Good morning!!! Happy Friday 😃! I am demonstrating my proof of being magical (cause I'm a wizard 😋).

Hogwarts Acceptance Letter and Master of Wizardry Degree



See?!?! I graduated from Hogwarts 💝 Master wizard right here 😏 (Sorry about the glare)





Anyways, today I bring you three progress photos. The first one is really bad....it's terrible...feel free to make fun of it. I really do not know how you could not 😆. I can't believe I'm sharing it, but hey, that's what this blog is for. Just prepare yourselves 😂. Weight measurements between progress photos 2 and 3:





Feb 19, 2017: 157.5 lbs





Progress Photo 3



Progress Photo 3 taken March 8, 2017 weighing it at 156.5 lbs. I remember taking this photo. I do not know why I didn't retake it 😂. I had just woken up to use the bathroom, and when I looked in the mirror, it was the first time I had seen progress in myself. Yes, the number on the scale was going down, but I hadn't noticed a change. Then, I saw it. I can't describe the feeling I felt. I was over the moon. My efforts could finally start to be seen. It was a happy moment, but it was super early and super bright so my hair looks worse than normal, I'm squinting, and I look mad. Terrible picture, but oh well 😆. Weight measurements between progress photos 3 and 4:





Mar 26, 2017: 156 lbs





Progress Photo 4



Progress photo 4 taken April 1, 2017 weighing in at 154.6 lbs. Beginning April 1st of that year, my friend was doing a 60 day health challenge that I decided to take part in! Participants had to state why we were participating. This was my why:





I want to do it for me. I want to wake up and feel good about myself and where I'm at whether it be I'm at my goal weight or not. I want to feel happy because I am exercising, eating healthier, becoming fit, and improving my mental health (positive mindset instead of a negative one, especially when it comes to how I view myself).





https://nikocb.com/2018/07/25/monotone-view-%e5%8d%98%e8%aa%bf%e8%a6%96%e7%82%b9/) I love that statement. There is so much truth to it. Having a positive perspective can easily shift your mood. Happiness starts with ourselves, we create it. For the health challenge, one week we had to identify a problem we've had and name a solution to it. This was mine:



I think my problem has been that I have always had a time where I needed to lose weight by. Therefore, I lost weight more quickly, but after the event, I would lose motivation and stop watching my portions. The solution is not to set an "absolute" deadline to lose the weight. Having goals and a time frame helps, but if I don't reach the weight by that time, it is okay. I am more focused on the long-term and living a healthier life in general. I think that mindset will help me reach my ultimate goals and be a more fit and healthier person mentally, physically, and emotionally.

We also had to set realistic goals. This is so important! I think we often forget that for the most part, healthy weight loss takes time. Therefore, we'll set these really unrealistic goals and get discouraged when we do not meet them. Weight loss doesn't happen overnight. It's a marathon not a sprint. My goal was to lose 10-15 lbs in those two months. We were not supposed to weigh ourselves until the end of the challenge, which was difficult for me. Weight fluctuates daily so it is better to weigh yourself once a week, bi-weekly, or once a month. Doing it too often can really put a damper on you mentally/emotionally, at least in my experience....unless you like seeing how it fluctuates. My starting measurements were: The health challenge was not just about physical health but mental and emotional health as well. We had weekly mindset goals. Our mindset is such a key factor. In a blog I love, the writer states, "Life isn't simple, but I think happiness is." (Check it out at:I love that statement. There is so much truth to it. Having a positive perspective can easily shift your mood. Happiness starts with ourselves, we create it. For the health challenge, one week we had to identify a problem we've had and name a solution to it. This was mine:We also had to set realistic goals. This is so important! I think we often forget that for the most part, healthy weight loss takes time. Therefore, we'll set these really unrealistic goals and get discouraged when we do not meet them. Weight loss doesn't happen overnight. It's a marathon not a sprint. My goal was to lose 10-15 lbs in those two months. We were not supposed to weigh ourselves until the end of the challenge, which was difficult for me. Weight fluctuates daily so it is better to weigh yourself once a week, bi-weekly, or once a month. Doing it too often can really put a damper on you mentally/emotionally, at least in my experience....unless you like seeing how it fluctuates. My starting measurements were:

Neck: 13.1 in

Chest: 39.1 in

Diaphragm: 33.3 in

Left Arm: 11.1 in

Right Arm: 11.4 in

Waist: 37.5 in

Abs: 32.7 in

Hips: 40.3 in

Left Upper Leg: 25.2 in

Left Knee: 15.1 in

Left Calf: 14.5 in

Right Upper Leg: 25.0 in

Right Knee: 14.8 in

Right Calf: 14.3 in

Weight: 154.6 lbs





Looking back at these, realizing how much I've lost in my chest makes me just a little bit sad...

True story 😂





But looking back at how much I've lost in my waist makes me really happy 😊. After the 60 days were over, my results were:

Progress Photo 5



Progress photo 5 taken on May 31, 2017 weighing in at 153.2. My measurements were:





Neck: 13.5 in

Chest: 39.0 in

Diaphragm: 41.5 in

Left Arm: 11.5 in

Right Arm: 12 in

Waist: 35.0 in

Abs: 32.0 in

Hips: 40.7 in

Left Upper Leg: 20.5 in

Left Knee: 14.2 in

Left Calf: 14.0 in

Right Upper Leg: 22.9 in

Right Knee: 14.0 in

Right Calf: 14.0 in

Weight: 153.2 lbs





I solemnly swear that I have different sports bras, bras, and underwear, I just really tried to wear the same ones when I was taking progress photos 😆. I am pretty confident I messed up on some of these measurements, but that's okay! I did not do so great during these 60 days. I did not meet my 10-15 lbs weight loss goal, losing 1.4 lbs. Here it was the beginning of a plateau and super slow progress...I've never done well when I get to this point. Even though I did not make much progress, I still made some! It was hard to think of it like that and not get completely discouraged. We'll see how I did in the next post! I kept my exercise and eating the same routine during this period. Although, I had weeks of not exercising as much or of going over my calorie goal, but it happens. You just gotta keep trekking through. It's like finding your way out of the Forbidden Forest. You definitely don't want to get stuck there, so you keeping moving forward and somehow find your way.





"You messed up on your diet and you didn't exercise today - so what? You didn't ruin anything. Get back on track tomorrow. If you have one flat tire, do you slash the other three? Of course not."

-Jillian Michaels





Ta ta for now,