Post Vacation Blues

There is nothing better than vacation.  As a teacher, the schedule offers a break just when you need it.  I was so ready to just kick back and let go for a week.  No grading, no cleaning, no worrying.  For the second year in a row, we drove down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Andrew, myself, and two of his single guy friends.  I know you must think I am crazy for traveling with three guys solo... BUT... you have not lived until you do.  They went golfing... and I did WHATEVER I WANTED.  The first day I splurged at the spa thanks to my amazing boyfriend.  On another day I sat at the beach, basked in the warm sun, and plowed through a good book.  If you are behind the times like I am, read Girl on the Train, you're welcome.  I was happily able to finish an adult book for the first time in a long time.  Talk about relaxing!

But, truth be told, I took doing whatever I wanted a little too far.  I drank more than I have since I was fresh out of college and ate like I was still 21.  Big mistake.  The night we got back I awoke from a NyQuil induced sleep at 4 am and thought I was dying.  It literally felt like I had swallowed a brick and it was lodged in my stomach, unable to move.  Hello painful reflux.  I had never felt pain like this before.  I got myself so worked up that I could barely breathe.  With the combination of severe stomach pain and lack of sleep I have been down and out for a few days.  I am slowly getting back into it, but am a little disappointed in myself.  I gave myself the excuse that I was on vacation.  I took a vacation from my goals in the process, not one of my better choices.  I take the responsibility.  Waaaahh...

My face always thins out first!

My saving grace?  Shakeology.  I do not even really need to blend it.  I put it in my shaker with a little cold water and enjoy.  I cannot imagine how I would feel if I had not had my shake.  We spent five days tearing up Dirty Myrtle and I managed not to gain any weight.  Phew!  I also managed 10,000 steps each day with the exception of the driving days.  I'm thankful the competition ended just days beforehand.  The five remaining contestants, including myself, split the money.  Yippee!

Talk about a wake-up call.  I really had not realized how much of my lifestyle I had already changed.  My body was adjusting to so many positive changes, increased water, clean eating, no gluten, no dairy.  In just five short days I managed to undo all of my hard work and send my body into literal shock.  Lesson learned.  

Here goes nothing!

So this leads me to my next large endeavor... 

Ultimate Reset.

Yikes.

But I plan on purchasing this bad Larry today.  I am quite thankful for my coach discount, it will not hurt my wallet so much!  So from May 2nd until May 23rd I will fully commit to my reset.  I will ease into week one before becoming vegan for 2 weeks.  21 days.  I did A LOT of research and asked my own coach A LOT of questions.  I think I am making a good decision.  It will involve a lot of prep work and a lot of focus.  The downer... no wine.  Womp Womp.  The motivation?  It ends just before memorial day weekend.

I am already preparing.  I have a killer accountability group filled with people I admire to help me.  They want you to consume close to a gallon of water a day.  CHECK.  They want you to cook and prepare all your meals.  CHECK.  No caffeine... well...  I do not actually need coffee everyday.  I am not so worried about that one!  The other thing, no workout.  I can take about a 30 minute walk each day.  Your body is 80% nutrition and 20% gym.  I have already seen success in changing what I eat.  The number on the scale is changing ever so slowly, but measurement wise things are a lot better.

La Belle Amie Winery

I could not recommend enough taking pictures every few weeks.  I took pictures on my first day and then two weeks in.  I lost close to 7 pounds the first week and next to nothing the second week.  I was so bummed!  But I took those pictures and was shocked.  From the side you could see that a lot of bloat had gone away.  It was incredible.  I am not quite confident enough to be posting those pictures for the world to see quite yet.  But I did show them to one person.  Oddly enough, our school nurse.  We are constantly chit chatting about weight loss and different things we are trying.

Want to try it with me?  Want to join our clean eating groups?  Thinking about trying Shakeology?  Ask me today!  We have a TON of different groups preparing to start on May 2nd.  

In health and happiness,

G.

Masters

The pic that won us tickets!

So you may or may not know this... but it is the Masters!  I do not golf, despite how much the HS golf coach tried to convince me during softball season, "Farrington, that would be a way better golf swing."  Maybe if I had known what scholarships may have been out there I would have said yes.

