MARCH-ing FORWARD...

Tuesday, Feb. 25th.  Down 11 lbs.  Checking in to report I continue to release weight.  I ordered some of the snacks and meal replacement bars because they are good and satisfy.  The shakes are tasting sweeter to me -- perhaps that is because my sugar intake is drastically cut.  I am not a big fan of the Cleanse Days -- it's  not that I can't do it, I just hate them.  To be honest, other than normal activity I haven't done any major workouts.  We DID finally find the Nordic treadmill and moved it so that I can walk while I entertain myself watching the shows that my husband hates...... Housewives and The Bachelor..... among others.  My guilty pleasures!  Haven't had much of an appetite -- its either because of Isagenix solely, or an RX that I take -- or combo of both.  Fact is, I don't have much more than 800-1000 calories a day.  I must say that my husband I have gone out to dinner several times in the past 3 weeks.  I try to keep it to the 600 calories or less dinner plates (having the shakes and 2 snacks during the day).  I do believe that any diet works if you stick with it --- but it is the feeling of being deprived that I hate. I don't feel deprived on this eating plan and I eat when I am hungry!  These are small meals or replacements.  In terms of results, I am down 2 pant sizes. Thought I had on the wrong slacks yesterday and had to check the label.  If you are like me you probably have 3 sizes of everything in your closet.  YO YO......  It is kind of fun exploring clothes that I put away or in the back of the closet because they made me feel bad about how much weight I put on.  Sleeping has improved.  Again, I have no clue as to if this is due to the supplements and diet.  I have trouble sleeping through the night -- that is happening less and less over the last 3 weeks.  So going forward, I will continue to drink lots of water with lemon -- I absolutely believe that diet coke and caffeine was counter productive although I love coffee and diet coke.  Now, I am used to going without it -- no cravings for it.  Lastly, the vitamin supplements and Isagenix cleanse/juice seems to help get me on my way in the a.m.  Concluding, I have nothing negative to say -- positive things to report.  Stay tuned...

SNOW GO AWAY!

Thursday, February 13, 2014.   Bottom line, I'm down 7 lbs.  Seems like with all this bad weather in the ATL and being cooped up -- about all people do is eat and drink!  I did make it to the store, got fresh fruit, veggies and yep, bought a bottle of wine..... not supposed to drink wine on the program -- but it sure was extra nice to cuddle up on a snowy night with my love. Back to Isagenix.  I had to place an additional order last week because my husband ATE all the meal replacement bars.  I ordered an assortment of bars and snacks to supplement my shakes.  One thing to note is that I have not had time to workout lately.  Very busy schedule at home and at work.  BUT, I have signed up for a kick boxing class.  New studio in Dunwoody --- it's kind of cool and I think I would prefer that to a gym.  One cool thing I found there were YOGA SOCKS!  I didn't know they exist!  I am always FREEZING and now I can do YOGA with my friend Robin.  One thing I do want to say after 2 weeks of Isagenix is that I am sleeping better than I have in two years.  Additionally, I have not had a diet coke nor do I have a craving for them at this point.  The only carbs I've had with my meal (which I save split into two 300 calorie meals) are couscous and brown rice.  I use every fresh veggie I can in combination to make some great vegetarian meals -- no added salt, just Indian herbs, curry, peppers, chilies, turnips, broccoli, carrots, etc.  Its been difficult in terms of eating out --- but I'm timing the dinners out pretty well.  Broiled and plain......  Other than the wine we had, I have had a couple Vodka Tonics (diet) so at least I feel like I am not deprived.  So, 7 lbs gone --- but inches? I've gone down a bra size and a pants size.  I no longer am having issues with digestion, heartburn or feeling nauseated after eating. Spent over a grand trying to figure out what that was all about last year......so, something is going right.  Been forcing myself to drink as much water as possible.  One last comment --- my blood pressure is down 20 points and is nearly normal.  I feel good! I'll do better into next week -- hopefully I will be able to get out of the driveway tomorrow!

