Making the Commitment

Let's be honest... commitments are hard regardless of the reason behind it. Relationships, diets, exercise, heck for some people even dinner plans are hard to keep.  Therefore you have to be ready mentally and emotionally to make that commitment for it to ever work. KEEP THAT IN MIND!

I hear it all the time.  I want to lose weight.  I want to be healthy. (yes this has been heard from my own little mouth)  And before the first week is up they have already pulled through McDonalds and supersized a number 1 extra value meal. (Let me just state for the record I have no clue what number 1 is on the menu... I am currently boycotting McD's for a whole other reason that I won't get into but let's just say it has to do with another passion - Pit Bulls).  Anyway... where was I?  Oh yes.... commitment to change takes 21 days!  21 days is almost a month for those who have a hard time with math.  THREE very long weeks!  So before you decide to do anything... can you handle the first 21 days b/c in that 21 days you will have formed a new habit. 

Recently I decided to make a change.  I was finally committed and decided this wasn't going to be a goal to get me in shape for summer or by my wedding (this was a previous time I 'got healthy').  This is for life.  I'm not dieting.  I'm changing every habit of nutritional intake.  I'm not just belonging to a gym... I'm going.  A gym membership is extra expensive if you don't go just an FYI.  

So now what? It's purge time.  It's time to get rid of the crap in my pantry (as well as in my a$$ but we already know that I have some great poop tea for that).  PAY attention to those labels on food if you buy anything that comes in a bag or box or carton.  There is so much out there that is literally toxic that we as a nation consume on a daily basis!  And I hate to break it to you... if you're favorite show is Extreme Couponing the best you're going to do is a year's supply of laundry detergent.  You want free food... GROW IT!

And I know not drinking pop will be hard or eliminating your favorite International Delight's coffee creamer (personal favorite).  But I promise... give me 21 days and you won't even miss it!

TRX, Wraps, Tea, and Websites OH MY!

So I have been slacking on my progress blog so this should be just a bit ALL OVER THE PLACE!

First up TRX!  I SO LOVE IT!!!  I realized how out of shape I was by the time the 60 minute class was done but I that's just encouragement!  Suspension training forces you to use proper form which then in turn forces you to engage your muscles properly.  After losing most of my upper body strength following Vaughn's big debut, form has been a big challenge for me. (Don't get me wrong... I have amazing arms from holding the 32 lbs lil man but I seem to have misplaced my abs)  Now I know all this super cool working out is going to probably cause my weight loss to slow dramatically.  It's hard to remind yourself that muscle weighs more than fat so that's why I incorporate the NO SCALES allowed in the house rule.  I only weigh myself when I go to the gym and I base my true progress on the fact that my size fours are becoming loose!  So does it really matter what I weigh as long as my size is where I want to be.  I've never met someone that was able to accurately able to guess my weight anyway!!! Plus the human head weighs 8 lbs.  Isn't that an automatic deduction?

On to getting wrapped... why not try everything right.  

It was an interesting experience.  I had my midsection (every woman's problem area) done.  I wore it for a little more than five hours.  This was five hours of crazy water drinking while being wrapped in saran wrap while having to tinkle every 30 minutes.  Ok... Let's be honest... that was kind of annoying.  Not so much the actual wrap because I had amazing posture AND it was like having a corset on the entire day but the constant trips to the bathroom were just a bit excessive.  According to my measurements ... I lost almost 2 inches BUT because the genius that I am forgot to write those down... I have no clue if those 2 inches are still gone one week later.  So what I can say is it does 'tighten and tone'.  My skin was so tight that I actually became extra ticklish but that has since went away but my skin does still seem to be quite soft.  The verdict is still out but I might try it again.

Tea... So from my earlier blogs I'm sure reading about my adventures with tea can be an all time favorite but let me tell you... I have a TOP notch detox tea!  I do affectionately call it poop tea.  Let's be honest... that's what it is.  It messes with your poop!  Now here is what I need to say about it: BEWARE OF THE STEEP TIME!  I might or might not have let my tea steep for an hour.  The next day I lost 5 pounds of crap... LITERALLY!  Now that's not the 'norm' but that's where my warning is to be considered.  I have to say though... I secretly liked it.  I might have lost 2 inches with the wrap but I lost 2 dress sizes and hit my goal weight with my tea! Too much?  Oh well... if you haven't noticed the title of my Blog is 'Let's Be Honest...'

And now onto the website... MY WEBSITE!!!  I figure part of the transformation is not just body... it's mind, body and soul!  It's become for me a true indication of the path I want to take... emotionally, physically, & professionally.  This will start with my website (as well as a FB page, Blog, Twitter - Social Media is big right now).  My mission will be to truly become a Health Coach providing information, links, recipes, etc.  I have never been so energized for something.  Maybe it's the Zija or was it Zija that started it!  I just want to do my part in making the world a little healthier.  And once I'm a millionaire... I will also do my part in dog rescue but before one must come the other! 

