Chicken Has Never Tasted So Good!!

I'm 75% through the 28 Days to Health Cleanse...3/4 complete - only 25% more to go...if I was running a mile - I just have a 1/4 mile left.

I have to tell you - this morning I was doing the HAPPY dance.  I'm back to 2 shakes and I had CHICKEN tonight - with some yummy asparagus.  My grilled CHICKEN never tasted so good.  I was thinking about it all day today.  mmmmmm - good.

I'm going to be brutally honest - having 3 shakes a day was a...DRAG!  The first 2 days were fine - but after that, you really craved crunching something.  At least I did.  I wasn't hungry - you just wanted a little bit more than what was flowing through the straw.  I was really crabby too.

Today - WAY better!!

I went to Whole Foods and got my chicken and veggies (wanted fresh since I hadn't eaten anything solid for 4 days) and called the hubby to see if he was close so he could start the grill.  Nothing was getting between me and my chicken. :)

My asparagus and chicken was PERFECT.  I have to say - I enjoyed every bite!

xoxo,
Caryl

Half Way There...

So I'm officially half way through the 28 Days to Health Cleanse!!  YAY! for me...

Here are the deets...

7 lbs lost

of which...

4 lbs of FAT

3 lbs of water

I wasn't doing this for the weight loss - OK who am I kidding...I was totally hoping a would shed a few LBS!

On a serious note - I feel really good.  As my gal at the Dailey Method says (thank goodness she is a week ahead of us so she can tell us what to expect) - we are deep in the cleanse now.

All the lovely ladies that are doing this cleanse with me - meet once a week at the Dailey Method Danville to talk about what to expect the next week.  Funny comments were taking place today...like can you steam almond milk to make a latte (decaf of course)...can you eat yogurt...really looking forward to that glass of wine and so on and so on.  Basically we were already chatting about the foods and drink that we would be able to incorporate back into our life once the cleanse is over.  I wonder if that is a side effect to being half way done.

I honestly think I could be the poster child for this cleanse.  If I can do it...anybody can do it.

So far...I would totally recommend it.  Let's see what this week brings.

Martha & The Magic Bullet = Complete Awesomeness

What a whirlwind week it's been.  I was in the Big Apple this week for Martha Stewart's Dreamers into Doers Conference.  I met so many fabulous ladies and the seeds of long friendships have definitely been planted.  It was truly amazing.  Just being in the Martha Stewart Corporate Offices was so inspirational - it gets your creative juices flowing.  But it gets even better.  We actually got to be part of the audience of the Martha Stewart Living Show.

Yup, that was me.  Pretty cool - huh?  I can't wait to show you more pictures...but I need to find my other camera connector. LOL

So, I bet you are wondering...how the heck did Caryl do on her 28 Days to Health Cleanse?  Well - let me tell you.  I did really well.  I was nervous about going to restaurants and to my surprise I was able to have some really amazing food.  I knew I was set on the shake front because of this....

yes...the Magic Bullet.  I had everything labeled with a sharpie so I really didn't have to think.  I found the whole foods when I arrived and bought my Almond Milk, fruit and so much water.  I was set.

I'm already two days into Week 2 which consists of 2 shakes and 1 meal.  To be perfectly honest - yesterday I was hungry.  I think because I didn't eat enough for lunch.

Last night I went to Fresh&Co and had them make me a salad for the flight today.  I knew I wasn't going to be able to make a shake on the airplane.  I was definitely thinking ahead.  Today has been great!

~Caryl

I survived...Day 1

So I successfully completed DAY 1.  They say that the first 3 days are the hardest...so I'm a 1/3 of the way there.

As you know - I'm doing the 28 days to Health Cleanse and since I've never done anything like this - this picky eater (which is me!) was quite nervous.

Day 1: I didn't start my day off having my cup of coffee this morning - no coffee for me.  Instead I started out with a chocolate protein shake...not bad.  I thought to myself...I can do this!
Around 11am - my mind was focusing on FOOD any and all kinds of food.  Isn't that always the case...

So I had my fizzy water and that worked for a little bit.  I was really trying not to eat my lunch at 11am knowing that I wasn't going to be eating dinner for what seemed like eternity.

Had lunch around 1pm and it was good.  Salad with grilled chicken, kidney beans, carrots and this rosemary vinaigrette that I had made in the morning.  Yummy and satisfying...for about 2 hours.

