For the love…..of cupcakes and wine.

When this new design was in production, I seriously thought about renaming the blog to “CUPCAKES” but I changed my mind at the last second and kept it the same.  LOL.  If you’re new here, I promise cupcakes are aren’t all I talk about!  😉

Well, it’s day 92 before my fitness competition…..which I’ve officially started calling a “transformation competition” personally.  For those of you just joining, I made it a goal to compete in a bikini competition at our Coach Summit (stay tuned for more on what Summit is another post!!  p.s. IT ROCKS) in Nashville in July called the Beachbody Classic.  It’s a competition JUST for coaches and it’s for any coach who is proud of their transformation!  Some coaches who enter are the fittest of the fit!  And, coaches like me…still on their journeys but who have had awesome transformations can get on that stage and be proud!

So, where am I along the way?

Well, let’s just say I spend plenty of my days dreaming of sitting in a hot bath (in my NEWLY designed bathroom!…stay tuned!  I finally got to say goodbye to a fully-carpetted, fully-PINK bathroom….and not the good kind of pink ‘cuz ya’ll know I LOVE pink) reading and eating cupcakes and drinking wine (and I’m more of a beer drinker but lately all I want is a tall bottle glass of wine).

AND, I would like to drink said wine out of THIS glass!  lol
You can totally click on the image to go find this!  You’re welcome.

And, eat THIS cupcake.

while reading THIS book!

But, alas, I’m in a season of only being able to do two of these things.  The hot bath and reading that book.

But, that’s OKAY.  This is my season and this fits the goals I set.  That doesn’t mean it’s easy!  I fill my wine glass with Shakeology.  Don’t laugh….I’m totally serious about that.  But, nothing worth having comes easy, right?!?  Ahhhhhh, yes, the power of positive thinking.  You should try it if you’re not already.  It totally works.  And, as with anything, the more you do of it, the easier and more second-nature it becomes!

(Found this active wear shirt at Maurices last Saturday for like $5!!!!  SCORE!  So, question of the day….do you love side-ruching or no??  I do…MOST of the time.)

So, I’m still just out here working hard.  I’m seeing progress!  But, I’m also fighting!  I still have some health issues going on and don’t have any for sure answers.  There’s still about 10 things floating around that “it could be.”  I’ve had several blood tests and an ultrasound and tried a few different treatments.  The good news is some of my pain has subsided after I started a double dose of antibiotics but I’m still dealing with a lot of bloating and just don’t feel like myself.  The next step is testing for gluten sensitivity/intolerance.

So, on Friday I’m starting a gluten detox.  I’m not terribly excited as I’m learning that even if you stay away from the obvious gluten culprits, it’s hidden in many many things.  I typically don’t eat a ton of gluten since my diet is overall really clean BUT knowing how it’s so hidden makes me wonder.  Now, I don’t suggest to just run out and try this just to try it ~ I’m not doing it solely to get rid of the bloating or to lose weight but we do want to rule this out as well.  “They say” (it drives my hubby CRAZY when I say “they say” ~ he always challenges with “who exactly are “they” and why do you need to listen to them??” lol) that true gluten allergies and sensitivities/intolerance are not very common BUT I’m reading Wheat Belly and after feeling like I have for this long, I’m willing to try eliminate it and see what happens.

Sooooo, yes, this hasn’t helped my #journeytothestage.  I was to eat a low fiber, bland and soft diet….which I basically took to mean soda crackers, pasta and bread…that which I ate for a little while there and ended up with even more bloating….and which led to some terrible cravings, some emotional eating that came on FAST, and even more bloating.

Despite my continued setbacks, I’m STILL not giving up!  I’ve come too far to only come this far!  I’m just about wrapping up my first half of Hammer & Chisel and will share progress pics then!  I’m still IN LOVE with this program!  And, there’s so many awesome chickas doing it right along with me right now and they are TOTALLY pushing me to stay in the game!

So, I’m staying in the game!!
And, my little sidekick is helping, too!
She might just be the cutest accountability partner a girl like me could have!

HaVe A gReAt DaY eVeRyOnE!!
And, be sure to push on if you’re fighting out there!
If you’re limited, listen to your body!
You will know what you can push thru and when you need to take a step back
and be okay with whichever it tells you you need to do!