Challenge Days 5 and 6

Whew! This challenge has been...well challenging. I've been feeling pretty fatigued. I know part of it is that I keep forgetting to eat all of my snacks and meals. To prevent this from happening I started packing a bag each morning (even on the weekends) with food that I need to eat before 6:00 pm. This helps me gauge whether I'm eating enough.

I also wonder if this is in some part a reaction to eating the bread. I keep wondering if I'm over exaggerating the impact it has had on me. I do know that prior to the cleanse I spent a lot of time feeling fatigued and unmotivated. I have to say that I'm feeling much better this morning. We'll see how the rest of the day goes.

I am headed to a celebration today. I'm hoping that I can stick with the plan. Organization and preparation are going to be key.

On a brighter note...I found an exercise bike for $5 at a yard sale today! Can't wait to set it up and start peddling!

Challenge Day's 2-4

I had to take a whirlwind trip to Topeka and had some technical difficulties. I apologize for not being consistent with my posting.

I have another small criticism for the Challenge. There is no clear cut guide to what you should and shouldn’t be eating. We’ve been going off of a chart taken off line but it conflicts with information that we received when we started the challenge. So far it seems to be working.

Days 2-4

Day two was very similar to day one. The only difference in meals was my lunch choice of Chicken Azteca (from the cookbook) and dinner consisted of lean steak and a baked potato with pepper. Energy level was pretty good. Mom and I went out to the lake house and cleaned for about an hour and neither of us tried to make an excuse that we were too tired! That was a first for me J.

Day three was a learning experience. I had to be out of town for a meeting and was planning on meeting some friends for dinner. I called my “sponsor” and asked her for some advice. She encouraged a focus on salads with grilled chicken. After perusing the menu I decided to go with a choice of seafood fajita’s with light spices, light oil and hold all of the condiments (including the tortilla’s). It was delicious! I didn’t miss any of the cheese, tortillas or other fat laden items I would have piled on. There was a basket of chips and my FAVORITE queso but I was able to abstain. It was an exciting moment. I was also able to catch up with two of the most amazing women I’ve ever met. It was nice to be able to share all of our life changes as well as my experiences, however limited they may be, with the Advocare products. After dinner, I took my leftovers (Yay! I had leftovers) and went to visit a dear friend of mine. We caught up for a bit and discussed some of the many life changes that we were both facing. I always have to do a bit of introspection after talking to him. He makes me want to be a better person. When I got back to my friend’s house for the night I was starving. I realized that I had missed my evening snack. I heated up some of my leftovers, shared a bite with her new kitten and then visited for a bit about the products.

Day four was a bit more challenging for me. I took my probiotic instead of the fiber drink as directed. I then attended a meeting. I was able to bring my own lunch which was very helpful. The group had sandwiches, chips, cheesecake (my weakness) and soda. I ate my strawberries, carrot chips, almonds, cherry tomatoes and drank my water. I had a few comments about my healthy choices and was able to share a bit about our Challenge. One of the other Director’s shared that she had always loved the Spark. It was a bit validating to have someone else share that they had tried and loved some of the other products. After the meeting was dismissed and I was on my way home, I had on overwhelming desire to stop at McDonald’s.

I felt like I was going through withdrawals. It was one of the craziest impulses I have ever had. I kept telling myself that I was being ridiculous and there was no need to stop. I continued drinking water and chewing gum. Being that I was stuck in a car with nothing but my own thoughts did not help. I caught myself trying to justify stopping. Advocare encourages at least 80% compliance with the program. I tried telling myself that if I stopped I would still be within the recommended compliance rate. When I finally pulled into Kingman I decided I was going to stop, eat and then not tell anyone. I went to the restroom first, this was a necessity because I drank a ton of water to distract from the intrusive Big Mac thoughts. I go into the stall, use the restroom and look up…no toilet paper. Are you kidding me? I sneak over to the next stall…no toilet paper. Argh!!! I dig through my purse and find a packet of Kleenex. Thank you Lord! I go to wash my hands…no paper towels. At this point, I am so irritated I walk out of the restaurant and get into the car. As I start the car I start to laugh. I was so focused on getting out of that ridiculous bathroom situation that I forgot about my craving. I look up and see a Subway sign and decide that this would be a healthier choice. I go in and see that the current special is chicken on spinach. I place my order for a 6” chicken on spinach with tomatoes and cucumbers, no sauce or cheese on whole wheat. I abstained from the chips and snagged a bottle of water.

