Running on Caffeine and Hope

This has been sort of my motto this last week.
I have been distracted by so many things: S-C softball, Rec softball, school, family... just a lot going on right now. So I've just been hoping for the best every day haha 

Needless to say, this last week I have had a couple big accomplishments:
1. I lost this week, for a total loss of 28.8lbs (and I'm below 220)
2. I went up in weight on the bicep track in body pump (thanks, Kim)
3. I decided to max out on squats just out of curiosity ... I was able to get 225# up for a great one-rep-max. I tried 235, but it just wasn't going anywhere. 

So that means that my squat is more than what I weigh, which is a huge accomplishment.
AND it means that I am able to back-squat heavier than high school.
My first non-scale goal was to be able to squat 200.
Done.

After a 4:00 lifting session ^^ 

My other favorite thing lately has been looking at my traps/shoulders lol
That's not weird at all, right?
I just like how I am becoming more defined and cutting weight.

Check 'em out! 

This week is going to be rough. I've already told my mentor that I know this week will be challenging.

Have a great week!! 

Never say never

"Never say never" 

If there was a picture of this idiom, it's me. 

When I was in high school I remember having a conversation with a friend that went something like this: "I will never come back and live in Sedalia. I will never be a teacher here. I won't ever coach high school softball." 

Well, whaddya know. I now do all of those things.
(Proof also that high school seniors know nothing)

I also had mantras: "I will never lose weight. I won't ever run. I will never be one of 'those people' who preps meals." 

And ya know what? I do all those things! 

"Never say never" holds a deep place in my heart. So much so, I've started saying "I will never..." just to see if it will in fact end up happen! 

This week was nearly perfect. 

I didn't eat off the plan, except for a planned meal on Saturday. 

I got to the gym every day. 

I met my step goal every day. 

My sink stayed clear. 

I prepped and cleaned my house Saturday. 

I didn't drink enough water each day (something I am still working on) 

But it really was a pretty perfect week in so many ways...

This coming week throws a new challenge at me: We start softball open fields and workouts. I plan to work out with my girls, both on the field and in the weight room. I am also working on getting teams together for my recreational division, working out some things for next year in my classroom, have to get my taxes done, and I need to get my car inspected. Anybody want to be my personal assistant? 

I just thought about how wonderful a personal assistant would be.... and how unrealistic haha 

Have a great week! 

Schedule

Here's what I've learned so far
(well, one thing)

Weight loss really depends on you being able to keep a consistent schedule. Or at least as close to the "same" as possible. The minute you throw in a different event (concert, date, friend weekend, school function, death of a loved one, etc.) it gets harder.

So this last week I had a lot of different events that I had to try to contend with. I tried to stay as close to my plan as possible without totally ruining the work I've been doing.
Needless to say, this week my meal plan was not perfect, and neither was my fitness. 

I've also learned to not beat myself up about things. Some of my days are just too full to cram in a workout. And sometimes the meal plan doesn't get followed perfectly to a T. And I have to be okay with that and know that just because I drank a beer (or three) doesn't mean that I won't still be successful in the long-run.
So, last week was rough but this week will be better - even though I already know there will be some different events :) 

My very favorite Bible verse 

So even though this week has been crazy, at our meeting on Thursday my nutrition/fitness coach was giving us our presentation (about meal prep and things we could do with our food to make it more interesting and good) ... since I knew she was going to be there, I wanted to take a re-take of our picture that we took at the beginning. 

It's not much, but it's a start. Since the beginning of January I have lost 21lbs and over 20 inches. That is motivational! 

Really that's all I've got for this week. I still have to meal prep and losing an hour in this day doesn't help that!

Have a great week!!

Comparison

  I have been thinking a lot about comparison lately. I remember this quote that says "Comparison is the thief of joy." And it's so true! The more you compare, the less joy you are going to have. But then, I found this quote today, and thought it appropriate to share: 

Within life, we are all going down the path of life, but we are all doing it differently!
Within Healthy U, we are all on this journey to become more healthy versions of ourselves, but we are all going about it at different speeds, for different reasons, but with the same goal. 

Comparing anything is so subjective and rarely productive. 

ESPECIALLY things that don't have quantitative properties.
We can talk about how much weight we've lost or how many inches, but to compare progress really doesn't work. There is so much that each different person is dealing with other than this program: work, school, co-workers, family, and just life in general.

And this doesn't just apply to Healthy U .... It's life. When we start to compare whatever we're doing or struggling with against whatever someone else is dealing with, it negates all the work we've done on ourselves. 

The Columns of MIZZOU

Phew! Enough of that... this weekend was AMAZING! I got to spend it with two (well, really four) of my best friends. 

I went with my friend Jeff to listen to a speaker during one of his classes on the MIZZOU campus.

The ELPA crew, myself, other guests and Doctors Whitaker and Steve Grunert, Authors of School Culture Rewired.

After that talk was done (which was a GREAT experience!) I went with Jeff's wife, my good friend Megan, to Paint the Town Columbia and we created some masterpieces: 

Our group of friends has an affinity for pineapples. I won't get into the whole story, but we'll just say that pineapples are pretty special. 

One of my favorite quotes^^

Then, we got to go and visit our friends Phil and Jess and their twin boys! I'm pretty sure these are both pictures of William (I think) but either way, a lot of baby holding happened!

I hope everyone has a great week! This week starts our Couch to 5K program! I HATE running just as a general rule, so it will be a nice challenge. 

REMEMBER