WW Weekly Recap: Week 10

Week 10…

A loss of 4.4 pounds.

Crazy big number and not one I would normally be thrilled with (because it is too high, imho) however, we all know how weight loss goes. And when I look at the big picture, in four weeks I lost a total of five pounds. This 4.4 is basically three weeks of what would equal a normal/average loss just shown on the scale all at once.

This loss brings me to a total of 15 pounds lost since 7/13 and it puts me just one pound away from the top of my healthy weight range. Woo hoo!

I have never been one to experience huge losses on the scale- not even early on in my journey- so I have been quite comfortable with the slow and steady progression. Right now I am averaging 1.5 pounds lost a week and that is perfect in my mind. I know that, for me, losing at a faster rate would require drastic measures and that’s just not my style. Those type of extreme behaviors are not sustainable and will, ultimately, lead to a quick regain. Thankfully this whole refocus on my regimen is helping me bring back to the forefront those healthy habits that I need to keep practicing daily.

I did great with my step goal for the week! 

I’m not saying I need to be super strict and have laser focus to every little detail but I can’t keep playing loose and fast with my life. When I don’t pay attention or I stop caring it shows. It shows not just on the scale but in how I feel both mentally and physically. Not saying that I am currently a ray of sunshine every day now, but I know if I wasn’t focusing on my healthy habits now I would be a lot worse off.

With the wedding quickly approaching, just a little over 3 weeks away, I have a lot on my plate. I will try to check in on the blog during those weeks but in case I can’t I will at least try to update you with my weekly weigh in results on the FB page. Just to give you an idea of my schedule here is what I have coming up:

Final (hopefully) dress fitting – 9/26

Final (hopefully) make up appointment – 9/27

Trip to Austin – leave after work 9/30 return 10/5

Final Exam – 10/5

Final Project Due – 10/9

Ani Concert – 10/10

Cize Teacher Training – 10/11

Democratic Debate Viewing Party – 10/13

Pre-wedding stuff ALL DAY, EVERY DAY ;) 10/15 & 10/16

WEDDING – 10/17

Post-wedding celebration 10/18 & 10/19

…and then die from exhaustion

Just kidding

I hope….

With all that is going on I still have to work, finish up a grad course, help my Little Brother train for his kids marathon, train for my own half marathon and finalize a lot of wedding stuff. (Not complaining- just stating facts)

So here’s the thing. I am still meal planning, planning out my workouts and setting goals for myself I just know that in the next few weeks I will have to be much more flexible. I am finishing up Cize week two and half marathon week 4 this week but I have had to make some concessions in the name of school work- it trumps training plans. I also know how difficult it will be to stick to either routine while traveling next week so I will just do the best I can.

When I am home I vow to cook/meal prep and schedule time for activity. When I am traveling I vow to squeeze in activity in some form and make the best choices available to me. When it is wedding time I vow to just get out of my head and enjoy the time with family, friends and of course MY HUSBAND.

So there you have it – my super late week 10 recap. I started this post on Monday….it took me four days to finish it. Yep, that’s just life these days.

I will try to report back when I can. Follow me on IG or Facebook for wedding and ACL pics.

Until the next time…

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxoxox

Balance

Balance…I talk about that concept frequently. I guess if I had a theme word (is that a thing?) it would have to be balance. I kind of feel like my whole journey, the essence of my life, is to find, and maintain, balance.

Funny that a quick Google search for 'balance' brought up this image of tree pose. This was the pose I posted on IG this morning for my PAD Challenge today. This is my favorite pose and it is at the heart of this entire blog. So fitting for today's post. See my photo here  (Photo shown from tinybuddha.com)

Balance not just between all the must-do’s and the want-to-do’s and the should-do’s but balance in everything. Balance between the mental and physical, between motion and rest, between childlike optimism and adult like pessimism (realism).

For me, it is all about balance.

Some days it’s a struggle. Some days there are far more must-do’s and should-do’s and not enough time left for the want-to-do’s. Meaning, some days adulting gets in the way of all the fun stuff. I think that is true for most everyone with a job/mortgage/kids/car payments (you get my point) and my point is not to say that I am any different than you or that my struggle is any different- it is not. At the core we all have responsibilities and we are all making sacrifices. It’s just the way it is.

