Hello everyone, sorry I have been a bit of a blogging bum lately sometimes I just get in a funk and I feel I have nothing to say. But I do have good news I have lost some of my holiday weight :) Hubby and I decided to do the Fast Track Detox Diet by Ann Louise Gittleman, the author of the Fat Flush Plan. It is a one day detox but you spend the week before preparing for the detox. You avoid caffeine, chocolate, dairy, alcohol, processed food, excess fat and wheat products. You prepare by eating veggies from the crucifer family, green leafy veggies, sulfur rich foods, liver healers, fiber such as flax or psyllium and lots of water. And for three days after the detox you eat the same way.

Last week before starting to prepare for the detox: me 136.5 hubby: 183.5
Day before detox: me: 134.5 hubby 179.4
The day after the detox: me: 133.5 hubby:177.0

I feel wonderful, my mind and body feel fresh and clear. This one day detox was just the thing I needed to shake things up and to rid my body of some toxins. My next plan is to do the ft for awhile and continue to exercise consistently (I have been doing wonderful this month, and being able to look at all my stickers in my day planner is very helpful to me)

Hubby and I are now proud owners of our very own scale, which makes it nice to have consistent weigh in times. I hope everyone is having a nice start to their week, I want to give my new followers a shout out, thanks for deciding to follow my blog I hope I don't disappoint you :)

Exercise

Hello everyone, thank you for such kind messages. My roses are still going strong, I trimmed them the other day and put them in a square vase it's fun to mix things up. I got them from Safeway, I don't know why but Safeway roses always last the longest. This new year (2012) I am trying to be more consistent about my exercise, I really believe with the bfc and consistent exercise I can have a more toned body and hopefully a flat tummy. This year I have been keeping track of my exercise in my pocket sized day minder. My Dad has been buying me these day minders for years ( I don't have a smart phone to keep track of my calender). Each day I write down my exercise and then I put a sticker on the month page. It is very satisfying to look at the stickers.

In regards to exercise I used to be a total gym girl, I loved the bike, the elliptical and the stair master, I also used the machines and free weights. When hubby was active duty Marine at Camp Pendleton I LOVED working out on base, the gym was huge and they had lots of equipment to chose from, I especially enjoyed the tread climber which looks like  a treadmill split down the center. I wish I was doing the bfc when we lived down there because I know with the amount of exercise I put in I would have looked and felt great. While we were down there I ate a lot of foods that I thought were healthy, which I now know were really full of sugar, and I was never able to get below 143 lbs.

Now that we live back in our hometown and hubby is in school we are focused on saving money, so most of my workouts are at home these days. In response to a question from Angie: I have never taken an official zumba class, hubby and I have a program on our computer's called vuze which allows us to download some movies, tv shows, and some exercise videos. I have the zumba cardio party, and a 20 min zumba workout. I love them!!! At some point I would like to get more zumba dvd's. I especially love that I can do them in my living room and no one can see how hard I struggle to shake my hips :) I know Kay has the dvd's and she likes them when she chooses to do them at home.

I have also been doing Tracy Anderson's dance cardio and method mat that I got off of vuze. I love Tracy she knows how to kick my butt, hubby even likes her method mat workout. At some point I would love to get some of Tracy's dvd's especially metamorphosis. If you are curious about Tracy Anderson check her out on youtube, she had whipped Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna into shape.

 Long story short, I have decided to made 2012 the year I make the biggest effort to tone up and slim down  using the bfc/ft and all my exercise tools I already have. I really want a slim tummy, I have never had one, I have always had a little poochie ( the fat below your belly button).

One Year Anniversary on the BFC: down 10 lbs

Celebration roses

Hello friends, January 10th was  my one year anniversary on the BFC, whoo hoo!!!! I started this post on the 10th, but I had a hard time finishing it.Instead of treating myself with food I bought a bouquet of pink roses to celebrate. In the beginning I really didn't think it would work and I would not be able to stick with it. The beginning was very hard for me, it took awhile to get the hang of things, I was very discouraged until I found Rosalie's and Amber's blogs and video's on youtube. I kept a journal for about the first month until I started my blog and got a job, it's fun to look back and see what I struggled with and what I learned. I am going to start journaling again because I love how it can be a safe place to vent, and it helps keep me honest about how I am truly doing.

I heard about the bfc from my Mom who heard about it from her Naturopath who has lost 30 lbs herself using the bfc. I think there is a lot of good in a natural approach to health care so when her Dr. recommended it that helped me to find the bfc credible. I think it is important to feel that whatever diet/exercise program you are doing is credible. There are a lot of people out there that are willing to make a buck on anything.

