Well hello friends!
I’ve been a little AWOL. Sorry ’bout that! Life seems to always be nuts. 😉
We’ve had a busy, fun, snowy week!! We’ve had a HUGE snowstorm the past couple days and school was even cancelled for my kids yesterday!
Even though we live in Utah and we get tons of snow every winter, it is rare to get an actual SNOW DAY. In fact, I think this is only the second time they’ve cancelled school since we’ve lived in this house (the past 11 years!)
We had a fun day, the kids were in heaven and we just enjoyed spending time together and being cozy.
I was so happy that my classes at the gym weren’t cancelled! The roads were a little sketchy getting there, but I was just glad I could go! Is that crazy? I dunno?
I snapped this quick pic after my yoga class on Tuesday….wearing my boots!
We’re supposed to get some more snow this weekend too! Auuugh. I think I’m ready for spring!
The funny thing is I just told my 15 year old last week that I love February because the snow starts to melt, the sun comes out and you can tell that spring is on the horizon! Oh, and it’s my birthday month! Hee hee.
Well after our huge snowstorm, my son asked me, “So what was that you said about loving February mom?” Ha ha.
He’s a punk.
Oh, and last week my little sister was in town visiting from Connecticut. We played and played all week long! We stopped at Chip cookies one night to try out their yummy cookies.
I’ve been trying to steer away from sugar for the most part, but I tried one bite and I gotta say, it wasn’t my favorite cookie!
It was a’ight. I just didn’t think it had a ton of flavor and was missing that rich, buttery, chocolate chip cookie oomph. I think Crumbl Cookies is better!
I also went to a really fun Pilates class last week with both of my sisters!
Folks, this class was legit!
It was done on those reformer machines and I loved it! I’ve been to a lot of Pilates classes that are done on the mat, but I’d never been to one on the machines. It was a completely different experience.
If you’re not familiar with the machines, here’s a pic I found on the internet to show what they’re like…
You can also see the machines we used in the background of our picture. I love them! It’s just such an incredible way to work the body!
My core was SO SORE the day after class and random muscles that I don’t usually work were sore too. I hope I get the chance to go again sometime.
It seems like most Pilates reformer classes are only offered in specialty gyms and that usually equals $$$$. 🙁 The class we went to was taught by one of my sister’s friends who is training to be a Pilates reformer instructor, so it was free! Yay!
I actually really love trying out new classes and new ways to work out! It keeps it interesting. In fact, on Monday of this week I went to a new Boot camp class and it legit killed me. I loved every second, but MAN, my body was so sore the next day.
I’m looking forward to going again next week. Ha ha.
Anyway, I had a lot of fun running around with my sister last week. Sadly, (or awesomely, depending on how you look at it!) we always eat a lot of crappy food, especially sugary stuff when my sis is in town! I think it’s in our genes!
I’m happy to say I did pretty well, but it was tough! Here in Utah we have a lot of yummy gourmet cookie and cupcake bakeries all over the place. My sister said they don’t have stuff like that in Connecticut so she wanted to sample and compare ALL THE COOKIES!
So, no kidding I think we tried out FOUR different places while she was here! I’m happy to say I just tried a small bite or two each time and I was actually just fine with that!
Thankfully, I’m in a spot right now where if I eat more than just a bite or two or sugary stuff, I get a stomachache. I like to remind myself that that’s a good thing! It means my body is in a good spot!
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Well, I thought I’d take a sec and update y’all on my current health status and goals. Just to recap, I really decided to hit it hard and shape up my overall lifestyle around Thanksgiving time.
I decided to focus on eating clean, quality food, eating LESS, getting my sleep and just being consistent! These have been the main things I’ve been focusing on and I actually think they are the most important factors in health and fitness. These will be the things I think I’ll ALWAYS come back to and strive to achieve.
Anyway, after about 2-3 weeks I noticed some decent results. I probably lost about 4-5 pounds and could actually see a difference. I kind of coasted a bit around Christmas, but then I got back to work after the New Year. Overall, I’ve been working hard and I’ve done a pretty dang good job of being consistent.
I haven’t eaten perfectly every day, in fact I’ve had several small snitches of yummy, crappy food quite regularly, but I’m happy to say that I’ve kept my head in the game, I feel very much in control and I’m just in a great spot! It feels like a lifestyle thang instead of a wacky, over-the-top diet.
I’ve now lost about 7-8 pounds total and I can definitely tell. I’m thinking when I lose 5 more pounds I will feel more like my “normal, thin-ish” self and then I’d love to lose 5 more pounds after that and call it good!
I just keep reminding myself to show up every day. I’m okay if I slack a little bit here and there, but I just don’t want to give any of my progress back!
I thought I’d share some of the things I’m doing right now and some of the thought processes I’ve had that have been vital to my success!
Before I share these things though, I just want to mention that there are SO MANY ways to live a healthy lifestyle! There are so many things and methods that can and will work!
I think it’s so important for each of us to find what works for US and what we can stick with long term. These things that are working for me are just that….things that are working for ME!
- Intermittent Fasting. Oh how I love Intermittent Fasting! It is a game changer for me FOR SURE! I won’t go on and on about what Intermittent Fasting is (you can Google it and find a TON of info!), I will just say that I typically “fast” 16 hours a day and eat in an 8 hour window. I usually have my first meal of the day around 12-2 PM and then I quit eating around 8-9 PM.
- Intermittent Fasting simplifies my life so much! It just makes things like meal prep, time I spend fixing meals and time I spend thinking about what to eat a lot simpler and easier!
- I’ve also noticed that my appetite and cravings go down when I’m consistent with Intermittent Fasting. It just makes it much easier to continue to eat well. When my cravings are down it’s so much easier to make conscientious, practical decisions about healthy eating.
