This Blog is Moving!!

Angie's Journeys is moving from Blogger to a new blog titled "Intentional Living" on WordPress. The new address is: http://angelabullock.wordpress.com.

All the content from this blog has been moved to that blog, so you shouldn't need to come back here to find something I posted in the past.

That being said, I am not going to take this blog down, just in case I decide I don't like WordPress and want to return here.

I hope you'll all join me over there and subscribe via email to the new blog as well!

I'm Scared!

Ok, so here we are, a week after doing the Jillian Michaels DVD for the first time... and I still haven't done it again!

However, I HAVE been exercising regularly, just not that DVD. I want to give everyone my take on this and I would really value your feedback. I don't want to create an excuse to NOT do something that could be highly effective, so please let me know what you think.

After doing it last Wednesday evening, I was SO SORE on Thursday and Friday and that I simply could not fathom doing it again. I didn't exercise at all on Thursday (I actually had a hard time going up and down the stairs) and on Friday, when I was still sore, decided that I needed to exercise to get some blood pumping through my muscles, but that doing the exact same thing could possibly be a recipe for injury.

So, I did some Wii Fit Plus Aerobics exercises instead. I did that again on Sunday night. Monday night I went to my Zumba class (I LOVE LOVE LOVE Zumba - I would do it every day if I could!!) and then last night I again did some Wii Fit.

Now, Wii Fit is not nearly as effective or intense of a workout as either Zumba or the DVD, clearly. However, I DO actually sweat and raise the heartbeat, so it IS exercise.

So, here's where I'm looking for feedback: I want to do the DVD again tonight, because I know that I will never get the benefits and adapt if I don't do it. However, I am afraid that I'll be so sore again that I won't be able to exercise again for a couple days. Is it better to do SOMETHING every day, or should I just jump in and do this, even if it means taking off Thursday and doing something different again on Friday?

I mean, it will get better, right?

On a different note, I'm starting to see the scale move again (despite having a yummy burger and fries last Thursday night for dinner and celebrating a friend's birthday with a complete day of yummy food on Saturday), so I'm really pumped to keep exercising! I'm REALLY enjoying the Zumba classes and will absolutely be looking into more of those when these free classes at my church are up (only 3 more weeks... ).

I have about 8.5 lbs to go to get back to my original SlimGenics goal and then another 10 to hit my NEW goal. I really hope that doing it at a slower, more moderate pace with exercise will help tone me up considerably over just dieting alone. That being said, I feel that the Jillian Michaels DVD will be the most effective is this arena!

Ouch!

So, yesterday I made this completely offhand comment in my post about doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred last night. You might have even missed it, as I didn't give it much air time.

I should have. Oh. My. Gosh.

If anyone wants to know JUST how out of shape they are (and no, I'm not talking to those of you who ARE in shape!), just do this 20-minute workout. Seriously.

There are 3 levels, and I clearly started on Level 1 (Jillian suggests this, no matter who you are). She takes you through three circuits each of 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs for about a 20-minute workout. Sounds easy, right?

I actually could NOT do the entire workout. I made it through, but I had to stop and rest several times!!

But, there is a silver-lining in this: I now know JUST how out of shape I truly am. Being thin does NOT = in shape. I have a lot of work to do in this area and I'm thinking Journey #2 (exercise) may just take as long as Journey #1 (weight-loss)!

Pray for me!! I will need prayers and strength to get through this even more than the weight-loss phase. There wasn't physical pain that made it hard to get up the stairs when all I was doing was dieting. THIS is going to take God's strength, not my own, to see through!!

Journey #2: EXERCISE!!!

Well, hello everyone! I know it's been a really long time since my last post, but I did move across the country...

So, where are we today? Well, I took about 5-6 weeks completely off plan (yes, definitely longer than I expected). The first 2 weeks were while we were still in Minnesota. We had lots of parties and celebrations that made it difficult, and then once we packed up most of the kitchen I was like, "forget it". It was stressful enough preparing for the big move without having to worry about food.

Then, once we got here, we took about 3 weeks to settle in, unpack and enjoy all the new cuisine around us. Probably didn't need to stay off plan that long, of course, but it is what it is. I definitely had to confess to God that I felt a slip and pull back towards gluttony, but he's forgiven me, so I'm going to forgive myself!

When I did that and decided the food party was over, I stepped on the scale. Up 21 lbs!! 

Now, before I panicked too much, I figured at least some of that was water weight, and I was right. I put myself on one of SlimGenic's 4-day plateau-breakers and immediately shed 10 lbs!

