Weight Loss Journey

My weight loss journey is one of the real reason I decided to come back to blogging. I think it is great for accountability and I would love to be able to share my story with others in hopes that it may help or encourage them. I recently started a 24 Day Challenge with Advocare. I was introduced to the challenge after seeing a before and after photo of someone on Facebook. I of course had to ask what she was doing and she told me about the 24 day challenge. The products are kind of pricey, but I am on day three and I can already feel a difference.

Anyway, my goal here is to document my journey. I will post my before and after photos at the end of the challenge....

Days 1 – 3 have been great, my mornings started with taking an herbal cleanse drink, that isn’t too horrible. There is a trick to it though, you have to drink it quickly before it thickens up and then it’s a little tough to swallow. It kind of reminded me of Jell-O, but grainy Jell-O. I followed up the herbal drink with lots of water and got started with my day.

My breakfast consisted of a rice cake (complex carb), strawberries (fruit) and almond butter (protein).

My first snack was some raw veggies.

Lunch consisted of a huge spinach salad with chicken (veggies and protein).

My second snack of the day was another rice cake smothered in avocado.

Dinner was more chicken (protein) and squash (veggies) and my last snack of the day was some more strawberries.

I am not a cooker, so I am going to have to step my game up to keep the meals interesting and tasty.

You also take supplements and drink half your body weight in water.

Here is a link to the 24 Day Challenge Guidebook that has a lot more details and information on how the days are broken down.

http://advocarecorporate.s3.amazonaws.com/corporate/24daychallenge/24DayChallenge-Daily-Guide.pdf

*Full disclaimer on my part. I did sign up to become a distributor, but only for the reason of receiving the 20% off discount on future purchases. If you are interested in checking out their products, you can view them here. 

Cheryl

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! I hope that you all had a great weekend but also took the time to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Thank you to all veterans and to those who support us in ways that usually go unrecognized.

Enjoying a morning run at Asan Beach Park with my favorite 3 year old!

I am Back!

I am finally continuing this blog I started in 2008, that I kind of lost track of over the years. Surprisingly, they haven’t deleted it and I do not have to start over.

So much has happened over the years. As I mentioned below my family and I are now living in Guam and enjoying every minute of it. We arrived in November of 2012 and here are some pictures of us over the past couple of years. 

2012 

Our arrival and initial exploration of the island. 

First morning in Guam - hotel living seemed nice at first, but after about a week, we were ready to move into a home of our own. 

Heading to the beach and pool. 

Exploring our new neighborhood.

 

 

Here are some photos from 2013, it’s amazing seeing how much my son has grown over the years.

                                                   2013

Our view from our balcony 

Some of the "wildlife" we found in the backyard. 

He wasn't a fan of the Caribou. 

My mini-me!

2014

Here are some photos that are more recent. 

I hope that you enjoy my journey!

Cheryl

Getting this thing back on track...

So much has happened since my last post in 2011. I am now living in Guam and having so much fun. I will post a longer post with photos soon.

Racing for the Cure!

Guess who's racing for the cure Me! In an effort to get back in shape I will be attempting my first 5K in June. I am super excited, but also a little nervous. I have a lot of training/prepping to do but I think it will be fun.

My co-workers and I are forming a team and hope to raise $1000.00 to support the fight against breast cancer.

If interested in making a donation or even joining our team, please visit our page and follow the applicable links.

http://www.komenstlouis.org/site/TR/Race/General?pg=team&fr_id=1080&team_id=31280

I will keep you all updated on my progress and I will definitely post pics of the big day.

Welcoming 2011...

Hey all! I know it has been a while since I posted, but I am back. I am so happy to announce that I am a Mommy and my son is absolutely perfect.

I am such a worry wart and I am a little undecided about how much I want to post about him on the internet. So, for now I will call him baby J and share one of his newborn photos. He is 4 months old now and looks completely different from this photo. Please excuse the way I look as well; I still had on tons of baby weight and really bad skin :(

I'm glad to be back and I hope that my life gets a little more interesting so that I have more to share. AJ and I haven't done much traveling (for obvious reasons) but once the weather warms up and now that Baby J is older I think we will be getting out more.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving all!

AJ and I spent the day solo, just lounging and watching tons of football. I've been confined to bedrest for the past 10+ weeks so AJ did all of the cooking and boy was it gooooood. I am so blessed and thankful to have such an awesome hubby, he has taken such good care of me.

The term bedrest is extremely misleading - I can totally see this as being a form of torture. I'm allowed to use the bathroom, shower and eat - if I'm not doing one of those three things I am lying on the bed or couch on my left side (left side laying is supposedly best for the baby). As much as I complain, I am thankful that my son is doing well and my pregnancy has been relatively good.

What I am thankful for this Thanksgiving:

I am thankful for wonderful friends and family who are super supportive and loving.

I am thankful for a wonderful job that has allowed me to take time off to ensure the safe arrival of my son.

I am truly thankful for my life and the realization that money and material things do not compare to what I have...

What are you thankful for?

~~~~~~~~~

Here is a somewhat recent pic of me at 8 months (32 weeks) pregnant. My "due date" is January 5th, but I have a feeling he will be here in mid to late December :0)