I feel like these updates keep coming at the oddest times — I suppose I am good for three weeks and then I have a cheat week, and then it’s time for an update!
I am still working on a personal fitness challenge that involves eating correct portions of healthier food, eat less carbs, drink more water, and do one physical activity a day.
In general, I am continuing to do well. I feel much stronger and leaner than I did when I started. My clothes fit better, I don’t feel disgusting in a swimsuit, and I am focusing much less on food — i.e., I’m not heading straight to the fridge when I wake up or sitting around waiting for it to officially be lunchtime.
Yes, I did have a few extra cheats this month — I’ve been craving sweets and I had a few drinks when company came to visit — but I am not going to punish myself for it. You just keep it moving and get back on track.
Honestly, the easiest part of this has been the daily physical activity, which is what I thought would be the most difficult. My work has been crazy the entire month, so getting to the yoga studio has been necessary for me to stop working and shift to something else.
However, I don’t think I went to the dance studio once this month. It’s something I’m struggling with. I feel like mentally, I can’t handle dance, which sounds insane. I’m still dealing with remnants of things from my past and dancing makes me feel so vulnerable, even when I have signed up for a class, I talk myself out of going because I think it will make me upset.
There’s a dance class I really want to on Saturday, so I’m going to go and I really hope it will inspire me to get back into it, even if it means only once a week to start. I used to love to dance, but yoga has been helping me so much mentally.
Mental health is one thing I really embraced this month. I talked a little about it in my two-month update, but I definitely think any mental health help is necessary no matter what sort of physical issue you’re trying to battle. For me, clearing my mind helps me sleep, and it helps me put things into perspective, like work stress.
My goal for this month was to focus on hydration. While I still have work to do in that area, I really enjoyed making pitchers of (unsweetened) tea and sipping on that during the day and I found an organic electrolyte water that I like.
Coincidentally, I’m heading to the doctor today for an annual checkup. So, we will see what she says, and what the tests show about my health. It’s something I’ve been worried about ever since my dad passed — and even before that, on some levels. I’m happy to be getting it over with.
I’m also glad it’s Friday, and I’m looking forward to some mental rest this weekend. I have been sleeping at odd hours all week, I think due to some anxiety and possibly depression, so I’m relieved to just get real rest and restore.
I hope you all have a great weekend!
The Bitter Lemon 