Weight Loss Update

Hello All!

Well, here goes... An update to my weight loss journey.

I am still 184.

Lets recap:

I started the cleanse at 188. I ended the cleanse at 184.... I've been doing the MNS Max 3 for approximately 2 weeks now... And I am still at 184.

That's okay though.

Wait...What?! That's okay? There is no progress in that!

Yes... Yes there is progress. 

Let me explain:

First, a recap of my goals that I have been working on:

*Drink at least 90 oz of water a day, every day
*Eat breakfast, every day
*Eat lunch, every day
*Eat 2 snacks every day: one between breakfast and lunch, one between lunch and dinner

And my progress on those:

*I have been drinking at least a gallon of water every day... Except on the weekends.. I am still working on that. 
*I have been eating breakfast everyday. 
*I have been eating lunch almost everyday.... I have missed a couple of days, but I am almost there. 
*I have been eating snacks, almost everyday. There have been a couple of days that I missed them...but for the most part, I have been there. I haven't gotten it down on the weekends though. 

For breakfast: I have been eating anything... Chic Fil A, Whataburger, Toast, ect...

For Lunch: I have been eating anything... From left over Thanksgiving to fast food to a sandwich.

For my snacks: Granola bars and fruit mostly.. Sometimes apple sauce or pudding (not usually though).

I can see whats wrong with this... Can you?

Yes, I am following my goals... But eating Chic Fil A and whataburger for breakfast... That's not going to get me there! Eating fast food for lunch- that's not doing it! And eating extremely bad for dinner because I can... Nope! 

It is time for me to change these goals, just a tad..

*Water: Continue to drink a gallon a day, but add on the weekends! 

*Breakfast: Get use to oatmeal.. toast.. fruit.. smoothies! No more fast food! 

*Lunch: Sandwiches, wraps, left overs... No more fast food!

*Snacks: Granola bars and fruit are okay! Apple Sauce is okay! Try to really get these to 2 x a day, 7 days a week! 

*Dinner: Just because you are eating good for the other meals, doesn't mean you can eat bad for this meal! Cook at home! No more fast food just because it is convenient! 

*Eat out no more than 1 x per meal per week... This means, I can have 1 breakfast, 1 lunch and 1 dinner out of the house per week... Not that I should eat horribly on these meals.. But if I need them, I get 1 each.. 

So those are my changes... For now... I can't wait for January to come for my new weight loss measurements (I am not looking forward to doing the December ones on Monday)... I hope that these redefined goals help me!

Here is something else that I want to touch on...

Every since I started the Advocare MNS Max 3, I can tell a difference on my cravings.. If I forget to take them, I definitely can tell a difference... I accidentally waited to long to order them this last week.. I ordered them on Wednesday hoping they would be delivered on Friday (even paid extra for the shipping), but the Ice Storm that North Texas is experiencing put a hold on the shipping... Now I know, order in advance.. This weekend has been full of cravings.. Mac N Cheese.. Pizza... Cinnamon Rolls... Chips and Salsa... I am not sure, but this could also be due to the Ice Storm keeping us locked up in the house...

Anyways, back to what I was originally saying.. I can tell a difference in cravings, I can also tell when I am full. For the most part, I have stopped eating at that point.. But there have been a few times that I kept eating.. And I even had this conversation with myself in my head:

Me: You are full, stop eating

Me: Just one more bite!

Me: Just stop eating! 

Me: I can't!! It is sooo good!!

I need to stop eating when I know I am full! 

So that is the last goal that I am adding. 

On the goals page in my weight loss book, a lot of my goals are listed as "for 30 days". The reason for this is because it takes 21 days to make a habit.. I figured if I do it for 30 days, it would be a real habit! 

I am going to work on making a calendar to fit in the book.. That way, every day that I complete a step towards the goal, I can write it down.. Maybe  a "W" for making the water goal, a "B" for eating breakfast, ect... And then, after 30 days of making it happen.. I can check it off! WooHoo!

This will also add accountability. 

Anywho, my head hurts, I think I am getting sick again.. I have had a headache since yesterday. :(

Talk to yal later!

Xo Danielle oX 

Thanksgiving!

Hello again! 

I had my thanksgiving dinner today! It went very well! 

