75 pounds!!! My big goal has been met!!

Wow! It’s been 3 months since my last blog post! My weekly weigh-in this morning deemed today a FABULOUS day to update everyone on my progress. 257 days ago I began nutritional cleansing. We weren’t even sure what we were getting ourselves into. But now we know we are into something GOOD.  I reached my goal and have said a permanent farewell to 75 pounds! 

Of course I absolutely love being at my healthiest and the fact that I am now wearing clothes smaller than when I was married 12 years ago. But hands down, the most important victory is that eating healthy is our new normal. The best part is our four young children’s long term health has been positively impacted.

So for those of you who don’t know me as well as others, I LOVE food and I LOVE to eat. It took a few months for healthy eating to become my family’s new normal. Since then, I’ve been enjoying our new lifestyle, and I am still getting results. It is a tremendous blessing to continue to enjoy food with it no longer being more important to me than it should be. I also no longer struggle with portion control or daily cravings for sweets. The shakes that I once saw as something I HAD to do to lose weight, I now see as a vital part of my nutrition. I am grateful to have them as part of my day and look forward to them. They are delicious and I value them because they give my body ALL of the 90 essential nutrients it needs but doesn’t produce on its own. I confidently boast that this shake is the best nutrition on the planet, and it stands head and shoulders above all the rest. It has been eye opening to hear stories from people whose health has dramatically improved with nutritional cleansing. God gave us AMAZING bodies that are able to heal and protect themselves when we take the best care of them.

Nutritional cleansing is not about weight loss but about getting poisons out of our bodies and then filling them with super nutrition. Losing visceral fat (the most dangerous kind!) is just a marvelous BONUS!!! So for me, it started as a weight loss journey but is now all about health and nutrition. I love that I am free to eat what I want and that I still can treat myself occasionally. But I truly desire to give myself food that will help me to feel and look my best.

At the end of September, Jason and I went to the movies to see The War Room. Afterwards we had a late dinner out at Chilis. I remember telling Jason that I had absolutely NO desire to order pop. I also said that if the NEW me told the OLD me that one day I would be out at a restaurant and not even want pop, then the OLD me would have warned me and said, “NO!! Don’t do it!! You know how much you love pop!! Who cares that it’s not good for you!!” Sorry OLD me, the NEW me is here to stay!

Now that I’ve met my goal, I’ve set a new goal. I’m completely thrilled and happy with weighing 159.8 pounds. However I took a look at the chart that came with my digital scale. According to my height, (5 ft 7), I am still considered overweight. So my new goal is to get down to 153 pounds. I also want to be more consistent with exercise. My main exercise since March has been using the treadmill. I do a fat burning treadmill workout up to 3 times a week. The key word is “up to.” I want to be more consistent in not skipping out on one of the three days.

I will leave you with some photo updates. I finally took some new pictures!

Rose Colored Glasses

It's way past time to give you a weight loss update- I have now released 60 pounds! That is 10 pounds more than what my 2nd grade son weighs. It is very difficult for me to pick him up and carry him- not that he really ever wants me to. But I can't imagine a life with me still lugging around those extra pounds. In the middle of March I started at 235 pounds and I am now down to 175. I am in the home stretch with only 15 pounds to go!!!

It's been about 5 months and I still can't believe the progress I've made. CRAZY!!! One of my favorite compliments I have received from several people (including my hubby) is how much younger I look. Totally LOVE that! Better than looking younger- I feel younger too. Also in one of my blogs, I listed what I have gained so far in my journey. I was so glad to once again fit into my cute brown belt. It is bittersweet for me to report that the days are numbered for that cute belt. I've poked a new hole in it, but it is getting too long. My wedding rings are ridiculously loose on my ring finger. So I often wear them on my right hand. I was at a jewelry store the other day and as of right now I need to go down 2 ring sizes! Thankful that downsizing my rings will be A LOT cheaper than when I had to make them bigger. 

Jason and I were very cautious and skeptical before we began eating super nutrition and doing full body cleansing. Now- there is NO DOUBT about it.

