THE FUTURE...

Hi everyone, since my last post i've managed to keep the weight off!!!! But something that I obviously needed to consider was the next step. Contrary to what you all must be thinking, that I'm so relieved to relax and eat good food again and relax from working out, I actually miss it. After about 3 days I was craving the gym and the foods I ate on the diet. So I searched online for a new challenge. 

I found a Jillian Michaels App for iphones that allows you to create an account that sets up a daily workout and meal plan. It only costs 4 dollars a week but it keeps you on track and even has a variety of news letters to keep you motivated and answer any questions you have. Its great.

The workouts and meal plans are created after taking a test that calculates the rate at which your body metabolizes food. It asks you your body shape, what foods you eat, your current workout regimen and what your most problematic areas are. It has shown me so many new workout moves and even provides videos to go along with it. The meal plan is much of the same. I have downloaded other apps as you've seen in my previous posts but nothing comes close to this one. 

I think that the best way to achieve a goal, is to challenge yourself. With each challenge I do, I put all I have into it. When i'm done i feel outstanding, like i worked for something and I got it. I hope that all of you reading this learned from what I'm doing and got something out of it. This has been such a process and I cant wait to master the next thing. 

Life after the CHALLENGE!

I hope everyone had a GREAT Thanksgiving holiday and were able to stay on track like I did with their diets, work out plans to achieve their goals. Its been 5 days since the completion of my diet and I am so pleased with the results. I am so thankful for this blog project because it has motivated me to do things that i've been striving to do for so long. The point of this post is to inform all of you about my results and to recommend this diet to everyone. Because I am using this blog towards a project for my social media class, I will not be providing before and after photos because i did not think they were appropriate.

Overall I lost 11 lbs and couldn't be happier. I initially started at 130 lbs and am now 119 lbs!!! As a 5 ft 2 inch female I am at the correct weight for my height and age. I went from a size 5 to a size 3/4. I am so much more comfortable with my body and being in a bathing suit. I still plan to continue practicing healthy eating habits and working out daily because I want to continue to feel this wonderful!

I am so motivated to do anything after this challenge! Its taught me that you can do whatever you set your mind out to do. No matter how hard it is, you can do it. I hope that all of you reading this take something away from it and at least feel more goal oriented. I love my new body and plan to continue to blog and get others motivated.

Diet Challenges in College

As I reach the almost end of this diet I feel that its important to talk about something that i'm sure everyone faces, Challenges. For most people they encounter the normal challenges such as time management, cravings, motivation troubles, etc. Something different about my experience is the fact that I am at college. This makes it a little more difficult to have success on a diet.

First challenge that I face is peer pressure from friends. Its extremely easy to be influenced to cheat on your diet when your friends are constantly eating delicious food around you. I live with two roommates and I know that one is into sweets and constantly has sugar and chocolates. Another very difficult challenge was alcohol. In college its normal to go out pretty frequently and have a couple of drinks at the bars. Alcohol as most of you know, adds up to a lot of calories. Alcohol makes it very difficult to lose weight but is such a way of life at college. Not drinking on halloween was so insanely hard and i'm still amazed I pulled it off.

Second challenge that I face is having time in my day to exercise. Having a full day of classes and then shlepping to the gym was tough. Keeping my motivation throughout the entire challenge and maintaining time for homework and workout time isn't easy. However, I purchased a white board and posted motivational quotes all over my room. No matter how silly a motivational idea sounds, if it works, DO IT!! I can't begin to explain how much easier that made these challenges.

My third and final biggest challenge on this diet at college was acceptance that this takes time. I thought that losing weight was as simple as just eating healthy and working out, but it is so much more. I did not start to see results in the mirror until a week or two ago. Finally seeing results has made this all worth my while.

Importance of Working out!

Still going strong on this diet but the pressure is certainly on. Although I am finished with the 10 day cleanse (8 lbs lighter!!!), I am still not finished with the diet. I wanted to focus less on food choice this week and more on my workout plan. Like i said previously, the workout aspect of this challenge isn't too difficult for me. However, being a college student and doing this challenge is difficult. Finding time to workout and cook meals has definitely been my biggest stress.

