Gym Time!!

Oh yeah!! Got a gym membership tonight!! Sarah & I will be going there every night instead of our evening walks! It was awesome! I feel amazing! We worked out for a little over an hour, then got a massage, and then tanned! Exactly what a stay at home mom needs!!! I also did my 60 jumping jacks, 20 crunches, and 10 leg lifts this morning. Today I also joined MyFitnessPal. Keeping track of my calories to get to my goal weight! I feel so great right now. I can't wait to keep this up! I'm going to look fabulous. Just watch.

Still Going

Sorry I didn't blog last night, but there was nothing really interesting! I've been doing super great w/ the eating healthy. Salads for lunch an dinner, fruits & veggies for snacks. Last night I actually ate hot wings. I couldn't help it. Some friends brought them over and they are my weakness. But I figured all I had all day was veggies so it couldn't hurt! I did 55 jumping jack today, 10 leg lifts- both at the same time, then 10 on each side. Also, Sarah and I got our walk in tonight! We went for about an hour. It's such a nice little break from the day and we are getting some exercise, can't beat that! I'm pretty proud of myself for staying strong after the cleanse, even though it's only been almost 4 days. I'm especially proud that I've only had water to drink, beside the apple juice that first day! I love pop, but haven't even been tempted by it! Haven't got to make any great recipes yet, gotta wait until we can go to the grocery! But I'll keep you all posted on how those turn out! Still going strong and ready to lose this weight forever!!

Going Smoothly...

Today I had no problems whatsoever! Drank my apple juice and water all day, had beef broth for lunch and dinner, and ate some grapes at early snack and had some celery w/ a little peanut butter at late snack. My stomach seemed to handle them okay! I did 30 crunches, 10 leg lifts ( both up and down w/ out touching the ground) And 10 leg lifts for each side. No walk tonight, we took Jace to the park for a little while and Sarah's husband was working late. Going to the park again tomorrow! That's one nice thing about Texas! It's January and it's in the 70's! Much better day than yesterday! I actually got dressed all cute & did my hair a new way. Felt nice. I will take pics soon to post w/ my baggy jeans on. It's just that 16lbs isn't really noticeable when you're as big as I am, but soon enough it will be WAY obvious! :o)

"Ease Out"

WOW! Today was something... I'm a moron! I should have refreshed my memory about the "ease out" stage, since I hadn't read about it since I started the cleanse. So I drank a Special K shake this morning, upset my stomach a little, but really not bad at all. It was so worth it, it tasted amazing! Then I had some grapes and celery for a snack. Still felt good. So for lunch I had a small salad. Lettuce, carrots, broccoli, and a little bit of shredded cheese.  I, of course, only drank water all day. Well, about an hour after lunch I was in PAIN. I seriously thought I was going to die. Couldn't tell if I need to throw up or use the rest room. I threw up. Not to go into too much detail or anything, but it was straight broccoli. Nothing else, at all. And it wasn't even digested! So weird! Didn't even look like I chewed it! HAHA. Okay, sorry. But I felt so much better! I went back to read about the "Ease Out" stage, because I had obviously done something wrong! Yep! I was only to drink orange juice (or apple juice) ALL day. Nothing else. Then tomorrow I was to start broths... then wait until day 4 or 5 to eat fruit and veggies. Well... DUH Tori!! There is NOTHING in my stomach to break down the food that I put in it! Vegetables or not!! So for the rest of the day I drank apple juice and felt 100% better!! Tomorrow I will stick with juice, water, and broth! Never want to experience that again! So needless to say,  today I skipped my workout. I will just count this as a break day and work out during the assigned break day! I did, however, go on a walk tonight. About an hour again! Felt great!!  Got a little too excited about not having to drink that lemonade concoction. Would not suggest it! :o) Time to unwind with an ice cold glass of water! I'll let ya all know how tomorrow goes, I am excited about the broth. Funny because I hated when that was all I was allowed to have at the hospital having Joei. All in all I feel good and can't wait to keep going!

Last Day of The Master Cleanse

Holy crap!! I can't believe I did it!! 10 days w/ no food!! Just did my final weigh in... I've lost 16lbs!! I went from 200lbs to 184lbs in 10 days! It's a good start. Just got back from the grocery, got all my fruits & veggies for tomorrow, and my beef broth of course. Today I did 50 jumping jacks, 15 sit-ups, & 10 push-ups! No walk though, my poor neighbor has had a cold & I went to the store! So tomorrow I will just have to be sure not to eat too much fruits & veggies so my stomach won't get upset! (Never thought I'd say that). Now another tough journey will begin... it took a lot of self control not to eat anything at all, but now I will have to learn to eat with the control. Portion control will be difficult, but obviously... I can do it! :o)

