I'm B-a-a-a-k

First day of doing this again.  It's been a year and a half and I'm so ready to lose these unwelcome, returning pounds.     Stay tuned!

UP AND DOWN,
UP AND DOWN


I haven’t written anything on this blog for a long time. I did the cleanse phase of FIT shortly before going on the cruise. I gained a couple of pounds on the cruise, but not bad. I think I did well because I took my fiber and took it every night before going to bed.


I had decided to do another round of HCG when I got home from the cruise but I haven’t started it yet. Lane wanted to wait until the first of March, but he didn’t pick up the stuff last week, so I did another round of the cleanse. I am traveling for business next week and that concerns me with the HCG. I would have to leave the meds at home and just skip a day. That might not be a bad thing though.


I am having trouble staying under 150. I have put on 7 pounds since my last injection of HCG a few months ago and I don’t like it! My lowest weight was 143 and that was fabuloso! I knew that I might not stay that low, but I never wanted to see the 150’s again. That is the biggest reason I want to do another round of HCG. I want to get back solidly into the 140’s [or lower].


I started the cleanse phase again today because I have a weigh-in on Thursday. I need to show at least a 5 pound loss and a body % loss from the last time I weighed in. If I had to weigh in today, I’d be in trouble.


AND - - I want to just S-C-H-M-A-A-K Lane these days. He has re-gained all the weight he lost on the last round of HCG. He seems to have just thrown everything he learned out the window and given up! He worked so hard to achieve his success, and now he is not trying at all. Frustrating!

TNI FIT - ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS



Jill, Carl and I are finished with the cleanse. I lost a total of 4 pounds. I haven’t checked in with Jill and Carl yet. That is the ‘ENDINGS’ reference in the title. The ‘BEGINNINGS’ refers to the fact that Lane starts his cleanse today.


I emailed him some support materials to get him started. He has a full week of sample menus, and a daily guide to know what to eat when. I expect some whining this week, but true to form, he will decide on his own that he is ‘just going to do it’.


Jill and I found a couple of good ‘free’ calorie counting sites. We were both using myfooddiary.com but they charge $9 per month, and we both decided to see if we could find a free site that offered the same things. I found www.caloriecount.about.com and Jill found http://www.everydayhealth.com/



They both offer daily calorie counts, activity reports, charting, blogs, etc. Both sites allow you to enter your own items, such as TNI Fiber, RESET, REDUCE, etc. so you can really customize your day. They are both good resources for tracking daily stats.

One of the biggest issues for all of us is that we know what to expect from HCG, but we are just learning about TNI FIT. It is definitely a learning process as we try this new program. However, focusing more on 'fitness' via exercise will be so good for all of us. Jill put it really well when she said, "I lost weight with HCG, but I was not fit. I weighed less, but I was still 'flabby'" Well said. I agree that the 'fitness' piece was missing from HCG. TNI FIT is a complete program that focuses on nutrition and exercise together.

TNI FIT - DAY 4




Down another ½ pound today. I think it might have been more if I had been better about drinking my water yesterday. I usually try to get three 24 oz bottles during the day, but yesterday I didn’t do it. I had only one 24 oz bottle of water, and two 16 oz bottles w/ fiber.


They took pictures at work today for the FIT Challenge. I was actually glad they didn’t have to capture my photo from last May. I was Fat , fat, fat; not Fit fit fit. They asked us to be in our exercise clothes, so I brought them to work and changed for the picture. I couldn’t even get that shirt on 8 months ago.


I signed up for a free website that keeps track of your weight, calories, activity, etc. The site includes access to their blog, and they had a good article today. We all KNOW we should be eating right, but sometimes we don’t know WHAT to eat. Here is a list of foods put together by leading nutritionists listing the 30 healthiest foods to include in our diets. It’s a good list. Now, some things might be good for me, but I wouldn’t touch a sardine under threat of death!


The 30 Healthiest Foods
Mushrooms
Barley
Quinoa
Walnuts
Whole grain pasta
Peanut and Almond Butters
Oatmeal [old fashioned or steel cut]
Skim Milk
Almonds
Lentils
Blueberries
Bulgur
Eggs
Sardines
Spinach
Kiwi
Wild Salmon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Chicken Breasts
Kale
Avocados
Kidney Beans
Chard
Sweet Potatoes
Edamame
Pumpkin
Oranges
Greek Yogurt
Broccoli
Black Beans


I have been hungry the past two nights, but in looking at the final calorie count of my days, I may not have been getting enough. I have been around 1,200 before the exercise, so with the exercise, I think I have needed more food. Last night I grabbed a handful of almonds to help ‘kill the hunger’. HOWEVER - - Jill just reminded me that we are supposed to be 300 calories under during the cleanse.


