It's a boring Monday afternoon at work. I feel like banging my head on my desk. Going bonkers since I have nothing to do. I finished my work for today and the only think I have left on my daily agenda can't be completed until I get some info tomorrow! Oh, the agony!

Anyways, I can't remember if I mentioned anything about Weight Watchers in my last post or not. So a brief update... I am on WW! I started WW back on August 23rd, weighing in at 242.5lbs. I weighed this morning and I was ~234 lbs (my actual weigh-in day is Friday mornings but I check on Monday to see if I did any damage over the weekend!). I was a bit concerned since my birthday was a few days ago and we've had small celebrations throughout the week/weekend. Nothing extremely crazy but I have had a few too many sweets.

I was sitting here, in my boredom, and thinking about the holidays that are coming up. There are a few birthdays, then Halloween (one of my favorite holidays), Thanksgiving (not a favorite) and Christmas (HUGE favorite). I'm not really big on the food side (except for the pies on Thanksgiving and a few sweet treats on Christmas). I'm not big on cooking so it's not something I'm excited about. I'm actually wondering how I'm going to make it through the holiday's on WW! My family is big on cooking for the holidays (I gained 5lbs over Labor Day weekend! No joking!) and I know there will be a lot of fattening food hanging around. It's kinda scary because I'm not very good with portion control and controlling my urges around food... Meaning, if my mom leaves out a appetizer or dessert, my stomach will ALWAYS be full. Not a good thing.

Luckily, my husband has been super supportive (more than ever) and is actually considering to join me in my endeavors! He says he can see my body changing (I'm positive it's just water weight or bloating or SOMETHING) and that it's convinced him that spending the money is worth it. I've been on WW for 1 whole month and have lost almost 10lbs! My goal for this month was to get to 232 lbs but I didn't think about my birthday when I made the goal so I'm not crushed about it. But I am starting to see that this is going to be harder than ever in the next couple of months. I'm actually a bit scared.

I am so happy that my size 14, black, skinny jeans from Express are too loose. I've had them 2 weeks and I'm already having to pin them in. I might actually have to alter them! The teal skinny jeans? Also loose! The white capris (same brand, style & size) as the teal skinny jeans? LOOSE! It's really exciting! My size 14, granny jeans (Levi brand) are starting to fit right (they were really tight in the waste a few weeks ago and I can now sit down without feeling like I'm going to bust a seam or pop a button). I have some old jeans that are size 32 (Kinda like Miss Me but without the details and a heck of a lot cheaper). Those are the one I'm trying to squeeze back in to first. I can put them on and button them but they're still tight and don't want to stay up (or on) when I sit down. I also have some Levi jeans that are size 15 juniors (And AE size 14 skinny jeans) that are super cute with boots. I am dying to get back into those so I can start wearing boots again! I know for sure that I can wear them at 200lbs. So that is my goal for this year. Weigh-in at 200 lbs on December 27th, 2013 (last Friday in 2013)!

SO, I've got a lot of researching to do. Healthy food, some new outdoor activities for my husband and I to do with my puppies, and some awesome habits. I am finally starting to feel good about myself again and I want to make sure it keeps working. I signed up for WW 3-month plan so I have to use it through November. If I continue to see positive results, I will keep going and pay whatever I have to get rid of this weight. I am so surprised this is working but it is. It's altering my habits for the better. And I am keeping the food choices clean! :)

Please comment with any tips or questions! I'd love to hear back from you!

Thanks! -Maddy Grace <3

Just sitting around and bored out of my mind. I got to thinking about December. As a project manager, in June, we start focusing on the end of the year and what needs to be done in 2014. That got me thinking about my personal goals. Why is December so important to me? It's the end of the year. It's holds major holidays (mine being Christmas) and my husbands birthday (Christmas Day). It's cold. I could go on and on. But the thing that made Christmas time miserable for me last year was that I was unhealthy, unhappy, and super self-conscious! I've been struggling all year with my weight-loss journey. Having a hormone imbalance/PCOS-whatever makes things really hard. I was so unhappy last year that I didn't want to take a family Christmas picture for Christmas cards! And any pictures I did take were head shots, sitting & holding pillows or hiding behind someone else. I want to take pictures again. More like, enjoy being photogenic. I want to take pictures with my husband and my four legged fur baby and be content with where I am with my body. I don't want to be worried about how big my butt is or if my belly/back rolls are showing. Most people use vacation or summer as motivation. And it's good until your vacation has come and gone. Then everyone is so concerned with New Years' Resolutions that they waste time and money on crappy weight loss antics. Those resolutions hardly ever make it past January. You have to really want it to get it. Not focus on a date or thing to begin losing weight.

