I’ve received a few emails from people asking where to find local artist Elizabeth Eckert’s website.  It’s Elizabetheckertmusic.com Her new album is called RetroSpect!

So yesterday was a very busy Friday… Lunch with a friend, picking up the boys, cleaning up the house, off to a remote. Who has time for dinner? Aaaaah. Shakeology! Saved me again! I just want to thank Team Beachbody coaches Chad and Katie Graue for introducing me to such a fantastic product. It’s been more than a product. It’s been life changing. It came along at just the right time when I needed to be inspired to become a healthier version of myself. Not just for me, but for my children as well.
I also want to give a big thank you to Kemia Sarof with the Gen H Healthy Kids Coalition. She uses her own free time to come in and talk to us in the morning for Healthy Bytes. A health segment that encourages families to move more, eat healthier and spend quality time together.
The year 2011 started out as my “Year of Positive Change” but I have learned so much more than I expected to already, I am excited to see what the rest of the year will bring!

State Fair is over and with it, all the fried food that I over indulged in.  Culler’s fries, Vose’s corn dogs, mini donuts….time to get back on track!  The boys really enjoyed seeing all the farm animals up close.  I should say Asher enjoyed them up close because Xander did not want to get near the animals and just wanted to ride around in the golf  cart!  Asher loved the llamas and cried when I tried to pry him away from their pen!  Sunday my cousins, Kristen and Tyler performed on a stage near the Grandstand.  They are awesome!  You can check them out at www.lelandsroad.com

So, back to my fried food hangover,  we are also overdue on a trip to the grocery store.I think when I am in a bad food rut, where I’m eating a lot of junk and processed foods, it usually is the result of poor planning.  You don’t plan on going through the drive thru, it just happens!  Thank goodness for my Shakeology.  It makes at least one meal of the day a no brainer

Today a listener called me off air and asked me “I’ve been thinking about doing Shakeology and I just wanted to ask you something…Does it actually taste good?”  Without hesitation I told her “YES! It really does.” Plus, I think about all the times I was able to resist temptation for junk food, fast food, high calorie food, just by knowing that in no time at all I could prepare a completely nutritious and guilt free meal for myself. 

Since starting Shakeology, there are results that others looking at me can’t see.  The change in my mindset, for example.  Moms tend to put themselves last on the foodchain, pun intended.  Then we end up gobbling whatever is left over because we are too tired to care.  What good does that do anyone?  If you’re not nourishing yourself, how easy is it for you to nourish the people you care about?

Changing my habits makes me feel like I’m taking care of myself too.  It’s important because a mother’s physical and mental health affects the family as a whole.  We are the heart of the home.  We bring the light into the house.  Our role is important.  Don’t ever underestimate how much you mean to your children, whether they are small or grown.  Take good care of yourselves.  If you having a nagging feeling that you’ve been leaving yourself off your list and it’s starting to make you feel bad.  Change it now!  Start with something small!  A 5 minute walk, drink an iced tea instead of a Diet Coke, stretch in the morning, buy yourself flowers.  YOU matter.  Treat yourself like it!

I saw a movie by myself in the thater! That may not be a big deal to a lot of you, but to me, it’s something I felt waaaaaay too uncomfortable to do. I talked about it for years. It was just out of my confort zone. Yesterday I did it! and I LOVED it! I saw the Help. Great movie to see by yourself I also inhaled a small pocorn WITH butter so I will be going home now to have a chocolate banana Shakeology shake today to get back on track

Today I had a sensible breakfast, and for lunch a tasty Shakeology shake mixed with vanilla rice milk and rasberries! Who knew eating well could taste this good!
I am preparing myself for one night of indulging in State Fair food I also want to take the kids to Super Saturday at the Illinois State Museum. We’ve been off visiting family the last couple weekends so this weekend we are going to make the rounds the events Springfield has to offer, and fill the rest of the time with naps!

A coworker told me yesterday that I was shrinking! What a great word!  So nice to know that the “extra” I had is going away!  It’s easier to eat lighter int he summertime, when it’s so hot you don’t even want to turn on the oven.  Let’s hope all the good habits I’ve made over these last few months last into the winter! 

