Christmas is getting closer

Tomorrow I'm starting 2 weeks of all shake days. I'm going to do my best to hit my goal, no matter how unrealistic it seems at the moment! Christmas is only 19 days away and I'm 17 pounds away from my 100 pound goal. :( I have a strong suspicion I'm not going to make it, but I'm okay with that. It was a pretty lofty goal! We'll see where I'm at after the two weeks of shakes and go from there. I don't recommend all shake days normally, but I am making sure to have between three and five shakes a day, extra Omegas and the IsaFruits and Isagreens and cleansing nightly so that I'm keeping my body guessing and still getting the nutrients that I need.

I'm down three pounds from last Thursday! I'm pretty thrilled with that! This month, the word of the day is cardio! Cardio, cardio, cardio! I really need to find my shoes so I can get going with that. lol I don't normally wear shoes. I'm more of a flip flop or heels kind of gal (polar opposites, I know!). So, I only wear tennis shoes in the winter. The problem with that is that I can never find my shoes come winter time. I always put them in the same place, but I think certain little girls, who shall rename nameless, play with my shoes when I'm not looking, and eventually at least one tennis shoe goes missing (I'm always finding my heels in their closet!) So, lately, I've only been able to get out and walk a bit...in flip flops...in the rain. I also fall a lot. lol

So anyways, that's what's up with me in the world of Isagenix!

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving has come and gone. I have so much to be thankful for. I'm so very thankful for my family and the love and support they have always given me. I'm thankful for my children for all of the joy they bring to my life. I'm thankful for my husband who works so hard to provide for our family and who is my best friend, no matter how crazy I go on him. 

As silly as it may seem compared to the huge blessings I have in my life, I'm thankful for Isagenix. I'm thankful for the opportunity to get my life back. I'm thankful for the ability to actively participate in my life as well as the lives of my children. I'm thankful for my health, which is so much better than it was just five months ago.

Thanksgiving, of course, means huge dinners with all things bad for me. lol I'm not about depriving myself. I want to make sure that my lifestyle is sustainable. I'm not going to not eat Thanksgiving dinner for the rest of my life, so I didn't forego it this year, either. I had two Thanksgiving meals! Yikes! I had far too much stuffing and far too much dessert. It was delicious! Granted, I gained 8 pounds!!! EEK! I'm sure it was mainly water weight due to far too much sodium. I'm cleansing tomorrow and the next day, so it will probably go away with that. If not, that's okay. It will go away the next week. I'm a little concerned about my 100 pounds by Christmas goal, but I think I can still make it if I ramp up the exercise. (You know...actually do some, rather than none. lol)

I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving filled with love, happiness and pumpkin pie!

Holy cow, why has it been so long?

Oh man, I've totally been slacking on this blog! Things are still going really well! The weight loss has slowed, but that's my own fault, as I've been snacking when I shouldn't and just plain eating bad things for me at times. (Dang Halloween candy!) However, I'm still feeling great, sleeping amazingly well and have a ton more energy than ever before!

About a week and a half ago, I spoke at an Isagenix Super Saturday event. I was SO incredibly nervous. I am NOT a public speaker, that's for sure. I get nervous, I start to shake, I speak way too quickly and I forget everything I'm going to say. They say it gets easier the more you do it, but I'm just not one to put myself out there enough to do it enough for it to get easier. lol Still, as part of "finding me," I decided that it was something that I needed to do. So, I did it! It went better than expected, but not as well as I had hoped. I had hoped that I would be calm, confident, and that I would inspire the audience. I believe that I may have accomplished at least one of those. Thankfully, it was the one that I was hoping for the most. I got a really positive response from the audience. Several were in tears. I was told that it was the most moving testimonial they had ever heard. I felt really good about the things that I said and the response that I got. My biggest concern was that I wasn't going to "fit in" with the other amazing speakers of the night. We had some really big names speaking. Michael Clouse, who is an expert network marketer and incredible speaker; Dr. Ted Brooks, who helped design the nine day system and the Isagenix compensation plan; and Craig Coleman, the 2012 Isabody Challenge winner. Those were some pretty big names surrounding little insignificant me, but I think I held my own. :)

From left to right: Amber (my incredible sponsor and the person who put the event together), Michael Clouse, Dr. Ted Brooks, Joyce Brooks, Craig Coleman, Me

