I Did It.

Ok, so over the past few days I have alluded to the fact that I had made some really good food choices over the holiday weekend.  This is exciting for me, because making food choices is something that I find particularly difficult.  I mean, let's be honest, making the wrong ones is the reason I am the size I am today.  So, get comfortable, cause this is gonna be a long post about food.

I began my Advocare Cleanse on Monday and almost didn't because I knew that I would be out of town from Thursday until Saturday.  I thought of how difficult it would be to eat clean when not in my own home calling all the shots.  I quit that way of thinking and decided that this would be the ultimate test.  I decided that it is finally time to gain control in a situation where I would normally feel totally out of control.

So, I took on the challenge...

Barbecue number one had more than pictured above to tempt my taste buds.  However, the two things pictured would have been the things that I overdid -- chocolate chip cookies and Butterfinger Puppy Chow.  I didn't touch them.    Other tempting treats included:

• Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
• Nachos
• Chips
• Cheesecake
• Chocolate Cake
• Ice Cream
• Hot Dogs

I brought a large bowl of tossed salad to share.  I ate it with a plain hamburger chopped up in it along with fresh fruit.  I was full and it tasted good.  To say I did not want any of those foods listed above would be a lie, but the important thing is that I did not eat them.

The second barbecue included treats such as:

• Lots of cake
• Barbecue Ribs
• Burgers
• Hot Dogs
• Key Lime Pie Cheeseball
• Adult Beverages -- something yummy and fruity looking, not sure what it was though
• Nacho Dip

What I ate:

The pasta salad on the plate was a healthier version that I made with whole wheat pasta.  I did eat one small serving of ribs.  I know it may not be healthy, but that is the one food out of everything that I never get to eat otherwise. So, I had a taste.  Not even a little bit sorry about it either.  I did try some of the salsa dip, but not with chips.  I decided to dip celery in it.  Delicious!

The pasta salad I made. It had veggies, whole wheat pasta, turkey pepperoni, and organic Italian salad dressing.

I am really proud of a lot of the decisions that I made.  We went out to eat and I ate well.  We went for pizza and I had a big salad with grilled chicken.  We went to a restaurant famous for fried fish (I mean, seriously, that batter would make a fried shoe taste good).  I ate baked fish, green beans, and a sweet potato -- no butter or brown sugar.  My mother in law made cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  I ate oatmeal.   I seriously rocked it!

This is what I learned was most important about the whole weekend:

My kids enjoying their meal.

Darcy playing in the sun.

Tim and Darcy Swimming

Darcy and my niece checking out some of the neighbor's fireworks

At these parties and get-togethers, it is the people that are important.  I found myself enjoying those who surrounded me a lot more, when I was not so focused on the food.  All of the stuff that was so hard, was not so hard anymore.  I just told myself to walk away from the table and to enjoy the people that surrounded me.  You know what?  I was right and it worked. 

THUD!

Shhh....Did you hear that?

That was the sound of me jumping and landing face first onto the ADVOCARE CLEANSE BANDWAGON!!!

Truth be told, I have been doing a lot of reading on a lot of different blogs, and while opinions do seem to be mixed,the consensus seems to be that doing this cleanse has helped people gain more control over their eating habits.

That, my friends, is exactly what I need.

Any amount of weight loss as a result will be awesome, but if I can gain control over what I am putting in my pie hole, that will be the biggest victory.

So, I have to admit, everyone's recounts of drinking the fiber drink had me scared...real scared.  I was having dreams about drinking this stuff.  Thanks to everyone's complaints about the texture, I was having dreams where I was trying to drink it and finding objects in it like toy trucks and shit.  You think I am lyin'?  I'm not!   

The good thing about all of these horror stories of people gagging, etc., is that when I went to drink it, I would say that it was not that bad.  I went with some advice which stated that the peaches and cream tastes better than the citrus, so I ordered the peaches and cream.  I shook it up with some cold water and I CHUGGED.  I did not come up for air. It was a feeling I have not felt since old frat party days -- as in drinking questionable drinks in single gulp...perverts (Ahhh, memories...)  When I got it down without the feeling that I was gonna hurl, I felt victorious.  I could feel some of the grit in my throat, but I just drank another glass of water after and all was well.  

So, well, it wouldn't be a Advocare Cleanse post without discussing food and bowel movements.  I am going to spare you the last one.  I talk about poop with my 3 year old enough...kinda wanna break from that.  

ANYWAY... The food...

