30 Week Challenge: Week 3

A little bit of mixed emotions today. Today was weigh in for week 3. I'm very pleased because I lost another 2.4 pounds bringing me to 249.8 total! The bad is I've pretty much quit the Candida Cleanse. I just couldn't do it anymore. However with that being said I've still done pretty well on it.

The first day we went to Amazing Jakes. This is when I went a little crazy, but not too overboard. I had a little of everything so dieting wise it was probably ok, just not for Candida. And then since then I've had a little bit of stuff here and there, but nothing to drastic. Mostly just dressings and tortillas. I am still intending to eat better through the year and well pretty much life. Whooo!

Part of my reasoning for quiting the cleanse was because it was really hard. Another part is I just keep getting discouraged. I keep thinking to myself, I'm working dang hard, DANG hard and I probably still wont get pregnant (which is the main reason for doing the cleanse). So I just kept telling myself it's not worth it. So now I'm just going to focus on losing the weight, and not the candidia.

This weeks goal is to do this total workout circuit workout. It has machines to work out arms and legs and then inbetween each machine you do cardio of different things on a step. I really like it, but don't always do it because it's easier to just get on the elliptical or bike and watch something. So my goal for this week and other weeks is to do it 3 times a week.

I really want to do the gym 5 times a week would be ideal. Here is my gym plan goal...
Sunday- REST
Monday- Circuit with elliptical
Tuesday- Bike, Elliptical Abs
Wednesday- Circuit with Bike
Thursday- REST
Friday- Elliptical, bike abs
Saturday- Circuit with arc trainer

A lot of people have Saturday be their rest day and then Sunday because of church, but I don't want to do 2 days of resting in a row. So I'm hoping to get to the gym on Saturdays. Planet Fitness is open 24 hours so really it should be possible. Even if I have to go after Ryder is in bed.

Of course this week is going to be different because Thursday evening we are heading up to Show Low until Monday. We'll of course go on a walk/ hike, but not much else.

My first milestone goal is at week 6 which is July 16, goal weight is 240. So a little over 2 pounds a week. I can do this!

Ugh!

Why does this have to be so hard? Considering the dinner I had tonight I shouldn't be complaining. But here I am at Midnight playing dominion with Chase through FB as he's eating some cheetos. All I'm wanting is to join in. And that is where the ugh comes in!

It is so ridiculous how last night I had this awesome moment where it got me all pumped and motivated and now here I am wanting to give up. Oh temptation...

Tonight we actually had a pretty kick butt meal. We signed up to feed the missionaries so I wanted to have something I could eat as well because that would be kind of awkward. So we had salad and broccoli and then white rice & brown rice and grilled chicken. One was marinated in a Lawry's marinade of Tuscan Sun Dried Tomatoes or something like that. Of course it has vinegar, sugar and I'm sure plenty other that I can't have. The other grilled chicken was just olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic (granulated), and minced onion. It was so good!!! I ate more than I should have, but I didn't care because it is rare that I get full these days. The rest of the day I had some blueberries, some mixed veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower) and some crackers.

The others also had a cupcake left over from yesterdays Den Meeting for scouts.

So again I contemplate how long I'm going to do the candida diet for. We are going to my Grandpa's house in Show Low next weekend for several days. I'm considering not being as strict because I imagine it will be a lot more difficult. We'll see. I'm hoping I have the strength to keep up this weight loss until the end of the year. 28 more weeks to go!

30 Week Challange: Week 2

It has only been 2 weeks! So depressing! I'm counting down the days until I can eat a piece of bread. Every day I keep trying to decide what I want my first meal to be... that is so bad!!!

Today was official end of week 2 so I did my weigh in. I'm 152.2 pounds. I was hoping I would have lost more this past week, but I'll take it. So in the 2 weeks I've lost 10 pounds, only 52.2 more to go until 2015!

I am very proud of how I've been going to the gym/ working out this week. I've done something every day (minus Sunday)! Tomorrow might be my rest day I haven't decided yet. I've mostly done the elliptical. I'm hoping to start adding in the circut they have at Planet Fitness 3 times a week. It is a whole body workout with cardio in between each machine. It is a really nice workout!

