Ottawa new Year Kick Off

Lots to write about today as it has been a week since I last updated this blog.   I continue to have a great experience with the program.   I am a lifer!   I like the freedom the program gives me.  If I go off the rails, I can just as easily come back.   However, I find I don't really crave bad food anymore.  In fact, I crave the IsaLean shakes, Ionix Supreme and other healthy snacks.   I hit another milestone of 153 this week, and all my weights in gym went up!   So I am getting stronger and leaner at the same time!  

I went to 2 events this week.  A wonderful new friend Tilly Dunn,  had a "Launch Party" at her house on Tuesday night.  A launch party is an information session that is a great way to show people what the program is all about.  So many people have testimonials of how the products have impacted their life and brought them back to better health.   So a launch party is the perfect place where we come together to share those stories, and introduce others to the program.    

Virginia and Jeff Dawson, Erik Coover and me

The other event was a big event hosted by the Ottawa Isagenix Committee.  The co-founders son Erik Coover was at this event (he is the field director for Isagenix).  He is a great speaker, and really explained how the product is impacting so many lives all over the world!   I was struck by the Integrity of this company.   They do not compromise on product quality to make profits.  In fact, they give 50% of the profits away to the associate and keep coming up with new ways to give the profits away.  It is like a 50% dividend.  That is unheard of in any industry!    

There was also another great speaker who everyone calls 'PK' which I found out stands for Pastor Kevin.  He spoke a lot about a subject I had never heard about called the 'evolved economy'.   (http://evolvedeconomy.com).  He has started a number of mission projects in Africa and is really an inspiring person to listen.   There was so much more information I learned as well, and I will need some time to process through it all.   

I am having a blast with this system on so many levels!

The product of a cheerful Cow.

This week we received some IsaPro.  It is Grade 7 Whey Protein from New Zealand Cows.  From what I have read, New Zealand Cows are among the happiest in the world.  If you look closely at the IsoPro canister in the attached picture, it contains the stamp "Cheerful Cow Certified".   The New Zealand Cows get to graze in fields with grass in them!  I guess that does not happen very much in many of the feed lots in North America.   Since the Cows get to live out their lives happy, they produce much better quality Whey protein.

The Whey Protein is also Un-denatured, which means the whey is not extracted through heating or chemicals. It is a cold filtration process.  That keeps the whey in a natural state so it is not broken down into its component parts.

So I plan to add a scoop of this whey protein to my regular Shakes.  That will boost the protein from a regular Isalean shake from 24 grams to 42 grams.   It also adds 100 calories.   The IsaPro is not a meal replacement (like the IsaLean shakes), it is whey protein.   I will need the extra protein since my new goal is to gain muscle and improve my strength.

I also recently started taking three shakes a day.  One for Breakfast (as usual), then one after I go to the gym, and one at lunch or dinner.  The caloric intake of the regular 30-day system (which is what I started with 7 weeks ago), is about 1000 - 1300 calories which just isn't enough for my new goal, which is to gain muscle.

I have been amazed at the changes in the past 7 weeks (mostly around my waist line).  Here is my 7 week before/after picture.  I finally got up the courage to post it.

Nov 30th 2013

January 17th 2014

Measurements Take Two!

The system continues to amaze me every day.  I had my measurements taken at the gym today.   The last time I had them taken was exactly 1 month ago.   I was surprised at the changes:

	Start Date (November 30th)	December 13th)	(Today) January 13th
Weight	168 pounds	160 pounds	155 pounds
Shoulders	42 inches	42 inches	41 inches
Upper arms	12 inches	12 inches	12 inches
Chest	37 inches	37 inches	35 inches
Waist	31.5 inches	30.5 inches	28.5 inches
Hips	39.5 inches	38.5 inches	39 inches
Thighs	22 inches	22 inches	22 inches
Calves	15 inches	15 inches	14.5 inches

Most surprising was my waist measurement.  I knew my pants were getting much more lose around the waist, but 3 inches total is a lot in just over 6 weeks!   It is also amazing since it was during the Christmas season!

My hips measurement doesn't make too much sense, it is more likely measurement error (1/2 an inch isn't very much, and I don't really have anything to lose at my hips because I have a bone right there so nothing else to pad it.  

I was a bit discouraged by my chest measurement, I was hoping it wouldn't go down so much.  I was initially worried that it might indicate I was losing muscle.   However, I am not any weaker than a month ago (I keep track of how much weight I lift).  In fact, all my weights have gone up, so it was probably just extra padding around that area that is gone now.     

My current goal is going to be to start increasing Chest/Shoulders/Arms/Thighs/Calves while maintaining the waist and hip sizes.   I am going to try using the IsaPro protein and will be adding it to my shakes each day to give a boost of protein.   My trainer friend at the gym mentioned I should have at least 1 gram of protein per pound, so that would now be 155 grams (if I want to gain muscle).  So I have started to take 3 shakes a day, and will use the IsaPro after my weight routine.  Taking protein within 45 minutes after heavy lifting is recommend by virtually every weight program in existence.   

