9-Month Weigh-In

Our team has a group 24-Day Challenge starting in December and since it's time for me to cleanse, I'm "competing" alongside our participants. I hadn't done my measurements in a while, so I was happy to see at the 9 month mark, I am still losing weight and inches!

Overall, I have lost 20.25 total inches (5.94%) and 16 pounds (7.57%) since March. I knew this would be a long road and slow and steady will win this race!

Ouch!

O.k...note to self...do not plan to start a big exercise routine change on Halloween! Hah! I have stayed true to my morning routine the past 2 days, I plan tonight to hit the gym for the weight training. Our dog Sadie is loving the early morning walks (despite she is causing me shin splints by pulling me along the route)!

This is day 2 of the ab workout...ouch is all I can say! It's like my abs are giving me payback for ignoring them for so long! :-) It will get better, I know this game!

My current regimen:

Wake-up:
(2) O2 Gold
(1) Thermoplus
(3) Catalyst
(1) LeptiLean
1st MNS-3 pack
Spark and Rehydrate

After Breakfast:
2 colored MNS-3 packets

Before Lunch:
Last MNS-3 pack

Afternoon:
BioCharge mixed in Rehydrate

Before Bed:
(4) Nighttime Recovery

Woo-hoo! Back to the Steps!

Back to the basics people! When you need that kick in the pants, there's no getting over on the Bisbee steps! Had a great walk today and we finished a little under 2 hours.

I am starting the preparation for the big change up to my exercise routine. I've made the decision to add a serious weight lifting regimen to target my "flabbiness". My goal is to lose a lot of the fat in my upper arms and rediscover my abdominals. Hah!

I found a great journal to use at Barnes & Noble (I assume you can find them in other locales and online)...it's called Body Minder Workout & Exercise Journal. It gives you enough pages for 13 weeks of journaling all aspects of your workout: cardio, strength training, dietary notes, water intake, goals, notes, supplement regimen. I am also using 2 books to develop my workout: The Body Sculpting Bible for Women and 101 Workouts for Women. I am opting for the Advanced 14 Day program in the Body Scultping book. This workout program is for someone who is using a gym setting (the book also has workouts for people who just have a home gym or a few weights at home). The regimen I am doing calls for at least 20 minutes of cardio and abdominals 6 days a week and then a weights workout in the evening.

I am excited, but I know there will be a lot of soreness! Tomorrow morning I'm walking the steps as a warm up!

No More 18s and 20s!!

Seriously, where has the summer (and now fall) gone??!! Very exciting news to post, I have cleaned out my closet of all my size 20 and size 18 pants. Seriously, and I hate to be judgmental, no woman should be in those sizes! I think even when I was in the military the smallest size I ever was was a very tight 10. I've always fluctuated in the 12-14 sizes in high school and college. Even in those sizes (which some say is the "average American woman"), I always felt larger than my friends. Maybe it's my bone structure (not an excuse, but a reality); I always felt big!

I posted this closet cleaning news on Facebook yesterday and also posted a blurb about not "settling". Back in May, I decided to not settle on where I had ended up in life. Not to settle for being overweight and unhealthy. I think so many people "settle" and then say that they can't get healthy...blame it on the genetics, blame it on their family situation, blame it on money, etc...

Getting healthy is simply making the DECISION to not settle and starting with one foot in front of the other. You cannot get to that goal without movement; it's not going to come to you as you sit in front of the television or computer. We all want to reach that goal as fast as we can and some times it takes a lot longer than we want. Weight loss in particular can be frustrating since it can be 2 steps forward, 1 step back...but it's still movement forward from where you started!

I look back on where I was back in May; I had set my goal of losing 75 pounds (that is still my goal). As with every normal human being, life gets in the way. My goal has never been derailed...has it been slower than I have liked?...of course; but I am still moving forward from where I was!

From my Facebook post yesterday, I have received a handful of direct messages from people asking how I am doing it (losing weight and pant sizes). There's no secret or magic pills...it's hard work...surround yourself with supportive people...make good nutrition choices...exercise...and supplement where you need support (whether it's energy and/or appetite control). Just keep moving forward!!!

Apologies!

Wow have I been bad about blogging!! Apologies! I have slowly been getting back into my exercise routine. I've been back to spin class in the morning pretty regularly; but now that Evan starts (gulp) kindergarten on Monday, I will have to rethink my schedule yet again.

I haven't jumped on the scale in a while, should do that tomorrow morning. My trip to Vegas last weekend probably won't help the weight loss!

Back to Spin!

I am still alive and almost back on track! I managed to make it through 3 spinning classes last week and it felt good! The ghost pain in my side still comes and goes. After researching on-line, I've read instances where people have had similar pain years after surgery. Maybe my body wasn't ready to let go of my appendix!! ;-)

I am starting to fill up my fitness calendar with runs and other events. It makes it exciting to look forward to in the fall!

Pain, Pain, Go Away!

Just when I wanted to get back to a semi-normal routine; I now have a nagging pain in the general area of my appendectomy. I feels like one of those runner's cramps you get in your side that won't go away. Debating whether to call the doctor or not, I'll ride it out today and see if it goes away. Grrr!

Trying to Get Back Into the Swing of Things

It has been a BIG challenge to get myself back into the groove post-appendicitis! My surgeon said it would be essentially 6 weeks to get back to "normal". Over the weekend I worked on the garage a bit; reorganizing some stuff and got ready for a expo I have this weekend coming up. I felt good during the cleaning up, but then after I was done, I could feel it in my side. So now I see where he said that I can do "normal" things, but I'm going to feel it afterwards.

I've been watching what I eat, as usual; but I am craving carbs like crazy. I am thinking it's my body trying to get what it missed over that time in the hospital. Definitely something I have to be aware of and work through.

Tonight I'm watching Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition (guilty pleasure). It's always great to see such an inspirational story. It makes my 75 pound goal just a drop in the bucket compared to what this guy lost. He dedicated a year to lose 313 pounds, wow! I can do this!!

Appendicitis, Seriously??!!

Of all things to cause a set-back to my weight-loss journey...appendicitis??!! For those of you who have never experienced appendicitis, I hope you never have to!! On Tuesday morning (6/14) around 3am, it all started with incredible pain in the lower right of my belly (sort of like the worst gas pain you've ever had that doesn't go away). My "routine" appendectomy turned into an unusual case post-surgery where I was spiking a fever (which was the result of an infection). I didn't come home until the following Sunday (that's count 'em...6 days in the hospital). All the while the country's worst wildfire was going on south of town, crazy.

Needless to say, my digestive tract had been wrecked by the massive amounts of antibiotics and solid food just wasn't appealing to me). Soon after coming home last Sunday (6/19 Father's Day), I could tell I was really dehydrated since I wasn't on the IV drip anymore and I also had an issue with low potassium (no doubt from all my fluid loss).

By my own choice, I went strictly liquid to try to get myself back to "normal". The 3 things that really helped to get my digestive tract back in order was Rehydrate, Meal Replacement Shakes and Probiotic Restore. The Rehydrate immediately (no kidding) took away my low potassium headache and dehydration issues; the Meal Replacement Shakes were my only form of sustenance after getting home, and the Probiotic Restore is helping to get my digestive tract's good bacteria back. After being at home the past week, I can tolerate normal food again!

I don't even want to think about weighing myself until this weekend; by then all the bad stuff should be out of my system. As for exercise, the doc says it will take 6 weeks until I am whole again (ick)...but he said I can start working out again at a much lower intensity (yea)!

Seriously, 198!

The Saturday morning weigh-in with such GREAT results to share: 198 pounds!! I am so happy to be in the 190's again. It's a stepping stone close to the goal!

The big change I made this week was to add in weight lifting, so who knows if that was the thing that helped me drop 3 pounds this week? I also went back on the MNS-3 regimine after I ended my cleanse phase. Maybe it was the perfect mix of everything, we'll see after next week's weigh-in.

YES I KNOW! Still the disastrous pedicure!!

Happy Friday to All!

Summer is in full swing down here with high temps and no rain in sight! Soccer is back in session tonight for 8-weeks. I am hoping to get some field time but I have a feeling I'll be in goal.

It was a Friday spin morning! I finally have a weekly routine set up: M-W-F Spin Class 0530; T-TH-either SA or SU for my weights work-outs. It felt good to do the weight machines for something different this week. Even though I already know that muscle helps to burn fat, I was avoiding the weights and focusing on cardio in hopes of dropping fat/weight quicker. Since my weight loss has been slow, I figured I have nothing to lose and need to start toning muscle to get the fat off of me.

Since the gym I go to uses Cybex equipment, I was able to pull a training plan off their website. The plan goes for 6 weeks, with 3 days of weights per week. Each training day starts with at least 20-minutes of cardio, so I'm still getting the heart rate up a bit.

I'll do a weigh-in tomorrow morning, since I forgot this morning!

13.25 inches!

Last night I re-did my measurements since I finished the 10-day Herbal Cleanse again. Yes, it's that oil and filter change time!

Since starting this new lifestyle back in March, I have lost 13.25 total inches from my body! Yea! Definitely feeling a big difference in my clothes (my shirts aren't fitting as tight).

Slow and steady people...this weight isn't going to drop overnight, I know!

These are the products I am currently taking on top of eating better and exercising:

- Rehydrate (this is my new drink of choice in the morning and before bed, no more waking up in the morning feeling dehydrated)
- Spark (I am now mixing this in with my Meal Replacement Shake for breakfast)
- Meal Replacement Shakes (my breakfast)
- Catalyst (now that I am lifting weights, this is helping to preserve my lean muscle which in turn helps to burn more fat)
- ThermoPlus (giving my 40+ metabolism a needed kick in the pants)
- MNS-3 (my daily vitamin regimen)

10.5 Pounds Down!

Weigh-in this morning! Down to 201...I had to look closely at the scale since I almost thought it said 207! The goal for next week is to get that scale into 19-something! I'll take 199! I think the 10-day cleanse over this past week has helped. I will definitely be following the suggestion to do the cleanse every 3 months (right about when it's time to take my car in for an oil change)!;-) I finish the cleanse on Monday, so I'll re-do my measurements to see if there is a change.

