Shakeology, I LOVE YOU!

 

So I am convinced, truly convinced, that this stuff is MAGIC! It's been 2 weeks that I have been on Shakeology and I LOVE IT! Here's why:

I have lost 2.5 lbs in 2 weeks. I am not starving at all! I FEEL GREAT! I don't have to take a nap anymore during the day because I have energy to get me through the day. I don't crave candy, sugar, sweets, or salty foods. I have had an increase in my milk production (not that you are going to start producing milk if you drank it, but I am getting the things my body needs to make more beneficial milk for my little guy!) And I feel like I am cheating on my "diet" because I get to have a yummy chocolate shake!

So I hadn't lost any weight since 3 weeks postpartum. I actually gained weight because my milk came in and stabilized, so I was stuck at 3 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight for this pregnancy for 5 weeks. I know that doesn't seem so bad, but I have some weight to lose and I want to do it in a healthy way so that I can still provide the food that my son needs. It is really hard to find that line of eating too little and eating too much. But I have finally found it and it is with drinking a meal replacement shake! I don't know about you but have you ever done Slim-fast? I have. I have done it with tons of exercise, without exercise, and just to help maintain. Well with Slim-fast I was always starving. I felt hungry because I wasn't getting everything that my body needed. And about 1 time every 2 weeks I would binge on sugars and things that my body needed to replenish itself. No joke, but I have not had the urge to go binge eating in the last 2 weeks. I don't crave sugar or sweets or salty things anymore. (THAT IS HUGE FOR ME!) I crave clean food. Simple food. Chicken, eggs, fruit, butternut squash soup with amazing spices in it that I don't know what they are cause we get them from our favorite Afghan restaurant but it is clean food! I still can't eat salads, they make me gag, but I can eat other veggies and I plan on adding kale to my shakes this week to get more of the yummy goodness in my body.

~LOVE This commercial with Tony Horton!~

Matt, my husband, has been on Shakeology for the past week and he is enjoying it too. He has lost 5 lbs! SAY WHAT!?! I am so jealous! This is a guy who has been complaining for over a year because he couldn't lose weight and was too close a number he didn't ever want to be near and has now lost 5 lbs in 2 full weeks! SO UNFAIR! But, here's why. He is eating clean food. He is exercising hard everyday or almost everyday, doing an hour of cardio or weight training or cardio and weight training. He is eating the right portions too. but he also is eating pizza, and popcorn on a regular basis. He doesn't crave it he just likes to eat it and he is still losing weight! SO UNFAIR, I say again! So combining Shakeology with some serious exercise is a must!

That's 2 of us drinking Shakeology a day. We are not eating out as much and saving money and that is how we can afford to do this. Our purse strings are pretty tight right now because we are trying to sell our other house and that means we are paying 2 mortgages. My families health is so important that to me that we are making this work. If you really want to commit to yourself and lose the weight you find a way to make it happen. That's all it comes down to. Anyone can do this you just have to commit to it.

The stuff is awesome, I love it and am so glad that my friend Janet told me about it. If you have any questions about it, leave a comment, send me an email, just contact me because it really is that amazing and I can help you get it!

QOTD: Have you ever tried another kind of meal replacement? Have you heard of Shakeology before? 

Exercise, Eat, Ignore, You

I saw this on Facebook this past week and fell in love with it! Seriously this just defines me right now in my life.

EXERCISE: I will never, ever be skinny. My BFF she will, and my BFF from high school was and still is skinny. I was never skinny in High school and I will never be skinny now. But I can be fit. That is what I want, to be fit and healthy.

EAT: I have been learning and trying to eat to nourish my body. I still can't get greens down for the life of me. Seriously, I gag on anything green unless it is hidden in something else. A salad, nope can't even get them down. I think I had 5 bites and I almost threw it back up, but I am making smart choices in what I do eat, trying to follow the nutrition plan that was made for me by my nutritionist a couple years ago. A nursing plan that allows me to eat enough calories but still produce milk for Collin. Plus with Shakeology, I know that it is super healthy for me! It has super foods and minerals and vitamins in it that I don't normally get. It tastes great and has everything that I need to fuel my body, and I don't have to think about that meal for the day. It is done!

IGNORE: Ignore those naysayers. The ones that say, nope you can lose the weight. I personally don't have any naysayers because I have done it before but the one voice I do need to ignore is my own sometimes. Yep, I doubt myself and my ability to actually lose the weight again. I want to lay on the couch with Collin and watch Fringe re-runs and be lazy, but I also want to be here for them for as long as possible. I want to run after them, ride bikes with them, and most of all play with my grandchildren. I want to be healthy for them. All my children and their children, and if I live long enough their children. So I am constantly working on my own mind that I have lost the weight before I can totally do it again!