Well – stay tuned. Jill is discouraged today because she was up ½ pound. She is contemplating going back on HCG. I asked her to stick it out a while longer. She likes the old fiber better than the new one, not for the taste, but for its effectiveness. I don’t have the new fiber yet, so I’m still using the old one. Carl is still struggling with the 'side effects' of taking fiber.

TNI FIT – DAY 2


I stepped on the scales this morning and was really HAPPY! After one day on the program I am DOWN 3 pounds. I was starting to inch up on my weight and had put several pounds back on [I’m embarrassed to say how many]. SO - - - today was a happy day.


My product did not come in yesterday, so this morning I told Lane that he was SHARING! I can get by with my regular fiber and soy protein shake, but he has to share the RESTORE probiotic and the RESET cleanse formula with me until I get mine. He didn’t want to start the program until Monday anyway, so I said we’d get more before then.


Here is my ‘DAY 1’ menu:

BREAKFAST: Protein shake w/ 1 C frozen berries and 1 C 1% milk
10:00 a.m.: Fiber with 16 oz water
SNACK: 8 Almonds
LUNCH: 3 oz. lean meat / baby carrots / 2 stalks celery
SNACK: RESET cleanse formula
DINNER: Steak / Cauliflower / Green Beans
SNACK: Fiber with 16 oz water


Jill and Carl were impressed that with all the products working together, they felt full all day and not ‘snacky’ at all. Carl is having problems with ‘gas’. He did not include ANY fiber in his diet before, even an apple, so this is interesting for him. He liked all the products except for the noni bioactive. He has never been willing to drink it before, so this was a major step for him. Jill said that he is committed to doing this! JILL IS DOWN 3 POUNDS TODAY, TOO. She made TACO SOUP for dinner and said it was a huge hit. I’ll post a couple of good recipes tomorrow.

DAY 1 – TNI FIT


Kick off day for me - - Lane wants to start tomorrow because he has a heavy work schedule today. Jill and Carl kicked off today, too.


Jill called me this afternoon with two really good pieces of information.

1) When followed correctly, this program gives you the same amount of fiber as taking two servings of the old fiber. [20 gr vs. 18 gr]

That is really important for us because we have all come to know how much better we feel when we take the fiber products every day. Jill was in a bit of a panic when she found out the new fiber had only 5 gr of fiber compared to 10 gr on the original one. She studied the program last night and discovered that the new program supplies 18 gr fiber, so she is only missing 2 gr, and that can be easily made up with other foods.


2) Jill and Carl tried the new protein shakes this morning, and they LOVED THEM!

Now, you have to understand that while Jill was open to a new product, Carl was totally expecting to HATE it. He didn’t like the previous soy protein, so he was expecting to hate this one too. SURPRISE - - - He likes it! [He also loves the new RESIST snack bars, but who wouldn’t? Chocolate Caramel Nut, and Chocolate Covered Chocolate Chip!]


Jill and Carl took a 2 mile walk together this morning. WOW – that normally would not happen. Getting FIT is a good thing!


I still don’t have my product yet. I had one container of RESET cleanse formula, and I took one of Lane’s RESTORE probiotics this morning. [It’s 4:30 p.m. and no mention of getting the products today, so I may NOT be off to a running start!]

GET READY - - - GET SET - -

Okay – we are going to start this new journey tomorrow – Tuesday, January 25th [because we won’t have the products until then]


Here is what a typical day on the cleanse looks like.
-During the first 6 days, in addition to the other products, drink one bottle of Fit RESET each day. If you are trying to lose body fat then reduce your calorie goal by 300 calories and avoid simple carbs such as white breads, rice, pastas, and refined sugars. Calculate your calorie goal at www.tni.com/fit

--Be sure to drink water throughout the day, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR NONI!!!!


(THIS MENU IS FOR 1200 CALORIES. To see what it would be for other options, log onto www.fit.tni.com and view menu options]


BREAKFAST:
BIOACTIVE BEVERAGE [NONI]
MULTIVITAMIN
RESTORE – PROBIOTIC
REBUILD SHAKE – W/ 1 C SKIM MILK

SNACK:
8 ALMONDS
1 C CHERRY TOMATOES W/ LIGHT DRESSING

LUNCH:
3 OZ. TURKEY BURGER ON WHOLE WHEAT BUN
2 C ROMAINE LETTUCE
1 TSP OLIVE OIL, BALSAMIC VINEGAR
¼ AVOCADO
3/4 C PINEAPPLE CHUNKS

SNACK:
RESET CLEANSE BEVERAGE


DINNER:
3 OZ PORK ROAST
1 C STEAMED VEGGIES
½ C MASHED RED POTATOES W/ SKIN


SNACK:
REDUCE – FAT FLUSHING FORMULA


So-o-o - - Very doable, right? Some of these things are not what I would typically eat on a ‘diet’, so that was a nice surprise. I can’t remember the last time I ate a potato without feeling tons of guilt.