Well, I Have Been Feeling Good

One thing I'm really happy about is that I made a decision early on in the process to take measurements and to take photos in addition to weighing myself.

Lately, I've been feeling rather good (like in the last week), and I've been feeling like the hard work I've been putting in is finally building up to something that I can see and feel. I weigh myself nearly daily. The scale is not the most reliable, and I've ordered another, but I allow for variation in how I interpret the results.

I do need to take photos again soon, but I decided to take measurements this morning, just to check on my progress.

I must have been building a fair amount of muscle and losing fat, because my weight is higher than it was back in July, but my measurements? They're doing so well!

I've also edited my tracking charts because I wanted to see how my metric now compares to my metrics in the past since I started tracking.

So I'm weighing in at about the same as I was weighing last May and June and finally getting to pre-GABF weight again!

But my measurements for my waist are down to where I was in August, my chest is also back down, and my hips are close to where I was in August.

 This is GREAT! I've been working very hard on keeping my eating and drinking in check lately, I've been back to my working out, and it's showing in my measurements! I may actually be able to wear my jeans a size down soon, again! It will take some continued work, but this is the evidence that I've been seeking in the wrong places (my weight). Since I'm adding muscle, my weight might not be changing as quickly as I hope, but my measurements are, and that's a huge accomplishment!

I brought my clothes to run at lunch today, but I forgot to pack my deodorant, so I'll do that tomorrow. I will still do my ChaLEAN workout, as prescribed since I don't want to fall behind after taking a week off of working out. And I think that week of focusing on my eating habits has been very good for me. I'm timing my meals, keeping my portions and proportions of food in mind, and getting enough whole foods in my diet, again.

I also totally cheat. The program allows you to have one 4 oz glass of wine 3 times a week. I will fully admit that I like my evening glass of wine. With Lent still underway, I've been limiting drinking beer to once a week, and the rest of the week, if I feel like an adult beverage, I have a glass of white wine. My portion is not 4 oz. It's not 16 oz either, but it's closer to 6-8 oz, depending on the glass I use.

I also try to limit my meals out of the house or prepared meals to once per day. This has been helping IMMENSELY! I bring my two snacks and lunch to work with me. I also have been making my dinner and dinner-snack more often than not. I've stayed away from my weaknesses, for the most part, too.

There's a portion for hummus in the 21 Day Fix guidelines. It's about the size of a clementine. I cannot count the number of times that I have sat down with pretzel thins, carrots, or really any vehicle for hummus and a new tub of hummus then realized about 5 minutes later that there is no hummus left. I see the hummus, I want the hummus, but it's just not worth it because in the end, I'm still really hungry when I finish the portion allowed, and I feel like I want to eat everything in the house. So I just don't buy it.

I know that I still have a ways to go, but I am also so proud of how far I've come in my journey. I'm also proud of the small changes that are adding up to big changes. The decision to just be happy. The decision to just say no to being stressed about wedding stuff like RSVPs and seating charts. We'll be just fine, and every day that passes makes us that much closer to celebrating our union with family & friends.

~Katie