After eating, I got back on the road. About fifteen minutes later, I had a terrible headache and my stomach was upset. I could almost feel my mood changing from relatively happy to crabby. I realized that my crazy carb lady was coming out. It was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I felt sluggish and tired. I continued drinking water all the way home. I made it home safe and sound. I laid down at 9:45, this is super early for me. I just felt janky. This morning I woke up and felt tired and sluggish. As I hit the snooze on my alarm for the second time I realized that this was how I woke up every single day prior to starting the cleanse. Since Day 2 of the cleanse I have been up before my alarm went off and ready to take the day head on. I was becoming one of those crazy happy morning people! What I should have done was stop at the grocery store to buy some tuna and a fruit of some kind. I’ll know for next time. I was warned that one of the hardest parts about this program is being prepared.

Moral of the story…what we put into our bodies can have an impact on everything from mood to physical wellness. I will be sticking with the plan. This has to be a lifestyle change. It starts with a challenge but the purpose is to change the way that we look at fuel for our bodies.

Next Challenge…Moving my slowly slimming booty. More on that tomorrow. Have a healthy and fabulous day!!!

Day One-Challenge!

My mom and I are doing the Advocare 24 Day Challenge as a kick start to our weight loss. I will attempt to blog daily so that you can make an informed choice about whether this is the program for you. I am going to be as real and honest as possible. This may be a bit TMI for some so proceed with caution!

First off, a little bit of information. It was really hard to find consistent information on what to eat and when. Our sponsor sent us a food list and some instructions. It does leave quite a bit up to the individual. Everyone agrees on a few things.

The Big Rules

Drink plenty of water, a ton of water, shoot for 96-120 ounces per day. You will feel like you are going to float away.

Eat fruits and veggies as close to their natural state as possible. Raw or lightly steamed is best. You will feel slightly rabbitish.

No sugar, sweeteners (except stevia or splenda), salt, dairy or wheat during the cleanse.

Be as natural and lean about your eating as possible.  

Day One

Today is the first day of our challenge. It started off with a fiber drink that is provided in the kit. Fortunately, I did a little research so I was ready for it to be the most disgusting thing that passed through my lips. I can’t lie…it was not pleasant. However, it was doable. If you utilize the program try mixing the fiber drink in 12 ounces of really cold water. Use a blender, this prevents any chunks. Lastly, chug like your life depends on it. The drink is gritty and tastes like citrus mixed with dirt. Follow this with 8-12 ounces of water. In about 20 minutes things were moving J.

Thirty minutes after I drank the fibrous fluid it was time for my first meal of the day. During the cleanse phase breakfast consists of fruit. I snagged a banana and continued getting the kids ready for church. As we headed out the door, I mixed a jug of spark to take with me since we were driving to Greensburg for church. Spark is the energy drink that comes with the kit. It is supposed to help with energy and mental acuity ( I need plenty of help in that department). I completely forgot that I was supposed to eat a morning snack. Yikes! I’m already sabotaging my metabolism.

I drank my Spark and felt plenty of focus during church (the message was very engaging). We trekked home and made lunch. My meal consisted of water, one cup of carrot chips and 3.5 ounces of tuna. Claudia decided my lunch looked much more palatable than her macaroni and cheese so we had a grand time sharing carrot and tuna sandwiches (a bit of tuna sandwiched between two slices of carrot). I have to say the combination was pretty darn good.

