Where Did April Go?

I mean really. What happened?

Between daily life, quitting my job, helping my grandma find a house in Springfield, and getting ready to start a new chapter in life.... April kind of disappeared on me.

I had posted on Facebook last week that my last day at Springfield Van & Storage will be this Friday, April 29th. I am going to finally be able to be home with Carson during the day and I am thrilled about that! I will then start working at Hy Vee a few evenings a week just for something to do and a little extra income. It will be a nice change for our family and I cannot even being to tell you how excited I am about it.

My grandma is moving to Springfield very soon and she will be moving in up the street from me. We are going to be super busy getting her house all fixed up the way she wants it but it is going to be nice to have her closer and be able to help her out more. And when I say up the street from me, that's no joke. Her new house is on my street and within walking distance.

I really don't have much else to update other than the fact that I decided to not be a Beachbody coach anymore. That was short lived, huh? The reason I made that decision is because I had a really good couple of weeks staying on track and then the inevitable happened..... I binged and I binged BAD. That is what happens to me every time I restrict my diet and have foods that are "bad" and "off limits". It triggers something inside of me that makes me crazy and I always snap and go off the deep end.

Recently I read two AMAZING books that have helped me tremendously and the past week and a half I have never been happier or felt better. I am eating what I want, when I want it, and ONLY when I'm hungry. Crazy thought huh? I stop eating when I'm full too. NO WAY! Alert the press! The new diet fad is in! Hahahaha. I have successfully been losing weight and feeling the changes in my body and I am not depriving myself of anything. It's amazing that when you listen to your body's hunger signals and cravings and eat what you want that you don't feel depressed, angry, deprived, upset, or guilty when you eat something you're "not supposed to".

You would think all I crave is sweets and junk, right? Wrong. The first two days I probably did go a little heavy on the baked goods and chips - but that's stopped now. I want fresh foods, salads, whole avocados, fruit, nuts, whole grains...... I'm eating better now than I have on any "diet" I've done.

The best part about this? I have rekindled my love of baking. Oh how I love to bake. I have missed it. I stopped baking so much because those were "no-no" foods and bad for me and if I made them I'd surely binge. I have made two huge batches of chocolate chips cookies and an amazing layer fudge cake with chocolate butter cream frosting and have controlled myself with ease. It's amazing.

If you're curious about the books I've read, here they are:

Josie Spinardi's Thinside Out

Kathryn Hansen's Brain Over Binge

Both of these books were insanely eye opening to me and I am so glad I read them. They have officially changed the way I think about food and my relationship with it.

Back At It

So, it's been 5 days since the half marathon and I feel great. The day after my feet were a tad sore (I had a few small blisters) and my hips didn't like to function after I had been sitting for too long, but otherwise I felt fantastic. I felt empowered, and super accomplished.

Sunday was also really nice because I got to enjoy Amber's company until the afternoon. We went to a couple stores to stock me up on some loose leaf tea, and healthy stuffs to eat, and then we visited the Lincoln Museum Gift Shop and the Lincoln Tomb. After that we had a nice lunch at Noodles & Co. and then she headed home. We had some amazing conversations and it was truly motivating to me. Amber has helped me so much to get back on track with my health. It's not just a vanity thing, people. It is about my overall health and wellness and trying to live a long life so I can be there for my child. Hopefully one day there will be another child as well. Again, I want to get healthy before even attempting to get pregnant again. I mean, I've said it before.... my blood pressure is fine, my overall health is technically good.... but extra weight on anyone is a bad deal!

As I mentioned at the end of my last post I decided to become a Beachbody coach and am loving it so far. I have my Vegan Chocolate Shakeology that I love. I normally don't buy into the hype of things like that but I notice a HUGE difference when I drink that every morning. Plus, it's like a delicious chocolate milkshake. Yum. I make mine with almond milk, ice, and a banana. I cannot even begin to describe how it curbs my cravings AND gives me energy. I have had more energy at work this past week than I have had in a LONG time. I am following through with tasks and reaching goals I have set at work AND at home. It's an amazing feeling.

I am also doing 21 Day Fix again. If you haven't heard of that, check it out here. This is also my personal coaching page. The first time I did 21 Day Fix it was on a whim. I lasted a week, had GREAT results, but then stopped. Why? Because that's how people work. Hahaha. I am doing much better this time around because I have, once again, cut meat out of my diet. I did use up what was left in the house which was some salmon and Andrew will continue to eat chicken breast, but I am enjoying 21 Day Fix even more now that I cut out meat. I feel like I have more options which might not make sense to some. I love beans. When you do 21 Day Fix, the regular eating plan, you don't get to eat a lot of beans or whole grains. When you follow the Vegan/Vegetarian plan, you get lots of beans and whole grains. I have yet to use ALL of my containers in a day. I am giving my body the fuel it needs and I feel fantastic because of it.

I also like the 21 Day Fix workouts. They are 30 minutes and require little to no equipment. I do it in the morning before Carson gets up and before getting ready for work. I still go for walks/jogs in the afternoon sometimes too because I am trying to continuously build up my endurance for running again.

This was an afternoon workout while the baby slept! 

This is my "I don't like Pilates" face. Haha. It made muscles I didn't even know I had hurt. But I got it done this morning! 

I have lost 46.5 pounds since the beginning of 2015 and that is awesome. I honestly feel great and can't wait to feel even better! If you need some motivation or want to ask questions about what I am doing... please reach out to me! Everyone knows I am an open book about my weight loss journey and my dream to be a fit mom!

Half Marathon Number 4: Recap

Well, we did it! Remember how I said I would be sad because mom wasn't dong it with me. Well guess what? SHE DID IT WITH ME! We were sitting on the couch Friday and I said "It won't be the same without you." and then she told me she would do it. So when Amber and I went to get our packets, we registered mom! I was so happy! That evening we had a delicious dinner of whole wheat pasta with lots of veggies and then called it a night. We were going to have to be out the door by 6:30am.

Minutes before Race

The cold doesn't bother you so much as the wind does. The wind for this race was horrific. There would be times that it was calm and it was perfect.... then a gust of wind would come and mom and I would walk like we were drunk. Ha!

We finished faster than we did in 2013 and I am very proud of that! I would still like to do this race in 3 hours or less. That is my ultimate goal. Oh! And we weren't second to last this year. We finished ahead of 12 people! Woo!

The absolute BEST PART of this race was the fact that Mary Todd and Abe crossed the finish line with mom! I finished, got my medal, and turned around to see mom crossing with them and I just laughed. It was amazing!

I now have 3 penny medals and hope that collection continues to grow! My next race is a Virtual 13K that Amber signed me up for and I have until April 16th to complete that. I miss running races. I really want to make sure I don't forget this feeling and all I have to do is continue to find races and sign up for as many as I can.

Also, I hope to be an inspiration to people out that that no matter what size you are, how old you are, what pains you have; if you set your mind on something you CAN and WILL accomplish it.

Annnnnd because I am a data junkie, here are my Garmin times/splits: