I’ve run out of time waiting for my body to adjust from my cycle and the 4th of July.  It’s time to weigh and measure and accept things the way they are for a new starting point.

Total loss in the last 3 weeks:  2.9 lbs and 2.75 inches.  Not to shabby, but not as good as it was the day before the 4th of July :).  It’s easy on, hard off for me.  When I was younger I could have a few big eating days and then the weight would fall off as soon as I went back to good habits.  Not so now.  It takes the full pound per week–good lesson to remember.

The pictures aren’t the best with the striped swimsuit and the morning shadows, but I can tell in the first photo that my belly is sticking out in a pooch above the waistband and not in the second.  Yay for little victories!

What I’ve done right this challenge so far:  Doing all my strength workouts and all but one of my ITs.  Logging my food daily and measuring everything.  (I missed a few days of holiday eating where it was hard for me to figure out what I was eating to write it down.)  Photographing my food with my phone to help me remember what it was to write down later.  Writing here or in my FYM journal every day.

What needs improvement:  Challenging myself more for ITs.  Room for improvement for cleaner eating.

Breakthroughs:  I am emotional and stress can stop my ability to control my eating.  I need to guard my stress and how busy I make my schedule for my health and my family’s well being (since how I feel affects them even more than it does me.)  I need to stay hydrated and add electrolytes when I’ve been super sweaty.  No more blacking out means I am more motivated to work out again the next time.  Also, I love how a recovery shake keeps me from getting sore after a big strength work out and helps me recover faster so I can function the rest of the day.