*Meet Chrissy (my car:))/ReFocused

As promised with my next update I'm back to a better mindset. I finally found an affordable car thanks to my wonderful fiance and running him crazy he found me something nice. Meet Chrissy, my old school Chrysler Concorde:

A few of the reasons I had been off track were: not being able to grocery shop,get to the track and gym as I wanted because I had no car.Finding a reliable ride to work was also hard though I have to thank some of my friends who really came through for me. Needless to say though job worries can lead to stress and as I'm an emotional eater that was definitely a trigger. Still working on not turning to food for emotions but its a process.

Moving on I also took the time to go back through my posts since I started this journey last October to see what has worked and what hasn't. When I first began I chose the Fat Smash diet because it was a foundation building diet which was something I needed.

The Fat Smash Diet lays out your plan over 90 days for developing healthy eating habits and a healthy lifestyle, to promote fat loss and maintain a healthy weight.

Phase 1 – Detox (9 days)
Diet is essentially vegetarian – mainly  fruits and vegetables (raw or steamed/grilled) to absorb natural nutrients, vitamins and minerals in 4 or 5 small daily portions, 3 hours apart, with plenty of water – plus daily exercise (30 minutes cardiovascular exercise 5 days a week, or a walk after dinner for up to 25 minutes).
This  phase rids the body of toxins and impurities, developing a good basis for the following phases.

Phase 2 – Foundation (3 weeks)
Additional foods are allowed from a given list (lean meat/seafood, selected cereals and extra dairy), and  physical activity is increased by up to 15%. The eating regimen of phase 1 is maintained (strictly no meals to be skipped) including plenty of fruit and vegetables, and fried foods are a ‘no-no’.
This phase establishes good eating and exercise habits for a healthy ongoing lifestyle.

Phase 3 – Construction (4 weeks)
Yet more additional foods are allowed from a given list (such as pasta and bread), portion sizes may be increased maintaining plenty of fruit and vegetables as before, with at least 4 daily meals stipulated. 1 non-fruit dessert per day is permitted (1 scoop low fat ice cream  or 2-3 cookies or graham crackers) and physical activity is again increased by up to 25%.
This phase builds the diet plan up from the earlier ‘toning-down’ phases.

Phase 4 – The Temple (remainder of the 90 days)
Most foods previously denied may now be included in limited quantities, and physical activity set at 1 hour for each of 5 days weekly.
This  phase is  to maintain the ‘temple’ of your body, in which your lifestyle achieves a balance for maintaining your desired body weight. If your goal weight has not been reached by the end of the 90 days, phase 1 may be repeated.

I did Phase One and lost 13lbs I think, and instead of progressing to the next phase and learning the habits I basked in my loss and switched programs and since then have been up and down, so some hard lessons learned its time to get my butt in gear and really do this.

I'm about to hit up the grocery store and possibly Farmer's Market, on my list:

*Kiwis
*Fresh pineapple
*Eggs
*Greek Yogurt w/ Fruit
*Fresh Broccoli
*Diet Green Tea
*Odwalla Smoothies
*Grapes or Cherries
*Chicken Broth
*I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
*Veg All or Mixed Vegs
*Sweet Peas
*Sweet Potatoes
*Condensed Chicken Soup (for soup)
*Chik'N Nuggets (vegan)
*SoyMilk
*Simply Apple Juice
*Quaker Fruit and Cream Variety Pack
*Rice Cakes

And I'll be starting unofficially tomorrow and hope to have my FitBook by the 1st so I can begin officially, speaking of which, I'm ever the sucker for a well thought out fitness journal, unfortunately I am hardly ever able to find one that includes everything I need to track all my goals, foods, and exercises and is cute. I've wanted one of these for months now but with the $25 price tag before shipping I couldn't justify spending nearly $40 for one book if I wasn't serious. And now is the best time like none before to be serious. I ordered yesterday and it should be delivered Tuesday, right on time.