HomegirlRuns

Vanity and Procrastination Drive Me To The Sauna

*Update: I freaked out and couldn't go in. Can't sit in a hot room in swimwear with strangers. So the sauna thing--highly unlikely. I'll just tack a couple of miles onto my AM and PM runs. At least for a moment, as you'll see below, I thought it was a good idea.*

I have tried to avoid this, as much as any activity in which I have to wear a swimsuit or less in public, but it seems my time has come. I'm going to visit the sauna at my gym.

Apparently, it's a great way to relax, sweat, and burn a few extra calories after a workout.

I'm planning a trip to Europe and want to be as svelt and glowing as possible, since the pictures of my time there must include me and will be seen by many eyes and possibly forever. *sigh* I wish I was one of those women who could get over the fact that they're not nineteen anymore and nobody is going to ask them if they're a model ever again in life, but I'm not. Trust me, I have tried. I'm too young to accept that yet. Instead, I'm trying to avoid being photographed until I'm back down to a size that I deem acceptable for myself. Judge me.

This trip is right around the corner, and I need to be able to enjoy myself while I'm there without feeling self conscious, and love myself in the pictures.

So I'm pulling out all the stops. I'm taking my Advocare MNS supplements, doing a running/sauna combo twice a day, band workout three days a week and cutting carbs after breakfast and sugar. And I'm doing it all religiously. It's going to absolutely consume my life until we leave for our trip, but I won't regret it.

Strangely, I'm more productive in my life when I'm keeping a strict diet and exercise regimen. When I'm not going to the gym or watching what I eat, things fall apart. So this bout of living in the gym should leave me and my to do list a lot slimmer.

If only I could keep a normal fitness routine.

Advocare 10 Day Cleanse: Daily Journal

I fell off the wagon, but I'm getting back on. Starting with a 10-Day Cleanse. My issue with fitness, isn't so much with exercise, but with my eating. Sometimes I get in a zone, and if it's a refined carb, sweet, salty, cheesy, or especially all of the above, it's going inside me. I lack willpower. I try, but food wins every time. While I probably will lose a few pounds and inched from my waist like I did the last time, I'm not doing the cleanse to lose weight. My allergies have had me congested since Christmas, I haven't been sleeping well, and I have been hydrating with everything else but water and it shows all over my face. So I'm doing this 10 Day cleanse to say goodbye to my dull complexion and raccoon eyes, hello to more energy and the glowing natural complexion I am accustomed to seeing in the mirror. 

I have written about my time on the cleanse before. This time, I won't be following it up with the 14 Day Metabolism Boost and Fat Burning phase. Because, like I said, what I'm after is not weight loss. Still, since I'm sure I'll lose some weight and inches, I'll chronicle the next 10 days here. I'll update this post until all 10 days have passed. I shared body before and afters last time, so i won't be doing that this time around. This should be interesting.  

Day 1: 2/13/12

Products Used: OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels and Citrus Fiber Drink before breakfast. Herbal Cleanse tablets at night. 
Breakfast: Boiled egg and Cream of Wheat with agave (a better choice would have been steele cut oats, but I need the folic acid) and an apple
Snack: A sliced cucumber with a little bit of apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper
Lunch: Stewed chicken with zucchini, squash, broccoli and brown rice
Dinner:  Baked fish with raw vegetables
Water: 1 Gallon
Exercise:  I had planned to run 2 miles, but I didn't. 
Inches Lost from waist: n/a
Weight Lost: n/a

Day 2: 2/14/12

Products Used: OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels and Citrus Fiber Drink before breakfast. Herbal Cleanse tablets at night. 
Breakfast: Boiled egg and Cream of Wheat with agave (a better choice would have been steele cut oats, but I need the folic acid) and an apple
Snack: A banana with two slices of whole wheat bread and a bit of agave. A banana sandwich. 
Lunch: Scrambled eggs, brown rice and fresh, blanched green beans and an apple.
Dinner:  Stewed chicken with zucchini, squash, broccoli and whole wheat pasta.
Water: 1 Gallon
Exercise:  Negative. Baby steps. 
Inches Lost from waist: 0
Weight Lost: 0

Day 3: 2/15/12

Products Used: OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels and Citrus Fiber Drink before breakfast. Herbal Cleanse tablets at night. 
Breakfast: Steele cut oats and coffee from Panera Bread and an apple
Snack: A banana and grapes
Lunch: Stewed chicken with zucchini, squash and broccoli
Dinner:  Stewed chicken with zucchini, squash, broccoli and whole wheat pasta.
Water: 1 Gallon
Exercise:  Nada.  
Inches Lost from waist: 2 (very noticeable from my profile, just as before)
Weight Lost: 1 (probably water weight, since my face and hands have de-puffed)

Since you're probably wondering...Due to the cleansing of my digestive tract thanks to the efficiancy of these products, no, I'm not going more frequently, however when I do go, it certainly counts. That's why the inches lost on my waist is so significant. 