After laying Gage down for a nap, Claudia and I made four crockpot meals that would be considered allowable. I grabbed all of the recipes from:

http://www.advocareistheanswer.com/upload/24%20Day%20Challenge%20Cookbook.pdf

The recipes that we tried this week are as follows:

Azteca Chicken

Warm Pineapple and Chicken Salad

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Sweet Potato Chili

These are all so delicious! This was a really neat experience to have with Claudia. We discussed why each ingredient was healthy and she tasted each one. She loved the minced garlic! I appreciate that this plan is allowing me to eat healthier with my kids. After the meals were prepped we decided to take a brief snooze.

After a 45 minute siesta, I made another Spark and grabbed one cup of cherry tomatoes. Claudia and I then divvied up snack bags for the week. Carrot slices, cherry tomatoes and grapes were all bagged into single serving sizes. Claudia now has a healthy snack drawer that she can have any time she wants. Everything else has to be asked for. I also have a go-to drawer for munchies. Claudia then took pictures for my “before” shots. She did a great job and was so proud of herself.

Mom came by and we worked out a game plan for the week. She plans to start her challenge tomorrow. We put all of the food into single serving packages and discussed the importance of snacks. She sounds excited to start! I ‘m excited that I have one of my biggest supporters pushing me towards a healthier life.

Dinner consisted of water, 4 Omega Plex pills (which are HUGE), grilled fish and a baked potato with pepper only. This was about the only time that I had any issues with cravings. Everyone was having an ice cream treat and it was very tempting to dig in. I decided to do the dishes so that I could still be a part of the family togetherness but was not sitting there watching everyone else eat sweets. This was great. I got the kitchen cleaned, did not feel excluded and managed to pack my lunch for tomorrow.

Night snack consisted of grapes and water. Right before bed I took an herbal supplement and drank, you guessed it, more water!

My biggest issue right now is remembering to eat when I’m supposed to. It gets so busy that I have to stop and remind myself that it is time to eat and drink.

I have to say that I felt a bit fatigued throughout the day. It was a busy weekend so that may have been part of it. We’ll see what day two brings us.

I'm Back!

After a four month hiatus and ten additional pounds later we are back in action. There has been a lot of craziness in my life over the last couple of months and I have been using that as an excuse to eat like an Olympic swimmer, which means if I were Michael Phelps it would be about 12,000 calories a day. Unfortunately, I don't work out like him so that many calories pays out a different sort of dividend (inches on my waistline for example). That being said, we are going to try this again.

One of my favorite quotes is, "If you are tired of starting over stop quitting!" This is such an easy piece of advice. Every single time I sabotage my health it is followed immediately by the thought, "You already screwed up, guess an extra cookie doesn't matter now." That is completely irrational! What I should be telling myself is, "Make a smarter choice next time! Walk for an extra 20-30 minutes to walk it off." Rather than consider this a mulligan I'm going to consider it a lesson learned and pick up where I left off rather than start from scratch.

This time around I have some added support. My mama is getting healthy with me! I am so blessed that she is going to be going through this journey with me. She has three little grandbabies that want her around to see their children grow up. We both have a lot of work to do and are looking forward to doing it together.

I have also been working on getting a fitness challenge going. It runs for six weeks (May 19th through June 30th). Person with the highest percentage lost at the end of the challenge wins. I thought this might be a fun way to kick-start a fitness program. We are encouraging healthy methods rather than drastic starvation diets. This includes one or two physical activities per week that are optional. If anyone is interested in joining us please let me know. The cost is $20 per person and I threw in an extra $50 just to sweeten the pot a bit. We have about five people interested and I would love to see ten or fifteen more. I would also love to have some fun activities for people just getting into being physical. Walking is good but I want something a bit more fun than that.

I also committed to blogging daily during the challenge so if you want to join in from afar you can still be connected. 

Have a blessed day! 

