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Friday, February 27, 2015

20 pounds!!!



Whoop whoop!  Today I got on the scale after a horrid night's sleep and I clocked in at a 20 pound loss!  I'm super excited.  The weight is coming off slowly.  And it goes up and down.  I ate lunch out twice this week, much to my dismay. The scale went up two days in a row.  I also had a headache from hell after eating some cheese and bread.  I ate bread the day before but no cheese. So maybe I am sensitive to cheese.  I did test sensitive to casein, the protein in cheese.  So this wouldn't be a surprise, but it would suck cause that headache was horrible.  Maybe it was unrelated.  Who knows.   



I made a little tiny bit of progress on the fat %.  That's always slow going.  I really hope the scale wasn't a fluke cause I'm beyond happy.  And I need some happy in my life right now due to the stress of work.  Next goal is 189.  I want to see the 180's!  I think I can get there! :) 


Thursday, February 26, 2015

It's a go!



Flights are book.  A coworker and I will be spending a week in London at the end of March.  In the next 3 weeks we have to complete the software and I gotta tell ya, we have no effing clue what we are doing. None.  He has worked on it a teeny tiny bit, but not enough to know what's going on.  I've never seen it.  And it's causing me to lose sleep. I was so happy around lunch time as I thought we made progress.  Then we hit a huge as road block and we don't know what we are doing.  And he's taking off tomorrow and that frustrates me cause we are suppose to work side by side on this thing.   I won't get anywhere tomorrow and I may refuse to work it until Monday.  

But after that week in London I will be going on to the land of Chocolate. . .  BELGIUM!!!!  I will stay with my friends for 5 nights.  I'm super excited but a bit nervous.  Flying makes me nervous.  Which is funny given that I work for an aeronautical company. :)   But I'm also seriously stressing over getting this software done in time.  But I'm kind of ready for a vacation!  Especially one like this.   

Monday, February 23, 2015

London!!



Looks like I'll be going to London in a month for work.  I'm freaking stressed out.  Nothing has been booked, I've never worked on this project before. . . . the person that wrote the code for this project is no longer with the company and actually passed away in Dec.   It's just a lot to worry about not to mention unbooked foreign travel.  Ah!!!   After a week in London I'll go to Belgium for a few days to visit my friends and meet their baby.  I'm excited about that if a little nervous about getting from point A to point B by myself.



This weekend was . . . well successful for me in terms of weight loss.  We went to some hunting expo that was really boring and the admission was overpriced.  My hubby and I shared a soft pretzel and a beer.  OMG that beer was SO good.  It's just been that long.  We then went for Vietnamese food.   I had ran 3 miles on the treadmill at the gym that morning but I was still kind of concerned.  The next day the scale dropped and I thought I am not going to push my luck.  I was *super* good yesterday.  I pretty much skipped breakfast and went to the barn to ride so I wasn't thinking about it. 

Today the scale dropped again. . . . 



191.2!!!  That's 19.8 lbs.  I'm *so* close to 20.  I suspect it'l take a me a couple days to get there.  I suspect I'll see a small gain before that just based on the pattern I've been seeing.  I haven't done my fat % in some time.  So I remembered to do that today.   I'd like it to be close to or below 30% so I have a bit to go.  I wish I had remembered to check that number when I first started my 24 day challenge. 

In terms of Advocare I'm still taking MNS.  This is the last week I have product, unless I order more.  I'm not sure what I will do.  I still take Catalyst and Thermoplus.  So maybe I'll stop the MNS and see how I do.  I still drink one spark a day.  Lots of water.   Lots of fruit.  There is room for more exercising in my life but I'm not very motivated.  So I'm working on that.  Right now I'm just really happy with the scale and that's unusual.  Fingers crossed I can get down some more before I travel.  Travel is going to pack on some water weight at the *very* least. 

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The glory that is EBATES!

I'm a huge huge fan of ebates!!!!  If you haven't seen what it's all about go HERE!

