Day 9 and 10

Day 9 no change.
Day 10 down .2 lbs.

So you might be wondering why I'm not posting results yet. We'll day 10 is the last day of the 10 Day Cleanse. Tomorrow is result time. I did good yesterday sticking to the menu plan and today I did good right up until I arrived home to visit my mom for the weekend. She was so excited about my visit she had brownies, cookies, chips, everything. I stuck to my plan until tonight. Then I figured I would eat something delishly "dirty" and full of sugar and chocolate. It was fabulous. And I don't feel guilty or regret it.  Yet. But maybe I will in the morning.

Day 7 and 8

Day 7 -  gained .4 lbs.
Day 8 -  lost .4 lbs

I ate good yesterday up until the Mexican restaurant. I kept myself in check while I could at home and stuck to the plan. I ordered my usual (1 Chalupa no guac) and limited myself on basket of chips. I left feeling better than I usually do when I go. Maybe my system has started to recover from the abuse from the last few months.

This morning I was surprised to see the scale down rather than up. Usually the day after Mexican food I'm always up a pound. Today I played in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes and preparing clean foods. I felt like a TV food show. Only I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I am on the fence on spaghetti squash. Had that for the first time today. I have to admit that booger is neat to handle but I need to learn some cool recipes for it.

One thing I've learned is that no matter how hard you try to eat clean, it's impossible to do it 100 percent of the time. Eating out requires some will power, creativity, and forgiveness to enjoy in moderation. One "dirty" meal will not derail the whole effort. 

Day 6

No change.

I'm going to take that as a good thing though since I wasn't exercising over the weekend.

Today I had oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins for breakfast. Almonds for a mid afternoon snack. Lunch was another chicken, raspberry vinegrette wrap with steamed broccoli. Skipped the late afternoon snack because I forgot (wasn't hungry) and had leftover last night's dinner again tonight. I had mixed fruit after as a dessert.

Tomorrow night is a weekly get together with some friends. We all meet at a Mexican restaurant and play trivia. I'm worried about eating there and destroying all that I've been doing. Those chips and salsa are like crack. I'm usually about to pop just on the chips by the time my food arrives. Still trying to plan out my game plan there. Will let you know.

Day 5

Down .2 lbs again.

This confirms my initial thinking of losing the water weight first. Now I can believe that these smaller changes are the result of clean eating. Remember that true weight loss is a slow process.

Pinterest is the anti-diet. Every time I look for clean recipes I end up on how to make  a fabulous homemade warm pimento cheese sandwich or devilishly rich chocolate dessert. Curse you Pinterest! I've already started thinking of things I can't wait to eat and now I have recipes I can't wait to try. And most aren't clean. They are dirty. So very very dirty. Haha

Breakfast was fruit again. Followed by almonds for a snack. Lunch was a tuna wrap and raw baby carrots. Dinner was ground turkey with homemade taco seasoning (sans the salt) in a tortilla. I saw a recipe today for "ice cream" made from bananas. I thought I would give it a whirl. One frozen banana, pureed, with a tsp of whey protein powder for chocolate flavoring. It was interesting to say the least. The powder was not my favorite but it does give me ideas to experiment with other flavors in the future.  A frozen banana has endless possibilities. :-) 

Day 4

Down .2 lbs. Such a tiny amount.

I admit I was disappointed but when I looked in the mirror I didn't look as squishy as I had when I started so I'm OK with that. Another plus is I don't have that blah feeling anymore of feeling fat. Do you know what I mean?

You might be wondering why I am not telling my weight each day. I'm short so a number on a scale will look different for me than it would for a taller person. I don't want anyone comparing their results to me or thinking that because we are both X feet tall you should weigh X lbs too. That's why I don't want to focus on the before and after numbers. All that matters is being healthy for your height. 

Breakfast was fruit. I was happy I got to take pills this morning instead of the fiber drink. Not that I minded the drink but I just craved a change. I skipped snack time because I was out running errands. Lunch was the other half of last night's dinner. I fell asleep around 2nd snack time and missed that too. Dang it. Dinner was a whole wheat tortilla with raspberry vinegrete dressing, lettuce, and grilled chicken. Broccoli on the side. I had a banana after. More pills for bedtime.

I'm not sure if I like these bedtime pills or not. I've heard things from "best sleep ever" to "crazy dreams." For me, it's the crazy dreams that won't quit. It is a deep sleep (apparently I never knew about the scary thunderstorm last night that knocked out the power). I'm typically a light sleeper. But let me tell you just how deep this sleep is with the dreams... I wasn't liking where this one dream was headed and somehow I managed to get awake. I had to walk around the house to shake it off and I even played on the Internet for a while. When I went back to sleep the dream picked back up! I had no choice but to ride the dream out until morning. I would like very much for some dreamless sleep.

Day 3

Down 1.2 lbs.

Interesting. That motivated me to hit the gym again this morning. After sweating it out at the gym I felt good all day. Not tired, not cranky, and not craving anything.

