Lights Off

For the first time since starting the 30 days, I stayed up a little later than I should on a work night.  Was organizing some stuff last night (running around the house) until 10pm.  I thought "crap, I'm going to be exhausted at 5am when I'm supposed to get up for work."

Drank my Lights Off and dozed off around 10:30.  At 5:15 I was hopping out of bed no problem!  True test of this product...I'll probably be keeping it in supply after the program!  Until you've experienced this kind of sleep, you don't understand the value of it!

Back to Normal

So it's been 5 days of normalcy since Silverwood...weighed in at 152.6 this morning so I'm still pleased.  It's only a couple lbs down since the cleanse so I have a lot of catching up to do.

Here's the normal routine:

I'm taking a multi vitamin and a probiotic in the morning before breakfast.  It's not with the plan but everyone should take these 2 things I think.  I found a liquid multi vitamin that's so much easier to take than horse pills and tastes like chewable flintstone vitamins.

Appetite Suppressant: taking 2 of these pills with my 10am snack, and 1 with my 3pm snack. Seems to work!  I eat my snacks and lunch pretty slowly and I'm never hungry.

Lights On: taking this berry flavored mix with 12 oz of water between 11-1 depending on how late I need it's effect.  It's non caffeinated energy so no crash!  Main ingredients are dietery fiber, glucosamine hcl, guarana (seed) and things from roots and leaves, including stevia and acai berry.

Meal Replacement Shake:  Here's some examples of what I've done.  You can blend it with anything really.

 

Coconut water, pineapple and half a banana: 230 calories

 

"quick fix" breakfast if I know I can't have the shake for lunch: 202 calories

 

My fav: Chocolate almond milk, ground peanuts, half banana: 332 calories

 

I've also mixed it up with strawberries and blue berries with original almond milk.  There's a lot you can do with this stuff and a blender!  I should throw a clump of spinach in there too for added nutrients.

 

Sticking to lean meats and veggies with dinner.  We love to throw mushroom, bell pepper, onion, carrots, broccoli, etc into a wok pan and let them steam with some Mrs. Dash.  I can have a whole cup or more of this mixture with hardly any calorie consumption!

 

And don't forget the WATER!  Still drinking around 80oz a day!

 

Lights Off: Before bed I take this citrus flavor mix with 4 oz of water.  I have noticed that I sleep really good, but I have also been going to bed at 9pm instead of staying up till 10 or later watching TV.  I'm so behind on my shows, but I haven't had a headache or woke up with a neck ache since I started taking this stuff. 

 

Now I seriously have to get serious about adding Jillian Michael's to my routine...at least twice a week for starters!

 

 

 

 

Hiccups

After the 10-day cleanse, I was due to start the 30-day plan on 8/1...the day I went to the Watershed Music Festival for 3 days.  All and all, my friend and I did awesome at not eating crap and did a TON of walking so I hoped all that would even out all the drinking we partook in. :)  We walked over 10 miles on Friday and over 12 on Saturday.

I baked salmon and cooked burgers and tacos on this nifty propane stove.  I used 95% lean burger meat and lettuce instead of buns or taco shells.

The salad dressing is an omni recipe that is amazing...courtesy of my omni distributor friend.  I can't recall the 3rd ingredient, but it's a dijon or honey mustard with liquid stevia.

 



As soon as I got back home Monday, I started back on my normal diet plan but instead of a normal lunch, had the meal replacement shakes.  More on those later.  I also started taking the Lights On in the early afternoon and Lights Off before bed.  Happy to report I only gained 2 lbs during Watershed and lost them in 2 days.

After 3 days of being on the plan again, I had an out of town business thing Thursday night...broke down and had a small nacho that night from the hotel.  Had my meal shake for breakfast Friday morning, not knowing where I'd be for lunch.  Since I didn't have a blender I mixed the powder with a starbucks single shot and it was delicious!  Ended up with a sandwich in a cafe for lunch, took off the top piece of bread and had no mayo.

Saturday morning...on to Silverwood with some good friends!  Continued with my starbucks meal replacement concoction for Saturday and Sunday mornings...had lunch in the park restaurant to avoid the fried junk (and have drinks)!  Ended up eating twice at the Mackenzie River Pizza Co...awesome food there.  I had fricken pizza the first night and a sandwich the next day...and a lot of long islands.  Damnit damnit!

10-Day Cleanse and Exchange Diet

I'm a little behind on my posting...so first, the 10-day cleanse.  I lost just over 5 lbs those first 10 days and broke my plateau!  I've adapted to the Exchange Diet.  This is a form of eating that eliminates the need for calorie counting as soon as you're used to what a serving is for food items you eat and how much carb, protein and/or fat you should have for each meal. 

The DMX booklet provides:

1. An exchange list for different calorie amounts you want to consume (# of carb/protein/fat per meal) 
2. A list of what is considered a carb, protein and good fat
3. A Glycemic Index chart of foods that are best to eat (under 65 on the chart)
4. Serving sizes for foods (like a cup of blueberries or half a banana are both 1 carb each)

Based on my 1,000 calorie per day goal...here is my Exchange Diet plan from the DMX booklet:

• Breakfast: 1 carb, 1 protein
• Snack: 1 carb, 1 protein
• Lunch: 1 carb, 2 proteins, 1 fat
• Snack: 1 carb, 1 protein
• Dinner: 1 carb, 2 proteins, 1 fat

So here's a typical day:

• Breakfast: 1 hard boiled or scrambled egg and a fruit (1 pear/apple or cup of blueberries, etc)
• Snack: a fruit and 1/2 oz of almonds
• Lunch: cup of lettuce, 2 oz of chicken or salmon, 1 oz of avocado (or a light dressing as a fat)
• Snack: half a bell pepper, a wedge of laughing cow cream cheese
• Dinner: a cup of steamed veggies, 2 oz of chicken or salmon, and either 1 oz of avocado or cheese.

I am not hungry at all either! I think because the only carbs I'm eating are fruits and veggies and I'm having protein with every meal.  And my calorie intake ranges from 800-1000 following the above plan.  Amazing what the right foods can do!

And of course, since I was in the cleanse phase, I gulped a bottle each night before bed of the Aloe Cleanse stuff, which helps release and clear previous toxins I consumed in a gentle way (no bathroom sprints!).  Depending on how well or unwell your diet was before starting the cleanse phase depends on how much you notice the cleanse happening.  I hardly noticed at all.





Fav new snack: bell pepper and either Vegetable Garden or Onion Laughing Cow cheese to dip in!





Lunch with lettuce, avocado and turkey (I typically used grilled chicken, which is best, but I had some leftover turkey deli meat the first few days and I didn't want to throw it out)

My tip for seasoning chicken, fish and stir fry veggies: use salt-free Mrs. Dash!  They have several flavors!

I hope this is somewhat educational for someone so far!