My goal is to be comfortable with my body by the time Christmas pictures need to be taken (probably November). I'm not sticking a number on it because a number is useless. You lose and gain so much that the number isn't an accurate measurement. I would use inches but I don't have a good estimate for that. So, I will go with pant sizes. I am still in a 14. Have been all year. It's just more comfortable now. My goal is to be in a 10-12 by Christmas. Those where the jeans I wore through college. I have big hips so I will never be a 2-4. I might be lucky to wear an 8 but I've never worn an 8 (that I can remember). So, I'm taking it one pant size at a time. Levi's brand (because I still own the size 12 Levi's I wore in high school and those were my fat jeans) will be the sizes I go by. I believe it's the 515 (don't hold me to that)? I will be so happy to fit back into those jeans (they made my butt look great).

SO... Christmas... You're mine. Watch out, I'm coming for you. And Thanksgiving, I'll be thankful but I won't show it by eating the food I'm thankful for. I will be donating a majority of food to the hungry and only keeping the healthy stuff. Keeping it clean like Jesus, the Nazarene! I think I need to make a t-shirt! ;)

AHH!!! I'm back!!! I went on vacation and it was awesome! Not as awesome as it could have been but pretty epic. I went snorkeling!!! And got toasted! (Not intentionally, unfortunately). I wasn't as excited as I had hoped because I wasn't where I wanted to be physically but... I didn't get stared at and scoffed at like a beached whale! Honestly, I felt pretty good once I got out there. But it's the best motivation because I felt disgusted at myself. Like, "You are decent to not scare the little children... But you are not in a good place right now. Go workout." and then, I check out the gym... It's $15 a day! Sorry, I didn't plan on paying for a gym membership on vacation. I was expecting it to be FREE (Since the condo stated it had access to the gym!). smh. So, I resorted to stumbling across the sandy beach, walking up and down the boardwalk/pier, and swimming. And I probably gained some weight (too scared to check) due to all of the good food. Mostly fish and veggies and fruit but there were a lot of yummy sweet fruity drinks, snacks and unhealthy food like burgers and ribs and fries! Not the best idea to say you're going to stick to working out and clean eating on the first real vacation you've had in years. lol

Joking aside, I got back in the gym today. Busted my butt on the elliptical and stairmaster (not literally) and had a killer ab & arm workout. Apple & yogurt for breakfast. Leftover Olive Garden for lunch. Hopefully, a yummy salad from Newk's for dinner. We usually do our meal prep on Monday's but since we haven't been grocery shopping yet, it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Tomorrow's workout... dundunDUNNNN... LEG DAY!! Whoohooo! I'm excited! Really. I am.

I'm a bit confused but I know it can happen. You can gain muscle (increase in weight) & lose inches at the same time. I've lost over six inches around my body (approximate) in the past 7 days. I've been doing a lot of strength training at the gym (very little cardio) and eating healthy. I feel smaller but look the same. :( I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Yes, I want to build new strong muscle, but I want to lose fat/weight. I'm going to talk to a personal trainer tomorrow tonight to see if I'm doing something wrong. I feel the results (soreness, etc) so I know its all working. I just don't see the scale moving in my favor. It's a bit depressing. I'm restricting my calories (not outrageous) and limiting my intake to high protein, high fiber & low carb foods. Keeping it as clean and gluten-free as possible. My meal prep for the week has been grilled chicken, deviled eggs & brussel sprouts. Breakfast is usually an apple and/or Herbalife shake with almond milk. Snacks are varied between greek yogurt, nuts/dried fruit, etc.

*Having a rough week with Grant being in Canada/New York (Places I've always wanted to go and he went without me because it's a work trip). Boohoo. Anyways, I'm super happy for him and proud of him to be able to go to awesome places.*

Motivation for this week:

I will go ahead and state that I have not been following my plan very well (Catfish Festival got the best of me). So, besides my "Cheat Day" on Saturday, it's been going reasonably well. I eat a light snack (nuts, apple, or yogurt) then lunch a few hours later (usually salad or chicken and veggies - LOTS of protein). Another snack and dinner! And let's not forget WATER! Tons of water! (And an occasional coffee on my part - I know! Bad Maddy...)

