Goals

Here's the thing about goals... you set them, you reach them... then what? Live happily ever after? I thought so! I was wrong... but not in a bad way... I mean I've set my share of goals in the past... and met them and life's been good. Let's take smoking! I started smoking when I was 13 (terrible!!!) and I smoked A LOT!! At least a pack a day... then I decided I wanted to be around for my kids, I set a goal to quit and I did! It's been 18 months and I am smoke free, no slip ups and it feels pretty great, the gold at the end of the rainbow... "happily ever after?"... sort of... see that started a chain of events. It gave me the courage to set and achieve other goals. Once I knew I had it in me to succeed it got a little easier to set a goal and achieve it, get more gold. Make it through 6 weeks of Boot Camp, CHECK! Give up my 2 large iced cappuccinos a day, CHECK! Lose weight, CHECK! Run, CHECK, Run a 5KM race, CHECK!
My goals are not all huge, balls to the wall goals, they aren't even all fitness related... My biggest goal has been to be a better person... and that is something that I will be working on forever... which brings me to my point... what about after? Once I meet my goals, get my gold... then what??
Here's another thing about goals... you set them, you reach them, get your gold, you live happily ever after... and then what? Well that's up to you... you could stop there and that's perfectly acceptable and you'd have every right to feel proud! Let's face it, achieving a goal is pretty damn awesome! And sticking to it, is work, so there's that...
For me things are a little different, and that's partially because of who I am, and partially because of who I've become!
I could be comfortable with what I've done to this point and it'd be pretty easy for me to maintain... because I've been given all the tools and knowledge to keep up what I'm doing. There's no shame in that either... but I'm not that person any more. My eyes are open MUCH wider now and I've seen too much... of ME! I've spent the last 5 months pushing and pulling, fighting and working, sweating and crying, straining and bruising! I have absolutely LOVED every single second of it! I'm not lying either, it's been such a rush seeing what this body can endure. I can't stop now... I have a bit more weight to lose, sure! I have some toning I want to do on my wobbly-bits, sure! But I want MORE!! I'm worth more!! I can DO MORE!
Here's one more thing about "Goals" they are forever changing and redefining. They have no limits, no bounds and no rules... because YOU set them! So here's my advise... DON'T! Don't stop setting goals, DON'T stop achieving them, DON'T limit yourself, CHASE every single rainbow and get YOUR gold!
I don't know where this journey is leading me... but I know it's a better place then where I was and I also know there is WAY more gold to be had!!

Maintain, maintain, maintain...

I have been so focused on the weight loss part of my lifestyle change since the end of March and then my vacation happened... I've been so incredibly busy making sure that my husband and kids enjoy what's left of the summer that I haven't even gotten on a scale since my last weigh in of the 12 week challenge. Now don't get me wrong I have been sticking to my clean eating plan, earning a small cheat here and there, but I haven't been hitting the gym 5 or 6 days a week... going to the gym is a lot different then taking a run, or swim, or bike ride.

The last few days I have felt pretty puffy... I had the flu and didn't take my BeautySlender... this is never a good feeling for me, I NEED it!! LOL and I haven't been eating much either... that too isn't a good idea. So when mother nature dropped off her little gift I thought my abdomen would explode! I don't know if I just get more bloated now, or if I didn't realise how bloated I actually got when I was fat that it just seems worse now... but holy crap it sucks! So when I got to boot camp tonight and Sam asked me to do a weight check, I flat out refused... I mean seriously, today is not a good day to weigh in... seriously!

But then I had to pee... so while I was in there I figured WTH, jump on the scale and lets see where I'm at... I haven't lost any more weight... ouch! But I haven't gained any either... that's a plus. Check out Sam's article on Summer Maintenance in Sandra's Corner under BeautyTalk. It's real easy to gain, especially while on vacation... but I haven't. I've learned to make the right decisions and keep myself in check, without compromising the fun (cuz I didn't even notice I was doing it) and just going about my life... how awesome is that??

Living the BeautyFit lifestyle is working for me... I still have some pounds to shed, I still have some issues that I have to mentally work through. I have days that are PURE CRAP and days that are bang on... but overall, I've got this! Everyday, vacation or not, I GOT THIS!   

Back At It! Lil bitty update...

