Six weeks ago, I set some goals for the Summer Slimdown Challenge. Quite honestly, I kind of forgot about them. But here they are, with my thoughts about how I’m doing with them!

Strength train 3 times per week: I’ve been attending BodyPump class (Les Mills) at least twice a week – I would still like to get a consistent third day in. For those of you that aren’t familiar with the Les Mills classes, I highly recommend them - it’s a great workout and I always feel like I worked hard when I’m finished. Plus, there’s a lot of variety.

Limit sodium intake: I’ve been tracking my sodium and been pretty successful staying on the lower end of my range. On days I feel like I might have had too much, I try to drink even more water.

Run 3 times per week in addition to my other cardio: I’m pretty good with cardio. I love it. I typically do it 5-6 days/week. I have really only been running 1-2 times each week. I’m going to have to try to kick that up a notch!

Cut out diet soda completely: I’ve never been a huge diet soda drinker. At my worst, I might have had up to three or four a week. I did have a diet soda last week with friends, but I’m not keeping any diet soda in my apartment, and I’m not going to go out specifically for a soda, so I consider that a small victory.

Get weight into the 150s: I’ll hit this number within a reasonable amount of time. I feel pretty confident about that. So far, this challenge has been (what I consider) successful in terms of weight loss.

So for “forgetting” about my goals, I think I’ve done a pretty good job so far – it can only get better, right?

Some other things I’ve come to realize over this time period:

Tracking food is not only helpful, it’s pretty darn necessary. And I’m ok with doing it. I’ve also gotten pretty good at it and have been able to make some responsible choices in some potentially dangerous situations. Coming home and putting those choices in the tracker and finding out you’re still in your range is pretty great.

I love working out. I’ve never really hated it, but I could definitely make excuses not to do it before. Now, I could try to come up with an excuse, but I’m not going to be successful at it. I know how it makes me feel, and I’m not willing to give that up.

My head is finally in the game. I don’t know what changed or why it happened or when the switch flipped, but I’m in this. I’ve never felt better about it.

Thanks for your awesome support! Your stories are inspiring and motivational and you’re all doing amazing on your Spark journeys!