I found freedom and grace in Weight Watchers

I rejoined Weight Watchers.. again.

The last month or so I have really been battling a head game and I while I needed the consistency and accountability of tracking my food, what I saw yesterday is that I needed the freedom and grace more.

I know. FREEDOM and GRACE while tracking food??? 

Yep.

Here is why. When I'm just doing my thing and going with the flow, unless I am hard core shake in the morning, and totally healthy choices for lunch and dinner, in my mind, I have failed on the food choices that day. I start beating myself up over the cookie(s) that I ate or the whatever and I immediately go into a negative head space.

With Weight Watchers, I don't do that. I track my food and at the end of the day when I sit down with my glass of Pinot Grigio (4 points) I enjoy it.

So yes, I am back on the Weight Watchers wagon. I really like the updated app and options. I totally think that the WW mindset would be great for those that want to gain weight as well as for those that want to lose/maintain weight. Tracking food can be overwhelming and for people like me with obsessive personalities, counting calories can be addictive and push us into a negative head space as we use calories as a means of control. not good.

Here is a screenshot from my dashboard. With the latest WW update I get more points each day even though I weigh the same that I did in January when I deleted the app from my phone! I like more points. :) 

I also really like the updated activity log. I am a very active person and I never felt like the old activity counter truly recorded my daily life. But for example yesterday, I shoveled and hauled dirt around the pool for a long time. I recorded 65 minutes of hard labor and earned 16 points for my efforts. I like that!  I set my goal to earn 55 FitPoints each week. I figure that is a very doable goal for me. Even with a stress fracture on my left foot and no running. (bummer, but soon I hope!)

And there you have it. 

And in case you were wondering, yes I am still using Isagenix products. The IsaLean Shake is 7 points and that is a lot for me for breakfast, but totally worth it as I feel good and stay full during the morning. In fact, if I wanted to do Isagenix hardcore with Weight Watchers, I totally could as a shake for breakfast and lunch with healthy snacks during the day would leave me with more than enough points to have a quality evening meal. 

So there you have it. 

I'll keep you posted on the journey. For now, I'm going to go enjoy my cup of coffee with my 2point creamer. Yes, that is a splurge I will take every time!

Oh, and want to know what my goal is? To drop my body fat percentage by 7%. yep. Sounds crazy doesn't it.  But, my body fat percentage is too high. yuck. And it lives on my abdomen, thighs and the underside of my arms.  A 7% drop won't even put me into the "fitness" category for body fat.. it will just be in the middle of the acceptable range! OUCH! 

In order to lose the body fat I know that I will lose some on the scale too, but that isn't my motivation this time around. I'm not worried about what the scale says, nor am I interested in dropping clothes sizes. I really like my size 6. I just want to be healthy.

Thanks for joining me on this path.

Another Isagenix Milestone

I hit another Isagenix milestone this week.

I'm rather pumped about it.

I completed my first 2 day cleanse and with it am feeling stronger and leaner than I have since longer than I can remember.

In fact, to be honest.. when I was starving myself at age 16 and wearing a GIRLS size 12/14, I might have weighed less, but I wasn't confident and I wasn't strong. I was weak and broken and hiding.

Today, I am proud of who I am and where I am going!

This was me on Wednesday of this week. I had just taken 2 minutes off my 1/2 mile swim time!

That night I was a vendor at Tarleton's Kinesiology expo for a thousand students. I didn't go prepared. I really wasn't sure what to take or what to do. But what I found out about myself through this is that I am really proud of my progress and who I have become. I didn't sell anything at the fair. ( I didn't have product to sell! I only had the product Doug and I use everyday!) But I was able to inspire a few others and give hope to others. 

Lifelong fitness is a journey for EVERYONE! 

Thursday morning I got up and ran 4 miles with friends. After a 2 day nutritional cleanse.  I realize it's hard to even fathom. I can't explain how it works either... I just follow the guidelines and I don't feel crazy or even all that hungry for that matter.  

Then I took measurements... and smiled. 

