Life is changing fast around here. Winter has gone and spring has arrived. Snow and ice is no longer my enemy keeping me captive indoors! So it is time to get outside and move. Yeah!
I have completed week 12 (90 days) of this health and wellness journey and I can’t believe I have reached the end of the challenge. Be assured I will start another health focused challenge, as I am not done with my “getting healthy make over”!
As a matter of fact, I am so excited about several things I have implemented during this challenge that have really helped me more than any thing else I have ever done, with the exception of attending the Zumba classes at the Arden North Carolina YMCA two years ago. I do wish I could still attend that class, and believe it would make the outcome of this healthy makeover even more amazing. My instructor in that class was my hero!! She’s the mom of a special needs child, and her life testimony was so inspiring to me. I hope to find a good substitute for that dance class here in rural Indiana soon, but up to this point I have not found it.
What WORKED?
I am so excited to share with you that I am down 2 pant sizes and have lost 19 lbs on this challenge. That is about a 1.5 lbs per week average. Slow and steady wins the race, right? RIGHT!
So what have I done during the 90 days that worked for me?
I think the two most significant improvements in my lifestyle were that I joined:
Juice Plus+ and their Transformation 30 program,
and doTerra essential oils and supplements.
Combining these two amazing all natural strategies with my on going strategy of creating healthy meal plans with the Fast Metabolism Diet, incorporating some Trim Healthy Mama and Low Carb Paleo recipes is the pieces of the get healthy puzzle I needed to move forward.
I am getting in a little exercise. It was so hard this winter to do anything as I was snowed in for most of it. I have joined a plank challenge with my Juice Plus+ friends. A plank is a strength exercise where you stretch out on the floor and then hold yourself up off the floor with the strength of your own forearms (arm is bent and the entire forearm touches the floor), and toes. It works a lot of the muscles in the body just by holding yourself still in that position. You start off with doing 20 seconds and slowly increase your time a few seconds longer each day.
Another “little” activity I finally got motivated to do is walking on the eliptical for a few minutes each day, just enough to get my blood pumping and move my lymph fluids. I am glad to start using it again as it usually just collects dust until one of the kids notice it and play on it. My husband has wanted to get rid of it many times as it takes up space, but I usually say “hey I plan to get on this thing” and then it sits. Speaking of sitting, sitting at the computer is very unheathy as it doesn’t promote the movement of either of my blood flow (nourishment of cells and organs) or my lymph fluids (immune system, detoxing, and prevention of disease). We have a small mini-trampoline and I like to jump on it, but it is outside on the porch and it was too cold all winter to use it. Hopefully I will get motivated to use that some each day. I definately need to increase my exercise level. Now that the weather has warmed up a little (we are still in the 40’s during the day and 20’s at night), I can get outside and walk around and work in the yard soon.
I am so excited how these programs are pieces of my health puzzle and are coming together as a wellness makeover strategy to bless me on my journey.
Things I am accomplishing:
1) nourishment to the whole body
2) healing vital organs and body systems:
liver, digestive, lymph, immune, skin
3) weight loss
4) energy
5) renewing my red blood cells and DNA (takes about 5 months on Juice Plus+)
Sharing my journey isn’t about making a buck, or sales. However, I am excited I can earn money sharing health and wellness products and give my testimony how they have helped me. I also like the benefit to help my family out financially and be able to purchase these products to better my health. But sharing this journey is about health. This is serious. This is my health. It is your health. I am 45 years old. I don’t have any more time to Mickey Mouse around with fads or gimmicks.
It has to be real. It has to heal.
I am doing so much better with the healing of my body and having more energy. Once I incorporated doTerra Mito 2 Max, and LifeLong Vitality Pack (vitamins, minerals, herbs, probiotics, omega fatty acids), and Terrazyme enzyme blend that promotes cellular function and communication through out the body, it began helping me detox and helped me digest my foods so my gastrointestinal system is working at its best. These are the best vitamin mineral health supplements I have ever used. I am really pleased with the quality and the results.
I figured out that I had a weightloss stall for a few weeks while my body was making some serious repairs. It takes time to heal! I don’t think you realize this when you are young. I didn’t figure it out until I was over 40 and went through major sugery with an emergency C section. I know I have a damaged thyroid and adrenal glands, in addition to being over weight. So I wanted to increase the nutrition to those organ systems, but how? I already eat a healthy diet and it wasn’t helping me heal or loose weight.
