Frustration!

The hardest part about starting any new 'routine' is the expectations that follow.  After almost two weeks now of changing the way I treat my body, I find that at times I'm a little frustrated.  Is it so unrealistic to want to look amazing in two weeks?  Shouldn't I have already lost 20lbs.? I think this is where many of us choose to give up.  They expect to see results immediately.  Be back in those skinny jeans that they slowly grew out of over the last two years.  Well... I've got news for you!  It took two years to put on the weight... it's not going to take two weeks to take it off!

Now here is where the frustration melts away.  I may not be where I want to be physically on the outside yet BUT inside I feel amazing!  And I may not have lost 20lbs yet BUT I do not feel this extra weight that I had been carrying around.  And no... I didn't suddenly give birth again but my insides have begun the process of repair.  

In the beginning of this journey I chose to incorporate supplements to help my body gain a nutritional edge.  I too was skeptical of how these items would change my body (better or worse).  But after two weeks and purposely missing 2 days of supplements.  I can see the difference.  The days I chose to not take anything I felt my sluggish self start to reappear.  Now I don't recommend doing this but I really wanted to feel what the difference was in a day of getting complete nutrition and not. I find all of this amazing especially since just taking a multi vitamin in the past would actually give me migraines. 

And not to say I'm not noticing small changes on the outside but it's the internal ones that are the key right now. 

Week ONE

Ladies and Gentlemen... It's been one full week since I've made the personal commitment to change my body inside and out!  And I am happy to report that I am down 3lbs and feel amazing!  Not that 3lbs is huge but lets be honest, slow weight loss is a healthy way of losing weight.  AND 3lbs in one week is actually pretty good!  

Ok... Ok ... OK... I admit during this first week I only worked out ONCE!  Once and I still lost 3lbs!  I know you're all jealous!  I really don't plan on continuing my journey without exercise but how exciting is it that I was able to drop weight with only making changes to my diet and supplement program!  It truly makes me believe what my family doctor once said - weight is 90% nutrition 10% exercise!

Just remember when you feel like you're not seeing results...
 
Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will those abs!

Today was a REAL test!

Well... Thursdays just suck!  It's my own fault really but they do.  I am in class from 9am - 9pm!  Of course it's only one day a week and I shouldn't complain but it makes for a VERY VERY VERY long day!  And to be honest, I should know better than to load a schedule this way because it never fails that I would get a migraine at some point only to get home exhausted and completely useless. 

BUT today was different.  I think it helped that I actually got a good night's sleep the night before.  This is a bit of a challenge right now since Vaughn has been sick and the mother in me causes me to wake randomly to check on him.  But none the less, I started off completely rested ... not rushed.  It was a nice change from my 'previous life'.  

Have my new habits created such a physical change that even a mentally exhausting day didn't have the same outcomes?  I was focused and very productive the entire day!  No crashing!  No MIGRAINES! And yes... by day end, I was tired but I'm not Wonder Woman! 

Even better... I AM WALKING THE WALK!  Everything is fine in moderation but since making this commitment, I haven't craved the CRAP food that I would every time I tried to diet.  Is this different because this isn't a 'diet' but a 'lifestyle'? It's amazing what the combination of commitment, knowledge, and resources can do get you on the right track!

Remember... 'it takes 21 days to form a habit (good or bad)'... I'm on day 4!  Tomorrow I start reincorporating an exercise routine.  Imagine the possibilities! 

I Want It Immediately If Not SOONER!

I have to say, this journey is not just about what supplement I'm taking or what workout I'm going to incorporate.  I am on a search for EVERY way that I can improve my overall health (and the health of my lil man).  I'm not so much worried about my husband b/c he took a one day course on nutrition from the Cleveland Clinic and is now an EXPERT on EVERYTHING. (I hope my sarcasm was clear in my last statement).

A year and a half ago, I gave birth to the most perfect child.  I might be biased but he's pretty darn cute.  At the time, I decided that I wanted to give him the best start at life so I chose to breastfeed.  According to medical research, this is the most perfect nutrition you can give your child not to mention the additional benefits to both the mother and the child.  During the time I nursed, my son got sick maybe once or twice in a 13 month time period.  (Yes... I'm proud that I made it 13 months)

Nine weeks after I gave birth, unfortunately my maternity leave ended and if I wanted to continue to breastfeed, I had to pump several times a day and give my son bottles when I wasn't available.  It was during this time that I really started to think about how important 'INSTANT' really was.  Breast milk should only be heated gradually in a bottle warmer or on the stove.  NEVER in a MICROWAVE!  This is because microwaves destroy the nutrients in the milk making it pretty much useless as far as benefiting the child.  Now there is nothing more frustrating than having a child that doesn't understand that it will take a few minutes when you could just heat it in 30 seconds to make them happy.  But sometimes you have to endure the screams in order to do what's best.  


So if nutrients is destroyed in breast milk when being heated in a microwave, what do you think happens to other foods that are put in a microwave?  And aside from the obvious high sodium in those Healthy Choice, Weight Watchers, and Nutrisystem meals... every one of them is heated in a microwave.  Where is the nutritional value then?  We are so concerned with the immediate or so rushed in our days that even when we think we are being healthy, we're destroying the nutrients in most of our meals. This far from benefits our bodies.


Now I'm not perfect.  I own a microwave.  I use it... although I try to use it as little as possible.  Most of the time it's to heat up my hot pack for my neck.  It's important to slow down.  Take the time to be healthy!