I have mixed feelings about this picture. I'm glad it was taken. It was a great event and it was an opportunity for me to get out of my comfort zone and grow as a person. The people in this picture are incredible and I'm so blessed to be associated with them. However, while it should be a visual of how far I have come, all I see in it is how far I have to go. It's hard to be the heaviest person in the room. It's hard to get up there and tell everyone that if they aren't using Isagenix, they should be, because it will help them get healthy, when you're still so fat. It's hard to feel so great about what you have accomplished, then see a picture of yourself, because even after losing 71 pounds (as of that picture), you still look like you're just getting started. Sadly, this picture doesn't make me think, "Wow, I've lost 71 pounds!" Instead it makes me think, "Wow, I still need to lose 90 pounds." It's really overwhelming at times. I should be thinking, "I've done this in four months! Just six more and I could be where I want to be!" Instead I'm thinking, "I still have so far to go. I don't see how this is even possible."

I know I need to change the stories in my head. I need to be more positive. I need to tell myself that I can do anything and that my weight has no power over me. I need to tell myself that I am strong and I am determined and nothing can stop me. I KNOW these things. I just can't feel them right now. I've spent the last 14 years of my life beating myself up over my weight, telling myself that I'm not good enough.

All right, stop the presses! I seriously just had my first "aha!" moment EVER! I don't usually think about what I'm going to type before I type it. I don't usually have a plan of what I want to say. As I type, the words just flow and that is what comes out on this blog. So, I was typing just before this paragraph and typed, "telling myself that people couldn't see passed my weight to the real me, when in reality, I was the one who couldn't see passed my weight to BE the real me." That may seem like an insignificant sentence to you, but it speaks volumes to me. I have blamed my weight for my lack of friends for a very long time. I make great friends online. I always assumed that was because they can't see me...that they aren't so turned off by my weight that  they are able to talk to me without being distracted by the fact that I'm so big. However, if I think about it, I'm very different online than I am in person. It's not because I'm fake online, it's because I can be ME, without feeling like anyone is judging me based on my weight. I can be funny, I can be witty, I can be open, I can be ME! When I talk to people face to face, I'm so convinced that no one wants to be friends with the fat girl that I become shy, introverted and don't look people in the eye. When people talk to me, I answer with short sentences, hoping they'll stop talking to me. THAT'S why I have no friends. It isn't because I'm fat, it's because I'm so convinced that everyone else won't like me that I don't even bother to try. I'm so convinced that no one really wants to be around me that I actively push people away. I've let my size become a reason to squash my personality. Wow. Talk about a wake up call. I think 14 years of self programming is going to be pretty difficult to overcome, but I will definitely try!

Okay, so I think I'm going to end this post and marinate on my last thought for a while. It's kind of a big deal. I'M kind of a big deal. ;)

New Money...Just in Time for Christmas!

So, I don't talk about the business side of Isagenix very much on this blog. However, as a network marketing company, there definitely is one. When I first got started with Isagenix, I was purely interested in it for the products. I wanted to lose weight. I wanted to get healthy. I wanted to feel better about myself. I wanted more energy. I am starting to get all of those things, and so much more! Amber told me that people would notice my weight loss and naturally be curious as to how I did it, so to keep an open mind about the possibility of selling the product. At that time, I just sort of shrugged it off. How could someone, who was so overweight, possibly sell people a health and wellness program? Well, people are certainly noticing and I'm more than happy to share with them. It turns out, you don't really have to SELL anything. All I do is share and people are naturally interested. I'm still not totally sure about the whole network marketing thing. I'm naturally a fairly shy person. I don't like to put myself out there. I worry that I come off as awkward and unsocial. I worry about being pushy. However, there truly is some REALLY good money to be made with Isagenix! I've signed four people up as associates. These are just people who have noticed the change in me and wanted a change in themselves. I feel blessed that I'm able to share with them a program that I truly believe in and has changed my life. With just those four people purchasing one month of products, I've made over $740! All I did was share my story with them, listen to their goals, help them figure out which products would be best for them, then helped them get their products for well below retail! I mean, how easy is that? Most of that money was from bonuses just for getting people started on the program!

A couple of days ago, there was a corporate leadership call with promises of big news. They certainly did deliver! Their compensation program, which was already the best there is, got even better!

