Friday Favorites

Introducing a post is hard! I've attempted two and they both sucked so now I'm just telling you how bad I am at it. I don't know how those that are really good at it do it. I must learn their ways!

Anyways, it's Friday so I'm going to share my Friday Favorites with Meet @ the Barre.

+ I managed to finally send a thank you card to my bestie for the week long vacation I took to see her back at the end of April/beginning of May. Her and her husband ended up buying me an unexpected dinner while I was there {we left in a hurry so the waitress didn't split the bill} so I sent along a gift card so they could have dinner on me some night. I killed two birds with one stone and made it a twofer thank you because she had sent me a birthday card with two gift cards. At least one of the two thank yous came in a timely manner. {It's something I'm working on.}

+ I took a step outside my comfort zone at work this week. I'm not going to say much more than that right now. You're probably wondering why I'm even mentioning it then but I'm really proud of myself for doing this regardless of the outcome so I wanted to share. I promise I'll stick with blogging on a regular basis long enough to come back with a report of how things turn out. {Anyone remember the last time I mentioned a secret and then didn't come back to share the good news? It was about getting my own place. Oops!}

+ Nights that cool down in the summer enough to make opening my bedroom window worth it. Knock on wood we haven't been having a crazy humid summer so far so while it reaches the high 70's/low 80's it's tolerable to be outside. Last night was the first night in a while I slept with my window open and it was glorious! So much cooler than being locked up tight.

+ Reconnecting with friends always makes my heart happy. Kelley from One Hot Southern Mess is getting back into her blogging groove and we've been catching up this week via text. I've missed this woman! It's never fun to realize that a friendship kind of fizzled out and you don't really talk any more. But the great thing is we've picked up where we left off. {At least I think so!}

+ Ordering Chinese food is always a favorite of mine. We're crossing our fingers at work that we've found a place that will deliver to us. If we have, I'm going to be a happy woman and I'll be happy dancing all day.

+ Pedicures with my momma. We have an appointment for tomorrow morning. :)

And one last favorite before I end this so I can get ready for work, blogging. As much as I'm terrible at it {super inconsistent if you haven't noticed} I really do love it. I have a place to share my thoughts and about the good and the bad in my life. And probably the best part, connecting with women that I would never have connected with otherwise. I've become friends with some pretty awesome ladies that I've never met thanks to blogging. It doesn't get much better than that.

Enjoy your weekend! Have fun and be safe my friends.

What's a favorite of yours this week?

Influenster: Go Vox Box

About a month ago I was lucky enough to receive the Go Vox Box from Influenster. Not sure what that means? In a nutshell I was selected to receive a box full of goodies for free to try them out. If you want to know more ask me. I can even send you an invite if you want to get in on the fun!

The PROFOOT Triad Orthotic you see up there I put into the Nike shoes I wear for every day stuff when I'm not wearing flip flops or sandals. {Now that summer is here that isn't very often at all.} I thought they gave a little extra cushioning to my feet and were comfortable to wear all day. Only thing is I think I could have used a slightly bigger insert because it was supposed to cushion the balls of my feet and it seemed like it was stopping just short of mine. Other than that I really have no complaints but I didn't wear them enough to really notice a difference in my body. {They're supposed to help with knee, leg or back pain.}

I've been meaning to give the PROFOOT Pedi-Rock a try but just haven't gotten around to it. I want to try it out in the shower after my feet have had some time to soften up but every time I remember it's sitting on my dining table after I'm in the shower. It seems like a great way to keep the feet looking great in between pedicures so I'm definitely going to give it a shot some day!

On that same note, the Aqua Spa Relax Bath Soak that I got is another item that I've been meaning to try but just haven't gotten around to it. I haven't soaked in a bath since I had chicken pox in elementary school. Maybe this weekend after I get a corkscrew to open that new bottle of wine I bought I'll have a glass and a soak.

The Playtex Sport Fresh Balance tampons were alright. Honestly, as long as we're talking plastic applicators {which it has} I don't really notice much of a difference between different brands. It did it's job and that's all that matters really.

I've never been a big fan of eating nuts and the only kind I really do snack on every once in a great while are honey roasted peanuts. That being said, the Blue Diamond Fruit Flavored Almonds {blueberry in my case} have gone unopened. I will probably give them to my mom as she does like almonds and maybe I'll try one or two. I'm not a fan of blueberries either so I really don't expect to like them but I'm okay with being pleasantly surprised.

Ah the Muller Greek Yogurt another item that I wasn't worried about trying right away {and still haven't}. I absolutely love the idea of yogurt, a healthy snack that can even serve as a cool treat in the summer or dessert when craving something sweet. That being said, my taste buds just do not like yogurt. I've tried different brands over the years and nothing changes it. I even tried to make myself eat a container once because of a UTI I had and it was recommended by the doctor. It didn't work out so well. The more I tried to eat it the more I hated it. Again, I'll probably give the coupon to my mom to give it a try. She's been stocking yogurt in her fridge for herself and my brother to snack on. Maybe they'll find a new brand they'll like.