Friday, February 7th, 2014.  Probably shouldn't have weighed in this morning but I just felt the need to succeed...... down 5 lbs since last Tuesday.  Would have been more, but I've had to integrate this program into my everyday life.  It is getting easier, I feel very good and I have no hunger pains or cravings.  I am always thirsty, so it seems I carry a bottle of water everywhere I go.  I do miss my diet coke.... but oh well.  Had to order more Isagenix bars as my husband has discovered them and apparently has been sneaking them out of the pantry.  Looking forward to tonight --- dinner out with good friends.  I will probably do an extra cleanse day next week to mitigate my going out to dinner tonight.  I plan on taking measurements as it is obvious that inches have disappeared.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014.  Well it has been one week.  Weighed in this morning and I am 3 1/2 lbs down since last Tuesday.  I haven't had time to measure but I can tell from my clothes that I've lost from my bust and waist. I'll measure and give you an update on that.  The past week has been hectic after the snow here in the ATL that was a total disaster for so many of us. In terms of going to work out at the gym -- I didn't.  But I have plenty of work at the house to keep me active.  I must say that I was delighted at my weight loss -- but I know it could have been more.  I am a slow adopter -- it took me a few days to read all the literature, take a look at the products and try to get my daily schedule to best suit me.  in terms of the program, I can say that overall I was never starving -- but the first two days were a bit of a struggle.  I had to do away with both my morning coffee and say goodbye to diet coke which I like to have a few times a week.  I bought fresh veggies and loaded up on fish. Mahi Mahi, Salmon, Talapia, Grouper and Cod.  Other than brown rice and a few apples, raw almonds --- I was off to the races.  I have two kinds of shakes to choose from for two (2) meal replacements a day.  Chocolate and Vanilla.  Of course, I went for the chocolate the first and second days. I had a bit of a time taking all the AM and PM vitamin supplements but ultimately -- I got used to them.  I start the day with the Ionix Supreme (loaded with B vitamins); followed by the Natural Accelerator tablet to boost metabolism.  For breakfast and lunch I had the shakes supplemented throughout the day with Isagenix snacks.  The dark chocolates with green tea are satisfying, the vanilla wafers taste like cake icing to me.  On the second day, I could not drink the second shake.  I just did not have the appetite.  I was however, THIRSTY.  I got to the point that I filled up VOSS bottles and put them in the refrigerator so I could grab them COLD at any time.  The next two (2) days were CLEANSE days.  That's when I ran into a problem.  I wasn't hungry but psychologically felt deprived.  Basically, you stop the shakes and you can't indulge in the 400-600 calorie dinners on the CLEANSE days.  More about dinners later....  So I followed the Cleanse Day Planner, UNTIL late afternoon when I broke down and ate a very small spinach salad with three strawberries.  Later that night I downed about 2 oz of baked chicken (plain, no spices) and two (2) celery sticks.  A NO NO but I told you I was a slow adopter.  The second CLEANSE day wasn't so bad -- I kept to the Isagenix snacks (there are some nice options that I have not tried yet).  On the third SHAKE DAY, I tried the Vanilla Shake -- the consistency is good but it isn't as satisfying as the chocolate.  Note that you can utilize the orange Energy sticks by adding them to the vanilla --- making it taste more like a dream cycle. Again, late day I felt deprived --- so I ate a medium sized apple -- which is okay on a shake day but NOT okay on a CLEANSE day.  By this time, I didn't have any cravings.  The program was tolerable and I thought the program added a certain amount of energy to my day.  Just wasn't quite sure. One thing that I did notice is that I DID NOT FEEL BLOATED.  I've had digestive problems for which I have seen a doctor -- also had the allergy test to determine foods for which I am sensitive.  Friday and Saturday went without a hitch.  Super Bowl Sunday was just a fizzle. I was happy to speak for 30 minutes to my Isagenix coaches who set me straight on how to best utilize the program.  No be frank, I was a bit confused on how and when to use the products to my advantage.  Anyway, I was bored with the football game and went to bed early.  Monday night my husband I went out to eat dinner at Red Lobster (I followed the program). They have a 600 calorie menu.  I had the broiled platter with shrimp, lobster, scallops and 1/2 cup of rice pilaf.  NO SALT, NO SEASONINGS.  Tasted fantastic to me.  Generally in the evening both my husband and I are eating fish every night with veggies (like steamed broccoli) and mock mashed potatoes (whipped parsnips and carrots with nothing added).  Hubby thought they were sweet potatoes.  Well, this is a long BLOG -- but I'm happy with the results so far. Stay tuned....