Looking forward to the State Fair this year?  It is possible to not blow your whole diet and still enjoy what the fair has to offer.  The Ethnic Village is a good place to go for lower fat options.  Lemonade shake-ups ar ea better choice than shakes, and everything in moderation!

I cannot leave the State Fair without my Culler’s Fries and a Vose corndog

Dave and I kicked off the show this week with some people that are really working hard for positive change in Springfield! Kemia Saraf with Gen H  Genh.org) came in to talk about focusing on a return to “from scratch cooking.” Preparing simple meals at home that cut out all the extra preservatives and sodium from pre packaged foods. She and Chad and Katie Graue from Fit50.com had just wrapped up the Kids Triathalon and were so excited to share their enthusiasm before the start of the new school year. We really can turn things around for this next generation of kids! No more obesity! No more juvenile diabetes! No more sedentary lifestyles! Come on Springfield! Let’s do it! Generation Healthy!

Day three of my cleanse I was home with the boys.  That presented it’s own challenge as I could not refuse Teddy Grahams when fed to me by 14 month old.  Does that make it cuter?  You wouldn’t be able to resist either!

So I’ll break it down.  Day two:

Fruit OR almonds at snack intervals. Plus green tea.  At dinner I had a salad and ended up eating half a piece of cheese pizza, using the excuse that it had to be tested to make sure it would not burn the delicate mouths of my babes.  Drank lots of water.

Yesterday (Day 3) Weighed myself at 120. My stomach looked flatter than it had since before I was pregnant with Asher! I broke down and had coffee with a smidge of powdered creamer first thing in the morning.  Shakeology and a banana for breakfast.  Then almonds as a snack.  Then a shake.  More almonds and regular decaffenated iced tea. 

Then what I will refer to as the Teddy Graham incident. 

Dinner was 1/2 a piece of chicken and a scoop of noodles with a *little*  low fat butter spread (not the best choice, but I was making cheesy butter noodles for the kids with their chicken, so at least I left the cheese off mine.

I drank a LOT of water to help keep up with the kids too.

I also skipped the shake and had a protein bar as my late night snack. 

This morning I weighed in at 121 lbs!  I am happy with the results, and it really wasn’t that hard to do.  I will honestly say that the biggest challenge was not eating little nibbles of what my kids were having.  I obviously failed at that on a couple counts.  The cleanse also gave me a great opportunity to find out what my “trigger points” are for snacking.  Late morning/early afternoon is when I am the hungriest.  Also about an hour after dinner I am looking for something to snack on.  This lets me know I need to be better prepared and have good choices available at those times.

I’m am nearing the end of three months on Shakeology and have lost 8lbs total with little to moderate exercise.  My next personal challenge is to become consistent with an exercise plan and boost my energy level!

Weighed in this morning at 125.  1 lb lost!

By the end of the day yesterday, the cleanse was not as difficult to get started as I had anticipated.  I am hungriest in the morning/early afternoon. But after I have the shakes I’m not hungry at all.

Soooooo,  I’ll fill you in on how the rest of yesterday went. 

At home I had almonds as a snack.  Then my shake for lunch (I sneaked a few rasberries in)

I had green tea in late afternoon then it was time for dinner! I had a very tasty salad with tomatoes, walnuts and carrots and I cheated by adding some ranch dressing.  Just a little.  You’re really not supposed to have anything that resembles dairy.  I also had 1/2 a piece of breaded tilapia. Baked, not fried.

I had another Shakeology shake with water, ice and a banana. (Tomorrow I will stick to the recommended ice and water only, cutting out the added calories.)

I felt like I was eating enough and didn’t feel too dreprived-until I came in to work this morning and saw muffins and brownies laid out all over the place in the kitchen. Lord help me.

So far today I’ve had green tea, Shakeology with ice and water and another banana. 

The hardest part has been going without my Diet Coke in the morning if you can believe it.  That’s a habit I need to cut out anyway, so maybe I won’t miss it by Day 3…….Sidenote, if it’s not my imagination my skin is looking better.  A little extra glow

I would love to hear from you if you’re trying this cleanse and any results or tips you want to share.