Detox Week Comes to an End!

I have tried a lot of things to lose weight and stay fit in my lifetime. You name it, I've tried it. And it always goes the same way...I work hard to lose five to ten pounds and it comes back in a matter of months because I don't stick with it. As far as workouts go, I think I have finally found something that works for the long term...thank you, BIKRAM YOGA! Yes, that is HOT yoga I am speaking of. ;) Blaine and I have been members since March, LOVE it, and have seen some nice results. That said, I still have this nagging seven (I'm changing the number in the title each day) pounds I would like to lose. So, in an attempt to get rid of it and be ready for my sister's wedding in just under two weeks, we are doing the 7-Day Wedding Cleanse recommended by a fellow blogger who saw awesome results from it!

http://www.greenlemonade.com/brides-bumps/7-day-wedding-cleanse/

Day 1:

Has not been so bad! Blaine is also along for the ride...he is so supportive. In reality, I'm sure he thinks he won't get fed if he doesn't jump on board with what I'm eating. ;) The food was pretty good...whole grain toast with butter and cinnamon for breakfast, salad with a veggie burger and salsa for lunch, a Lara Bar for a snack-Blaine, watermelon for a snack-Jen (no, this isn't on the diet, but I was at the beach with friends!), and I'm making the veggie chili and baked potatoes right now for dinner. I'm feeling a little hungry right now, but don't feel like I'm starving! I think this is doable!!

I have some "before" pictures to add to this post, but upon closer inspection, I have decided NOT to put them on here for fear of making a fool of myself....I'm REALLY hoping we'll see some changes in seven days... ;) If we do, I'll post those pictures then!

Day 2:

Still going well, and I've already lost one of those pesky seven pounds! We had apple slices with peanut butter for breakfast (because I didn't feel like getting up at 5 a.m. to make the other choices on the menu for Blaine ;)), salad with a veggie burger and salsa for lunch (again, I know, but that's how I like to do things and it's pretty good!), Lara bars for a snack (not sure what I think of them yet), and we will have leftover chili and potatoes again for dinner because Blaine has a softball game and I won't have time to cook tonight. Five more days to go...

Day 3:

I lost another .6 pounds. :) It's not much, but it counts! Today was pretty good, food and hunger-wise. Not sure Blaine would say the same...he thinks I'm trying to starve him. ;) We had the strawberry and banana cereal for breakfast (NOT as yummy as I thought it would be as a smoothie), the taco bites for lunch (VERY yummy...who knew taco-flavored oatmeal could taste so good? We will make this again and again!), and veggie stir-fry for dinner with a salad and mustard vinaigrette (also yummy and a keeper meal). I can't say that I'm not looking forward to Monday and the Thai food I plan to indulge in as a reward, but this isn't so bad! Four more days, can't give up now!

Funny note: All manners have flown out the window and we have, at times, resorted to licking our plates to get every calorie. I now see how people can get crazed when they're hungry. ;)

Day 4:

This diet is getting easier! I went to bed last night a little hungry, but I lost another .4 pounds, bringing my total weight loss to two pounds in three days. I'm not counting today yet, as I will weigh in tomorrow morning for today's results. Blaine has lost like four or five pounds...I don't care to discuss it any further. ;) We had the strawberry and banana cereal again for breakfast (this time, sliced up and not as a smoothie), taco bites for lunch (so yummy, I recommend all of you to try them!), and we will have veggie stir fry for dinner again because I haven't figured out how I'm going to tackle the pizzas yet. Just three more days to go until my date with Pad Thai! ;)

Days 5 and 6:

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday...maybe I wasn't motivated since I didn't see any weight loss. ;) I lost another .2 pounds today, but I'm not so concerned with the weight loss anymore. I have to say that I feel GREAT! I really do feel healthy and feel that, overall, I look "better". We've had the same meals both days for breakfast...oats with peanut butter (super yummy!), taco bites for lunch yesterday and I'm making the pepper salad with eggs today. I'm tweaking it a bit and making more of a "huevos rancheros" version. We had the detox pizza for dinner, which was actually pretty good, and we'll have it again for dinner tonight. Blaine asked if we could cheat on the diet today :), I told him NO and that we only have until tomorrow so we're sticking with it! It was tempting, but I did not succumb to peer pressure. Note: A few hours after writing this, I wanted to cheat and get a dessert while we were out, but Blaine wouldn't let us! It's good to have someone to hold you accountable.

Day 7:

The end! I think this entire post would sound completely different coming from Blaine (who has been hungry for the last week and wanted to end the diet by going out to dinner tonight!), but since I'm writing this, I'll give my point of view. We had oatmeal and PB for breakfast, huevos rancheros for lunch, and we'll have the last dinner of salad and eggs tonight (this is why Blaine wanted to skip it and go out).

I'm excited that this is the last day, not because I was miserable on this diet (not sure Blaine would concur), but because I'm looking forward to eating things I want to eat. That said, I really feel that we are going to incorporate some of these detox meals into our every day menu from now on. Another important lesson, that we've always known to be true, but never followed it, is PORTION CONTROL. Good grief, we eat way too much food! Starting tomorrow, we will share meals at restaurants, or have half of our meal wrapped up to go BEFORE it even comes to the table. Case in point...the first day I made the oatmeal with peanut butter, I made it following the directions on the package, split the oatmeal between two bowls, and we enjoyed it! Only to realize afterwards that we both had just consumed TWO servings of oatmeal instead of one. I cut the amount I cooked in half the next day, and it was more than enough food. So, when I indulge in my Pad Thai tomorrow, Blaine and I will split one order! ;)

Now, for the real test...resisting eating Mexican food all nine days that we are in Texas! Oh, the torture!

TOTAL weight loss:
Jen: 2 pounds
Blaine: 7 pounds! Grrr...