It's Just Ice Cream

My friend Heather (Divas Run for Bling) is hosting a FB challenge group that started this week. Most people are doing 21 day fix (another Beachbody program) while right now, I am still working through the last week of Cize. I was planning on starting 21 day fix next week although I am having some issues/doubts as to whether or not I am ready to take on the eating aspect of that program. Next week is a crazy week for me (heck, every week between now and 10/17 is a crazy week) and I am not sure I will be able to commit to the planning and organization I would need to in order to follow the eating part. I don’t know. I may just do the workout part and loosely follow (to the best of my abilities) the eating part. We’ll see.

But I digress, that is not the reason for the post.  On the FB page Heather said (paraphrasing here) that one of the ways to prepare for 21DF is to rid your home of any junk that is not on plan in order to remove temptations. This got me thinking…should I do the same? Should I toss out everything that won’t conform to the eating program?

Personally, I won’t do that for a few reasons but let me first say why I think this would make sense for someone to do.

When I first started off on this weight loss journey I didn’t know portion sizes nor did I understand the term moderation. I had really no control over my eating. I started to make changes, though. Sometimes they were a bit too extreme and I had to reel myself back in. Sometimes they were a bit too lax and I knew I needed more focus, more change. It was a balancing act. But even though I was learning how to portion my food and how to practice moderation I knew I still had to limit the amount of junkie foods I kept in the house. Because back then, when I first started WW I had a daily point allowance of like 40+- I could easily eat multiple snacks a day of junk foods and still be good points-wise (which is a whole different issue I will save for another post) but just because I could do it didn’t necessarily make it something I should do. Does that make sense?

You see, when I was first starting out it took me awhile to find balance, to build good habits, to rely on my instincts (because my instincts were not yet pointing me in the right direction) so I had to maintain focus and work differently and diligently to get to that point. You see, I didn’t start out as a mindful eater, listening to her hunger cues, thoughtfully deciding on food choices and reflecting back on them. Nope, that took time to get there. I started out as someone that had to avoid eating out, someone that couldn’t keep junkie foods in the house (of course, the foods I ate back then I would consider junk food so…take that with a grain of salt), I didn’t drink and I didn’t socialize.

I didn’t do that for long though because that life is boring and unlivable, in my opinion.

So what I started to do was work to find balance. No, I wouldn’t buy ice cream and keep it at the house because I would eat a pint instead of a serving or if I did eat a serving I would eat it every night until I finished it. I would, in turn, make foods I was trying to limit the norm, not the exception. So instead I would go out with my friends for frozen yogurt. I would top mine with fruits and mochi (and sometimes dark chocolate) and it was a treat. I savored it. Especially if we would go walking/hiking first. It was a nice way to cool off and relax and discuss our fun adventures.

Same with eating out, I started to bring it back into my routine but not as a daily or twice daily habit that it had been but as something special. A once in a while treat. Because honestly, it doesn’t matter what you eat or where – eating out is an indulgence, at least that’s how I see it.  What I started to do more often was invite friends over for meals I prepared myself. I would find new recipes and share them with the people I loved. I loved the social aspect associated with dining out but I wanted a better alternative. This was one of the ones I chose to incorporate into my routine.  

My point is this, my relationship with food is different now than it was 4.5 years ago. Today I can keep foods on hand knowing that I will (more than likely) be able to limit my portions and how often I eat it. I have had a pint of cashew milk ice cream in the freezer for at least a month. Which is saying something because that ice cream is amazeballs. But it took me a long time to get here. So I do agree with Heather to the extent of if you are just starting out then maybe don’t keep junk around the house if you aren’t  yet practiced at portioning, moderation or mindfulness. Or too if you are doing the 21 DF and you think you might feel deprived and you want to just grab something and devour it then maybe having a pantry full off items you are trying to avoid is not the answer. That’s your call.

