I wasn’t sure if I was going to take pictures this month but I am so glad I did. If you are new here I have been sharing these updates in order to motivate myself to eat better and exercise more consistently in 2019. In case you missed the other posts in this series here are February, March, and April.

Eating

I am no longer intermittent fasting. I tried it and realized it wasn’t going to work for me long term. More on this below.

I tracked my macros diligently over the last several weeks but have since backed off. Weekly I pretty much eat the same foods and have a good idea what and how much I should be consuming daily. I am not opposed to tracking macros but don’t see the need to do it all the time. I also don’t want my kids to see my on my phone constantly taking pictures of food while I scan barcodes.

Workouts

Josh and I started a 12 week weight lifting program this month. So far I like it. I am lifting 3 days week and doing short HIIT workouts on the in between days. The weightlifting workouts are 30-40 minutes and the HIIT workouts last about 20 minutes. Josh’s schedule is a little different from mine because of his shifts at work. We both are enjoying it and it is fun to do something together on the days he is home. This schedule is also super doable for me because I am able to wake up at 5am and get my workout done, read my bible, and usually shower before the kids wake up.

Wellness

I completed all the treatments for my varicose veins! Yay! I also was super diligent about wearing my compression socks and walking for 30 minutes daily. When I went in for my checkup ultrasounds my legs looked so good that my doctor said I didn’t need to have surgery. I am happy to be done with treatment before summer! No more compression socks for me and I can run again without pain.

The last thing I wanted to share is the reason I am not intermittent fasting anymore. It is also the reason I would not recommend it to another woman. My period has been super regular the last several months but I was so late this month. Like ready to go send Josh to get a pregnancy test. My period finally started 2 weeks late. I know many women have success using this method but for me it obviously messed with my hormones. Plus I also really enjoy eating breakfast in the morning. I was eating enough calories so I know I wasn’t deficient in that way and the fasting is the only thing I can pinpoint to why this happened.

So there you go, that is what has been going with me :). Thanks for reading!

Welcome back to another fitness/wellness update! This last month I tried out Intermittent Fasting, walked for 30 minutes each day, and also continued to track my macro’s.

In mid march I actually took my measurements because I was curious to see any results with what I was going to be doing in April. I am happy to report that I lost a total of 5 inches and I am down another 5 pounds. Yay! It is crazy to see how much has changed in a relatively short amount of time. Click HERE to see my first pictures from February.

Eating

For the last several weeks I have been tracking my macros in MyFitnessPal. While I normally don’t track my macros I really wanted to focus more on what I was eating. What I discovered is that I was consistently not getting enough calories + not eating enough carbohydrates.

My macro breakdown looks like this: 50% carbohydrate, 30% fat, and 20% protein protocol. I have also been intermittent fasting, something I NEVER thought I would do. As far as calorie/macro consumption goes I am still consuming the same amount of food I should be eating in a 24 hour period of time. The only difference is I am shortening the window of time I am eating. In April this looked liked me starting to eat at 11am or 12pm and being done eating by 8pm.

I am not sure I will continue to do this but might incorporate intermittent fasting into the days I am not lifting moving forward. Because I am doing all my workouts in the morning before I have eaten it would be better for me to eat within 1-2 hours after my workout. So on days I am strength training I am planning to eat within an hour of my workout unlike in April when I didn’t eat anything until lunch time. I know this will be better for my body.

Workouts

My workouts have been super consistent lately. In April I exercised 6 days a week for around 30-40 minutes and focused on separate muscle groups as opposed to doing a total body workout. For May my plan is to switch to total body workouts to change things up.

I am naturally an early raiser and wake up around 5am to get my workout done. I set any equipment I will need out the night before so I can roll out of bed and get right to it.

Wellness

In April I started my varicose vein treatments again. I actually don’t mind the treatments. I have to walk everyday for 30 minutes which has been a nice way for me to get outdoors. Aside from the bruising my legs are already starting to feel better! My legs had been swelling, achey, and super heavy. I had been putting off this round of treatment since after my third was born over two years ago. So it was definitely time.

Josh and I even made it back to the chiropractor in April. We went once a week for years and got out of the routine of going. It had been a long while since our last visit and I felt so great after an hour massage and adjustment. I felt like I could breathe more deeply and grew an extra inch taller! Adjustments alone are great but adjustments + massage are so much better!

And that is a quick update on how I am doing! This week I decided to take a week off from my early morning workouts and give myself extra time to sleep. I am still walking daily and will continue to do that into May. Hope you are all having a great day and thanks for stopping by the blog to read :),

xo, Tamara