In 6 days, I have gone from 232.8lbs to 229.4lbs. Not a lot of different in size/inches. And considering the devastation from Saturday, I'm really not surprised. It's pretty much water weight. ;) But the good news is... I am officially a member of a gym again! I'm SO excited! I've been dreaming of squats and lat pull downs for a month now. Oh how I've missed the awesomeness. I signed up Friday and everything went through yesterday so I can start working out today! Who has two thumbs and is going to the gym in an hour!?! This girl! I hope I feel sore tomorrow. I think I will start with legs today (I am probably the one person in the world who looks forward to leg day - That's my strongest asset too, lol).

My basic leg day workout (It's all about quality, not quantity!):
-SQUATS!!!!
-Calf Raises
-Kettlebell Swing & Squat
-Hyperextensions (Get a little back workout, too!)
-Leg Curls
-Deadlifts
-Leg Extensions (Don't forget to crunch those abs! It doubles as a core burner!)
-Cardio: Bike! (Stretch and work those sore muscles. Don't over do it!)

*I HATE lunges. They make my knee hurt like heck! That's why you don't see them on my list. It is a great workout but, if it hurts or you do it incorrectly, you're looking at having some problems later on (torn muscles, cap slippage, etc)*

So my leg day motivation (not that I need any!):

This was an interesting recipe. It was tasty but it had a loud egg flavor. Next time, I'll try stirring it before the blueberries are added and maybe use a medium egg instead of a large.

2-Minute Paleo Blueberry Mug Muffins
-2 Tbs almond meal                                               -3 Tbs blueberries
-1 Tbs honey                                                         -a dash of salt (I use Celtic Sea Salt)
-2 Tbs applesauce                                                 -1 tsp vanilla
-1 egg                                                                   -1/2 tsp baking powder

-Mix everything (except blueberries - add after thoroughly mixed) in microwaveable bowl or mug.
-Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes -OR- bake for 15-20 minutes.

**After I microwaved for 2 minutes, I stirred the mixture and there was a lot of liquid on the bottom so microwaved it for 30 secs. Suggestion: Microwave 1 minute and stir then finish microwaving.

I adjusted the original Flourless Zucchini Brownies recipe from Delighted Momma to reflect some changes to make it taste more like the brownies I made from scratch (you know... the Southern girl, unhealthy style brownies). Here's my version of the recipe:

Paleo Zucchini Brownies

Week 3 on Iodine... Still at 2 drops a day. I found out the hard way that if I do not eat a good breakfast, I will get sick. I'm talking headaches, stomach aches, body aches, flu-like symptoms, dizziness, faint, etc. I was volunteering at the Special Olympics today and almost passed out of the field because I didn't eat enough food for breakfast with my Iodine. I was also severely dehydrated.

That being said... I ate some food and drank a LOT of water. I also drank a celtic sea salt solution (1/2 tsp + 8oz water) called Salt Loading to help reduce detox side effects (mentioned above).

I haven't shown detox symptoms except one the two days that I didn't eat a good breakfast. Since I am cutting out wheat, artificial & processed foods, refined sugars, etc... that means I have very few options for a good and fast breakfast. My breakfast used to consist of greek yogurt but I cannot eat anything with calcium in it with the iodine (which is taken in the morning) so there goes the other half of all breakfast foods. I still eat the yogurt for an afternoon snack along with berries and nuts.

The one thing I need to focus on my eating habits again... I've been travelling a lot the past 3 weeks so I'm out of my eating schedule. (3 small meals, 2 snacks) That has helped so much in the past and I can tell the weight loss has slowed down too. I'm picking it back up this week along with my workouts. Now that I'm home, I can actually use my elliptical again as well as continue my body weight exercises. I'm thinking about adding Bowling and Wii games to the mix... If I can get some friends to go bowling with me. lol

It feels great to be back home and in a controlled environment... I hope it's a long time before I have to leave again! Now, my goal for this week is to get to 220. My weight has been up and down this past week (probably due to travel) so I want to get it back to where it should be.. On track!!! My motivation for this week: This top and those bottoms for my beach trip... I bought them in my correct size which is a little snug so my motivation is to fit better in 3 months.

