Still Plugging Along

Last week went well, it wasn't as good as week 1, but I was pretty happy with how it went. Real life happens and I don't expect perfection, but its progress. This past weekend we went on a little family vacation. It was really fun! My eating was terrible, as it usually is on vacation, but I didn't worry about it a lot, I tried to just enjoy our time together as a family. We stayed super busy! Tubing, movies, Olympic museum, playing in the snow, bowling, ice castles...we did everything we could think of!

I didn't weigh-in when we got back. I didn't want to feel down on myself, I need time to just live life and learn how to bounce back from that. I went right back to being on track yesterday and I'll do my best this week and weigh-in on Friday and see whats happening. I pushed myself hard in my workout yesterday and it felt good to step it up.

Stacey and I talked and decided our main focus for this year will be body composition. I will still do some races, I will still do a ride for JDRF (registration starts today, yippee!!), but I don't want the focus of my year to be the races. I've always counted on those finish lines to keep me motivated and moving, and they work well for me, but I also want to learn how to motivate myself, and how to feel accomplished by better fitting clothes rather than a finish time. I really want to be comfortable in my skin and in my clothes again, its really important to me, so I need to focus on that as much as I can and trust Stacey to help me get there. I want to lean up, get strong, and find me again! My emotions are always all over the map about myself, but today, I'm ready to embrace where I am and look forward to where I can go.

Week 1- 2016

January 1- Tough, tough workout today! Stacey wrote me a plan for the end of December and then another plan for the beginning part of January, so I jumped onto the new plan today. Phew, I think she's trying to kill me! My diet today...i'd give it about a 5/10. I forgot to eat breakfast, I ate a good lunch, and ok snack, and a crappy dinner... not a good progression for the day. But oh well, tomorrow is a new day, and at least I kicked my own butt this morning. :) I've done lots water with my water intake today, so that's a good thing at least! Taking it a day at a time...

January 2-  Today was more about getting our house in order. I had a primary activity this morning with the kids, and then we came home and Ryan and I tackled the laundry, big time! We did ALL the kids laundry, all of our laundry, AND I cleaned out my closet, the dresser, and my exercise clothes! I still have some work to do to finish things up, but I'm pretty much done! Woohoo! But, that left no time for a workout so far. My diet...I'll give it a 7/10. Still not fantastic, but better than yesterday.

January 3- Sunday. Rest day. I love Sunday.

January 4- Leg Day. Ouchie. I hate leg day, but I know its good for me. :) And I did great on my eating today! yay! I'm sure it wouldn't be perfect in some peoples opinion, but for me it was a fantastic day and I'm very happy with it.

January 5- Easy swim day. 1/2 Mile completed at the LifeTime Pool. My stomach was pretty upset today, which made me feel lousy, but it also helped me keep my eating really good. Another great food day. yay!

January 6- Wednesdays are always cycle days, but Stacey and I decided that with my stomach issues, and dealing with some dehydration that I should probably take it a little easier. I finally got Santiago (my beloved bike) on my trainer and did a nice easy ride at home. I was having some issues with my bike trainer, so it wasn't the most effective workout, but it was something, I'm glad I got moving at least. Another great eating day, i'm on a roll!

January 7- Went to work early and swam laps again. Did 3/4 of a mile today. At least I went a little farther. :) Making progress! I ate really well today in prep for a dinner I knew would be off plan. Our friends brought over pizza and I enjoyed it but didn't go overboard. yay!

January 8- Weigh-in day. Drumroll please! Down 3.2 pounds! Woohoo! All the struggle was worth it. Phew! Let's hope I can keep the ball rolling.

Goals!

Here is my starting point:

Measurements:
Weight: 172.0
Abs: 34.5"
Waist (at belly button): 37.25"
Hips: 41"
R Thigh: 24"
R Bicep: 12.5"

Its hard to post all that! Its hard to be vulnerable. But, everyone starts somewhere. And this is my starting point for 2016. Its not square one, its just a few steps back from where I've been before. So I can do this!

Here are the fitness related goals I know I want to set for this year:

1) Another JDRF ride. I'm not sure where we are headed this year, and I'm not sure how many miles we will do, but Ryan and I will tackle it again together. This has become an important part of my life and I don't see that changing any time soon.

2) Stay active. Swimming, Biking, Running, Lifting. I want to do it all, but in a balanced way. I want it to include my family when possible and be something I love, not something I dread, and not something that takes over my entire life either. Its possible to do that and be very fit! I know it is! (I am shooting for another strong performance at the Larson Cup, so this will all help too!)

3) Conquer my running demons. I've come a long way with running. I've given up more times than I can count, but I always come back to it, because I don't want it to beat me! I have always said my goal is a half marathon, and I would love to tackle that some day, if its in the cards. But for now, I just want to slowly work on my strength and distance and get back to where I enjoy going to a run now and then. I've been running a little here and there and I'm not hating it! And my body is handling it ok, so I want to stay on that path and get more miles in this year. I may not get to the half this year, and that's ok, but I'd love to work towards it. My biggest running goal of the year for now is to be able to run stronger at the Larson Cup this year. I've been doing a lot of hip strengthening work to help my running form with the hopes that that will help me reach my goal injury free this time.

4) Get back to a healthy, maintainable weight for me. I long ago gave up on my "ideal" weight according to all the charts. I have never been able to get there, and I don't think I want to, because to get there would require too much sacrifice, and probably less muscle mass, and I'm not ok with that! Last year I got down to about 148/150 and I really liked my body and felt like I was strong and healthy. I would love to be 140-150 somewhere during 2016. I don't expect to hit a goal and stay there forever, I know there will be ups and downs, but that range is a good one for my body, so that's what I'm aiming for.

5) Learn to better love myself despite the ups and downs. I'm pretty darn good at beating myself up. I've always been my own worst critic, as most of us are. I set goals and then get so frustrated with myself when I'm not perfect at them. Well, guess what Diane? No one is perfect. I can do better, but I will fail sometimes, and that's ok! Whether i'm up 20 pounds or down to my goal, there will always be things to work on, and that's ok too. I need to work on loving the journey i've been given.