It's peanut butter and jelly time, peanut butter and jelly time!

I can eat!
Sunday my DETOX was officially over and the first thing I did when I got up was make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Of course, it was on wheat bread, but who's counting ... it wasn't cream of wheat or lettuce or freakin steamed veggies! Praise the Lord!
For lunch I had some seared catfish and for dinner a grilled chicken salad. I felt for sure I was going to gain weight. But I didn't. For the 12th straight day, I didn't gain a thing. Nice.
Now I go to another eating plan. In addition to this eating plan, I am taking an assortment of supplements. All supplements have been approved by MLB, the PGA Tour and the Shreveport Amateur Golf Association.
Here it is:
BREAKFAST
1 Fit For Life Meal Replacement shake with 8 oz. glass of Soy Milk
OR
1 bowl of oatmeal with honey
OR
2 slice of whole wheat toast with sugar free jelly
3 eggs and 1 can of tuna in water
1- 8oz. glass of water and coffee is o.k.

Snack:
1 Piece of Fruit
Fruits: Apples, Pears, Oranges, Peaches, Plums, Grapes
Jell-O or Applesauce

LUNCH
Lettuce & Tomato Salad with Low-Cal Dressing
Cooked Green Vegetable (Green Bean, Broccoil, Cabbage, ect...)
1 piece of 6oz. Chicken Breast or baked Fish, Tuna, Salmon, Trout
1/2 cup of brown rice
Ice Tea & Lemon (Splenda or Equal Sweetener)

Snack: Same as above

DINNER
6 oz. Chicken Breast or baked Fish, Turkey, Salmon, Tuna
1 cooked mixed Vegetable (Cauliflower, Broccoli, Carrots, and ET.)
1 Small Lettuce & Tomato Salad with Low- Cal Dressing
2 Bedtime Weight Loss
OR
Fit For Life Meal Replacement Protein Shake
1 Small Lettuce & Tomato Salad with Low-Cal Dressing
1 Glass of Ice Tea or Water

Meats to be eaten are baked Chicken, Fish, Tuna and Turkey. No fried foods.

NO MEAL after 7:30 p.m., but can snack on Fruit (Cantaloupe, Grapefruit, Apples, Tangerines, Melons & Strawberries), Graham Crackers, Fig Bars and Almonds Nuts (Unsalted)

Seasonings: The chief symptoms of excess sodium intake are swelling and a decrease in urine output. Salt goes hand in hand with heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. Reducing sodium intake helps to lower blood pressure and prevent water retention which translates into pounds on the scales.

I can use: Ms. Dash, Onion and Garlic Powder (not salt), Mr. Toney’s No Sodium Salt, Onions and Peppers.

My eating program is designed to burn fat, lose water weight and build muscle tightness. The combinations of some complex carbohydrates, simple carbs, protein, fructose sugar and the consistency of eating are supposed to do just that.

I'm ready to go!
Coming tomorrow: The cost of being healthy!!! It aint cheap to get fit!

First setback

First let me say that I'm not even testing myself in terms of weights or push-ups or sit-ups yet. What I'm doing is embarrassingly miniscule. However, after my sit-ups and on my FINAL push-up of the day, I strained a muscle in my abdomen. Who the heck knew push-ups worked your abs.
Supermann has ordered me off the stomach work for at least a few days to see how bad the problem is.
On a good note, I'm nearly the end of Day 5 of the 7-day Detox and things are going very well there. There's been significant weight loss. Now I just have to get my strength back. I mean, seriously, this sucks.
It's been 4 years since I did much of anything, but dang.
Oh well. This is the part of the competition that will test your mettle I'm sure. I'm ready to get off the Detox and eat some real food. Not that I can dive into pizza and Canes, but at this point fish, even grilled, seems like heaven.

I can (almost) do a pushup

Today me and Nishia came close to doing honest-to-goodness, no cheating regular push-ups. Not the girly kind where we use our knees, but the real deal. Laugh if you must, but this is an accomplishment for us, seeing as how last week we both fell flat on our faces when we tried. We've come a long way, and I'm beginning to see just how long two months really is. We'll get where we need to be soon enough.

The New York Times has an interesting article about push-ups. It states, "The push-up is the ultimate barometer of fitness. It tests the whole body, engaging muscle groups in the arms, chest, abdomen, hips and legs. It requires the body to be taut like a plank with toes and palms on the floor. The act of lifting and lowering one’s entire weight is taxing even for the very fit."

