No Soda Month 7, Isabody Challenge: Day 5

It was last Wednesday that I received the package in the mail with my new lifestyle kit inside of it. I looked at it with skepticism. This was going to help me to reach 40 feeling better than I did at 20? This was going to help me get healthy? Still, if I'd been bet $25,000 that I could spend 30 days on a mostly liquid diet eating one solid food meal a day, I know I'd have said yes. This system was no crazier than that.

I unpacked the items and carefully reviewed the literature, looking carefully at the labels for ingredients. Nothing crazy. Things like black pepper, cayenne pepper, and natural flavors made up what went inside. This may sound funny considering how often I used to dump things like soda and coffees and other not-so-good for you fast food products into myself, but I have always been careful with the products I choose to take. I don't like to take medicines of any kind, and I don't want anything I can't identify going in there.

The next morning, I began the program with one of the shakes. It tasted like chalk. I wondered if I was really going to make it through 30 days of this. I was also still incredibly hungry, which made me wonder if this was actually going to work for me or not. Then I re-reviewed the literature. I'd skipped a step - I'd forgotten the pre-breakfast drink.

I took a scoop of that and put it in 12 oz of warm water. I could deal with that.  The hunger pangs faded away. Fortunately, I had ordered multiple flavors of the products. After experimenting with the three, I found the combination that works for me: A scoop of Strawberry-Banana and a scoop of Dutch Chocolate. If I really want to kick it up, I add a packet of their orange energy drink powder.

I struggled with my doubts on Thursday and Friday. Was this worth it? Would it work? I found myself tired sooner, sleeping better but way more than I expected Friday and Saturday night. Was this going to be the norm? Me sleeping so much? I didn't know if I could handle that kind of thing.

I woke up on Monday feeling really good and I made it through a cleanse day - No solid food for 24 hours. Important discovery: low blood sugar brings on headaches. Keep to the schedule of every 2 hours. Don't deviate. Be sure to take the snacks. The tea helps.

On Tuesday, today, I woke up feeling better than I had in a while. I won't be taking my measurements again until day 8, so I won't be able to tell you if I've lost anything since I started, but I feel better and that's worth a lot to me. I lead a busy life, and I can't afford all the slow downs that happen when you're tired and feeling down all the time.

I don't know what the results of this will be. I don't know where I'll end up. This is another twist on my journey toward a year without soda, but I will say this: I like where this part of the road is leading me. I've said it before and it's worth repeating: Once you make one change to take back control of your life, it becomes easier to make that next change - no matter what the change happens to be.

4 Days Until 7 Months

Yes, I've managed to make it nearly 7 months without any soda. I don't miss them, and I can be around them without feeling the urge to get one myself.  However, as far as weight loss, I am still not where I would like to be. In this, the no-soda challenge has been a total bust.

Here are my measurements from December 30th:
waist: 39"
gut: 48"
hips: 46"
bust: 43"
neck: 14 1/2"
upper left arm: 15 1/4"
left wrist: 7"
left ankle: 10 1/2"
upper right arm: 15"
right wrist: 7"
right ankle: 10"

Here are my measurements for Today, March 26th
Waist: 40.5"
Gut: 48"
Hips: 45 1/2"
bust: 43 1/2"
upper left arm: 13 1/4"
left wrist: 6 3/4"
Left ankle: 10 1/4"
Upper right arm: 14 1/4"
right wrist: 7"
right ankle: 10 1/4"

I bought a weight scale today and discovered I am 195 lbs. I need to lose about 90 pounds to get to a healthy weight for myself.

So far, I've quit drinking soda, I've given up putting extra sugar in anything, and so I decided to kick it up an extra notch. I am taking the Isabody Challenge. I will keep track of my progress with the challenge on this blog.

It's not just the money, although $25,000 would go a long way toward fulfilling some dreams of mine. It's the fact that I'm tired of being unhealthy. I want to enter my 40's looking and feeling better than I have in my whole life. That's what I'm striving to achieve - to be truly healthy for the first time in my life.