Challenge accepted.

Challenge accepted. I’m always up for a challenge. I love to be pushed. Having goals. Being accountable to my friends. I enjoy switching things up. It was time that I got serious again. I needed the push. The support. I needed to get back to the basics. This was exactly what I needed at this point in my journey. To stop with excuses. Stop getting lazy with what got me where I am today. To be recommitted to being healthier. stronger. happier. It was time.

Here is a little back story. On July 20, 2017 I hit goal with WW. This day. Changed everything. I finally after years of losing and gaining. Gaining and losing. I finally committed to living differently. I did it. Not perfect. Everyday living and learning this thing called maintenance. I decided to lose under goal so I had a buffer and I ended up losing over 110 pounds. I’m not sure how much I wanted to lose but losing was what I knew. After a couple of months slowly weight started creeping in. Not much. A 1.6 gain, then 5 pounds, losing 2.6, then gaining. That’s what it was maintenance. I was ok with it. Sorta.

In April I decided to join a gym with my best friend Pam. She would come to work showing me the different workouts and I wanted to see what this gym was all about. I went. I was hooked. I absolutely loved getting strong. Temple was the perfect combination with my Jazzercise. That summer I could tell my body was changing for the better. I was doing things I never imagined I could do. Bench press, box jumps, toe to bar, weighted squats, pull ups and so much more. Me? This girl. I also realized that my body needed more calories. I was hungrier than usual. It was summer time. I was snacking more to satisfy my cravings. I got a little messy with my food. Eating mindlessly. Not weighing. Measuring. No consistency. Ugh. I even weighed in about GOAL. Something I never thought I would allow myself to do.

Fast forward. One year. I ended up changing my goal weight to the top of my weight range. I could not maintain the crazy low weight “I thought” I needed to be. My body needed fuel. The right fuel. Getting back to the basics. Eating the good stuff. But I was finding it hard to find the motivation. Bad habits creeping in. I had to do something. It was time.

I was pumped to hear that my gym was starting a challenge. I needed this. Melissa, my dear friend from MyVitality did a nutrition class, we had an InBody scan and we were given the tools to track macros. We picked our team. This team would receive points for daily tracking macros and fiber +/-5g, daily temple work workouts and extra activity. I’m was ready. For 6 weeks I did it. Tracked my food. Macros and WW. Worked out. Weighed. Measured every stinkin bite. I finally felt in control. I was pushed to be my best. Got yelled at. (Pam I love you!) Stayed consistent. Focused on my body’s needs. Did not eat 1 bite size tostitos. I got back to the basics. After the 6 weeks. We had our final scan. My results. Down 5.3 pounds. Lost 8.7 pounds of body fat. Down 4.7% body fat. Gained 2.2lbs of muscle. My team won the challenge. And I ended up coming in second place all around. Challenge accepted. Challenge. completed. I did it. For me. For my team. Thank you Pam and Bethany for being incredible teammates and friends.

It’s not some secret diet. Food Plan. Workout. It’s you finding what fuels your body. Giving it your all. Committing to yourself, your body, your life to do things different. To be successful you have to understand that it’s not easy. There is not quick fix. You have to work HARD. Everyday. Even when you think you have it all figured out, you realize it’s just the beginning. I promise it’s worth it. Every time you have to plan, prep, find a new recipe, try a new workout, push yourself, get the scale out, measure out, gain a pound, lose a pound, miss a workshop, class, and all the things needed on this journey. It’s all for you. Me. Us. To live fully. Differently. Better. Period.

My friends this is what my story is all about. Learning. Growing. Sharing. Experiencing. Falling. Living. Becoming Me. Daily. It’s all about finding what works for you. Sticking to it. Believing in yourself. Not looking back. This challenge. Challenged me. It helped me to see that all along I knew what to do. I just had to have the confidence in myself. You have to also. Don’t lose sight of where you are today. How hard you have worked. The ups. Downs. Slip ups. Victories. All these things are your story. It’s absolutely perfect. Imperfectly Perfect. Living. One. Day. At. A. Time.

But he said to me “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

2 Corinthians 12:9