So these are our before and after pictures following the 21 Day nutritional cleanse that ended yesterday. Along with a little reminder of where we both were before we started our journey to a healthier lifestyle.
WARNING ......long post, you know I can't share these pictures without also sharing a little of my heart and soul....
I started my journey to good health two years ago and I lost over 50 pounds. Over the past two years I have lost and then gained back an additional 10 to 12 pounds, maintaining and on occasion going up and down through vacations, celebrations and the occasional indulgences. That I have been able to maintain my weight loss is new for me and a total grace. Because in the past every time I went on a “diet” and lost weight, and I have tried them all and I was successful numerous times in losing weight, but the second I stopped the “diet” I would gain all the weight back and THEN some. That was a pattern for more years than I can count and landed me morbidly obese. That is until two years ago when I began this journey because I could no longer deny that I was at a crisis in my health and had to reevaluate how I was living and where I was headed if I didn’t make some serious changes in my lifestyle.
The good news, we have made changes that have become healthy habits and we are living a lifestyle and not a diet. But life still happens, vacations, celebrations and holidays come and go and although we are making good and healthy choices 80% of the time and living a healthy and balanced lifestyle there are times when you reach a plateau and need a little jumpstart to get back in the grove. So after a lot of thought I decided to do a 21 day cleanse to give my body a little tune up from the inside out and give myself the little jump start I needed to move forward with my goal of losing 50 pounds this year.
Originally I was going to do it by myself and then a few weeks before I started, to my delight, John decided to join me. He has always declined the cleanses I have done in the past, and this one being 21 days and more involved with specific meal plans and food choices that I know were not on his list of favorites, I did not expect that he would be interested. But he has been amazing, he has eaten everything without a complaint and we walked through this process together, shopping, meal prepping, holding each other accountable and enjoying the experience together. When we started out we agreed that we would be ALL IN and committed 100% to the program and that’s exactly what we both did. And together we followed the program to the letter with NO CHEATS!!!, not one! I am so proud of my beloved and so grateful that he joined me.
And together, with the help of an amazing three phase nutritional cleanse we reclaimed our body’s natural balance, released unwanted toxins, restored our digestive system and other internal processes. Our bodies are functioning more efficiently, we are getting more restful sleep, have increased our energy and are overall feeling healthy and more fit and 21 days I have lost 20.7 pounds and 11 inches and John has lost 14.5 pounds and 9.5 inches.
I am well on my way to achieving my goal of losing 50 pounds this year and my beloved is less than a pound away from his goal of landing back in “ONE”derland.
The scale has never been my friend. I avoided it for years, I don't much care for it now because it does not count the inches and reshaping of my body as I am losing weight. Nor does it count all those non-scale victories that are just as important like how I reversed my type 2 diabetes, no longer have high cholesterol, am off ALL medications for both of these and the neuropathy medication that was a side effect of the diabetes and is no longer an issue.
And losing almost 21 pounds in as many days is amazing. But skinny has never been my goal, nor will it ever be. Good health, feeling good and confident in my own skin, being able to move around freely, being more active and healthy to serve the Lord, my beloved, my family and to do what I am called to do are the life changing non-scale victories are what I celebrate every day. These things cannot be measured by a scale, but the scale does help to give a baseline and it was certainly a motivator for me during this reset as I kept feeling like I was losing weight and inches and then seeing my results. If you read any of my blog, I was a bit obsessed for a time.
Through my own experience and through coaching, I know without a doubt that 100% accountability to a program, start to finish does wonders for mindset and confidence, and it has proved to me time and again that I am stronger than I think and that I can do it, and best of all gets results. My beloved knows this too. And so for both of us, it was ALL IN from the get go.
But all in is not all easy, there were times when we wanted to have something else after dinner. Or were out somewhere and could smell amazing foods being prepared and were tempted, but we never gave in. We even had a few nights, or maybe more than a few, when we would look at each other and commiserate, we were still hungry and wanted more to eat. We stayed the course and didn’t waiver. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t hard either because we were eating real food, had a specific and proven plan to follow, stayed hydrated and knew we were eating the right foods and combinations that more often than not kept us full and not “needing” more food even if our minds were telling our bodies we “wanted” more.