Like I said, I have been both people. The person that couldn’t keep ice cream in the house and the person that can.  And even now, I switch between the two. I am not saying that ice cream is the devil food and we should all avoid it at all costs, not at all. What I am saying is that it’s ok to keep certain food items out of the home while you are working on building habits. Only you can understand your relationship with food. And it is up to you decide what is in your best interest. But know that it is ok at any point in your journey to say ‘I just don’t feel strong enough to not overdo it’ and say no OR to say ‘I feel like ice cream this week’ and treat it like it’s not a big deal.  

Either way, it’s just ice cream.

A scoop of sorbet on a hot summer night...hits the spot :) 

 

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxox

WW Weekly Weigh-In Week 6 Recap

As you may or may not have seen me post already on FB- I have a little streak going. Today marks day 25 of tracking using the Weight Watchers app. I recommitted to Weight Watchers 6 weeks ago today and in those six weeks I have only skipped one day tracking and that was the day I stayed home sick from work. I don’t know about you but when it comes to tracking, whether it be points or calories or just logging my food items, I definitely struggle with tracking while sick and tracking on the weekends. I am happy to report I have yet to skip out tracking on the weekends- which is an amazing personal accomplishment. Weekends are hard because a) I tend to eat out b) I tend to eat out at non-chain restaurants c) I tend to eat random vegan dishes in which I cannot find comparable listings in the WW app d) I have a hard time judging quantities of said random vegan dishes. This go-around I have just been better at trying to estimate the portion sizes and break my meals down by ingredients. No, I have no idea how much oil is used to cook it in or exactly each component but I know enough to guess. So that’s what I do. And to me, guessing is better than avoiding. That’s what I sued to do. I was queen of the weekday tracking and then I would just skip over the weekends. This time, I am more focused and more diligent and so I am making every effort possible to be better with the tracking.

Mondays happen whether we want them to or not- this shirt was perfect for how I felt this morning

This week went pretty well. As I noted, I tracked every day. I limited my drinking to one beer on Tuesday (at Trivia night) and I had two beers Saturday (beach day plus a concert). I finished up Cize week 3 which was definitely the hardest week/routines so far. This week is the last week of the program and it is a recap of all 6 routines I learned over the last three weeks. I started week 4 yesterday and am now through 2 of the 6 routines. I cannot believe I only have 4 more days left until I finish the program. This will be my first time every completing an entire at home DVD program. But honestly this one has been great. I really love this program so much so I wake up every morning ready to dance. I haven’t enjoyed something as much as I do this is a long time. And I have never enjoyed an at-home program enough to stick with it- so that’s saying something. I actually signed up for the Cize Live instructor workshop so that way I can teach Cize locally. This is my first real foray into becoming a fitness instructor so I am nervous but I feel good about it. I think this could be a great move for me.

Cize in the morning to complete week 3 then an afternoon on the beach- it's all about balance! 

I still can't believe this is where I live!!!

This week I saw another loss on the scale. I was down 1.4 pounds bringing my weight to 172 pounds which is a total loss of 10 pounds in 6 weeks. Not only did I earn a second 5 pound lost star, I also hit my 5% weight loss mark having lost (and exceeded) five percent of my starting weight. This also means that I have reached my first weight loss goal of reaching 173 by 8/29. Of course, I could gain this week and be above 173 come this Saturday but hopefully that won’t happen. I am hoping to at least maintain this week and be at the weight I wanted to be at for my first dress fitting. 

Disregard that body fat %- you cannot get anything close to accurate of a BF reading from a scale.

Feeling comfortable in my jeans again. Size 29 Lucky Brand Sweet and Low back into the wardrobe. 

In order to do so I have some goals set for this week to keep me focused and they are:

1.       Track every day

2.       Finish Cize week 4

3.       Log 85K (or more) steps for the week- not even a day and a half in and I am ~25K steps in J

4.       Training session with M for the Kids Marathon

5.       Sunday evening –Saturday morning no eating out (birthday cupcake on Tuesday is ok)

6.       No drinking until after dress fitting

So there you have it-my week 6 results and week 7 game plan. I will check in with you next week and let you know how it goes.

Do you have any goals for the week? Do you track or log your food? 

