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!

Well, kettleviewers… so far, I’m starting 2010 off with a clean  slate. Like many, the new year brings a sense of “I can do it!” to everything I’m taking on.

I think 2010 is going to teach me discipline. My health and overall fitness goals are just part of the whole picture. In every aspect, I’m learning to tackle a little bit each and every day, consistently.

I could focus on nutrition, exercise, saving money, connecting with friends, or even my business goals, and keep myself motivated by doing something — even just a little — every single day.

It’s like the adage of saving for a rainy day. If I put aside a dollar for every day this year, I’d have $365 on December 31st that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

I know, some of you would like to put aside TEN dollars a day — and if you have it, by all means, do it — however, for me, taking bite-sized pieces really works.

I find that setting my sights on a realistic goal, like “get some physical activity in,” or “no sugary sweets today,” allows me to focus on a small choice or activity that will pay off over time. Check it out:

I think that my scale(s) are a little off, so let’s not get excited about losing 5.5 pounds in one week, people. I didn’t starve myself, and I haven’t started my cleanse yet.

What I am really tracking here are the inches on my body. Last week, I dragged myself into training, pretty upset. My clothes weren’t fitting the way they were, even a month ago.

My trainer challenged me and my partner again — lose a pound a week, or pay up! Jerk!

I mean, here’s a picture of him teaching us how to do “the jerk.”

So my workout partner, Ty, and I decided to keep eachother accountable over e-mail/text/harrassing phone calls:

“Eat healthy today?”
“What did you do to workout?” ”
“Put that mini Reeses’ Peanut Butter cup down! Two pounds a week!”

Jerk!

Just kidding! Every little bit helps, really.

I’m keeping my eye on my one  year goal– to have lost 80 pounds, and over 12 inches in my waistline — through discipline, consistency, and a sense of humor.

Not to mention, I have an even bigger goal; that is, to be a healthy mom.

Happy New Year, everybody! Leave me a comment!

P.S.  I’ll be tracking my progress starting from January 2010. Feel free to look at past blogs under the category “Measurements” to see how I’ve fared since May 2009.

Hey, kettlefolks! Have any of you heard of Shakira? The Lebanese, Spanish, Italian Grammy award winner had a pop song called, “Hips Don’t Lie,” with a sexy video to match.

While I bear no resemblance to Shakira, her song has been resonating in my head ever since I took my measurements this morning:

“My Hips Don’t Lie…”

I’ve been pretty static lately, both in terms of my workout and my measurements. But my hips measurement had gone up a couple of weeks ago.

My weight soon followed:

I’ve noticed that my bust can vary an inch or two but that won’t necessarily correlate with my weight. My waist is… strange, to put it nicely. I’m sure other big girls can relate to what I’m insinuating.

My hips, though, they don’t lie!

The only way I’ll reach my Thanksgiving goal at this point is to do a major cleanse. I don’t think that’s the “right” reason to conduct a cleanse. I also don’t want to be the Grinch with the caffeine withdrawal headache and hunger pangs while working at the mall for the holidays!

So, back to basics! The 3 Ps:  Practice with kettlebells, Plan my meals, and Portion control!

How are you doing on your journey? Drop me a line!

Hey folks!

It’s been a strange week. I either had the stomach flu or food poisoning. I didn’t work out all week. I counted calories every single day, using my blackberry. And I ended up with the exact same measurements as the week before, but a pound less:

I’ll do a video progress update soon. For now, I’m just happy that some of my clothes are fitting me loosely!

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