Author: aprillengelrbl2018

It is hard to believe a month has gone by since our 5K. I have taken everything I have learned during the 12 week process and tried to keep using it and moving forward. I even kept going to the gym for a couple of weeks after the 5K. Then life hit and it hit hard. My son has always been my healthy one and that all changed last fall. He had continued to go down hill and the doctor finally decided it was time for surgery. He has now been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and been put on a dairy free diet. The old me would have gone into stress eat mode and piled on more weight. This was a test and I was determined to pass it. I took in a deep breath and said God I know you have this and you knew this was coming so I have to trust you. I sat in the operating waiting room eating a protein bar and drinking my water instead of a Mt Dew and a bag of chips with a bag of candy. I kept pushing through these last few weeks of our new normal and stayed pretty close to the new healthy eating plan. I couldn’t make it to the gym with everything going on with him and his new diet and medication. I stayed as active as I could and did little workouts at home. Today was my first day back at the gym since May 3rd. I fully expected that I would have either gained a pound or two but would have been grateful to see the same weight I saw May 2nd. I was pleasantly surprised to see I had lost 3 lbs since then. 15 pounds since starting RBL!!! I still have a ways to go but this showed me just how important nutrition is. I make my family crazy with macronutrients but it is paying off. Now I am even more motivated to get back in the gym and see what happens.

Wow, it is hard to believe that tomorrow 12 weeks will be finished. I remember walking into that YMCA gym scared and unsure of what I had gotten myself into. I was never a gym rat and had some really poor eating habits that needed to be corrected. 12 weeks later, I am 12 lbs lighter and have lost 9+ inches. I am down 2 pants sizes. I have also become a gym rat. I love going to the gym and seeing myself becoming stronger and healthier. I have better eating habits and have learned how to not let food be my go. As my daughter would say, I have become a health nut. Tomorrow is our big day – our 5K. These knees won’t let me run it and I am ok with that. I will walk most of it with some small periods of jogging. My goal is under an hour. Tomorrow may end RBL but it is just the beginning of a new chapter in my story. I am not stopping here but just beginning the next part of this journey.

These last 12 weeks have been far from easy. I have fought for every pound that I have lost. I have felt discouraged many days because I couldn’t lose pounds. I have lost inches and I am down 2 pants sizes. More importantly to me though is that I am checking off goals from goal sheet I made 12 weeks ago. At the beginning of April, I hiked 14 miles in one week. Goal: Be able to hike and enjoy it again. Goal met. Several times over the last several weeks when my son challenges me to a race I have been able to say ok. Goal: Be able to run around and play with my kids. Goal met. Last Saturday, I went canoeing and kayaking. I loved kayaking and I am looking for more places to go. Goal: I want to be able to try kayaking and possibly take it up as a new hobby. Goal met. I still have more goals on my list and new ones are being added but I am proud of the things I can do now.

I have always been an outdoors girl. Nothing makes me happier than to be out camping, sitting by a campfire, or hiking. All of these activities though were becoming harder and harder especially with the weight I had put on and as out of shape as I was. Hiking had become almost nonexistent for me. One of my goals at the beginning of this journey was to be able to hike again and it be enjoyable. I found that joy this last week. I started with my usual small 2 mile hike at Lake Conestee on Sunday. On Tuesday, I wanted to preview a hike that I would be taking my scouts on to see if I could do it. I completed a 3.67 mile hike at Tugaloo State Park. I was able to complete that without much trouble so I decided I was going to try another on Thursday. I had always wanted to go to DuPont forest and do the waterfall hikes. We hiked just a little over 5 miles that day. It felt so good to be back out on the trails. Yes I was a little sore but it was a good kinda sore. The hiking bug had bit me again and it felt great to be back at one of my favorite activities. I finished off the week with a 3 mile hike at Lake Powhatan. I am already scouting out my next hike and itching to be back out on a trail. This journey hasn’t always been easy much like the trails I may venture out on but I am glad I persevered so I could experience the joy of hiking again.

Enjoy some pics from this week!

