Week Three: Still Sick but Feeling Great

Day 18 and I am still fighting this cold (and I consider myself to be winning). After two 13 hour work days, it's still remaining a minor presence (thankfully). I have incorporated some other cold fighting tricks. The first being lymph massage/drainage to combat a sore throat. It started last night but I massaged before bed and woke up sore throat free! It came back a bit today, but more massage and some Cold Zing (lemon) tea with honey is holding it at bay.  I will be sure to massage before bed again tonight.

Day 19. . .The lymph massage has completely cured my sore throat.

Day 20! I thought I was losing this battle with the cold. I was so tired! Then I realized that I had not taken my It's Vital or my Greens. I was shocked to feel better within a half hour of taking them. The difference was beyond amazing. Even if it is in my head, It Works, so I'm okay with that!!!

I can't even tell you how strange of a feeling it was to feel "good" while being sick. I can just imagine that if I had been on these vitamins and greens a few weeks earlier that I may not have gotten sick at all. The only bad part has been coughing all night so being super tired in the morning., so I did stay home one day to catch up on some sleep.

I mentioned the cost of the Greens to a co-worker (who is not taking them) and she had the best words of wisdom. There are 8-servings of fruits and vegetables in one serving of greens. . .she said "Just think of how much money you are saving on fruits and vegetables!" She's right, plus I don't have to eat them (I still eat some though).

I am starting to get really exited about the second phase of my 90 day program. My goal will be to lose 10 pounds in 60 days. Sounds reasonable to me, especially with the Christmas season approaching! Any one want to join me?

Week Two - It Works 1, Cold Germs 0 (For Now)

Before I started taking It's Vital and Greens, I felt a bit like I was getting a cold but it never developed. I am quite sure that my It Works products helped me to keep it at bay.

Day 10 brought my first two job day of this journey. I remember driving home and thinking that I felt amazingly awake after 13 hours of work. Then came the next morning, which was thankfully on the weekend. I could barely drag myself out of bed at 8 for a hair appointment though. I ate breakfast, took my It's Vital, made a smoothie with my Greens and headed out. I was still half asleep when I arrived at the hairdresser, but I finished my smoothie and felt great by the time I left.

That afternoon I was out with the kids and missed my second Greens. I was also super tired when we got home so I took an hour nap and felt re-energized. I know - I had a nap, but I still think that the It's Vital and Greens are helping with my energy. They're not going to provide a miracle if you don't sleep enough, but they are sure going to help when you're awake!

Day 12 I worked my second job again (it was Sunday so only a one-job day), and I missed my second Greens again. I am sure that being over-worked and not taking my Greens had led to me being run down and I could feel that cold trying to make an appearance again so I went back to twice-a-day Greens, and extra vitamin C to fight it off. I can happily report that the cold has not progressed past a scratchy throat and a wee bit of chest congestion.

So, at the end of week two, I would definitely say that these products are working for me! I am more than willing to spend the money if these can help keep me healthy and energized! I'm anxious to see if I can keep this cold at bay as I have two 13 hour days ahead!

Week One of My New Direction

Being the skeptic that I am, I can't believe how much these two products that I am trying excite me (see previous post for product info). There are so many more of the It Works products that I want to try right NOW but I have to be patient and try each product in it's own time.

Breakfast of champions?

Maybe it is all in my head but I really do feel better. Not 100% or anything close, just better. It's only been a week so I know that it will take time to notice a large, consistent change in my energy level but I would have to say it is working so far. 

I haven't been a model eater the past seven days but these first 30 days are not about losing weight. It's about gaining some energy so that maybe I can get motivated again. I should eat healthier though.

Remember, these are not weight loss products that I am taking. I lost 50 pounds the good old-fashioned way. . .eating better and moderate exercise. The products I am taking are supplements to increase my energy levels so that I can get my ass in gear again to lose those five pounds that came back and KEEP them off (although I certainly wouldn't be opposed to losing more).

Fail. . .But It's Time to Start a New Path. . .Let's See How It Works

The last month has been a waste.  I consciously stopped trying.  I haven't been on that fun roller coaster, I have been on that unhealthy yo-yo.  I wanted to lose 7.2 pounds before I started this new direction, but I am right back where I started.  That's okay though, it will help me to see if this new path is a success or a failure.

I decided to try It Works. . .not for those wrap things, but for their supplements.  A few years ago I would see It Works stuff everywhere but it was all about the wraps. I figured just another silly fad since they don't actually make you lose weight (although they can help you to appear more toned and firm).

