Tag: clean eating

MY VERY FIRST BLOG!
If I could tell you how I lost 20 lbs. in 30 days,  you would be interested wouldn’t you?

At 61 years young, things start to go AWOL so you need to watch your health and fitness.   I had been drinking what I would deem to be far too much for the past couple of years and at the start of 2017 I made a conscious decision to get back on track and get fit. My blood pressure was through the roof – BP 169/102 and my liver count was 111.  The doctor said you need to make some lifestyle changes – you have warning signs going on here.

I was accustomed to going to the gym but to be honest it was making no difference to the 24 pounds I had gained over the last two years.  So a different approach was needed.  While scrolling through Facebook at the beginning of the year I came across a woman called Danette May and her 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge.  I thought, oh yeah, here we go, more money paid out for nil result.  However, as I read on I felt compelled to join this 30 Day Challenge and this is just where I get started.

This was not only the most successful way to lose excess weight and learn to eat properly but included daily meditations and exercise.  Skeptical as I was I started the challenge on January 9, 2017.  This involved 3  laborious days of detoxing.  Cleaning your engines out, getting them ready to become a fat burning machine.  Can I just tell you, 3 days detox might sound easy, it is very difficult – you get headaches, disoriented and wonder very quickly is it all worth while.  During these 3 days, I drank the hot lemon water, Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar and a dash of Cayenne Pepper along with the other smoothies that were laid out in the challenge menu sheets.  I did cheat once, I ate a banana which at the time was heavenly.  I continued to follow the challenge, obviously refraining from NO alcohol during this period.  I learned to Clean Eat excluding all trans fats and sticking to Coconut, Olive and Grapeseed oil to cook with.  At the end of the day, you are what you eat and I soon realised this was the rut I was in.  You think you are eating healthy, which of course I thought I was, but I soon found out that I was over indulging with incorrect food groups.  During this challenge I did not eat any Bread (you can eat  the occasional piece of Ezekiel Bread which is a gluten free) but I could not find this so did not eat it.

When I got into some of the recipes it started to become fun.  I was learning about foods and super seeds I had never even heard.  I was drinking smoothies made of kale, cucumber and kiwis topped off with Chia Seeds.  Chia, Flax and Hemp seeds became my new best friends.  I had them with everything and still do.  I made my own Almond Butter and Tahini paste and began making videos to show others on the challenge who were not  kitchen goddesses how easy it was to prepare these thing and put these on  my first You Tube channel –  Mary PremierCru.  The first week my weight altered by a few pounds which encouraged me to carry on.  The support group was amazing and I jumped in with both feet, videoing my transformation, the new food I was eating and just in general loving the support from a magnificent group of woman.

As the weeks went on and I still never even sniffed a drop of alcohol,  I could really see the change in my body.  At the end of the 30 days I had lost exactly 20lbs, which for those of you are reading this and understand menopause, weight loss becomes nigh impossible.

I am happy to say I have continued down this road of clean eating, oh yes, I have enjoyed the odd glass of wine which tasted like pure nectar on the first sip after 30 days.  I can also report to an almost perfect blood pressure reading 122/80 and a liver count of 54.  The liver count is still a little high but it’s all going in the right direction.  I am pleased and my doctor was mightly impressed .

Having completed this challenge with what I believe to be an enormous success, I have joined another support group called Forever Fit which is the continuation of the 30 day challengers.

This opened my eyes to whole new and exciting way of eating.  My skin became radiant, I fit into a long lost wardrobe of clothes that I had long since forgotten existed and I had a renewed confidence.

This new found confidence encouraged me along with the amazing support of the woman in the group to not only start YouTubing but to create my very own blog www.marypremiercru.com.  Being technically challenged at the tender age of 61, this was some achievement and a true triumph.

It is a struggle to keep healthy at 50 plus, but I can tell you hand on heart,  it is possible by making a few changes in your lifestyle.