Catching Up!

Hey there! I missed blogging the past few days because I was working and well... a little emotionally tired. People can be brutal.

I'm bummed to report that I missed my workouts on Thursday and Friday of last week. But I did keep my meals clean and portions small. I've been really proud of myself for not snacking during the day and in the evening-which is always the hardest time for me. Have I shared my love of Nutella with you?! I didn't lose any weight this week, but didn't gain any either! I'm happy with that result because even though the scale didn't go down, my body feels tighter and I can see that my stomach is flatter. Yippee! I definitely attribute a flatter stomach not only to doing the core exercises on Tracy's video, but especially to the foods I've been eating. I see that to be the biggest result producer.

I wanted to show you the size of my salad and grilled fish as it came to the table for lunch. It was a large plate and the salad was quite high & dense although you can't tell in this pic.

This is how much I ate. I normally would have eaten a little more fish (I was full) and ate 3/4 of my salad. Again, this picture doesn't reflect the height and density of the salad well, but you get the picture. I also drank a kale veggie juice before my food arrived which filled me up. This gives you an idea of eating smaller portions throughout the day instead of a big meal. I took the rest home for that 4pm snack.

I worked out Saturday morning- yes, I did the cardio video too, and I'm getting used to it! I'm over feeling silly, and learning to get into the moves. It makes a difference when you know them enough not to feel self conscious about doing them and can then be purposeful about each one. I also decided to turn her music off and turn on my own playlist. (The only bummer is if I do it early in the morning and my household is still sleeping, I have to use headphones. We live in a modest 1600 sq ft home, so I don't have any extra rooms to designate for exercise. The hardwood living room floor it is!) Playing music I like definitely makes it more fun and time goes by faster! I will tell you as I've continued to do the videos, they are getting harder even though I'm doing the same thing. I thought the first day was a breeze, now I'm barely getting through them! My muscles are sore, and I see how her method is working. I like it.

I also went to my cousin's wedding Saturday night and got in another major workout! If you didn't already know, I'm a wedding dancer. Seriously. I feel most comfortable dancing at weddings, love the music and if my extended family is there like aunts, uncles and cousins, sisters, mom and dad..... I'm a wild woman!! A family wedding is my ULTIMATE DANCE NIGHT! I'm not kidding. I danced for over an hour straight, non-stop and I'm talking jumping up and down, kicking, flailing, bouncing,  you name it! I actually took all my own moves and incorporated Tracy's moves and totally went for it. It was the craziest, best night of dancing and all I could think of was that I just got in the best 2nd workout of the day! And I realized that's how Tracy wants us to do her video. And since I had such a great 2nd workout, you know I ate a whole piece of wedding cake. I love dessert, what can I say?

I want to encourage you to start your morning in prayer. I know the secret to my success is offering up my prayers and petitions to the Lord each day. I ask Him to help me make good decisions, nudge me through the Holy Spirit to stay on track, exercise willpower, and stay motivated. My desire for craving sweets and wanting to overeat or eat poorly have really decreased the last few weeks. And I know those results are through the power of prayer. The hardest part is just to start. Once you start feeling even a slight improvement, it gives you the motivation to keep going. So keep going! Start your day off right and read the Word. That's how you connect to God.