Update: #LMWLLifestyle Challenge, Days 3-7

Hey, People! I'm still going strong with the #LMWLLifestyle challenge via Sarah Jenks!  I haven't had a chance to blog since my last post because I've been working or doing the challenges. But here I am, writing this post as I watch the season finale of my favorite TV show the Walking Dead! During commercial breaks, of course ;). I've got days 3-7 to share below, so please keep reading!

Day 3: Watch the sunset
I thought this sounded like a beautiful idea and couldn't wait to see the sunset after a few gloomy days filled with clouds and rain. Sarah chose the challenge to encourage us to acknowledge the beauty that's around us every day. While I wasn't able to catch a true sunset, I got a glimpse in between the super cloudy day. This challenge encouraged me to slow down a bit to appreciate the little things.







Day 4: Get out of your normal space to watch a new video from LiveMoreWeighLess.com. 

After a very long day, I was really happy to step away from my apartment with dozens of reminders of my long to do list. Instead, I went to a local Panera Bread to watch Sarah's video without any distractions from my TV, my dog, etc. In Sarah's
Video #2 of the LMWL Lifestyle Video Training Series, one of the things she encourages us to do is a "something" that we want to do now instead "waiting on the weight" to encourage us to live our life filled with things that make us happy. This could be dating, spending more time with a loved one or friends, going to a dance class, etc. Sarah explained that when we don't do the things that make us feel happy and fulfilled, we turn to food to fill a void. If we live our lives and fill them with happy and fulfilling things, we'll decrease our need to turn to food as our companion or excitement of the day. This really connected for me and made a lot sense of what has made me turn to food and continue to turn to food.  Sarah also encourages us to fall in love with our bodies, to nurture it, and to be more gentle and caring. So often, we as women tend to be aggressive and rough with our bodies via crazy detox diets, workouts we don't enjoy, or that inner voice critiquing our imperfections. Enough! It's time to appreciate our bodies. To honor this, I gave my body some TLC with a resting and restorative pose that I found on Pinterest, as shown in the image below. I highly recommend it!

 

Image Souce: http://www.clipzine.me/u/clip/72679800396260581918

Day 5: Tell someone she's beautiful.
This challenge was all about appreciating someone's beauty. I thought this was a great way to pay it forward with the positive energy I've received from doing Sarah's challenge. I chose not one, but two of my two cowokers!

 

Day 6: Enjoy the healing power of  water

This challenge couldn't have come at a more perfect time. I was getting ready to work a 12 hour babysitting schedule on my Saturday (oy). I could have used my morning to knock a few things of my to do list, etc. But instead I chose to go to my favorite work out class and then enjoy my breakfast outside as I watched over the lake and morning sun. It was gorgeous and so peaceful. This is something I definitely want to add to my daily/weekly schedule as an effort to be more calm and centered. I mean seriously, look at the beautiful picture below! I need more of this in my life! I deserve this!

Day 7: Get creative
Sarah encouraged us to express ourselves in a creative way through art. We could write, dance, sing, etc. I chose to paint. I'm not good at it. Quite frankly, I think I suck. But I enjoy the process of painting. It's calming. Painting forces me to focus on the colors, the shapes, and the brush strokes. I decided to paint the sun as a throwback to a sunny day this week. I loved feeling the heat on my face. It felt wonderful. So I wanted to pay tribute to that feeling by painting the sun. For obvious reasons, a friend of mine teased me about the painting saying it looked like a tick. But whatever, what are you gonna do? Art is interpretive, right? ;)

So that completes the rest of the challenges for week 1. Next week, Sarah's challenges will include watching a new video, connecting to our religion/spirtuality, being makeup free (eek!), a weekend date (this will be tough for me), wear something that's outside of your usual wardrobe, showing our body some love, and taking a bath (I'm so for this one). I'm excited to see what I experience during each challenge and look forward to sharing my adventures with you in a future post.

Heads up: You can join Sarah's Live More Weigh Less Lifestyle Program Launch on Wednesday at 7 PM EST!  The party is happening at livemoreweighless.com/launch-party. I'll be there, will you? Let me know in the comments below!

I'm Back...again! And this time with the #LMWLIFESTYLE Challenge!

Hey there! Long time to "talk!" You know how I said I was back in my last blog post and then disappeared again? First, my bad. Second, let me explain. I was kicking off my effort with the Strong in the New Skinny program. I was doing great for about 3 days and then I crashed. It wasn't for me. It was too restrictive. Although you get to introduce select foods into your diet as you move forward, the overall program was too much of a drastic change for me. I think it's a great approach for someone that's trying to drop the last 10-15 lbs. Not someone like me who now has to drop about 95 lbs!

