weight/exercise

At the end of 2007 we ended our membership at the gym.  We bought an elliptical and I did really well at first.  Then I got the flu some time in February or March and I really haven’t put more than an hour on it since.  And I don’t think I’m stretching the truth there.

I really have missed working out though.  I sleep better, I feel better, I eat better.  And if you don’t remember only one year working out alone, I lowered my cholesterol by 30 points.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s back up now.

So this weekend I randomly had Scott move our elliptical into the living room behind the couch.  Not as pretty but at least I can see the TV and be with people now.  Maybe it’s the change, but I’ve been on four days in a row!  I’m making horrible time and not lasting very long but I’m back in the saddle!

Yesterday was definitely easier on the cleanse.  The cleansing drink wasn’t nearly as bad.  In fact, by last night, it was starting to taste kind of good.  I didn’t seem nearly as hungry and I was kind of in the groove of it.  But yes, I was hungry and food looked very yummy.  But I guess I’m saying it wasn’t as hard as I thought.

This morning I was not tired but I was very shaky and weak.  I almost didn’t have the energy to get ready.  Even after I sit here 30 minutes after drinking my shake my hands are still shaky.  But I get like that normally when I don’t eat so I’m not surprised.  And really, I haven’t had a real meal for almost 36 hours so I’m surprised it’s taken this long to feel that way.

Results surprised me today.  I was down another 1.5lbs from yesterday which puts me a whole pound under my “magic number”.  Also I’ve lost (with conservative measurements) 1″ in my waist in the past week.

I’m sure once I start eating actual food it will go back up.  My plans are to go out for lunch and eat a nice, big (balanced) meal.  I can’t wait!

I talked to my rep last night and we agreed if my weight stayed down where I like, that I would go ahead and switch to one milkshake a day instead of two like I planned and I’ll officially be on their maintenance program.  It feels good to know my body is supposedly cleansed and I’m getting all the right vitamins every day!

So yesterday was my first ever cleanse day.  Here’s basically what happens…you drink 4 oz of their fruit/veggie cleansing juice 4 times a day.  I drank it at 8:30, 12, 3 and 7.  In between, you can have one of their little chocolate “morsels” or a handful of almonds to keep your sugar levels up. Oh, and you also have to down the water like crazy.  Some because you are hungry but they do tell you to drink more than your normal amount.

How I Feel

First off, that cleansing drink is nasty.  Not as nasty as their “ionic” drink you have to take every day but at least that is only 1 oz.  I figured out though that it is easier to chug the 4oz of cleansing drink rather than try to mix it with 8 oz of water like it suggests.  That was pure torture.  The almonds and chocolates helped a bunch.  I found I didn’t get too hungry at all until my normal snack time around 2:30.  The rest of the evening I found myself on the light side of hungry.  It was hard to fix dinner for everyone and not eat.  But I wasn’t to the point where my stomach was growling and I was just about to faint with hunger…which literally happens with me even normally.  It’s just that feeling…I really could eat something right now but not starving feeling.  I wasn’t tired though. I thought without a good meal I’d be really tired but I wasn’t.  I even went to bed a little late last night and easily woke up this morning.

The Results

The numbers are looking good…I’ve lost a total of 2 lbs since last Wednesday when I started.  I went down 1/2 lbs over yesterday.  As I’ve said, I’m not really doing this for the weight loss but if I get down another 1/2 lbs, I’ll be at that “magic number” I’ve always had for myself and I haven’t been at in about three years.  I can DEFINITELY tell a difference that I’ve lost.  Scott has definitely noticed which if you read this, that means a lot.  And according to another rough measurement by my iPhone cord, I’ve lost at least 3/4″ in my waist–which is where all my weight gain always goes!

TMI

Most people want to know about what’s coming out….besides running to the bathroom a lot because of the water, nothing else was out of the ordinary which means for me, going 1 time a day.  I thought for sure I’d be in the bathroom all day. I don’t know if this has something to do with the fact that I had switched to all natural products for a month before doing this or it’s common or what but I always assumed you’d be going a lot during a cleansing.

Anyway, that’s about it.  Today I feel more hungry than yesterday.  Technically I haven’t had a meal since Sunday at lunch since I chose to do my second shake at dinner on Sunday instead of lunch.  Not really good planning there on my part.  I’m already planning my meal for tomorrow.

I do wish there was a way to tell if this has helped clear out the toxins in my body.  Honestly, I do like seeing the numbers on the scale changing but my ultimate goal was to get cleansed and unfortunately I don’t know!  Anyone have a clue?

BTW, Isagenix’s site has a bunch of info on what I’m doing.  Let me know if you are interested though b/c I think I do get credits or something if someone uses my referral.  NOT why I’m posting this though.

So yesterday I started Isagenix.  Once again, I’m on their Total Health and Wellness Plan which basically means maintenance nutritional cleansing and not aggressive weight loss.  Heather is doing the other plan if you want to follow her.  Except I’m on the fast track because I want to be done by the time I go to NY for the Hot Blogger Calendar.  Which means I have to drink two of their shakes a day and then one normal meal as well as take some fruit juice thing and their vitamins.  I survived day 1 and ended up down 1/2 lb already (which I’m NOT supposed to be looking at the scale but sshhhh.  Heather was down 2.5lbs this morning.  My mom has lost 8-9lbs in a few weeks).  I will probably reduce to one milkshake a day if I keep losing because I don’t have that much to lose.  Here are my initial thoughts:

• The milkshakes are bland and too thick for my taste but I’m not coughing it down.  Adding less ice was better.  I’m glad after two weeks, I only have to drink one a day.  I can handle that.
• The fruit juice thing is NASTY.  Glad I only have to drink 1 oz. of it.
• I feel good taking vitamins. I should have been doing that all along.
• I’ve been drinking a TON of water.  Not because I’m supposed to but because I’m THIRSTY.  She says this is normal.
• Their chocolate candy bars are bearable but not great.
• I’m not looking forward to the full cleanse days when you don’t eat any solids.

So are you just raring to go on this plan??  I think it’s going to be good but I’m not raving over it yet.  I keep reminding myself that I’m doing this for the health benefit and there’s no good way to measure how cleansed my body is. I just have to trust it’s doing it’s job.   So day 1 down, 13 to go.

…at least for a few days weeks…after several days weeks of eating whatever I felt like, it’s time to strap down and lose a few.  So there.  I’m saying it out loud so I feel bad when I eat something I shouldn’t.

So far today all I’ve had is coffee (I had that iced coffee from McD’s and asked for an extra shot of vanilla and it was GOOD), a salad and a small cup of milk.

And I’ve GOT to get back on the elliptical.  I don’t think I’ve spent more than 6 minutes on my elliptical since I had the flu several weeks months ago.

Do you get the feeling I’m in denial about how bad my diet and exercise is??

This is what we like to see…

Not that 323 calories burned even accounts for the ice cream sundae I devoured this evening but it’s progress.  And hey, it’s good for my heart!

It did feel really good to have worked out again.  Seeing that it’s almost midnight and I’m still blogging, I don’t think it’s helping much with my sleep yet but Heather says I should give it more than a day…