Looking forward to tomorrow’s challenge

Looking forward to tomorrow’s challenge! Remember when? 😉 Go here and “like” the page so you don’t miss out http://ht.ly/4JtzV

Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse – Day 1

You may be wondering, “What is this Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse of which she speaks?” Well, basically it’s a 3-day cleanse using Shakeology. Sorry, just couldn’t help myself. Seriously, though. You follow the same plan for three days in a row which includes drinking  three shakes made with water and ice (one for breakfast…and you can add some fruit to that one…one for lunch and one for an afternoon or evening snack). You have a piece of fruit for a morning snack and dinner consists of a large salad, 4oz lean white protein like chicken or fish or beans for vegetarians, and 2Tbs lowfat salad dressing. You also drink a lot of water and some green or detox tea without sugar or artificial sweetener (stevia is fine). The purpose of the cleanse is to jump-start a weightloss program or hit the reset button by cleaning out excess water weight and toxins, but without starving yourself.

This is the third time I’ve done the cleanse. Well, the second time around I didn’t do the three full days so it’s more like 2 2/3. I decided it was time for another round because I’ve been eating a lot of high sodium foods lately and I feel fluffy. Plus, it’s recommended to do a cleanse with the changing of the seasons so it’s a good time since it’s the beginning of Spring. The first time I did it I lost over 8 lbs. which was pretty amazing and the second time it was over 4 lbs., still a great result considering I only stuck with it for two days. I won’t know how much I’ve lost this time because I lent my scale to a friend a couple of weeks ago so I don’t know my starting weight. It doesn’t really matter to me, though. I’m doing it because I want to feel “clean” again, if that makes sense. I’ve always felt great after I’ve done it and found myself craving the healthiest of foods afterwards. Always a good thing. I also struggle with remembering to drink enough water daily and doing the cleanse helps me to be properly hydrated. I believe the term for it is homeostasis. Whatever it’s called, I like it.

My sleeping schedule has almost completely shifted to that of someone who works a night shift so I didn’t have my first shake until after 2pm. I made it with 8oz water, 1 scoop chocolate Shakeology, 1 scoop Shakeology fiber boost, 1 small banana and 4 ice cubes.  So far, I’ve had 16oz water and need to step that up. I’ll continue to check in through the day and night.

Ok, it’s now 10:46pm and so far so good. Around 6:00pm I was waiting for my kids to get done with their karate class and realized I should be eating some fruit. Since I hadn’t planned ahead I went to Albertson’s to find something. I have no idea how people can afford to shop there on a regular basis. I walked around, fairly hungry, but not at all tempted because of sticker shock. I finally decided on a 10oz bag of organic frozen strawberries that was on sale for $2.79. I drove back to the dojo and used my teeth to rip open the bag because even though it was resealable, it had to be cut open. I ate half the bag, or about 1 cup, for 70 calories and 4 grams of fiber. It was enough to tide me over for a while.

I was feeling great when we got home and it was still light outside so I went for a walk. Since I still had two shakes and the salad with protein to eat I figured I’d better get to it. As soon as I got back I made another shake with 8oz water, 1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology, 1 scoop Shakeology fiber boost, 4 ice cubes and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. It was delicious. I forgot how good it feels to be only consuming healthy food. I don’t even know if I could put it into words, but it’s something like feeling energized and balanced and clean and light. It’s all good. Delightful even.

After I fed my husband and kids I made the salad with “artisan” lettuce, 1 tomato, 4 radishes, and two small carrots. Not feeling like dealing with raw chicken, I opened a can of organic garbanzo beans from Trader Joe’s. I knew those would come in handy someday. I topped the salad with about half the can and 2Tbs of lowfat cilantro dressing, also from Trader Joe’s. It was a lot of food and very satisfying. Now I just have one shake to drink before I go to bed. I think I’ll have it around midnight since I’ve been going to bed around 3:00am. I’d also like to get in at least another two liters of water. So far I’ve had four. I was supposed to drink two cups of tea, but that hasn’t happened yet. We’ll see. Actually, maybe I’ll make some right now. Talk to you tomorrow…Day 2.

Still here…

After my near meltdown the other day and lack of posts some people may be wondering if I did quit after all. Nope. Still here, just been really busy. And tired from staying up into the wee hours two nights in a row. I find it challenging enough to make sense on a normal day so even though I attempted to post something meaningful yesterday, it wasn’t happening. Just as soon as I’ve made sure all the other necessary things are taken care of and I can concentrate I will finish what I started. I’m sure you’re all breathing a sigh of relief. 😉 Just kidding.

