Cleanse Day 6!!

I'm on day 6 of the cleanse!! YAY!! I have to say, it was a lot easier when I had the flu & didn't want to eat any real food LOL I definitely noticed that it was harder to not eat food that you chew a few days ago. Now I am fantasizing about donuts, oranges, cereal, ANYTHING!! It makes it hard that my kids are eating all of the time. Even if it's fruit, I want it! The cleanse is going fine though, I tried beets for the first time and quinoa. Hard to believe, but I've never had quinoa before. It was delicious. I will probably add it in small amounts to my diet after this.

So the cleanse is a lot of drinks, I'm not sure what I expected when I signed up for the cleanse. It surprised me how little we get to eat & how much we drink! My favorite is a green tea drink that you can add cold or hot water to. The tea with hot water is my favorite evening snack! There are these delicious little chocolate treats, but you only get 1 a day :/ On the deep cleanse days, you get a few more, but that's the only food you chew on those days. I can't believe I made it through this week! Nick took the kids out for pizza & ice cream Friday night. Guess what I had? I brought a shake with me & sipped on that while everyone ate their food. Thankfully their meal kind of grossed me out b/c I knew there was no nutritional value to it. I wasn't too tempted thinking of how I would feel afterwards, if I ate the meal with them.

SO- tomorrow is our last cleanse day & it's a deep cleanse, meaning no food :( I will be hiding out in the house all day. I can imagine that I will be a little cranky LOL BUT on Wednesday I get to go back to eating. YAY!! I start the maintenance schedule of 6 small meals a day. I can't wait, I'm really looking forward to it. This has been an interesting experience. I am glad I tried the cleanse, I know it has helped me get closer to my goal of burning fat & adding muscle. I have lost 2 pounds doing the cleanse & before I even started I lost 2 pounds from the flu, so I am down a total of 13 pounds since January!! So I am where I want to be in fat loss & now I need to focus on building muscle. I read an article today that outlines different body types & what kind of exercises & nutrition you need to build muscle for those body types. Turns out I am an ectomorph, which has a hard time gaining muscle, which means I am supposed to eat a lot of small meals. Perfect!! That's already been my plan :) So I hope to see a difference in my muscles when I am done with the plan, in May.

Cleanse Day 2

Today is Day 2 of my Isagenix cleanse with Cathy Savage. I have never done a cleanse before, so I didn't really know what to expect. Basically I have regimented meals & supplements and then I also got a workout schedule to go with it. I am supposed to eat my meals at specific times & take supplements at specific times & then do specific workouts each day. The spacing between the meals is important, I guess, I think it has something to do with blood sugar levels or something, I am actually not really sure. Anyways, I got my big box on Tuesday & was excited to see all of the stuff in it :) it's been interesting using all of it b/c I feel like a professor mixing things & measuring them LOL However, I've been sick with the flu, so it hasn't been all that fun :/

The meals for the cleanse have specific timing, but I napped a couple times yesterday, which spaced out my meals weird. THEN the biggest thing I did was not take my pre/post workout supplements correctly b/c it was placed in the schedule in the afternoon & I workout first thing in the morning, so I was looking at the morning part of the schedule rather than the afternoon part of the schedule. Sheesh! All of this stuff is complicated. Thankfully I've been home yesterday & today and that's made it quite easy to get all of my meals/shakes/supplements in, I can't imagine having to bring all of this stuff with me when I'm out, to keep with the timing, so we'll see how tomorrow goes when I have Bible study!

Honestly, I can't tell if I have more energy/feel great on the cleanse b/c so far I haven't felt that great, but that's b/c I've been sick. I DID workout today & yesterday though. Yesterday was supposed to be a cardio day, but my stomach was upset, so I just did weights. Today was a lower body work out, which I did & then I tried to get a run in. BAD IDEA! I ran for 15 minutes before feeling awful, so I stopped & started to walk upstairs when I got light-headed and dizzy & I ended up throwing up :/ NOT COOL!!

I am hoping tomorrow is a better day & that I feel better. I am looking forward to the workout schedule that has been put together, the cardio looks different & fun from what I normally do (running on the treadmill), I think my normal workout room companions will think I am crazy, but I want to do everything the schedule says! The strength portion of the workouts seems cool too, I think there are some new & different moves than I've been doing from the plan on bodybuilding.com. I love learning new things, so I'm really looking forward to these new moves in my repotiore!

Here is the schedule I've been following for the last two days, the meals & the workouts:

And here are my trusty supplements/shakes/etc:

Happy Monday!!