The reason it works so well is because our bodies are filled with so many toxins from our environment and food. To protect us, our body surrounds our organs with visceral fat. As soon as I started cleansing and giving my body super nutrition, it quickly began releasing all that fat and inches. In the beginning, when I would tell people these facts, I wondered if I sounded a little crazy because never before had I ever given TOXINS or Protein Shakes a single thought. As I've talked with more and more people, I've discovered that many people do think about toxins. Apparently not as many people are as oblivious as I was. I am glad that I am now more aware and equipped to rid myself of toxins and avoid them when possible. Here's a great link you can watch about the importance of cleansing. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lol4ja2pD74&app=desktop 

So August 10th was the 150th day of my health journey. Although I wrote it in on my calendar, the day came and went without me realizing it. Hoping to soon take my measurements and more before and after photos to share. In the mean time, I thought I would tell you all about my rose colored glasses. 

A couple weeks ago, I was looking at some photos and I came across pictures from my sister's wedding. She got married in February- one month before my healthy journey began. I remember how super cute I felt in my new blue and black dress. Wow--- now looking back at these pictures, I can't believe the difference! Back then, I had believed the lie that I was just destined to be a life long member of the Overweight Club. When I looked at pictures of myself I would put on my rose colored glasses and cling to the saying, "The camera adds 10 pounds!" I'm sure some of you can relate to me. It's funny how we are often our own worst critics, but when it suits us- we make excuses. No more excuses for this girl! I'm taking my rose colored glasses off- for good!

July 2014

July 2015 (Shared this photo in my last blog.)

February 2015

July 2015

February 2015

July 2015

February 2015

Last Weekend at Indiana Beach (Julianne is driving the car!) August 2015

Peak Cleanse: 120 Days!

Summer is well underway and we have officially been living our new healthy lifestyle for 123 days! This morning I weighed in at 182 pounds- I am so close to my goal of 160. I have “released” a total of 53 pounds!

I have some more before and after pictures to share. Now when we took the ones from 90 days, I absolutely LOVED those pictures. Whenever I looked at them, I would be so excited and encouraged. Well when we took the 120 day pictures last Saturday, I decided it was time for an outfit change. So I switched to much tighter spandex shorts and a new smaller tank top. I still prefer the 90 day pictures, but the new outfit will keep me motivated to lose the last 22 pounds.

Besides feeling better and having more energy and patience with my children, I have enjoyed some other highlights of shedding toxins and body fat. I will share a few of them with you. One of my favorites is how encouraging and complimentary my husband has been. A funny example is when we went to Hebron High School to watch fireworks. We meet up with friends there every year and as tradition, the dads do a Dairy Queen run before the fireworks start. My least favorite part of this fun night is the PORTA POTTY! Of course this was the first year that the twins were not in diapers. And of course one of them needed to go to the bathroom before Jason was back with the ice cream. So I set off with 4 children and it was as awful as you can imagine. I’ll spare you the nasty details and the gagging. As we were making our way back across the huge parking lot, I spotted my hubby. On the walk back I was giving him the stare. With my intense look, I was attempting to communicate how much I disliked the trip to the bathroom and that Porta Potties would not be part of my 4^th of July next year. When I finally reached him, he said, “Wow..watching you walk back here reminded me of our college days.” Apparently he didn’t get my stare message but I didn’t mind one bit!! He totally caught me off guard and I loved hearing him say that. Who knows…I might even take the kids to the bathroom again next year…

 

Fireworks Show 2015

Also it was so fun to post wedding pictures on Facebook when we celebrated 12 years of marriage last week. I NEVER would have done that in the past because my wedding pictures just reminded me that I had grown not only older but a lot heavier. Thank you for all the affirming comments! They brought me so much joy and encouragement.

I am SO THANKFUL that back in March we invested in our health and our future. 

Peak Cleanse: A Late 90 Day Update!

Where does the time go?? I've been wanting to blog and give a 90 day update. But here we are almost a month later, and this Saturday will be 120 days. WOW! So I thought I'd do a quick blog and share my 90 day before and after photos with you. We are doing well, and somewhere in the last 90 days, our new healthy lifestyle has become the normal way of life for us. This is a great place to be. When Jason took my 90 day pictures on June 11th, I was worried there wouldn't be a big difference from my 60 day photos. The same thing happens when I weigh myself on Wednesday mornings! I worry there won't be any progress because eating healthy and feeding myself great nutrition is the new norm. It's so awesome to see what my body does when I take great care of it. This morning I weighed in and was down another 5 pounds. So as of today I have released 48.2 POUNDS!!! I still can't believe it! Please let me know if you would like to know more about this awesome cleansing system. It's all about feeding yourself super nutrition and cleansing the toxins out. Looking forward to posting 120 day results. Hopefully I can get those posted before another 30 days goes by!

