weightloss is a rewarding struggle

It's basically like I'm writing this post "for the future" since it's Sunday afternoon and I decided to chill at Starbucks and get some writing done vs. waiting until the last possible minute and rushing something that would come out half-assed (how's that for a run-on sentence? ha). I haven't even written Monday's weekend recap post yet, but I wanted to write something a little more meaningful than what I spent my weekend doing. Anyway, I'm going to take things to a more 'serious' level today.

I haven't done any kind of health or fitness related post lately and I've had a few people mention to me that these kinds of posts are their favorite... So here I am. I'm not ready to talk about numbers with y'all... yet. But, I promise that I will do an actual post with numbers (meaning pounds lost, and possibly inches lost too) very soon. I am almost at a pretty huge milestone and as a celebratory post, y'all will get that kind of update.


It's crazy how much the shape of your face can change. I made this comparison for my dad this weekend.

So back in September, Amanda and I committed to doing a pretty intense 90-day challenge of cleaning eating, ramping up our workouts, and cutting out alcohol. I'm pleased to say that we have stuck with is, and we are almost 2/3 of the way finished. I'm not going to lie, we have splurged a few times and had a few "cheat meals" and an alcoholic beverage or two - but I am convincing myself not to feel bad about these choices.

I have learned a lot during this challenge, and I have learned what my body can handle and what it can't handle. Speaking of which, there isn't much that it can't handle. It's just the mentality that I "can't" do things. I'm doing things that I never thought I could do - physically and mentally - and trying to learn to try new things instead of convincing myself that I can't do them.


This picture totally stretched when I uploaded it... boo. But you still get the point.

Accountability, finding motivation, and dealing with the mental battle/struggles are the hardest parts of this journey for me. It's easy to get "down" on yourself and feel like you're not making good progress, or that one of your friends is losing weight faster (and seemingly easier) than you are. It's easy to tell yourself that you're not good enough and that you won't reach your goals. It's easy to hit snooze on the alarm and not get up and workout because "it's only one day, and one day doesn't count". It's easy to come home from work and not want to workout because you're tired and it was a long day at the office. It's easy to look in the mirror and see the same 'fat girl' staring back at you. The truth is that this whole journey and transformation isn't easy. It's hard. This is hands down the hardest thing I've ever done, but it is also the most amazing thing I've ever done for myself.

I have so much support behind me from family, friends, and even this blog, and I am so grateful for all of you every single day. However, most people don't see the struggles that I go through on a daily basis, or the amount of work I put into losing weight and exercising. I will get comments, texts, etc. from friends telling me that it must be nice to finally be "small" (which is not the truth, I'm only half way there). Telling me that they could never do it. Making comments about how easily I dropped the weight. Giving me excuses or reasons why I could lose weight, but they can't. Dealing with these kinds of comments and remarks is downright hard. This isn't a walk in the park for me.
I struggle. A lot.



I promised myself that I would be 100% open and honest about this entire journey, and I do my best to show that through my blog, Facebook, and instagram. I'm trying to be as real and honest with y'all as I possibly can. So let me reiterate all of this for you: this is hard.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not complaining or whining about the process. As hard as it is, and even though I have days where I want to quit, this is the best thing I've ever done and I'm loving every minute of it. If you are trying to lose weight, please don't compare yourself to me, or anyone else. If you're just starting out or if you have been doing it for a while - do not compare yourself to anyone except yourself. I find it easy to scroll through fitness accounts on instagram and give myself a hard time for not looking like those people. My way to avoid this is to remember how far I have come and how far I will have gone when I reach my goal weight. I compare myself to the 'old' me. Not anyone else.
But most importantly, I try and remember this quote:



I think I have rambled long enough, so I will leave you with this. Whether you are wanting to lose weight, just getting started, or have been doing this for a while: remember to believe in yourself and don't be so harsh on your progress. We all have to start somewhere. If you have any questions, or if you want help with ways to eat clean, exercise, or just to talk about wanting to lose weight or where you are in your journey right now - please feel free to reach out to me. I'd love to help in any way that I can.

90-Day Challenge: Muscle Poppin', Weight Droppin'

Happy September, friends.
How the heck is it SEPTEMBER already? Didn't we just celebrate The New Year?

Today I'm teaming up with my best friend, Amanda, to bring you something new and exciting: a challenge.
A 90-Day Challenge to be specific.

As you all know, I have been working on losing weight and getting healthy for the past few months, and I have decided to take this to the next level. Amanda and I sat down and had a great chat with our friend, Ambrose, about our goals and where we'd like to see ourselves 'physically' in 3 months, 6 months, and a year from now. During our conversation, we decided that the 3 of us wanted to challenge each other and hold ourselves accountable to really try and and lose this weight. It works a lot better if you're doing it with other people, right? Right. Or so they say, I guess we'll see...



