WEEKLY HEALTHY LIVING CHECK-IN APRIL 27TH, 2019

**This past week has been VERY busy to say the least..... Sunday started with Easter,..... and About 4 different appointments throughout the week in conjuntion with teaching my Zumba classes, its been challenging to just "sit and relax" when I was always on the go....... I actually did alright with Easter, and didn't go too overboard, and I had an awsome time at my moms house just spending time with her and my family. Was a little upset that my son couldn't be there with us that day because he chose to work (he's a restaraunt manager) so he doesn't like to take too much time away from work for some reason. He feels that the place will "fall apart" without him~...... The downfall came when I packed some extra food to bring home because I figured it would hold my husband over for a day or two or at least give him a "2nd" helping and an extra day....Well, I ended up "picking" at those things as well... Nothing major just some turkey and ham, but there was also some dessert (So extra sodium and sugar)~ But........I didn't get too down on myself about it. I enjoyed the day~

**The plan was to get right back on track at the start of the week, with Monday teaching TWO of my Zumba classes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Which both went really well... but, then my son invited me and my husband out to dinner on Tuesday with him since he didn't get to see us for Easter. And I didn't choose the "healthiest" option, and went a little overboard on some breaksticks lol..... Well, alot of know well, when we tend to get off track a day or two in a row, it can get a little more challenging to get back on track right away. At least I continued to keep up with my exercise/activity and step goals, as well as lots of water and sleep!~ So not a complete fail~

**Weather has been great this past week, warmer weather is finally here to stay....and its been great getting back out again for walks with my mom, my husband, and at the lake with my dog.......Here we are at the end of April already and I'm still not at the goals that I have set for myself which has been a little discouraging, so I am planning some Newer goals to continue on with as we finish this month and enter May~ It will be great to be in the month of May and know that Summer is right around the corner, which will hopefully be the kick that I need to "keep going" in a positive direction for myself and staying on complete plan~

**In the morning my plan will be going to a 90-minute Zumba class (with another instructor at the place I teach at ) to kickstart my day (and my "Step" goal)...... and spend the day between running a few minor errands, maybe the lake with my dog, and then hopefully relaxing a bit while the hubby is out of town visiting his family~

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND EVERYONE~

Heya!

How has everyone been doing and feeling over this past week?

This week has been a really conflicting one for me health-wise, I went away on a week-long holiday and decided it would be best I stopped calorie counting or tracking for the week, I wanted to be able to relax and enjoy food and felt I needed a break as my counting had become obsessive and unhealthy. This did provide some freedom but also a lot of stress and a few binges where I definitely overate and made unwise choices.

Today is our 'LAST' check-in for the Month of April!. How do you feel that you did over this past month with your goals or plans for yourself? How do you feel the month as treated you?

This month has been pretty big, but I'm proud of my progress, I've majoritively stayed on track overall in April and have been working out more than ever before

What things will you continue to work on or look forward to as we get ready to approach a new month ahead?

As of today, I'm back in a calorie deficit and this month I want to work on a couple of specific goals

1. Having larger meals less frequently to avoid snacking mindlessly

2. Working on changing up my exercises and trying out new things with my workouts

3. Staying on track with eating healthily and trying to have a healthy relationship with food

For those that celebrated Easter last Sunday, How did everyone do? How well did you stay on plan or track?

I enjoyed Easter thoroughly! Again, it was a rest week, but I'm proud that I didn't go too overboard on Easter Sunday, just shared some dark chocolate with my family and a couple of mini eggs :)

What have been your "Highlights" Or "Struggles" over this past week?

My highlights have been that I managed to get back on track straight away after getting back from my holiday. A struggle was that of binging and making unwise choices but I'm proud of myself because there were a lot of instances where I had temptations to make bad decisions and resisted them, choosing healthier options and pre-planning packed snacks.

What are your weekend Plans?

Today was Saturday here and my first full day back home, I went to the gym in the morning and then did some back to school shopping as I start my school term on Monday, tonight I'm going to see 'Pet Semetary' at the movies with my dad which I'm super excited about, today I also spent a lot of the day reading. Tomorrow my dad and I are going to go on a 6km run in the morning and I'm gonna go get a cool new haircut.

What would you like to talk about or share with us?

