Our visit to "The Park" at TPCC

A few weeks ago, we visited "The Park" at the church where Stephanie, Ryan, Soup and Andrew attend.  They opened this indoor park a few months ago, and it was our first opportunity to go, it was such a blast, I can see us going more often. 

Here are a few pictures.  We all had fun.  There was something for all of us to get into and get active doing. Katy and Kampbell did a few things together, then Kampbell and Cooper did some things together.  The guys played basketball with Cooper and Soup trailing at their feet.  

Here are some pictures.

Advocare 10 Day Cleanse: Days 5-9

Well, today is day NINE of my 10 day cleanse.  I can really hardly believe it.  Other than missing milk and cheese, I'm not really missing much.  

I am tired of the same old things though, so over my long weekend (I was off on Monday), I ate a lot of homemade Qdoba burrito bowls.  Brown rice, black beans, grilled chicken, fajita veggies, spices, salsa, guacamole and lettuce.  They are absolutely delicious and not too terrible for you either. I also ate breakfast foods and salads.

I am pretty sure I'm going to continue down this path, for a couple of reasons:  1) These things are easy to prepare 2) They still taste good to me.  

The cleanse overall has been a decent experience.  If for no other reason than this, I've learned that I can go for 10 days without bread, pasta, dairy of any kind and chocolate.  And since a couple of days in, it hasn't been difficult.  At all.  Now that is the biggest shock to me ever.  I honestly didn't think I could handle a life without bread or cheese.

The official directions do not say that you have to eliminate dairy or wheat during the cleanse, they just say to limit dairy, and they say to make sure to have whole grains if eating them.  I decided to eliminate both totally. 

I'm interested in what my results will be.  I do not forsee that I have lost tons of inches or that I have lost more than a pound or two.  Honestly, this was about seeing if I could clean up my diet, and to see how I felt while doing this cleanse.  

This weekend was difficult for me, especially Saturday.  We celebrated my stepson's birthday, he turned 22.  The family had apple pie and ice cream to celebrate.  I LOVE me some apple pie, so resisting it was a tad bit difficult, but I DID IT.  I stood strong.  

Look at that delicious apple pie..... YUM.

So, one day left after today, then Thursday I will have the results.  If you've done the cleanse before, what was your most difficult thing to overcome?  Did you find that after a couple of days you were fine with eating?  Like the fiber drink?

Advocare 10 Day Cleanse: Day 4

Today is the first day without the fiber drink.  I think it starts up again on day 8.  I'll have to confirm that by looking at the pamphlet again at home.

Anyway, I am finally tired of the same breakfast/lunch/dinner.  I guess that just happened this morning.  I just wasn't excited about the food options at all today.  More boiled eggs, chicken, salads, and brown rice and steamed veggies just all sounded ick to me.  BUT, I did it again for breakfast - two boiled eggs and 4 strawberries.  Snack was unsweetened applesauce.  Lunch was chicken, steamed veggies and brown rice.

I'm not sure what dinner will be tonight.  I'm pretty much over what I had for lunch today.  I'm debating having a peanut butter and honey sandwich on whole wheat bread with fruit and a boiled egg or two for dinner.  That or scrambled eggs with veggies mixed in.  Both of those ideas sound much better to me.  Since I'm trying to stay away from wheat as long as I can (just to see if leaving wheat behind has any impact in how I'm feeling) I'm leaning toward the eggs.

I may have to go and get some brown rice noodles or something along those lines because I'm getting tired of brown rice being the only "carb" carb that I'm eating.  Or quinoa, maybe I can get some of that into my meal options.  I don't mind a baked potato here and there, or a baked sweet potato, but I like butter.  Since dairy is off limits, I'm having trouble figuring out what to put on my potato that I will enjoy, so I've just skipped it for now.  Maybe I can make some sweet potato fries this weekend.  Those sound yum.

I haven't exercised since starting the cleanse.  It's not because I don't have the energy, it's because I'm just too darn tired after the kids finally go to bed - I have housework to do then, so when that's all done, I'm pooped and I just quit.  This is one area that I really want to step things up and get movin!  Hopefully over the weekend I can get outside for a nice long walk with the kiddos.  We'll see how that goes.

So far, this cleanse has been WAY easier than I expected.  I feel like I'm learning to look at food more as fuel than something for enjoyment, which is a GOOD thing, however, I do still want to be able to enjoy food sometimes without feeling guilt, and hopefully I'll get to that point.

Any suggestions for my baked sweet potato toppings?  Clean eating recipes that you've enjoyed that I should try?

Advocare 10 Day Cleanse: Day 3

So, this morning, I woke up, did my normal routine, but then decided it might be a good idea to weigh myself.  Why did I want to do this?  It's not a normal thing that I do, but for some reason, I thought, time to check to see if this cleanse is already producing results!  The answer.... no.  At least not from a weight perspective.  I've gained 2 lbs since Monday morning.  What???  Now, I'm down 3 from Sunday night - but Monday morning I was down FIVE from Sunday night, so what's going on?

For now, I'm going to continue to eat clean - and see what happens after the 10 days are up.

Breakfast this morning was 2 boiled eggs, a banana and the fiber drink.  I still don't mind that drink at all.  I think the taste is good and I don't mind the clumpy-ness of it a bit.

Lunch is another chicken salad and strawberries.  I brought a couple of boiled eggs for a snack if I need it.

Dinner - well, I'm about out of veggies and chicken and rice, but I think I'm going to go and grab a rotisserie chicken from Sam's club tonight and figure out something to make with that, OR just eat it as is.  I love those things.

Benefits I can see so far.....  I feel good.  I think I'm sleeping better, and I seem to have a bit more energy, even if that is all in my head.  Which it really might be.  Usually, I'm pooped after getting the kids to bed in the evenings, but the last few days, I've been staying up and waking up earlier than the alarm.

So far, I don't think it's been all that difficult to eat this way.  Would I never want any bread long term, NO, absolutely not, but at the same time, I am not craving it at all.  The Easter candy lying around my house is a little bit bothersome, but I'm doing alright avoiding it for now.  I haven't even had a huge desire for my nightly scoop of ice cream.  WHO AM I???

No pictures today, but I did want to update the world and keep notes for me of how things are going at this point in the cleanse.

Hope you have a great day!