I can't put it as eloquently as they can, so I'll copy and paste their article from http://www.isagenixnews.com/new-money-just-in-time-for-the-holidays/:

The New Money promotion, available October 22 through August 4, 2013, says “good-bye” to the Star Consultant rank and “hello” to two new exciting ranks; Manager and Director. For every new Consultant you create, whether you’re new enrollee or not, you’ll earn a $100 Consultant bonus!

Plus, our Crystal Fast Track will pile on the bonuses if you move fast while helping new Associates join Isagenix following our “You+Two and Them+2″ system for success. You could earn up to $4,650 in bonuses in 90 days!

Here’s how it works:

1. Get two people to join Isagenix on Autoship with 100 BV or more. (You+Two) = You Become a Consultant!

2. NEW! Teach them how to do the same so they get two people each (Them+2 (two new Consultants)) = You Become a Manager! Do it by November 22 or 30 days from the time you enroll and you’ll become a Crystal Manager!

3. NEW! Get a total of 6 personally enrolled Consultants on Autoship = You Become aDirector! Do it by January 21 or 90 days from the time that you enroll and you’ll become aCrystal Director!

4. Get a total of 10 personally enrolled Consultants on Autoship = You Become an Executive! Do it within your first six months and you’ll become a Crystal Executive!

Get all the details and discover how you can amp up your earnings and put yourself on the Crystal Fast Track; take a look at these resources:

• Flyer with details and FAQs
• Webinar with training from Co-Founders Jim and Kathy Coover and Vice President of Sales Travis Garza
• IsagenixBusiness.com for your 2-Day, 30-Day and 90-Day Plans for Success
• IsaFYI.com’s “Sales Enrollements” page for a one-stop-shop for all these resources

Who doesn't like quick, relatively easy money? I know I sure do! lol I'm still not sure if I'm someone cut out for network marketing, but Isagenix sure does make it appealing!

Holy cow, weeks have gone by!

Life has just gotten in the way of blogging. I hate it when that happens! :)

I feel like I say the same thing every time...still chugging along. I cleansed Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. It was more difficult than usual. I'm not sure why. I just wanted to eat EVERYTHING. It doesn't help that I'm an awesome cook. ;) Everything just smells SO delicious. I was good, though! After my first day, I dreamed all night that I accidentally ate food, forgetting that I was cleansing. That never happened while I was awake, though. :D

As of this morning, I am 229 lbs, which is 4 lbs down from last week and 68 lbs down from June 28th! I'm pretty happy with those results.

I posted a facial comparison picture on Friends and Families, so I figured I would post it here as well. I look at that first photo and just cringe. How could I have let that happened? It honestly makes me want to cry. When I showed this comparison to my husband, he asked me, "Uh, so how many cameras are actually on you?" in reference to this clip from Friends:

Yeah, so he's not always the most sensitive of fellas. lol

So, here goes nothing: Before, 297 lbs. Current (Well, 4 lbs ago), 233

I still have a LONG way to go, but I'm getting there! 

I'm part of a group of people who all have the same goal: to lose at least 100 pounds by August of next year. Every Thursday, we do a group call where we check in, tell how things have gone since the last call, and ask any questions we may have of our coach. Today, our coach challenged us to do something. He challenged us to pick a date for when we would like to have lost 100 lbs, then to write out exactly how that day is going to go. So, here goes...my date is Christmas day, 2012.

It's December 25, 2012. I wake up to whispers and giggling outside of my door. I know all six of the kids are awake and probably have been for hours. They've already torn into their stockings, but are waiting, rather impatiently, for the clock to read 6:00 am because they know they can't wake us up before that time on Christmas morning. My alarm goes off at 6:00 am and they come barging through the door, "It's Christmas!" "It's 6am!" "Santa came!" "I got super cool stuff in my stocking!" I'm practically dragged downstairs. I want to check my weight because yesterday I was SO close to that 100 lb mark. However, I know that being with my family is the REASON I'm trying to lose this weight, so it will have to wait. 

Christmas Eve dinner the night before was surprisingly easy to refuse, I knew I wouldn't hit my goal if I ate it, so I had a shake while everyone else filled up on turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and the amazing chocolate truffle that I made. I just KNOW that skipping that dinner will be SO worth it this morning. 

