Day 25

How are you doing with your health and fitness goals? Are you noticing change? Are you developing habits? I hope you are!


I've been learning a lot over the past 25 days!

One of the biggest things I've been learning is that it's all about habits. Right habits are what bring the results - and what help you have confidence even if the results aren't coming at the pace or in the measurement you wanted them.

I haven't lost weight in about a week. I seem to be stuck at this number right now that's so much higher than where I want to be. But I've been keeping up my habits! I workout for 20 minutes or more every morning. I'm keeping up the habit that I know is right, even though I don't see the results I wanted right away, and I'm able to feel pretty great about myself because I know that I'm doing the right thing.

25 days ago I started this with the idea that I was going to find a magic routine that got the magic results I've been looking for since I was 13. I figured I just wasn't committed enough, wasn't "hardcore" enough, and to some extent I was right! But I also had a lot of misconceptions.

For example, I was focused on numbers. Remember when I said I was going to lose 2 to 5 pounds a week? I was incredibly focused on that. To the point that for the past few days I've been really freaked out and depressed because I haven't lost any weight this week.

Fortunately I have some awesome people in my life.

Like my mentors, S and T. They've been teaching me to take time to reflect. Reflection is important, because if you don't take some time to look up at the scoreboard and interpret what it says, you don't know what you need to change to win the game.

And my amazing husband, who is always so very supportive of me. He likes to see the best in me, and he's been working to help me see the best in myself.

So today I took some time to reflect, and a lot of that reflection happened in front of the mirror. I took a long, hard look at myself. I really, brutally assessed myself physically, mentally, emotionally, and you know what I came up with?

I really like how I'm doing!

Sure the scale doesn't say anything has changed. In fact, I've actually had dreams where that dang thing laughs at me! But I've got other things to measure by, and I shouldn't let myself forget that.

And neither should you.

You see, progress is more than the number. And sometimes the number is going to stay right where it is for a while but we're still making progress.

My reflection showed me a couple of things today.

First, I *am* actually losing size! I noticed that my arms are toning up, and my waist and stomach are starting to look thinner. The dresses I've bought recently look better than they did a few weeks ago, and my legs are showing more muscle.

Second, I'm getting stronger. I noticed as I was working out this week that there are some movements that are getting easier. I can drop deeper on my squats and lunges, move faster for longer in my cardio work, and I'm going to need to buy some heavier weights!


Third, I'm feeling so much better about myself. I spent so long thinking "I'll feel good about myself when I'm size 12" or something similar. I thought that my feeling better was dependent on my *looking* better.

Thanks to my mentors, I've been spending a lot of time reading some amazing, powerful, truth-filled books. And one of the things those books have been teaching me is that just about everything that goes on in your head or your heart is your choice. So I've been taking charge recently, and focusing on the good things. I've been deciding to be happy, deciding to enjoy life, deciding to not get offended so often - even in cases where I know the person was probably trying to offend me. It's given me such a new sense of joy and peace in life. Have bad things stopped happening in life? Well, no. Stuff still happens. People still get mad at you, random health issues crop up and cause problems, life is life.

But in the middle of life being life, I'm ok. That's new, and wonderful.

I'm "making right decisions," as S would say. And that's enabled me to start feeling really great about myself. No matter what anyone else says, no matter what things try to block my path, I know that I'm doing the right things and that those things are going to bring me the results I want...even if it's not on the timeline I originally wanted.

My reflection told me some pretty satisfying things today. As another mentor of mine, Papa Sev, would say:

I'm not where I want to be, I'm not where I could be, I'm not where I'm going to be...But thank God I'm not where I used to be either!

I'm making great progress, and it *can* be measured. I bet you are too! And I'm so looking forward to having a beautiful beach body and shamelessly spending time in the sun with you!

We can do it. Just keep those habits up!

Day 18

It's day 18...how are you doing with your goals? Have you been developing the habits that will help you live the life you want later?