So, with only 11 lbs to go, I decided to NOT go back to the extremely strict SlimGenics plan, but to do more of the balance phase and to incorporate some regular exercise and see what happened. I actually didn't start exercising much right away; I needed to work into it. For the first 5 or so days after stopping the plateau-breaker, I lost (and gained) NOTHING. My weight stayed EXACTLY the same. I wasn't too upset, because I was actually enjoying my food (still eating healthy and in moderation) and I didn't feel deprived.

Then, this past Monday night, I went to my 2nd Zumba class (my first was right when I started the breaker) and the next morning, .4 lbs were gone. This morning, another .6. So, another pound gone with only 10 to go. However, I did adjust my goal weight down another 10 lbs from my original SlimGenics goal, so I really have about 20 to go now (I also adjusted my weight loss ticker to show my total weight loss, not just my SlimGenics weight loss).

Tonight I am going to do Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred DVD and I am going to try and do some kind of aerobic exercise at least 3-4 times a week (every other day). I really want to be able to enjoy some additional foods and not feel so restricted all the time, so hopefully this will do it. Plus, I really need to tone up - I lost the weight and look great in clothes that cover me up, but not so much in a bathing suit.

So here we go!! Living in the Austin area certainly will be helpful, because people around here live far more active lifestyles than in Minnesota. We don't want to be the fat and lazy people in Austin, and we won't be!

After Pic!

I've had a few people ask for an "after" pic, so I had Mike snap a pic of me this morning before I walked out the door to work.

People keep asking me if I feel like a totally new person and really, the answer is no. I just feel like ME again!

GOAL!!!

Well, today actually started off pretty icky, as I had a dentist appointment at 9:00 am this morning for some fillings (my weight was not the only thing I neglected over the last 10 years... ) and when I got home I was feeling pretty rotten. It was this weird combination of complete numbness (which is annoying) and yet still some pretty significant throbbing where the numbness was slowly wearing off.

So after sitting around for awhile wishing I could eat (dentist said not to because I could easily bite my lip), hubby said that while I was gone, the floating SlimGenics Manager (who was my center's manager when I signed up) called and said that he was at my center today and would love to see me. I figured, well, I can't talk well, but I also can't eat, so I might as well go weigh-in and say hi.

I weighed in yesterday and was .75 lbs away, so I wasn't expected much today, but I was stunned to be down an entire pound from yesterday, putting me .25 lbs BELOW my goal weight!




I started Week 1 of Balance on Tuesday and it's been awesome. I feel like I'm eating so much more normally (even though it's not really that big of a change), but so much healthier than I used to. I really feel like I can do this for the long haul!

Thank you SlimGenics, for giving me the tools to get here and the tools to STAY HERE!!

One Weekend of Weight Loss To Go!

Well, I can hardly believe it, but here I am: it's my final weekend in the weight loss phase!

My weigh-in yesterday yielded a 2-lb loss for the week, which I'm pretty happy with, but it left me a mere 1.25 lbs away from my goal weight! Total official SlimGenics loss is 98.25 lbs!

Of course, do you think I'm just dancing in the streets that I made it that close to goal 2 weeks early? (Well, maybe a little!) But really, I'm just trying to figure out what I can do this weekend to shed that last 1.25 lbs so I'll be at goal when I weigh in on Tuesday morning!! At least with Memorial Day being Monday, I get an extra day! I know I should be happy with being only a pound away (and I am), but to be SO CLOSE... I just want to hit goal!

Of course, I got on the scale this morning and it didn't budge from yesterday's weight...

So Monday morning I will be starting the Balance Phase. I went shopping yesterday to pick up some extra foods that will be allowed and I think it's actually quite hilarious that I'm as excited as I am to be able to eat peas and corn again! And of course, the swiss cheese isn't going to be horrible either!

I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend and enjoys the extra day off work!

Not Going Down Without a Fight!!!

Last week = rock star week! 3 lbs! This week? Not so much...

To be fair, I kind of expected this. That kind of week this late in the game? It was unlikely to be repeated this week!

So, today I started yet another plateau-breaker! I gotta give my SlimGenics center credit - they are throwing everything at me they can to help me be successful and get to goal before the end of my weight loss phase, which is after next week. This breaker has me eating FIVE of their thermo-snacks a day!

I weighed in on Monday and started out the week down .5 lbs. I weighed in yesterday and hadn't budged at all. Tomorrow will be my last chance to lose anything significant for the week.

Today was Day 1 on the breaker, so it may be a little late to salvage this week, but even if it carries forward into another rock star week next week I'll be happy!!

I'll check back over the weekend and let everyone know the results of my week and how this particular breaker is treating me.

