5:30 A.M.

How many of you cringed when you read the title of this post? Believe me, I did too when I first realized that was the best time for me to go to Crossfit. My classes on M,W,F do not start until 10 a.m., but there was not a crossfit class scheduled in the morning that would allow me to get up later and still make it to campus on time.

In the beginning, I dreaded this change to my schedule. I could not believe I was getting up at 5:30 to go do a workout that is not some simple task. I remember the first time I arrived to the gym at 6 in the morning. It felt like I was working out in the middle of the night. Now, I fully realize that millions of people work out this early, but for me this was a major change. I am generally a morning person, but I know this would take longer to adjust to.

Currently I am about two months into this schedule and I LOVE it. I have never felt more accomplished than I do finishing a workout by 7:00 a.m. Getting the workout finished in the morning has allowed me to come back and enjoy my morning. It opened up a time for me to have quiet time and coffee, and even cook an actual breakfast. (No more oatmeal on the run for me!)  Most of the time I even get back in bed while enjoying all of these things. HGTV has also found its way into that schedule, which I'm perfectly fine with.  Yes, I would have still had this time before classes, but I know I would have just slept instead of getting up.

Crossfit has been such an amazing addition to my life. Not only has it been a great workout, but it has boosted my confidence as well. The changes to my schedule have been so great too. I would not have realized I love working out in the morning if it had not been for this class.

My goals are to keep improving my Crossfit skills and general healthy lifestyle everyday. I want to continue my journey to be in the best shape of my life. One of my main goals right now is eating healthy again. I know that in order to see the desired results I need to eat really healthy. I'm so close to my ultimate goal, so now its just making sure I stay on track. I can't wait to keep seeing results in my appearance, because I have already found such a huge part of myself again through this whole journey.

I am continually blown away and blessed by how much God has been with me through this whole journey. Seeing him work in areas of my life such as fitness just reaffirms how much he loves me. Even the small details of my schedule.

"I'm doing what I told my self I never would."

Summer flew by, like time seems to so much these days! I hit my one year mark and honestly I'm pretty happy with where I am. I want to keep improving of course, but I have not gained anything in over 4 months, and I have improved in physical aspects such as running and my workouts. I'm doing things I never thought I would do. So, what does my title mean? Here is the crazy news.....

I got into....wait for it.... CROSSFIT! 

Ok, so before anyone stops reading and thinks I've lost my mind, let me assure you I promise I have not at all.  Back in May, around the time of my last post, I was still pretty anti-crossfit. I went to the Crossfit regional games with my boyfriend to watch one of his best friends compete and the whole time I was there I kept thinking, "This is way too intense and hard for me." I just never saw myself doing that kind of workout. This also stemmed from the fact that I did not have enough courage or confidence in myself to even try. 

So, what caused me to change my mind? Well, I am a Starbuck's addict (I openly admit that), and one day I was waiting for my venti, nonfat, iced, vanilla coffee and I see a flyer for a fitness bootcamp. This sparked my interest because I was wanting to do something like this in my hometown but never had the chance. I read further and realized it was put on by a crossfit gym. It was called "skinny fit" and basically an intro into crossfit. Right when I saw it, I was not sure if I wanted to sign up. However, I talked to some friends and we decided to do it together. It's always better if someone is going to suffer with you haha. I signed up and was scared out of my mind. 

What helped me become less nervous? I follow a girl on Instagram and she had gotten into crossfit and loved the results, and posted about it daily. She was basically doing what I have done with this blog and recording her real life. Her account inspired me, and if she could do it, so could I. She was even gracious enough to answer some of my questions about the crossfit routine and community. 

The day of the first skinny fit came, and right then and there I knew I loved the workout style. For two weeks we worked out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Just within two weeks I was able to take over a minute off of my baseline workout time, and I was feeling stronger and more motivated than ever. I have been working out at this gym for two more weeks now and I love it even more. In fact, I am signing up for the regular crossfit classes starting tomorrow. 

I am so excited for everything about my senior year. God has really opened doors for me and this workout routine is one of the smaller ones. I fully intend to keep up with this blog more often, because yesterday God showed me that he is still using my fitness journey to touch others. He is still teaching me things about myself daily and I not only want to share that with close friends, but with as many people as possible! Plus, how awesome is it that I'm getting to learn things about my walk while becoming more in shape. God really does know the desires of our heart. 