So... in my previous post, I mentioned the detox is over. I now wish it wasn't. I haven't budged a pound since! I haven't worked out either though. I do feel more bloated and heavy than I did when I was detoxing. I started the Iodine Protocol a week and a half ago. I felt a major difference in my energy and body the first 3 days. Then I made some adjustments because I had some mild detox symptoms and now... nothing. :( At all... No energy, no detox symptoms, nothing at all. I would rather have the energy and and overall great feeling and happiness plus the mild detox symptoms than nothing at all. By mild detox symptoms, I mean I had a metallic taste in my mouth, a mild headache, and I felt kind of hot like I had completed a mile run. Nothing major that caused me concern.

I just really want my energy back. When I started the Iodine, I was taking 1 drop of Iodoral + 1/2 tsp celtic sea salt (in 8 oz water) + supplements. I'm thinking that I need to up my dose to 2 drops of Iodoral in order to get the good feeling back. Once I reach 25 drops, I can start taking it in a pill form (which I heard gives you a bigger boost of energy because of the way it's metabolized). That gets me all excited!

Back to the weight loss... I haven't lost any weight since the detox ended. I haven't changed my habits much (I haven't been able to eat small meals 5x a day due to work) but I haven't added new habits either. I will admit that I ate some bad food recently (CHEESECAKE!) but I'm getting back on my wagon and chugging along. I am sitting in my hotel writing this and reminiscing on my sorry attempt for a workout this morning which consisted of 80 jumping jacks, 50 crunches, 10 pushups, and 30 squats. Very sad workout. I remember when that was a breeze, too! I miss being at home where I can prepare my own meals and know exactly where the food came from and what's in it. I miss the taste of fresh salad and cranberries. I miss my husband making me some grilled chicken and shrimp for my salads. I miss my bed... where I could get a full night's sleep.

My goal for the rest of this week... make the trip home safely, snuggle with my husband and four-legged baby, fix wonderful, fresh food, and WORK OUT! And more importantly, adjust my Iodine dosage. :) Here's a little motivation for this week:

It seems like forever since my last post. I've been super busy that's for sure. Between project management training and being sick, all of my time has been consumed! I'm loving my Sambuccus syrup... It's all natural and made from Elderberries. It helps cut your cold/flu time in half! And it tastes wonderful! Luckily, it's not the flu... It's just a sinus cold. I just have to stay on top of it so I do not get bronchitis.

On the bright side... the detox is officially over!!! I have lost a total of 14lbs while detoxing. I believe my new lifestyle is something I can continue with great ease. I find myself craving blueberry green tea, boiled eggs, salads, grilled chicken, and nuts/berries. I do have chocolate cravings (who doesn't?) but I have some wonderful dark chocolate covered almonds that are divine and a great snack without the guilt.

My goal for February is to lose 7lbs. That will put me under 220lbs. My adjustment to make this happen: Continuing to eat great and adding exercise. At least 30 mins a day of cardio plus some weight training. I no longer have a gym membership so I will use body weight exercises and kettlebells. Once those become easier, I will probably start working out at a gym again. I do miss squats, dead lifts, and bench presses. And rowing!!! But I'm really hoping to buy a house with a gym by then. I will continue to eat wholesome foods. I can tell that food makes a difference. And timing too. I noticed that eating smaller meals more often helps control the hunger and speed up my metabolism.

I also started the iodine therapy on Sunday. Talking about weird! I had a burst of energy that I haven't felt in a long time. Not jittery like an energy drink but happy energy, like a good run or chocolate. I also got very hot for about an hour after I took my first dose. Same thing happened today. I'm still energetic but I got really hot. Not like a hot flash. It wasn't miserable and I didn't feel like I was on fire from the inside out. I just felt really warm like a hot sunny day laying out by the pool. It made me sweat for a few minutes but it went away almost as quick as it came. Kind of like I was nervous and stressed? It's been almost 4 hours since I took the iodine and supplements and I still have energy but my hands are cold (nothing new!) and I'm starving! It's been forever since I've had a legit hunger for food. I can't wait to go home and fix up a ceasar cranberry salad.

