GCF: March Madness Edition!

Hi!

I have no excuse for waiting this long to post anything this month and I feel bad about it!  That's why I call this the "March Madness Edition"...it's madness that I have updated my blog in a month and a half!

Goal check time!

1. Improve my relationship and walk with God
• Still not much improvement here, honestly.  I've been slacking. :(  But the Lord did bless me last week with visits from friends/having people over for Sabbath lunch!  Normally that kind of stuff wears me to the bone, as I am an introvert, but it actually gave me some energy and gave my heart some much needed cheering up.  It was really nice to have an apartment full of people for once!
• Verse of the Week:  "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
• I'm on day 180 of my reading plan and even more behind than usual.
2. Lose 50-100 lbs healthily
• The results are in for the weight loss competition at work and my team did pretty well.  While we didn't win, we did place in the top ten.  As far as my personal results go, I lost 19.6 lbs during the competition, 15.2 lbs of which were fat!  And, while I still have a long way to go, losing 20ish lbs in 3 months is really encouraging.  Granted, I still have my days where I wanna give up, I just keep telling myself that I can do it and that I've already made some great progress.
• Side note:  I need to stop going off diet so much!  I know it's good to not be too restrictive and allow yourself a treat every once in awhile, but I totally ate like 10 cookies last weekend, and they weren't small ones either.  It's a daily struggle to conquer the binge eating habit but I'm getting better about not over eating and realizing when I'm full/have had enough.
• My workout partner and I are keeping up with our workouts, even though the competition is over.  Working out 4 times a week for 6 weeks really helped us to form the habit.  We've gotten to the point where not going to workout doesn't feel right, ya know?  Our workout routine has changed at little bit, as we're gearing up for/training for a 5k that is at the end of April, but we're still trying to make it to the gym, and do some strength training, at least twice a week.
• Weight Loss Tip of the Week:  As promised, below I have included a total body workout that my partner and I actually did this week!  Note:  We walked 11 flights of stairs beforehand, took 5-10 sec of rest between each set, cut down a few of the exercises to just 2 sets, and finished this workout in just over an hour.  Disclaimer: try at your own risk, as I don't claim to be a professional fitness trainer or anything.

• Wednesday	Total Body 2
  1-5 min	Stretching
  15 min	Abs
  3 sets of:	20*	Reverse Chops
  	15*	Standing Side Crunches
  	15*	Overhead Presses
  	6	Two Point Planks (InOut)
  	15	Inner Thigh Splits
  	15	Plank Party (Jump/El)
  	10	Pike Tucks
  	10	Clamps
  15 min	Legs
  3 sets of:	15*	Weighted Donkey Kicks
  	10	Plie Hip Lifts
  	15	Jumping Jacks
  	20*	Arabesque
  	25	Calf Raises
  	15/10	Walking/Station Lunges
  	15	Plie Jump Squats
  	10*	Hamstring Kick
  15 min	Arms
  3 sets of:	10	Bent Rows
  	10	Deadlifts
  	15	Hammer Curls
  	15	Wrap It Outs
  	15	W Curls
  	15	Tricep Kickouts
  	10	Push-ups (Norm/Dia/Str)
  	10	Skull Crushers

• Water intake is still doing pretty well, even though I've broken another cup (and it was like my favorite one, it had a swirly straw!).  Thus, I have just been drinking straight from my jug until I get a new one.

Welp, that's all for now.  Have a great weekend! :)

K