This is going to be a fairly short blog post.  Basically, I wanted to check in and let you know that I finished my second round of 21 Day Fix yesterday.  Due to a number of reasons, I had some issues with staying motivated during this round, so I definitely didn't do as well as I would have liked to.  

My main goal after this round is to take a break for the holidays and come back in the new year feeling refreshed and ready to kick some butt in 2016!  Like the quote above says, I know I CAN do this and that means I WILL do this.  

Today I'm going to open up about something very personal.  The main reason I'm sharing this story is because it starts with someone else opening up about their personal life and therefore having a huge impact on my own life.  More about that later.

But first, let's get something slightly relevant out of the way...

"Hi, my name is Beth and I'm a reality TV addict."

It's true, I have always loved reality TV and getting a chance to peek into other people's lives.  A lot of people think reality TV is a waste of time, and it definitely can be, but in my case it was actually very informative and may have changed my life for the better.  It sounds strange, but I'm being serious.

There's a show on TLC called "My Big Fat Fabulous Life".  I started watching it on a whim one day and was really impressed with the positive attitude of the person the show is about, whose name is Whitney Thore.  She is very open about her weight and how it affects her daily life, but she is also a really great role model because she loves herself exactly the way she is.  It's a great message for anyone to hear, especially women who tend to get down on themselves about their weight.

The main part of Whitney's story is that she struggles with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which is the main reason for her extreme weight gain.  In the first episode she explains some of her symptoms and how it took a long time to eventually get diagnosed with PCOS.  It seems like a lot of doctors either aren't familiar with PCOS or they don't check for it, so a lot of women tend to go undiagnosed.

Hearing Whitney's story, especially her list of symptoms, made me stop and wonder if I could have PCOS.  Similar to Whitney, I had gained a large amount of weight over a relatively short amount of time.  At my highest weight I had gained about 100 pounds over a 5-year period.  At the time I was quick to blame myself because of my poor diet and lack of exercise, which I'm sure are a huge part of the weight gain.  But at the same time, I had also tried really hard to lose the weight once I realized how much I was gaining and it seemed like I just couldn't get rid of it.  I tried a number of weight loss programs and honestly gave each one everything I had, but would give up once it seemed like nothing I did was working.

It was basically a vicious cycle of gain weight, start a program and lose a few pounds, and then gain it all back and then some.  This probably sounds familiar to a lot of you who have struggled with your weight, but for me it really felt like my weight was out of control.  I had talked to my doctor frequently about wanting to lose weight and he always gave me advice on eating healthier and working out more often, but he never suggested that we do any blood tests until I mentioned my suspicions about PCOS to him.  He was very open to running some tests to see if we could figure out if that's what I had going on, especially after sharing some of my symptoms to him.

Sure enough, when I went in for my follow-up appointment he said that we should start a treatment plan for PCOS.  He wrote me a prescription and told me that it would help regulate my hormones and therefore allow my body to stop storing fat at such a high rate.  He also told me that the most important thing for me to do was to exercise every day if possible.  He explained that it's easier to maintain an exercise program daily because it makes exercise more of a habit.

So I started the medicine and also signed up for 21 Day Fix.  If you've been reading my transformation story, then you know that I have had a lot of success losing weight by eating healthier and working out regularly.  In the two months after getting diagnosed with PCOS I was able to lose 16 pounds, which I am thrilled with.  I still have a long way to go and a lot of hard work ahead of me, but for the first time in a long time I finally feel like I am in control of my own health and can see a bright future ahead of me.

I truly hope my story has been informative and helpful.  Like I said earlier, I wouldn't have asked for the blood tests unless I had heard Whitney's story and therefore I am hoping my story will allow other women to do the same thing and seek medical treatment if they suspect they also have PCOS.

Thank you for listening to my long story.  Please share this if there is someone in your life who may benefit from reading it.

We all know that nobody is perfect and it's impossible to do things 100% right all the time.  In the spirit of being completely honest, this has probably been the hardest week I've had since starting the 21 Day Fix.  My motivation has been lacking big time and I haven't felt nearly as dedicated compared to how I had been feeling.  

I think a big part of it is that I've been so busy with the holidays coming up and I basically just don't have the energy or time to focus as much on my health and fitness.  That probably sounds like an excuse, but it really is the truth.  I've been so overwhelmed trying to get through the days that I feel like I can't even focus on following a strict nutrition plan or working out every day.  

Part of me does feel disappointed in myself, especially because my weight loss journey is so public and I feel like I'm supposed to show everyone how hard I can work and how successful I can be when I put my mind to it.  But in all honesty, I know that I am doing my best and I am trying not to beat myself up too much for falling short of my goals.

And overall, I know this is a temporary setback.  My company closes on Friday for two weeks, so pretty soon I will have a lot more free time to spend on working out and making meal plans.  And then once the holidays are over I am planning on getting back in full swing.  I've already made so much progress that I am determined to keep going and prove to myself that I really can do anything I set my mind to.

I hope this is a good reminder that we all fall short of our goals sometimes and that the best thing we can do when we fail is to pick ourselves up and try again.  

Now I'd like to hear from you.  What are some ways that you re-charge your motivation when you're having a hard week?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

I love LUSH all times of year, but things get even more amazing around Christmas.  Part of it is probably that I tend to take more baths when the weather is colder, but also they just have so many great products this time of year.  So here are the items I picked up on my last trip to LUSH:

So that's what I bought on my last trip.  If you have any LUSH favorites, please tell me about them in the comments below so I can try them the next time I'm there.

Today is the beginning of my second week doing my second round of the 21 Day Fix, otherwise known as "week 7".  I've officially been doing the 21 day Facebook challenge group for a week now and it's really going well.  Each morning we get a post about something motivational or informative and each night we check in and rate our nutrition and workout for the day.  It's been a great way to stay motivated, especially knowing that I'll be checking in later that day to report how my day went.

Today is also the first day of the clean eating challenge I'm running on Facebook.  There are 7 of us total in the group and it feels like a good number of people.  Not too many where it's overwhelming but just enough to keep the posts interesting and give people a chance to interact with each other and motivate each other.  I will be running a free group every month and they won't always be clean eating groups.  I'll be switching it up and making them different each month so that there's always something new for the people who have done one before.

As far as my own personal progress goes, I feel like I'm still noticing a big difference in how I look and feel.  I'm not working out 7 days a week like the schedule says, but I am still happy that I am getting a lot more exercise than I was before I started this whole thing.  

I'm also eating SO much better.  It's amazing that I don't actually crave junk food anymore.  The first couple weeks of my first round I indulged on pizza for a Friday night treat, but lately that hasn't even been sounding good to me.  It's nice knowing that I can treat myself if I want to, but also a great feeling to know that it's not something I need to do unless I really want it.

Another bonus is that I'm actually looking forward to getting weighed at the doctor for my annual physical coming up in January.  It will be nice to see the number go down for a change instead of stressing about how much it went up!