Stuff in my mailbox!

I love it when things-that-are-not-bills show up in our mailbox.  There's one Friday in the month that is usually a good one; that's when my Food and Wine and Good Food magazines show up and I sit down with a glass of wine and flip through them for a couple hours.  It's a pretty good way to end the week.

But yesterday, on a Monday, I got a couple packages that yes, I paid for, but it's still a nice little surprise to see that little red key that means something was too big to fit into the normal mailbox.

First package:

 

Perfect Fit protein powder from the Tone it Up girls.  Gotta admit; I'm a sucker for anything that ships to Canada and I'm always looking for something natural to put into a smoothie so I figured I'd give this a try.

 

Race kit from Jessica at Virtually Running for Gold,  Proceeds going towards the St. Baldrick Foundation.  I honestly thought it was just the medal (and donating to a good cause), but to get stuff as well?!  I was happy happy indeed. 

 

And then, I got an email saying my StrideBox is on it's way.  AND my next wine shipment is in April.

 

Get to look forward to more stuff in the mail

Cleanse - Day Seven

It's over. I'm done.

I'm very pleased.

I wasn't totally on program; there was the cookie, cake day and pizza from a box, but otherwise it went well. I felt pretty good the entire time and I think it made me be more mindful of my choices.

And I'm celebrating with a glass or two (maybe three) of wine.



Have a good weekend! All signs point to child-less and husband-less tomorrow.

[Crosses everything I can find]

Tan

Cleanse - Day Five

Cruising along except for that cookie and tiny decaf Timmies that I had in the afternoon. I just really wanted a cookie. Actually i really wanted ice cream, but I got a cookie instead.

I think the hardest part of the cleanse is finding food when you're hungry and unprepared. The intent is not to starve yourself; it's to detox and to reestablish healthy choices...but sometimes I forget to bring healthy choices with me and it's really hard to stop in someplace and pick something up.

Unless it's the grocery store :)

I read French Women Don't Get Fat a while back and Mireille Guiliano recommends to carry an En Cas, which is a healthy little snack for those times when you need something and good choices aren't always available. I'm going to try and do that. Just have to figure out what it should be.

Anyhoo, it was a really good book. Also A French Woman for all Seasons. I should give them a re-read; lots of good recipes in them too.

Played ball (slow-pitch) for exercise, didn't do much actual work but we got outside none the less.

And, fell asleep better again last night. Anything that helps me fall asleep at night is good.

Tania

Cleanse - Day 3 and 4

Day Three

Almost all good. Starting to feel better in general, not so very tired even after a trying night with the boy. Was a little dehyrated though from sitting out in the sun for most of day two.

Ate well; omlette with lots of veg and some left over potatoes, basically the same for lunch (thanks to mom), and roast pork tenderloin with rice, green beans and carrots for dinner.

Excercise was half hour of keeping the car steady while driving 50 miles and hour down a gravel road. My arms got a good workout.

Down two pounds, yippie!

Day Four

On the home stretch. Now it's just falling into a rhythm; keep mindful of food choices, lots of water, excercise and a few trips to the potty after eating :)

Slept better last night too; didn't wake up at three for the first time in a few weeks. Had one weird dream though, the kind where you spend the rest of the day thinking about it.

Let's see....breakfast of fruit, yogurt and cereal. Lunch of chilli and veggies. Dinner was steak fajitas (with the kitchen still waiting for someone to clean it up, but he's watching the home run derby so I'm not sure when it'll get done)

Cheers!

Tania

Cleanse - Day One

Started my cleanse yesterday, as expected it's so far been a mix of the two previous times.

7:30 - Dump half the liquid into 600ml of water. Smells not bad, like a sort of apple cider. Tastes about the same.

8:00 - Breakfast; Plain yogurt, nectarine and corn flakes. Not exactly a whole grain cereal but it was either that or Corn Pops.

9:30 - Refill water bottle. Yesterday's "breakfast" really did takes it's toll.

11:00 - Husband calls says he forgot his wallet, can I buy him lunch.

12:00 - Eat most of my packed lunch (sauteed bell peppers and zucchini with a bit of risotto) and half of his pepper & salt chicken (not to be confused with the more popular salt and pepper chicken).

12:30 - Dump last half of the liquid into water bottle. Starting to get a bit of a headache. Probably from no coffee.

3:30 - Leave work, fill up water bottle again. This will be my 2L of water requirement for the day.

6:00 - Eat dinner at mom and dads after picking up a free! tent trailer. Baked Potato, Hamburger cooked well done (burnt) on the BBQ and salad.

8:00 - Back home, do 15 minutes of yoga before going to bed and reading.


All in all I felt good, went to the potty a bunch as expected, this stuff starts to work right away. Probably why they suggest you sip your water throughout the day; I can't imagine what it would do if you chugged it all in one go and then drank plain water for the rest of the day. Also amazed at how few healthy choices there are at the work food court.

Tomorrow, day two. At the ball diamond.

Cleansing

My mom and I are going to start a 7 Day Body Cleanse sometime in the next week. (I love saying stuff like that in front of my sister who will, without fail, roll her eyes and start into her rant about cleanse = hooey. ) I'd like to kick start the last bit of my weight loss and I'm feeling a little sluggish and blah. Plus vacation is the last week of July and I'd like to jiggle less while trekking around Disneyland.

We're doing the 7 Day Body Cleanse Dietary Supplement from Arbonne, which is an all natural herbal cleanse. For one week we will:

• Drink at least 2L (64 oz) of water a day. You mix the supplement in with the water and sip throughout the day. The supplement tastes like yuck but you get used to it.



• Eat whole grains, lean protein, fruits and veg (preferably organic).



• Avoid sugary food, fried food, food high in fat and highly processed food.



• Avoid alcohol and caffeine. Actually it doesn't say that about caffeine, but it must be an oversight because if there's one thing that your body needs cleansing of it's caffeine.



• Avoid artificial sweeteners. It doesn't say that either, but I have a beef with fake sugar.



• Exercise 30 minutes a day.



• Take time to relax and get good sleep.

My sister will rightly point out that by doing all of these things (minus the supplement) you will lose weight, feel better and be healthier.

And she's correct; I could do all of it by myself.

But I won't.

Not in a million years.

I require a little more motivation that just my good intentions. Which has, quite honestly, let me down more often than I care to admit.

This will be my third time doing the cleanse. The first go was intense; major headaches (from no caffeine and no booze), a bad backache which I'm not sure was related, lots of trips to the potty (but nothing super urgent) and general yuck for the first 4 days. After that it was better and I felt fab after it was all done; no craving for sweets, coffee or processed food, lots of energy and could sleep soundly. Lost 6 pounds which stayed off too.

Second time was much better because I didn't go back to caffeine, so no headache or body aches etc. Lost 5 more pounds that stayed off.

I think this time will be in the middle since it's been a while since the last one and I've gotten back into some bad eating habits.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Tania, who is watching the rain come in over the city.