My Experience With The Cleansing Trio

When it was first announced that there would be this challenge I joined and even though I cannot do the Cleansing Trio for personal reasons/the surgery I had on my esophagus/my firbromyalgia…I did order the 5-day Nutritional Cleanse from Young Living using ComforTone as the replacement for Digest & Cleanse. This journey of mine was never in the beginning about weight loss as the goal until I had seen what I had lost at day 15 already…it really was about just getting into a routine of exercising as I have had a free gym membership for 4 years and have never used it as I really don’t like exercising in front of people but my goal now that I have started this journey and by the time snow hits in 2021 to be able to break this fear and continue on my journey.

It is not like me to post about myself so this was another thing that was out of my comfort zone as if I did this then there were people that were going to keep me accountable. GOAL…DONE…BOOM!!!

I never post product posts on my personal page either so I also did a couple of these mixed into my journey….this is so not my comfort zone to do this…but again…GOAL…DONE…BOOM!!!!

I had never EVER purchased active gear before and had never wore leggings or sports bras…another GOAL down and to go out and wear them in public was SOOOOOOO WAY OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE!!! And then I went one step further and bought two sets of pink outfits and a hot pink outfit….someone call an ambulance….purchased and wore out in public!!! I am telling you my anxiety was THRU the ROOF!!!!

I guess turning “50” this year sent me into a new dimension I haven’t encountered before. HA HA HA

Below I am just sharing my posts of my journey from personal page with some extras just for you. Tomorrow is day 60 of my journey and will post it in the comments. I am so over the moon that I have continued my journey for 60 days. It makes a huge difference that I shared by experience on my personal page cause it has KEPT…ME…ACCOUNTABLE…and probably the ONLY reason I haven’t quit.

This whole challenge has put me out of my out of my comfort zone in sooooooo many ways BUT couldn’t be more grateful as it has been AMAZING!!!!

***Day 1 – First bike ride of the season and when it all started.

***Day 14 – NingXia Red post.

***Day 15 – Did you know that it takes roughly 60+ days to create a new permanent habit with consistency?

Well today marks my first 15 days of 60 at creating a new habit for me! 15 days of biking or walking almost a 4 mile route (sometimes doing both in the same day when I’ve had to miss a day cause well…we live in Minnesota and we can have four seasons in a week ) and have logged in over 55+ miles so far and down 12 pounds!

I’ve tried in the past and it’s just never been consistent or stuck but there were several things that changed this year that made me more determined than ever to make it stick and triggered this change for me personally…

* I turned 50 this year and embraced it with grace and ease and have really quite enjoyed it so far. It helped that I decided my new motto this year was “50 is the new sexy” to make my transition easier

* After making the last college payment at the end January after eight very long years I felt a huge sense of relief and freedom…but still so grateful to have been able to do this for our boys.

After that last college tuition payment and Jeff getting a new four wheeler I decided it was time for some mom time and what she’d like to do for herself!

And then came the two biggest motivators…

1. Walking in front of the mirror one day and spotting a piece of hail damage on my ass.

2. My thighs decided to touch, kiss and make out.

OH HELL NO…they literally both happened in the same week! Ummmm…well that’ll send you into a reality check real quick!

Sorry…but just keeping it real

Besides who doesn’t need more fresh air, sunshine and music to fuel the soul

Setting new mom goals and crushing them!

***Day 26 – NingXia Red post.

***Day 35 – Well today marks 35 days of 60 for creating my new habit with consistency.

35 days of biking or walking almost a 4 mile route and have logged in over 130+ miles so far, and now down 14 pounds (definitely hit a plateau)!

Still working hard at being consistent and more determined than ever to making it stick!

Still taking this time for some very well deserved mom time and doing some things for myself!

So how are my two biggest motivators coming along? Actually GREAT

1. I am happy to say the hail damage on my ass looks to have been repaired nicely. Besides the walking and biking I’ve also used the help of some fasciablasting in the shower!

2. I am happy to say that the chub rub on my thighs have now parted ways, and are separated and divorced. No more kissing and making out for those two!

Sorry…but again, just keeping it real

The fresh air, sunshine and music have been absolutely amazing to the mind, body and soul

Crushing the new mom goals!

***Day 37 – Mother’s Day – Never felt so good to know I had the support from my kids on this journey that they purchased me 9 tops, 3 leggings, a headband and hat, a waist carrier for my phone and a new water bottle for Mother’s Day.

