One Month Down...Five To Go!!!

You've seen the stats if you're following along, but to sum it up Aaron lost 18 lbs, went down 4% in body fat, and gained 4 lbs of lean muscle. I lost 10 lbs, went down 4% in body fat, and gained 4 lbs of lean muscle. The Jaynes' house is currently a place of joy. But it came with a price. Analyzing day by day, sure, there were some hard days. Some days were coming home to a workout after pulling a 14 hour work day. Or Isabelle and Aaron getting sick. Or taking on more managerial work running my small business. Or just having days that I didn't FEEL like doing it. But as a whole, the past four weeks flew by! I was talking with my friend Alice last night, and she pointed out that lifestyle change or not, those past four weeks would have flown by, that is what life does, right? Move way too fast? Her point was that had a decided not to make these changes, I would still be ten lbs heavier. And looking back, I could've probably said the same thing--the past four weeks were hard; I had some bad days; Some days I felt like doing nothing; We all have those days no matter what we are or are not doing in our lives. I realize that making a commitment to myself and my family didn't ensure that I wouldn't have hard days, but it did ensure that I would be a happier and healthier person along the way, and that, my friends, has indeed happened. Aaron and I are happier overall because we feel better, we look better, and we've learned that we can do hard things! And the ironic thing is that once it got going, it wasn't that hard. We adjusted to the food plans and our bodies got used to the intense workouts. And the results have been amazing, which is what made last night so incredible....
 THE FIRST CHEAT MEAL!

When we weighed in Saturday morning, we were ecstatic with our progress. Then we were pleasantly surprised when Drew told us that we could go out that night for a "cheat meal." We didn't see that one coming and we were taken aback by the idea of actually going out and eating a meal of our choice and permission to share a desert. We decided to go to The Wild Rose which is a special restaurant for me and Aaron because we go there to celebrate things like anniversaries, Valentine's Days and our we-found-out-we-were-pregnant-with-Isabelle night. The food is amazing and I'm sure, full of calories. We sat down and discussed whether or not we should order salad and appetizers. It was really cool. We were in control and we were logically able to decide that we'd rather not because we weren't looking to gorge ourselves, but looking to enjoy a yummy meal that we felt good about. We each ordered a plate. We ate the bread. We ate the fantastic spread that goes on the bread. When I felt satisfied, I stopped eating, even though there was still food on my plate. Then we picked a moderate desert to share. I will admit that we contemplated getting our own desert. But I'm glad we thought about it because it was so eye opening to realize that we didn't need our own, we were just momentarily panicking and reverting back to our old ways. We thought about it for a second and made an easy choice to share. We got a treat but we didn't go crazy. I left feeling satisfied but not overly stuffed. I left feeling happy that we enjoyed an amazing meal, but not guilty about the choices we made. It was therapeutic to say the least. Before this journey, Aaron and I ate out a lot! But last night felt different. Last night was special because it had been a month since we've enjoyed a restaurant. It also felt different because my mind and emotions have changed. I saw that as more of an enjoyable experience rather than a solution to a bad day or a way to cope with feeling down--which is often how I used to feel. When I'd come home stressed or upset, we'd go out to eat. When I was feeling down, we'd go out to eat. I'd honestly self-medicate with food. But that is changing for me. I looked forward to drinking my spinach shake this morning. I looked forward to my strawberries and sunflower seeds. I look forward to finally trying the Mexican Chicken tonight for Sunday dinner.

Life is going to go fast. Life is going to have ups and downs no matter what you are doing. So why not make lifestyle changes and wake up one morning, four weeks later, pleasantly surprised to find yourself ten lbs lighter. And then go out for a cheat meal ;) which doesn't feel like cheating at all, but an enjoyment of life.