Today's plan -
Morning: oatmeal...starting to get sick of it! with probiotic and spark
Snack: almonds and cutie oranges
Lunch: grilled chicken caesar salad and an apple
Snack: almonds and cuties
Dinner: Baked chicken with cajun seasoning, okra cooked on the stove with a teaspoon of olive oil and salt/pepper, steamed broccoli
At bedtime: omegaplex and herbal cleanse tablets
I start the fiber drink again tomorrow for the next 3 days. Hopefully I'll get it down easily!!
Not feeling super "quippy" or "inspirational" today... I guess you just get the diet portion of this process today! :)
Monday, April 29, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Advocare - Day 6
Back on the wagon!
Apple and Spark for breakfast with probiotic. Salad with cucumber, bell peppers, carrots, and a little shredded beef with balsamic vinaigrette for lunch. Turkey and veggies for dinner. Omegaplex and herbal cleanse tablets at bedtime. fruit for snacks all day.
I'm starting to feel a little better about my cheat. I actually wrote "CHEATER" on my written plan that I have been keeping track on my challenge on. Maybe the self-shaming helped a little. ha.
Church this morning was awesome! Our pastor is going through a series called "Don't Judge Me". It's been very challenging and thought-provoking. I encourage everyone to look on iTunes or our church's website to watch these messages. They apply to everyone and have really good insight into ways to communicate with people who might be making harmful choices in their lives.
Hillside Christian Church - hillsidewired.com
Pastor: Tommy Politz
Advocare - Day 5
Que Usher's "This is my confession" song... Seriously, I kind of feel like I cheated on my significant other or something... Let me explain... I mean, it was only once! I didn't even mean it! I promise, I was thinking about vegetables and lean meats the whole time! It was only lust, not love! The steak and shrimp scampi on the fixed menu was just taunting me... I had no choice!
Let me explain. I really have done great the last 5 days, not bending or breaking... until last night. We were invited to join some friends for dinner at this awesome cafe in town that only serves dinner once a month. They have very limited space (max 25-30 people), and people make their reservations a month in advance with a long waiting list. The menu is fixed, and there isn't much wiggle room with what you can order. (and honestly, I wouldn't really want wiggle room... the food is AWESOME!!!) The chef has been featured on the food network. SO, I ate. Yes, I admit it. I ate. I will tell you, I'm proud to say I did opt to eat the fresh tomato and sweet pea puree for my appetizer instead of the pecan crusted quail on a bed of cream spinach with melted goat cheese (my mouth is watering just typing that)... Ok, I admit, I tasted it... and it was one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth... BUT I ate the healthy, cleanse worthy appetizer. For my main course, I ate beef tenderloin with shrimp scampi on a bed of risotto with grilled asparagus... Pretty much, the opposite of the cleanse.
Here is my rationalization: Beef is not bad, right? shrimp is not bad, right? So, I think the only bad things were the scampi sauce and the risotto. I tried to leave as much of the sauce as possible, and I only ate a few bites of the risotto. I feel like I tried to minimize the damage!!
Ok, so here is the good news! I weighed myself this morning, and I have actually lost 4 lbs so far!! That's averaging almost a pound/day! I feel like this is still really working for me, and I am committed to continue cleansing until the end, even though I had a slip up!
The rest of the day was exactly like the days before: I ate oatmeal for breakfast with my probiotic and spark, fruit for snack, turkey and veggies for lunch, fruit and almonds for snack... and I've gone into too much detail for dinner! I still took my omegaplex and herbal cleanse tablets too.
Here is my deeper thought about this: I think, even if we mess up, there is grace, and we can turn right back around and do the right thing the next day! It's not about being perfect. It's about patterns. It's about the commitment and the "norm". It's the same way with our daily life. I might not always do what I know I should do, but God still loves me, forgives me, and shows grace to me. If I showed no concern for God's principles and commands, I would miss out on so many benefits of a healthy relationship with Him and would miss a lot of blessings that come from obedience. However, when I do mess up or slip, there is so much comfort to know that I am not shunned or hated... I am still perfectly loved. I hope you all feel that perfect love and grace!
You would've eaten it too, right?!
