Health Challenge Day 1 of Week 3

I've been extra good this month with the January healthy challenge. It has pushed me to meet little milestones that seemed so unattainable just 3 months ago. In my week 2 weigh in this morning I weighed in at 308.8 for a total of 60 lbs lost since 10/24. I am 9 lbs away from my first major milestone of being under 300. I can't believe I'm so close, but it feels so good! I also can't believe I'm more than half way to losing 100 lbs. This is definitely something I could only imagine this time last year, but I am doing it and I'm so happy with the results.

One of the things I really wanted when I first started this challenge last October was to get a good boost so that I could start working out again without too many complications. But I've gotten so much more out of this program. Not only did I get the boost I needed, but I got the lifelong habits of health that will be with me for the rest of my life and beyond. I never thought this could be me.

Week 2's shred slowed down a lot. By yesterday morning I was disappointed that I had only gotten down to 310 since last weigh in. I decided to hit it hard at the gym yesterday with some extra, healthy calories and was able to push through down to 308.8. I am listening to my body and adjusting where I need to in order to increase metabolism and fat burn.

January 2018 Health Challenge

I haven't blogged in several weeks, but I'm trying to get back in to it. I signed up for a free 28 day health challenge via a community health support group on Facebook.

I started 1/2 and am currently in the middle of the 2nd week. Prior to the weigh in on 1/2, the last time I had weighed in was on Saturday 12/30. I was 317. I decided to go off plan for new years eve and day. I decided to weigh in on Tuesday night 1/2 and the scale read 325.2. I was a bit disappointed at first thinking - geez, I totally gained 8 lbs in 2 days, but I was determined to get back on track.

I had run out of fuelings and was waiting for my order to come in. In the mean time, I was counting my calories and making sure my macro levels were consistent. I submitted my first update on 1/9 with a pic showing the scale at 312. I reported a week 1 loss of 13.2 lbs. Now that felt amazing! I knew it would slow down the 2nd week as my body was adjusting back to the plan, but it was a huge motivation booster. It is amazing how quickly the body retains weight when I eat a lot of carbs.


Left was taken 10/23/17, right pic was taken 1/13/18

Pic taken 1/2/18 for the health challenge

Left 1/2/18, right 10/23/17

Thanksgiving Day

11/23/17

It’s Thanksgiving Day and we are in Modesto. It’s been a lot of fun so far catching up with everyone. We baked a ton last night - pineapple dream cake, jello poke cake, and chocolate trifle. We are frying turkeys today. We brought our deep fryer and I rubbed the turkeys last night with the Neely’s rub I always use.

I was off plan yesterday and today. I’ll be back on tomorrow. I’m hoping to sign up as a health coach when I get back so I can bring on Ashley and Aunty Cindy and Uncle Lusi.

Optavia week 5

Started this journey on 10/24/17. Today is day 1 of week 5 and I am officially down 30 lbs. I lost 30 lbs in 4 weeks and it feels amazing. This is a huge benchmark for me and I can't wait to see where it leads me in to 2018.

We are heading out for California tonight for Thanksgiving. Excited to see mom and the family. I won't be getting my food until Monday and I'm about out. I emailed nutrition support and this is what they said -

Unfortunately we haven't found any bars/shakes on the market that have the same nutritional structure. However, we do have a plan developed for when clients are without Fuelings. If you are out of meals completely then you could have three smaller lean and green meals (4 ounces of lean and 3 servings of approved vegetables per lean and green) and one serving of low-fat or fat-free dairy (e.g., milk, yogurt) each day. Choose dairy products that are about 100 calories per serving and unsweetened or no sugar added (to keep carbohydrates to a minimum).  Please note that yogurt does not replace a fueling, it simply acts as a place holder because the calories and carbohydrates are similar.  Yogurts do not have the same vitamins and minerals as a fueling and should only be used in “emergency” situations.

Now that I have a plan I feel good about what to do. I will need to get some low fat sugar free yogurt and some lean and green stuff to make in Modesto. 

Excited to eat turkey on Thanksgiving too!

Take Shape For Life - Week 4, Day 4

I was in Texas last week for training and then I went to see Nephi. I wasn't on the 5 and 1 while there, I did more of a 4 and 2. I was happy with my choices. I was choosing meals that I wouldn't normally choose and it worked out okay. Before I left, I weighed myself and I was as 343. I had remained steady for about 5 days straight. When I got back Sunday and weighed in on Monday morning I had jumped up 349. I had gained 6 lbs while in Texas...I couldn't believe how fast that was. Well, I had gotten back on the 5 and 1 Sunday morning and just let it ride.

