Today is a good day!

It is with a triumphant spirit that I type those words, and actually believe them. Today IS a good day. It's been a while since I've shared the intimate details of my life because I simply have been far too preoccupied to find 15 minutes to sit down and share a measly little blog entry with you, but today, I have things so exciting to share with you that I simply couldn't put it off any longer!!

Today I was able to sleep in uninterrupted until 8:30!!

Today is the last day in my first round of Turbo Fire.

Today is the first day for me using Shakeology.

Today I broke the next 10 pound barrier in my weight loss journey that I've been battling for weeks!!

No matter what is going on in your life, there is nothing that sets off a day better than waking up completely on your own to the responses of your own body with no alarm clock, be it mechanical or toddler, and a full 3 1/2 hours later than I normally rise. This is all thanks to my mom who kept the girls last night so I could go wedding dress shopping with my bestie, cause she's getting married and I'm so excited!!! So I got to enjoy a night out shopping and dining, without any need to rush home and then sleep as long as I desired...it was just good, BUT on to more important things...

I feel an overwhelming sense of accomplishment that I complete Turbo Fire. Sure, it's taken me more than the 12 weeks intended but that's because I've interrupted the schedule by doing the 5 Day Inferno 3 times and I've also, repeated 2 of the weeks twice because I didn't feel like I had given them appropriate attention and/or effort. The point is though, I did it! I actually stuck through with something clear to completion. I haven't hit all of my weight loss and fitness goals in these 12ish weeks, but I have changed my body dramatically! I've lost over 20 pounds and several inches off of my body (actual weight and measurements will come tomorrow) . I've literally gone from wearing a size 12 pants to now a size 6! Once again a Beachbody product has changed my life because I stuck to their motto "Decide. Commit. Succeed." (Period.) And I feel so good about it. I can't tell you how many times I've had lofty ideas about some fitness program or weight loss gimmick, some schedule that I said I would complete and get great results from only to be sitting on the couch eating ice cream straight from the carton by the end of week 1. It feels good. I feel like I've finally broken the trend. I'm done with the failure mentality and I honestly feel like I can do anything that I set my mind to. Perhaps that sounds cheesy, and I'm not asserting that Turbo Fire has given me a new lease on life but as another milestone in my journey, it has help solidify some of the habits and changes to my mindset that have been under construction for the last 17 months.

The next part is Shakeology! The thing is this, if you use any of the Beachbody products or hang around the website or any of the message boards for any period of time you kinda start to wonder what kind of crack they have put into this stuff to make everyone freak out over it so much, but then you feel that twinge of "I've gotta have it, too." And when you taste it for the first time, it all becomes abundantly clear!! Now, be prepared, I'm about to sound like one of the crazies, but hear me out. If you don't know what it is, Shakeology is a meal replacement shake, no not like Slim Fast. It is blend of over 70 whole-food, natural ingredients with a glycemic index of only 24 (anything below 50 is considered low!) and provides complete nutrition for your body, without any artificial sweeteners or chemicals to trick your body into feeling full. So, anyway, I ordered it. I've been anxious for it to arrive, and skeptical too. I've had this stuff built up so much by all of my counterparts that I was sure in no way could it live up to the expectations that I've had for it. So it got here yesterday, but I didn't get home until almost 11 last night, and despite wanting so desperately to blend up a shake right then and there, I waited until this morning. I was sure that I was going to be let down by the taste. I've drank a lot of protein shakes, and meal replacements, and no matter how good they claim to taste they all still have that awful after taste of something artificial and bad, but this...OH, this was DELICIOUS!

When I opened the enormous package, it smelled just like a dark cocoa powder, it was a good start. I chose to abandon all of the recipe idea cards for ways to mix it up and try out different flavors and I took it straight, blended with just a cup of water and some ice. The consistency was just like a rich creamy milk shake and the flavor wasn't that dissimilar. I called Alex and told him that it tasted just like something I'd had from Starbucks, almost like a frozen hot cocoa with a hint of cinnamon. It was so good! I said I even felt guilty drinking it because it was so rich that psychologically I was telling myself that I shouldn't be drinking it, but I SHOULD!! A little over 1/2 way through the shake and I really was already starting to feel full. It was tasty and it filled it's purpose, now I'm about 2 hours since I had the shake and I still feel perfectly satisfied! I'm anxious to see how it will help me feel overall. Since it is supposed to help with energy (without stimulants), weight loss, and overall health I want to see how I feel through the next 30 days, but this might have to serve as my official boarding pass for the bandwagon, because it's stinking TASTY!

And finally, probably the best news that I've ever gotten in the first 5 minutes of being awake came when I stepped on the scale this morning. I know there are several mixed feelings and a whole lot of opposition to weighing daily, or in many cases at all, but for me, it's something I have to do. You see if I don't have that "check" on me every day, if I don't feel like I'm going to have to account for my actions the previous day, I have more of a tendency to be a little more lax with my consumption or my workout schedule. I convince myself that a piece of pizza won't really hurt me, or I can have a few Oreo's, but if I know that I'm going to have to account for that pizza and cookies in the morning I'm more than likely going to pass it up, and so it keeps me accountable. I set a lot of short term goals for myself in my weight loss journey. When I have something I know I can hit relatively quickly, it makes it easier to keep momentum. Mostly this has been the 10 pound barriers. When it started I gave myself 2 weeks usually to lose each 10 pounds (at least for the first 30). Then I stretched it out to 3 weeks. A lot of the goals I haven't met, but it helps me keep momentum and have something to celebrate, so for example every time I would break the next 10 pound barrier, I celebrate. When I went from the 210's to 209, I celebrated, when I went from the 20x's to 199, I celebrated BIG TIME and now I've hit another big one. This is a big one because all my life while I've been overweight, I thought that this number was where I wanted to be. Several months ago, I knew that was no longer the case, but now I am lower than I ever thought I could be. I am less than 20 pounds away from my ULTIMATE goal weight. I am in single digit sizes! And I am plowing towards that goal with a ferocity of a wild beast. It's so close now! This is SUCH a huge celebration because I've been fighting this particular 10 pound barrier for quite some time. On December 4th, for the first time I was only 1 pound away, but through poor choices with my diet (diet being all of the food I eat, I am not "on a diet") my weight went on an upswing, and I was in that 5 pound buffer which is completely normal with sodium consumption, water retention, digestion, etc. but today, a full 14 days later, I broke it, and I'm partying like it's 1999!!

Today is INDEED a good day!