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It has been a year and few weeks since last I visited. A lot has happened since then. One major move from the Rockies to New England and a massive change in career and lifestyle. What drove me here? What else but a job my husband took. It's been an interesting, albeit stressful, year, gaining 40 pounds along the way. I finally got back to some semblance of eating healthier in November. It's been going great and I have lost 21 pounds by eating a ketosis diet! Yaay me! I'm here again to take the next step as I have plateaued so I'm looking for motivation, success stories and an exercise plan to regularly follow as much as I can given my wacky work schedule as an assistant volleyball coach. Outside of tossing balls in the gym, I've been pretty sedentary. Time to get off my lazy butt and work out regularly and get to that next mile stone --- another 20 pounds. Eating is nailed down. Somehow, I managed to dig deep and work through most of the rough mental days that would have ordinarily led me to eating fast food, ice cream, and mindless snacking. I haven't been perfect. A snack here and there, a meal, a whole day, a whole week even, but always managing to reel in the mindless gnashing and getting back on track sooner, and for much longer than in the past. I'd say 80% of the time I've been right on target. I finally found that discipline I needed. It's not easy. It's a constant battle, and I know now it will never ever go away. It is a demon that lurks just beneath the surface and I have to fight it always. Part of this shift was a mental resignation to accept the process of what it takes to lose weight, to know my goal, but to focus on the present. One big motivation was looking at the scale everyday. On a ketosis diet, the weight melts off. It is amazing how much weight you see falling off your body in the first week, sometimes two weeks! 8-15 pounds sometimes! Once the initial 'cleansing' passes, the weight levels off to a more normal level 1-2 pounds a week what I think is actual fat loss. Those first two weeks are critical to keep the motivation going, at least for me. Instant gratification that I'm losing weight!! I ramble.... Time to start exercising. One of the perks of working for a university is free access to the weight room, and exercise classes. Time to take advantage of this benefit. I've signed up, I only need to show up. First week Complete at least 2 body weight sets four times a week Morning yoga daily complete one spinning class First 2 body weight sets completed tonight. woohoo! Next Yoga in the morning Tuesday morning spin class Check out my actual journal for progress should you be interested.

Here I go again. Re-spawn. Now that I'm married, returned from a fantastic honeymoon and back into the swing of things, some changes have been made and continue to be underway. At my wedding in July 2017, I didn't quite reach my goal weight, but I was happy enough to fit in that dress and still be reasonably passable and not feel like a stuffed sausage. I weighed in at 149, then. After the wedding, Keven and I gained a significant amount of weight back in a short amount of time -- relaxed and eating what we please, little to no exercise, winter hibernation setting in, and having fun on our honeymoon, I ballooned to 173 pounds! Both vowing to go back on the diet when we returned, the first week of January, I since lost 13 pounds at my last weigh in on Feb 3rd, only to gain 9 pounds of it back this last week. It happened to both of us. Burn out and stress. This week I'm refocused and ready to go all the way and so is he. Goal is to get to my goal weight of 135 pounds before my 41st birthday in August. Maybe get pregnant before I'm 42, 43? First, how is it possible to gain 9 pounds in a week, I ask? It can't all be real fat! I can't help but feel that a lot of the weight is water retention, salt and waste (okay BLOATING) and yes of course some stored fat. Today I start the challenge by continuing on our low carb diet, I know the weight will appear to melt off, like 2-3 pounds a day for a week, then I'll start getting into real extra fat loss at least that is my theory, and it will be more like the normal healthy 1-2 pounds a week. I felt I wanted to track my progress again using NerdFitness. Love this place! Thought of it last night and said I'd revisit you today. And what do I find? A new challenge that started today! A serendipitous moment? Hmmmm...well here I go, continuing what I started in January and then some... A new positive attitude going in instead of dreading it. I can say I started off reasonably well by going to bed at 10:30 last night. I woke up early, 10 minutes of yoga, and drank green tea. Did not leave myself enough time for breakfast though. The Challenge Basics: 20 net carbohydrates daily Drink more water Daily morning yoga routine Drawing MINDING THE DETAILS In keeping within the 20 net carb total, in effect training my metabolism to burn fat instead of sugar the following foods are on the list- Avocados, chicken, Beef, Pork, Pepperoni, Turkey, Eggs, Bacon, Salmon, Tuna, Spinach, Kale, Tomatoes, Onions, Celery, Asparagus, Green Beans, Limited variety of nuts and seeds, Blueberries, Blackberries, Greek Yogurt (not the low fat kind), Cheese, Pickles, Jalapenos, Homemade blue cheese dressing, Garlic, Mayonnaise, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil (contingent on affordability), Real Butter, Herb tea, Limited Coffee with cocoa, Stevia, and cream, Water, Seltzer water, 6-12 oz diet Pepsi (now aspartame free!), and limited dark chocolate. One cheat meal every two weeks, or every 6 pounds of weight lost with a conscience effort to keep the portion size reasonable. Drink more water - I have a 32 oz water bottle at work, goal is to drink at least half of it there. Daily 10 minute morning yoga and mindfulness routine - includes coinciding side goals Setting a 10:30 pm bed time curfew Involves actually rolling out of bed at 6:15, 6:30 at the latest 10 minute yoga Mindfulness Drinking green tea Eating breakfast before leaving for work Art and Drawing - also includes coinciding side goals - paves the path towards a longer life-time goal that leads to being a prolific artist, and stoking the fire of artistic passion and inspiration Setting and keeping an hour appointment with myself twice a week, no exceptions, to do nothing but draw something An artist date once a week where I do something artistically whimsical and inspiring Mindfulness Meditation Tomorrow's plan Everything I did today with some mindful effort: Waking earlier Morning Yoga Breakfast before leaving for work Walking to work 7pm - 1 hour of drawing That's it. Here's to a successful day ONE in mental attitude, and doing most of what I set out to do before I even knew there was a challenge starting today.