Since the auto link doesn’t seem to wor

Since the auto link doesn’t seem to work, you can check out my new Welcome page here. Like it and you could win! http://ow.ly/49mw2

Food Journal 3/5/11 – My version of an adult beverage

The kids insisted on having plain chocolate shakes for breakfast so I decided to pour theirs out of the blender and then added some more ingredients to mine. 🙂

Breakfast – Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz water, 4oz 1% organic milk, 1/2tsp instant coffee granules (not big coffee drinkers here so we just keep it on hand for the odd occasion someone wants some), a little sugar-free caramel syrup, a few drops of rum extract and a couple of ice cubes – it was tasty

AM Snack – 1/2 P90X Chocolate Fudge protein bar (the other half went to my son as a pre-game snack)

Lunch – took this from my meal planner – 1 can chunk white tuna, drained, 5 black olives, chopped, 1 roma tomato, diced, 1/2 English cucumber, diced, 2c Romaine, 1tsp olive oil, 1Tbs balsamic vinegar, 1oz feta cheese, crumbled, salt and pepper

Then, to finish off the meal with something sweet I made a glass of Stash Lemon Ginger iced tea with Truvia

PM Snack – 2 large celery stalks, 1/4c hummus

Dinner – It was late when my other son’s game got done and even though we recently watched Super Size Me and I don’t normally eat much beef anyway, the 2 Famous Stars with Cheese for $4 deal sucked me in. I did, however, order mine without the cheese which helped a bit. Probably should’ve also told them to skip the mayo since you never really know exactly how much you’re getting.

Dessert – 6 mini Peppermint Patties and now the box is empty. I won’t be buying more anytime soon.

Not sure on the total calories because eating out is tricky since you don’t know if they used the exact amount that’s intended on the nutrition info. Total calories burned – 2567.

Food Journal 3/4/11 – So much for variety

Since I pretty much always know what I’m having for breakfast and my AM snack (which is fine by me – can’t imagine being without my Shakeology in the morning), I went to my online meal planner for lunch ideas. The suggested dish was a chicken bruscetta salad wrap made with a low-carb tortilla which I didn’t have. I did, however, have some extra-thin corn tortillas so I improvised and made it more Mexican than Italian. Later, I told my older son I’d take him out to eat while his brother was attending a birthday party. We ended up at a burrito place so I had Mexican again (not really a problem, I love it) and ate basically the same stuff that was on the haystacks in a different form. Oh well.

Breakfast – Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz almond milk, 4oz water

AM Snack – P90X Chocolate Peanut Butter protein bar

Lunch – 2 extra-thin corn tortillas, 4oz shredded chicken breast tenders with taco seasoning, 1oz shredded cheese – Mexican blend, 1/4c salsa

The photo only shows one because I ate the first one while the second tortilla was heating in the pan that was too small to hold two. I also had a “slice” of bread with cranberry orange spread.

PM Snack – 1 banana

Dinner – Veggie wet burrito

Dessert – small raspberry/chocolate swirl sugar-free soft serve

Don’t know how many calories I consumed, but I burned 3149.

Food Journal 2/28/11 – A victory, even if it was small

I was up last night helping my husband grade papers (don’t even get me started on how our school system is completely failing our kids) and there was a plate of hot wings which I made for my husband within arm’s reach. I wasn’t even tempted until about 1:30am when he left me alone with the two he left behind. By that time my thirst had been quenched and my food digested. I was HUNGRY. But, instead of chowing down on those wings I went to bed. Yay! I feel like I took a giant baby step back toward being myself again.

Breakfast – Chocolate Shakeology made with 8oz water and 4oz Trader Joe’s Organic Vanana (that’s vanilla and banana flavor) yogurt because we were out of milk

AM Snack – P90X Mocha Cafe protein bar

Post Workout – 1 scoop P90X Results & Recovery Formula

Lunch eaten on the run – 2 slices whole grain white bread, 6 extra thin slices turkey, a little mustard

PM Snack which was more like a grazing fest since I was still really hungry after a pathetic lunch and we were out of all fruits and veggies – some of the leftover brownie from the day before, 1/4c hummus, 2oz corn chips, a few multigrain pretzel sticks, 1 Weight Watcher’s Swiss cheese wedge

Dinner that was really late because I went grocery shopping at 6:30 – some of the French bread loaf I bought at the store “for the family”, the leftover yakisoba noodles and veggies, about 17 turkey pepperoni slices ( I was just eating whatever while putting the groceries away)

Dessert – about 3/4c rainbow sherbet that I also bought “for the family”

If my estimates were correct, then I ended up with a deficit of about 150 calories. Whoo hoo!! LOL Things will be better now. I actually bought a bunch of healthy groceries and the French bread is gone.

