My Third Lung

Being a triathlete (it's still weird thinking of myself that way!) there are three different sports that I do on a weekly basis to increase endurance and athleticism.  Four if you include weight or resistance training, which you absolutely should!  Depending on my workout, there are several different prep routines I have to make sure that I can maximize that workout, but one thing that is common to all of them is O2 Gold - aka, my third lung.

O2 Gold is one of my favorite AdvoCare products and it helps boost endurance by helping your muscles utilize oxygen much better than without it.  It's helps be run, bike, and swim longer and harder.

The other day, I forgot to take my O2 Gold before my workout.  You're supposed to take it about an hour before so it can get into your bloodstream.  I thought to myself, "Oh well, this will be an easier workout" focusing primarily on technique rather than stamina (I was in the pool that night.).  Much to my chagrin, I could tell a HUGE difference in my endurance!  Usually I can get 3-4 lengths of the pool (1.5-2 laps) before I need to stop and catch my breath.  (I still haven't figured out how to slow down or pace myself in the pool so I can keep going rather than just stop.)  I was also much more sore during that workout than I have ever been in the water before - not to mention how sore I was the next day!

I didn't used to use it before a resistance workout, but since that day I have started using it and I've noticed that, similar to bikes, runs and swims, I can work out harder and longer without a break, AND I'm not as sore the next day!

Needless to say, I'm a huge fan of O2 Gold and it's something that I will NEVER quit using!

The Long Mile

I find that a lot of people think that I'm more fit than I actually am.  I tried to figure out why and I think it's because I say things like I ran x number of miles, or swam a certain number of laps. It was never my intention to mislead, but when I tell people that I still can't run a full mile without stopping to walk, they are surprised.

When I first started this journey from fat to fit I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish.  Things I could check off as I did them.  I've been able to check off a good number of things, but there are certain steps that I've skipped, or moved on from as I did other things.

One of those was to run a mile without stopping.

I've done three 5K's, each one better than the last and one sprint triathlon all without being able to run a full mile.

Until today.

I have one more race this year.  A 5K with some friends from church on Thanksgiving Day.  My goal was to be able to run a full mile before the race.  I didn't think it would happen until much closer to the race - a few more weeks from now, but during my lunch break, today at work, I did it!

I ran during my lunch with the mindset of just pacing myself and running as far as I could before stoppping to walk.  I had my GPS MapMyRun app going to track my progress.  Around mile marker .68 I wasn't sure how I was going to keep going, then I figured I was already over half way to a full mile, so I might as well keep going.  When I finally did start walking, it was at mile 1.12, and only walked for around 100 yards.  Maybe 150, then finished the 250(ish) yards remaining.

I felt strong when I finished.  I felt good.

But I didn't feel like an athlete, or a runner.

I always thought I would consider myself an athlete when I could run a mile without stopping.

Now that I did that, I still have a hard time thinking of myself as an athlete.

Maybe some day. :-)

What am I running from?

Several months ago a friend posted a picture on my facebook wall.  The caption said the only reason to run is if you are being chased.  Whenever I see or think about it, it reminds me exactly what I'm running from.

I'm running from the grim reaper. From an early, slow, painful death.

Or worse, I'm running from growing old and out-growing my mobility and independence.

I'm running from painful knees at 27.

I'm running from joint-replacement surgery.

I'm running from a life of being ashamed what I've done to my body.

I'm running from a life of unreached dreams.

I'm running from a habit of settling for 'good enough'.

There's a lot I'm running from, and even more I'm running toward, and even though I've already logged many miles running, there are still many more to come.

Sprint Triathlon - My Ironman

Yesterday I finally got the official results for the sprint triathlon I did this weekend. The race was long and hard for me, yet incredibly fun! At the end I was proud, relieved, and in pain. I'm ready to do another one as soon as tri season is back up and running!

The clock read 2:27:ish. I ran to the finish line dead last, but still finishing strong. The last person passed me about a quarter mile into mile 3 (I think), and after that, it was just the medical golf cart and me. My diaphragm was screaming but nothing else really hurt so I ran as much as my lungs would let me and then I would stop and catch my breath. I'm reading a book by Chrissie Wellington - a British professional triathelete, and she said that after you get off the bike in a race, your legs feel like jelly for the first few minute, then feel like lead for the rest of the race. She hit the nail on the head!