Day 9 of the Master Cleanse

Today went by so fast! Thank goodness! I was craving buffalo chicken ALL day!! So that's exactly what I made for my husband for dinner. Smelled delicious! So many good things happened today... my daughter is officially 6 months old and said "Momma" for the first time! My husband gave me one of his belts and it actually fit! That's a big deal for those of you who have seen him! It was the break day for my workout routine, so I did household chores and danced around with Jace! No walk either, my husband had a basketball game so I was inside with the kiddos. I decided I'm not weighing myself until tomorrow night since that is my last night of the cleanse! Tomorrow evening I am going to the grocery store to get some fruits & veggies for my "ease out" days. I'm pretty pumped for some beef broth! Ha! Never thought I'd say that. Nothing major really occurred today, so I will be letting you guys know how my last day goes and my final weigh in (on the cleanse) turns out!

Day 8 of The Master Cleanse

 Well Day 8 has been a breeze!! I don't even think about eating at random times of the day anymore!! But I just want to clear one thing up about this Master Cleanse, and my choice to do this. I am totally aware that I am not getting the nutrients & vitamins i need... obviously. And another thing that should be obvious to some people is that I am NOT anorexic! Seriously... I'm a 200 pound woman! Sorry... 186 pound woman :o) I eat. I am also well aware of what the body does after it goes through "starvation" mode... how it stores anything you eat as fat because it doesn't know when it will get food again. However, this doesn't start happening to your body until at least 15 days. I have been doing research on this for over 2 years now. ALL about it, the good, the bad, the ugly...  I know. So I really wish people would stop harping at me about something I obviously know more than them about!! That being said, I am super proud of myself. I am proving, yet again, that I can kick ANY addiction. My jeans would NOT stay up today!! It was amazing, yet annoying at the same time. See, I don't have any belts that fit. Small problems, that I am totally okay with. Today I did 45 jumping jacks and moved from crunches up to 10 sit ups! No push ups or walk today. I also just REALLY wanted to thank those of you who have been nothing but supportive through this entire thing. You all have been what's keeping me motivated to do it. I want to prove to ALL of us that we CAN lose this annoying weight we have put on through the years. 2 days left of this cleanse and I can NOT wait to create and share some delicious, healthy recipes with you all.

Day 7 of The Master Cleanse

Day 7 is almost complete!! Again, woke up feeling great! Went out to Wal-Mart with the family, that was a little difficult! Going though the isles while my husband threw oreos & chips in the cart... My tummy was a rumblin'! When we got home I stepped on the scale... 186lbs... I have lost 14lbs in 7 days!! I told my husband about at, as he was sitting next to me munching on a bag of salt & vinager potato chip (yuck), then I started thinking,
 "Well maybe I will make this my last day. I mean I went a week, that's way longer than I ever thought I could go."
 My husband responded by telling me that I have done great & 14lbs is awesome & he didn't think it was a bad idea. He got up & walked in the kitchen, "Grab me my Special K drink." I said... he said "OK" and opened the fridge. What the hell am I doing?!?
 "NO!!! Never mind, don't. I'm not quitting." I yelled. 
I mean seriously?!?! I would be so mad at myself! I only have 3 days to go! I can do this!! If I'm down 14lbs already, then 3 more days can only help! So I made my lemonade mixture! Today I did 40 jumping jacks, 20 crunches, & 10 push-ups (girly ones). Then Sarah & I went on a walk, an hour this time! When I got home I felt AMAZING! Seriously, I am loving how much energy I have. So now I am going to unwind before bed and have a giant glass of ice water! Ready for Day 8!

Day 6 of the Master Cleanse

Well, the rest of my evening went well. Had a great evening walk w/ my neighbor, Sarah. About 50 mins this time! This morning my husband tried letting me sleep in a little, but my children, of course, did not like that idea. However, I woke up fine. My energy level has been great these past few days! I can't believe I'm almost half way done with this thing!! I have been gathering recipes so I have delicious, HEALTHY, things to eat when  am finished! Now today, I have been kind of emotional & lazy, I think that has more to do w/ female things than the cleanse though. But I have managed to stay strong & did my exercises, 35 jumping jacks, 15 crunches, & 5 push-ups. I could probably do more push-ups if my son didn't think it was fun to lay on my back with his arms around my neck while I did them! The girly ones, of course, 30 extra pounds is a lot! I am no longer having problems with the want for food. Somethings that I usually drool over don't even look that appetizing to me anymore! I can't wait to try all the new healthy meals I am planning on preparing. Vegetables are all I really have been craving this whole time. Probably because my body isn't really getting any nutrients & vitamins... only 4 more days though... after I get through this one. And once I make all those delicious things, I will post some healthy recipes for anyone interested in making them as well!

