creating a lifestyle

Ok - it's been awhile - I know. Part of my hiatus was from busyness, and part of it was out of frustration from the way my weight loss has been going. 

Here's the breakdown:

A few weeks ago, I started getting a lot stricter on my diet - and I gained a pound by the end of the week. 

The next week, I tried to do a cleanse. I did this "cleanse" for 6 days. The longer I was on this cleanse, the more I was feeling like it wasn't so much of a cleanse. I didn't feel like I was being cleaned out. I did lose 4 pounds that week - good for 1 week, but it was not the 10+ pounds promised by the cleanse. If anything I felt more "clogged." Sorry if that's TMI. 

So now, I'm more on track. After the cleanse, I splurged a bit and gained a pound back, but now, I feel like I'm on to something. I'm reading the book, "The 90-Day Fitness Challenge" by Phil and Amy Parham. They were contestants on season 5 of The Biggest Loser, and they are believers. The book lays out what it looks like to live a healthy lifestyle. A lot of it is basic stuff, but it's SO helpful to have it laid out for me. The first part of the book is them explaining how and what to eat, and how and what to do to work out. The second half of the book are daily entries where they have a short note from the author, and then a place for me to journal my eating and workouts and thoughts. I haven't been recording my thoughts in the book because I do that on my phone in an application called, "My Fitness Pal" - thank you Katie Thompson! They have workout suggestions, a 7-day meal plan, an extensive grocery list, and encouraging stories from people that have done the challenge before. 

More than anything, it's reminded me of the importance of a BALANCED diet. I'm realizing, that I was not always eating balanced meals to fuel my body. For example, before, I would have a bowl of oatmeal with honey and maybe some fruit for breakfast. Not a bad meal, but there's almost no protein. There suggestion for a similar breakfast is oatmeal with Truvia or Stevia, and then 2 egg whites. So simple, right? I feel like I was on the right track, this book just helped me to start eating more balanced meals - protein, carbs, fruits, veggies, and fats. They also really push eating natural foods - staying away from processed foods. Again, kind of a no brainer, but it's amazing what is out there that is called "healthy" but is processed. I'm not perfect at this. They suggested I get uncured, no nitrate turkey bacon - I got Jenny-O Turkey Bacon that is cured and has nitrates in it. Hey - I'm working on it. Ha.  

So, I'm on Day 2 of this 90-Day Fitness Challenge. To be honest, 90 days feels like a long time, but really, it's not like this way of life is supposed to end after 90 days. I'm continuing to create a lifestyle that will continue even after 90 days. It just takes the 90 days to create the lifestyle. I'm feeling really good about it, and it's totally realistic. 

Stats:

Last Weeks Weight: 180 lbs

Current Weight: 181 lbs (as of 5/16/12)

Goal Weight: 150 Lbs

Weeks Left: 8*

*This is weeks until my birthday, which was my original time frame to reach my goal. I'm going to keep this date to see how far I can get in this time, although I realize that realistically, I will not be at my goal weight by this day.

Thanks for checking in. Although I've been a bit discouraged lately, I'm feeling good again and ready to keep plugging away.

Until next time - 

Lauren