Fit and Balanced Mom: Little Black Dress

Weekly Update: This week I am down 3.6lbs for a new total of 74.4lbs!! I had a handful of challenges, a bachelorette party, wedding and bridal shower three days in a row. They were all great events but also had a high potential for challenging eating. I did the best with my options and overall am very impressed with myself. I think part of my motivation was that I was able to fit into clothes that months ago I almost got rid of because I had given up on ever losing weight.

I titled this "little black dress" because I was finally able to fit back into my favorite little black dress! With the weekend of events, I decided to take a trip through my old clothing and see what fit and to my surprise all the dresses I picked out fit! This is such a wonderful feeling. I wore this 'little black dress' to the bachelorette party.

If you enjoy my blog, I'd love to have you in my private (women only) Facebook Group dedicated to health, fitness and nutrition: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FitandHealthyPrivateGroup/

And then this polka dot dress I wore to the wedding. I haven't worn it in years. What a fantastic 'non scale' weekend. I think I was like 25 the last time I wore it actually.

In light of my little black dress, here are some more photos taken in black clothing. I was getting ready to workout earlier this week and realized I was wearing a very similar outfit to the one I took after my first week on the 21 Day Fix. I just had to take a comparison photo. One thing to note - the photos on the left were a week into my new fitness and nutrition plan. I was sore and tired and at times overwhelmed but I did not give up. I took those photos after the first week and saw no visible difference, but I still pushed through (and continue to push through) one day at a time, and it's been paying off! I actually stopped taking photos after the 'Week 1' shot because I didn't want to discourage myself. I am proud that I continued along, and I want to remind you that even if you don't SEE a change right away, focus on how you feel and the fact that you will eventually see one if you are consistently putting in the effort.

The biggest thing I notice here is that I finally have a neck again!

This is apparently the week of the progress photo, this week also ended a 6 month "Diet Bet" I had done online. The concept is you can 'bet' that you will lose a percentage of your weight in a given period of time. In November, I joined a 6 month event that challenged you to lose 10% of your weight. I figured because I was planning on losing weight anyway, I might as well make some money on it. The first photo I was 201lbs so my goal was about 20lbs. I am happy to report that I've lost over 35lbs in the past 6 months which not only FEELS great, but it also earned me over $300 to spend on new (smaller) clothes.

Another fun thing I'm doing this week is a 7 Day Water Challenge with some of the women in my private fitness page. This is an awesome group because it gets you drinking water throughout the day in a fun way. Whenever I do this people generally report back that their headaches are gone, their lips are no longer dry and more importantly they feel so much better after a week of being properly hydrated! If anyone ever wants in on a group, request to join my private support group and I'd be happy to add you!

More about me or to order any products I mention in my blog and have me as your Free Coach, Mentor and Top Supporter: http://www.beachbodycoach.com/chapmaki

Here's this week's Ultimate Reset foods! They sort of look the same because I went with the 'Quick Reset' for the final week due to a busier schedule and the need to simplify my prep time.

Thursday