I'm so excited this week to announce a -3.6lb loss! That puts me at a 43lb total which is 3 pounds more than my goal 'loss' for the week (I had set a goal of losing 0.6lbs so I could 'hit' 40 as my running total). I'm still marching towards a 50lb loss by New Years, which I realize is aggressive but I'll do my best! I feel so empowered by this week's loss especially given the holiday.
This week, I was good leading up to the holiday and then stuck within some basic guidelines for Thanksgiving dinner. My problem was with the leftovers phase of the day. What's interesting is that I could have totally avoided the leftovers as I wasn't even thinking about them, but my cousin was staying over and made herself a plate. So after feeling great, I decided to make plate too..then my mother remembered she forgot to put out the blueberry pie, so I had a slice (and then another) of that. Needless to say, I had a whopping stomach ache as a result.
Friday we hit the road early in the morning for a road trip to see family in North Carolina - I've actually learned how to eat well on road trips thanks to the 21 Day Fix, so I was pretty proud of my choices during our 14 hour drive. Then Saturday and Sunday I stayed on track and Monday-Wednesday I committed to doing the '3 Day Refresh' which was awesome -
In light of the holidays, I wanted to share a photo I saw earlier in the week. I absolutely love what it says. Something I struggle with historically is throwing in the towel when I slip up, but that's the best time to get back on the saddle. "Avoiding" reality has never made me lose weight, get stronger, or get fitter - and even worse as the time passes it makes me GAIN weight, LOSE strength and LOSE endurance. Making progress, even if it's slow and even if it's up and down is still progress. I'm really working on looking at the big picture this time around and hoping to make it my LAST weight loss story.
Here is a picture of my plate on Thanksgiving. I did go up for seconds, but for much less than what is pictured here. What you see: green beans, twice baked potato, squash, broccoli casserole, sweet potato, carrots, quinoa stuffing (and the Turkey was for my son). Not terrible seeing as none of the veggies had butter!
And one thing I've consistently done since starting this journey in July, is "push play". We talk about pushing play a lot in Beachbody, and it's so simple, yet so effective. For you it may not be 'pushing play' it may be hitting the road if you're a runner, or getting in the car if you go to a gym. Regardless, it's that FIRST small step that is the hardest but once you make it your workout is already a success. Not once have I pushed play then quit. Not once have I gotten in the car to go to the gym and decided to go to a drive thru instead. Not once have I put on my running sneakers and gotten on the pavement and turned back. Regardless of how long or hard you go, doing something is still better than nothing. This photo is of my teeny, tiny, mini DVD player that I bring with me literally everywhere. Since we drove, I was also able to bring my barbell (love love love my barbell). I did a Body Pump DVD or a 45 minute walk (or both) each and every day we were in NC.
A week (and road trip) wouldn't be complete with out my Starbucks. I know it's not the healthiest thing, but it's what keeps me on the straight and narrow. I know I'll get my Starbucks once a day, so it keeps me from eating things off the snack table at work, or other 'treats' that pop up over the course of a day. This photo was taken at one of our rest stops, when they decided "Kem" was a better name for me then "Kim".
Being on vacation, I had some time to go through some photos. I love this collage I created as it really explains my journey. The photo on the left is of me waterskiing a few years after college. It's a bit blurry, but I have a huge grin on my face. This photo was taken after a 60 pound weight loss. I had been overweight my entire childhood and lost 60 pounds in college on Weight Watchers. Fast forward to the middle photo, I was 2 months away from giving birth to the best gift in the world. During my pregnancy I thought it meant I could eat whatever I wanted - despite what the doctors told me. I don't know how much I gained during my pregnancy, but in the months that followed I continued those terrible habits with my sleep depravation and stress. Then this summer, when I tried to ski in July I couldn't get up. It tore me apart. Even at my heaviest as a child, I was always able to ski, but with pregnancy/post pregnancy gain I had put on so much weight that my body literally got in the way and I couldn't get small enough to get my hands on the rope with a good grip. In the water, teary eyed and angry, I vowed to lose 20 pounds and get up on my skis by the end of the summer. So on my son's first birthday, we went up and I gave it my all. I was down 22lbs and determined. The photo on the right is me skiing on that day - this was my first goal and the most important that I've hit so far in this journey to shed 100 pounds.
In food news, I shared that this week I did what's called the 3 Day Refresh. I've done this 3 times so far and love it. It involves a combination of nutrient dense shakes as well as real foods (but no animal proteins) and is done over the course of 3 days to reset your body. I love how I feel on it (although this round I had a bit of a caffeine withdrawal), and I love how I feel after. I spent Sunday doing a little meal prep and here is my food for the 3 days!
I ended the week with another great victory - wrapping a 'small' beach towel all the way around my waist. For those of you who have struggled with weight, you will understand just how huge of an accomplishment this is.