***Day 44 – Day 44 of 60 for creating my new habit with consistency.

44 days of biking or walking almost a 4 mile route and have logged in now over 194+ miles so far, and now down 18 pounds. This still continues to blow my mind that I have been able to accomplish this.

Last week I felt like I definitely hit a plateau and just couldn’t get over that 14 lbs lost…it just wanted to stick to my thighs and stay so I decided to change things up and really hit it hard for a week (especially after a weekend of celebrating for Billy’s College Graduation and an early Mother’s Day at a vineyard with wine , cheese , and bread ) and so doubled my day to an almost 4 mile walk and ride everyday to equal almost 8 miles a day for 7 days straight to see if I could get over that hump.

I definitely think all the new workout clothes the kids got me for Mother’s Day also helped (love you kids for that absolutely amazing gift) and kept me more motivated knowing that their gift was them cheering me on to keep going.

Doubling my workout this last week was a huge challenge for me but I did it and it wasn’t easy by any means especially the day I couldn’t fit in a double and had to do 12 miles the next day to make up for it…man my poor legs and feet have never hurt so bad.

I’m pretty convinced that the emotional baggage I also got rid of this last week definitely helped.

I cannot express how much the fresh air, sunshine and music have been absolutely amazing to the mind, body and soul; not to mention the gift from the kids and their support.

Still crushing the new mom goals!

50 never looked so good

***Day 50 – Day 50 of 60 for creating my new habit with consistency.

50 days of biking or walking almost a 4 mile route and have logged in now over 215+ miles so far, and now down 16 pounds. Gained 2 back after this last two weeks of having lots of things to celebrate between Mother’s Day, College Graduation, Birthday, and Anniversary and you know what…that’s okay; I won’t beat myself up because the weight loss part of this journey was an added bonus and not my main goal.

This still continues to blow my mind that I have been able to accomplish this but mostly that I’ve stuck with it and stayed on track.

Something new has now happened in the last week that is definitely throwing my family for a loop I’ve been up and on the road before 8 a.m….THIS IS NOT ME by any means. I am NOT a morning person at all. Billy may have helped in this area as it was his first week back home from college and is one room closer and he started his job and his alarm clock is friggin DUCKS QUACKING it’s so annoying and Billy is a snoozer!!!

Jeff and the kids continue to cheer me on

Still working on getting rid of some emotional baggage as I believe it’s helping as well and so blessed to have such an amazing support system of friends who have helped with this.

The continued fresh air, sunshine and music have been absolutely amazing to the mind, body and soul.

I can’t believe day 60 is literally creeping up so fast and it looks like this next 10 days I have a new goal to come up with

Still crushing the new mom goals!

50 never looked so damn good

***Day 57 – Day 57 of 60…this post is a little different as I’ve had several people message me or comment on my journey to ask about what I’m eating or not eating and/or calorie intake.

First thing to understand is I DON’T DO THE COOKING OR GROCERY SHOPPING!!! Jeff does it ALL…bless his heart So “special” meals, calories, organic, fancy creations are out of the question I will either eat what he has cooked or grab something else. Mostly at night is when I get the most protein as I will usually eat the meat he has prepared and skip most or all of the sides (carbs).

But over the years I have made several changes in the way that I eat or especially what I will eat and things I have tried to give up for the most part. Small steps here and there and then the craving finally goes away.

*First thing I gave up, probably 7 years ago now, is milk…best decision ever!!

*I am NOT a sweets eater!!! I rarely have any sweets…chocolate, candy bars, candy, ice cream or any desserts (just ask my mother-in-law in the 32 years she has known me and offered me dessert at EVERY…SINGLE…GATHERING…99% of the time I pass. It’s like a big gasp of air comes out of everyone there when I actually accept dessert ).

*I haven’t drank pop or coffee in almost 20 years…not to say I haven’t indulged in a sip or two once in a great while when I feel like it sounds good.

*I don’t really ever eat any fast food…EVER…it’s very rare you will see me in a drive-up for any kind of fast food.

*I really don’t indulge in junk foods…my idea of junk food is hummus and multigrain crackers, popcorn, cheese, olives and nuts.

*About a year and a half ago I decided to take a food DNA test to see what foods cause inflammation in my body and could be making my fibromyalgia worse and as of the results of that test I made even more changes:

1. Breads…I hardly ever eat anything with bread or buns anymore. When we are out to eat I always order without the bun.

2. Pasta…I rarely hardly ever eat any pasta anymore. Actually for Kevin’s birthday I ordered pasta for the first time in like a year.

