Hello September!

I've been playing my fitness by ear lately.  I am fitting in daily workout, but I don't really have a plan that I am following.  I am just moving EVERY day.  There is so much other stuff going on right now.  My kids have started back to school.  Since I home school my kids, I have to put on my teacher hat every day.  The good news is that this year seems to have been an easier transition into the school year, than in years past...even with the addition of a kindergartner.  That has truly been a blessing because finding time to fit a daily workout in has been pretty easy.  Right now, I am finding that between 3 and 5 pm are perfect for fitting in my workout.  It gives me plenty of time to exercise, shower and then get started on dinner.  Some workouts are longer, and some are shorter.  I have managed to fit in PiYo, Body Beast, ChaLean Extreme, Slim in 6, 21 Day Fix, and CIZE.

Starting on Monday, I am going to start following the CIZE program for the rest of September.  I am excited to go through this entire program.  I am loving the workouts so far because they don't feel like exercise.  Each workout is set up just like a dance lesson.  You learn a step at slow speed.  You practice it a bit, and then try it at the correct tempo for the dance.  Then you practice some more.  Then you learn the next move (same format as the first).  Then you put the 2 moves together.  The whole workout is the same way, and you just keep adding on.  At the end of the workout, you have completed a FULL routine, you have had loads of fun, and you are a sweaty mess!  I have spent many workouts just tripping over my own feet, but then I FINALLY figure out the move, and I feel like a rockstar!  If you are interested in joining me for CIZE in September, I am running a private Facebook challenge group to help me (and others) stay focused and motivated.  If you want to join, all you will need is the CIZE program.  Message me HERE, if you want to join!

Bumps in the road

You know how when you get all excited about starting something?  You go out of your way to prep, you tell everyone that you are getting ready to start this new thing, and your mind is mentally ready to jump in and just do it.  You get off to a great start, and then something happens and it throws you off?  Well, that was kind of the way my 3 Day Refresh turned out.  I'll be honest, I wasn't planning on following the 3 day refresh to a T.  I was planning on following it pretty closely, and then just have a typical dinner with my family.  My overall goal was just to get myself back on track after several weeks of moving and lots of fast food, and a week of vacation.  I just needed to refocus my brain on healthier choices.  Days 1 and 2 went pretty well.  Day 3 was my downfall day.  My youngest son starts kindergarten in Monday (we home school, but that is a whole different post), and I wanted to get him into the eye doctor and make sure he is seeing well.  I have 2 other kiddos in glasses, my hubby has been wearing glasses since he was a kid, and I had to start wearing glasses about 3 years ago...so the likelihood for my youngest to need them is pretty high.  BTW - the appointment went great.  My son has a slight color deficiency, and he doesn't need glasses yet, but probably will in a few years.  Anyway, I wanted to do something special for my little guy AFTER the appointment.

 He has been begging me to take JUST HIM to Bob Evans to eat.  He LOVES the piggy pancakes they have there.  Since Bob Evans is right next to the eye doctor's office, I decided to make it a date.  I wanted to stay on track as much as possible, so I chose a salad with dressing on the side, and water to drink.  As a little side note, I only order water at restaurants.  I am sure the servers just think I am a cheapskate.  The truth is, I don't want to drink all of the junk that is in soda, and I like my tea SWEET (which I save for a treat).  Anyway, lunch went smoothly.  When I got home, I decided to do a little yard work.  I think I may have been outside a little too long, and without enough water in my system because when I came in, I just didn't feel well.   I was dizzy and had some muscle weakness (kind of like when you have the flu).  I spent most of the afternoon laying around, and trying to consume as much liquid as my body would handle.  Lots of water, and I even added in a bunch of juice.  Needless to say, I completely fell off my 3 Day Refresh plan.  That's OK though.  I accomplished my goal of getting my brain in the mindset of making healthier choices.  I am feeling better today, and I am ready for the weekend...along with healthier eating habits.

I am human, JUST LIKE YOU.  I fall off the wagon (a lot) JUST LIKE YOU.  I like to eat junk food sometimes (or in some cases, more than sometimes) JUST LIKE YOU.  I don't always make healthy choices.  I don't always follow through with my plans.  I make mistakes.  HOWEVER, I always make sure that I don't give up.  I force myself to get back up, dust myself off, and give it another go. I'm not a quitter! 

