Goal Evaluation

Hey all!

Things are going great!  My goal for June was to end the month at 188 (started at 192).  Well...yesterday I weighed 187.8.  And I still have today and tomorrow to lose a lil more!  It's been a long time since I was losing consistently like this.

Here's what I think is impacting that:

Food: 

 - eating veggies with every meal, including breakfast
 - limiting dried fruit
 - continuing a Whole 30 lifestyle (click on Whole 9 Life for more info or read past blogs)
 - Food not being the focus of all things in my life, though I still consider myself a "foodie."

Exercise:

 - lifting weights 3x/week
 - running/HIIT training a few times a week
 - NOT working out every day

Wait...did I just say NOT working out every day?  Well, yes, I did.  I'm exploring a new thought process (for me) around exercise and activity.  Researching, pondering, and trying things out.

I've come to realize my weight lifting 3x/week is non negotiable.  I've seen more fat loss and muscle definition from doing that than any of the many miles I've run in the last 3 years.

Don't get me wrong, I still love to run.  But I don't feel I need to do it every day to affect my weight loss positively like I used to.  In fact, I wonder if in the past, too much cardio was getting in the way of my goals (along with not eating the right foods of course...).

That said, I'm rethinking the half marathon thing.  I know I could do it, but not sure I want to.  Right now I'm battling my IT Band Syndrome which is a pain in the knee.  It's not terrible, but it takes alot of work (foam rolling every day which is painful by the way) and then unpredictable results - sometimes I run 3 miles with no problem, other times I have to stop and walk - no choice, the pain is that bad, and I'm literally limping home.  It will resolve eventually, I fully believe that.  But it has really caused me to seriously reconsider what my goals are, and make sure my goals are MY goals and will be for MY maximum benefit not what everyone thinks I should do, continue, or focus on.

Yeah, it's all about me. haha.

And my goal of running a half marathon seriously pales in comparison to my goal of reaching my desired healthy weight.

I've been working on that longer than I've been a runner (hello, my whole life?).

Again, don't want you to think I think running is bad, I don't, in fact, I LOVE it.  It makes me feel so strong, so accomplished.  I might still train for a 10k here and there as I love the 6.2 mile distance.  But I only want to do races that I would love (like the magical beautiful 10k down the mountain in Frisco, CO I did last year), or local races to support causes I believe in.  Not just to hit certain speed goals or to win medals.  I have proven I will never be fast enough to place, and I'm not overly competitive so that is completely fine with me.  I may even decide I really want to do a half someday.  Just not this year.

This year my goal is simple.  Reach my weight loss/health goal.

I've already achieved a HUGE goal this year.  Figured out how to eat to live, finally!  It seems kind of crazy how solid my eating habits are.  I feel incredible, completely at peace with how I eat, and I actually don't think about food all the time like I used to.  I love what I eat, but I am enjoying the company and conversation over a meal much more than the food itself.  The food just brings us together.

Sigh.  Huge amazingness.

Here's a few pics of my food this week.

Bunless Grass Fed Beef burger at Green Truck Pub in Savannah, GA.  It had goat cheese and a peach compote on top.  (neither of those items are W30 approved but I'm cool with that).  Holy amazing flavors! Love love loved it!  On the side was a beautiful salad with apple, spiced pecans and walnuts and my own olive oil.  So good!  I ate there twice this week while traveling for work.  :)

I made this myself for lunch earlier this week.  Diced fresh cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, avocado (not pictured, added after lol), homemade chicken salad with curry, cayenne, sea salt and then topped with beautiful pecans.  So fresh and good!

We had a couple over for dinner last night.  Stephen grilled wings and chicken breast, and I made baked potatoes (baked a sweet potato for me), bacon wrapped dates (SO yum!), snap peas with toasted coconut and toasted almonds and they ate corn on the cob (not even tempting for me).  Had fruit salad for dessert with whipped cream for them (plain for me).

That's the kind of food that is making me LOVE summer!  And you can have people over without crashing your own plans.  It's all about priorities, decisions and follow through.

So there you have it, my rant for the week.  Thinking over my July goal and I am leaning towards 182 which is another 5 lbs.  A bit of a stretch, but that will make it fun.  And I lost 5 this month so...

Off I go! Have a great weekend and make lasting choices for yourself!

Clara