transitioning...

My goal throughout this cleanse was really to lose the 10 lbs I had gained from the time I had my baby until now. Well, I reached that goal a few days ago and rather than continuing the strict cleanse for the last week. I've been transitioning into how I'll be eating after the cleanse. More brown rice and grilled chicken, less eating out and better choices when I do. I also need to find a way to get more workouts in. The types of food I'll be including back in include regular fish, chicken and meats, eggs, a little bit of dairy and some healthy carbs such  as whole wheat pita pockets.

I have had a weight problem my entire life. Even as a toddler I was a chunky chunky kid. So I really have to watch what I eat all of the time and I'll have to do this for the rest of my life. I love food, but I love life more and if I have to give up some junk food to be around for my honey and kids a lot longer, then so be it.

The types of lunches and dinners I've been having these last few days have included items not recommended on the cleanse, but still healthy options.

Total weight loss

-10 lbs

GOAL MET!

Cleanse- Last week & mom struggles

This is the last week of my cleanse!
It has definitely been much more difficult to maintain my drive and stay on track now that I'm a mom as opposed to when I have done this cleanse in the past. I can't plan out my day because I have to follow this kids lead. I definitely try to keep a schedule with her, but in reality if she wakes up 20 minutes into her 2 hour nap, I can't force her to go back to sleep. My day is kind of thrown out of whack and I there go a few chores I could have done if she were asleep. I COULD let her cry it out and just do what I need to do, but 1. we live in apartments and she's my kid, not my neighbors, so they shouldn't have to deal with her crying. and 2. She's a baby and today is the tiniest she's ever gonna be again. I need to enjoy holding her in my arms as much as I can while I still can. I don't want to regret it later.

One part of the schedule we do have down is bedtime! Come 6pm we get the bath ready, have a fun swimmy, soapy, bubbly time. Then we've got to get ready for bed; lotion, pajamas, hair brushing (she gets lots of knots already!) and all that fun stuff. After that we read a book to her and then it's bottle and bed time. We do this EVERY night and she's definitely come to expect it. We don't bathe her because she's dirty every night, but because we want to establish a routine. A good hour to wind her down and for her to know it's time to end the day. She's asleep by 7-7:30 every night and (aside from a little whining every 3 hours to eat) she's asleep until 6 to 7 am the next morning.

Come 8pm honey takes over and it's me time. By "me" time I mean gym time! I've only been in Tucson about a month and a half and we're moving to Dallas in 5 weeks, so signing up at a gym is not an option. I've been using the small onsite community gym and this is my routine.

• 10 minute warm up
• 30-40 minute weight circuit
• 30-45 minute cardio
• 10 minute stretching/cool down

I'm a spin class girl, so this is killing me, but with the right play list (thanks to Amazon Prime) it is tolerable. Haha! I'm looking forward to finishing this cleanse and continuing with healthy choices. I had terrible self esteem problems growing up and I don't want to pass that down to my daughter. I want to raise her with an active healthy lifestyle. A lifestyle I wasn't aware of until I ventured out on my own.

Total weight loss
-10 lbs

Day 10 & Fitbit

I'm getting lost in the days. I came into this cleanse with the best of intentions but my aunt is visiting for the week (aunt flow...TMI?) and I want chocolate covered potato chips. That mixed in with the exhaustion of caring for a teething infant through the night and living off of 2 to 3 hours of solid sleep is really messing with my head. I had a little help from Whole Foods this week and their prepared salad for lunch.

And of course this kid can't watch me eat anything without yelling at me like someone's about to murder her because she wants some. Yes I know I'm not supposed to be feeding a 5 month old strawberries but seriously, this kid eats almost everything we eat. The big thing we stay away from is dairy (because I have a dairy allergy. It gives me strep throat).

I do have to mention that besides the cleanse itself I also have a backup motivator/tool in this, and that is my Fitbit! I really only take it off to shower but besides that, it tracks me all day, so I know when I'm being a little too lazy. However, with a toddler, it's hard NOT to reach my steps goal. I've got it synced up with my phone and online, and I track my food on it as well. I've set a goal and it kinda guides me through the day. I highly recommend it!

