First Day Blues

This morning was Lea's very first day at daycare. Since I went back to work after she came home, she's been staying with an in-home sitter whom I've dubbed the "baby whisperer." Lea loves her, and dropping her off every day was a breeze. Each morning, Lea couldn't wait to see the only friends she'd ever known. She never cried. She was happy, very loved and felt secure.

I work at a college, and a child-care center was opened a year ago on campus for children of students and employees. The center is state-of-the-art. The children do art projects, have a ton of toys, playgrounds, a water area and fresh, nutritious meals and snacks. The facility is spotless and well equipped with everything you can imagine. As I toured the facility last week, all of the children seemed happy, just as Lea was with the "baby whisperer."

I decided to enroll Lea into this child-care center on campus because she is ready for more structure and new challenges. Plus, its very convenient to be able to bring her to work with me every day. Typically it is pretty hard to get a spot and the center due to the ratio of teachers to students, but since the summer months are less crowded, we got in. We had a long list of supplies to get in preparation of Lea's first day, including jumbo crayons, glue sticks and construction paper. 

Lea with her big bag of supplies - 6/4/12

Today was Lea's very first day. I listened as my sweet girl sang along to the radio in the back seat and giggled as I drove to work. I felt so guilty knowing that in a few short minutes I'd be handing her off to a complete stranger in an unfamiliar place. I had that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I used to get on the first day of school, or right before a job interview.

We walked in, and were greeted with smiles. I signed Lea in and walked her down to her classroom. I could feel her little body tensing up as we neared the door. When I set her down in the classroom, she clung to my leg. Her teacher, Ms. Coffee, picked her up as Lea kept her eyes on me. She stuck that lip out and reached for me, and it broke my heart.

"She was a preemie..." I began to tell Ms. Coffee. I don't know why I felt the need to tell her this, considering how well Lea is doing developmentally. But I told her anyway. Maybe it was an unintentional ploy to score Lea a little more patience and love from her new teacher on her very first day.

As I gave Lea kisses and hugged her goodbye, I assured her that I would be back later. I hope she understood what I was saying. I waved bye to the kids, and one little girl even told me "buenos días." (The kids in Lea's class are learning Spanish.) I closed the door, and could see that pouty little face turn into a full-on, gut-wrenching cry.

My eyes exploded with tears as soon as that door shut. As I walked down that hallway and back across the front desk, the receptionist had a tissue waiting.

"She's gonna be fine, momma!" she assured me. I knew she was right.

I remember exactly what a first day feels like when you are young. I was definitely that child who cried and clung to my mom when she brought me somewhere new. For the first few days of first-grade, my mom drove behind my school bus so I could see her out of the back window. Looking back, I realize that couldn't have been easy on my mom. Now I know that being the mommy in this situation is one-hundred times worse.

Lea playing, far left

By ten, I was still sitting at my desk in a puddle, so I walked over to take a peek in Lea's class. When I got there, they were on their way to the playground. The one year old class was lined up in the hallway, and she wasn't hard to spot with her big purple bow. She is by far the smallest in her class. All the kids followed in line as they made their way out of the back door, and I could hear Lea's loud mouth exclaiming "ooooooohhhh!!!," as she grabbed a ball, then made her way to the water fountain which sprays out a light mist of cool water for the children to walk under.

Its was such a good feeling to see her playing and smiling. She walked hand in hand with one of the teacher's aides, and kept close to a couple of the little girls in her class. I know in my heart this will be a great transition for her. I know she is a strong little girl and that she will be fine. I just need to come to grips that my baby won't be a baby forever, and we'll have lots of transitions like this in life. Its just another reminder to enjoy every second, because nothing stays the same for long.

Isagenix 9-Day Cleanse: Day 4

I made a new discovery today. I had been using my small magic bullet blender to mix my shakes, but because they were coming out SO smooth with no icy texture, I didn't really like them. I switched to my big blender hoping that would help, but when I put it on smoothie mode, the consistency was still too smooth for me. For my lunch-time shake, I used "icy drink" mode instead of "smoothie" mode, and it made a difference. Those little specks of ice take away from the chalky texture, and it feels more like I am having an ice cream shake, which momma likes.

The only other thing I am trying differently today is since I had a shake for breakfast and lunch, I am having real dinner tonight. I have basically made my home a no-food zone for everyone aside from the people who have to eat (Lea and Lain.) It will be a nice change of pace to enjoy a healthy meal in the evening.