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxox

Eat, Move, Love: FOOD

Heather, Thea and I hosted a small group discussion at Fitbloggin’ Denver this year called Eat, Move, Love: Finding Yourself without Losing Your Mind. The session went really well. And although we didn’t necessarily get to discuss all outlined bullet points behind the topic we still had an hour long session filled with great ideas, comments and feedback. I really enjoyed it and you can read a recap of it here.

But because this topic is so meaningful to me I wanted to pull the themes we based it around into a recurring blog post. Today’s theme will be:  food- getting educated about food without falling for the hype.

I should start off by saying that although the session was led by myself, Thea and Heather the opinions shared regarding topics I discuss here are my own. Not saying that Thea and Heather disagree, just saying that I am the only one contributing here.

FOOD

Ahhhh….food. Pretty much my favorite thing. I love eating and I love cooking. I even love growing my own food. Oh and did I mention I love eating.

But do I love food as much now as I did when I weighed nearly 300 pounds? Probably more so and I say that confidently. Why? Because now I understand the value of food. Now I not only eat for enjoyment but I eat for the health factor, too. I get pleasure from the actual eating process AND from how I feel afterwards.  That is one thing I did not have back in the day.

You see, in my previous lifestyle I ate a lot and I ate a lot often and I ate a lot often for many reasons. I loved cooking and would prepare decadent and rich foods that I would eat entirely too much of. I would become consumed by the flavors and the tastes and I could not control myself.  I ate when I was bored, you know mindless snacking in front of the TV hand-to-mouth on autopilot not even recognizing the volume of food I was ingesting or even if it tasted good. I ate to mask my feelings, so much more the larger I got. I ate my sadness and shame and hurt and anger. And then I ate my happiness, too. Every celebration was cause for dinner out and drinks, of course. I honestly don’t know how I didn’t weigh more than I had.

But here I am over four years later and I guess what? I still love food. That is something that losing 130 pounds didn’t change. But like I noted earlier was that what did change was my perception towards food. Now, I am not here to tell you to be like me and follow a plant-based diet. I am not here to tell you what is ‘good’ and what is ‘bad’. That’s not my place, frankly it isn’t anyone’s place to tell you what you should or should not eat. That is entirely up for you to decide given your access to food, ability to cook vs needing convenient options, and of course the resources you have. Now, I will say that I think it is important to educate yourself about options and alternatives. Make sure you are able to determine some of the better choices available that can meet your dietary needs. Also, become an expert at knowing your body and how it processes the food that you eat. Understand how diet plays a part of your goals and needs and try to make the best choices to support them.

I used to primarily eat for the sensory feelings I had during the process.  I was all about how I felt in the moment and what I could eat that would help heighten or dull. I didn’t ever really think about the aftermath and I don’t just mean weight gain. I never saw food as a drug or as a medicine. I never thought about the damage my choices were doing internally and I never really even considered that the foods I was eating were responsible for my moods, my IBS, or my lethargy (to name a few). I was purely an in the moment kind of gal. And it was literally killing me.

But then as I started to work on losing weight and changing my habits I started to become more concerned with nutrition, health, recovery, sleep, mental health, and through food journaling I started to find some foods that were working against me. I chose to adopt a vegan diet for one week- just as a test, a trial run based off a hunch- but something changed for me in that week. Well, a lot of things changed. And after that week I realized I needed to be more focused on food as my medicine, food as a way to heal my ailing body. But I knew I couldn’t stick with it (not just being a vegan but eating healthily with intention) if I didn’t enjoy the foods I was eating or if I felt deprived. I wanted to press forward in this evolution of my eating habits but I knew that I couldn’t stomach gross or bland foods day in and day out and I knew I couldn’t go very long cutting out foods entirely.