Oh Monday, the day everyone loves to hate! Well, the sun is actually shining right now, after a big rain storm, so that makes me happy :) I am also excited about a few things happening this week!! But first let me tell you a little bit about the 5K I ran on Saturday.

I signed up to run the 5K b/c a friend of mine from church was putting it on. It is for a small Christian school & I wanted to do it to support my friend and the school :) Well, I am SO happy that I did!! I got a PR for the 5K! I started out in front & a girl ended up catching up with me, so instead of let her pass me, I ran with her at her pace. It turned out that we finished the first mile in 8 minutes! That is WAY faster than I normally run, so I held back a little back & went down to a 8:20/8:30 minute mile for the next few miles, but when we got to about 2.5 miles, I started picking up the pace, knowing that the finish would be coming up quickly. I ended up finishing the 5K in 25:59!! WHAT?! That is insane!! A few years ago, my goal was to finish in 30 minutes & I blew that out of the water! I was telling my sister last week that I could probably finish in 27 minutes, so that was my goal this time around, even that goal was demolished! I am SO happy :) I never thought I could run that fast!!

SO- about this week....I am starting another challenge, this time it is with a respected fitness competition coach, Cathy Savage. I bought some Isagenix products from her, there is a pre-workout & post-workout supplement, some protein & a bunch of other stuff. I am excited to have this opportunity to learn more about how to use supplements b/c I have only just started using them and am only using protein right now. I definitely want to learn more!! Anyways, she is also providing a grocery list, a nutrition guide & a workout guide as well. I am really hoping to see some great results b/c I know her girls kill it on the fitness competition stage :) I would LOVE to compete someday, but Nick isn't 100% behind that, so for now I am just training & hoping to change the composition of my body to be more muscle mass & less fat.

The OTHER thing I mentioned in my last post that I was excited about was becoming a Body FX rep. I signed up for FREE!! Body FX is a new fitness company that launches TODAY!! I was really excited about it b/c the products are all gluten free, they use natural sweeteners such as Stevia for their products & the main DVD they are selling now is JNL Fusion by Jennifer Nicole Lee who was a contributor to Bodybuilding.com AND was a fitness competitor!! How amazing is that?!?! I am seriously behind this company ALL THE WAY, but Nick didn't want me to be a rep anymore due to the fact that he was worried I would be pressuring friends & family to buy the product. My approach would not be to pressure people but to be so enthusiastic that they would want to try it out themselves! Anyways, I had to step down from that b/c I respect my husband & what he wants for me & our family....BUT I believe I can still sign people up to purchase if they want to?? I'll have to check in on that. Here are the DVDs that will be available & I'll see if I can find a link to the supplements. BodyFX DVDs Here is an amazing video about the supplements!! It gets me excited :) BodyFX Supplements

Those are the things that are getting me excited this morning!! I hope you are excited to begin a new week, a new DAY to work hard & meet your goals :)

Happy April!!

Can you even believe it's April?! Where did March go?? I feel like it was a crazy, whirlwind month! I had a baby shower & birthdays galore! Speaking of birthdays, yesterday, along with being Easter, was my husband's 31st (golden) birthday!! As you can imagine we celebrated him all day long! I made him a special breakfast that he requested (creme brulee french toast), which is basically sugar crusted bread LOL We went to my parent's house to celebrate Easter after church & we had snacks, I may have eaten a few M&Ms too. Then we had a super yummy healthy meal, I had a chicken breast, a salad, sweet potato fries & asparagus. It was SO yummy, but then the cake came out...it WAS a gluten-free cake...but STILL. After we left my parent's house, we went to my IL's house for cake to celebrate my husband's birthday. By the time dinner rolled around, I was SO full of cake that I couldn't even eat anything. It was insane I tell you!!

Thankfully my kids had their regularly scheduled day at preschool today, so I got to run outside!! They had spring break last week and I wasn't able to get outside at all other than that to run. Anyways, it has been awhile since I've been able to run around outside, I did a quick 5K & finished in 27 minutes!! Awesome!! My pace was sub 9 minute mile!! SWEET!! I think that's the fastest I've ever run a 5K :) Now to get there on my longer runs.

I was thinking of doing the Whole30 challenge again this month, but I found another challenge that I am going to do, that I am super excited about! I also have an opportunity that I am exploring now & am getting excited about :) I'll be able to talk more when I learn more!! All in all, today was a good start to a new month, with lots of things to look forward to.

Update

I am sitting here & all is quiet. That is RARE in this house. We live in a small space with 3 kids, so it's not often that SOMEthing isn't going down. I am waiting for more people to wake up so I can make my protein shake. I love it & always look forward to it on days when I lift weights!