I've been a member for a long time but I often forgot to use it.  However this past year I noticed that the have an ebates button you can install on your browser and it tells you when you go to a site if there are ebates.  Prior to this you had to start at ebates and link into the site you wanted to shop at.  That never worked for me.  I always forgot.  Now with it in my face, I rarely forget. . . there are times. . . but I do forget.  Once you activate it, you must stay on that site . . . so sometimes since I'm a tab whore I have to pay attention and make sure I checkout on the ebates active tab.  Or just reactivate it. 

Here's what it looks like when you go to a site that offers ebates: 



Right there in my face - 3% back from Kohl's.  It changes all the time.  I think it was 6% the other day.   

Every 3 months they pay you out if you are over $5.  Though I think if you choose a hard check mailed to you then they cut it no matter what.  I choose to have mine direct deposited to paypal.  

I just got my BIG FAT CHECK of $42.54. 



Some of it is from referring people.  So if you'd like to sign up please use my link.   I have $9.66 waiting for next time as this payment cut off on 12/31/14.  

I love ebates and haven't had any issues.  They have great customer service.  If an ebate doesn't get credited you can fill out a form and that has always worked for me. I think I've had to do it twice.   This is just an extra click of a button and you get a rebate.  So why not?  I really look forward to my payment.  It doesn't really change how I shop.  I don't buy things just for the ebates.  I shop online a lot and this is just a bonus.  Why not?  Go check it out and see if the stores you shop at the most offer ebates. SO many do!

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Runs For Chocolate

I'll do anything for chocolate.  :)  Including running a 5K in 30 degree temps.  Eh, who am I kidding, I'd do that without chocolate.  This morning my hubby and I ran a 5K sponsored by Bissinger's Chocolate in St Louis.   When you sign up you are categorized and you get the respective shirt: Bachelor, Bachelorette, Happy Couple, It's Complicated (teams of 3). . . . 



That's us before the race and a photo of our shirt.  The race wasn't in the best part of St Louis, but they had decent parking so that felt safe.  



We ran along the river! :)  It was actually a nice run.  The temps were perfect for running and it wasn't windy.  The temps have continued to drop through the day and the wind has picked up.  So we got really lucky. 

We were suppose to get a chocolate medal at the end.  We got a chocolate heart sucker. . . . 



They handed out chocolate during the race as well as at the beginning/end.  We grabbed quite a bit.  They also gave out some amazing hot chocolate.  YUM!

I didn't have my Garmin synched to GPS on time so it started about .10 mile behind.  Ugh.  Here are the results though: 



I was really surprised because we did a run/walk.  My husband doesn't train, but he has a pretty fast walk and also runs faster than me.  If he could sustain his run, he'd leave me in the dust.  My hubby shaved some time off his last chip timed 5K though, so he rocked it!



Of course I have to be a dork when crossing the finish! :) 

From the race we went to a few stores, got some free cupcakes at the bakery that did our wedding cake and went out for BBQ.  I will be fat on the scale tomorrow, but that's ok.  I'll buckle down tomorrow.  I would like to see the 180's soon!


As a side note, this morning was the end of my additional 2 weeks on the Advocare MNS phase.  I lost weight much slower.  But I wasn't as perfect. 


I weighed in at 194.6 this morning, but the app only allows whole numbers.  Losing an inch off my hips and waist is great. But I'm not sure I believe it.  I hate measuring.  Did I mention that.  So I guess I'm going to keep doing this in 2 week increments.  I have another box of MNS.  So at least 2 more weeks.  Fingers crossed the next 2 are better.  Today was not the best start. 

