Day 17

Today is day 17 and I had a GREAT DAY! I woke up and had my usual egg whites with mushrooms, Swiss, and spinach. My AM snack was a yogurt, lunch was a salad with turkey, and my PM snack was cottage cheese with blueberries and strawberries. I really have started to love cottage cheese; however, I went for the cheaper brand and I can definitely tell the difference... not a good difference either. I'll definitely be going back to "high quality" name brand next week.

My friend Sarah came over and met me at my house after work and I talked up my Tony workouts:) She tried the Sculpt 1-2 with me and liked it... she felt it which is a great sign! I made us veggie burgers with a medium potato cut up into fries and then baked them. SOO DELICIOUS! For "dessert" we had some frozen fruit. She doesn't fully understand my love for frozen fruit but I'm going to get her hooked on it for sure! (I really like it because it lasts longer and it's just so yummy!)

I'm really starting to feel more comfortable with my daily routine and portion sizes. The only things I really measure is my turkey (because I get exactly enough for the week so it doesn't go bad) and my cheeses (because I'm a cheese lover!). Other then that I really am starting to get a grasp on what a "normal" portion size is. Although I'm being very good with all my meals I will say that I am being realistic and I am indulging in the little joys of life, just very moderately. :)

As for my weight loss and toning goals I am definitely feeling and seeing (I hope it's true) some good toning! My stomach feels tighter and flatter and my legs and arms seem to be working their way to a nice shape (slowly of course:) My weight loss isn't as a big priority for me as compared to toning but I do enjoy watching the numbers fall. To date I've lost 5 lbs! I don't know if you can tell but I can feel it and that feels awesome! I can tell that my body is ready for a push and the videos are getting a little "easy" (I can do them fairly easy now) so starting Monday I'm going to bump up to levels 3-4 and get things moving. My sister did each level a month at a time but I think I'm ready to move up and push myself so I'm going to try! As Tony always says, if it doesn't feel right do what you can... so I figure I'll start Monday with levels 3-4 and if it's too hard I'll drop some weight or go back to 1-2 for another week.

I'm really excited for the next step because I think it will really help me see more results. The videos get longer, more intense, and the weights get heavier (if you choose). I don't plan on using heavy weights because I've switched to resistance bands but I do have the option to add more resistance; which I'll change as I go along. If I can drop just 5 more pounds I think I'll really feel that I'm working as hard as I can. BUT if I don't I'm ok with that, as long as I'm toning and can still see and most importantly feel healthier/stronger. My ultimate weight goal is to not gain more then what I weighed before minus 2 lbs. (Does that make sense?) So my starting weight - 2 lbs. That sounds weird... anyways after the Hooters, cake, and candy the other night I was EXTREMELY aware that I couldn't eat like that again for quite some time. I'm really feeling and understanding that if you have a bad day, it's ok... just remember that and be "good" for the next week or two. We all have "bad" eating days that we wished we didn't indulge in but the truth of the matter is that IT HAPPENS! I can stress all day long about how bad I ate but if I pretend I won't do it again I'm just setting myself up for disappointment and failure. Now, I'm just realizing that I need to be more reasonable about those bad days. If one comes along (and I'm sure it will) I'll know that I need to be more mindful for the next week or so. "If you fall of the horse, you back on and try again". Great motto if I do say so myself!!

Life is all about learning right? :) I'm committed to seeing this 90 day program to the end... and BEYOND no matter how hard it gets and no matter how many times I have a bad day. For 17 days (it feels so much longer!) I have worked out 6 days a week, sometimes 7 and added in running. While I've had a few "cheat" days with eating I'm proud that I've stayed committed to keeping the workouts going even though I've been too tired or can't find the time. I've stayed up late working out, woken up at 5:00AM to work out, and even taken my videos and resistance bands to Mike's parents boat house to stay on track. If that's not dedication I don't know what is! :)

Until tomorrow....

"Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions. And the actions which speak louder than the words. It is making the time when there is none. Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism."
~ Abraham Lincoln