Here are some things that I have learned on the bfc:

• Don't give up
• Chose your fats and proteins wisely, just because you can eat bacon and cheese doesn't mean you need to go hog wild with them.
• Remind yourself that you are trying to eat "better carbs" not just "low carb"
• Tailor the bfc to a way that works for you and your family.
• Try not to eat too many processed foods they are full of sodium and other preservatives that are not good for us.
• Use your crock pot more or make freezer meals so you don't have to eat bad because it is easier.
• Learn to love low sugar dark chocolate...I know it's not the same as a delicious piece of milk, but when it has lower sugar is has more of the good cacao which is healthy for us.
• Be willing to try new things, you might actually love them. Bfc friendly products I have tried: barleans, clemmy's, chia seeds, coconut flour, almond flour, stevia, truvia, ezekiel bread, Jay Robb's protein powder, unsweetened almond milk.
• Revamp old recipes to make them bfc friendly and be willing to try new ones. I love the stir-fry recipes in the original bfc.
• Make friends who are doing the same plan, I have met so many people on the blogs that I respect and appreciate. I think that is why weight watchers is so successful, going to meetings and connecting to others with a shared goal is a powerful tool to help you stick with your goals.

I love the bfc and I want to continue to get better at eating low sugar and better carb and learning how to deal with food bullies in a better way. I lost 10 lbs and several inches from my waist and hips, I am hoping this year that with exercise and the bfc I can have a more toned body with a flat tummy :)

1 year on the BFC

Hello everyone, I feel like I am still struggling to back into the daily routine after the holidays. I weighed myself on Friday and I am only up three lbs for the whole holiday season!!! I am so excited that it is not the usual 10-15 I have gained in the past several years. Last week I took the sweets that we were given to work for my co-workers, everything was a big hit and I am relieved not to have the sweets around to tempt me.

Last night we went to my work holiday party at the Davenport which is a beautiful hotel. We had soo much fun, I drank some yummy red wine, had a delicious meal, only two bites of the dessert and I danced my butt off. I wish I had a picture to share but we never got around to asking anyone to take our picture.

My heart hurts for Pattie and her family and like Kay I feel a little weird prattling on about my life when they are dealing with such heartbreak. Life is truly precious, I've been thinking about that a lot the past several days. My hubby has a tattoo on his forearm that says "death is certain, life is not" We don't know how much time we have here, and it's important to take care of ourselves.

Happy New Year Part 2

Happy 2012 everyone, I hope you had a wonderful New Year's Eve. Hubby and I stayed the night at the in-laws and we enjoyed a nice bfc approved breakfast with the family this morning. We had egg sandwiches with Rudi's english muffins,  low sodium bacon and of course lots of coffee. We had fun, hubby's Grandma is visiting from CA, and we lounged around in our p.j.'s watching football. I married into a big football family, so I had to get on the football wagon.

As I think about the New Year I hope to continue to get better at the bfc I don't want to fall into the mindset that I can relax on the bfc because I am in a good place with my weight. It's important to learn to take care of ourselves with out emotional eating. I want to become a better blogger because it is helpful to me and I want to be able to be a source of support and encouragement to any who read my blog. I want to be better about taking pictures of delicous bfc breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks to help inspire others and to remind me of all the yummy things that we eat on the bfc when I feel discouraged and want to dive into a bowl of pasta. I also want to make some videos, because I love it when the other bloggers post videos and I have found them tremendously helpful. Hubby and I plan to sit down and discuss our goals for 2012 and come up with a game plan on how to get there. We have never done this before so it will be new territory for us, but I know it will be good having a plan and goals is always good. I think we will even take a play from Sherri's play book and make a goal poster.

The past several days I have been eating more salty foods than usual and I want to share a recipe for water that helps with bloating. Sassy water named after Cynthia Sass one of the authors of the Flat Belly Diet (which has a lot of good info about healthy fat helping us to lose belly fat).

• In about 8c of water add, fresh sliced ginger, 1 medium cucumber peeled and sliced, 1 medium lemon, and around 12 mint leaves (I often leave the mint out because I think it tastes better without it) Chill all the ingredients in the fridge overnight and in the morning you will have a refreshing drink to help you get rid of bloat.

I hope everyone is having a nice New Years day, keep it low sugar and better carb and you will feel better tomorrow. Lots of love and big hugs to everyone :)