Friday, February 13, 2015

Slippery Slope of Sugar



I gained a pound this morning.  Why?  Cause I ate that stupid cupcake.  And BBQ and a Mountain Dew.  I'm so mad and disappointed in myself.  Not only that but when I baked cookies on Tues I've had one or two every day since.  What the hell is wrong with me?  I've come so far.  I'm one pound heavier than I was on Feb 7th.  This is disappointing. I have to buckle down.  I made the choice last night.  We went to pick up race packets for Saturday.  We had to go to Bissinger's Chocolate to get them.  I didn't buy a single piece of chocolate.  But then I saw that there "The Cup" was on the same block. I've been wanting to go to The Cup for-freaking-ever.  There is one on the IL side of the river, but it's probably a 45 min drive from my house.  I knew there was one on the MO side, but I didn't know where.  Looks like I found it!  And we walked in and left with 2 cupcakes.  I'm kind of frustrated with my husband cause I suggested getting one cupcake to share.  He's not very good about that.  Admittedly he's come a long way and does share food with me so that we don't eat too much or spend too much (like at a ballgame).  But when it comes to sweets he wants his own.  These cupcakes were HUGE.  They are known for being huge.  Mine was soooooo good.  He got maple bacon and I tried it.  Good but not my thing.  I swear I felt my brain short circuiting after I ate this.  

We stopped a very popular BBQ place for dinner after getting our packets.  It was a cold weeknight so there wasn't a line out the door.  I chose to drink a Mt Dew.  My choice.  I'm ok with that.  We ate the cupcakes when we got home.  This morning as I was driving to work I was pondering my choices last night.  The cupcake was the worse choice.  Why?  Because I'm sneaking sweets into my day and that has to stop.  I know the desire to eat a sweet is still here today.  But I don't have the desire for a soda. I  mean if you handed me one I'd want it. But I don't feel the need to seek it out.  I do feel the need to seek out chocolate.   So I've got to buckle down.  I had higher hopes for where I'd be on the scale right now.  Tomorrow is going to be tough being Valentine's Day.  But come Sunday I'm back to being perfect.  End of story.  I have some serious travel coming up and I need to lose more weight BEFORE that travel.  

It's amazing how you can slide right down the slope with just one bite. 

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Canada, eh?

I believe I mentioned in my previous post that I might be going to Canada.  The "official" word came yesterday.  I'm going to the PanAm Games as a photographer!  Specifically for the equestrian sports, but my understanding is that my credentials will include access to all sports. 




Applications to be a photographer were due last year.  I opted not to apply.  Well not to have my friend apply (she organizes the big bunch of us that photograph at Rolex, and the smaller groups that do other events).   Why did I opt not to apply?  Well I wasn't sure about work.  I can't elaborate, but that was near the top of the list.  Also near the top was the fact that come hell or high water I want to be building a house this year.  That's a topic for another post, but if the house doesn't happen I want to be buying my *own* house.  Yes you read that right.  My husband will not move off the farm and rightfully so.  So it would be me leaving to buy my own house.  Again, a whole other topic.  So I just declined to apply.  This weekend my friend sent me an email that said they may have an extra credential and was I interested in going? I  took that as a sign.  First of all I know my friend and for her to send an email meant that she was 99.9% sure there would be a credential.  So I said yes.  I did talk to my husband, but I had pretty much decided.  Like I said, it was a sign.  My thoughts were also such that I don't expect my husband to commit to building a house this year.  So why not do whatever the hell I want?  This is in July afterall.  I can focus on my house goal in the second half of the year.  And if my some miracle the heavens open up, the planets align, humans become immortal, horses can fly. . . . and house plans actually happen, they can continue while I'm in Toronto.  The games are July 10-26.  I don't know that I would attend the whole time, but a decent amount of time.  The bigger question is fly or drive?  While this sounds all fancy, this is done on my dime, as is Rolex.  There are a million perks to doing this that make it worthwhile so I'm not complaining.  But travel, lodging, food. . . nothing is paid for.  (Though often times companies feed the press free meals.) But I'll still take the gig. 



One of the things I needed for my PanAm credentials was a passport type photo.  Well I needed one for my FOID card too.  So off I went to Walgreens at lunch yesterday.  Their camera was broke.  So I go to CVS.  I get the photo and I ask if I can get a digital copy.  No go.  Back at work I scan the photo.  But the photo is so small that it's likely not going to work for the credentials. I did send off my FOID card application though.  I didn't realize the FOID card is an IL thing.  I thought all states had this.  I can't buy a gun or ammo in IL without this card.  In MO you can buy both apparently without any kind of card.  As an IL resident I can go to MO and buy ammo without any issues, but not a gun, cause that has to transfer to me in IL and I need the FOID card for that.  Leave it to IL to be complicated.  I figure it's just for the money cause it costs $10.  Of course IL is still in debt, so . . . 

