My lean for Labor Day Challenge was a bust – or so I thought…
There were certain things I thought I needed to do to reach my goal – but guess what – I didn’t. I was getting ready to write this blog – ready to accept “failure” and decided to take out my trusty tape measure – and much to my surprise I’m down a 1/2 inch in my waist, hips and thighs. My size 6 are falling off me – my size 4 fit. I haven’t gotten on the scale, but honestly – who needs to. My cloths fit! Whoot!!
So here are a few thoughts….
1. You do not have to kill yourself in the gym to reach your health and fitness goals. I walked 2.5 miles every day – as I got stronger, I notice my pace picked up and yes, I do break a sweat. I do stretch every single morning – evvvvvvvery morning without fail… wow – what a difference it makes for my body and mind. I do yoga once a week, I kayak, I hike with the dogs – all forms of exercise, all forms of living a healthy balanced life.
2. My food was pretty much spot on – Ice Cream was replaced with frozen yogurt. Instead of buying it at the stand I found it cheaper to buy a quart and bring it home. Plus – I am able to control my portions – definitely a win-win for me! You can’t out train a bad diet, trust me I’ve tried 😉
3. Stress – because I wasn’t forcing myself to do something I really didn’t want to do, I felt more relaxed. I realized the level of workouts I thought I needed to do was not what I wanted to do so I avoided it at all costs (sound familiar). Ugh – this made me feel like a complete dog. Once I called myself out, admitted I didn’t want to work at that level and didn’t beat myself up about it I felt much better, more relaxed.
The one draw back is I am not as toned as I’d like to be. This is the next thing I’m going to have to wrap my head around. I am going to have to do some weight bearing exercises in order to build the muscle I want – which, btw ladies WILL push out that yucky cellulite we all hate, plus it is a great way to prevent osteoporosis.
All in all I am pretty happy with my results. Bringing awareness to what I am doing day in and day out is not a bad thing. It helps me not “sleep walk” through life. Plus I realize I am still teachable, which is huge. There is so much I still don’t know about health and fitness – geeze – life in general… It is all trial and error, it is all a learning experience – and not giving up, but learning from mistakes, well – is the key to making our life an adventure…
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