Life is not always sunshine...

I'll admit it.  I don't always wake up ready to jump out of bed and have the BEST DAY EVER!  I also don't always have a great night's sleep or feel amazing when I wake up but there has been a difference.  By the time I have nourished my body and removed the toxins... I feel amazing once again.  The key is knowing how...

So let's get a little personal.  Feel free to stop reading now.  Earlier in the week I decided to punish my self once again with an intense strength training workout.  It really does seem like a great idea at the time.  Feeling the burn... Pushing for just one more rep... I'm not going to lie... I get a personal high off it.  But this week, my abs made sure to remind me every two hours during the night that I had maybe (ok probably) pushed it just a little too far.  By the time I got to bed and got comfortable, I quickly found out that after about 30 minutes, no position was really comfortable.  My muscles were so inflamed that it felt like my abs were like speed bumps when I would lay on my stomach.  Now I imagine that is my inner six pack breaking through but I am ok with being soft when sleeping!  I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.  This was not one of those nights where I woke up the next morning ready to jump out of bed for the BEST DAY EVER!  Just a note... I was planning on going to a morning yoga class but that was quickly scratched.  I needed energy as well as a little more flexibility to make that happen.  At this point in the story... I would have told you that it ruined my entire day.  That I couldn't move for the next two days (BTW today is day two) but that was the old me.  The new me now knows how to give my body what it needs to repair and bounce back after my torture.  And I was as good as new within an hour after I got my butt out of bed (which was actually my biggest challenge of the day).

Still reading?  This is where I actually do get personal but I figured I would put just a little buffer. WARNING!  

So as any woman can attest... UTI's suck.    There is no way around it.  Your stomach hurts... It's annoying.  You got to go but you can't (yes that was personal).  Well... after my gym torture on my normal day two of body soreness... the real issue became a possible UTI.  Obviously there is an infection.  Obviously it completely affects every part of my day so what do you do about it.  Drink lots of water... drink some cranberry juice... try and get into the doctor (I'm not big on doctors so normally I just suffer).  So I decided to try something.  I had a detox tea (you know... just laying around).  I'm sure you're thinking.  This woman is nuts.  A detox tea?  So b/c it's not coming out one way she wants to lose control of the other?  This isn't the way I was thinking.  My logical side thought... well... this is an infection so in order to possibly feel good, I should try and get those toxins out.  I'm not kidding within 1 hour of drinking what I used to refer to as 'poop tea', the 'symptoms' were gone!!! 

And on that note... it's time for bed!

SEEING the change...

I once read that it takes FOUR (very long) weeks to notice a physical change in one's self and EIGHT even longer weeks for others to notice (this includes your husband ladies).  Well... it's been almost FOUR weeks since I started my journey to a healthier me and I SEE IT but what's even better is in the last two days my husband has made several comments about how good I look and how wonderful I've been doing on my journey (the eating right, the workouts, the tanning - ok... not quite as healthy but everyone has their vice). 

And I truly feel amazing.  The best way to describe it is like the way a tree grows ... from the inside out.  I am taking care of my insides ... therefore ... my outsides are starting to show the results.  EVEN MY HAIR is amazing!  No seriously... it hasn't been this pretty since I was pregnant (no I'm not pregnant).  

My migraines have also completely gone.  Prior to this... I would get at least one a week (and before I left my job... it was almost one a day but that's a whole other BLOG).  

Now I know I said it before but the first few weeks are rough when you're a visual person but you have to give it time.  If you've been eating like crap for the last 10 years it's not going to go away in 10 days.  You might even find that your body will react in crazy ways to 'good' nutrients but after you've made that commitment and get to that point where you can see it ... it's AMAZING!  And to be honest... the weight loss has become secondary.  It's feeling good and being able to keep up with my little man that's made all the difference!

Oh and here is where my confession comes in... I'm not a saint!  I still have crap every now and then but it hasn't effected my progress.  The key is not to deprive yourself because that will be the only thing you want to have.  Just know that you can't have it ALL the time.  And after a while... after you start to see what is resulting from your conscious health choices... you won't even crave it!  Remember... physically (inside and out) comes from 90% nutrition and 10% physical activity.

[FYI - from my supplement alone... I get the following: Vitamins A, B, B1-B6, B12, C, D, E, K, Folic Acid, Biotin (to name a few), 15 Minerals (Calcium, Chloride, Chromium, Copper, Fluorine, Iron, Manganese, Magnesium, Molybdenum, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Selenium, Sulfur, Zinc), All Eight Essential Amino Acids, 10 Additional Amino Acids, Chlorophyll, Carontenoids, Cytokinins, Flavonoids, Omega (3,6,9) oils, Plant Sterols, Polyphenols, Lutein, Xanthins, & Rutin] - Now look on the back of yours... Look at your vitamins... are you getting what you need?