My intent was to run in the 5k this morning, but looking at today's schedule, there was no way to do it and fit everything else in with a pool party for Evan's pre-K class, I have to be at the park at 1pm to set up for the pep band gig and then the full band gig at 3:30pm.

I had a good spin class yesterday, it was my first class since T got back Wednesday night. Felt good, and I am looking forward to getting the workout pattern back on for the mornings.

And yes, I am in a desperate need of a pedi!

Buh-Bye Belt!!

My fat girl belt is officially too big now! Buh-bye! I fortunately have a belt in the closet I can move down to. So let's see if we can say "buh-bye" to this next one too!

The point at which I started with that belt I think is hidden under the loop, so I went down at least 2 spots on the belt (which was a size 18/20 belt). My size 18 pants fit a bit loosely, but I don't think I'm ready to wedge myself into a size 16 yet as far as women's sizes go. I do find though, especially with shorts (I wear men's cargo shorts since I like the length and the pockets), I do like to wear a size tighter since it makes me aware that I still need to lose weight. Odd thinking I know! It's as if, I need that bit of uncomfortable to make me realize I am not comfortable with my weight or shape.

Life Gets in the Way Again!

Yikes everyone! See what happens when life gets in the way...you forget to blog! Since last Wednesday I've been dealing with Evan who came down with some lung crud and T's been out of town at the superbike races in Utah. So I've been fortunate to be able to work from home while keeping Evan away from the daycare germlets while he works this out of his system. This also has meant ZERO exercise on my part since Wednesday...actually...since Monday morning. I know I could have figured something out, but when you have a sick child who wants to be attached to you 24/7, it's a hard thing to do...such is life!

I decided to restart the 24-Day Challenge cycle again...basically doing the 10-day cleanse again. It's recommended to do the cleanse every 3 months (like getting your oil and filter changed). ;-) I dropped 4 pounds from the cleanse the last time, let's see where it goes this time!

Welcome to "Normal"!

Welcome to my "return to normal"! Since Evan is finished with his special preschool for the summer, I don't have to be at work at 0500! Now, I can use my mornings for more serious workouts. This morning was spin class (Wednesday and Friday are the other days); I think I am going to opt for the express gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the mornings.

Last Saturday, I had my measurements retaken (I am long overdue). I lost a total 7 inches from my body and 9 pounds from my start date. Most of the inches were lost from my thighs (of all places)!

Black Tower Run!

Survived the Black Tower 5K this morning! Wow it was a hard run! The route was incredibly hilly and the majority of the route was cross-country (non-paved). Needless to say, pushing the jog stroller gave me an upper body workout! I'm unsure of my time, I'll have to pull it from my Garmin; but I'm definitely not looking to set any records!!

Down to 202!

I can SOOO see the 190's in my future! This morning's weigh-in was good! Another week with a loss!

Whirlwind Weekend!

What a whirlwind weekend! I spent the weekend in San Diego (LOVE SD)! As for eating...probably not so good...as for exercise...meh, could have been worse. I was in San Diego to attend a 1-day regional Advocare meeting. It was a top-notch product training session with 500+ product users and distributors in attendance. The meeting solidified my commitment to the products as I really got to see how dedicated and passionate the Science & Medical Board, the Sports Advisory Council and the corporate leaders are in the safety and effectiveness of the entire product line. There's no magic pill to make you skinnier and healthier; but more of a combination of exercise, nutrition and good lifestyle choices.

Evan traveled out with me and we went to the San Diego Zoo on Sunday prior to jumping in the car back to SV. Needless to say, with Evan, it was a marathon jaunt around the perimeter of the zoo (luckily I rented a stroller for him). I should have worn my Garmin watch to see exactly how far we walked. With the hills, it was a great workout.

I can't remember if I posted my Friday weight..204.5...it was a loss (yea)! I will be doing the big happy dance when I break that 200 pounds barrier!

Started Out as a "DoctrineMan" Day

**Bloger was down Friday morning when I tried to post this...so I post-dated it"


HUGE apologies ahead of time for the raw verbiage in this post. Today almost started out as a "F*ck My Life Day". That phrase comes from a funny group of videos on You Tube from a channel called "The DoctrineMan" (http://www.youtube.com/user/TheDoctrineman). Most of you may know I work in the Directorate of Doctrine and these vids are pretty funny if you've been in the military; even more if you work in the doctrine world. The main character, Doctrine Man, usually says "f*ck my life" at some point in the videos when things are absurd. It has become a term we enjoy at work.

The reason why I invoked Doctrine Man this morning was completely justified! When I do my morning walk, I always put my contractor badge in my zipped left jacket pocket. I use my badge for entry onto post, entry into my building and for access to my computer (soooo, it's a little bit important)! When I returned from my 1.75 mile route, I came back into my office, reached into my left jacket pocket (which was open) and found NO badge. I thought maybe it dropped out in the hall when I started to take my jacket off, so I checked the hallway and even outside of the building...no badge. So what came to my mind..."f*ck my life, not today"! I retraced my steps, I thought...wonderful...I'm going to have to re-walk 1.75 miles!

My co-worker told me that something good will come out of this...I agreed and thought maybe I'll find $100 along the route (wishful thinking)! I headed out and started to retrace my steps but went backwards on the route. I pulled out my phone and started to text my husband about losing my card; but I thought as I was trying to walk and text, maybe I shouldn't be texting, but search the road for my card.

Just as I was putting my phone away, I looked to my right and there was my card sitting in the grass about a foot from the sidewalk. Whew! I remembered that I had pulled my sunglasses out of my same pocket right about that same time. My card probably would not have been found right away since a lot of people don't walk in that area. So, I take back my "f*ck my life" this morning!!

4 Days and a Wake-Up

O.k...o.k...for those of you who have been bugging me about keeping the blog updated...here we go! ;-)

If you were in the military, you probably recognize the title of this entry! In basic training and AIT it was our little way of gauging how much time we left. For me, I have 4 more early days and a wake-up until Evan's school year is over in the Carmichael Elementary Special Preschool Program. This means, no more 0400 alarms and I can back to the gym in the early mornings. I am excited since with my schedule, early morning workouts will be more manageable. It will give me time to do some strength training, which I have be lacking.

Wednesday Catch-Up
Spin Morning...yes! Hands up from everyone who has done a full crank and sprint to Freebird!! Imagine the length of the slower part of the song at full crank and then into a full out sprint during the faster end part...WOW! Good times!

I am still switching my breakfast up and opting for the meal replacement shake instead of oatmeal. Overall, no change in my appetite, so it's been a good substitution so far.

For lunch I had to go drive-thru (GASP I KNOW)...but I have found a great combo at Wendy's that is the half-size Apple Pecan Chicken Salad and a small chili. All told, 570 calories / 25g fat / 50g carbs / 38g protein. I don't use the whole dressing packet, so not sure if that changes the total count much. SO much better than what I would usually get, something like a spicy chicken sandwich with fries and a diet coke (690 unhealthy calories at least).

Thursday
Now that it is almost light out at 0500, I am really enjoying the morning walk before work. It's been a great time to clear my head. This morning, I took the extended route again which loops me down around the AIT soldiers' barracks. Along that loop is also the dining facility. For those of you who have been in the military, you know the dining facility food is not the best; but in the morning, that combined smell of bacon, pancakes and eggs being prepared is GLORIOUS! :-)

Time: 40:29
Distance: 2.26 miles

Back in the Saddle Monday!

We have crazy-wind today! I still went out and did the morning walk; hard to believe it is getting light out now at 0500! I have to admit that this past weekend, I ate terribly!! I didn't journal my food intake or count calories; but I figured it wouldn't kill me! I am still Diet-Coke free! One of my friends who also doing the 24-Day Challenge and has cut out the sodas said she tried a full-sugar soda and she actually felt sick afterwards. Amazing how your body reacts!

I am switching up my breakfast routine, by opting for a Meal Replacement Shake instead of the oatmeal. Surprisingly, the oatmeal was not giving me enough calories to start the day. I also drank the shake before I went out to walk, so we'll see if this makes a change in the weight loss on Friday! And BTW, my last Friday weigh-in was a half-pound loss! So score!


Walk Time: 31:34
Distance: 1.75 mi

Food Intake
I know this is still not the best nutrition!
Breakfast
- Spark w/ MNS Packet
- Meal Replacement Shake w/ 2 MNS Packets
Snack
- Banana, apple
- Peanut Butter sandwich
Lunch
- MNS Packet (30-min before lunch)
- Turkey and Roast Beef Sandwich
- Spark
Snack
- Meal Replacement Bar
- 2 tbl. Peanut Butter
Dinner
- Lean Cuisine Egg Rolls

Catching Up!

Aaagh! Cannot believe I've been remiss in posting since Wednesday! Life SO gets in the way! It's been a bit of another wacky week. At some point I think it will slow down! Let me try to do a recap:

Wednesday: Spin Morning! It was a Canadian music soundtrack from the Vancouver Olympics. I didn't recognize many artists (aside from Alanis and Neil Young [I had no idea he was Canadian]. The things you learn in life.

Thursday: 2-mile morning walk with my new shuffle mix. I loaded a co-workers shuffle with music from my collection based loosely on the music you would hear on the First Wave station on satellite radio. It's a bit of a more rocking mix of First Wave (The Clash, The Cult, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Echo & the Bunnymen, Yaz, and some other fringe artists). It turned out so well, I had to copy it to my shuffle also! I had to miss Thursday night Step class due to a last-minute rehearsal for our community band Pep Band group in preparation for our gig at the Relay for Life.