As of today, September 1st, I am starting a 90-day challenge.
I would LOVE for you to join me on this adventure and see what you can accomplish in the next three months. These goals don't have to be anything crazy, or they can be as crazy as you'd like - you're the one creating them afterall. Your goal could be to go on more walks, lose 10lbs, run 5k, or even just eat healthier. Whatever your goals are, I want you to spend the next 90 days working towards implementing them into your daily routines.

I feel as though I have hit a 'plateau' of sorts, and I need to break free from this. I currently do a lot of cardio, and I have been doing a lot of running. While this is great, and definitely better than sitting on the couch watching TV - it isn't really what I should be doing to lose weight. My brother, and my roommate have spent a lot of time lecturing me on the importance of strength training, and not solely doing cardio-based activities.

Cue the 90 day challenge.

I am cracking down on this fitness and weight-loss thing, and kicking it into high gear. For the past 3-4 months, I have been eating primarily clean. Typically, I'll eat well Sunday-Friday, and I will 'cheat' on Friday nights, and Saturdays. There are just so many reasons and excuses to cheat on weekends: going out with friends, failing to food prep, and just the pure convenience of not needing to cook. Essentially, I'm pulling the lazy-girl card on the regular (ie. most weekends), and it has to stop. My bank account and my waistline have had enough of my weekend laziness. I'm honestly making this sound 10x worse than it actually has been - my 'cheating' is not THAT bad, and it's not THAT often. However, it's still 'cheating' and I shouldn't be doing that at all.

Here are the changes that I'm making over the next 90 days:

• 100% Clean Eating

This one might be a bit of a struggle, but I am 100% dedicated to no cheating during the next 90 days, and eating only clean foods. Which means that at the end of this 90-Day challenge, Amanda and I will be going out for a huge cheat meal of beer and calamari.


• No Alcohol

This one isn't actually that hard for me. I've successfully done the whole 'no alcohol' thing a few times and it wasn't too bad. The only part that sucks is the whole social aspect of drinking. I'll probably be declining a lot of hangouts with friends - and I'm really just hoping that I still have friends at the end of this challenge. I'm kidding. But seriously - don't bail on me, friends.


• Strength Training Workouts

It's time to get over my fear of working out with weights and it's time for me to start doing strength training exercises. Gaining muscle is the most beneficial fat-burning tool, and I need to stop avoiding it. At the end of this post I'll show a quick glimpse of what my workouts will look like.


• ViSalus

ViSalus is a great tool to help ensure that you get the right nutrients in your meal, it keeps you full, and it tastes delicious too. I've done the ViSalus challenge in the past - and I can vouch for the fact that it WORKS. I stopped using it for about 2 years, but I've decided to give it a shot again. Instead of substituting two meals per day, I'll just be substituing one meal, and eating clean for the other two meals (and snacks). If you're new to the whole weight-loss thing, this is a great way to jumpstart your journey and get you going in the right direction. Plus, it seriously tastes amazing. Win-Win.


• Couch 2 5K

If you've seen my posts on Instagram, then you probably already know that I'm doing the Couch 2 5K program. I've decided to give it a shot since I have a newfound love for running. I've decided to step it up a notch, and pair it with strength training to really shock my system and turn my body into a lean-mean-fat-burning machine. Yeah, I said it.

I am officially down about 75lbs since my heaviest weight, but I'm only half way. I have another 75lbs to go, and I'm determined to kick butt for the next 90 days.

For my workout schedule, I will be following the 'Body for Life' workout guide, and pairing it with the Couch 2 5k program. This is what my schedule will look like:

WEEK ONE

Monday - Upper Body Strength Training (chest, shoulders, back, triceps, biceps).
Tuesday - Couch 2 5k.
Wednesday - Lower Body Strength Training (quads, hamstrings, calves, abs).
Thursday - Couch 2 5k.
Friday - Upper Body Strength Training (chest, shoulders, back, triceps, biceps).
Saturday - Couch 2 5k.
Sunday - die REST.

WEEK TWO

Monday - Lower Body Strength Training (quads, hamstrings, calves, abs).
Tuesday - Couch 2 5k.
Wednesday - Upper Body Strength Training (chest, shoulders, back, triceps, biceps).
Thursday - Couch 2 5k.
Friday - Lower Body Strength Training (quads, hamstrings, calves, abs).
Saturday - Couch 2 5k.
Sunday - REST.

These are what my two different weeks will look like, and I will just be alternating them back and forth for the entire 90 days.

Amanda and I would love to have everyone get involved in this 90-Day Challenge. Please join us. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or if you just want support - please don't hesitate to comment, tweet, or e-mail us to talk to us. We are both here to help motivate, support, and help in any way that we can.

I'll leave you with an inspirational quote from Amanda...

"Lets get these muscles poppin' and this weight droppin'."