8 Day Detox?

In December of 2011 I read of a "friend" who had tried this new product.  Of course the first thing I did was roll my eyes.  No lie....

She mentioned it several times on Facebook and I felt as if she was just trying to sell something new.  In March of 2012 I saw a before and after picture of her. My jaw hit the ground.  She. Looked. Amazing.

So I started reading up on it and asked how much it was.  You see, I'm a Pastors Wife and our income was very, very limited.  Like after the bills were paid at the end of the months we had about $100 for gas and groceries.  That is no exaggeration.  So my heart was sad that after seeing the price I knew there was no way that would happen.  By June I hit one of the lowest points of my life.  As the months went by I just kept sinking deeper and deeper.  My husband being one of the most patient and loving men in the world would encourage me, love on me and just be there when I just needed him there.  Most days I stayed in my bed because I just didn't have the energy to do anything.  A lot of times I slept 14-15 hours out of the day and I would just beg the Lord for something, anything.  I should go back...

Here I am in 5th Grade.  I was already being teased at this point in my life for being "fat". 

At the age of 11 I hit puberty.  The crazy hormonal attitude was blamed on my teenage years and the fact that my family is not one to "talk" about anything really personal I had no idea something wasn't right.  It wasn't until my grandparents came to visit us that my Nannie knew something wasn't right.  My parents took me to the doctors, I met with children's specialist and had series after series of test.  Their response in the end (after I gained over 100 pounds in just a couple of years) was I had a hormonal imbalance and if I lost the weight it would take care of it.  So they put me on birth control at the age of 14 and sent me on my way.  Let me just put a side note in here.  I am all about doctors.  I have family members and friends who are doctors or in the  medical field.  As I look back it would be the doctors words of how I was morbidly obese and that I needed to lose this weight that sent me into my years of depression.  Please, if you are going to give advice to a young, hormonal, emotional and sensitive teenager, make sure you know what  you are talking about.  Ok...off that soap box and back to the story.  I can look back and remember being so tired alllllllll the time.  I slept when I could and every time i went to the kitchen I was being questioned by my parents as to what I was putting in my mouth.  People (even my own family) got on the bandwagon informing of my weight and how "fat" I was.  It was almost as if I didn't know or see it.  I DID! 

Here I am in Highschool with some friends.  At this point I weighed in at about 250 Pounds

I never really let how I felt on the inside about all the teasing and hurtful words show.  I just put up wall after wall to try and hide the hurt.  In 1998 I graduated and left for college.  It was a small college so everyone knew everyone and that is where I met my husband.  I remember learning about his previous girlfriends and they were all skinny and pretty and I remember one time he said to me "I never dated someone like you".  He wasn't referring to my awesome personality (though I know he thinks I had one *grin*) or my independence   He was referring to my size.  He fell in love with me because of who I was not and not what I looked like.  I told him before we married that I may never be able to have children.  He still married me :)

On our Wedding day in 2001.  I was close to 300 pounds here.

Within the first year of our marriage I suffered two miscarriages.  The first one was twins the second triplets. I was not healthy enough to carry them.  Our marriage would not have survived having 5 babies and the Lord knew this.  I dream of those babies today but I am thankful I will one day see them again.  For the next 11 years my husband and I would grow closer, our love became stronger and my health would become worse.  Doctor after doctors, diet after diet, and moment by moment I felt as if my life was slipping away.  That brings me back to this past week.....

We did not have the money for this new "hope".  My husband, determined more than ever to help me took a couple of part time jobs and said "order it Ann".  So I did.  I ordered the product on a Monday, it shipped on Tuesday and it arrived on Thursday.  Thursday I was having such a bad day.  I spent most of the day in bed.  Tired, had a headache and wishing my life would change.  My husband walked into the bedroom and said "I have a surprise for you" and handed me my package.  It was instant joy.  I opened it up, read every bottle, paper and got my list together.  Headed to the store bought my protein.  Friday morning I started my 8 day detox.  By mid morning I was feeling so good.  Had some energy, cleaned up, did the laundry and was very motivated.  I went to sleep that night and slept so sound.  I woke up on day two feeling really good! The energy I had was amazing.  My husband could not get over how well I was doing.  Day three came along and though I was struggling slightly with some cravings I felt really good.  That was the only day I took a nap :) day four came along and i was feeling so good.  My stomach was bothering me some and after talking with Nickole we had determined I may just be sensitive to one of the supplements on an empty stomach.  After talking to her and Adelle I had decided I wanted to take a picture to see if there was a difference.  At this point I was down 13.5 pounds and 30 inches.  Something had to look different right?  

The left is from the night before I started the 8 day detox.  The picture on the right is the morning of the 5th day.