Regardless, I do enjoy watching golf.  My father watched it a lot when I was a kid, so I never minded the background noise of it.  Now my dear boyfriend loves it even more.  I had entered him into a contest to win tickets to the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton last fall.  I only partially guilted him into taking me.  We had a friend buy a ticket and had an absolute BLAST.  The best part?  I entered another contest while there and won tickets to the tournament this year!  Thanks Golfsmith!

This weekend is the Masters and I may be a little more invested than I am leading on.  Truth be told, I love Rory McIlroy.  I cannot help it.  I am really rooting for him to win big this weekend.  McIlroy has a new commercial out for Nike that is airing quite frequently now.  Go ahead, watch it on 

below.  It is awesome.

Have you ever felt like the universe is trying to talk to you?  I feel like Rory is talking to me in this commercial.  I know, I am crazy!  He suffered an injury last year that kept him from playing, this year is almost like a mini-comeback.  Granted his life is clearly different from mine, but are you getting what I am getting at from this commercial?  If you want it, you have to go and get it.

Last week I had such an off week schedule wise, it was actually great.  I had a lot more freedom and time to schedule in my workouts.  I finished my first week of 22 Hard Corps today!  I am so thankful that it is only 22 minutes.  As much as I try to convince myself to skip it, I cannot beat the argument that there is no reason why I cannot squeeze it in.  Next week is the challenge.  I have the benefit of my own food, FINALLY.  But my hectic schedule returns with babysitting.  I plan on hearing my own early morning alarm to help me GET UP and GET GOING.  Thanks Rory... go get 'em!

I had said the other day that I would talk a wee bit more about Beachbody onDemand (BOD.)  I really utilized mine this week.  With our schedules the way they are, I like to give Andrew his time to decompress after work, we all need it!  We only have an Xbox to play any DVDs.  So it was nice that he could reset on the couch and that I could go into the bedroom for my 22 minutes.  It is so awesome to have his support!

Next week we will be at Myrtle Beach and I may be following in the example to the right.  Workout, with my program, ON THE BEACH.  Heck yeah!  You can even download a few workouts so that you can stream offline!  The calendar, booklet, and any necessary paper material is all listed in the app.  Why are more people not doing this and talking about this?!

This month includes a SUPER AWESOME SPECIAL.  Which means that you can join me on my journey!  You can get Shakeology (YUM,) a shaker cup, the Fix portion containers, and 90 days on BOD.  90 DAYS PEOPLE!  What is cooler about this is that in those 90 days you have access to all premium content.  Curious about 21 Day Fix, but too nervous to spend the money?  TRY IT.  PiYo more your style?  TRY IT.  All the major programs that I am sure you have heard about you can try.  Spend some time with Shaun T, Tony, Chalene, Autumn, etc.  This is the PERFECT promotion for someone who wants to try it but is hesitant.  We have NEW groups starting soon.  If you are anything like me, you need accountability to succeed.  That is why this blog exists!  The best part is that we can give you that!  So if you are ready to just simply TRY, talk to me!

Between weigh in on Monday and weigh in on Friday, I lost no weight.  Womp womp.  But you know what?  I also did not gain anything.  Yippee!  I have eaten out at restaurants for the majority of this week.  Every meal Sunday through Wednesday, lunch yesterday, and dinner tonight.  Talk about a non-scale victory.  Tomorrow morning I am going to take my measurements and take pictures to visually compare what is going on in my body.

Week two of Biggest Loser is ON.  Now I have food AND workouts on my side.  I cannot wait to see what the difference is!  Plus we lost one more in the step challenge!  Bring it!  They are making a special announcement tomorrow about it, I am so curious as to what it may be...

Monday is Opening Day at Fenway. Wish me luck!  There is a whole lot of temptation there.   Hoping for self control and fun.  I cannot wait for a hot dog! :)

In health and happiness,

G

Home!

Home sweet home!

I AM EXHAUSTED.  The past four days were jam packed with serious work.  We were up early and up late.  I learned everything I could about a new school inside and out in three short days.  It was a taste of what it would have been like to be a detective for sure!  The school was amazing and very hospitable.

For the past four days I lived at the Colonol Blackington Inn in Attleboro.  It is a sweet little inn with a great kitchen.  I mentioned that I was nervous being there and straying from a meal plan that I started with success.  I did not like the idea of restarting.  But I did not do too bad.  I tried to stick to a lot of salad and seafood.  I did splurge on just a little pasta and dairy (butter and creamer.)  But after just one day with a wee bit of dairy and wheat, my stomach became VERY angry.  I kicked it into gear yesterday and stuck to the plan.  If I really want to meet my goals,  I need to be eating like it, AND working like it.  LET'S DO THIS.