I'm getting very discouraged. Because I am very limited on what I can eat and most of it requires cooking of some kind I find myself not wanting to eat. For example today I had almonds and a piece of turkey bacon up until dinner. For dinner we went to Amazing Jakes. I was complaining to Chase that a salad did not sound appealing at all so he stopped at KFC on the way and got me a piece of grilled chicken. I'm sure a strict candida dieters no-no, but I had to. (PS Still hungry)

I feel myself getting less motivated. Now when I say motivated I mean to do this cleanse not to lose weight. I am actually really pumped to lose weight and get healtier, I just don't like doing it in this extreme way. I'm very worried by the time I am done with the cleanse portion I'm going to be so ready for real food that I am going to over do it and everything will be wasted.

To help me stay on track I created a facebook group. It seems to be getting a lot of excitement going. There are about 20 of us in it. We post our goals for that week and we can share recipes and such. With me being the admin of it, I feel like I have a higher responisibility to remain on course to reach my goal! If you are interested in joining it let me know and I'll add you.

My goal this week is to up my water in take. My goal is 130 oz. That is a lot of water! It makes me have to pee like every half hour (no joke!). It makes it very hard to do errands. ugh! I'm hoping if I keep it up then my body will get use to it? Idk but I hope so.

Ok I feel so silly right now, here I am getting all teary eyed. I was just ready to type out how I am not sure when I want to end the cleanse. Everyday I reconsider going until July part of me want to quit when I am done with the PB Assist part of the cleanse. (which would be next week [10 days early]) So as I was sitting here thinking about how badly I just want to be done, my wedding band came off my finger! I don't know when was the last time it came off. In a past post I mentioned that I was putting the slim & sassy on my ring finger to help that get slimmer faster. Well it seems to be working! I feel like this is what I needed to keep me going. I'm already seeing improvements! Because of this little "sign" I feel like I'm doing something that is good for me and that I should be doing!

Here is to another 2+ weeks! I'm in this for the long haul!

30 Week Challenge: Week 1.5

This week has been rough. I was super excited to lose 7 pounds in my first week and was hoping to keep that up for atleast another week, but as of now I'm only 1 pound down from Wednesday. This week was the worst weekend to be doing a cleanse. My brother and sister were in town from Washington so there was tons of food to be had and I couldn't eat pretty much any of it. This is what my weekend looked like... 

Thursday: Bryan & Brittany's family arrived in the afternoon. Mom made lasagna for dinner with salad and garlic bread. I couldn't eat that though so I made my own dinner. I can't even remember what I had. We went swimming and then came back and had ice cream sandwhiches. I made a slim trim smoothie instead.

 Friday: (Lunchtime) This summer Amazing Jakes is doing a special where is was $50 per person for 3 hours of rides and games plus their buffet everyday until August 31st. It was such a good deal we go it along with Davis family and my parents. Unfortunately on this cleanse the only thing I can have is the salad (without dressing). So Friday we went there so the kids would have something to do. I helped my salad taste a little better and put pineapple on top to act as the dressing, although on a strict candida diet I'm pretty sure canned fruit is a no-no.

 (Dinner) Dad made fajitas and it was a homemade taco seasoning I made the last time I did the cleanse so it was candidia friendly! This was the best meal I think I've had this go around. I couldn't do a tortilla or cheese or anything. I did make a little guacamole to go with it. That was a good night and I actually got full:) 

(Dessert) Chase thought he'd be a family favorite and make cookies. I didn't have any and I helped make them. Talk about self control!

 Saturday: My oldest Neice Brittney was baptized!!! So proud of her. After the baptism they had a little luncheon. They served sub sandwhiches and different salads (non of which I could eat) they also had fruit skewers, chips, and cupcakes. Oh and a lemeonade. I brought with me some raw broccoli (not that great without something to dip it in). That was all that I could grab because we were running late. I also had one fruit skewer and got myself some water instead of lemonade. Chase made me cheat a little bit and took the lettuce, tomato and turkey lunchmeat off of one of the subs and I ate that. It was so good!

