Day 8

Today has not been a good day.  I woke up this morning with a migraine and it was making me feel sick to my tummy.  I took the probiotics like I was supposed to and then I waited a half an hour to drink the fiber drink.  My tummy started hurting after I drank the fiber drink so I laid down on the couch to try and settle it down.  I was supposed to wait 30 minutes after the fiber drink to have my breakfast so when I got up to make it, my tummy decided it wasn't happy and I got sick. 

I was able to get the boys ready for school and I got them on the bus but I had to lay back down after they left.  I didn't get back up until 11:30 AM and just the thought of eating eggs made my stomach hurt so I tried to eat half a bagel (which isn't on the cleanse) but it made me sick.  I laid back down until 2 PM and when I got up, I tried to eat a small bowel of dry cereal (also not on the approved list) but it also made me sick.

I had to start feeling better, though so that I could go to Zumba because Rachelle needed me to do the Time Warp.  I took a hot shower and laid back down until the boys came home and when I got back up, my stomach seemed to have calmed down a little so I had a small salad and I kept it down.  I was waiting to get something in my stomach so that I could take some ibuprofen and once I took that, my head started to feel a little better.

I went to Zumba and my head started to feel better during class but now that I'm home, it's starting to ache a little.  I'm hoping it goes away by tomorrow but even if it doesn't, it won't be as bad as today was.  I'm thinking about having a small snack before bed, just because I haven't had very much to eat today but I'm not really hungry. 

That's the one thing that has surprised me about the cleanse.  I felt hungry on the first day but haven't had any hunger pangs after the first day.  I'm probably not eating enough and Rachelle told me that I need to eat the snacks, even if I don't feel hungry.  I think it's because of all of the water that I'm drinking but I could be wrong. 

I did have someone tell me that I looked like I lost a lot of weight so that made me feel good.  I feel much better about the weight I lost even if it's not as much as I thought it would be.  I'm sure that I've already lost inches because of the way my clothing fits.

Days 6 & 7

Days 6 & 7 went well. I haven't really felt hungry this weekend so I haven't had snacks during the day.  I've had a couple of cravings but nothing too serious. 

The boys and I went on a walk yesterday and we walked for 3 miles. I decided to take today off from exercise.

I weighed myself this morning & I've lost 3.6 pounds since I started the challenge. I think I felt a little discouraged because I was expecting it to be more, considering how hard I've been working out & how good I've been with my diet. I guess it's still better than the normal weight loss of 1 - 2 lbs. a week, though.

Tomorrow marks another change in the cleanse phase. Three more days & then the max phase will start!

Day 5

Day 5! Halfway through the cleanse!  The cleanse itself isn't difficult and even though there are several steps, it's easy to remember them because I have a checklist.  However, I find myself excited to be done with the cleanse.  I'm not really sure why.  Maybe it's just the anticipation of the first half of the challenge coming to an end.  The second half isn't different by much but I think I'm eager to see results.  Patience isn't one of my virtues.

I've been so happy with how well I've been sleeping the past few nights but last night wasn't so good.  I had my Oasis before bed and I was tired when I went to bed at 10:30 PM but it took me a while to fall asleep and I tossed and turned all night long.  Of course, it could've been the fact that I watched the VP debate before bed and it gave me nightmares.

I have been having an omelet everyday for breakfast since I started the challenge but I'm starting to get sick of them.  I realized this morning that I really don't like the taste of cooked spinach.  I don't mind it raw and I have it in a salad, which I've had everyday for lunch since I started the challenge.  I think I need to switch things up in the morning and maybe have a boiled egg and some almonds and grapes.

Aside from getting bored with eating the same breakfast and lunch for the past 5 days in a row, I haven't had any cravings.  I decided to take a break from cooking and took the boys to dinner at Applebee's.  I ordered a 7 oz steak (the smallest on the menu and I shared some of it with Zach because he likes steak), steamed broccoli, and a plain baked potato. 

We went to Wal-mart afterwards to get a few things and I saw that Ben & Jerry's has a limited edition Pumpkin Cheesecake pint sized ice cream.  I thought about getting it and just keeping it in the freezer until after I was done with the challenge but I decided against it.  I just know that I would be tempted with it sitting in the freezer...mocking me... 

