Reflecting & a Linkup

Top: Hot Topic // Pants:  Old Navy (super old) // Shoes:  Lasocki

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago, because I try to schedule my outfit photos/posts ahead of time, even though sometimes I’m not very successful.  However, this time I was.  I was so excited about my recent purchases from Hot Topic that I just had to take photos of everything.  With that being said, I look back on these pictures, and while some may not notice it (but I do), my eyes instantly go to my arms.  Of course, now anyone reading this is going to look at my arms, and while some might say don’t put focus on something that you don’t want people to look at, but for me it shows progress.  As you know, I’m prepping for our wedding, and with that (for me, not for everyone, I’m not promoting weight loss for everyone) comes weight loss.  I’ve always been bottom heavy, and whenever my arms would increase in size it meant that I was past the point of being able to just drop 5lbs and be back to normal.  As I’ve hit my late 20’s/early 30’s my metabolism has definitely slowed down.

However, I’ve been really working on my healthy eating and exercising.  I avoided wearing tank tops as much as I could because I just felt horrible when I’d look at the photos during editing, but I truly love the clothes that I wear.  After eating healthier and exercising (but not really being on a restrictive diet because I didn’t want to stress myself out), I can definitely see a change in my arms.  So looking at these photos, as much as I hate what my arms look like, it actually shows progress for me.  While it’s probably not super noticeable to others, it’s definitely noticeable to me.  If you’re wondering what workouts I’ve been doing lately, I’m a huge fan of Tabata and Yoga, however I’ve seen the Chloe Ting Challenge circling all over social media, specifically her two week shred challenge.  I didn’t want to commit to any of her other challenges because they were longer and I wanted to see her style first, so two weeks is perfect.  Sunday is the final day where I weigh in and  measure myself.  I’ll be doing a review of it, along with how much I’ve lost/gained (because we know muscle weighs more than fat).

I’m super excited to see how much my body has changed because I’ve been working extra hard, and there was a period of time where I was getting a little worried that I wasn’t losing anything.  I was wrong (I’ve already taken progress photos before I started the Chloe Ting challenge).  I know that after the wedding I’ll probably gain a little of it back, but that’s why I’m not being as restrictive as I have been in the past.  I’ve cut back on a lot of unhealthy things I was putting in my body, although Taco Bell has definitely been calling my name haha.  I know some people say not to demonize food by calling it a cheat food/snack or even a cheat day.  However, the way that it is for me, it’s more of a mental thing (so mind over body), I have to call it that, otherwise I WILL binge without stopping.  I’m also really sorry for talking so much about dieting lately, but it’s literally become part of my life and I’m excited about my progress.

Anyway, let’s move on to the linkup!