So there you go.

No pills for me

I tried to do the detox diet thing like Roy, but there is no way I can swallow 36 horse pills a day. One is hard enough for me, since I'm the world's worst pill-taker. But geez, that diet is supposed to last seven days - that's 252 pills in a week. Give me a break! I want to lose weight, but I'm going to do it the old-fashioned way by eating right and exercising. It may take me a little while longer to get to where I want to be, but oh well. I can't handle the pills. Incidentally, I'm still following the diet already outlined on here by Roy. It isn't easy, but I'm managing...

No pain, no gain

I’ve always been a proponent of journaling, but expressing myself electronically is something I have to get used to. Well, here goes . . .
How much pain must one endure to gain physical satisfaction? Yes, this is a rhetorical question. Being sore and hungry is a bad combination but I’m willing to work through it for the next nine weeks. Wait, nine weeks, what did I get myself into? Well it’s said it takes 21 days to form or break a habit, I guess working to stay fit is a habit I’m willing to keep. Now, the hungry part, that’s something I don’t want to get used to. For the most part I eat pretty healthy, but when certain comfort foods are restricted, I begin to lose sight of the big picture. I mean, no pizza, hamburgers, a good juicy steak, ice cream, OK I digress, but that’s a challenge within itself. I mean, how much fish (turkey and chicken), veggies and fruit can one eat to stay satisfied throughout the day. My biggest obstacles to overcome are working out consistently and maintaining good eating habits. I welcome this challenge because I will be able to meet some personal and physical goals, so I implore you to follow along with this journey as I make this lifetime commitment to stay fit. I will weigh in later as things progress.

P.S. If you have any healthy choice options I can incorporate into my eating plan please pass them along, because a sistah is hungry.

I'm 50% detoxed

It's Wednesday afternoon, exactly halfway through the "detox." It's sounds a lot worse than it's been. The only complaint: Hunger.
I do pretty well during the day's 5 "meals." It's only tough beginning at about 8 p.m. every night.
However ... the weight is disappearing ... and I haven't done a whole bunch of working out -- my body is still getting reaccllimated to the torture and is coming around.
So .. i can only imagine what the combination of healthy eating and an increased workload will do. I'm excited about the possibilities.
I said I'd post what the detox entailed, so here we go (as I dive into my "large" salad). With my times to adjust to my schedule.

The hey during the detox is the 12-pill lot I take three times a day. The pills contain 4200 mg of fiber along with a bunch or goodies -- i have no idea what their purpose is, but they work. I usually take the pills with about 16 ounces of distilled water.

BREAKFAST (9 a.m.): One bowl of Cream of Wheat (honey added for flavor) and 8 ounces of distilled water (it tastes no different). Can also substitute bowl of oatmeal here.

MID-MORNING SNACK (11 a.m.): Pear, banana or apple. More water.

LUNCH (1 p.m.): "Large" salad w/ tomatoes and 8 ounces distilled water. Can substitute 1 1/2 cups of steamed vegetables for the salad.

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK (3 p.m.): Pear, banana or apple. More water.

DINNER (6:30 p.m.): Regular salad w/ tomatoes and a single piece of wheat bread and 8 ounces of distilled water. Can substitute 1 cup of steamed vegetables for the salad.

And that's it. Considering I'm a night owl ... it's easy to see how I could get hungry at night.

It's only been one week since the weigh-in, but the results, for me, have been stunning.

Why can't I lose weight?

What have I gotten myself into? It has been almost a week since the weigh-in, and I'm sore in places I didn't even know existed. I've eaten healthy (with no cheating!) and I've worked out constantly. Weights, push-ups, sit-ups, bench presses, walking, jogging, bike riding... Everyday, multiple times a day. So I got on Supermann's scale today, and what did I find? I had gained a pound! Mind you, I weighed myself with my shoes on, so that probably had something to do with it. But it was still discouraging. So then I worked out for an hour - spent time on the treadmill, worked on my abs, did some bench presses, did the elliptical. Basically, sweat a whole bunch. Supermann made me get on the scale again, this time with my shoes off. And I weighed exactly the same as I had one hour before! I gained weight just by working out! Why me?