Poor Little Chunky Monkey!
Our poor little dog, Chunk, somehow pulled his nail out! At first we didn't notice cause he wasn't whining or hiding, he just kept licking his paw!
But then we noticed his bloody paw and his paw prints into the house! Paul and I grabbed him in a panic, but got things under control with the trusty first aid kit. His paw is bandaged up real good, and luckily we still had his cone!
Chunk seems to be fine, and was super excited to get some peanut butter cookie treats for being such a good sport with his bandaged paw and cone! Paul will be checking in with the vet today to make sure he's ok!
Keep Chunk in your thoughts that he'll be running around soon!
Phase II: Metabolic Reset Begins
Paul and I started the Metabolic Reset program today, and we couldn't be happier! It's the first time we have had eggs in over a month! YUMMM!
So here's how it goes, we begin higher calories, 1200 for me and 1300-1500 for Paul. In the program manual there is a list of all the foods to eat freely, those to limit, and those to avoid at all cost. Kelly, the nutritionist at Optimum Health, has decided to start our first week without dairy and then we can start to add that in during week two.
So here is the overall daily consumption guidelines:
- Three to Four Proteins daily, 4 oz per meal (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and a small snack) - All lean meats still, but we are able to obviously add in eggs, salmon, tuna, turkey and others as we see fit!
Two Plant Fats daily - You can get this from Avocado, Pecans and Almonds, Salad Dressings (with olive oil), and Coconut Oil, etc.- Four to Six Servings of Vegetables daily - This ranges from salad lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, to celery, cabbage, tomatoes and so much more! Sticking mostly with items that are low on the glycemic index.
- Two Servings of Fruit - We get a wider variety, but still need to stay away from things like bananas and watermelon, etc. But we can have honey-dew melon and cantaloupe which I love!
We can now consume alcohol! FINALLY! We cheated a couple of times on HC3 and while it didn't cause us to gain, it definitely set us back on the weight loss. So it's not something to go hog-wild with, but it's not going to hurt us! The best alcoholic options are:
- Wines: - Anything Dry! The Dryer the better... Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet, maybe Pino Grigio... etc.
- Liquor: Best option is Vodka - Martinis, Vodka and Club Soda with Lime and even Flavored Vodkas are ok!
- NO BEER! Well it would have to be a treat, but Paul is not allowed to consume Gluten, so it looks like we will avoid beer, but we could try Red Brick Ale, if he must have beer...
After the first week, we can start to add in dairy! Only one serving per day... I LOVE Milk, so I will be getting my skim milk on, but we can also have cheese (low-fat, and non-processed). Kelly said low-fat string cheese and laughing cow cheese are good options for a small snack, and good for protein.
So the whole point of this phase is to get our metabolism, adrenals, and pituitary stable and working to our advantage. And the food recommendations also have a point as they don't want our blood sugar to spike, which causes hunger and bad habits! See the full diagram of "the point" below!
This weekend we are headed up to the North Carolina Smoky Mountains for the Labor Day Holiday and Paul and I are looking forward to widening our meal options as well as cutting loose a bit with a few drinks! YEAH!
HC3 Trim Phase I Comes to an End
Today was our last day of the HC3 Trim program, and I have to say it has definitely been a success! We've lost a combined total of 52 lbs and 21.5 inches!!! Paul and I both feel we do have more to lose, but you'll see details about our total weight-loss, and overall inches dropped, and clearly it has worked!
We are no longer taking the hormone, and have completed the two 500 calorie days (without the hormone), and everything is looking good! We are both really excited to add things into our diet like eggs, dairy and a wider variety of fruits, vegetables, and proteins!
I'll be posting again soon with details of the Metabolic Reset Program, which will be our focus for the next three weeks. But the nice thing is, we will be back up to a normal caloric intake, we will begin exercising, and we will be able to indulge here and there in some of the things we love (including alcohol)!!! But one of the things that stuck with me from Kelly at Optimum Health is "try to just break one rule at a time..." So if we are going to indulge in something a little more fatty for lunch or dinner, make sure the other meal is lower in fat and calories. It makes sense!
So here are the before and after images and it's pretty awesome to see the change! And we expect continued loss as we begin to work out! Also check out our measurements too! The numbers tell just as much, maybe even more than the photos.
Monica's HC3 Measurements:
|
Starting Measurement |
Ending Measurement |
Total Loss |
|
| Chest |
44 |
39.5 |
4.5 inches |
| Waist |
37 |
33 |
4 inches |
| Biceps |
13 |
11.25 |
1.75 inches |
| Thighs |
25.5 |
23.5 |
2 inches |
| Weight |
157 |
137 |
20 lbs |
Paul's HC3 Measurements:
|
Starting Measurement |
Ending Measurement |
Total Loss |
|
| Chest |
48.5 |
45.25 |
3.25 inches |
| Waist |
44 |
40.5 |
3.5 inches |
| Biceps |
15.5 |
14.5 |
1 inch |
| Thighs |
26 |
24.5 |
1.5 inches |
| Weight |
244 |
212 |
32 lbs |
Congratulations to Liz and Josh! What a Beautiful Wedding!