When I get home I dig out one of the last photo backdrops I still have.  I'm actually selling it on Sat to a friend.  The backs of the paper drops are all white.  I hang this on the wall in my house.  I ask Roger to snap a photo.  That takes about 10 tries.  He kept cutting off the top of my head or a shoulder.  I pay close attention to composition, but I guess that's from practice.  So we finally get one.  I email two of them to my friend and she has the scan of the passport photo too.  I'm not sure which they ended up using.  As they had to size them for the credentials.  The rules were similar to a passport photo - no shadows, no hair blocking your face. . . but I was also not allowed to smile.   On my passport I'm smiling, so that isn't a rule, or wasn't at that time.   So this is the one I hope gets used if I have to walk around with it hanging around my neck during the games.  Of course it'll probably be cropped to be mostly my face.  Eh - it could have been better and would have been if we had taken it earlier in the day.  My hair had been in a pony tail by this point.  Imagine that. 






Today we have a clinic at my barn.  I haven't had a lesson with my trainer since November (by my choice).  I made cookies . .. chocolate chip with Valentine's M&M's.  I'm sad to say that I had some dough and one baked cookie. :(  This was the demise of my clean eating.  Ok not the demise, but I felt horrible. More guilty than actually feeling bad.  Though it's funny how I was sitting on the couch after I had eaten the cookie and I swear it felt like I was 20 lbs heavier and all my fat rolls were magnified!   Funny how the brain works. 



As for my comment in the last post regarding Vegas. . . well if you're a horse person you might know what's going on there.  I'm still waiting to hear about that.  It poses other complications due to timing.  But I'm kind of keeping my fingers crossed.   


Monday, February 9, 2015

Weekend Recap!

Oh wow what a weekend!  First of all Saturday morning I weighed in at 194.2.  That is my one month mark of cleaning eating and Advocare.  I'm down 16.8 pounds and super happy!  The next best part is that this morning I weighed in at 193.8 even with eating out this weekend.  Whoop whoop!

This weekend was freaky warm for February.  Wow!  Almost too warm to work Eli that hard due to him having not shed his winter coat.  I did cut my ride short on Sunday due to the heat.  Eli was just done.

Saturday my hubby and I met a lady from Craigslist to sell her one of my photography backdrops.  I still have stuff to sell and would like the cash for some trips I have coming up.   Then we went to dinner.  We wanted to try this new BBQ place.  I had brisket, side salad and . . . . fries.  GASP!  I didn't want to get fries, but they were out of so many sides when we got there (4:30pm!!!  I thought we were early) that I just got fries.  Which is why I don't have a food photo. I didn't want photographic evidence of the fries.  Overall the BBQ place was ok, but the sauce was super duper thin and runny.  So that is a big fail in my eyes.  They also give you tortillas with your meal.  When did BBQ turn Mexican?   I used half a tortilla to wrap some brisket in.  At least that way my sauce kind of stayed inside.  But . . . it wasn't my thing and with the fries I was not about to eat more carbs.   We will likely go back, but there are better BBQ places in the area.  My weight was up just a tad on Sunday morning as a result of eating out I'm sure.  But I was so happy that it was back down this morning.  That's what it takes for continued success.  I can eat one cheat meal and then buckle back down.   


Sunday was a pretty super fun day.  We had to go to church (which is not normal) and that messed up my morning supplements/eating. I didn't drink my spark or shake till after church cause I didn't want to have to pee!  When we got home we did a little taste test.