Making progress – weights/reps first two weeks

Thought it would be fun to post my progress with ChaLEAN Extreme and maybe start some friendly competition. Here are my stats for the Week 1 and Week 2 of the Burn Phase: 

                                                                                               Week 1

Burn Circuit 1                                                                         lbs/reps

• Sumo Squat with Hip Lift                                                 10/12
• Lunge with Posterior Fly                                                  10/12
• Push-up with Leg Lift                                                      6 knees
• Dead Lift with Posterior Fly                                              5/12
• Lunge with Core Rotation                                                15/12
• Bench Press and Leg Lower                                              10/12 (6 legs)
• Squat with Side Bend                                                        10/12+3x
• Forward Lean Lunge with DBL Arm Post Fly                      5/12+3x
• Chest Fly with Hip Lift                                                      10/12+3x

                                                                                               Week 2

Burn Circuit 1                                                                         lbs/reps

• Sumo Squat with Hip Lift                                                 15/12
• Lunge with Posterior Fly                                                  10/12
• Push-up with Leg Lift                                                      8 knees
• Dead Lift with Posterior Fly                                              10/12
• Lunge with Core Rotation                                                20/12
• Bench Press and Leg Lower                                              15/12 (6 legs)
• Squat with Side Bend                                                        15/12+3x
• Forward Lean Lunge with DBL Arm Post Fly                      10/12+3x
• Chest Fly with Hip Lift                                                      15/12+3x

                                                                                               Week 1

Burn Circuit 2                                                                         lbs/reps

• Sumo Squat with Bicep Curl                                              15/12
• Lunge with One Arm Tricep Extention                              10/12
• Dead Lift Row                                                                    10/12
• Sumo Squat with Overhead Tricep Extension                    15/11
• Dead Lift with Double Row                                                15/10
• Bowler’s Lunge with Single Arm Row                                 15/10
• Bicep Curls with Abductor Balance                                    10/12+3x
• Forward Lean Lunge with Double Row                               15/12+3x
• Triple Threat Push-ups                                                     9+3x

                                                                                               Week 2

Burn Circuit 2                                                                         lbs/reps

• Sumo Squat with Bicep Curl                                              15.75/12
• Lunge with One Arm Tricep Extention                              10.75/12
• Dead Lift Row                                                                   15/12
• Sumo Squat with Overhead Tricep Extension                    20/10
• Dead Lift with Double Row                                               15/10
• Bowler’s Lunge with Single Arm Row                                15/11
• Bicep Curls with Abductor Balance                                   15/12+3x
• Forward Lean Lunge with Double Row                              15.75/12+3x
• Triple Threat Push-ups                                                     9+3x

                                                                                               Week 1

Burn Circuit 3                                                                         lbs/reps

• Sumo Squat with Overhead Press                                     10/12
• Lunge with Calf Raise                                                       15/12
• Squat with Lateral Raise                                                   7.5/12
• Lunge with Frontal Press                                                  10/12
• Squat with Calf Raise                                                       20/12
• Sumo Squat with Delt Raises                                           10/12
• Squat with Double Overhead Press                                  10/12+3x
• Lunge with Lateral Raise                                                  5/12+3x
• Sumo Squat with Calf Raise                                             10/12+3x

                                                                                               Week 2

Burn Circuit 3                                                                         lbs/reps

• Sumo Squat with Overhead Press                                     15/11
• Lunge with Calf Raise                                                       15/12
• Squat with Lateral Raise                                                   10/12
• Lunge with Frontal Press                                                  15/12
• Squat with Calf Raise                                                       15/12
• Sumo Squat with Delt Raises                                           15/12
• Squat with Double Overhead Press                                  15/10+3x
• Lunge with Lateral Raise                                                  10/12+3x
• Sumo Squat with Calf Raise                                             15/12+3x

Took a little detour today – photos

I was supposed to post pictures from my walk yesterday, but I had such a great time catching up with an old friend that I used to work with that I completely forgot to take any. Excellent walk and even better calorie burn, 954. Today I went by myself and it was still pretty cold, but not as foggy as on Wednesday when I started taking pictures again.

Normally I don’t cross over the first bridge unless I want to take the South Bank Trail, but today I felt like going over the bridge just to get some shots of the Willamette from above. The first photo was taken looking back toward my starting point near Autzen Stadium after I crossed over the bridge. The photos below were taken from the bridge. I love the way the water flows over the rocks.