A New 'High' and Back to Day 1

Welp, after all my hard work to train for a 10K, I let it all slide, as you do. I had the best intentions, of course -- I even signed up for two more races to keep me 'going'. But, life being as it is, I fell so far off the wagon that I couldn't even find the wagon anymore.

I got to a point, very recently, where I was eating a chocolate bar for lunch. And sometimes breakfast. No exercise whatsoever. Wine almost nightly. It's the summer after all, and life is too short! Have that treat! Have another -- who cares?? Enjoy yourself!

Except, I really wasn't enjoying myself all that much. Sure, I'd get that initial 30 second rush and happiness (mmmmm chocolate!), or that buzzy feeling after a glass or two of wine, but then: crash. Guilt, bloat, blech. Exhaustion, dragging myself through the day, generally just yuck. So NOT fun. But, once you're down that rabbit hole, it can be very hard to see a way out again.

I couldn't fit into any of my summer clothes that fit me earlier this year when we went to Florida. I was blaming general bloat (ummm PMS 24/7 maybe?) and maybe our crappy dryer randomly decided to shrink things that have been washed and dried a hundred times before?

Yeah... it wasn't the dryer. But I was still in denial about the situation, ignoring it as best I could. Yoga pants are the best invention ever, especially if you want to lie to yourself about your body, because they never get too small. Sooooo stretchy!

I got a particularly sick feeling in my stomach recently one morning, when I'd just eaten yet another crappy meal, and then hopped on the scale in the basement that I'd sort of forgotten we owned. The number bowled me over. It was the highest number I'd ever seen on a scale when not 6+ months pregnant. Of course at first I assumed the scale just wasn't... calibrated, or something? Or maybe I'd done the conversion wrong from kg to lb? Forgot to carry the one?

Nope.

woh woh

And then, just to really drive the message home to me (since clearly I wasn't listening to all the other messages!), I went and threw my back out in the worst way. Doing nothing in particular, just moving in a certain way and *twang!*... you're done. I practically couldn't move for two full days. It was MISERABLE.

And, I knew then that I had to do something.

Lucky for me, The Hubs has a habit of buying exercise and nutrition programs on the regular, so I didn't need to go any further than his office closet to find a program that I thought I could stick to. I opted for the 21 Day Fix, as I've had friends who have had great success with it, and I didn't have to buy anything other than groceries (I'm not doing the shakes, just the meal plan and workouts). Ultimately, it's no different from every other program out there: portion control, choosing foods wisely, and exercise. It's not rocket science, but having a set program to follow is what I need right now to keep me on track and get going.

I have a plan. And, I'm already halfway through Day 1! Yay me! We spent the better part of the weekend reading through the meal plan and writing lists, shopping for food (I really need a bigger fridge yo!) and prepping meals. I feel fully prepared for the week ahead, and despite a sore back (still), I managed to complete the first workout - with modifications.

Here we go!

Fridge is filled to the rafters with produce!

Sweaty and out of shape: Day 1, Plyo