I've been drinking Shakeology for a couple years now.  I believe since March 2013.  What I have *never* done with it, is just mix it with water.  I tend not to like things mixed with water.  I've always had it in a smoothie: almond milk, banana and ice.   Well with Advocare I've been mixing their shake with just water.  It's actually good.  I didn't want to introduce almond milk in my eating during the challenge.  And when I tried it with water I liked it.  So. . . my auto ship of Shakeology has been frozen as I had too much and I wasn't going to be using it while doing the Advocare challenge.  I'll be out of Advocare on Friday.  So what to do?  Well first let's have a side by side even taste test.  The winner?   ADVOCARE!  My husband agreed and he ultimately got the short end of the stick and ended up finishing the Shakeology.   The Shakeology is full of good healthy things.  There's a video online about that that I'm sure many of you have seen.  I can't deny the health aspect of it.  I'm not sure about the ingredients in Advocare.  Side by side, the nutrition stats - Shakeology has a larger % of pretty much everything.  And I think you can taste that.  It gives an after taste that isn't so hot and it wasn't as smooth as Advocare.  But in a smoothie that is negated.  I have to do the math and see the per serving cost and figure out where I want to go from here.  



So then I went to the barn to ride.  Like I mentioned I cut the ride short.  I ended up taking Eli out for some sun and grass.  The turnouts are too wet so he was stuck inside.  So 4 of us ended up hand grazing our horses and having a chat. :)  The grass is kind of dead, but the horses still ate it.  However, when we first walked out, Eli didn't think about eating.


A roll a day keeps the vet away!


So one thing on my to do list is to get my FOID card.  Initially I wanted it just so I could buy ammo when I'm shopping with my husband.  Last fall we were shopping and came across some ammo that is hard to find.  He bought some for him and my dad, but if I had my FOID card we could have bought  more.  So the application is on my to do list.  I think tomorrow I'm going to go get a passport photo taken at Walgreen's cause that's what I need for the application.  So that was the initial reason.  But then. . . well there are times I'm home alone.  And I decided that I want to learn to shoot and I want my own pistol.  A pink pistol!  Ok maybe purple or blue, but probably pink.  It was SO freaking nice yesterday that I said let's shoot!


I shot two rifles, two handguns and that little baby gun that it's my hand.  That one lives in our bedroom.  Lol!   It was a fun little thing but too small for comfort really.  I have to learn to stand correctly when shooting a handgun.  I was unable to stand in a split stance, so I need to research and practice.  I probably won't get much more practice till spring, but it was fun yesterday!  I grew up around guns and I've shot at beer cans in creeks before!  Ha!  Total redneck.  As a matter of fact . .


That's me!  At my dad's aunt's clubhouse.  Lol.   I'm sure I'm shooting at beer cans. :)  What a trip!  I'm just not that knowledgeable about guns so I want to get comfortable and I want to own my own gun!   Plus I think it's something my hubby and I could do together.  Target practice that is.  I will never hunt or anything like that!


So now it's Monday and that blows.   But this coming weekend is a three day weekend.  I might have some big news this week about 2 potential trips.  One to Vegas and one to Canada.  Some of you might be able to figure out what is going on at those two locations.  I suspect I won't get to go to both, but I'm hoping one of them pans out!  Fingers crossed!

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Trust Issues



This blog is going to be more personal.  Maybe I shouldn't post this but I'm going to anyways.  It might not stay up for long. 

I have trust issues.  I have an idea of why.   When I was younger (near the end of college and for a few years after) I was in a stupid ignorant relationship with someone 13 years older than me.  It was horrible and one of the biggest regrets of my life.  I was young and impressionable and there was nothing healthy about this relationship.  There were a lot of lies involved in this relationship.  He lied to me.  I'm sure I lied to my parents and friends at times.   It was a mess.   I'm not sure if this is the *only* reason but earning my trust is hard.  Very very hard.  I tend to not believe people until they've proven they are trustworthy.  Unlike the vast majority of people that trust until given a reason not to. 


When I met my husband I said there are two things that don't fly with me.  Cheating and lying.  I cannot tell you how many times he's lied to me.  Sometimes they've been big lies. Other times they've been small lies.  I've told him over and over that I no longer trust him.  I don't think he gets it as the lies continue.   I've told him that it will take a long time to build up my trust.  He says that he understands this.  But yet the lies will continue.   I don't know why he does this.  I've said over and over again that the truth will always hurt less than a lie.  I sniff out lies like a dog sniffs out a bone.




