Shaking off a Rut + Garden Projects

Good evening, folks!

I am back at it again with a new blog post. Daaaaamn, Daniel!

Hopefully you got that reference. If not, let's just move right along.

I am going to start by talking about being in a rut. For the past few days at least I have been thinking about my exercise and diet habits as well as personal goals. This weekend I had a lot of FUN, though unfortunately my healthy diet fell by the wayside, several times. I certainly cherish spending times with those I love, though for me I have a hard time separating that fun from food. If we are doing a fun activity, then why don't we have a fun meal, too? Usually these meals consist of things that aren't exactly on the healthy side (think ice cream instead of fruit after dinner), and a weekend of treats has left me feeling MEH. That is the only word I can truly describe how I feel right now as I type this up. I know how hard I can work - hell, at this time last year I was waist deep into competition prep and working hard every single day. Sure, it was hard work, but that work was so rewarding on stage. I think back to my mindset at that point, and of course it is different than it is now. Now, I don't eat and work out for the goal of stepping on stage. Now, I can eat whatever the hell I want, but then my positive mindset suffers the consequences. A cheat meal can turn into a cheat day. A cheat day can turn into two cheat days, three cheat days, hell, even a cheat week and sub-par work outs. This is what I don't like, and that mentality is hard to shake when you feel like you are stuck. I had a conversation with my sister today about how I am feeling and how I wish I was in the same place (physically anyway) as I was last year. The conversation started by me talking about a girl I follow on YouTube and Instagram (oh, the joy of social media). She competed two weekends in a row and won her pro card this past Saturday. I remember watching the videos leading up to this moment and feeling so emotional when she won overall. I remember watching it thinking, "Why can't I do that?" WELL, HOLLY. Open your eyes. You can. You just need to focus and stop living with the blinders on, worrying about what could happen.  I need to get my mind out of that box. I need to put myself out there in order to shake off that rut and accomplish the ever-growing list of goals in my mind. These goals include competing again, maybe even winning my pro card, running a half marathon, and finally being able to balance healthy living with the rest of my life. In a perfect world I would be living that right now, though that is not the case. It takes a lot of hard work and I think of the sacrifices I made last year on my way to the stage. I think about how mentally tough I was during that point, and it makes me wonder if I can get back there without such a huge goal waiting for me. Staying motivated is hard work, and I am extremely goal oriented which makes living my daily life with that constant fire under my butt difficult. Difficult, but it can be done! One step at a time.

So, that was a ramble and a half, hey? Had to get the heavy stuff out there before I filled you in on LIFE and whatnot!

This past week was A- in terms of work outs. My food stayed on point too Monday - Friday. I'd say 5 days out of 7 ain't so bad!

I have been meal prepping my lunches still, so lunches consisted of brown rice, chicken & veggies, and salad with chicken. On a day to day basis I eat primarily the same things for breakfast and lunch. Hey, I'm a creature of habit! This makes preparing meals 100x easier, rather than making elaborate and different meals for every day.

Work outs from last week:

Tuesday: 4.1 mile run, shoulders & triceps

Wednesday: 3.1 mile run, legs

Thursday: 3.2 mile run, back & biceps
Friday: 2.1 mile run, shoulders & hamstrings

Saturday & Sunday OFF

Today: 3.3 mile run, shoulders

Weekend Shenanigans:

Saturday was date night! Ryan and I went out to The Keg for dinner followed by a movie. We saw The Boss, and it was so funny! Mind you, I love Melissa McCarthy in every movie, so you can't go wrong there.

Take a look at the yard project Ryan & I completed together yesterday:

We bought some cedar ties and made some flower beds along the side and front of the shed.

Yeah, you could say I am pretty handy! While my sister was over today we also planted two flower planters for the front porch. I also hosed off the garden beds in the back so they don't look so dirty ;) Although it was boiling hot outside, I felt proud to see what we had accomplished yesterday and happy that we worked together as a team! Two sets of hands are always better than one - especially when it comes to power tools!

I hope you all had a great weekend & I will be back again soon enough!