I've been feeling nauseous in the mornings, even after I eat my breakfast and Matt suggested that I wait to drink the Spark later in the day but I think I know what the problem is.  No, I'm not pregnant.  I started my period this morning and experienced some heavy cramping this afternoon.  Exercise has helped to regulate my period but it's still heavy and painful.  I'm hoping that by loosing enough weight, it'll become normal.  I hope.  I also think this is the reason for the weepy, emotional mood I've been in for the last couple of days.  I hate hormones.  Stupid PMS.  Although I guess it's better than the migraines that I normally get when I start my period.

I guess that's enough over sharing for now.

Day 4

Day 4 brings a change in the challenge in that we don't drink the fiber drink before breakfast.  Instead, we are supposed to take the Probiotic Restore.  Thankfully, Matt messaged me to remind me of this change because I was on autopilot this morning and I would've messed that part up!

I took a toning/cardio class this morning and my arms are still killing me!  It was a good class and while I struggled with a lot of it (jumping jacks, jumping squats, running!), I made it through the class.  I noticed that I was able to do more pushups today than I normally do and it was easier to do the jumping jacks (at the first station) although I was dragging by the end of the class.

I ended up taking a small nap this afternoon, around 2 PM so I skipped my afternoon snack.  I slept for about 20 minutes and woke up feeling really refreshed but I went ahead and drank a Spark at 3:30 PM.  Zach requested popcorn for his afternoon snack, so I had a handful of it but nothing else for my PM snack. 

I made pot roast for dinner and since Aaron isn't here, I didn't buy a huge roast.  However, after I put some on the boys' plates and then I measured out 4 oz. for me, there is a ton of pot roast left over.  I'm not used to having so much left over from dinner.  I made sure to put everything up before I sat down to eat my dinner so that I wouldn't be tempted with seconds.  I also made sure to eat the carrots even though  I hate cooked carrots.  I can use this as an example for the boys and say, "See?  I ate them and you can, too.  Even though they are gross, they are still good for you."

I just finished an Oasis and I'm feeling pretty good.  I tried it warm tonight and it was OK.  Honestly, I'm not too fond of the blueberry flavor.  I'm pleasantly tired and I feel like I can go to bed at a decent time tonight.  I was up until about 10:30 PM last night and I probably could've stayed up longer but I knew I needed to get to sleep.  I fell asleep pretty quickly though.  I'm still waking up around 5:30 AM because I have to pee and I really don't like that.  I'm sleeping better through the night but I'm not ready to commit to a 5:30 AM wake up call every morning.  I refuse to get up, even if I'm awake and I lay in bed until my alarm goes off at 6 AM.

Day 3 - Part 2

I didn't take the Oasis like I wanted to this morning but I was alright.  I still felt sad about Aaron not being here but the weepy feeling passed once I got busy getting the boys ready for school.  I went to Rachelle's Zumba class and I felt like I had more energy than I normally have.  Some of the songs have parts where you jump a lot and I normally don't do those parts, I just march in place because it's hard and it hurts my chest.  Today I felt like I could handle those parts easily, although it still hurt my boobs to jump. 

I ate really well for breakfast, the A.M. snack, and lunch but I forgot to have an afternoon snack.  I usually start getting hungry around 1:30 PM and I want to eat everything in the kitchen but today I was busy and I didn't even think about eating anything.  I realized around 3:15 PM that I hadn't had my afternoon Spark, so I drank that but I decided to pass on the afternoon snack because I wasn't hungry and I would be fixing dinner at 5 PM.  I baked some chicken and we had leftover green beans and cous cous for dinner.  My tummy still feels full and I haven't had any cravings or hunger pangs all day.

As of right now, I feel like the energizer bunny.  I have accomplished so much this evening around the house and I feel like I could go for a couple more hours.  I will have an Oasis before bed tonight (I really will this time!) because I feel that if I don't, I may be up until 2 or 3 AM.  I really hope that I can fall asleep as easily tonight as I have the past 2 nights and that I sleep as well.  It really does wonders for my attitude when I get enough sleep.