Day 4: 2/16/12

Products Used: OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels and Probiotics in the Am.M. Herbal Cleanse tablets and OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels at night. 
Breakfast: Apple and toast with Green Monster smoothie.
Snack: Nuts, seeds and raisin trail mix.
Lunch: chicken burger on whole wheat bum with mustard and lots of fresh spinach
Dinner: chicken burger on whole wheat bum with mustard and lots of fresh spinach (I really liked the first one.)
Water: I didn't use my container today, so I'm sure I didn't drink a gallon of water. Probably about half that much. 
Exercise:  No
Inches Lost from waist: 2 
Weight Lost: 1

I haven't gone much over the past couple of days. That's why I increased to the whole dosage of OmegaPlex tablets per day on the 16th. Once things start moving again, I'll probably drop more weight and inches. I definitely feel bloated. Water consumption and omega gels are very important to this cleanse to keep things moving along. 

I'm going to a Caribbean pot-luck dinner party tomorrow night. I'll do my best to eat regular serving sizes and one plate, but there won't be much clean eating tomorrow night. Just keeping it real.

Day 5: 2/17/12

Products Used: OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels and Probiotics in the Am.M. Herbal Cleanse tablets and OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels at night. 
Breakfast: (late--more like brunch) chicken burger on whole wheat bum with mustard and lots of fresh spinach
Snack: apple and Green Monster smoothie
Lunch: Breakfast was link brunch, since I grabbed it around 11 A.M. 
Dinner: Grilled chicken sandwich on wheat and fruit salad from Chick-Fil-A.
Water: 1 Gallon
Exercise:  No
Inches Lost from waist: 2 
Weight Lost: 1

Day 6: 2/18/12

Products Used: OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels and Probiotics in the A.M. , Herbal Cleanse tablets and OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels at night. 
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, an avocado, spinach, mushrooms, onion and wheat toast
Snack: apple and Green Monster smoothie
Lunch: apple (I ate light to save calories for the Caribbean potluck)
Dinner: Lots of awesome chicken parts, about 1/2 cup rice, shepherd's pie made with squash instead of potatoes and without cheese, and homemade cole slaw with golden raisins. Oh, and some curried lamb. <--Not an awesome meal for a cleanse--not clean eating at all, but I'm only human. 
Water: 1 Gallon
Exercise:  No
Inches Lost from waist: 2 
Weight Lost: 2

Day 7: 2/19/12

Products Used: OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels and Probiotics in the A.M. , Herbal Cleanse tablets and OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels at night. 
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, an avocado, spinach, mushrooms, onion and wheat toast
Snack: apple 
Lunch: chicken burger on whole wheat bun with spinach
Dinner: Fruit salad
Water: 1 Gallon
Exercise:  No
Inches Lost from waist: 2.5 
Weight Lost: 3

I was hella busy with my son's birthday party. Didn't eat lunch, and once the party started, I didn't think about food until almost bedtime. That's when I ate a bowl of fruit. 

Day 8: 2/20/12

Products Used: OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels and Citrus Fiber Drink before breakfast. Omega gels and Probiotics at night.
Brunch: Scrambled eggs, an avocado, spinach, mushrooms, onion and wheat toast
Snack: apple 
Dinner: Braised lamb with brown rice and broccoli 
Water: 1 Gallon
Exercise:  No
Inches Lost from waist: 2.5 
Weight Lost: 3

Day 9: 2/21/12

Products Used: OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels and Citrus Fiber Drink before breakfast. Omega gels and Probiotics at night.
Breakfast: oatmeal and eggs
Lunch: roasted turkey breast, veggies and brown rice
Snack: apple and popcorn 
Dinner: roasted turkey breast, veggies and brown rice
Water: 1 Gallon
Exercise:  No
Inches Lost from waist: 2.5 
Weight Lost: 3

Day 10: 2/22/12

Products Used: OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid gels and Citrus Fiber Drink before breakfast. Omega gels and Probiotics at night.
Breakfast: oatmeal 
Lunch: Greek Salad w/o feta and plus chicken at Panara Bread and apple
Snack: apple and popcorn
Dinner: chicken, veggies and brown rice
Water: 1 Gallon
Exercise:  No
Inches Lost from waist: 2.5 
Weight Lost: 3

Day 11: Final results: 2.5 inches lost from waist, 3lbs lost. 

The last time I did recorded results of the 10 Day Cleanse, I lost 5 inches from my waist and about 5 lbs. The difference this time is that I did not exercise. It's not necessary to see results, obviously, but is recommended for best possible results.

I have food guidelines and tips that might answer some questions you may have. I'm happy to share with you. If you'd like to see them, or have questions, please comment here or email me at homegirlblog at hotmail dot com. 

