Hey hey hey! Well I’m about 2 1/2 weeks into my little healthy challenge that I set up for myself. I have to say that I’m loving it, I’m so glad I’m doing it, I feel good, BUT dang it, I haven’t seen a whole lotta results so far.
It’s a’ight though because I know changes don’t happen overnight (or in 2 1/2 weeks!), I know it takes time, I know it takes loads of patience and I know I’m taking good care of my body in the meantime.
I feel like I’ve been gaining muscle and getting stronger, but I’ve also felt very poofy and bloated lately! It’s been annoying. Ya know, I feel poofy and bloated from time to time, but it’s usually because I overate, ate a very high sodium meal or I’m hormonal. Right now I think I’m actually bloated because I have raised Cortisol levels. Cortisol levels can increase for a lot of reasons and I think mine is because of a combination of stress, not getting enough sleep and being too busy! Sadly that’s also the very definition of the life of a mother.
Crap.
I read an article recently about water retention that really spoke to me. Here’s a link if you’re interested, http://www.muscleforlife.com/water-retention-and-weight-loss/ It really helped me to understand why my body could be hanging onto water and why my cortisol levels could be raised. Very eye opening!
Ya know, as if losing weight isn’t hard enough…we have to think about all the science behind it too! Auuugh! That’s another reason why I think it’s helpful to get a body fat analysis done occasionally. It shows you exactly how much muscle, fat and water is in your body. I had mine done a couple months ago. You can click here to read all about it if you so desire. In fact, I should probably go get mine done again even though I haven’t lost any weight on the scale. I’m pretty darn sure I’d see in increase in muscle AND an increase in water…hopefully a decrease in fat too. 🙂
My life has been going well, but I’ve definitely been burning the candle at both ends. I’m always a busy lady, but the last few months have been particularly hectic! I think things will be calming down, although I’ve been saying that a lot lately and things don’t seem to be calming down. Dang it. BUT, I’m going to take the next few weeks and really make an effort to get my sleep, take some time to relax each day and try not to go go go all the time! I may even decrease my exercise a bit too. That might sound crazy, but I think sometimes when the body is already in a state of stress, too much exercise can actually increase the stress even more.
I’ll let you know how it goes. Sometimes I feel like an eternal guinea pig trying to figure out what works for my body and trying to find that perfect balance in all areas of my life!
I’ve tried to lose weight many times in my life. I’ve had 6 kids, so I’ve obviously had to lose weight after every baby, but there’s also been many times in my life when my weight has crept up and I want to lose a few pounds. AND seriously folks, it seems like every time I try to lose weight, my body does not change and stays exactly the same for several weeks AND THEN it seems to drop 5 pounds overnight and I can visibly tell a difference. It’s weird, but it’s happened to me a lot. That’s why I’ve learned not to get frustrated or impatient when I try to lose weight. I try to just focus on eating good clean food, eating enough food to sustain and fuel my body, cutting enough calories to lose weight and exercising regularly. It works every single time as long as I’m consistent, diligent and I don’t give up! Apparently I need to put more of an emphasis on stress relief and adequate sleep too though!
Okay, that’s a lot of deep thoughts for one day. I hope I even made sense. I love to learn and read about stuff all the time and my mind’s always going a million miles an hour, but sometimes it’s hard for me to convey my thoughts correctly and put those thoughts into writing!
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Well, I have a few random pictures to share.
First off, Kev and I went to the Def Leppard/REO Speedwagon/Tesla concert last weekend with some friends of ours. We had soooooo much fun!!!!
It was such a great concert! I was bummed that REO Speedwagon didn’t sing In My Dreams because that was one of my very favorite songs when I was little. I can’t believe they didn’t sing it!??! They sang a bunch of other great songs though.
Tesla sang a lot of good songs too, but I only knew one of them….Love Song.
Def Leppard sung all of their awesome songs and it was so fun. I loved jammin’ out to all of them! I was about 11 or 12 years old when Def Leppard was really big. My older brother loved them and educated me and my two sisters about all of their songs! Ha ha. I loved Joe Elliott so much. Hee hee.
Note: Kev and I went to a Def Leppard concert a couple of years ago and loved it too! They actually opened for KISS. We’re not big KISS fans, so we only stayed for a few of their songs, but we loved watching Def Leppard! You can click here to read about it and see some fun videos of Kev and I singing along if you so desire. Ha ha!
I didn’t get very good video footage this time because when Def Leppard performed, it was dark! We had such a ball though, although there were so many crazy people there! As the night wore on, the more drunk people became. It was very “entertaining.” Ha! There was a group of drunk girls in front of us who were giving lap dances to each other and doing body shots off of each other. THEN, a group of crazy guys came over because they saw these vulnerable girls. They were encouraging them and video taping them. It was actually sad. They also had some sort of drug they were passing around and smoking.
