I want it, what I REALLY need is to get my mind right!! So here are my plans:

I do all the planning and cooking ahead of time, so all I really need to do is follow through. Remember that I have already spend all the money and time investing in healthy food choices, so all I have to do is go heat it up and chomp it down!

I also try to find motivational pieces to help get me through the hard times. Quotes that will remind me that there is another option for my emotional eating outburst, or that I need to bring myself back to being grounded on my plan. I like to look at theberry.com for this and their Daily Motivation section.

Lastly, I'm getting serious this time as I've signed up for another DietBet. Well, actually I signed up for 3 DietBets. So for the next 4 weeks, I have invested money into myself to lose another 4% of my body weight, and make sure that I get that money back for my hard efforts!! I know that I can do it, and I think this was the final straw of motivational pieces to get me focused!!

So for the next 4 weeks, expect DietBet updates!

Toodles!

XOXOXO

Transformation Challenge: Week 1 Recap

I'm trying to get this post in amidst a busy Monday at work (which I will [hopefully] get to at the end).

Let's just say that the Challenge came at the perfect time. I was "testing the theory" the week before, which really just mean CHEATING and I definitely needed something to get me back on track. The challenge definitely did it for me.

What's constantly motivating is that there are ongoing goals. I'm really loving them. Just when I finish one, I get another that I need to do and it keeps my focus.

Just a little overview of the things that I have done pertaining to the challenge:

Exercise

I decided to go with the Intermediate workouts through the challenge. I will say this, I WAS SORE ALL WEEK AND STILL AM!

But... I love it!

When I'm sore, I know that it's working!! The workout has 3 strength training days laid out, in which you also have to do either endurance cardio or HIIT cardio on those days as well. I choose HIIT cardio on those days to save on time. On my non strength training days, I do 45 minute spin classes. Spin is my new favorite cardio workout! I'm very intrigued to see just how much my stats improve by the end of the challenge!

I did take one day off in the past 7 days, and that was Saturday. For days I went back and forth about adding a workout that day or not. I ended up not making a decision, and therefore not doing a work out that day. I did however help a friend move, although this did not get me many steps nor much of a sweat. I should have planned for something, and will have to for Saturdays in the future.

I've also been "rewarding" myself after all of my weekday workouts by spending about 10 minutes in the sauna at the gym. It's been very nice to kind of "finish" sweating it out, and take some rest time before I have to get up and start getting ready for work.

Food

Nothing has really changed with my food intake (other than the fact that I've stopped cheating *yay*). I am finding that I get a little hangry in the afternoon sometimes, but have purchased some deluxe mixed nuts (no peanuts) and have a small handful if I need something to tide me over.

I did purchase some frozen dark chocolate covered bananas last week, but decided that once the box was empty that I wouldn't be purchasing them again. While they're terrible for you, I did notice that they have peanut oil in them, and I think that if I'm wishing for something sweet, a blended frozen banana will do fine and come out just like ice cream! I could even put some nuts on it, or drizzle some almond butter. 

Future Planning

I spent all day Sunday prepping food for the week. Today and tomorrow I will most likely be staying late at work; so in addition to my usual prep of lunches, I also prepped all my dinners for the week. I will reassess at the end of the week how much this helps, and consider possibly doing it every week.

This weekend I am going to Disney to meet my best friend and her two boys. I will be leaving Friday after work to drive there, and then will return on Sunday in the early afternoon. I have planned out every meal that I'm going to have, and got extra apples and some raisin/nut mix to have while at the parks. I will also be bringing my coconut oil to put in my coffee. I even prepped an easy "finger food" dinner for Friday that I can munch on while driving (will heat it up before I leave the office).

In order to stick to my workout plan, I have decided that my workouts each day will be walking around the parks. I am also considering waking up extra early to walk/jog around the resort before our park plans. The only reason I have not set these plans in stone is because I have to consider that I will be staying with other people that will most likely want to sleep... I will bring it up to them when I get there on Friday.



That's all for now!
XOXOXO

Testing the Theory and Starting the Challenge

I'm not a very good blogger, and I'm also not very good at handling my emotions.

Stress took over for me this past week, and I cheated on my food. Quite a bit.

Needless to say, this week's weigh in was not good, at all.

But, let's look at it as a testing period. Testing the theory.

I made it two weeks without any mishaps; and I was successful those two weeks in my endeavors. I felt full of energy, and happy to boot.

While I was off-plan this past weekend, I felt lethargic, antsy, and just wanted to sleep away the weekend. I watched too much TV and just wasn't very happy overall.

