Lessons from Biggest Loser Resort: Time to cleanse the mind and body!

After reading my friend, Betty’s blog at http://phatchances.blogspot.com, I decided to write tonight. Betty is so inspiring to me and if I can reach just one person the way she reaches me every time she writes, then it’s worth typing through the exhaustion and foregoing a Friday night of debauchery J

For some reason, I woke up today feeling more alert and energized than I normally do. Perhaps it was because I finally got a non-alcohol-induced sleep after treating my body well yesterday, for an entire day! Yes, I did undergo a few struggles while on my trip to the east coast this past weekend. While I had a great time, I now realize how easily I “adapt” to others’ habits and lifestyles! This is not a good thing. I need to find stronger resolve when I’m faced with challenging situations.

When I arrived home on Tuesday, I had some residual emotions that I spoke of in my Valentine’s Day post, and processing brought many things to light. I accomplished what I wanted to on my trip and any open questions I had were answered. Long story, short; I decided to relinquish anything for which I had no control and just “do me.” Giving up those emotions was surprisingly easy once I allowed myself to focus on life in the present! It may have been somewhat symbolic, but I decided to cleanse my body at the same time I was cleansing my mind…. It sounded like a great idea at the time! I could rid myself of all the crap food and gunk in my system while starting fresh in my head and getting refocused on my weight loss journey! Fantastic!

  

  Personal Score:  A
(I'm making progress, both physically and emotionally)

I heard about the “Shakeology Cleanse” but I didn’t know what it was. Since I already had a month’s supply of Shakeology on-hand, I decided to Google it and see if it was something of interest. It seemed easy enough! You do the following for three days:

• WAKE UP: Green tea (no sweetener)
• BREAKFAST: Shakeology Shake with fruit and liquid that does not contain sugar (I used unsweetened Almond Milk and 6 frozen strawberries);
• SNACK: An apple or berries (I ate a Pink Lady apple)
• LUNCH: Shakeology Shake with fruit and liquid that does not contain sugar (to change up the flavors, I used a frozen banana this time)
• SNACK: Another apple
• DINNER: Dark-leaf lettuce with protein – no oil, butter, salt or pepper (boring, but it does the job)
• SNACK: If you’re still hungry, they suggest eating more fruit

First, let me say that this worked for me. Without a doubt, it works. In just two days, I’ve lost more than 4 lbs and I know that “gunk” is leaving my body.

I just wish my stomach wasn’t making so much darned noise! It’s embarrassing! No dates for me this weekend! Ha! With that said, I am noticing some positive differences so far; I am thinking more clearly, my attitude seems more positive, I’m more alert, and I feel “lighter” and healthier. The not-so-positive effects are; I am tired around 2pm, I don’t feel like I’m eating enough, I’m getting dizzy more easily, and my energy depletes more quickly. The instructions say that it’s not advisable to work out while cleansing, because the caloric intake is so low, but I’ve been working out anyway. I believe I am only consuming about 1000 calories while on this cleanse. I know this isn’t enough, but it’s only for three days and I’m hoping it helps to jump-start my metabolism when I go back to my normal 1500-1600 calories per day on Sunday.

I'm sooooo close!!!! My trainer tried to get me to that 179.9 mark today, but we JUST missed it! Maybe tomorrow! This means I'm down 37 lbs since I left BLR and I am down 79 lbs total!

This was my trainer and me after he kicked my butt this morning in a hilacious workout. During the workout, he had me focus on something...er... someone... unpleasant (who just happened to walk by the gym windows) to give me motivation to go at ludicrous speed! At one point while I was struggling on the treadmill, he said, "Focus on your horizon! Get through this! No erratic breathing!" Unfortunately, as I looked out the window, the unpleasant "thing" was right in my line of sight, so my response was, "There's a pile of sh*t in my horizon, sir!"

Our treadmill intervals were at 5.0 incline and sometimes up past 7.0 mph! Can you say jello legs? As if that weren't enough, in the second half hour, I was begging for mercy after 30 minutes of more intervals, sometimes reaching at over 113 RPMs at Level 15 on the bike for as long as my heart and lungs could take it. I hate/love that man! :)



All the cleansing of my mind and body also has me thinking of Essara, my psychologist and life coach at Biggest Loser Resort. There are many days that I make decisions related to what she and I used to discuss and I ask myself, “Would Essara be proud of me?” I wish I could still talk to her at least once per week. Sometimes, I truly don’t know the answer to that question, since it seems emotional growth is often tied to doing something that is emotionally painful. Am I doing the right thing by putting myself through something I know has the potential to hurt me? At what point is “putting up walls” or “closing myself off” a GOOD thing? I do see myself setting clearer boundaries with people in my life that used to walk all over me, but I’m not sure I’m making the progress I need to be making to be successful in the long-term. I miss you, Essara!

I actually have been missing ALL of my BLR buddies! I was chatting with Amanda Tyson this morning and we got on the topic of hiking Nicholas “not so” Flatts. We both had a good laugh about our last attempt, but under no uncertain terms, we plan to tackle and conquer that bitch in May. No doubt we will as we have BOTH come SO far. After texting and talking to a few of my BLR girls, seeing all the Follow Fridays on Twitter, and getting a glance of THIS picture from BLR (I was laughing my butt off! This was Amanda and I on that darned hike! We both thought we were dying!), I realized how important it is to have a huge support system!

I’m so fortunate that no matter what I’m feeling, or when I’m feeling it, I can turn around and one of my BLR sisters or brothers is there for me! I am so lucky to have all of these special people in my life! I truly believe THAT is the biggest key to moving toward success and not giving up! Having people around you that share your struggles, goals, desires, pain, and fears…. As long as you stay in contact with them, you will be forced to be true to yourself and it will be that much more difficult to give up! Thank goodness these people are in my life as I am a much better person for it! I don’t know what I’d do without them on my toughest days.

Another key component, which goes in-hand with the support system, is to always remember where you started! Remember what got you to your “bottom” in the first place and remember how it felt to be there! BUT do NOT confuse this with ridiculing or beating up your former self whenever you see an old picture or someone makes a comment about how you “used to be!”

I get so upset when I hear formerly overweight people look at a past image of themselves and put themselves down! Saying things like, “Look at how gross I was!” or “Who is that disgusting person!?” Why?!?! Isn’t it true that when we were at our highest weights, we couldn’t understand how people could be that cruel to us? How people couldn’t see us for what/who were are on the inside? The whispers when we’d order dessert? How we felt when people wouldn’t even glance our way to say hello? Being treated like an animal or sub-standard human being when something didn’t fit like a seat or a seatbelt? All awful!!!!

I get that you don’t want to go back to being miserable and feeling unattractive, but it’s not healthy to treat your old self like someone you don’t know and don’t ever want to be. Behind that exterior, there was a person that was full of love, desperation, hope, and sadness! I am positive you beat yourself up enough back then! I know I did! Enough is enough. How would you have felt if someone you knew, loved, and trusted spoke to you back then, the way you are speaking about your former self now? It’s important to remember why you don’t want to go back, but also remember that the depressed and broken person in that picture was a suffering human being. If anything, they deserve love and respect for helping you achieve who you are today and who you’re working to become. Love yourself, past and present, because both of you deserve it!

See you on the fit side!

-Heather