Old Patterns and New Beginnings.

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I don't know if you've ever heard this but losing weight and getting healthy is a lot of work mentally!

I've been at this journey for quite a few weeks now and I'm about fourteen pounds down and feeling pretty good. I've had to tune out some negativity and I keep it at the forefront of my mind that this is a decision I'm making that goes deeper than vanity. I want to look better of course, but I also want to feel better and live longer and be more adventurous and be more comfortable in my skin. One of the biggest hurdles I've dealt with so far is the temptation to slip back into old habits and jump back into old cycles. 

While Rhyno was in Colorado I stuck to a relatively strict diet (eating 1,300 calories a day and exercising when I could) eating mostly the same things every day. This is what works for me--planning out my meals, knowing what I'll eat when, and having a work out plan of action. I saw great results in sticking to this plan. Once Rhyno returned I noticed that I was drawing us back into old patterns. While he had been gone I didn't order out (because, really, I'm not going to buy a whole pizza just for me) and when I grocery shopped it was pretty much just the basics. We celebrated his return with a bottle of wine and a big lunch out the next day. This is my cycle: I decide to make a change, I start doing well, I have one tiny slip up, and I go on a junk bender of sorts. Once I saw myself slipping back into the pattern of "Eh, I don't want to cook tonight...let's order Mexican food!" I knew I had to build up some type of structure to keep myself successful. I tried just researching different dinner recipes for the week but found it SO time consuming to figure out if each meal was low-calorie while being high-fiber and was it too much dairy? Too much wheat? I just wanted a general plan that I could stick to.

There have been three times in my life where I've lost a significant amount of weight. Once when I was in high school and I was at my healthiest/fittest ever, once in the middle of college when I lost the freshman 15, and then before my wedding when my extremely low-calorie diet helped me shed 50 pounds (only to gain them all back). The first two times I lost weight I did so with the Body for Life program. My parents were about to start it when I was in high school and I asked if I could do it too. I dropped about 20 pounds and was wearing a size Small t-shirt by the end of the 12 week program. It instilled an exercise habit in me and taught me to stop eating when I was full. Had I stuck with this through college, I know I'd be in a different boat physically and mentally right now. 

So, anywho, let's talk about today. After some thought and planning, I am going back on the program for the next 12 weeks (officially starting my challenge this Monday). The program works best for me because it's not hyper-intimidating and it isn't cutting out food groups and you get one "free" day each week to have a treat and rest your body. It's all about small, balanced meals throughout the day and rotating between upper body strength training, lower body, and cardio (so I can keep on my Couch to 5K regimen going). I can remember hitting the end of 12 weeks both times before and just being shocked at how well I'd done--I'm ready to have that structure again. I've mapped out the workouts, meals, and made my grocery list.

My challenge starts Monday and I am more than ready to tackle BFL again! Have a happy (hopefully long) weekend!