Time to Conquer! Week 4 and 5: Ups and Downs

Don’t worry!  I haven’t given up.  Yep, I missed last week’s update.  Oh my goodness…where to start…

Last week’s post (week 4) was going to be all about how STRESSED I have been.  It was going to be full of a bunch of stressful comments and it would have ended with me telling you that I GAINED a pound!  Well, true to the amount of stress I was dealing with, the post never happened.  In fact, it was probably good that it didn’t happen.  Instead, I spent that time trying to figure out how to lower my stress and prioritize my time better.

Was I sad about gaining a pound?  Oh Yes!

I was I happy it was only a pound?  Absolutely!

Did I still stick to my eating and exercise plan all week?  Yes I did!

Did you know that Stress could do that to you?  That even though I was eating correctly and following what I should be doing I still gained weight!  Stress is a scary thing.  It can really mess with our bodies and our minds.  It hurts us in so many ways and going through that week and dealing with all the stressful things I had to deal with (car breaking down for the second time in two weeks, hubby in surgery, work, blog, teething baby, bed wetting {no, not mine – the 4 year old}, and on, and on, and on….) I learned that you just have to take things a day at a time and try to find a better way to deal with stress.

You see, I have always been a stressed induced eater!  Who am I kidding…I turn to food for almost every emotion…but Stress is the WORST.  I must have opened that poor fridge at least 100 times a day over the week {expecting a higher power bill this month} just out of habit. I would catch myself just standing there staring into the fridge.  I learned that I had to consciously try to find something else to handle my stress.  It was a tough week, but I feel like I learned a lot and I came out of it fighting!

Thank goodness this week has been better.

So, after the one pound weight gain last week I was determined not to let my stress get the better of me.  I decided that I need to stop and take a little time for myself.  Even if it was just a minute here and there.  I also decided to just hunker down and get some things taken care of that have been adding to my stress.  I ended up having a few days where, looking back, I wonder how I had the energy to get everything done that I did.  I know that eating healthier and getting my health in order helped me to do things that I wouldn’t have been able to do a month ago.

 

Since my hubby had surgery, our 4th of July plans were much more simple then they usually are.  It worked well because we were able to plan a healthy barbecue and just enjoy the day with family.

So what did I learn this week?  That I can overcome anything!  That I am a strong person and I am going to conquer this weight loss!  This week I lost 4.5 pounds and I am thrilled about every little bit of it!  I am now at a total of 17.5 pounds for 5 weeks.  I can start feeling a difference in how I feel and I can see small changes in myself.  I even went shopping yesterday and found that I am down a size!  Sweet!  So even though I still have a Looooong way to go, I am celebrating this week.  I am continuing on with a renewed sense of purpose.  I know I will conquer this thing!