Seven Days for Every Body

I included this photo in my last post and mentioned that I intended to write more and not simply focus on weight loss. 

And here I am, six days later, and I haven't touched on any of these topics.

Because I have some free time right now (and some motivation to write), I thought I might as well write about all seven.

My 2019 Mantra

Balance

I have gotten pretty good at this over the past year or so -- especially in the last couple of months. But, there is always room to improve, and I want to continue working on balance.

Yes, I need to continue to balance work and home: as a teacher, it is very difficult to leave work at work. There are always lessons to be planned, papers to be graded, etc., but my students also take up a lot of my thoughts; I work in an alternative school, and as a teacher who values authentic relationships and who encourages her students to speak their truths, I often have students unload on me, and it can be very emotionally taxing.

I will say, though, that I have gotten much better at this in the last several years. However, even as I was focusing on balance, I thought to myself that I should really, really be planning my next unit right now. So, I clearly have some work to do.

In addition to work/home, though, I also need to balance some other things: time with my partner, time vegging out in front of mindless TV, time reading, time planning the wedding, time with friends, time writing, etc. Again, this has improved in the last several weeks, especially through the use of my habit tracker, but I know I can still do better.

And, I want to be better about balancing being super-duper healthy (i.e. working out like crazy, eating very healthy, etc.) with being a little more relaxed (i.e. taking a rest day, not freaking out about having a brownie). I am continuing to improve in this area -- and Weight Watchers has certainly helped, especially with the mindset around food -- but yes, there's still room for improvement.

My Go-To ZeroPoint Food

Weight Watchers has a list of more than 200 zero-point foods; these are foods that can be eaten in unlimited amounts. (I mean, these foods still have calories, but they are deemed "zero points" because it's a lot less likely to binge on a bag of chicken breasts than it is to down a bag of chips.)

I have two favorites:

Sometimes I wonder when I'm going to turn orange due to carrot consumption. Jesus's former roommate, actually, used to tease me non-stop about the amount of baby carrots I brought over.

What can I say? I love 'em.

I'm also a huge fan of apples and bananas; they are a constant on my grocery list, and I panic if we're getting low on them. I know that eating all that sugar likely isn't the best, but I usually eat one banana and one apple every day.

My Why

In Weight Watchers, the "why" is essentially your motivation: why did you join Weight Watchers? Why do you want to lose weight?

This certainly deserves a longer post, and I will definitely write it soon. For now, though, I will just say that my "why" is to feel more like myself. Sure, I want to look better, but I also want to continue feeling better. And, of course, I want to look smokin' hot on my wedding day. (But, that is also not my ultimate why. I don't think it's healthy to focus on just appearance or on just one day.)

A Fitness Move/Class I Love

I think y'all already know this one: I love Pilates, and I love lifting. (I would really like to be able to love running again, but I'm not sure that's in the cards for me with my shoddy ankle.)

Speaking of lifting, I had another amazing victory the other day: I leg-pressed 680 pounds for 20 reps. Prior to getting on the machine, my trainer (Tyler) told me that we were going to hit 20 today, and when I saw the weight he added, I was like, "Bwahaha!" He told me to just do as many as I could, and we would adjust accordingly.

Around rep 16, I told Tyler that I didn't think I could do anymore, and he said to keep pushing, that he was right there with me. With a teeny tiny bit of assistance from Tyler, I pushed out the last three reps (and even held the final one for almost the full 15 seconds -- which, let me tell you, is super freaking hard). I think that both Tyler and I were surprised that I was able to do the entire set at that weight.

These big-ass legs are good for something!

I will say, though, that I did a lot of sitting down the rest of the day -- and I was thankful that I forgot my wedges at home and had to wear my Uggs all day instead. My legs during my workout on Friday morning, too, were totally shot; my muscles were pooped.

Fave Weight Watchers Freestyle Recipe

This is another topic about which I would like to write an entire post, similar to what I did for the Whole30 a long time ago on my previous blog.

I have made a lot of amazing recipes, and most of them have come from Skinnytaste -- both online and from her cookbooks, all three of which are incredible.

One of my favorite recipes that I have made from the Weight Watchers website, however, is Creamy Mexican Dip. I made this as part of "taco night" when I hosted book club at my house a couple of weeks ago, and I also plan on bringing it to a potluck at school on Wednesday.

It is sooooooo delicious and does not "taste healthy" at all. I could eat it by the spoonful -- which would actually be better than the 18,000 tortilla chips that I would prefer accompany it.

Compliment Yourself

You know, I am doing really great, and I am really proud of myself. I have been kicking butt -- both in the gym and in the kitchen. I have lost weight, and I have gained incredible strength. And, I'm starting to finally notice that I'm looking a bit different; Jesus and my trainer reassured me that I am, in fact, looking different, which is obviously nice to hear.

The face of someone who is awfully proud of herself.

I'm excited to continue pushing forward, improving both my fitness and my nutrition.

Show Off Your Support Squad

My number one support person is my mama; she's the one who encouraged me to join Weight Watchers, she's the one who's answered every question I could possibly have, she's the first one I call when I'm excited about various things, and she's just the very best mama in the world.

Jesus is also super supportive of me and is my everyday cheerleader. He also eats what I cook and tells me it tastes good, which is always nice. :)

Best Company Ever

I also get a heck of a lot of inspiration from people who don't even know I exist on Instagram. I'll have to accumulate a list to share at some point. Stay tuned.

Well, that's it for now, friends! I'll "see" you tomorrow with our regularly-scheduled "weigh in" post. Hopefully I'll have good news to share (although, the week started out way better nutrition-wise than it ended...eeek).

Peace out!