December Recap: Washington Christmas and Workouts

Whoa, where in the world did December go? How is it already January 7th??

Wild.

December holidays went by in a blur this year due to the fact that Dave and I just spent almost 2 weeks in his hometown in Washington. It was my first time in his childhood home with his parents and sisters and best friends from high school - it was like a Bachelor hometown date!! It was a blast and it went by way too fast.

{Dave wanted to take the Oregon Coast the whole way up - it was BEAUTIFUL!!!!}

Working out was the hardest part. I have a Spartan Race coming up at the end of the month, and I didn't want to lose the momentum I had been gaining from my workouts... so we tried our very best, but the most we could fit in during the busy holidays and family time and sight seeing and driving... we were only able to fit in about 4 runs - which, granted, were about 3 to 5 miles each. It was a beautiful change of scenery running the Washington trails by Dave's parents' house. So lush and green, and muddy! Phoebe really enjoyed the trails too. Sweet dog. She was such a good girl, she was off leash almost the whole time!!

As good as that is, it just didn't seem like enough. And when we got back to our gym on Saturday in California, you better believe it was hard to get back into weight training! I could hardly believe how much strength I lost, especially in my arms, in those 12 days. I have to remember this for any future vacations, because not lifting during that trip is something I'm paying for dearly in the gym now - haha.

Christmas was nice and relaxing and casual. And Olive took refuge under the tree from all of the unwrapping aftermath. What a cutie.

Love her to pieces, this one. This photo makes me giggle because it looks like she ate the presents!

After the Christmas festivities were over and we had some time to ourselves, Dave took me to Seattle to show me the city. I got to ride on my very first ferry, which is an insane concept to me, but so cool!

Seriously I could do a whole post on our day in Seattle... in fact I just might do that.

It was an amazing trip that I'll never forget. The best part, is we get to go back every year!!!

Holiday hurdles...

I've started tracking my food again, via the my Fitness Pal app. I'm not gonna lie, my biggest fear of this holiday season is falling off the wagon. I know I won't completely, but I really don't want to lose sight of my goals. I want to continue to eat as paleo as possible, and with so many of my favorite old holiday treats showing up on store shelves its becoming harder and harder to resist. I've stayed the same weight for abou 3 months now, no weight gain, but no loss either. I am thrilled that I have managed to maintain my total loss of 27 lbs for 3 months, but my goal has not yet been reached. I'd like to lose more weight and gain more muscle, and that's a difficult battle - even without the holidays.

So I've started tracking my food again. One thing I have noticed is my metabolism. I can eat a lot more calories now and maintain my weight - as long as they are healthy nutritious calories, of course. I still avoid gluten and grains, and have a renewed love affair with cauliflower rice, but chocolate has been creeping its way back in to my daily diet, and I really need to cut back.

I am also looking into different workout routines. It's been a little difficult staying motivated now that the time has changed and its getting colder. Sleeping and snuggling under a blanket sound so much more inviting that lifting at the gym, but I haven't completely stopped. I've been focusing more on Cardio because it's easier for me to go on auto-pilot, you know... mentally check out and just get it over with. But I need to get back on the weight lifting wagon. Its good for me.

So it looks like that 6 lbs in 6 weeks challenge didn't really work out so well, but I'm not too discouraged. I didn't gain 6 lbs. In fact, my jeans are starting to feel a little bit loose, despite the lack of weight loss - but I hope that isn't from my lack of lifting. :-/

Looks like I've got a date with some dumbbells tomorrow.

I will beat her.... {the old me}

I've just returned from yet another birthday celebration weekend - my good friend's birthday in San Francisco. Though I was extremely active (we ran a 10K on Sunday and walked all day saturday) I still managed to cheat quite a bit. It's difficult when you're surrounded by good friends and some AMAZING places to eat in the city.

So today I am back on the wagon 100%.

Paleo.

Extreme training. 

Running. 

I'm ready.

Some Monday motivation for me:

I thought this was very fitting for the weekend I just had. (I'll post pictures soon)

Week 1 UPDATE: Six lbs in six weeks challenge

I didn't quite realize when I embarked on this 6 lbs challenge, Halloween and my birthday were right around the corner. Talk about some challenges! I did ok though. I made it thru halloween with only a few moments of weakness - and my birthday? Well, there was a sushi dinner, which is not the worst thing you could do, but it definitely wasn't paleo.

Did you ever realize how much weight you can gain from water weight after having sushi and a drink or two? I don't advise ANYONE to do this, but I weighed myself the next day and HOLY MOLY. 3 whole pounds gained from water weight. (You must realize this is water weight, and not freak out!! It takes 3500 calories to make a pound - so for three pounds I would have had to eat 10,500 calories and I KNOW that didn't happen!!)

Anyways, back on topic... so after all of the celebrating and over-indulging I weighed 3 lbs more.... but I've been drinking water like it's my job (about 100 oz a day) and I've flushed those 3 lbs away, and am back to my original weight since I started the challenge. Yes, a setback, but I am staying positive. I had a lot going on last week.... and a lot going on this weekend (Another friend's birthday!) but when its not your birthday its easier to say no. At least thats how I see it.

I have not wavered from my fitness routine. I have been training for a 10K I am running on Sunday, and have included my weight training in that time too. I am still working my muscles and burning calories... I just need to be better about what I eat, which after this weekend I should be able to do. I have reached the 6 mile marker with my running, which was a huge accomplishment. Also, when I took my post-running selfie, my guns were looking pretty good too!

