Each Day an Opportunity

When I woke up this morning, I knew today was the day. I spent all evening yesterday visiting with family and helping take care of my nearly two year old nephew who has the flu. When I came home, I came to the realization that I spent all last week either feeling like crap or being lazy. It's that simple. So, I spent all evening pinning health-related items and new meal ideas on Pinterest. So, when I woke up this morning, I knew it was time to hop back on track and not look back. It also helped that my new Leslie Sansone DVD: Walk it Off in 30 Days. This is by far the quickest and toughest Leslie workout I have ever completed. I was sweating before I was even 5 minutes into the workout. 419 calories burned in 33 1/2 minutes. I am ecstatic. Can't wait to see my 30 day results from alternating between this workout and the "Firm 30" disc that is also included.

But, that's not all... I was so excited that I pushed myself to work out today, that while on my endorphin high, I chose to do a 3 mile Leslie Sansone HIIT workout. It got my heart rate up, but I don't feel like it was as tough as the first workout. So...overall... I burned a whopping 1060 calories today for a little over an hour of hard work, sweat, and determination. Water intake was on track today and I only had one can of Diet Pepsi. I had completely kicked the habit previously, but around the holidays I let myself get away from many of the healthier habits I had created, so I am slowly but surely getting back on the right track.

Regardless of what any other person thinks, I believe in myself and even though I've had a pretty crummy two months that could have been spent being healthy and losing more weight, everyone needs a break from the "all healthy, all the time" lifestyle. You have to indulge every now and then, and if you fall down, you have to get back up. That's what I'm doing, getting back up, dusting myself off, and going on my own merry way. There may even be some skipping, who knows?

Now to get some rest and prepare for another stellar day tomorrow...

Until we meet again,
Ashley ♥

A Rocky Start to the New Year

Getting back on the "health-wagon" presents challenges. Sometimes you overcome them and sometimes they overcome you. We are all human. Today the hubby and I decided to order pizza. I knew it wasn't what I needed to eat, it simply sounded good. Days like today are those where I must remind myself that indulgences every now and then are not going to bring me down, cutting these foods entirely out of my diet would be setting myself up for failure. So, even though I was over my calorie count today, I plan to make up for it tomorrow. I already have my meals planned out and a nice long walk with Ms. Leslie Sansone on the schedule. Instead of doing a 3-mile walk, I have decided to do a 5 mile walk, which I haven't done in weeks. They work up a good sweat and the calorie burn is nothing to scoff at.

I have been working on price checking books for college all evening, trying to get the best prices possible. College is so expensive, especially when you know that the insane amount of loans you're having to take out are putting you in debt well over your head. I have decided to pick back up on my coupon clipping as well. With a 5 day school schedule starting back in a little more than a week, I'm hoping I can find the time. Who knows, this might be how I make use of the time I sit on campus as I'm waiting for my uncle, with whom I ride to school everyday, to get off work.

I've also decided that since I am required as a student to pay for a membership to the REC center on campus, whether I use it or not, this will be the semester that I venture down that road. I'm still overcoming the "all eyes on me" phobia, but hey, everyone starts somewhere and I'm already partially through my journey. Also, I'm hoping that getting back on track will alleviate the hair loss I'm facing right now. My hair has been coming out in clumps every time I take a shower and I'm noticing a spot on the back of my head that is really thinning out. I'm convinced that this is due to my out of whack hormones caused by my PCOS, but it really has me down. When eating the proper things, drinking at least 8 cups of water per day, and exercising regularly, my hair was looking good and my face was clearer than it had been in well over a year. Now, I'm facing those issues again. It's just time to start making those baby steps again.

This year has a lot to offer and if all things go as planned, I'll be a college graduate in December. Wouldn't another 70 pound loss be a great accomplishment to celebrate at the end of the year... possibly even MORE?!? This is all for today. I have a lot of reflecting and a lot of planning for the upcoming weeks to do this evening. Also, I have decided that I will be sticking with the weigh-in day established by my challenge group, Wednesday. At this point I will start posting my weight every week and my measurements once per month.

Until tomorrow....

All the best,
Ashley ♥