Total weight lost:

5 lbs

Day 8

I'm still on it! Just been spending time with the family, finally unpacking from the holidays, and cleaning. Also CHEATING on my cleanse!! Well, just for one day one meal. We went out with our roommate to a delicious little morning restaurant that's going to be featured on Food Network CA, so we thought we'd try it out before it got crazy and also try it out  before we move! It's called Baja Cafe

and it did not disappoint! 

Outdoor experiences were never a part of my childhood and nor were they a part of my honey's chidhoood. We want to be good healthy role models for our children, so we want to build a good foundation and although she's too small to remember, we're laying down the stones to a solid family structure. Family time this week consisted of a little hiking in the mountains! I never thought I'd see snow and cacti at the same time. It was a beautiful hike!

We have also been informed that my honeys work will be sending us to Dallas for the next 6 months, so we'll be moving in about 6 weeks. YIIIKES! So I've also been spending lots of time apartment searching. Finding an apartment for my little family is number one priority right now. Needless to say, I haven't been dedicating as much attention as I'd like to the cleanse but I have not given in or given up yet! Still sticking to the plan and as of this morning...

Total weight loss

- 4.8 lbs

Days 3 & 4

I have never needed as much patience as I have the last few days. I have a teething 5 month old and she is driving me bananas! She's my first, so I'm not exactly sure how teething works but this kid will not let me put her down. I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom because I can't imagine a day care facility having the patience for this. So as you may imagine, being on a cleanse with a teething babe is not the most ideal of situations.

For the past two days I have had very little time for myself, let alone to attempt to cook. However, I did not want to allow this cleanse to just go down the toilet. I have had a tough time with my weight my entire life, but I know this cleanse works and I know it will put me on the right path to healthfulness once again. So instead of giving into my cravings for that leftover bag of chocolate potato chips in the pantry or the frozen pizza in the freezer, I opted to switch things up and drink 2 shakes with a meal for lunch one day and a salad as my  meal for lunch the next. Day 3 baby bear miraculously took a 1hr nap in which time I was able to cook lunch for dad who was joining us today. I thought I might be starving with the two shakes, but I have been good and full of  energy. A crying baby is probably a good distraction from feeling hungry as well. My willpower is so amazingly strong and I am superwoman, right? HA! I have to confess that although the crying baby, no time to cook or even to shower thing didn't put me off track, tradition did.

Yesterday was Three Kings Day and in my Hispanic tradition we get together with family and make coffee or hot chocolate and sit around eating a sweet giant doughy donut-ish pastry filled with plastic baby Jesus' called a rosca. Well, I'm about 7 hours away from my family but it's the first Three Kings Day with my little baby and I bought a tiny rosca from a Starbucks in Tijuana while I was there for Christmas. So we made ourselves a pot of coffee and I had a bite (okay, like 3) of the rosca and my coffee. That was my cheat for the day. Today baby bear wouldn't let me put her down without an ear popping serenade, so my honey brought me a salad for lunch and I had another shake for dinner. I'm so thankful for that man!  Tomorrow's a new day! I hope those teeth pop out soon so I can take a little breather! Haha!

Day 3:

Breakfast

Coffee and a shake

Lunch

Chicken, veggies, brown rice, and salad with no dressing

Dinner 

Shake

Day 4

Breakfast

Coffee and a shake

Lunch

A salad my honey brought me

Dinner

Shake

and our traditional rosca! 

Total weight lost, 

- 3.4 lbs

Day 2

I thought today was going to be the hardest day of them as far as willpower, but I surprised myself. I did have cravings for a bag of lemon flavored potato chips that's hanging out next to the bed and going through Pinterest doesn't make things any easier. But I managed to get through without cheating! Well...unless you count my morning coffee, which I DON'T! By the way, why are there so many incredible looking recipes on Pinterest? Would I ever venture out into actually MAKING them? No. But it's like looking at food porn. I want it and I convince myself that if I wasn't on this cleanse I would totally make it. I got so lazy yesterday that I didn't even make myself dinner. I just opted for a second shake. Haha!

So yesterday was DEFINITELY a low energy day. Low energy plus a baby who is super fussy because she's trying to get back to her normal routine after our holiday travels is a bad recipe. I literally only did the bare minimum and caved in to hold my baby whenever she cried. I just couldn't handle it yesterday. I knew that there are a few days of feeling crappy when you begin the cleanse, so I'm just staying hopeful for the days to come. I've been told the reason for this is because your body is getting rid of toxins and blah blah blah. I think my body wants all that fat and sugar it's used to, but the toxins thing sounds so much better, so let's go with that.

