6 Months Later

This week marks six months since Ryan and I made our eating and exercise lifestyle changes. I thought that deserved an update. :)

If you're new here, or you forgot {which is completely okay, because you're in no way required to remember the happenings of the Shaffers}, here are a few posts to catch you up. I wrote this post in January, two months after I started the adventure, and it was really the first time I'd mentioned on the blog what we were doing. I followed up with this post, which just described everything a bit more and also shared some of my early results! And then in March, I wrote this one, about how I'm making this work in the real world.

As a recap, on November 30th {yes, right before the Christmas season AND just two days before our anniversary}, Ryan and I started a Beachbody regimen, doing the workouts from the 21 Day Fix and eating according to the portion control/clean eating plan for that program. I did also drink Shakeology, which is their once-a-day healthy shake. We repeated the 21 Day Fix workouts for three rounds, and then in March we switched over to doing the Insanity Max 30 workouts, which are also through the Beachbody plan, but are just much more intense.

May 30th was the six month mark, and while I didn't get weighed ON that day, my weight loss in six months stands at 27 pounds. And since I didn't have a goal going into the thing, other than to somehow look and feel better than I did at that time, I can safely say I feel I'm being successful!

Here are two pictures - my starting point picture and one taken this week.

And now...some observations.

* First, I want to say that I no longer drink Shakeology. I loved that drink so much and truthfully miss it terribly. But it is not a particularly affordable portion of the program, and being on one income means sometimes we have to make choices, and we chose to give this up. In its place, I rotate several of my favorite shake drinks from Katie Farrell's Dashing Dish site, and that helps me get my dessert fix and some extra protein, and it's much cheaper. I know these don't have nearly the superfoods that Shakeology had, but honestly for us, it was a financial call. {And I said in one of those early posts that I didn't want to be dependent on a shake to maintain, and now that has come to pass!}

* Secondly, I feel I have now entered more of a maintenance phase, and while it scares me a bit, it's exciting to see growth. One of the HUGE helps for me in this journey was the daily accountability I had with an online group of women doing the same journey. I needed those check-ins. And lately, I haven't checked in as much. And it's not because I'm cheating and don't want to tell them, but just that I feel I'm growing up enough in this to be able to just do my day without needing to report it. This excites me.

* My workouts look different than they did. Some days I don't do a Beachbody workout and I go for a run instead. The mix is good for me, and I don't plan to give UP doing the video workouts, but I do plan to mix it up. I still try to do SOMETHING every day. This week, on Memorial Day, our schedule was so messed up that a power walk was all we could squeeze in. But hey, we still walked {very quickly!} a 5K instead of staying in the hammock, so that's teaching me that this matters in my heart!

* For the most part, I don't freak out about treats anymore. I used to wonder if I was undoing all I had ever done if I had a cookie. Now I have treats a little more often, and sometimes I have to remind myself to SLOW DOWN and not get back where I was! But despite that, it's good to be at a place where I can have a piece of pizza without guilt. {Not three pieces.}

* We really have made this a lifestyle change. Sure we still order pizzas and have hamburgers at Culver's or a Frosty at Wendy's. Even Cokes now and then! But we also do really well at home and while we're out. I've learned to order steamed broccoli instead of fries when I'm at a sit-down restaurant. I eat mixed veggies instead of chips with my meals. A snack when I have the munchies is now fruit instead of a brownie. And for the most part, those are the things I actually want and not just something I feel like I have to do.

* I feel better - and not in the way everyone else seems to. I read all the time about people who do clean eating, and then they have a day where they eat whatever and their stomachs bother them all night and they can't wait to get back to the healthy stuff because they feel better. Not gonna lie: that has not happened to me. When I have a day where I eat whatever I want, I say THANK YOU FOR THE BURGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love those days so much. They get me over a hump and while I'm glad to get back to a food routine I know, eating one meal or one day of junk food does not mess with my stomach. Sometimes I kind of wish it did so I wouldn't be tempted, but it just doesn't work that way for me. Even so, I feel better on the whole. I love myself more, I feel more confident in front of Ryan, and I appreciate my newfound strength gained from the hard workouts.

So that's the update from here! 6 months, roughly 30 pounds, and a much happier Bekah.

One more picture for you...these two were taken about a year apart. The first one was Easter 2015 and the second was Ryan's birthday {shortly after Easter} 2016. Same dress. Way different levels of confidence!