Well hey friends!
I’ve been thinkin’ a lot lately about this Oxygen Magazine Challenge that I’ve been doing the past few months. I realized I hadn’t talked or updated y’all on that for quite a while!
First off folks, I love this challenge. This is the fourth Oxygen Challenge I’ve done and this one has been one of my favorites! I have really loved having Amber Dodzweit-Riposta as our coach. She is amazing, so down to earth and I have LOVED her entire approach to health and fitness. She’s done several Facebook Live sessions with us throughout this challenge, which has been invaluable. I’ve learned a lot and it’s helped me to stay motivated!
I will also share, that if any of y’all are interested in any of the Oxygen Challenges that have been offered over the years, you can still purchase them and do them! They’re not live of course, meaning you won’t be able to get live help from the coaches, but you will still get all of the meal and exercise plans, tons of recipes and just a great solid plan. Love them.
I’ll also say that the plan I’m doing now (Amber’s plan) and Jamie Eason’s plan that I did two years ago have been my very favorites. They are AWESOME!
I have a 20% off code you guys can use if you’d like to purchase any of them. Just go to this site, https://courses.oxygenmag.com/ select the program you’d like to purchase and then use this code, http://oxygen.refr.cc/melanieb to get 20% off at checkout!
I sincerely LOVE these challenges and have learned so much!
Anyway, as far as how I’ve been doing with my current Oxygen Challenge….it’s been interesting. I have not been a rockstar throughout this challenge, dang it. I kind of wish I’d worked harder and been more consistent, BUT I have been steady and haven’t given up!
I’ve lost about 5ish pounds and I can definitely see and feel a difference! I think if I would’ve stuck to my guns and stayed more committed to the challenge I could’ve lost 10 or more pounds.
I took both of these pictures this past week…
My “ultimate” goal would be to lose about 10 more pounds, but I may be happy with just 5 more. We’ll see.
Sidenote: I have never ever been one to obsess about weight! I celebrate my hardwork and success along the way and I also “own it” when I’ve been slackin’ and have weight to lose! I know health and fitness is a lifelong journey and I just try to enjoy that journey!
So, even though I haven’t been as committed as I would’ve liked throughout this challenge (there’s about 2 weeks left in the challenge btw), I’m still happy with the progress I’ve made and I’m also happy I didn’t quit!
Another huge amazing thing is that I think this is the first “challenge,” “diet plan,” or “kick things up a notch plan” I’ve ever done that I don’t feel burned out from! Woot!
There have been so many times in my life when I’ve gotten really serious, cut all the crap from my diet, worked really hard, etc……AND I’ve seen and felt awesome results!
The problem is that at the end of those challenges, I’m usually so burned out, that I decide to take a break for a while and end up giving back so much of the results I got! AND THEN, it’s always so hard for me to want to “get back on the wagon” because it feels so daunting!
Ya feel me!? I imagine a lot of you guys can relate!
So, I just gotta say that most diet plans out there will work. Any time you clean up the diet, up your exercise routine and just focus more on your overall health, you WILL see and feel good results! However, the thing you gotta pay attention to is how is your mental health doing during that time?
Ask yourself if the “plan” you’re doing is sustainable. Is it something you could continue doing for a long time?
Any time I clean up my diet, I always feel so good! I wish I could just eat perfectly all the time. However, I know it’s just not realistic. I want to enjoy myself and enjoy life sometimes too!
Sooooo, I’ve found the best thing FOR ME is to strive to do my best, but still be realistic and enjoy life every day! That means that some days I will eat “perfectly” and other days I’ll enjoy a little bit of crap. The key is to pay attention to that mental state.
On the days I eat “perfectly,” I celebrate it, but don’t make it an expectation for myself. On the days I enjoy some crap, I celebrate that too! I don’t feel guilty! I’ve learned time and time again that the KEY is to remain mindful and committed! Don’t allow a crappy day/meal of eating to turn into a free for all! I remind myself that I do care about my overall health and my weight and that I feel my best when I take care of my body!
The exercise part of a healthy lifestyle isn’t hard for me. It’s just become a habit for me. I don’t even really think about it, I just do it! The eating part is hard though! I think it’s hard for everyone. I think it’s because exercise only needs to happen periodically throughout the week, but eating is an all day, every day thing!
Soooo, throughout this Oxygen Challenge I’ve had days and/or several days in a row when I haven’t eaten well. I’ve enjoyed some yummy food!
I don’t regret it.
It was fun.