To all the RBL blog followers I apologize for not writing in awhile. I never want to be a stumbling block for anyone and I feel like I could discourage some people who read this. I have been riding the struggle bus since the beginning of March. I keep hoping we are getting to my bus stop but it never seems to happen. Before RBL, I had very poor nutritional choices – fast food, junk food, sweets, and comfort food. Food I now realize had become an addiction for me used to soothe my worries and stresses. When we had kick off I was like ok this it it, all of that went away. I went to the complete opposite and went to healthy eating. I have struggled through this nutritional piece. There is so much to learn and understand and I can never seem to get a handle on it. What gives me this without giving me that? What should I do at this time? Where do I find healthy carbs? The list could go on. I do feel like I have a good understanding of my workouts and I really enjoy them. I am still not capable of running but I am understanding that my knee may not let me so instead I speed walk. Getting to the Y isn’t always easy because I am made to feel guilty for not being home. The struggle bus closed it’s doors and took me for a ride when the weight issue began. I was struggling with guilt but would push it aside and say I need to do this to be a better Mom and person for everyone. The nutrition piece was frustrating me because I wanted to do it right even though I knew anything was healthier than my past habits. The weight yo-yo I just can’t get past. I would be so excited one week with weight loss but then the next I would be right back up. I have bounced between these same 3-4 numbers on the scale and just can’t seem to get lower. I am watching everyone else lose and I try not to compare myself but I want to lose weight also. I am happy knowing that I am getting healthier and I am very thankful for all the help I have had so far and the friendships I have made. I just want off the struggle bus and find my bus stop that will allow the weight to get off of me. I want to see all the hard work that I am putting in to this have results. There is weight to be lost and a goal I have for myself once the weight is gone but I need to find what is keeping that from happening. It is frustrating and there are days I want to quit but I’m not a quitter so I push on. I just want to find my stop and get off this struggle bus and start seeing results.

I told you that I would share a few of the new healthy recipes my family are enjoying:

https://www.skinnykitchen.com/recipes/skinny-crock-pot-balsamic-pork-tenderloin/

That one is our absolute favorite that gets asked for every week by my daughter.

One Pan Parmesan-Crusted Chicken with Broccoli

We love like really really love the roasted broccoli.

The Best Turkey Chili You’ll Ever Taste

I did this in the crock pot so everyone could eat when they needed to on our busy nights.

This journey is 50% spiritual, 30% mental, and 20% physical. When I started this journey Jan 24th, I would have told you it was 80% physical, 10% spiritual, and 10% mental. I have to realize in this journey that a lot of my problem is that I wasn’t giving God all my problems. I was holding onto them and medicating with food. Yes God was there and a part of my life but I was holding onto it tightly. I first had to let go and let God so I could make better food choices. I had to start turning to God rather than food. The next biggest obstacle was the mental aspect. At first, I didn’t think it would be a big deal. I was so excited. I was getting the spiritual aspect fixed and mental was good so workouts (the physical part) were going good. That came to a screeching halt Feb 9th. I hit a major mental block, spiritual was fighting a warfare to keep things in check. I struggled so hard last week. I felt mentally defeated. My workouts weren’t as good because I just wasn’t feeling it. I got on the scale last Thursday and I had gained a pound. I was totally defeated going into what I knew would be a tough weekend being away at a conference and having to eat what they cooked and not getting much exercise because I would be sitting in class all day. Early Sunday morning sitting outside the dining hall, I was reading my Bible app and doing my devotional. As I prayed I heard God whisper remember this is about Us, you have to Trust me. He was right 50% of this was about getting things back in order with God and replacing my food addiction with a hunger for Him. I got back into town Sunday night ready to tackle the gym Monday. I went in this afternoon and hit it hard like I use to. I even tried a Pound/Zumba class. I have learned I can’t let a number on the scale control my mental state. I just need to lean harder on God and with His help keep working.

Week 2 flew by and at the end of that week I took my son and we went to a Cub Scout sleepover at a science museum. I had to be very mindful as to what I was eating since I couldn’t get to the gym for those two days. When I got home I got sent to my knees with some hard news. Life happens and I knew bumps in the road would happen. I am not in some protective bubble while doing RBL but I do have great support to help me. I so badly wanted to turn to my comfort foods, curl up in my bed, and tune the world out. I couldn’t do that though because I am committed to this change. I am stuck with my healthy food and instead have turned to prayer and God to get me through this trial. I am not perfect though my head hasn’t been totally in the game and my workouts haven’t been as intense as they were before and it shows. That was my wakeup call tonight! Tomorrow is a new day and I am going to go all at it again and give it 110%. My favorite new song especially when working out is Toby Mac “Till the day I die”. Enjoy the video and I will be back soon with some great recipes.

Till the Day I Die