Kicking *kitten* In Our Twenties - April Challenge!!

Hey everyone! :happy: Wow my weekend was such a whirlwind and today was incredibly busy... No time to post until now, and even now I am a bit rushed so this will be quick.

I haven't had any time to log food, which I think may be a blessing in disguise. I'm taking a bit of a breather right now and I feel like I'm doing OK. I definitely had a bunch of ice cream today, but otherwise I didn't cheat or sneak anything which is rare for me. I think not logging and not knowing that I have so many cals left for the day helps to ease my urge to use them up as much as I can. I think that my general frugality in life (I'm ridiculously cheap - it's a fact I cannot deny!) lends itself to this mentality of "getting the most out of my daily cals" to a really unhealthy extreme sometimes. Not logging keeps me from being able to quantify exactly how much I have left to eat and thus I rely I lot more on what I feel like eating, and when, and so I am much less stressed. Of course, I still worry a lot about carbs but I'm definitely eating things I wouldn't have eaten last week (corn on the cob - what!?!) and I'm allowing myself some serious lee-way. It's going well. Here's hoping I don't gain 3lbs this week and fall into a major downward spiral of OCD logging and carb-minding...

The weekend was sooo exhausting with work, Tyler's family Easter brunch, moving, and trying to fit in time with my family as well. I was a complete zombie meeting Ty's family but I think it went well. I found some things to eat, but was definitely quite famished on the drive home and similarly today while shopping in the States with my mom. It seems easier to just under-eat than find healthy alternatives, and it seems like lately I'm ALWAYS starved. Definitely didn't care for it, but made up for it at dinner with a really healthy and filling meal.

Since I was so busy all weekend I had no time to hit the gym, so I finally got a good workout in tonight. Arc trainer, push-ups and stretching, and then a cool down jog. Trying out the Hundred Push-up Challenge again with some MFPals. W1D1 today was a success. 45 full push-ups total. Should be interesting to see how far I can get...

Shopping was a MAJOR success today - Bought some really cute clothes at the Gap Outlet, Ann Taylor Loft Outlet and Target and picked up some sweet foodie stuff that we don't have here in Canada. Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa, thin mints ice cream (!!!), almond, peanut and cashew butter, Seattle's Best coffee, and some super sweet Chobani (had one for lunch, too!). I'm saving all of it to enjoy once my current stashes run out (which is sooo hard) but boy am I excited. We don't carry any of those brands here! Yay!:bigsmile:

Ok enough about me... I have to get a TON done before tomorrow, which is proving to already be a crazy hectic day. I will do my best to catch up with everyone tomorrow morning while I nosh on my breakfast. Sorry I've been horrible at replying to you all. Thanks for all your messages. Promise to be a better MFPal in May! It'll be one of my goals, for sure

Morning my beautiful Kickin' *kitten* ladies and HAPPY TUESDAY! :bigsmile:

Non-selfish post for once...

Tara - Oh heck yes, this challenge IS horrible. It's horrible by it's very nature. By thanks for the encouragement! We'll see how far I get :laugh: You are pwning April, per usual, and I can't wait to hear your final tally of results for the month. 5 more days to kill it, girl. Keep it up!

Kan - We all struggle with motivation now and again. I know that once I got side-tracked with my training and stopped working out every single day it was really hard to find the motivation to get back to it. I knew that I needed it more mentally and emotionally than i did physically (since I was able to maintain while injured without too much difficulty) but it was really hard to convince myself to get my *kitten* moving, because I knew that I could get away with not working out and I was just feeling so down and out already. I love Tara's list idea... I tend to do that when I'm feeling overwhelmed. I also commit myself on MFP to working out. I'll post something like "Getting up tomorrow to kill my run at 9am" and then I feel committed to it - I know it's silly because no one is going to call me out on it, but if I don't log a run I feel compelled to write "welp, didn't run because I couldn't get off my lazy *kitten*..." and no one wants to write that! :laugh: It's a total mind game with yourself, but it helps! I swear! Making a schedule for yourself to workout also helped me when I was getting started - that way I never had to think about what I was doing. I just made a schedule that fit with my life and stuck to it. Like a second job. Eventually it becomes routine and you don't even need motivation - you just do it out of habit. I know that works super well for some people and for others it totally sucks the fun out of exercise. Just figure out what works for you! Good luck!

Megan - Thanks for the continued support :bigsmile: Your dedication to this journey is so uplifting and motivating to me on days when I am really struggling. I read your posts and think "Wow... I used to be just like that when I was training" and it helps to remind me of how hard I worked to get here and how much I need to spend this time enjoying my journey, finding balance, and making life "work" for me. I just cannot train that hard forever. But your posts also tend to make me want to get my butt moving and burn some calories! haha Love the victory you posted too... I was such a "cheater" when I was young because I really just did not believe in myself at all. I'd always cut corners and never believed that I could dig deep and finish something really challenging through will power and dedication alone. If I got the idea in my head that something was too hard, I'd just quit before trying because I was so afraid of failure. Knowing now how sweet it feels to actually finish what I set out to do, even if my goals are lofty and seem nearly unreachable, I feel like I wasted so much potential in those years by not pushing myself harder. We are both so lucky that we figured this out NOW and won't be wasting any more time or potential in the years to come. We both know what we're made ot! And boy is it GOOD STUFF! :laugh:

Beth - Thanks lady! The race was wonderful :happy: My foot was really sore afterward but totallllly worth it! Sounds like you're doing a good job coming to terms with your emotions by being aware of why you feel the way you do about certain circumstance and situations and at least acknowledging those feelings for what they are. It's really positive that you know you need to work on your own insecurities, totally independent from your relationship, in order to make things the best that they can be. It's definitely a step in the right direction. I know that for me working on my self-esteem and insecurities was a huge part of my weight-loss journey and what I lost in weight I gained back entirely in self-worth, self-confidence and the belief that I deserved everything good that came my way. As I wrote previously, this journey taught me sooo much about what I was capable of and how strong I am -- qualities that I value so much in myself now and have always really admired in others. Feeling positive about myself now has really had a wonderful impact on my relationships with my family and my boyfriend and I know that with time you'll find that, as well. It seems like it's already really rubbing off on your kids too! Seeing a happy, healthy and self-confident mom will definitely have a great impact on kiddos. What other motivation do you need? :happy:

Allie - I saw that yogurt and it looked sooo yum! I notice that in the US you guys have mostly 6oz containers of yogurt, which is awesome because up here they're all 4oz and that's just wayyyy not enough yogurt for a snack - especially of the fat-free variety! Totally not filling at all. I saw the Samoas ice cream, but I have no idea what Samoas ARE (we don't have them here) and I didn't want to risk it. What do they taste like?

K off to the gym today for who knows what, then heading to my mom's office to do some work for her and prep for my interview later this week. Tonight I'm heading out to Oakville ONE LAST TIME (!!!) to help Ty pack up some things and say my goodbyes to that awful apartment once and for all :drinker: WOOOT!

Have a great Tuesday!