Day 5 of The Master Cleanse

Ok, let me get you all caught up here on my journey. I'm 5'7" and I use to weigh 110 lbs before I ever had children. When I got pregnant with my son I gained 80 lbs! YES!! 80 freakin pounds!! That's just ridiculous, right? I weighed 190 lbs when I went to the hospital to deliver him. Afterwards, I weighed 170 lbs, but only went back up from there. In November 2010 I found out I was pregnant again. I was about 180-185 lbs then. I gained about 30 lbs this time. So in July, when I went to deliver my baby girl, I weighed 215 lbs! We didn't have a scale at home, so I don't know how much i weighed after the delivery. Now, with two kids, it's hard to find time to eat, let alone make a healthy meal just for you, (I tried Slimfast, Special K, Healthy Choice, Smart Ones, Lean Cuisines...) so I just started eating whatever Jace was eating... mac & cheese, hotdogs, pizza, pb&j, grilled cheese... all that stuff that an adult woman should NOT consume! I did the exercise at home, until I realized I could just quit whenever I wanted because no one was there to push me. "Oh, Joei is awake, she probably needs to eat." or "Oh, poor Jace! He wants mommy to play moster trucks with him.".... yeah. Well it got to the point where I realized I would go days without even looking in a mirror, the only clothes I was wearing were "comfy" ones, and out of the million pictures that I take, I'm not in any of them! I have tons of great pics with my husband and kids, yet I'm the one home with them all day every day! This is NOT me. I use to want to be a model! If there was an outfit I liked, I bought it. If there was a mirror around, I glanced in it. If there was a camera, I was in front of it. I miss that girl! Now I know I will never be 110 lbs again, and I don't want to be! I am a mother now & I am super proud of that! I will forever have curves. I am a woman, not a girl. But, I miss going out and dancing in the middle of the floor without caring who's looking. I miss going out with my girls and acting as stupid as I wanted without caring about anything! So, in January 2012, we got a scale... I stepped on it.... 200 lbs!! Are you kidding me?!? I looked in the mirror, standing there in my baggy old t-shirt & sweat pants... gross. This is not who I want to be. Time to change... NOW. Not just another diet, not just half- assed work outs. I need something to work, & that will last. I NEVER want to be this big again, not even if i have another baby. So I remembered Jerry's cousins Alecia & Jacob, and his aunt Paula, they did The Master Cleanse and had such great success, especially Jacob! Go figure, men can drop weight like it's nothing! But I had thought about it in the past and just knew I couldn't stop eating food for 10 days! No way!! Well, I had reached my snapping point! It's time. I WILL do it. Not just to lose the weight, but for a fresh start! A clean slate! It's a body detox system, not a weight loss plan. So I can rid my body of all the toxins. If I go 10 days without giving into food, it will help me mentally & emotionally. And I always make healthy meals for my family at dinner time (minus a random pizza night every few months), but my biggest problem is my portions! Since I have become so custom to just eating and eating until I was stuffed, i didn't realize i didn't NEED that much food!! So here I am... Day 5 of the Master Cleanse. And I feel great!

Day 1: Super hard!! However, the lemonade mixture tasted better than what I thought it was going to! Almost like bacon! My body felt a little weak, almost achy, and I was FREEZING!! I knew all this was going to be happening to my body though,so I stayed strong. Making lunch & dinner was the hardest part! Went on an evening walk w/ my neighbor... about 35 mins.


Day 2: No energy, just plain tired. Everything looked and smelled delicious! I wanted to cave so incredibly bad!! But, I stepped on the scale... 5 lbs gone!! WHAT?!?!? Not stopping.

Day3: Woke up feeling super energized!! And the energy stayed to the WHOLE day!! I felt great and making the meals were a breeze. My son even handed me an oreo cookie and i didn't even hesitate putting it down! Went on an evening walk with my neighbor.... about 40 mins.

Day 4: Woke up feeling great again! Not as easy as the day before, I wanted food. While cooking dinner I had a mini breakdown. Yelling at my poor husband about how he'll never understand because he is required to workout for work & he his body will never go through the crap mine has... waaaaaa... I wanted to cave again, I hated not being able to eat, but I hate being fat even more! So I stepped on the scale... almost 10 lbs gone!! Keep going...

Day 5:  Here we are! I'm doing great! Don't even want anything... yet! Started a work out routine today as well. Did 30 jumping jack, 10 crunches, & 5 pushups. Looking forward to my walk tonight, & I hope the day keeps going as smoothly as it has been!

 Right before I got pregnant with my little man... yes... that's paint... sorry, it's all I have at the moment to shows off my body.

 most recent full body pic of me... Dec 24, 2011... gross!!