So my diet followed that path, and has for the most part, for four years now. I eat with intention. I recognize foods that make me feel crappy and try to avoid them. I think about the lifestyle I want to support and what I need to consume in order to do so. I also have to balance that with being a FT employee, FT student, planning a wedding and now being a Big Sister (you know Big Brothers/Big Sister) and knowing my time is some days limited. I need to rely on convenience foods but when I do I try to make the best choice I possibly can. Trust me, I like to cook and prefer to eat meals at home but I can only do so much. Sometimes (most times) buying soymilk is easier than making it. I just make sure to grab the unsweetened organic. Sometimes (most times) I want to have a sweet treat at night so I opt to keep dark chocolate on hand and pair it with some herbal tea for a decadent treat.

You see, I still eat/drink processed foods. I am not yet at the level of full pioneer hippie woman growing, harvesting and making everything I eat. I doubt I ever will be. I do the best I can with what I have. I have limited time and limited funds-I think most people can relate to that. So I say this to anyone looking to change, tweak, and overhaul their diet or to anyone feeling shitty because they can’t do ‘enough’ or they eat too much ‘crap’. Find what works for you, at a holistic level. Try to make choices that you both enjoy and still help support a healthy lifestyle. But don’t feel guilty for buying store-bought foods or relying on convenience foods when you need to. Just understand the difference between needing to or wanting to. And also know that there are tons of resources out there that will help you eat less processed, more whole foods on the cheap. There are even resources that will tell you which are the healthier options at fast food and sit down restaurants. Educate yourself. But also, make sure you are making food choices for the right reasons. Think about more than the now.  Choose with intention. Let food by thy medicine.

So my advice to you is this...

Try not to get caught up in the hype of new fad diets or food trends. Find foods you enjoy and are good for you and make them the staples of your diet. Try to eat whole foods when you can but if you have to opt for convenience make the best choice out of what's available. And know that every step you make with intention is a step in the right direction.

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxoxo

Mental Health Monday - Be Brave

Welcome to Mental Health Monday!  This idea was born from a session at Fitbloggin' 15 led by Steph (of Athlete at Heart) and Liz (of Prior Fat Girl) on Depression, Anxiety and Healthy Living.  Every 1st and 3rd Monday one of those wonderful ladies will host a link up for others to share their experiences with mental illness – either from personal experience or from the experience of helping and walking with others. The goal is to reach out to the world and let people know they are not alone in their struggles.  You are never alone.  Join in– link up, visit new blogs, support others.  Speak out:

 (You are welcome to use the badge below!)

This one is going to be a difficult post to write today because one of the big ways in which mental illness is currently affecting my life is through the pain of someone else. Someone in my family, someone I am unable to ask for permission to discuss this openly, is in a really bad place right now. Probably a place worse than you or I can even imagine. Her disease is the main reason she going through these horrible circumstances and right now, there is not much our family can do to help. All we can do is be there for her when her circumstances change.

I know, that’s so vague right?

You have no idea what I am talking about and are probably wondering why I am not doing more to help this person. All I can say is, there is nothing I can do currently and you will just have to believe me.

Why I write about this today is not to leave you in the dark but to share with you some of my feelings and experiences and ask for you to show kindness and understanding.

Trust me, I wish for nothing more to eliminate the pain and hardships brought into my life and the lives of others because of mental illness. It is not often discussed openly, or at least not in my eyes, and it is an area where I feel this country is lacking. From support for military transitioning home or suffering from PTSD, from mothers barely living with PPD, to anyone (any person from any race, age, social class) suffering silently with mental illness. We could be doing more.

When I was a kid I was ridiculed because of my mom’s illness. That was hard to understand. Heck, being that young I barely understood her illness myself. I was in no state to defend her. I couldn’t educate others about mental illness or even try teach others to empathize. I just took it their unkind words and felt ashamed and embarrassed because of her illness. 

Now as an adult, I want to talk about my experiences openly. It took me a long time to feel comfortable being honest about her illness and how it affected me as well as my dealings with depression and anxiety. It is hard to discuss now but not because I feel ashamed. Not in the slightest. But because those memories are painful. Some are buried deep, deep, deep down and may never resurface. But some have stayed with me every day. A constant reminder of who I am.