- I sleep well and HARD when I’m Intermittent Fasting. It really just feels so supportive to my body and my body just functions so WELL! I’m a believer!
- Focusing on Eating real, nutrient dense food. This seems like a no-brainer, but I try to remind myself that the purpose of food is to nourish and fuel our bodies! Enjoyment is also important, but it’s most important to remember WHY we eat in the first place! I like to think of food as fuel.
- I gotta say that I used to be an “all or nothing” type person when it came to healthy eating. I felt like I needed to “eat clean” all the time to get results and to lose weight. I also felt like I needed to follow a strict regime or a set type of diet. I’m here to tell you…YOU DO NOT!
- I also used to lose motivation and “fall off the wagon” if I ever indulged or ate crappy food. Once I ate something crappy, it just seemed to flip a switch in my brain that made it hard for me to get back to eating well again. It also made me want to “live it up” for a while before I went back to “being good” again.
- I thought of myself as either being “on” or “off” when it came to eating well. I’m here to say that that mentality is the quickest way to get absolutely nowhere. I think the problem is when I was “on,” I was too strict! It wasn’t a practical way to eat or live and so when I eventually fell “off,” I overindulged because I’d been so deprived for so long! AND THEN, I never wanted to get back “on” again because it was just too hard!
- SO NOW, I just try to eat what I know will help my body to feel it’s best, but I also eat a few small tastes of things here and there that I just enjoy (that aren’t necessarily healthy!) I never really feel “on” or “off” anymore, I just feel like I’m always trying to take care of my body. I take it one day at time and just do my best!
- Focusing on eating LESS! This is another thing that seems like a no-brainer, but it has been HUGE for me! I’ve just been trying to listen to my body, eat until I’m satisfied, not stuffed and just trying to actively eat LESS every day.
- My body has actually thrived! I think it’s important to find that sweet spot between eating enough for your body to feel strong, energetic and alive, BUT also if weight loss is the goal (which it is for me!), then you have to under eat a bit in order to lose weight!
- I remind myself that feeling a low level of hunger occasionally throughout the day is OKAY and is actually probably a good thing. Hunger is NOT an emergency. Our culture and society have taught us to eat the second we start to feel hungry. I think this actually increases our appetites and causes us to eat MORE, which obviously causes us to gain weight and then the cycle just continues!
- When we actively try to eat a little less, it seems like the appetite actually chills out! It makes it easier for us to actually listen to our bodies and then give our bodies what we really need. I’ve actually had a lot MORE energy as I’ve been eating a little less.
- I am NOT actively counting macros or calories right now and I’m loving it! If you are new to the concept of macro counting or calorie counting, I would actually recommend keeping track of it for a while! It will help you to learn so much about the nutritional makeup of food and how many calories are actually in things.
- I’ve counted macros and calories on and off throughout the years and have learned so much in the process. However, I’m now so dang sick of doing that and have actually found that since I’ve done it so much over the years, I don’t really have to do it anymore! I’ve gained a good understanding and basic knowledge of about how many calories are in things and what the rough macro makeup is of most foods, so I can do a pretty good job of just keeping track of it roughly in my head.
- It definitely feels more like a lifestyle and is so liberating to me!
- I just try to make sure I get some protein every time I eat and then just keep the fats and carbs balanced throughout the day. So, if I have a meal that has more fat in it, then the next meal I have, I’ll make sure it has more carbs/less fat and vice versa. It’s quite simple AND it works for me….as long as I pay attention to it and stay committed!
- Getting my sleep! I always struggle with this one, but I never stop trying! It definitely makes ALL the difference for me!
- I seem to thrive on EIGHT hours of sleep, but I do okay with SEVEN. Lately, my strategy has been to do my best during the week and then catch up a bit on my sleep during the weekend. I know that’s not the healthiest or best way to do it, but sometimes as a busy mom….ya gotta do what ya gotta do!
That basically sums it up. It is not rocket science. It just seems like a practical way to live to me! AND, more importantly it works for me, is helping me to feel my best, is helping me to lose the weight I’m wanting to AND it’s something I can stick with forever!
I’m also here to say that over the years I’ve tried a lot of different diet plans. I’ve never done anything super extreme; I’ve only tried things that seemed healthy and reasonable to me. I’ve learned a lot from everything I’ve ever done, but most of the “plans” or “challenges” I’ve done have not been a lifestyle thing.
I’ve done Whole 30, The Faster Way to Fat Loss, low carb diets, elimination diets, very strict and “clean diets”, several Oxygen Challenges (which are very awesome and have been my favorites!) and just a bunch of random diets I’ve found on the internet or in books.
Most of those diets have been great diets, but I’m here the say that what I’ve been doing the past few months has been just as good, if not better than any “diet” I’ve ever tried! I am getting and feeling similar results as I’ve gotten from other things, but I actually love what I’m doing! I’m not counting down the days until it’s over, on the contrary….I want to keep going and never quit!
I will say that I’ve probably been stickin’ to my goals about 80% of the time, which is perfect for me actually. I think that’s what makes it a lifestyle and is what’s keeping me from getting burned out.
Oh, and I also have to say that my birthday is Saturday! Woot! I love birthdays! I don’t love getting older, but it’s sure fun to celebrate and go out and do fun things! Anyway, I’m planning to eat some crap this weekend. I think a burger and some fries and some donuts are probably in my near future. Yay!
BUT, I’m thinking I’ll kick things up a notch come Monday. That’s another thing I’m lovin’ about what I’m doing. I can slack a little here or there on occasion, but then I can just hit it hard and get back to work!
Well, that kind of sums up where I’m at right now. I’m really happy with how things are going with my healthy living. Yay! Well, I gotta go to bed. I hope you all have a great weekend! xoxo
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