DAY 5 of Parasite Cleanse and LAST DAY of Tabata Strength!!

So yesterday I told you all about this cleanse that I'm doing to rid myself of parasites.  I shared with you how awful the tincture tastes, too.  Well, I'm here to tell you today that the horrible taste and the funny looks from people watching you scratch like you have fleas for a day or so are worth it!!  My energy is better than it's EVER been.  

When I got home around 3:30 yesterday, it was still pretty light out, and the weather was a balmy 20 degrees.  (Hey, I live in Northern Minnesota...20 degrees in January is a HEAT WAVE!)  I pulled into the driveway and parked in front of the wood that my husband had cut for our outdoor wood boiler.  I was thinking of going for a walk because I had this crazy amount of energy which is unusual for me that time of day, but I didn't want to take my kids out in the cold for that long.  Instead, I got the bright idea to surprise my husband and stack the wood for him.  I ran in the house, changed, and ran right back out and spent the next hour tackling that wood pile.  Never ever before would I have had the energy to do this.  It was insane!  I couldn't believe how great I felt!  I just kept stacking until I ran out of cut wood to stack.  When I was done, the pile was taller than me! 

Last night, I slept through the night for the first time in YEARS.  I woke up this morning so energized and ready to take on the day.  I did the last day of Insanity Max:30 Tabata Strength.  My previous max out time was around 9 minutes or something.  Today, I was shooting for 12 unmodified as much as I could.  Weeeeellllllllll, with the exception of the push-ups that I did on my knees, I modified NOTHING, and I made it to 20:43 before I maxed out!!  INSANE!!!  I was completely blown away! I felt like the Energizer Bunny.  I just kept going and going and GOING.  

Between this cleanse, eating clean, and working out daily, I am on track to have one kick ass year in 2015 health-wise.  I can't wait to see how great I feel by this time next year!

I have WHAT!?!?!?!!!?

So I've been at this working out almost daily and clean eating thing for about 7 months.  While I have lost over 30 lbs and I do feel better, I don't feel great. I thought by now I would be feeling great.  I also thought I would have lost more weight.

I was reading a fellow coach's blog and it felt like she took the thoughts right out of my head.  Her blog post was about parasites and parasite cleansing. (You can read about her experience here.) I was disgusted and intrigued at the same time by what I was reading.  She recommended picking up "The Cure of All Diseases" by Dr. Hulda Clark.  I did.  I was SHOCKED.  And disgusted, but mostly shocked.  I had most of the symptoms of parasites that were on her list!  How on earth does this happen?!  I'm clean (I shower twice a day and wash my hands like a crazy person), I eat well, what gives?

It turns out parasites aren't particularly picky about who they inhabit.  You don't have to be dirty or live in poor conditions to get parasites.  Most people have them.  If you have pets, you're even more likely to have them. The list of symptoms include:

constipation

diarrhea

gas and bloating

painful menstruation

irritable bowel syndrome

joint and muscle aches

anemia

cravings, especially sugar

allergies

skin conditions – mostly irritation/itching at nose, ears, eyes, anus – but also potentially rashes, hives, eczema

tumors

nervousness

sleep disorders

hyperactivity, anxiety

teeth grinding

chronic fatigue

fuzzy thinking

headaches

runny nose

blisters on lower lip inside mouth

loss of appetite

bad taste in the mouth

acne

fever

vomiting (may return several times a year)

weight gain OR may have trouble gaining weight, children especially

long-term presence may contribute to the development of food allergies

dark areas under eyes

yeast/candida infection, especially if it returns

I was honestly SHOCKED by some of these because I assumed they were just things that I had and could do nothing about like the dark circles under my eyes and the development of food allergies later in life.  And don't even get me STARTED on the bowel issues I've dealt with most of my life!  Let's just say I have NEVER been regular.  I always have one extreme or the other.

So I decided to take the bull by the horns and do this cleanse.  I was sick of feeling like crap even though I was doing what I thought was everything that should make me feel good.  I ordered the stuff off of Amazon, and on Sunday, I started.  Today I am on day 4.

I'll be honest.  The shake that you drink for the colon cleanse isn't bad.  Kinda thick, but doesn't have much taste.  The tincture, however, is HORRIBLE and hard to gag down the first few times.

Day 1 was pretty uneventful.  I did feel like I was getting constipated and my belly bloated up pretty good, but I drank a ton of water, chugged my Smooth Move tea before bed, and dealt with it. Day 2 I started to feel kind of blah.  I got the surprise of my life when I used the bathroom that day.  Let's just say this wasn't a bunch of hooey and you do not want to know what was expelled from my body.  o.O  It made me more determined to stick this long, 9 week process out.

Day 3 was pretty bad.  I felt like I had the flu.  I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst stomach pain I have ever had.  I ran to the bathroom pretty sure I was going to throw up.  I didn't, but I sure felt like crap all day (no pun intended).  I didn't do ANYTHING but hide in bed when I got home from work.

