It’s time to check in for my second month post on my beach body challenge, and I just want to say that it’s hard to find motivation to work out when you’re stuck at home in the world of COVID-19.
So let me start with the numbers and just tell you the truth: I haven’t lost any more weight from my last post. In fact, I’ve mainly settled into this place with my weight and have focused more on getting through my workouts daily and not worrying as much about my diet. Why? Well, like a lot of people, this whole period has been a rollercoaster of crazy. I dealt with a period of poison ivy that lasted for several weeks and included a round of steroid treatment that left me wanting to eat. All. The. Things. That really screwed with my routines, and for a couple of weeks, I was basically pushing myself to just get through another 30 minutes of riding the bike each day to keep hitting my exercise goals.
I’ve learned a few things, though, and I wanted to share them with you.
When I came up with this idea of doing a series of posts on exercise and weight loss, I considered myself to be the least qualified person to share something like this. I’m not a nutritionist or a physical trainer, so I can’t exactly share the best diet and exercise tips. The whole series is just coming from an average stay at home mom who tries to fit in workouts in between wrangling two energetic boys and taking care of the house. By the time I got through my first month of the challenge, I realized I was even less qualified than I thought. I’d barely lost any weight and was just struggling through to hit the goals I set for my exercise. I posted my update in the hopes it would motivate me to change my diet further and see better results.
Obviously, that didn’t exactly work.
So I’m here today to share why I am qualified to challenge myself and you to this beach body challenge. The reason is simple: I want to continue changing myself and reaching for a body that is healthy and active. If nothing else, that encourages me to keep working out regularly and not gain weight by binging on all the sweet things I’ve made lately.
With my most recent weigh-in, I was sitting at about the same weight I’ve settled into for the last month. My husband tells me I’ve reached a place of homeostasis, and my body is comfortable where it is. So to combat that, I’m working on reducing my calorie intake again and being more aware of how much food I’m eating. Counting calories exhausts me mentally, though, so I’m trying to avoid doing the work of counting calories by cutting back on regular meals. I’m cutting down on how many eggs or pieces of Canadian bacon are on my plate for breakfast. For dinner, I’m trying to fill my plate once and then sit back and really consider if I’m still hungry. After dinner, I’m trying to fill up on water instead of grabbing a bedtime snack, which is the hardest thing for me when I’m watching a TV show with my husband to wind down.
All this to say that I’ve not seen quite the results I was hoping for yet, and my 90-days challenge is over in another month. But the great thing about this is that I don’t have to quit in 90 days. In fact, I’ve built up habits of exercise over the course of this year that have been really good for me and that I can continue outside of personal challenges. My goals won’t change just because I’ve completed an arbitrary 90 days of a challenge, and that’s something to celebrate.
I still have many non-scale victories to celebrate, too.
When I go for a long walk, I can break into a jog with ease (I’m a bit like Gimli in the Lord of the Rings, made for sprints and very dangerous over short distances!), and I can ride my exercise bike and hit harder resistances. I’ve completed two different challenges in the FitOn app from the start of this challenge, and each time I complete one, I feel more confident in my fitness abilities. And overall, I find myself just loving to move my body in different ways.
So even if my challenge results in less weight loss, I know I can celebrate having worked hard in my fitness alone. And when it comes time to hit the beach with my family, I have nothing to be ashamed of. My body has worked hard this year, and I’m proud of the results I’ve gotten. If nothing else, that is the true celebration!
If you’ve joined me on this or a similar challenge, I’d love to hear what conclusions you’ve reached about fitness, health, and diets. Drop me a comment and share your thoughts!
To read Rachel’s whole Finding My Beach Body Challenge series, click here for part one and here for part two.