I write this post more to talk about what I do to find the balance. That sounds funny right? Having to work to create balance? That seems like something that should come naturally, and maybe for some it does, but for me I have to work at it.

At the base of my normal day-to-day life, and even more so now when I am also wedding planning, there is a good amount of routine that helps keep things going. This routine stems from years of working on good habits. My routine is based around meal planning, preparing meals at home during the week and packing my breakfasts and lunches, scheduling time for activity, scheduling time for homework, and then penciling in the other weekly necessities such as grocery shopping/chores, time with E, Gordie and now M and any special events happening that week. I try to map out as much of my week as possible. For example, if I know that one night I will be out at an event during the week (Bernie Sanders volunteer meeting, tap takeover at the bar, etc) what will be my plan for dinner? When will I workout that day? What time do I need to be home? What time do I need to wake up the next morning?

Sounds like a lot right? It kind of is. Well, at least I should say that a lot of thought goes into how I plan my day. Ultimately by taking time to think about these things I feel better prepared and less stressed – which keeps me feeling balanced and in control.

That being said, I don’t plan every moment of my life out. That would be too rigid and too stressful. I always have chunks of time, even full days on the weekends, where I am open for anything- including doing nothing. Now most of the time E and I choose to spend our free time either out at the beach or downtown on our bikes but there are times where we just stay in and watch movies or Netflix- just vegging out. Both are really great options- even if the latter takes some convincing on my end. Does anyone else ever feel guilty for spending the day doing nothing? That happens to me a lot lately (just because I have so much going on with the wedding) but I do remind myself that downtime is not only a good thing, it’s a necessity.

I think in life it is all about understanding the long-term as well as the short-term when it comes to balance.

Eating a whole small pizza sounds good in theory and there are definitely times when that is exactly what I want to do. But the reality is that is an ‘in the moment’ feeling. I know that the better option is a few slices of pizza and a salad because I will feel better physically later and I also know it is a choice that supports my long term goals. This choice leaves me feeling better in the now and in the future. 

Hitting snooze ALWAYS sounds like a better option at 5am than getting up and working out (even though I love my morning workouts) because honestly what is better than a nice warm bed? Especially when it is super dark outside and no one is drill-sergeant style forcing me out of bed. But I know most every day, getting up and exercising will make me feel energized and ready to take on the day. There is nothing better to me than the feeling of accomplishing a goal before the sun even comes up. This choice leaves me feeling better in the now and in the future. 

On the flip side, it is also important for me to know when to take rest days (the body needs to heal and recover) and when to take time for self-care. When the to-do list is out of control I still need to make time for a hot bubble bath or some time with a good book. Being ‘ON’ all the time does nothing for my mood, my stress levels, and for the most part- doesn’t help make anything better. Trust me, I am seeing this a lot now as I am getting grumpier every day and the littlest of things have been setting me off. This is my signal to RETREAT! This is the time I really need to focus more on letting go, unwinding, and turning off that damn monkey mind. That choice will leave me feeling better in the now and in the future. 

Trust me- I’m working on this one. I know it is my biggest struggle right now so I am intentionally scheduling in self-care and relaxation each week now.  I have a whole day planned for Sunday that involves a ton of relaxing activities to help me get back in balance.

Sorry this post was such a brain dump. As you can see, I have had a lot on my mind lately. Writing is cathartic (when I make time for it) and helps me better focus as well as better relax. Weird how that works, right?

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxox

WW Weekly Recap: Week 9

Week 9 has come and gone and although it wasn’t what I had hoped it to be, weight loss wise, I am not letting my weight gain and missed goals stop me from trying again this week.

So how did last week go? Well, it started off strong but then got a bit crazy by the end. My goals for last week were to:

Complete week two of half marathon training – yes! Although I had to move the long run to Sunday I did not miss a single run this week

Train with M for the kids marathon- yup! We logged another two miles last week

Go to the gym twice with Anna- yeppers! Day 1 I did my warm up on the treadmill followed by a 5K on the rowing machine (in just under 25 minutes) and day 2 was 5 miles on the treadmill (as part of HM training)

Track everyday- Yesiree! Even when it got a bit out of hand and hard to remember (cough, cough – beer fest)

90K steps or more- Nope!  I fell just over 5K short on this goal. I would have crushed it if I had kept my long run on Saturday. NBD, it happens. This week’s step count will be super high J

Try to limit how much I drink at the beer fest- Kind of…I probably could have been better, I definitely could have been worse. Actually, the drinking wasn’t really the bad part- the snacking and 10p dinner out was what got me and the scale showed it.

