We're back on the bandwagon!

We're back on the bandwagon!

So I'm pretty proud of myself! I ended 2019 and began the new year running running five days a week! This is something that I struggled with doing since leaving the hotel and coming back home. I think the next week (can’t remember for sure - I may have started the same week with JM but for some reason I don’t think so), I started doing Jillian’s Lift and Shred. I did Level 1 and Level 2 twice a week, taking the weekends and Wednesday off. I noticed that I really didn’t feel like I had a lot of core strength, so I switched it up again, and my current schedule is 5 days running, and five days Jillian. On Monday and Friday, I do Lift and Shred Level 1. On Wednesdays, I do Level 2 of L&S. And on Tuesday and Thursday, I do two different Jillian DVDs but make it one workout that’s about 35 minutes long. Jillian has two 10 Minute Workout DVD’s, a first and second edition. In the 10-minute workout DVDs, there are five 10 minute workouts, plus  a warm up and cool down. There's a wide variety of workouts on each of these DVDs, but plenty for a quick and effective workout. On the first edition, if I’m remembering correctly, there is a Pilates inspired workout, a kickboxing workout, a bodyweight/animal style, calisthenics, and booty workout, each around 10 minutes long. The DVD also includes a warm up and cool down. In the second edition, there is a super intense cardio session, a lifting workout, yoga, hard core, and another one that I'm completely forgetting, with warm up and cool down. So at the bare minumum, you’re working out for ten minutes, or you could do every workout on the DVD and get a good all around workout just under an hour of time. For me, I like to do each of the core inspired workouts. So if I start off with the first edition, I do Pilates, and then one round of the kickboxing in (for 5 minutes) to get my heart rate back up, and then I switch the DVD and finish up with the second edition’s Hard Core workout. Cool down, and it’s a nice little burner for my core. If I put the second edition in, I’m doing the super intense cardio workout that’s on that one. It’s random which one I put in the DVD player and start out with.
I feel like I’ve finally gotten a part of me back. I’m noticing positive changes in my body and that makes it really easy to get back on track. Operation Floral is still a thing and I’ve noticed that my shorts are starting to fit me better now! Still a little too tight, but it’s a work in progress.
I’ve got a lot to look forward to in 2020. In April my uncle is marrying his longtime girlfriend which I'm very excited about. It’s made me feel motivated to get healthy so I can maybe wear one of my favorite dresses (rainbow dress!) that lately I’ve NOT been confident enough to wear. And with the weight I gained, it just doesn’t look good. So that’s my goal to wear my rainbow dress (or my red polkadot dress!) to my aunt and uncle’s wedding. I’m not quite sure what to expect, but I can imagine that this wedding will be like a big, fun, family event! I feel a little strange that I feel this way for someone else’s wedding but hey. It’s motivating me!
Another big motivator is that we’ve made reservations for a beach vacation! Woo hoo! It’s been 13 years since I’ve been to the beach and it’ll only be my third time seeing the ocean as it is, so I’m I am really excited! And the big kicker: last summer I bought a bikini in May. It was before I completely fell off the bandwagon, and by the time warm weather came about and it was time to wear it, I just couldn’t put it on. I was totally not confident. This bathing suit top still has the tags on it!! But my goal is to make that change this year. The tags are coming off and that swim suit is going to be on my body while my body is at the beach this year. It’s my hope that I won’t have to buy new clothes and that I’ll be able to fit back in all my old ones.

And another big motivator: I’m going to the Alanis Morissette concert! But instead of buying two tickets - one for me and one for a family member who most likely won’t enjoy it like I do, I just bought ONE ticket. I’m going by myself (I have asked if any friends would want to meet up, but so far I haven’t had too much luck) so unless something changes, I’ll go by myself. I’m actually okay with this for the most part. I want to venture out and start doing things myself - but I want to feel confident. And that’s another big motivator.

I made a fun calendar and I truly enjoy ticking off all my workouts. I’ll share a pic soon! :) I bought dry erase board. I cut out a calendar template with my Cricut Cutter, added a cork board to hang pictures, and another empty spot where add in notes and quotes. It is really big and it will hang on my wall as soon as I get hangers. I'm going to have pictures of myself paddle boarding, encouraging notes, reminders of what I'm looking forward to, and so on. Basically it's going to have my “why” - why I'm working out and trying to stay healthy - and I'm going to see it everyday.

It's so wonderful to have this confidence again and to feel motivated again. I feel like I've found a part of me that I lost in the fire. But I feel like I'm getting a better part of me back. My first time losing this weight I never got below 162 pounds. I had my “realistic” goal weight at 150, and my “unrealistic” goal weight at 150. I never actually accepted that I never did hit my goal weight (either one). It’s like my body said, “Okay, this is it. This is the farthest I can go.” and I was sooo unhappy with that. I wanted to get to my goal so bad that I developed exercise habits, eating habits, and general self-hate habits that were definitely unhealthy and maybe verging on disordered. This time around I'm trying to be more accepting of myself and my body. I’m going to try my best and push it to the limits but not push it to the point of breaking down.

Upcoming blogs I hope to go in depth with both levels of Lift and Shred, and the two 10-minute workout DVDs. I have been doing Lift and Shred for almost two months now and I'm beginning to wonder where to go from there because I want to build on it. I am still quite intrigued by LIIFT4 from Beachbody… maybe it’s time for me to try jumping ship for a while? :)