You see, I believe I made it to 37 years old because I had people in my life that were there for me as a child, to help me process my mother’s illness and to support and provide me with a happy environment during the worst of times. Also, I feel I made it this far (I won a battle many of my friends lost) because I had enough bravery inside to ask for help,  to talk about my emotions/feelings, or to try a push through when I was at my lowest, darkest times. I also had luck on my side to let me make it this far. And now I want to help others know they too can be brave, even when they doubt themselves, even when they don’t want to, they can.

I want people to know that their lives have value and meaning, influence and impact, and that they (no matter how much they doubt it) have a purpose. I want people to know that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of and that help is out there. I want people to know that although we each feel pain and sadness differently, that at our core- we all still feel. We can relate to one another. I want people to know that they are never alone.

So today, I write this for anyone that needs to hear it (which isn’t that all of us?) – you are important, you are loved, please be brave enough to recognize that. And no matter what, help is always available and I plead to you to just be brave enough to ask.

National Suicide Prevention Hotline 800-273-8255

National Alliance on Mental Illness - Find Support or 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) 

To Write Love on Her Arms – Local Resources

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxox

WW Weekly Weigh-In Week 5 Recap

It’s time to bring back the weekly weigh in posts. As I have discussed here and here, I am back at Weight Watchers again after a 3+ year hiatus. No, it’s not perfect. But it is what I need right now. And back in the day, back when I lost over 100 pounds on WW, I was blogging my weekly weigh in results. That was so long ago, though, that the blog I am talking about doesn’t even exist anymore. That was two blog domains ago. LOL.

But keeping with the spirit of things and trying to get back into the weight loss game I am resurrecting the weekly weigh in posts. Why? Because I need to keep myself accountable. I also need to rely on the things in the past that helped me be successful the first go-around.

This time, however, I am hoping it isn’t much longer before I am back in my happy weight range. My wedding day would be a nice time to be back to the point where I am feeling comfortable in my skin again. That really is the one day I would like to not be concerned about how my dress is fitting or what is jiggling or spilling over or rubbing me weird or any of that stuff. My goal is just to be comfortable in my dress so I can relax and have fun.

That date…is two months from today.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???? I AM GETTING MARRIED IN TWO MONTHS!!!!

So here are my current weight loss goals that I am working towards

#1 Get to 173 by 8/29. 

This is the weight I was at when I bought my wedding dress and 8/29 is my first dress fitting. When I bought the dress it fit great, although there was a little back fat issues happening but other than that, I loved it. I felt so comfortable in that dress- which was the deciding factor in the purchase. That and it is stunning….

#2 Get to 166 by ??? 

No real date for this one but this is the top of my healthy range so I would like to be here, or below, I guess by 10/17 or maybe even by my second dress (if I need one- not sure how that all works)

#3 Hit 161 by ??? 

Again, no date here but my healthy range is 156-166 so I would like to hit the mid-point again this year and then go into next year focused on maintaining.

OK, so for #2 and #3 I probably should assign dates because that is the ‘T’ in SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound) goals. So let’s say 166 by 10/17/15 and 161 (or below) by 12/31. Now my three weight loss goals all fit into the SMART goal setting method.

I also have another goal I am currently working towards which not exactly a weight loss goal. 

#4 Complete Cize by 8/29

I just started week 3 this morning and am happy to report I have not missed a day yet. Why? Because I love it so much. I happily get out of bed every morning before the sun comes up to dance with Shaun T. What’s even crazier is that I don’t want to stop. I will spend close to an hour every day doing what could be done in 30-40 minutes just because I love to keep practicing. It is really the best program I have ever tried. 

Now…as for my weigh in days. Well those are on Saturday and I rarely blog during the weekend. So, look for posts on Monday or Tuesday for my weekly recap. But for now, let me catch you up to speed since I am starting this series already through week 5. 

Since rejoining WW on 7/11/2015 I am down 8.6 pounds.

My previous weeks looked like this:

7/18 180.6 (-1.4 lbs)

7/25 178.0 (-2.6 lbs)

8/1 178.8 (+0.8 lbs)

8/8 176.2  (-2.6 lbs)

And then this week…

8/15 173.4 (-2.8 lbs) which brings my weekly average loss to just over 1.7 pounds and it brings weight loss goal one just within my reach.

