Day 16: Feeling great!

Sorry ... I was getting so excited about my weight loss that I was posting it straight on FB and forgetting to blog.

 

It's day 16 and I have lost a total of 14lbs. I should probably expect the loss to slow down a bit which is fine but I must admit, its pretty nice to watch the scale drop almost daily.

 I have come to really enjoy Univeras Chili, making it into a yummy taco salad! Big question to answer for a lot of people ... no I am not getting tired of the Univera food. I get to make my own dinner so it's fish one night, then steak and chicken as so on. And the Univera food is honestly really good - I have no reason to be unhappy with my food right now. Part of my reason for doing this diet is time - I don't have time to prepare lots of diet food so, this plan is really helping me to stay disciplined because there is STRUCTURE. When I catch myself thinking about the persons pizza across the table from me, I think about how much weight I’ve already lost and suddenly I don’t want that greasy pizza anymore. Lol

 Speaking of discipline, I was talking to my new friend Jillian (who is a Univera Associate and is also on the diet) about how this diet (like all others) takes some discipline.  There is not one diet that allows you to do what you want, how you want and lose. So yes, you need motivation to a degree to keep you away from the cheesecake (mmmmm … cheesecake … focus). May I also mention that Jillian has been on the diet for about 3 weeks and has lost 15 lbs! She only has 5 to go ... YAY JILLIAN!

This diet is very different by way of helping your brain tell your body that it doesn’t need OR WANT sugar. A lot of what we eat breaks down to sugar so what we are doing with our brains on the PQ diet is essentially the same thing a Mother does when her child is abusing a privilege. “Sorry buddy but this toy (sugar) has to be taken away for a while until you can learn how to play with it (not over-eat it).

So, to keep this personal … I used an educated guess as to why I suddenly felt a million times better when I finally started taking all of the recommended supplements with this diet and here it is:

            This diet is temporarily restricting my body from the fats, carbs and sugars I over-ate to make me gain weight. So, what about the nutrients that goes along with those foods? Well, that is where the supplements come in! By suspending consumption of certain foods but yet not depriving my body of the healthy vitamins and minerals that are found in those foods, I am burning more fat at a much faster rate than any other diet I have been on. Not to mention the quality of these supplements.

This company leads in world-wide growth of organic aloe, we own the first and only full spectrum cell renewal product on the market. We are FDA compliant. Our products are scientifically proven to reduce DNA damage and increase repair functions in the body.

 

Well, I think I am going to be early tonight …  long day and I still have to get my PQ Diet gear together for tomorrow. :) Night y’all!

 

Day 5 ... you can't cheat.

Let me start with yesterday because I didnt realize what I had done until late. I was so busy at work I forgot to eat my univera protein pack which would add to why I was so hungry when I had my late dinner. Then, I also forgot to eat my Univera dessert. That said, if you read last nights blog you know that I "cheated".

Even with forgetting to eat, I still gained a pound this morning! I definitely did not go over my calories but I ate the wrong foods ... sugar, carbs and cheese fat. And only ONE MEAL! Geez!

Im still down 7 lbs and have 2 more days to go to complete the week so, I am confident I will lose it by then! I almost don't mind a little cheat here and there if the other days are going to be as rapid of a loss.

And so, on to today. 

I am getting sick - BOO! I have worked the past 3 days with a mask on so I don't pass and receive anything else. Its mainly my throat and I don't have a ton of energy. I have been taking DoTERRAs OnGuard  (which I think I linked in one of my previous blogs) and left it at work last night so I woke up worse! Im so glad I have it tonight.

