DAY 30!!

And the final weight is......<drumroll>.....12 lbs!!

Unfortunately I can't tell you how many inches I lost as I have misplaced the paper that had my initial measurements on and I haven't been able to locate it. But I do have the new numbers recorded and so will start my next 30 days with those numbers to see where I will be at the end of them!

Because I'm definitely continuing. This was worth it. It was tough. I know the things I need to improve on. It was like that first 30 days was a trial run for me to see if this was a program I could stick with. And Isagenix has won out. I can do this again. And again. Until I reach my goal.

I did start the Ageless Essentials that I got with my new autoship order, yesterday so that will put me a bit off at the end of the month, but as long as the shipping is as good as it has been, then it should be no problem. I cheaped out when I did my first order as I have vitamins from another company I never ever take. But by following the routine of Isagenix for the last 30 days I think I have finally developed the habit of taking my "pills" at the right time. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. Hopefully that is true.

Anyway, the vitamins really do seem to give me more energy. At least I think so. It is probably too early to really tell.

Well, it's time for my evening shake. Today was a good day. We had our monthly birthday potluck at water aerobics today and I brought a spinach salad with almonds, cranberries, onions, and shredded carrots. I made up my own dressing with olive oil, red wine vinegar, strawberry/applesauce, garlic and pepper. Oh and a bit of coconut sugar in it too. The jar I used has recipes for various homemade dressings (Pampered Chef item) and though I made up my own, I was looking at the proportions for the oil and vinegar and saw that most of them had over 1/2 cup of oil! I used maybe two Tablespoons in a total 1/2 cup of dressing. Oh and the strawberry/applesauce was organic. Though just cause it says organic on the bottle, how much should we believe that?

I ate mostly salads, one piece of chicken, some fruits, and a bit of pasta and rice (couscous really I think), and a slice of Herta's bread. My one indulgence.

Brought home deserts for the family and only had a small piece of Casava (tapioca and coconut cake) later for my afternoon snack.

Day 29: 2nd Deep Cleanse day

The secret to cleansing days is to keep yourself busy and thus distracted from eating. I spent today working on inventory bills and invoices for our dive shop. An accounting nightmare I had been putting off for several months. But it's getting close to tax time so I need to get these things done or I'll really be screaming on April 15th.

To be honest the next three weeks will be my most stressful time as I do the taxes for our two companies. I'm hoping the Isagenix will keep me focused and calm and I will have the energy and brain power to handle what needs to be done.

As far as today though, I did okay. I had two Milk Chocolate Isa Delights for snacks. Had a good work out at water aerobics. Drank my cleanse drinks, though I was late drinking my third one (almost 7pm) and I was tired and ready for bed by 9pm so didn't want to drink the last one and just went to bed. Since it was Day 2 of a 2 day deep cleanse I don't think missing one dose will make or break the deal.

Drum roll please for tomorrow's weigh in...........(tune in tomorrow).

Day 28: Cleanse Day #4

Okay, final cleanse day of the 30 day program. I've pretty much followed the days to the T as far as shake days and cleanse days. However, I've read that doing 2 cleanse days in a row will obtain better overall results and a deeper cleanse. As Chanci puts it , the 1st cleanse day goes 20% deep. The second cleanse day takes it the other 80% deeper. So I'm going to try it. Tomorrow I'm going to do a second cleanse day. Thankfully my autoship order arrived so I have the new Cleanse to use, as I used up the last of mine today.

I'm afraid I've finally found one issue that will need resolving. It's the cleanse drink. I liked it at first but on my 3rd cleanse day last week I found myself a little nauseated after drinking my last one of the day. I don't know if it's just a memory or what but every drink I had today I found myself having to hold back my gag reflex. My last one I shot back with my nose plugged, like I was taking nasty medicine. I'm hoping tomorrow will not be as bad. Maybe I should try mixing it with ice in a blender and making a slushy out of it. I might try that for my morning cleanse.

Best of all, in my new shipment I got the Milk Chocolate Isa Delights. I'm in heaven! Oh my. It was just so delightful to eat one. And I read that you should have one 20 minutes before an Isa Snack or 2 hours after on the cleanse day to get the most out of the benefits of the Delights. And my hubby brought my box into my office just in time for me to do that. I did find it easier to make it through today.

I mentioned to my hubby how if I were more diligent and perhaps exercised more I would have better results, but he is impressed enough to encourage me and told me he has seen big changes in my way of eating. We joked about when I cheated and ate two pieces of pizza. I said, "at least it was only 2 pieces. Before this I would have eaten 4 slices!" and Les replied with "and a bowl of ice cream too". And I had to laugh and admit he was right.

I have my evening Ionix tea waiting to drink. At least that is still very agreeable to me!

Day 23 thru 27

Confession time. I haven't been blogging daily! I have been starting to get behind for the past week and even the last few posts I posted two days in a row, changing the dates so they would match the actual days. Secret is out.

But when you procrastinate too much it is harder to recreate your daily existence. So instead this is how it has been going the past few days.

