Wait... It's JULY?! Oh no... I overslept...

Hmmm... How to start...
 
The last few months have been a whirlwind of change. I spent plenty of time wishing things would clear up and work out the way I thought they should. Spent time waiting for one thing or another before I really got on the ball with working out. There was always an excuse, always something on the horizon that would make it easier, make it clearer, make it work better.
 
The truth is, there isn't. Life happens. Things change. The difference between me and the people I see that really seem to have their stuff together is that they MAKE the time to get it together. They don't wait around for the time to find them.
 
So, at the start of this year, I was waiting to find a full time job, and waiting for school to be done. Those were the big changes I just knew would make it easier for me to find that time for myself. After months of not being able to find a job, and school creeping closer and closer to an end, I started really fearing that I would not be able to find those things and help get my little family back on our feet. Then I caught a break.
 
I got a job. Full time, and I am using the job as my internship, so I'm doing a little multitasking lol
But interestingly enough, now that I have found those things I was searching for, have I been working out the way I should? Nope. Sure wasn't.
 
A few weeks into the job, we decided to have a weight loss challenge in our office. Top floor against the bottom floor. But even better, my co-worker and I have a challenge of our own on the side. So I went down with her to weigh in on the first day, officially weighed in at 318, higher than I have been in these nearly three years. I was shocked, sad, disappointed to say the least. Just a few weeks and I had put on more than 12lbs. Well, that most definitely is not the direction I intend to go in now that things are finally coming together, so this challenge couldn't come at a better time. She and I are keeping each other going, and have even worked in a water challenge to get each other to drink more water.
 
I have to say this is the most excited and motivated I have been in a really long time. I feel like I have been imagining what my life would look like once school was done and I had that great full time job (and those great paychecks) and until now, it hasn't really been what I pictured. This challenge is motivating me to keep myself accountable and really be realistic with my time and expectations.
We weigh in weekly, so the next week I clocked in a loss of 4lbs. Not too shabby. But the following week I gained 3 of those lbs back. Clearly, this is going to take concentration, determination, and no more bs. This week I started using my MFP again, and linked up with a few new friends, and it has been working out great. Makes me wonder why the hell I ever stopped using the app. It really is amazing, and SO easy to use! (I highly recommend it!!) Logging my calorie intake and output makes it really foolproof overall, because there is no questioning where my calories are at, and if I am getting close or even go over my goal, I know that I need to make adjustments to my workout to compensate for those calories.

As of this morning I am back down to 304. Since this whole journey started, the lowest I managed to hit was 296. That's only 8lbs away. I don't really know why, but I feel more positive about this whole experience than I have in a long time. I feel almost excited about making progress and working toward my goals. I've set a series of shorter term goals rather than just keeping my eye on my end goal weight. But what about everything else along the way? Sometimes I forget to stop and enjoy the now.

If I can impart any wisdom here, I hope it's this... Don't get so lost in planning for your life that you forget to live it.

As always, thank you for reading and sharing in this with me.
-Curvy