Getting Back on track

Sometimes life has a way of getting busy and disrupting your healthy lifestyle plans.  Between the move, unpacking, and vacation, I am feeling very off with my eating.  Definitely a little too much fast food, and too many food sensitivities that were clearly not paid attention to :(. 

That stops NOW.  Today I am back from vacation, and I am ready to get back to my healthy eating.  It is time to lose the short cut meals.  I am tired of the constant digestive inflammation, and irregularity.  I am gonna go cold turkey and detox my body with the 3 Day refresh.  This is by far the most efficient way that I have found, to get back on track QUICKLY!

It's a rollercoaster of a ride

Confession:  My eating habits have been WAY OFF for the better part of the last 3 weeks!  I was in Nashville, TN for Coach Summit, July 15-19.  I had my Shakeology EVERY DAY.  However, we did lots of meals at restaurants, and I did splurge...a little.  Overall, I made healthier choices.  I participated in large group workouts, and I walked about 8 or so miles each day! 

I arrived back home on the evening of the 19th....just in time to close on our house, the morning of the 20th.  We spent all of last week moving.  Yes, we did most of it ourselves.  We hired movers for the heavy furniture, but the bulk of the moving (of the possessions of a family of 6) was done by myself and my hubby.  Our kids were a big help!  I am pretty impressed by my 11 and 13 year old, and their willingness to step up and carry stuff...even the heavy stuff.  Our parents also offered quite a bit of help, although, we tried very hard NOT to let them lift the heavy stuff.  Apparently, I have impressed my father in law, with my ability to carry heavy things.  Thank you Body Beast and 21 Day Fix Extreme, for the muscle training ;).  Needless to say, I was getting in tons of exercise with this move.  According to my Fitbit, I was getting in 15000-20000 steps a day.   As you may have guessed, we did a lot of fast food runs for meals.  I have had my fair share of pizza, tacos, fried chicken, and cheeseburgers this past week and a half.  I did opt for a few salads along the way, but honestly, when you are moving that much stuff, you NEED the calories from something other than veggies.  The good news is that I have finally unpacked my kitchen.  I can now start cooking again!!!  I have a 3 Day Refresh sitting on my counter, just waiting to be opened, to help me get back on track.  My plan if to jump on that, starting August 12 - we have some other things planned that will not allow a refresh to work well with my schedule before then.  I will keep you posted!!

Quick check in

How is it Friday already?  The past 2 weeks have been kind of a blur.  I was at Coach Summit last week, and this week we have been moving.  We should be completely moved by Monday, so things should start to feel like normal again (except for the unpacking).  Confession...I have been eating like CRAP this week.  We have had more fast food this week, than I have had in the past year.  Today's mission is to find and unpack the pots and pans so I can start cooking in my own house! 

My success this week:  I am having a record breaking week with my Fitbit!  I have hit 80,000 steps, and I still have today to go...and that is JUST for the week.  What is your success this week?

Soy. Paleo. EBV

Finally the last allergen has been tested, and it turns out that I am not sensitive to soy.  YAY!!!  Finally something that does not bother my system.  Funny though....soy is not a part of Paleo eating.

This allergy elimination has been the best thing that I have done to see what I am able to eat, and what I should stay away from.  Because I forced my body to stay away from dairy, gluten, corn, and soy for 3 weeks, I was easily able to pick out which of those items was causing which digestive symptoms that I was experiencing.   I HIGHLY recommended that everyone give this a try to see what foods you may be sensitive to, and not even know it.  The process is not too hard.  It does require reading food labels, and thinking outside of the box, when it comes to your regular eating plan. It is only 3 weeks of completely avoiding those foods, and it is so worth the knowledge that you gain from it.  As a bonus, I was able to lose a solid 9 pounds over the past 5 weeks.  Obviously, my gut is feeling better and my body is running more efficiently.    If you need some direction or want to know how to do an Allergy Elimination diet, message me and I can help you out.

So now what?

