Down 6.5 pounds and 12 inches!!!

Results!
I have to admit I was very discouraged this week because the scale just wouldn't budge. I was at 144.5 for five days. Then this morning it went down. I added some serous weight lifting this week and somehow I hoped it would make the numbers on the scale go down. I knew from a logical standpoint that I should be taking measurements instead but it is a lot harder than just getting out of bed and stepping on the scale.

So this morning I took my third set of measurements, biceps, hips, bust, waist, calves and thighs and I am down 6.5 more inches for a total of 12 since I started this program on June 22. I really am going to have to focus on the inches more now that I have a good strength training regimen going.

Gym
On Monday of this week I joined a gym that is less than 5 minutes from my house. The gym requires no contracts and it was only 100 dollars down and 10 dollars a month. Yea for me I now have somewhere to lift weights. I found that I also like the cardio bike, something I used to hate. It loosens up the hip I broke and helps with more fluid motions in the leg.

I have been sore for days but it is the good kind of sore and I know if I keep it up I can look like Jillian Michaels in no time. Yes that is my goal these days to have a body like hers and while I have a weight guideline it is not set in stone because I want to have some serious muscle tone.

My membership included 2 personal training sessions and the first one was just paper work and goal setting. I don't have the cash for more sessions but he did show me some great exercises and my sister in law also helped me learn to use the machines and showed me some great core exercises. I am all set to succeed for now as long as I keep it up.

Setbacks
Everyone has setbacks and mine seem to have to do with scheduling. I have not really messed my eating up because I have kept all the really bad food out of the house. I have however had a few days where poor planning has had me to the point of my stomach grumbling and me reaching for anything and everything to eat. If I had junk food in the house I would be in big trouble on those days.

I think the worst thing is finding time for exercise 6 days a week. I want to stay on a 6 day plan for the rest of my life but there is always something to do or some family function or a wedding or ....well you get my point, and that leads me to my next section about working in the fitness industry.

My New Job Is Getting Fit
I started my first (free) course to become a personal trainer. I have been reading the book when I have the time but some of it is overwhelming. I did graduate from college with a great GPA but I didn't learn a whole lot of science and the book is loaded with it. So I borrowed some textbooks from my sister to help me get a better grasp of some of the terms.

It won't be a breeze but it is not super difficult either and it gives me some time to prove to myself and my hubby  and potential clients that I can get in great shape. Then when I am close to my own goals I can start to take the ISSA course that seems to be accepted everywhere.

I want to stay in great shape and I want to help other people stay in shape and what better way to achieve this goal than to have a career in fitness.

Diet
Just an added note I am on a diet of sorts. I am using (and selling) Herbalife products. I love them because they give me energy and they are great for a quick meal when I am on the go. I can take a protein bar to the gym and eat it before a great work out and come home and have a shake. I am on a 2 shake a day program but I have been known to have another on for a snack especially now that I am lifting weights and need a protein boost without having to cook something. I eat a lot of veggies, salads and nuts for snacks and I eat a good meal but I am NOT counting calories. I get way too obsessive when I do that. I am also not cutting out red meat or potatoes but I am staying away from bread for right now. I eat ground buffalo and lean steaks but not everyday and I sometimes have potatoes cut up and grilled. I am staying away from the bread because I think I am addicted to it when I eat a little I just want more and more.

We went to the Outback the other day and I had a small steak with veggies and a sweet potato and one little piece of bread and once I took a bite it took everything in me to leave the rest there I don't even have that much of an issue with sweet things. I always thought my vice was sweets but come to find out it is bread. Not sure what that is all about but maybe I will learn in my personal training courses.

Good luck with your weight loss programs and thanks to all of you who have supported me over the years. This time I am going to get it done and by the end of October you will get the before and after pics.

My Crazy Life

This is just going to be a bit of rambling because I have had an almost unbearable week. I have had some victories but it is hard to focus on them with everything that has happened to me. The first big thing has something to do with the Herbalife business that I am starting. I want to say that it is not Herbalife that I have a problem with it is the people/company I came in with. Then there is the duplex that was broken into and all the copper pipes stolen plus a broken window.