Breaking the Television Addiction

We are back in action. I apologize for the lack of postings, with holidays and family gatherings it was a little crazy around here. During the hiatus I did make a few improvements as well as a few backslides. My proudest/saddest moments were one and the same. It was Christmas Day and I was standing next to the dessert table talking to a cousin when all of the sudden I looked down and realized that I had not one but two pieces of Grandpa’s Famous Peanut Butter Fudge in my hands. I had been mindlessly eating sweets and only stopped when I tasted the fudge and commented that it tasted like childhood. I realized that I had eaten a little of this and a bit of that which added up to a bunch of junk and several hundred if not thousand calories. I ate one piece of the fudge, slowly to savor every bit and gave the other to my cousin who enjoyed it as well. This moment was so sad to me because I realized how easy it is to slip into bad habits when you are not paying attention and how important it is to be vigilant. I wish I could tell you what all I ate, unfortunately all I remember is tasting sweet. My sense of self control was gone which has been the story of my life. Not anymore!

This was also a proud moment because me two months ago would have had the internal dialogue that would have gone something like this:

Angel: You should stop eating all of these decadent sweets. It’s not good for you.

Fat Mama: Oh, shut up. You’ve already eaten a little of everything. You might as well continue.

Angel: But if you stop now the damage is limited.

Fat Mama: There’s no point. I’m already fat, might as well make more of me to love.

Angel: You don’t have to do this.

Fat Mama: Here have a cookie (as she stuffs a cookie into the face of the Angel)

I would have then proceeded to eat until I was sick. Fortunately, this time around I stopped once I realized what I was doing. I call this SWEET VICTORY! I grabbed a big glass of water, drank it down and enjoyed the company of my beautiful family rather than stuffing a little more into my face. 

Stats for this week:

Current Weight-274 (Loss of one pound…woot woot)

Average Caloric Intake-2,000-2,500 (There were a few days in there that were higher…Thank you very much Christmas Dinner)

Lunches Eaten Out-One

Healthy Lunches Brought from Home-Six

Desserts Eaten-At least 8…Still working on this

Times I felt deprived-Once

Breakfast-Most days-The days I missed were definitely the days that I struggled

Workouts-EIGHT-Boy howdy does it feel good!!!

This transformation isn't just about my physical health. It's about the health and welfare of my relationships, my spiritual health as well as the overall health of my family.

My other triumph/tragedy for the last few weeks involved my daughter, Claudia. She is my angel and I love her with my heart and soul. Claudia is willful, headstrong and extremely independent…sometimes. She has also had increasing explosive reactions to many every day situations. Claudia was throwing fits once or twice a week and over the past two months they have increased to daily explosions, sometimes we had two or three a day. I have to confess that I was not handling them well at all. I felt myself getting pulled in and ended up either yelling or crying because I was not sure how to communicate with her. This left me feeling inadequate and questioning myself as a mother. I was sure that I should have had all of the answers, after all I am a therapist and work with parents on improving parenting skills all of the time. My husband sat me down and reminded me of several things.

1.      I do not have all of the answers.

2.      I am directly involved and was unable to be objective.

3.      Her behaviors were not occurring to frustrate or irritate me. This was not about me. This was about her inability to communicate her needs.   

We decided that as a family we were going on a tv diet. Claudia has had a lot of changes occur in the last year. Each of those changes has decreased the amount of time that we were able to spend with her. This meant that she was spending more and more time in front of the television and less time with her parents. We set some new house rules. The following is our list of new family rules:

1.      Start and end each day in prayer and hugs.

a.       This has been incredibly bonding. I love the extra time I get to spend with Christ and my family.

2.      Television is limited to two hours per day.

a.       This includes any show that Claudia could be exposed to so if Daddy wants to watch football it either counts as Claudia’s tv time or he takes it in the bedroom. I know that this is still too much. However, it is an improvement over her previous habits.

3.      Family will eat dinner together three nights per week.

a.       We have ladies night with my mom, sister, aunt and grandma once per week so this means that we actually eat together four nights per week.

4.      Claudia will help cook dinner and do the dishes three times per week.

a.       Cooking at home has increased the nutrition of our meals.

5.      Claudia gets two stories per night right before bed. Other story times are encouraged!

6.      Quiet time is encouraged.

7.      Quick clean-up happens every evening.

a.       We set a timer and clean-up what we can before the timer goes off. Time set varies upon the cleanliness of the house and ranges from five to twenty minutes. We may start drawing times to make it a little more fun.

