Christy: Week 8

I have finally hit a plateau...at least for this week. I don't have anything to explain why but I did not lose any weight this week. I held to my weekly workout goals of getting to the gym 5 days this week and one of those days I met my running goal of going 2.5 miles without stopping. On another occasion I upped my running pace to see how challenging it would be. I brougth back lunges and maintained the weightlifting Wednesdays. There was no slacking in the exercise department! 

As for my diet, other than scaling back portion sizes and eliminating major calorie consuming foods such as fast foods, certain desserts, and caloric beverages...I have not drastically made any changes. I am wondering if it is time to rethink the diet strategy? I am going to give my usual routine/plan one more week and allow myself some time to figure out my next steps if my weight remains stagnant. Things I am thinking about include reducing my carbs & increasing my veggies. I do good in the fruit & protein department but may need to tweak the latter.

This coming week I plan to incorporate more sleep...used to go to be at 9pm but it's been creeping back up to 11pm with a couple late nights out with the girls! I gotta get serious...it's crunch time! I am also continuing to take my multi vitamin which I must say, has had a positive impact on my finger nails. They have not been as strong & grow so quickly in years as they have these past 3-4 weeks!

Since I can no longer work out in the mornings, I may just have to take my son into the gym 3 days this coming week. He does enjoy being there but it feels selfish to me to put him there so often. Just this week wont hurt & maybe I'll treat the kids to swimming after school as an added way to burn off a few calories!

While I am bummed that I did not see the scale move this week, I am trying to keep this journey in perspective. Technically, I've lost a total of 20 lbs! This amazes me on many levels. While I know my body has changed (by evidence of how my clothes feel and what my body is able to now do-like run 2.5 miles at one time) there are times when I look at myself and see no difference at all! Now that can be discouraging!  Maybe this is why I am focused on the "numbers" at least at this point my journey. The numbers do not lie even when my mind plays tricks on me!  The work is paying off and some weeks will be better than others. I am going to view this week as one where my body was just pausing to get used to being where it's at.  Sometimes it's good to just pause and be thankful for where we are at in the moment.

I have no regrets this week. Of course I could have changed doing this or that however, I lived this past week somewhat responsible in terms of not going crazy with food and sticking to my exercise goals. I had my share of fun without going over board.  I do wonder how much stress may have played a role this week as I've definitely had more of that this week than usual!  Interested to see what changes or ah-ha moments next week will bring!