I’m so glad I’ve been doing this challenge though because it’s helped me to stay committed and get right back “on” after I’ve indulged. It’s kept me in line. AND, I’ve been able to lose five pounds because of it! Five pounds doesn’t sound like a lot, it’s less than 2 pounds a month, but I think those pounds will be easy to keep off because I’ve lost them so slowly.
And even though this challenge is ending in a couple weeks, I’m just going to keep on pluggin’ along. I’m not burned out at all. In fact, I feel very focused and determined to lose another 5 pounds! It’s an awesome place and mindset to be in.
One of the other really cool things I realized is that I’m in A LOT better spot health-wise than I was a year ago. I’m very happy about that. If you read my blog last year, you know that I struggled to lose weight most of the year! I felt chubbier than I wanted to be and my clothes did not fit. It was very discouraging.
I won’t go on and on (you can go back and read some of my posts from last year if you care to!), but I’ll just say that I was eating too much food! That sounds like a no brainer, but for some reason I was afraid of under-eating and messing up my body. Folks, to lose weight you have to be in a calorie deficit and be a little bit hungry from time to time. That’s just basic science.
Soooo, when I finally focused on eating less (nothing crazy) and eating better, I lost weight and saw and felt great results! Surprise, surprise!
So, let me share a few scary pictures from last year. I took this pic last February kind of as a “before picture” when I realized I needed to get serious and lose some weight.
I don’t think the lighting is doing me any favors, but I was definitely feeling bigger than I wanted to and my clothes didn’t fit me the way I wanted them to!
Sadly, I felt chubbier than I wanted to most of last year! I ate well for the most part, but because I wasn’t focused on eating LESS, I really didn’t see very good results. I did do The Faster Way to Fat Loss (a good healthy lifestyle/weight loss program) last April/May and lost a few pounds, but I gained them back afterward because I was still eating too much!
On a brighter note, I think I gained some muscle last year! I was eating good quality food for the most part and since I was eating more food than my body needed AND I was working out, I gained some muscle along with the fat. So, as I’ve been losing weight this year I’ve noticed more muscle on my body….so that’s good.
Anyway, here are some pictures I took throughout the year last year….
I realize I’m not majorly overweight. It was frustrating to not feel like myself though! I wasn’t down on myself at all, but I knew I had weight to lose! I also got my blood tested last fall and my cholesterol was up a little bit…..that got me very determined to get to work and actually lose the weight!
I think the heaviest I was last year was almost exactly a year ago. I remember feeling very blah and chubby last summer. We had some pictures taken at my nephew’s wedding and when I saw them, I was like “Holy crap girl, what is going on!??” It was a great wake up call.
Wow. It was humbling to say the least. It was good for me though and really motivated me!
So, last November I really got serious. I focused on cutting out the crappy food, eating better food, eating less, cutting sugar and just being consistent. Within a month I could already see decent results.
I’ve kept that mindset ever since and I’m so happy with where I am today as compared to where I was last year! Here are some comparisons just for fun….
I would say I’ve lost about 10 pounds from the heaviest I was at last year. Ten pounds might not sound like a lot, but believe me IT IS! I still have some weight I’d like to lose, but I’m so much happier where I am now!
My clothes fit me, I have more energy, my workouts are easier and I just like the way I look and feel more!
Sooo, I guess the purpose of this post is to say I’m so glad I’ve been doing this Oxygen Challenge because it’s helped to keep me motivated and consistent, but I’m especially happy because I’m just in a better mindset overall and I love the healthy lifestyle I’m living now.
I won’t go into major detail because this post is already long enough, but I’ll say that the things that help me the most are:
- Intermittent Fasting (I’m a fan for life!)
- Drinking a green smoothie or protein shake most days
- Trying not to eat too much
- Cutting back on sugar
- Balancing my diet. I don’t count macros, but I just kind of pay attention to my fat, carb and protein intake and try to keep them all reasonable. I get especially good results if I eat my carbs around times when I’m more active.
- Kind of, sort of paying attention to calories. I don’t count calories officially, but just keep a rough total in my head (I always round everything up!)
- Get my sleep!
- Eat a little bit of crap here and there to help me not feel deprived and help me to stick with it and not get burned out!
That’s about it. I’ve found that as long as I keep a “mindful and committed” mindset, I’m golden. I allow myself some yummy things here and there, but then I get right back “on” afterward. It’s the best.
Well, I think that’s all I will say tonight. I will share more about this Oxygen Challenge when it officially ends. I hope you all have a great night! xoxo
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