Peak Cleanse: Onederland!

So my sister introduced me to the phrase “Onederland.” Apparently when someone weighs over 200 pounds but then loses enough weight to be back in the one hundreds, they enter the magical place called ONEDERLAND. I first learned of this “place” right after I had completed my 30 days and was down 15 pounds. I was still 21 pounds away from Onederland. Well yesterday on “Weigh-In Wednesday,” the scale made it official- 198.2 pounds! Let me tell you, Onederland is pretty WONDERFUL! Although, I might be more excited that I am fitting into size 14 pants. I still can’t believe all of the positive changes in my life that have happened in such a short amount of time.

For years I have struggled with being overweight. I prayed many times for God’s help in making more of HIM in my life and less of food. I knew that food was too important to me and brought me more excitement and comfort than it should. I was made for so much more than food. I knew I was not setting a good example of self control or of being a steward of what God had given me. At the same time, everybody has to eat. And God did give us food as a wonderful delicious gift. So it was much too easy to just keep eating like I was. What an answer to prayer that now I enjoy the gift of food without letting it be more to me than it should be. I am also very thankful to pass this new and improved view of eating onto my 3 girls and my boy.

I love this picture! Welcome to Onederland! Enjoy your STAY! 

What freedom I have in knowing that I am not going to ever leave Onederland. The cleanse system I am using has been such a blessing with such great results. I love how doable it is and how much I am enjoying the journey. What started as a 30 day thing, has become a welcomed and appreciated lifestyle.

Here’s to losing the next and final 37 pounds! Half way there! No going back!

Peak Cleanse: 60 Day Results!

Wednesday was a fun weigh-in day because it also marked our 60^th day! Things are moving along! Eating healthier has now become the new normal. Cooking and planning dinner is much easier than it ever used to be. If I could go back in time 60 days and give myself a pep talk, I would tell myself that the change was going to make meal planning easier. I remember how daunting it seemed to drastically change how I fed my family.

So I’ve been following the cleanse program for 60 days and am excited to have lost 30 pounds and about 41 inches. I’m more than half way done with reaching my goal of losing 55 pounds. The best part is that I am enjoying the journey and I am more than happy to keep doing what I’m doing. I am also looking forward to this fall when I can switch to maintenance mode.

My wonderful hubby is also still losing weight even though he’s only partially doing the cleanse program. He’s down 26 pounds and about 20 inches.

Here are some more before and after pictures! Enjoy! My side profile pictures are my favorites.

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1st Weight Goal Met! :)

I am thrilled to finally have a chance to write about meeting my 20 pound goal! We weighed in again last Wednesday, and I couldn’t wait to share my good news. But now here we are 6 days later…. Finding the time to sit and blog is a challenge. Herein lies the reason why I never thought I would be a “blogger.”  

Anyways… it was crazy to see that I had lost 5 more pounds since our last weigh in at the end of our 30 day cleanse.  So I lost 20 pounds in 40 days.

Jason is still doing well and has not had a bad headache since we began this journey. He has now lost a total of 24 pounds. Even more fun is that he went from a size 40 in jeans to a 36. When we were married almost 12 years ago, he was a 34x34. He’s almost back to his wedding day size!! My favorite change is that he is now wearing his wedding band again. He stopped wearing his tight ring when I had to get my ring cut off last summer. That was a low point for me. It had been many years since I was able to get my ring off. Right after Christmas, we got my ring repaired and made bigger. Wish I knew that my finger was going to be slimming down. Now my rings are so loose, I worry about them falling off.

I’ve been thinking more about how our eating habits have changed. Most people would look at the changes we made and call it a DIET. It is important for me to remind myself that I am doing the opposite of depriving myself. I am being more selective about what I put into my body. It’s about giving me and my family an abundance of awesome nutrition. Embracing these new habits as a WELCOMED lifestyle change is the best approach. I admit, I do have moments when I think of it as a “DIET.” It’s human nature I suppose to rebel and resist healthy changes: “What do you mean I don’t get to eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and as much as I want!!” (I’m chuckling as I imagine an adult throwing a toddler like tantrum.)

