Birthday Challenge

Well hello there!

This is my first official blog post on here, and it's honestly something I've been wanting to get started for a while now, but just never got it going!  While talking with my partner in crime slash best friend, Angie, we both decided that our creativity has been lacking hardcore since graduating college a few years back, and that we should both work on expanding our creative outlets for sanity reasons.

With that being said, I've been reading other bloggers' blogs for a few years now, and was inspired to get a blog going because of some of them.  http://bethsjourney.com/ , http://backtoherroots.com/ , http://iowagirleats.com/ , and  Laura's blog are just some of my faves.  I'm no stranger to counting calories, and trying to live by the 80/20 rule-- that is, tracking and on plan about 80% of the time, and being more flexible the other 20%.  Some weeks are easier than others, that's for sure!  I've been a Weight Watchers member on and off for years now, and finally recommitted at the beginning of last year. I'm also the girl who hates working out, and will do just about anything to get out of it.  That is, until I found ZUMBA! I've been going to Zumba since the beginning of February, a few times a week, and would do it every single day if I could.  The hour flies by, and it just feels like I'm making an ass of myself and having fun, instead of watching the darn clock and counting down how much longer I need to work out for.  I love it, even if I look like a giant assclown.  Since recommitting to WW and getting in a ZUMBA routine, I have lost 27.8 pounds, and still have a ways to go, but I am hoping that this blog helps me meet some more of my milestones!

I don't want to keep droning on about my weight loss history, but it helps me make mini challenges for myself to stay motivated and persevere. The last challenge I set for myself was an 8 week Vegas Challenge.  Did I get close to my "goal" for that challenge? Sadly, no.  However, keeping my goal in mind for those 8 weeks before my Vegas Vacation definitely kept me on track! And ya know what? Sometimes or bodies are juts stubborn and don't want all of our hard work to pay off immediately.  Is it frustrating? Oh, absolutely.  But what's the alternative?

Therefore, my next mini challenge for myself is my Birthday challenge.  I am in Week 2 of my challenge, and my goal is to lose 10 pounds by July 8. So far, I've lost .6 pounds.  Not a very good start, and I have no idea why that darn scale is being so stubborn, but I'm just going to keep doin' what I'm doin', and hope that my hard work pays off!  I plan on blogging each week with how my challenge went to keep myself accountable.

Thanks for reading!

~V

How do you keep yourself motivated to stay healthy? What are your favorite healthy snacks?