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.