Keep Your Head Up- Day 3 continued

Well Day 3 is over!! I did it!

I still have my last shake to drink for the night but other than that I am done. Thank goodness.

I am really surprised I finished to be completely honest. Food is a big deal for me, so to go for three days and stick to an extremely regimented and restrictive plan is not a small feat. But I did finish, and I didn't cheat once, although I wanted to MANY times.

The fact that I was able to do this and complete the cleanse is a green light for me. I can show discipline and self control and do something good for myself because it is important, and not give in because it is hard. So I am extremely proud of myself, and so glad it's over!! I feel like I have passed a test!

Speaking of tests, today for lunch some people I work with wanted to try out this new place right outside of Cookeville. Because they are super awesome and supportive people, they brought me by my house first to make my lunch shake and grab my piece of fruit for the day (today was apples). After introducing Samantha to Walter (pet turtle), we headed out to lunch. Now let me just set the scene for where we ate. It's in a gas station. It's a burger place called Flip'In Burger. They have 30 free toppings for your burger. They give you a BAG of french fries if you order a large. So here I sit in a gas station burger joint with my shake and apple, and everyone at the table has some amazing looking lunch! It wasn't easy and I got a lot of weird looks from sketchy truckers random people, but I held out. So go me (I am definitely going back to try one of these burgers!!)

Bet you can't guess which one is mine

So while difficult, it wasn't impossible and I feel amazing going into tomorrow! I have energy and will power and a lot of self empowerment! And I am so excited about weight watchers!

I went grocery shopping tonight (don't do this during a cleanse, thats the definition of masochism), and signed up for my online WW program so I am ready to go in the morning. Look forward to some new recipes and WW points included. Also, if your on this program download the WW barcode scanner. It is the best thing and so helpful while shopping!!!

Thanks for the support and I apologize to anyone who had to deal with me the past 3 days, the crankiness has been out of control! My bad, Ill be much better tomorrow :)

Happy Hump/ Leap Day!

Emma

Mr. Saxobeat- Day 3

Welcome to Day 3!

Shakeology.... usually it's delicious, today I am powering through

I am starting this day with a TON of energy and am pretty excited as it is almost over! I can already tell a difference in my stomach. It isn't drastic but everything seems a bit less squishy.

Also, for my work day soundtrack I will be pumping some dance hits to keep me going and it is also the last day of classes for me for the week! And next week is spring break :) so I am pretty pumped. All I have to do for the next 2 days is work 8 hours total in the Greek Life Office and wrap up some school work so I can RELAX over break!

Check in later for my final recap of the 3 day cleanse, and what it's like to go grocery shopping on a TRULY empty stomach!

Mr. Saxobeat

Happy Leap Day!!!
Emma

From This Valley- Day 2 Continued

Day 2 is Over!

Honestly today SUCKED. I peed constantly, and had that constant hunger pain the top of my stomach/ lower throat. BUT with that being said I have a ton more energy than I have had in weeks, I am not bloated at all, and I am gaining a lot of perspective on mindfullness and food.

I had this thought today when someone brought pizza into my office and sat down and ate it all in front of me (aside from "what a bitch!!") when I wanted to give up after 1.5 days and just eat something covered in cheese, deep fried, with bacon... I have done WAY worse things to my body over a period of years, now I am doing something good for my body and can barely handle it after 36 hours. SUCK IT UP EMMA. It will be worth it when it's over.

Yummy fresh veggies, mixed greens, and 4 oz of grilled chicken! 

Today for lunch, to keep with the whole point of this which is to improve upon health both physical, mental, and spiritual, I rode my bicycle home and took the hour to make my second shake of the day, read, make dinner (grilled chicken and salad) and just relax.

This was big for me because usually I a) go out to eat or b) work through lunch. In addition to the physical cleanse I am trying to start incorporating more self care activities into my everyday. Self care is a term we use in counseling a lot and it refers to activities that meet our needs for relaxing, unwinding, stress reduction, creative expression, etc. These usually include things like sports, hobbies, time with friends, time for leisure activities, and so on and so forth. Self care is a hot topic for counselors as we must incorporate this time into our ever day to stay balanced and fulfilled.

I have been reading about cleanses a lot and apparently there are some common side effects for the first few days (some cleanses last up to 60 days or more!!! dear god.) which can include crankiness, headaches, and inability to concentrate. Some cleanses are designed to be extremely calorie restrictive (mixing water, lemon juice, cayan pepper, and maple syrup into a jar and then drinking that alone for a week while wielding a sharp knife at everyone around you and developing self-mutilation tendencies), but today when I started feeling extreme versions of these side effects I ate some extra fruit or made some green tea, and luckily for me this is allowed. Today's fruit was plums.