I would love to lose another pound over the next two weeks and make my first goal a reality. I know finishing the next two weeks of Cize will definitely help.

Also, going forward I do plan to write more about my weekly plans and whether or not I achieved them so I will start with this week.

I have my breakfasts and lunches for M-F planned out as well as my dinner M-Th. I know that E and I are going out for trivia Tuesday night so I am planning on having one beer there. But I don’t plan on drinking any other time this week, meaning Saturday through Friday. Friday night dinner is not planned yet but I am hoping to make dinner at home since I know Saturday we will be eating out and drinking (going to a concert) and then Sunday is our day with our Little Brother which will involve lunch out and going to the movies. So I want to make sure I am balancing out my eating and staying within the 20% of my 80/20 rule.

My dinners this week- pre cooking....

For activity I have two goals this week: complete week 3 of Cize and best my step count from last week (exceed 82K steps)- which will be difficult since we have rain in the forecast every day this week. But I set a goal so I will just need to figure out a plan to make it happen- with or without the rain.

These past couple weeks have been made easier by the ladies actively participating in my FB group (link here if you'd like to join). I love having a group of women that openly share their struggles and encourage and support each other on our journeys. It is very helpful for me, that’s for sure.

Ok, this quick recap quickly spiraled into a short story so I will end it here…

Until next week

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxox

If You Always Do What You've Always Done...

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” ~ Henry Ford

My former Weight Watcher leader used to say that to us all the time and I 100% agree.

Meaning if we keep doing what isn’t working it will keep not working. If you want different results you need to do things differently.

Which is why I rejoined Weight Watchers after a 3 year hiatus.

You see, my journey thus far has kind of looked like this:

-Tried to lose weight on my own by just changing what I eat/reduce calories- lost about ten pounds

-Joined WW at the encouragement of a friend and stayed on the program for a little over a year- lost 100 pounds

-Changed focus from weight loss to training as I began running and was building up to running a half marathon- lost 20+ more pounds and hit my ‘ideal weight’ based on nutritionists recommendation

-Continue running, training, taking on new challenges and maintaining weight loss up until my surgery in December of 2013

-Spent the entirety of 2014 rebuilding after two surgeries and once I was cleared I began running again. Did not focus on my weight at all, instead I focused just on trying to get back to where I was physically before the surgery. *I should note that I maintained a healthy weight range throughout the year and I even PR’d my half marathon time and finally got a sub 30 minute 5K PR.

-Early 2015 was all about getting ready for Ragnar in May. Between the HM in November and Ragnar in May I ran a total of 7 half marathons, 2 of which I ran back to back.  My late winter/early spring was all about running. So by the time Ragnar came I was completely burned out. I am not one of those people that could run every day. I am not a run-streaker person. I am a variety person. I need change to hold my interest. I was ready to start my running hiatus the minute I returned from MA and that I did.

-Spent a couple months post Ragnar just living life very unstructured. I worked out, some days. But there was a period in May to early June where I didn’t do much of anything. I even started to slip with my eating habits and my practice of 80/20 started to look more like 60/40…50/50…and the weight gain happened. Not much in the grand scheme of things, but enough to notice. And enough to be concerned given it happened in a very short period of time. Maybe 15 pounds between May to July. And I felt it. 

I tried to go back to calorie counting using MFP and get back into weight loss mode but I just couldn’t. It was a struggle. It just wasn't working. Or maybe I should say, I just wasn't working it. 

So I decided that I needed to do what worked for me before, Weight Watchers. Even though I do have a few gripes with the program and there really isn’t much difference between tracking points and tracking calories/macros in my opinion. But mentally, there seems to be a difference for me. WW worked before. I am not sure why- maybe the fact that I was paying for it helped keep me accountable. Maybe it was all the fun features with the app that I enjoyed. Who knows? But I am back at it and for now, for what I need, it is working.