Ignore my weird sausage toes...LOL!

You see, I debated on whether or not to weigh in Friday morning instead of Saturday since I knew I would be out drinking and eating late Friday night. Friday morning I weighed in at 170.0 (a gain of 0.4) but I opted to not record it. Instead I weighed in Saturday morning at 171.4- a gain of 1.8 for the week. Eh, it happens. And it was kind of expected. It had been 6 weeks since my last gain, it was only a matter of time.

Emerald Coast Beer Fest- always a great time! 

The important part- I just keep focusing on healthy habits and actions, even when life is tough. It’s no secret that I have been feeling a lot of stress lately. For me, now is the time I really need to be more conscious about the decisions I am making. Even though eating half a bag of tortilla chips and a tub of salsa seemed like a good idea in the moment (this happened Saturday) it only made me feel worse, physically and mentally. Sunday was spent recuperating from treating my body like shit but making sure I got in my long run, taking care of a ton of wedding stuff, meal planning and prepping, and a little relaxation on the beach (which was actually part of wedding stuff) helped to get my mind right.

View along my long run- the church where E and I will be married... <3

Vegan brunch at End of the Line- my favorite!

Salt Life

Gordie is my co-pilot...

This week there are some changes ahead which you will see in my goals…

Complete Cize Week 1 (yup, I am back at it. I loved it so much I just needed to bring it back into the routine)

Love me some Cize!!!

Complete Week 3 HM Training

Track Everyday

Log 100,000 steps

Catch Up on Schoolwork – I am falling behind (which is so unlike me) and that is adding to the stress

Try a New Recipe

Complete Photo-A-Day Challenge the 15^th-19^th

Feel free to join in and use the hashtag if you post on social media :)

Until next week….

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxoxox

WW Weekly Weigh-In: Week 8 Recap

Week 8 back at WW is in the books and I have to say that last week definitely threw a few curve balls at me. I am in this frazzled mindset most days with wedding thoughts churning through my head almost non-stop. I have heard my friends talk about pregnancy brain (when they were pregnant obv) but I think there must also be bride brain. I mean, I know there is. I have it. My mind has turned into a sieve. I have to keep a notebook by me at all times because I know that when I thought pops into my head it won’t stay there for long. And the chances of me recalling said thought at a later time are minimal to non-existent. So I write them down.

Or text them.

Or email.

Or add them to a google doc.

Or whatever I need to do to track these fleeting thoughts.

It’s fun…

Thankfully I know this is all temporary and I am very, very hopeful that post-wedding life will go back to the normal stress level of balancing everything instead of this crazy stress level that wipes me out and fries my brain daily. I am ready for that to go.

Last week I set some goals and I did so/so with reaching them

Bike Rides with E (Sunday and Saturday)- Yep!

I wore this dress on our Saturday slow ride- it's from my first Stitch Fix and I love it so much! (don't mind the just out of the shower crazy hair) 

Train with M for Pensacola kids marathon- Yep!

Complete first week of HM training- I went 3 for 4 for my training. I missed Wednesday’s 4 miler when I opted to sleep in instead and move it to Thursday after work. Then on Thursday I stayed over an hour and a half later than my normal time so I canceled the run a second time. I thought about trying to make it up on Sunday but took a rest day instead. It happens. Lesson learned.

Gym with Anna twice- Yep!

Track every day (the good, bad, and the ugly)- YESSS!

Prep for yard sale weekend- Nope, not at all. Not only is everything still in boxes in the garage we had to postpone the garage sale (which we may end up canceling altogether) indefinitely since this is a bigger undertaking than we have the time for right now.

Get some stuff off the wedding to-do list- Yep! We spent a good bit of time this weekend doing wedding stuff. I actually had Erick cancel the massage he had planned for me in order to do wedding stuff instead. It sucks but that’s how life is right now.

Drink only Saturday and Tuesday- Kind of. I drank Saturday and Tuesday and then again on Saturday. Technically it’s a yes if you look at the literal sense of the goal but I did not plan to drink this past Saturday (the 5^th) and then ended up having three beers. It happens. I blame wedding stress.