Now in the midst of this stuff I started my new diet plan. I am on the Herbalife quick start plan and I love it. The shakes are amazing and I eat 4-5 times a day just replace two meals with shakes. I am still working that out because I need to get some protein in with my snacks. I have been having a lot of salads and sometimes I save the last snack for the evening and have home made ice cream but I have been eating just a very small portion of it. I need to figure out the calories in each batch but I am still better off than much of the grocery store ice cream. It has a lot less sugar in it and none of the extra stuff you can't pronounce.

I started at 150 on Sunday and have worked out everyday since (5 days) and I am now at 148 so that is not too shabby for less than a week. I have to work out the diet plan a bit but the work outs I am feeling good about. I have been pushing myself and on the days I feel like I can't do it I just keep doing it even if it isn't as fast as yesterday.

I started off really motivated but right today I am feeling like giving up because I am so irritated with life. I am not going to give up! I just can't!

 So you want to know what else happened well I went to incomeathome.com and signed up for an online business. They were very secretive about their product and their methods. They are a group of people selling Herbalife products in a different way and it is a very high pressure and deceptive way. I am not going to go into details because I already feel like a huge idiot for letting them dupe me out of money and tons of time before I could even start selling the product. If I had not stood my ground it could have been worse. I have been fighting to get some of my money back and it is not working. I have almost 600 dollars into it and I have one quick start package which would have cost me 110 dollars had I signed up locally. That doesn't count the phone minutes and the 20-30 hours of my time on phone calls and training that did not teach me much about the products.

So I canceled everything I could and filed the BBB reports that I could and I called Herbalife and asked if I could just be a regular distributor. I found a nutrition club with the help of some great friends and I was very impressed with the way they do business. It was not high pressure and they were very transparent about the costs. I was able to taste some very good shake recipes and I am excited to sell the products. I just can't get the bad taste out of my mouth with the experience I have been having. I have been fighting for hours each day with the many different companies that I have signed up for because the training said I HAD to have this and that and NONE of it is required to sell the product.

The good this week is that the products I got from Herbalife are working very well for me I am so excited. I have a lot more physical energy already. I didn't get my product until Tuesday but I had some samples that I used to try to get through the earlier days. I love the shakes they are delicious and I was really scared they would not be. I would like to loose two pounds a week but I have to overcome my temptation to eat when I get stressed out or to just sit and pout about the money I couldn't afford to loose.

I just need to find the fighter in me and push through all of this and just get it done.

Herbalife for Weightloss

Trial Period Starting Soon

My starter package from Herbalife is in the mail and I am hoping it will get here today. I would like to start the program tomorrow. The program doesn't seem that hard as far as I can tell there are many options for the shakes and the snacks. I will be getting a lot of veggies from the farm I am working on and I can use them as snacks.

To be more clear on the weight loss program you are encouraged to take their herbal tablets 3 times a day, and replace two meals a day with shakes. You are also encouraged to have two healthy snacks. I am pretty sure organic fresh picked veggies will be included in that.

The great thing is that according to the label on the website I can use these shakes because they don't have artificial sweeteners in them. I have never been able to do a program like this because the shakes gave me migraines. The best thing is that once I reach my goal weight I can go to one shake a day and continue with the supplements. I have not tried them yet but I may have to get creative on my farm days. I get really hungry when I do physical labor so I am thinking those days might be one shake days at first but I will play it by ear and pack a healthy lunch. If I am famished when I get home then I will have a healthy dinner as well if not I will have a shake.

Soon to be Herbalife Distributor 
I am really motivated to try this program because if I get good results I will be able to share my story with potential clients. So I am going to document my progress here on this blog. I am very excited to try the products and to sell them. They have a line of all natural skin care products I would love to try as well. I am working through my training right now and I hope to be able to share a website with you soon. I will keep you updated and if your are interested in products let me know.