Friday: Weigh-in! 205.5; not sure if that is the same as last week or a 1/2 pound gain. Admitedly, a bad eating day due to the office potluck! But wow, some good eats (chili, shrimp, bean salad, chips & guacamole dip, etc...)! Have to admit, it was good, but I relaize a person can't eat like that all the time. No soccer due to the Relay for Life event. We had so many women from the league participating, that we moved our game to Saturday. I took Evan in the jog stroller up to the relay. It is nice only living about 3 blocks from Veteran's Park. We walked a few laps with friends and then walked back home.

Saturday: Wow, could this have been a more crazy day? Quick, early morning trip up to Tucson to get my hair done by my buddy Kristine (she's a stylist at Headlines on Pantano/Broadway, shameless plug for her)! Back for my soccer game at noon in Sierra Vista. It was a little warm at game time, but the wind helped to keep it a bit cooler. The smoke from the various forest fires seems to be getting worse and you can really feel it in your lungs now. I definitely didn't drink enough water!

Sunday (today)! Exercise yet to be determined!

Not Enough Carbs and Calories

Day 43
I have been remiss in posting more about my nutritional intake! Apologies! I have been using a nutritional tracker on the website: www.sparkpeople.com I was introduced to the site a few years back when I was participating in a Biggest Loser-type of competition on post. The website is free and you can customize your fitness and nutrition trackers. It's a great site that I have not fully explored as of yet; but it's a great resource if you like some help and support.

The thing I like about the nutrition tracker on the site, is that it will give you feedback after you have entered all your food for the day. My tracker is telling me I'm not eating enough carbs (shocking) and I'm still not eating enough calories in general. My carb-a-holic self is saying wha? I can definitely find some carbs to eat!

Getting Ready to Work the Kettlebells

Day 42
Happy to report that one of my buddies just completed the 24-Day Challenge and he lost 9 pounds. Admittedly, he says he did not exercise much other than walking his dog. He cut out the coffee and ate clean. Imagine if he would have kicked up his exercise routine!? Very proud of him on his journey to better health!

Tonight I am excited to emnbark on a new adventure: training with kettlebells. I need to work out my quads big time from the race on Saturday, so hopefully this will help!

A Little Bit Sore

Day 41
The past two days of relatively heavy cardio caught up to me today! My legs were feeling it today! Lots of stretching to work out the lactic acid build-up. I'm ready to get back into the swing of things this week.

I am SO grateful to those of you following my journey and have been giving me guidance and suggestions via e-mail. Keep the feedback coming!

Survived the 5k!

Day 40
My first 5k in a very long time! I survived! The weather was perfect (as usual here in southern Arizona). I wasn't sure of the route since this race started at the hospital on post. Most of the runs I've participated in on post start at Barnes Field House. After checking in, I found a route map and saw we were running in the Old Post area, which is a very scenic part of post, but also hilly.

Evan was excited to do the race along with me. I had to dust off the jog stroller and check the tire pressure; luckily, I invested in the heavy-duty one and I think the maximum weight of the person in the stroller can be around 60 pounds. Poor Evan will probably be able to ride in it when he's 10! The jog-stroller makes me look like I'm a really high-speed runner (HAH)!

I'm not sure the total number of runners since there was a 10k and a 5k. The 10k runners started at 0700; the 5k at 0715. I think in the 5k group there was maybe 75? There were people of all shapes and sizes, some carrying babies in backpacks and some other stroller-pushers like me.

The start was a slight uphill and I decided to give it a go at running from the start. My main goal was to not come in last (unlike my first 10k I ever ran a few years back)! With my initial run, I at least got a bit of a lead on the walkers. I started a pattern of a 1-minute run followed by a 3-minute walk just to get my running rhythm going. The route cut down around the traffic circle and down hill to the 4-way stop. Evan loved the steep downhill and told me "faster mommy"!

When running, I still have flashbacks to the words of wisdom from my First Sergeant at the Defense Language Institute. He was a big runner and I remember him telling us that when you have a downhill, use it to your advantage. Lean back to stretch out your hips and legs; use the gravity to help pull you. Realizing how much of this race is uphill, I needed to work those downhills!

We turned the corner and headed up the hill. It was a slow climb, I'll have to check on the exact altitude change. Once that hill really kicked it, I started walking (pushing a jog stroller doesn't help either). The 10k runners met up with us at a point near the top and we all made the turn and started heading down the hill past all the general officer housing.

Again, I let gravity help pull me down as I started to run again; the jog stroller also added to the pull. It was nice to hear a few people say encouraging words as I passed them on the hill. On this long stretch I could really feel it in my thighs and though, wow I'm going to feel this later! I could see the turn at the bottom of the street and my goal was to run to that point. My body could have easily given up and started walking, but mentally, I had to push through it. I made it to that corner thinking all the while, this fat chick can still run!

Coming into the last stretch of the route, I was thinking that this is the longest 5k EVER! I ended up passing the some of the walkers who passed me on the hill toward the finish. We could see and hear the cheering crowd at the finish, which was a gradual downhill. I ran it the whole way down the hill to the finish and crossed the line in 44 minutes. All told, about a 15-minute mile with crazy hills! At least that's a good baseline!

I Didn't Hack Up a Lung!

I had to give a quick post tonight after my soccer game. I played the field the whole time (didn't help that we had no subs) and I felt GREAT afterwards. I actually had energy out there and didn't hack up a lung! It felt so good to not be dragging butt out on the field! Tomorrow is the Combat Medic 5K on post...bring it on!! This will be my first "run" in a very long time.

I'm trying to think through my morning routine and I think I'll do a meal replacement shake in the morning. Right now, I feel a little hungry post-soccer gamem but I can make it until morning. I did a meal replacement bar at dinner tonight. Previously, I've done a meal replacement shake before my soccer game and I've had bathroom issues (probably from all the food I consumed earlier int he day). I think I'll be good with the shake on an empty stomach in the morning.

Friday Weigh-In, Day 39

Hoping for a little movement on the scale this week, but nope...still 206. Getting a bit discouraged, especially when I have so much weight to lose. I've made such huge changes in my nutrition and exercise, that I thought surely by now I would have dropped 10-12 pounds (with most of it probably being water weight). Hmmmm, I don't want to go low-carb (which has worked for me in the past) since I vowed to not go into deprivation mode, but be sensible. Hopefully I can figure something out and make an adjustment for the next week!

It's Thursday, Let the Craziness Begin!

Day 38
Hard to believe that May is right around the corner! This weekend is the start to almost every weekend being busy! Yesterday, I accompanied Evan to the Reid Park Zoo along with his classmates from his special preschool class. Whew, it was a bit toasty in Tucson, but we lucked out on the air conditioned bus! It was the typical Evan-zoo-visit, running from here to there. I'm not sure if he really even looked at any animals!

I had the intention to get up and run this morning, but I didn't get to bed until late and truly, needed a little sleep-in time! On Saturday I am running a 5K for the first time in a while, no worries! I'm not going for any world records!

Catching Up

Day 37
I am attempting to write this post using my iPad, so apologies ahead of time for any odd misspellings that were probably caused by auto-correct! I had no time to blog yesterday (Tuesday), but I did walk a different route in the morning that was a little bit shy of 2 miles. I've noticed no pain my lower legs as before and my muscle herniation is not sticking out so far. I hope that the muscle in my lower left leg is strengthening and not allowing that muscle fiber to poke through.

This morning was spin class with hair metal mix (yesssss)! All the good stuff: Guns 'N Roses, Kiss, Quiet Riot, Warrant, Twisted Sister, AC/DC, Van Halen...sweet! I'm SO showing my age! Tomorrow morning I am going to do a little run since I'm running a 5k on Saturday! Ya think maybe I should train a bit for it? Evan's preschool class is going to the Reid Park Zoo (aka Tucson Zoo) tomorrow, so I'm taking the day off to ride a school bus over an hour and half with a bunch of 3-4-5 year olds.....joyous! I don't quite have enou time to do a 0530 class at the gym, so I thought I'd try a run.

Back in the Spin of Things

Day 35
No school for Evan today which means I could sleep in until 0455 and then up and at 'em for 0530 spin class! I needed to get back into the routine since the weekend really threw me off. It wasn't that I imbibed in any Easter-weekend feasts; on the contrary, since Evan isn't a candy-kid, he didn't have any sweets in his basket. Instead, I find at home on the weekends I definitely do not drink enough water and I don't eat on a regular schedule. I had thoughts about going to the gym all weekend, but laundry, family and life in general took over my life again!

While doing laundry this weekend, I had odd thoughts come into my head; especially when I was folding clothes. I wear guys cargo shorts since they are longer than women's and generally made better. I have various waist sizes from my ballooning weight 36in-42in), and I'm starting to fit nicely into the 38-inch size (still way too big for a chick)! Some of my shirts I wear are men's polos or a women's 2XL. I was thinking to myself, despite what people say, if you are female and have to buy a men's shirt or are bigger than a ladies' XL...you are getting FAT! Sorry for the abruptness, but seriously, you are!! Instead of buying larger sizes, I wish someone would have said to me that I need to start losing weight!!

Weigh In Saturday

Day 33
Weekly weigh-in day, oh joy! It's a loss, but don't we all wish it was more? Down to 206, a half pound from last week (so a total of 5 pounds down in about a month). Truthfully, I think it really stinks. I have radically altered my food intake and exercise and I now drink tons of water and no diet sodas and I've only lost 5 pounds!? My energy and appetite control is great, my muscles are sore, but not sure what is happening with the scale.

When Evan's school year is over in May, I plan on working out 2 times a day (0530am class and an after work class) to see if there is something with my cardio that needs work.

Getting My Kick On

Day 32
In the absence of our Friday night soccer games, I ventured into a cardio kick class. The class is based on movements from boxing, karate and muay thai. Thanks to my friends and instructors, Jeremy and wife Allison, who tried to make my awkwardness less evident! Even prior to gaining all this weight, I never had great balance or flexibility, so you can imagine how awkward class was for me!