And finally we get to The Vitamin Shoppe Next Step shakes. My first attempt with almond milk {first time trying that too} on the left came out really chunky. I learned though that it just takes a lot more shaking because my last attempt on the right came out much better. I hardly drank any of the berry mix due to the chunks and I drank most of the chocolate mix. This was my first time trying any sort of mix like this so I don't have anything to compare it to but I found even when well mixed there was a funny after taste. I also tried mixing the french vanilla flavor with cold water as the packet instructed. That did absolutely nothing for me. Again it tasted okay as I was drinking it but then that after taste it and I thought it was worse with water than with the almond milk. Is this just me or do other people notice this too?

Overall I was really please with the items I received. Maybe if I wasn't so gosh darn picky when it comes to what I eat I would have some new favorite snack items. Can't wait until my next vox box!

Recommitting

Look who finally showed up for class! Yay me!

As usual I don't have a lot of time because I was resistant to getting out of bed despite all of the things I wanted to do this morning so I'll keep this short and sweet.

Since my last post I celebrated my 24th year of life {a week ago} and have thoroughly messed up my comeback. I'm talking back to drinking a crap ton of Mountain Dew and no water, not giving a shit about what I'm eating, and being the biggest couch potato ever. Just to get it over with, here's my weigh in.

SW: 207.7
June 11 Weigh In: 204.6
Today's Weigh In: 207.7
Overall Loss: 0

I'm back at the beginning again which is super frustrating but really what did I expect when I just let it all go? The awesome thing is, I can start over as many times as I want/need to. I signed a contract with myself saying I WILL succeed, I CAN do this, and that I AM worth it. So I am not giving up.

Before I leave you guys I want to share a link to this post by the beautiful Ashten from Always Ashten. I relate in so many ways to looking at my workouts as fitness rather than my lifestyle. Workouts to me are about losing weight, "looking hot", and making the size of clothing I need go down. After reading her post I've decided that going forward I'm going to do my best to look at it as part of my lifestyle instead. It's just part of what I [will] do in my every day routine. That's exactly what it should be because as my weigh in proved today if I give up the good habits and revert back to my nasty old ones I will pack on the pounds again.

I have no goal date in mind for when I want to reach my goal weight. I'm on this journey for the long haul here people. However long it takes, it takes. This is me recommitting to that contract I signed with myself.

Did you struggle with having to start your journey over?

When it finally stuck what changed for you?

Feeling Off

It's really late in the day to be posting, like 10pm late. But despite feeling off all day, not sure if I'm getting sick or just not handling Mother Nature's lovely visit {to tell me what I already know} very well, I didn't want to miss recording a weigh in. Especially since I took the time to step on the scale when I almost didn't.

SW: 207.7

Last Week's Weigh In: 204.6

Today's Weigh In: 204.6

Overall Loss: 3.1

Holding steady is alright with me. As long as I'm not taking huge steps backwards I'm okay with whatever the scale has to tell me. I'm thankful that while I don't particularly like what the scale has to tell me right now I'm not obsessed with the number on the scale and it usually doesn't affect me emotionally a whole lot. So I know how I felt today wasn't a result of not seeing results on the scale.

Hopefully tomorrow is a better day and I feel more like my usual self. The bright side is we're over half way through the week so I only have two days to make it through at work before I can go home and enjoy more time with my family and my main guy Bo.

Motivation vs Determination

Last week I shared my plan for making my comeback to a healthy lifestyle. Getting started again is always the hardest but I know thanks to that plan that I have everything in place to succeed. Now I'm at step five, do it. Just doing what needs to get done is something I struggle with immensely. Setting goals helps me focus on one week at a time rather than the big picture and becoming overwhelmed. And thanks to Carolyn I even have a link up to help me along with my goal setting.

The three goals from last week...

1. 100oz a day. Wednesday and Thursday I killed it. Friday I caved and bought a can of Dew from the vending machine and that just knocked me off of my game. And Saturday and Sunday, you know the dreaded {when it comes to healthy choices} weekend, I only managed 20oz. I need to work on my determination to achieve this goal to not let silly little things stop me.

2. Two workouts. Woof. I ran Wednesday night for the first time in over a month, and on National Running Day woohoo. But after that I was a lazy bum. I kept putting it off by telling myself I would do it tomorrow. That didn't work out so well.

3. Make Santa Fe Chicken. Double woof. Again, I was a lazy bum and didn't get this done. I thought about it a lot but never just fully committed to getting it done.

