Goodbye Cleanse.

Contender #1: Lazy Ass

Weight: 140 lbs

Last Week's Weight: ??

Starting Weight: 150 lbs

Loss this week: ??

Total Loss: 10 lbs

Goal: 125 (pounds to go: 15)

Contender #2: Fatty

Weight: 158 lbs (Hello plateau.)

Last Week's Weight: 158

Starting Weight: 170 lbs

Loss this week: 0

Total Loss: 12 lbs

Goal: 135 (pounds to go: 23)

Wow first month down already?! Time has seriously flown by.  I feel pretty good.  Want to know how I know I'm feeling good? Because I did a little indulging and I felt sick! So sick.  That means the cleanse has worked.  I have all the bad stuff out of my system and now when I taste it, my body rejects it. I am on the right track with everything! Weight wise I am not where I had hoped to be but I am still making progress. I have been running pretty much ever day in training for the half marathon that is in just a few weeks.  Both Lazy and I have put some weight back on, I am hoping it is mostly because of the exercise and increased muscle.  However we have still made a lot of progress! 

Last night we spent time playing outside with the kids.  The kids rode their bikes, scooters, quads (we ran after them and chased balls down the street). Then we went inside for dinner.  My niece and I made the zucchini cakes from the recipe I shared.  This was my second time making them, and they turned out better than the first time! It was so great to be able to cook healthy with her.  This is why I want to change my lifestyle so badly, not just so I become healthy and lose weight, but so my daughter and niece and nephew see me making smart decisions and learning how to make them as well.  It was also great having an assistant that could help out, you know like squeezing all the water out of the zucchini, hey it feels all icky when I do it...why not let the kid "help"?  We sat down as a family, the kids ate (well M and H ate, my little decided that running around was more fun. Her loss, this was a great meal!)  We enjoyed chicken, zucchini cakes, and steamed veggies.  It was a great day. One of my favorite days in fact. 

I've joined some weight loss forums lately just to try to see what others are doing, and see if I can connect with others who are doing or have done a paleo diet and/or gluten free diet.  What I have come to realize is that I am so lucky to have a partner to help me stay on track and motivated.  Not only do I have Lazy Ass, but I have a really amazing BF that helps keep me on track.  When I get a craving, like that oreo cookie cake thing at chills the other night, he convinced me I really didn't want it, even though I kept telling him I did.  In the end I would have regretted it, and he knew it.  So my big suggestion this week for anyone who is working on this resolution of weight loss/ healthy lifestyle etc, find a friend/family member anyone to do it with you or at least support you in it.  It makes such a difference!

What's Perfect?! End of Week 3 Weigh-in

Contender #1: Lazy Ass

Weight: ?? lbs (Dead Scale)

Last Week's Weight: 138lbs

Starting Weight: 150 lbs

Loss this week: ? lbs

Total Loss: 12 lbs

Goal: 125 (pounds to go: 15)

Contender #2:  Fatty

Weight: 158 lbs
Last Week's Weight: 161 lbs
Starting Weight: 170 lbs
Loss this week: 3 lbs
Total Loss: 12 lbs
Goal: 135 (pounds to go: 23)

I have to say I am so excited I passed my week goal to get below 160!  TAKE THAT WHALE-TWIN hah! Although the problem is I was thinking 160 was going to be my plateau number.  Oh how wrong I was.  158 is the new 160.  I hit 158 on Wednesday.  Thursday 158.  Friday 158. Saturday 158.  SUNDAY 158.  I'm really getting sick of seeing this number.  Its starting to feel like some creepy horror movie. I think my scale has a sick sense of humor.  I mean I would really even settle for 157.9 at this point just to get rid of this number that is in my nightmares now.  My goal for this final week of the cleanse is to get to 155.  I am really hoping I can make it and based on my weight loss of the last few weeks it is attainable.

So Lazy Ass just talked about how amazing I have been during this, and I am so flattered. However I am no where near perfect with this cleanse! I have had my moments where I have eaten things I know I shouldn't (can we have those crazy wave things and have a flash back moment to where I went on about how I JUSTIFIED the french fries because they were potatoes and olive oil?)  And I can guarantee today is going to be a serious cheat day.  Why? it's game day, I'm at a party and I only have so much self control.  However I will NOT be having gluten.  That is my big goal this year is to keep gluten out of my diet as long as possible.

