Today a package showed up on my doorstep. It wasn’t unexpected. I had placed an order for it just last week so there shouldn’t have been any surprise when the mailman rang my doorbell this morning.
About 3 years ago, after a casual invite I decided to try a new church. It wasn’t super close to our house and I wasn’t really looking for a church but something made me go. Over the last 3 years, that church has become our second home. That casual invite led us to some amazing friends who have stood by us, held us when we cried, prayed over us, and loved us through so much over the last 3 years. What seems like such a short time, feels like decades.
In that short time, we’ve lost 3 precious babies and the range of emotions we’ve dealt with have wreaked havoc on us. I’ve struggled so much with other people sharing news of their pregnancies. I’ve had breakdowns in the baby aisles at Target trying to by a baby shower gift. I’ve cried at church more times than I can count. And I’ve been the friend that broke down in front of a beautiful friend that had just announced her pregnancy. Y’all, I’ve been a hot mess of emotion when normally I’m made of steel. I’m not used to needing a shoulder to cry on, that’s generally the role I play for others.
But in all that, two of those amazing friends we met we’re walking an eerily similar road. We’ve each walked that road in our own way, her probably with at least a little more grace than I have, but thanks to an amazing group of friends, we never walked alone.
So today when that package showed up, full of baby shower invitations for that sweet, precious friend of mine, I found myself in a puddle of tears again. But for the first time, they weren’t tears of hurt and anger. They were wholehearted tears of praise that this beautiful boss babe is pregnant with a beautiful baby boy. God is good, y’all!!
I don’t know if I’ll ever see the miracle she’s experiencing in my own story, but right now I’m just so thankful that I get to celebrate her!!
Yesterday, I shared on my Facebook and Instagram (@alinamfthompson) my results for week 1 of SHIFT SHOP. They were a little less stellar than I had hoped, but I wanted to share a little more about what happened last week and the changes that have been made for this week.
For the last several months, shoot probably more like the last year, I have been on this workout/clean eating roller coaster. Every time I started a new workout program something would happen, an injury, an illness, or straight up laziness and I would quit. Every time I would plan a week of clean eating a party would be added to my calendar, a new restaurant would open, or a billion other excuses would present themselves and I would quit.
In the past I've also shared that I'm an all-in or all-out kind of girl. I don't understand less than 100%. But in all honesty, sometimes that is my downfall. I dump so much on my plate that it becomes overwhelming and all of a sudden I'm drowning in too many commitments and I'm all the balls I've been juggling come tumbling down right on top of me. That's just #momlife right??
This time around, I knew I needed to make a change. Instead of changing every single aspect of my life in one fell swoop, I decided to make one change. If I could make it one week and maintain that change, then the next week I would add another change. And so on and so on.
So, while week one of SHIFT SHOP meant some seriously hard workouts, I also did not dial in my nutrition...like, AT ALL! Wine? Yes! Burgers? Yes! Mac & Cheese? Of course! You get the picture. Each time, I enjoyed any of these (or so many other treats) I felt instantly happy. Ordinarily I later would have experienced a feeling of guilt that I had traded the choice to have a nutritious meal for the instant gratification of an unhealthy treat.
Last week was a little different. Since I went into the week knowing that I had 1 goal and simply needed to make that happen, I never felt deprived and it was a lot easier to get through that first week. But as I stood on the scale yesterday, there was still that feeling of disappointment. What would that number have looked like if I had eaten clean? Would it have been a drastic difference?
Let's take a second to be real...obviously losing 2 pounds in a week is AMAZING!! That's definitely a healthy weight loss goal and nothing to be bummed about! I think my perception of what that first week would look like were altered by seeing other fellow coaches losing crazy amounts of weight and getting super toned in only 3 weeks.
So, as I sat down to set my goals for this week I knew I would keep my workout goal and I would commit to workout every day for 7 days, with one double workout day, for a total of 9 workouts. I also planned to add a second goal and that would be focusing on my nutrition. I committed to follow the SHIFT SHOP meal plan EXACTLY. No cheats AT ALL!!