I'd just like to document my past week as I've been doing as I find it a good way to reflect, this week was far from perfect because I gave myself that rest to enjoy my holiday however I'm trying to not feel guilty as I could've been a lot less healthy and did have many genuinely healthy meals there.

Saturday :

I had a breakfast of steel-cut flaxseed protein oats with a banana, blueberries and strawberry greek yogurt, a lunch of tuna egg and bean salad, a dinner of poached chicken breast with vegetables and snacks of a green veggie juice, cookie dough halo top, some dark chocolate, and blueberries. On this day I also did a 20 min walk and a 40 min bike ride around Waikiki. This was a day I was really happy with health wise for a holiday day

Sunday (Easter!)

I had a breakfast of steel cut flaxseed oats with peach Greek yogurt, a banana and a square of dark chocolate, a lunch of prawns, nuts, veggies and a poached egg, a dinner of tuna steak with veggies and snacks of freshly squeezed pineapple juice, cookie dough halo top and some chocolates for easter. I went on a 1. hour hike up diamond head, a 1 hour hike around Manoa Falls, a 40 min bike ride and a 20 min walk around Waikiki.

Monday:

I had breakfast of steel cut flaxseed oats with strawberry Greek yogurt, strawberries and a banana, a lunch of this seafood veggie soup with bread and shared nachos with my family, snacks of a peanut butter Larabar, cashews, raw nut crackers, fruits, and slim twin mint ice cream. I didn't feel dinner as I ate too much lunch and was full and I did a 30 min walk around a waterfall.

Tuesday:

I had a breakfast of steel cut flaxseed oats with vanilla Greek Yoghurt, strawberries, almond butter, peanut butter and syrup, a lunch of green beans, carrots and hard-boiled eggs, a dinner of salmon and egg salad and snacks of a peanut butter RX bar, freeze-dried peas and slim twin vanilla ice cream with mango, blackberries and dark choc. I did a 20 min walk and a 30 min bike ride

Wednesday:

Wednesday was the worst health wise and while I'm not proud of it I had a nice day, I did in fact binge and I'm not going to be listing what I binged in an episode as I don't want to relive it but the thing to remember is that all of this truly is a process. I had a breakfast of steel cut flaxseed oats with banana, berries and a strawberry greek yoghurt, a lunch of a salmon egg avo salad, a dinner of a tuna steak on grilled tofu at an exquisite restaurant, a dessert of creme Brule and macadamia ice cream at the restaurant and a snack of a Larabar and beans. I did a 1-hour volcano hike. This doesn't include the binge but again, not listing that

Thursday/ Friday:

this was the day I flew back home and so when I woke up that morning it was Thursday and I went to bed and it was Friday night, crazy right! I had a breakfast of steel cut flaxseed iats with raspberry greek yoghurt and a banana, a lunch on the plane of asian pork noodle salad with a bread roll and a no sugar coke, a dinner on the plane of braised pork with veggies and potato mash and snacks of a peanut butter larabar, smooshed protein balls, a homemade healthy banana cookie and dark chocolate. I am relatively proud of myself because on the plane I resisted MAAANY temptations. I said no to hot chocolate, chocolate, ice cream, the second bread roll, and the desert.

Saturday (today):

Today I was back to normality and right back into the swing of things. I had a breakfast of protein granola with greek yoghurt, a lunch of avocado, tuna egg salad, a dinner of poached chicken and veggies and snacks of dark choc, strawberries and passionfruit protein yoghurt. I went to the gym and ran 4ks on the treadmil and did 20 mins of weight training

Another busy week but pretty much staying on track. Time is sure going fast. April was done too quickly. This time of year always seem to go fast. Easter went well and was on track except extra helping of desserts, but overall I was as careful as possible for a holiday. . My weakness is sweets if they are around. Still goal setting to stay on track. I hope May slows done a little, this is the time of year I really enjoy the outdoors. Enjoy your weekend.

@PoliteOcean

**How has everyone been doing and feeling over this past week?! I have been feeling okay. A bit more tired than usual.

**Today is our 'LAST' check-in for the Month of APRIL!.. How do you feel that you did over this past month with your goals or plans for yourself? How do you feel the month as treated you? I feel like I could have gone to the gym more this month.

**What things will you continue to work on or look forward to as we get ready to approach a "New" month ahead? eating healthier

**For those that celebrated Easter last Sunday, How did everyone do? How well did you stay on plan or track? I did well! I was a bit burnt out at the end though.

