Recommitting to myself

Because I will NEVER be where I was in this photo again!

I have been a LITTLE more stressed than usual this past month. And though I am incredibly open with my health and fitness journey, there ARE aspects of my life I am not yet ready to talk about in such detail with you all. And when those aspects become more difficult, it affects the rest of my life, including my fitness.

When I don't see the progress that I want to in my body and my health, I go through this cycle of self talk. "NO! no no no no no no. Crap. What is going on? What did I slip up on. Where was I inconsistent? I don't, CAN'T, go back to where I was before. I promised myself. I made a commitment to be better. Healthier. Happier. More confident. I KNEW I couldn't do this.. This was a dumb idea. All I'm ever going to be is fat and unhealthy. Why bother.....

BECAUSE I am worth something. I AM healthier. I AM happier. I AM more confident. I forget often that SLOW progress is still progress. I am working on stopping the negative self talk. Changing your life is NOT a cut and dry process. There are ups and downs, struggles and triumphs. I WILL NOT GIVE UP!

With tomorrow being the first, I have listed out my goals, as well as the steps I need to take to make the goals a reality. I am kicking things up a notch and am throwing out my excuses. I am RECOMMITTING to putting myself first. I am recommitting to this incredible and infuriating process.

xo

Erika

The 3 Day Refresh | Review and Results

SOOOOOO.. The long awaited results and I spaced on hitting publish. Better late than never right? Here we go...

Going into the 3 Day Refresh, to say I was nervous was a bit of an understatement. But I absolutely LOVED it.

Who is the 3 Day Refresh for exactly? I think that anyone who has hit a plateau, wants to dive head first into clean eating, wants to drop some vacation bloat, has some sort of event coming up, or just needs a quick detox and reset  would benefit MOST from this program.

What do you eat on the 3 Day Refresh? You eat REAL food. You get to chew!! I know that sounds odd, but I know that I COULD NOT go three days just drinking. In addition to the yummy food (that also happens to be vegan friendly should you choose) you get to drink yummy shakes. Here's a photo of what I got to eat. It is A LOT of food! If you want more in depth about my day to day experience, go read my daily recap posts :)

When should you start your 3 Day Refresh?

I chose to start mine on Sunday. This way I knew while I was getting the hang of it, I didn't HAVE to go anywhere. When I do this again, I will most likely start this on Friday morning, so over the weekend, I don't eat crap out of boredom, or just because the people around me are. Whenever you want to start, you should start. Just take your routine into consideration. Do you and family plan to go out? Are you able to bring the food with you and eat it when you're scheduled to? It is different for EVERYONE. Do what works for YOU. 

Where can you get this AMAZING beauty? 

Just go here: 

http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/BCP3D160?referringRepId=366613

Or you can add me on facebook.com/erikakamezaki or email me at erika.kamezaki@gmail.com if you have questions or want more info :)

Why should you choose do the 3 Day Refresh instead of those other 'cleanses'?

The 3 Day Refresh is fantastic because you get to eat ALL DAY LONG. You're not eating huge heavy meals, but trust me. You won't need them. One of the biggest lessons I learned from doing this, is that my MINDSET is my biggest obstacle. It's now a little over a week after I completed my 3 Day Refresh, and I am STILL feeling great. I am eating more veggies because over the 3 days I taught my body that I can be full with proper portions and I can have veggie based meals and be satisfied. Am I eating this healthy all the time? NO. I had pizza the night after I was finished. It's all about BALANCE.

What results have I had with the 3 Day Refresh?

I lost 4.5 pounds in 3 Days with the Refresh. OVER 4 pounds in 3 DAYS!! all while eating real food, feeling full, feeling satisfied and learing A LOT about myself. I'd say this is a winner. This is a holy grail program for me. Now, I did get my period between day one and two. This may have screwed up my results some, because I normally bloat when I first get my period. BUT. I had some pretty fantastic results. And the BEST part? Without significant effort, I was able to carry on with a lot of these healthy habits, and was able to CONTINUE TO LOSE WEIGHT! In a week, I lost 6.3 pounds. INSANE!

Total weight loss and inches lost: I lost 4 and a half pounds in 3 days!! 3 days afterwards, I was down a total of 6.3 pounds! Thank you healthy habits ;)

How does your clothing fit? I had to get rid of a pair of leggings because they are too big! NON-SCALE VICTORY BABY!

Sleep: When I eat healthy balanced meals I sleep GREAT. I am more rested, I don't wake up as often, and the boyfriend reports less tossing and turning. 