Could it really be from the food I ate?!

Yes. It definitely is. I know it for a fact. I even went to spin class on Sunday, so you can just add right in there that I kept up with my exercise routine too!

It's all about the food. What they say, is so, absolutely true.

The easy part is the 2 hours spent in the gym. The hard part is the other 22 hours, following the nutrition plan.

Why on earth is was so easy for me those first two weeks? I don't know. Maybe I lost focus. Maybe I need to add in meditation and yoga into my routine.

It takes 21 says to make or break a habit, and I have not mastered this one yet.

Yes, I could be sitting here writing a million excuses as to why I gave into my cravings of cheese and bread, but they're no use. It doesn't matter. What's done is done, and it is time to let it go and move forward.

Transformation Challenge

Today marks #Day1 of the Transformation Challenge. What a wonderful way to let go of the wrongs I have done.

The Prep

Friday the challenge documents were released. I found that what I have been eating (as part of the plan not the crap I ate this weekend!) is what was outlined that I should still be eating. So no changes on that front.

I had been discussing with my father that my workouts were getting a little too easy for me, and we had talked about increasing my weights. When the documents were released, I noticed that I was ready to start on the Intermediate Workouts. I set forth watching all of the exercise videos to learn what I would need to do at the gym in the upcoming weeks.

Enter Anxiety.

Most of the new moves meant that I would have to move from the exercise machines, to the free-weights part of the gym floor. These kind of things REALLY get my anxiety going (not that I'm saying it's an excuse but it might have contributed to the cheese and bread from the weekend!!!).

I looked at those documents all weekend, going through the exercises in my mind and where I would do each one, how many I really HAD to do on the free-weights floor section, and how many I could get away with in the group fitness room (unused at 5am).

Saturday I got up bright and early for my morning coffee and smoothie, and put together my grocery list. Since none of my plans had changed regarding nutrition, this was very easy for me. I go to two stores: Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. I can get everything I need for one week at a time.

I left the house at 8am (trying to beat the Saturday crowds!) and I'm happy to say that I was back in my driveway by 9:30am. I was in each store for only 10 minutes, and it is a bit of a drive to get to them, so that's where all the other time went.

Total spent on food for the entire week: $80

Then as you know, I was lazy for the rest of the day because I wasn't eating right. I watched a copious amount of Once Upon a Time and read a good portion of the book series I've been reading.

Sunday I was up bright and early again - smoothie and coffee (organic mind you!). I also decided to cook my chicken thighs for the week; I already had some green beans made for my lunches so I was good to go on that. On the weekends I do the dishes in the mornings instead of the evenings, so I handled all of those so that they would be ready for when I made my smoothie that night.

I read my book and sat out on the lanai until I had to leave for spin class around 9am.

Spin class. This was my second one, but I actually really like it! I bought a small package of classes and have scheduled them out according to when I'll be in town to take them (Disney trips are coming soon!).

After spin class, Josh and I did some shopping as I wanted new Go Walks for my Disney trips.

Then we spent the afternoon watching some TV, and I eventually decided that I wanted to get all my things ready for Day 1 of the challenge.

Make smoothie, get snack and lunch ready to grab in the morning. Get together my clothes for work, clothes to workout in, and towels for the gym shower.

I was back in bed, reading my book by 8pm.

Starting the Challenge

I was up dark and early at 4:15am. I had to eat 1/4 of my smoothie at 4:30 in order to start my workout at 5. All went as planned.

I arrived at the gym a couple minutes before 5 and hyped myself up to workout on the free-weights floor section and... I did it! I didn't even go into the group fitness room.

What was awesome was that there was NOBODY on the floor when I started at 5:10 (5 minute elliptical warm-up was first!). This made it MUCH easier for me to get over my fear. Once I was set up, I wasn't worried about being in the way or being weak.

Once I was done with my final cardio session, I decided I had time to sweat out more in the sauna. It was very nice, and I hope that I have time to do it everyday.

I made it to work a couple minutes early, but decided to get in the doors and get working on my smoothie. I was hungry!!

Additional Focuses

Because I don't have anything to change with my food (other than following the plan!), I'm trying to add in a couple more aspects to help with following the plan.

First, I've set silent alarms on my FitBit. When they go off, it is time to drink a bottle of water. This has been working great thus far today, and should help when hunger strikes!

Second, I'm trying to incorporate yoga sessions everyday after work. I believe that this will help with clearing my mind, keeping my emotions in check, and maintaining my focus on my nutrition plan and overall health goals.



Cheers,
XOXOXO