I'm going on vacation August 5th through the 12th and plan to thoroughly enjoy my time there, alcohol and food included.  The week I return, the plan is to ease my way back into my meal prep routine, grocery shop that weekend and start my hard core dieting on Monday the 19th.  I will weigh in again on Monday and let you all the damage. lol.  

Below you will also find my goals for the coming year and where I intend to be by this time next year.  

March 18th
Weight - 183lbs
Body Fat - 38%
Visceral Fat - 6
Metabolic Age - 50

June 24th
Weight - 165.4 lbs
Body Fat - 35.9%
Visceral Fat - 5
Metabolic Age - 45

August 1st 
Weight - 161 lbs
Body Fat - 31.7%
Visceral Fat - 4
Metabolic Age - 37

Goals:
By Feb 1, 2020 -
>Regain pre-baby level of fitness
>Body Fat = less than or equal to 21%

By March/April - 
>Find Personal Trainer & Posing Coach

By May/June
>Compete in first show, not expecting to win

By September/October
>Championships   ...maybe  ...someday.

My daughter loves my belly.  I mean intensely LOVES it.  I have been chatting with her lately about my recent health and fitness goals, and the only thing that she has been able to focus on is the loss of my belly fat.  She snuggles her head into it, kisses it, then cries, "but mama!  I don't want your squishy belly to go away!!  I love it!  It's so nice to cuddle with."   Her innocent, wonderful, pure love of me and view of the human body makes me feel so full of joy.  She see's through a lens of love, not entrapped by the weight of the world, just a girl who loves her mama.  

It is incredibly important to me to teach my daughter about good health and wellness without causing her fear of food or putting too much emphasis on how we "look."  My mother never taught me how to eat to properly fuel my body, and because of that I struggled with my weight and low energy my whole childhood.  She encouraged me to be active.  I did play a couple different sports and danced, etc. but her focus was more on the emotional.  She wanted to make sure I accepted myself in whatever skin I was in, so she'd say, "Michelle, just love who you are.  God made you perfect.  Just love WHO YOU ARE."  Who you are...  that phrase still strikes a terrible cord with me.  I get that her intention was for me to love myself and that is wonderful, but it made me feel like my fat defined me.  Like fat was just What I was.  Just accept that I was never going to be anything else.  Why even try?  This is how God made you, just accept it!  It drove me nuts.  As with most things in life, if someone told me I couldn't do it or I wasn't something, you best believe I was going to try to prove them wrong.  But it did take years of learning, building self-confidence, and growing closer to Christ to fully infiltrate my mind and belief system.  I was capable.  I was worthy.  I had potential.  I don't want my daughter to endure that struggle.

Evalee saw me checking out the Ohio NPC bikini championships on my phone and asked what I was I was looking at.  I told her that I'm hopeful that one day maybe next year, I'll be able to compete in a similar contest, explaining how hard the athletes train and how disciplined they must be to compete and especially to win.  She seemed fascinated and smiled at every picture.  Then she looked at me and looked at the pictures again, then said, "Well Mama...  You may not win."  haha!  I said, "Why not?!"  She replied, "You just have to be ok if you don't win.  But don't worry, I'll still love you."  Now every day since, she has encouraged and asked to work out with me, saying, "Let's go, Mom!  You gotta build those muscles!"  haha.  I just love her enthusiasm.  I think she'll make a great coach some day.

Today, she asked if she could attend my Boxing class with me.  She normally goes into the little kids watch area and plays while I'm in the gym, but because this was a class and away from heavy machinery, I told her that I would ask.  We were able to get her in the class and she, in her own words, FREAKED OUT!  She ran upstairs to find the perfect Workout Outfit. lol.  Always my diva.  My little Mini Me.  I was so proud of her.  Being able to teach her different punches and witness her eyes light up when my mouth would drop in surprise of her hit, just made my entire existence.  It is truly a memory that I will cherish forever.  The 4year old kicked some major butt today, and I am so proud of her for toughing it out through the whole class.  It makes me hopeful that we may share this joy of fitness together the rest of our lives.  It also makes me proud of myself and realize despite what the devil would have me believe, I AM a good mom and I AM trying my best and I AM not going to let her down and I AM good and leading by example.  Daily affirmations are so important in the journey of relearning the Truth.  If you have had similar struggles, I pray that you read the daily affirmations below (provided by oneyearbible.com) because they are life giving.

These last few months have been a whirlwind of life events and heavy emotions.  So many highs and so many lows.  After I went for so long in silence, the silence just intensified until it seemed like I'd given up all together.  I think depression is kind of like that too.  At first you say, it's only one bad moment, or one bad day, and tomorrow will pick back up again, start fresh...  Then you wake up one morning and you've gained 5 lbs, have absolutely no energy, annoyed with everyone, and just so completely down on yourself that you can't even muster the energy to try. 