The point of my pity party is to say this; its not an easy thing to diet while sick, especially when you have to have 4 cups of veggies per day however, I am doing it! If my throat becomes more swollen - I'll mash my cauliflower for a (nasty) yummy substitute for mashed potatoes (anyone have a recipe?  mine has always been terrible)! Even better ... I'll juice! Not sure how juice with no fruit will work but seriously folks, it's all about my will and determination; if I don't mind, it doesn't matter! All that means is you have to have a LITTLE faith in yourself to put SOME effort into this as with anything else you would do. You can try Zerona and lose a whopping 1/2 inch as I did or you can hunker down and do the opposite of eat and drink too much while watching TV. Like Oprah once said, she has all the money in the world. If there was a "magic bullet" she would own it!

Side note - Since Im not eating fruit I am ordering the rest of the supplements that comes with the diet. This diet is designed with my future in mind so, I need to follow it as best I can. 

I am taking the day off tomorrow to rest. Good luck all you dieters and contact me when you're ready. 

Day 4 end

Its about bedtime but I know I promised to blog.

I ended up having a late appointment at work that I wasn't expecting and I wasn't prepared with dinner. I have been eating around 5:30/6pm and tonight I didn't eat until 8pm. Because of this ... I cheated. :( I ate at the awesome Greek restaurant next door - which isn't terrible but I ate the pita bread and and feta cheese that came with my meal. When I saw it I thought, "Awe man, I forgot to tell them to 86 those things" but I was in low blood sugar so I really didn't care at that point. 

This is the first time I've been in low blood sugar since I began this diet and it was totally on me. There's a balance between personal and professional life so I could have made a choice to see them tomorrow since I knew I wasn't prepared with dinner. This is part of the commitment I've made to myself right now and I need to make smart choices so I don't gain back the 8 lbs Ive lost in ONLY 4 days! That's just crazy talk to me! I've done diets before and NEVER lost weight this fast. Can other people tell yet? Eh - probably not. Do I care? HECK NO! They will in a few weeks! 

On the "personal v/s professional" note, I am hitting the bed! Lots of sleep so I can do this right tomorrow and I will cross my fingers my 8 lbs is still off the scale. I could care less if I dont lose another lb this week - Im good with 8! LOL 

Sleep well Denver (and my NC friends)

Day 2

WOW.

I am so impressed with this diet. I have to be honest, when I saw the box of "powder food" I was a little sad thinking about drinking shakes for a month but this diet is so FAR from that! The food is absolutely delicious; I’m not in low blood sugar or hungry. Most importantly I don’t feel deprived. Yes, there is some willpower involved – no one held my hand to help me eat and no one is going to hold my hand to help me keep it down either! Ya gotta suck it up sister! But so far so good. My calories have been significantly reduced so just to be on the safe side, Im taking Doterras Slim and Sassy between lunch and dinner. Information on Slim and Sassy can be found on my FB.

Today I had oatmeal and green tea for breakfast. https://www.newunivera.com/en-us/products-for-vitality/protein-quotient-diet/maple-oatmealThey say you can flavor the oatmeal with spices, etc but who needs to when it tastes this good!? Im not kidding. I get excited to get to the next meal just to taste the next item.

I am of course taking my supplements with breakfast and with no food cravings, zero blood sugar issues and Im actually in a great mood, I must say, I think I’ll keep taking them! In addition to the Univera supplements I have been taking for the past 9 months, I am also taking Calcium and Magnesium https://www.newunivera.com/en-us/search?Text=calcium&Area=Productsand I will probably incorporate this into my monthly stash of goodies since Osteoporosis runs in my family.

For lunch I had cream of mushroom soup https://www.newunivera.com/en-us/products-for-vitality/protein-quotient-diet/cream-of-mushroom-soupand I made a salad with lots of different greens and sprouts. This diet allows for a little creamer with your breakfast drink but I exchanged it for a tablespoon of yogurt blue cheese dressing instead. http://www.bolthouse.com/product/chunkybluecheese If would have read the label before I ate I would have thrown in another tablespoon rounding it out to a whopping 35 calories!