Today is day 4.  I don't feel flu-ish today, but I itch like crazy everywhere.  There are no rashes, so I'm not too concerned.  From my reading, I know this is a good sign because it means that the tincture is killing the parasites.  The itching is caused by the toxins being released as they die.  My belly was also the most flat today as it has been since I had kids. Mentally, I feel better than I have in months, maybe years.  My cravings aren't nearly as bad as they usually are, either.   All of this is a good sign, and I plan on going forward with this cleanse.

Stay tuned for more updates, and I promise not to share anything TOO gross.  ;)

Clean Eating! What the heck is it?!

First, I would like to start by saying that I have no medical, scientific or any other important degree.  I'm just a mom who wants to make her family as healthy as possible.  The information found in this blog is from my own research or experience.  On to the good stuff...

You guys probably hear me talking about clean eating all the time.  If you've ever wondered what the heck I'm talking about, here's your answer.

Clean eating means different guidelines to different people. To some, it means absolutely nothing that isn't in its whole form-fresh fruit and vegetables, whole chunks of meat, etc.   To others, it is just cutting out the chemicals, preservatives, and just plain unnecessary crap.  I more follow the second method.  I try to buy organic when feasible and possible, but in our rural area, it isn't always the affordable or possible option.  We also raise our own chicken and beef, so I don't so much worry about the hormones that they inject into the animals that are butchered for the grocery stores.  If I were buying my meat in the store, this is one place I would probably try to buy organic despite the price.  I also try really hard to avoid GMO products. If you are local to me, Harmony Foods Co-op in Bemidji carries a lot of these brands.  Some can even be found at Walmart or Target, but not very many of them.

A major component of clean eating is cutting out chemical-laden, overly processed foods.  This includes most foods in a box or can, white flour, and sugar (white and brown).  An important part of clean eating is READING LABELS. If there are more than 5 ingredients, things you can't pronounce or identify, then it's not clean.  When shopping, it's best to shop the perimeter of the store-avoid going down the aisles.  The foods that are good for you are generally on the outside perimeter (think fresh produce, dairy (which some clean eaters cut out, but I don't...I just use in moderation), meat).  If you have a smartphone, an app called Fooducate is an excellent helper with shopping.  A friend told me about this app, and I love it.  You can scan barcodes on packaging and it will give the food a grade of A+ through F.  It will also tell you if the food is a GMO containing food or not.  You should aim to get nothing less than a B.  However, this does NOT necessarily mean the food is clean.  It could still contain preservatives or sugar.  This is why reading labels is so important.  Even things that may seem like a good choice aren't always as clean as you would think.  I personally try to avoid things like canned fruit and vegetables.  I buy either fresh or frozen.  Canned are much more likely to contain added **stuff** that isn't a necessity.

If you have any questions about anything, you can always feel free to contact me.

Week 2-IN THE BAG

Week two of Insanity Max:30 has come and gone.  I am very happy to report that I lost 4 lbs and over 3 inches in my first two weeks.  I am sad to report that the workouts do not get any easier.  Haha!!  

In all seriousness, the workouts really don't get easier, but that is because as you learn the moves and your body gets stronger, you are able to modify less and less.  Each time I've done a workout, I have been able to go just a little bit longer than last time before maxing out which is a HUGE win.  

I restarted week three today after a weekend of traveling for Beachbody Super Saturday.  After not working out all weekend and not making the best nutritional decisions, Cardio Challenge was......well, A CHALLENGE!  It took me a few minutes to recover from that one! 

I am very excited about what week 3 holds.  This week, a new workout is introduced-Tabata Strength.  I will report back in a few days!!  

Week 1 - DONE!

Woo-hooooooo!!! It's day 7 of 60 of Insanity Max:30!!  You know what that means?!  REST DAY!  It also means I survived the first week! Rest days are normally a HUGE struggle for me but I am taking it today!  

After completing one full week, here are my thoughts on this program-IT KICKS ASS.  I am so glad it's only 30 minutes because on a couple of the days, I wanted to quit at minutes 10-30.  Haha!  But seriously, the satisfaction of finishing each workout is SO worth it.  I also LOVE the whole maxing out concept.  It gives you something to push for.  My goal during the first week was to max out after the first person on each workout video.  My goal for the rest of the program will to beat my own max out times!  

Okay, on to the results-do I see any crazy results in my body yet?  Of course not. It doesn't work like that. I probably didn't pick the best week to start, either, though.  With the holidays, treats are still everywhere.  I have avoided most, but have slipped up a couple of times.  I have still lost 2 pounds, though.  I haven't measured at this point.  

Does my body hurt everywhere?!  Not really.  There are a TON of squats, so my legs and butt did hurt the first couple of days, but they're getting better.  My triceps KILLED me after the first round of Tabata Power.  That has gotten better too, though!  

Is the program really INSANE??  No, not really.  It definitely works you hard, but there is a modifier for each workout, and I don't think it would be impossible for anyone to do if you set your mind to it.  A lot of it is determination and telling yourself "I CAN do this.  I WILL do this."

So after one week, I am very satisfied with this program, and I am VERY glad I decided to do it.  I am looking forward to seeing my results, especially now that the holidays are OVER and people can stop tricking me into eating cookies and junk.  ;)