**What have been your "Highlights" Or "Struggles" over this past week? I have had some great talks with friends but felt a bit burnt out

**What are your weekend Plans?! relaxing today and church tomorrow

I got a message from my trainer that the time I usually go was going to be harder than usual, so I skipped it. I already had a massage booked for the next day, so it was just a skipped week. Good thing too, as I think it was the street cleaning that made my asthma flare up. I wasn't having a full out attack but I was on the couch just feeling totally exhausted and short of breath.

Today was the end of the unusual and consistent spring with a decent amount of snow, hoping that will help me out the next time I venture outside!

I was thinking of doing some strength exercises at home, but that was before my breathing dfificulties started up. While my breathing seems ok today my lymph node has been acting up and fatigue is a bit strong too. I start most of my seeds in little shot glasses so instead of strength exercises I'm focusing on just taking care of my plants for this weekend. Hubby seems lazy too, so maybe we can get in some good rest and hopefully I'll be able to do a little more this week besides the 1 workout.

@PoliteOcean

I finally found time to do a full reply! This week was good, didnt hit the gym at all from memory but on Tuesday, my new PT and I will be having our first session today! Her names Kim, and she sounds super nice over the phone. Im pretty sure I know what she looks like as Ive seen other PTs at the gym before, but we shall see for sure soon!

Worked on Easter Monday and ANZAC Day this week, and 5hrs today (Sunday) meaning Ill be getting a very large pay check next week! :D I am so super excited for it haha

I had back pain for three days after doing the cobra pose but no idea why that triggered it. I only did arm and abs workout that day, so I did the cobra pose to stretch my abs! Weird. And then the same day or the day after, I got a weird type of headache. And its still hanging around- its been around 5-6 days now, but my doctor is on holidays at the moment, meaning I either have to wait for her or see a different doctor. Well see. I had Panadol but that didnt work. Very annoying! Its bearable, though.

Been drinking lots of water, and did a few at home workouts daily. A very good buy was the resistance bands- Im so happy I bought them and that they were cheap! They vary my exercises up a lot which is great. Im currently being extremely unhealthy by eating a big block of chocolate... once the block is finished, no more chocolate for me for ages! Im getting sick of it haha I pry myself away from it for a few months, then suddenly go all out and eat a block. And the cycle repeats! Aside from chocolate, Ive been eating pretty healthy! Sushi, toast, a bit of rice, porridge, yoghurt, vegetables and fruits. Feeling pretty happy with it.

As for mental health, I just bought three books for personal development!!! You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero, Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis and The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a **** by Sarah Knight! I also bought two other books just for casual reading- Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult (my all-time favourite author!!) and Whisper by Lynette Noni. :) I am sooooooo excited to start reading again. I also plan on rereading The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod.

Thats about it from me for this week, I think! Oh, I just bought new gym tights! Very excited- finally my collection isnt just all black! And tomorrow Im going to a conference to better build my leadership skills! Its held at a hotel which is interesting, as this conference is part of an extracurricular program thats part of my uni. Last years conference was held in one of our unis campuses. Anyhow, thats all from me now for sure!

**How has everyone been doing and feeling over this past week?! Same as usual to be honest, up and down. I don't really remember much, I have such a bad memory. I remember Tuesday I felt up and down to be honest, then later in the week I had a break down etc...just up and down to be honest. I was happy when my boyfriend was all cute but my mum upset me several times and i was paranoid about the relationship too.

**Today is our 'LAST' check-in for the Month of APRIL!.. How do you feel that you did over this past month with your goals or plans for yourself? How do you feel the month as treated you? April has gone so quickly too, before you know it it's gonna be Christmas. Oo it's actually my boyfriends birthday too. I talk about him too much on here haha. I think I completed a lot of my goals which I'm proud of myself for. I got my hair cut, but it needs doing again soon. I hate having so many layers in my hair - I'm growing them out. I got my nails done over a week ago but I have grown them out and one has chipped a little. They look quite bad close up but I'm going to give them at least another week before I get them re-done a lighter colour because of school. I reached the 2-month mark with my boyfriend, it's two months two weeks today which is 10 weeks! We're doing so well and I don't think we will break up anytime soon. I've gone so off topic here haha. I think the month treated me the same as usual - good and bad, up and down. Without my boyfriend things would be a lot worse and I know I shouldn't rely on him to keep me happy but it's pretty much my only option. I'm a very dependent person.