To sum all of this up, I have gained more courage in my life through this journey than I ever imagined would be possible. The courage to talk about God. The courage to put myself out there, admitting I was fat and wanted to change. The courage to actually become fit. The courage to talk to others about changing their lifestyles. And also as of right now, the courage to try crossfit. I can't wait to see what other situations I will overcome, with the courage of knowing it's what God has in my story! 

My Journey So Far

It is absolutely crazy to think that I started this journey almost a year ago. I really am in awe that I have come this far. It's something I did not think was possible at the time, but now I know that anything is possible! This July will mark a year exactly and I am going to post before and after pictures! It's something I'm actually proud of now. 

Since my year mark is only two months away, I realized I had slacked off a little and I wanted to accomplish more before I hit a year. I am becoming more comfortable with my body every day, but I will never stop wanting to improve my fitness. At the beginning of this week I have really refocused and am determined to challenge myself. 

I know that God is not finished with me yet. He has really blessed me through this journey and I want to turn around and bless others with it. I have gotten to talk to several people about my weight loss, and it has been so amazing being able to encourage them, and be a real life example that it is possible! I am going to continue to pray for ways that God can use me through this, and I might just be more excited about that, than actually losing the weight! 

Thank you to everyone who has been an encouragement to me! Even by reading this blog, it brings a huge smile to my face to know that maybe someone has gotten something out of what I have to say. 

I hope everyone has an amazing day! Get out there and accomplish a fitness goal today. You will never regret a workout or a healthy eating choice. 

Current Goals

I'm making a list on here of some goals I want to follow through with, that I just set for myself. I'm needing to be more focused, and setting these goals/ guidelines will really help me.

• Drink at least two of my bottles of water a day!
•  I have a huge bottle that I carry around, and I'm going to make myself start drinking more.

• No more sweets! 
• I cut out sweets at the end of last semester, but I have been really lax when it comes to them lately, only small things, but the small things still count. So sweets are out!
  

   

• If, its bread it has to be whole wheat! 
• I don't necessarily eat bread in excess, but I have been guilty of not paying as much attention to that lately.   
  

• Only drink water, black coffee and green tea. 
• I love all 3 of these, so there really is no need for fancy coffee, even if it is non fat.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

It's always a good idea to reanalyze how you are doing things, and make changes where you know you could benefit! Having a healthy lifestyle is a conscious choice you have to make, and continue to stay on top of. It is completely able to be achieved though! Never give up, and always keep striving to live the best you can. 

Moving Forward

The month of March literally flew by. I counted it up, and I was only in class for 15 days because of all my business trips, spring break, and Easter. I have absolutely no problem with this though. Spring break brought about a new experience for me, that turned out to be really amazing. 

I was trying to figure out how to stick to my meal plan while I was traveling for the break, and I finally decided that for one week I would not really focus on food. I decided to eat like most people do, not counting calories, or following clean eating guidelines. I needed to do this for myself to almost come back to reality in a sense that I could probably eat normal and maybe indulge a little, and the 42 lbs would not come back in one week. So, that is exactly what I did. I told myself the Monday that I got back, I would not weigh myself like usual, but that I would wait a week so that I would not be discouraged if I had gained anything. I wanted to keep up with the positive outlook that I still looked fine after a week. Without thinking on Monday morning, I hopped on the scale, and realized I had actually lost weight! That was really great for my self-image and a motivation for this journey overall. 

Because of how busy I have been, and just simply lack of wanting to get out there, I hadn't consistently run in a while in the month of March. I got two runs in last week and I thought I had a better pace until my run tracker comes through my music and tells me my time. Not what I was hoping. Oh the joys of taking too much time off. However, today and the rest of next week, I want to really get back into improving my time and distance again. I'm more excited than discouraged, because I love working towards a goal. 






Lately, I have needed some motivation and been wanting to change up some workouts. Tip: if you get bored with your workouts you will absolutely not want to do them at all. 

As the semester is coming to a close, and assignments and life piles up, I want to stay motivated and driven. I'm still not where I want to be, and I want to strive to continue on this journey. Everyone needs a little motivation now and then. I find mine through God, friends, fitness things on Pinterest, weight loss pictures, and fitness accounts on Instagram and Twitter. 

I hope everyone has a great week! 

On Top of the World

I did it. I reached a goal weight that I just imagined at the beginning of this all. I did something that seemed impossible to me. I saw other people's weight loss journeys, but I never imagined I would be accomplishing the same thing one day. 