I feel like this eCard. There's another one floating out there that says something about if a woman asks you a question, she already knows the answer.  That's me too.  I will know the answer before I ask and then when I get a lie as an answer it pisses me off to no end!

The most recent example is small but a lie is a lie.  And this was just something I couldn't wrap my brain around.  It was Monday night and my husband wanted to go visit his mom to talk about a few things as a family member had just passed. No big deal.  We ate dinner and he was telling me this.  He asked if I minded if he went by himself.  I didn't mind.  We kind of had a discussion/argument as he was walking out the door and he said "I asked you if you wanted to go along and you said no!".  Ummm 




This was within the same hour . . . .this was not him referencing a conversation from a few days ago.  I said "That's a lie!  You asked me if you could go alone".  He got all pissy about me calling him out on that.   He left.  I sat at home and watched the girly drama that is the Bachelor.   And I was confused.  Super duper confused.  I mean we were both there.  We were both present in the conversation and at no point did he ask if I wanted to go.  I remember very clearly thinking, as he was talking about the issues his mom was having, that he wants to go alone.  And within the next minute he asked if that was ok.  

That's just a "small" example.  There are bigger examples that I should probably refrain from posting.  But I really stress over this.  I don't know what is "normal" and what isn't.  I don't know if he's a compulsive liar.  I googled about this yesterday and there is compulsive and pathological. . . . I don't know.  . . . I feel like I need a support group.  Like they have for families and friends of alcoholics.   I think about this daily.  As much as men think about sex.  I don't know what to do. . .  I don't know if I'm overly sensitive about this or not.  But my thoughts are that no lies are ok.  It's black and white in my brain.  And if you can lie about small stuff, what big stuff can you lie about? 



Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Just Run!

Sometimes you don't want to do something.  Sometimes you don't want to work out.  Whatever that work out might be.  Yesterday we had a funeral to attend.  We were there from basically 8am-2pm.  It was a long day.  When we got home I literally put my PJ's on, laid on the couch and read my kindle.  But as 3:00 rolled around I knew I needed to get off my lazy butt and go for a run.  Yesterday was a gorgeous day.  It was in the 40's and sunny.  There was wind, but I could run and out and back keeping the wind blowing at me from the side.  I did *not* want to run.  I cannot tell you how badly I didn't want to run.   I literally felt like doing this: 




Yes that would be a temper tantrum.  I really thought about crying.  I was exhausted from 2 nights of not sleeping well and the day we just had.  But I was also mad at my husband and I wanted out of the house.  So I did.  I changed clothes and got out of the door before I could think about it. 



I felt damn good with the avg pace of this run.  :)  I started off refusing to look at my Garmin.  Just run.   I really was mad so I think that's how I managed to keep up a fairly good second mile.  About a week or so ago I ran into my neighbor and he talked to me about intervals.  I had been thinking of doing intervals for some time now, but I'm lazy.  No lie.  He said it really helps the pace.  So somewhere just before the end of mile 2 I decided to do it.  Running on the backroads I used the telephone poles as markers.  I ran "fast" from one to the next, then slow to the next one, then "fast" again.  This is what saved my mile 3 from being slow.  I finally set my Garmin to beep at me if I get below an 11:40 pace and it sure did beep at me during mile 3.  Especially when I went up the one and only hill near my house.  But I tried to repeat a few intervals.   I thought it would be more obvious in my Garmin stats, but it's not.  Maybe cause they weren't long enough and I probably didn't vary my pace as much as I felt like I did. 



You can see some hills and valleys there near the end in the pace and the cadence.  So I did do something.  I was sure huffing and puffing when I was done!

I just can't tell you how proud I am of myself for doing this run.  It would have been so easy to lay there and keep reading.  I feel like these kind of days are going to keep me successful.  It's all abotu consistency. 




Monday, February 2, 2015

Loving the clean eating!



BAM!  That's hard to read, but it's 195.2!!!!!   *happy dance*  I was so excited to see anything in the 195's.  Wow!   I was getting discouraged with the scale kind of staying the same the last 7-10 days of the challenge.  I was waiting for a big drop and I got 2 good drops this weekend.  I just cannot tell you how surprising this is.  I've always struggled with weight and I've done various things in the past, some more extreme than others.  I really was prepared for this program to fail.  I had it in my mind that I would try this first and if it didn't work I'd buckle down and do HCG again.  I did not want to, but I wanted to lose some weight.   Advocare and clean eating is a million times easier than HCG! 

