FULL DISCLOSURE

Y'all know me. I'm brutal with honesty. I don't sugarcoat. What's the point? Soften the blow now & hurt later? Nah. I'll take full force & up front FIRST please. 

I have got a million thoughts running through my mind & it's time to let them out. They're clouding my vision. They're making my head hurt. There's just no room in my brain for thoughts that need to be expelled. Seriously. 

I'm so behind on my blog posts, I've got ideas from last year & it's hard to remember yesterday. I got kids, you dig? It's moment to moment; it's fly by the seat of your pants & try not to spontaneously combust. 

I've been on this healthy journey now for a year and eight months. I've just finished The Ultimate Reset & actually kicked my diet soda habit, as well as, the caffeine addiction I had. I am now able to drink a cup of coffee without feeling the need to drink four more cups behind it. YAY, me! Progress, right? Absolutely. 

Well, my mind completely went haywire when I found out that I didn't lose any weight. Two reasons this is: the combination of Mother Nature & the fact that my eating habits changed drastically during this 21 day detox. When I returned to foods that had sodium, BOOM! You know what happens. Yep. I'm doing great with portion control & all is well. Just keep in mind, if you restrict yourself for a period of time & lose a lot of weight; when/if you return to your former way of eating, the weight comes back. If I can't stick to an eating plan for life; chances are, I don't need it.  

Normally, I roll on with my workouts & all's great, even if I'm off nutritionally. The first week & a half of the reset was exhausting. I somehow got in a workout rut. I couldn't workout. I was beat down exhausted. I LOVE working out. It makes my day even more fantastic. So why am I in a workout rut, I feel great from the detox. It was definitely an experience that I'm glad I had. 

I've got a run next month & my training program starts today! Remember the brutal honesty I was referring to? 

It's time to jump back in my routine & BRING IT.

Get Out of Your Own Head & Way (Part 1)

I started going to a few classes offered at the YMCA a couple weeks ago to change my exercise routine up a little bit.

Evan & I drop Owen off at school and take off to Waycross. It's good for us both. After almost a year (4 more weeks) of nursing, we can both use a little breathing room. He can't say it, so I'll just speak for the both of us. **On an altogether separate note, I can't believe my sweet chunk is already a year old.**

Moving on...

There are some fantastic early morning classes offered. My favorite has to be the PowerCut class. Wow, I only thought I was exercising at home. Sheesh! My arms & legs feel like jelly once I'm done. I LOVE IT!!!! After my first class the other week, I heard a girl talking about her pants & how they showed every dimple in her body. Which leads me to my point:

STOP. IT. STOP. IT. STOP. IT. STOP. IT. 

I don't know if guys are this bad, but girls, STOP. IT. Stop downing your bodies. Stop inadvertently teaching your daughters to be self-conscious of the way their bodies are & what they look like. Stop picking yourself apart. 

STOP. IT. STOP. IT. STOP. IT. STOP. IT. What you think you are, you become.

Trying loving yourself for what & who you are. If you don't like something about yourself, change it. And while you're changing it, TRUST THE PROCESS!!!! 

You are beautiful, start feeling like it! That being said, it's time to unleash this warm car & head to the windy Sidney Lanier bridge for the Bridge Run. I'm excited to get my feet wet again. The only goal I have is to top my personal best for my bridge time. 

Have a blessed day :))

Miss Piggy

The time is here. The dreaded "D" word has arrived. GASP! It seemed like it was far off until Krispy Kreme and I got reacquainted . Oh Krispy Kreme, let me count the ways my thighs have a distaste for you.
I'll have to assume that you know what the "D" word is and we'll move forward. Chances are, if you're anything like me, you've dieted for most of your life, only to discover that diets ultimately do not work.
In 2010, I started working out to rid myself of the rest of the 100 lbs. I gained with our first little (okay, not so little - 9 lbs. 15 oz.) bundle of sugar. I continued to eat what I wanted (do you think I'll ever learn?) and got to a point where I wasn't losing anymore. 
So, I changed my routine up. I started riding my bicycle. At first, I couldn't ride a mile without being winded. I graduated to almost 13 miles! Yay me! After that, I incorporated Zumba. That's an excellent workout. I love, love, love it! It really tones, tightens & makes your core super strong. 
I then, adding running. That's where I found my obsession. I wasn't able to run real fast or real long, but I was working at it. I ran my first 5k in 37 minutes, which I thought was excellent for my first time. I started mapping out all 5k's I wanted to participate in, started running regularly and joined the YMCA.
After about 3 weeks of the YMCA, I found out I was pregnant. Again, yay! We'd been trying for 10 months off and on; let me explain (it just sounded odd when I read it again). Four months into deciding we wanted another child, my love proposed. After 10 years together, we got married.
Obviously, after gaining 100 pounds with our first little bundle of sugar, I didn't want a growing body in a wedding dress, nor did I want anyone thinking that's why we got married. 
Well, I was (and still am) so obsessed with exercise, I wanted to continue with everything I was doing.Then along came morning sickness and exhaustion. NOPE, no exercising like I was; no matter how much I wanted to, my body wouldn't let me. I continued to walk as much as I could, but no running, no Zumba and I slacked off at the YMCA.
Moving on (slowly, I know)...
I told myself in the beginning of this pregnancy that I would gain 50 pounds MAX. At 40 pounds, I would cut out sugar. Well, it didn't quite happen that way. AT 40 pounds, instead of cutting out sugar, I upped the sugar. Sadly (and also, fortunately), it makes my heart beat incredibly fast so...out it went. I actually wrote this blog entry on Feb. 4th, but it didn't get finished until today. 
I now eat minimal sugar (going on 5 days) and drink no diet sodas (it's been about 10 days and I did have one Sprite Zero). I haven't been feeling like I was before. Thank goodness. I am eating around 1,800-2,000 healthy calories a day and baby is growing well, but I'm not! At 49 pounds gained, I look forward to getting back to my routine of daily exercise, but am no longer overwhelmed by the weight gain. 
I am going to do my best to continue this healthy eating (I prefer those words over diet any day). I've attempted healthy eating in the past and have had phenomenal results. Unfortunately, I always fall back into my Miss Piggy eating habits.

Time to make it happen!