Finding My Inner Gladiatrix

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it was enough time to produce great results! All of Spartacus themed routines for the month turned me into a leaner, meaner Gladiatrix! I lost 3 inches and showed a 67% improvement on the fit test, specifically on the agility moves.

But the best part? I earned my mark!

Yes, it's cheesy, I know, but I haven't had this much fun working out! There were a few routines (*cough*1,000 rep challenge*cough*) that had me scared, but overall I looked forward to sweating in the garage nearly everyday.

The hard part, surprisingly, has been tracking food intake. I feel like I need to recharge my power ring (yes, I just made a Green Lantern reference). Getting up and working out was the easy part, but the workouts were never easy themselves. My will to do them was always greater than any excuse not to. The diet part... Not so much.

Paleo/Vegan/Vegetarian/Atkins/Dukan... I don't subscribe to any of those. And for any of you that do, as long as you're doing what works for you, keep doing it. I just haven't found that perfect balance yet. So I'm still tweaking everything from the protein/fat/carb balance to nutrient timing. I'll figure it out, I'm sure... It's just that I'm getting frustrated because I'm so close to my goal, yet it seems farther and farther out of reach.

At this point, I think all that's left is "stubborn fat." When I first started two years ago, I got all this material that I never read. So I'm going back through several books to gather the specifics of how to pull back the reigns on my eating habits. Not that I'm out of control, but I know I've been too lax. There are days where I stick to my macros and other days where I eat whatever is within 10 feet of me. I know I shouldn't, but I do it anyway. This happens on those days when I feel hungry all day.

I'm not an emotional eater. It's that unsatisfied feeling that gets me! Nothing I eat hits the spot, or no matter what I eat, I'm hungry a few hours later. I'm not a 6 smalls meals a day girl either. Again, that approach works for some people, but I'm not one of them.

Working to get my diet back on track is the big focus for March and diet is the main reason that I'm back to a weight lifting program. It's likely all mental, but I know I pay more attention to my protein intake when I'm lifting heavy, and I feel like protein is one of the big things I'm under eating at the moment.

Tweaking, changing, experimenting... That's what makes this journey so fun and so completely unique to everyone! I talk to several people on a daily basis about health and fitness, and not one of us is doing the same thing. But we're all making progress because we're doing what works for us. Individuality is the spice of life!

The biggest change I've noticed over the past month is my confidence has increased by leaps and bounds. I'm far more comfortable in my own skin than I have ever been. I feel GREAT!

One of my goals this summer is to wear tank tops like they're going out of style. And I've already started. =)