I usually drink Garden of Life Raw Protein but it has a texture you have to get used to. It's like you're drinking the desert and a flood all at the same time. Sandy wet texture. But, once you drink it for a little bit you get used to it and kind of miss it when you try another shake. Well, I haven't had it in a while and I was not feeling the texture, so I've switched and stole my honeys protein shake (he's not drinking it anyways, he's on a protein bar thing). I have a dairy allergy, not lactose intolerance, an allergy. I'm a strep carrier and break out in strep throat when I have too much dairy, so I can only tolerate vegan protein. So my honeys protein is Vega Protein & Greens which is much smoother and creamier and easier to mix with different flavors so I can change up my shake every day. 

Day 2 breakdown:

Breakfast:

8 oz lemon water

Coffee

Shake

Lunch:

This hot mess

Dinner:

Shake 

Coffee ( I mean we have to test out our Nespresso machine)

Total weight lost,

-2.4 lbs

Day 1

I am so glad the first (and hardest) day is over.

I have to say I did great and made it through, even declined a delicious cup of tea from my honey because it was sweetened. Uhhh it smelled so delicious! What did I eat all day? I'll lay it out...

Breakfast:
Protein shake

 Lunch:
This stuff

Snack:

An apple

Dinner:

This concoction 

I was also going to have an evening cup of tea, but... my honey forgot NO SWEETNERS. *tear*

At the end of the day I didn't feel great or awesome or amazing. It could be because I'm getting over a cold or because I'm not getting as much of the sugar and caffeine that I've grown accustomed to, or a little of both. I'm starting day 2 today and I have a feeling it's going to be tougher than yesterday. Wish me luck!

-1.5 lbs

Getting back to ME in 2016

This year I've decided to be a little selfish and work on ME! After delivering my baby in August of 2015 I moved to Las Vegas to take care of my mother who was placed in hospice care. She was, unfortunately, losing a battle to cancer and wanted to spend her last days at home so I was there with her. I have such a wonderful partner who gave up the first few months with our baby so that I could spend that time with her. He was embarking on a new adventure and starting off his career in Tucson and I felt so terrible that I couldn't be there to support him. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful and understanding man by my side. It was not even a question to him as to where I needed to be.

Living in a home that is not your own (especially with a new baby) has always made me feel like an intruder. I didn't want to take over anyone's space, but I did need to set my newborn up on some sort of routine. It was difficult and uncomfortable and needless to say, I did not take care of myself or even remotely attempt to eat healthy. After my mothers passing I moved to Arizona with my wonderful partner. I've been in Tucson for about a month now. My little girl is 4 months old and we are just feeling settled.

Today is our first day back from a 10 day holiday trip visiting family and although people are put off by new year resolutions I am going to make a few. I need to get back to ME. During my pregnancy I went to spin class until the 8th month and I gained a total of 13 lbs. I was back to my pre-baby weight a week later. After these tough 4 months however, I have gained 10 lbs!!! Almost as much as when I was pregnant and it is NOT okay (with me)!

Today I'm going to start a cleanse. I have done it in the past and have been very happy with the results. I felt better, had tons of energy and gave myself a reboot on eating healthy. I am not recommending or promoting it at all, just documenting my experience through it. I received the information from a manager of mine a few years back whose sister is a nutritionist. I follow the cleanse very strictly aside from adding coffee. I drink it black during the cleanse (which reduces my intake of it anyway). This is a 3 week cleanse, so I really have to mentally prepare myself and my willpower for it, but the first time I finished it I lost 11 lbs, so I have that to look forward to as motivation. This is supposed to be a medically supervised cleanse, but since I have done it in the past I feel comfortable doing it on my own and will be modifying it if I feel like I need to.

I may drink 2 shakes and eat one meal or drink 1 shake and eat 2 meals. I'm doing two meals and following these guidelines.

Aside from following the guidelines and drinking one shake a day I will also be starting off my day with a glass of room temperature lemon water. 

Today is day 1.