Heres some things I did to make it easier: 

*I prepped all of my recipes a few days in advanced.... You can read about that in my last entry (or maybe the one before)

*I prepped all of my recipes yesterday. I got my turkey situated, my gravy vegis in their pan. I prepped the candied yams and green bean bundles. I Cut up my cranberries. I made the pumpkin pie. I made the deviled eggs and I set up my jalapeños. Although nothing (other than the pie) was actually cooked, this took ALL day. 

*I pulled out any dishes that were going to be needed for the day off. 

*Made sure all dishes were done. 

Today, with the exception of the dressing (stuffing), everything was already prepared and ready to go! I just had to put it in the oven or grill! 

I didn't take pictures.... I should have! I was going to enter my turkey into a photo contest, but I forgot to take the picture!! Ooops! Oh well! There's always next time! 

One thing I did notice about preparing all of the "dry" or "nonrefrigerated" ingrediants a week or so before: my onions molded...I'm not sure why, but next time I will leave them in my onion cabinet. They weren't molded to the point of not being able to use them, I just had to peel a few extra layers... But I don't think I'll store them with the other ingredients again. 

Another thing I'll change: next time I will print off the recipes and put them in the bags. Even though I already had all of the  ingredients listed out, I found myself looking on my phone a lot for the actual recipe. 

This will definitely be a tradition for Matt and I, but next year I will have people bring stuff....I really enjoyed doing all of the cooking, but it'll be okay to step back and let others help too. 

Well, it's nap time!

PEACE! 

Xo Danielle oX 

Thanksgiving in a basket!

Hello! 

It is less than a week until Thanksgiving! 

I decided that I wanted to do a small thanksgiving dinner.... At the last minute. 

We could find no one to join us for thanksgiving, so I changed it to a thanksgiving Sunday dinner, the Sunday after the holiday! 

While I have done several cookouts and had people over, I have never done a holiday dinner. This is my first one!

Now I tend to obsess how things will go.... I like a plan. A time line. And I like for things to stay according to plan. 

I'm not sure why I feel that this dinner will go differently than any of the other dinners that I've done. Really, the only difference is the holiday! 

I searched the internet for tips on the first holiday dinner, talked to a few friends and did a little thinking outside of the box. 

Here's what I did: 

1) I made a list of everything I wanted to make, and listed all of the ingredients. This was 2 pages, front and back!!

(Ignore the scratch outs, they came from step 2) 

2) Then I made a master list of everything I would need. 

(Again, ignore the scratch outs, they came from step 3!) 

3) I went through my pantry to see what I already had. There's no point in buying things I don't need! 

4) After I went grocery shopping, I put it All in a basket! 

Let me explain that last step.... 

I went back to my original recipe ingredient list and matched everything up. 

Now, some stuff must be refrigerated, and those are not included in this. But everything else is! 

Spices are already combined into baggies. Additional ingredients are written on the baggies. Those baggies are placed in groceries bags with canned ingredients. 

Take a look at these photos for a better idea: 

If some of the ingredients are divided, they go in separate bags. 

And then they all go in their big gallon bags! 

Here's the finished product: 

And my favorite part... It goes in the unused corner of my kitchen. It takes up no additional space in my pantry. 

When I am ready to start the pie, I pull out the bag. 

When I want to do the turkey, I pull out the bag. 

It seems so simple! I already feel relieved! I will definitely do this on future cookouts, holiday or not! ;-)  

Hope this can help you with your holiday experience! 

Xo Danielle oX 

Post cleanse

I finished the cleanse yesterday! 

Actually.... I didn't eat good at dinner. 

Matt and I went to a friends house to pick some stuff up from her. By the time we left her place, we were both like "screw it". Lol. We went to El Chico. Yummy. 

Anywho, today is the first day that I will be taking the Advocare MNS Max 3. It's a whole lot of pills. 

The first group of pills you take 30 minutes before eating breakfast. The 2nd is 30 minutes before lunch. The last 2 can be taken with breakfast or lunch. I plan on taking them with breakfast. 

It's kind of exciting. 

I know that I should be good today. But I'm not. I was pretty good on the cleanse-yes, I made mistakes, but I did better than I expected. So what a burger for breakfast and nachos for lunch. ;-) 

Anywho. 

My goals of drinking water (at least 90 oz a day) and eating breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks a day have not changed. 

By the way, I lost 4 pounds on the cleanse. 

Hell yeahs!

Xo Danielle oX 

The Cleanse

Hello All! 

I am on day 6 of the cleanse! Woohoo!  I'm half way there! 

It hasn't been horrible. Most days I'm not hungry. The last couple of days I didn't eat my snacks or lunch, I was to busy at work. But overall, it's going quite well. ;-) 

My body feels lighter. It's kind of odd. I am weighing tomorrow, I'm excited to see how much I have lost. I think it's around 5 pounds. 

So, in talking to Juliana, I told her all of the foods I really want after the cleanse- and her response was "you should still eat healthy after the cleanse". 

The cleanse is pretty strict as far as what you can have, it's pretty much a no fat diet. Lots of fruits and vegis. Easy on the carbs (you can only have the 'good' carbs, such as oatmeal). 

But the diet afterwards isn't. It's really eat whatever. There are no required guidelines. 

So I started thinking. Every time I start a diet, I fail. And I fail miserable. Why? Because I make a plan that is so strict, it's impossible to follow. 

So I thought I'd do baby steps. 

Things that are new to me on the cleanse: 

*Eating breakfast. Every day. 

*Eating snacks, before and after lunch. 

*Drinking a lot of water. I should be drinking around 95 ounces of water a day. 

So why not keep those 3 things up? Eat a balanced breakfast, a balanced lunch, 2 snacks, and a lot of water. 

For dinner, I can eat what I want to eat, but all in proper portions. 

I will try to incorporate more vegetables and fruits into our dinners. 

But if one day I want a bowl of mac and cheese, that's okay. All in the right portions. 

By the way, earlier when I said "things I want", is not the same as "things I'm craving". I am not having cravings. It's very odd for me, but I now understand that there is a difference between want and crave. 

Well, I will keep you guys updated! 

Xo Danielle oX 

Weight loss is Needed

I'm starting advocare tomorrow! It's very exciting for me. I've never done anything like this before! 

I am starting the 10 day herbal cleanse and then will be doing the MNMAX3 program. 

Now, to give you some insight on where I'm starting and what tools I have... 

I made a weight loss book! (Pictured below). The second weekend of each month I will be taking 4 photos (front, back, side & side) and putting them in my book. I will also be taking weekly weigh ins. 

I plan on taking my book with me everywhere. Not necessarily to read it, but for it to serve as a reminder  

I have a lot of motivation in there as well. I got a lot of magazines & cut out things for inspiration and motivation. 

Those are just a couple of the pages. 

At each monthly photo weigh in, there are also measurement. I'm not posting the picture of what I look like currently, well, because I look fat. But I will post my measurements- only to be a good sport. Lol. 

Anywho. That's that! 

I'll keep my progress updated. Maybe. 

And I'll post again soon!

Xo Danielle oX  

Having a Championship Mindset

Hello Everyone!

This morning I watched a video by Trent Shelton. He is part of a group called RehabTime. This video was so inspirational for me. It is a much watch....

Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to make it appear on the blog... So you'll need to click here to watch it

If for some reason, you can't watch the video, I typed it below... This is not everything in the video, but it is majority of it....

Championship Mindset: Trent Shelton

Keep moving forward and let nothing, and I mean nothing, hold you back.

Today's special. You know today, is the day that you become the new you. Today is the day that you become that champion. It's time that you stop feeling sorry for yourself and doing nothing about it. Its time to stop doing the same old thing that have gotten you nowhere. It's time for you to stop using excuses to keep you at a place where you no you shouldn't be. Each and everyone of you watching this is great. Each and everyone of you is a champion, but you got to make that decision. There are 5 truths to being a champion. Whether it be Michael Jordan , Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, people who are champions in their field, profession. Its are 5 truths that each and every one of them have. And today, we are going to talk about them. You're going to develop that championship mindset. It's time to be brave.

1: Commitment: 

The first truth, to every champion. Every champion has something called commitment. Staying loyal to what you're going to do, long after you've said it. 

2: Discipline:

Every champion has a little something called discipline. Tattooing. That's permanent. Tattoo your purpose on your heart, so your actions are trainable before you. Every Champion gets good at saying no to the things that don't get them their yes. 

3: Consistency:

Every champion is consistent. We anchor our actions in greatness, so daily we produce nothing less than our very best. When you are consistent, you become reliable. And when you're reliable, you become trustworthy. And there is nothing better in this world than a trustworthy person, because when you are trustworthy, you are dependable. 

4: Faith:

Every champion has faith. Believe that the odds are beautiful, even when the odds say its impossible. You know, there is a guy named David. He fought that impossible Goliath. With us, we have a lot of Goliaths in our life. Whether it be people doubting us, whether it be statistics, whether it be our generational curses, whether it be genetics, whether it be where we are from or the environment. We have to David all of those things. Because God tells us that Faith will make us well, Faith is what makes dreams come true. Believing. You have to throw that blanket over that scoreboard of life. You have to keep playing, til your final seconds of life. 

5: Heart:

Every champion has heart. Finding the strength to keep going. Even when your mind, people, whatever, says you have nothing left. Do you keep pushing through those tears, you keep pushing through the pain, you keep pushing through that struggle, you keep pushing through that hurt, because your heart wont let you quit. Your heart wont let you find excuses, your heart makes you go until you reach that finish line in life. That's what you have to have pumping in your heart. Its not about talent, its not about money. It's about the person who wants it the most. You've got to want it so bad. You've got to want it so bad that it's hard for you to sleep at night, you've got to want it so bad that it wakes you up in the morning. You've got to want it so bad that conditions outside won't stop you. That people around you won't stop you. Even if it's just you by yourself. Thats how bad you have to want it. It has to be planted in your heart. When you talk about it, it should be hard for you to talk about your vision, goals and dreams, because you want it that bad. Every champion, has heart.



Wow... I don't know about you, but I needed to hear all of that. I am definitely going to print this off and keep it in my purse for the times when I am struggling.

This can be applied to any area of your life. Not just fitness, or eating healthy. It can be applied to school, work, marriage / relationships, life in general.

I hope that you have enjoyed this as much as I have.

Xo Danielle oX

Dieting & Weight Loss

I am.....180 pounds. I hate saying that. 

When I graduated high school, I was 130 pounds. 

I've never been active or athletic. I really just don't have the rhythm, drive, balance or really anything for sports. 

I know I started to gain weight when I was a cell phone tech. Something about sitting for 90% of my day (verses standing at my previous jobs) will do that to you. 

But where I gained majority of my weight... 

I had a sinus surgery. And I horrible doctor. I will spare you the details, but in a short story, my thyroid got jacked up. 

The sugery was in September of 2008. Finally, in early 2013, my thyroid regulated itself enough for me to come off of medicine! 

Now, I was still 180 pounds. But I had tried so many things to lose weight. I'm not at all saying that my thyroid was 100% to blame, because it wasn't. I would start a "diet" & then a month or so in, give up because I wasn't seeing results. 

As for exercising, I am majorly out of shape. When I say majorly, I mean it. My heart rate will go sky high at a slow 3.0 MPH walk on the treadmill. 

Anyways, with all of these diets and exercising that I would start, I would get frustrated and give up. Even with my reward to myself, if I completed my goal (which I never did), I would fail. My reward was always something like "looking pretty", or "being sexy" or even "being that highschool weight again" my goal was always 130 pounds. 

So now I have a new plan: 

Learn to love myself, while trying to lose weight. Not focusing on the number of pounds I weigh, but rather the number of inches that I lose.  Learn that I am beautiful and sexy and loved, regardless of what I look like. 

Here is my new goal: 

Try to get down to 145 pounds. 

Once at 145 pounds, evaluate where I am at. 

Be a healthy 5-7 jean size, regardless of what my weight is. 

My reward is going to be something that I want, and have wanted for a really long time. Just as much as I have wanted to lose this weight. 

My reward will be LASIK eye surgery. 

I must be a 5-7 jean size by November 8, 2014 (my 26th birthday!) in order to cash in on my reward! 

Now, I'm also doing something else different with this too! 

To keep my reward  at the forefront of my mind, I am going to make a piggy bank! I will put my allowances (my husband and I each get a set amount each paycheck to so whatever we want with) in it, as well as any donations that people pitch in! 

I plan on writing my goal on the piggy bank. 

Im not giving out details now, but I'll show you the before picture of what it looks like currently. 

Well, that's all you're getting for now! 

Xo Danielle oX 

Love.... Is an Action

My husband loves me. And I love him.

Recently, I watched an episode of the new TV show, the Goldburgs. Part of it was where the mom and dad got into a fight because she didn't hear him say "I love you" enough. He won her back by showing her a video of all the ways he showed her that he loved her. 

This episode really spoke to me. Matt says he loves me all the time. He is always asking "have I told you that I love you today?" (Me: yes) (Matt: okay good. I love you with all my heart) 

Sometimes I really need to hear it. But now I want to see it. 