That's where I am today. The fridge is stocked and ready to go. My hubby has agreed to follow the meal plan with me and the recipes look fantastic. But even seeing how delicious everything looks, I know going a week without a burger or a glass of wine isn't going to be easy. I know there will be a day that everything will seem to go wrong, I'll be stressed to the max, and I'll either be craving some comfort food or wanting some quiet time to read with a glass of pinot grigio. This week I'm committing to not chase instant gratification. I'm looking ahead to the delayed gratification of climbing on the scale in a week knowing that I've completely eaten clean and showed up for every workout and I know those results will be there waiting for me.
Do you struggle with fitness or is nutrition harder for you? Do you struggle to do both at the same time? You are not alone!! You can follow my SHIFT SHOP journey on Facebook and Instagram (@alinamfthompson) and please feel free to reach out to me if I can encourage you on your own journey!!
Are you ready for the SHIFT?! Check out this video to here more about the program from trainer, Chris Downing. If you're as excited about this program as I am, COMMENT and let me know!! You can find all the information to purchase the program HERE.
If you want it bad enough, you'll work for it...right? It seems simple enough but for a busy mom, it's just not true. How many days do you tell yourself you're going to eat right or squeeze in that workout you've been putting off? How many times do those clean eating habits get derailed by a school party, a church potluck, or temptation staring at you on the grocery store shelf? How many times do you put off a workout because the kids just won't go down for their nap today, you've just got to be at the school to volunteer, or you just want to enjoy the five minutes of peace and quiet you have without being covered in sweat?
{Photo Cred: Pinterest}
I get it. And let's be real, every single day you're wanting to achieve this goal. You're staring at those old jeans you just refuse to get rid of, because one day you're going to wear them again. You're standing on the scale shedding every ounce of clothing hoping the number won't make you want to cry today and when it's still more than you expected you're balancing on one foot and taking out your hair tie praying it will budge. You're feeling frustrated that everywhere you go you're confronted with unhealthy food choices and friends that justify the excuse that "it's a special occasion" or "you deserve to treat yourself" or any other number of things.
It's not that you don't want to. You definitely want to. I mean the desire to lose weight is on your mind EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. There is no lack of want to. So what's the problem?
You want to know what the problem is? It's the WILL TO...not the want to. You can want something all day long but I can promise you that's not going to bring you success. That's not going to make those skinny jeans fit over that muffin top and zip all the way up. (Please don't read that as judgmental...know this...the muffin top game is strong with this one!!)
{Photo Cred: Womanista}
Having the will to reach that goal, to lose that weight, to eat healthier means making a game plan and STICKING TO IT. It's easy to be jealous of the friend who can eat whatever they want at the numerous events y'all attend together and never gain a pound. It's easy to convince yourself that you work so hard and you deserve that cupcake at the 17th birthday party you've attended this month. And your girlfriends are going to back you up...because they feel the same way. We're all stuck in this same neverending cycle of wanting to lose weight and falling victim to our own excuses and validations.
Certainly moderation is good and had we budgeted for a cupcake at the most recent birthday party, so be it. But if you're like me with an endless string of kids' birthday parties on your calendar, there aren't enough calories in your budget to have a cupcake at every single one. We've got to have the will to decide ahead of time whether or not a cupcake fits into this week's plan and we've got to stick with what we've decided before the moment of temptation strikes.
If you're still stuck in the want to phase of this cycle, please know you're not alone. Most likely almost every women in your circle of friends is there too. But if you're ready to put down those excuses and pick up the WILL to finally do something about your health and maybe even get back in those jeans collecting dust in the back of your closet, I would challenge you to do something today to get closer to that goal.
{Photo Cred: Pinterest}
Take it day by day. Minute by minute. Make a plan for your day and STICK TO IT. Don't let anything get in your way. If you feel a craving coming on, use that time to call and check up on a friend you haven't talked to in awhile. If you don't feel like getting in a workout, turn on some of your favorite jams and dance around your house...I bet you won't mind a workout so much after a song or two. Still struggling to find your motivation? Read a book that encourages a healthy lifestyle like "Push" by Chalene Johnson or "Made to Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst. You can also find motivation, recipes, and more on my Facebook page, Get Fit with Alina.