I started back just over a month ago when I hit the 180’s for the first time since I left the 180’s years  ago. That number scared me. Not because it was higher than I would like, but because I felt like I had lost control. I needed to get my shit together and get back into the habits that keep me feeling good and keep my body healthy.

Tomorrow is my weigh in day so I cannot give you an exact number of what I have lost so far but as of last Saturday I am down 5.8 lbs. in 4 weeks. My mini-goal is to be at 173 by August 29^th with my long term goal to get back between 156 and 166- my ideal weight range.  So no, it’s not a whole lot of weight I am looking to lose, especially compared to how much I had to lose to get to this point, but I knew I couldn’t get there without making some changes. And I am so happy I did.

I also started the Cize workout program which is by far the best thing I have ever done in terms of at home DVDs. It is so much fun and I look forward to it every day. I love it so much that I even post videos on my blog page documenting my progress. (this is my affiliate link in case you are interested in Cize or anything else Beachbody- that's about all I will say about that) 

One of many (probably too many) sweaty selfies I have been posting after my workouts :)

And because I firmly believe no man is an island, I started a FB group for accountability and support. We are all doing a hodgepodge of programs and activities and I love it. Please feel free to join us if you are looking for the same.

Lastly, I have the Pensacola half marathon in November. Training is set to start August 30th  and I was so not looking forward to it. I honestly think after the spring races I have already registered for I will be taking another hiatus from running. I think I am falling out of love with it…but that is for another post. What I am looking forward to is helping my Little Brother train for the Pensacola Kids Marathon. Now that will inspire me to be a really great role model and cheerleader for him. I am super excited about that! 

I think I am on a roll, I am feeling excited and happy about the things I am doing and that is making it easier to keep doing them...go figure ;) It's a good feeling to be back in this place again. 

Who doesn't love puppy pictures? 

Carousels are not strictly for kids ;)

What about you? What are you doing today to help commit/recommit to a healthy and happy life?

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxox

A Quick Hello

Hi everyone! I just wanted to drop in for a quick hello!

I have two days left in my final semester of my EdS (God willing) and I am trying to not lose my shit over the volume of work that still remains to be done.

I have a project due tomorrow and I am, best guess, 75% finished.

I have a paper (a huge, huge, gigantic 35 page paper) due Thursday. I talked about this same paper in this post. This is the one I am writing about the Black Lives Matter movement.  Well, technically I am writing to answer the question ‘Why Do Black Loves Matter’. Normally, especially when I am as organized and prepared as I am now, I can write pretty quickly. When I get into it the words just flow and writing a paper of this length would typically take me two days tops. Right now I am about half way through and it has taken me more than two days to get there. Yikes. I am so slow in the process of writing this particular paper because a) I am overwhelmed with data and resources and b) because I want to do this topic justice. This isn’t just a normal grad school paper. This one is different. It’s hard. It’s complex. And the topic is so fucking upsetting. It’s been rough.

I will definitely need a beer or six when this is all over.

I started Cize this week. I love this program so much. DVDs/at home workouts are usually not my thing but this one is different. It’s doable and enjoyable and it keeps me craving more. I have been doing the program for a couple weeks but started officially with the 4 week program on Sunday. And as I mentioned previously, I am now a Beachbody coach. I am not trying to sell you on Cize though, I would still be writing about it even if I wasn’t affiliated with BB. But if you are interested in the program you can check out some videos I have posted on my FB page or even join in my (non-affiliated) accountability and weight loss group I created last week. We talk about Cize there too, although only a couple of us are doing the program. The group is open to anyone that just wants some help and support.

That’s pretty much it for now, I think.

I am really looking forward to getting back into blogging regularly again once the semester is over. I have missed the last two Mental Health Monday link ups and I still want to continue on with the Eat, Move, Love series. I miss sharing with you guys!

Oh and Gordie was chosen as one of the top 5 cutest dogs in Pensacola. The contest ends tomorrow. Voting is taking place on FB and if you want to cast a vote for our little furbaby just click this link and ‘like’ his photo.

Thanks!

Hope you all are well!

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxoxo