Weight Be Gone!

My parents are extremely different from one another. We've always known this. However, planning this wedding highlights their differences quite a bit. My dad's approach has been to set milestones and work towards them, in order to make decisions and move forward as quickly as possible. My mom's approach has been to do research, meet with vendors, and then discuss with as many people as possible to make the most informed decision. Basically, my dad is driving towards making decisions and my mom is working to make sure we're making the best decision that is backed by the most people. The two approaches don't necessarily work together seamlessly, so we had some issues in nailing down a schedule. But, they've been married for over 30 yrs, so they were able to work through it and get through to one another. I think the revised schedule is a compromise between both options we'd been discussing before (1. wedding, straight into cocktail hour, reception and 2. wedding, lunch, break where guests leave, cocktail hour, reception) and makes most people happy. The compromise is that we need to change the hotel that our guests will be staying at. But hopefully the new one will work well too. It's definitely better for the overall schedule and sanity of the wedding party and guests!

I've been frustrated with my inability to give losing weight the attention it needs. This past month has been particularly bad, as I've had an incredible amount of stress on many fronts and was really struggling. While I didn't actually gain much weight back, I definitely didn't lose the 5 lbs I wanted to in March. My knee is still messed up, but I'm trying to work through and do short amounts of time on different cardio machines to work through it and make time in the evenings to go after work, where my muscles are warmer. This means no social activities during the week, but I don't mind that as much as I thought I would. Things have gotten a bit better at work, which helps a lot with my stress level too.

Additionally, I'm starting a juice cleanse tomorrow. I'm doing the Blueprint Cleanse, which is very popular New York right now. Basically, you drink nothing but 6 fresh fruit & veggie juices each day for 3 days. (You can do it for more or less, but 3 is recommended.) It's supposed to help with removing toxins, losing weight, better skin, immune system, allergies, energy level, etc. I'm a bit nervous, but I used to fast and eat/drink nothing but water one day per week for a few yrs in high school and part of college. It was hard at first, but totally normal after that. I also did feel a lot healthier and had fewer cravings for bad food during the rest of the week. So I think 3 days will be tough, but I'm excited about the results. I feel like it'll get me more in touch with my body's needs and I may even be sick less...

To prepare for the cleanse, you're supposed to cut out meat, eggs, grains, dairy, etc., so I've had nothing but fruits, veggies, nuts, and beans since Monday. I haven't been that hungry (besides last night before bed, when I was starving and was seriously craving mac & cheese), but I am a bit tired. That could be more from not sleeping well with a mosquito attack and some temperature issues than my current diet though. Anyway, just in the prep time (i.e 2 days so far) I've lost 2.5 lbs! Woohoo! I'm finally on a downward trend of losing weight again.

The annoying part of the cleanse was scheduling it. You can only start on a Mon, Thurs, or Fri. Monday would be nice cuz you just do it at work every day and don't think about it much. But you'd have to prep all weekend. This Mon was the day after MJ's bday, so it would've been hard to prep before. I'll be in DC again this weekend and wasn't sure I'd be back in time to get the delivery and didn't want to wait 2 weeks. Friday kinda sucks cuz you're doing it the whole weekend and everyone's eating around you, so it would affect your social schedule. Thurs sucks, but it seemed like the only option. So I'm going to be juicing on Friday when we drive to DC and on Saturday while my mom's cooking yummy foods that everyone's happily enjoying. Sigh... Wish me luck!!!