I went to workout at the Dailey Method and the workout would have been really amazing if I wasn't fantasizing about FOOD during the entire class. :)  Got home and wanted to eat my hand off...but I didn't.  I cut up some apple instead.  You aren't suppose to snack - but I had to do something.  Oh - and I had fizzy water too!

I made dinner.  Tacos for the boys (my hubby and munchkin) and Taco salad for me.  I checked the labels of the taco seasoning and was surprised they was SOY in the ingredients.  (Can't have soy on the cleanse.) So had to make it separately.  Made them the Taco's with SOY taco seasoning and for me...Taco meat with Chipotle Chili spice.  Added some kidney beans, hard boiled egg, picante taco sauce and a ton of lettuce and I was good to go.

I also drank so much water - I think I was going to the restroom every 5 minutes.  One of the biggest challenges today was not grabbing food to eat just because.  Also - had a headache from no coffee.  Had to take an advil and it went away.

(side note: I'll be traveling next week so I bought the Magic Bullet and will be bringing it with me so I can make my shakes on the road.)

Stay tuned for Day 2...

~ Caryl

30 Day Workout Challenge ~ Day 24

I'm on Day 24 of my 30 Day Workout Challenge.  At the beginning of this challenge - I told myself I was going to weigh myself once a week.  So after busting my bootie each week - I would get on the scale on Saturday morning (telling myself in my head...light as a feather...thin as a board ~ remember saying that when you were younger?) and I was disappointed 2 weekends in a row.

So I decided ~ forget the scale.  It was very deflating to not see the silly little number change.  I have a completely different view now...I'm not stepping on the scale.  You might wonder - well how is she tracking per progress...I'm judging my progress on how I feel.  Stronger...Lighter...Healthier. (And trying on my tight jeans and feeling them looser! :))

I've been doing a wide variety of workouts ~ running, personal training, spinning, cardio kick boxing, sculpting classes, DVD's (physique 57 and rockin models workout) and my new discovery The Dailey Method.  You can read what I've done every day here on my Facebook page.

I've done the Dailey Method for the last 4 days and I have to say - I've felt so much stronger doing this workout and I've actually discovered my triceps.  I am shocked that lifting a little 2 pound weight is actually changing my muscles.  Each time I've gone to a class - it has been different which I love.

So you might ask - what is this amazing workout that I'm loving:  The Dailey Method is similar to Physique 57.  It's a unique combination of ballet barre work, core conditioning, stretching (lord know I need that) and orthopedic exercises.  You move through the exercises very quickly - so your heart rate stays up.

When we are in Arizona over Christmas ~ I'm going to the Scottsdale Dailey Method with my sister and niece.  I'm pretty confident they'll be hooked too.

Something to live by {Life is full of setbacks.  Success is determined by how you handle setbacks.}  Remember I handled the scale setback by not using that as a form of measuring success.

~ Caryl

30 days of workouts...

We went to New York for Thanksgiving (I'll do a separate post on that) and ate and did a ton.  I found the Crumbs Cupcakes.  :) They were heavenly and now they need to come off my body.  We got back really late on Friday night and on Saturday - I decided...I'm done.  It's time to focus and make the commitment to working out.  So I've decided....(actually I started on Saturday!)

30 days of workouts!

Day 1 (11/27) - An iTrain treadmill workout.  40 minutes of butt-kicking running.  Mileage 3.3 miles - totally wanted to stop after a mile - but kept going.
Day 2 (11/28) -  Chisel Class at Crunch Fitness and more running.  Mileage 3.25 miles (Chisel is a low weight high reps class and the running wasn't bad - I added more songs to my iPod.)
Day 3 (11/29) - Ultimate Conditioning at Crunch Fitness. (Ultimate Conditioning is a total body workout that includes both high and low impact exercises - basically it kicks your booty!)

I really enjoy all kinds of workouts so I think the next 30 days is going to be a DVD mix of Tracy Anderson Method (if I can get the dance moves down - it's pretty funny actually.  When I was in LA - I did take a class at her studio and it was great.  ), Physique 57 (took a class here when I was in NYC - not this last time though), and Insanity (it is truly INSANE!) as well as taking classes  @ Crunch and running.

Can't wait to see what I feel like in 30 days - well now - 27! :)

(This is me as of Nov. 23 - pre- Crumbs and pre-double chin - LOL)

I'll be updating my facebook page with my workouts so if you want to follow along - click here!

(PS - since it is the holiday season - you might see me doing 2 workouts in a day - especially if I bake the cookies that my sister showed me while skyping with her last night....ohhhh - they looked yummy!

Happy Working Out!!