**What things will you continue to work on or look forward to as we get ready to approach a "New" month ahead? TW: In May I will continue to work on getting a better body which means letting scars fade. I don't know how to get my scars to go but until they have I don't know what to do. I can't show my legs until they go, and they might never go. One day it might really sabotage my relationship. TW ends: I want to work on my relationship and reach the 3 month/12 week mark with him, I will work on getting my hair to how I like it and keeping my nails fabulous. I just want to be the person I wish I could be. I look forward to continuing my relationship and hopefully looking better.

**For those that celebrated Easter last Sunday, How did everyone do? How well did you stay on plan or track? Easter last Sunday wasn't the best. Sundays are never good in my house because my mum is always drunk and stressed, my dad is just getting used by my mum and stressed and all that really affects me because my mum isn't the nicest person. There isn't much to say in all honesty. I got home from a sleepover and the morning was good, everything just gets worse in the afternoon but it won't change. I just want to leave home and go to an A-level campus college instead of living at home and going to school.

**What have been your "Highlights" Or "Struggles" over this past week? I think the highlights after my past week have been no school on Monday, seeing my boyfriend and friends after school on Tuesday, a caring boyfriend throughout the week and a relaxing weekend. Keeping my nails on and planning what will happen next with my hair has been pretty nice too. Struggles have been school all week, punching a wall later on the week, worrying about my relationship, feeling really low and arguments at home.

**What are your weekend Plans?! Well Saturday has already been and all I did was chill at home and watch YouTube but I did have a couple of my breakdowns because I'm used to my boyfriend keeping my happy and together but he was busy doing preparation for DofE so he could barely talk. Today I want to organise my school bad, tidy my bedroom and do homework but knowing me I won't do any of that.

**How has everyone been doing and feeling over this past week?!

Pretty stressed, mostly due to exams.

**Today is our 'LAST' check-in for the Month of APRIL!.. How do you feel that you did over this past month with your goals or plans for yourself? How do you feel the month as treated you?

Not well. I haven't set any goals just yet, and I'd like to do so soon.

**What things will you continue to work on or look forward to as we get ready to approach a "New" month ahead?

I'll continue to work on my writing and try to get up the motivation to go outside for once.

**For those that celebrated Easter last Sunday, How did everyone do? How well did you stay on plan or track?

I... I didn't eat too much chocolate.

**What have been your "Highlights" Or "Struggles" over this past week?

I have difficulties with getting out of bed everyday and I hate going outside. However, I've still done it, and I'm proud of myself for it.

**What are your weekend Plans?!

Well, it's already happened, but I tried to concentrate on studying and actually ended up finishing some work, so that was nice.

Sorry, I'm a bit late. (Also, how can I get added to the tag list?)

@PoliteOcean @peacefullistener22

Wow this is late...

*How has everyone been doing and feeling over this past week?! I have been feeling okay. Really tired from work so I have not been working out as much. I am starting to feel alot thicker and like big again. The fat I thought I was losing is coming back and my thick pear shaped body is starting to come back.

**Today is our 'LAST' check-in for the Month of APRIL!.. How do you feel that you did over this past month with your goals or plans for yourself? How do you feel the month as treated you? I think it has treated me alright. Not so great right now.

**What things will you continue to work on or look forward to as we get ready to approach a "New" month ahead? Taking time off from my job.

**For those that celebrated Easter last Sunday, How did everyone do? How well did you stay on plan or track?

**What have been your "Highlights" Or "Struggles" over this past week? Struggles with my body

**What are your weekend Plans?!

I've been feeling very tired.. my fitbit knockoff says I'm not getting all my sleep even when I sleep basically around the clock, and I did so last week ending with the weekend.. It was a pretty major setback.. I basically wrote and IOU to everything including my body and just slept. I stayed home from my group two days because I had stomach upset and almost threw up and decided I was sick.

I'm getting a little frustrated with the whole volunteer search process, but there's nothing I can do but put myself out there. I was a little too free with what I'm doing and why in my video gaming guild and the GM I serve under as an officer let me have his two cents about 'slave labor'.. I guess volunteering is something that his political worldview doesn't agree with. Which I guess is fine, but I was already feeling down and rejected because seemingly, no one wants to hire me without even having to pay me.