Not Next Monday - Now

Today is one of those days when I would be tempted to get frustrated with myself and wonder if I was really going to be able to complete my task - not any more! I can do this - and I will do this - it's about not giving up and making changes to avoid the same mistakes again. 

They day began much later than intended - hence, no workout. Ok, decided to make this my rest day and get back on top of the exercise tomorrow. Then I managed to make it through the entire day without eating ANY of the candy or chips the principals had for us in the lounge. Not too bad so far. Unfortunately, I let the last part of the day get the better of me and ate part of a chocolate bar and a brownie - justification - made with lots of protein. 

So tomorrow is a new day - I will approach it differently in some respects while appreciating the positive steps I took today. 

Missteps - chocolate and brownie, not up in the morning to exercise

     Will be up tomorrow - will keep foods not best for me out of the house.

Positives - 100 ounces of water

                  Lots of walking and steps at work

                  Previously, I would have eating the brownie AND the chips, candy at work. I would have perceived the inablity to get up and get moving this morning as a failure - no more! It's a stumble. And i have made so many more positive steps. 

Remembering it is about the journey - if it was going to be easy, I would have mastered it a long time ago. 

No more "next Monday" - it's all about the challenges and changes today and on into the future.

Eat All the Food - But Make it the Right Food

Morning workouts completed, over 100 ounces of water drunk. Seem to be moving along but then along comes FOOD. I love to eat. Unfortunately, what I love to eat is not what is best for me, especially when it comes to good nutrition and weight loss. And my biggest enemy - unhealthy carbs. I love carbs - any carbs, all carbs, especially BREAD. Shakeology saves me in the mornings - it is my daily breakfast, and I love it. It is the rest of the day that I have to do a better job of focusing. So the spaghetti I had for lunch and the pulled pork (with homemade wheat bread) was probably not the best clean eating I could do today.

It's all in the planning, my coach explains often. And she is right! I have to do a better job of planning my day and MY PORTIONS. I can do this - I will do this. I know it is not going to be easy, but in the same way that I have come to crave water, I hope to begin craving clean foods. I may falter, but I will pick myself and continue on away from those refined carbs and onto a better way of living and eating!

Full Hydration

Water - as an English teacher reminds me of Coleridge's RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER: "Water, water, everywhere and all the boards did shrink/water, water, everywhere nor any a drop to drink."

Drinking enough water daily has been a challenge I have struggled with for quite awhile. The goal - to drink 100 ounces of water daily. Often I would come close but never quite reach it. But as of late I have managed to drink over my 100 ounce goal! I bought a jug that holds 64 ounces of water - I fill it up twice and am successful with my water intake. Who would have thought that such a simple change would allow for such an accomplishment.



Unfortunately all of my challenges are not quite so easily overcome. The next has to do with morning exercise. I am not a morning person - and that is putting it mildly. However, when I wait until the afternoon to exercise, more often than not something "comes up", or I decide that I am too tired. So for consistency, mornings are a must. Last week I managed to get up and work out. Next week is a new challenge, but one I choose to accept. One day at a time. Hoping, like the 100 ounces of water, to make this a habit that eventually I cannot imagine doing without.

Wallowing in Weight

I have spent far too long fousing on the scale. As I begin my new, and lifelong, journey with weight, changing my focus is priority number one. Not that weight doesn't matter - it does - but not in the way I had be viewing it. The only aspect weight should have in and on my life is the aspect of health - not beauty, not "who I am", not what my day will be like, not on others' perceptions (including advertising and Hollywood). Who I am is determined by me, the real me, the internal me, not the physical me.  Once I let that idea go, I can relax and make the most of the journey I am about to begin. 

The journey is about me  - about becoming healthier, about feeling better, about being able to do more with my life, now and in the future. 

In the past, I have tried many of the fad diets as well as other remedies to lose the weight, but it always come back to the basics: exercise, clean eating, and proper nutrition - and for me - accountability.

So here goes. And luckily for me, I have a great friend and Beachbody coach as well as a husband who both know a great deal about nutrition. 

Beachbody is a company, but it is a company that offers lifelong changes and informed coaches who continue to check in with you as well as motivate you long after you may or may not still be using their products.

It helps that I love the daily nutritional drink Shakeology. And it is amazing what it offers in the way of ingredients (natural and wholesome) - ingredients we do not get enough of daily, yet are necessary for our nutrition. 

My coach, Cori Abraham, is an incredible fitness, nutrition role model. I am thankful that her philosophy is one that continually motivates despite and because of continual misteps on my part. I have come to focus on the positive changes while not beating myself up for the slips - it's all about the journey and NOT giving up on it at any time.

I begin as part of a Beachbody accountability group - a group that shares both successes and struggles. And thanks to my coach, I have a hybrid workout routine using two of the Beachbody workout tapes. 

My successes so far does not have to do with the scales at all. I now carry around a 64 ounce jug of water daily (drinking two a day), and I have managed to start dragging myself out of bed (definitely NOT a morning person) every morning to complete my exercise so that nothing later that day can become an excuse for not completing that task.

The scale no longer defines me - my actions, my attitude, and my beliefs - they define me. Renewed health allows me the opportunity to live well and be that person.