I was in complete shock.  I mean, seriously !?!?! Thats me?!?!?! Talk about a huge motivator!!! I shared this with my support group and they were just as shocked.  I shared my testimony that night at a group (thank you technology!) meeting in troy Michigan through facetime.  I enjoyed listening to the testimony's and being able to share mine.  

As I type this, I am on day 7.  I have lost a total of 20.5 pounds and 35.5 inches.  I'm amazed at the energy I have. I feel amazing and my husband is just as amazed at how I am doing.  Thankful for this moment.  Praising the Lord for the opportunity and excited for my future! 

My ultimate goal is to be healthy.  We would love to start a family.  

If you have any questions please feel free to ask! email me at annmarielee at gmail dot com

Onto the new me! 

Day Two....

Still going strong...

Went to bed around 10:30 last night and woke up at 6:45....

I was supposed to get 200 oz's of water in me...I only got 128....thats a lot of water right? Yeah well I woke up with a charlie horse!!! they weren't lying when they said you needed to drink half your body weight in ozs! lol

Today, I will get my water down! onto good news....

I lost 8.4 lbs and a total of 16 inches (4 from my waist!).  I am more than excited!

Because I have not had any carbs (well other than what I get from the shake provided on the system) and no sugar I feel amazing! My gut does not feel bloated or in a lot of pain.  They say between today (day two) and tomorrow I may struggle some with cravings....speaking of cravings....

You have no idea the habits you have! As I was prepping food yesterday I kept trying to put food in my mouth! I put a piece of chicken in and immediately spit it back out! lol I was like "Ann what in the world!!!" Last night we went to visit one of our dear ladies who just had back surgery a month ago and is having difficulties.  After Tim and I left all i could think about was "I want to eat!" not because I was hungry....but because I just wanted to snack! I am not your typical heavy person.  I don't over indulge (ok wait...if you give me a bag of reese cups then I will eat them...ALL! lol but that's about it! oh and maybe peanut butter m&m's) but I do snack when I'm bored! lol Soooooo I just have to retrain my body! Its good to be hungry, just not starving! I wanna burn that fat!!!

Ok, so now I just need to go get ready for the day....I'll let you know how today went in  my update tomorrow! though tomorrow is church so I may be a little late in posting! lol

The time has come...

I'm 32 and struggling....my weight NEEDS to go....I'm determined more than ever to do this...

Today is day one of my new me.

I weighed, measured and prayed....

Yesterday, I was tired, my stomach was hurting, I wanted to just lay in my bed and never get up.  I was struggling with my female issue (that I have been struggling with since June!) and life as I knew it was just overwhelming...

Today I woke up and knew that life would change!

I took my pill this morning, drank my shake, 2 hours later I ate my protein, two hours later I drank my shake, took some more pills, 2 1/2 hours later ate more protein, and while all this is happening I have downed 128 oz of water.

So its 5pm, how do I feel?

This morning I felt really good...worked on food prep most of the morning, about 4 hours worth! I cleaned the kitchen, folded and put away laundry and watched a show or two.

I feel like I've spent most of my afternoon in the bathroom.

I have the beginnings of a headache right now but I'm still feeling pretty good.  a little hungry...trying to hold out until 6 before taking my last and final shake of the day :)

Hoping to see some great results tomorrow....can't wait :)

Update Number One...2010

Today is the first day that I am officially starting my life changing moment!

I am going to do my best to be rid of the many things that are harming my body by the end of this month! but my realistic goal is by March :)

Today for Breakfast I had
glass of OJ (Tropicana with lots of pulp)
Banana
Vitamins (Multi Vitamin for women, Iron, Calcium, and B12)
Snack
Tangelo
Lunch
Bowl of mixed veggies

So far so good...we shall see how I do around 4pm! that's one of the hardest parts of the day for me! Must stay busy!!!

I will be going to the gym tonight to walk on the treadmill :)

Tomorrow is the day....for real!

Tomorrow is the day….

The day that I officially go full force in changing my life…with God’s help of course…and my husbands…and my family’s….and my friends…and YOUR help as well!!!