Over the 2 days I lost 4.5 pounds and 13.75 inches! While I LOVE the pounds lost.. I am more excited about the inches. With the scale victory I am now pretty much the same size as when I got pregnant with Maddie.. and she turns 16 in a few weeks!

With the inches lost, my BMI goes down and my lean muscle mass goes up. How exciting.

And so here I am.

Dreaming of the future.

I stepped on the scale with WET HAIR. What was I thinking?

I stepped on the scale with WET HAIR!!

Anyone who has obsessed over their weight knows that WET HAIR increases the scale by at least a 1/2 pound (especially if you have lots of thick hair like I do!). 

And that 1/2 pound can be the difference in a good day and a bad day.

But I stepped on the scale with wet hair after a swim workout.. which meant no sweat pounds lost (another no-no for scale crazed peeps) and I had LOST a 1/2 pound. 

And  that's when it hit me. I've changed. Yes, I've lost a lot of weight over the last few years. But my mind and my metabolism have finally changed.

Every single day, I feel stronger and better than I have ever felt. Okay, maybe not ever felt, but at least have felt in the last 25 years.

Why? Because I am eating.

I am eating real food. Often.

When I feel hunger, I eat. Which means, I'm not hangry.

I'm taking a ton of vitamins and am eating superfoods.

I feel great and I'm still losing inches and pounds.

Yeah. I'm still shaking my head.

It's hard to break a cycle that was created in early teen years. As a sophomore in high school, I would make a slimfast shake and make it last for two meals by drinking 1/2 for breakfast and freezing the rest and eating it super slow for lunch. Then I would do a two hour workout after school and then be lightheaded and dizzy for dinner. No wonder.

I had major body image problems.

This food deprivation killed my metabolism and wrecked my psyche.  This cycle of deprivation and binge eating went on for years and years. 

But today, I feel like I am finally finding out who I am meant to be and just how strong and fit I can be as well.

I think part of this transformation of my mind comes in the form of peanut butter. :) 

Really. 

Cause for the first time in my adult life, peanut butter isn't taboo. 

My go to morning breakfast after a workout is a Isagenix Creamy Dutch Chocolate Shake with a scoop of Isagenix Greens (powdered superfood), a banana and a scoop of peanut butter. It's amazing.

Here is a picture of the ingredients, along with my morning vitamin pack and my morning drink of Ionix Supreme.

Look at this. That is one thick and rich this shake!

And there isn't any reason to make this last all day. I drink it first thing and then even have a mid-morning snack, lunch and an afternoon snack! 

Yep, that's crazy talk. Eating regularly scheduled meals without guilt.

I also really love that Isagenix makes chocolate candy! Let's be honest, I'm going to eat candy anyway. And candy is becoming less of a crave because it's not off limits anymore.

And even when I eat candy from the convenience store, donuts for breakfast or any number of non-healthy choices, I'm not beating myself up about it anymore.

I feel a freedom and peace of mind that I don't remember ever having with or about food.

And that is priceless.

I so desperately want my friends to experience this freedom. But it's not cheap. And their journey is not my journey.

So, I'm just going to say this.

I'm here. I'd love to answer your questions.

The products are guaranteed. There is no commitment. 

If you are interested, check out my website.  

http://emilymclemore.isagenix.com/ 

If you aren't interested, I promise to not become that person you avoid in person or block on facebook.

Isagenix products have taken over my kitchen counter, have become a regular part of my lifestyle and I wouldn't have it any other way!

My 30 day Isagenix report.. a successful start!

In the midst of the chaos of January/February, I decided to finally try Isagenix. I blogged about my decision to make the commitment to myself a few weeks ago.

Anyway. In the last 30 days, here are a few of the tidbits I have learned.

1. Cellular cleansing: I am way more self controlled and diligent on cleanse days.  How can I have more energy and feel awesome only drinking Cleanse for Life and water and eating a few wafers? I don't know. But I do. I can feel the toxins leaving my body. it. is. crazy.  I do this once a week and I don't need to cheat or add extras to my plan. I even work out on these days. I am still shocked each week when it works.

