#sheddingsixtyeight // Second Month

Alright, guys. Transparency is key with this kind of thing, right?

Shooooot.

This past month has been a complete fail fest. I haven't been to the gym once, I think I've gone swimming twice, & I didn't track anything. Obviously, I didn't lose four pounds, but on a somewhat bright side, I'm still going strong with my "only water" decision.

Not to make excuses (because excuses are for losers, & although I was a loser this month, I'm determined not to be a loser again. Loser, loser, loser.), but this month has been stressful. & stressful days = comfort food. Ugh, how am I even saying that.

I'm re-motivated to start fresh. It's super ridiculous that this has happened only my second month in, but I'm not going to let it stop me now.

I (highly) considered just not blogging this month & doing better for next month. That way, I could say, "My second month stunk, but I did great on my third!". Then, I thought - what's the point of this blogging thing if I'm not going to share my successes & my failures. What's the point of accountability if no one knows I struggled.

So, here I am. I lost one pound (probably because of the stress), I didn't exercise, I didn't track my food. But I'm not giving up. Two months in, that's exactly what I'd normally do, but not this time.

This month!

Goals:

1) Keep up with only water! Last month, I drank a couple cups of coffee here & there plus a few glasses of milk. I haven't had any soda or tea since I started this journey & I'm proud of myself for that.

2) EXERCISE! I do still want to work on finding a strength training/cardio routine, but I really just need to get my butt back in the gym. I'm aiming for both this month!

3) Limited fast food. Every morning, I go to Suffolk to pick up the kids I nanny. I've gotten into such a habit of just running through Chickfila on the way home & grabbing a chicken biscuit & hash browns. So unhealthy. So expensive. I'm not going to say no fast food, because I'll definitely end up binge eating eventually, but I'm going to say once a week. If that's what's for dinner (sometimes, you just have those kind of days) & that's what everybody is eating, that's what I'll eat, too. Or if we're going out with friends, I'm not going to sit in the corner and starve ("starve"), but as a general rule, I'm only going to eat fast food once a week, or not at all. Knowing I can have it makes me okay with not having it. And when I say "fast food", I really just mean Chickfila. I don't really go anywhere else. Haha

4) Track my food - for real.

5) Run five miles. Not at the same time, not in the same week. But over the course of the month, I want to run five miles. It doesn't sound like a lot, but I don't run, sooo...

6) Lose four pounds - again, for real this time!

This is a super pathetic post, but I felt like the only reason I started this #sheddingsixtyeight thing was to share this journey with whoever wanted in on it. The good days, weeks, months - the bad days, weeks, months.

#sheddingsixtyeight // First Month

I'm eight days late on this, & I'm just going to pretend those eight days didn't exist.

Denial, my friends. ;)

I set two goals when I started this journey a little over a month ago:
1) only drink water
2) exercise at least three times a week

I'm am super excited & incredibly proud of myself to say that, other than two glasses of milk & one glass of orange juice (all on different days), all I've had to drink has been water. For over a month, I haven't tasted a single drop of sweet tea - I sound like such an addict. I still want it & every time I go to Rancho Grande, I consider breaking this streak for the deliciousness their sweet tea is, but I know I'll regret it, & regret is my absolute least favorite feeling ever.

Unfortunately, I've failed on the exercising front. I've gone to the gym multiple times, I've gone on walks around the neighborhood, & my newest thing is swimming, swimming, swimming. Buuut, it hasn't been consistently three times a week. When I go to the gym, I always ride the elliptical & then I leave. I've gotten completely unmotivated knowing I'm not doing any strength training or classes or anything else. So, if anyone has some advice on an exercise routine, that's be great. Although, like I said, I'm starting to swim laps in the pool everyday & think that will help me, too!

From July 12th to August 20th, I've lost five pounds. I know it's not a lot, but it's something & I'm excited about it.

I know this is a horrible comparison picture - It'll be better next time!

This month!

Goals:

1) Only drink water - still!

2) Come up with a workout routine. Something that involves more than just doing the elliptical. I also want to continue swimming laps as many days that I can. 

3) FOOD! This past month, I haven't done anything different with my diet. Before I cut out everything with sugar & start living the caveman life, I want to start tracking everything that I do eat. I've heard that by doing that, you become aware of all the junk you're putting in your body. That way, you see that the one doughnut you had for breakfast is over half of the calories you're suppose to take in for the whole day, & in turn, you start making healthier choices on your own. So I've heard! ;) I've tried so many diets & nothing has worked, I'm just trying to find something that does.

4) Lose four pounds. We've all heard it - slow & steady wins the race! 

Over all, my main goal is to start a workout routine that has both cardio & strength training. Then stick to it! 

Month two - here we go! 

#sheddingsixtyeight

Alright, guys. I'm going all in this time. Are you with me? ;)

I need accountability which I feel like I'll get here. Even if no one ever reads these, it's still out there & I still think people are waiting to watch me fail. I can't tell you how many times I've started dieting & going to the gym regularly. How many Monday's I've woken up motivated just long enough to get downstairs & have a pop-tart. How many "I'll start tomorrow!" or "I'll start Monday!"s that have come out of my mouth. Well, I'm tired of it & I'm ready to take this seriously.

So! I'm not making crazy goals that there's no way I'll be able to meet. I'm not promising to only eat fresh fruits and veggies & work out twice a day every day. That's called setting yourself up for failure & I'm not really into that. I will have goals, but only two to begin with.

1) Only water. I'm soooo bad about drinking that. I'll go weeks without a drop of water going in my mouth. I'll drink sweet tea for days, but never ever ever water. It's disgusting! I live with a headache that won't go away. I'm always tired & am usually ready for bed by nine. Last year while on vacation, I bought a case of water bottles & drank only that. By the time I got home, I felt great! I wasn't tired & I was staying up late like everyone else my age! Then I somehow got into the funk of only drinking sweet tea & here we are again. So that's my first goal - if you see me with anything else in hand, I give you full permission to slap me across the face. Gently. ;)

2) Exercise atleast three times a week. I'd really like to get into the habit of going to the gym every night after work, but I don't want to get discouraged if it doesn't happen right away. When I first got my gym membership, I went every day for two weeks straight. I was feeling fantastic. Then I got sick & never got back into the swing of things. So, I want to exercise regularly.

Food wise, I'm going to watch my portions, but I'm not cutting anything out right now. I've literally done that too many times & always end up binge eating & ruining all of the efforts.

Baby steps! It's what I think will work for me.

And if we're being honest -- which I'm really actually okay with not being honest, but I think it cooould help me -- I'm 228 right now & my goal weight is 160. So today, I have 68 pounds that I need to lose.

Alright, and we're off! If you want to follow me on instagram, my username is hannahgrace0417 & my hashtag for this journey is #sheddingsixtyeight. I'm ready!