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

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 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

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

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