3. Sugar…now I already don’t indulge in sweets so that was pretty easy but the hard one was I gave up my 1-2 cups of Chai tea every morning…this was HARD, but again I will still have one every once in a while, but rare. I have also really tried to kill having wine which is so hard cause it’s the one thing I do like to drink when we go out.

4. Dairy…I had already given up on milk so that was easy, but I had to work on the other stuff. I only have sour cream if it’s in a recipe I’m making or if we have tacos. Try to never have cream unless it’s my favorite soup about once a year. Haven’t had yogurt in over a year which was hard cause I used to add this to my morning smoothies in the VitaMix Blender…best blender ever! But my one dairy indulgence is cheese it continues to be less and less but I do love cheese.

Don’t get me wrong I will cook when it’s needed, important, or want something special or doing a cleanse then I will go get what I need and do it, but mostly when Jeff or the boys announce that it’s moms ‘s turn to cook then that’s when we order take out from River Inn or go out to eat!!!

I try to do a 5-day cleanse at least twice a year, but it’s a nutritional cleanse that’s tailored to my needs cause I’m not going to starve myself and walk around hangry all the time. (Pictured below).

My morning always starts with 2 NingXia Nitro’s, 2-4 oz of NingXia Red with some Young Living Vitality Oils added and then my supplements. I try and do at least 64 oz. of water a day and I add in a squirt of the Young Living Vitality Drops for flavor. This is year-round!!!

So my 5-day Nutritional Cleanse usually consists of and goes like this:

*My Nitro’s, NingXia Red and supplements in the morning.

*For lunch I will either do a bowl of fresh fruit…my fave is strawberries blueberries and avocados I know it sounds crazy but I’m telling ya it is such a good combo…try it! Or I will do a bowl of fresh cut veggies marinated in Italian Dressing.

*For an afternoon snack I will do a 4-8 oz. Balance Complete shake.

*For dinner I will do a salad or a multigrain tortilla with spinach, tomatoes, feta cheese, avocado, hard boiled eggs or grilled chicken, pepper and splash of dressing.

*If I absolutely have to add in another snack over these five days…the only thing I will usually have is a small handful of cashews, almonds, pistachio’s, or pumpkin seeds…OR some cucumbers with hummus.

So I’m not trying to starve myself during the cleanse but I am eating very restricted but also very clean. (Jeff doesn’t like the cleanse eating week and doesn’t partake in it with me as he feels he will definitely parish and die from lack of everything)

I have never been a person to count calories or do diets. I have never yet indulged in the intermittent fasting or done a 72-hour water fast though this is actually something I have wanted to try as I always hear how amazing the fast is when you’re done though I’ve already been asked if I do this to please not come to work during this time

I hope this has helped answer some of the questions I’ve been getting or even if it helped one person…I’m happy!

I know it was long but I’m a very detail oriented person.

This is the last part of my post as we had to submit our story by yesterday but my personal 60-day journey ended today. This is my post from personal page:

Today’s The Day…Day 60 of 60!!!

Woo Hoo I…DID…IT!!!

60 days of biking or walking almost a 4 mile route and have now logged in over 255+ miles, so far!!! Down 20 lbs in 60 days…with 5 more to go if I’d like to be back to my original goal weight!

It’s been an amazing journey and have definitely had some moments…though mostly I would have to say was weather related which gave me the tenacity to have to double up the next day and power thru (and not quit) or if I was out of town to have days to make up like this last weekend I was gone and so did 20 miles in two days to make up for that….whew, that was tough but I did it!!!

I’ll add the picture in the comments that I had to submit for the cleansing/clean eating challenge I was also a part of that started about two weeks after my journey started. It was definitely a hard picture to take that’s for sure, for me anyhow, cause I dislike all the scars on my abdomen from the surgery I had for an esophagus repair I had almost 20 years ago.

Even the picture below is soooo out of my comfort zone to post cause I feel like I look like a big neon pink highlighter and I still can’t believe after all these years that I’m finally wearing leggings and in public and the fact that I was SO…DAMN…BOLD as to buy them in a very bright color and then actually be brave enough to wear them was definitely a mic drop moment for me and to not give two shits about leaving the house in it was astonishing (must be a 50 thing ) as normally I would have started to leave and then went back and changed and not been able to do it

This has been a crazy two months with so many changes from college-life ending to taking and being part of a challenge as well and all the other things life has thrown at me the last couple months but truly the walking and biking ended up being my get-away from it all and gave me the clarity each day that was so needed!

If you know me well you know I absolutely hate shopping but I can say it’s been fun getting some new clothes in a smaller size.