Progress of 24 Day Challenge {Day 5}

I am super excited about my progress with the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge!!! I started on Monday 10/3/16. I had been stuck at 192.2 throughout September. Between our move and the kiddos back in school my stress levels where crazy high and with PCOS that just makes matters worse. I am happy I was able to maintain and not actually gain during September.

However, I know that I needed to step things up if I wanted to keep progressing towards my goals. My next goal is to get to 180. See where I started here.

  

I weighed in on Friday 10/7. That's 4 full days of my 10 day cleanse phase of the challenge. I have already lost 3.6 lbs!!! I've never been on a cleanse that was this easy before! I actually get to eat real food and I am not in the bathroom 27/4. I work full time and it hasn't interfered with my job. I feel pretty amazing too. I will tell ya around day three I was a little irritable. I vented to a friend and got over it and by Thursday morning I was feeling great.

 

I feel better than I have in a long time. I eat 6-7 times a day. I count Weight Watcher points to stay on track with my calorie intake. I know all too well how quickly calories can get out of control! I do follow the Herbal Cleanse precisely with the exception that I have added an extra dosage of OmegaPlex daily.

I will post an update after my full 10 Days of the cleanse and then my weight and measurements after the 24 days! So stay tuned!  

Life is a Balancing Act! Stress and Weight Loss

So this summer has been hectic to say the least! We had a graduation, a wedding, drove to Texas and back three times in June. My Grandma and Aunt from Washington came to visit. My son turned 13. Now, I can't believe my kiddos go back to school in a week! Time has literally flown by! Working on getting the kiddos to bed at a decent time is not going to be easy. They are already fighting me on it!

Last weekend my hubby's car left us stranded out of town. We then spent a few days looking for the right one to purchase for him. We were blessed with the great deal we found. On top of that we want to move closer to the kiddos' school. They actually go to school 19 miles south of where we live currently. Then I drive north for work. We may have found a rental and should know by tomorrow afternoon. We've been trying to move out that way for a few years but nothing stays on the market long. Although we know that everything will work out, it is stressful.


I have a recall on my van so I have to take it to the shop tomorrow to get it fixed. I get to take a shuttle to work...super fun. Then we have open house for school on Tuesday. Taking a long weekend before school starts to go to the beach and my daughter is having issues with her feet.

Typically when life gets out of hand I get distracted. I refuse to get distracted no matter how crazy life gets! This time I've just kept swimming...metaphorically that is. Ha! Plus I keep doing my affirmations. They really do help!

I'm continually tracking my weight watchers points in my food journal, exercising, drinking my water and getting my 8 hours of sleep in when possible.  I follow the basics of weight loss. You can't go wrong by following these steps!

I had my weigh in two days ago. I am down 1.2 lbs.! Yay! The week before the scale didn't budge at all. Of course Aunt Flo was visiting for the second time in July. Thanks PCOS.
 
I am focusing on 1 lb. at a time. Exercising and eating healthy actually helps me through the stressful times. I did have my cheat meal today. I ate too much chicken alfredo and I had a glass of wine. It's okay though because next time I intend to only have the serving size on my cheat meal. Plus I went for a 45 minute walk after dinner and am currently at 12,246 steps. Now time for sleep...

Dog Days of Summer...Still Need to Workout!

It is smoldering here in the South. Heat index has been 103-106 with high humidity. That alone will make you tired! Having the energy to workout is sometimes non-existent. I am an October kinda gal. I am ready for fall y'all!

I have a daily goal of getting in 10,000 steps, which is approximately 5 miles. I have a desk job so I spend my day setting at a computer but I move as much as possible.

I usually do at least one mile in the morning when I get up or a 15-20 minute quick workout to get going. Then I walk around on my two 15 minute breaks I get during my work day. Sometimes I will walk around at lunch as well. When I get home I try to do up to 2 miles or a 30 minute workout depending on where I am at with my steps and what I need to get done with my family. There are days that I do nothing...or next to nothing. LOL

An easy way to get physical activity in is walking at home. You get moving and stay inside in the nice cool air! I have been walking with Leslie Sansone off and on for several years. I have a handful of her DVDs. More recently I found her on youtube.com. I also like Jessica Smith TV for walking at home. Both these ladies do a great job of keeping you motivated during your workout. I do go to the park with my kiddos LATE in the evening and walk around while they play. I can usually only tolerate 30 minutes at a time. Did I mention I like Octobers?