Setting up the transition was an experience. I chatted and talked with those setting up around me and realized that most people in the race were first timers like me. That surprised me! I thought most people would be seasoned vets as this race was the last in a series of 8 sprint triathlons. Earlier in the week I made several lists including what AdvoCare supplements I would use on race day, as well as what would be in my gym bag, how to set up the transition, and what I would use in T1 (transition from swim to bike) and T2 (transition from bike to run). The lists helped me calm down and better prepare for race day.

I wasn't really nervous until I was in line for the swim start. It didn't really help that a traffic issue somewhere in the course delayed the race start by almost 40 minutes. Fortunately I started chatting with some of the people around me and made some more new friends! I finished the swim and ran to the transition area to start the bike portion. The cold air hit and it was a foreshadow of the rest of the race!

The bike went really well. It was a very pretty route through Ft. Ben with slight changes in elevation, but nothing extremely steep and long. I was glad I put in some time before the race getting used to shift changes on my bike. Made the race much easier. Same with grabbing my water bottle while riding and taking a drink without stopping or slowing down.

The final discipline - the 5K - really kicked my butt, but was great. I wasn't sure of the route at first, but found it soon enough. I was very surprised at how much of the 5K I was actually able to run! I probably ran about 1/3 of that part, if you call the hobbling I was doing running, that is! As I mentioned earlier, the last 3/4 of a mile or so I was in last place. When I finally approached the finish line the medical golf cart switched out for a police motorcycle that turned his sirens on as I got closer! I have to say, it was really cool to have an entourage following me to the finish line! I crossed the finish line and stopped moving and that's when everything started to hurt! Especially my chest as I had been heaving what felt like ice cold air for the better part of the last 2 hours!

A year ago, finishing dead last would have really bothered me, but not this weekend. I set out to finish, and I finished strong!

My final times were as such: Swimming 350m - 13:33 | Biking 11mi - 49:04 | Running 5K - 48:10.  Total time (including transitions) - 1:56:46.

Those times may not seem all that impressive to some, but I'm pretty proud of it! My goal for the next spring tri is to improve each of those times and finish even stronger. It's also to let people know it's possible! I think a lot more people have the ability to do triathlons than actually do them. They let their fear of the unknown keep them squarely in their comfort zone instead of stepping out, which is where the magic really happens!

Sprint Triathlon

The trainer at work, who is also one of my friends, suggested I do a Sprint Triathlon after I completed my first 5K.  I thought, what the heck?  Why not?  I've never done anything like that before but it sounds like fun, so let's try it!  Which brings us to today.  In about an hour, I will be leaving home to set up the transition area and compete in my first sprint tri!

This week I've been crazy nervous and doing everything I can to prepare for it.  I've gone over each of the three disciplines in my head and the transition from swim to bike and from bike to run in my head too many times to count.  Still though, I'm sure it will be nothing like I've visualized because I've never even seen a triathlon transition on screen or in person.  I've packed my gym back with a towel, socks, my helmet, extra hair ties, body glide, gold bond powder, 5 water bottles and, of course, lots and lots of AdvoCare!  I'm sure it's a little bit of an overkill for a sprint tri, but I'm okay with that.  I'd rather be over prepared than under prepared.

Why so many water bottles do you ask?  Earlier this month, I ran a 5K in Indy and made the mistake of not hydrating enough after the race was over and for the rest of the day, even though I ran/walked well, I felt like crap!  So today, the theme is over-preperation!

I am nervous about this race, but I'm excited too.  I've never done anything like this.  I've never even swam or biked competetively, and I would hardly call my 5K races competative.  My goal today is not to win, however.  Or even to be a formitable force on the course.  No.  My goal is to finish, and have fun while I do it.  I've trained, and read, and watched videos and done everything I knew to do to prepare for today, so now, I'm going to fuel up, and have fun!

See you at the finish line!

Gotta have enough to sample too!

Insecurity on the Ultimate Field

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever outgrow the insecurity I had as an overweight girl.  People who know me know how far I've come and I know how far I've come.  There are days that I'm painfully aware of how far I have yet to go but having goals and milestones in place help me brake that down into smaller, more manageable steps.  Most recently, over the summer I had several glaring moments of insecurity when I was around people who DIDN'T know the changes I've made this last year.

Over the summer I played Ultimate Frisbee with the Indy Summer League.  I've played frisbee for many years just casually, but this was the first time I played in an organized league.  Through the whole summer, and especially the first few weeks, I learned that there's A LOT of organization and structure to the game beyond just staying open and catching the disc.  I felt like a fish out of the water for a good first two-thirds of the summer.