Brittney Ann Packer Baptized June 14, 2014

 (Dinner) Since we were spending all week together and BP was leaving early Sunday morning we decided to do Father's Day Saturday instead. Brittany was really wanting Geno's Pizza so we got that for dinner. Bonus Dad wouldn't have to cook. Mom also had leftover pasta salad and Jason & Steph brought leftover Subs from the luncheon. Plus since I didn't know what to give my dad for Father's Day I decided to make these garlic knots I make ( a huge no-no!). I made myself some brown rice, asparagus, broccoli, and canned chicken stir fry type of thing. Definitely not appealing.

 Sunday: Lunch was a on your own type of thing. I had a sliver of lunch meat and I mixed some canned chicken with hard boiled egg and onion together with some greek yogurt that is probiotic. It was decent. 

Dinner: We had leftovers so lasagna, garlic bread, corn, and pizza. I made myself a slim trim smoothie because I wasn't in the mood for anything else. I cheated here and had a small bite of lasagna. After dinner I made some guacamole to have with blue corn chips.

 I am very proud of how I ate this weekend. I kept getting compliments at how well I was doing considering all the food I was surrounded by. I've done a little more research for "normal" food that is candida diet friendly. Tonight I'm making taco salad and tomorrow I'm doing BLT salad with homemade dressing. Using turkey bacon. I'm pretty excited about these meals.

While I feel like I'm doing a good job I can't wait to be done. I've found out not being able to eat food makes me cranky. This weekend having EVERYONE over made me wiped out.

I started the PB Assist portion of the doTERRA cleanse and will do that for 10 days. I was hoping to do 2 rounds of the cleanse, but that would put me until the beginning August and I don't think I can last that long, this is tough.

My sister/in laws are joining the eat better brigade so hopefully that will help me better. Obviously not doing anything as strict as I am, but it will help. Here is to a skinny 2014!

30 week challenge: week 1

If you missed my original post about what the 30 week challenge is you can see the past post here. Or long post short there are 30 weeks left in 2014. I'm doing a weight loss goal to hit my weight loss goal to get down to 200 pounds. This would be a huge accomplishment for me!

 Today was the end of week 1 for me and I'm very pleased with today's weigh in. I weighed myself Monday and I was down 4lbs so I was hoping for 5lbs today. My total weight loss is 7lbs!!! Obviously it will be easier at first because I've made a huge change in what I'm eating. My goal for next week is to lose another 5lbs. (5 seems like a nice safe number) however more is welcome.

I'm adding working out into the mix. Last night I biked 4 miles. So that should help. The is next week is going to be challenging. My brother & his family are coming down from Washington tomorrow. Of course everything revolves around food so the menu delish and I can't have pretty much any of it. Then on Saturday my oldest Niece is getting Baptized with a luncheon to follow. I'm pretty certain the food there will not be candida diet friendly. Chase keeps telling me I'm strong for doing this. He keeps asking what he can do to help and I always respond don't let me quit. There are times I feel like I just want to give up that it is too hard. But I just remind myself this is what I want and it will be worth. It in the long run. How are your challenges going?

30 Week Intro

First off I know it has been FOR. EV. ER, but life happens and then you forget. Someday I'll do some catch up posts, but I have a goal for this post so it wont be today.

A few months back I started using essential oils, doTERRA specifically. As you may or may not know I am struggling with secondary infertiliy That is where you have trouble getting pregnant when you already have a child. It has been rough. We've been trying for about 2 1/2 years. So while researching which oils can help with infertility I came across Candida. Everyone has it, but when you have an overgrowth it can cause problems. I have some of the sypmtoms so I'm thinking I have an overgrowth. So I am trying to get that under control.

Candida is a yeast bacteria. So in order to kill it off you have to starve it. So that means eating no sugar, yeast, carbs, etc. It is a very strict diet and it is very limited to what you can eat. IT'S TOUGH!!! So I'm taking this chance to kick off a weight loss challenge!

