If you watch Stranger Things, then you catch my reference in the title. If not, it’s ok. For the fans though… Yes I’m a bit exaggerative, but it’s a place of unknown that’s for sure. And scary = me not on track!

It’s been a month, actually, longer since you last heard from me. I seriously got lost in the Upside Down.

It’s been crazy! Lots of work deadlines, a huge craft show that supports our high school baseball team, a kid who rolled/totaled his car and now has no transportation, and lots of football and baseball in between!

I have been mentally checked out. No time for anything. I’m finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, and I can get back to focusing on my health and fitness. I have been a slacker! Not a slacker in the sense that I’ve eaten ALL the things… just SOME of things but I did definitely let the workouts slip away. I’ve worked out maybe 10 times since I last wrote a post. With that said, I haven’t been sitting on my tush doing nothing either. Just going a million mph and it’s all a blur.

Almost four weeks ago (oct 14ish), I was real worried because I baked (and sampled) a lot for the craft show I mentioned above. And then I wasn’t on a proper eating schedule. And eating out a lot. And no meals planned! doh! Terrible I know. I was afraid to weigh in. I knew I had to do it. I knew I had to own it. I just didn’t want to do it. Coach T even text me to check in on me cause I wasn’t even reporting to him. And I finally did it. I weighed. Expecting the worst. And magically, I didn’t gain anything. I was even down 1/10th of a pound. That in itself was AMAZING! I’m not saying I escaped the two weeks with no consequence. There most definitely is a shoe waiting to drop. But I didn’t gain several pounds and that makes me happy! So HAPPY!

Like I said, I didn’t eat ALL the things, I just wasn’t as strict and I maintained. So that’s a good sign. I didn’t lose control, I just didn’t follow a plan. And there was no plus or minus to it. Good news, I didn’t gain weight. Bad news, I didn’t lose weight.

I mentally tortured myself those two weeks and it turned out to be alright. Which I guess is the moral of the story. I’m living life.

Without a plan, I’m at a standstill and with a plan I have progress.

Without a plan: I didn’t starve myself. I didn’t overeat. I just ate a little here and there, even if it wasn’t the best food choices. I still passed on booze, which is hard for some of you, I know. It’s hard for me too, but I didn’t indulge no matter how badly I wanted to. I survived.

Fast forward two weeks from that moment (Oct. 28) and I still hadn’t got back on track. I’m like a bug trying to avoid a windshield on the highway. Life is fast and hard. And I’m not making time for myself. Our box was hosting a body analytics truck where we weigh in water, aka Hydrostatic Body Composition Testing. Now I’m for real scared. This is the truth or closer to it than my scale at home.

Body Analytics hydrostatic method uses a three component model which separates the body into 3 areas:

1. Bone, muscle and organs, along with connective tissue, collectively known as lean mass, sinks (is more dense than water)
2. Body fat floats (is less dense than water)
3. Total body water which is neutrally bouyant, but must be removed from your actual weight

Eeek, right? I have continued to make poor choices. I’m still only working out max 2 days a week 😥 Cry me a river, I know. But before October, I was on point, making progress… making gains! And now… not so much.

So I weighed. On the scale. And in a tub. I had gained 3 lbs on the dry scale. Which I get. I went unscathed those first two weeks of chaos. But I knew my ticket was up. So, 3 lbs, that’s not terrible but it’s still a gain I didn’t want. Sigh. But it’s my start over weight. It’s my get my shit together again weight and hopefully in 4-6 months, I’ll be showing great progress. CROSSING FINGERS.

Fast forward to now. I’m kinda, sorta, trying to get back on track. Having a car-less kid isn’t helping now that I need to do more picking up and dropping off. But it is what it is. I just need to get back in the right headspace.

I weighed on Saturday and I was back down 2 lbs. So that’s a positive. And me not going so hard working out all the time has allowed for my glute to start to heal up. I’m still not 100% but I have more range of motion and can put a little more weight on the bar. I won’t be PR’ing any squats anytime soon, but that’s ok. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

The right mindset is key and slowly but surely I’m getting there. It’s been up and it’s been down. It’s been all around ( 😀 I couldn’t help myself there).

I’m not making any promises on when my next post will be but hopefully much sooner than later!

What’s your struggle? Or are you struggle-free and killing it? Or do you need to re-evaluate and get back at it. I’m in limbo. My own personal upside down world. I’m finding my way back but it’s a process.