#bodymetrics

Okay, before I ate anything on the first day following my completed 9-day cleanse, I did some quick measurements. Very psyched about these results! (for comparison, back when I started Isagenix, I weighed 201.5 lbs. - for most of 2013, I usually hovered around 210. Blood sugar was up and down ranging from 105-131)

Next up: bring down the body fat %!

One big thing to note is that "Cleanse" is kind of a loaded term. This isn't like GI tract cleansing - this is cellular cleansing. So think more like detoxifying the body, allowing the liver and kidneys to function better, stuff like that. It isn't painful of uncomfortable - if anything, I visited the restroom less than normal (aside from hydration/urination) during the cleanse because I was taking in less food.

First up: my weight is at the lowest it's been that I can remember: 197.1 lbs. When you consider that is about only 4 pounds less than what I had been hovering around for the past couple of months, it doesn't seem like much, but 1) I know I am making progress and 2) it is at a rate that I am comfortable with.

Also, obviously with the cleansing/fasting and the highly structured menu for the non-fasting/shake days, my glucose measurements have not gone over 100 once. (BIG WIN!) I think that is to be expected with the regimen, but then again, isn't that what my doctor would have loved to have me do? This is sustainable. Prescribing a vague (or maybe even very specific) diet still left a lot on me to make dietary decisions on my own, so gradually - like most people - I got off track or just got lost in my ignorance. That was my fault, but so far, with this, I can find a sustainable system that still has flexibility to keep from depriving myself of the foods I do want. 

Seriously, I have come to really enjoy the shakes. Knowing that it is $3 a shake, provides me with what I need nutritionally, and actually keeps me feeling full for hours hits on dietary needs (check!), financial/budgeting needs (check!), and willpower (check!)

I dig the cleanse, I am learning more about Isagenix (and liking what I am seeing!), and I am seeing some results that are in-line with what I am trying to accomplish.

The package came and I was ready to follow the instructions.

Fortunately, the routine I had built up prior to the cleanse was right in line with the "Pre-Cleanse" days, so I was able to roll straight into the cleanse - I mean I was ready, you know?

Prior to cleanse - weight 201.1 lbs. & blood sugar 105 (I need to consistently be below 100)

Day 1 (Cleanse Day 1)

Notes - the cleanse tastes pretty damn good. Blueberries! Adding the water almost made it too watered-down tasting, but I just did what I was told. Fasting, in general, makes one think very differently about food. I had two chocolate wafer 'snacks' a couple of times and then one of these IsDelight dark chocolate squares that, any other day would have been one-bite amuse-bushes (spelling?). However, when you fast - when you know that is all you get, you savor every little nibble of those suckers. If anything comes from this fast / cleanse it'll be to slow down my eating later on and savor those bites. I mean chocolate melting in your mouth tastes wonderful whether you take 2 or 10 bites, so might as well make it 10, right?

Anyway, honestly, I was psyched enough about the cleanse that I got through the day without any issues. A few 'feeling sorry that I can't just eat that cookie right there" moments, but no biggie. Oh and speaking of cookies.....

Day 2 (Cleanse Day 2)

So, yeah, my daughter's Girl Scout Cookies came in - worse than that - we are the family that houses the entire troop's cookies before they get distributed out! Cases and cases of thin mints, samoas, and all of the other flavors piled up in my living room! Anyway, my youngest daughter and I got out of the house for most of the day (not because of the cookies), so the challenge for me was to prep my cleansing 'meals' ahead of time. No problemmo - in fact, like the savoring each bite lesson, this planning ahead could prove to be a good thing to take into my normal eating habits, right?

Today was tougher - Cooked up some yummy looking meals for the family and popped popcorn for them during movie night. But since the steps of the cleanse were paced out well, I always had my own thing to savor.

Just to entertain myself, I did a quick weight check: 198.8 lbs. Not bad! Honestly, since you don't know my history, it has been maybe 10+ years since I have been under 200 lbs.)

Day 3 (Shake Day 1)

Oh buddy, did I ever take my time with that first morning shake! One thing with IsaLean shakes is that they taste incredibly good compared to most of the protein/meal replacement shakes I've had in the past. I didn't really respect this fact as much as I should have prior to the cleanse, but I know now! Steps were followed, and today was really much tougher than the cleanse days - since you feel like "ah, the tough part is over," then it would be really easy to slip up here.

