Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Overcoming obstacles everyday!

The changes over the last year have really amazed me.



Today I went to a place called Jump Jam with a few of my classmates and friends.  It is literally a giant auditorium full of trampolines and foam pits with obstacle courses including monkey bars and ropes.  I did the monkey bars.  I did a front flip where I landed on my feet.  While it wasn't perfect, it was perfect for me and that's all that matters.  The girl who I was a year ago could not have done that.   I wouldn't have been strong enough.  While I would have tried my body was not able because I was overweight.  I never even realized how bad it was until I look back on it now.  The movements would have been dangerous to perform and I could have gotten seriously injured.

Throughout the past year I've learned so much from each and every program about how to move my body athletically while feeding it real food.  I've never felt more alive than I do right now.  I've never felt so physically able to do things that I've never done before.  I've challenged myself to do things that I didn't really think were possible.  I never thought I'd be able to do a front flip on a trampoline.  I never thought I'd be one of the girls who my friends look to for health and fitness advice.  Now I'm so glad that they do because I love talking about it.  I want someone to look at me one day and say, "Because of you I didn't give up."  I want my body to reflect how incredible I feel inside and everyday where I'm consistent with my meal plan and workouts I know I'm one step closer to that goal.

While I feel the difference there are many times when I look in the mirror and I don't see it.  Sometimes I feel like I'm still the same girl on the outside as I was a year ago who couldn't do half of the things I can do now.  At first when we got to Jump Jam my initial insecurities crept up and I worried about my belly jiggling around or that my arms couldn't carry me across the monkey bars.  I found myself back in my old self and I didn't know what to do.  One of my closest friends knocked me right out of that by saying, "Emily how are you not climbing on the rock wall by now?"  Hearing her say that reminded me of how far I've come and of course I'm dying to start climbing that rock wall! Positive self talking to myself helps keep me grounded and remember that I am not the same girl I was a year ago.   In my classmates eyes, I am strong enough and while my body is not be where I want it, it is exactly where it needs to be.  I am proud of how far I've come and I can't wait to see where else this journey can take me! I know I sometimes get discouraged when the scale doesn't move or I feel extra bloated when I look in the mirror.  I know I don't even notice most of the changes because I see myself everyday.  Hearing encouraging words from those around me help more than they know.  Here's to everyone who has helped me when my positive voice

My favorite part of this entire journey is that it has become a lifestyle change.  It's not some crazy diet that only lasts a few days or months to get the results you want.  It's a daily commitment to fuel and move your body with the added perk of feeling incredible! I love the things I'm able to do now and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Here's my challenge to you to do something that scares you and show me your strength!

Have a great rest of your week!

Emily

Monday, August 18, 2014

And we'll run for our lives

The past few weeks were weeks where I was crazy busy and running around all the time.  Between finishing out the summer semester, a bachelorette party, and visiting family and friends back home all while planning other exciting events takes it's tole on your sanity.  I know I wouldn't trade the crazy days for anything.  Looking back on the past few weeks and I still can't believe everything I managed to squeeze into such a short time period. A few years ago the only thing to keep me sane might have been food but this go round my different workouts and routines were the grounding point and as long as I scheduled that time with myself I knew it would be ok.

The past few weeks I've had some amazing runs.  I never amped them up as much as I have in the past but simply took it one minute at a time and told myself to just keep pushing until I reached a certain point.  I discovered a cure for beating the treadmill boredom through HIIT workouts.  Focusing on smaller time frames helps to keep me entertained for longer periods of time and it also helped me conquer my goal of running around the entire lake back home.  It's 3.4 miles and I used to walk it a few times a week.  Before this run I was stuck around 2.7 and I'm not sure if it was due to time constraints or physical limitations but finally crossing that point feels amazing.  I took it at a moderate pace and I can't wait to try out a longer run again on my next run day.

Here's to rocking a new week full of new possibilities!


Friday, August 1, 2014

3 Day Refresh Results!

Officially dropped 4.8 pounds and roughly 5 inches! Anndddd the longest three days of my life without coffee are officially over!

After completing it I have to say that there were only 2 bad things.  
1- The Fiber Sweep every morning was a little hard to choke down.  I got more used to it by day 3 but the texture was unpleasant.  The taste got better but I just couldn't get over the texture.  
2- The caffeine withdrawals were incredibly difficult.  As someone who normally starts her day with 2 cups of coffee, I knew going in that 1 cup of green tea wouldn't do the trick.  I am so proud of the way I pushed through and didn't let it get the best of me!

I know I've been super excited to get back to my normal eating habits.  I'm already not as hungry as I used to be and as I was eating my lunch today I was full a lot sooner than I usually am.  I'm super excited to see how this changes my eating habits.  Despite the lack of caffeine, I felt incredibly energized every morning and I slept better than I usually do.  I definitely think that this will help me cut back to one cup of coffee a day which will hopefully make caffeine intake more efficient.  

Here are the two meals I ate for dinner.  I had the spinach salad (top) twice and the cucumber and tomato salad (bottom) once.  I will definitely be making both again! They were absolutely delicious! I could not believe how full I felt in between meals.  


I feel very satisfied with my results as this program helped me finally crush a plateau that I have been facing for quite awhile.  I just couldn't drop below a particular number and now that I'm finally below it, I hope I can just keep it going down until I reach my goal! :)

Have a fantastic weekend!

Emily