ACTIVE & fun....and a little goal setting!

Our week was filled with a fun, camping trip! Seems as though its our favorite family getaway these days! A great way to get outside, spend quality time together and have FUN! Nothing better than that!
I woke up and went on a nice, three mile run each morning! My oldest son actually ran with me two of the days, which was a lot of fun and he earned miles for running club! Below are some pics from the trip, including the bike parade where all the kids rode their bikes throughout the park...very cool! Lots of swimming, sliding and laying by the pool-working on my tan!

And looking back on the previous week...
GOALS/SUCCESSES? YES.
I've added a progress picture and although some days I am frustrated at the lack of pounds coming off, inches are noticeably falling off! All of my clothes are fitting very LOOSE-which is good and I feel leaner and much stronger! What a great feeling!
Frustrations? YES.
As always but that's life. For starters I have really focused on my foods, prepping meals ahead of time and keeping our fridge stocked with proteins, fruits and veggies!

As I share my successes, it's almost like I have days where I feel invincible and days where I feel defeated.

Allow me to explain the good, invincible feeling:
this morning I woke up, did a great HIIT workout, showered and we took the boys to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo! A fun time and the boys enjoyed it but ya can't help noticing the calorie consumption in that place! CRAZY! Fried snickers, oreos, potatoes, moon pies...yes, they deep fry moon pies! If your jaw is dropping as you read, no worries-Mine did too!

My success: being able to control myself and ordering a tortilla-less burrito with grilled chicken black beans and lettuce! It felt great to not even WANT that nasty, deep fried craziness! Ya get to a point where it's just not worth it and you'd rather have a cheat meal with way more substance :-) make it worth it!
You also can't help but look around at what we've created. Scary to see children walking around with 2lb fried turkey legs, huge baskets of curly fried potatoes and cinnamon rolls the size of their heads...and let me tell ya, it was the norm out there, unfortunately. It's scary people. Very scary.

And back to me now...
When i feel defeated: I focus, push myself and maintain healthy habits YET I still fight the "fat girl" image in my head so frequently. I'm not even sure why??
I know I'm healthy, a size 6 yet I'm 5'10" and a bigger girl so naturally I feel LARGER than most women my age. I wear a size 11 running shoe so the word "petite" doesn't exist for me :-( at my heaviest or my lightest! Or since I am taller, I feel fatter...strange and ridiculous as it may sound, it's SO hard for me to shake that judgement that I have on myself...I'm SO critical that sometimes I think I overlook my successes with workouts, weight loss etc! Sad but true...
I know and hope that my body Is reflective of my hard work and Dedication and I must focus on my strength, my endurance and all that I've accomplished! It's still so hard for me to take a compliment...pathetic, right?

SO this week for me is about telling myself to BE PROUD. Live in the moment of all that I do each day to be my healthiest self for my family and I. To know that the dedication and hours that I put in, make me super healthy on the inside and out...and that's something to be proud of :-) even if I must remind myself not to be so critical EVERY day.
What's your goals this week?

Do you struggle with body image or shedding that "former self"?
For me, my heaviest weight was a long time ago and I still live in that mindset sometimes but I need to be reminded of what all I've accomplished...a small reminder of where I've been. I guess a look back can be so positive on our journey to our healthiest life!

And a sneak peak at part of my prepping for our camping trips, these apple protein muffins pictured below...yum!
*It's SO important and valuable to prep your meals for trips, we had ready made salads with protein to add. We also kept lots of prepared fruits and veggies on hand for snacking and it worked out great! I even made a large egg casserole to heat up in the mornings for quick breakfasts filled with protein!
Little preparation can make a huge impact on your long term success, so stay focused!
Hats off to a lot of my Instagram peeps, they help me with healthy recipes on the go and easy meal ideas to plan for our week! Keeping foods interesting and different can make all of the difference when it comes to your success! We can't live on chicken breasts and brown rice forever...right? RIGHT!