During the classes we tool last year with a nutritionist along with our cleanse, we learned that the removal of most of these things during the cleanse is to partially find out if you are allergic or intolerant to them.  We were told if you find out you are not allergic or intolerant to lactose, that it is okay to have dairy next time you do the cleanse.  Last time I had NO issues when dairy was slowly added back into my diet.  This time I knew it would be okay to have some dairy, and that has been my main cheat.  Once a week I have had something with cheese.  Today will be my cheat day.  I will be making nachos and they will have cheese.  Everything else on them will be gluten free and go along with the cleanse.  It however does not go along with my 3 shake a day plan as I will be snacking on actual food all day.

I think one of the important things for both Lazy Ass and I is that we are not perfect.  No on is.  We are real people struggling every day with decisions and temptation.  Some days we will be great and will be able to say no.  Other days we might waiver and end up with eating something we know we shouldn't have.  But what this whole experience comes down to is we are learning.  We have a year long goal to be healthier.  This is only the first month. We both have 11 more to figure out how to work our goals into our life styles.  To think that we could be PERFECT from day one and never have any issues is insane! Learning to live with our temptation and giving in just enough so we can learn balance is what I am hoping we both can take out of this experience.  There will always be parties and cake. And sometimes I think its okay to have your cake and eat it too, in moderation.

This brings us to the last week of the cleanse.  However this is not the last week of our journey. This last week continues the goal of 3 shakes a day. On Saturday we are going to be heading to The Counter in Walnut Creek for our first victory lap.  It has been a long 3 weeks, and this last week will bring more challenges.  Come join us on Saturday for good food at affordable prices! 

weigh ins and a scale on strike

tomorrow is weigh in day. the problem? my scale is broken. every time i step on it, it says Err. i've taken this to mean one of two things a) i've lost so much weight my scale has freaked out and is out celebrating or 2) i've gained all the weight back and my scale has given up hope. i really hope it's the first and it will be back in a few days with a nasty hangover causing it to leave off some extra digits.

i have not been perfect in this journey. for some reason, i can't find the will power to say no as i was once able to. i have learned a big reason why it's so much harder for me this time though. i'm getting up really early to get a cranky kindergartener and a defiant toddler ready to leave the house within 3 mins of school starting. i then have to take the toddler to his grandfather's house only to rush back and put on a decent pair of clothes and jet off to help in the kindergartener's class. after helping, i head to pick up the toddler who is now ready for a nap even though we have to go get his sister in an hour so i'm seriously entertaining him to keep him awake. after picking up the big, i have to make lunches then nap both of them. at this point, i've had an insane amount of coffee and my stomach is on the verge of a boycott and i'm using the last bit of energy to throw in a load of laundry and straighten up for round two. they wake up cranky and demanding to be held as i'm getting them ready for afternoon activities. by 5 pm, i'm starving and we're rarely home at that point. my choices for food are narrowed and my inhibitions are lowered. i need food. any food. i would eat cat food at that point. i cave and eat something mildly okay then have horrible guilt and end up eating some crap food later on swearing i'll do better the next day. realistically, it never happens that way. i'm on a vicious rinse/repeat cycle swearing the next day will be different.

i'm starting to come up with a solid plan though. i need to wake up earlier and force myself to eat. before i hit the on switch for the coffee pot, something better be cooking. when i pack the kids lunches, i will make extra baggies of approved snacks for me to carry along, even if its just to get me to my next meal. i will make sure we come home for dinner, even if it means preparing extra snacks to hold the kids over until we get home. i wish i had come up with this plan sooner. i wish i could walk away from this saying 'i did it! i accomplished something!' but i honestly don't feel like i did. for this reason, i'm going to continue on with the program for an extra month. i will celebrate what i did manage to do at the end of this month. i will enjoy a burger but maybe skip the bun. i will praise my efforts more and be a little less hard on myself. i will not cave to the feeling of 'oh, i already failed, what difference does it make.' i look at my partner in crime (Fatty) and am amazed at how well she has stuck to this. her will power and desire to change her life is amazing. she is going to be my role model for the upcoming months.

oh, and i will also attempt to do that exercising thing.... ugh. wish me luck.