The class definitely worked a different set of muscles than step or spinning and overall it was fun! There is a bit of foot work/technique also that goes with the punches and I think after a few more classes I can get it all down. Definitely a good upper body workout.

During the past two classes I've taken (step and kick), I have found I am so annoyed with the person I see in the mirror. I never really was that concerned with appearances before; but now that I find it hard to do parts of exercise routines due to my weight, it is making me really upset. I have always been the athletic one; never really concerned about my weight since I am always one to jump into any type of activity (walking/running 26.2 miles through the desert of New Mexico in the Bataan March [twice actually]; running half-marathons with little training; walking the Bisbee Stairclimb route every weekend carrying Evan in the backpack; playing soccer; etc...).

Participating has never been a problem with me, I enjoy it and welcome it. Now that I feel pain by simple participation due to my weight, it makes me want to cry. During high impact classes, I can feel that muscle herniation in my lower leg get worse; it heals a bit, but then more impact makes it pop out again. I don't want to turn into one of those people who can't do something due to an injury. I have been lucky to never have had a major injury due to sports. I hate swimming and I don't want to be limited to non-impact exercise like that. I love the group synergy and I don't want to lose that...but I also don't want to be that person in the back of class always having to take everything down low. Maybe I am just getting impatient with getting back into shape.

How many hungry weasels could your body feed?

Day 31
Had to post a funny...just in case if you ever wondered:

Created by Oatmeal

What the "F"?

Day 30

Loving getting back into the routine of morning spin class. I always love full-crank to something heavy in the morning! For those of you who do spin, you understand what I mean. Some humor this morning from our instructor...some spin participants (are we called "riders", I guess)...had complained about the music set list having songs with the "f" word. Not sure if it was from our morning class or maybe it was from a different class.

Anyhoo, so our instructor told us ahead of time that this was a new playlist of music and we would hear some breaks in the music (where he edited out the "fs"). The very first song he played was by Puddle of Mud, "She Hates Me". Now, if any of you have heard that song, you know that song is full of the "fs"; so it was really funny hearing almost all of the song bleeped out. The rest of the set list was pretty humorous with songs like Guns 'N Roses "I Used to Love Her"; Nazareth "Love Hurts"; Evanescence "Going Under"; Skid Row "I'll Remember You"; Sam Kinison "Wild Thing"...needless to say, our instructor was making a statement...love that!

It's odd that I feel I am getting most toned in my chest region since my sports bras feel better (not so tourniquet-like). My pants feel a little bit looser and I can almost see my jawline again!

Late Tuesday Post!

Day 29

Wow...forgot to do a Tuesday post (so again this post is back-dated)...shows again how crazy my Tuesdays are! Let me remember what I did yesterday (Tuesday)...walked 2 miles in the morning and it finally felt good. I think all that foam rolling helped on my outer lower legs.

As for food...ahhh, now it is coming back to me...pizza...glorious pizza! With Tuesdays being band rehearsal, I make it easy on the hubby and pick up pizza (Evan's fav, Little Caesar's cheese pizza-pizza). I pretty much grabbed 2 pieces (yes 2, no judgement) and headed out the door to rehearse. I did down a Spark prior to leaving to give me that clarity and energy through rehearsal. I have felt a HUGE difference in my energy level during rehearsal now that I am substituting Spark for Diet Coke. I usually get really crabby during rehearsal, but now I am so much more aware of my heightened "happiness" (for the lack of a better word).

Crazy Weekend!

Day 28
I cannot believe it is Monday morning already and I didn't have a chance to post this weekend. As the springtime kicks into high gear, it was a crazy weekend! Easter egg hunts, bbqs and laundry (how exciting)!

Let's go back to Friday night...soccer! I didn't get the workout I was anticipating since fat girl (aka Me) was goalie! Thinking back, I don't think I walked Friday morning since it was windy (or maybe I felt lazy from step class the night before)? Anyways, Friday was pretty much a wash as far as any intense cardio goes!

Saturday...the plan was to go to the gym and do my cardio and weight combo workout. The hubby decided he wanted to ride his motorcycle to the racetrack in Benson. The city's Easter Egg hunt was in the morning also, so instead of hitting the gym, Evan and I ventured to the park with the thousand other parents and kids. It was really sunny, so I didn't want to hang out in the sun for too long. Evan got a few eggs, but he still isn't all into the mass of kids running and screaming for eggs. He definitely did not want to see the Easter bunny (thank goodness since the line was crazy-long). We left the park and headed to my friend Anna's massage place for a BBQ. They were raising money for their Relay for Life team. I managed to get both my feet sunburned (nice)! I tried to eat as healthy as possible at a BBQ (chicken and beans, yeah right)...but it tasted good! ;-)

I could have hit the gym later that afternoon or even early evening, but it just wasn't happening for me! So here comes Sunday, another intention to hit the gym! My big plan for the day was to do some big laundry (the heavy stuff like the comforters) since we're in that season of switching from the winter to the summer blankets. I looked in the linen closet and found...mouse droppings! Yea! The mice have returned! My day turned into non-stop washing of all the towels and sheets in the linen closet! We had a bad mice problem about a year ago, so I'm unsure if this evidence is from then or new. Needless to say, I got plenty of exercise going back and forth all day doing washing. In between washing, I was cleaning up Evan's room, the office and getting a start on picking up all the seed balls dropped by the sycamore tree in the backyard. We love the shade that tree gives, but hate the seeds it drops.

All in all, it was a busy weekend, but it shows how life gets in the way of any great intention to exercise. My main sticking point of coming into this new nutrition regimen is to not deny myself anything as long as it's in moderation. I think overall I ate sensibly. I am still 27 days "clean" of the Carl's Jr. Drive-Through and Diet Coke and I'm hanging in there!

Friday Weigh-In! End of the 24-Day Challenge (Sort Of)

Ahhh...there's nothing like a weigh-in to really start your day off! I stepped on the scale to find a 1 pound weight loss from last week (206.5 lbs.). Hmmm, not quite what I was hoping for. All totaled, in the 24-Day Challenge I dropped a total of 5 pounds. I'm not sure if my body is in some sort of shock with the new nutrition and exercise regimen? I expected that I would have dropped a lot more weight by now. Looking back, that's a little more than 1 pound a week, which is good number to stick with for long term weight loss.

Last night I had a great butt-kicking in step class. The routine is getting much easier, so I'm not as focused on the footwork but can focus more on amping up the intensity and paying attention to my form. Tonight is soccer and hopefully I'll get to run a bit. Last week I had to spend the time doing administrative stuff and didn't have time to play.

Thursday Wrap-Up

Whew, thanks to Cathe for doing a great butt-kicking at step! On my daily posts I will try to do a wrap-up of my daily calories consumed and a wrap-up of the Advocare products I am using.


Food Consumed (approx. 1,400 calories)
- Active Lifestyle Oatmeal (Maple & Pecan)
- Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Meal Replacement Shake
- Peanut Butter Sandwich on Multi-grain Bread
- Apple
- Banana


Advocare Products Used (Daily Cost $10.37, Retail)
- Spark ($1.63 x 2)
- MNS-3 ($3.21)
- Meal Replacement Shake ($2.85)
- Catalyst ($1.05)

Bisbee Stairclimb

I had to post these links from You Tube that I just discovered. The hosts of the videos are a part of the "Running Raw Project". Some great footage of Bisbee, AZ (my county seat) and the annual October stairclimb event. I plan on using the stairclimb route as part of my cardio workouts on the weekends. I used to do the route about 2 years back when I was training for half-marathons. It's a challenging workout that I found never gets easier the more your climb it, you just recover faster.

Part I (Recon the Route): http://youtu.be/MvA5JTAc5ew
Part II (Race Day): http://youtu.be/-d5ZWc93ofA

Day 23!

I don't know about you, but this spring has been flying by! So has my 24-Day Challenge! I am excited to do another weigh-in tomorrow to see where I am. My pants are feeling a bit looser and my energy is way up. This morning I decided to take a day off from my normal morning walk to give my legs a break since I'll be doing a step class this evening.

The Dreaded Foam Roller!

Day 23
Backtracking a bit, since I forgot to post yesterday, I'm back-dating this to make it look like I posted on April 13th! ;-)

I had a great spin class again this morning, so sad that I have been slacking the past few months and missing this class. Previous to starting the 24-Day Challenge, I used Wednesday mornings as my "sleep in" day since Evan didn't have to be at special preschool on Wednesdays. Over this school year, I think my "sleep in" Wednesdays have been hurting my sleep patterns since the other 4 days of the work week I am getting up at 4:00am. On Wednesdays, I can still sleep a little longer (about 45 minutes more than the other days) since the spin class doesn't start until 5:30am. I will be so happy when the school year is over so I can get to spin on M, W, and F mornings!

The continuing saga of my lower legs! Sorry to continue the ramblings, but last night, I borrowed a friend's foam roller (since I couldn't find mine). If you aren't familiar with a foam roller, it is a dense foam cylinder about 1.5 feet long, not exactly sure of the diameter, maybe about a dinner plate in diameter? Anyway, I was introduced to the foam roller after running the Tucson Half-Marathon back in 2008.

I had to check back on the Tucson Marathon website to confirm the year I ran in the half marathon. What a pathetic runner I was (and still am)...I was overall 1209 out of 1462 with a pace time of 11:58, yikes, I probably could have walked it faster (the majority of the route is downhill)!

The route for the Tucson Marathon goes through the town of Catalina, and puts you on the high side of a berm (you are running on the oncoming traffic side of the road which banks to your right). At the time, I didn't feel any pain aside from the general fatigue from running a distance race. A few days later I started to get really bad pain on the side of my knee cap. I've never been one to have joint injuries (knock on wood) even in my time in the military. I found out it was an IT Band injury (Iliotibial band syndrome). It is actually a thigh injury that shows itself as pain in the knee joint. Due to the camber of that road through Catalina, I had an IT band injury (so proud to actually have a runner's injury...it shows I'm a runner, just joking)! So, a great remedy for an IT band problem is to use the foam roller on the outside of the knee and thigh to work those muscles (and yes, it hurts like a mother when you use the foam roller on your outer knee)!

