Designer Shout Out: Stephanie Gentry

Hey everyone!
This past Friday I got a chance to check out a trunk show at Moxy Boutique (@MoxyAtlanta) featuring a collection of a dear friend of mine, Stephanie Gentry. This current season's collection is completely in silk and microsuede, featuring incredible structural details. I totally want one of her trenches (So soft!)!



http://www.thunderlily.com/StephanieGentry
 
You may think me a little biased, but she was one of the emerging designers featured at the most recent Phoenix Fashion Week.
 
 
Definitely check out Stephanie's clothing (follow her @SGentryDesigner) and if you are in the Atlanta area, make sure you take a moment to look through the goods at Moxy as well.

My Plan of Attack!


As Promised...My Plan of Attack!

This is just a general overview of what my plan for success was; I promise I'll go into detail more in future entries.



The Food End

I started out tracking what I ate. I went through a series of food diary trackers that had different advantages and disadvantages until I found one that worked best for me. (Teaser: future installment!) I did restrict my calories, but at a reasonable level (between 1300 -1500, starting out at 1500, but eventually going down to between 1300 - 1350) where I wouldn't want to eat everything in sight. I had a looong way to go, no need to go into crash diet mode.

Eric (the husband) and I started planning out our meals and snacks in advance and shopping our menus.

A big part of the changes we decided to make (for both health and financial reasons) was to cut out the processed stuff/eating out and shop at the discount farmer's market. This meant a lot more work in the kitchen, but he was willing to do half the prep and cooking (we are a partnership after all...). To circumvent my desire to binge, I planned to follow an 80/20 rule: 80% of calories of the day were to be lean protein, low fat dairy, whole grains and lots and lots of fruits and veggies, while 20% of my daily calories were whatever I wanted ( delicious bite of a yummy dessert, chocolate bar, whatever!). The biggest thing: no “diet” foods! I'll post a few of the menus and recipes at a later date.



The Fitness End

I was planning on running the Peachtree Road Race again in July and I really wanted a time that I was not ashamed to announce. That required a training program, and that required me to stick with it. If it also helped me make my health goal, that was kind of an extra bonus. On my Runkeeper app there was a free training plan to run a 10k in under 60 minutes. It was quite the ambitious goal (considering my last 10k time was 30minutes longer than that!), but it would allow me to really challenge myself and it provided needed structure to train with. I wasn't able to make most of the training pace times, but it allowed me to really key in and listen to my bodies' cues. I also included stretching and strength training to prevent injuries.



The Mental End/ Motivation

The most difficult end of making any significant life change is the will to change. How do you keep motivated to completely change your lifestyle? You have to have a great support system. You have to have a concrete goal and a strong visceral connection to your why. Finally, you have to constantly surround yourself by things that motivate you to stick with it.
 
I also decided to journal the struggles (emotional and mental) I was working through.
 
I'll do a few more posts in the future going into greater detail and try to go back and link to them here. 




My Journey Began...


My process really started back in December of last year. I went to a dress shop to try on bridesmaid dresses for my sister's wedding. I had a realization of how large I had gotten when almost all of the sample sizes were too small and I had to get clipped in with scrap fabric. It felt a little humiliating and made me extremely self conscious. Then, I actually weighed myself again to see where I was, it was like a switch clicked in my brain and I decided to take my health back, to become the athlete I had once been and wanted to be again.



First of all, to be honest, I want to say, I'm a girl who doesn't do diets. I love food, good food. I love to cook good food, eat good food, and savor good food. You tell me I can't have carbs, sweets, fat, whatever...that's exactly what I am going to turn around and sneak and binge on and want to eat all the time. I had to figure out how to circumvent myself. I decided to do everything common sense and simply. All my food had to be delicious. No complicated diet plans, no "diet" food, no weird restrictions, just permanent lifestyle changes that I could live with on a day to day basis. Forever kind of changes, not a “diet”. Clean eating, lots of movement, and trying to figure out how and why I let myself get to that point in the first place. It was going to be hard, it was going to be painful, and I was going to change my life.



Next Installment: My Plan of Attack!

I'm Back...And I've Been Changing My Life!


Hey everyone!



I've been on hiatus for a while, mostly to focus on getting myself back on a healthy track. I've posted in the past about training for a 10k. Well, several months ago I decided to take back my health and fitness in full force. I still have a ways to go, but now that I've managed to make it three fourths of the way I thought I'd share what I've learned so far and blog about the process as I go forward. I'll post about what worked for me, but keep in mind, everyone is different and what worked for me may not necessarily work for you.



They say the two hardest parts are starting and finishing any project. I'm getting to the finish pretty soon and I have a feeling that the last bit of getting there may be the hardest part.



So stick around for the next installments and maybe (just maybe!) I just may post a cheesy picture with my old pants.