I visited my sister in May. She's 40 with twin baby boys (they are one now).  She mentioned that she was trying Greens from It Works for her energy levels. She had posted in a twin-mom forum about how exhausted she was (she has twins so she should be tired!!!) and someone had recommended it.  By the time I visited her in August, she was a full on It Works distributor, selling the product and recruiting people to sell it with her.  She raved about how great it was for her energy levels.

Now, I am a skeptic. Always.  I spent a lot of time on the internet looking at the products and what people had to say about the products, and I decided that it was worth the chance.  However, I also decided that if I was going to try it, I was also enrolling as a distributor so that if I love it, and other people are interested because I talk about it, then I could sell it too.  And if I don't sell it, I still have some awesome product that came with my distributor kit!

I am starting with a 90 day challenge. . .or at least the first 30 days of that challenge.  It includes the Greens, It's Vital Core Nutrition, and Regular. I have decided to skip the Regular as I don't need any help in that department!

The Greens offer eight servings of fruits and vegetables mixed into water, yogurt, juice, or a smoothie. The It's Vital Core Nutrition is a supplement/multivitamin that just sounds amazing to me as it has all the vitamins that I took when I was losing weight and much, much more!

I have high hopes that this combination of supplements will help me feel more energized because if I have more energy maybe I can get back to exercising and lose some weight and keep it off easier.

So that's the new path that I have decided to take and I hope that you might like to follow me on my new path.  I can't say where this path will take me but I won't know unless I try.  And if you would like to see more of the products, the website is www.greatgreens.myitworks.com.

Another Thursday - Down, But Not Out

It has been an awful, awful week.  I did fairly well Sunday and Monday. I had to talk myself into going for a 5K walk by myself on Monday, but I did it.  I knew that the week ahead wasn't going to leave me time for any walks or "runs" so I had to. Tuesday though, Tuesday was a disaster. . .

I was constantly hungry. Although I did my best to make healthy choices throughout the day, I ate too often and too much. (I was also a crabby bear after work, and ready to emotionally breakdown by bedtime.)

Wednesday was a decent day but was not easy.  I was definitely stress eating as work has been a bit hairy this week.

This week was pretty much a write off, although my weigh-in showed no loss but no gain either (thankfully).  I'm going to pick myself back up and continue on my way and start a new week with nothing but positive thoughts for the week ahead.

And it's going to be a rough one too. I've taken a second job, and I'll be working approximately 56 hours over the next seven days!  It won't be like this all the time, just this week as I have two training sessions to attend.  It will probably mean another week of no exercise as well, I'll just have to make sure that I get my ass back in gear when life settles down again.

And Then Came Thursday

After my weigh in on Thursday, I went downhill.  After a week-and-a-half of beautiful calorie deficits came three awful terrible food days.

I really have no excuse for Thursday.  It really started off well. Unfortunately I let myself make bad choices later in the day and treat myself to a Wendy's Frosty despite knowing that I had two bad days coming up ahead.

Friday we were having dinner at a friends.  While I could have chosen to eat light, I filled my plate and pigged out.  The foods of choice: KFC chicken and fries, as well as breadsticks with our salad (at least a small part was healthy).  And as if that wasn't already bad, I topped it with two Smores Oreo cookies.

Saturday we had a family event.  A cousin was visiting from England.  This is a rare event despite the large family we come from.  It was a potluck and despite my plans to take very little and fill my plate with veggies and fruit, I failed and filled my plate with everything else including some of my favourites - pirogies and potato salad.

Sunday, oh Sunday. . .finally a day to get back on track.  I did well but it was certainly a struggle.  If I was just starting, it could be the breaking point, but thankfully I know that this is something I can get past.

I have not exercised the last four days either.  However, I can still confidently say "I've got this".  My mind is made up and I need to get to the end of September so that I can get to the next part of my plan.  I promise that I'll fill you in when I get there!

The Week That Was

Well, actually, week-and-a-half. The reason being that I'd rather not keep Monday's as my weigh-in day.  This takes me up to this past Thursday.

Let's go back to the beginning.  I weighed in Monday as planned and was surprised that the results were better than expected.  I would however like to lose 7.2 pounds before my next step.  

The week (and-a-half) was extremely good.  I went on several 5k walks, and two treadmill "runs"; Couch to 5k week 3, day 3 and week 4, day 1.  My calories were quite in balance ending each day with a deficit.  I struggled with food on several days though, but came through each day okay. My weigh-in on Thursday reflected the effort, I lost 2.8 pounds, meaning I have 4.4 pounds to go.  I have approximately 4 weeks to lose that much (or more).