I have a low-cal and very healthy veggie lasagna cooking in my crock pot, which I'll be eating for lunch this week. I'll let you know if its good! Here's a link to the recipe.

For those people who think they could never do a cleanse like this, let me just tell you. Once you get started, its really easy to keep on track. I notice not only do I have more energy, but I also am less hungry. That's a win-win in my book! My biggest problem on this diet is not the diet itself, but deciding what tropical paradise I want to visit once I've hit my goal weight. This one looks nice...

Isagenix 9-Day Cleanse: Day 3

Today was a GREAT day, because I was able to eat REAL FOOD!! Love the shake days!

I started off with my shake, which unfortunately did not taste better to me after two cleanse days. I was still grateful for it though! I'm still thinking of ways to doctor it up without breaking the cleanse rules. Also, I had an accelerator pill.

My snack today was low-fat string cheese. I'm not sure whether or not this is even acceptable, but its all I had at home, and I couldn't eat another Isagenix Snack because I am tiring of those quickly. I so wish they were chewy and not chalky. Once again had an accelerator pill.

Okay, lunch. So de-lish. We went to P. F. Chang's and I had the chicken lettuce wraps as my entree (530 calories) and a cup of the egg drop soup (60 calories.) Emily, stop reading at this point ----> Lain, Lea and I also split the edamame (380 calories total, about 125 per serving) so I went over my calorie limit just a bit. Oops. I was so excited to eat!

We took Lea to the Children's Museum today, and we spent over an hour chasing her around the place. That is what I'm counting for my exercise today! I think lifting and carrying a twenty pound toddler counts. 

I completely forgot to do a snack by the end of the day, and by 8:30 I didn't even feel hungry, but I made myself drink a shake anyway.

All in all, it was a great day. My tummy felt flatter, I had more energy and I had a wonderful time with my pretty little family.

Woohoo! Goodbye day five!

Isagenix 9-Day Cleanse: Day 2

Today was a rinse, lather, repeat kind of day (minus the IsaDelights, because I only had two samples and had them both yesterday.) Four cleanse drinks throughout the day, six Isagenix Snacks and two Natural Accelerator pills. Am I hungry? Yes. Am I fantasizing about eating an Izzo's Illegal Burrito? Hell yes. But my quest to get my pre-baby body back is more important. With four of the eleven days down, and a real 600 calorie lunch tomorrow that cannot come soon enough, I'm feeling positive and motivated.

Just a heads up, don't mix your Cleanse for Life with really cold water. The powder has a hard time dissolving, then you end up with "clumpies." Yuck. Room temperature water works best, and you can add ice if you want it colder.

Lain and I brought Lea for a snoball this evening. I was good! As they divulged into their pina colada and wedding cake snoballs, I had an "ice" ball (no syrup). Better than nothing I guess.

Overall, by the end of the day I came to the conclusion that this whole not eating for two days thing is way easier than I thought it would be. It takes a little will power, but if you are committed, you can do it.

Four days down! Seven to go...

Isagenix 9-Day Cleanse: Day 1

I woke up feeling ready to take on the challenge of the two cleanse days. I had my first of four Cleanse for Life drinks as soon as I woke up, as well as a Natural Accelerator pill. It wasn't as bad as I expected, and I was able to get it down pretty easily. On my drive to work, I began having stomach cramps. Emily let me know to drink a LOT of water, and once I did, my aching stomach subsided. At about 9:30, I had my IsaDelight, which you can eat 30 minutes before your Isagenix Snacks. The great thing about the IsaDelights, other than that they are chocolate, is that the amino acids in these little squares encourage natural production of mood-elevating brain chemicals which help to satisfy appetite. At ten, I had my Isagenix Snacks and continued consuming as much water as possible.

By noon, I was surprised I didn't feel hungry. I'm usually pestering my co-workers to leave for lunch by 11:30. For lunch I had my Cleanse for Life, and another Natural Accelerator pill. I just mixed the Cleanse powder with the little bit of water I had left in my water bottle from this morning, and shot it like I'd shoot tequila, with my eyes closed and nose pinched. The taste is not horrible, but its the dark color that freaks me out. I guess I could add more water, but then there would be more to drink.

At two, I had my second IsaDelights because I was starting to feel hungry. That was enough to settle my stomach, and I followed that with my Isagnix Snacks thirty minutes later. About half an hour later though, I felt hungry again. I just continued to drink water and did some online retail therapy to pass the time. By 3:30 I caved and ate 1/4 of an apple. It's allowed! It was seriously the best apple I've ever eaten.

