Monday update!! It's a doozy!!

I started my 30 days again.  But this time I was really following the meal plans so that I could track how effective this plan was for me. My starting weight was 205 pounds, I had gone up a few pounds, but I was ok with that.  Fluctuation isn't the worst and all things considered my clothes were still fitting very well.  I was also a total of 344.25 inches which is still lower than they had ever been so you know I believe the scale lies and also I was heading into my monthly cycle.

I had a couple Instagram posts showing my packing of my foods so that I had an easy week, it was a lot of prep work but really it wasn't that much and made my mornings getting to school so much faster so worth it.  My mornings are a blur, getting up working out, doing my hair, make up getting lunches packed for the kids and getting the kids ready to leave the house.  It is go go go here, so anything to make it easier I will take it.

My first week was amazing, everything was going well, I felt amazing, I had so much energy, it was mind boggling. I gave up coffee and pepsi (which I hadn't had since Christmas time) and I was more energetic then I had ever been and this was on the Arbonne 30 days to Healthy Living Plan which I felt was unexpected.  I also wasn't getting the detox symptoms that I thought I would get so I was very happy.

Then tragedy befell my soul sister and my brother in law passed away on Friday February 2.  My heart hurt so much and I will post more on that in another blog, but it more or less derailed my eating plan.  Being sad and upset about things makes it very hard for me to focus on eating properly or following a meal plan. I often forget to eat as well, so I did my best to continue eating well, but it wasn't on a meal plan and I did indulge in a few things.

One thing I have to admit to is that my body doesn't like milk and ice cream.  My heart hurts on this one, because I LOVE ice cream, but the last few times I have had a blizzard or a milkshake I have felt so bloated and so blah and gross that I have to admit I have an intolerance to milk.  Cheese and I still get along and I think if I have small amounts, like a mini blizzard or a small milkshake, it's probably manageable.  But it's definitely not something that I will be adding back into my diet as a regular occurrence and it's something I am going to monitor in my kids as well.  Teddybear is already Lactose free and we will watch Lil Man to see how he does as we limit his milk consumption.

This photo is from last year the other two are from today, I don't know if you can spot the differences but I think it's important to point out that I can see them and I am very happy about it.

So here are some things I have discovered from my journey! A year ago I was at my largest, at my largest my waist was 36 inches, today I am at 31.  Across my belly I was 43 and today I am 32.  Across my hips I was 45 today I am 40. My thighs measured at 25 and today are measuring at 20 and my biceps were 14 and are now 11.  At my largest I was measuring 370 inches, since then I have added 2 more measurement sites and today my total inches were 338.  I am amazed!!!

My goal for the end of the month is to be at 330 total body inches and 198 pounds.  This means I have to stick with my eating plan, I know I can do this and to increase my physical activity.  I have also seen an decrease in my total body fat percentage  from 44.8% to 41.8%.  So I am going to keep working.  In a year I've lost over 20 pounds lost 32 inches and I am going to keep going. It's been long but looking back it's been so worth it!!

If you want any more information on my eating plan let me know I'm happy to share!!