WHOA! So I went on vacation for 9 days... yeah it was fantastic, but I'm back now! again WHOA!!
While on vacation I ate really well, not that I didn't have the occasional naughty tidbit here and there but I was really really careful about what I put into my mouth and I made sure that at least once a day I worked out... swam laps in the lake, rode my bike, ran a few KM's... whatever I could do to keep myself active. Man did I miss boot camp... and my fellow Beauties!!! To go from 5 days a week hard core exercise to swimming laps or going for a run... HUGE CHANGE!! WHOA! Did I ever feel it tonight! Twice I got so dizzy I actually saw spots, felt like I was gonna pass out while running... it was terrible!
Don't get me wrong, I love vacation! LOVE IT!! But I just can't let the intensity of my work outs falter for 9 days, that doesn't work for me, not anymore! I guess I'm officially a gym junkie! I'm still learning things, that's not gonna change... tonight I learned that a life style change DOESN'T take vacation...

Celebrating with FOOD

Isn’t it weird that whenever you come together with friends or family to celebrate there is always food! You would never have a party and not have snacks at the very least… and there is ALWAYS an abundance of food! NEVER one bowl of chips… 3 or 4 minimum. Dinner is never one course, there are appetizers, and desserts. The trick is knowing how to partake in these events without feeling like you’ve cheated yourself or just plain not enjoyed yourself!

I was just faced with this conundrum… and thankfully I was with the 3 people who would “get” this better than ANYONE else! I got really lucky!

Just as Crystal and I finished our 12 week BeautyFit Challenge another occasion crept up… The one year anniversary of my life changing journey… and Crystal’s, and Amanda’s… yep that’s right, One year ago this July each of us met Sandra (Sam) Compton… each of us have our own stories of how that happened,  but the result was the same for each of us… our lives CHANGED! Think that’s strange… we didn’t even realize we’d all met Sam at the same time… we also just happened to become very close friends and bond so tightly that nothing will ever pull us apart… all this while Sam sat back and watched… strange eh?

So Sam invited us all to dinner to celebrate and I’ll admit I was terrified… was this a test? How was I going to handle ordering at a restaurant? Could I resist? Would I be able to stop eating when I “should” stop eating? And to top it all off, I’d need to dress up… In fact, Sam’s exact words were “I want you to feel Sexy”… WTF?? Sexy? I’m lucky if I’d be able to pull off “cute”… as the days went on I started to feel kind of excited about wearing a dress that I loved, and getting all dolled up… but the prospect of ordering was REALLY weighing on me… no pun intended!

It’s actually quite funny because I’m pretty strong… I don’t scare easy and am not often intimidated… but I was completely unable to order… until Crystal finally asked out right “is this a test?”… You should have seen Sam’s face… and she laughed!! It was not a test, we’re adults, in charge of our own actions and should be able to eat at a freaking restaurant… right? Bhahahahah ummm sure…  Well finally we ordered, I had a Wildcraft Salad, Steak (8oz) and sweet potato wedges… and it was delish!  OH YEAH, and I had 2 small pieces of bread… YUP! I HAD ME SOME FREAKING BREAD!!!  Sam even took a picture of it… it was a monumental occasion! You have no idea how badly I was missing bread, and it was good… but I was able to stop too. I’m no longer that child who feels the need to finish EVERY BITE from my plate, anymore! Just because they put it there doesn’t mean I have to eat it… weird concept!

The same thing happened at dessert… Sam took us to Symposium, have you been there? If you have then you KNOW what a huge panic attack this caused me… and I had to keep my cool because no one else seemed to be freaking out… If you haven’t then let me just tell you that if there is any doubt at all that you will not be able to control your urges… RUN AWAY!!!

I ordered a piece of cake that was at least 8 inches high… had 3 layers… one chocolate brownie, one chocolate cheese cake and one chocolate mousse … OMG!! SOOOOOO  yummy! and back in March if I’d ordered it, I would have eaten every single bite of it (it was about a pound of cake, no joke!) and I would have loved it too! But now that I’m no longer delusional and I realize that this is a stupid thing for me to do… I brought half of it home for my kids and husband to share… Jim only got a tiny bite of each layer, but the kids loved it! So see everyone wins!

I mentioned a few times throughout dinner that I was gonna feel guilty on Saturday, because I was cheating… but the fact is I’m going to have to learn how to deal with food. I’m getting it, I can control the food, it doesn’t have to own ME! I stop eating when I am satisfied, not FULL or STUFFED. I can order dessert, I just need to make sure my weight is in check before and then work a little harder after to burn those calories! This is my way of life now. It’s not hard, it’s not a cross I must bear. It’s healthy living and I’m loving it!