There are obviously some negative side effects as mentioned above like bathroom trips every 10-25 minutes, hunger, mild crankiness, a strong desire to escape to the nearest food court never to be seen again, and a disassociation with reality cause by a re-aquantance with all the pictures of food people post on pinterest.

So some of the really positive things after days 1 and 2 are as follows
1) Energy!! I don't feel nearly as tired as I have lately
2) No bloating
3) No stomach issues
4) I am really hydrated and can tell!
5) Mental clarity... By being regimented and strict on this cleanse I am able to refocus my physical needs aside from mental and this is BIG when we talk food
6) Discipline and a sense of accomplishment- I am going to finish this thing!!

I feel like these 6 things will be a big boost going into Weight Watchers on Thursday, and to start off my first weigh in with clear mind, body, and spirit.

Oh and I already have breakfast planned on Thursday... I may or may not have spent most of my day thinking about it

Night!
Emma

Spanish Pipedream- Day 2

Last night I dreamed I was eating pizza... no joke.

Today starts day 2 of the Shakeology Cleanse! Wish me luck, day 2 is supposed to be the worst.

Last night before bed I was reading one of my favorite blogs N-Her-Shoes and in one of the posts she was talking about starting a 30 day beachbody challenge group in March! How perfect. A little motivation and group camaraderie to force help me to stick to a workout plan!

So I e-mailed this minor celebrity in my eyes, and asked if she had anymore spots fully expecting to be told the group was all full, but it's not and I am in! I am pretty pumped about a) being held accountable to a workout regimen and b) working with Bobbi. She is awesome and if you get a chance click the link above and check her out!

I'll update tonight after day 2 is over!
Later!
Emma

Mango Tree- Day 1

Well hey there...

Ready for this blog to take a new direction (or just be updated more than 3 times a year)? Well here we go!

So things have changed drastically, here's a quick run down and then we will get on to more pressing matters...
moved (again)
changed Grad schools (same program) and got a GA thats pays 100%
quit my job
live with the boyfriend

OK so since I'm a full time student now I have been studying A LOT, and in my time I have had more time to contemplate my direction of study. Mental Health Counseling with a component of Art and let's throw in another with Nutrition. I am really really interested in the mental aspect of nutrition and physical health and the influence that creative expression and what we put INTO our bodies has on our mental health. So I have been reading and researching, and the other day I had an epiphany.

I was reading about mindfullness, self-determintaion theory, and mindfullness based intervention strategies for overweight client populations... and BAM there it was. How am I supposed to work with the same population that I fall into? Trying to help them change their behavior without changing mine? Not practicing what I preach? Ignoring all of the things I know? yep... ouch that one hurt.

So here I am, passionate about health, but yet still not quite there myself. After some thought and reflection I think it comes down to this. In order to help others, I must first help myself.

Does this mean be skinny? NO. I don't want to be skinny!! I am curvy and I wanna keep it that way, but moving into a healthy weight range, sticking to the healthy eating habits that make me feel better, and putting quality into my body, that's what this is all about along with exercise and healthy life habits. As much as it will end up being a life lesson, it is also a social experiment using myself as a guinea pig.

So what exactly will I be doing? Today starts DAY 1 of a 3 day shakeology cleanse. This is going to be beneficial for many reasons
1) I drank WAY to much beer and ate WAY to much fast food over the weekend
2) I have depleted my nutrition and water intake (see #1)
3) I need a jump start to vamp up some energy and get the crap out

So for the next 2 days I will be doing the following

Trust me, it's as hard as it looks. I am weirdly starving and energized at the same time. Also I pee a lot. 

Then after my 3 day cleanse, I start Weight Watchers on Thursday! I am pretty excited about this for lots of reasons, but mostly because even though I am overweight, I do eat much healthier than I used to, I just really need some structure and accountability. Nothing is good for you in mass quantity even fruit, and definitely not cake. I looked a bunch of different options and decided this would be best for me. 

I will also be starting weigh-ins on Thursday as a part of the program, and for the sake of self-disclosure I will be posting my weight each week for you to see. I hope this will serve multiple functions including keeping me accountable and readers intrigued and coming back for more!

So here we go, day 1 of my social/ self/ nutrition/ mental health experiment. I'll be posting pretty much everything I go through as well, for the mental health aspect of this. So keep reading if your interested, and if not I have some much more interesting websites listed at the top of the screen ;)  

Till tomorrow,

  Emma