Cleanse Update and Welcome Our Newest Blog Author

Well, the results of the Jillian Michael's cleanse are in and.........meh.

I lost 2.7 pounds this week......not the projected 5 pounds.

Here are my thoughts.
First, I think the cleanse really works for people who generally don't get enough fluids and end up retaining water.  I drink plenty of water on a regular basis and my body is constantly being flushed out.  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am constantly having to pee!!!!  However, if you don't drink enough water on a regular basis and you suddenly were drinking a half gallon of fluid a day for 7 days, I could see how you could lose 5 pounds.


Other factors in my results include diet and exercise.  My diet this week was fine.  I stayed within my allotted Weight Watchers points.  I recently received a new shipment from Alli, so I was taking that regularly this entire week.  However, I did not exercise.  I was soooooo lazy this week and there is a layer of dust on the treadmill right now.  So the bottom line is, that I am happy with my 2.7 loss.  Would I have been happier losing 5 pounds??? Hell yeah I would!  Right now I am still trying to get back to my lowest weight so far which was 188 back in March, and I was up to 198 last week.  So the faster I can get back to that point the better, because then I will feel like I'm moving forward.  Right now it's the 3 steps forward, 2 steps back game.  Sucks!!!!!


Time to move on......


Okay, so on a completely different topic, I would like to welcome our newest Blog Author, Birdie!  Everyone make sure you say hi to Birdie in the comments!!!!
Birdie is a very dear old friend of mine who is joining us for moral support.
Hopefully we will be hearing from her in the near future so we can get to know her and where she is in her journey to be the best she can be!

Welcome Birdie!!!!

The Cleanse

I am addicted to Pinterest.

There, I said it.

I know I'm not the only one!!!

And if you're not following me yet.....well here ya go

UtterlyAbsurdBella on Pinterest

I know it's kind of counterproductive to sit in front of the computer/iPad and pin and repin and then pin some more, but there is so much good stuff out there!

Tons of motivational pins.

So, there is this one pin that I've been seeing lately......

Sounds great, right?

Well, I'm doing a little experiment this week, 

to see if this really works.

As the recipe says, you need.....

Tried to get the tea at Wal-Mart, but they didn't have it.
I found it at Jewel.

Mix it all up with 60 ounces of water and you get this.......

Keep in mind that my pitcher holds a gallon - so that is a half gallon that I'm in the process of drinking today......

 and everyday for the next week. 

The taste is not too bad.  I've been drinking it with crushed ice.

It is supposed to cleanse your body 

and get rid of some water weight.

So I was 198 when I got on the scale this morning.

I'll be back in a week with the results.

So has anyone else tried this?  

If so, how did it go for you?

The Truth is......

.....Painful

....Surprising

....Motivating?

I recently had an epiphany.  
And that is that I have been deluding myself.....
 for much longer than I realized.

Lately, when someone would say to me "You look great.  You're doing a great job" I would respond with, "Well, I haven't been so good the last week or so."  
And in my mind, it really was only the last week or so.  

I truly believed what I was saying.

The truth is.....I've been saying that for a lot longer than I thought.  


 Like since March.

I use several apps on my iPhone to track my food, weight loss, etc.  I use an app called iSkinny for tracking my weight loss week to week.  I've been using this app for over a year now.  That's a year's worth of weight loss data - that I really never looked at closely until recently.  As a teacher, I get that data speaks volumes about a student's progress.  Well, I finally really looked at the data - and it speaks volumes about me and my progress these last few months.

Here I thought I was doing so well, but the truth is.......

I've been slowly, steadily climbing back up.  
See all the red arrows?  
Those are bad.  And there are way too many of them!

So, the weaker part of me wants to just quit.  
Give up.  
Throw in the towel.  
It was so much easier before March, 
but for some reason it got harder.  
And summer is making it monumentally more difficult.  
I'm home all day, with easy access to snacks.

However, I am going to fight off the weakness, and salvage my progress.  Honestly, I'm still down more than 20 pounds, which is awesome.  I need to nip this in the bud.  I am home all day, with easy access to healthy food, and a treadmill.  It's summer and it's a perfect time to go for a walk.  I'm not going to let this setback let me continue with the tailspin I am in.

So, today is the day I stop lying to myself.

I know what I have to do.....I've done it for almost a year.

I just needed to get that out there.  

To motivate myself, if nothing else.

June Update

I haven't made too much more progress since my last post. :(

I haven't given up though!

Now that school is out, I'm getting back on track with renewed vigor.

That's tough for me because I can go either way during the summer.  I struggle so much being home all day and having easy access to snacks.  In the summer, I also find myself wanting to just sit around in the backyard enjoying some cocktails......which usually leads to overeating for me.

I'm trying to stay strong though.

I went through some old clothes and pulled out a bunch of stuff that hasn't seen the light of day in a few years.  Actually got dressed up for my sister's graduation and actually fit into some clothes that haven't fit me for sometime......

It was a good feeling!

I am continuing to participate in the Alli Communispace and getting on the treadmill a few times per week.

My goal this summer it work on tightening up a bit.....just not so sure how to go about it.

More on that later........

How Are You Coming Along?

I know this is quite a random post, but sometimes life is random.

How have you been progressing with your diet program? Your exercise program?

Me? I'm doing well. I wasn't the last few weeks. Taking too many cheat days vs following my path.

Easter is right around the corner. I want to be on a solid track by then because I plan on stuffing myself with peeps. What? I know, I know I shouldn't. But I will only eat them on Easter Sunday.

Please tell me you're keeping on better track than the one I have been on.

Weight Loss Progress

When I got on the scale yesterday for weekly weigh in I had lost another 2.3 pounds

for a total of 25.6 so far!

I was getting a little cocky, so I decided to see if I could get into some size 14's since all my 16's are getting a little loose on me.....and I did it!

These are size 14!!!!

February 18, 2012 (193.4 lbs.)

January 2, 2012 (200.3 lbs)

Spring, 2011n (220+ lbs.)

I Did It!!!!!

I reached my mini goal today!I started off at 219 pounds in June and my mini goal was to get under 200.Today is the day I did it!!!!I got on the scale and it said.....198.5
I'm doing a happy dance today!