A Little Unconventional

Today's Weight: 218.6

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and bacon with collard greens (Pictured above)

Dinner: Greek salad with chicken

Thoughts: My breakfast is a little on the unconventional side, but I needed to get my greens in so this was the first thing I could get my hands on.

Also, I was glad to have a day off from work (state holiday). I spent today getting some shopping done and later coming home to cut up some Lush bath bombs.

Peachy bath bomb.

I had a total of five bath bombs I've been hanging onto for months now, but for one reason or another, they went unused. Since I'm working on eliminating products with added fragrance and colors from my skincare regimen, I figured that the best use for them would be aromatherapy. I plan on dissolving a chunk before or during a shower and letting the fragrance fill the entire bathroom.

With that said, I ask you, what are some unconventional methods you've used to achieve a goal? What are some unconventional ways you've used products?

Until next time!

Love,

Monique ❤

A Snack Attack

Source: Wikimedia

Today's Weight: 217.4

Snacks: Half an order of fries from Dairy Queen, pepperoni slices, a mind KIND bar, and a few slices of chicken.

Thoughts: Yeah...definitely didn't do well with the eating today...

These snacks weren't consumed in one sitting, so I had several chances to turn things around and eat on plan, yet I didn't.

Why?

Well, it wasn't because I was eating my anxiety. Rather, it was that the food was just...there. And I knew it would taste good and I knew that I wanted some.

After all, when would be the next time I will get french fries, right?

Instead of just mindlessly eating, I should have just followed Coach Jennifer's advice when it comes to cravings:

1. Do a 20-minute pause.
2. Check in with your thoughts and feelings.

Looking back, my feelings were of desire. These feelings didn't come out of nowhere, but rather from the thoughts that I had about the food ("It would taste good", "When will be the next time I'll get fries", etc.).

This is a skill that I know I need to develop in order to get to my goal weight, yet the pause is a pain because it's so inconvenient. Even I'm not exceptionally busy most of the time, I have other obligations that require my time and attention (work, family, and other goals of mine). I barely have the space to breathe.

How do you practice mindfulness in the midst of busyness and chaos? Let me know down in the comments.

Until next time!

Love,

Monique ❤

And Now for Something Different...

Today's Weight: 218.6

Breakfast: Sausage and Egg Scrambler, an Iced Caramel Craze Latte, and a French Cruller from Dunkin' (Donuts) (Don't worry, guys, this was a planned treat.)

Lunch: Roasted Greek salmon and coleslaw

Thoughts: "I don't feel like writing today. As a matter of fact, I don't really feel like doing anything today." (Cue "The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars)

Well, clearly, I pushed through the resistance to get this post done.

As much as I would like to continue the deep, thought-provoking posts that I've been making, I also made a promise to you guys to be more transparent.

And this is how I'm going to start. Beginning this month, I'm going to post every day about my current weight, what I ate, my thoughts and feelings, and maybe an update here and there about what else I have going on in my life.

With that said, I've also made a promise to myself to eliminate products with added artificial scents and colors by the end of the year from my skincare regimen. Unfortunately, this means that my relationship with Lush will soon come to an end.

(Unless they decide to release a line of fragrance-free and dye-free products, and I will gladly spearhead and sponsor that project!)

For those of you already on board with fragrance- and color-free skincare products, let me know what you use. I'm especially curious about bath products.

Until next time!

Love,

Monique ❤

Coming out of Hiding

Remember when I said that consistency was my biggest struggle? Well, that’s been pretty much been the reason why I’ve been MIA for almost a month now.

Unlike previous bouts of inconsistency with blogging, I’ve actually had a lot happen that I could’ve written about; however, I was just too ashamed to talk about my experiences, not only with you guys, but also to my coach.

I was afraid of the criticisms that I would receive if I shared what had been going on. For instance, if I told you all that I have been up and down the same five pounds for weeks, you all would think, “You’ve received over a year of coaching. Surely you would have this weight loss thing on lock by now.” (I’ll respond about this more in another post, but for now I’ll say that such is not the case.) After all, you’re only supposed to post on social media once everything’s perfect, right?

Well, I want to change that.

I’m going to be more transparent with you guys. I know what it’s like to be frustrated by people on social media who just appear out of nowhere and they have have lost weight, gotten out of debt, and/or are in relationships (or engaged...or married). Not that you’re not happy for them, but when their stories are told, it seems as though they just found success overnight. Like they just received the secret to solving an issue that you have been struggling for years.

But with that said, I do plan on posting more often. At least once a week if only to update you all on my current weight. Also, you’ll be seeing more pictures of me!

Thrilling! 🙃

Until next time!

Love,

Monique ❤

Eating Through Anxiety

So the past week has been interesting. I did very well eating on plan and working with my coach and lost four pounds.

But then anxiety struck.

I was working on a project that I was trying to finish before the month ended, and I had a small binge. This week, my boss has been more critical than usual. I was fine until yesterday when I binged again.

And these are just the big things that have worried me. Lately, I’ve been feeling stuck and feeling inferior because I’m 27 and I haven’t done anything big in my life. No dream job, no moving to a new city, no relationships, no saving the world.

Nothing.

Oh, and did I mention my 10th year class reunion is coming up in October?

Anyway,  I’m back up four pounds now...

How do you cope with anxiety and stress without eating? How have you overcome feelings of inferiority? Let me know in the comments.

Until next time.

Love,

Monique ❤️

Giving Blogging Another Try

Hello!

So as the post title implies, I've had my fair share of experiences with blogging. However, consistency has been my major obstacle in keeping up a blog. I'll either blog weekly for a few months and I'll never touch it again, or I'll have bursts where I'll blog (semi) daily and set the blog aside for a few months or even years before I look at it again.

And this has been the case of my weight loss.

I'll start a new diet or exercise regimen with gusto, but burn out with it after a matter of months (although I'll stick with an eating plan a little longer than exercise). I'll lose a few pounds, but after a while, I'll either plateau or gain the weight back plus a few pounds.

But not anymore.

Last year, I started working with a weight loss coach, and she has been such a huge asset to me! In fact, with her help, I lost 40 pounds! Once the program was over, I lost an additional 20, but then I started going into that plateau phase. I reached back out to her again, and now she's helping me to lose these remaining 80 pounds, so pray for me!

In addition to getting on track with my weight loss, I'm also looking to get on track with a skincare regimen. Two years ago, I developed an obsession with Lush. Of course, that too was an on-again/off-again obsession. (It certainly doesn't help that the nearest store is an hour away from me and I'm not willing to pay $5.00 or so for shipping for buying one or two things at any given time, but I digress.) But now that it's on again, I'm looking at Lush and other companies like it to develop a natural skincare regimen.

So come with me as I prepare to go on my journey into health and beauty!

Love,

Monique ❤️