I will admit, I've been naughty. I finished my detox and to celebrate, I took my husband and his family to a Tech basketball game. Grant and I were shopping before his family got to town and we passed a local bakery and I just had to stop. They had king cake cupcakes and brownies and EVERYTHING wonderful you can imagine. I asked Grant to split a king cake cupcake with me. It was delicious! I also had a very horrible loaded potato soup at Newk's this weekend (I was sick!!!). That's my favorite soup but it is LOADED with calories and fat that is not needed. But it was very delicious. Now, back on track for February 2013!!!

Motivation:

A friend of mine wrote me a post on Facebook today. She wrote:


A few things Dr. Mark Hyman mentioned that caught my attention are three important ways wheat can cause problems (Read article for more details):

1. It contains a Super Starch -- amylopectin A that is super fattening.
2. It contains a form of Super Gluten that is super-inflammatory.
3. It contains forms of a Super Drug that is super-addictive and makes you crave and eat more.

Some very interesting things happened this weekend. I just wanted to share them and speculate as to why they happened.

1. I got numerous headaches and lightheaded...
• I think this happened because I was not eating and drinking enough. I noticed these things happened late in the day (mid-afternoon - evening). They seems to get a little better after I drank some water and ate some food. The main thing I noticed is that these things only happen during the weekend. I am not as focused on the timing of my eating as I am during the week. That is something that I need to learn from. NOTE: I am not intentionally trying to skip meals nor do I have an eating disorder. I just do not have an appetite and sometimes I do not have time or forget to eat. It happens.
2. I woke up feeling horrible and sickly...
• I think this happened because I stayed up until 1AM and got up at 8AM. It's a 7 hour difference but I really do need more sleep. Especially since I was extremely active this weekend. I'm pretty used to having to stay up late on the weekends due to work but this weekend was not and I guess that's why it affected me differently. I need to focus on my sleeping schedule and make sure I get adequate rest throughout the day.
3. I had terrible breath odor...
• I had been using my husband's toothpaste since I ran out of mine. He uses Crest with Scope or something. My mouth felt clean when I brushed my teeth but within minutes, it was gross again! I think it has something to do with the detox. My mouth felt nasty, smelled nasty, and even my pearly white teeth looked nasty! I switched back to my Crest 3D white and my teeth feel cleaner but I still feel like my breath is nasty. I really do think the detox has something to do with that though.
4. Bad body odor???
• For a while on the detox, I had really bad body odor. Growing up, I was a heavy sweater. My mom and sister didn't sweat at all. I've used heavy duty antiperspirant since I was 16. It was great!!! Now, still using the same things that worked for sooo long, my pits began to stink and kinda hurt! I, naturally, began to freak out. WHY were they stinky??? And could I be developing some kind of cancer? The first think I thought of... Does this mean I can't use my beloved deodorant anymore??? Well, I got a sample from the local health food store. It's one of those anti-body odor crystals. Yeah right... rubbing a crystal under your arms will get rid of and prevent body odor??? Well, so far it's true! I've been using it for almost a week and I haven't had any odor. I haven't noticed any wetness but it is January so I'm sure it will start showing up in March or April. I'll try to find a natural alternative to antiperspirant. 
5. Weight gain/loss...
• I have weighed myself almost everyday this past week. My weight went down and then went up 2LBS overnight! And then went back down the next day!!! It's been crazy! The only things I can think would cause this would be the fact that I did not stick to my eating schedule on Friday, then I ate a Subway sandwich at 2:30PM, then ate dinner at Grant's parents house at 7PM (homemade taco soup over white rice), drank some coffee and stayed up until 1AM. I mainly think it was the Subway sandwich (Honey Oat bread). I'm beginning to wonder what effects coffee has on me as well. Naturally, I still eat my dark chocolate covered almonds too but in moderate doses. ;)

So... Today, my dad asked me a few questions. He first asked me about my weight loss and how much I've lost. I told him that I have lost 12lbs since December and I'm am choosing whole, clean foods. He said he noticed that I lost some weight since my face was thinner. (YAY!!!) He also asked me if I was working out and I replied "No... I'm detoxing and working out could be bad. Haha!" He agreed to say the least. ;) It felt great to get a positive compliment from my dad. I told him my current goal is to be under 200lbs by June (which sounds more reasonable than my goal of being under 160lbs by the end of the year). He was excited to hear that my portion sizes have decreased dramatically and that my snacking is controllable. The fatigue is never ending but I feel lighter and healthier than before. I'm focusing on my food and sleeping patterns. Moving my sleeping patterns to earlier bedtime/earlier wake up is really hard to do. I really want to get to the point where I can wake up at 6AM and workout without sleeping through 3 alarms. I really want to have energy to clean my house in a reasonable amount of time and still be able to cook a hearty meal every day. I want to be able to do something crafty/artsy and be able to spend more than an hour on it every night. All of that being said... here's a bit of motivation for the rest of this week (or until something else pops up in my mind).

