Final Answer...

I am a bit torn about the cleansing diet I did last week. I lost 2 lbs so that's good, but I have been trending around the 1-2 lbs per week doing things my way. So I am not sure if it really worked or not. I think it may be a good idea for someone who is just starting; I mean it was called the "Pre-Diet Cleanse" afterall.

The powder shakes kept me full for about 5 hours. The downside is they were pretty disgusting. By Friday, I couldn't get them down. They honestly, made me gag. Slim Fast tastes much better but they don't have as much protein & fiber.

The Diet Pak did give me energy and made me pee more. They also made me thirsty so my water consumption went up; the downfall was so did my beer consumption on Saturday.

The cleanse that I drank after dinner every night actually tasted really good. I'm not sure it ever cleansed me though. I didn't see any change in my #2s.

Maybe if I had 100% stayed on the cleanse and didn't cheat on day 6 & 7, I may have lost more weight. However, I could not bear to drink one more of those damn meal replacement shakes. No wonder people lose weight. They taste so damn shitty that you don't even want to eat!

If anyone saw my last post on the weight update, I decided to send back the tee shirt and get a smaller size. I was informed by the husband (after a few beers ofcourse) that the shirt made me look trashier than a lot lizard carrying around a milk jug full of Summer's Eve. He doesn't know much about fashion but I certainly don't want to go around looking like a cheap whore either. I'm hoping the smaller size will give me the look I'm going for, but with a more classy flair. We shall see...

Throwback Friday

In honor of this weight loss journey, I would like to use this opportunity to remind myself of what I use to look like and to use this as a goal.

This was taken in Maneo, NC in 2000-about 4 months prior to my 20th birthday. Oh I wish, I still had that stomach. I'm working on it....stay tuned!

"The Cleanse" Update Part 1

I've been on this new cleanse for 2 whole days. So I know the burning question is the status of my bowel movements. Well, there hasn't been any major poopage; just major gas. Yesterday, I am quite sure, that my stomach and butt were preparing for battle. And, I'm expecting to shart at any moment. I spent most of yesterday with major indigestion and gas pains. Today, so far, hasn't been so bad. I'm not sure if its the powder shakes or the cleanse. I was having trouble drinking the shakes yesterday due to the thickness so today I added a little bit more water and some fresh fruit. It makes it better.

But as I've lost 2 pounds, I'm gonna stick to it the rest of the week. I'll report back in a few days. Until then, just breathe, or fart, or poop; whatever you'd like.

7 Day Cleanse

Because I have received so many messages on Facebook regarding this new diet, I decided to chronicle my week here on Just Breathe.


As most of you aware, I started a diet on January 1st. I didn't follow a specific diet; you know I just cut back, eating healthier and added an exercise regiment. I haven't been too strict but I am proud to say that I've lost 10 pounds. I am about halfway to my goal.

I have now plateaued, so I've decided to do a 7 Day Cleanse Program from GNC. Its called Total Lean 7 Day Fast Loss. The kit (see above picture) includes a daily diet pack, lean shake meal replacement powder and a pre-diet cleanse.


The Pre-Diet Cleanse is to rid your body of built-up toxins that your body holds and does not naturally get rid of. In other words, its gonna make you poop and then poop some more. This also helps to boost your metabolism and allows your body to better absorb nutrients. It has tons of fiber!

I haven't had this yet as you are supposed to drink it after dinner so I'll follow up in a day or so to let you know how its going and how much I'm going.




The Daily Diet Pack: Supplements to help start burning more calories & increase energy.

The 2 red pills are Burn 60 which is supposed to help increase calorie burn-off. It also has caffeine for energy and metabolism boosting.

The smaller, lighter 2 pills are Waterex. These are for maintaining water balance and also has B-6.

The larger, darker pill is a Green Tea Complex that has EGCG. This is the major component of green tea and is for enhancing metabolism.

As for the program itself, it comes with a detailed meal plan & exercise plan. My plan is a little different. I'm taking the Diet Pack in the morning with breakfast (one of the shakes). For lunch its another shake with some fresh fruit. Dinner is the usual healthy things.

My workout plan for the week is yoga once a week, Zumba class on Tuesday, Zumba on the Wii one day & some other cardio for 30 minutes (probably a Jillian Micheal's' workout).

Now....I realize all this may be complete BS, however I'm gonna do it. I'll check in mid-week and let you know how its going and how much weight I've lost.

I will say that I was quite nervous about the Diet Pack. I haven't had any side effects. I have seen an increase in my energy level today. Also the shakes, although not the most tasty, do fill me up and keep me full.

Let me know if you have any questions and wish me luck....

Throwback Friday

This week's installment of Throwback Friday I've been thinking about since the idea first popped into my head to do these Throwbacks every week. However, now that its time to sit down and actually put the idea into words, I'm finding it quite difficult. I had all these poetic, colorful words I was going to write but I can't remember any of it now.

5 years ago today, I lost my Daddy unexpectedly. I'm not going to go into any details because who wants to relive the worst day of their life, right?

But I would like to share a little bit about my Daddy and what he taught me in life:

Daddy taught me the meaning of a hard earned dollar. I've never met anyone who worked as hard as my Daddy did but yet spent every penny on someone other than himself.

Daddy taught me what good music really is; I mean good honest music.

Daddy taught me any good joke can be funny, even if you can't tell a joke to save your life.

Daddy taught me to always be proud of who are and where you came from, even if you didn't come from much.

I know Daddy is sitting on the front porch of Heaven with Grandma & Granddaddy. I'm sure he's telling, or trying to tell, a joke or some other story he finds funny.

I'm sure he's up there pulling pranks and probably fishing too. I wonder if he's up there driving around on those golden streets or if he's takin' it easy. I hope he's takin' it easy.

I feel his presence often, but its still not often enough.

There isn't a day that goes by I don't think about him and miss him. I still don't think its fair that he was taken from me; from all of us.

I still get angry and suppose I always will. The cliche "He's better off," doesn't make me feel better. I'd rather have him here. I don't dream about Daddy as often as I use to, and that bothers me.

I just plain miss him & can't believe its been this long. I hope I've made him proud & hope he knows how much of my heart has been missing since he's passed.

I miss you "Old Man."

Love,

Your BB

Throwback Friday

So, I am guessing this is probably in 2002? My grandmother warned me
to always write the dates on the back of pictures.

However I do know this was at Walnut Creek tailgating for a concert. Too much alcohol in college has led
me to not remembering details of events like I probably should.

I'm thinking this to be an Aerosmith concert.

And I'm sure there was probably a lot of beer consumed and funneled.

What's even better...10 years later we're still all friends!

Throwback Friday

Since my anniversary was on Wednesday, I find it seemingly appropriate that this week's installment of Throwback Friday be dedicated to my amazing husband. Please disregard the quality of the picture, being that it was taken in the Summer of 2003 (I'm pretty sure I didn't have a digital camera).

This was shortly after D and I had met and we were at a birthday party in Wake Forest (only about 5 minutes from downtown...hee hee). Sorry I had to insert an inside joke there. As it was mandatory that guests only drink beer out of beer helmets (yes, this was D's first introduction to my friends), we spent most of the day on a scavenger hunt for, what I think is perhaps one of the most efficient beer consuming devices ever made. We did finally find them at Spencers. Big shock there, I know!

But we did have a fabulous time and I think it raised the question in D's mind, "What the hell am I getting myself into?" but 8 years later (4 of them being married) I can say that we are still going strong and still in love.

And....I'm sure he is still probably asking himself that same question every day.

Cheers to you, Dustin. I love you, babe! Happy Anniversary!