Recap: 2023 Personal Health Goal- Part 2

Hey hey friends!! Happy Wednesday!!

Hope you are having a great week so far!!! 

Ok. So yesterday I shared about one of my goals for 2023. I had steadily gained 10 pounds over a 1.5 year period and at the beginning of 2023- I made the decision to get real with myself and lose the extra weight I had gained. 

Today, I wanted to share a little bit about my process. And as I mentioned in my post yesterday- it's NOT complicated. There is nothing earth shattering about what I did to sustainably lose 10 pounds (and keep it off). 

First and foremost- I reflected on my behavior and what had gotten me to a less healthier version of myself. 

I was under a significant amount of stress (personal matters)- but it wasn't the stress that was making me gain weight. It was how I was RESPONDING to the stress. 

I was experiencing some perimenopause symptoms- for example: extreme night sweats which lead to waking up in the middle of the night- but my interrupted sleep wasn't making me gain weight- it was how I was RESPONDING to being tired.

And no matter what I tried to tell myself- you eat healthy! this must be a gut issue! this must be because your hormones are changing! 

I came back to the facts. You gain weight when you take in more calories than your body is burning. Plain and simple. 

So I decided to get to work! I was done trying to convince myself this was not something I had control over. Because I did. I was TOTALLY in control.

I joined Jordan Syatt's Inner Circle app. I love Jordan. He is no nonsense. His information is evidence based. He is realistic. He encourages living life. He does not sell any kind of program. 

His app is amazing. I mainly became a member of the Inner Circle because I wanted to have unlimited access to all of his programming. The #1 things I used (and still do) on his app is the "consistency calendar" and the "body weight tracker." I also listen to his podcasts and you tube videos he produces. I am telling you- he is the real deal and has completely changed the way I look at weight loss, maintaining it and just being an overall healthy, well balanced individual. 

FYI: He swears A LOT. He says the F word A LOT. It doesn't bother me at all. But definitely something to be aware of :)

Using Jordan's calorie calculator for weight loss, I came up with my target number of calories that I needed to be in a deficit. You can find the calculator HERE!

Then I just got STARTED. I used that daily calorie target and tracked my food every day. 

I focused on eating at least 110-130 grams of protein every day.  My goal was to be 85-90% consistent with my nutrition goals every month.

Here's the deal friends. Tracking my food, eating nutrient dense meals and staying within a target calorie range was not a new thing for me. I have lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off for years. I knew what I needed to do!

Here's what was hard for me:

1. Being okay with not losing 10 pounds in 2 months.

2. Not throwing in the towel and saying "screw it" when the scale would fluctuate and GO UP- despite my efforts.

3. Putting a stop to all the nibbles and bites of foods- specifically sweet treats- that I had gotten accustomed to having throughout the day.

4. Stopping myself in a stressful/hard/hormonal moment when my natural tendency was to go straight for the peanut butter and graham crackers or something else in the pantry. 

Instead- I had to put in the work to identify the emotion that was triggering my desire to "numb" out- and actually PROCESS that emotion. (Pretty earth shattering, huh? HA!)

5. Being okay with SLOW progress.

I wanted to share my body weight tracker graph with you. As I have already mentioned, it took me NINE months to lose 10 pounds. As you can see in my progress graph- my weight loss literally had so many points of UP and DOWN. But look at the OVERALL trend! That is the bigger picture. And having this graph to refer to month after month, showing me that I was in fact making progress, is one of the main factors that kept me going!

SO SO TRUE- in ALL areas of life!!!

I do not have any sort of magical plan or formula to share with you. I wish I did! HA! 

I just decided I was done being a victim. 

I became okay with knowing that my hard work might not pay off immediately.

I kept on showing up every single day- even on the days I was SO done. 

I was COMMITTED. I knew I had to be pretty darn focused because the amount of weight I needed to lose was not very much- which meant I really had to be ON POINT most days of the month. 

And by the beginning of March (I started January 1)- I started to FEEL better. I started to FEEL my clothes fitting better. I started to really TRUST the process. 

And so I kept going. 

And I kept feeling better.

So I kept going. 