Did you kow there are 30 weeks left in the year? So It's going to be a 30 week challenge. I started last Wednesday so June 4th is week 0 because it was just starting weight. So this is where I put in a favor, don't judge me on my weight. I'm putting this all out there in hopes of the trend of no one reading this and I don't have to worry about anyone really knowing. Hahaha Also, I figure if you look at me you know I weigh a lot so it really isn't a secret AND I don't EVER want to be this weight again. My whole life I have been overweight. Ok not whole life, but in school I was always one of the bigger girls. My weight has haunted me pretty much my whole life and I don't know how many people actually know that about me. 

So week 0 I started at 262lbs (remember no judging). My end goal is 200lbs. To put this in perspective when I got pregnant with Ryder a little over 3 years ago I was 215lbs, so it's been awhile since I've been that skinny! (Yes I consider that skinny now).

Back to the candida, to fight it I am doing a cleanse. I'm cutting out sugar, carbs, breads, soda, pork, etc. Pretty much eating chicken, veggies, some fruit, and brown rice/ quinoa. That is the jist of it. I am no as strict as I should be in fear of quiting. I tried this a few months ago and didn't last as long as I wanted to because I felt like I couldn't eat anything. It is a very tough diet especially when you are around others. Last night we had a family potluck so I ate the guacomole we brought (I ate it white blue corn chips which may be a no no, but I gotta do something), fruit salad, chicken without the skin, and a little bit of chili. I really wanted the potato dishes, but those are off limits.

In addition to just diet I am adding in doTERRA Supplements. First is their lifelong vitality supplements (LLV). There are reccommended to everyone. People have seen huge improvements from them! I've just been taking them for a little over 2 weeks and I'm not up to a full dose yet so I can't personally testify. I am also doing a supplement called Zendocrine and then GX Assist for 10 days and then PB Assist after that. Here is a link to info on all of those. This part of the cleanse I am only doing for 1 month except for the LLV I am planning on doing that as long as  I can afford it.

In addition to those supplements I am also adding doTERRA's metabolic blend Slim & Sassy. This comes in oil form as well as soft gels. For this first week all I have done is the softgels 3 times a week. And then I've just done the oil blend on my ring finger (My ring can't come off so I'm hoping this will help slim it down faster than the rest of me). They also have Trim Shakes that are meal replacements. Those have been great to make a quick "meal" I usually blend it with a little fruit and kale or spinach. (You can see more about slim & sassy in the link above.

The last time I did this cleanse I started using Slim & Sassy in the beginning, but stopped after a week or 2. Not really sure why. After I stopped that is when I really started craving and wanting the other food. I'm sticking with slim & sassy this time!

If you want to take this challenge with me go for it! I've made me a little chart to put in the bathroom by our scale to record everything and to remind me all day. Everytime I go potty I'll see it! And since I'm drinking a ton of water I go a lot. My week starts on Wednesday, but you can do whatever you want. I did starting weigh in last week and week 1 is this week, however if you are just starting and want to be done in 30 weeks then starting weight will be week 1 as well. Also, every 6 weeks or so there is a spot to put your goal for that week. That way you help yourself work up to the end result. 

Now when I say join me I don't mean you have to do the whole cleanse part, just eat healthier than you do now. Also remember that the key to weigh loss is diet AND excersise (cardio & weight lifting). My awesome sister-in-law and I are working out a gym schedule so we can swap baby sitting so we can go 2-3 tiems a week. Hopefully more after a week or so.

With this all said I weighed myself today (no quite a full week) and I'm down 4 pounds! It is motivating. I know that it wont drop as fast later on, this is because it is a huge change in the way I eat. I just want to take advantage of it while I can. 

If you are taking this challenge with me I would love to know about it! Good Luck if you do! And send happy thoughts my way!

***The doTERRA link posted is to my personal shop. You can order through that if you have essential oils you want to try or you can contact me directly. Those are retail prices, if you are interested in getting them cheaper it is super easy. Let me know and I can help you with a wholesale account.