Kettletell.com

Well, folks!

I did it my way, and it’s done… at least for the month of January.  I started the Isagenix Pre-Cleanse on January 15th and already felt like a failure by the 16th.

I scooped myself back up (or actually, scooped some more chocolate shake up into my plastic shaker) and made my own plan. It went something like this:

* Coffee first thing in the morning, with non-fat milk and splenda
* Cleanse drink at work
* Nuts or apple slices as a snack
* Coffee break
* Chocolate shake on the drive home
* Snack-sized dinner or chocolate shake for dinner

Sometimes the nuts or apple slices turned into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat. Usually those were workout days. Sometimes the snack-sized dinner wasn’t that small. But I did avoid all desserts, sodas and meaningless munching.

I actually began to enjoy my routine and am considering implementing some sort of “cleanse” activity into every week. Stay tuned for that.

From Amy Mac's website

Here is an interesting digitally-enhanced picture I saw at www.withamymac.com. It shows a woman at size 16 and at a size 4.

When I started this journey, I was wearing a size 16W. And that was in designer clothing. I’m comfortably wearing size 14s now.

I have no desire to be a size 4, but this does give me a good visual representation of what I can achieve with effort, exercise, and everything in moderation!

When I get down to half my former size (that would be size 8), maybe I can do this pic for real!

Leave me a comment, and see you soon!

I’ve completed 8 days of the 9-day Isagenix cleanse, and I’m happy with my results thus far. That’s saying a lot, since I tend to have a lot of negative thoughts running around.

I think the key to staying upbeat and making progress is that I modified the cleanse to meet my needs, versus modifying my needs to meet the cleanse.

Some purists may disagree with my approach; but it works for me.

Basically, I stuck to the 2 -days of cleanse and 5-days of shake + 1 meal model, with one major modification. I snacked.

If you recall from my last post, having a snack left me feeling guilty and almost like a failure. I decided to keep going anyway.

Then I resolved to have a small, healthy snack in between every shake or cleanse. The result was that I was eating or drinking something throughout the day.

My only slip-up was when I broke that pattern one night to have dinner with my family. I over-indulged, and you can see it in my weigh-ins:

I’m happy to report, though, I’m close to my end-of -January goal:

How are you doing with your goals? Please, leave me a message!

Have you ever noticed that as soon as you set an ambitious goal, obstacles appear?

My hurdle occurred on Day #1 of my Isagenix cleanse this month, in the form of a kid’s bean burrito.

You may be thinking to yourself, “That’s not that hard to say ‘no’ to!” Unless you’re me and you haven’t eaten solid food in 2 days.

Add to that the challenge of living in a household where you come home to dessert baking in the oven or delivered to the door from a loving friend, and you’ve just entered a minefield. Anywhere I step, I’m running into something that could blow this cleanse out of the water:  fresh baked banana mufffins, Hawaiian food, a bean burrito.  Check it out:

Well, at least I stuck with the original plan, avoided the kalua pig (my downfall last time), had a laugh with my sister about all the food in the house, and moved on.

Sometimes, I just need a minute to review, renegotiate and recommit to my goal.

How about you? What are you taking on and what’s been challenging you? Leave me a reply below!

Well folks, this will be short and sweet. Here’s a link to my vlog about my first two days completing the Isagenix “pre cleanse” before the 9-day cleanse.
For those of you who remember the last time I did this, I just wanted to tell you-- this time it’s a lot different. I’ll expound on that later.
For now, here’s my video capturing a little bit of what it was like those first couple of days, as well as some “before” video pictures in comparison to before I did the cleanse in July 2009!

Thanks for watching… and don’t forget to subscribe@kettletell.com!

Clean living is the cardinal principle in the lives of the world’s greatest athletes. Marshall “Major” Taylor

What you might not get from the video is that it was difficult for me to complete my first ever cleanse, although this wasn’t the harshest of programs.

I suffered from a major caffeine withdrawal on the first night of the cleanse, and was incredibly irritable and unable to put together a clear thought. I felt like I had to sleep just to get through it. (Therefore, there aren’t any video from those two days.)

My back started to spasm, and I had to sleep with my feet up against the wall. For two days, I was shuffling around like a senior citizen.

I was HUNGRY. You can look at my recent posts to see my few indiscretions. I also ended up breaking out, getting weird white stuff on my tongue, and (I spared you this) my hair shedding. I was a lot weaker than usual, so I had to take it easy with my kettlebell training.

Mid-way through, my energy came back, and at the end of the cleanse, I felt completely awake and energized. I didn’t even want a coffee!

From pre-cleanse to the end of the cleanse, I lost 8 total pounds, and an inch in each measurement.

I would recommend that everyone tries something like this, especially if, like me, you’re in a plateau. I have a better understanding of food and how it works with me. I discovered that my vitamins make me nauseated, so I started drinking them. I learned the effect of discipline, and I’m happy I broke through the 200 pound mark.

I learned empathy for people living with chronic pain, whether it be migraines, arthritis, or the result of injury. Most importantly, I realized the importance of positive relationships. There’s no way I can make it to my ultimate goal without great support.

Thank you for being part of that network! Feel free to comment on the blog!