Guess what?  IT WAS HARD.

You know what else?  IT WAS WORTH IT.

My other downfall was water.  I definitely missed my gallon.  I opted not to bring it because I was already carrying so much with me.  I was not driving my car and it snowed!  The ice was so bad!  If anything, missing my gallon is the only regret.

I got up two mornings at 5 A.M. to workout.  It was just 22 minutes.  I felt like I had so much more energy to get through the day.  I opted out of the early rising today because I knew I would be home and free earlier than usual.  When I got home all I wanted to do was take a nap.  In fact, that was my plan.  But I popped in the DVD and got to work.  I am still a little tired, but my energy peaked almost immediately.

The best part about my workout was that I did not have to worry about taking it with me.  Beachbody now has the option of onDemand!  I have a free trial this month and I just may have to keep it.  I was able to plan and pre-download the workouts that I wanted to do right to my phone.  Once I was ready, I simply opened the app and hit play!  It was great because if I had to go from standing to the floor, I could just simply take it with me!  It made it so easy to watch the demonstration of the exercise as it was my first time doing these videos.  I am trying to focus on 22 Hard Corps at the moment, but I may sneak a peak at some of the other programs.  It would be a sweet way to try something new!  Plus this month there is a killer promotion involving Beachbody onDemand.  I'll post more about that tomorrow... make sure you contact me if your interested! ;)

Mmmmm... chocolate!

The other thing that I am proud of is bringing my shakes!  I brought my little shaker cup with a scoop of Vegan, Chocolate Shakeology (dairy free!)  When the time was right, I grabbed a cold bottle of water, poured it in, grabbed a straw, and sucked it down.  I actually did not need to suck it down at all, it tastes fine with just a little water!  But it does taste even better with some added goodies! YUM.

All in all I survived.  But most importantly I learned something.  Life is all about making decisions.  I could have just done whatever I wanted the whole visit.  The entire stay had been paid for, I could have ordered anything I wanted.  But at the end of the day, my decisions had to be in line with my goals.  I decided that the Biggest Loser was more important than the happiness of my taste buds.  My meal choices did not make them unhappy anyways!  The key to success is consistency, and I am ready to commit!

In health and happiness,

G

Wait... What are you doing?

Tomorrow is the big day!

Tomorrow begins the Biggest Loser Challenge with my fellow Beachbody people.  The catch here is that you HAD to be using Shakeology.  And to be honest, why not?!  It is only going to help me win!  I decided that to complete this challenge that I would also start 22 Hard Corps to boost my winning.  I was able to get it super cheap because I signed on as a coach and it was included as a challenge pack.  Just ask me how and you can save too! 

The only thing is that my schedule may make this difficult.  If you do not know I am a person who wears many, MANY hats.  I teach full time, nanny after school, and have a part time grocery store gig.  CRAZY.  But this week adds an entirely different challenge.  I am NOT home.  I am NOT in my normal crazy schedule.  For one of those rare instances, I am away on business so to speak.  Because my school is going to start the re-accreditation process, I am visiting a different school to get a better understanding of what we will be working towards.  In essence, I am grading this school.  I am spending the next four days living in a hotel, eating out, and working my butt off interviewing people and writing reports which equals a lot of sitting.  Quite the week to start this, thanks guys!

But I am am so committed and incredibly motivated for the first time in a long time.  Even since my post Friday I have lost MORE weight.  I want this.  I need this.  I deserve this.  I could potentially not win the cash prize (yet to be determined) but I could physically, mentally, and emotionally win so much more.  So I planned ahead.  I set myself up for the first part of success!  I made sure I packed an extra bag with my fitness stuff in it.  You should have seen the look on the valet's face when he lifted the bag!  I brought my sneakers, resistance bands, two weights, and of course my Shakeology!  The other thing you see is a scale... yup... I stole the scale from my own bathroom.  The initial weigh in is tomorrow!  I need physical proof to win!

My true challenge this week will be food.  I have reservations at some good places and just love food in general.  I asked my meal planner for some tips and she sent me a great document to help.  Thank you Julia Hale Fitness!  Tonight I skipped the bread, nursed one glass of Pinot Noir, and skipped dessert.  Lucky for me dessert was apple crisp... I hate cooked fruit so it was an easy pass!  I had a small cup of minestrone soup, salad with  little House Italian, and salmon with veggies.  I feel NO GUILT.  I ate great food and fed my body what it needed.  Who could complain about that?!