Added to my lack of knowledge about the structure of the game, was the fact that I was, by far, the biggest, and least athletic person on the field.  If you know nothing about Ultimate, it's very similar to soccer, football, and basketball and it involves running and sprinting around a field, chasing a frisbee, for usually about 2 hours.  It's a game of speed, and precision, and most people that play are EXTREMELY fit.

No one in the league had ever met me before the first game.  They didn't know that I had lost a lot of weight in the months prior to joining.  They didn't know how much I had grown and changed, or how far outside my comfort zone I was.  All they saw was an obese girl who didn't know anything about the game and couldn't keep up with even the slowest player on the other team.

Very soon into the first game, my team saw that I wasn't your typical overweight girl trying sports for the first time in her life, and as the season went on, they saw how hard I tried and how much I pushed myself on the field.  I feel like I gained a lot of their respect, and in the process I made a lot of new friends that I look forward to seeing this winter in the winter league, and next summer as well..

Don't be afraid to take risks.  Know that if you're a bigger person, when you go to the gym and you feel like you stick out like a sore thumb, just know there are two types of people at the gym.  The first kind don't notice anyone but themselves and how good or bad they are doing.  They don't really care about what other people around them are doing and are totally focused on their own workout.  The other kind see you and know how uncomfortable you feel, and are cheering you on in their head.  Once in a while they may come up and give you a high-five!

Pro-20

This past weekend an AMAZING product came out!  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I tried the Pro-20 the other day before going on a run, and OH MY GOSH!  That stuff is powerful!

I ran a longer distance in the same amount of time as I normally do.  I started faster, ran longer, walked shorter distances to recover/catch my breath, and the hilly parts that I heaved and struggled through were a breeze!  At the end, I didn't feel as tired as I have in the past either!

All that to say, this stuff is awesome!

Cheat Days

Normally, there's nothing really remarkable about the month of July.  It's usually just a hot month between June and August, and ultimately, marks the pending end of summer, as we anticipate cooler temperatures in the fall.  At least that's what it's been for me!  Not this year, however.  A few weeks ago, my sister finally married her fiance, Ken, on one of the hottest days in Midwest history and more recently, I've returned from my second, and incredibly phenomenal Success School (more about that coming soon!)!

I had been doing really well leading up to Katie's wedding.  I just finished AdvoCare Lean in 13, which is a short-term program designed to bust through a plateau in between detox's every 90 days.  During the 13 days, I lost 7lbs, mostly during the first 9 days!  The last 4 days I slacked off a bit, due to just my own laziness, but still did really well!  I realized that I needed to go shopping again because my clothes were all getting very very loose!  Initially I was nervous about the wedding because I was one of 7 bridesmaids in my sisters wedding, all wearing the same dress - ACK!!!!  I knew I had trimmed down a lot since the last fitting and was confident that I would look just as good in that dress as my very thin cousins that were also in the wedding.

Between Lean and 13, and the wedding, was the Bachorette Party.  I thought I could get away with letting myself go since I had done so well the previous two weeks, and it wouldn't really make a difference.  Wrong.  The dress fit, but it was tighter than it had been in a long time.  The pizza I had left it's mark, and I didn't want people to see how upset I was, so I held it in until the next day.  I didn't want to take the day away from my sister.

What I learned however, was that when you're changing habits, and starting a new lifestyle, you can't have "days off" or "cheat days".  Even using those terms indicates that the new habit you're creating are obligatory, and you're only doing them because you have to.  They aren't fun, and if you could have it any other way, you would.  That mindset isn't sustainable.

When saying that, I'm not saying that you can't ever indulge, or having foods that maybe aren't so great for you.  What I am saying, is that eating healthy, and living actively should be something that, not only comes naturally, but is enjoyable.  If it's not, as soon as the accountability falls away, so does your drive to keep going.  It also diminishes your ability to encourage other people who are where you have been, and are trying to make the same changes you are.  If you still live for your cheat days, how can you encourage other people to stick to the new healthy habits they're working hard to create? 

When it comes down to it, why are you trying to get healthy?  Are you doing so out of fear or obligation?  Or are you doing so so you can enjoy a better quality of life and inspire others?  I know why I am, and I also know I want to help others do the same thing!

I'm 2nd from the top!

I'm a Big girl

My story is still being written.

I'm still a big girl.  I say that with the qualification that I don't think of myself as a 'fat girl'. 

I used to think of myself as a fat girl, but no more, because a fat girl thinks she will never become something different.  A fat girl is insecure and tries to hide from the world. 

