Q3 health and fitness goals mid-quarter check-in!

We are nearly halfway through Q3, and my weight loss challenge ended yesterday. I'm sad it's over! But, we were only about halfway through that when she announced the next challenge and I signed up without even thinking about it LOL. The next challenge starts on August 19, with the first official weigh-in happening on August 26. So it runs until September 30. Since I've met most of these goals, and signed up for a new challenge, I decided I needed a goal refresh for the rest of the quarter!

• Complete 6 week keto weight loss challenge from 7/1 to 8/12. 
• Track inches and pounds lost by completing weekly weigh-ins -- this is for accountability, plus chances to win giveaways! 
• Follow meal plans and stick to macros. 
• Increase and then maintain water intake. 
• Do not fall off the wagon on the weekend!

ALL of this: DONE-ZO! 

I weighed in and checked measurements every week. I tracked every.single.meal the night before to make sure I stuck to my macros, which is totally tedious and I hate it, but it WORKS. I didn't cheat once, although I did go over macros significantly 2 or 3 times, it didn't seem to affect my overall losses too much, since I stayed keto. I drank an average of 120oz of water per day. AND, I lost 17lbs and 14in in 6 weeks! I got new macros last week and I am going to stick to them for the next 15lbs!

• Workout at least 4 days a week, plus 1 riding lesson.
• LIIFT4 (not hybrid, didn't care for it) round 3 from 6/25 to 8/23. 
• 4-week measurements 7/23.
• 8-week measurements 8/24.

Mostly done!

I'm a little behind, and still have half of week 5 to do before I move on to the last few weeks of the program, but I'm still tracking to finish by the end of August. My alarm clock and I have been fighting (I'm either sleeping through it or not setting it at all...who knows)! But, I did take 4-week measurements as part of the keto challenge.

• Work on hip flexibility and stretching at least 3x a week. 

Success!

This definitely happens when I workout in the mornings! I've noticed a lot of improvement in my riding since being more aware of my body needing these stretches.

• Meal prep as much as possible over the weekend.
• Plan to double most breakfast recipes and freeze half so I have a stash in case the hubby really likes something, plus less prep in future weeks!
• Prep breakfasts, lunches, and snacks so I can start (and stay) strong each week.
• Prep veggies and sauces for weeknight dinners to save time.

Success! 

I spent an average of 2-3 hours on Saturdays prepping meals for the following week. If I had a lot of leftovers, I would freeze some to save for other weeks. Like last week, after all of my prep on Saturday, I literally didn't have to cook again (other than throwing a fully prepped casserole in the oven on Monday) until the following Saturday, which was my birthday. So, prep this past weekend didn't happen due to the festivities, BUT, I had leftovers from the BBQ, plus a bunch of stuff to unfreeze and some stuff I had vacuum sealed to marinate that is working great for dinners!

New goals:

• Lose or maintain current weight in the 2 weeks in between challenge weigh-ins. 
• Complete 6 week keto weight loss challenge from 8/19 to 9/30, with the same sub-goals as above.
• Goal for 2nd challenge is to lose at least 15lbs.
• Stay keto. No cheats!
• Finish LIIFT4 by August 30. Start round 4 of LIIFT4 on 9/2.
• Continue to work on hip flexibility and stretching.
• Meal prep on the weekends to avoid scrambling and making bad decisions. Same sub-goals as above.