My alarm is set to get an early start.  I hope to get into the routine of getting up, getting going, and getting it done!  On that note I am off to bed!  Cardio 1 and Core 1 tomorrow morning... wish me luck!

In health and happiness...
G

Back in the Saddle

Hey there!  Did you miss me?

I have been up to a lot since November, just trying to figure myself out.  A journey is a journey no matter the results.  I have been hard at work since before Thanksgiving.  I watched what I ate (and cheated... a lot) and began working out.

The result?

The same... and not the same.  My weight has not moved.  IN.  MONTHS.  But my clothes fit better and I suddenly feel more dedicated than ever.

So I sat myself down and put some hard thought into my journey.  What was working?  What was not working?  What did I want?  When did I want it?  What was I going to do?

Last Week's Grocery Run...

When I was in college I did Weight Watchers.  I lost 30 pounds in one summer just by changing the way that I ate.  But when I went back to WW, the program had changed.  It really was no longer as strict as I so desperately needed it to be.  Fruits and veggies, no points?  I was eating straight carbs for every single point instead of filling up on what my body needed.  Then I tried a Macro Nutrition Diet.  Same problem.  I was hitting the numbers I needed, but I wasn't fueling my body in the way that it needed.  

STEAK. Oh and salad...

I reached out to an old friend who now runs a business as a health and fitness coach.  At a great price I signed up for a detailed nutrition plan.  Despite the fact that I am here in MA and that she is in HI... yup... Hawaii... she still made this great effort to work with me on MY time.  She gave me a calendar, some tips and tricks and set me free.  I started Monday morning.  Because I work in a Catholic School, I get the coveted Easter Monday off which was solid for meal prep.  I prepped two days worth.  Bringing my specific dinner and snack to late night babysitting, not straying by even the slightest measurement.

As I sat down and went through each recipe and requirement, I began noticing a theme.  Shakes for snacks.  Which I might add... in a pinch, Svelte Shakes are delicious!  I could even get them at Market Basket!  This was when I had my ah-ha moment....

A year ago I entered into a Biggest Loser Challenge.  I did not win, but I held my own.  I lost over 10 pounds in those 6 weeks in a beyond healthy way.  I had already figured out that my eating habits had returned, that I had no energy to put into making quality food, I was rushed, excuse after excuse after excuse.  I put all the weight back on and simply maintained at that tipping point.  What was my big change that has been leaving me feeling so down about the way I look and feel from just a year before?  Shakeology.

That was when Carrie reached out to me.  Carrie if you are reading this.. you may have been my miracle.  Carrie is my Beachbody Coach, and a great one at that.  She is successful and driven, kind and compassionate, and is constantly on the hunt for her own self-improvement.  She is inspirational.  In January I started in a Step Challenge Group through these Beachbody coaches.  $10 per person to get in.  You have to get 10,000 steps a day and post your steps with the date.  The last one standing wins the pot.  On New Year's Day 50 people started, $500.  Here we are April 1st, there are only six of us, myself included.  Carrie's just pointed out that I was focused, driven, and inspiring.  Everything that a coach needed to be.

So I joined her.  I resigned on as an active coach so that I could save money.  Not only do I save money on Shakeology, supplements, videos, and other health tools, but I can also MAKE money.  I can start getting my Shakeology for FREE.  I can also potentially make some extra cash, and maybe even stop struggling.  Here goes nothing.  Rags to Riches.  Flab to Fab.  I used Shakeology with my new diet this week.  I changed the way ate, added Shakeology, and only walked 10,000 steps a day.  Nothing else.  Between Monday AM and Friday PM, I have already lost 4.2 pounds.  BOOM.

I am back in the saddle.  I have a new Biggest Loser Challenge starting next week, and I WILL WIN.

You don't have to sit there and just watch, join me!  Ask me how!  I will keep posting more this weekend about these big changes.  My new package of VEGAN Shakeology and 22 Hard Corps arrives TOMORROW... okay I am stalking the Fedex app!

See ya then! ;)

Taco Tuesday

And we are on to day two!

Today so far has been a little bit better.  I am learning that I need to spend some quality time planning and doing quite a bit of math, my least favorite subject.  Success is going to be a lot harder than I want it to be.