A big girl knows she has limits, but pushes them.  She is always trying new things and is stepping out of her comfort zone.  She knows that she may not be able to do everything she wants to do, or what she sees other people do, but she knows that if she keeps pushing and keeps persisting she will be able to. 

She knows the title of "Big Girl" is only temporary... if she keeps fighting.  If she stops fighting, she knows she'll regress to "Fat Girl".  She knows that she's either moving forward, or she's slipping backwards. 

There is no standing still.

I used to be a fat girl.  I'm not sure when I made the transition to a big girl, or how much longer I'll be a big girl.  All I know is that I have been given much grace and God has proven very faithful in keeping me moving forward.  He has provided more for me than I can ever imagine and one of my favorite gifts he's given me, specifically relating to my health, is the ability to pay it forward and help others do the same.

My story is still being written, and I want to help you write yours.

A Hard Truth

I have good news and I have bad news.

I don't usually like to do this, because I like to end things on a positive note, but I'm going to start with the good news.  Don't worry, however, I'll pick things up again before we're done!

Weight update: 299 pounds!  Down 67 since September when I first did the 24 Day Challenge and my health/fitness journey took a huge turn for the better!  I can't say how much all the help, encouragement, and support has carried me through times I wanted to give up.  People on this blog, people on facebook, twitter, and in person have all given me support in one way or another and it's my hope that I can pay it forward and be an inspiration to others to meet their goal!

Also, I completed a 5K a few weeks ago!  On May 19th, I did the Geist 5K in 51:25!  I did not run the entire thing, which I'm fine with, I knew I wasn't at the level just yet, but I ran a little of each kilometer, and finished, which were my goals.  My dad did it with me, and even though I know he could have run the entire 5K fairly easily, he stayed back with me, which helped a lot.  It was a great experience, and I'm looking forward to doing more, and completing a half/sprint triathlon before the year is out.

Now for the bad news.

One of the most common excuses I hear for people not exercising is that they don't have time.  I'm here to say bullcrap.  That's hard for many people to hear, and honestly, that's hard for me to say, because I know I fall into that boat a lot.  More so recently than for a while, and I also know that several people who read this blog have told me that's the reason they don't work out as well.  (If you're one of them, believe, me you're not alone!)  I understand being busy.  Believe me, I do.  And I understand being exhausted after working all day either at a job, or at home with your kids.  It's tiring.  Life is tiring.  But the fact of the matter is this: You either need to make time for health/wellness/fitness now, or make time for illness/health issues later.  I know it's an old adage, but it really is true.  Another common quote I hear is this: If it's important, you will make happen, if it's not you'll make an excuse.

I hate to be the barer of bad news, I really do, but the bottom line is that we make time for what is a priority.  We make time for what's important.

Something else to keep in mind, at the end of the day, the choices you made as far as activity, mind set, nutrition, and so on, are all on you.  It's on you whether you eat good food, or eat crap.  It's on you whether you worked out or not, and how hard you worked out.  It's on you if you decided to fill your brain with lies and dark thoughts as opposed to truth.  That being said, it's impossible to shift your thinking and your lifestyle into something dramatically different without a strong support team helping you.  If the people you're surrounded with don't encourage you to better yourself, surround yourself with different people.

Now to lighten things up a bit!

I wanted to do this as soon as I broke the 300lb mark, but it looks like it will be a little bit longer.  Maybe I'll say this will be the celebration marking 100lbs lost using AdvoCare products!  I want to have a huge cookout (with only yummy, healthy foods) at my house!  There are a few reasons for this, one, I want to party!  Not to sound arrogant, but breaking 300 pounds, and also losing 100 pounds is a big deal and something I want to make a big deal of.  At the same time, I know there are people who need to lose 10, 20, 30, 40lbs... and so on, and some even more than I do, but don't believe they can.  I want to show them they can, and I want to show them how!  Anyone who's local is invited, and if you're not local, maybe it will be an excuse for a road trip!  I hope to see all you're faces at some point!

What's your biggest hurdle when trying to get healthy and what can you do to overcome that hurdle?

Adding on Layers

I've come a long way since starting my weight loss journey, but there's still a long way to go.  I'm getting ready for my first race in less than a month (Geist 5K on May 19th!  Ack!), and I'm continuing to monitor and be intentional about my eating habits, and work-out routine.  I've found that there's still a major gap in the swiss cheese that is my fitness journey, so over the next few weeks, while I'm continuing to be intentional about what I'm already doing, I'm going to add a layer of action!