I got up to workout this morning feeling really tired. I didn't get to bed at a decent time last night, but we HAD to catch up on Celebrity Apprentice AND watch just one more episode of Prison Break. Not to mention a certain SON of mine came into bed with us last night...AGAIN, which always interrupts my sleep. SO, my 5:25 wake up call this morning was feeling super early today. I didn't get to workout yesterday though & I was feeling off all day, so I KNEW I had to get up & get at em this morning to start off the day on the right foot. I ran 4 miles on the treadmill & did my Monday plan from Bodybuilding.com. Gotta love the plan! I am on week 2 & I am excited to see how things look by the end of week 4. THEN, I started a new plan for weeks 5-8. I'm so excited about this lol I bought  a new swimsuit last night, so I am feeling really motivated to keep up the plan & rock the pools this summer :)

I have NOT been clean eating lately. Yesterday was really off. The kids are on spring break, so they didn't have preschoool in the morning. It was a relief not to have to be anywhere in the morning, BUT we didn't have anything to do either, so I took the kids out to Chik Fil A. They like the play place there & the staff is so helpful with kids. I ended up ordering my old stand by, the chicken nugget meal with Coke. It was the first time I had Chik Fil A in 2013 & the first time I drank pop in 2013. I was hoping to go longer, but I WILL say, that I didn't love the pop or the fast food & it was only one meal yesterday. I had a clean breakfast & dinner, although we did make Smores in the microwave for dessert LOL See? Yesterday was not the best day for eating for me. However, today is a new day, with new choices to make & I can do better today :) I am actually looking forward to re-doing the Whole30 in April to give me more structure.

Random

I am TIRED! I've been getting up earlier to get a run AND weights in. I love it, but I do end up feeling sleepy by mid-day. I've been weightlifting more to build muscle & burn fat. I printed off a plan from bodybuilding.com and am finding it fun & nostalgic. We did weight lifting in HS gym class & it reminds me of that! This is just my first week of lifting using the bodybuilding plan, I am curious to see what muscles develop in the next few weeks!

I am excited & thrilled with all of the people I know who are doing the Whole30 Challenge!! I love that more & more people are taking charge of their health & eating habits and trying something new & different. I am thinking of doing it again in April, so please let me know if you want to do it with me. One of the biggest things to help you get through the challenge is support! I am here to support anyone who needs it in March & will gladly ask for some support as I take on the challenge again in April :)

I have been meaning to share about THIS!

Pink Himalayan salt. OH.MY.WORD! It is heavenly. I know that salt is a simple thing & you normally don't even notice it until you use it incorrectly. WELL, my friends, pink Himalayan salt will totally change your mind! It's not that is has an overwhelming taste or anything, it DOES taste like normal salt, it is just so far & above normal salt in a way I can't even describe. It truly adds magic to anything you make with it. Think I'm being dramatic?! I dare you to buy some for yourself and see!! I bought this glorious bag at a local international store for about $2.50 but I saw crystals the other day at Trader Joe's for more than I paid & you got a LOT less :/ So it might not be feasible for everyone to buy some, but if you can, I highly recommend it! 

Eggs

On the Whole30 or paleo diet, eggs are pretty much a staple for breakfast, however they can get boring. In January, I started off making an old standby, the "Paleo pancake" which I found floating around the web. It's basically eggs & bananas mashed up together. I would fry that up in my coconut oil, since it left a sweet after taste & then top it with fruit, blueberries & strawberries were my favorite. After a few weeks of that, I got bored of it though & started making my sweet potato hash & topped it with a few scrambled eggs. That was good too and would keep me fuller, longer, so I continued that for breakfast through January & February.

Then I started seeing things on Pinterest &  people posted it to my wall a few times, of eggs cooked in a muffin tin with bacon wrapped around it. I am not doing bacon in March, just to try to cut out some fat from my diet, but I've also seen prosciutto used in place of bacon. I got the nerve up to try to make my own egg "muffins" on Sunday. I had found some prosciutto where the ingredients were only ham & salt. Those ingredients are even Whole30 compliant! I was excited to try something new in the way of eggs. Anyways, I covered the bottom of a few muffin tins with the meat & then mixed together some red pepper, onions & a few eggs in a bowl. I then poured the egg mixture into each "meat cup" & then baked it for about 15 minutes. I made some this morning too & I have to say, that it is a yummy, protein packed way to eat eggs in the morning. Plus, you can switch it up by using different veggies or even making it sweet by adding a banana & fruit in there (I wouldn't recommend wrapping that in bacon or prosciutto though!) Here are a few of my beauties from this morning.