90K steps or more- I would like to say yes but my vivofit kicked the bucket last Tuesday so I was without a means of tracking my step count for four days. I bought a replacement ( the vivofit 2.0) and am back at tracking my steps again J

So what did this crazy week look like on the scale…

Meh, a loss on 0.2 is really the same as maintaining which is ok. It's good actually. I was kind of surprised. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been shocked to see a gain so I guess I will take the loss and move on. The first three days of this week have been all over the place so honestly I am not too hopeful that I will maintain or lose this week. We’ll see.

Also didn’t set any goals last Friday (which is probably why the weekend was so out of control) so I will reuse some of what I had for last week.

For week 9 I plan to:

Complete week two of HM training

Train with M for the Pensacola Kids Marathon

Go to the gym twice with Anna

Track every day

90K steps or more

Try (TRY, TRY, TRY) to limit how much I drink at the Emerald Coast Beer Festival on Friday – this may be the last time I drink until the wedding. I need a respite.

Until next week….

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxoxox

WW Weekly Weigh-In: Week 7 Recap

So here is a quick (for this blog at least) recap of week 7. I am really going to try and keep up at least these weekly posts, if not more, between now and the wedding but I make no guarantees.

Last week my plan was:

Track every day

Finish Cize week 4

Log 85K (or more) steps

Train with M for the kids marathon

Sunday evening – Saturday morning no eating out (except birthday cupcake)

No drinking until after dress fitting

I am happy to report I met each and every goal set. I tracked every day, finished up Cize (which was so super fun) and racked up 90 APs for the week, logged over 90K steps, trained with M, did not eat out during the week (except for the birthday cupcake), and did not drink until after the dress fitting.

Cize 4 week before and after side by side photos 

Step count for the week :)

And you know my goal was to be at or below 172 for the dress fitting and I am happy to report I was.  Week 7 saw a 2.2 pound loss and brought me back into the 160’s when I weighed in at 169.8 Saturday morning. I was a couple pounds below my goal weight (the weight I was at when I purchased my wedding dress) and man was I thankful. The dress fit perfectly. Aside from the hem for the length and the bustle I didn’t need any alterations. That made me quite happy to not feel like a stuffed sausage in my dress. I cannot wait for the big day just 6.5 weeks away!!!

Wedding dress sneak peek...LOL ;)

Of course, you probably guessed that the minute that dress fitting was over I hit Chipotle, then World of Beers Destin, and then later World of Beers Pensacola, then had dinner out at our favorite vegan spot, then had lunch out the next day plus leftovers from dinner the day before for dinner on Sunday. So yeah – I ate out 3 times in one weekend, 4 if you count having leftovers for a second dinner. It happens.

So far this week I have been trying to recover from an indulgent weekend. I did end up grabbing dinner out last night at Panera and a flight and a snifter of beer from WoB for their release of Funky Buddha which is finally being sold in North Florida- but both were planned. This beer loving girl could not resist being there for release night. We went to the brewery in December and I loved it. It is a family favorite for E since his sister and BIL live/work right near there. If you can get your hands on it I highly recommend their coconut porter- Last Snow. Probably my favorite porter. I think they just bumped Mystery Romp from Crooked Letter. It’s that good. Hoping I can snag some bottles of it for the wedding so if you are coming in October remind me to share some with you J

OK, so even though it is late and the week is half over I do want to share with you my goals for week 8. I made this plan up last Friday so I am putting thought into each week, even if it might not seem like it.

Week 8 Goals

Bike Rides with E (Sunday and Saturday)

Train with M for Pensacola kids marathon

Complete first week of HM training

Gym with Anna twice

Track every day (the good, bad, and the ugly)

Prep for yard sale weekend

Get some stuff off the wedding to-do list

Drink only Saturday and Tuesday

90K steps or more

I am on a 34 day tracking streak. I actually tracked every single day in August and I am super proud of myself for that. It’s been awhile since I have been so diligent with my tracking…which probably says something right there, huh? Not saying that mindful eating doesn’t work. It does, as long as I am actually being mindful and honest with myself about what and why I am eating. Until I get back to that place I will rely on tracking to keep me in check. Plus, I am a numbers person (it is actually my FT job) so I love the data I am compiling daily with tracking. And for those curious I am using both WW and MFP to track- the more data the better right now J

Ok, that’s about it. Until next week….

Love and hugs,

Dacia

xoxoxoxoxox