Its important that you all know that i did not get results solely on just eating right. I did research on what workouts would be most beneficial and work the quickest so i would see results rapidly. After reading articles and taking advice from friends I was told to purchase the App on my iPhone called "iFitness Pro." At first i was hesitant because i believed that the fastest way to lose weight was just by running, I was indeed wrong. Distance running not only makes you bulk up but it also demands that you take in more calories which I did not want to do. A friend of mine who is a personal trainer at Lifetime Fitness in Syosset on Long Island, suggested that if i wanted to run and shed pounds that interval running was my best bet. Speeding up my heart rate and then slowing it down was key. He also shared with me that strength training cardio was the most efficient way to lose the weight. This is where the App "iFitness Pro" comes in. This app creates a workout plan for you based on your current weight, height, goal weight, gender, and desired difficulty level. I have been working out for some time now so I am currently at intermediate. Below i have attached some photos that show the workout routines I have for each body part. Each day i do a different bodypart group workout. Mondays i do arms and chest. Tuesdays abs and back. Wednesdays legs and glutes. Thursdays shoulders and calves. Fridays and saturdays are my resting days. Sunday is my activity day! I also make sure that i stretch after all of these workout routines to avoid soreness. The interval running is done prior to each of these on all workout days.

I can feel my body getting so much stronger and slimmer. This diet is working in ways i never thought. Im getting so close to the end and the results are amazing.

Week 1 days 1-3 !!!

So it finally begins, the challenge. I want to explain the diet to you guys a little better so my pictures don't confuse you. On this diet you begin with a 10 day Cleanse. I provided a picture down below to explain what days to take which pills or drinks. Im currently only 3 days into the diet and i'm already feeling great. On days 1-3 you are instructed to take the fiber drink (tastes gross) in the morning mixed with water and then take the herbal cleanse at night before bed. You must also take 2 Omegaplex pills in the morning with breakfast and 2 Omegaplex pills in the evening. It sounds like a lot but none of these items give you negative side effects. The most important and the most challenging part of the 10 day Cleanse is the foods you are aren't allowed to eat. Unlike other cleanses the AdvoCare cleanse requires you to eat food, but only certain kinds of food. I am restricted from eating any Dairy, Caffeine (soda, coffee, etc.,) Fried foods, Refined sugars, Bad starches (white breads) and to avoid all Alcohol. It mentions that you should try to eat up to 6 meals a day (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, snack, dinner.) I also had to make sure i drank a TON of water. I've been doing pretty well and have been sticking to the diet. I go food shopping at the beginning of the week and get all the groceries I need, which isn't nearly as much as I used to be buying. Yay! saving money! 

Anyways, I cook breakfast in the morning and I usually make myself eggs with a little hot sauce on them and a fruit of choice. As a snack I give myself variety of celery, carrots, and strawberries and I dip them in all natural salsa. For lunch I made myself a salad with cucumbers, romaine lettuce, chicken, and spinach and ate that with only olive oil and vinegar. Getting rid of regular dressing has been so hard even for 3 days. I brought around campus with me bags of carrots and a container of hummus to snack on. Lastly for dinner I prepared Baked Chicken and fresh steamed veggies. Eating this way has made me feel energized and has overall put me in a great mood. I've learned so much just from the few days i've been doing this diet. Makes me seriously question my old diet and many of my friends current diets at college. It's hard to eat this way all the time but its worth it. You just feel so Great! 

Lastly, I'm going to stress how important exercise also is to this diet. You must try your hardest to get in at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 5 times a week. This will enhance your overall weight loss by a lot. I didn't have a problem with this aspect of the 10 day cleanse because I normally practice a good exercise regimen. This challenge is changing my life and getting me so excited to see the results when i'm finished.  

Motivation & Determination

IS.COLLEGE.MAKING.YOU.FAT…….. !? If you're anything like me your first trip home from college was a WAKE UP call that "Hi, I've gained 15+ lbs…awesome." It feels like my entire life I was capable of eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, until now. It seemed completely unfair to me that my body was doing this. Now in my Junior year of college, still the same weight I am annoyed with myself. It's time to make changes, no more excuses!

Being a college student at Fredonia State, it's been hard to avoid the after bar snacking and multiple starbuck's trips a day. Recently, my friend told me about AdvoCare. At first, I had no idea what AdvoCare even was. It sounded like a type of medicine. However, she was eager to tell me about her weight loss success and overall awesome feeling after doing this program. I was kind of hesitant to buy it because it did cost $180, but she assured me it was worth every penny. Now after a week of waiting for it to come in the mail, I have the box sitting in front of me. I'm excited, nervous, motivated and ready to start this thing.

For the next 24 days, I will be blogging daily about my struggles and hopefully successes of this system. Let's get this thing started !