Day 118: Fall down 9 times, get up 10

That's one of my favorite sayings: Fall down 9 times, get up 10. It means you should never quit, never stop trying. You never know when you get up - you might just stay there!

But this isn't about staying up. This is about falling down. And certainly getting back up.

I've arrived home after a wonderful 8 day vacation with my family at Stone Harbor, NJ. I had intentions of relaxing my nutrition program a bit and fully enjoying myself while still keeping up with a demanding exercise routine. What happened was a realization that I truly am addicted to sugar and other "bad" carbs and my Isagenix program is responsible for my health and well-being.

My first four days were terrific! Followed my nutrition program, ate all my calories, ran 9 miles Sunday, walked 5 miles Monday and biked 14, walked 3 miles Tuesday and participated in my own duathlon on Wednesday running 3.1 miles for legs 1 and 3 and biking 15.25 miles for the middle leg.  Plus I worked on my big girl push-ups (still at 6) and chin-ups (no comment. But I'm TRYING!!).  I was in heaven with how I felt and what I was getting accomplished! I enjoy a single scoop of ice cream with my kids and feel no ill effects. Happiness exudes from me.

Wednesday we celebrated my daughter's birthday at a seafood restaurant. I was so proud of myself for ordering sensibly (lump crab on a bed of salad with vinegar and oil). Because I had competed my duathlon earlier that day I decided to enjoy my daughter's celebration and have some cake. Plus, I had no ill effects from my ice cream last night, right? So I had my first slice of white sugar, white flour and heavy cream frosting in over 4 months. Then I had my second. Hey, I ran 6 miles and biked 15, right?! Then I had my third. And the excuses kept coming.

Once back at our place I went into full binge mode with the high-glycemic snacks: pretzels - an entire bag. Corn stick snacks - half a bag. Rice stick snacks - half a bag.  I ran out of snacks. I went to bed without taking my awesome Ageless Essentials with Product B. I felt really bad about myself. Good thing it was only one day right?

Good intentions at the start of Thursday. Had my shake and a nice long walk. Why not coffee? I really do miss coffee. More than wine!! Shake for lunch. Then lunch. Then a snack. Huge dinner. Ice cream. Carb snacking before bed. Which includes the 1/4 lb of red Swedish fish I bought, 1/4 lb of red licorice laces and 1/4 lb of licorice all-sorts. Now I'm not even trying to get to bed early. I'm up until 1:00 a.m. This feels bad but I can't shake it.

Friday I skip the shakes but do manage to go for a run with my hubby. It was my slowest run in 3 months. And shortest run in 2 months. Hubby pushes me to do my strength exercises and helps me with chin-ups. I feel a bit better so I reward myself with a cup of coffee. I do a shake convincing myself that I'm back on track because I love where I am now. But last night's sugar rush has taken it's grip. I don't argue when hubby suggests a 1/2-gallon of ice cream at home instead of a single cone out. I oblige by picking it up and throwing in pretzels and salted peanuts. I help by finishing off three bowls of ice cream.

Okay, that's enough confessing. It goes on from there and while it doesn't get worse, it doesn't get better either. Yesterday, Sunday, we had my daughter's family party. I consciously allowed myself a day of eating whatever with no guilt. I skipped my run. I just felt so down. I actually couldn't wait until Monday, to start a two day cleanse and get all this ickyness out of me.I wanted the old me back. Not the old, old me but the one who was living her life the way she really wanted.

Here are two observations I made about me. This is not a medical claim. Isagenix does not claim to cure, prevent, diagnose or treat any ailment or disease. But from a personal standpoint, this is what I observed with my body: Before I started with Isagenix I had to take aspirin daily for my head discomfort. This went on for the five weeks prior to adding the cleansing and nutrition program into my life. I also had extreme swelling in my right foot and ankle. My doctors always blew this off as nothing to worry about and I had basically learned to live with a swollen lower leg. Two days after starting Isa I no longer had any of these symptoms. One day after returning to my old habits I had both symptoms return. Hmmmm.

The most positive thing to come out of this bump in my road is that I am able to let go of the guilt. I am able to fall down and get up again. I'm brushing myself off right now, in fact, drinking my Cleanse for Life and looking forward to moving on. Fall down a zillion times, get up a zillion and one... with Isagenix in hand.

Peace,
Susan

Day 104: Cleaning House

I'm on the first day of a two-day cleanse. I love cleansing for several reasons but the top two are it's actually a relief not to have to worry about food for a few days and I feel so much better knowing I'm helping my body become more efficient by giving my insides a "shower" if you will and washing away all the gunk. And there's no better way to cleanse than to clean house. Or clean car, as the case may be.

To put it mildly, my kids are slobs and it's mainly my soon-to-be 7-year-old. In the car I find melted crayons on the seat, books, dvds with no case, and a total of seven (SEVEN) half-full bottles of water stuffed under the seats and two empty bottles. Broken toys, one flip flop, a pair of dress shoes, and then the wrappers. M&Ms, Reese's, gum, Jolly Ranchers, McD's, SlimJims, you name it. Gross!

Somewhere among all this filth it occurs to me... Why is it that I'm saving myself from the toxicity of this crap we call "treats" but I'm giving it to my kids? I think back to all the times before that I've tried to improve my health.  I've always complied 100% (at least at first, anyway) but only had my family comply 25% if at all. I'd sit down for dinner with my salad and my kids ate Big Macs with fries. Do I really think I'm the only one worthy of being healthy or is there more to it than that? If I make my kids follow my lifestyle am I denying them some sort of right of passage (or at least popularity among peers) by withholding the Doritos?

I don't think so and it's time to put an end to the double standard. If I continue to allow them to live with a lifestyle exception just because they're kids how can I expect them to enter into an adult life not having the problems I do with food. How can I expect them to grow into healthy adults if I teach them to be unhealthy kids? Yes, it will be painful for both of us to change - them screaming about how unfair it is, me having to listen to what a bad mom I am - but I can deal with that. I'd rather have them "hate" me for "making" them eat healthfully than contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic that abounds in this country.

It's said that my generation will be the first to outlive their children and that breaks my heart! Why would I want to contribute to that? If I can keep my kids from predeceasing me by simply teaching them healthy habits then I can know I've done my best to insure they'll have to bury me first.

That's not to say we all can't have ice cream on the boardwalk or a hot dog at a ball game. But the overly processed stuff every week is no longer an option. The entire family already enjoys meal replacement shakes for breakfast. Time to get the rest of their meals in line.

I've broken it to the kids that they'll be packing lunch this year. I've learned too much about what's in cafeteria food and have serious doubts that there is a qualified person designing the government's food guidelines for school lunches (french fries are NOT a vegetable people!!). As for the fast food well, that's my fault. That's "mom gave up" and "mom didn't plan".  I need to get on the ball for my family as well as for myself.

So what about you? Do you try to get healthy and leave your kids in the dust? I'd love to know!

Peace,
Susan