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Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Skinny Bunny Cleanse

So I found this girl Catherine's blog through one of my friends, and she had an entry on the Skinny Bunny Cleanse. Besides it being adorable since one of Ryan's pet names for me is bunny, it actually looked like a cleanse I could wrap my head around. 5 ingredients, all high in nutrients in different combos for 5 days. Good sized portions spread out during the day, and high protein and fiber to keep you full longer. And with Abby's party this weekend (which means photo ops I don't want to look fat for) and no fun events planned this week (which means no fun food to try to avoid) it was the perfect time to go for it. So off to Costco I went for my raspberries, spinach, almonds, greek yogurt and egg whites. I also got a frozen bag of blueberries to supplement the raspberries since I couldnt find frozen ones and you can only buy and store so many fresh raspberries!

Monday, July 9th / Day 1
Starting weight: 137.5
Breakfast went well. Duh. My body had no idea what it was getting itself into - it thought I was just eating a nice light breakfast, gearing up for lunch.... which didnt happen. Actually lunch was quite filling and half way through I was satisfied, and put the rest away since I knew I would get hungry in the early afternoon before leaving work. I at that and drank my smoothie on the way home. Dinner was good and I went to bed proud of myself!
Lesson #1: Its amazing how much we overeat. The quantity of nutrient dense food needed to fuel our bodies is surprisingly small. Yet since we crave the very things that in excess are so bad for us and in today's society they are so cheap and readily available (and TASTE so damn good) it is a daily struggle, and has to be a conscious decision to stay healthy and eat less of those things.

Tuesday, July 10th / Day 2
Weight: 134.7 (-2.8 lbs)
I was NOT happy waking up. I was starving, not having eaten in 12 hours and that meal being "light" at that. I always eat at work since there is no time getting all of us out the door, so I had to wait until I got to work to eat. I swear I thought I was going to pass out, and thought I wasnt going to make it far in this diet if this is how it made me feel. (Under no circumstances would I stick to any "diet" if I felt it was doing more damage than good to my body or I felt it was unhealthy). But I ate breakfast and it was surprisingly filling and I felt SOO much better afterward. The rest of the day went well, as I spread out the meals. Dinner was tough, since Cheryl and Nana came over for Abby's birthday for dinner and brought Arby's. The hardest part was just deciding beforehand that I wasnt going to eat any of it; once that was done it was actually pretty easy to ignore everyone else's food and stick to mine. I also decided to have my smoothie later at night to help decrease that 12 hour fasting stretch from the day before that was obviously too long for my blood sugar.
Lesson #2: Feeling empty feels GOOD. And I dont mean being hungry. Its a light, lean, thinned out, agile and strong feeling. Its the feeling of being able to take flight at any moment. Its about not being weighed down (pun intended) by  rich, heavy food that while delicious, makes you feel like a lump of lead on the couch.

Wednesday, July 11th / Day 3
Weight: 132.4 (-2.3 lbs / -5.1 lbs total)
I also decided I liked some of the meals to be deconstructed; the morning almonds I liked better whole and as a separate snack on the side. And those were easy to eat first thing in the morning at home anyway, so I could get something in but wait for the rest of breakfast until getting to work, which additionally helped with the "night" fasting period. I couldnt resist the tomatoes and peppers from my mom's garden and put those in my morning omelet too. That would just be dumb to pass that up! Went to Costco again because I already needed more fresh raspberries, and like a dumbass I miscalculated and didnt buy enough greek yogurt. Debated baking some tofu too to add to my dinner salad,  and whether to dunk it in soy or not, which I normally do with my baked tofu. Would for sure be going off the diet. lol.
Lesson #3: A majority of my meals should be to provide healthy fuel for my body. I feel better when I eat to live, instead of living to eat.


Thursday, July 12th / Day 4
Weight: 131.6 (-.8 lb / -5.9 lbs total)
Went off the diet, but still kept the basic elements. Abby got Roseola and I had to be home Thursday and Friday with the girls. Did the baked tofu, and had that on my salad. Had other fruits that we had in the house.  Was a little less strict on the measurements for everything.
Lesson #4: Only eat enough to not be hungry anymore. Being satisfied is relative. Eating to live is satisfying your hunger. Living to eat is satisfying all of your cravings and eating until you are full, which is too much. Of course it doesnt last you as long and you need to eat way more often, but this is better for your metabolism anyway, and you only eat as much as you need!

Friday, July 13th / Day 5
Weight: 131.8 (+.1 lb / -5.8 lbs total)
Very happy with the cleanse. I only kept strictly on it for 3 days, but I ate in the spirit of it for the additional two days. Had a big beer to celebrate! Today is now the following Wednesday of the cleanse, and even after Abby's party I have maintained all of the weight lost! (This morning I weighed 131.8!) I would still love to get down below 130, which I have not touched since I got married, and maybe getting back into my workout routine after last week will do it, but Im very happy even where I am at.
Lesson #5: With determination, the right kind of eating, and the right kind of activity, you CAN get back to your ideal weight!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

I'm Baaaaack!

Well I had pretty much abandoned my physical activities for a while there when I got pregnant with Abby. But Abby is now a year old next Tuesday, so here I am, back. I actually started back maybe 4 months ago (gosh has it really been that long???) with weight watchers. I realized I needed some big change to alter my eating habits, which had gotten out of control and way off balance between being pregnant and nursing & producing so much extra milk.But as Abby got older, and my production tapered off, and our new "normal" life settled in a little bit more, I needed to make some changes.

I apologize as some of this recap is redundant from my regular blog, but long story short I did weight watchers for a few months. Great kick start, a lot of wonderful information that I still use and will continue to use. I lost 5 full lbs on that, then flat lined and came to the conclusion that it was finally time to add back in some kind of physical routine. So I pretty much went off of WW, and set out to figure out a workout routine. It wasnt going to happen outside of work, I knew that, so I started running on lunch breaks a few times a week. It was the same (for the most part) run I used to do while going to Muir at UC San Diego, so it also held that nostalgia for me. Its worked out great and I've toned up a huge amount and now fit in all my old clothes. 

I also recently just got my body fat tested again, and I had lost a full 6+ lbs of pure fat from the last time. My lean mass was less, (down to around 101 lbs) was less than last time, probably due to water weight. So my "goal" weight would be another 5 lbs, at around 130, would make a HUGE difference on my frame, and would put me at around 22% body fat. Totally doable, healthy and lookin good. Easier said than done though! Abby's 1st birthday party is next weekend, and I really wanted to loose it by then to look great for the pictures but I dont know if that is going to happen at this point!

I also a little bit ago took pictures again in my "skinny" jeans from way back when and I'll add them to this post when I have time. They do fit, but not enough to wear around/out. That last 5 lbs would make that difference!

If all else fails, we have our backpacking trip in Jan or Feb, and I wont be following Ryan's recommended diet while hiking, so hopefully this time I will lean up on the trail. :0)