Yesterday morning I decided to weigh myself even though it wasn't my normal weigh in day. I saw the number on the scale and literally ran back to my room and started crying. Happy tears of course!! I just kept saying, "I can't believe it, and thank you God." I then proceeded to put on the cute bikini I got (that was one of my goals in my first post for January) and take my first set of "after" pictures. 

I don't think I've mentioned how many pounds I've actually lost, but as of right now it's been 42! I started last July, so don't get me wrong it has been a long journey, but that's because I've done it in the healthiest way possible: eating right and working out! 

I cannot describe how amazing all of this has felt. It has been a huge journey and I am so blessed that I finally decided to turn things around. This time last year I was in a stage of life that was so completely different, it's hard to even imagine. Now, I am the happiest I have been in a long time. God has blessed me in so many ways through all of this. I still stand by my statement at the top of my page that it is so incredible when your faith, life, and fitness really come together, its amazing all of the positive changes that will occur. 

Don't get me wrong, it has still been incredibly hard, but it has been so worth it and will continue to be worth it. It's still difficult to see yourself in a positive light sometimes. I will catch myself criticizing my body, or thinking a negative thought about the way I look but then I remind myself, "Nope. I've worked hard for this, and I am beautiful." Looking at my before pics and now also helps a ton. Seeing a picture really put's things into perspective. I am genuinely happy with my body, and I can't wait to keep improving myself. 

Some people have asked if since reaching my goal, this is where I want to stop. My answer to that? NO WAY. I do not believe in ever "stopping." What did I do when I reached my goal weight? Set a new one. Does that mean that I am going to obsess over getting a new number on the scale? No way. My main goal now is to continue to tone up. If I lose weight in the process of doing that, then awesome! I will however not be looking to gain much. I know muscle weighs more than fat, but I know where I am is healthy and even a lower number will still be in the healthy range. 

Why do I not believe in stopping? I believe in staying healthy and active for the rest of my life. I am continually wanting to try new things involving fitness and a clean lifestyle. I believe that there is always room for improvement and we should not ever limit ourselves. 

As of right now I am sticking pretty close to a meal plan that is very similar to the one that I posted a while back. It has been helping me eat very clean and with portion control. Food has become something that I use to fuel my body, not satisfy my cravings. I still enjoy food, and can go out with friends and eat healthy, but I will never eat like I used to. I believe changing that pattern is something that really impacted my whole journey. The foods we eat can completely destroy our bodies, but we have the choice not to let them, and that is a choice I made. 

Let me make something clear though. I could not have done this without God. I would have given up a long time ago if I hadn't been able to go to Him throughout all of this, and he is still teaching me that. Even with reaching my goals, he has showed me that nothing is impossible when we seek him. He wants the best for me. I think one of the biggest lessons I have learned is that God always knows what is best for us, and wants the best for us, but it is up to us to listen to him and let him move in our life. I have tried to do things on my own, but they do not become a success until I let Him come in and take control. He is the reason I've succeeded and will continue to. I could run a million miles, do a million pushups, and have the best body in the world, but if my heart wasn't in the right place none of that  would matter. I'm still seeking a beauty in Christ, not just a physical beauty based off of my looks.

I hope to continue to update this more often, now that some of my school projects have been completed, I will have more free time. Even if only one person reads this, and so much as smiles or feels some sort of encouragement, then I know I'm succeeding.  

The last piece of advice I have for now sounds pretty cliche, but I firmly believe Nothing Is Impossible. We don't believe that truth enough these days. 

Off To A Great Start (3 Day Cleanse)

Today is the first day of my spring semester, and I am in awe that I am at last half of my junior year of college. I still remember my first day of freshman year like it happened a week ago. Time really does move faster than I could have ever imagined. 

I want to start off this semester as on track as possible in all aspects of my life. I am working on unpacking and putting all of my things where they belong. Organization is extremely important to me. I also want to start off this semester in the right place with God. Whenever I have Him as my first priority, the rest of my life seems to fall into order in the perfect way. Next is obviously fitness and diet! After this post I will be doing the workout that my trainer wrote for me. I am still figuring out when the best time to do these will be. I am going to try to do them the same time every day, in order to stick with a routine, and not let myself slack off at all. 