As a young teenager trying to understand the emotional roller coaster, trying to do right, doing all that I could (well maybe not all but mostly all that I could) to lose weight…it was no where in sight. I know you have heard my story more than once. If not, just scroll back a few blog entries and you’ll see it for yourself. It’s something I couldn’t come to grips with. Doctors telling me if I would lose the weight I wouldn’t have this problem or that problem. And yet, it wasn’t me losing the weight that was the issue. This year I will turn 30. 30 does not scare me. I take it on like I would any other birthday. What frightens me, is never conceiving. I mean, if God never wanted us to have a family, then that’s fine, it would be tough, but He knows what is best for us. I know as a Christian I should do all that I can to stay healthy and do right. As I researched this PCOS that a friend told me about I remember tears pooling in my eyes. My heart beating faster, my fingers searching the screen, and the moment I KNEW this is what I’ve been struggling with. PCOS to some is just a name that is used when they have no explanation of what it could be. This term was tossed around in my teen years, and even my young married years. No one told me anymore about it other than I was “insulin resistant” and needed to get onto some exercise regiment. Well dear dr, who has spent years upon years, in and out of college, how does one do this when they have no energy? How does one do this when their iron levels are in the single digits and the simplest chore such as folding clothes makes you want to go and lay down and take a 3-4 hour nap? Oh Iron you say? I should pump myself full of iron…..

So that is what I felt for over 17 years. I had no control over my moods, emotions, feelings, strength, and pretty much my life! I had no answers, no explanation other than I was fat and needed to be on a “diet”. July of this year I started my new way of “dieting”. I had found this blog and from this blog, I was introduced to a new world of eating. Mckmama, as she refers to herself, made me feel “normal”. She would love for her family to eat nothing but wholesome, fresh, no preservatives, natural food but well then life happens, and she has a bunch of little ones that keep her pretty busy. So eating healthy, natural, and not fully of preservatives, is not possible all the time, but she has so much great information on her blog! And then I found this blog. She refers to herself as the Spunky Coconut. Boy does she have quite the challenge. She HAS to eat healthy or her family will suffer as they all have allergies to certain foods. So I look at these two families, and though they are at opposite ends of the spectrum, I know that if they can do it…I can too! I don’t even have children so it should be easier right??? Lol

So today…Sunday, January 3, 2010 I state that I am going to do all that I can to eat “right”. I am on day 21 of no soda! The craving is not as “strong” as it once was but it’s still there….

I had already planned on starting January 5, 2010 to start my healthy way of eating. I will be taking the unhealthy items out of my daily diet and replacing them with the healthier way. I know what some of you may be thinking but in July and August of 2009 I got a small taste of what it’s like to eat organic, raw, whole foods and I felt sooooo much better! I’m not going to go too crazy and become a tree hugger or anything. Though you may find me hugging a coconut tree cause of all the goodness it holds for you and all but other than that I’m just trying to get rid of what is harming me. I will enjoy life, I will find a new love for food. Trust me, I’m not going vegetarian or anything…not that, that is bad or anything, just not me! I actually have to learn to love veggies. I like them but I have to learn to want them. Tonight, my goal is to sit down and make a “what Ann can eat” and my menu for this week. My goal this week is to walk one mile 3 times a week. From there I will up the amount and the times. Sooo…if you are on board and want to be part of my cheering squad…please check up on me. Please pray for me…please ask me whats new…and if I haven’t blogged in a while…tell me I need too. I may not like you at first (big grin) but I will always be thankful….

So its to a new me….

9 days *sigh*

Ok, so 9 days ago I last posted...how sad! lol

Well, I finally was able to have a "true" aunt Flow visit...Bonus...and blah! lol

I haven't been 100% gluten free, dairy free, or sugar free (sad face here)

I have found some HELPFUL websites that have encouraged me to go back to the gluten free, sugar free and dairy free moments of life!

I have a new outlook on eating processed food...ok its not so new but it sure does make you feel horrible!

I have lost most of the water weight I gained while aunt flow was visiting....

My favorite beverage is Ice Cold Water! I'm serious...it feels so good to drink a ton of water and not even realize it!

I start working out at the gym next week...just gotta figure out a good schedule...early mornings? Lunch Time? Evening? We shall see...its a 24 hour gym!

Praying God help's me to stay faithful!

Working on a budget and need to stick to it!

Slept from 7pm to 9am....was I tired? Or just my body reacting to the no good food I have been eating lately!

I must detox again from the gluten, sugar and dairy!

Onto the rest of my very busy day!

Thanks for checking in!!

14 days ago?!?!?!....

Wow thats the last time I blogged?!?!?!

Well I promise that if I really had the time I would have! I wanted to but I was so exhausted!

Well, We left Monday July 27th at 4 am and from that point on, that whole, eating healthy, making right choices, doing whats good for my body, losing a few more pounds...yep it didn't happened....it flew out the window with sleep and sanity!

I did eat a salad here and there, TRIED to make a few good choices, but when you get up at the last minute, run out the door, work at the conference, listen to 4 hours of preaching, have time to grab something to eat, work more booth, and get home by 12pm eat bad bad bad food and go to bed, then start all over...yup that was my week...pitiful!

Yes, I gained weight, am retaining water and get to start that whole "detoxing" myself from sugar, refined foods and such. I'm excited though! I joined the Gym yesterday so heres to tons of cardio! YAY!