 Fighting my inner food rebel is a worthy battle. Most days this fight is easier than you’d think. I’m sleeping GREAT, shedding pounds and excess body fat, and I am NOT EXHAUSTED at the end of the day. The cleanse we did was not originally designed for weight loss. It was designed to get toxins out of our bodies. But the weight loss is an absolutely FANTASTIC side effect. In fact, the weight loss and need for more energy is what motivated me to do the cleanse in the first place. I am so thankful to be where we are, and I don’t want to go back to how it used to be. And over time, the foods I want to eat are the healthier ones-the kind of food that I can enjoy whenever I want.

So far I’ve been posting about what we’ve been losing. I wanted to share a few things I have gained. In no particular order…

1.)  MORE PRAYERS FOR MY CHILDREN!

 So one of my least favorite daily tasks is to stand at the refrigerator and fill up my ½ gallon jug with water. Now when I’m stuck standing there, for what feels like forever, I am finally using the prayer page that has been on my fridge door for years. “31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Children” All 31 of them are wonderful, but here are a few of my favorites:

SALVATION: “Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.” (Isaiah 45:8, 2 Timothy 2:10)

A SERVANT’S HEART:  “God please help my children develop a servant’s heart, that they may serve wholeheartedly, as if they were serving the Lord, not men.” (Ephesians 6:7)

PASSION FOR GOD: “Lord please instill in my children a soul that ‘followeth hard after thee,’ one that clings passionately to You.” (Psalm 63:8)

If you would like to see more or print off your own copy, here is a link: http://keepingitpersonal.com/pray-for-kids/

2.)                       MY OLD BROWN BELT!! I am now able to use my brown belt again. It’s a cute belt that I totally grew out of. Not only can I wear it again, but now I’m into the second hole!!!

3.)                       FRIENDS! I am now part of several Facebook groups filled with people who are on the same journey we are. It’s very encouraging to learn from them and to post any questions I have. I’ve not met most of them, but I still am thankful for their support.

There are people I do know personally who I have been touching base with more. Love my new connections with Matthew and Amanda, my awesome neighbor Kim, Lia Hasier (My Wildtree Rep), Fred and Sue, and Velma. Also as people join us in our journey, I look forward to connecting with them as I help them and cheer them on.

4.)                       FULL BATHROOM TOWEL COVERAGE                I noticed a couple of weeks ago that my bathroom towels provide complete modesty for those occasional moments when I have to venture out of the bathroom at inopportune times. In fact, there is even a little overlap. Not sure if anyone out there can relate to this, but as they say, “It’s the little things!”

5.)                       MORE ROOM ON MY CLOTHES DRYING RACK  Just the other day, Jason gave me the official  okay to start drying his work clothes in the dryer. I also recently started drying most of my clothes. I was not a fan of fluffing the wet clothes for 20 minutes before hang drying them. (I often forgot about them- sometimes even with the timer set.) I also was not a fan of having to empty the drying rack when the next week rolled around and I needed more space. This is definitely a laundry game changer!

Well, I better wrap this up! I appreciate those of you who stuck it out and read through this long post. If you want to learn more about how you too can start losing (and gaining), I would love to share more. 

Peak Cleanse: 30 Day Results!

It’s time to share our 30 day results! Our last day of the nutritional cleanse was Sunday, but we’ve actually been continuing with the program. I’ve been itching to type up this post, but I hosted my very first Wildtree Freezer Meal party on Tuesday. So I was busy getting ready for that. It was fun! I love having all those healthy meals waiting for me in my freezer. So without further delay, here are the final results! Jason is down 18 pounds and about 16 inches. I am down 15 pounds and about 30 inches. I’ve posted some pictures below. My plan is to continue what I’m doing until I am near my goal weight. Then I will switch to a maintenance plan.

I have lots of thoughts to share with you, but today I’m just going to share a few things. I am very thankful for where we are today. It’s exciting to think of how God has brought us to this point. There were so many times when I would think, “Oh, I wish I could be thinner. It would be so great to look and feel better.” I basically accepted the fact that I was going to always be a heavy person. It was just who I was, even though I wanted to be thinner. But I never pursued that goal because it seemed impossible to get there.