This week has been super crazy. I've had ups and downs worse than a roller coaster! Of course, I wouldn't change it for a thing. But... the biggest news... I'm am 229lbs! That was my goal for this week. It's been very strenuous to keep my weight there, even with the detox going on. I feel bad since I ate a "Hello Dolly" for dessert today (but it was my Mom's birthday!) I am assuming (never a good thing) that it's due to stress that I haven't lost more weight. I feel like I'm losing focus on my goals and being sidetracked by my very exciting hobby... Photography! (Check out Nightingale's Lullaby Photography). Anyways.. back to motivation for this new week... MUFFIN TOP-LESS!!! Savannah is a wonderful and fit woman who is a great motivation for me. She is super adorable and comfortable with herself. She has different ways to give motivation through her sites and always has positive things to say. She doesn't do "healthy diet foods"... just "healthy whole foods". So... a great big thanks to her for giving me great motivation for this week!

Detox Day 4: So far so good. Just some headaches but those were expected. Clean eating is actually really tasty if you know what to prepare and how to prepare it. So far, my favorite meals are organic whole wheat pasta and chicken cranberry salad. Those are very yummy. And of course, anything with hummus is great too. I noticed that I really do not have an appetite and I do not eat nearly as much as I used to. My portions are smaller and I still can't finish them! Working out is a chore though. Between the headaches and fatigue, it's hard to get up and run or workout with kettlebells. But I do!

Workout: Speaking of kettlebells, I LOVE working out with kettlebells. I get gym workout worthy routines at home! That makes the whole "working out at home" thing easier!. I need to find a DVD or YouTube video with some kettlebell routines that are different. I'm looking to expand my fitness movement knowledge with this.

Book: I'm still reading the Jillian Michael's book mentioned in one of my past posts. It's a good read for anyone who's truly interested in finding out why they're not losing weight after working out like a mad person. It's hard to focus on but I'm determined.

Motivation: Getting ready for the beach. All I can think about is swimsuits. I'm SO excited! I keep thinking about shorts and t-shirts. Flipflops and tank tops. It's enough to make a fat girl cry and the skinny girl inside her holler! I know I won't be "swimsuit ready" by then but I know I'll be close enough. It's my vacation and I'm going to earn it. Here are some pics that keep me motivated:

My husband and I took our first pill this morning. It's a pretty easy regimen. Eat healthy foods. For the first (3) days, take (1) pill in the morning and (1) pill in the evening. After the third day, take (2) pills in the morning and (2) pills in the evening. If you need to, you can adjust the dosage of the evening pill. Do this until the pills are gone (approx. 30 days). I'm so excited. I haven't started feeling any detox symptoms yet but I know I will soon. I will keep tabs on the detox and update my blog to see how things change. Some of the foods we are making sure to keep in our diet are: eggs, leafy greens, fruits, and whole grains (like buckwheat and millet). Oh, and TONS of water! I am including blueberry green tea that I got from the local health food store to give me antioxidants and give me a little energy since one of the side effects is fatigue. On a wonderful, yet unrelated, note... I've lost 8 lbs since I've started this blog! It's been approximately 2 weeks with a lot of ups & downs due to the holiday feasts but it's official. My goal is to be in my old jeans by the time I go to the beach. I know I won't be toned and skinny, but I'll be happy and confident enough to put on a swimsuit! I weighed around 180-200 lbs when I wore those old jeans. So, I think that would be an excellent motivation and goal. This detox isn't supposed to make you lose weight but I hope it helps me drop some pounds. I'm going to do everything I can to make that possible.

