Diet Bet Update & What Else Is Going On...

So a few things. First of all. Diet Bet Update.

You can check up my progress at Megan's website here.  Basically, I had a rough weekend (read: I was lazy and didn't want to be accountable) and gained 0.4.  I'm still down pretty good - at 88% of my Diet Bet Goal. So there's that.  And there's gotta be some kind of real change - and not just a detox continuation that doesn't work long term (read: Dr. Oz had something when he said it was a TWO week detox. I made it ONE - although parts of it I will use much longer - just not drinking vegetable broth - ugh). 

So where am I a few days past Megan's post - well, let's see. Yesterday I was pretty good. Today - Friday. Well, I met some of my awesome girlfriends from my last job (where I spent EIGHT LONG YEARS and some AMAZING times with this fabulous women - Love you girls!! - I'm secretly trying to get them to come and work at my new company - it might take a while…).  Anyway, we checked out the new local Chuy's.  And let's just say - Creamy Jalapeño Sauce/Dip - Like my friend Samantha said - I want to drink it in a cup with a straw. See. I love this girl. 

Soooo. Bad food choices aside. I have hopes for tomorrow. See, we are the family of procrastination. And yes, it is January 24th - but we still have our full on Christmas decorations up - tree, ornaments, etc.  Course - we took down the lights outside a few weeks back.  We didn't want to be THAT family. Haha. Anyway, I should definitely get a workout taking all that stuff down this weekend.

Moving on… In the middle of all the Diet Bet stuff - I have to admit - I'm a Girl Scout troop leader. And unless you have been living under a rock -it's Girl Scout Cookie time. I mean - OMG. Who can resist? Did I mention this benefits not only my own daughter, but SEVEN girls I lead? Yeah. I have to order some. :) Yeah, see, I'm not just the leader. I'm also the Cookie Manager. Which means, I order thousands of boxes of cookies - planning for an overage to have booth sales later… And then, I donate an entire Saturday picking up said boxes (read: it takes at least TWO SUVs - who knows for sure at this point) -AND- Sorting them. By girl. Because we order by case (12 boxes). And unless all your customers order by cases, then… there is some dividing them up. 

Oh my... I'm tired just thinking of it.

You need cookies… I'm your girl (orders due Monday January 27th).

So what else is going on. Well, in true form. I like to completely take on too much at a time. Which means, I have THREE Bible studies going on at once. Yep. I'm THAT girl. AND keeping up with the Diet Bet. And work (did I mention I work a LOT). And general mom / wife duties. Is it any wonder why I have my Christmas decorations still up? 

Moving on… Again.

My new love. 

Back story - I had a horrid migraine on Monday and stayed home from work. The bright spot was when I finally was able to watch something on TV - despite being in bed ALL. DAY. LONG. And found an AWESOME new show on Netflix. Have you heard of Kevin Bacon. Yeah, stupid question… BUT - have you heard of his newest project / show? The Following. Let's get a few things straight - I love crime shows. And 24 was BY FAR one of the BEST. SHOWS. EVER. And this is just. Perfection. I was at one point screaming (silently of course - migraines are serious) at Netflix - "WHY??? Must I wait 12 seconds (or whatever it is) to watch the next episode?!?". 

Anyway. Let's just say. I'm ready for the next Episode - which comes Sunday. Whoop Whoop!. Anyway - if you like crime shows.. or 24. Check it out. It's definitely worth it.

On a lighter note. To go on with my complete randomness of this entire post - I just have to say - if you are a girl. And you need a pick me up. Go to the makeup counter. Find someone you think looks amazing and just go with it. Or in my case - the counter where you bought that ONE item months ago that you still love - go there. Try something new. Today was just one of those days. Over time, I've grown tired of my makeup - or a portion of it - and today - I just bit the bullet and went to Dillard's and got something new. And - it did the trick. 

Makeup is powerful. 

And no, I'm not talking about it's ability to cover up flaws. (It can do that, but that's the not the point). But it's ability to make you feel like a new person and instantly better about yourself (unless you purchase the whole makeover, in which case you may have full on buyer's remorse before you leave the store / before you go to bed, etc). But buying one or two new things here and there. Complete power. And a complete lift. 

And any guy who doesn't understand or support their wife in this adventure - well, it's like buying a new video game, running shoes, or whatever it is you spend money on when you have a hobby. 

But makeup is much more than a hobby. It enhances a woman's beauty. Inside and out. And although some of us prefer to be without it a lot. Sometimes it's just the pick me up that makes us realize we are beautiful / powerful / enough.

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Diet Bet - 2 Days Down

Challenge Accepted. 

The Diet Bet Challenge is 4 weeks to lose 4%. Two days down and I'm 57% there. Down 4.4 pounds in 2 days. I understand it's pretty typical to lose fast - keeping it off and then some is the goal. So I'm not going to relax in my goals just yet. There is no need to state the obvious that 4% isn't my end goal. So, the more the merrier (unless it's 3 times my goal - in which case - Diet Bet disqualifies you - ummm is that even possible?!?).

So what am I doing? 

Well, maybe I should start with what I was doing. Junk food. Pizza. Fast food. Comfort Foods, etc. Not healthy in the least. So seeing a 4.4 loss this early on isn't wildly crazy considering the major change in my diet in the past 2 days.