BREAKFAST:

Healthy Cookies from Skinny Taste  with a side of berries.  Yes, I am eating it out of a baby bowl. I like bunnies on my table settings, folks.  Truth be told, I wasn't that hungry after the fiberlicious drink I had a few minutes prior.

I got over that full feeling at about 9:30 this morning, so Darcy and I shared some celery with natural peanut butter.  I am so happy that she willingly eats my healthy junk.

LUNCH:

I had some of my grilled chipotle chicken with rice, sauteed peppers and onions, a few corn kernels, pico de gallo, and brown rice.  It tasted so damn good.  I knew that salad was on the menu for dinner, so I decided to go for a more substantial lunch.  

DINNER:

Taco Salad.  Monday is taco night in the Brooks household.  I was a little less than enthused about this because tonight, for me, it meant no form of tortilla or cheese.  It was all still really good though.  Just had a load of veggies with my taco meat. I didn't notice until after the fact that I am really not supposed to eat ground beef.  I am not that worried about it though, cause I bought the extra lean version.  

All in all it wasn't a bad day.  As with any new eating plan, I found myself obsessing over what I was going to eat next a bit too much.  I also felt hungry quite a bit.  The food I ate was good though, and I can honestly say that I did not feel completely deprived.  The biggest difficulty for me was getting all of that damn water down.  Also, I can tell I was having sugar withdrawal because I was having headaches.

Here's hoping that this is a worthwhile 10 days!

       _________________________________

On another note, I do plan to start Holly's 30 Day Shred Challenge.  I am going to try and do that in the evenings and my run in the morning.  Got both in and I am in agony feeling great!

Mission: Toy Organization and Birthday Adventures

We have a small house.  The toys are overtaking it and something has to be done.  I am tired of stepping on painful things like a toy broccoli spear (hurt like a bitch, and yes, they make toy broccoli) and hearing noise making toys go off at eerie times.  So, I took on the task of getting the toys out of the living room and in to the kids' room where it belongs.  As mentioned, we have a small house, and the kids are currently sharing a room, so we had to be smart about it.

I found these great bins at IKEA on Wednesday.  They are collapsible and come in packs of 3 for $14.00.  I thought that was a great deal, because fabric bins at Target can easily run nearly $10/bin.  I labeled them with fabric markers.  Darcy has been having an attitude about cleaning up lately, so I am going to try to make it easier and maybe more fun for her.  Since she cannot read the labels, I am going to safety pin pictures to the bins, so that she knows what goes in them.  

We are overrun by stuffed toys.  So, I am in the process of figuring out what will be donated.  I also have one of those stuffed toy hammock things that I am going to hang up for some storage.  

The Brooks family arsenal.  Aidan has more squirt guns and Nerf guns than any kid I know.  Most of them were gifts.  He even has Nerf swords, a Nerf bow and arrow, a Thundercats sword, and a light saber with sound and lights.  We are ready for war, folks.  

Ok Movin' on....

So, yesterday was my birthday.  It was a good day, although I wouldn't exactly call it exciting.  Tim is off this week, so we had a nice, lazy morning with the kids.  We could not figure out what to do or where to go, so I suggest, "Why don't we go down to Great American Ball Park to the Pro Shop?"  I have been wanting a new Reds t-shirt, and where better to go than the pro shop, right?  WRONG-O.

So, we get in the car and make the 15 minute drive into downtown Cincinnati.  We pay $3 to park our car.  

We get to the pro-shop and walk in the doors.  

5

4

3

2

1

We walk right back out.  Forty dollars for a damn t-shirt??  You have GOT to be shitting me!!

After that, we decided to drive to one of our favorite parts of town to do a little shopping and have dinner later.  The kids were being little beasts.  When I thought that I couldn't take it anymore, this happened:

Thank God for small miracles.

Tim and I take turns running into places we want to go, so that the beasts could continue to hibernate.  This is what we have resorted to, folks.  I miss shopping alone.

We stop for my "birthday cake." 

Because I am trying to mend my fat girl ways, I order the smallest size and share it with Darcy.  It worked out well, and I avoided some of the calories and the guilt.

Olive Garden for dinner.  Their portobello mushroom ravioli is amazing.  For such a rich dish, the calories were not insane.  Not a meal I could eat every day, but it was my birthday.  I am going to eat something special.

The ice cream did take me over my calorie allowance for the day, but it is ok.  I don't eat Coldstone and Olive Garden every day or every month, even!  

And now, for the best birthday card award:

This is the card that my sister, Carrie, sent me.  I cannot explain why this is funny.  It just is.  So there.