The result of our new house rules…Calm. We are all more sensitive to the noise level in the house. My husband told me he had not realized how loud our house really was until it was quiet. We are all reveling in the replacement of random noise with conversation and giggles. Not having television has made me a more active person. My house is cleaner and more organized as I have to find other things to do with my time. I feel closer to my daughter and son. I have also been able to check some things off of my home improvement list as my husband is spending less time in front of the boob tube and more on painting and hammering.

I will say that yesterday was the worst day for all of us so far. I was off work and spent several hours watching television rather than doing the tasks I had originally planned. This was followed by the one episode of Claudia having difficulty managing her emotions since we placed the rules. I told Claudia, “You can have some extra tv time while Mommy makes dinner.” This extra time turned into a couple of hours as I caught up on all of the things I neglected while I was killing brain cells earlier in the day. Claudia and I began arguing over simple things that did not warrant that level of interaction. I finally turned it off and once everything calmed down her behavior was much improved and my attitude was better.

I’m not saying that this is going to fix everything. I do feel that this will be a huge part of my lifestyle change and the example I want to set for my children. Television should not be the first thing that comes to mind when we walk in the door and for this Mama it will no longer be the thing that holds back my progress or that of my family. This tv addict is kicking the habit and giving my attention to the things in life that really matter...Family

Who put the "Die" in "Diet"

Amazing!!! I cannot believe the fantastic support I have received from this blog. My dear cousin coined a new phrase “blight” for my blog. It is a “be light blog” aka blight. Thank you to everyone who responded! I hope that you continue to enjoy…Please read on for this week’s adventure.

Well, the last eight days have been very interesting. I have been able to meet my daily goals of at least five of the items on the list. I truly set myself up for success as I automatically accomplished two of my five every day. I pray daily and I always play with my children. This lifestyle change has made me more aware of the time spent in both activities and I have to say that I could devote more time to both. My other favorites were drinking water, taking my vitamins and cutting out soda.

Diet Pepsi and I have a love-hate relationship. It has been my beverage of choice for many years. However, after talking to a peer I’ve changed my perspective a bit. She said, “My grandmother always said, ‘Why would you eat or drink anything when the first three letters of its name spell DIE?’” I have to say that I am inclined to agree with her grandmother. This lifestyle change isn’t about a diet. It shouldn’t be about dying skinny…It’s all about living healthy. I can proudly say that I have been DIEt Pepsi free for eight days. The first four days were absolutely miserable. I was fatigued, had horrible headaches and was CRABBY!!! Fortunately, my husband loves me and my children have short memories (kind of…but more on that later) plus the symptoms were temporary. I hope I have made it through the worst of the withdrawal symptoms. I have to admit that I still drink coffee on a daily basis but I have cut down to one cup a day…it may be a 24 ounce cup but it is all in one cup. Today I only drank half of it which is a vast improvement considering I consider refills a part of the single cup as long as there is still a bit of coffee in the bottom of my cup.

I had the opportunity to spend last weekend with my husband’s family for Christmas. We had tons of delicious food and spent an amazing weekend eating and having a great time. Was anything diet or low fat? Nope. Did I overdo it? Maybe a little. I have to say that I thought twice before grabbing seconds. The food was delicious but I stopped at one and gave my body time to feel full. Did I dig into the sweets? You betcha. I tried a little bit of everything and tried the Oreo truffles four or five times. However, this is an improvement. In years past I would have stationed myself in the kitchen and spent the entire 36 hours feeding myself. Baby steps…Holidays will always be a challenge but this weekend gave me the opportunity to practice for Christmas and New Year’s Eve!

Updates for the week

Current Weight-275 (Loss of five pounds…woot woot)

Average Caloric Intake-2000 Calories

Lunches Eaten Out-Zero

Healthy Lunches Brought from Home-Six

Desserts Eaten-At least 8…Still working on this

Times I felt deprived-Once

Breakfast-Everyday!!!

Recipes for This Week

Flavored Water

1 Lime

1 Lemon

1 Cucumber

2 Quarts of Water-More if your container is bigger

Wash produce.

Cut lemon and lime into wedges.

