21 Day Challenge

I have been in a bit of a weight loss slump, I would loose a little then put it back on.  For the first time in a long time I have seen the scale go down significantly and stay there.  It is all thanks to the My Fit Foods 21 Day Challenge. I started the challenge on July 4th, yes, you read that correctly! I avoided the cook-outs and high fat celebration foods and stuck to my pre-prepared healthy meals. I expected to feel hungry, or have the meals be bland, or for my results to be no where near what is advertised.  I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. 

To start out, you go into a My Fit Foods store location (sorry, they don't offer this service at the kiosks in the grocery stores) and have a consultation with a nutrition coach.  You discuss your goals, keys to weight loss, any medical conditions, and your meal preferences. From there your consultant makes a program for you and places your food orders for pick up.  You need to pick up your food twice a week as the meals are freshly prepared in store and will spoil due to lack of preservatives. I was given 3 meals a day plus 2 snacks.  I was never hungry, never craved a sweet (something that normal derails my diet efforts!) and was pleasantly surprised by the flavorful meals.  Out of everything I tried over the 21 days, I only had one meal I did not care for.

According to their website, typical results of the 21 Day Challenge is a loss of 6-15 lbs.  I am right in there with a loss of 8.4 lbs.  That is real results.  I followed the program, albeit without their supplements or liver cleanse due to my breastfeeding status, and saw the results.  I am a real person. I was not paid to do the program, I am not being paid to write this post.  I am writing this because it works.

If you need something to get you started, this is a great program.  You will learn proper portion sizes and how to balance your meals for proper nutrition.  I know the question you are all thinking right now is "This all sounds great, but what does it cost?" The consultation is free and your cost will depend on your meal plan.  I had all small meals and did not have any of the more expensive shrimp dishes. Meals typically range from $4-$8 and over the course of the program I spent just about $500 on all my meals and snacks.

If you have any questions about the program, I'd be happy to answer what I can, just comment below.  If you do decide to try out the program, can you help me earn some food credits by saying I referred you? Just give them my email address (jenniferjordan at hotmail dot com) and they should be able to find me. Thanks!

Meet our (Not So) New Addition!

Last year I announced our impending third arrival, and I have been remiss in introducing her to you all.  I would like to introduce you to our bundle of joy, Aislynn Elizabeth.

Isn't she cute? She graced us with her presence on January 4th, 2012 at around 2 am. I will share her birth story soon, but that is for a larger post, and quite honestly, I'm not sure I am ready to deal with those emotions quite yet.

So now you know what a cutie she was at a day old, and now to what she looks like today, six months later:

She is full of energy and spunk like any good Capricorn.  She has mastered milestone after milestone and keeps working ahead.  She is slowly crawling, though it is still a modified lunge most of the time.  She will get it soon enough, she is a strong girl! I love my boys with all my heart, but having a little girl to dote on is a blessing. 

So, welcome to the family Aislynn! Mommy and Daddy love you!!!!

Falling Off the Wagon to Running in Undies

So, I had been doing really well with the Body Revolution System...until a couple weeks back when I got busy and stopped using it. I saw the Houston Hot Undies Run fast approaching, and I was barely running at all.  So I switched gears and would run every other evening when the hubby would arrive home.  It was a nice switch actually.  I would prepare dinner, he would get home and take over to cook it while I was out for my jog.  The week leading up to the run was tough as I had a cold and couldn't run.  It was a set back, but I recovered in time for the race and was able to make most of the 2.5 mi jog. Our costumes were a hit as well, my husband was hit on more in his "bride" costume than he ever has been in one day!

It was a fun run, but more importantly, it was for a good cause.  All proceeds from the race were given to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and from what I understand they raised a good deal of money that day between the race entries and the raffle tickets. The MDA is special to me because when I was working as a researcher, my lab focused on degenerative muscle disorders.  My work was almost entirely funded by MDA grants.  So, it was very nice to give back to a worthy organization and have some fun while doing so. I look forward to running this again next year, hopefully in a bit better shape! Now to think of even better costumes.....

Recap of the first week of Body Revolution

As usual, a busy life with three kids has gotten in the way of my writing time. So here is the recap since I wrote last Monday.

Monday - I followed plan and did my 2 workouts and prescribed kick start diet, had to take an Ibuprofen my withdrawal headache was so bad.

Tuesday - again followed the kick start plan as stated, had a touch of a headache still but not as bad as Monday's. I was also starting to get really sore after the second workout.  I had trouble completing the exercises for the full time I was so sore.

Wednesday - woke up to every muscle in my body screaming when they were moved, I was so sore it hampered everyday activities.  I decided to take the day off from exercises and just spend a few minutes here and there doing yoga poses to stretch out. I also drank TONS of water that day. I did still follow the meal plan, but I added one carbohydrate and one more dairy considering I am breastfeeding. This helped a lot with my energy level.

Thursday - Decided that I needed to stop doing the kick start exercise plan and move to normal plan so I didn't hurt myself. I did my morning workout (targeted areas tape 1) and followed the meal plan with modification.

Friday - Went to the doctor for a female issue I had been having and got put on a pill that really messed with my system. I missed the morning workout for various reasons and had planned on doing it in the evening. That didn't happen because I felt so terrible, and I went to bed early to recoup instead.

Saturday - Was my mother's day treat, I got a "spa day" with my best friend. We went to several places to get manicures, pedicures, massages, lunch, and even went to see a movie. That evening I also had a date night with my husband. I took it as my "relax day" and did not workout. I also made mostly good choices diet wise while eating out.

Sunday - I did pretty well diet wise and did the tape I was suppose to do on Friday, target areas tape 2.

