Mean Green Machine and Positive Mindset

Surprisingly, Day 1 and 2 have not been that bad! On Day 1 I decided to try the Mean Green Machine juice. It consists of 6 leaves of kale, 4 stalks of celery, 1 cucumber, 2 green apples (I used a mixed green and red apple), half a lemon, and about an inch of ginger root. It wasn't as good or as bad as I thought. I'll admit it took me awhile to drink a whole glass of it but I did. I was really happy I did because I know this juice is so very good for you! I drank the Mean Green Machine for lunch and in case I couldn't drink it all I had a slice of wheat bread with one scrambled egg on top with salt and pepper. I am not a huge egg person at all but I really enjoyed it on the wheat bread. In fact, I am not big on wheat bread either... Here is what lunch looked like on Day 1 and Day 2. (I couldn't stomach the Mean Green Machine today so I added an extra egg on today's slice of wheat bread)

 All in all it hasn't been too bad. However, I do not plan to exercise yet. I want to lose some weight first. I want to feel better and more energized before I exercise. It may sound stupid to some but I know what works best for me. In the summer of 2012 I lost 20 pounds without exercise by doing Weight Watchers. Unfortunately I gained more than half back but it will be different this time. If I lose 2 pounds a week I will be 10 pounds down by February 10. That makes me excited. That is when I will want to really start exercising.

I have been doing alright with my eating since Monday but I know I can still do better. A slow start is better than no start. That being said, I know this time will be different and more successful because my attitude is completely positive. Any other time when I tried to diet I would get so upset with myself for not doing the best I knew that I could do. Now, I know that it's okay to make a mistake now and then. I know if I have a bad meal for lunch I can still make a healthy decision for dinner. It is better to have one bad meal in a day than one whole day of bad meals. I know that now. However, this doesn't mean I plan on eating whatever I want for one meal a day. This just means it is not the end of the world or my journey if I happen to eat something I shouldn't every now and then. Progress is progress.

It feels good for my mind to be this positive. Hmmm, maybe that is the key to success.

- Active Ashley

The Final Countdown

Sooo, tomorrow is Day 1 and I am excited and nervous! I know it is going to be hard work but I know it is going to be worth it as well! I am also excited to try out our new juicer! Next weekend I'll be doing the Joe Cross 3-Day Weekend Juicing Cleanse! You have a juice for every meal except dinner for three days. I figured I should cleanse my body at the start of my weight loss journey to help things go along a little smoother. The inspiration for the cleanse is from Joe Cross's "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" documentary I watched on Netflix a few months ago. It is very motivational. I'll leave a link to his stuff at the end of this post.

For more exciting news, I and two of my best friends decided last night that we are going to go to Vegas for my 22nd Birthday! This really makes me want to be serious for my weight loss journey. It will be my own extra personal motivation. When I want to eat something I should't, I can just think "Vegas" and I won't want to eat it anymore. Okay, I will still want to but I just won't. Having lots of small goals easier to obtain rather than one big goal is better for me in anything I do. I, personally need to see some kind of progress to keep myself going. So, I will be weighing myself on a weekly basis and I have an idea of where I want to be by my Birthday in May. It is nothing drastic but my goal is to lose 2 pounds a week. I feel 2 is safe and obtainable. I won't be upset if I just lose 1 either because one pound loss means not a pound gained.

Here's to Day 1 of being Actively Ashley!

Joe Cross:

http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/joe-cross-3-day-weekend-juice-cleanse

Actively Ashley 2014: The Year of Me

So, we all know that one person who always says they are going to start a diet, exercise, and get fit but they do it for a week maybe two and just stop. Well, I am or I should say was that person. But, not anymore. I want to lose weight. I need to lose weight. I will lose weight. 

I want to be active and feel good about myself and my body. The worst part is I was always very very active growing up. I was always outside, playing sports, running around, being active. I am not on the outside who I am on the inside. When did I become such a couch potato and food addict? Could it be from moving houses and losing all my friends I played outside with? Could it be from having to go to a new school where I knew not one person? Could it be from being pretty much depressed all through high school and up to recently? Could it be the year I didn't play soccer in high school because I wanted to focus on school? Was it from being completely and utterly exhausted from my job? Sure, those may have been factors of my laziness and bad eating habits but I'm done using them as excuses. I did this to me. Only I can undo it.

But this year it's not just about the weight. It's about doing what's best for me and only me. It's about saying yes to things instead of no. It's about putting myself out there instead of hiding. It's about being my own person and not someone else or part of someone else. It's about utilizing what I have to get what I want. It's about doing all the things I have always wanted to do but didn't because of my body image issues or the excuses I've made. It's about breaking down the barriers I have worked so hard to put up the last 6 years. It's about facing my fears instead of hiding from them. It is time to do me. 

It is time to be Actively Ashley.