For dinner I am having leftover smoked salmon and lobster tail with roasted cauliflower tossed in evoo and garlic. I'll let ya know about my dessert tomorrow :)

Oh and ... 3 lbs down. Not too bad on day 2 and with great food, energy and no low blood sugar (which I suffer from)! Im in it to win it ;) See ya tomorrow.

I'll say it again, don't wait until Im skinny to be convinced - do it with me! Its RISK FREE. If you’re not happy after 90 days, ask for a refund.

Prep Day & Intro

Hi everyone!

 
As promised, I am blogging about my PQ Diet experience. It is important to me that my clients know I am not just selling a diet, but that I empathize with them and am prepared to go through the same challenges! I chose the PQ Diet because while healthy cooking is an absolute passion of mine I am simply too busy right now to spend time preparing 3 meals per day and 2 snacks. Whew, that’s a job in itself! 

Everyone who reads my blog will hopefully learn a thing or two about health and nutrition. As many of you know, my Mother is a dietician so I am fortunate to have a great knowledge base on the science of nutrition. One great thing I'd like to share with you right away is a fact about Cortisol. How frustrating is it to do all the "right" things to lose weight and not lose a pound?! Take a look at your lifestyle - if you're super stressed you are raising your cortisol levels. Why should we care about that? Cortisol loves fat and wants to keep it around! So, first thing is first, it is imperative that you do a few things to kick to cortisol in the arss!

Stop drinking coffee with caffeine. Yes, it is sad but true caffeine from coffee will raise your Cortisol levels and can totally wipe out your weight loss efforts. I have a client who took my advice. She was drinking a whopping 8 cups per day! She kicked most of the coffee and lost 8 lbs in a month and didn't change a thing in her diet or exercise.

Here are a few realistic suggestions on coffee replacements:

I have a client who owns a local coffee company. She is bringing me some samples next week of Organic decaf. I am big on decaf coffee being ORGANIC but that’s another blog that I am sure I will cover soon. Drink organic green and black tea to help suppress cortisol levels and studies have also shown green tea to speed metabolism.

Another suggestion is to take Univeras Xperia. I’ve been taking it for 6 months. I have chronic fatigue syndrome and this product helps me with focus, mental clarity and energy. Coffee can sometimes give me a boost of energy but in exchange I lose my mental clarity and can’t seem to focus on a thing! I should also point out that I started Univera because it has a 90 challenge. If you don’t feel like Univera has changed your life you get a refund. I had nothing to lose ;) https://www.newunivera.com/en-us/products-for-vitality/superfoodenergy/xperia-concentrate

This last suggestion is not a product that I carry but it works well for me when I am beyond stressed out. It’s from a company Solaray and it’s called “Sleep Blend SP-17 – Valerian-Hops”. You can get it at Sprouts. Yes, this is an herbal sleep supplement but when I have an excess of adrenalin from stress, I can take one of these and it helps balance me and calm my mood. If I don’t have high adrenalin it will certainly make me sleepy so, as with any supplements, I will suggest that you check with your doctor before ever taking my advice as that is out of my scope of practice.

There are 4 phases to this diet and you can check them out here: https://newunivera.com/en-us/products-for-vitality/protein-quotient-diet/stages The diet plan suggests to remain on stage 1 (3 Univera meals and 1 home cooked per day) until you loose 80% of your weight and then phase into stage 2 (2 Univera meals and 2 home cooked) and so on. I am sure it will take me more than one month to achieve my goal so, I will only blog for 30 days (again with the whole too much to do!)

Today is my “prep day”. I am planning my meals up through Saturday. I haven’t done this in a while so I’ve given myself half a day to remember how to organize. My plan is to have labeled baggies for each day of the week. In the baggies will be my Univera breakfast, lunch and dessert. I think I will also have a few days of fridge food lined up and prepared to ‘grab and go’. I’ll let ya know. :P

Best of luck to all who are taking the 90 challenge with me! And remember - if you decide this diet isn’t for you, you can get all of your money back! You can’t go wrong. http://lanata.skincaretherapy.net/