I still have at least 40 pounds to lose, but now I KNOW it is possible. One of my personality traits is that when I set my mind to do something, there is no going back. If it wasn’t for Matthew sharing his success story with us, we never would have found this great company and their products. I am so EXCITED that I now have the tools I need for success. And it’s not just about looking thinner. What the pictures don’t show is the increase in energy I have found. I also am grateful to be a much calmer Mom who is less stressed during the hectic moments of parenting 4 young children. That might be the best benefit of all since my greatest desire is to show Christ’s love to my kids.

I look forward to posting our progress and sharing more thoughts with you. Enjoy the pictures.  If you are interested in learning more, I would love to share with you. Just let me know!

Peak Cleanse: Weigh In #3

Today was our 3^rd weigh-in day. I set my alarm so I would wake up early and get my exercising done before the kids woke up. The night before, I even set the scale out in our bathroom so I could weigh-in before running. Well 30 minutes early, my Katelyn alarm went off. She had thrown up on her pillow. I think it may have been caused by the large piece of chocolate bunny I gave her after dinner last night. Lesson learned!! Anyways—after cleaning up the mess and tucking Katelyn into our bed, it was time to weigh in. I did not lose any weight this time. As I stared at the scale and heard the thunder outside, I couldn’t help but think, "What a great start to the day so far….."

I was of course disappointed, but I gave myself a pretty good pep talk. For starters, it is a certain time of the month. Also I know that the main goal of this lifestyle change is to be healthier- not just to see a certain number on the scale. And of course you can’t put a number on feeling great! As I was running, I also reminded myself that I’ve been adding on my extra weight for the last 15 years or so. It’s going to take time to reach my ultimate goal. The pep talk was much easier too after my hubby helped take 4 quick measurements before he left for work. So although I didn’t lose any pounds this last week, I did lose some more inches since last time I measured! (abdomen= 1.25” , buttock = 1” , waist = 1”, and chest- stayed the same (I’m okay with that since I have already lost 4.5” inches there). Today I am down 20" (that I know of) and 14 pounds lighter. Not too shabby!

Jason lost 2 more pounds for a total of 15 pounds. I’m excited for him because last night he finally came home (Day 25 of our 30 day Cleanse) and said it was the first night he came home from work and didn’t feel like he was dragging. He still had some awesome energy to spend time with us. Now keep in mind, yesterday morning he was up at 4 am and went to F3 for a hard core workout. So impressed with his commitment!

 I’ve been feeling great and loving my new found energy since the first week, and I was wondering if Jason would ever get there. Looking forward to seeing how the next few evenings go. Another improvement for Jason is that besides the first few days of the cleanse, he has only come home one night with a milder headache since we started. Typically he’d come home 1 or 2 nights a week with a pretty severe headache that often made him nauseous. I’m hoping that headache-free nights continue to be the new norm.

Although disappointed about the weigh-in today, I am not discouraged. And I am definitely not even tempted to jump ship. I’m committed to this journey, even through choppy waters. There are many things about this cleanse that I am enjoying. One thing is I have come to really like the taste of my shakes. My favorite is when I blend them with lots of ice. Then I pour my chocolate “ice cream” into a big bowl. It’s crazy because I feel like I am treating myself to a big bowl of ice cream for breakfast. Another aspect that is great for me is how quick and easy it is to feed myself for my two shake meals. There is no thought that goes into it and I know I am getting lots of healthy nutrients. One last thing I will share is how often I am eating now. I’ve known for a while that it’s better to eat smaller amounts more often. I just never got the “smaller amounts” part down. My meals would be so big that it only seemed appropriate NOT to feed myself again until another meal time. Now I eat 5 times each day. The time passes so quickly and before I know it- it’s time for another shake or it’s snack time. 

So this coming Sunday is our last official day of the cleanse, but I know it’s really only just the beginning. I thought it would be fun to share two pictures with you to end today’s post. The first picture is from May of last year. It was Mother’s Day. The other picture is from just this past Sunday on Easter. I was trying to find a comparable picture but I discovered something. There are not many pictures of me with my children. I probably deleted any pictures that were not flattering. Also, last Mother’s Day, I distinctly remember placing my four kids in just the right places to minimize the amount of ME that would be in the picture. I also have a signature picture maneuver that I always used. (I learned it from someone else and love it!) It’s called the TURTLE. Whenever you take a picture, you’re supposed to stick your head out and push your chin forward. It makes your face look much thinner and you only look silly if someone is watching from a side angle. Although the TURTLE has been a tried and true picture pal, it is easy to say goodbye. Here’s to more pictures of me with the kids!