The guilt is the biggest emotion that signals to me that something isn't quite right.  I'll say something to Evalee, yell, be insanely quick to anger over something so small and insignificant, then the guilt rains down...  pours in through the windows of my sinking vehicle.  "Why did I say that?  She's only being 4 years old!  I am a terrible mother.  I'm going to ruin her.  I can't let her feel shame like I felt shame my whole life.  What is wrong with me?!"  The enemy loves shame.  I'd say it's his greatest tool.  It keeps you down on yourself, the holy, wonderful creation of God.  It makes you hide in darkness away from his glorious saving light.  Shame builds up walls around your precious heart, and keeps you separate from everyone and everything, including Christ.  Because to know Christ, is to know you are loved beyond reason, while Shame tells you, "you are not worthy of love." 

I decided to write today, because I've decided to seek out JOY again, no matter the heaviness and density of the fog.  Ever determined to trust in what God tells me is true, and moment by moment wrench myself out of this hiding place and into God's loving, saving grace.  But, I needed a plan!  an umbrella, so to speak, to help me see through the storm.  I've decided my umbrella will be a new goal.  An old goal really that had been buried under layers of insecurities and motherhood and responsibility, or at least that was my excuse at the time.  Ever since my senior year in high school, I dreamed of competing in an NPC or IFBB event.  I was a heavy girl, both physically and emotionally, so the idea of competing and putting my physique up on stage for judgement, seemed so impossible at the time, an honest to God DREAM!  As my health and fitness grew over the years, so did my spiritual wisdom need to grow and confidence in order to turn this dream into a possibility. 

I was on my way there, the Summer of 2017.  I had reached my body fat  percentage goal and had began to research coaches and competitions.  The dream was becoming realized, and it terrified but excited me.  Maybe it was my fear of success or my self-sabotaging behavior, or maybe it was the loss of a dear friend that summer to a drunk driver, but I gave up on my goal and fell back into some old emotional eating habits.  John's death shook me.  My world seemed flipped upside down, where nothing made sense anymore.  Not even God.  How could he let this happen?  Why would he do this to me, to them, to the world?  I was angry with God, and didn't feel like trying anymore.  What was the point?  I could die tomorrow, why not enjoy today?  Shortly after his death, I became pregnant with my son, Solomon, and then that became my excuse to eat whatever I wanted and to put on even more weight. 

Since Solomon's birth, I've been on a slow journey back to health and fitness.  Because I struggled with postpartum anxiety and depression, I had to make so many daily choices.  I had to choose to get up every morning.  I had to choose to be kind.  I had to choose to love on my babies who needed me even though it all felt like an act.  I had to choose to be around other people and to let other people see the mess.  So many choices that were about and for my kids and showing up even though it felt impossible.  I couldn't focus on food choices and meal prep choices.  Getting a shower in more than once a week was hard enough on its own.  

With Solomon's first birthday quickly approaching, and my husband's college graduation right around the corner,  I feel like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.  My hormones are definitely better.  I know I'll feel more comfortable weaning Sully from breastfeeding now that he's reached that 1 year mark.  And the most important change this time, is my Tribe of Mommy Friends around me.  If Christ is my light, then I'll need lots and lots of torches to accomplish this goal.  My Mommy Tribe is my everything.  They pick me up when I am down, they understand what I'm going through, validate all my feelings and encourage me through the dark days.  We laugh together, cry together, and share life together.  I know when the enemy speaks lies, they will help me see the truth.  That I am worthy of all things good.  That I am capable and wonderful and resilient.  That God is for me, so who can possibly stand against.  Not even myself.  

This year will bring about so many positive changes, and I'm so excited to get started.  The goal for this blog is to extend the walls of my village to incorporate all you incredible family, friends, and internet fans.  I hope you can become my extended tribe and follow along with me on this incredible journey called life.  I promise to post at least once a week, even if it is only my workout, a recipe, or two sentences about how sore I am or how my kids are driving me absolutely bonkers!  The next 6 months will be about getting back to my previous level of fitness and my body fat down to about 20%.  I'm not striving for perfection, just sustainable long term success.  Stay tuned to see my starting stats and learn more about  where this goal will take me.  Obviously, losing weight and building muscle isn't going to magically
make me happy.  Neither will making more money or buying a bigger house or falling in love or whatever your goal may be.  JOY however IS a CHOICE.  And we can choose to be content in whatever situation life puts us in.  We can choose Christ and choose love and choose to see ourselves through God's eyes.  Today, I choose to love me again.  I choose Joy.

Psalm 16:11
Psalm 94:19
Psalm 37:4
John 15:11
Romans 15:13
Psalm 27:6
Psalm 126:2-3
​Psalm 28:7