Dirty Detox

So - yes, I honestly do LOVE LOVE LOVE every single item on the previous post and I can't wait to eat them tomorrow!

However - these are the RANDOM things I've craved over the past three days...

Chef Boyardee Beefaroni in a can
Chocolate covered glazed donuts
Those little fried crunchy things that come with Chinese food
Fried eggs and rice
fried chicken
chili cheese fritos
vegetable broth
Kincaid's burgers
French Fries (this one has been really bad)
meatloaf
mashed potatoes
mac and cheese
cheese pizza (another bad one)
the little crunchy snacks at The Library Bar
cheetos
sweet and sour chicken
rice and gravy and greenbeans
shrimp cocktail
chips and salsa
Mexican Pizzas from Taco Bell
bean and cheese burrito from Taco bell
Queso

Like I said, I've never done a detox before, so I wasn't sure how my body would react. Obviously it's really having a tough time letting go of old habits.

But I am strong and determined!

I LOVE FOOD!

This is how I feel about food right now!

Food is great...
I love sweet potatoes
I love sweet potato fries
I love veggie burgers
I love tofu scrambles
I love quinoa
I love spinach
I love bell peppers
I love black beans
I love brown rice
I love tofu sausage
I love fish
I love salsa
I love almond cheese
I love almonds
I love cashews
I love spaghetti squash
I love edamame
I love stir frys
I love sprouted grain tortillas
I love eggs
I love whole grain toast
I love pancakes
I love soy butter
I love avocados
I love nut butter
I love strawberries
I love kiwis
I love onions
I love jalapeno peppers
I love eggplant
I love cabbage
I love brussel sprouts
I love asparagus
I love lemons
I love dark chocolate
I love oatmeal
I love mustard
I love coffee
I love green tea
I love cranberry juice (not from concentrate)

Right now, I would like to roll around in all of those things...

Home stretch!

We are in the final day of the Shakeology 3 Day Cleanse and we're surviving!

The bizarre cravings are still there - this morning it's Chef Boyadree Beefaroni in a can. Haven't had that in YEARS... yesterday it was vegetable broth (which is actually not a bad option!), Kincaid's cheeseburger and fries and chili cheese fritos. I'm still trying to figure out if it's my body craving something or if it's just a psychological thing (wanting what you "can't" have). Who knows!

Part of me, honestly, wanted to throw in the towel last night. As I drove home from Fort Worth last night, I passed a slew of "tastes good but NOT good for ya" chains - Taco Bell, Taco Cabana, Panda Express, Whataburger, Wendys and the list goes on and on. And while I haven't eaten fast food in quite some time, I had to keep saying to myself as I drove by the exit...NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS LEAN FEELS... and I just kept picturing me and Jimmy on the beach in Mexico! And I kept driving. Jimmy and I were talking about it before bed last night and he brought up a good point - I'd be disappointed in myself if I didn't finish this.

And he's right.

Far too many times, I begin things and then crap out just before the end. It's like I can see the finish line, but the folding chair that the spectators are sitting in looks much more comfortable than going the distance. I'm trying to be better about that.

But not this time...this time I'm in it to win it! Only a couple of hours left! And I still have 2 apples, 2 shakes and a huge salad to go!!!

I'm looking forward to sitting down with Jimmy tonight to make a food gameplan (a list!) for the coming two months. Now that life is semi-normal, I'm looking forward to being able to cook dinner and having different options!

For my last round of ChaLEAN Extreme I used Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint as a food guide - really cut out most carbs and I saw great results. I'm thinking of adding back things like brown rice, quinoa, oatmeal and black beans. Turbo Fire is getting ready to be released and so I want to make sure that my body will get the fuel it needs and so I can maintain my weight (and adding a few pounds will be a goal!).

Tomorrow I'll be all cleaned out and ready to start physical training. Will continue with P90X workouts mixed in with Turbo Jam Get on the Ball cardio workouts until Turbo Fire is released. Jimmy and I will both post daily about our two month "Mexico Mad Dash". We'd love if you wanted to join us on the this two month journey - it's going to be clean food and tough workouts - so if you're up for the challenge, let me know!!!

I'll post final thoughts on the cleanse tomorrow. If you want more info on Shakeology, click here!

Have a great day and take a baby step toward improving your lifestyle today!

Shake shake shake

After a weekend of indulgence and with a beach vacation two months away, Jimmy and I decided to start the two month training with the Shakeology cleanse.

What's that, you ask?

Here it is in a nutshell - 3 servings of Shakeology, 2 pieces of fruit and a large salad for dinner. Not a lot of calories, but extremely nutrient dense - so you're body is really able to get rid of the garbage!

I'd never done this type of a cleanse before, so I'm not really sure how my body will react. And I'm not doing it to drop weight - just to clean out the plumbing!

Day 1 was interesting to say the least!

