I seriously can’t believe it’s almost May. That we’ve nearly completed 4 months of 2018 and summer will be here in the matter of weeks. May is always a busy month in general with graduations and Mother’s day. it’s also my birthday and for some reason I thought it’d be a good idea to make it the month of our wedding anniversary too, ha. BUSY BUSY. Anyways, before we get into the craziness of all that I wanted to share an April Cyclebar health & wellness update with y’all.

{outfit}

{why cyclebar in the am works best for me}

1. simply put, It set’s the tone for my day. If I work out in the morning then I’m less likely to swing by panera for a sugar filled latte and carb filled bagel and more likely to just down my protein shake. Not only does this keep my diet choices in check but it keeps me from spending unNECESSARY money on food too.  it’s also a lot easier to blow off my evening work out if i get caught up at work or if a friend wants to hangout. COMPLETING class in the morning keeps my evenings free for plans.

2. I have a 40 mile all highway drive to work which recently just got construction thrown into it. making this drive at 5:00 am before the rush hour is honestly reason enough to get me up and get my work out done in the morning. yes, while it’s a very early drive, it’s a drive with basically zero traffic and no sun beaming into my eyes while I tap my breaks every 10 seconds in bumper to bumper construction zone traffic.

3. my office is not far from the cyclebar studio and with getting up early to get my class in for the day by 6:30 am i then arrive to work earlier. in turn i leave work earlier giving me more hours in the evening to enjoy the beautiful weather with my dogs, husband, and friends.

4. its common KNOWLEDGE that you should be drinking a minimum of half your total body weight in water a day. i CONSTANTLY have my 32 oz yeti tumbler {with these rubber straws} with me and aim to drink four of these a day. the great thing about working out in the morning is that i already have one of these GUZZLED down before i even eat breakfast. it’s so important to stay hydrated in GENERAL but especially when working out is a part of your life style. Drinking water also brings about these amazing BENEFITS:

• Clear, glowing, and hydrated skin

• Reduces dark circles and puffy under eyes

• cures headaches

• releases toxins and waste from kidney

• Helps maintain a healthy digestive system

5. studies have shown working out in the am boosts your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories the rest of the day. working out on an empty stomach has also been shown to protect against glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, which are trademarks of type 2 diabetes. exercising in the morning has also proven to promote better sleep at night.

{results}

I mentioned in my last post that maybe i’d eventually get up the courage to share some number results with y’all. well, i’m still not ready {lol} but i’m going to share anyways. ideally would i love to wait until i’ve hit my goal weight and size to share these numbers? ABSOLUTELY. being transparent is important to me though so that’s what i’m going to do here. I had in mind that i would hit my goal weight by my 27th birthday which is in 2 weeks. I have accepted the fact that that just isn’t going to be the case. while this is DISAPPOINTING, i have no one to blame but myself and honestly i’m not going to dwell on it but instead just keep pushing forward. it is what it is at this point and getting worked up about all the coulda shoulda woulda’s isn’t going to do anything.

last august {2017} i hit my highest weight ever of 230 lbs and was miserable when it came to how i looked and even more so miserable with how i felt. at 5’4″ tall there’s not a lot of places for the extra weight to go but out. what’s crazy is i didn’t realize how big i had gotten until i hit this point, it’s like i was just in denial or something. I, like most people in this position i’m sure, questioned how i even got myself there. how on earth at the age of 26 when i’m supposed to be in my prime could i even let this happen. FAST FORWARD to today, 9 months later, april {2018} i now weigh 185 lbs. forty-five pounds total lost which makes that an average of 5 lbs lost a month.

i don’t want to take any credit away from myself because it was hard work but i think i just thought the weight would come off much faster. however, when you throw HOLIDAYS and general indulging in there i can see why it didn’t. i’ve made HEATHER diet decisions and cut back portions when it comes to what i eat but i’ve not truly followed a structured meal plan. i’m not one for obsessing over that kind of stuff but i’m sure there has to be a happy medium between counting macros and playing it by ear right? ha. my goal is to figure that out.

{goals}

on top of a more structured diet my goal weight is to be 150 lbs, when i’m 150 lbs i’m usually a size 6/8 and feel really good. some of you may have just read that goal number and thought to yourself that’s the number you are when you are over weight – and that’s okay. every body is different, what is healthy and looks good for me is not going to be the same for you. i’m also not going to be hyper focused on this number and base it more on how i feel. one of my favorite photos is this one above that was ORIGINALLY published in an AUSTRALIAN magazine of six DIFFERENT women all weighing 154 lbs. stop comparing yourself to others, comparison is truly the thief of personal joy.

thanks for reading and following along with my health journey. my hope is that many of you can relate to both the struggles and highs during the process of losing weight. as always, please let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.