Now, back to my original story...I thought that maybe I need to use the foam roller on my lower legs to try to work that pain out that I am feeling when I walk. So odd that this lower pain only happens when I walk, but not during a step or spin class! Using the foam roller causes you to be in very odd positions and you have to hold yourself up at times to use your own weight to help with the pressure. trying to hold myself up while rolling the outside of my lower legs was quite a challenge!

I love how one thing leads to another! As I was using the foam roller, I noticed on the outside of my left lower leg, I had this oddly shaped lump. I have a similar, but smaller one on my right leg. It's more pronounced when I am kneeling and sitting back on my heels (there is probably a more formal yoga name for that sitting position). I even had T look at it and he said it looks similar to the bumps he has on his shins (he always had them even in the military and they were quite painful for him). The lumps on my legs aren't painful to the touch since there's essentially no pressure on them. After researching on-line, it is a muscle herniation, of which there is no "cure" per se. It's just a little bundle of muscle that is protruding from the long muscle in my lower leg. From what I read, I still don't think that is the cause of my lower leg pain. The mystery continues!

Foods Consumed Today
- Oatmeal
- Peanut Butter sandwich on multi-grain bread
- serving of rice crackers
- salad w/Italian dressing
- minestrone soup
- turkey sandwich

Advocare Products Used
- Spark
- Catalyst
- MNS 3

Developing What I Believe...(Ramblings)

Given all the life struggles that have come my way over the many years, I have dedicated very little time to developing my core belief system. I think I have been in the "spin" so to speak of life for so long that I have lost a bit of myself over the years. This is probably a part of how I have ended up where I am (overweight, stressed, and tired). The first step is to realize that you are in the "spin" and make that conscious decision that you are not going to live like that anymore.

I think the biggest theme that runs through these is that you have to find happiness in this short time that we have here amongst the living. If you are miserable, you have choices to move beyond your sadness. Those choices may not be easy, it may mean a physical move or a simple mental move to say you are no longer going to be miserable. I think we are so afraid to taking those leaps that we settle for mediocrity.

In some respects, I can't even develop anything original, but have gleaned these beliefs from some articles and audios that I have read/listened to over time.

What I Believe
- Life is too short to spend in a rut. The greatest grievance is to go through all your years without ever knowing what life could be if you lived it from your passion.
- We are all worthy of a career that we love, part-time or full-time.
- Those who are open-minded have more choices.
- What we give circulates back to us.
- When it’s all said and done, the only thing that matters is our relationships.
- Help others see their answers.
- Successful people follow their heart even when others are skeptical or do not consent.
- A focused and strong intention will have a positive result on my reality.
- There is always, ALWAYS, something to be grateful for.
- The greatest gift we can give ourselves is freedom.

I think I can, I think I can!

Day 22
Whoops, forgot to do a post last night! Not a whole lot to report on since I've designated Monday and Tuesdays my no-big-workout days. After looking over my schedule, Tuesdays are my craziest days; Mondays actually aren't that crazy, but I usually have a team telecon on Mondays.

Wednesdays will be Spin Class in the morning, Thursdays will be Step Class in the evenings, Fridays are soccer, and Saturday/Sundays will be my gym days for cardio and weight-lifting. I need to find another good evening for weight-lifting, maybe Wednesday nights since I will have done heavy cardio in the morning. I am still walking every morning (at least 1.5 miles) during the work week.

Previously, I had posted about lower leg pain I have been experiencing. That pain keeps coming back despite changing the surface I am walking on and changing shoes/inserts. Researching it online it looks like the pain is coming from the long tendon on the outside of the lower leg. I do have a foam roller at home from the previous IT Band problem I developed after running the Tucson Half-Marathon a while back. I'll start using that to loosen up those muscles and we'll see how that works. I get no pain during spin class, step class or soccer; just when I am walking (frustrating that something low impact is hurting so bad)!

I think I only have 2 more days of the 24-Day Challenge. Day 25 won't be any different than what I am already doing, I will continue on the MNS 3 product. Given that I have a whole lot of weight to lose, this is definitely more than a 24-day program. People have asked me if I have a time frame on my weight loss journey. I don't like to set a definitive date, but I think I can get there within the year. That would be a 6 pound weight loss every month. I think I can, I think I can!

Sunday Workout

Day 20
Another cardio and weights workout day at the gym! Since the gym uses Cybex machines, I downloaded a workout schedule from their website. The schedule outlines a 6-week regimen of workouts. Tonight I plan on making a more solid schedule of workouts.

I completed a 30-minute weight-loss program on the Cybex Arc Trainer. If you haven't used one of these, you gotta try one! It's not quite an ellipitcal, not quite a stair-stepper, but easy on the knees. I thought it was neat that is generates its own electricity; so the the controls and television won't work unless you are.

I was having a great workout watching the Masters, until about 5 minutes from the end of my workout, a lady jumped on a machine right next to me and she had an overload of perfume on. It was really bad and if it wasn't for me being almost done with my program, I would have jumped off my machine. I mean seriously, it's the gym...ya don't need to smell sweet (but don't be stinky)!

After my cardio, I grabbed my workout program and tracked down the machines I needed for the Day One workout (mostly chest and arms). Truly, the workout felt wonderful. It felt really good to stretch out my upper body. I think that when you are carrying so much weight, you tend to contract into yourself (if that makes sense). It felt really freeing actually.


Food
- Cereal
- Bananas
- Tomato Soup
- Turkey Sandwich on Multigrain Bread
- Handful of Goldfish crackers
- 1 piece pizza

Advocare Products Used
- Spark
- Catalyst
- MNS 3
- Meal Replacement Shake

Weigh-In #3!

Day 19
It was a nice, laid-back Saturday with nowhere in particular to be! A nice change of pace! It is Master's weekend, and for those of you without a die-hard golfer in your household, you probably could care less. The Master's weekend is sacred in this household with the hubby; all the more reason to find ways to get out of the house!

This morning I did the weekly weigh-in and the weight result was not spectacular, but I had to go up a notch on my sports bra (so I'm getting smaller in the chest)! I actually gained a half pound (207.5 pounds), but given that I'm in the middle of that wonderful monthly visitor, it could have been worse! Another nice thing is that I don't feel nearly as bloated as I usually do, which may be attributed to drinking more water.

I ventured down to Summit Express, which is a smaller gym about 4 minutes from my house. It's a satellite gym of the main one I have returned to for all the fitness classes. This smaller gym has a great set-up of cardio machines (all with personal t.v.s), Cybex machines and free weights. Needless to say, at 11:30am on a Saturday, it was like my own personal gym since there were maybe 2 other people there (sweet)!

I did 30-minutes on the elliptical and worked a bit on the Cybex machines and some abs. Knowing that this location has such a nice set-up of machines, I need to make a plan for doing more strength training in addition to my cardio. I keep forgetting more muscle burns more fat, so I definitely need to work that in.

As for diet, I am disliking the weekends since I find myself not drinking as much water as I should be!

Nutrition
- Oatmeal
- Bananas
- Strawberries
- Green Beans
- Turkey Sandwich on Multigrain Bread
- Handful of peanuts
- Lean Cuisine meal

Advocare Products Being Used
- MNS 3
- Spark (breakfast and late afternoon)
- Catalyst (pre-workout)

Ouch!

Day 18
All I can say is "ouch" this morning! Last night, I returned to step class, led by one of my good friends. Wow, my whole body is hurting today, but in a good way. I didn't get much out of her class last Thursday night since I was trying too hard to follow the choreography. This time was much better since I was in a better position to see. The sad thing was viewing myself in the mirror to see just how out of shape and fat I really am. I don't want to sugar-coat it; I AM FAT and I need to kick things into higher gear to get rid of this fat. I am just tired of it!

I Think I Figger'ed It Out

Day 17
The past few times I have walked on the track, I have developed really bad pain in my lower leg (specifically on the outsides of my lower legs). I suspected part of the problem was walking on the outside lane of the track which has a slight bank to it. Today, I didn't walk on the track, but instead walked the loop around the field house and my building. The loop is actually 1-mile, sort of deceiving since it doesn't look that much of a distance if you see it. After I completed that loop, I kept walking and did another loop down around another adjacent building. All told, it was over 2-miles with hills (everything is hilly on post). Afterward, no leg pain! So I think I have figured out the leg pain!

Welcome Back to Spin!

Day 16
On Wednesdays, Evan does not have his special preschool, which makes it a "normal" day so to speak. I decided to head back to spin class (which is held on M, W, F). previously, I had attended enough spin classes to where my buttisimis has actually become accustomed to the seat. I will admit that I use an additional padded seat on top of the regular spin seat and also padded shorts (I'm not that crazy, m'kay)!

I like the spin classes since the music is loud, the room is dark, and there is no choreography to worry about; it's just you against yourself! I was happy to see a co-worker there also; always fun to share the pain with someone! Previous to class, I downed 3 Catalyst capsules with a Spark in hopes to get some great sustained energy through the class...it worked! The instructor worked us through 3 full-cranks (for those of you who do spin, you know what that means) and we stood almost the entire time (my buttisimis said "thank youuu")! Thanks to the 80's metal mix to really kick it into high gear! There's nothing better than doing an end sprint to "Crazy Train"....welcome to hump day!!

I Always Have the Best Intention

Day 15
O.k...I always have the best intention to do more cardio! Here is my struggle and I know the majority of people have the same problem. Earlier in the day I had it all planned out that I was either going to attend my friend Jeremy's group kick class at the gym or I was going to do a cardio machine at the new gym annex which is closer to my house. As usual, life got in the way and the plan went flat.