Product DETAIL and INGREDIENTS Links:
Herbal Cleanse Metabolic Cleansing System
OmegaPlex Omega-3 Fatty Acid Gels 

To PURCHASE: Please visit my Avdocare Store and click on "10 Day Cleanse Essentials" on the bottom of the page. 

Have you ever completed the Advocare 10 Day Cleanse? What has been your experience?

Why I'm training for a half marathon.

Ok. So I only have one 5k under my belt. I'll be running my second one on Friday night. After Tweeting with @ReneeJRoss (blogger, weight-loser, runner extraordinaire) I decided to start training for a half marathon. A few short months I was skeptical that I could even run a 5k, but after getting out there and actually doing it, I'm convinced that a half marathon and even possibly a marathon are within my reach.  

Over the past couple of years, I have danced some serious cha-cha (two-steps up, three steps back, reverse and repeat ad nauseum) towards getting back down to my ideal weight. I made more progress than I had made in a long time when I did the Advocare 24 Day Challenge. During that challenge, I lost a lot of fat and inches, and looked amazing. I continued after that and lost a little more weight. Then I had to sit out of the gym for a little bit and never got back into my fitness routine. That and my un-awesome habit of stress-eating and here I am on the 'three-steps-back' leg of  my cha-cha. I plan to do the 24 Day Challenge again, but since I want to keep the weight-loss results and build on them afterward, I need to work on establishing some healthy habits first. Thus, the half marathon training.

I found this totally doable 12 Week Half Marathon Training schedule for Beginners on Fitsugar.com. I like it because it keeps me running every other day and gradually building on to my mileage. I plan to follow it strictly, so I don't injure myself. Today was my first rest day and I did a lot of stretching this morning. I think I'm going to take advantage of the rest days and do my upper body and core training on those days. 

More than anything, training for a half marathon will get me focused on an actual goal and physically working toward achieving it on a regular basis. I have other goals. I'm kind of hoping that by making progress on this one, the productivity will spill over into my other projects.  :-/

Time will tell. 

P.S. I also joined MyFitnessPal.com because I need to be aware and reminded of how what and how much I eat every day. It's also nice to have a place where everybody there is as neurotic about calorie consumption as you are so you're not so much preaching to the choir as singing along in it.  [Best metaphor I could come up with--what do you want--I was raised in church.] If you're on MyFitnessPal, friend me--> Homegirlruns. 

P.P.S. Please check out my son's first Kid's 1K race report. :-) 

Question: Michelle Obama Arms? Answer: Tracy Anderson.

This one if for those of you who are getting fit for Summer and for GOOD! I ran across this workout in an old copy of Cosmo magazine (#judgeme) and immediately thought to share it with you guys. I did this for the first time yesterday and found it challenging--it really got my heart pumping! 

Most of my Advocare customers have mentioned to me that they want smaller, firmer arms, and Tracy Anderson's Method has proved to do just that. She is a fitness guru to Hollywood star moms including Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Ritchie and Madonna and specializes in sculpting long, lean muscles without the use of weights that make the body frame firmer and smaller...think dancer rather than athlete. This simple yet challenging workout consists of only 4 moves. The claim: Do these moves 3 times a week and see changes in 14 days. Increase the reps for even better results. 

Of course, I'm taking the supplements that I sell to get the maximum benefits out of this workout, fast.

I'm planning to do these moves following an hour of cardio and in conjunction with the products in my Slimmer by Summer pack.

Click on the links for complete details including, effects,  ingredients and nutritional content of all the products in my Slimmer by Summer pack, which includes:

• 10 Day Herbal Cleanse,
• Advocare Catalyst Amino Acid muscle support and 
• MNS 3 Weight Management System (breakfast shakes, Spark energy daily vitamin drink and Multi-nutrient dietary supplements). 

Basically, the same products I used on the 24 Day Challenge where I lost 5 inches off my waist alone. Missed it? Catch up and see before & after pics --HERE. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about these or any Advocare products. 

Enjoy the workout! And Happy Michelle Obama arms to you all! 

I am so benched...

Couch to 5k? Barely Never really made it off the couch. I recently bought some Nike+ sneakers. I got them at Nordstrom's Rack for $29! Steal. Never been worn. I was "saving up" for the chip. But it's not about the shoes...

Thanks to an awesome whiplash, I have to take it easy for a month (maybe 2) while I'm doing thrice a week adjustments. I can still walk, which will probably happen outside (gasp!) and do exercises that don't put strain on my neck/upper shoulder area, which means no crunches. Awesome.

Basically I'm going to have to research and find some great ways to get in shape with soft tissue and ligament damage (the technical words--it sounds SO much worse than it is).  

Bright side of all of this: I totally got to see my bones! My son and I were fascinated by the ex-rays!