the red shirt journey (week 1)

Last week I told you guys about my favorite red shirt and the beginning of my weight loss journey.

I received the sweetest outpour of encouragement from friends online and in person.

What a relief to get my struggle out in the open and in turn realize I'm not alone!

After hours of research and Pinterest-ing (because it's the female Google) I decided that the Paleo lifestyle was the one that made the most sense for me.

I want to use this space to hold myself accountable and keep track of progress (and setbacks, because I am human...with strooooong cravings.)

This past week:

I lost 1.5 pounds.

and ___ inches.

(I forgot/didn't know how to measure inches last week. I'm on it now.)

Workouts:

I'll admit, I was super discouraged when I stepped on the scale this morning.

But, that number 1) doesn't define my joy for today and 2) was the result of ONLY eating well-ish.

The importance of exercise, y'all.

I officially became a member at my local gym and will start working out on Monday!

One of my sweetest friends will be my gym buddy/accountability partner.

We are working out 5 days a week.

And help me Lord, because we're doing it at 6:30 in the AAAAAAM.

Food Journal:

Because we're working on being better budgeters, I wanted to eat what we had in the house before grocery shopping.

SO, it was a tough week.

I held strong for the most part, but there were moments of desperation and I needed a bite (or two) of Emmerson's grilled cheese.

CHEESE.

Ohmylanta.

That's the toughest to live without.

What's Mexican food without cheese?

Who's Lauren without Mexican food?

I found a Paleo friendly cheese alternative...yeah...we'll see how that goes.

The biggest help this week was having someone to text my meals to.

Before I ate anything (and I mean anything!) I texted her.

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

She did the same to me and there were plenty of times that her text encouraged me to make a better choice!

Thursday I finally went grocery shopping.

I spent hours the night before finding recipes, making lists, and dividing them up (ya know, so the fresh stuff stays fresh.)

I was super adulting.

Thursday night was steak and bacon wrapped asparagus.

Friday was left overs (yep, I actually ate leftovers. I find using the oven to re-heat works WAY better) and some grilled chicken for dinner.

Tonight I'm trying a new recipe and I promise I'll tell you if it changed my life or not.

Struggles:

-No cheese

-Waking up early to work out

-I'm not a cook, so this whole recipe/fresh food thing is a foreign concept to me.

-Not weighing myself every.single.morning.

-Combating the munchies.

-Drinking water

For those following along, how'd this week go for you?

I'm excited for next week, workouts planned, and recipes ready!

Here we go!