As a working parent, I have to constantly make choices for the family and over the past few years, these choices have helped lead me to unhealthy choices regarding nutrition (junk food) and fitness (laziness). Here is my biggest problem...after picking Evan up from daycare, the last thing I want to do is to drag him with me to the gym and put him in the childcare room. He's been either at his preschool for most of the day and then daycare for part of the day. To me, that is crappy for Evan (for the lack of a better phrase). I realize that I can choose to put him in the jog stroller and just start walking the neighborhood; but most of the time, I just want to come home and chill with him until T gets home. Then, when T gets home, I want to just chill and actually try to have an adult conversation with him. For some reason, last night, I just wanted to chill and the last thing I wanted to do was exercise!

I realize it is all about choices and I think this is the hardest part! The nutrition part is easy, the exercise part is easy also...it's the "getting" to the exercise that is the problem! While driving in to work at 0500 this morning, I realized that what I am needing is more time in the day with my family where I can take that time for exercise and not feel guilty that I am missing out on a part of their lives.

Rediscovering an Old Friend

Day 14
I managed to find (again) my Garmin Forerunner 305. This is a huge hunk of GPS that you wear on your wrist when walking/running/biking/etc...to map your progress in miles. I had rediscovered it a few months ago when I had the silly idea of picking up my running again. I had yet again put it somewhere with the thought of using it. I liked using it previously when I ran some half-marathons despite the weight and size. The mile pace counter helps to give you that mental pick-up that you gotta kick it in gear since you are now running at a slower pace than you can walk the distance! Hate that!

This morning, I synced it up with the satellite and took off walking on the track. Wow, I was feeling it in my legs this morning! Probably a combination of step class last Thursday, soccer on Friday, stair-stepper on Saturday and walking the zoo yesterday. Most noticeably it was in my lower legs (on the outside of my legs above the ankles). It was one of those annoying pains, not crazy painful, but something that made me concentrate harder on walking it out. When I get pain like that, I visualize all the bad foods and drinks I've consumed working their way out of my system...the price to pay for years of bad habits!

I added a new ticker at the bottom of the blog to add more fun into this new lifestyle! My hometown is Scottdale, PA (sending a shout-out), which is in southwestern PA (where we say "yinz" and "pop"). The walking distance between Sierra Vista and Scottdale (according to Google Maps) is 2,023 miles. I am going to start adding up my cardio miles to see how long it takes me to "walk" to Scottdale. I welcome any guesses as to the date I will hit that mileage!

Road Trip!!

Day 13
My first road trip on the 24-Day Challenge! A usual trip to Tucson would include a run-through the McDonald's in Benson and then a later run-through one of the In 'N Out Burgers in Tucson. Today's destination was the Tucson Zoo since Evan has been asking on a daily basis about going to the zoo. I still did the McDonald's drive-thru for Evan to get his favorite breakfast (McGriddle with double egg). I got a fruit parfait, the serving is pretty small, but tasty.

We spent some time essentially running through the zoo (that is Evan's mode of visiting the zoo). In the morning, I figured I didn't have to go the gym for an early morning workout since I would be chasing him through the zoo. The Tucson Zoo isn't huge, just perfect Evan-sized. After the zoo, I was hungry and didn't set myself up with snacks. We met up with T at the BMW Motorcycle dealership (there was a stunt show there today). We only stayed a little bit since Evan said he was bored. By then, I was feeling light-headed from hunger, not good). Evan said he wanted a taco, so we went to On the Border and got a bite to eat. I got some sort of chicken salad, it was o.k., not something I would order again but a big filling size. It felt good to finally eat!

So lesson learned, I need a better food plan when on the road!


My reflections for the week:
I can't expect the maximum result if I am giving the minimum! So I need to pick up my exercise regimen!

Food Intake
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Snack: Apple
Lunch: Chicken Salad & Nacho Chips
Snack: Pumpkin Roll (I will tell the tale of the Pumpkin Roll later!)
Dinner: Meal Replacement Shake

AdvoCare Products Used Today
- MNS Max 3
- Spark
- Meal Replacement Shake

Just Me Against the Machine

Day 12
My exercise plan for today was to attend a class (either beginner yoga or spinning), but alas, I was very content in catching up on sleep this morning!

I completed the morning routine: drinking a Spark with my 1st pack of MNS supplements 30 minutes before breakfast; oatmeal for breakfast (I made it with 2% milk and Truvia for a little taste kick). With breakfast I took the 2 follow-on supplement packets with water. Before heading out the door to the gym, I took 3 Catalyst supplements to give me some extra boost.

I made it to the gym at 11:30am; a nice time since the morning rush had emptied out by then. I started out on the treadmill just to stretch out a little. I was really feeling the fatigue in my calves from step class on Thursday and soccer last night. The soccer field was really mushy and sandy last night due to seeding and watering, making us have to work a bit harder to run. After an 8-minute warm-up, I jumped on an open Precor Stepper (love the step machine)! I chose a preset program with a lot of hills and off I went.

It was such a nice change of pace to not have to worry about keeping up with choreography or high-impact, it was just me and the machine! I hung in there and kept my heartrate at a good sustained rate. All the while I was thinking that I needed to do this more often, the sweat really felt great! After the stepper, I worked a little bit of free weights for my biceps and triceps and some abs.

I think all told it was a good hour in the gym. Getting in the car driving home, I felt truly exilarated, sort of like a runner's high. Definitely a feeling I have not felt in a long time!

Busy Friday Night!

I wouldn't say I have a very stressful job; but over the past few days we've had some developments at work that I feel have made it a bit more stressful. I have felt that I have been carrying that stress right in my gut. All the more reason that I have to find that place to try to center myself (definitely something to add to 'Things to Work On' list).

Given that Friday nights are also crazy nights, for dinner I had the Chocolate Meal Replacement Shake. 220 calories and it actually tasted good (similar to a chocolate malt). I definitely felt full after drinking it. I finished up the last 2 packets of MNS supplements (1 30-minutes before dinner and the other with dinner).

I had the late soccer game tonight (7:45pm), so I definitely needed the extra energy to get me through it. I drank a Slam (Bowl Berry flavor) about 45 minutes before game time and a serving of Catalyst (3 capsules) before the game. My energy level was great throughout the game, despite my incredibly terrible cardiovascular fitness on the soccer field!

Food Consumed Today (need to work on my veggies, I know)
- Oatmeal
- Banana
- Apple
- Turkey and Roast Beef Sandwich on Muti-grain Bread
- Multigrain Cheerios
- Meal Replacement Shake

AdvoCare Products Used Today
- MNS Packet 1
- MNS Packet 2
- MNS Packet 3
- MNS Packet 4
- Spark
- Slam
- Catalyst

4.5 Pounds Down! Welcome to the 2nd Phase!

Day 11
Ahh, the Friday weigh-in...what a way to start the weekend! I stepped on the scale to find I lost 4.5 pounds in 10 days. Not too bad considering I had an incredibly bad weekend in the middle of the cleanse. I have connected with other people who have had incredible weight loss results from the cleanse phase, but hey, I will take 4.5 pounds!!

Now starts the 2nd Phase of the 24-day Challenge. Say goodbye to the Fiber Drink and hello to the MNS supplement packets. MNS stands for the Metabolic Nutrition System and the MNS pack I am using is called Max 3. The Max 3 packet gives a combination of sustained energy, wellness and appetite control. There are 2 other MNS products, one focuses on energy (Max E) and the other on appetite control (Max C). After I complete this MNS Max 3 regimen, I can choose to switch to the E or C, or just stay on Max 3. We'll see!

So far, the 4 packets are super-easy to follow, they are marked on the outside when to take them. So far this morning my regimen was to drink a Spark before leaving the house. I took the MNS packet that said "take 30 minutes before breakfast" when I got to work and then went out to walk my mile. This morning, the weather was perfect I didn't need a jacket (first time in a long time). After walking my mile, I came in and made my oatmeal and took the 2nd packet that said "take with breakfast or lunch". Super easy!! The other 2 packets I take around dinner time. The other component of the 24-day Challenge are the Meal Replacement Shakes. I think I will use these during those days I just can't get a good dinner in (like on Tuesdays and Fridays).

Day 11 Weigh-In!

Stepping Into Cardio

Day Ten
There's nothing like a step aerobics class to truly make you feel like an uncoordinated idiot! Luckily, the class was led by one of my oldest friends here in Sierra Vista, so at least I had a sense of humor about it! One of my goals was to work on my cardio and I think Thursday evenings I can make the class. I used to attend Cathe's class, oh...I think maybe 4 years ago (yikes)!

At the gym, you have to key in your member number when you walk in and the computer will make sort of a bell-tone sound to confirm you are an active member. For some reason, when I keyed in my number (I was shocked to remember it), the sound seemed really loud! Fortunately, no spotlight came down or flashing sign to say "OMG, You Are Back, It's About Time"!

Welcome to Day 10!

Woo-hoo giving a shout out to Day Ten of the 24-Day Challenge! What does Day Ten entail? It means this morning, the Herbal Cleanse box is empty! I guess I did it correctly! Day Ten is the same as the past three days, in the morning, it's the Pro-Biotic capsules, Fiber Drink and Spark. It's that easy!

I will do a weigh-in tomorrow morning to see what my weight loss is for the first 10 days. I am hopeful for at least a 2-pound loss, which is normal for a weekly weight loss. If I can keep that pace, that means I could hit my 75 pound weight loss goal by this Christmas.

I know that the one big component that I need to kick up a lot is my cardio. Walking a little over a mile every morning before work won't cut it and I know that.

24 Day Challenge - Cleanse Phase

For those of you visual learners...here is a great video clip outlining the 10-Day Cleanse portion of the 24-Day Challenge.

Something to Admit!