Wow. I have to lose 95 lbs! That means I've gained 95 lbs since 2010-ish? Crazy. Sigh. Moving forward...

So as you can imagine, I've been pretty disappointed with myself for not sticking with the program and not getting back on track with WeightWatchers as I vowed I would to myself, my friends, etc. Lately, nothing has been sticking. I know what to do, I just can't seem to really do it. It's not that I don't want this--I really do. I have visions of what my "back in shape" life will be like. I have clothes sitting in my closet begging me to wear them in the near future. I have a motivational poster on my wall, workout gear everywhere, a Pinterest board called "Get it Right, Get it Tight" with hundreds of tips on how to lose weight and get that "perfect body." What could I be missing?! Why is it not clicking for me like it was when I was 20 years old when I first started my weight loss journey that took off 68 lbs that I thought I'd never see again?

So after my latest weight loss fail, I kind of just floated in between giving up and not giving up. That's until I came across this promoted post on my Facebook newsfeed. I saw this "Live More Weigh Less" challenge and I was immediately drawn to it! Once I clicked on the website, I knew this is exactly what I've been searching for. Please let me introduce you to my latest hero: Sarah Jenks and the Live More Weigh Less Program!

In a nutshell (and I'm paraphrasing on what I gathered, but please go to the website to learn more), Sarah focuses on living your life with pleasure to be healthy instead of restricting and depriving yourself. She gets to the core of why we do what we do. For me, I'm eating because I'm not in a happy place. I'm eating because I'm stressed, sad, lonely, bored, etc. But what if we changed the things that are making us stressed, sad. lonely, and bored vs. the thinking that all of this can change once we reach our goal weight? By doing so, we can be less inclined to emotional eating and do the things that make us feel better and happier (internally and externally). Over time, our bodies will go on a natural and sane path to the healthy shape that it's meant to be in (no more trying to compare our selves to some unrealistic celebrity body). What a great concept! Embrace yourself + live the life you want = a healthier and happier you!

I don't know about you, but I'm all about that! So I was quick to jump in on her Live More Weight Less Lifestyle Challenge.  It's not too late for you to join. You can group together the days that you missed all in one day or start up on the day that you decide to join the party :).  I'll be sharing my experience with this program in the hopes that it will encourage and inspire similar ladies. So read below and please check in for days 3 & 4 soon!

Day 1: Wear Red Lipstick, Do Something Fun, Non-Distracted Eating

So for the first day of the challenge, we were tasked with wearing red lipstick. At first, I wasn't sure I could do this. I honestly thought I could just take the photo and then wipe it off. But I really want to do this and not make it about showing off on social media. So I stuck to my guns and rocked the red lips all day long. Right away, I noticed that I felt more confident. I was able to look people in the eye as I said hello. In fact, I'm pretty sure I caught the attention of this cutie during my coffee run. I've seen him before and I don't think he's ever really spoken to me before. But that morning, he was all "Good Morning!" "How are you?" "Welcome to Target!" with a huge smile on his face. I couldn't help but giggle to myself. And it doesn't hurt that I got some nice compliments on social media either ;).

For her video training series, she asked us to do something fun and to eat without distraction. I wish all homework was like this! So I took myself out on a solo movie date to see Insurgent (liked it) with a gift certificate I got for Christmas. For dinner, I ate at my dinner at the table instead of my bed (while watching TV) with my dog unable to get in my face. No phone, no TV, just silence to enjoy and appreciate what I was putting in my body.

Day 1 was a success and I plan to do more of these things in my day to day life, beyond the challenge.

Day 2: Buy Yourself Fresh Flowers

I love flowers. I've lately been into floral prints when it comes to fashion, so this is probably my fav of all the steps in this week's challenge. I'm assuming they're considered fresh, but on my way to work I bought a dozen roses from Giant ($10 total). Half pink, half white. A nice springy look that goes well with my cube decor.  Despite the cloudy day today, the flowers have certainly put me in brighter spirits. Why wait for someone to buy me flowers? I think I'll add this to my list of "random pick-me-ups just for the hell of it."




So there you have it. It's a long post but I really needed to get all of this out there so you can understand where I've been and what I'm now doing. Thanks for reading to the end. I promise the other posts will be shorter :).

Let's chat: Are you already in the challenge? Thinking about it? Can you relate to any of my thoughts/experiences? Let me know in the comments below!