I'm finding that feeling better about myself - as I am right now - is going a long way for me. I've gotten some new dresses recently that really flatter my shape and look pretty great! Since food (and especially junk food) is my comfort-seeking reaction, not feeling horrible about myself and needing comfort all the time is really helping me!

I haven't gotten awesome at controlling my normal eating habits. My husband and I are a pair of absolute codependent enablers! Whenever he has a craving for nachos, I say "YES! That sounds amazing!" When I'm craving pizza he says "Sounds good!"

My weight is fluctuating the way you can normally expect during the summer, 3 pounds up or down here and there. That means that I'm doing well enough to maintain - which is good! I have been on a steadily gaining pattern for a while, and so maintaining any weight means I've changed something for the better. 

I've been exercising more, but not doing what I should with my carb intake. The good news is that I know exactly what to change to do even better! The bad news is that for me, carbs are love. Although my parents may not have realized the programming our habits were creating, empty carbs are how I was raised to know that times were good and life was going to be okay for a while. It can be really hard to get away from that, but I have an amazingly supportive husband and mother in law who are helping me to teach my subconscious that there are other signs to look for. We're training my body and mind to appreciate certain experiences - like having more time and money to hang out with the people I love. I'm learning, slowly, that food isn't the only way I can say "everything is going to be alright."

This week I'm adding extra workout time in, and pulling simple carbs (like white bread, doughnuts, and most pastas) out of my diet as much as possible. I'm hoping that this is the key that's going to help me start losing weight again. 

My goal right now is to figure out just what level of change I need to make. I'm not into crash diets, however much they may work for a while. I want to know what kind of lifestyle I can expect to have and maintain - through busy-ness, life, trips and vacations, special events and tiring times. I need to know what kinds of choices I need to make sure I'm making and how much of my food-loving lifestyle I can keep if I'm careful - for my sake and especially for my children's sake. 

One of the things that has been motivating me the most lately has been my kids. We're planning on starting our family sometime next year, and I've been thinking a lot about what kind of mom I want to be. What kind of habits do I want to pass on to my children? 

I watch my mentors very closely - especially with their children. I watch T as she teaches them healthy eating habits, emotional self control, and discipline in their daily lives. I watch as S teaches them how to be leaders. I watch as together the two of them teach their kids how to interact with others, how to be kind and generous but still strong in their morals, and how to make decisions that will carry them through life. 

That's the kind of thing I want to teach my kids. From a very young age I want to teach them to exercise in the morning to keep their bodies limber and strong and their metabolisms fast. I want to teach them about proper nutrition and healthy eating habits - and also how to really enjoy their food! I want to teach my kids that healthy doesn't have to mean lettuce for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I want to teach them what healthy eating does mean, including principles like everything in moderation. 

I want to pass on a healthy legacy to my kids. I want to be the 120-year-old grandma (and maybe great grandma) in excellent shape, still able to run around the playground with the babies of my family. No brittle bones, no failing heart, no extra pounds that make breathing that much harder. I'm only in my 20s, and I know that dream is attainable. I also know that if I develop the habits for myself, and really make them a part of my life, my kids will naturally follow in my footsteps. Then they will also get to be very old, very active, very happy grandparents one day. 

So here, on day 18, I'm keeping my kids in mind. When I don't want to get up in the morning to exercise, I think "Do it for the babies." When I'm deciding what to choose off the menu at a restaurant I think "what will I want to teach my little ones?"

So far, it's been very helpful. I'm not perfect by any means. But I'm doing better and better every day. It's good to have something outside of myself to motivate me in this, because the scale isn't impressing me right now and since I live in my body it's hard to notice the small changes that happen slowly. But as an added bonus, my husband is noticing that my body is starting to shape up and slim down a little! And since he's the kind of guy who doesn't even know what kind of clothes I own - even though I wear the same outfits every week and spend all day with him - for him to notice means there must be a big improvement!