Overall, week one was a bit rough. I did my best and hung in there but did have to drop down on the exercise.  I will save that intensity for when I am at a plateau and need to switch something instead of when I am going from sedentary to active! I think that would be more appropriate for someone who is already working out regularly and wants an early boost.  I completed a total of 6 tapes, the same ones and number for the normal week one, just not on the prescribed days.

My weight has been fluctuating.  I was a bad girl and weighed Sunday, then Monday and saw about a two pound difference (not in a good way!) So, I weighed again today and decided to use that number as it was in between and probably more accurate. 

Week 1 results: - 1.8 lbs; - 2.75" (total, over 10 body measurements)

I am happy with this, even though I wish it was more (I really liked the Sunday weigh in as that would have made the weight loss 3.6 lbs,) it is really a good number for a breastfeeding mom.  I have to watch that I do not loose weight too quickly or it can release toxins stored in my fat into the breast milk. I don't doubt that if I had been able to do the entire week one kick start as written I probably would have lost the dress size they said, but you have to be reasonable or you wont stick to the plan.

Lets see what this next week holds!

The Kick Start Restart

So last week I had every intention to diligently start Jillian Michaels Body Revolution. Then reality set in. I was home alone with 3 kids. The first night I was up nearly the whole night with a teething baby, so the early morning wake up to exercise did not happen.  I followed the diet all day with the plans to just do both workouts that evening.  By the time 9 o'clock rolled around and all three kids were in bed I was completely exhausted. I messaged a friend and said "I'm exhausted and about to roll into bed without exercising...you need to motivate me." Thankfully, he did.  I only did one of the two workouts - I chose the cardio tape - but I gave it my all. So much so that I ended up hurting my knee.  To the point I couldn't walk without limping. But I did workout that day, then had to quit the rest of the week while I waited for my knee to heal. I watched what I ate during the week.  Then the weekend spelled disaster.  I had cake, ice cream, donuts, and restaurant food.  BAD news for the diet. Any progress I made was quickly removed.

So, it is Monday again and I have restarted the program with the kick start week again.  It is 8 o'clock now and I have followed the diet all day (same as last week) and have already done the AM scheduled workout (wearing a knee brace) and will do the PM workout once the kids are in bed in about an hour. My only complaint right now is that I have a SPLITTING headache.  I finally took some Ibuprofen to help as it's to the point it's upsetting my stomach.  Staying medicine free is not as important as keeping my dinner down.

I would post more, but staring at this black type on a white background is killing my head.

Thoughts before Kickstart

I will be starting Body Revolution tomorrow and doing the optional Kickstart week.  It claims that you can loose a dress size in one week. Not sure how realistic that is, but I'm going to give it a shot. I will be following the meal plan, with a few modifications because I do not eat fish, and the kickstart week excercise plan. I am expecting some withdrawal symptoms, especially for sugar, so I will have to be good about not caving to temptation.  I'm expecting to be sore as well, this week it has you doing an excercise every morning and night except for day 7 when you rest.

I have done my shopping for food for the week and written out my meal plan.  I had wanted to get a head start on things and prep all the veggies and pre-cook some of the meat.  Unfortunately with how crazy the weekend was, that didn't come close to happening. It seems like the meals are pretty quick to prepare as they are fresh ingredients, so hopefully I can manage even though it is just me and the three kids until late Friday again.

I will admit that I have been bad during these last few days of "freedom." Knowing that I am about to start a diet, especially a very restrictive one the first week, made me feel like I needed a last hurrah.  We had two potluck events today at church, so I made sure to eat all the unhealthy yet yummy options...plus several tasty desserts.  I have also filled up on sweets at home. Sneaking a hostess cupcake here and there (they are for my sons school lunch) and other easter chocolate that is still hanging around the house. So I am now articifially up a few pounds from all the crap I've been eating these last few days.  The most ironic of all was when I was looking through the food guide while eating a large bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. :P

I had my husband take a "before" picture of me in my workout clothes today before he left.  I will take my measurements in the morning when I'm not as bloated from today's binge. I will post the measurements in 7 days when I have completed the kickstart week to show the change. I'll post the pic then if there is a noticable difference at the end of the week, if not it will be posted in 30 days at the completion of the first phase of the program.

Well, wish me luck! I hope to write a quick post tomorrow update how the day went, so I'll "talk" to you soon.

Writing Therapy

I think it's more than time I resurrect this blog...I hope I haven't lost all of you, my valued readers.  Life just gets in the way some times and it is hard to take time for ourselves.  Well, I take time for myself, but generally is is spent sitting on the couch trying to do as little as possible or sleeping.

Since my last post I delivered a beautiful baby girl by CBAC on January 4th.  I had been attempting a VBA2C at home with a midwife.  I will write that birth story later.  So now I have three little ones running around and a husband who has been traveling a lot for work recently.  It makes things tough around the house for me.  The boys miss their Dad and take it out on me by acting up. I don't want this post to turn into a whine fest, so I will leave it at that.

Anyway, writing is a form of therapy for me.  I can write about what is going on in my life as a way to release the stress, and if you can identify with it or have ways to help, all the better! I will attempt to fill in some of the things that have gone on since I last posted, but I am really restarting with a fitness segment.

I've always been a bit on the bigger side, and quiet frankly I'm tired of it.  I had lost a lot of weight before I had my first son, but have gained a lot of that back over the course of having 3 children.  I have purchased Jillian Michaels new Body Revolution System and will be starting that on Monday.  I will track my progress on here as I need some cyber support! I have signed up for a 5K fun run on June 30th, so I really need to be able to manage that! Who knows, I might even try my hand at a little video blogging. 

Will post again soon, Ta Ta for Now!