___________________________________________________________________________
So, I told you I would update about my dinner on day 4. We ended up just grilling chicken breasts and burgers. I ate half of a chicken breast with lettuce, tomato, and avocado. My awesome friend also made me mashed cauliflower with no milk or butter... it was DELICIOUS!!! Made me feel like I was eating mashed potatoes without all of the starch and calories! I will have to copy that trick!
Let me explain. I really have done great the last 5 days, not bending or breaking... until last night. We were invited to join some friends for dinner at this awesome cafe in town that only serves dinner once a month. They have very limited space (max 25-30 people), and people make their reservations a month in advance with a long waiting list. The menu is fixed, and there isn't much wiggle room with what you can order. (and honestly, I wouldn't really want wiggle room... the food is AWESOME!!!) The chef has been featured on the food network. SO, I ate. Yes, I admit it. I ate. I will tell you, I'm proud to say I did opt to eat the fresh tomato and sweet pea puree for my appetizer instead of the pecan crusted quail on a bed of cream spinach with melted goat cheese (my mouth is watering just typing that)... Ok, I admit, I tasted it... and it was one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth... BUT I ate the healthy, cleanse worthy appetizer. For my main course, I ate beef tenderloin with shrimp scampi on a bed of risotto with grilled asparagus... Pretty much, the opposite of the cleanse.
Here is my rationalization: Beef is not bad, right? shrimp is not bad, right? So, I think the only bad things were the scampi sauce and the risotto. I tried to leave as much of the sauce as possible, and I only ate a few bites of the risotto. I feel like I tried to minimize the damage!!
Ok, so here is the good news! I weighed myself this morning, and I have actually lost 4 lbs so far!! That's averaging almost a pound/day! I feel like this is still really working for me, and I am committed to continue cleansing until the end, even though I had a slip up!
The rest of the day was exactly like the days before: I ate oatmeal for breakfast with my probiotic and spark, fruit for snack, turkey and veggies for lunch, fruit and almonds for snack... and I've gone into too much detail for dinner! I still took my omegaplex and herbal cleanse tablets too.
Here is my deeper thought about this: I think, even if we mess up, there is grace, and we can turn right back around and do the right thing the next day! It's not about being perfect. It's about patterns. It's about the commitment and the "norm". It's the same way with our daily life. I might not always do what I know I should do, but God still loves me, forgives me, and shows grace to me. If I showed no concern for God's principles and commands, I would miss out on so many benefits of a healthy relationship with Him and would miss a lot of blessings that come from obedience. However, when I do mess up or slip, there is so much comfort to know that I am not shunned or hated... I am still perfectly loved. I hope you all feel that perfect love and grace!
You would've eaten it too, right?!
___________________________________________________________________________
So, I told you I would update about my dinner on day 4. We ended up just grilling chicken breasts and burgers. I ate half of a chicken breast with lettuce, tomato, and avocado. My awesome friend also made me mashed cauliflower with no milk or butter... it was DELICIOUS!!! Made me feel like I was eating mashed potatoes without all of the starch and calories! I will have to copy that trick!
Friday, April 26, 2013
Advoare - Day 4
Ok, so, maybe I didn't do the diet as well as I should have yesterday... but it totally could've been worse!! I had forgotten that I had a lunch meeting yesterday where they served lunch. I was able to request a salad, but the salad came with cheese and a creamy dressing.... oops!!! I ended up using as little of the dressing as possible and tried to pick out a lot of the cheese... Which, if you know me, was one of the hardest things for me to do! I LOVE CHEESE. like, LOVE. OBSESSED!!! It is my second favorite food... French fries are my first. Ridiculous. All of this to say, even though I had a little of the forbidden foods, I still exercised restraint and stuck to my plan as well as possible. I could have selected a sandwich smothered in cheese with a side of fries... So, I'm not beating myself up over a teaspoon of dressing and a little cheese!
Today, I am following the plan! This morning, I had my Probiotic Restore Ultra with a spark and ate whole, uncut oatmeal again... No fiber drink on the schedule today!! Thank God!! I have a few days off from that. For lunch, I will eat what I had planned to eat yesterday. Lean beef with veggies and fruit. I will eat almonds and fruit for snacks. I honestly have no idea what I will make for dinner... We are having friends over tonight, so it needs to be tasty but still fit into my cleanse.... hmmmmm..... I'll still take the omegaplex and herbal cleanse tablets tonight before bed.