My schedule at work has changed to all early shifts, which is great for me, because I have my evenings free to work out, cook, read, spend time with friends, reconnect with people and so on.  What's not great is that I have to get up really early 5 days a week.  I'm still trying to break my night-owl habits and get a solid 8 hours of sleep per night, but I like to try to fit in too many things in too few hours and get to bed waaaaay too late.

Sleep is when the body and the mind rests and recovers and without sufficient sleep, recovery is not possible, which makes the next day that much harder!  I'm really working on being more efficient about my time, so that I can get the sleep I need and be able to function the way I should during the day.  It's my dream to be able to pour into people and encourage and help them in their own goals, and I just can't do that if I have nothing to give because I'm not giving myself enough rest.

On another note, I'm am VERY close to being below 300lbs for good.  You really have no idea how close, suffice to say is right on the cusp.  Official weight update later!  Once I do break the 300lb mark I will be hosting a huge cookout at my house, with lots of lean healthy food and games/sports to play, that I want as many people to come to as possible!  Originally I planned on having it the Saturday after I broke that threshold, but the next few Saturdays are all booked up, so it will probably be a little longer, but still, it's coming!  Get excited because I am and I can't wait to see people there!

Fighting Through a Plateau

I haven't written on here in a while because there hasn't really been much to write about.  I lost 55 pounds in the span of 5 months, which is great, but in the past month and a half or so, the weight is still coming off, but MUCH slower.  I went about a month without losing anything, then I lost two pounds in two days!  I'm not extremely worried though, because I was still running harder and farther, and my clothes were still getting looser, which tells me that I'm still losing inches and making progress, which is TOTALLY fine with me!

From the very beginning of my weight-loss endeavors, I've told myself that the number on the scale isn't a big deal.  Granted, it's something that's very easily measurable, so it's a great gauge to see if progress is being made, but it's not something I want to get wrapped up in or obsessed with.  I don't have weight goal, per se, that I'm working towards.  I figure that once I run my first marathon (actually, probably long before that!) I'll be at a healthy weight!

I think another reason that my weight loss has hit a plateau is because my birthday was last week, so I let myself eat more junk food than I've let myself eat in a long time!  I felt like crap afterwards, but since then, it's been harder to resist the cake, cookies, ice cream, french fries, and other foods I used to indulge in.  Goes to reinforce my earlier post about craving what you eat.  I've had to discipline myself much more lately, to say no to those things so I don't fall into my old habits again.

Later tonight I'm going to take measurements again with my mom to check progress in that area, so there may be another update (with pictures?) later tonight!

I'm also due for another Cleanse soon, which is the first 10 days of the 24 Day Challenge.  Ever since my first one in September, I've stayed on the Max Phase, which includes several supplements that have made me feel incredible, recover faster, and have more energy in general, throughout the day.  It's recommended that we do a Cleanse about every 90 days, and that mark is coming up.  I'm really excited because there have been several friends that have expressed interest in doing one with me, so I think there will be a group of us doing one together!  I know I'm super pumped to see the results that everyone else experiences on the Challenge and hear about how great everyone feels!  More people are still coming to me saying they'd like to do it too, so it's not too late to join the party if you, or someone you know may be interested!

Another reason I haven't written in a while is because I don't know what you all want to read about!  I know I get the most feedback on here from weight updates, which is incredibly encouraging to me and I love it, but I also want to be an encouragement and help to you, in whatever goals you may have, so if there's something you want to read more about, please let me know!  That's the whole reason I started this blog!

Excuses

It's always interesting to hear people's reasons for not working out.  Not that I am an exception to that statement, I think at one point or another I've used every excuse in the book, and I still fight that inclination.  I was talking to a friend a while ago about something totally different, but the topic of excuses came up, and reasons why people don't do things they want to, or should do.  She didn't call it an excuse, however.  She called it a hurdle.  Over the past few days, I've thought a lot about her words, and how a mind set change as simple as the verbiage you use, can make a tremendous difference!

An excuse is something that keeps you from doing something you want to do, or you should do.  It's usually something that seems impossible to break through.  A hurdle is something you jump over to get where you are going.  It's more difficult than a simple straight path and requires more effort, but it's still possible to get over.  Hurdles can vary in size.  Some are very small and you can get over them with a small hop.  Others are more like huge brick walls that require scaling.  Regardless of the size, it's still a hurdle, not an excuse.