I'm not self absorbed, I'm just proud of how far I have come. I had a very hard time accepting my body my whole life, and lately I have been really starting to love it. I love what it will become, and what it has already been able to do. When you start to love your body again, and appreciate all it can do, you just kind of become obsessed with documenting its changes. :)

Anywho.... to sum it all up, I haven't lost weight, but I've survived Halloween and my birthday relatively unscathed. So with 5 weeks to go, I am more focused and ready for the challenge!!

The Six-and-a-half-week challenge...

The month of October has just zoomed by in a blur.... a very fuzzy, very crazy blur of birthdays, events, holidays, outings and more birthdays.

I began with a friends birthday, with celebratory outings and food - oh the food. There were sandwiches, chimichangas, churros, candy, cake and a lot of other things I "only had a few bites of". Yes, I was good, but not that good. I didn't overeat but I definitely indulged a little too much.

The whole month has been like that really. I was on a role in September: I had successfully lost about 5 more lbs and was on the verge of meeting my actual Drivers License weight. And then October happened. Food, fun and more food.

I'm not upset because I haven't really gained any weight back, I've just hit a wall. My workouts are helping me stay at this weight, but I dont want to stay at this weight. I want to keep going.

So here is my challenge: I HAVE 6.5 WEEKS UNTIL THE COMPANY CHRISTMAS PARTY.

I want to lose at least another 5 or 6 lbs in the next 6 weeks. Totally doable I think. Thats 1 lb a week if I am diligent and do not break. I can do this. I know I can.

I will be going 98% paleo (a girl needs her 70% cacao chocolate fix - HAHA)
I will be tracking my calories
I will be working out like a beast.

Ok, here I go.

Getting over the three-week hump...

I'm trying not to get discouraged here. I know it has only been about 3 weeks of clean eating and excercise, but when so many changes have been made with barely any results seen, its hard not to feel defeated. All of my friends and closest supporters are telling me to keep my chin up, because this kind of lifestyle change is not going to show immediate results, but in time I will start to see the difference.

I met with a nutritionist yesterday, mostly to talk about dinner. I've met with her before, and she made wonderful suggestions for breakfast and lunches, which I have recently implemented into my diet. Yesterday was the time to talk about dinner.... and my progress. She made me feel better about my results, or the lack thereof, and tried to have me focus on the other reasons I am making this change. I want to be healthy, I want to feel young and vibrant and happy, not sick and tired all the time. For too many years I've been feeling lazy, lathargic and just plain down on myself. I am enjoying how I feel on the inside... it's just hard when how i feel on the inside doesn't match how I feel on the outside. I still hate how I look in my underwear. I still feel like a one piece at the beach is an absolute necessity. I'm 28, I am still well within the teeny bikini age bracket, this is just ridiculous.

Where were we? Oh yea, dinner. 

So my dinner plate is supposed to look pretty bright and green, with a little meat (about 25% of the plate) a little healthy starch (carrots, peas, sweet potatoes - again about 25% of the plate), a salad with leafy greens and some fresh green veggies. Easy peasy.

So, I'm pretty much doing that – and it's pretty much a 180 flip from what I was doing before, and yet I weigh... wait for it..... 1.9 lbs MORE than before.

I know I know... I shouldn't be weighing myself. Even the nutritionist said to avoid the scale. But seriously, who wouldn't be curious after like 3 weeks of all this hard work and healthy eating?

Notes to self {from the nutritionist and good smart friends}:

• Fu©% that scale.

• Muscle weighs more than fat. the extra 1.9 lbs perhaps?

• Think positive. Look at the perks that are already showing themselves. 

  – Hair is not falling out nearly as badly - it's a long-hair thing.

  – I work out better, feel fuller longer when I eat well.

  – Bad cravings are almost completely GONE.

• This is me now....

.....and quite frankly, its not that bad. 

Nothing is impossible... and this is a damn good starting point.

And so, long story short... meeting with the nutritionist brought some motivation back, and talked me into not giving up like I usually do.

Hurdles and Measurements!

If you think I'm about to talk about that sport with fast runners and high jumpers in Track and Field that they show on the Olympics, think again. I'm talking about the Diet Olympics, and lets just say, I've got a ton of hurdles that I need training for... So, let's just focus on the BIG ones for now:

Whether I am on a diet or not I don't think 'making good choices' in food is my big issue. I can make good choices all day long... Which also means I could eat, all day long. I love to graze. I graze at my desk, at lunch, and at home. Its not enough that I'm making the right choices because I could be having an apple with peanut butter for a snack, but then I'll have carrots and hummus, then a few slices of cheese... adding that up, that would be a meal.

This is my biggest hurdle. GRAZING. 

Grazing is what sends me over my caloric limit each day, which is why I have been stuck at my current weight. The grazing needs to stop. I need to allow myself one snack in between meals, not six.

Another hurdle I have, which is probably my second biggest hurdle, is my weakness for sugar. I seriously LOVE chocolate and anything baked with sugar and butter. I have a very hard time resisting cookies, brownies, and candy in a lovely little dish. If i walk into a house with a candy dish on the coffee table it takes every ounce of strength not to bury my fingers in that bowl... which is embarrassing, but the truth.

So there... my two biggest hurdles to be conquered. Out in the open. I'm ready to be rid of them. You know what else I am ready to be rid of? INCHES. I'd like to get rid of these inches on my body. 

So, without further ado... here are my .... {deep breath}.... my MEASUREMENTS:

Height: 5'4"

Waist: 37"

Hips: 41.5"

Chest: 38"

Arms: 13"

Thighs: 21.5"