Day Nine
My Tuesdays are usually my insane days starting with my early 4am wake-up, into work at 5am, pick-up Evan from his morning session at Pre-K, drop-off Evan to his afternoon session at Pre-K, allergy shots, pick-up Evan from daycare and community band rehearsal. Oh yeah, I have 8 hours of work in between those times.

Yesterday, after picking up Evan, he decided he wanted his favorite for dinner, Little Caesar's Cheese Pizza. T and I were shocked the first time watching him devour almost half of a pizza by himself (he won't eat crust though). We have struggled with Evan's lack-of-eating issues, so if the boy wants to eat half of a pizza, go for it!

I got the usual, cheese pizza for Evan and a pepperoni pizza for T and myself. Driving home with the warm pizzas, the yummy aroma made me snap! Yes, I am admitting, I ate 1/3 of the pepperoni pizza!!! I could have stopped after 1 piece, but I had to eat more and it wasn't because I was hungry. It just smelled good!! So scary how aromas can hit those triggers in us!!

In doing this 24-Day Challenge, I have to be honest with myself and I don't want to hide that I binged on pizza for no other reason than it smelled good and I wanted to eat it!! My biggest thought afterward was...aaaarrrgh I have to get weighed in after Day 10 and I'm going to have all this water retention from all the sodium! But alas, I have to come to terms that this weight struggle is more than the 10-day cleanse or 24-Day Challenge; it will be a lifestyle change that I will have to deal with on a daily basis for a long time. There is no quick fix, it will be a combination of good nutrition, portion control and exercise. I can't binge on pizza everyday, but if I have a binge every once in a while, it will be o.k...I just have to get back on track.

For Day Nine (and it actually started yesterday with Day Eight), the packets are getting less and less! Now it's an easy morning routine for Day 8, 9, & 10: two Pro-Biotic capsules on an empty stomach and then Fiber Drink with Mandarin Orange Spark added in (the Spark addition is my twist to it) with breakfast. I am sticking with my oatmeal for breakfast since it's easy and filling.

For my busy life, I am happy that this supplement regimen is very easy to follow. I am very excited to start MNS system on Day 11. This phase of the 24-Day Challenge will be the long-term support to my weight loss journey!

Rambling Judgement on Smoking (Ignore If You Wish)

I had to post a rambling just because it is something that really strikes me to my core. I know I am being very judgmental and I apologize but I hope that someone who reads this will get the urge to stop smoking.

I grew up in a smoking household: smoking parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles. Essentially everyone was a smoker. The ironic thing is that neither I nor my 2 older sisters turned into smokers. This morning, as I did my 4 little laps around the track, I could smell the faint odor of cigarette smoke.

During my morning walk, I share the track with soldiers who are either doing PT or doing a morning formation. No doubt the cigarette smoke was coming from some of the soldiers waiting to form up for PT. In this day and age with all the bad news there is about smoking, why would someone choose to smoke? The cost alone is insane! It makes you smell bad, your clothes smell bad, kills your tastebuds, and it is wrecking havoc on your insides. Lung cancer, COPD, pneumonia, emphysema, heart problems, vascular problems, premature death...I could go on and on about what smoking will do to you.

I know...if you are a smoker it's the same old "no one's gonna tell me what to do"! Seriously, there are people around you who care about you and would like you to be healthy and live a long life. A life cut short by smoking could have been prevented which makes it all the more tragic for the people left in its wake.

As someone who has personally witnessed what years of smoking does to a person (the premature death of my mother and chronic sickness of my father), I challenge YOU....stop today, no excuse, do it for your family, do it for yourself.

Yikes! Day Eight!

Day Eight
Starting to come out of my funk and was shocked to realize this is Day Eight of the 24-Day Challenge! Yikees! Reflecting back on my first week on this program...the good...the bad...and the ugly. Seriously, not a whole lot of bad and ugly to report on! I will weigh-in on Day 11 and post the results (of course).

The good so far:
- My dependence on Diet Coke is gone.
- My energy level is WON-derful and it sustains throughout the day.
- My headaches are gone.
- I am eating more often and healthier without deprivation.
- I am drinking more water (see "The bad" below).
- I am rethinking my relationship with food.

The bad:
- I truly feel waterlogged and bloated from all the water I've been drinking!

To recap the basics of this 24-Day Challenge, the first 10 days consist of the "cleanse" phase and the following 14 days start the Advocare MNS System, which is a daily regimen of nutritional supplements and also meal replacement shakes.

Always a Roadblock to Test Your Resolve

Day Six

Many of you know through my Facebook post that on Saturday, we had to let go of our 14-year-old German Shepherd, Max. His health started deteriorating on Tuesday and the vet did not give him favorable prognosis. So hard to say goodbye to your first "child".

In times like this, when a roadblock is thrown in your way, need to hunker down and push through it. The shock of everything has left me pretty much with no appetite and I know I've been off my water consumption for the weekend. I'm just chalking this up to a really bad weekend and will get back on the saddle tomorrow.

A Change with Day Four

Day Four
Wow! Where did this Friday go? Completely forgot to do a quick write-up this morning! Today is Day Four of the 24-Day Challenge, which brings a change for the next few days. Instead of the morning Fiber Drink, I substitute in a packet of two pro-biotic capsules to bring that good bacteria back.

I did get out to the track this morning and walked my four laps on the outside lane. During that time in the morning, I share the track with soldiers doing their physical training (PT) programming. The Army PT program has changed so much since I was in. Now, they work more on core strength training versus the basic push-up/sit-up/running when I was in. Even when I was in the military, I wasn't in the best of shape and our PT program basically trained us to the PT test. We didn't get a well-rounded PT program but just the basics to make sure we passed each section of the test with at least 60%/points. I remember how frustrated T was with the PT test since he would max out his push-up and sit-ups but fail his run by a few seconds. So technically, he would fail the PT test with a 259, but I would pass with a 180. I think it is different now for the PT standards.

I definitely need to kick up my PT portion of this challenge!

It's starting to get lighter earlier now, which is nice. But truly, this morning, I could feel the temperature go down as the sun started to come up!

I'll post later tonight after the soccer game to see how my energy will last!

End to Day Three!

A much better eating day today, but I still think I need to eat more I think! No headaches and no hunger pains! Thanks to the suggestions from others who have done this 24-Day Challenge, between meal snacking will be easier! I think in my food planning, I was going too far into the low-carb mind-set and forgot that I can eat starchy carbs (but I have to choose multi-grain versus plain white flour). Huge thanks to Ashley's Mom for suggesting snacking on Cheerios. That crunch will help!

Wow I drank a lot of water today! Feeling a bit waterlogged!

Food List
- Bfast: oatmeal, banana
- Lunch: Turkey Sandwich
- Dinner: Leftover spaghetti w/ meat sauce, 2 slices of whole grain bread
- Snack: Apples, Cheerios, dried fruit and nut medley (from Costco)


What I need to work on
- Need to get my menu planned out! (Grrr, still a work in progress
- Gotta find more time for exercise!

AdvoCare Products Used (not in chronological order):
- Slam (afternoon)
- Spark (bfast)
- Fiber Drink (am)
- Herbal Cleanse packet (pm)
- OmegaPlex (dinner)

Welcome to Day Three! Not a Good Night :-(

Day Three
I had a terrible night last night, not due to the new nutrition and exercise regimen, but due to our oldest dog, Max. Max just turned 14 last week and health-wise, isn't doing the best. We've had issues with him losing his bodily functions, and last night was the 2nd night in a row that we had to deal with him losing #2 in a bad way. T has been great and has been the clean-up guy since I have to get up super-early. Max and Sadie both have been essentially "banished" to outside during the day. It just makes me sad since the inevitable is around the corner.

On a brighter note, I did walk over 1 mile this morning! I am fortunate to work right beside the main field house on post with an 8-lane track. I completed 4 laps on the outside lane, which calculates out to 1.1 mile! In the past I have used a website to calculate/convert my laps to distance. I'll post it as a resource link: http://www.eracewalk.com/CalcTrac.htm

With Day Three...this morning was the last of the Fiber Drink mornings until day eight, I believe. I decided to add my orange Spark into the Fiber Drink and it made a BIG difference. It gave it a bit more of a Tang flavor (if you remember that drink from days past).

Last night I planned out all my snacks and had everything lined up so I wouldn't forget them this morning. After I walked I cooked up my oatmeal at work (I did add a packet of Truvia for a little sweetness). For today I have grapes, bananas, apples and a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread for my snacks.

A had another little victory last night when the hubby actually took a sip of my fruit punch Spark. It truly tastes like Hawaiian Punch and he agreed. I am a little bummed that the hubby isn't joining me on this 24-day challenge. From the outside, I can see he is so stuck in the spin of the work grind and making poor drink/food choices and little exercise. He's just not open to change at this point. I need to keep working at it and chipping away that outer shell.

Some thoughts from yesterday that I forgot to post. On Wednesdays, I drop Evan off at day care (since his special preschool isn't in session on Wednesdays). My usual routine is to then swing by Carl's Jr. for either the Steak and Egg Burrito or Breakfast Burger along with a large Diet Coke. Yesterday, I broke that habit! Even on some of my early work days, I would hit up the drive-thru (I was usually the first customer of the day at 0445). Adding it all up, I'm saving about $120 just from cutting out the fast food breakfast! Sweet! It was odd, though, not having that big Diet Coke as I was driving into work. I'm a car-drinker (if there is such a term). Whenever I'm in the car, I always have to have a drink with me (non-alcoholic of course). Such an odd feeling of not having that drink to rest my hand upon in the cup holder!

Day Two (Just About Complete)!

Day Two is almost in the record books. A much better day for eating, although I still need to fit more snacks in between meals. I did o.k. at lunch, we did Quiznos and I got a raspberry chicken vinaigrette salad. It was a full size salad and it was surprisingly good!

