Tuesday, April 8, 2014

My 10 Day Vacation from Shakeology

Last year, I started drinking Shakeology on July 1st. And I was all in. Except that I didn't order it on HD (that's Home Delivery.) I just did the one time delivery, you know the 24 packet box. Why did I do that? I knew I was going on vacation and not just any vacation, a road trip, half way across the country. And I knew I wasn't going to be drinking a shake on the road. At this point in time, I had not even told my husband about Shakeology or Beachbody or anything. I was just a few months post-pardum after having my 3rd child, Noah, in April. Shakeology and Beachbody (Body Gospel) is just another one of my attempts to exercise and get healthy.

So I am 30 days into the program (Body Gospel) and drinking Shakeology and everything is going really well. I am finding balance in my life with 3 kids, happiness in my home and developing the most awesome connection with God as I am being mindful about taking care of myself so I can take care of my children. I mean, I am getting, like no sleep, 2 hours at a clip at best, and just figuring out life with 3 kids ages 4, and 2 and 3-4 months. But I found everyday as I drank Shakeology, which was usually at lunch, I had all this awesome energy. I can take care of the kids, myself, the house, my husband and I still found time leftover to workout and eat right. This stuff was amazing but I didn't realize it. It's like when your vision adjusts slowly to something and then you realize you can see with clarity and acuity.

I really remember dragging after Megan, especially because I returned to work at 12 weeks. It was so hard to get through the day and I used to drink 3 cups of coffee, spaced throughout the day just so I could function. She was a C-section and the physical recovery was just awful and exercise never felt right. That is why I was determined to have Noah as a VBAC. But I remember the many months after Megan that even when I got home, from 4pm-8pm was the longest stretch of the day. It made me sad bc I love being with my children. But they always had a way of taking what little energy I had left and it felt like I was being sucked dry. They were usually not at their best at that time of the day, my mother often called it the "witching hour." And I was desparately looking for patience and was often not finding it. I had very little to give when I was spending "quality time" with my husband that I often fell asleep on the coach before 10 pm.

But this time, it was different. Everything got easier and I had the energy to get and STAY organized with all the new chaos. I can see that now with 20-20 hindsight. And then we got in the car for the road trip to Missouri for a family reunion with my husband's family. And I was all out of Shakeology. I prepared myself with probably $50 worth of nondairy protein drinks, energy protein bars that varied from $3-5 each, and tons of snacks like nuts, fruits, etc. to make-up for what I was not getting since I had stopped Shakeology.

We are about 2 days in and I am tracking all of my calorie intake on MyFitness Pal app, and I realize that I am starting to get hungry about every 2 hours as I keep logging into my smartphone to keep a running total of my calories. And I am being super mindful of my calorie intake, because in those first 30 days, I lost 10 pounds and I was very excited about that. (Though I had not told anyone that I was doing Beachbody or Shakeology. I was so afraid to fail.) I did not want the scale to go in the other direction. I wanted to lose this baby weight and keep it off for good. But I was always looking for something to keep me satisfied. Thankfully I could blame the kids to say we need to take a meal break (potty break) and find something to eat, whether it was from our packed food or something else.

My husband was great accomodating me with runs to supermarkets wherever we were on vacation since I had a dietary restriction (no dairy bc I was breastfeeding Noah who clearly had a dairy intolerance.) He was always aware that I needed to have good HEALTHY food, high in protein to keep my energy up. Needless to day, I felt like I was eating all day long. Thankfully I kept my water intake up so I would not overeat.When our vacation was over and we were back home, I checked the scale and WHEW! No weight gain occured. No loss, but no gain. I did not like how much I needed to eat and the energy protein bars, though nice, were not always tasty (think nutty cardboard with a glimpse of honey) and didn't keep me full for long.

It was then that I realized, I needed to be on Shakeology and it needed it on Home Direct (HD) because I did not want to be off it again. I was able to keep my energy up but I kept feeling like I had to eat and then an hour later know that I needed to eat again and make all these decision about that to eat and keep repeating that pattern 4,5 or 6 times a day. In July, I liked having my "normal" schedule of breakfast, lunch, dinner with maybe a snack or two if I needed it. Who wants to feel like a ravenous animal all day long, looking for the next kill? Not me. I need easy. I need simple. I need good nutrition. Shakeology answered all that and it was delicious. I can't say that for the $50+ of healthy snacks I bought. Since mid-August 2013 when we returned, I have been on Shakeology ever since and I haven't missed a day. It feels good to be healthy and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.

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