Peak moment of the experience: SO MANY ah-hah moments! I learned so much about what emotional triggers I had that drove me to food, about how to fuel my body better, how FREAKIN' important it is to figure out if you're actually hungry or just bored/emotional

Pit moment of the experience: Reflecting on my past. Realizing all the times where I could've made a healthier decision, where I had a 'pivotal decision' to make, and I made the unwise one. BUT I learned. That's what matters, right?

Cravings: I have seen a HUGE decrease in my cravings for specific foods. It's so WEIRD feeling myself start to relate to food differently. I am starting to more easily see it as nourishment and not a treat or reward

Emotional state: Happy, proud, optimistic, and hopeful for the future.

Most looking forward to: Taking the skills and lessons that I've learned and applying them daily. It is a decision EVERY time for me. And it's slowly getting easier. 

xo

Erika

The 3 Day Refresh | Day 3 Recap

Today was the last day of my 3 Day Refresh. I woke up, had some water, and an hour later had some Chocolate Shakeology with strawberries again. There's something about having chocolate with strawberry that just makes it taste like a treat. I don't think I could ever get tired of this one.

I decided to have the optional morning tea this morning, and sweetened it with skinny girl's liquid stevia(Yes, it's a real brand) 

Lunch was a Vanilla Fresh with nutmeg and cinnamon, along with celery, hummus, and half of an orange. I COULD have and SHOULD have gotten a bigger variety of fruits and veggies. I ran out of certain ones not living alone. However, I still really enjoyed this. And yep. Totally spaced on taking a picture of the Vanilla Fresh I was drinking while taking THIS photo:

I decided to forgo my afternoon tea, so the next time I ate was at dinner. I mixed the Coconut Steamed Veggie recipe with the stir fry one. I took the spices from the stir fry and used them with cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots. Delish. I DID NOT want my last Vanilla Fresh. I wasn't hungry, and honestly I finally hit the point of wanting some variety in my diet. I'm looking forward to getting some meats and dairy back in my diet, but nervous as well. 

Total weight loss and inches lost: 3.5 pounds down. Final weigh in will be in my next blog post 'what happens after the 3 day refresh?'

How does your clothing fit? My shirts feel looser over my stomach, and my legs feel slimmer

Sleep: Slept like a freakin' log. I didn't wake up ONCE. That is a miracle for me. Add this to the list of ah hah moments to be delved into with my next post.

Peak moment of today: 3.5 pounds down is pretty great, but beyond that, the change I have in my mentality is PHENOMENAL. It's just crazy how much I've learned.

Pit moment of today: I've worried about what will happen after these three days are over. Some SERIOUS personal development to come guys!

Cravings: Pizza. Mostly just pizza.

Symptoms: I felt fine today. I felt pretty good until dinner. I wasn't hungry, but managed to eat. I KNOW I'm eating at a severe deficit and NOT eating would do my body more harm.

Emotional state: Optimistic, exicted, and had some pretty serious ah hah moments. I have learned so much, and feel refreshed(<- too far? ;) )

Most looking forward to: Seeing the final tally tomorrow morning, and talking about everything that I've learned. This experience has been rewarding, but I think the best has yet to come of it. I'll be doing my final video and blog post tomorrow about what happens AFTER the 3 Day Refresh. Check 'em out!

xo

Erika

Do you want to know more about the 3 Day Refresh? Find me on facebook. www.facebook.com/erikakamezaki, or send me an email at erika.kamezaki@gmail.com and let's chat

Don't want to wait? Buy the 3 Day Refresh here:

http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/BCP3D160?referringRepId=366613

The 3 Day Refresh | Day 2 Recap

Full disclosure, this is one of those TMI type posts. I woke in the middle of the night with my period. Normally, I need to take Midol through the first few days. Today was NOT fun without it. Getting my period COMPLETELY throws my body off track so I'm nervous to see what results I'll get.  Anyhow, let's get into it.

I woke up, chugged some water and weighed myself. Down 2.4 pounds! This was EXCITING. 

For breakfast I had some Chocolate Shakeology and 12 medium strawberries. This was VERY filling.

Dropped the kiddo off at daycare then off to South Shore Plaza. Walking through the food court was HORRIBLE. I wanted EVERYTHING. I couldn't resist Teavana though. The woman behind the counter made me a blend of teas, unsweetened. I, of course, spaced on taking a photo of the actual tea, but managed this blurry beauty.

