Why doesn't our body come with an owner's manual?

I'm still having a big issue with writer's block, this sentence alone took me five six days to write. The past six or so weeks have been a roller coaster with out of whack hormones and stress induced depression. Every morning I wake up with determination to get back on track with my healthy eating and by mid afternoon it goes down hill very quickly. If only our bodies would come with an owner's manual to help combat these tough times.

Honestly, I'm amazed that I've only gained about 8 pounds back over the past month. Not that I'm proud of that but, with the amount of unhealthy food I've consumed, I should have put on 20lbs.  I've had countless doctor's appointments and think that I'm on the path to recovery. The problem is I'm not there yet and I need to overcome the urges I have to eat junk food in order to create an imaginary happiness.

Where do I go from here?

1) Continue teaching classes at the Y and start back up with running
2) Begin regularly blogging and journaling about my progress to hold myself accountable
3) Faithfully record my food and exercise on Myfitnesspal as well as in the accountability group I'm in on FB
4) Redo body measurements, find out my body fat %, and take a "before" picture
5) Daily meditation to help reduce stress
6) Begin every day with prayer, reevaluating my goals/ looking over my vision board
7) Pray for strength, will power, and faith & knowledge that God is in charge and that I must trust in Him!

Honesty

It all comes down to being honest with myself.

After trying to push myself a little hard to get back on track after vacation, I hurt my IT band. Note to self: Don't attend spin class on Friday afternoon, Chisel Saturday morning and then try to run 13 miles. On the positive side, I "got" to go to the doctor and was forced to take a few days off from working out as well as called skinny & fit by the doctor. The downside was trying to stick to a more strict diet to counter the resting days. It was pretty much impossible with a visiting friend and too many late nights of chatting, eating, and drinking. (I still love you Sarah).

This week my goal is honesty. I haven't been honest with myself and my diet. I know I can workout but my self control around food is out of hand. I will write down and measure EVERYTHING that goes into my mouth! I will use my online weight watchers AND myfitnesspal to help me keep track of calories and points! I will go to the Tuesday WW meeting since I have avoided facing a close to ten pound jump since the last weigh in, yes nearly ten pounds have found their way back onto my body. I know that there are some hormonal things going on in my body that may have some play in the weight gain but, I have to be honest with myself, I'm not truthfully recording my food.

I know that this week is going to be a bit more stressful, I need to get a lot of work done in the classroom, family pictures and running to prepare for the half marathon on Saturday. I just have to remind myself that I CAN do this, I can maintain self control despite an increase in life stress. I love all aspects of my life; job, family, friends and am working on 'self. I can't hide from my problems and will face them all head on with new enthusiasm. I am grateful for the opportunities I will face allowing me to grow as a person (spiritually & emotionally, not physically, I hope).  ;)

** Update** I forgot to add that I was also blessed enough to be added to a group of great women trying to lose weight and hold each other accountable. Now I'm also asked to share my daily food journal, exercise and gratitude with this group! Below I have a pictures that I shared today of what I ate (the good and bad) and a picture of me planking with two of my kiddos.