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.

I recently purchased this book from Amazon.com. After receiving it in the mail two days ago, I have finally began to read it. Talking about information I need to read! I have a hormonal imbalance which is causing my weight issues. I have not seen an endocrinologist but after reading the first two chapters, I am beginning to think I should. I've had multiple tests conducted by a NP who specializes in hormones and allergies. She has hit a dead end. I am going to begin a 30 day detox on Monday (5 days from now) to flush all of the toxins out of my system. Once that is finished, I will begin an Iodine regimen to help my body "reboot" itself. I have been researching my problems for the past year and have decided that almost everything points to the iodine deficiency. We will see what happens!

As for the book... Jillian, I have high expectations! I am hoping to find information that will help me fix my wonky body and feel great again. I can't wait to have a better figure and clear skin! And energy!!! I get excited just thinking about it. Once I finish reading the book, I will post a review of what I think and any helpful points I got from it. But, if I deem it as useful, I would expect you to find your own copy. ;)

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.

This image is my motivation for the moment. Once I get into something and make a good habit, I'm pretty good at keeping it going without any major problems. My biggest struggle is the beginning. It takes me a long time to find what works... a routine, a plan, a lifestyle. I have to feel comfortable with it and not stressed by it. Start slow... build up strength and speed and endurance. If I start off to fast or heavy, I will hurt myself again. I have a history of knee pain since I was about 13 years old. I hurt my knee during a softball game and it hasn't been the same since. It really inhibits my activity sometimes. For instance, I cannot play racquetball or basketball with my husband or my dad. It hurts me to do lunges (but not squats??? Weird). I have good form when I work out but do to injuries and increased strain due to weight, it makes it hard to keep going on a good path. My husband bought me an elliptical trainer for this reason. It hurts to run on a standard treadmill or pavement and I love to run. I used to just run a mile whenever I pleased during high school and a portion of college. Now, I can barely make a half mile jog! But that's ok... I knew it would take a while to build my body back up to the level I was a year ago. I just have to try... and keep trying... until I get to where I need to be. As for my knee, I'll just have to keep going and focus on my diet to lose the weight until I can push harder.

This is SO true. There will be a challenge in everything you do. I believe that if you work for it, you deserve it and respect it. It goes for everything in life. But for a woman to fight for her body, it shows she cares and will not take a load of crap. You can put her down but she's just going to fight harder. I feel the same. I have to fight for my body. I gave up for a short amount of time and lost it all. Now, I have to fight harder for what I want. And believe me, it is a lot harder than before. It's depressing when you can't do the things that used to be so simple last year. Yes, I have a medical reason as to why I gained so much weight in such a short time... but that will not be my excuse any longer. That will be my motivation. I will beat this problem and heal myself. I just have to keep my head up and focus on the goal. I just have to make it through the holidays first! :/

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!