I'll let you know what I come up with for dinner!! I'm curious, myself, at this point!
No interesting thoughts or words of wisdom today. Just food. Hmph. See you later!
I'll just leave you with images of my two loves... I miss them, but I want to be thin and healthy more!!!
Today, I am following the plan! This morning, I had my Probiotic Restore Ultra with a spark and ate whole, uncut oatmeal again... No fiber drink on the schedule today!! Thank God!! I have a few days off from that. For lunch, I will eat what I had planned to eat yesterday. Lean beef with veggies and fruit. I will eat almonds and fruit for snacks. I honestly have no idea what I will make for dinner... We are having friends over tonight, so it needs to be tasty but still fit into my cleanse.... hmmmmm..... I'll still take the omegaplex and herbal cleanse tablets tonight before bed.
I'll let you know what I come up with for dinner!! I'm curious, myself, at this point!
No interesting thoughts or words of wisdom today. Just food. Hmph. See you later!
I'll just leave you with images of my two loves... I miss them, but I want to be thin and healthy more!!!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Advocare - Day 3
A little bit of a clustered mess of a morning. First, I overslept and had to rush around to feed the dogs, get dressed, and get to work on time 30 minutes late. I threw a bunch of stuff in my lunch bag for the day, and jumped in the car, only to realize that I left my breakfast on the counter! UGH! So, I had to improvise. I had packed extra fruit for a snack, so I just moved it up for breakfast. At least the fiber drink went down a little smoother than yesterday! There's a positive note. ;)
Here's my plan for the day: Breakfast -oatmeal and fruit with fiber drink. Lunch - lean beef with mini bell peppers and a tablespoon of guacamole. Snack - fruit and almonds. Dinner - salad with chicken and a light dressing, omegaplex vitamins. Snack - snap peas. Bedtime - Herbal Cleanse tablets. LOTS of water all day!!
This morning, my nursing students took the last unit exam for my class, and although I haven't seen the results for all of the class yet, I have had a line of people at my office door angry, crying, frustrated about their grades. This got me thinking. Why, at the end of the semester, after your test, would you come to me concerned about your grades?! I have been in this same office all semester. I have repeatedly told them, "if you don't understand something, come see me"! I would have been happy to tutor them, spend extra time with them, and make sure that they understood the content well enough that they wouldn't be in a concerned state about their grade at the end of the semester. The first question I keep asking them is "how much did you study?". The responses are varied, but for the most part, the students claim to have studied more for this test than any other, and they were expecting an "A" on this test because they made "C's" on all previous tests and needed to bring their grades up! <me: baffled> I want to respond with, "If you haven't put in the work all semester, and I have been telling you that the content and tests get progressively harder as the semester progresses, why would you NOW, at the end, feel that you can bring up the grade that you have apathetically let get low all semester?!" Instead I just listen and offer any support they need and try to explain the holes in their understanding of the content. How else should I respond?!
I am deciding to apply this to my life. For example, in this diet. If I eat crappy food and don't follow the cleanse the way it was designed, I will end up not losing weight... I have all of the tools at my fingertips, and I have the ability to do this with all of my ability, but if I don't apply myself and sacrifice some temporary pleasures so I can make a "good grade" on this, I will have wasted my time and wasted the experience.
Go deeper?! Ok. I kind of think it applies to my Christian journey. For example, I could live my life however I wanted without concern for God or His teachings, or I could commit myself to a life set apart, growing and developing as a Child of God. If I go my whole life without concern for God and expect the same rewards as someone who has been faithfully committed to Him, I will be very disappointed. All things come at a price. All good things require commitment and struggle. Without the struggle, there is no reward. (Not that the Christian life is only a struggle... There is immense joy in the sacrifices) I love that the Bible gives examples of farmers tilling the field. Without hard work, there would be no crop. Or the example of diamonds - without friction on the rocks, there would be no diamonds. I don't want to waste my time! I don't want to half-way do my life! I want to make an "A" at the end of all of this crazy mess we call "life"!!