My children's moods are infectious. As they tear open their presents with HUGE goofy smiles on their faces, I find myself smiling, laughing and singing along with them. This perfect family moment has made me completely forget about my weight because THIS is what it's all about. THIS is why I'm doing what I'm doing. 

The kids have finished opening all of their presents and they're off to get dressed for the day and go over to Grandma's for breakfast. I take that time to sneak off to the scale. I step on the scale and wait while the numbers bounce around, waiting for it to settle on the right number. ONE HUNDRED NINETY FIVE!!!!  102 lbs GONE FOREVER!!! I'm ECSTATIC! I've done it! In just under six months, I've released 102 pounds! I frantically call my husband into the bathroom and he comes running, thinking something is terribly wrong. I'm squealing, I'm so excited! When I've finally calmed down enough to tell him what is going on, he scoops me up in his arms, gives me a huge hug and says, "I never had any doubt you would do it. I'm so proud of you."

The whole family piles into the car and drives off to Grandma's house, where that breakfast of biscuits and gravy (my FAVORITE!) has absolutely no power over me. There is NO stopping me!

September is coming to an end

September is almost over and I'm nowhere near my goal of 5000 swings this month! Boo, Katie. :( I have plenty of excuses, but none of them are very good. Plain and simple, I just didn't do enough. I did 760 swings this morning. That's practically 1/5 of the way to my total goal, so obviously, I had enough time! I do have to say though, that I'm pretty proud of myself. I may not have come anywhere near my goal (although, I still have four days left and if I did the same workout I did this morning, every day, I would almost reach my goal) but, I've gotten stronger. The workout I did this morning, I did a few weeks ago as well. I only made it through half of the workout before and I was DYING. I had to sit during rest periods. This time, I made it through the entire workout and paced back and forth during rest periods. I'm ridiculously proud of how far I've come in the last couple of weeks!

The past few days, I've been suffering from ocular migraines. Usually, for me, they are just a crescent shaped visual disturbance that looks like flickering zig zags. The last few days, however, they've included a rather significant blind spot right in the middle of my vision. In the past, they've lasted up to 48 hours, but thankfully, they've only been about 30 minutes at a time the past few days. However, they do lead up to a doozy of a headache! They've always been painless in the past. So, things seem to be progressing, which isn't a good thing when it comes to pain! lol I'll probably go see an opthalmologist soon just to rule out any issues. I'm concerned that, with the frequency I've been getting them, I'll get one while I'm driving, and well...driving when you have a huge blind spot right in front of you probably isn't a very good idea.

The scale is finally moving again!!! I think my body got used to the routine I was in and just decided it didn't want to go anywhere. It's been frustrating, to say the very least. I got down to 54 pounds lost, then bounced up to 48 pounds lost and hovered right around 50 pounds lost for several weeks. This past weekend, I was bad. I don't know what it was, but I was just craving terrible things! One night, I made garlic bread for dinner. I had far too much of that. Pasta with white sauce? Had that, too! I went to my mom's home for dinner on Sunday and had TWO hamburgers (no bun, just wrapped in lettuce) and a hotdog with saurcraut. I also had a cupcake, then another cupcake on Monday! Yikes! Oddly enough, I didn't gain any weight, and in fact, my weight is finally moving back down! Back to 54 pounds released as of this morning! Woohoo!  I guess my body just needed to be shaken up a bit. I don't advocate going off the deep end like I did, however, it seems to have worked for me, and now that I've had a weekend of going kinda crazy, I'm over it and ready to start back strong again. I don't usually feel deprived, so when I started to feel that way, I just allowed myself to have the things I really wanted and now I no longer want them so badly that I can taste it! lol I know that some people can't do that...one bite and it's all downhill from there, and I was honestly very concerned that would be the case for me, but it doesn't seem to have been, so I'm thrilled with that!

Blargh!

Hello binge, my name is Katie.

I'm usually pretty good avoiding temptation. In fact, usually, it's pretty easy. I don't know what it was about tonight, but I totally faltered...and faltered BIG TIME! I made garlic bread for the family for dinner...then proceeded to eat THREE PIECES of it! Then, chocolate lava cakes for dessert and I had one of them. I have no idea why I did it. I can usually just not do it. Why did I do it? Can I blame it on AF being due soon? lol It's a little scary...I can see the beginning of where I usually start to fail coming on. First it's one thing, then it's another, then it's everything. I need to get this under control. I won't fail!