Have you seen all the books like - Wheat Belly, Grain Brain. I know, I know. Another fad diet. But after having so many weird issues - numbness, migraines, ulnar neuropathy (nerve attached to pinky and ring finger sometimes go numb), memory problems, etc. I went, probably a few years ago now, to see a Nautropathic doctor. If you have never been to one - it was definitely eye opening for me. She diagnosed me with Candida. Basically a yeast infection inside your belly. Or rather in some bad cases - throughout your body. I won't go into the specifics, but it's pretty gross. It has been attributed to many different ailments. I was put on a vitamins, probiotics, etc. I felt great. The problem was the diet. Yeast Free. Grain Free. Gluten Free. Soy Free. Diary Free. Yeah.. It didn't last long. Considering she told me it would take approximately a year for me to be free of it. Ugh!

So, I've tried many diets (haven't we all). But when I saw Wheat Belly - I admit I was intrigued. I read through the cook book, couldn't imagine all that work to make meals. I mean, our lives are crazy busy already. So, it didn't happen.

Then I was considering doing a Paleo / Primal diet. I mean, it can't be bad to only eat natural occurring food. In doing that, I passed by a book called Grain Brain - I read the cover, but considering I have about 30 books waiting on me to actually read them and/or finish them - I passed. 

Then I saw a segment of Dr. Oz (Thank you Snow Days). His two week Detox program coincides with both the Wheat Belly and Grain Brain theories. His entire studio audience had participated in the diet for only 2 weeks and lost over 1000 pounds. Hello!

I noticed that Holly over at Where We Can Live Like Jack and Sally also saw the same show and was starting the program. I thought - eh, why not. 

Here's the basics - 

This is my plan. At least for two weeks. And to say that this, coupled with an awesome multivitamin, Omega-3 with Vitamin D, a Probiotic and a Candida supplement to help aid with that. I feel awesome. Yes I've had a few headaches. I spent much of last night laying on my bed icing my neck and shoulders (I've had a long history of problems with this due to different diagnosis). But I feel healthier. It is a challenge to pack adequate food for work (this isn't something I'm not used to doing). And as gross as it sounds, drinking warm vegetable broth is not that bad at all. The smoothies are great and I'm full until lunchtime.

The reason this diet was such a sell with me is that it eliminates a lot of the foods I've been told to stay away from anyway. It's not gimmicky. I've seen 100s of other diets bragging on flaxseed, greek yogurt (it's an acquired taste) and protein powder. 

The vitamins I selected were with the assistance of someone at a Natural Foods Store who helped me based on my various issues. I didn't state once what diet I was considering. But we talked a lot about natural foods and supplements. And none of these vitamins were "required" by the diet. I believe he suggests taking a probiotic, but I was already on board with that one.

So that's it. The plan. There are plans for fitness. I've been walking on the treadmill some, but I'm not on a full plan yet. I'm challenging myself to just walk more and be more active - not sitting at my desk all day, etc at least until I get past the early stages of detox (no cokes, no sugars, no wheats, etc). I'm hoping I'm almost there.

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Diet Bet - Getting 2014 started off right

Well, Happy New Year Friends.. 

I've gone way too long without posting anything. I know, I know.. I promised to be better. So now I'm completely setting myself up.

So it's a New Year, and you know what.. It's time for a New Me. 

The tone of my blog hasn't been all too personal. But sometimes you have to use whatever platform you have to challenge yourself. And boy, am I doing that.

I, like millions (or billions) of other people, have made resolutions for the year. Some of which consist of

 - Be healthier

 - Lose weight (the healthy way of course)

 - Worry Less

 - Seek God more

So while, I'm going to focus on my weight loss here a tad more for a while, I haven't give up on my other interests either. So expect a wide array of blog posts coming up.

Speaking of blog posts, I know sometimes I'm posting them to my Facebook page, but feel free to check back on your own or follow the blog. I'm trying not to annoy ALL of my friends with each post. :)

So, back to resolutions. One thing that I have consistently wanted to do, but have a TERRIBLE follow through with - is losing weight. 

Don't get me wrong, the intentions are all there. I don't mean to let myself down (cause we all know that is really what we are doing when we don't follow through with our resolutions), but I do. I'm sure some of you have done the same. It's normal.

But here we go. 2014 is the year. And why is it different, oh you know - I just put myself out there and told everyone I know I'm doing it. I follow quite a few blogs and one that I have always loved is www.skinnymeg.com. She's funny, she's real, she's a mom. What's not to love?

So Skinny Meg - she started this thing called Diet Bet. You pay $25 to register. And you lose 4% of your starting weight within 4 weeks and you get your money back. The pot is then divided between the winners (those losing 4% or more of their starting weight). Sounds awesome, right? 

And after a few days of debating whether I could do it - I meant, 4% - when I did the math, I was pretty surprised… It didn't sound that bad - in 4 weeks.. It's very possible. I finally convinced myself - I am worth it. If you want to join me, let's do this - it starts tomorrow - 

http://diet.bt/1dcMrpL

As I was reading Skinny Meg's blog today, she mentioned she would like to feature 3 women who are in need of an extra push. (HELLO ME!!!). This includes weekly tracking of progress while doing the bet, as well as measurements and before and after pictures (seriously, she almost lost me at pictures). After staring at the screen like a dummy for a few minutes, I realized - how brilliant is this… Just what I need, but I'm sure she would get lots of responses, so why me. Then I thought - why NOT me… And wrote her an email.

And I'm in. Enter panic. Or enter accountability. So it's time peeps. Time to get serious. Time to be the hot mom I've always wanted to be. And to be healthier - for myself and to be a role model to my daughter. I mean, who wants to tell your kid that you are too tired to play. Yes, that's happened. 

I'll write more on the things I told Megan about WHY I needed the extra push later. 

So who's in? Who wants to join me? $25 - and you get it back! I mean, what's not to like. Let's do this ladies (and guys…).

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