I weighed myself this morning just to see where I was and I am now down to 340 flat. I was able to lose the 9lbs since Monday. I felt like I had some inflammation from the food I was eating last week and I needed to lose that again. It feels good to be back on track.

I also went to Zumba Monday night. It was actually harder than I thought it would be, I feel like my muscles are super sensitive. The rest of the week was full of other activities - Tuesday night pitching for Sina, Wednesday night was my closing class for the semester, last night was a TM meeting, tonight we are helping Glen and Puni move, and tomorrow is Anthony's birthday. So I'm pretty shot for any other opportunities to go to the gym. I plan on going next Monday, then we drive out to California on Tuesday for Thanksgiving. So next week seems shot as well, though I do anticipate starting to weight train again once we get back.

I shared this picture with one of my Facebook support groups. The bottom pic was my first class session back in September a little more than a month before I started the program. The top was my last class this week. I can see a big difference in myself. These side by sides give me a lot of motivation and confidence to keep going. It feels good to be doing this and to feel so healthy and so light. I am 20 lbs away from my first benchmark of 320. After that, the big goal is to be under 300 for the first time in years by February.

Winning the "Why"

Yesterday I flew on an airplane for the first time since being on this program. I've lost 25 lbs since starting and I was hoping to be more comfortable on the plane than I usually am. A couple of years ago I bought a seat belt extender for the plane just so I didn't have to ask for one. I also usually ask for an aisle seat so that I have more shoulder room. Yesterday I was assigned a window seat. I usually don't like the window seat because my shoulders uncomfortably bump up against the wall/window, but this was not the case on that flight. Not only was I sitting comfortably, I was able to fit the seat belt without an extender and it even had a little slack.

One of my 3 "whys" was being able to sit comfortably on a plan and this is the first time I've felt this way in a long time. I'm winning the 'whys' and it's only the beginning.

I sent that pic to Anthony as I sat on the plane telling him of my small win. He has been an amazing support to me through this process and I am so happy to be doing this health journey with him.

I packed all my food in individual bags so that I could be ready to go each day without too much work about what I was going to eat. I planned it out and packed it up. Here's what it looks like -

One more pic only because I am liking taking more selfies haha...it's because I like what I see and it's empowering to see the results in my face. I am eager to get back and start going to the gym again.

That's me and the Lonestar Cafe cow :)

The Journey Day 16

11/8/17

Yesterday was the start of Week 3. In my weigh in I had neither gained nor lost from the day before which I am okay with. I know that things are leveling out. The most important thing is how I feel and I really do feel amazing. I flew in to San Antonio yesterday for training that starts this morning.  I have been feeling lately like I'm not getting enough nutrition. I am starting to track my calorie intake on myfitnesspal app and even with the lean and green I am barely getting 800-900 calories a day with the PCMR fuelings.

I wasn't sure if my feeling queasy and headaches was due to the cycle regulating or due to lack of enough calories. Anyway, yesterday was the first day I deviated a tad bit from the regular program and did more of a 4 and 2 rather than a 5 and 1. I arrived at the hotel at about 2:30. I had eaten 3 fuelings up to that point since I had been up since 4:45 am. I went to the Denny's in front of my hotel and ate a steak and zucchini. I immediately felt better after eating that meal. I was proud of myself for not giving in to anything off plan. I took the bread off the plate and ate just the steak and veggies.

Later on, I got a text from JoEllen. She asked if I wanted to do dinner and I was excited to have company and someone to talk to. I walked about a half mile down to her hotel and then we settled on eating at Lonestar cafe. I had a smoked chicken salad with a vinaigrette. Again, very proud of myself when there were so many amazing things on the menu.

One of the things I love about being on this program is not only do I sleep better, but I don't have acid reflux anymore. I am still up and going after 7 hours of sleep like clockwork every day. I was super tired last night so after talking to Anthony and the girls over the phone and saying our family prayer over the phone, I knocked out. That was about 9:45. Sure enough, I was up by 4:45 am.

I talked to Shannon last night and it was good to hear that there are highs and lows to the program. Sometimes there are days that I feel a little more energy than others and some days that I just feel tired. Yesterday was one of those days. I took a nap after lunch and it felt good. Lately I've been like turbo just go, go, go, but yesterday I definitely felt a change.  We had daylight savings last Sunday and gained an hour which I feel has thrown me off my sleep schedule. I'm waiting for the adjustment to come and hopefully it will by the end of the week.

Today I am attending a training on an evaluation model called Results Based Accountability and we are being trained by Mark Friedman who create the model.  I'm looking forward to hearing from him and learning some new evaluation strategies.