Only 2 weeks of the challenge to go! Learning to celebrate the small accomplishments and.........

.......LEARNING to be patient with myself! This is really a life long adventure. This thing of being healthy and fit and strong and disciplined! I am not new to the world of exercising and weight training and healthy eating, but what I continue to learn each and every day is that there is always more to learn and so much I didn't know about how to take care of ourselves, what to feed our bodies and strength and perserverance.

I love the picture that Maia posted a few weeks ago about success. It's NOT a straight line of perfection, but a squiggly, maze like curved line of ups and downs. So simple but so true! It helps me to read those inspirational messages. So I'm trying to learn to not kick myself in the butt or throw my hands up because I ate a piece of flan outside of my cheat meal :(. Boy am I good at making myself feel guilty. Better yet, I need to remind myself of all the great choices I made throughout the day and throughout the week. Remind myself of how hard I worked during BTC and every other workout. Do extra pushups and run for an extras 15 minutes to burn it off.

Weigh in this week was stressful like always for me. I am inching away at the pounds and inches and that is OK. I keep losing 1/2 and inch to an inch off my waist so I am thrilled about that! I am starting to think about what my workout routine will be after I'm done with the challenge. That will be critical to my continued success. Hey, according to Dr. Oz, at the age of 40+, 1 lb per  week is good. I don't want to speed up the wrinkling. LOL. I am not so young anymore, but I feel AMAZING!

I continue to be inspired by how hard everyone is working and with the power of the group! It's very encouraging for me and helps me push harder! We're not competing against each other but competing together for everyone's success!

BODY- I keep losing 1/2 inch here and there, but most is in my waist and I am thrilled. I'm getting stronger. My knees try to keep reminding me to slow down, but ice, pre-wrap and stretching are becoming my best friends! Patience, Patience!

Learning- I'm learning to pay attention to why I do mindless eating sometimes. It's awful! I'm learning that it helps so much when I plan my meals and when I eat green veggies at every meal. I'm not hungry afterwards and don't go looking for something to munch on.

Observations- Sometimes I just need to rest, but there is always time for at least a 30 minute walk or some sun salutations!

GOALS-Plan my meals this week, include a green veggie in most or all meals, get at least 6 hours of sleep ( i eat more when i don't!), continue to push myself and get my hr up to 160+ after warm up!