New Year, New Low, New Resolution

I hit a new low of 156 pounds today!   I have completed the30-day system over the toughest time of the year!   I plan to extend it for another week or so until I get to around 150.  Then I will have more then surpassed my original goal of 155!   I guess I should post a before and after picture sometime...

I am still amazed at how easy it was to lose this weight.   I struggled to do it for the past 20 years without success.   I ran marathons, went into keytosis (6 day lemonade cleanse), followed P90X until I got pneumonia (day 79), stopped eating wheat, and killed myself daily at the gym.   In just over a month I have been able to reach this goal, and all I had to do was follow the Isagenix plan and even modified it so I could enjoy all the Christmas treats!.  In the past few weeks, I have even reduced the time I spend at the gym so I have more time to do other things like write this blog.  I feel amazing, and have so much more energy than before that I find it hard to not get up an run around (I have a desk job, so I sit a lot during the day).

I think eating the proper nutrition is the part that I could never get together, and that is what the system has done for me.  For my busy schedule (family, work, church),  it is a lot of effort to find healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner meals -not to mention healthy meals that my children will eat.

I recently discovered there is an energy and performance system, so I think I will try one of those packs soon.  My new years resolution will be to gain muscle while not putting on the fat (or at least not too much fat).  I will keep this blog updated with my progress.    

The 12 days of Christmas

Today we arrived back in Ottawa after spending the past week and a half enjoying Christmas and the new year.   This morning I got on the scale expecting to see the usual number that would indicate I gained about 5 or more pounds since the 25th.   The number wasn't what I expected, I got on again, and again to make sure it was right.   It said 158.

If you have read any of my previous posts, I was down to 157 just before the 25th (a total of 11 pounds since I started the program on November 30th when I was 168).  So that means I only gained one pound in the last 10 days which included eating 4 calling birds, three french hens…  Oops, I guess I am still in the Christmas mood.  I mean at least 5 onion rings, 4 chocolate truffles, 3 Christmas dinners,  two buffet lunches and a Smaug burger at Denny's (you can hum along with it if you like).   Anyway, you get the picture.   What I did differently this year is that I had at least one IsaLean shake a day for breakfast which helped to curb my appetite and made me feel so much better than in previous years.  I can deal with one pound.  It should be gone in a few days with Isagenix.

The other thing to note is that I did not go to the gym at all over this time.  Normally I would have gone to the gym around 6-8 times, which would have resulted in burning around a pound (1 pound is 3600 calories).  So I am more excited than ever about Isagenix.  I know that with Isagenix, and the fitness regimen I have been following for 10 years now, I will finally be able to reach my health and fitness goal.  I was always missing the nutritional part of the equation which is now filled by the Isagenix system.

We noticed today that our skylight was partially covered in snow, but if you look closely you should see something.   If you can't see it check out the caption…. This is how I feel about the Isagenix program:

Smiley face window

Happy New Year!

Happy new year everyone!   I am excited about the coming year, and the new health goals that I will obtain by using the Isagenix program.  In the past week I modified the program such that I could enjoy Christmas goodies, but still avoided most of the "sick" feeling that would build up with a few days of eating too many treats.  I probably have gained a few pounds in the past week, but that is expected.  I have read the normal weight gain average is about 7-10 pounds, so I will see how I fair after today (there is one more new years family event I will be attending this afternoon).  Then tomorrow I will be back on the Isagenix program, and will be helping my mother and some other family members and friends start it as well! 

My modified Isagenix Program Christmas week:

Breakfast:
In the mornings I would have Ionix supreme drink as usual.  My wife discovered that it is absolutely delicious taken like a tea in hot water.  I agree, and now I prefer Ionix in hot (not boiling) water.   Then after half an hour I would have an IsaLean shake as usual.   That is a good way to start the day, and avoids reaching for a cookie, chocolate or chip like in previous years.

Snack time:
Eventually by snack time I would usually succumb to a temptation or two, or three, but at least I got a good nutritional base for breakfast.  Sometimes I would have half an Isalean bar instead.  I tried to remember to take the natural accelerator most days.

Lunch:
Some days I would have another shake, depending on whether we were out visiting or at home. Some days were more difficult than others as treats are lurking everywhere.

Afternoon Snack time:
Some times I skipped this if lunch was really indulgent, or this might involve more treats.  Again, depending what we were doing in the day would often dictate what was done here.

Dinner time:
Usually some type of meal, most often not the 400-600 healthy guideline recommended by the program.  This is part of what makes Christmas fun!

Evening:
Usually more snacking.  I was always bad with snacking before I discovered Isagenix, some of my old habits are coming back.   I usually remembered to take the IsaFlush at the end of the day.

So you can see, each day usually started out well with good intentions, and then deteriorated as the day wore on.  Each day is a new beginning, and at least I was able to supplement 1 or 2 meals with correct nutrition.   That helped me to avoid most of the 'sick' feeling I would usually get after a few days of Christmas over eating.

I will leave you with a few pictures from family celebration number 3 (from December 29th):