Part of me wants to ask for prayer that I can see this through and get to goal before starting balance and another part of me thinks that's greedy. But God has brought me this far, I REALLY want to see Him do something amazing and shed these last 4 lbs from me in a little over a week. Only He can do that and I believe I'm on this journey to finish it!

Either way, I know I'll lose it, but can you blame me for wanting to finish strong and know that I accomplished exactly what I had set out to do 2 weeks early?

Getting Soooooooo Close!!

I now have only 2 weight loss weeks left (well, I actually have 14 left that I either paid for or earned) and as of my weigh-in on Saturday, I have only 4.75 lbs to go! I lost 3 lbs on the week (yay!) for a total loss of 94.75 lbs!

Of course, as has almost always been the case when I've been close to milestones, I ended my week .25 lbs away from another one! But hey, getting under that 5-pound-to-go mark is also a milestone and I hit that this week!

So hopefully I'll hit 95 lbs when I weigh in on Monday, and then the next milestone up will be GOAL!!!

While sometimes it feels like I've been dieting FOREVER, it hasn't even been 9 months since I started SlimGenics! I would say that I have most definitely experienced a "results not typical" amount of weight loss by giving it to God and doing the work to strictly adhere to the SG plan. He must have known that I would need to finish a little early since we would be leaving Minnesota this summer! (Imagine that! )

I need to lose just under 2.5 lbs each of my last 2 weeks in order to hit goal before starting balance. I had said that I would be happy just getting within 5 lbs (I am stopping the weight loss phase 2 weeks earlier than the original weight loss weeks I purchased; I've earned an additional 10 along the way), and since I'm already there, I'm obviously extremely pleased with how this has gone. I know I have a shot at hitting goal before balance, but I'm honestly not counting on it. I know I had a great 3-lb week this week, but I've had many more 1.75 lb type of weeks lately.

Either way, just 2 weeks to go and we'll be onto the next phase of the diet! Please pray that I have the motivation to end strong as I transition into Balance!

Gaining More Than Losing

I remember that day that I first walked into SlimGenics. Lots of hope that I would lose a lot of weight. I also remember one of the things I filled out was a list of things I hoped to gain. Things like self-confidence, energy, etc. I am now staring the end of my weight-loss phase in the face and I started reflecting on this.

This week I lost 1.75 lbs, putting me at a total of 91.75 official lbs lost. Left to lose? 7.75 lbs. (I actually want to lose about 15 more, but 7.75 lbs puts me at my original SlimGenics goal.)

That's a lot of loss, wouldn't you say? But I truly have gained so much more and today it is so obvious! Here's why...

My 10-year wedding anniversary was this past Thursday. I am so blessed in this area as I'm married to a wonderfully Christ-centered man who has loved and supported me all the way through this and back again. I thank Jesus for him every single day.

So tonight, we have reservations at a fabulous italian restaurant where I intend to eat whatever I want to celebrate. I've known it, SlimGenics knows it. I am also going out to eat with family tomorrow for Mother's Day. So, with those two events in mind, I told SlimGenics that I was just going to go off-plan for the entire weekend. I even wrote "OFF PLAN" on my journal ahead of time for both Saturday and Sunday.

Then this morning happened, showing me just how much I've truly gained in the area of healthy eating habits. I stayed on-plan!!

All week, I was making a mental list of the foods I might enjoy this weekend, but when the day finally arrived, I didn't want to do it! I DO intend to enjoy my meal tonight and my meal tomorrow, but that DOESN'T mean I need to throw the whole weekend away! WHOA! THAT is different thinking for me and proof of just how much I have truly learned and gained along the way.

I don't want to backslide after coming this far! I don't want to feel terrible and sluggish tonight because I ate bad food all day. So I had my normal breakfast and I just enjoyed my first SlimGenics Thermo-Snack of the day as I was starting this post.

And... it will make the meal tonight all the sweeter and more special, don't you think?

Taking Back My Winter Pound!

For those of you who have been following my blog for awhile, you might remember in the fall when I finally caved and put on jeans and went to weigh in. I had to make the leap at some point, because I wasn't going to wear capri pants all winter long and I really don't feel like changing every time I weigh in. So, I bit the bullet, put on the jeans and weighed in, knowing that I would "lose" about a pound of weight loss, since the jeans weighed about 1 lb more than cotton capris. I continued to weigh in wearing jeans all winter long... until TODAY!

Today I took my pound back! I weighed in wearing cotton summer pants today (not capris, but they still weigh a lot less than jeans, I'm sure) and I think it couldn't have come at a better time. I ended up down 2 lbs for the week, putting me at 90 POUNDS even!!

