Starting Over.

As we near the end of the semester, it seems about time to write a short reflection on how things have been going recently. I'm afraid the results of the past three months have been nowhere near what I expected them to be. Nevertheless, for the sake of being real and honest, I'm going to tell you!

When I got here in September, I knew it was going to be challenging to stay healthy while back at school. I was right! And more than I thought! Being at school completely shook up my routine. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. Healthy food and fitness had been my #1 priority all summer, but as time went on that just got more and more difficult here. I slowly stopped exercising as much and started eating more... a lot more, actually. And yes, I ended up gaining weight.

I was frustrated and disappointed in myself. The struggle between enjoying myself and being healthy was driving me a wee bit crazy, and as a result I developed some pretty unhealthy eating habits that I am still trying to beat. Health had become an obsession for me... an obligation, a cage, an expectation. My perspective changed from being happy about eating well to feeling guilty for eating things I felt I shouldn't have.

Then last week I went off my diet completely; I did not count a single Weight Watchers point. That may sound bad, but you know what? I think it was actually good for me. I spent the whole week enjoying myself. I hung out with my housemate and her family, ate a delicious thanksgiving meal, and didn't regret one second of it! It was refreshing to be carefree.

It's not that I don't want to be healthy anymore, because I do. In fact, I started counting points again today. I think I just needed to recenter myself and find the balance between health and happiness. Of course, that means I need to start over and yeah, that sucks a little bit. No, I didn't lose those last 5lbs like I was planning to at the beginning of the semester, and my body isn't quite as fit as it was when I first got here. But life is about more than a number on the scale, and being healthy on the inside matters just as much as the outside.

So here's to new beginnings. Cheers.
- Rebekah

P.S. I'm curious to know... if you are trying to lose weight or just be healthier in general, what motivates you to stay on track?

An Evening with Anna

Tonight, a good friend of mine came over for dinner... we hadn't gotten together in a while, so a date was long overdue! Naturally, good friends and good food go hand-in-hand. I'm always excited for an excuse to cook, so I eagerly pulled together a few different recipes and got to work!

On tonight's menu?

Mini Glazed Lentil Walnut Apple Loaves from Oh She Glows (9 WW points+ each, serves 8)

Feta-Walnut Beet Salad (recipe follows)

Steamed Green Beans

and for dessert...

Mango Sticky Rice from The Kitchn (5 WW points+ each, serves 6)

Yes, it was delicious and yes, you can make it too. 

This or That? You Choose!

New Weekly Post Yet to Be Named

Spontaneous decision of the day: every week I'm going to do a little progress report! Just something quick and simple... I'm going to have to think a little more about how exactly I want to do this, but for now I'll just throw some information out there. This will get more organized and polished with time!

About my weight loss...
Weekly Weigh-In: -0.6 lbs
Total: -23 lbs

About my exercise/fitness...
I actually stopped doing that 10K training schedule I wrote about last month. Lack of motivation really bit me in the butt. After fumbling around with my exercise schedule last week, I decided today to get back into the swing of things. Did you know that if you sign up for a free account on Runner's World you can create a personalized training plan? I just found this and am really excited about it! I made a 7-week 10K training plan which I'm going to start today (in about 10 minutes) with a 3-mile run. I think I'm especially interested in this plan because I got to customize it myself - how cool is that?

That's all for now! Seriously... all I wanted to do was just write something short and sweet to let you know about these ideas I have. :) So that's what I did and now I'm done! Gotta go get ready to meet my friend for our run!

Happy Sunday!
- Rebekah

Pinteresting Discovery: Oh She Glows!

Oh, Pinterest.... beautiful, wonderful Pinterest. How I love thee. It's hard for me to believe that when I first signed up for an account on this dandy little site I couldn't really get into it for some reason. Now... things have definitely changed. It is without a doubt my #1 go-to for recipes and fitness inspiration!

So. Much. Delicious. Food. Ahhhh!

It was through Pinterest that I found Oh She Glows, another lifestyle/health blog that focuses on fitness, food, and photography. Something unique about this particular blog, set up by Angela Liddon, is that it features vegan recipes. Although I'm not actually vegan, I definitely don't mind eating that way most of the time! So many of her recipes look delicious; I couldn't resist making one of them.