Obviously, diet plays a huge roll into anyone's weight loss and fitness journey, and I wanted to really focus this week in particular. In oder to start creating healthy habits, and get my mind on the idea of "eating clean," I decided to start this week with a 3 day cleanse. Sticking to something always helps me feel accomplished, and gets me on the right path. I am not doing this cleanse to drop a ton of weight in three days. I don't believe in anything like that. Instead, I am doing it to start off my semester in a very healthy way. I want to model my every day diet after some of the foods and meals that are on this particular cleanse! I will post a link to the site that I found it on, in case anyone wants to do it as well sometime in the future. At the end of the three days, I will update on how it went, and made me feel! 

Spring semester of 2012 is when my life was incredibly hectic, and I was not at a healthy spot, so I am determined for 2013 to be completely opposite. God has blessed me so much through all of this, and I want to continue to honor him in the way I live my life as healthy and happy as I can be! 

3 Day Cleanse Website! 

http://skinnyms.com/three-day-cleanse-detox/

Bubbles to Blessings

This isn't a post about fitness, but it's something I wrote tonight. I sent it to a couple of my best friends, and they told me that it was too good not to share! They are always such great encouragers in my life when it comes to things like this. So, here it is. Hope you all enjoy. 

"I'm guilty of writing this on my phone mid bubble bath, but when inspiration comes, I can't pass up an opportunity. 
I have 4 days of Christmas break left, and I am by myself in a bubble bath, wearing one of those gorgeous, green face masks, writing this. Some might see this as a little pathetic, but I can honestly say I'm completely content. 
God has me in this exact moment, this season of my life, for a special reason. I couldn't think of a better way to spend tonight than this. I'm able to reflect on my life, and pray about my future. I'm 21, single, a junior in college, and the only concrete plan I have is that after this, I'm painting my nails. It's actually very humbling to not have everything figured out. I'm learning to go to God for things I wouldn't have previously. I'm learning to do things for myself, and love myself like I know God wants me to. I'm learning that it's the small things that mean so much. God speaks to us in the quiet, when we allow our hectic worlds to be put aside. That's what I want to continue to work towards. Nights like this, where it's more of me focusing on the spectacular plan he has for me. Bubbles that turn into blessings."

Catching Up for 2013

 Shout out to a sweet girl for reminding me about this blog!  When she mentioned that she had seen my blog, I realized I had been meaning to update it! So, thank you. 

It has been about two months since I have updated this! The end of my semester was incredibly hectic with finals, so I definitely put this on the back burner. I'll be completely honest and the first to admit that I did not stick to that meal plan. I did for a while, but then with finals I gave up on being to strict on what I could eat, and I just ate healthy at the end. The workout lasted though, and I did not stop doing that until two weeks before the semester came to a close. 

Where I am now! 

I did save my money and got a trainer for this Christmas break. She has been such an amazing addition to my journey! She is encouraging and pushes me harder than I thought I could work. I have been working out with her 4-5 days a week. I am really sad to be leaving to go back to college, but she is going to keep writing me workouts and checking in. I am excited to prove to her and myself that I can keep the dedication to workout. The changes I can feel and see in my body have been a huge motivation. 

I am currently only 8 lbs away from my goal weight I set back at the beginning of this all! It is such an amazing feeling to have come this far, and I do not plan on stopping anytime soon. Weight is not my total focus, I just want to be fit and feel healthy! 

At the beginning of the break I made a decision to cut out things that I know are not beneficial. I cut out fast food, sweets, and coke! I have made only about 4 exceptions to the sweets right around Christmas. Since then, I have not had any of those things. It's actually not hard at all, and I get more satisfaction from not eating them, than I would indulging in one of them. 

Another change I am making (it will be easier once I am back at my house and not my parents) is to eat very clean! I want to stay away from processed/canned/frozen foods. I don't see myself becoming extremely obsessed with the organic movement, but I do want to try to make my diet cleaner. 

I am extremely excited about 2013 and all the changes I know will come my way! God has blessed me beyond measure, and I am ecstatic about continuing to clean up my lifestyle in a fitness and faith way. God has been revealing a lot of things to me, and I am really working on following a plan I know he will approve of. Living for him continues to be my ultimate goal. 

I hope that everyone's year has started off amazing, and that it only gets better! It's a new year and you can choose to make huge changes this year! 

Goals for the next semester: 

• Have a Bible study with my best friend
• Start memorizing more Bible verses
• Run a 5k, 10k, and maybe a half
• Reach my initial goal weight
• Workout at least 4x's a week
• Run at least 4x's a week
• Volunteer for Habitat in Abilene more
• Get a really cute bikini
• Eat clean
• Drink more water
• Keep encouraging people any way I can
• Pray about what God wants me to do in the future