April – A Race & Bikini Season Kick Off!!!

So, I have been pretty open the past couple of weeks about my struggles.  It has been extremely difficult for me to stay focused on my nutrition.  Workouts aren’t that difficult for me.  Although I struggle some mornings getting out of bed, I usually look forward to my workouts.  Now, food….that’s another matter altogether.  And since 80% of weight loss and health is based on what we EAT, that has been a problem for me. 

I find myself back on the yo-yo cycle of eating and weighting, eating and weighing.  That is not healthy – physically or mentally – for me!  I think a lot of my lack of focus is because I knew Henry’s birthday was coming, along with Easter.  Birthday cake and Easter candy are two huge weaknesses for me.  I knew I would indulge in some birthday cake, but I didn’t plan on indulging THAT much…
And it’s totally a mind game for me. When I plan to get off track, my mind tells me that a little more won’t hurt.  And I know that doesn’t work for me.


It’s why I create a meal plan with my workouts every week.  It’s why I prep my food each Sunday.  It’s why I clear my house of birthday cake and Diet Cokes when I know I’ll be tempted.  I have to take steps to ensure that my body won’t go where my mind is telling it to!!!! And it can be done!  I’m living proof of it. 


But honestly, I have gotten a little lazy lately.  And maybe even a little egotistical.  Being a coach, I am constantly encouraging and cheering on my challengers. Helping them when they have hard days and telling them they can do it.  It gets easy to consider myself “above” temptation.  Or to maybe veer from my meal plan for a week or two.  Or to not worry about if my clothes begin to get a bit snug.  I tell myself I can easily get back on track and lose the extra pounds.  But it’s NOT that easy anymore.  I have to FIGHT for my goal weight.  I know a lot of people do not believe that, but it’s why I started this fitness journey to begin with.  My metabolism is slowing, and it’s harder to drop those few extra pounds. And when I eat sugar, I SWEAR my body knows before I do, and it begins to add on the extra pounds immediately!!!!


So!!! I am reminded by all of this that I am and will ALWAYS be a challenger.  When I lose sight of this, I get off track.  I am reminded that this is a journey I am on WITH my challengers.  I am a better coach when I participate and am open about my struggles.  I stay focused when I create my meal plans, check in with my challengers about my day, and am transparent about my diversions.  As a coach, my goal is not to appear perfect or incapable of set backs.  Instead, I want people to see that this is something that I struggle with and have to work at as well.  I love this quote by John Maxwell.
 I don’t want to create an image of something that is unbelievable…I want to lead with INTEGRITY and transparency. Trust me!!! The struggle is real, folks!


So, tomorrow I begin a 30 Day Clean Eating and Shakeology challenge group with some awesome ladies.  We are kicking off with the 3 Day Refresh, which will help me rid my body of the sugar cravings I have succumbed to recently.  It will help me refocus and get back on the path I know I need to be on.  My mind is fuzzy; my PMS has been a little worse this month, and I KNOW it’s because of what I have been putting in my body.  I will participate as a coach and as a challenger!   I look forward to getting back on track. 


Also, I have to admit, I am motivated by swim suit season as well!!! We are planning a trip to the beach approximately six weeks from now, and I would like to get back to my goal weight for this trip.  I am going use some visual motivation and hang my bikini where I can see it and stay focused! This works, I promise!! 


Also, I am now registered for the Coke 10K for the weekend of May 2nd.  

Click Photo to Register for the Race!!

One of my goals for 2015 is to improve my race time.  So, I am cleaning up my diet and working on my cardio endurance.  For this, I am going begin implementing some Insanity Max 30 workouts again.  I have created my own customized workout routine for this purpose.  I still love some of the workouts from 21 Day Fix Extreme, so I am going to mix those two programs together.  The Max 30 workouts will help me build stamina for the cardio part of the race, and the 21DFX workouts will help me maintain muscle.  I’m super excited about this and cannot wait to see my results in the race.