It was eye opening to say the least. It also made me grateful for my sweet husband and wonderful friends! <3
I also had a fun get together last night with some of my most precious childhood friends. I was so lucky to grow up with a great group of girlfriends. I seriously have known them all since birth. There were 8 of us in our group, but only 6 of us were able to come last night. We took a pic at the end of the night after one of our friends already left. 🙁
For some reason I look extra wide in that pic (or maybe that’s just how I normally look, lol!), but because I love these ladies, I’m takin’ one for the team and posting it anyway!
One of my sweet friends also shared this picture of all of us at one of her birthday parties when we were 6 or 7 years old. I love it!
I’m the one in the back left corner holding a spider on a string or something. I LOVE these friends of mine soooo much! I feel so grateful to have them in my life! <3 <3 <3
We also had lots of good food. I have to share a pic of my plate. YUM!
We had salmon, caprese salad, fruit, green salad (I made that), quinoa salad with chips and rice pilaf. Soooo yummy! My friend also served an incredible looking Coconut Cream cake that looked divine. I didn’t have any though. Yay me. I’m strengthening my willpower muscle!
I also thought I’d share that I made these for dinner this week…
I was so excited to find these at Costco because they were healthy, made from very few ingredients and made dinner time super easy! Sadly, I didn’t love them though. 🙁 They were actually quite gross. I was so disappointed. They didn’t have much flavor and they sorta kinda tasted like fish to me (and not good fish either!)
I’m seriously so bummed about it because I’m always looking for easy dinner stuff for crazy nights! Here’s a pic of my plate…
I had a huge salad on the side which was yummy….the burger, not so much.
Well I gotta go to bed so I can lower my Cortisol levels, lol! Seriously tho. I love you all and hope you all have a fabulous weekend! xoxo
Looks like you’re really in tune with your body. I think that’s so key. Water retention can make a huge difference to weight and bloating. I have this issue when I eat too many foods high in sodium. A night after burger and fries, I can see a difference in my midsection. A little apple cider vinegar usually helps sort that out.
Glad you had such fun at the concert and I love the photo!
Oooo, I’ll have to try the apple cider vinegar! I’ve heard that it’s so healthy for the body. I never thought about it with water retention. Thanks for the tip!!!
My stress is wild, and totally adds to the weight gain. I just came to this realization and must start actively lowering my stress!!
I know I always overlook my sleep and my body seriously suffers because of it! It’s easy to remember to eat well and exercise, but I don’t put enough emphasis on the sleep and stress! Gah!
YES YOU DO!!! We don’t realize it initially but stress truly is a KILLER!!!
Outdoor summer concerts are my very favorite thing! I’m probably closer to your brother’s age, and Def Leppard was a high school-era thing for me. Looks like a beautiful concert venue.
I hear you on the sleep issue. I track my steps and my food and my exercise and usually meet all of my daily goals … except sleep! Dangit. I resolve every day to get to bed at a reasonable time (I get up at 5:30), but then I get a weird burst of energy late in the day and need to get something done, or we put in a movie and I want to see the end.
I looooove the outdoor concerts too!! Kev was a HUGE Def Leppard fan in high school too. We had so much fun at that concert. <3
I have struggled with getting adequate sleep for most of my life! I'm just a do-er and a go-er and I have such a hard time going to bed. Super weird. I'm grateful my body gives me cues that I need to get more sleep...I just have to start listening to them more! I hear ya about the late night weird burst of energy!
We will forever be our own guinea pigs because there is no simple answer for anyone. I know that I am constantly trying to figure out what works for me on the daily – and when I finally do, about 2 weeks later… It no longer works, ha! Our bodies are very weird and obnoxious machines at times, but we should never ever ever take them for granted 😉
I love your thoughts Gigi and I agree 100%! I’m always having to adjust things to combat all of my weird body issues. I love that you said to not take our bodies for granted. It reminds me to be thankful that I DO have a capable, able, healthy body!
I am so sorry you are not seeing results. I am having the same problem. And dang-it it is hard to keep going strong when you are not seeing/feeling he benefits.
I know Abby, it is so so so frustrating. It’s happened to me a lot. I’ve learned to just keep trying and don’t quit and eventually changes happen. It’s so tough to be patient!!!
I haven’t been to a concert in ages…. love the birthday party photo ! That could have been me !
We used to NEVER go to concerts, now we go quite often and I’ve been loving i!!