I just need to get all of this off my chest. Feel free to not read it or read it – whichever you want!

tl;dr – I’m missing Arizona and hate the gloomy weather! 

If there’s one thing that will forever and always be true about me, it’s that the weather effects my moods. It effects my energy, my happiness, and my self-esteem. I know it shouldn’t. I know that the weather is something I cannot control, so I shouldn’t let it effect me … but it does.

Growing up in Michigan, there are about 6-7 months of gray, nasty, winters each year. And each year I struggled with depression during those months. Seasonal Affective Disorder is real. It’s a thing. Don’t ever let anyone tell you it’s not.

Moving from the Valley of the Sun in Arizona to Alabama has been tough. That’s the understatement of the century. This week has been particularly gloomy and lonely. I’m an extrovert to my core and really miss being around people. Not just my friends, but people in general. In Arizona I lived in a very active, bustling area. I lived by Downtown Chandler where there was always something going on, and we lived in an apartment complex where there were always people around.

In Alabama, I live in a sleepy little town in a neighborhood where none of our neighbors know each other. To give you a feel – someone posted on the local community board about fun things to do. 99% of the posts were about church and the other 1% was about hiking and outdoor activities. Which, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with church and hiking, but where I’m from, there are festivals and events going on every day!

So, I’ve just been lonely and a little depressed. And, to top it all off, I’ve been eating my feelings. And, I’m SUCH a huge compare-er. I follow a lot of people on social media who have lost a lot of weight, eat clean, and workout everyday. So when I’m having a particularly bad weekend, I look on there and feel even worse. I know, I know. #1. Don’t Compare. #2. Stay off social media sometimes.

Anyway, I’ve just been having a bad week. A friend and I are supposed to have dinner today. I really hope that pans out so that I can get out of the house and be around other people for a while!

Now that I’ve recapped the last 6 weeks, now I get to move forward to look to the next 6 weeks! For the last couple of weeks since the DietBet ended, I’ve been trying different workouts and different eating plans.

I joined a gym with Mama Burg and we’ve been going to some group fitness classes, which I LOVE. I also tried a plant-based diet last week, which was super interesting!

So first, I just want to start by saying how much I felt like I was eating on the plant-based diet. I felt like I could eat all day long and still not go over my calories for the day. So that was awesome. However, my body did not agree with the diet. To try not to gross you guys out, let’s just say that pretty much everything I ate went right through me.  Every. Single. Time.

However, I do know that my body lovessss and thrives off being gluten free. My stomach feels so much flatter, my brain feels so much less foggy, and I have a lot more energy! So, for the next week, I’m going to focus on being gluten free, and still keeping the amount of veggies I eat high. Even though my body didn’t agree with being entirely plant-based, I know that it feels great when I’m eating more plants than animal products.

And as far as my workout plan goes, I’m really wanting to kill it. I want to go hard. I want to push hard. I want to do all of the things. However, I was also not able to lift my arms for a solid 2 days this past week because of going so hard! So, my goal for the next 6 weeks is to workout every day. Whether it’s at home in the morning, or at the gym at night, I need a solid workout every single day. That does NOT include walking the dogs. The dogs still need to be walked on top of my workouts.

Also, two new DietBets started for me today – another Fatgirlfedup DietBet (4 weeks) and a 6-month-long DietBet called Lucky Losers. I’ve only gained 2 lbs since the last one ended, and that was after eating all the food and drinking all the beer this weekend. So I’m pretty happy about that!

So that’s the plan moving forward from here!  Onward!

I’ve put off writing this post for a solid week. Not because I didn’t want to, but because there’s just so damn much to say! I recently completed a 6-Week Jessica Smith Workout Program called Walk Strong. I also completed my first 4-week DietBet challenge, where you bet $30 that you can lose 4% of your body weight in 4 weeks!

First to the statistics. During those 6 weeks, I lost 19 lbs and won $50.50 in the DietBet! Beyond those stats, I’ve had several Non-Scale Victories (or NSVs). For instance, I noticed that climbing the stairs at my house is a lot easier. I used to just amble slowly up the stairs – my knees hurting and my lungs working harder by the time I reached the top. Now, I don’t even think twice about going up the steep flight and I’m breathing much easier by the time I reach the top!

I also noticed that I have a LOT more energy and, probably the best NSV has been my mental state. Before starting on this journey, I used to wake up each morning and think “what do I have to do today.” And now, I wake up and think “what do I get to do today.” It’s a subtle, but huge difference.