I'm going to list all the ways he shows me that he loves me. 

Well, maybe not all the ways, the list would be forever long. 

How I know my husband loves me, actions only: 

-He will wake up with me at 6 AM to go on a walk (or run) with me... Even when he's really tired. 

-On those runs, he will run painfully slow, to keep up with me. Yes, I said that right. I run extremely slow. 

-He knows that if he says "don't smile", it'll make me smile. 

-He can tell when I need a hug. And even if I don't want a hug, he'll do whatever to make it better. 

-He will notice when I'm stressing out, having an anxiety attack, or getting upset & will rub the back of my neck to calm me down. 

-I fall asleep, pretty much religiously, at 9:00 pm. He will make sure I have a pillow and blanket to be comfortable. 

-He pops my toes. 

-He lets me pop his toes. 

-If I go to bed (instead of falling asleep on the couch) and he isn't even close to being tired, he will still come and lay down with me until I fall asleep. 

-When I've had a bad day, he will rub my back. 

-We have an agreement. Whoever cooks does not set the table or do dishes. He knows that if I'm not cooking, it's because I've had a hard day... He'll do dishes for me. 

Alrighty, there is a list of ways that I know my husband loves me, based on actions. 

Xo Danielle oX 

A little bit more about... Me.

Hello again! 

I'm pretty sure that I'll never again do 2 post in one day. 

I can't even guarantee that I'll do 2 post a week....

But...  I'm on vacation. 

So here goes. 

I figured that I should probably tell you a couple of more thing about me, otherwise, you may misunderstand some things that I will one day say. 

I am brutally honest. I don't sugarcoat things. It's a waste of time. Of mine and yours. 

Some people have told me that I am very "dry". Some have said I'm a bitch. Some have said "thank you for not wasting my time". 

It doesn't really matter what people say. It doesn't change the fact that sugarcoating things is a waste of time. 

I hate time wasting. 

Another thing about me. I try to be open to other people and their beliefs. I won't push mine onto you, and I would prefer if you don't push yours onto me. 

I love debate. I also love shaking hands at the end of a debate. 

We are all equals. We are all humans. 

Xo Danielle oX 

 P/s: my goal is to do at least 1

Post a week. At least to start. ;-) 

A Little About Me

Hello! My name is Danielle. Here are some facts about me:

I am currently 24 and happily married to my husband, Matt. We have been married for just over 3 years. I love every moment of it.  We have 2 dogs and 1 cat. They are our babies. Our dogs names are Paige and Maxx. Paige is the black dog, shown above, she didn't really enjoy the pictures that day. Maxx is the brown dog that you see next to my husband. He has a ton of energy! Our cat is Abbie... She's pretty sassy. 

I have graduated college, I have an associates degree in paralegal studies. While I am not currently in the legal field, I love having this degree. It taught me a lot.

The best things I learned while in college:
   
    My rights as an American Texan. 
    How to research things for myself. 
    How to get things done when no one else can step up. 

Not necessarily about the law, but they are all vital things to know about!

Anywho... Onto more important things. :-)

I am at a point in my life where my marriage is the main priority.  A couple of years ago, this would have been different, sadly. While I wasn't trying to sabotage my marriage, I thought that I could keep hanging around all of my same friends- the ones that are single, drink & club all weekend. I'm not sure when my views changed on this, but I realized that while I wasn't drinking and clubbing all night and weekend, well... It's best said like this: “If you hang out with chickens, you're going to cluck and if you hang out with eagles, you're going to fly.” (Steve Maraboli). 

Now, I am not saying that as a married woman I can't have friends that are single. Or drink. Or club even. 

This is what I am saying though: I can not have friends who are going to constantly attempt to come between my husband and I, after being told no. 

I am still trying to figure out what all of that means, but I think I have a pretty good set of friends at the current time. They all mean the world to me, I hope I mean the world to them! :) 

Now... What is this blog going to be about? 

That's a good question. It's one I've been asking for a while! That's part of the reason that I'm just now starting this thing.. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. I don't really have a "niche" yet. At first, it will be about everything and anything. My journey to weight loss, my journey to find my "religion", anything DIY that I do (if ever), recipes that we enjoy, cooking, etc... 

By the way, I LOVE to BBQ. Smoking (on a grill) is amazing to me. I want to start doing competitions.... Yes, I am THAT good. :-) More on that later though! 


Anywho, that is enough for now.

Chow!

xo Danielle xo