Life as of Lately

These past few weeks have been difficult for me in terms of my health and fitness goals... boo.

I wrote about how I ran 3 nights in a row a few weeks ago. It felt like fall and I was feeling fit- the best feelings! Then I hurt my knee and it has been bothering me ever since. I had an MRI done last week and need to catch up with my doctor about the results. It has been painful enough that I haven't wanted to work out AT ALL! Which is so lazy of me, but it feels like glass that's about to shatter, so I have been trying to take it easy so it can heal.

I also haven't been eating 100% on track, but somehow by a miracle I haven't gained any weight! I think maybe portion control has saved me. Since I've started eating better, my stomach has definitely shrunk and I get fuller faster. Reminds me of the phrase everything in moderation. While I haven't gained any weight, I definitely feel more bloated and less toned. Those 2 things make a BIG difference when you're trying on clothes. I just haven't felt wonderful...

I had semi hit a plateau anyways, so this is a good opportunity to hit re-start and see some good progress before Thanksgiving. So how am I going to do this you ask? Back to good old MyFitnessPal and DietBet to hold me accountable, plus one new thing! Beachbody's 21 Day Fix.

I have seen a lot about the 21 Day Fix this year, since I regularly read Marionberry's blogs. She does these challenge groups and people see major losses, so I figured it was time!

Between the 21 Day Fix and SkinnyMeg's new DietBet starting, those bring me right up to Thanksgiving. If I hit my goal weight loss for the DietBet, it would bring me down to only 10 pounds from my goal weight!!! That will feel REALLY good!

I'm a little nervous about starting the 21 Day Fix, mostly because I cook big batches of recipes and I'm unsure of how that will fit into their container method. But I will keep you posted on that front. It also provides fitness DVDs with 6 different workouts and I'm really pumped for those! It will be nice to mix up my fitness routine and not just focus on running (especially with my knee).

Wish me luck!

How are you staying on track with your goals? Any pre-holiday plans to get in shape? General wisdom to share?

Update

I fell off the blog bandwagon for a few weeks, it happens!

These last few weeks have been a little bit of a struggle for me to be honest. I would say that I have made healthy decisions 90% of the time, so I definitely haven't moved backwards in any ways. I've just been on more of a plateau and I need to kick myself and move off of it!

I have managed to lose a couple more pounds since my time in Columbus, but I need to remind myself that to lose 20 MORE (which will bring me to my ultimate goal), I need to focus on it every day. So by writing here, I am holding myself accountable to this.

Here's a little peak into my life as of late:

• My trip to Columbus ended up being successful work wise and a total blast! As you can see on the left, I ate and drank well while I was there but managed to fit in a some calisthenics and 2 jogs with someone I met at our training. The highlight was definitely seeing my best friend! We did some shopping, eating and drinking ... the night may or may not have ended up with us in the hotel room polishing off a bottle of wine, cheese and Triscuits. When I weighed in a few days later, I was down in weight! I think moving as much as I could, making the best choices from what was available to me and drinks TONS of water helped.
• I've been slowly getting back into my regular fitness schedule since that trip and some new athletic clothes was a nice motivation. My runs have been strong this past 2 weeks and I love running with my dog, he makes it a game!
• The produce lately down in FL has been on point! I have been able to bring healthy snacks with me to work for when hunger strikes. LOOK at those tomatoes! Just gorgeous and from a local farmers market, so even better.
• J and I were lucky to get away with another couple this past weekend to Orlando where they have a family home (note to self: make more friends who have vacation homes or boats). We hit up SeaWorld and it was such a good time! I felt like a kid again and we got in a ton of walking, which made me feel less guilty about having a few adult beverages that night.
• I'm trying out a sample pack of Beachbody's Shakeology this week. Since I have been on a plateau with my weight, I thought I would give this a try. Several bloggers I follow and a friend from college swear by it! I'm trying out a sample pack right now that has one of each flavor, so I can figure out which flavor to order a month's supply of. I will keep you posted on it's effects and it definitely warrants its own post.

I will be back next week with my normal posts - I promise!

