Keeping Up With The Petrosians

Let the CHALLENGE begin!

Advocare 24 Day Challenge

I have had quite a few friends have success losing weight and inches by using Advocare's 24 Day Challenge. At first, I couldn't get over how much it costs, but I found a guy on Craigslist who sold it to me for the distributor's price. I kept going back and forth with still not wanting to pay the price. Then Joey told me that if I really wanted to do it then just do it if it will make me feel better. At first I thought it would be all meal replacement shakes, lots of pills, and very little eating. After doing some research, only some of that is true. You CAN use the meal replacement shakes, but you do not use them the entire time or for every meal. There is a freaking TON of pills to take. You DO eat though. Now the fiber drink...gag. Of course, the whole point of The Challenge is to start ridding your body of junk and cleaning up your eating act. I have been losing the same few pounds. I lose a few and then do something stupid like eat a bunch of pizza. So I am trying out the challenge to "help" me out.

I am only on Day 1, but it seems easy so far. Other than the dreaded fiber drink. It is absolutely disgusting. I think it is the worst thing I have ever tasted. (Well, Goldschläger is pretty disgusting, too.) My friends who have completed the challenge said to mix it with OJ. So I mixed it with 1/2 cup Trop50. I stirred that drink and tried to chug it, only to gag and feel extremely sick. It is SO gritty and just gross. So I added another 1/4 cup of OJ. It was still super hard to get down, but much better than my first try. I am dreading the other 5 days that I have to drink that crap. Bleh!

My breakfast is something that I like to eat anyway. I had 2 eggs, strawberries, water, and of course the Omega Plex pills. That water jug is the most awesome water cup ever. It is the cup I got from the hospital when I had Brynlee. I love that it has the ounces listed on the side.

Breakfast, Day 1

My lunch consisted of things that I love. Canned chicken breast (with a little mustard and dill relish), Minute Brown Rice (with Cajun seasoning), one hard boiled egg, and a bunch of carrots. My lunch hasd 49g of protein and that is awesome! I have been drinking a ton of water all day and now I remember why I love and hate drinking so much water. I love it because it makes me feel full and refreshed, but hate it because I have to run to the bathroom so many times. I am planning to eat some lean meat and veggies for dinner. I LOVE veggies!

Lunch, Day 1

I am going to SERIOUSLY try not to weigh myself until the cleanse part (10 days) is over, but I know I probably will. I just can't help it. I think that is one of my biggest problems. I see the scale barely move or I see it go up one day instead of down and I get so frustrated. I am trying to break that habit. It sure is a tough habit to break. I have heard of people who have actually thrown away their scales or have taken their scales to a friend/family member's house. I don't think I am that bad. I don't weigh myself multiple times a day or anything, but I do tend to weigh myself after a workout. I know you don't get IMMEDIATE results (oh weightloss would be so much easier if that were the case), but I still do it.

Yesterday, I worked in the garden for a little over 2 hours with my sis-in-law. It was hard work, but so much fun. I am super sore today because I used muscles that I have not used in a while, I guess. I wore my Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor and it said I burned 1163 calories in 2 hours and 18 minutes. Now I forgot to pause my HRM a few times when we were taking drink breaks. So I don't think I burned that many calories through the actual exercise, but I did work pretty hard! MyFitnessPal says I burned 837 calories during that time. Who knows. All I know is that I burned a lot and it felt great!

On to other news, I love my Brady Bands! I ordered 4. I wanted them to match the colors of the workout clothes I wear most often so I got a solid black one, a pink chevron, a purple and black zebra, and of course a Texas Tech one. I have worn all kinds of workout head bands and they all slip off. I think I have a small head. So I took a chance on ordering the Brady Bands and I love them. I wore one all day yesterday and it never slipped or anything. Plus, they are so cute! They have all kinds of different band sizes (standard, mini, skinny, wide, and kid size) and lots of cute prints. Here is the one I wore yesterday.

Pink Chevron Brady Band

My mom and I (and Brynlee) are participating in the Dallas NAMI Walk this Saturday, May 4th from 8:30-10:00am. NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) is an organization that supports thousands of people with mental illness. Every one of us has loved ones and people we know who suffer from mental illness. Please help us in supporting this very worthy organization. If any of my DFW friends would like to join us for the walk (5k), let me know! We'd love to have you there. If you would like to donate any money to support the cause, here is our link: NAMIWalk Dallas. Anything you can give will be greatly appreciated!

I usually get my week day exercise in earlier in the morning. Not EARLY morning, but I usually get the workout in before noon. I have to work around Brynlee's nap time! I was awake before 7am today, but stayed in bed (playing on my phone) with Brynlee until 7:30. I had to stay at the house today until the city came to work on my brother and sis-in-law's water lines. They just left and now Brynlee is napping. So I plan to get an evening workout in after dinner.

What are you doing for exercise today?

I had a dream. And it sucked.

Let me back up and say that this little girl has subconsciously given me baby fever.

Baby Laynea, 4.26.13

That is my niece, Laynea. I wrote about her here. She is almost a month old and I wish I could just hold and love on her. I want Brynlee to hold her. She is obsessed with babies. Hopefully she won't treat Laynea the way she treats her baby dolls though. She does like to put diapers on them, feed them, kiss them, and sleep with them. But she also likes to strip them naked, drop them when she is finished with them, and color on their faces with mascara.

Back on track here. ~~Joey and~~ I have pretty much decided that we plan to start trying for another ~~disaster~~ child shortly after Brynlee turns two. I keep telling myself that I'll be "ready" by then. She turns 2 in July. That's only 3 months away. Um, I think my dream is trying to tell me that we're not really ready.

In this dream, my house was a disaster. It wouldn't make it on Hoarders or anything like that, but it was filthy. Clothes hanging from the ceiling fan, dishes piled up, dirty floor, washer and dryer full of clothes, messy bathroom, the whole damn 9. I was breastfeeding this new baby and seriously chasing Brynlee through the yard because she got out the front door. I looked gross (and I am sure I smelled gross) and frazzled. Oh and I was fatter than I am now! As my friend Katie would say, I looked frumpy.

That may not sound that scary to you, but it does to me. I keep going back and forth between thinking 3-6 months is not far away and thinking it's plenty of time. I try to remind myself that even if we start trying in August, it could take longer to get pregnant. But you see, that's what I was sorta counting on when I first got off birth control so we could try to get pregnant the first time annnnd let's just say, "It only takes one time..."! Brynlee is a super good kid, but she is a typical toddler. She is wild, rambunctious, and in to everything. I know she is exploring, learning, and testing her boundaries. She is mischievious, but so cute. She is smart, funny, and adorable. But am I ready for another? I get tired of people saying, "You'll never really be ready...", but I'd like to at least feel like adding another baby to our family is right for us. I guess we'll play it by ear and see how we feel come August.

I will leave you with some cute pictures of Brynlee. <3