Can I have a cake please?

I slipped today and had a cake…well, to be honest two cakes.

But it is ok, when all this started I have never said or promised that I won’t have cakes or any other sweets. I think that this mind setting, where I make deal with myself that I am not going to restrict myself and I am totally going to eat and drink whatever I want but to be smart about it, actually really works. If I know that I am not alowed to eat chocolate, then it will be the only thing I really want, and nothing would stop me. However like this, I know that I can eat chocolate whenever I want, I just choose not to because I don’t really want it. That is the trick – a matter of choice. Human beings are so silly sometimes. Truth is that most of the days I don’t crave sweets, and on those days when I do, I eat whatever I feel like, I just pay attention how much and I think twice if I really want it or not and sometimes I think is it really worth it. So those two cakes today were a bit too much, but it is ok. Not the end of the world, right?

Trust me it wasn’t straight forward path to come to this point and actually think about what I want to eat and why do I want to eat it – do I really need it, or I am just bored, emotional or whatever else can be a trigger for food.

And this is how it all started – It was end of January of this year when I contacted Aimee asking her what is that superfood she is talking about on her instagram page, and what is she doing, because she looked amazing. She told me that she started a program that alows her to eat anything she wants, even drink wine and she is losing weight. My first reaction was “Yeah, right. That cannot be for real, can it?” She got me interested, as she really looked good, she felt good and she did loose weight. So I asked to share the secret. That is how I learned about Isagenix (no, I am not trying to promote, nor sell the product).

Aimee told me what she is using and how, and what are the effects since she started. At the end I decided to try, so she helped me order a clense kit for 9 days. It had protein shake, some pills (that I never really used, but only because I am not good with pills, I forget to take them), some snacks – that I found horrible and gave them to another friend who wanted them and liked them, and cleanse berry juice.

I was super excited when Aimee brought that first Isagenix box to me. I opened it and there were a lot of goodies, she added some extra snacks (including chocolate) for me to try as well. There was also a shaker bottle and a measurement tape. I actually measured myself first time only after 7 days, when I started feeling/seeing the effects.

I think I will never forget the first day – I have never been so hungry in my entire life. The funny part was that I had days when I wouldn’t eat until 4-5pm, and I wouldn’t even know that I am hungry, but that day I was hungry from the moment I opened my eyes. I had shake for breakfast and then lunch – which was chicken and salad and some lighter dinner, some nuts in between as a snack. And I was hungry, starved actually. But I wasn’t really hungry as I had enough food, my mind was hungry, the very idea of a diet, cleanse program or anything similar put my mind into overdrive. I think if they put a roasted cow in front of me that I would eat it all that day. Luckily this was just for one day, the next day it was all back to normal.

I started drinking those protein shakes 2 times a day and having a one regular meal or two if I was hungry. I don’t do hungry, that is number one rule for me, if I am hungry, I eat. That is really non negotiable. You need to listen to your body – just keep in mind hungry is sometimes thirsty, so be careful with that. If you wonder what did I eat now – usually it was chicken and some mixed greens, tomato and similar, soups, nuts, some more veggies and meat. I did that for a few days, and then the first cleanse day was on the menu. Sarah, my assistant, was a great support as she was tasting shakes for me (she was more brave, when it comes to tasting new things), the cleanse juice and in general was there when needed, if for nothing else but to laugh about it with me. First cleanse day was tough, but not as bad as the first day of the program (nothing was as bad as the first day), and the second one was super easy. The first day after cleansing I felt like I had wings. Few days into the program I felt like someone put new Duracell batteries in me, as I had tones of energy. I felt like I could fly. I knew I was on a good path when I caught myself dancing in the room. That is how much energy I had and how good it felt. That was it, I was hooked. I ordered few more boxes of Isagenix IsaLean protein Shake to take home, when I disembark my ship.

During those first two weeks, I really managed to put my mind into this idea about losing weight. It was probably the busiest and most stressful two weeks with all the closedown and things that were going at that time. But I felt good and really energized, even though I had lot to do and quite long working hours.

I tried to make my meals healthier, I ate a lots of veggies and greens, I ate meat, avoided fried food, bread and pasta. And then it was my birthday and we went to the restaurant, I wanted to stay on a good path so I looked carefully into the menu and realised that I can actually choose healthier, more balanced meals. Ordered salmon and veggies…mmm, that was delicious. One day I wanted pizza, so we went out in Aruba and ate pizza in our favorite pizza place Casa Tua. I laughed at myself when only after 7-8 days of the program I actually couldn’t finish pizza, as I was too full.

After those first 7 days I started seeing the difference, I could notice that I was losing weight, I felt amazing and the best thing: I was determined that this time I can do it for real.

Here I am now, about four and a half months later, and18kg down and slowly going towards my goal weight of 85kg (later when this goal achieved, plan is to set up a new one). It wasn’t easy, but to be honest it wasn’t really hard either, because I am not on a diet, I am on a path to change my lifestyle and I am taking it one step at the time. Every day is a learning curve and brings new challenges, some days are easy, some days are hard, sometimes I slip and fall, but then I get up and continue…and you know what, that is completely ok.

Next time I will tell you more about protein shakes so if you want to stay tuned press that “follow me” button and get notified when the new post comes out