What have you all been up to lately? Any words of wisdom to get me out of this funk?

New Beginnings

Welcome to "Ready For Change"!

I am avid blog reader myself and have considered starting my own for a long time - well that time is now! I have started a journey to get fit and have had success so far the last 3 months and I want to stay motivated to continue. This will keep me accountable and can hopefully help others who are focusing on their health too!

(I'm going to try and not use a million exclamation points in my posts, but I can't promise anything)

A lot of this information that I'm going to share can be found on my About Me page, but I will be fleshing it out more here for my first post. If you're not into reading a ton, just check out my nice timeline I created for your viewing pleasure.

Now for the details:

Growing up, I never had weight issues. I was very active as a teenager, as I was a dancer. I danced for my high school team (and was the captain my senior year) and also danced at a studio. I was had 20+ hours of dance classes and practices each week and loved it. I didn't always love to competitive nature of dancing, but I absolutely had a passion for it. I remember leaving classes and I would be soaking in sweat - it was such a good feeling! I was fortunate enough to have a home-cooked dinner most nights and they were usually well balanced. However, I do remember eating straight junk food for lunch most school days once I was old enough to buy my own lunch. I honestly had a bag of hot fries for lunch each day (so gooood, but so gross at the same time).

I went into college and as most students do, gained weight steadily. I was continuing to eat junk food and not working out regularly. I also adding alcohol into the mix, something I never did in high school. So it wasn't shocking that I gained weight, but I was having a great college experience, so I didn't really care too much. My Mom and sister would make comments to me about gaining weight when I would come home for breaks, which definitely bothered me, but not enough to change my habits. Guys were still into me, so I couldn't have gained that much weight, right? Ahhh the power of alcohol...

College was an emotional experience for me in many ways, but my Mom was also battling colon cancer at the time and passed away in between my sophomore and junior year of college. That honestly rocked my world and I didn't handle it well. I continued to eat and drink more and gained even more weight.

Post college, I was living in Baltimore and still drinking regularly and eating out a lot. The first apartment I lived in was across from a Chipotle... you can guess how that turned out for me. The one good thing about my early twenties, was I did regularly work out and looking back, it showed. I looked more toned and not as bloated. I was fortunate to be working for a college that had a great gym and locker room, so I could workout in the morning and get ready there.

I really thought I needed to lose weight constantly after college, and I did, but looking back at these photos I look skinny to me. I guess I had to gain more to finally do something about it.

I moved to North Carolina after living in Baltimore for 4 years and it was the best decision I have ever made. I was closer to family, had a great job opportunity that taught me a ton and met my the love of my life. We met about a month after I had moved and we got pretty serious pretty fast. We just knew this was it. I didn't have the perfect body and he didn't have the perfect body. We were comfortable around each other and it worked! I would say I worked out 2-3 a week, and attempted to eat healthy. But we got into a bad fast-food rut and it showed. My job really stressed me out and my clothes started fitting me less and less. I definitely wasn't happy about how I looked, but I learned to hide my weight. I was too focused on my relationship and career, that my health wasn't a priority.

Since moving to Florida together we have focused more on our health and are fortunate enough to be outside 95% of the year here to encourage movement. I made the ultimate decision in May to make my health a priority. Looking at the photos below, I had that light-bulb moment, I was sick of feeling and looking like crap! Our upcoming wedding serves as a catalyst, but this is much bigger than looking thin at my wedding. Cancer, diabetes, and heart disease run in my family - and health and diet play a role in them. The more I can do to take care of myself now, the better!

My plan is to not share my actual weight on the blog. People (including me) get so focused on a number and not all the other factors. I constantly compared my height and weight to other women when reading their blogs and it's not healthy to compare! I remember reading a blog post last year and she was trying to lose weight post-baby. She wrote that 9 months pregnant, she weighed less than I currently do now and she was my height. It was just crushing... so I will not be doing that to anyone! I will instead be focusing on pounds lost and occasionally talk about my clothing sizes. Here are my goals below. I will keep updated this in the side bar as I make progress.

I think that is enough writing for one post!