Day 27

Dear blog followers...

My sincerest apologies for my lack of posts!  Turns out that when my amazing company has their conference in Vegas, I have way too much fun and forget to blog.

I was definitely not perfect in Vegas.  I had a volcano burger (chili, guacamole, Frito's, etc.), the best sweet potato fries I've had on my life, some yummy mixed drinks, Mexican food, Chinese food, etc, and for crying out loud...they had a Haggen Dazs smoothie factory right in my hotel!

I also attended the Arbonne new managers celebration, where they provided free food and drinks for everyone.  It was the fanciest party I have ever been to and MAN did I indulge!

But guess what...

I came back and I had not gained a pound!  We walked a lot while we were there and I was still replacing two meals a day with the Arbonne shakes.  I was so happy that I could just relax and not worry about what I ate in Vegas and still maintain my weight!  Thank you Arbonne!  Also, they came out with two new weight management products that I samples while there.  That definitely helped :).  I will blog more about them when they come in the mail :).

Well, in going to go downstairs and walk on the treadmill for a bit.  For your viewing pleasure, here is a photo of some of the food I had in Vegas:

~ Sarah

Day 17

Even though I didn't blog yesterday, I have to post a photo of yesterday's breakfast.  It was just so beautiful!  I had an organic fried egg over wilted spinach with avocado, organic mango peach salsa, and cilantro. It was absolutely delectable.

Today, Katie and the girls and I got our for a walk.  It was so nice to get some fresh air and exercise.  We have a lot of hills by our place, and E made us carry her half of the time, so I got plenty of exercise!

Ok...I just have to take a few moments to go on a mini positive rant about this plan I'm on.  I absolutely love the Arbonne healthy living products and here's why:

- I'm on a tight budget while I'm on maternity leave, and replacing meals with the shakes is saving me a bunch of money.
- I love the taste of the shakes and the different recipes I can try just by blending them.  I never get bored!
- I can use the shakes for a long period of time because there's no crap in them.  They're actually good for me.
- I don't have to eat perfectly all the time.  I really haven't had to give up anything.  I've lost weight even though Easter weekend and my anniversary both happened in the first two weeks of this plan.
- I would be on this plan even if I wasn't an Arbonne consultant.
- You all already know how much I love the fizzy energy drinks!

Anyway, thanks for reading today!  I'm off to snuggle some babies.  Hubby is coming home which makes me happy.  Until the next blog!

~ Sarah

Day 15

Hello world!

I was 173.4 lbs this morning for my weigh in.  That puts me at about 8 lbs of weight loss so far and I'm at the halfway point!  I'm very excited about that!

Today, I made some healthy treats for myself.  I made some more sweet potato chips and some homemade chocolates using coconut oil, honey, and cocoa (Katie...yours are still better).  I also made some protein bars for Hubby using the Arbonne protein shake mix, oats, peanut butter, honey, a pinch of salt, and some ground up chocolate covered peanuts.  There's a ton of energy in this recipe!

This evening, I had the pleasure of bringing my Arbonne healthy living products into the home of some lovely folks!  I had so much fun sharing the information and making protein shakes for them to sample. It was a lot of fun!

Once E is in bed tonight, I'm going to hit the treadmill again.  I felt so energetic today after working out yesterday.

Oh...and since I'm at the halfway mark, I figured I would put up another picture to show you my progress.  Until the next blog!

~ Sarah

Day 14

I feel really good about today!  I made a batch of my favorite cookies in the world, and even though I wanted to eat five or six (which, I'm ashamed to say, is pretty normal), I only ate one.  After that, I spent 30 minutes walking on the treadmill.

I had two shakes today, and for dinner I made some beef stew with veggies and potatoes.  I ate a little bit of it over rice.  I also enjoyed a cup of Detox Tea.

I'm really hoping to get back on the treadmill tomorrow.  It feels really good to exercise like that again!  I'm definitely starting to feel more energized on this plan.  Also, I'm super excited that my Dad is joining me on this journey starting tomorrow!

Until then...

~ Sarah

Day 12

In the Arbonne community, we often refer to the 80/20 rule, meaning that if you follow a good healthy living plan 80% of the time, your body is able to maintain good health even if you stray once in a while.  Well, yesterday was my anniversary, and I definitely took advantage of the 80/20 rule.  My husband made pancakes in the morning, thus starting my "20% day".  Before leaving for dinner, I popped two Metabolism Boost pills.

Rich pasta, Redd's, chocolate cake, onion rings, and a bit of the hubby's burger made their way into my tummy yesterday.  It was very enjoyable, but I was happy to be back to drinking shakes today.  I feel better when I'm eating well.  For your viewing pleasure, though, here is photo of my anniversary dinner.

Tomorrow morning, I will weigh myself. I'm also going to get on the treadmill to stay increasing my cardio strength.

Until tomorrow!

~ Sarah

Day 10

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to weigh myself this morning because I woke up feeling sick and needed to eat something right away.  Oh well!

This morning, I was really in the mood for banana bread, but I didn't want all of the calories that goes with it, so I decided to create my own healthier version of banana bread.  I just tried it, and it was so good, I had to share it with you all!

Healthier Banana Bread Muffins:

- 1 cup all purpose flour (I would have used whole wheat flour, but I'm all out of it)
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- Dash of salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup agave nectar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°.  Mix dry and wet ingredients separately and then combine.  Grease cupcake pan with coconut oil.  Fill cups almost to full.  Bake for 18 minutes.

Today is an odd day.  Everyone in the household is under the weather, so I'm a little outside of my routine.

I'm going to go make a shake for dinner.  This time, i'm going to try blending watermelon in with the vanilla.  Hope it's tasty!

~ Sarah

Day 9

Well, I woke up this morning weighing exactly what I did the day before.  Party: 0.  Me: 1.  Yay!

I have to say, since adding the Fiber Boost to my diet, I have really noticed a difference in my digestion.  They say that if you added the Fiber Boost to your diet and didn't change anything else about your diet or lifestyle, you would lost nine pounds in a year just from the "chimney sweep effect".  Pretty cool :)

We had an amazing dinner tonight at the in-laws'.  Cod, salmon patties, quinoa, and roasted asparagus.  Eating healthy tastes amazing!  I may or may not have had a very large bite of cardamom bread with a buttercream glaze, but we won't talk about that part.

Tomorrow, I'd like to see what adding exercising to my day does for my weight loss.  Wish me luck!

~Sarah