The nature of this cleanse helped us become more conscious of our eating habits and patterns, We tried new recipes, introduced new foods into our diet, shopped, planned and prepared our meals together and had an easy to follow schedule. And our greatest blessing was the grace we always found when we didn’t feel like shopping or doing food prep, because we made it non-negotiable and did it anyway.
It is very humbling to post these pictures. I have hemmed and hawed and prefer to share my more clothed before and after’s. But stepping out of my comfort zone seems to be a theme with me these past few years, so why stop now.
If you checked my timeline before I started my journey you would not see many pictures of me alone, let alone posing. Why do I do it? Because just maybe it will touch one person, someone else who may need that little nudge that I did to take a step, a baby step that could change their life. It did mine.
And I post to remind you that you are not alone. 10 pounds or 100 its all the same when our health is concerned, we know how our clothes fit and the difference it can make in the way we are feeling when we know we need to gain more control, eat healthier, have more energy, be more active and do things that our weight or energy level is keeping us from or to reach a goal.
I waited far too long to start my journey. My own will allowed years and years to go by before I was forced to face the reality that my health was an issue and that if I did not do something to change the direction I was going in I would either not be around to live this beautiful life that I have been given or that I would be living it with limitations of my own causing because I was not taking care of the one body I have been given.
Life is too sweet and far to precious to waste one moment. I am reminded of that every day.
There is no shoulda, woulda, coulda for me today, I am not going backward, I am moving forward. I am where I am today and I am filled with thanksgiving and gratitude to be in this very place.
I would like to think I am learning lessons and growing along the way. So when I do look back, or when I see an opportunity ahead of me and I ignore it when inside there is a knowing to answer the call and I make the choice to ignore it or downplay it I know I am not serving my best interest.
I know that when I am taking care of my body I feel good in my skin, more confident, fit and stronger and I have so much more energy to do all the things that I need to get done. Feeling good impacts every aspect of my life and the life I want to live with my beloved and my family.
I am on a lifelong journey and mission to not only live a healthy lifestyle, reach and crush my own health goals, but to help you if you want to help yourself. And I have found something I know works and I share it because I know firsthand the difference it has made in my life.
I have a goal to lose another 50 pounds this year, so now I have another 29 to go. My plan, is to start another round of the 21 Day Fix, it was the program that made all the difference for me. It was my game changer.
I know that there are people out there just like me and I want YOU to know that if I can do it, YOU can do it too. That's as real as it gets folks!
I love my accountability group and the people I have the blessing to share this journey with. Make no mistake in our group we are not going on a diet. To the contrary, we are embark together on a journey with a program and plan that is proven and that we know gets results if we commit 100%, stick with it, drop the excuses and take the daily action that we know will help us make healthy and sustaining lifestyle changes that will serve us well beyond 21 days if we continue to apply all that we learn making it part of a healthy lifestyle.
Change does not happen overnight, real and lasting change that transforms happens inside and out, it’s a process and the key ingredient is YOU. No one can do it for you, but others who have been there can help navigate the way and provide the support, encouragement and roadmap to success.
I chose to stop making excuses and to make changes that I know have made all the difference in my life and in the lives of those I love and those around me.
If you are willing to put skin in the game, drop the excuses, do what it takes and jump all in, then as your coach I am ALL IN with you and I will help you get the results you want.
We will set goals, we will get to the heart of what you want and why you want this and we will get there together with your full participation. No quick fix, no gimmic, no easy solution or magic pill. It is hard work, consistency, dedication, pushing play when you don't want to and always moving forward, with accountability, support, motivation and encouragement along the way.
I am excited to share some new recipes and so many of the tips and new habits that I picked up from the reset with my challengers.
We start another round in my multi-program group on Monday, March 20th.
Are you ready? Want the details? Want to do this together?
Then we should talk because I need more information about you too, your specific goals, areas you want to work on, your needs and what you are looking to achieve so I can help you get there.
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