Skip to main content

I'm Shrinking?!

Okay, so yesterday I looked back at some photos of myself from this time last year and realized that I have unknowingly gotten leaner. I mean, my weight is a little lower, and I have been feeling like my legs are smaller, I just didn't realize the difference until I saw these pictures side by side.
 I'm a little leaner now, but you can see that my legs are definitely smaller. Needless to say, I'm not too happy about that. I have been eating more carbs than I was back then(proof that carbs DON'T make you fat!!), but I haven't been making a concentrated effort to make sure I'm getting in the calories as I was back then. Obviously I'm not getting in enough! I do NOT want to go back to obsessively tracking my intake, but I do need to get more calories in for sure!
 
Yeah, I do like my abs now, not gonna lie...but I don't like feeling small. I don't want to be "skinny ripped." I want to look thick and muscular-more of the look I had last year, even though I had more bodyfat. Sooo yes, I have to sacrifice my abs for my goal of looking thicker. Most people don't like fat, but I don't like being puny!
 
I'm trying not to let in get me down, but I am a little bummed....and freaking out thinking that maybe I'm losing muscle?? But honestly, I feel SO good about my training and nutrition right now that I don't want to get caught up in my body image again. I don't want to start obsessing about the way my body looks or about my food and training again. The past year I have really found more balance and freedom in the way that I eat than I have in the past few years, and I want it to stay that way! I mean, I guess it's definitely a better problem to have than the opposite, so I shouldn't complain, right? It's just that I've worked so hard to build my body UP for years and years....
 
On the other hand, I do think my situation is a good example of showing that you can lean out without even actively trying to-by eating enough calories, lifting heavy, and not doing excessive cardio! I've actually cut down my "cardio" in the last year also-I don't do as many finishers, just a few sets of farmer's walks on Mondays and one day of sled pushes! And for anyone who has been afraid of carbs-let this show you that you don't have to be!! For so long I didn't eat carbs at night, but I have been for over a year now, and I did not gain weight as I had feared. Yes, I know that everyone is different, but if you lift weights intensely, there is no reason to avoid carbs. Overall calories is really the main thing when it comes to fat loss or gain.
 
So... I had a my little meltdown last night, but I am moving on. Now I just know that I need to be getting in more calories, and my goal is to gain back the few pounds I've lost in the last year. Not gonna let it get me down! Also reminding myself of what God has been speaking to me lately-that my body is NOT what matters in this life. It is just a temporary shell, and the things that matter for eternity are what I should be concerned about and working on-not just my outward appearance!

Comments

  1. You look beautiful and happy in both, but it's important to do what makes you happy! I wish I could just accidentally lean out. I'm trying to cut a bit of weight right now and it is absolutely killing me :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I agree! I'm just going to eat a little more, but not stress about it! Most importantly is that I feel great!

      Delete
  2. Well you look amazing in both. I agree with Tara, anything that makes you happy is best! You are definitely one of my inspirations!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I am definitely not going to stress about it and just eat a little more! I am happy, and that is what really matters.

      Delete
  3. Ok, so I have something to tell you that I tell myself VERY often….

    When I get caught up in all the "am I eating enough to build muscle!?" etc. etc. I always remind myself that I am so much happier MENTALLY this year. Happier AND healthier mentally because I am eating in a way that is not stressful to me.

    Like you said in your post, you've finally found your spot in life where you can eat stress free. And I think that is most important, love :)

    I wish I could hug you and just tell you how amazing and inspiring you are to me :) You are an angel in my life and you're so right - your body does not define you as a person because smaller legs or bigger legs, abs or absolutely no abs, I am still going to adore every inch of you :) because I love your soul :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Meg! Being healthy mentally is SO important, and I would rather focus on that than how I look. I am happy and feel great, so that is all that matters! I'll just eat a little more and then let whatever happens, happen!

      Delete
  4. I think you look great in both pics! We are very critical of ourselves.

    I had a question...over the last year were you training more for strength, or was there lots of hypertrophy in there?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you!
      I would say an even amount of both...in the last few months more for strength though. Honestly, I know that my calories are just not as high now as they were in the first pic.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Putting My Heart Out There

Hey guys. Here's where we're at right now: Matt finished his radiation treatments last week. Did they help? I don't know. He's sleeping a lot more. Having trouble chewing and swallowing. Not eating much. Not talking much, at least not in full sentences. It's just been a slow, steady decline for the last few months. I think it was really too late for radiation....But who knows, maybe it is delaying things. We went in last Tuesday for his infusion and talked with his neuro-oncologist about everything that we've been seeing with Matt, and he decided that we're at the point now where we should discontinue treatments...I feel like it's the right decision, even though it breaks my heart knowing that there is nothing else we can do. But I feel like we've done everything. All the supplements, the diet, the chemo, the radiation... Matt has fought hard. He never gave up hope. He kept the faith. He never complained through any of this. Not once did I hea
People always said That time would heal the pain But how can that be When mine still remains? The tears still fall At just the thought of you So I know that what they say Just can't be true As the years go by I miss you so much still  No matter how much time passes I know I always will How are you not here To ease my hurting heart? Never could I have imagined We would ever be apart My world has been shattered A piece of me is gone And all I can do is pray For strength to live on I know that one day soon I will see you again I just have to try to suffer through And make it until then

One Year...

One year ago today... the day it all changed. It was a Tuesday. I got the call from Matt around 3:00. I remember I was sitting at the computer at home. Matt told me that he was at the hospital, and that Bob Scott, his boss, had driven him there. Then he said those 4 words I never expected to hear: “The tumor came back.”  My heart stopped. Matt had gone in that morning for an MRI, as he has done numerous times in the past 10 years. He was now at the point where he had an MRI just yearly now, and that one was done in February, which showed that everything was fine. There was no sign of tumor growth, which had been the case for the last 10 years, praise God. But because Matt had been having some seizure activity for the last few months, they suggested he go in for another MRI in July. We then decided we should move up the appointment, because he had been having a headache every day for the past week. Good thing we did.... After I hung up with Matt,  I immediately broke down. I