A big challenge today was dinner. We were out, so decisions had to be made. We did Subway, and though I was tested...Subway actually RAN OUT OF BREAD! I'll let you read that again. "Subway Sandwiches" ran out of bread, and it would take another 10-15 minutes for the last-baked bread to cool and be ready. Normally, an easy wait, but with 3 other hungry people (2 of them small children), we thought to try somewhere else. But the crappy mall we were in had zero doable alternatives that satisfied all 4 of us (BK, Sbarro, Popeye's, Panda Express). We waited out Subway. 500 calorie, low-glycenic dinner! bam!

I am hungry as I write this, but I can just go to bed. No biggie.

Before and After: 20 Days

So, admittedly, I had to force myself to do a photo since I didn't really feel like I had changed much - I mean I see myself in the mirror EVERY day, you know? I had stayed up waaay too late working on some personal projects so I was dragging just a little.  But, as per usual, I knocked down an IsaLean shake, Product B, some fish oil capsules, and prescribed metformin. (Note here that the routine is getting so 'baked in' that I was able to easily stay on track even when we were visiting friends over the weekend - that is another plus of a 'less than 5 minute' routine!)

So, back to photos. Basically, I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to figure out how to set things up as close as possible to the previous photo session, I didn't want to do all of the digital photo transfer....basically, I was being a baby. But I powered through. And even though I could have done some better focusing work, I have to admit that I am pretty happy with the results! Moreso than weighing myself everyday (which will drive you insane, so I recommend you don't do it). Maybe the fact that it is out of focus means the picture is hiding even more progress than I think (let's hope!)

In trying to remain objective, the waistband is sitting differently, and I might be standing more upright in the second photo, but I didn't feel like I was posing - I intentionally thought "just stand here, like, as normal as possible." I do like the side of my abdomen in the right photo and I feel like I just look a bit leaner - maybe it is the spare tire comparison from photo to photo.

In the end, I am happy with the results. When I had to do the math to figure out the time difference, finding that it was only 20 days was an uplifting thought. Perhaps some claims would show more change in that amount of time, but I think that this is realistic and, more importantly, sustainable!

Okay, so as mentioned, I don't know that weighing myself every day is effective (actually, psychologically, I think it might be detrimental). The same goes for photos. So maybe that stuff goes weekly or even less often.

Glucose Levels

Glucose levels are something I am wanting to have affected - if not directly by the Isagenix products, then at least from the dietary and exercise routines that accompany them. I am a Type-2 diabetic, and one of the things that really captured my attention about Isagenix wasn't weight loss - it was a story or two that I had heard of diabetics that used the regimen to eventually be able to get off of diabetes (Metformin) and high blood pressure medication (Lisinopril). 

So, again, it is probably not a strong scientific experiment to track my glucose levels while looking for drastic changes (example, if I have a smoothie, get 1 hour less sleep, or walk 3000 steps less one day, it could have a profound affect on my glucose reading, depending on when I do it.) I am going to do random tests, though, just because I need to have some hard numbers for my own sake.

Today's reading (after a standard 'shake/product B breakfast,' walk, boxing class, minimal smart lunch) at around 3pm was 106.

Weight

I don't weigh myself every day - I don't think that granularity helps when tracking weight, but:

yesterday = 201.3

today =201.5

Glucose

today = 128

Regimen:

every morning this week: IsaLean Shake, Protein bar, Product B, Coffee & creamer

lunches: W = nothing, Th = Chipotle (with kara), F = calzone

dinners: W = ham&cheese/chips, Th = pork tenderloin/mashed pot/corn, F = 1.5 pieces of cheese pizza 

Exercise:

Initial Check-In: Part 2

To go along with the numbers tracking and regimen, I want to track visual body appearance over time.

Don't you just love looking at yourself in pictures? lol. I mean I am okay with my body image, but lighting and ill-fitting clothes can really de-attractive-ize a person!

I will try to be consistent with my lighting and avoid Photoshop for anything other than cropping so that we get a true comparison over time.

Today:

I weighed in at 200.8 lbs.

My glucometer: 128

I walked 1.5 miles

I took a boxing class (60 min)

IsaLean shake with coconut milk first thing in the a.m.