This past weekend Paul and I were down in St. Simon's Island for a wedding! Liz (the bride) was a previous co-worker of Paul's and she asked if he would do the honor of photographing her big day. Liz and Josh were married at Villa De Suenos, a gorgeous luxury oceanfront home in St. Simon's Island. It was a beautiful estate, amazing weather, and a very sweet intimate ceremony.
We were very excited to be able to share in Liz and Josh's big day! Take a peak at some of the beautiful images from the wedding!
The location was amazing! I would love to go back for a week vaca/couple's retreat! Wouldn't that be fun!?
To see more photos check out Paul Perdue Photography!
Paul's Cranking Out Some AMAZING Artwork!
While down in the St. Simon's Island area for a wedding, Paul and I had the opportunity to tour around Jekyll Island. Neither of us had ever been before, so we thought it would be a great new place to check out! For only being seven miles long, it's definitely a photographer's dream, and has plenty more activities that would definitely bring Paul and I back again in the future!
So on to the images! I think we are going to get one blown up as a 30 x 40 for over our bed! Which do you think we should get?? See the full gallery here!
I love the
ones with the driftwood, there is a Dali feel, but they also feel so desolate, and I don't know if I want that over my bed!
The tree ones are beautiful, and you'd have to imagine them in black and white b/c that is how we would have the one for the bedroom done!
We really need a horizontal one, but I do love this one! It's got so much color and dynamic! You should definitely check out the full gallery here!
And if you are interested in purchasing prints or canvases of Paul's work contact him via his website paulperdue.com.
Hope you enjoy!
We Finally Got Our Wedding Album!
Paul and I were married on November 13th of last year. It took us a while to get our wedding album design done, but I put the deadline of Mother's Day out there and we met it! We decided to buy an album for each of our Mom's for Mother's day and they were so excited. But after spending the money on that, we really didn't want to invest in one for ourselves just yet!
But it turned out great that we waited cause, the company (Blurb.com) we use to publish our albums has come out with a "proline" with a pearl paper. I was so excited to see that and was totally ready to order it and we did! It was delivered yesterday and look look, it's WONDERFUL!
You can check out the full digital click-through of the album here...
Paul does amazing photography and just as amazing design albums! Whether or not you have him photograph your wedding or event, he could certainly design you an amazing album! Check out his photography site and albums to find out more!
Interesting Read... "What if your house was burning?..." Check It Out
Interesting Read... "What if your house was burning?..." Check It Out What if your house was burning?....
Paul's Awesome Photography in St. George Island
Following our trip to PCB, Paul and Elaine traveled to St. George Island to meet with another client, Sandy Mitchem, and network a bit. St. George Island is beautiful! Check out the images below and click here to view the full gallery!
Amazing photography Paul, you are SO talented! Love you! ;-)
Our Charleston Vaca!
We decided to take a short vaca with some friends, one because we wanted to get away, but also because we've never taken a trip with our friends Gus and Jenni and Jenni was about to be back to school (she's a teacher)! The plans seemed to be last minute, but we knew for sure we wanted to go to Charleston. Jenni and I had never been, so we were excited at the opportunity to tour this historic city!
I must say Charleston is a gorgeous city, we were there for a total of three full days, and could have stayed another three to five days and still not seen everything we would have like, but we did cover a lot! I think we walked at least five miles a day! Check out this slideshow of images that Paul took, and for the full gallery, click here.
[slideshow]
We spent a lot of time touring the Churches around the city (St. Michael's Church, Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, St. Phillips Episcopal Church, to name a few), as well as walking about the beautiful houses. The architecture around the city was amazing and I am proud of the preservation they have been able to do throughout the city.
We made a point to visit the market from end to end and even got an awesome pendant from the G2 Collection which consists of jewelry that are replicas of Gates around Historic Charleston! So beautiful! Oh and we couldn't leave without getting some of the great spices and mixes that make Charleston culinary style a true ART!
And of course we couldn't miss out on the array of awesome local restaurants, like 82 Queen, Hyman's, Fleet Landing, and Pearlz. There are definitely some awesome spots around the city, and honestly I think you could spend weeks touring the great local restaurants! It was a bit of a challenge sticking to our HC3 Trim diet, but I think we did pretty well considering!
We had a blast and I would totally recommend a visit to Charleston, and definitely plan to go back again sometime!
