A few weeks ago, I took the opportunity to go on a trip to Las Vegas with my Dad. He just so happened to have a business seminar the same week of a business seminar that I wanted to attend, so I went with him! It was my first trip to Vegas, and I can sum it up in one word...whoa. I'm a small town girl, and from the minute I stepped into that Vegas airport and saw slot machines...I knew I was I for a whoooole new experience. There were flashing lights, slot machines, people, and just STUFF everywhere. I felt like a country bumpkin done come to town yall, lol. I had to ride in taxis by myself, which was a little scary...cause you have to trust that those dudes are going to take you where you want to go, and the rides are expensive! It was an awesome week though. I attended the Wedding MBA Convention, and I learned a ton on how to run my business successfully. I met people from all over, and was so inspired!! It was a bit challenging trying to keep up with emails and quotes during the week, and I spent each night staying up late drawing sketches for my brides. My Dad and I walked the strip almost every night, just going to different restaurants and seeing new things. We went to a Cirque de Soleil show...which was awesome!! All in all, it was a great week...and I really enjoyed spending time with Dad. It flew by, and when we arrived back in Austin...I stepped into the airport and smelled BBQ, and breathed a sigh of relief! Nothing feels more like home than the smell of good ole Texas BBQ!
The next day was spent getting ready for a vacation with my hubs. Then, we headed to Galveston at 5am to go get on our cruise! We hadn't been on a vacation with just the two of us since our honeymoon, and it's been almost 5 years now...so it was long overdue and much needed. We had a blast!! In fact, we had so much fun that we booked another one for next year as soon as we got home. :)
In the midst of all the travelling, I was able to finish a book I had started a while ago called You're Already Amazing. It was such a good read, and a great reminder of lots of things. I highlighted words all over the book, but one phrase in particular really stood out to me:
Time is a relentless river. It rages on, a respecter of no one. And this, this is the only way to slow time: When I fully enter time's swift current, enter into the current moment with the weight of all my attention. I slow the torrent with the weight of me all here. I can slow the torrent by being all here. I only live the full life when I fully live in the moment.
So true, right? It's so easy to get caught up in the busyness of our everyday lives that we forget to focus on the NOW. This is a huge struggle for me because I have a million things going on in my head all the time, that I forget to focus on what's right in front of me. Being on vacation really made me realize that I need to work on that. Instead of worrying about business emails, trying to stay caught up on social media, and staying busy...I turned my phone off, put it in the room's safe, and didn't touch it until we docked in Galveston a week later. Can I just say...it was amazing. I was actually able to relax, able to breathe, and able to think clearly about one thing at a time.
While our cruise was absolutely amazing, I couldn't help but think about my weight loss/gain journey quite a bit. For those of you that don't know - I actually met my husband on a cruise. So, cruises are really special to us. When we met, I was wearing sundresses, bikinis, shorts, and all that cruisey type stuff with no problem! This cruise was much different...I was extremely uncomfortable with myself, physically. I couldn't wear a sundress without my legs rubbing together so much when I walked that it hurt. I couldn't wear a bikini without shorts. I didn't want to do lots of things simply out of being uncomfortable. I actually cried when we got to Cozumel because the only thing I felt comfortable wearing was stupid yoga pants and a tshirt. My husband was right there for me, and he told me to just wear whatever the heck I wanted and stop trying to impress anybody. So, that's what I did for the rest of the week. Makeup became way less important, as did what I was wearing. I just let loose. I managed to have a great time, all thanks to a husband who loves me for me.
So, instead of beating myself up and having a pity party about the weight I have gained this year...I'm choosing to do something about it. I cleaned out the fridge and pantry last week, and stocked up on healthy foods. I started tracking my food in My Fitness Pal again. I have worked out. I'm taking baby steps. I came back from the trip fired up to lose this dang weight once and for all, and my motivation has already started to dissipate thanks to old habits. Luckily, I caught wind of a Fat Loss Challenge...and I am weighing in tomorrow! I think this is a perfect time for me to join a challenge, and it will definitely give me a good kickstart to losing this layer of fluff. Tomorrow is when things get serious with this. I'm sick and tired of saying it, it's time to just do it.
I know I've said a million times that I'm ready to lose the weight, but being on that cruise and not being comfortable sealed the deal for me. I've already got my countdown going and a goal outfit pinned to the wall in our bedroom....see :)
Those shorts and that shirt look really small to me and impossible to fit into...but I'm giving myself almost a whole year to get there! Big goals are accomplished by small goals, right? So, I have broken it down into phases, with each phase being 81 days:
Phase 1 End Date: 12/27/15
• Goal: lose 20 pounds
Phase 2 End Date: 3/17/16
• Goal: lose 15 pounds
Phase 3 End Date: 6/6/16
• Goal: lose 15 pounds
Phase 4 End Date: 8/26/16
• Goal: lose 10 pounds
When I was at my personal best, I weighed 148 pounds. I was lean, strong, and had muscles. I want to feel like that again, but I'm taking it a step further and shooting to be 140 pounds. Along with watching that number, I will be taking measurements, keeping up with body fat testing, and taking progress pics along the way.
I don't want to be skinny, I want to be a lean mean machine! :) I'm going to be working towards increasing my muscle mass while dropping body fat. If you are following along and have read this far, I'm going to ask you to do me a favor...PLEASE encourage me along the way!!! :)
I'm getting off of my safe harbor and sailing out on a whole new adventure in the morning, it's time to take care of myself again...
:)