So what could I do that was all natural (I am not a fan of synthetic pharmacuticals), to heal? It is nearly impossible to eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables to heal adequately when you are dealing with a healing crisis. However, once I incorporated Juice Plus+ and thier Transform 30 program I began to see more healing and my weight has continued to go down as my body has detoxed and organs have been nourished with over 30+ fruits, veggies, grains, and herbs in the Juice Plus+ Trio Blend, and over 20+ plant foods in the Complete.
Yes, I do get frustrated when the scale is slow to show progress. When I started this challenge I expected more. I seriously thought I would have accomplished a 30lb loss by now, but that didn’t happen. Instead the scale went down and back up a pound and down again over and over and I didn’t feel that I was making very good progress. The progress seemed so small some weeks that I was embarrassed to even tell anybody I was working on it. But even though I may not see it on the outside, or even on the scale, I am making progress. My body is healing on the inside. I can see little things like the improvement in my fingernails, having more energy, sleeping better, thinking clearer, pooping healthy, and even the integrity of my skin has improved and there is healing of my cracked heels. That is progress!
It is happening. Slowly. Change is taking place.
In 12 weeks, I have lost 19 lbs.
My Next Get Healthy Makeover:
I am dedicating this whole year (and the rest of my life) to getting healthy and staying healthy. So I am going to do this again, on a 30 day cycle now. I have everything in place and have made the big changes these first 90 days, and now it is about making little tweaks.
The Transformation 30 program helps you implement one simple healthy change in your life every 30 days while using Juice Plus+. A small tweak here and a small tweak there adds up to big results! That is do-able!
So for the next 30 days I will be focussing on:
- 1) Meal Planning
I will continue with recipes from the Fast Metabolism Diet, Trim Healthy Mama, and Low Carb Paleo strategies. The biggest help in these programs is to not overload on carbs and fats in the same meal, either focus on carbs and proteins this meal, or focus on fats and proteins in this meal and alternate the meals every three to four hours, but to always incorporate nutrients dense veggies and proteins into each meal.
- 2) Staying hydrated.
I am trying to drink 3 quarts of water per day. I am adding in doTerra essential oils for flavor and a boost to my health. So far Lemon or Lemon and Lime are my favorite oils to use for flavor. I am also drinking the Trim Healthy Mama beverages called Good Girl Moonshine (ginger and apple cider vinegar lemonade and sometimes adding in fresh fruits for more flavors) and the Shrinker tea for even more hydration.
- 3) Juice Plus+
I will continue to take Juice Plus+ Orchard, Garden, and Vineyard Blends (Trio Blend), and Complete for nourishment from over 50 plant foods with all the nutrients and vitality intact.
- 4) Transformation 30 program by Juice Plus+ for health and vitality and weight loss.
If you decide to enroll in the Transformation 30 program, be sure to get in on the $100 Cash Giveaway I am doing with some friends. We want to motivate you to get healthy and what better way to get a little motivation than some free cash in your pocket that you can spend however you want.
- 5) doTerra essential oils and Life Long Vitality vitamin and mineral and healthy supplements.
I am continuing to use my doTerra supplements because I know it is a part of my healing journey. I am helping repair my body and recover. The doTerra oils are superior to other essential oils. They are Theraputic Grade and work better than pharmecuticals to keep me healthy. I love the way God had designed the human body to respond to natural methods of healing. It is an ongoing conversation with our creator.
- 6) Healthy Activity
- 7) Spiritual Healthy Activity
Incorporating healthy activity into my personal time and into my family’s day too.
Pray and talk with the Lord daily. Spend time each morning reading his word before I start my day. He is my daily bread. Sing praises to him daily for He is worthy to be praised. Thank Him each day for my life because He is the Author of it and He is the air I breathe. His mercies are new every morning and I am greatful. His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven will endure forever and ever.
Praise the Lord! I know I am healing and making progress to achieve my naturally healthy weight and I have confidence that God has given me wisdom and resources, and I will get there!
So there you go.
What have I been up to the past few weeks since we talked last? Are you working on your health? What are you doing to reach your goals? Please leave me a comment and let me know. I love to read your comments!