Peak Cleanse: Weigh In #2

I’ve been looking forward to blogging about our 2^nd weigh in. Wednesday was such a beautiful day to enjoy time outside with the kids that I didn’t have time to write a post.

So we weighed ourselves on day 19 of our 30 Day cleanse. I stepped on the scale first and I’m thrilled to report that I am down 5 more pounds for a total of 14 pounds!!! So when it was Jason’s turn, I was surprised that he had only lost 1 pound. I told him he probably lost a lot of inches. Last week when we weighed and measured, he lost more in weight and I lost more in inches.

So even though we didn’t have a lot of time that morning to do all 14 measurements, Jason let me do 4 of them. With just measuring his abdomen, buttock, chest, and waist, he lost 5.125 inches in the last week. So he has lost a total of 13 pounds and 13 inches (that we know of).

I can’t believe that we are more than 2/3 of the way through our 30 day program. I am optimistic that I will reach my goal of losing 20 pounds. It’s crazy to think that if we wouldn’t have made this healthy decision- I’d still be 14 pounds heavier and have no idea how much better I could be feeling.

I am eager to share what I have found with others! I’m sure many people who have read my posts would love to lose weight and gain energy. Actually- I would say most people in general would agree that they would love to shed body fat, look great, and feel great. So if that is you at all—I would love to talk with you.

 Before I know it- Day 30 will be here. I am eager to do all my measurements again and my final weigh in. Can’t wait to give another update!

Peak Cleanse: First Weigh In!

So we are 12 days into our 30 day cleanse. I was kind of nervous to do our measurements and to weigh in. I knew something was happening because of my clothes, but wasn’t sure what the numbers would show. We measured last night and my hubby lost about 7.5 inches and I lost about 16 inches!! My favorite losses were as follows: waist 3.25”,  abdomen 1.25”, chest 4.5”, and buttock :)   2.5”.

We are also excited about the pounds that we have shed. Jason is down 12 pounds and I have said goodbye to 9 pounds. It’s hard to believe that all of that happened in such a short time.

I’m still very enthusiastic and excited to be doing the cleanse. Seeing results so quickly, even in the first week, helps me stay motivated. Sometimes I wonder what possessed me to message Matthew and get started on this change. You might wonder if it is hard to not eat all of the food I’ve been enjoying for 30+ years. It’s been much easier than I imagined it would be. The hardest moment so far has been our nephew’s 1^st birthday party. We enjoyed a yummy meal there, but did not eat like we normally would have. The grilled burgers, hotdogs, and fajitas certainly had our mouths watering. They smelled amazing!!! We both would have gone overboard on those and other goodies at the party. Although it was hard, I had no regrets later.

I used to think that it would be so cool if we were rewarded when we turned down food that we REALLY wanted to eat but resisted the temptation. How cool would that be?! I ate 5 oreos, but I totally wanted 10. Reward: Lose 2 pounds. :) That’s not what’s happening with our cleanse, but it’s the closest thing to it. In many ways, it’s better. We’re learning to give our bodies good nutrition and reaping the benefits.  My stomach and I are also learning that it’s much better to, “Eat to live.” I had the tendency of, “living to eat,” and most times would over stuff myself. After our 30 days, I know my new habit of portion control will help me maintain my new weight.

So far, the cleanse hasn’t been a breezy walk in the park, but it also has definitely not been torture. We all know that change is never easy. For this 30 day cleanse, here are some of the changes we’ve made:

cutting unhealthy foods from our diet, drinking almost a gallon of water every day, doing 4 deep cleanse days, and eating shakes for 2 meals each day.

We are almost halfway done with 18 days to go! I love that I am not miserably counting down the days.  How can I be miserable when I feel so great?! All of the sacrifices made and changes are totally worth it. Who doesn’t love losing weight and inches? Or knowing your body is getting rid of toxins? But the best reward is the energy I now have. This impacts my daily life and is allowing me to be a better wife and mother. I am thankful that my future includes a new HEALTHIER me. I am looking forward to seeing how God will continue to bless our health journey and allow us to serve Him better. Can’t wait to give you more updates! 