Looking back at last week I learned that I need to really commit to achieving my goals. I start off strong with motivation right after setting goals but as that pumped up feeling fades so does my drive to make things happen.

Moving on to this week's goals.

1. 100oz a day. I know I can do this. I'm going to bribe myself a bit this week. I can only have a can of Dew after I've consumed those 100oz of water for the day. Seeing as I don't have any Dew in my apartment I'm going  to have to buckle down and reach that 100oz mark while I'm still at work to grab a can from the vending machine at work if I really want that Dew.

2. Three workouts. Last week I didn't set my goals until Wednesday so I gave myself a break. But not this week. It's time to suck it up and get shit done. I need to work out.

3. Make the damn chicken! No more pushing this off. It's a great recipe and I know I enjoy it so why not let myself have a good meal to choose from every day in my fridge? And when it cooks in the crock pot there is no reason why a lazy bum like myself can't get it done.

4. Clean the apartment. I've been meaning to do this for a while now but I keep putting it off. No more. I don't care if it takes me doing something every night this week but I will get my place cleaned up and looking good.

My motivation is high right now to accomplish my goals so I'll be putting that to good use but the real test will be when my motivation is low and it's time for that determination to kick in. I'm shooting for 4 out of 4 goals accomplished this week.

What are your goals for the week?

My Comeback

Can you believe it's June already? I can't. May just seemed to fly by. In fact the whole first half of this year has just been flying by. Before this next month and the remaining half of the year are over it's time for me to make my comeback.

I let my vacation derail me from my weight loss and fitness goals. Jessi wrote a post all about making a comeback that I'm finally going to put into action. So here we go, I'm going to put Jessi's five steps for making a comeback into action right here so you all can help keep me accountable and when I'm doubting myself or feeling lazy I can come back here and remember everything I said I would do.

Step one: decide to succeed. Consider this blog post the contract that I am signing with myself that says "I WILL succeed. I CAN do this. I AM worth it."

Step two: Realize that you don't need a miracle, you just need a plan. So many times in the past I have thought I needed a miracle because there couldn't be any other way I could lose the weight. Or I was always thinking there would be this miracle moment {moving into my own place} when everything would just magically click with me. But thanks to Jessi and Carolyn I'm beginning to learn that it won't take a miracle. It only takes me making a plan and sticking to it. This is my plan: weekly goals, meal planning, workouts, no less than 64oz of water a day. It's not a very detailed plan at this point but it's the foundation that I can build on. Potentially I'll be getting a 7 Day Jumpstart from Jess at Operations Skinny Jeans which would include 7 days of coaching from her, a clean eating meal plan, daily emails that include encouragement, a workout and tips for staying on track, and a private Facebook group with other jump starters. I'll keep you posted on whether I'm chosen to try out this free trial which is starting soon.

Step three: toss the junk, introduce the healthy. I drank the last Mountain Dew that was in my apartment yesterday. I'm going to try my best to not keep it around in the apartment now to tempt me. All of the other food in my apartment is mostly healthy so I'd say I'm pretty set on tossing the junk.

Step four: enlist your helpers. All of you are my helpers. Tammy Jo, Carolyn, and Jessi especially are my helpers. These ladies are always there for me when I need some encouragement, words of wisdom, support, and just a friend to be there for me.

Step five: do it. I have everything in place now. Today begins the journey that I will be on for the rest of my life. This is not a just a journey just to reach my goal weight. This is journey to change my life to a healthy one. Now it's time to just do the damn thing. Watch out world. :)

I know this post has gotten pretty lengthy already but it's Wednesday so I've got to share my weigh in. And really it goes hand in hand with this post anyways. This is where I'm starting from...

SW: 207.7

May 28th Weigh In: 204.4

Today's Weigh In: 204.6

Gain: 0.2

Overall Loss: 3.1

One more thing real quick before I end this post, three goals I'll be working towards achieving today through Sunday.

1. 100ozAday. I've slacked a lot with my water intake lately. No more. I need to be drinking water not empty calorie sugary beverages. I have yet to make 100oz happen on a Saturday or a Sunday but there's a first time for everything.

2. Two workouts. The weather forecast is looking gorgeous these next couple of days so I fully intend on taking advantage of it by getting outside and moving my body. I would like to make one of these workouts a run since it's been over a month since my last one. The second workout can be another run, a workout DVD, a walk...whatever. I just really want to get back on the fitness wagon any way that I can.

3. Make Santa Fe Chicken. I bought all of the ingredients to make Skinny Taste's Santa Fe Chicken but have been too lazy to make it yet. I don't know how much lazier I can be considering I make it in the crock pot and the most work comes from shredding the chicken after it's cooked. Must make real food this week!

Now I'm done. I swear. :)