I am now less than 10 lbs away from my original SlimGenics goal. I do plan to lose more (shooting for about 10-15 MORE than that original goal), but I am going to stick with this goal for now, since I have only 4 weeks left before they put me on Balance for my last 4 weeks in Minnesota. Once we get to Texas and get settled, I am going to go back to the weight loss phase until I hit my new goal and then I will do maintenance (though I assume I'll have to do Balance again first).

I'm counting on you guys to keep me accountable during that time. I know full well how easy it would be to NOT go back to the weight loss phase once we get down there, but I NEED to. I know I've come a long way, but I'm NOT done yet!

So, even though it may have taken a change of clothes to do it, I ended up with a 2 lb week!

Have a great weekend everyone and if you're in Minnesota, enjoy this rare, beautiful day in the 60's. We're smack dab in the middle of our moving garage sale and we're thankful to have at least one of three days give us a little sunshine!

Running Out of Time...

So, yeah. Running out of time. This is how I feel. I had the one great week during the plateau-breaker, but just hardly anything since then.

I'm getting a little frustrated because the counselors there can't seem to agree on what I should do. I'm trying very hard to follow their directives, but I feel like they change every time I'm there, making it very difficult.

I had one manager (who floats, but used to be my center's manager) tell me that when I had 15 lbs left to lose, they were going to switch me to Plan 1. But I hit that mark in the middle of the recent plateau-breaker and he was gone afterwards. They wanted me to go back on my normal Plan 2 after the breaker, so I did (last week) and only lost 1 lb.

So then last Wednesday a counselor told me to try the alternating removal of one fruit and one starch each day. I did that and was down 1 lb on Friday, giving me that whopping 1 lb loss on the week.

Then I went in on Monday and was UP .25 lbs. I did NOT expect it (I usually do) because I was down about .8 lbs over the weekend on my scale at home, so it really bummed me out. That day's counselor told me to STOP the alternating removal and that she instead wanted me to ADD a 3rd thermo-snack in and to also exchange my starches for a 4th snack 3x a week. I didn't do it on Monday or yesterday, so today I'll be doing it for the first time.

I weighed in today and I was down 1 lb since Monday, putting my loss so far for the week at .75 lbs. Today's counselor told me to instead remove the VHP meal replacements next week completely and see if that helped.

4 counselors; 4 different directives.

I really think I should just go on Plan 1. I know it's harder, but I only have 4 weeks left until I need to start Balance and I think it's safe to say I'm NOT going to lose 10 lbs in 4 weeks at the rate I've been going. No matter who I get when I go in on Friday, I think I'm going to just ask why in the world they're so hesitant to put me on that plan!?

Don't get me wrong; I'm happy that I'm still losing and I don't expect these pounds to come off as easy as they did in the beginning. However, I paid a lot of money for this plan and I am already not going to get my money's worth since I'm moving soon. I feel like they could at least get on the same page and be consistent in how to attack these last 10 lbs so I can get as close as possible to my goal before they put me on Balance for the last 4 weeks I'm here.

Ok, enough whining. Time to enjoy my chocolate VHP meal replacement for lunch. Have a great day everyone!

Post Plateau-Breaker Blues

It happens every time, without fail.

When I do a plateau-breaker, they tell me that you're not supposed to lose a lot DURING the plateau-breaker, but they're designed to get you going like gang-busters AFTER the breaker is over.

Not for me.

I lose like a rock star the week of, and then... nothing.

As I already posted, I lost 3.75 lbs last week - the week OF the breaker. Weighed in Monday and was UP .5 lbs. Now, they said this is fairly common because of water retention from all the increased sodium (I figured as much) from the unlimited skin-on, meat-on-the-bone protein allowed for the two days prior.

But today when I weighed in, I was only down that 1/2 lb, putting me right back to where I was on Saturday, meaning I've lost NOTHING so far this week. I did ACV 3 times on Saturday, cut the sodium back a bit on Sunday and did ACV again Monday and AGAIN last night.

So, we're trying something new. I am going to alternate removing one starch and one fruit every other day. So today, I'm removing a starch, tomorrow a fruit, then a starch, etc.

One of the counselors had told me that when I had 15 lbs to go, they were going to switch me to Plan 1, but I am at 12.5 lbs to go and they don't want to do that until nothing else works.

I'm open to seeing how this goes, since I would have to permanently remove one starch if I moved to Plan 1 and this way I only have to do it every other day.

I'm definitely running out of time to get to balance 4 weeks before we leave for Texas, so I will do whatever it takes to get to goal - I have 5 weeks (after this week) left to get to goal. I'm going to give it my best and keep praying that God will help get me there!