Holiday feasts are troublesome for me. So much food and desserts. I have a massive sweet tooth too! Fun times with the family and not enough time for fitness. Healthy lifestyles go on hold. Christmas festivities are worse than New Years because there are no resolutions attached to the indulgence. Time spent with family is more precious and wanted than time spent with the elliptical or running shoes. The motivation is only there when a belt is let out a notch or sweat pants are dragged out because the fat jeans are a little snug. Now that Christmas Eve/Day is over, it's time to get back on board. And I am not talking about a New Years Resolution either. I'm talking about a lifestyle change that doesn't come and go with your triumphs and failures. I will set a resolution this year. But I will not set my life upon it. It will be a goal of not how many pound I lose or what size I want to be, but a goal of what kind of life I want to have. The new lifestyle. The healthier choices. My resolution for 2013 is to find out what is wrong with me and fix it. I have gone through many different treatments in attempt to find and resolve my health issues. None have solved the problem, just merely stuck a band-aid on the symptoms. My resolution for 2013 is to get my weight under control and feel better about myself. My resolution for 2013 is to detox my body, adapt my food intake and exercise regimen to make my body better and stronger. Beginning in January, I will begin a 30 day detox. The purpose of this detox is to refresh my body in preparation for iodine therapy. I will post more about the symptoms, causes, theory, and treatment as the days go by.

I found this pic today and it made me start thinking... Do we really know the difference between cheating and accidents when it comes to a diet. I would like to say yes but some people are in denial about it. Cheating is a deliberate act of eating trash foods and slacking on workouts. It is an accident when you eat something you shouldn't have when you were really hungry and there were no healthy foods around. You don't starve yourself. When you hungry and you know you're not going to be home for another 2 hours... go drink some water and eat the healthiest food you can find. Go take a picture of a vending machine and go look up nutritional values to find what's healthiest. It's a completely different story to tell yourself that eating an entire slice of cake for dessert at a office party is ok when there's a fruit and veggie tray right next to it. It's not horrible that you get a cookie and take a few bites or eat the chocolate chips out of it. It's actually healthier to do that. It shows you that it's ok to indulge as long as you don't overdo it. You don't want to deprive yourself of treats you gave yourself all the time. That will make it easier for your new lifestyle to backfire in your face! Talk about losing 30lbs and gaining back 50lbs all because you didn't give yourself a little something. Find a healthy alternative to snacking. For instance, instead of eating cheese dip and chips, try homemade salsa. Or, switch out chocolate for carob! They're remarkably the same yet carob is a healthier alternative (better for diabetics too!) Keep yourself away from temptation but restrain yourself to the point you binge. If you have a craving, only get enough to satisfy that craving. Need something crunchy? Put away the chips and get carrots or celery. You can spice them up with some seasonings instead of fat dressings! My biggest craving is chocolate. So, sometimes (when I decide to have chocolate in the house) I get a bar of DARK chocolate. Break it into little chunks, and freeze it! That way, when I have a craving, I just open the freezer and pop one of those chunks in my mouth and let it melt. It last longer and you think your eating more!

I have to admit it... I've been slacking. I spent the weekend with my family. Saturday, I had a fun day with my in-laws. We ate big but I tried to choose wisely. Sunday was rough. I was sick (again) and was having a really bad day. Luckily, my mom cooked a very good meal. We didn't have "dessert" but there were some little goodies lying around. There were no workouts on these days. I was more active, yes, but no deliberate exercising took place. Yesterday was a pretty good day. I had a great breakfast which gave me a good healthy boost. I actually made lunch instead of throwing something in the oven/microwave. I made some tuna salad and deviled eggs. Not exactly super healthy but it's a lot better than lean pockets and breaded chicken! I feel bad because I ended the day with a half of a Cali burger from The Monago Fieldhouse (which is Ah-mazing!) and a red velvet brownie from the Great American Cookie Company. BAD MADDY!!! I succumbed to temptation. I can't take it back so I will have to come to terms with it and move on. I chose the picture above as my motivation because it's true. It takes time to see results. You see the results first but can get down when no one notices. Keep it up. You're family with compliment you first and you may not believe them. But just keep going. People will start to notice... And then, people you haven't seen in years will notice. And it will be grand!!! Keep it up, even if you are hindered by a bad meal or miss a workout. It takes 2 weeks to make a habit and 2 months to break it. So instead of breaking bad habits, focus on creating a new, healthier one. It's less depressing! ;)