Got up and made a shake to sip on during my morning commute. Put water and LOTS of ice, so it's like a Wendy's frosty! That was great - and I thought, ok, I can do this. I love the taste of Shakeology, so being able to have it three times was going to be a treat!

Then came the cravings.

Weird cravings.

I haven't eaten red meat in close to 4 years and I've eaten chicken maybe half a dozen times in those 4 years. But all of a sudden, I start getting REALLY strong cravings for things like meatloaf and mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, burgers, cheese pizza, chips and salsa...and the list went on and on.

Hold it...I'm NOT pregnant.

I guess my body was getting rid of the crap and, like packrats trying to have a garage sale, my body was like "are you sure you don't want to keep some of this?!?!". Nope.

I managed to get through the work day and have my last shake before it was time to go to Fit Club. Jimmy and I were both starving and couldn't wait to get home to eat our LARGE salads!! In the Shakeology webinar, they say that you should do it for three days, but you could do it for one or two. We were so ready to eat at this point that the one day cleanse sounded pretty good!

But we are in training - and that means being thrust out of your comfort zone so your body can change!

So we're in it for the duration.

Fit Club was a challenge for both of us (we both lead it - Jimmy doing extreme versions and I do modifications) - we did Turbo Jam Fat Blaster and Turbo Fire. We were shaking and lightheaded by the end. I think I burned as many calories as I'd consumed in the entire day - just in that short 45 minute span (thank you, Chalene Johnson!).

We were toast!

We rushed home and made the best salads in the whole world - colorful, flavorful (it was basically a clean out the fridge kind of salad!!!) and we got lean protein - Jimmy had chicken and I had fish. We savored each bite - it was a good end to the day. (sorry to cut this part short - my mouth is watering!!!)

Woke up this morning and hopped on the scale (I don't usually weigh myself, but I'm doing it daily just for the purpose of the cleanse). I'm down 3.5 pounds. I will continue to monitor it over the next two days. Don't want to drop too much, but at the same time, I need to clean the crap out before I can start sculpting for the beach vacation!!!

Didn't workout this morning. Probably should've. Get it out of the way while my energy is highest. If all goes well today, I'll hit the gym tomorrow morning.

Sipping on green tea now - will probably have 1/2 of an apple in an hour - and maybe some coffee. It's going to be a great day!

I'm really excited at what the next two months have in store for me and Jimmy. We have an amazing vacation planned for the beginning of August - Azul Sensatori is where we'll be spending five glorious days! We are going to buckle down and really see what we're made of the next two months!

We'd love to hear what your goals are - what motivates you - and what we can do to help you achieve them!

Ebb and flow

Jimmy and I escaped for the holiday weekend. We were both itching for an exhale and the Memorial Day holiday proved to be the perfect time!

We drove down to Austin Friday afternoon and met up with one of our Beachbody coaches - Paul Smith & his lovely wife Jodena! We had an amazing dinner overlooking Lake Travis.

Before setting out on Saturday to walk around downtown, we made a plan. We could exhale and eat, drink and be merry this weekend, then when we got back, it would be a 2 month countdown until our Mexico vacation. So we agreed that we would enjoy ourselves and then it was hardcore training starting Tuesday!

Saturday was spent roaming around downtown Austin. We found it to be a little empty especially since all the hotels in the area were booked for the holiday weekend - we later figured out that most people hit the rivers during the day and saved bar hopping for the evening! We popped in and out of bars and restaurants and even strolled by the Capitol Building! We had a lot of fun - it was really relaxing (hot...but relaxing!) We ended our day on the early side knowing we'd get up at a decent time to hit the San Marcos River before the crowds.

Sunday was a blast - neither of us had been tubing, so we didn't really know what to expect. It was so relaxing. It was tamer than I thought it was going to be and the float was supposed to be an hour to an hour and a half, but it seemed more like 45 minutes. We stopped between float #1 & 2 for lunch - great little spot at the end of the river. Floats 2 & 3 were equally nice. I think next time we'll try to get to a river that's a bit of a longer time in the water. It was a cheap way to relax and enjoy the sun!

Sunday night we decided to go back to Austin - food options are better and it's a bit closer to home. Smart move - we had some of the best Mexican food - Guerro's Taco Bar. I've had a lot of fish tacos, but MAN - these were so good! Then next door, they had a patio with a band so we sat under the trees and chilled.

Monday was the trek home - not bad - we both felt the weekend of indulgence catching up to us. So we decided to do the Shakeology 3 day cleanse to jump start our 2 months of training!

Today is Day 1!

People do cleanses for different reasons. I'm not trying to drop weight from it - just trying to detox from all the crap that I put in my body of the weekend! Kinda like hitting the restart button! I haven't done anything like this before, so I'm anxious to see how my energy levels are and what the end result will be. Not sure that I'll post specific measurements, but I'll blog about how it's going.