My favorite workout videos are from FitnessBlender! I discovered them 2 years ago. I've got to try new workouts with them like barre and tabata /HIIT. They have over 500 videos. Fo' freeee! They are very knowledgeable and teach you proper form as you go through the workout. I highly recommend these two. Plus I am super thrifty and they help me stay within my fitness budget. :)

Although I have not been putting in heavy workouts the last month or so due to the ridiculous heat I am continuing to move and stay on track as much as possible. My weigh in this morning was 194.4 lbs. I am super excited about that! I have had a handful of off days...that's a given though. The struggle is real! Being healthy in an unhealthy world is hard work!



I have officially been blogging for one month (and a few days) and I have lost 7.6 lbs! My total weight loss so far is 42.4 lbs. Remember, fall down seven times, stand up eight! Keep going and you'll get there!

   

Failing Regularly But Still Fighting

I have been exhausted this past weekend. I napped for two hours Saturday afternoon…then I made bad food choices. I did get my wellness visit off my to-do list. (I love that my Dr. is open on Saturdays!) I am being checked for the following:

• B12 Deficiency
• Basic metabolic panel
• Complete blood count
• Lipid panel
• Liver function panel
• Thyroid/Hormone
• Vitamin D Deficiency

I am eager to get the results but it could be up to a week before I hear back. My moods have been up and down like a roller-coaster…thanks PCOS…

So I was going to do a body cleanse over this past weekend but I spent most of my time having a mini pity party and lying in bed. (My kiddos were at their dad’s house) I did manage to drink a tablespoon of Epsom salt dissolved in 8 oz. of water.  Usually it works within 8-12 hours. Nope. Nothing. Finally after 48 hours it hit me. Of course I was at the grocery store! Lucky me! LOL 

I have felt all out of sorts for the past few weeks. It’s like I started this blog to keep me on track and inspire others and I am a giant mess! I know that I have to keep pressing forward. Yeah I struggled over the weekend and I am super hormonal. I did go to the doctor to see if they can shed some light on what’s going on. I also got right back to tracking in my food journal, I continually hit 10,000+ steps each day, I am eating my fruits and veggies and I am getting plenty of water in. 

So I am not totally back to square one. I just have to keep practicing to stay on track over the weekend. This seems to be my downfall. I thrive in structured, planned environments. (Until I get super bored that is). Maybe I need to structure my weekends more. 

I am still doing my affirmations and I really have increased saying them more and more the last two days. I seem to be happier. Of course this is one of my affirmations. ;) I am setting goals and moving forward. If you aim for nothing, you’ll hit it every time.    

I also signed up to be an AdvoCare distributor. I have been using their products for the past two years and I love them! I think this is something new and exciting and has breathed new life into me. As cliche as that sounds. LOL I do get bored easily.  

Balancing Life and Weight Loss

The last four days have been a huge blessing to me. My Granny and Aunt from Washington State came to visit! I have enjoyed my time with them fully. This is only the third time since 1995 that I have got to see them.  We celebrated my son turning 13; had a family dinner with my two sisters, their spouses and children and my mother. Lots of celebrations with lots of food! Not to mention we just had Fourth of July get-togethers the weekend before.

I knew going into these two weeks that I was going to focus on maintaining my weight. This would be a victory in its own.  Last Friday for my weigh in I was at 198.2…so I had a 2 oz. gain. So this I can live with! Now this week will be a different story! I didn’t want to obsess over what I ate and take away from spending time with Granny and Auntie. Tried to balance as much as possible. This is still a learning process for me...

The problem was all of the leftovers from the birthday party! I have cookie cake, birthday cake and ice cream setting around. Then we had lunch at my sister’s house Sunday and she sent the leftover cookies and chips home with us. Snicker doodle cookies are the devil I tell you! I ate 3 of them! This is why I just can’t keep stuff like this in the house. Plus it’s not healthy for my kiddos to be loaded up on sugar either. I have a headache from the sugar. I had been keeping my sugar intake below 24 grams a day, which is the recommended daily serving.

I’ve got to stay on track for the rest of this. I will do my daily workouts. I will get to sleep on time. I will not eat added sugar! This is a promise I am making to myself. I did well yesterday and today. The children and I walked to the park and played some basketball. The fireflies were out and it was so peaceful.  I enjoyed time with my kiddos and nature. Bonus, I hit my daily goal of 10,000 steps!

I am going to do a detox in the next week or so. About 6 six years ago my husband and I were in a car wreck and we had to go to physical therapy. The therapist there gave us a detox recipe that worked wonderfully. For some reason I am thinking it was from the Mayo Clinic…but I could be wrong. It involves Epsom salt, grapefruit and olive oil. So stay tuned for that post! lol