Here's my plan for the day: Breakfast -
This morning, my nursing students took the last unit exam for my class, and although I haven't seen the results for all of the class yet, I have had a line of people at my office door angry, crying, frustrated about their grades. This got me thinking. Why, at the end of the semester, after your test, would you come to me concerned about your grades?! I have been in this same office all semester. I have repeatedly told them, "if you don't understand something, come see me"! I would have been happy to tutor them, spend extra time with them, and make sure that they understood the content well enough that they wouldn't be in a concerned state about their grade at the end of the semester. The first question I keep asking them is "how much did you study?". The responses are varied, but for the most part, the students claim to have studied more for this test than any other, and they were expecting an "A" on this test because they made "C's" on all previous tests and needed to bring their grades up! <me: baffled> I want to respond with, "If you haven't put in the work all semester, and I have been telling you that the content and tests get progressively harder as the semester progresses, why would you NOW, at the end, feel that you can bring up the grade that you have apathetically let get low all semester?!" Instead I just listen and offer any support they need and try to explain the holes in their understanding of the content. How else should I respond?!
I am deciding to apply this to my life. For example, in this diet. If I eat crappy food and don't follow the cleanse the way it was designed, I will end up not losing weight... I have all of the tools at my fingertips, and I have the ability to do this with all of my ability, but if I don't apply myself and sacrifice some temporary pleasures so I can make a "good grade" on this, I will have wasted my time and wasted the experience.
Go deeper?! Ok. I kind of think it applies to my Christian journey. For example, I could live my life however I wanted without concern for God or His teachings, or I could commit myself to a life set apart, growing and developing as a Child of God. If I go my whole life without concern for God and expect the same rewards as someone who has been faithfully committed to Him, I will be very disappointed. All things come at a price. All good things require commitment and struggle. Without the struggle, there is no reward. (Not that the Christian life is only a struggle... There is immense joy in the sacrifices) I love that the Bible gives examples of farmers tilling the field. Without hard work, there would be no crop. Or the example of diamonds - without friction on the rocks, there would be no diamonds. I don't want to waste my time! I don't want to half-way do my life! I want to make an "A" at the end of all of this crazy mess we call "life"!!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Advocare - Day 2
Well, I actually came back for a second day... just 22 more to go! :)
Yesterday went mostly as planned except I didn't get to do my beastly workout on the tower 200 like I had planned. I ended up stuck in a meeting for an hour and a half at the end of the day and barely had enough time to eat dinner before our small group from church started.
I feel like I want to share a little synopsis of our discussion last night at small group before talking about the diet again. We studied the passage in Luke 14:12-14. It talks about not hosting dinner parties for people simply because they will, in turn, host you and pay you back. Instead, we are called to host people in our homes and minister to people who have no means by which they could ever pay us back. We are called to love the unlovely, minister to the undesirable, and share our lives with people who have nothing to offer us. As we were studying this, all of these memories from my childhood started flooding back to me of the countless groups of people my mom would always invite to our home. We had foreign exchange students, mentally/physically challenged people, widows, homeless, impoverished... all types of people in our home at all time. They shared holiday meals with us. Their children played with us. They went out on our boat with us. My mom was so generous to multiple groups of people who would never have had those opportunities otherwise! I have no idea why I had blocked this out or failed to see the value in the lesson my mom taught me my whole life through her example. Today, I sit completely convicted and challenged about what I am to do with this calling! I'm praying for God to show me MY unexpected company.
Ok, so, the diet... Is going well! It's incredible how addicted to certain types of foods I am!! I actually THOUGHT about taking a bite of a friend's cheddar pepper. Then, I almost devoured a tray of brownies at small group! BUT, you would be so proud, I only took large sniffs and walked away! They say half of the joy of eating is smelling... I don't know if I really agree, but I can say, I fought temptation!