A quick run through of what I ate... Breakfast was the fiber drink in lemonade and oatmeal with raisins. Snack was a 100 can pack of almonds. Lunch was surprisingly yummy. I experimented and put a small amt of raspberry vinegrete on a whole wheat tortilla. Then I layered lettuce and diced grilled chicken. Rolling it up was tough but nothing a few toothpicks couldn't handle. Then I had fresh broccoli on the side. Late afternoon snack was a banana. Dinner I was a little less strict on myself.  It's Friday night and eating out. Went to a sushi place and had miso soup, salad with Ginger dressing, steamed chicken, steamed veggies and steamed white rice. I know I know. I cheated but I only ate half of everything and I felt like having it all steamed was a better choice. I did splurge with lightly dipping my chicken in the white sauce. I don't know what that stuff is but it's soooo good.

I don't expect tomorrow's weigh in to be anything fabulous. I don't think I did terrible tonight but the psychological aspect of eating out is telling me I destroyed all my work. I must not faulter.

Day 2

Down 1.8 lbs.

I know that's water weight so I am not celebrating yet. But at least it motivates me to continue. I did a repeat of yesterday's fiber drink and breakfast. I was too full from the fiber drink so I could only get down half the oatmeal.

I went to the gym. I was excited to return to a basic weight class I had been going to before Xmas. I walked in and started digging out some weights, a mat, and found a spot near a mirror. Then someone told me the class had been replaced with Yoga! I quickly put my equipment up and slinked out the back. I was so embarrassed. I'm sure all the hardcore yoga people were like,  "What is this nut doing with dumbells?" I was going to just leave and start my errands but I followed some music to a zumba class and did that instead. Something is better than nothing!

I had almonds after class because the smaller breakfast wasn't holding me as well as yesterday. Then later for lunch I had a salad with plain grilled chicken cut up and a raspberry vinagrete dressing. Again I used baby carrots as a crunch instead of crackers. I craved an afternoon snack as well. Had a banana.

By dinnertime I wanted a chocolate chip cookie. And ice cream. Maybe a pop tart. Definitely hot chocolate. My weakness was setting in and I wanted to sneak a bite of something. But I managed to eat plain grilled chicken, steamed broccoli, and a yam patty with cinnamon and I no longer wanted those temptations. I had fresh fruit for dessert/snack.

I don't think I've peed as much today as I did yesterday but honestly I don't see how I would have anything left. Yesterday was crazy. Today is manageable. Now to take those evening pills and head to bed.

Day 1

I got a late start this morning and didn't have my fiber drink or breakfast until noon. I got sucked into researching menu plans for the Cleanse and lost track of time. But I don't regret it because I learned that to make the fiber drink less nasty to use 15 calorie Minute Maid lemonade and drink it through a straw while stirring. I tried that route and it really wasn't bad in flavor! The chunkiness was a little odd but I lied to myself and said my smoothie just wasn't blended up great. I was full just after drinking that but I fixed myself some oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins anyway. I couldn't finish it all.

Because of the late breakfast I skipped the snack and had a (natural) peanut butter and banana wrap (whole wheat of course). I knew I would miss the crunch of chips so I put 7 baby carrots on my plate. So far so good but I started to question my goal and my path to it. Eating like a model was not my intention.

Yes, I would like to be a few lbs less but my original goal was to not feel so bloated and gross after eating. I know my insides are tender from the abuse I've been subjecting myself to. With that in mind, eating like a starving rabbit isn't going to help matters. I must learn to eat what I typically eat (which thankfully is about 70 percent clean anyway) in moderation and incorporate healthier snacks instead of having 2 desserts. If I can change what I'm used to doing into a slightly healthier daily routine, then I will never have that yo-yo effect of starving myself down and gaining like crazy when I eat normal again.

The bottom line is no matter what you eat, you need a calorie deficit. I can do that just by cutting back on my sweets. You have no idea how much of a sugar pig I am. Tonight I chose steamed broccoli and broiled tilapia with a sprinkling of bread crumbs for texture. My bedtime snack is fruit before taking those 3 bedtime caplets.

I forgot to mention I burned 576 cal at the gym tonight.  :-) 

Tomorrow

My plan is to start the Advocare Herbal Cleanse tomorrow. I had planned to be better prepared with food but weather has prevented me from getting to the store. I have however made my garbage disposal very happy. I wanted to get some Catalyst to try at the same time but so far I've been unable to find anyone local who has some on hand. Maybe I will score some soon so I can see if it helps.

Gearing up

One thing I can't stand is people who complain with no intention of change. I think those people are unhappy and use that unhappiness to gain sympathy and attention from others. It's a pet peeve of mine and I've pissed off quite a few people calling them out. My thoughts... If you are unhappy you will change it, otherwise it's not as bad as you pretend it to be.

This holiday season has destroyed my attempts of eating better and I feel terrible because of it. For weeks now I have felt bloated and had indigestion problems, lack energy, poor sleep, my skin is looking terrible, and my mood is crabby. It was a friend who suggested I try Advocare. That seems to be a popular product to use to clean out the toxins and get your body back on a nutritional track. Most people follow a meal plan with very specific rules but my overall goal is to feel better.

So here is my game plan... My friend gave me the Advocare Herbal Cleanse that I will try for 10 days. I have so many food allergies that following the recommended food list would be impossible for me. So my plan is to stick to cleaner, less processed foods during this time. I probably won't quickly lose the weight everyone is bragging about losing but if I continue a healthier diet, I will get there. I will keep you posted!