The Fitness Update You Weren't Expecting

I told you guys several weeks ago I'd get a body update to you soon... So here it is! (Ha...ha). 

However, this one is a little different from what you're probably used to, for I'm not talking about weight I've lost today. I'm putting it all out there, something you're probably used to already, and going in the opposite direction: weight gain. It happens to ALL of us at some point in our lives. And it also happens to all of us at some point in our journeys. I'm not exempt from it. 

This is me admitting that it's happened to me recently. From the beginning of July to early August, I gained about 10 pounds. I've put on 18 pounds since my lowest weight in mid-February. 

Go ahead; let is sink in. And enjoy this picture of me when I was nearly twenty pounds lighter in earlier this year (eye roll).

I can't write a lifestyle and fitness blog and avoid talking about the setbacks, especially when they happen to me. I can't be the blogger who pretends it's all good, when really, I've been riding the struggle bus. That's not who I am, and I feel like you all know that. 

I'd been avoiding the scale, refusing to weigh, and just telling myself I would start eating well again, taking my vitamins, and I'd weigh in a couple weeks and never even know the whole spill happened. 

But I kept making unhealthy decisions, telling myself "tomorrow will be better... Okay Friday... Okay I'm starting Monday for sure!"

Does this sound familiar?? 

My friend Chelsie let me borrow this book called Skinny School (written by the same author of Wife School, which she'd let me borrow previously). Don't turn your nose up at Skinny School just yet (I don't like the word "skinny" as much as the next girl), but the whole premise of the book is to re-train the main character, Jackie's, mind to think about food in a new way. Like me, she had been using food as a coping mechanism for emotional distress pretty much her whole life. (Aside from the fact that she's a single girl, Jackie is literally me).

A genie comes (if you've read Wife School, you know about him) to take her on a course through Skinny School to teach her how to have a healthy relationship with food that's going to help her lose weight, as well as draw her closer to God. It's a funny, light-hearted read, and I love that's it's a Christian approach to weight loss and healthy habits. 

I got a lot out of reading the book... So much, in fact, that the second I finished reading it, I started all over again! I could sit and talk about this book for hours!

I've been giving in to my inner Demanding Child (Skinny School) and letting her convince me that one treat is okay. Another plate of chips and dip is okay. Another ice cream won't hurt, and so on. It's so discouraging to think back on all the times I've let her run the show lately, especially when considering all the progress I've made in the nearly 2 years it's been since having my son.

I've not completely regressed to my pre-pregnancy weight, but when I weighed last week, I saw a number I haven't seen in a year, and it was exactly what I needed to get myself back on the wagon and out of this "fat funk." Sometimes I don't concern myself with the number, but right now I have to because it's not healthy for me, at all.

I've cut down on carbs and sugar (I was overloading bad) and already feel so much better and have lost a little weight. Some people turn their nose up when I say I try to stay away from carbs and sugar, but the fact of the matter is that our bodies just don't need them, and if you're carrying around excess weight like I am (like more than half of Americans are), you would probably benefit from a carb reduction too. I'm aiming for 50 or less grams of carbohydrates a day and no more than 20 grams of sugar.


So what am I eating? All of the lean meats and veggies I want! I eat cheese and even have heavy cream in my coffee (my favorite)! Cutting carbs as a tendency to freak so many people out, but I focus more on all of the amazing things I can eat and not the ones I'm staying away from. It helps that I absolutely love vegetables; they're so good for you and yummy when roasted, pan-seared, sautéed, baked, you name it!

I hate regression, but it happens, and it happens to all of us. Health and fitness are priorities in my life though, and I'm glad that I recognized a problem creeping in before it got worse. I've amped up my workouts and am eating well and ready to continue progressing in the right direction.

Gym time for this mama!

Don't let a setback get you down because that's all it is--a setback! Get back on the wagon and focus on your goals.

Keep pushing. Love you all!