Home and time for lunch. Carrots, hummus, half a banana, and some Vanilla Fresh. I blended half of my banana serving into my Vanilla Fresh in hopes that it would be thicker. No such luck. I guess I should've thrown the whole thing in. WAIT. IDEA!!!! I can put my healthy fat of avocado in my Vanilla Fresh. It thickens Shakeology, why not Vanilla Fresh? 

Afternoon snack was celery and hummus. This was perfect. Not to heavy, but satisfying. As today went on, I noticed myself less hungry than yesterday. The food cravings are purely out of habit I think. Food addiction is no joke folks. I sat down with some water, because I was DEFINITELY not drinking enough.

Dinner was the same as yesterday. I planned on trying a new recipe, but the Coconut steamed veggies were SO good last night. It will definitely become something I make frequently after these three days are over. The veggie broth filled me up so much so that I did NOT want my second Vanilla Fresh of the day. BUT, I promised myself I'd stay on plan, so I drank that too. 

Total weight loss and inches lost: 2.5 pounds gone!

How does your clothing fit? My pants feel looser around my thighs, and my shirts feel looser around my tummy...I haven't measured yet but hopefully this means a loss in inches

Sleep: Woke up to discover I'd started my period. After that I was woken a couple times by my kiddo. But I felt VERY rested. I went to bed at 11:40 and woke up around 7, and felt like I'd slept enough (this never happens)

Peak moment of today: Feeling FULL and not wanting to finish dinner. This PROVES that I can be satisfied with healthier foods and portions (MAJOR aha moment!)

Pit moment of today: Walking through the food court at the mall and having to take my hand back from reaching for the chicken sample the Japanese place was offering, and doing the same thing again with the sweetened black tea at Teavana.

Cravings:  Milk, and tortilla chips..and Japanese food...and earl grey tea. Beyond those, I've just been wanting more of the foods I've been eating. Oranges, Bananas, Celery...It's freakin' weird..

Symptoms: My period symptoms were worse than usual in the morning than the normally are. By mid day I felt fine. This is incredible. I will definitely be using healthy eating as a way to FEEL better. I can't remember the last period where I felt this comfortable(apart from this morning) on day one. I am really sleepy again too.

Emotional state: Optimistic, exhausted, excited, hungry.

Most looking forward to: Seeing some freakin' fantastic results, being able to say that I made it through the 3Day Refresh

xo

Erika

Do you want to know more about the 3 Day Refresh? Find me on facebook. www.facebook.com/erikakamezaki, or send me an email at erika.kamezaki@gmail.com and let's chat

Don't want to wait? Buy the 3 Day Refresh here:

http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/BCP3D160?referringRepId=366613

The 3 Day Refresh | Day 1 Recap

I went to bed last night extremely nervous about starting the 3 Day Refresh this morning. I woke up a few times, and got up around 7:10. I had my 10 ounces of water, and got my kiddo up. I then went to my phone and set alarms for when I needed to be eating and drinking everything. What I didn't take into account was the time it would take to consume these. So as the day went on, as I finished something, I'd set the next alarm forward. The upside? I know my alarm system is perfect for tomorrow.

Breakfast consisted of a cup of diced watermelon (Yum!) and some good ol' chocolate Shakeology. They recommend having breakfast within an hour of waking, so this was around 7:50. I blended my Shakeology with water and ice, but I missed the milk I usually use. To kind of make up for that, in went some pure vanilla extract. I usually have Shakeology for breakfast anyways, so this meal didn't feel too much different. Combine my Shakeo with the fruit? I was FULL.

9:30am, I got my morning tea. Just some organic green tea with some liquid stevia. I am not a huge green/ herbal hot tea fan. I'm an earl grey girl all the way, but it did help to fill me up. I noticed myself feeling hungry thirty minutes after breakfast. I don't know if this was in anticipation for the rest of the day. 

10:40 ish, and it was morning snack time. Let me tell you, I was NOT excited to try the Fiber Sweep drink. I heard many a dissatisfied review from my friends. I knew that I NEEDED this cleanse though, so into my Nutribullet it went. In the time it took me to take a photo of this delightful concoction, it had begun to thicken already. Note to self for the next few days: blend it with more water, screw the picture, get it down ASAP. The consistency was the only off-putting thing about it though. It tasted like lemon water to me. It would not be my drink of choice given the option, but it's ONLY three days.

I waited until 12:20 ish to have lunch, still nervous that I'd be hungry. This included my first Vanilla Fresh Drink, along with 2 medium stalks of celery, hummus, and half of a large orange. This was my favorite meal of the day. I would have NEVER guessed that celery and hummus was something I'd look forward to. 