Now that I have diagnosed that I am NOT very gluten or corn tolerant, and that I have a sensitivity to dairy, I need to avoid those things.  I still feel that going with a Paleo eating plan is the way to go, for me.  As I mentioned in previous posts, I am going to try and go about 80% Paleo.  I am allowing myself to be forgiving, so that I may enjoy an occasional slice of pizza, or treats at a party or gathering.  I will still make smarter choices because I KNOW how my body reacts to certain foods, but I can't live in a bubble.  Circumstances happen that will cause me to have to live in the real world, and not have ideal food options available to me, and I need to be prepared for those situations.  

So what is Paleo?  Essentially, Paleo eating is the idea that humans should go back to eating real, whole, unprocessed foods.  So that seems pretty simple, right?  Well, it is a little more complicated than that.  With Paleo, you are focusing on foods that were eaten by cavemen (during the paleolithic era).  So, foods that you might find while hunting and gathering.  There was very little farming, so things like grains were not really consumed.  Dairy appears to be a gray area with Paleo.  Milk from animals would have been available back then, but it was not utilized (time was not taken for milking animals).  However, milk (specifically breast milk) was essential in feeding and nourishing babies.  From what I have read, and in my opinion, I believe that dairy that has been minimally processed would fit very well with a Paleo eating plan.  That being said, I am also finding tons of recipes for cheese that is made from almond or coconut milk, both of which are non-dairy.  

If you are curious about Paleo, here is a nuts and bolts description of what is involved.  Keep following my story for how I am making it work for me.

Oh gluten, why don't you like me?

I just finished up my 2 days of gluten testing on this allergy elimination diet.  I have happy/sad news about gluten.  On the happy side, I didn't have the typical digestive issues that one has when your body doesn't agree with something.  The sad news, I had some serious bloating when I added gluten to my diet.  The fact is, I probably have intestinal swelling, which looks a lot like belly bloat. It's kind of like having hives on your skin, but it all happens inside your body :(

The book that started me on this allergy elimination diet suggested that gluten plays a huge role in preventing the body from being able to keep an autoimmune disease at bay.  I have actually been contemplating going gluten free for quite some time.  About 18 months ago, we went gluten free for my youngest son.  He was having awful issues with cavities, and his behavior was off the wall.  If you follow my blog, you know that I do my research.  I discovered that removing gluten from a diet can help heal cavities, AND it is also been very helpful in helping kids with ADD (which my son does NOT have) to be more focused.  We took out gluten for several months, and can I just say his behavior improved SO MUCH!!!  The cavities did not get any worse either. For me, I had more energy, and just felt better.

I truly believe that proper nutrition is the KEY to good health.   I HATE using medication.  I am all for changing your diet first, and then seeking medical help later.  Of course, if you are having an emergency situation, get to the hospital!!!  A heart attack will not heal itself with diet that quickly.  However, if the doctor says that you have heart disease, or high cholesterol, then do your research, and CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE!!  What is more important, eating the foods that you have grown to love, or having a body that functions properly, and allows you to be around and enjoy time with the important people in your life?  In my opinion, it's ALL ABOUT QUALITY.  Don't let the idea of changing your lifestyle make you feel deprived.  Let it EMPOWER you.  You are taking control of YOUR life, and of YOUR health.  Now, I will step off my soapbox.

I have been toying with the idea of going gluten free for awhile now.  I don't eat a lot of carbs that contain gluten.  However, I probably do eat more than my fair share of gluten containing items.  If you have never researched gluten, you probably don't know that gluten isn't just in bread, but it can be found in nearly any processed food.  Many condiments contain small amounts of gluten.  It is one of those things that just has a way of sneaking into your diet whether you want it to or not.  Anyway, while going through the process of adding these allergy triggers back into my diet, I have made a decision to start going Paleo.  I think for my overall health, Paleo is what my body needs.  While I am going to embrace the Paleo experience, I am also going to follow an 80/20 plan with it.  I still want to have the occasional slice of pizza.  I want to add cheese to my taco salads, and I wand to enjoy the occasional treat while I am at a party, or gathering.   I know deep down that my body NEEDS this sort of eating plan to keep my Epstein-Barr in check.  I am a little scared of making such a change in my life, but I also know that I DESERVE this.  I DESERVE to be healthy.  I DESERVE to have energy to play with my kids.  I DESERVE to feel good and be happy.  So after I finish my allergy elimination over the weekend, I am going to start implementing a Paleo lifestyle.  Don't worry, if you have no idea what I am talking about, I will be sharing more about Paleo in an upcoming blog post :)