Peak Cleanse: Week 1

If you would have told me a week ago that I’d be starting my very first blog today, I would not have believed it. I never thought I’d have my own blog and have always admired people I know that do have one. (Eva, Magda, Laura K., Matthew V., Leigh) The reason I started this blog was to share my family’s exciting new lifestyle changes.

If you’ve ever heard me tell a story, I love to share every little detail. So as I considered posting updates on Facebook, I knew I’d never be able to do quick posts. So here I am typing my first blog.

Let me start with how our journey to healthier living began. Back in November, Jason started going to F3. This is a group of guys that meet early in the mornings to Fellowship and encourage each other in Fitness and Faith. To learn more, here are some great links.  (This video was made by the guy who moved here and started F3 at our church: http://youtu.be/nGbGgRDrn6k . This video is a news story from South Carolina where F3 is really big. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWj2LW9Nl3E) I am super proud of my hubby for getting up so early to go to F3. To date, he’s gone 41 times. He motivated me to finally start exercising again. I couldn’t really use the excuse of having twin babies anymore since they are now 2 years old. So since November, I have been running 3 times a week on the treadmill. I’ve been exercising my heart- but also my right to eat whatever I want. 

For the past decade (are we really that old!!??), Jason and I have both known that we could stand to lose some weight. We also want to be in shape so we can enjoy playing with our 4 young children. It is also important for us to teach them to enjoy food in a healthy way. When we learned about doing a nutritional cleanse from our friend Matthew, we decided to invest in our health and start a 30 day cleanse. I can’t tell you how blessed I am that my hubby is doing this with me. He has been totally supportive of the idea and has been a good sport about it.

Last Friday night we took a ton of body measurements. Saturday morning we took before and after pictures of each other. That gave me some good laughs. I didn’t mind seeing the BEFORE pictures because I know the AFTER pictures will be so much better. We also weighed ourselves Saturday morning and had our first shakes. I remember telling Jason that I can’t wait to get through the first week so I’ll know what it is like and what to expect for the next month.

And as it always does- the time flew by and today is DAY 7 of our cleanse. I have NO REGRETS about starting it. And I am super excited to be on this journey. We haven’t weighed ourselves again yet. We’re planning on doing that on DAY 12, which is easy for me because I have never been one to weigh myself all the time. (That might be part of my problem….)

The first week wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be and I am already experiencing the benefits from it. My favorite positive change (aside from looser clothing!!!) is I am much more patient with my family. I’ve noticed this especially during times of my day that can be very hectic like dinner and bed time. I am not as tense or stressed as I used to be. My interactions with my children have been more loving and I am taking more time to enjoy the little moments. I definitely also have MORE ENERGY!! Usually when all the kids are in bed and I am cleaning up the kitchen, I look around and see all that needs to be done and I let out a tired grumpy sigh. I think, “Ugh..I just want to be done. I just want to sit down and relax.” Well last night after the kids were in bed, I had a lot to do but was much more positive because I still had energy. I even swept my kitchen floor
AND wiped off my stove.

I first noticed my increase in energy when exercising. I’ve exercised 2 times since we began our cleanse. It felt so good to burn off energy that I increased the number of crunches and my running speed.  I actually had to pull up my workout shorts several times at the beginning of my workout because they were looser on me. That was exciting!

This morning is another example of how much my energy has increased. I’ve been struggling to wake up early and exercise before the kids wake up even though I am a morning person. Today I had my exercising done, spent some time in the Word, showered, rotated laundry, and made the kids breakfast- all before Jaxson got on the bus. That felt good!

You may be wondering how my awesome hubby is doing. I’ve been feeling great since Tuesday, but Jason had several days with a headache. But yesterday he finally had a day where he felt pretty good. He also has enjoyed some great sleep the last 2 nights. I’m hoping for another positive report tonight.

I look forward to sharing more updates with everyone. If you’re still reading this long post- thanks for listening. I’m not surprised at how long it is. Believe it or not- I did hold back my inner Detail Diva. If you want to know more or have any questions, I would love to share with you.