I've found myself a little more moody and draggy. Not as energetic as others claim to be on this program. Now admittedly I didn't purchase the vitamin supplements - Ageless Essentials - to start this cleanse. They are on my next order (which hopefully will arrive this week!). I have been taking a homeopathic thyroid supplement that has tons of B vitamins in it. I had hoped that would help give me energy.

Food wise, I think I've done pretty good. Except for the cookies. Okay. On Friday I made cookies for the kids. I used whole wheat flour, organic grain sweetened chocolate chips, cut the sugar down, and added oatmeal and bran. And I didn't eat nearly as many as I would  have in my pre-cleanse days. (meaning before starting this cleanse program). But I probably ate more than I should have anyway. Don't ask me how many. Over the past three days I know I ate at least three per day. And not all at once. All days I ate one cookie as part of my lunch meal. And on other days I know I ate one cookie as my snack.

Mostly I really try to make my entire days calorie consumption (excluding shakes and IsaSnacks) within that 400-600 range. I'm not being super fanatical, writing it all down and adding up the calories, but am estimating - reading labels, etc. I know that I run the risk of exceeding the calorie count by doing this. But I also know myself. I've already seen a little of it come out in this week's procrastination on blogging. I have a tendency to *quit* when too much pressure is put on me to be perfect. Writing down every bit of food that enters my mouth; calorie count; portion size; these are all going to drive me absolutely nuts and make me throw up my hands in despair. I will not ALLOW that to happen.

So I do things my way. Follow the system as much as I can. Exercise when I can (still working on that when there is no water aerobics). And be AWARE. I think that is the key. To be conscious and aware of foods and what is good for me. To research new healthy recipes and try to change what I buy from the grocery store. More home-made and less processed foods. Growing our own food (wish that part didn't take quite so long). Looking for healthier snack options for the kids. Drinking more water.

I've decided to make it a commitment to stick to the Isagenix program as long as I can. If I only lose 10 lbs a month on this program it will be worth it. I've proven over and over again that nothing else works for me. I will be 50 years old in less than 2 years. I want to enter the second half of my life as healthy as I can be.

So 30 days at a time. Over and over again until I reach the me I was meant to be.

Day 22

Officially down 10lbs now!~ Still not as fast as I'd like but honestly? 10 lbs in three weeks is awesome. Les asked me if I could do this for 10 months in a row. I replied,"If I could lose 10lbs every month for 10 months then it is worth the sacrifice."

It is a sacrifice in many ways. So many of the things I did prior to this program, that I thought were okay to do, I realize were making me stuck in my weight. Iced mochas two to three times a week, fast food at least twice a week, pizza every two weeks, ice cream - sometimes daily if we bought a bucket. Treating myself to mocha milkshakes when stressed or depressed. Grabbing a chocolate bar to eat because, after all I hadn't had anything to eat all day. Skipping meals and thinking that by not eating I was doing my body good. All of that is destructive behavior that was not helping my cause.

I can't quite go in the direction that I see some go - total vegetarian for example. I love my meat too much. And so many of the "diet" foods are just unpalatable to me. I was browsing a website today that promised recipes that will help you detox and lose weight. Every recipe was full of ingredients I would never eat. And some things I have never even heard of!

To be successful in maintaining weight loss once I am down to the weight I would like, I know I will have to continue to make changes. But at least Isagenix is giving me some tools to help me.

Day 21: Cleanse #3

Is it getting easier? I ask myself this. In some ways, yes. In some ways, no. I still struggle with the desire to eat foods on the cleanse days. And I'm not feeling that energy that others claim to feel. I wonder how much of it is psychological and how much of it is real? I miss coffee. I miss the taste, the warmth, the caffeine buzz. 

I had a slight headache all day and tried to counteract it by adding Want More Energy to my water bottle in the afternoon. I never finished that water bottle. I was sipping it all day (32 oz water bottle) and the bottom 1/3 of the bottle just started to taste gross. It was upsetting my stomach. So I switched to regular water. 

I did make it through the day without cheating. Only thing I ate was a few IsaSnacks and 4-5 almonds throughout the day. Drank lots of water. My head felt like it had pressure in it all day. Not enough to really mess me up but just enough to irritate me. 

My hubby was nice enough to inform me that he was fasting for the day to support me. How sweet! But then he did eat dinner later with the kids. 

I'm now officially 3 weeks through the 30 day program. It is definitely a life changing program . And a choice. Everyday I need to make sure to make the right choices to be successful.

Day 20

Another day done. Seemed like a long day too.

I'm not sure how good it is for me to have my evening shakes so late on my class days. I wonder if that messes up the program? It was after 9pm when I was able to get my shake. I need to do better than that.

Tomorrow is my cleanse day and I hope and pray that it will do the job it is supposed to do and I will see some better progress than last week. I think I did pretty good this week. Really trying to be careful about what I eat.

Today for lunch I had a greek yogurt. Not my favorite. A little too thick and heavy for my liking. But edible. Had a slice of homemade whole wheat bread with added bran. And some organic corn chips, chili and lime flavored. I had planned on having a spinach salad as well, but then I was too full and forgot about it.

I'm still working on planning better meals with complete proteins, fruits and vegetables. It's all work in progress.