The Ultimate Adventure…

… A 28 day Weight Loss Detox/Cleanse Program!

It’s true, I have taken on my health and I am bound and determined to change my BAD HEALTH HABITS! Come on, we all have them. Even if you work out, even if you think you eat right… we all have issues.

I use food. I eat when I’m bored, I eat when I’m sad, I eat when I’m happy and celebrating, I eat when I’m defeated… the list goes on and on. I make excuses: “Well, I already blew it today… I might as well have a milkshake” or the classic line: “Diet starts Monday!” Well, when Monday never comes… that’s where the problem lies.

Sure I have weight to lose (and I took a Before so as to compare with an After at the end of the 28 days, stay tuned), but more than that, I have digestive problems and skin issues. My husband blames ALL my health/skin/digestive problems on my diet. I thought he was full of it. Well, as it turns out, he is absolutely dead on. How do I know? Well, I’m learning…

Today is day one of my 28 day adventure towards a new ME! I am officially enrolled in a nutritional class that will take me through the pros and cons of food, the excuses, the bad habits and of course, the benefits of a healthy diet. A healthy diet starts with healthy information, right? Who better to tell me about food than a nutritionist. My nutritionist and the nutritionist for the Cambiati program (that’s what it is called: Cambiati.com) is named Ti Caudron. She is fantastic! She knows her stuff.

So because I am a ‘sharer,’ I decided to add a category on my blog to keep a journal, so to speak, about what I am learning, eating, and feeling as I go through this program in hopes that it will benefit you all in some way also!

So here we go:

I AM NOT STARVING MYSELF. WE DO EAT! Let me just start there. And I have already learned how bad those ‘don’t eat’ lemonade cleanses are for the body. Fast effects, but lasting effects, ya know?

Second, keep in mind when you are reading this that I am in NO WAY a veggie person. I HATE veggies and I am not at all a health food person. Although I have worked out regularly in the past… I DO NOT WORK OUT RIGHT NOW! This is going to be a stretch for me, but I have to admit that I am already surprised at the options, recipes and tools I have at my disposal with this program.

Other than the class, we have also been given a TON of printed materials like recipes (thank god), tips, meal plans, suggestions, FAQ’s, support, and of course, the right information and an explaination. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard for me to do something when I don’t know why I’m doing it. That is the whole plan here… they tell us why we shouldn’t be eating certain things or doing certain things, and what it does to our healthy and our body. That really helps me stick to the plan. I know WHY I can’t have my third favorite food: Cheese.

We do this program with the aid of a class-as I mentioned- once a week, 5 classes in total over the 28 day program. The classes are invaluable so far, as are the tools you take away from the class and the printed materials. I can already see how this information is going to force me to look at food even after the program is over. YIKES!
I would also like to point out right now that this is not a run-to-the-bathroom type thing, although I am drinking a lot more water so I do have to use the restroom more than I might usually use it. I am not usually much of a water drinker but with this program I am supposed to drink half my body weight in liquid. So if you weigh 150lbs, you drink 75 oz. This is hard for me.

This was my day today as far as food goes:

Today I started my day with Arbonne’s Detox Tea with lemon. I hate tea. I don’t like this part, but I know that tea, particularly warm tea, helps stimulate the system and get things moving.

Then I had my first protein shake which IS a meal replacement shake. Not all of them are or have to be. There is what is called a ‘Recovery shake’ which apparently is essential for after a work out in order to get the maximum benefit from the work out. WHO KNEW?

-My lunch shake had Arbonne’s protein powder(which is a vegan protein; no dairy, no soy);
-a scoop of the Arbonne fiber, which is tasteless and accounts for 40% of your daily fiber intake per scoop. I swear by this stuff! I used to be a Metamucil girl, but never again!
-Two table spoons of Almond butter, which made it a little thicker than I would have liked, and a little too bitter. I am going to use one table spoon tomorrow and see how that works. This is the ‘good fat’ portion of the hormonally balanced meal. Appearently that’s what I am aiming to achieve: Hormonally balanced meals.
-1 cup of Almond milk.

Overall impression: Not so bad. Actually pretty tasty and really filling! I wasn’t left hungry at all afterward. We are supposed to be eating meals every 4-6 hours with no snacking in between, so I was surprised when I actually lasted 5 hours.

In between my meals, I am allowed to ‘snack’ on beverages. I chose a few glasses of water with pomegranate fiz tabs. Fiz tabs are an appetite suppressant as well as a natural energy. It has green tea in it and it really helped keep me going in place of my fourth favorite food: soda! (Soda or caffeine of any kind is prohibited).

For dinner I had spinach, 1 cup of black beans for protein, 1/3 of a tomato with pepper because I love them… all this served with a dressing I made myself with avocado (the good fat in my hormonally balanced meal), olive oil, garlic, chili powder, almond milk and lemon juice. Again, surprisingly good.

So far, pretty impressed, but it is day one so the jury is still out. There is so much info swimming around in my head but I definitely can see how this program can really change your outlook and in a lot of ways, change your life. I was referred to the program through some other Arbonne reps and I have to say, they all can’t say enough about it. One of my teammates has lost 80 lbs doing the program every few months over the past year.

We shall see…

Tip of the day: Soy is actually bad for you! It’s like junk food… unless it’s organic soy.

Please, if you have done this cleanse, give me tips, encouragement or meal ideas!!