You get the picture ;)

And by September 2023- I had met my weight loss goal. 

And in the process, I changed in SO many ways and was feeling better and stronger than ever.

Along with weighing myself everyday and tracking that number, I also took monthly measurements. I lost a total of 3.75 total inches.

One of the biggest differences I saw was the change in my face. 

I definitely gain weight in my face!

These two pictures were taken a year apart- and I think I look great in both :) - but there is an obvious difference! 

And here is another comparison! The picture on the right was taken on my 42nd birthday and the picture on the left was taken on my 43rd birthday :)

And here I am being brave and sharing pictures of myself in a bathing suit on the big ol' scary internet. HA!

The picture on the left was taken in the summer of 2022. The picture in the middle was taken in August 2023 and the picture on the right was taken when Aaron and I were in Mexico in September 2023. I not only see physical changes in these pictures- but I also see someone who FEELS so much better- mentally and physically. I am smiling in the picture on the left- but that smile was masking A LOT.

A couple of other things I did (and have done for quite some time now) that I know were (and continue to be) helpful in achieving my weight loss goal:

- I don't drink alcohol. 

I stopped drinking alcohol long before it was cool and trendy ;) HA! 

I used to drink HEAVILY in college, graduate school and up until I met Aaron. 

Then I just gradually started drink MUCH less. 

And then once we started our family, I decided I was done drinking. 

Yes. You can totally lose weight and drink. But it does make things harder.

 

- I drink 100 ounces of water everday. Staying hydrated plays a huge role in feeling satiated and equalized. I am not a huge fan of plain water- so I love using the Tru Lemon Energy drink packets and the Stur Hydration + Electrolyte drink packets. I put one of each of those in my 32 oz. Nalgene water bottle and drink up! I have 3 "Nalgenes" a day and easily meet my water goal.

- This has nothing to do with weight loss- but it definitely affects how I FEEL. I only drink water and coffee. I have found that soda and carbonated beverages are just not super friendly with my stomach. I feel bloated and gassy when I drink them! 

- I kept/keep my meals VERY SIMPLE and REPEATED THEM OFTEN. I know that a lot of people enjoy variety in what they eat- but there is nothing wrong with eating a handful of meals on REPEAT. I also didn't (and still don't) eat what my family eats for dinner. I like to have a BIG salad + a protein for dinner. My kids do not. HA! I also do not eat any kind of dairy- which can be limiting for the rest of my crew! It is not at all a big deal for me to make my salad and then make dinner for the rest of my family.

- I had/have dessert every night. I was inspired my this protein shake- you can find it HERE.

I came up with my own version and this is my "milkshake" every night. Yes. I have this shake almost every single day! This was and still is a crucial part to my personal success. I look forward to my shake every night- and knowing that I have it planned into my day makes me not feel restricted at all when it comes to wanting to have some kind of sweet treat every night. 

At the moment- the only protein powder I use- Active Stacks- is out of stock- so I have been without my shake for over a month now. It has been brutal. HA! So recently, in place of my shake I have been having a Skinny Dipped Peanut Butter Cup or I have been having dairy free greek yogurt- doctored up with a few yummy mix ins. 

Okay. I think that's enough for today. HA!

I tried to be concise and share my thoughts in a somewhat organized matter. But sometimes what I think makes sense- may not "read" that way. You know what I mean??

What I hope you takeaway from today's post is: JUST GET STARTED.

And this is not exclusive to a health goal. This could be something else that you have been putting off- that you have been holding back on. 

We tell ourselves A LOT of stories- and A LOT of the time- they are just NOT TRUE! 

We are so strong and so capable- and we just have to take the step forward and show up. And then keep showing up every single day- especially on the days we don't want to.

Tomorrow, I am going to share a little recap of what I did to become physically stronger and what my workouts looked like all last year- and what I am currently doing in the gym.

If you follow me on Instagram- you won't be surprised at all that I am still OBSESSED with Peloton. HA!

Also- I gathered up all of my favorite "go-to" workout items and I am going to share those as well!!

Thank you for all of your support!! Please comment or email me if you have any questions about something I talked about today that you might want further clarification on! :)

Have the BEST day friends!