At four, I had my third Cleanse for Life drink. Those seem to work best in curbing my hunger. Then, my mom, Lea and I went to the mall and did some shopping. Shopping can take my mind off of anything, including not eating. I wasn't even phased when we passed the food court. I'm lucky to have my mom along in this journey -- having a partner in crime makes it easier. Side note: Lea got her first Build-A-Bear. We had so much fun watching her walking around the store pointing at shoes and exclaiming "ooooooh!" She is one cute little distraction! She opted for a Bunny with a pink dress and pink wedges. We named her Rosie.

We got home around 8:30, and I drank my final cleanse of the day. By 9:30 I felt hungry, so I called it a night. One more day of cleansing to go. I can't wait for a shake because me so hungry!

Isagenix 9-Day Cleanse: Pre-Cleanse Day 2

My second pre-cleanse day was pretty much the same as the first. I started with a shake for breakfast, a Natural Accelerator pill and lots of water. I had a little trouble getting the shakes down the first day because of the chalky taste, so Emily suggested adding cocoa powder to my shakes. (I have the french vanilla flavor.) I added half a teaspoon, and it made a big difference, or at least psychologically it did. I guzzled it down. Apparently the shakes taste much better after two cleanse days, so I'll try the shake in its pure form again on Saturday.

I had 10 almonds mid-morning for a snack, then went to Chili's for lunch. They have a great low-cal menu. I got the grilled chicken salad (grilled chicken, lettuce, corn, black beans, tomatoes and cheese... nom nom), which has 430 calories. It was quite delicious, and if you're planning on eating out on shake days or just too busy to pack a lunch, I suggest dining at Chili's. Since I opted for the lower end of the allowable calorie scale, I allowed myself one diet coke (even though its against the rules). Its my crack, what can I say?

430 calorie lunch

Before long, it was snack time and I had an apple. I seem to do better with my sweeter snack in the afternoon. I'm looking forward to my cleanse day tommorrow, because I get to try the IsaDelight. I am usually a fan of anything chocolate, and I'm sure I'll be thankful for ANYthing I can nibble on during the cleanse.

Dinner was another shake, this one was much better. Maybe I am getting used to them. I spent the rest of the evening shopping at Walt-Mart and cleaning house, so if I was hungry, I didn't notice. I also spent a good amount of time calculating how to build a 600 calorie burrito at Izzo's Illegal Burrito. Looks like that's not happening. Sad face.

Until day 3...

Isagenix 9-Day Cleanse: Pre-Cleanse Day 1

Here's my review of the two pre-cleanse days before the Isagenix 9-Day Cleanse. My goal is to lose 15 pounds, so I'm hoping this cleanse will be a great start to my weight loss goal. I also hope to break the addiction I have to artificial sweeteners, and to maintain a healthier and cleaner way of eating. Last, I just want to look damn good in a two-piece, so if I lose all the poundage, I am treating myself to a new bikini and a cruise vacation. I'd say that's worth it...

Today was my first pre-cleanse day with the Isagenix cleanse. There are two pre-cleanse days before the 9-day cleanse begins. I started off my day by drinking a bottle of water, then made my shake for breakfast. The shake is not horrible. I have the vanilla flavor, and it tastes a little like cool whip; not much taste and very creamy. I took a Natural Accelerator pill, and breakfast was served!

Mid-morning I had my Isagenix Snacks! These little wafers are not as bad as they look. The vanilla flavor is sweet, texture a little chalky and most importantly help hold you over until lunch. I can imagine on a cleanse day that these can be pretty tasty. For lunch, I had half of an egg salad sandwich, rice pilaf and fruit, totaling 600 calories, as well as another Natural Accelerator pill. By 1 p.m., I had already consumed 70 ounces of water.

600 calorie lunch

My afternoon snack was a half of an apple and five almonds, and of course more water. I had my second shake at 5:30 p.m., but still felt a little hungry. Emily came over to take my measurements she brought me some samples of the milk chocolate IsaDelights to eat on my cleanse days.

Other than a rumbly tummy, I had a killer headache. I assumed it was the caffeine withdrawals, so I broke the rules and had a small amount of Diet Dr. Pepper. Surprisingly, this didn't help at all. My 20 minutes of exercise was spent cleaning house and chasing Lea around... tomorrow I'm going to try my best to get some real exercise in. With this busy girl and broken foot, its going to be a challenge, but I'm up for it!

Overall, the first cleanse day was not so bad. I can handle the shake days; its the cleanse days that make me nervous. On to day 2!