This morning, the fiber drink didn't go down quite as smoothly as I would have hoped, but I got it down. I ate the same breakfast as yesterday, and for lunch I am eating lean beef, a tablespoon of guacamole, an apple, fresh snap peas, and a cutie orange. Dinner will be a little trickier! We are going to one of my favorite restaurants for a friend's birthday dinner, and I am going to have to be very strategic about what I order! I am thinking a spring salad and a lean meat appetizer.... ugh. My favorite thing on the menu is their raspberry and walnut crusted salmon on a bed of creamy risotto with grilled asparagus... Although that sounds very healthy... it isn't... The salmon is pan seared in a great deal of oil, the risotto is made with heavy cream, and the asparagus is also pan seared in a ton of oil. Not quite so healthy!DAMN!!! Oh well... It's only temporary, right?!
Challenge schedule today: Spark 30 min before breakfast, fiber drink and oatmeal for breakfast, pineapple and blueberries for snack, spark 30 min before lunch, lean beef and veggies and fruit for lunch, cutie oranges and almonds for snack, spring salad with chicken for dinner with OmegaPlex, Herbal cleanse pills at bedtime. LOTS of water during the day!!!
The benefits I see as of today: I feel clean (on the inside). I have energy. I have not been hungry once (probably because I am stuffing my face every 15 minutes... or so it feels). I feel like I can do this and stick with it!
See you tomorrow!
Salmon with risotto :(
Spring salad and lean meat
I CAN DO THIS!! :)
Yesterday went mostly as planned except I didn't get to do my beastly workout on the tower 200 like I had planned. I ended up stuck in a meeting for an hour and a half at the end of the day and barely had enough time to eat dinner before our small group from church started.
I feel like I want to share a little synopsis of our discussion last night at small group before talking about the diet again. We studied the passage in Luke 14:12-14. It talks about not hosting dinner parties for people simply because they will, in turn, host you and pay you back. Instead, we are called to host people in our homes and minister to people who have no means by which they could ever pay us back. We are called to love the unlovely, minister to the undesirable, and share our lives with people who have nothing to offer us. As we were studying this, all of these memories from my childhood started flooding back to me of the countless groups of people my mom would always invite to our home. We had foreign exchange students, mentally/physically challenged people, widows, homeless, impoverished... all types of people in our home at all time. They shared holiday meals with us. Their children played with us. They went out on our boat with us. My mom was so generous to multiple groups of people who would never have had those opportunities otherwise! I have no idea why I had blocked this out or failed to see the value in the lesson my mom taught me my whole life through her example. Today, I sit completely convicted and challenged about what I am to do with this calling! I'm praying for God to show me MY unexpected company.
Ok, so, the diet... Is going well! It's incredible how addicted to certain types of foods I am!! I actually THOUGHT about taking a bite of a friend's cheddar pepper. Then, I almost devoured a tray of brownies at small group! BUT, you would be so proud, I only took large sniffs and walked away! They say half of the joy of eating is smelling... I don't know if I really agree, but I can say, I fought temptation!
This morning, the fiber drink didn't go down quite as smoothly as I would have hoped, but I got it down. I ate the same breakfast as yesterday, and for lunch I am eating lean beef, a tablespoon of guacamole, an apple, fresh snap peas, and a cutie orange. Dinner will be a little trickier! We are going to one of my favorite restaurants for a friend's birthday dinner, and I am going to have to be very strategic about what I order! I am thinking a spring salad and a lean meat appetizer.... ugh. My favorite thing on the menu is their raspberry and walnut crusted salmon on a bed of creamy risotto with grilled asparagus... Although that sounds very healthy... it isn't... The salmon is pan seared in a great deal of oil, the risotto is made with heavy cream, and the asparagus is also pan seared in a ton of oil. Not quite so healthy!
Challenge schedule today: Spark 30 min before breakfast, fiber drink and oatmeal for breakfast, pineapple and blueberries for snack, spark 30 min before lunch, lean beef and veggies and fruit for lunch, cutie oranges and almonds for snack, spring salad with chicken for dinner with OmegaPlex, Herbal cleanse pills at bedtime. LOTS of water during the day!!!
The benefits I see as of today: I feel clean (on the inside). I have energy. I have not been hungry once (probably because I am stuffing my face every 15 minutes... or so it feels). I feel like I can do this and stick with it!
See you tomorrow!