One thing I realized the other day, is that the larger hurdles, especially, are MUCH easier to get over if you know what they are.  If you name them.  Finding out exactly what that hurdle is requires active problem solving.  It takes more than just sitting and looking at the hurdle.  You can't get over it if all you do is think about it.  It takes trying to jump over it, maybe even falling back to the ground with a few bumps and bruises to figure out what it is.  But each time you smack into it and fall down again, you're closer to breaking through that hurdle.  Once you figure out exactly what it is you will know exactly what's required to conquer it.  Now, granted, you might not figure out what it is until after you get over it, and look back in hindsight, but even then, you can still use that knowledge to overcome hurdles you'll face in the future.

Hurdles, like taxes and change, will always be present, no matter what you're working towards.  There is never a perfect circumstance to get something done.  Whatever is preventing you from doing what you want to do now, will still be there next week, next month, and next year.  If anything the longer you wait to start something, the more hurdles you'll have to overcome.  What's keeping you?

Loathe Self Loathing

The past weekend I was able to go to Ft. Worth, Texas and spend some time with some incredible people and be poured into, inspired and motivated!  Energy permeated the air the entire weekend and I felt excited and more alive this weekend than I have in a long time!  It was hard for me to sit still at times because I just wanted to jump up and down!  That feeling continued when I got home and stepped on the scale again!

I'm down to 313 pounds, which means that since doing the 24 Day Challenge in September, I've lost 53 pounds!  Hitting the 50lb mark was a pretty big milestone for me and for the rest of the day, I had to restrain myself from bragging and talking about it too much!  53 pounds!  That's more than 5 large (10lb) bags of potatoes!  Dang!  I want to lose another 50 pounds by this July, which is my sister's wedding and the next convention like the one I went to this past weekend!

One thing I wanted to talk about today is motivation.  My motivation early on in the journey, before I really started believing in myself, was self-loathing.  I hated who I was, and where I was in life.  I don't think there's a worse motivator out there.  For me, at least, it wasn't until I was truly okay with myself, and believed in myself, that I was able to make the necessary changes.  (That along with surrounding myself with positive people who consistently encouraged me!)

Getting healthy is a long hard journey for a lot of people.  You have to be mentally and physically ready to make the massive lifestyle changes.  You have to have a support system of more than just a few friends.  And your motivation canNOT be self-hatred.  You have to believe you're worth the effort it takes to get healthy.

I am so blessed to have an amazing support network consisting of my family, my church, and all my friends I've met thanks to AdvoCare!

So now, it's time for a more solid, more tangible goal:  this Spring, I'm thinking March/April, I want to run a 5K!  Now, when I say run, I know I'm not going to be able to run the entire 5K, but I want to run a significant portion of it, and complete one!  I would LOVE to get a group of people together to do one together, so if you're local, and interested, hit me up!  Let's make this happen together!

You Crave What you Eat

I always thought it was weird that people would tell you to eat what you crave when you're trying to lose weight because I have always craved junk food!  They always said that your body craves what it needed, so I thought, for years, "Hey!  My body craves french fries and copious amounts of salt!!!!!"  Yeah... no.  My weakness for junk food was so bad that the first time I did the 24-Day Challenge you all have heard me rave about, on the 2nd day of the Cleanse Phase, (when you're supposed to be eating SUPER clean foods!) I went across the street to Hardee's and bought a burger and french fries for lunch!  BAD IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!  My friend who was helping me with the cleanse called me out on it and challenged me to go the rest of the challenge without eating fast food.  He claimed that by the end of it, I wouldn't miss it at all.  I absolutely did not believe him!  At the time I was eating fast food 3 to 5 times a week, and had a serious Taco Bell addiction, on top of my addition to french fries.  No wonder I couldn't seem to lose weight!  But, I did what he said.  I cut out soda, and fast food for the rest of the challenge, and now, 4 months later, I haven't touched it, and I don't miss it!

What I learned during that time, and what's been proven to me time and time again since then is that you crave what you put into your body.  If you put junk, and crap and tons of salt and sugar in  your body, you will crave junk and crap and tons of salt and sugar.  If you start eating good, healthy foods, whole wheats, fruits and veggies, nuts, lean meats and other sources of protein, the thought of deep-frying something, or dousing it with oils and fats is almost revolting!

I know this sounds simple and too good to be true, and granted, there are days that I still crave junk food, but those days are getting fewer and farther between!  When I do eat junk food now, I eat a little bit and I'm satisfied with it.  Either that, or I feel like crap afterwards and never want it again (such is the case with pizza rolls, for example!)

All in all, I know how hard it is to start eating healthy, but it does get easier as you do it more!  Keep charging forward and do not give up!