I think I already explained that I'm doing the second phase of the challenge again as I have the product.   I'm trying not to be too optimistic about this, but it's hard not to be.  Mostly because this has just been so easy and rather intuitive.  Yesterday I was hungry a couple of times during the day and I was feeling kind of snacky on top of it.  Too much time in my house and I want to snack.  I ate some fruit salad that we made up . . . twice.  One time I grabbed a hard boiled egg.   I told myself as long as I'm making clean healthy choices I can eat if I'm hungry.  I always second guess eating too much fruit but I tell myself it's better than a bag of chips regardless of how much sugar is in the fruit.   
Some people are noticing my loss. Others seem surprised when I tell them how much I lost.  I'm thinking to myself can you not see?  Even in my face. . I can see it big time in my face.  Other areas I notice are not things other people would notice, but my face is!  I'm going to have to dig out some tighter fitting jeans soon.  The ones I've been wearing get really baggy as they loosen up during the day.  But this is a good problem to have right?!   

I'm still working on the small goals.  The next goal is to see the 180's. :)   We will be going out for BBQ this coming weekend.  My hubby and I chatted about it and we think we can keep that fairly healthy and we deserve a treat.  So that's the plan.  I'm looking forward to it.   I will repeat measurements on the morning of Valentine's day I think.  That will be when this repeat of phase 2 will be done.   We are running a "Runs for Chocolate" 5K that morning.  Hopefully I get up early enough to measure.  The medal we get at the end of the race is an edible chocolate medal!  Yes Valentine's day is going to be a total cheat day!

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Advocare Results

The 24 day challenge is over!  I'm so proud of how I did.  Here's the final results. 


I'm not very fond of measuring myself.  I think it's easier to have someone else do it.  And someone that is very consistent about it.  I hope that I was.  I'm really surpassed with 3 inches off my hips.   I'm shocked.  I hope that was accurate.   I'm *really* happy with the 14 lbs.  Once I hit the 13 lb mark I had hoped to reach 15, but it wasn't in the cards.  I did take before and after pics, but I'm not sure I want to post those online yet. 

The thing about this program is that I paid for it.  So I was going to do it.  I was really pretty perfect about it.  I did not eat chocolate!  Lol  There may have been things that I could have done better. . . maybe a bit more exercise.  But honestly it exceeded my expectations.  The thing is that I wasn't ever really hungry during this program.  I may have had cravings.  I would get kind of hungry late afternoon, before dinner.  But that's the longest stretch I have without snacking and always has been.  So it's not unusual.  Overall I was just really really happy with this program.  

What was the hardest part? 

Why?  Because when I follow a program like the 24 day challenge. . . and I paid for it. . . I follow the rules.  Pretty much no questions asked.  Day 25 was my choice.  Suddenly I was "free" to eat crap.  Does that make sense?   It was my choice if I continued with the clean eating.  What do I think I did?

I had a baby shower to attend.  There were cupcakes.   I ate. . . 

NOTHING!

That's right.  I ate lunch before I went.  I didn't eat a thing at the shower.  On my way home I had a Advocare Snack bar.  I bought them with my last order, but wouldn't eat them during the challenge.  It was my first "chocolate" since the challenge started. . . if you can call it that.  It's like a little mini protein bar I guess. It didn't taste overly sweet.  I had it in my purse in case I struggled with the cupcakes.  But I didn't.   I did eat it on the way home though.  I had been wanting to try them.  I was eating well and I had ran 3 miles.   So I had the bar. :)   Day 25 went really well I ate clean and I am so proud of myself for sticking with it.  Today is day 26 and I'm still on track.  I had wanted to go out to BBQ with my husband, but we decided to wait till next weekend.  It's an ugly dreary day here and I feel like reading my kindle and doing some crochet during Super Bowl.