I've been a very, very bad blogger.

I haven't blogged yet in July.  Woops!

July has been crazy.  July has been awesome.

Well, I started July 1st following my new meal plan and workouts from my trainer.  I'm a protein eating machine and I just can't help myself.  I eat 6 meals per day and was granted my first "cheat/boost" meal this last weekend on Sunday.  Spaghetti and garlic bread have never been so good.

The spaghetti was good like it always is but the GARLIC BREAD.  Oh sweet Jesus.  It was worth every single second of not eating it for the minute or two that it existed.  I don't want you all to think I've been deprived on this meal plan, I'm really never hungry aside from first thing in the morning and after that I'm good to go.  I seriously ate 8 cucumbers by myself last week.  Did I have other options?  Of course.  Do I love cucumbers?  Of course.  I better if I'm eating 8 of them when I have countless other veggie options to choose from.  Cucumbers are convenient, cheap and yummy.  I've also eaten way more meat than I can remember ever eating in my life!  Lots of lean proteins of various varieties.  Our freezer is stocked with meats and I cook 1-2 times a week to prep them to portion out for each meal.  I've been making different things and seasoning them in various ways.  I'm trying not to eat the same meat two meals in a row so I don't get too tired of it.  Can we talk about how much I love eggs too?  This girl had never had an egg white in her life (that I'm aware of) until July 1st and boy I look forward to my breakfast every morning now.  I literally cook myself breakfast at 4:30 in the morning before work because #1 I'm supposed to :) and #2 because it's one of my favorite meals of the day.  I never ate breakfast before January except if it was a weekend and one of us felt like cooking, we went out for breakfast or if it was a breakfast for dinner kind of night.

I've also been at the gym around two hours per day five days a week and also doing my long runs on the 6th day of the week and taking one full rest day.  I probably wouldn't be there two hours everyday if I didn't spend so much time checking instagram and facebook before, between weights and cardio, and after while cooling down.  I'm probably going to need a social media intervention soon.  I started a challenge on instagram on July 1st from my favorite vlogger (www.youtube.com/trulyjess) and instagramer who made a lovely challenge of daily things for July involving health and fitness.  Now, let me tell you I love this girl and I get caught up on all her videos once or twice a week.  She's a total badass and has inspired me in my journey, especially these last couple of months.  She gets her booty to the gym twice a day without excuses and is working hard for the results she's always wanted.  She looks phenominal and is super sweet.  I pretty much wish we could be best friends if she didn't live in Canada (warning: total fangirl).  I've been keeping up with the challenges and they are on my instagram account (www.instagram.com/traininglindsay) daily if you are interested.  I try not to double post those so much on Facebook so I can contain my picture craziness to one area for everyone's sanity.

Back to the gym - so my first 45 min-hour is doing weight training.  5 days a week I train a specific body area and do cardio after.  I run 3 of those times doing my week day runs and the other two I do other cardio or try a new class out.  I tried Zumba for the first time last weekend and Spinning last Monday and I pretty much loved them both!  I shook my booty in Zumba and kept up with the instructor.  Let me tell you, the great thing about Zumba is that there were people of all ages, shapes and sizes in there and certainly all levels of dancing abilities as well.  One lady right in the front row did everything a count behind and in the opposite direction but she was having a blast and I wasn't about to stop her.  Good for her for even being there!  I was in the very back but directly behind the instructor and my goal was to keep right with her once we had gone through the moves once each song and not see myself in the mirrors but be right with her.  I was pretty successful with that and she told me I had done a really good job at the end, especially for a first timer. (she had asked at the beginning if it was anyones very first time so of course I had to fess up in case I was really bad at this)  Monday morning I went and checked out my friend Paula's spin class. I figured since I worked with her at Bethesda North she might go easy on me if I was sucking at that too.  The class that morning wasn't too big and she was nice enough to fit me on the bike and get me started.  I made the mistake of getting there with not quite enough time to get my leg workout in before class but that also might have been a good thing.  I did legs yesterday too (pretty much my Monday routine now) and they were wobbly afterwards so I don't know if I could have made it through the class if I had done it second.  It was fun and went by fast!  I'd definitely do it again - except I might need some padded bike shorts or something next time!

I'm sure you're all itching to know how my actual progress is going by this point if you've read all that rambling so far!  When I weighed in July 1st (after a pretty serious "last day before I start with my trainer" mini-binge of fro-yo, goldstar chili with fries and chocolate) I had put a few pounds back on and weighed in at 218.  As of Sunday I lost 9 pounds in my first two weeks of working with my awesome trainer and following her instructions to the letter.  I weighed in at 209.0 and it never felt better to get out of those two-teens that I was so happy to get into.  I know now how close I am to Onederland (when someone has been overweight and above 200 pounds and gets back down in the 100's again) and I've got my eye on it.  It also brings me 5 pounds shy of tattoo time when I get to that point.  I've never eaten so clean.  Literally eating things I cooked and chopped myself for three weeks now is crazy for me.  I can't remember a time before now that I didn't go a day or two without eating out somewhere. Chipotle, Panera, Bob Evans, pizza... whatever.  It's been going on since at least high school.  So... 10 years?  That's even crazier when I put it that way.  I've even given up my very favorite thing - sweet n' low.  When I would go to Panera I'd get a large drink and have 3 iced teas typically while I was there.  That's 6 packets per glass and 18 just for that meal of sweet n' low processed crap I was putting in myself.  I don't even think your body knows what to do with that so who knows where that ended up going inside of me.  Probably my love handles.  Anywho, point of the matter is I'm a water-only type of girl now with coffee occasionally with stevia.  I decided if I couldn't have tea the way I wanted it I was just done with it and it's probably for the best.  I'm very okay with this decision.

As far as progress goes, my excitement over the American Eagle jeans I finally fit into has worn off because they too are FALLING OFF of me.  I need a belt!

I went to Columbus after my 9 mile run early Saturday morning and went to have lunch with my Mamaw for her birthday.  After lunch I met up with the girls (Karley, Ashley and the bride-to-be Amanda) and we went to David's Bridal to try on a bridesmaid dress for the wedding in October.  I was excited to see what fit me because the last dress I bought for one of the several weddings I've had the honor of being in was a size 20.  We grabbed a 16 off the rack on the basis of these jeans falling off and it fit like a dream.  I even had a little room to move around in the waist!!  We decided that we'd order even the next size down at a 14 because by October if I keep going the way I have I should fit in it then.  I don't even ever remember having a size 14 jean. I remember going from kids to a 10 juniors to a 16 to an 18/20.  Somehow I kind of skipped that part and I don't really know how.

Oh yeah, that little 9 mile run.  How about that?!  I worked Wednesday and Thursday nights, woke up at 2 Friday after having gone to bed around 9AM and took my well earned rest day and went to my favorite thing of the whole summer - the Dave Matthews Band concert.   I literally look forward to this night every year like I do Christmas.  I had a single 9th row ticket because I refuse to sit in the lawn anymore but did hang out up there with my friends Christina and Brian during the opening act and then moved down to my seat.  It was a phenomenal show!  One of the best of the 10 I've been to with a killer setlist.  I got asked in the parking lot by a very drunk man if I was 34 and if I worked at Subway.  He was jealous of my cucumbers I think.

Overall I've been so busy and do again apologize for being a terrible blogger!  I did do an interview with another website so I will again be featured!  I was blown away by the response from my fitapproach.com blog post and I am just so lucky to have all you positive people in my life - especially through this journey.  I can never truly show you all my gratitude but know it is there in every minute, every mile and every single day.