Wow, It's Still Working!

Well, I thought for sure I'd have to report that I hardly lost anything this past week.  I made cabbage rolls on the weekend and ate more than I really should have.  Happily, I was mistaken.  Once again I lost 0.5 kg (1.1 lbs).  I also lost another 1/2 inch from my waist for a current measurement of 31".

I've always been a little (well a lot) skeptical of weight-loss shakes.  While I used and loved so many of the other amazing products from my company, I always avoided the shakes.  I was worried that I'd always feel hungry or that they wouldn't really work anyway or that I'd get sick of them.  And, until now, I hadn't really felt the need to lose weight anyway.  After the past couple of weeks I've realized how much easier they make my morning.  Now that I'm having the shakes, breakfast is one of the first things I do rather than being an afterthought.  I'm imagining the results I'd be getting if I started exercising too.  I'm also finding that the food that I eat later in the day fills me faster and I don't have the same cravings (like for bread).  Overall, I'm noticing an improvement, not just in my weight, but in overall well-being - and it's only been two weeks.  Now I'm wondering what took me so long.

Tomorrow I'll be ordering the chocolate shakes and perhaps the strawberry ones too.  While I've enjoyed the vanilla shakes, I'll be happy to have other flavours too for a change.  Also, a couple of my friends have decided to start their own challenge and I'd love to have more company.  Who's up for it?

It's Working!

I've just finished the first week of my 90 day challenge and it looks like things are off to a good start.  My weight after the first week is 65.3 kg (roughly 144 lbs).  That's a loss of 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb.  Considering that my goal was to lose about one pound per week, I'm right on target.  My measurements are pretty much the same.  My waist is down about 1/2 inch from 32 to 31 1/2.

I love having the shakes for breakfast.  Breakfast has always been the hardest meal for me.  I know that it's important so I always try to eat something.  I just find that my stomach likes to wake up before being bombarded with food.  The shakes are a great first food in the morning.  I also find them remarkably filling so I'm not hungry again by 9:30.  It's also nice that they're quick and easy.  With having to deal with 4 kids and their routines each morning I often put off having breakfast and then get doing a bunch of other things so that it's almost lunchtime by the time I remember to eat.  With the shakes, they're so convenient, it's much easier to have them even when things are hectic.

One other major thing that I've noticed this past week is improved digestion.  I have two theories and what's really happening is probably a little of both.  One is that I believe that I have gluten sensitivities and since the shakes are gluten-free, my digestive tract is healing.  The other theory is that since I'm taking the vitamin pack that includes the probiotics, the flora in my gut is becoming healthier.  Either way, I'm happy.

So, who wants to join me on the road to better health.

Getting Started

Okay, this post was supposed to be done a couple days ago but it didn't happen.  Wednesday ended up being crazy and then the phone lines and internet here were really messed up yesterday.
First with the good news.  My friend Nicole was really nice and gave me a scale.  It's digital and, more importantly, it's accurate.  Like the Wii, it measures in kilograms so I'll just multiply it by 2.2 and round off to get pounds.

On Tuesday evening I took my weight and measurements and discovered a few things.  One is that I really need to find a safe spot for my tape measure (after spending 1/2 hour trying to find it).  Next is that my camera weighs about 400 grams, which throws the scale off if I'm holding it while weighing myself.   And lastly, now I realize just why my jeans have felt a bit tight lately.

Upper arm 11"
Bust 37"
Chest 31"
Waist 32"
Hips 39 1/2"
Thigh 24"
Weight 65.8 kg or 145 lb

With the Camera

Without the Camera

Before Pictures - yes those are Christmas trees still decorating the door.

Making the Shake - I could have just made it up in my shaker bottle but we got that little blender for Christmas (the kids love making smoothies) so I figured I'd use it.  I will say here that the directions say that the shake powder can be mixed with either water or skim milk.  I'm using 2% milk.  Space in our fridge is at a premium and we buy 2% for the family so I'm using 2% as well.  It's day one and already I'm changing the experiment slightly but that's just how it is.

First Impressions - The shake tastes pretty good and is surprisingly filling.  It's easy for breakfast.  I just have the vanilla flavour right now.  I'll try out the chocolate and strawberry flavours at some point too to see how I like them.

My Order is In, I'm Ready to Begin

So, last Wednesday I saw the brown truck pull up.  That could only mean one thing, my order was here.  That means I've had a week of anticipation and temptation.  I'm so excited!

Here's my plan.  Today I'll be taking my weight using the Wii.  I'll also measure my bust, chest,waist, hips, thighs and upper arms. Tomorrow morning for breakfast I'll start with the shakes.  Each Tuesday I'll take my weight and measurements again.

I've also been considering my goals for this.  Yesterday I checked out my weight using the Wii and noticed that I'm approaching the top of the "healthy weight" section for the Body Mass Index (BMI).  So while losing weight isn't critical at this point, it certainly wouldn't hurt.  With that in mind, my goal will be to lose 12 pounds by the end of 90 days, that will work out to about one pound per week.  I'm also really looking forward to my favourite jeans to fitting better again.  More than anything, I'm doing this to see what will happen.

If you want to try out this experiment for yourself, let me know and I can get you more details.

Order Placed

I put in my order this past Saturday.  I was debating about which flavours to get; vanilla, chocolate or strawberry.  For this month I'm going with just plain vanilla.  I'm getting really excited to start this challenge.  Can't wait till the 15th.

Challenge 2012 - Ninety Days on the Road to Better Health

The set-up.

About a year ago I got a friend request on Facebook from an old high school friend. My friend had recently participated in a 90 Day for a company she was promoting. Seeing the posts of my friend made me intrigued but I wasn't really interested in losing weight at the time. A few weeks ago another friend started her own challenge with the same company and started losing weight and gaining energy. Now that my youngest is almost 2 years old, I'd like to get rid of a bit of the baby weight that I still have so I went to her Challenge Party to check things out for myself.

I discovered two things. One is that there's a huge market for people who are looking to lose weight and/or improve their overall health and energy. The other realization I had is that I'm already working with a company that sells incredible weight-loss products, I had just never given them much thought because I wasn't focused on losing weight. I decided that if I was going to do a 90 day challenge, I'd rather do it with products from my own company. I already use and love many of their other products so it makes sense to try out their weight-loss products too.

The Challenge

Starting February 15, 2012 I will be having a shake every morning. I may sometimes add some fruit or other tasty food to liven things up. In addition, I will continue to take the vitamins that I normally take but I'll add an anti-oxidant and probiotics as well. I'll take my measurements and weight at the beginning of the challenge and each week thereafter. To see how much weight-loss can be attributed to just the addition of the shakes, I'll keep my current level of activity about the same (walking my daughter to school, going to playgroup, skating).

I'm excited to see what happens. I've never really been one to try shakes before (I'm a good cook and I like to eat my food). I also strongly believe in eating foods as close to their natural state as possible.  I'm always up for a good experiment though.  Now I just need to make my order.