In fact, I had a great discussion with a coworker today.  My coworker who happens to be my trainer's mother!  She was showing me the progress of her youngest daughter who has lost 70 pounds since April of this year.  I felt hopeful and excited, but also hesitant.  I struggle with patience.  I always become defeated in my weight loss journey and goals because I simply cannot wait for my results.  This causes frustration and the want to give up, which I essentially do.  My least favorite saying is "Do not expect to lose weight quickly... you put it on a pound at time."

LIES.  ALL LIES.

First of all weight loss quote, you do not know me!  I can cite specific weekends in which I gained 5 pounds in two days.  A WEEKEND.  I wish I was able to lose weight in the same way.  Now I will chalk part of that up to my struggles with my digestive system, but still.. come on.

The sad part of my weight loss is that it is going to take time.  Unfair!  I need to buckle down and plan.  Success is in the details.  In my discussion today I also decided to hold off on some of my gym expectations.  I think it is wise to nail the food part and slowly add in the gym.  I will still go and simply use the treadmill to aid in reaching my daily step goal.

So after I left the gym today I headed to the grocery store to get a few things for dinner... taco Tuesday!  I must have spent 30 minutes in the store getting 3 things.  I was scrolling away through MyFitnessPal figuring out numbers.  I am still off on my Macro numbers, but I am a little closer today.  I hope to be even closer tomorrow!

I was also successful in another gallon of water down! Woooohoooo!

1741 Calories          164 g Carbs          62 g Fat          74 g Protein

Breakfast:
1. Coffee
2. 1 T Light Cream
3. Thomas' Corn English Muffin
4. 1 T Butter
5. 1 Fried Egg
6. Slice of Pepper-jack cheese

Lunch:
1. 4 Slices Thin n Trim Virginia Ham
2. 2 Slices American Cheese
3. 1 C Cucumber slices
4. 1/2 C Blackberries
5. 1 Square Ghiradelli 86% Chocolate

Snack - Throughout the Day:
1. 2 Clementines
2. 1/2 C Blackberries
3. Yoplait Whips! Vanilla Cupcake
4. 1/2 C Caramel Corn

Dinner:
1. 3 Corn Tortilla Shells
2. 4 oz 85% Ground Beef
3. Medium Plum Tomato
4. 1/2 C Shredded Lettuce
5. 2 T Shredded Taco Cheese
6. 1 T Medium Taco Sauce

The best part of today was wine.  I needed some more calories and carbs when I realized the most perfect solution.  I am quite thankful for those empty calories tonight.

Cheers to you!  May you have more patience than me!

Day One

Woof.  I am so tired!  Last night was rough, not a good night sleep.  I tossed and turned and had the strangest dreams. Le sigh.

But... I said I would check in and you bet I am!

I am still struggling to find a balance with my eating.  I find it difficult to hit those actual Macro Goals.  If I focus on protein, I wind up off on the others.  Today I am slightly over on protein and fat, but below in calories and carbs.  Womp womp.

So without further ado... my food for the day!

Breakfast:
1. Thomas' Corn English muffin, toasted
2. A fried egg
3. 1 slice pepper jack cheese
4. Pat of butter
5. 1/4 C pomegranate seeds
6. 1 cup coffee
7. 1 T light cream

Lunch:
1. 2 oz deli ham
2. 1 oz American Cheese
3. 1 C sliced cucumber
4. 2 clementines
5. 1 square Ghiradelli 86% Dark Chocolate

Snack:
Quest Bar Cookies and Cream

Dinner
1. Salmon with mustard and panko bread crumbs
2. 12 pieces of asparagus in olive oil
3. 1/4 C rice
4. 1/4 C Talenti Caribbean Coconut
5. 2 T Cool Whip

My daily Macros for this are about 1,363 calories, 130 g carbs, 63 g fat, 86 g protein.  OFF. ugh.

The good thing is that I did not feel that hungry until dinner time.  I brought back my gallon of water which kept most of my appetite at bay, plus the added lemon made it a lot better.  The kids sure got a laugh watching me chug it down without a cup.

As for the gym I admit I am slightly defeated.  I had a meeting after school which ran a lot later than I had anticipated.  I still went and made sure to get in about 20 minutes on the treadmill.  It was better than grading math tests!

Now I am here, watching the X Files and calling it a night!   Hoping for a better night of sleep, it is supposed to help in this journey! 

Until tomorrow...