Another Monday Check In

Today marks the start of the 4th week of the Living Lean #NOEXCUSES Spring Break Challenge. I am SO excited to say I have absolutely been ROCKING it!

I clearly have a LONG way to go; BUT, this was me pushing
350 lbs last Friday. AND, I added weight to it after this turn! 

I believe that today marks day 26 since I have kicked things into gear with this challenge (since I started my "diet" on the Thursday before the actual challenge started). Friday will be day 30 and I plan to get an update on my weight and body fat percentage at the gym that morning. Based on my scale I am quite excited to see what changes might have happened over the last 30 days.

My Monday weigh in today was down another 1.6 pounds for a total of 9.2 lbs. I still haven't gotten back down to my lowest from 2017, but I'm VERY close!

One of the things you get with this contest is to be paired up with one of the trainers in the gym. I honestly think we have one of the BEST trainers ever! I really feel like she is going above and beyond for us. She jokes about not liking to lose (and I believe her!); but I also feel like, above all else, she is there to see us succeed (even if that doesn't mean winning the contest). Case in point - last week she was asking me about my goals and such and we ended up talking on the phone for 1.5 HOURS about how I can be successful in reaching my goal(s) this time. Amazing, right?!?

I had already eaten some veggies.

I've been having an epiphany of sorts these days and it's kind of amazing. Here's an example: this past week we were invited to go to dinner with some friends to celebrate their daughters' birthdays. They were going to Hibachi, which could have been a real challenge for me. I ALMOST didn't go just to avoid the challenge, but then I decided that was stupid. Instead, I decided I would just eat the chicken and veggies and would bring the fried rice home. What happened at dinner? Not only did I stick to my plan, but I even asked the chef to put my rice on my daughter's plate (so it wasn't even there to tempt me)!

Did it end up being a sorry looking plate? Sure. But, did I care?? NO! Did I sit there feeling sorry for myself because I "couldn't" eat the rice? NOT AT ALL! And therein lies my epiphany. I actually looked at it as MY CHOICE. I could have had that fried rice. I could have had some of it or all of it, but having that fried rice wouldn't help me reach my current short-term goal and therefore I decided it wasn't worth it. I've had it lots of times before and I'll have it again; just not right now. I had the same attitude when they brought out the ice cream cake (my personal favorite by the way). And I really didn't care that I wasn't having any. It still amazes me to the point that I feel like I'm lying 😂. I promise you I'm not. I'm finally feeling like I am in control of my eating and not the other way around.

One of the things that I talked about with my trainer was the fact that I would always try to focus on a "lifestyle change" rather than a "diet". I mean, that's the buzz word these days right? Make a lifestyle change and stop dieting. Well, that's all well and good, but it really is up for interpretation. I feel I was interpreting it wrong all this time. I was not wanting to "deprive" myself of anything too much because I didn't see that as a realistic lifestyle change. For example - I wouldn't usually pass up ice cream cake because in my mind I won't go the rest of my life without ice cream cake so in order to make it a "lifestyle change" I need to figure out how to fit it in. Well, there's a difference between fitting ice cream cake in when you're at a healthy weight, etc. and when you're trying to reach a goal. OMG! It seems SO simple, but seriously, I was MISSING that piece in my head.  I'm now able to tell myself that the cake (fried rice, fries, whatever) will not help me reach my goals faster and therefore it's not worth it! I'll have it again; just not in the next few weeks (or maybe months).

I'm not saying I'm going to remain "perfect" until I hit some arbitrary goal. I'm just saying staying on track has been easier with this mental change I have been making. I think the "lifestyle change" part of it comes with the weight loss. I'm also not saying that it's been all sunshine and roses during these last 26 days. Of course there have been times I struggle with wanting to eat for no reason; or times when I feel like I'm working SO hard and not seeing nearly enough of a change. But I have had the ability to fight through those negative thoughts.....and I think that has everything to do with this challenge and the support of my teammates and trainer!

I can't wait to see where I'm at on Friday and make goals for the remainder of the challenge. I also have some ideas for goals once this challenge is over, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there!