What a week! I am so glad I’ve made these changes! It’s still fairly early days to know all the benefits and effects, but I am so excited to share with you what I’m experiencing so far.

First, I want to share about the aesthetic stuff that I am officially not focused on right now, but is still there, in the… peripheral, so to speak. I wore jeans today, y’all. All day. I don’t think I’ve done that more than a handful of times this year, and definitely not at all since early March. I wore my size six skinnies, which I’ve worn maybe once or twice before. I put on the “goal” jeans, just to see, and while they were not comfortable, they buttoned and zipped and it was not as depressing as expected. So, cool. I felt pretty good in my jeans today, though they did get a little restrictive compared to the activewear and leggings I live in. It really felt like a big deal to wear them though, and I feel hopeful that more body confidence is coming my way!

Now, let’s get into the stuff I’m actually working on.

• Food: going great overall! I definitely am having more energy and rarely feeling hungry between meals. I have been GF for two weeks today and I can’t help but feel that’s a big part of it. A few pizza cravings have happened, but I’ve stayed committed and focused on long term health instead of something I’ll enjoy for five minutes and regret much longer.
• Sleep: not on the chart but getting better every night it seems. I’m not waking up feeling groggy or nauseous or even anxious anymore!
• Yoga: I practiced M-F this week, even on days I kinda felt spent on Doing by 2:30 in the afternoon, because, as I reminded myself, this is what I love, this is a way I can connect my mind to the beauty and strength of the body God has given me.
• Strength: I decided this week to give what I had in these workouts but not to push myself on intensity at all. This meant skipping the cardio intervals and taking a bit longer break between circuits. I also didn’t take my preworkout supplement, so I wouldn’t feel the urge to go hard.
• Cardio: this week I walked five times, between 35-45 minutes, a shorter route than I usually take by up to 50%. I was bummed to see that my pace has taken a hit, but I look forward to getting it all back as I heal and the weather cools again after that heat wave.
• Meditation: I’m doing pretty well at consistency here, though it’s tough on the weekends. I feel like overall I’m doing better at staying in the moment and not wandering.
• Supplements: again, good consistency, and after four days I’m thrilled to see that unlike my previous cocktail, I’m having no nausea. I really love the protein shake and the matcha lattes-the energy I get from matcha feels natural to me, like I am just having a good day, rather than a jolt from coffee. The turmeric lattes are perfect afternoon and evening relaxation drinks too.
• Morning and evening self care: this routine is going great and I anticipate it getting better as I get better at streamlining the morning process and getting up earlier, and remember to wash my face *and brush my teeth *and* lotion my legs at night. Hahaha!

Mental health victories: not a lot of anxiety surges this week, and I’ve barely had any on waking either. This weekend I went to Costco— huge after the traumatic experience last I was there, and not only did I follow that with a trip to Target, I took Lexi in with me. Both were extremely challenging and draining, but I took the afternoon and evening to mostly rest and be chill, and that helped. Today was a fantastic Sunday too, with good smooth meal prep, a clean kitchen, well-fed family, and a trip to Babies R Us to get shoes for D. I don’t know if I’ll always be able to do all these things close together, and I think it’s important to manage my own expectations there, but it was a really good weekend in that regard.

Going into week three, I’m really feeling positive and hopeful, and aware that I need to continue to be intentional about recovery and self care.