Monday, May 23, 2011

Day One and the answer to the question "Beth, what ARE you doing,and why?""

Ok, so today is officially DAY 1 of my weight loss journey and the first day of the "Advocare 24 Day Challenge" 
First, a little about me, and why I'm doing this to begin with. I'm 45 years old and 5'2" tall. I had my youngest child  (the third one..)18 years ago and never really lost the baby weight! I've always had a little extra padding, but I have a good self image, I like myself, I'm not a yo-yo dieter. I've been doing yoga on and off for the last 10 or so years, I've got arthritis and neck problems, but I love dancing, which I usually do when no one's home, so knock loud if you come over! Anyway, I have asthma too, so I'm not as active as I could be. I had a check up recently, and the doctor told me my BMI is 26-28, and my blood sugar was 190 after fasting, which makes me borderline  "prediabetes". The good news is that can be fixed with proper nutrition and getting off my tushy and doing something about it. So, that's what I'm gonna do. I want more energy, I want to look better (not necessarily thinner, just toned) and I want to feel better. I wound never do anything that doesn't have a solid, sensible plan to it. I am not about to starve myself. That is why this excites me so much!
What I need is a clean slate, but I didn't know how to get one. A teacher I work with had lost about 190 pounds and I asked her how she did it, she said "ADVOCARE". So immediately, I'm thinking, "crash diet, eating tree bark, living on expensive meal bars" but she said, No, it's VITAMINS!! I was amazed. She explained that when you don't have the ability to absorb proper nutrition, it's harder to lose or maintain your weight.  I have IBS too, so absorbing nutrition is not something that usually happens with me. My body is usually in starvation mode and holds onto what ever I eat, especially fats. So how do you get the vitamins to do their job faster? You do this thing called an Herbal Cleanse (which is basically fiber, probiotics and vitamins) and follow it with 14 days of the MAX phase, getting more into the daily vitamins, probiotics and appetite control. All of this came as a shock to me, as I am not one to buy into "hokey crash diets" which this is not, it's a lifestyle change, (more activity, not depriving myself of the right foods, and taking vitamins! Does that sound wacky to you?) the science made sense to me. Clean the slate so your body can absorb nutrients better, and jump start the weight loss, and you'll be more likely to keep up the lifestyle change because you will feeeeel wonderful! So, I told my husband, "I need 180 bucks" and he said, "well, that's cheaper than diabetes!" And so we begin...My Stats
 (and It's killing me to post this..)
Weight 138 lbs.
Waist 35 1/2"
Hips 43"
Thighs 18"
Arms 11"
So this morning, I took my first Herbal Cleanse packet. The fiber is like little scrub brushes making my innards all shiny and new! I feel full today and I thought I'd be chained to the bathroom, but other than releasing all the water I drank today (32 oz, thank you very much) I feel pretty normal. The fiber drink itself is akin to putting a piece of toast in a glass of orange juice, but not as thick. Was NOT hard to drink, and I actually kinda liked it. I was full for hours this morning, so I ate a banana and an orange for breakfast. I did have a meal replacement shake as a snack about 10:15 or so, an for lunch I ate a big salad, some hard boiled eggs and a wheat roll. I didn't even finish it, I was not that hungry. I drank a "spark" which is Advocare's energy drink that comes in the 24 day challenge bundle, and like it says it gave me 4-6 hours of energy and focus. I had a great day. I am a little tired, but I think that's because it's almost 11 PM! So I'll close for now, and I'll see ya tomorrow! xoxox