2. The products work: The success of the plan is not dependent on my ability to be hard core. I know. That doesn't make sense either, but I have yet to make it on a "shake day" without eating something that is not plan friendly. Like my glass of wine. Or a bite size chocolate. Or lets be honest.... over the last 30 days, I have had a number of fast food meals and donuts.

3. I feel too good to stop. I'm so going to do another 30 day challenge. Maybe this month I can be a little more focused.. there is no telling what I can do if I am diligent!

So all that to say, how did I do?

Well... see below!

Here I am this morning in my classroom. 

You know, I'm starting to like the way I look in pictures. And that is huge. My waist is noticeably trimmer, my clothes are comfortable or even loose and I feel good.

Interested?

Send me a message at emilymclemore@yahoo.com or check out my website at http://emilymclemore.isagenix.com/ and then send me a message. There is a lot to take in and I'd love to tell you about it.

These products work.

Choosing to focus on Health and Wellness

Over the last few years, I have spent a great deal of time changing my mindset about food, nutrition and exercise. It hasn't been easy. The voices in my head about how I looked, what I should eat and how I should feel about myself were very comfortable and very much in control.

Every time I tried to make a lasting change, these voices in my head would start picking at my successes so that the negative thoughts quickly drowned out the good feelings and thoughts and I would go back to the same comfort foods that got me into trouble in the first place.

What I have learned is that the closer I get to my "goal" weight the more pressure the negative voices put on my soul. I realize that it shouldn't be that way. One would think that with each success the negative voice would shrink. But it doesn't. And I truly believe that is why people struggle with a healthy body image so much. Every success is suspect. At least for me. Maybe you don't have the same negative thoughts. I hope you don't.

But I am learning.

I am learning that every single day is an opportunity to make better food choices.

Every single day I can choose to be happy about where I am on my health and wellness journey.

The journey is long and full of mountains and valleys. But I have learned that fueling the journey correctly is important. Without healthy eating habits the mountains seem insurmountable and the valleys become pits of despair.

In 2012 I was exhausted. Physically and emotionally.

I just love that these "before" pictures of me include the food and drink that I consumed all of the time. Sugar in the form of a sweet tea and sugar in the form of a piece of cake.

 

And I still look at this picture and shake my head. I can't believe how wide I had gotten. And this is me a couple of weeks into Weight Watchers and I had lost almost 10 pounds. WOW.

From there I started really eating many more vegetables and fruits and working out, but my mind could not grasp that this was a real life-long change. In the past, I would diet for a little while till I got to a comfortable size and then pick up my sweet tea again.

But this time I did better.

Because I learned to occupy my mind and negative thoughts with goals and purpose. Instead of focusing on counting points, I started counting miles.

But I still couldn't keep those last 10-15 pounds off. I was roller coasting within a smaller range, but I would still eat well and then give up for a few weeks and then get back on the wagon and so forth.

Then last year, after reading and researching, I started eating a nutritarian diet more and saw great results. I learned that forgoing cheese wasn't that hard, but keeping all of the sugar out of the diet was difficult.

I even challenged myself to mastering handstands.

I had made it to a place where I was for the most part happy with body, I still was frustrated with the scale, but not enough to make any further changes. I had two stress fractures in my left foot in 2015, so I gave myself some grace for the extra 10 pounds that I couldn't shake.

So as I looked at 2016, I decided that I was ready to take the next step into health and wellness. I had been researching and watching Isagenix people for a while. It requires an investment. But I was ready.

Well, I joined a 30 day challenge and we started on the 11th.. I expected to be hungry and unhappy. Cause diets are supposed to be that way. right?

Nope. I am eating MORE food than I had been before. I feel better. I did my first cleanse and I wasn't grouchy or grumpy. I've lost pounds and even more inches and I feel good!

What? How can this be?

I don't really know.... the science behind it says lots of stuff... but I'm just going to say YIPPEE.

So, if you looking for a lifestyle change and ready to make a commitment to yourself, go look at my website and then send me a message, I'd love to tell you more about the products. Feel free to do like I did, take a look at the website, ask questions and then a year later decided to take that important first big step.

And where is the AFTER picture?

Well, not here yet! I'm still a work in progress!

But I can't wait to show you!

http://emilymclemore.isagenix.com/