And I'll also go through our 2 month training - what we're eating, the workouts, motivation, etc. So stay tuned for that. We're both excited not only to see the progress, but to know that we've got an amazing trip at the end of it! In the coming days, I'll post pics of the resort.

I guess the point of the blog is that everyone should be able to let their hair down every once in a while - I'm a very big believer in "everything in moderation". If you don't cut yourself a little slack now and then you go can go a little nuts!

So anybody that wants to do this two months of buckle down with me and Jimmy, let me know - we love having people around us to keep us motivated and on track!

Look into my eyes......

Some days I feel like the guy on that old Dunkin' Donuts commercial..."time to make the donuts". During the week, I have the same schedule - I wake up, workout, go to work, come home, make dinner, spend time with Jimmy, go to bed. That being said and me being the creature of habit that I am, I usually take the same path in and out of the office.

And I've noticed something lately and I can't tell if I find it funny or sad - people today are scared of eye contact.

I work in a large office building and so I pass people to and from the gym and to and from the parking garage and it's odd how people will all of a sudden stare at the most random things not to look someone else in the eye.

I'm not sure why that is. Where did things take a turn? Are we as a society becoming that desensatized that we don't even like to make that brief connection with someone else.

Why don't people like to look you in the eye? Are they scared you'll beat them up, hypnotize them, turn them into stone, sell them something, or worse - say hello?!?!

I'm usually a pretty reserved person, but lately, through my personal development reading, I'm learning to be a little more outgoing. So now it's like a game to me.

(say this part like the people on the National Geographic channel!!) I enter the hallway and spot the person at the very end of the hall. I go undetected for a few moments and then they see me. Mild panic comes over them. As we move closer, all of a sudden the walls, marble floors and plants become works of art to be admired. I keep my eyes focused on them, waiting for just a glance. I say good morning with a smile and we pass each other. Every once in a while I'll get the courtesy nod and half smirk - I probably scared them by speaking to them! Even by saying hello they continue to set their gaze elsewhere!

And I've also noticed that people tend to walk with their heads down. Are their brains so full of stuff that they can't hold their heads up or is it a sign of low self esteem?

I think that some people are just beat down. It's a shame that so many people are stuck in jobs they hate and aren't able to just do what they're passionate about. The world would probably have far fewer problems if people could just do all of the stuff listed in the "Hobbies" section of their resumes!

I challenge each of you to take steps to free yourself of the things in your life that beat you down and make you unhappy. If you don't like your job, figure out what you'd rather be doing and make a plan to put it into action. If you need help with this, let me know - I can help you get your time back so you can do those "hobbies" full time!!!

I will not be pinned in!

So a few days ago, Jimmy and I were at the mall and I decided to shop for a couple of things to wear to work for the summer. Usually Express is my go-to store. I love that they have simple designs in multiple colors and it's not gonna break the bank! So when I find one shirt that I like, I usually get the rainbow!

In we went - found a couple of shirts, pair of pants (I have a tough time fitting pants and Express is one store that I can usually just wear off the rack!) and disappeared into the fitting room, leaving Jimmy on the "husband couch"!

I have to say that it was a bit of an odd experience. Tried on the cute khaki capris and they fit like "mom" pants. I double checked the tag and the label and it was the correct size that I usually wear. Hmm... so then I tried on the shirt - again, size I normally wear and it just looked frumpy and baggy. What's going on?!!?

Now I've been busting my rear at the gym and have been seeing some really great results (see pics) and I've noticed that I'm not just getting stronger, but my body is changing, so that could be why stuff is fitting a little differently. I didn't think much of it right away. I'm not one to dive into a tub of ice cream or go do a massive amount of crunches if my clothes don't fit. My body's constantly changing and it's kind of a joke in our house. The second Jimmy or I buy clothes, we change, so I feel like we're always having to get more clothes for the new "us"!

But this stuck to my brain.

And then I realized that it's just Express adapting to society. I'm not the incredible shrinking violet all of a sudden (although I did lose 5 pounds and dropped 6% body fat thanks to ChaLEAN Extreme and Shakeology) - they've changed their sizing to make people feel better...most people...feel better about themselves.

Women hear supermodels all the time say "Oh yeah, I just eat whatever I want - cheeseburgers, fries, pizza, cookies..." and they go home and try to do the same thing. And slowly retail stores are keeping this "fantasy" alive in the mind of Joe Six Pack's wife. Now she says "Oh yeah, I just eat whatever I want - cheeseburgers, fries, pizza, cookies...and I'm still a size 10 - I don't know how I do it, but I'm not questioning it. Obviously the fad diets are working!!!"

Wake up people!

There are pins on EVERY mannequin to hold back the extra fabric - not to make the mannequins look good (although I bet they would have really great self esteem with as much as people say "but it looked so cute on the mannequin!") - but to hide the extra fabric so people will think that they will look like said mannequin when they put on the shirt or pants displayed.

It's time to make a change - and it doesn't have to be a radical change, but baby steps will change your life!