Slow and Steady

This whole Healthy U process has only been going on for about a month, but I have already learned so many things and made so many changes.

I've been asking myself "Why was this so hard before?"
Well... for one, I know that I am being held accountable not just to my team but also to my coach and the community. I want to do well for everyone invested!

So far, I think I have re-trained my brain in some aspects of life.
I prep my meals each week for the week ahead. Because I have a plan (not calling it a diet) I know what I am eating and when I am eating it. And because I have this plan and meals prepped, it takes away the guessing work for food for the week. I can now focus on other areas of my life because I have food simplified. {I feel like I've said that before, but it was worth repeating.}

Fridge Stocked for the Week! 

This week, I have mixed things up just a tad. I put my veggies into a broth, to eat like a soup. And I've eaten it so far where I just add my meat to the broth and make it a meal! It's yummy and filling :)

I've also taken my "lunch" meal and done 5/7 days of cottage cheese and 2/7 days tuna. That gets in some seafood for the week.

So far during this process I have lost 14lbs and I've lost a little over 19 inches total.

But the real gains have been in my bank account. Now that I am prepping meals for the week and have taken the guess-work out of it all, I am not wasting food.
In the past, I would have gone to the store and bought all my "healthy" foods for the week. Then, on the way home I would have stopped through the drive-thru. When I got home, I would have put away my food and then scarffed down my Large Value Meal and not even been satisfied. So I would have picked out the "easy" foods and snacked on them!

I was doing a crappy job of using what I had: Because I didn't prep meals, each night would become "oh, I'll just swing by (insert fast food location) and it will be warm.." And then a lot of my "healthy" foods I had bought would go to waste.

I would spend $100+ on food at the store for the week and then throughout the week, spend another $100+ on eating out as well not to mention lunches ($2.50 for a school lunch <yuck!>). So wasteful.

That has been a motivator in itself, to save that money to spend it on something fun!

The gym was a bit of a struggle for me this past week, and by that I mean that I didn't get in to the gym every day. I *try* to get to the gym each morning. If I'm there by 3:30AM then I get my workout in before 4:30 and can be home and in the shower by 5AM ... which is perfect for me.

Me. At the Gym. At 4ishAM... It's nice and quiet!! 

BUT sometimes that doesn't work out.
So I've been also going in in the afternoons somedays to make up for not getting in in the morning. Afternoons means a class (Body Pump or Turbo Kick) I love classes. They provide a group atmosphere and are fun!

I have had to speak some truth to myself lately as well. First of all, slow progress is still progress. I haven't seen the scale go down in quite a few years so anything that is less than it previously was is good.
Next, I didn't put all this weight on over night or even in a month... it's taken years. So it is going to take a while to get it off. And I am finally in a headspace to allow myself to do it.
And also... I have learned that I am going to make mistakes. I am going to eat something that wasn't on the plan. Or miss a day's workout. I am not on "the Biggest Loser" and I can't expect their results. I can expect the results that are right for my body.

And remember...