It IS working!!!!

How about some levity today......no heavy soul healing, excavating stuff today lol;-) I have tweaked my exercise routine and I wanted to share because it is working in the ways I wanted it too! And maybe it could help you too! I have never pretended to be anything but a novice when it comes to fitness......making it up literally as I have gone along......and maybe that has been part of the fun for me.....or part of the appeal......it is my own....and something I get to experiment with as it has made sense......it began with cardio and the treadmill and running......and it has evolved well past that.....and I have maintained my weight almost completely for nearly 6 years......which is kind of crazy......once I began to inhabit this new body it stuck......but my degree of feeling toned, or like what I was doing was translating into real and visible results has ebbed and flowed......recently I decided to kick it up a notch....go all in on protein, and tracking my food.......and began to take a little creatine....add a little stepper to my routine, and I am getting one for work too I think, and going max on my weights in my weight training......while also adding cardio back in more intentionally into the mix......walking at an incline with my weighted vest......and shooting for 10,000 steps daily......and well.....I am beginning to see another shift forming in my body composition, and it is exciting! In the short term it is a lot of intention, and planning, for food and movement etc.....but in the long term it will take on the rhythm that those things do once they become second nature.....and as we age these things become maybe more important than ever.....and it takes an enormous amount of effort to shift the middle aged tide that finds us ladies;-) Like pushing a wave back into the ocean lol but the decisions I make is where my vitality lives......no question......I believe and know that we GET TO live this life in any manner we choose.....feeling any way we choose......barring those outliers that cannot be predicted.......but strength training and nutrition do a lot of the heavy lifting, #punintended ;-). So I am learning more about progressive overload, protein, and macros and feeding muscle.....and I am excited at some of the shifts I am seeing......committing to meal prepping again super consistently......and I guess as I am seeing it shift some I am realizing that I likely wasn't eating enough before, and for sure not the right combination.....you most definitely have to feed muscle......and I wasn't always great about doing that, despite getting decent results all along.....but the shifts I have made I think will translate in some powerful ways.......my beach trip at the end of September, fueling my efforts too:) Always good to have bikini goals.....;-) And I suppose what has been the most powerful thing for me during this fitness journey has been it has always been about me......doing it FOR ME.....created BY ME......not to impress a spouse, or boyfriend, or anyone.....but to feel better in my own skin.....and feel healthier and more vital each day.......and that is the kind of motivation that can't be taken or rattled......I have stayed motivated all these years to exercise regularly because I have SEEN and FELT what it does......knowing that I am making deposits now into my future self.....like a pension into my old age.......and how I want to live when I get there:) So I will continue to bumble my way through lol:) Trial and error and repeat!!! My fitness novice self being a good student to learning new stuff.....setting new goals......pushing new boundaries......and seeing where I land:) Enjoy the day:) xoxox