Well, here we are again it’s Sunday and time to weigh in and show you a picture of my body in progress! I just arrived home from my Sunday morning workout with Scott Samuels at Push DT and I am feeling it already! Again, like the last 2 weeks of workouts, I was out of breath and wheezing and as I pressed my lungs to the max, they just couldn’t work for me as much as I wanted them to…. It started to get to me, but I pressed forward knowing that my body was just recovering and needed to still heal. I took it a tad easier than my brain wanted to and was able to finish the workout without feeling like I was suffocating in my own body! When I walked to my car after it was all over, I felt proud and satisfied knowing that I didn’t hide behind any excuses and got my over worked, over TIRED, wheezy chested, buns to that workout this morning!

I burned off a few more lbs. this week and have landed at 179.8, exactly where I was 2 weeks ago. Remember I gained 3 lbs last week and feel like I am going to really have to turn it up to get out of this awkward mini “slump” I have been in. I truly believe and know in my gut that this stagnant weight has been directly correlated to an excess amount of stress. Those of you who know me know that I am not an unhealthy “stress” kind of person, as a matter of fact it used to make my own husband a tiny bit envious that I never had much STRESS, even in the big up’s and down’s of life.

I can only say our lives have not been running at our “normal” (whatever normal is) pace this month. We have had some major adjustments and we are also coming up on my dad’s 1 year anniversary of his passing. That, with being sick, and making some lifestyle adjustments, while trying to be fully present and immersed in Bringing Milfey Back, has really come all crashing down at once. Like I wrote in my last post, I just have to keep remembering that everything is a learning experience and even this yucky stress will serve a beautiful purpose in making me a more diverse, and relate-able human being.

Stress is not ALWAYS a bad thing, we need it to survive and be sure our bodies know what to do in a dangerous or “flight or Fight” situation. For example, I ‘m out on a morning jog with my kids and a car runs a stop sign while I’m crossing the street…. Well, I get startled and become aware of the situation at hand in a millisecond and am able to avoid a dangerous situation.  This is all thanks to the Hypothalamus, located in all of our brains, setting off  nerves and hormones that signals our adrenal glands to excrete adrenaline and CORTISOL (a nasty little belly fat maker, if not balanced).  It sets of a “we are having an emergency” warning in our bodies, helping us to become aware of, and avoid, life threatening situations. In this case, this type of stress is very helpful and as actually needed to keep us marching around this planet!

The good news is that most of us don’t have “fight or flight” dangerous types of stress all day long. The bad news is, most of us have other stresses that creep into our balanced lives that causes cortisol to be excreted to much….. I have now mentioned CORTISOL a few times and I bet you are wondering why I am so concerned about it eh?

Well in my opinion the answer is this, Cortisol is the main stress hormone and sends signals to the brain that controls mood, and fear. Cortisol suppresses the digestive and reproductive systems, can raise blood pressure and make our bodies feel like we are under attack or always in “fight or flight”.  As long as external stresses are present our cortisol keeps on excreting and can have a number of negative effects on our bodies including memory loss, depression, anxiety, and the WOOOOOORST in my opinion WEIGHT GAIN especially in and around our bellies!!! Ugggggggg!

Sooooooo, the moral of this Sunday’s blog is let’s let go of stress, and in turn our bodies will let go of fat, especially belly fat, and WHO WANTS THAT??? Not me…… So breathe ( and again as I write this I’m also talking to myself) let it go, pray, meditate, and relax in knowing everything is perfect, even in imperfection…. It will not only make us feel better, but it will help with combating that extra bulge!

Now, without any further ado…. COVER YOUR EYES FRIENDS…

Weighing in at 179.8lbs this morning, a 3 lb loss this week, after a 3lb gain last week, leaving me at breaking even today…. Here is my Sunday picture progress…

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Until next time, from the amazing and WAY OVER WATCHED at our house movie Frozen, “Let it go”, and enjoy a beautiful stress free week!

Health and Love

Lisa