So Far.....So Good!

Back on July 8, I wrote about how it was time for a change. Adam and I are now 11 days in to the program and it is going great!

So far, I have lost 10 pounds! But more so than that, I've lost 3 inches from my chest, 2.5 inches at my waist, 2.5 inches from my hips, and 2 inches from my thigh. I can also do 5 more push ups in 24 seconds! Adam has also had really great results which is awesome given his work schedule.

I'm still adjusting and figuring things out along the way. For example, I know now that I need to drink the Spark drink first thing in the morning. I typically only drink a can of Dr. Pepper at lunchtime every day as a pick me up, so I thought that I should do the same with the Spark. As it turns out, Spark has more caffeine in it than Dr. Pepper so I was wired well into the night. I've since learned that I need to drink my Spark early. I'm also learning which Spark drinks are okay for me. I am an occasional heartburn sufferer  depending on what I eat, and I've learned that I cannot drink the pink lemonade spark as it is a cause of heartburn.

I've added daily exercise into my normal routine. During the first 10 days, I did get a bit of a summer cold and so I missed exercising over the weekend, but I still maintained my proper nutritional intake. Outside of those two days though, I've been working out every day. And working out to the point where I'm really working up a sweat and feeling the burn. I'm lucky to have an awesome team in Brandi and Shane who have workouts for each day of the challenge, though sometimes I do make up my own routine. They are tough, but they are helping, and I'm feeling stronger. I may not do the workout until the afternoon, but I always try to make sure I get a workout each day. Some workouts are simply do this exercise X number of times and repeat X times; other workouts are on a timer where you do each exercise for X minutes or seconds and repeat X times.

One of my own workouts (up and down stairs 5 times, then run a lap, and repeat 4 times)

I've also changed my eating habits. During the cleanse phase, the first 10 days, I can eat 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and can have up to 3 snacks a day (after breakfast, after lunch, and after dinner). My meals are now about portion control though instead of just loading my plate up and going to town. For breakfast, I have fruit (typically 1 cup of blueberries - good for your memory too). For lunch, it's a lean protein, vegetable, and a complex carb (typical lunch includes either salmon or tuna, a salad, and either a sweet potato, brown rice, or Ezekial bread). For dinner, it's a lean protein and vegetables (typically I have chicken and some sort of raw or slightly cooked veggie like asparagus and red onion cold salad, lightly sauteed bell peppers, or cucumbers with vinegar and dill weed). For snacks, I typically have fruit, a hard boiled egg, or 1/4 cup of almonds. During the next phase, the next 14 days, I'll be eating about the same. For breakfast though, it's a meal replacement shake and for dinner, I'm going to make one of the recipes from the Challenge cookbook.

Homemade sweet potato fries made with sweet potatoes, coconut oil, and sea salt!

I'm excited about the changes I've already seen, but I'm also looking forward to more change ahead. I've got the extra weight to lose and I'm determined to get it done. After the 24 days are done, Adam and I already have plans to keep it going. We've discussed eating healthy and how we plan to do that while incorporating everyday life. The great part is that we can have "cheat" days, though we'll still try to stick to proper portions even on those days. 14 days to go....and I'm still all in!