Squeeze juice into pitcher and drop wedges into pitcher.

Slice cucumber and add slices to pitcher.

Fill with water and refrigerate until chilled.

Enjoy!

This has become my alternative to soda. I actually keep a pitcher full at home and work. I add water throughout the day and use the fruits for two days and then replace.

Egg Mug

Two eggs

Non-stick spray

Coffee Mug

Spray inside of mug.

Crack two eggs into mug.

Whisk and place in microwave for one minute.

After one minute, stir and place back in microwave for 15-30 seconds until desired doneness is achieved.

Enjoy!

This has become my go-to breakfast. It is quick and easy plus it is chockfull of protein. Add some fruit and a yogurt or skim milk for a balanced meal. It has also become my snack in the afternoon on those crazy days where I need a boost.

Until next time…Enjoy the sweet life and I don’t mean a life filled with sweets.

Day One-Motivated...Kind of

My name is Stephanie. I am a wife and mother of two amazing children. I have a Master's degree in Clinical Social Work. I work for an amazing company as a therapist and the Transitional Housing Team Leader. I live in a town that I love and am blessed to be close to so many of my friends and family. My husband and I are remodeling our new home and making it ours. There are so many things that are going right in my life that it is now time to address a few things. This blog is all about my life and changes that need to be made. First and foremost...health. I have decided that it is no longer acceptable for me to be comfortable with myself the way that I am. I would not allow my clients to come to me with the issues that I have without holding them accountable. I refuse to be a double standard any longer. My weight has literally spiraled out of control. I feel like the only way that I will be able to truly make changes and stick with them is through this accountability. It is difficult for my friends and family to provide that accountability. My sweet loving husband has seen me gain 80 pounds in our nearly eleven years of togetherness. Since he is also an intelligent man he has not mentioned these physical changes and I love him for it since it is not really his job to be the fat police. The rest of my family may mention their own troubles in passing but may not actually say, "Steph, you have a problem, you are killing yourself with food." I don't plan on forever explaining to my daughter why she has the fat mom. I want her to gain the skills necessary to make smart choices not to forever be trapped in a body that makes her uncomfortable. I want to be able to chase after my son, he's already quicker than a ninja and he's not even walking. I want to be the best mom I can be. How can I be that person when I am not setting an example that I would want my children to follow?

This will be my journey and my personal transformation. I will be sharing photos and techniques that I have used to find my healthy me. FYI-I couldn't care less about being skinny. I am doing this to get healthy as I plan on being here for many years to come.  I am being honest for the first time...ever...when it comes to my weight and health. This may be TMI for some of you...deal with it and be prepared...pictures will follow.

Here are the starting stats:

Current Weight-280 Pounds-This is the heaviest I have ever been except while I was pregnant with Claudia. I weigh more now than when I gave birth to Gage ten months ago.

Current Size-24/26

Exercise Weekly-None

Current Average Calories Consumed in a Day-3,000-Give or take

Favorite Snack-Candy and Sweet Bread Snacks

Meals-Huge Portions with Lots of Inappropriate Additions

How am I going to accomplish my healthier version of me?

I created a list of twenty things that will improve my health. My goal for the next week is to complete five each day. Any above and beyond is extra health for me.

Here's the list:

1.      Pray

2.      Drink 64 ounces of water

3.      Eat a healthy breakfast that includes a good source of protein

4.      Take vitamins

5.      Exercise for at least 20 minutes

6.      Play with kiddos for 30 minutes

7.      Meditate for 15 minutes

8.      Brush teeth after every meal

9.      Read an educational article or journal

10.  Laugh

11.  Take pleasure in something small

12.  Let someone know how much they are appreciated

13.  Eat two fruits

14.  Eat two vegetables

15.  Choose two healthy snacks versus junk

16.  No pop day

17.  No coffee day

18.  Brown bag it with yummy healthy options

19. No Candy

20. Journal my food

Anyone have any other easy things to add to the list? If it isn't easy to start with I know I will lose motivation and quit. I want these to be lifestyle changes not whims. Let's do this!