Salmon with risotto :(
Spring salad and lean meat
I CAN DO THIS!! :)
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Advocare - Day 1: Feast and Famine
I have recently admitted to myself that I am just NOT one of those faithful daily monthly bloggers. ha. That puts it mildly! HOWEVER, I am going to challenge myself to 24 days of uninterrupted blogging to go alongside my 24 days of healthy eating/living. Place your bets now on how long this lasts... you might just make some money off of my inconsistency! Then again, I really hope it's different this time! ha. I guess I seem to always be in a mode of either feast or famine.
So here was the catalyst:
- In my last post I talked about how I needed a revolution in my life. Essentially, shape up or ship out, right?!
- I have decided to take my life seriously. This includes my health, relationships, and work.
I don't think I've told y'all this yet, but Austin and I sell AdvoCare as a part-time business and also so we can get the discount on the products. Well, I have done three 24 day challenges in the most half-a$$ed way ever, and still lost some weight and saw some benefits. This time, I want to do it right. I actually went to the store and got all of the right foods, I marked it all in my calendar, and I even got some friends to do it with me this time for accountability! I'm hoping to really see a change outwardly and feel a change inwardly.
As a part of the challenge, I am not going to drink alcohol for the next 24 days and I will not eat anything that is not on the AdvoCare approved food list! (Good luck, Liz)
Day 1: drank my spark 30 minutes before breakfast, drank down mycardboard fiber drink, and ate whole-uncut oatmeal with no sugar and a piece of fruit for breakfast. for a snack, I will have a handful of almonds. for lunch, I will have turkey, a carrot, and mini bell peppers. for a snack, another handful of almonds. for dinner, I will eat lightly seasoned chicken and steamed broccoli and take my omegaplex. At bedtime, I will take my Herbal Cleanse horse pills. And LOTS of water throughout the day! Yay, me!
For my exercise today, since it is blowing sleet outsisde (yes, in late April...ugh), I will briskly walk on my treadmill for 30 minutes and use the TOWER 200 beast machine... please laugh now. My sweet husband bought the tower 200 as seen on tv while watching an infomercial late at night, and I mocked him mercilessly, along with his friends, until I used it and realized it totally will turn me into a beast if I keep at it. At least that's what I tell myself to get me through the shame.
Anyway............. So, day one of the challenge is off to a great start. I have a feeling the subsequent blog posts might not be as long, but they will be here. mark my word.... or make $50 off of me. ha. I would post before and after pics, but I still have a little pride left at this point, so I won't do that to your eyes.
I'm hoping for RESULTS!! And I KNOW I can get them!!!
tower 200
24 day challenge
So here was the catalyst:
- In my last post I talked about how I needed a revolution in my life. Essentially, shape up or ship out, right?!
- I have decided to take my life seriously. This includes my health, relationships, and work.
I don't think I've told y'all this yet, but Austin and I sell AdvoCare as a part-time business and also so we can get the discount on the products. Well, I have done three 24 day challenges in the most half-a$$ed way ever, and still lost some weight and saw some benefits. This time, I want to do it right. I actually went to the store and got all of the right foods, I marked it all in my calendar, and I even got some friends to do it with me this time for accountability! I'm hoping to really see a change outwardly and feel a change inwardly.
As a part of the challenge, I am not going to drink alcohol for the next 24 days and I will not eat anything that is not on the AdvoCare approved food list! (Good luck, Liz)
Day 1: drank my spark 30 minutes before breakfast, drank down my
For my exercise today, since it is blowing sleet outsisde (yes, in late April...ugh), I will briskly walk on my treadmill for 30 minutes and use the TOWER 200 beast machine... please laugh now. My sweet husband bought the tower 200 as seen on tv while watching an infomercial late at night, and I mocked him mercilessly, along with his friends, until I used it and realized it totally will turn me into a beast if I keep at it. At least that's what I tell myself to get me through the shame.
Anyway............. So, day one of the challenge is off to a great start. I have a feeling the subsequent blog posts might not be as long, but they will be here. mark my word.... or make $50 off of me. ha. I would post before and after pics, but I still have a little pride left at this point, so I won't do that to your eyes.
I'm hoping for RESULTS!! And I KNOW I can get them!!!
tower 200
24 day challenge
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