Who Needs Sleep Anyway?

I DO!  But it's rare that I actually get a good night's sleep.  Between trying to calm my racing mind, an ever changing work/sleep schedule for Josh, and a 19 month old child I can barely fall asleep let alone stay asleep. 

It wasn't a surprise.. I expected to sacrifice my sleep the majority of the nine months I was pregnant plus the first year of Vaughn's life but after Vaughn turned a year old I had become so exhausted that I could hardly see straight.  If you're a parent you know that you do things when you get the chance and normally that chance came between the hours of 9pm-9am for me.   So I would find myself up till 1 or 2am before I would even make my way to bed then spend another hour just trying to fall asleep. Of course I had some time during the day but for some reason the night hours were what I took advantage of most.  I could really get things accomplished without having to worry about the fact that in an hour or two, I would have to stop because Vaughn woke up or I had to get dinner ready etc.  

Now on to problem #2... I'm a woman and I've had a baby which equals a non-existent bladder!  There is nothing worse than your own body being the reason you can't sleep at night!  I am lucky enough to have a child that sleeps through the night yet I can't make it more than 3 hours at a time without a potty break interruption!  So even if I was in bed for a full eight hours, it was eight hours of broken sleep with the possibility that I never actually hit the REM stage.  

Do you know how important a good night's sleep is to your overall health?  Did you also know there is also a link between those extra pounds and the quality/amount of sleep an individual gets?  I had to get a handle on this to begin to feel human again and to get into my skinny jeans!  

So during my yearly physical, I brought it up to my doctor.  Now for most people that know me well, you have to force medication down my throat as well as get me to the doctor.  I'm not a big believer in traditional medicine.  I would much rather take a holistic approach to healing (which also means I keep my chiropractor busy).  But now I was desperate for something to help me 'through the night'.  He prescribed melatonin.  Melatonin is a hormone that your body (pineal gland) makes naturally so to take melatonin as a supplement was a natural remedy that I was willing to try.  

I took it consistently for a little over a month but the results were far from my expectations.  It didn't help relax me nor did it keep me asleep.  As a matter of fact, when I would wake in the morning, I would feel sluggish and like I wanted to sleep the rest of the day.  Not to mention I was still getting up my normal 2-3 times during the night (which my doctor thought would stop while taking this).  

So back to the drawing board to find an answer... AND I think I found it!  The last two nights I slept through the night without waking once AND I didn't pee the bed! (I want to be clear) I had ever had an accident before but let's be honest part of the problem here is a non-existent bladder so I was amazed to think I could have possibly cured both issues!  Now... it's only been two nights.  Could it last? 

The First Day

So today begins my journey to my 2012 goal of the body I always dreamed of.  Funny thing is... at one time I had this body.  Of course I was in my early 20's.  Add one dessert loving husband and one baby and that became a thing of the past.  Now that I'm one full year into my 30's, I figure there is no better time than the present to get going because... let's be honest, I'm not getting any younger! 

Speaking of honesty, I feel the only way to keep myself honest about this is to lay it all out on the table.  So I'm going to do what no woman does... ADMIT TO MY WEIGHT (along with my dress size).   This is hard for me especially since I was always the girl that was extremely tiny.  As a matter of fact, at one point I could have probably ate at any fast food restaurant for every meal, seven days a week, and still maintained my 105 lbs weight.  Let me just tell you, that's not how it is now.  As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure my metabolism retired around age 27.  Now at the ripe 'old' age of 31 I'm sitting pretty at a stubborn 139 lbs and bouncing back and forth between a size 4 and size 6.  Now I know that most people are probably going to read those numbers and hate me because I know they aren't horrible.  Even when I last tested my BMI I was not overweight BUT I'm not happy with how I look.  Not to mention, I am exhausted 90% of time and waiting for the time I can finally crawl into bed at night only to find that I can't sleep.  This is not how I want to live my life.  I'm also tired of making excuses so now it's time to take action!

So today, I started a supplement program called Zija.  And in just one day, I feel better than I have in months.  I also didn't feel the need to nap at any point in the day nor did I want to down 3 cups of coffee this morning.  I actually feel as though I am getting high on oxygen.  Like I might actually have a 3rd lung that just decided to start working!  

Now why did I decide to incorporate Zija with the hundreds of supplements and diet programs out there?  Well there were a few deciding factors.  One... I'm not a calorie counter.  I think it's ridiculous to have a point system or to worry about every single piece of food that enters your body and how it adds up at the end of the day.  Not to say that people don't have success on programs like Weight Watchers or Nutrisystem but I have only known 2 people to actually complete those programs, make it a lifestyle and not bounce back to their old ways.  Two... I've tried Xenadrine, DX, and TrimSpa.  Sure they give you a boost but you crash just as hard.  Three... I wanted to find something that was all natural.  

So many people in this world will drop hundreds of dollars on purses and shoes but when it comes to their bodies, will pack in whatever is on sale or promises a quick fix.  This year I want to make my body a number one priority.  NO MORE processed foods.  NO MORE quick fixes.  I want this to be a lifestyle so I was looking for something that was going to improve my overall health.  The supplement I chose just happens to have a bonus that most people start to naturally lose weight.  But let's think about this.  If you feel great, you're more likely to be active which will cause you to burn more calories.  Pretty simple.

Now this is about me feeling great inside and out.  So today I had to tell myself...

'If you think you can... you can.  If you think you can't... you're right.'  Here is to reaching my goals!