Coming down to the wire

Day 20 is here and I still haven't met my goal to lose the last 3 lbs! I wouldn't normally be worried about that except that I'll be leaving for vacation on day 22 and I wish I could be down those last few lbs. Well I have two more days, unfortunately, I haven't worked out much this week...been busy and today the gym was closed..but no excuse, I should have popped in an exercise DVD...maybe I'll do that after work if I have time. The good news is that I tried on some clothing I haven't worn since I was at my most recent all-time low, and they fit! I have to remember to take measurement before I leave for vacation to see what I've lost and to help me remember not to overdo it on vacation.
These days I have been eating brown rice with my lentils for lunch, depending on what veggies I have I'll also have a salad or some raw veggies. For dinner I have been eating chicken and salad followed by a yummy shake.
I am not having 2-3 bowel movements per day like the e-mails state I should be....I would have to be eating a lot more veggies to make that happen and I don't really feel like I need to eat more veggies. I only have two shakes...so maybe if I had more I would have more BMs. oh well, I'm not worried about it.
My hike went really well, I had a lot of strength. I was just surprised that I didn't lose more weight than I did shortly after that...I basically didn't really lose any weight...maybe it will show up on the last day, one big chunk of weight loss! that would be nice!

Second round, Day 15 and counting

Two weeks down. Everything is going well. I'm eating meat now - chicken...I've chosen to eat it at dinner. I still eat lentils for lunch. Unlike the last time, I've had quite a few outings with friends that really test my resolve. Today will be my 3rd bfast with my church group...my 3rd bowl of fruit and green tea...Boy those pancakes looks and smell good. The other night I went to a bar with friends and ordered water. That wasn't that bad, actually, I didn't "crave" a beer or wine. After the bar we went to a restaurant and that was tougher...people ordered pizza and fries and they both smelled great...I didn't even go up to the ordering line cause I didn't want to see what was on the menu...but I should have because they had some salads that probably would have worked...oh well. The following day I hike the PG&E trail and I was really impressed with myself - I was not struggling like I thought I would be. This is a gruelling 9 mile hike and we do it regularly during the summer and I know what it is like to do it when I'm out of shape but yesterday it was as if I had been doing it all the time...Guess I'm doing the right thing at the gym. I have been doing more weights. It feels good to feel challanged and to feel strong. Tomorrow I am going to pamper myself - I'm going for a massage and a facial :) I will be there through the lunch hour...and I didn't think about food...hope they have fruit there. I'll have to take some to eat as soon as I get a chance.
On a food note...I have re-introduced brown rice. I plan to eat some with my lentils at lunch time.
Oh - weight loss has been slower this time compared to the first time I did the cleanse...so far I have lost 5.5 lbs. I want to lose 3 more lbs before the Cabo trip. I think I will make it because the loss has mostly occurred in the last 4 days.... that will put me 2.5 lbs lower than where I ended the first time I did the cleanse, so that's a good thing.

Stop the Blob!

I'm going to Cabo in a few weeks and I tried on a bathing suit...uh boy...when did I become such a blob! I started to recall what I was doing back when I did look somewhat decent in a bathing suit...I was single, I was poor, my life consisted of going to the gym, going to work and playing volleyball 4 nights a week and pool one night a week. Weekends were devoted to volleyball tournaments or hiking or biking.

The funny thing is, I'm only about 10 lbs heavier now than I was back then. But now I'm a Blob. I'm not single any more and I can afford to buy more than just the basics. I no longer play in volleyball leagues or ride my bike or hike like I used to do. Duh! So, New Year's resolution: ride bike more, play more volleyball. It's frustrating when I can't play or ride at the level that I used to but I have to start somewhere.

Meanwhile, the cleanse is going just fine. I am in a steady routine, shake in the morning, apple at 10, lentils and salad and fruit at noonish, another apple at about 4, salad(s)for dinner followed by a shake. I'm eating less than I did the first time I did the cleanse. I'm not eating the yams or butternut squash like I was before. I don't feel hungry, for the most part. I'm sleeping soooo well. This morning I felt well enough to hit the gym, worked out for just over an hour. Now if I can only keep this up after the 21 days are done....which is almost impossible while I'm in Cabo...

Days 2 & 3

Things are going really well this second time around...I'm not so anxious and worried about how I'm going to get through this...I just know I am. I don't feel all that great though, I seem to be quite tired and not getting a restful sleep. Last night, however was the first restful sleep Ive had, slept almost 9 hours. Maybe I'm starting to make the turn towards feeling better.
I've been eating the shakes in the morning and if I am still hungry I have a salad as well. I've been eating lentils for lunch and I made a vegetable soup to which I add my SP Complete and flax seed oil and then I puree it with my immersion blender and voila...it's like a corn chowder without the corn. Not bad. I made an extra batch yesterday that I'm going to take to lunch with me. I've been eating apples in between meals as snacks. One thing I'm not doing this time is cooking and eating the sweet potatos/yam or the butternut squash, only because I didn't have any on hand.

I'm still getting the caffeine headaches off and on hopefully they will go away soon. I've made it the gym once since I started...hoping to make it more often as I start to feel better.

I had Monday off so today is my first day at work on the program. I'll take extra fruit in case I get hungry.

Second Round - Day 1

Hey, not a bad day. I was worried I would have trouble with my resolve but I feel I did really well...I gave up coffee about two days ago and I had my last glass of alcoholic beverage (champagne) last night - New Year's eve. I had a shake in the morning and then we drove over the hill to Santa Cruz for breakfast, I ordered a bowl of fruit and green tea. We walked around the wharf in the cold, windy and drizzly morning....It's good to be outside and feel the elements. I don't often do that...even when it is a nice sunny day. This new year I will try to do more of that.
We got home around 1:10 and I had 1/2 a pear then I took a nap cause I was short on sleep from last night. Then I got busy cooking...made some vegetable soup, using some organic chicken broth, leeks, carrots, cauliflower, and cabbage. It was quite tasty. I also cooked some lentils and ate a cabbage/apple slaw salad and then had some of the soup and lentils. Had another shake around 8 pm. Pills and bedtime await me.
So my e-mail says if I want to maximize weight loss I should be eating zero fruit except for some berries in the shake....I don't see how anyone can eat zero fruit on this cleanse...but I did cut down on the fruit in the last shake, just had tangerine sections in it...it was very watery but it was still palatable. I will try to add the SP complete powder to my soup tomorrow and see how that goes.

Ok, New Year, New Round of SPP

This will be interesting...I'm in the middle of the Holiday Revelry, eating and drinking lots of unhealthy foods. I hope to try and taper down leading up to Day 1. I don't think I'm going to be as good leading up to Day 1 as I was the last time I did this but, I have some motivation....We leave for Cabo on Day 22.

More challenges

I made it through the weekend but had a little slip up on Monday evening...ate some of those cookies in the freezer...then some tortilla chips. Did better on Tuesday, made it to the gym and back on track with my eating.
Tomorrow is my hike day. Should be good.