YOU: I am worth a lot more that I realize and I am learning that. I have 2 children who rely on my me. Love me and I have a lot to teach them, lead them, help develop them into great young men who respect their bodies, and want to be healthy. And someday when I have a little girl, for her not to ever hate her body or size and appreciate how beautiful she is. And to have enough respect to take care of it and protect it. I am a mother! I have such an amazing job of raising the next generation and I will honor my "job" by being the best example for my kids as possible and that means to be healthy and stick around as long as possible!

QOTD: What was the first thing you thought about when you read the quote above? 

Who's Supporting Who?

I seriously love this! Being a military wife I am so impressed with the actions of all involved with this act of kindness. The race benefits the Pat Tillman Foundation which provides scholarships to military veterans and their spouses. So the runners were supporting military families and a vet was supporting the runners! Win, win in my opinion! Way to go runners, you did good!

PiYo Week 1

So I have been doing PiYo for a whole week now. What do I think of it? IT IS GREAT! Granted I have only done a few of the DVD's and I suspect the "easier" ones to get used to it first but so far really so good. There are only a few moves that I really can't do very well due to flexibility and balance and some because my belly is still too big but I have learned to modify them enough to still get a good workout.

-->I have already LOST ONE POUND In 1 Week! And this was the "easy" week of getting to know PiYo! (I have not lost any weight since 3 weeks postpartum)<--

Here are a few observations so far:

~Sweating- I am sweating after every single workout! It feels great to really sweat and know that I am doing work! They are fast moving enough that I am getting a good workout in without dying though and I can really feel the stretch before we move on to the next stretch.

~Stretching- I am feeling the stretch! I am following the cues that Chalene is giving about lifting my tail bone in a certain move or squaring off my hips and I feel the stretch so much more deeply.

~Flexibility- I feel a little more flexible but no splits for me yet! Can't lift my leg very high in the downward dog split.

~Strength- I have felt the most soreness in my arms and shoulders. It is a lot of planks and downward dogs and I have always felt them more in my weakest muscle, my shoulders. But I also have noticed, on Sunday, that they are getting stronger. I was able to go up into a plank instead of a modified plank for 5 whole seconds without my core and arms shaking like a mad person!

I have had less lower back pain this past week and I think that is because my back is finally getting stretched. My chiropractor, who I am seeing every 2 weeks right now, was pleased with my back and hip alignment this past week. Since I had Collin my body wasn't holding the adjustments but this past appointment on Thursday he said that it is doing really well. Hoping to get cleared for every 4 weeks by the next adjustment this week. (I have a massage on Wednesday and will get an adjustment just before.)

So my 1st week review of PiYo is I really like it. It is entertaining. The music is fun. Chalene is great and funny and I can feel a difference in my arms strength wise. I will have another review at 30 days in.

If you are interested in joining me in my journey or in a PiYo challenge group in the next few weeks let me know here! or EMAIL me!!!

July Week 2 Workout Recap

Already over halfway through with July! CRAZY! This week has been crazy. We have my first week on PiYo and Shakeology by Beachbody. Mason turned 3 years old. Collin is 8 weeks old and I am 8 weeks postpartum.

So keeping this purely about my weekly workout recap here I go. The others will be found here later this week. I am so happy to be able to exercise again. Things are going great. Breaking a nice sweat and really feeling my legs, arms and shoulders get nice and sore. Not too sore but a good sore. PiYo has been great. Took it easy to learn all the moves and watch more of the DVD so this week will be a different story. By the end of the week I was feeling stronger in my core and legs and definitely in my arms.

Goals for this week: 

1) Get my food more in control. Follow my nutritionist diet plan that I have and make sure I am eating enough calories! (yes, I need to actually eat more. I am falling under and if it wasn't for Shakeology I think my milk supply would diminish a little but it has been pretty good!)

2) Push harder during my PiYo exercises. Really feel the burn more this week.

3) Work with the hubs to schedule 2 running days during the week. Need to start getting this in if I am going to be running. And to do running this Saturday with the training program. Going to be leaving Collin with Matt so I can do my run!

Workout Recap: 

Sunday: rest
Monday: PiyYo: Alignment
Tuesday: PiYo: Define Lower
Wednesday: PiYo: Define Upper
Thursday: Sweat
Friday: Rest (made a cake and could barely eat it, too sugary!)
Saturday: 1/2 mile walk plus walking around Washington DC, which is actually a lot of walking. Est. about 2 miles.

Total mileage: about 2.5 miles
8 weeks postpartum