 

My afternoon snack ended up being sometime after 2. I had a cup of sliced cucumber, and 2 Tbsp of hummus. Delightful.

For my afternoon tea, I decided to ice it. SO much better this way. It was nice to drink with my food. I did forget about my tea halfway down, so this pushed my dinner til about 7

Dinner! Coconut Steamed Veggies. Can you say yum?! Not a huge fan of veggie broth, kinda tastes like boiled carrots to me, but a cup is not a big deal.

You do get a second Vanilla Fresh for the day with dinner. I chose to have that a little later as dessert. It worked out well because SOMEHOW, I felt full with just some veggies and broth.

Evening Tea was optional, and I didn't really want it, so I decided that water would be enough. I can always have it later should I change my mind.

Throughout the day, you NEED to be drinking a lot of water. I've been getting better about drinking AT LEAST half my body weight in ounces, but man did I chug it down today. I didn't track past 4 of my shaker cups of water (100 ounces), which is a significant amount of water for me, and BOY was I paying for it in bathroom trips :) 

Total weight loss and inches lost: I took my starting weight and measurements. I weigh myself in the mornings so we'll see tomorrow!

How does your clothing fit? No changes noticed

Sleep: Last night I tossed and turned as I always do. I think I woke up two or three times, and it took a short while for me to fall back asleep

Peak moment of today: Realizing that I LIKE celery...What?!

Pit moment of today: Watching the boyfriend eat tortellini stuffed with sausage..and have the whole house smell like delicious sausage. And not being able to have any.

Cravings: Cookies, roasted potatoes, tortellini, milk, and tortilla chips. I don't know if these were cravings so much as me thinking about what foods I want to eat after these three days.

Symptoms: I felt hungry between my meals, but not so much so that it got in the way of my day to day activities. As I write this, I have a slight headache. Detoxing is NOT FUN people.

Emotional state: Optimistic, exhausted, excited, hungry(I found an emotional trigger for my unhealthy eating habbits. Hurrah!)

Most looking forward to: Seeing some freakin' fantastic results, being able to say that I made it through the 3Day Refresh

xo

Erika

Do you want to know more about the 3 Day Refresh? Find me on facebook. www.facebook.com/erikakamezaki, or send me an email at erika.kamezaki@gmail.com and let's chat

Don't want to wait? Buy the 3 Day Refresh here:

http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/BCP3D160?referringRepId=366613

A Bombshell In Progress

Let me preface this post by saying I AM FREAKING TERRIFIED TO POST THIS PHOTO. I wear clothing that hides the areas of my body that I'm not happy with, and 'accidentally' forget sunscreen so I can swim with a t-shirt to hide my torso, yet here I am, posting pictures of me in my underwear on the INTERNET. BUT, after a long and heartfelt chat with a close friend, and HOURS of soul searching and personal development, I've decided WHO CARES.

I am a mom- I have stretchmarks. 

I am a junk food lover- I am overweight. 

I am a work in progress- Progress is progress no matter how small. 

I am not perfect- I eat cheeseburgers and cookies more than I should.

I've tried starving myself, I've tried the fast five diet, I've tried that INSANE lemonade cleanse from Dr. Oz. I've tried weight watchers. I've tried a LOT of UNHEALTHY options. I've tried to exercise more and eat healthy foods, but that didn't last. I had no support. Sure weight watches has meetings, but eating smaller portions of crap food and counting points is NOT something that is healthy nor is it something I want to do for the rest of my life. But then I found challenge groups.

I found a group of women who had gone through incredibly similar struggles, and who were there to support me through EVERY SINGLE STEP of my process. When I fail, they are there to encourage me to put it behind me and keep going. When I succeed, they are there to celebrate. I used to focus on the number on the scale. While that IS something I need to pay attention to, it's not ALL I should focus on. These pictures are proof. No editing or blurring them out. No filters (though I REALLY wanted to use them, believe me). They are just me. Authentically, apologetically me.

There are SO many people that have lost more weight in less time. And that used to drive me nuts!(still does a bit, if I'm being honest) But this is MY journey. MY project. I've mistaken slow progress for no progress in the past. I'm still working on me, but these photos? These are what makes all the late night workouts and turned down cookies worth it. I'd rather be covered in sweat in front of T25, than covered in clothes at the beach.

Pour your heart and soul into EVERYTHING you do, and you will find ANYTHING is possible. If I can do it, you can too. And as nauseous as I am thinking about hitting 'publish', if this helps even ONE person, then it'll be worth it. Email me if you want to change your life, share my story if you know someone who will benefit from it.

xo,

Erika