My afternoon got a little off somehow and I wasn't able to drink as much water as I had hoped. I am catching up as we speak (chug)! I made it to the grocery store to start planning out snacks. Picked up some simple items (bananas, apples, strawberries, grapes, walnuts, almonds, whole grain bread, deli turkey).

Grrr...exercise did not happen again today, keeping that on my list of things to work on!

Ahem...now to speak briefly about the "cleanse" portion of this regimine (feel free to walk away now if you don't want to hear details)! Just kidding, I'm not going into all the details...but what I found is...if you eat, it will do its magic gently! Feeling good, not crampy like other cleanses I have done (this is definitely not in the "colon-blow" range like others)!

Food List
- Bfast: oatmeal, banana
- Snack: apple
- Lunch: Quiznos Salad
- Dinner: Chicken, green beans, 2 slices of whole grain bread
- Snack: Apple


My List to Work on From Yesterday (keep working it)!
- Need to get my menu planned out! (Umm, sorrta worked out)
- Gotta find that exercise time! (Didn't make it again today)

AdvoCare Products Used (not in chronological order):
- Slam (am)
- Spark (lunch and pm)
- Catalyst (am)
- Fiber Drink (am)
- Herbal Cleanse packet (pm)
- OmegaPlex (dinner)

Day Two!

After posting to the blog last night (much later than I had hoped to be up)...I truly felt some hunger pains coming on. From last night's post you saw I definitely did not eat enough throughout the day (which is a surprising change for me)! Despite the little bit of hunger pain I went to sleep easily. The Slam and Spark I consumed throughout the day did not leave me jittery and I was able to fall asleep easily.

When I woke up this morning, I was definitely ready to eat! Truthfully, I had a little bit of a dry mouth and a little bit of a headache. I started the same routine as yesterday, except this time, Wednesday mornings aren't an early wake-up day (I get to sleep in until 0600am, yippee)! Evan doesn't have his special preschool classes on Wednesdays, he goes to Imagine Day Day all day instead.

I took my thyroid medicine upon waking and completed my morning routine. Still no movement from the cleanse yet! I did my Slam (fruit punch flavor) for my morning pick-up and I waited to brush my teeth until after the Slam. The Slam did taste so much better without the toothpaste flavor, so suggestion...Slam first, brush later. I shook up my fiber drink and chugged that down. The viscosity still isn't the best, but it's only 8oz, so it goes down quickly! I finished up my morning routine and ate my oatmeal about 30 minutes after the fiber drink with a big glass of water. Walking out the door, I fell very full (almost sloshy) and the headache and hunger pains were gone.

Aside from my Tuesdays being crazy, today will also be a test. It's usually lunchtime with the hubby at a fast food joint (he said I can choose the location) and my four allergy shots (2 in each arm every week, the joys of high desert living).

I have to get some exercise in today...truly, I could have made the 0530am spinning class this morning, but I didn't do it! I need to relook the fitness class schedules and see what I need to do (would love to do some yoga to center myself)! In the past, the 2 things that worked for me to lose weight were: running and low carb. I dread the low carb since I love fruit and after a while I tire of the bacon and cheese. I'm not a running fan either (especially since I am carrying too much weight now).

Alright...cheers...here's to Day Two (chug water)!

(I realized this morning I forgot to post last night that I also took the Omega Plex at dinnertime.)

Day One Complete!

Reflecting back on Day One, not a whole lot to report on, aside from the change of eating and drinking routine. I am admittedly the worst when it comes to drinking water! I think I only drank 64 ounces out of the suggested 90+ ounces, not too bad for me. I think I now have it planned out with my work schedule (32oz. during the am/32 oz. during the pm and the last 32oz. at home in the evening). Whew...I'm gonna be one hydrated chick!

My vibe throughout the whole day was very mellow, which was awesome (no caffeine headaches or crashes)! My appetite was under control and I was in the zone! I resisted the chocolate offer also (another little victory)! By the late, late afternoon I really could tell that I had not eaten enough during the day. Tuesdays are my insane days with community band rehearsal starting at 6pm. I generally don't eat dinner (need to change that). I definitely did not do good planning for my meals since I grabbed a leftover Slimfast snack bar as I was heading out the door (note to self: NOT GOOD)!

I just took the Herbal Cleanse packet before bed, which has a blend of vitamins, minerals and herbs. I assume this will get me "going" since I didn't have much get-up-and-go today.

So in hindsight...not a good food day, I need to eat more! The great thing about this regimine is that it simply asks you to eat "clean"...cut out the junk we all know is bad for you, but don't deprive yourself! I am finding so much of my overeating is out of boredom; or I feel the need to snack alongside Evan. I can't use Evan as a guide since the boy needs to eat more!

Food for the Day
- Bfast: Oatmeal
- Work Snack: Apple
- Lunch: Lean Cuisine (too much sodium I know!)
- Work Snack: Banana
- Home Snack: 1 Ritz Bit with Cheese (because Evan told me I had to eat it)
- Dinner: Slimfast snack bar

Drinks for the Day
- Water
- Orange Slam (for my am jolt)
- Grape Spark
- Cherry Slam (to get me through rehearsal and being up since 4am)

AdvoCare Products for the Day
- Slam
- Spark
- Citrus Fiber Drink
- Catalyst (3 late morning + 3 late afternoon)
- Herbal Cleanse packet (3 pills)

My List to Work On:
- Need to get my menu planned out!
- Gotta find that exercise time!

Good Morning Day One!

Welcome to the world of Day One on the Advocare 24-Day Challenge! Last night I had to do a little bit of preparation to get all my products in order since my clarity at 0400am is a bit cloudy! There's really not a whole lot to prepare now that I have it all worked out! I had to text Ashley (my sponsor) to make sure I had the products straight since looking at the combination of products, I was worried that all the products weren't going to play nice in my tummy in the morning!

Logistically, I had to work out when to take my morning products in conjunction with my thyroid medicine (which I need to take on an empty stomach). The cleanse directions say to take the AdvoCare products upon waking, but I decided to stick with my thyroid medicine routine and then take the cleanse products after my morning shower/getting ready routine.

I slammed an orange Slam at 0441am and it tasted good. I wouldn't say great, but I think the toothpaste taste in my mouth made it more bitter tasting than it really is. I will have to try it again tomorrow morning pre-toothbrushing! I then took 3 Catalyst capsules (I'll post about what that is later) and chased it all down with the 8oz. citrus fiber drink. Ashley warned me ahead of time to just chug it all down, since it tends to thicken the longer you nurse it! The taste was fine...I've tasted a lot worse fiber drinks. I liken it to a really thick orange juice (but not as sweet as orange juice). I didn't feel the need to gag when drinking it...bonus!!

After getting to work (about 30 minutes after the morning routine), I made myself some instant oatmeal at work and I am hanging in there just fine! Must remember to drink water!! According to information on the AdvoCare website, this cleanse is "gentle and uneventful"!

So far, so good!

The Dreaded Initial Weigh-In!

O.k...I had to debate whether or not to post the dreaded "before" pictures on here. Do I really want all my fatness out on the internet for the world to see? It takes me back to an infamous line (by Anthony Michael Hall's character) in one of my favorite movies from the '80's, Sixteen Candles. Yes, I am really dating myself here...along the lines of: "I can just see the thing getting duped a thousand times and winding up on cable somewhere". Insert "internet" in place of cable!

I decided to post the pics since I need to held accountable! I let myself get this fat and I have to see what I am at this point in life! So here I am in all 211.5 pounds of my fatness! Seriously, people let me get this big?? I look like an Oompah-Loompah! I had to do the typical "before-picture looking miserable-face"!

Hey, my feet look small though!

I'm a roly-poly!

Yes, these are my feet with the hard to miss bunion-ectomy scars! And yes I know I need a pedi in a bad way!

Just for my record keeping, here are my measurements that will be rechecked in 10 days:

Neck: 15"
Left Arm: 14.5"
Right Arm: 14.5"
Chest: 40.5"
Waist/belly-button: 45.5"
Hips: 48"
Left Thigh: 27.5"
Right Thigh: 27.5"
Left Calf: 15"
Right calf: 15"
Pant Size: 18
Weight: 211.5

My First Full Day Diet Coke-Free!

Today was my first 0400am day Diet Coke-Free and on Spark! It's the little victories! I remember a while back I tried to wean myself off Diet Coke and I got the worst headache. I must report, no headache today!

The day started off pretty typical, a little bit of yawning in the early morning hours. I drank an Orange Spark on the way to work at 0445 and followed it with lots of water. I had another Pink Lemonade Spark while at home on mid-morning break with Evan and another in the late afternoon (I think it was Orange). For tomorrow morning, I am going to try the Slam instead first thing in the morning to get that energy up right away and see how that works.

I am still eating a normal routine, but adding in more fruits to snack on. I did not snack on any Dove chocolate today either at work! Those hunger pains just weren't there! Once I start the 24-Day Challenge tomorrow I will have to pay closer attention to what I am eating though.

When I left work at 3pm, I can truly say that my body didn't feel like I had been at work for 2 days straight. Since my day starts so early, I tend to get that jet-lagged feeling around 3pm...I didn't have it today and felt really good when I left work.

WINNING, so far!

Kit and 24-Day Challenge Arrived Today!

Woo-hoo...some excitement! My kit and 24-Day Challenge box arrived by FedEx today while I was home on my morning break. Took some pics to capture this moment which will put me back on the road to good health! Yes, I know I am a little dorky!

This is the $79 kit you get when you enroll as an AdvoCare Distributor (even if you just want to get the products at a 20% discount like I am doing right now). You get $50 worth of product, so it's a great deal and it gives you a sampling of the 2 best products, Spark and Slam. Both of which will be used up by me, for sure!

Such a cute big blue box!

These are the distributor kit product contents:

But wait! There's more! Check under the products and here is all the literature you get with the kit!

My 24-Day Challenge (not included in the distributor kit, but I got it at a 20% discount using my distributor status)!!