Someone mentioned renewing our vows.  I don’t remember who.  And then my husband surprised me by acting interested in the idea.

“Does your wedding dress fit you?” he asked me.

“I imagine it does,” I told him, “after all, I weigh less now than I did when we got married.  He made a comment about it being flattering to him that 20 years and 8 children later, his wife still fit in her wedding dress.

But then I tried it on… and despite my lower body being smaller than ever, the upper half was not proportioned the same, and I could not zip it.  Add additional insult to my pride, hubby had been pointing out to me that even though I was thin, he couldn’t feel muscle tone, especially in the lower half.  He was suggesting, more and more often, that I start exercising.

His persistent suggestion was made out of loving concern.  Several years ago he was concerned about how my weight could lead to health problems.  He was right then of course, and he was right this time too, but I was busy and didn’t feel like figuring out how to fit exercise into my schedule.  I was becoming increasingly annoyed by his suggestion.

And then, when teaching on the Fruit of Self Control, I asked the women how they were exercising self control in the area of diet and exercise, and conviction began to seep into my heart.  Sure, my diet was impeccable.  But the exercise… Every time I became annoyed with my husband’s loving suggestion, I knew I had a heart issue.  And so I decided to kill two birds with one stone.  I would exercise, and get back into that wedding dress!!

My goal: To tone up and rebuild muscle, to target belly fat, and get back into my wedding dress by our anniversary at the end of the summer.  This gave me 3 months to reach my goal, and I would do it one 30 Day Fitness Challenge at a time!

What I did:
* 30 DAYS OF EATING LOW CARB. I have been doing this since February, but I really reigned it in and recorded what I was eating so I kept my macros where they belonged. On week three I did a 5 day egg fast to give my liver a break and turn up the burn.
Week 4 I remembered how great green tea is for flushing toxins and cellulite, so I drank a ton since I love tea anyway!

* EXERCISED 6 DAYS A WEEK (when I was not previously exercising at all). I was faithful in this!
Week One: 2 miles with Leslie Sansone, different miles to target different areas each day, but pretty consistently doing the mile for belly.
Week 2: Walked 3 miles a day with Leslie, targeting different areas each day,
Week 3: Saved Leslie for days I couldn’t get out and began walking 3 miles (4 days a week) outdoors, up and down hills.  and began doing 2 days of T-Tap, which is a 55 min. work out.
Week 4: Same as Week 3

* I drank the new Plexus Slim every morning upon waking, mixed with coconut water kefir… because:
* I’ve noticed that when I use Slim I target more fat and preserve more muscle, and muscle is what this was all about.
* It contains nutrients that aid in detox, and boy was I flushing toxins (yay!!)
* It contains yummy pre-biotics which nourish friendly gut bacteria which are foundational to immune support, mood, the manufacture of many vitamins in the gut, digestion, pH, keeping harmful bacteria and parasites under control, staying thin, and more…
* It supports my adrenals, and I’m working hard!
Oh, and I’m also taking Plexus Probio5 at night, a probiotic that also targets and cleans up the “bad” bacteria.

The result:
**My fasting blood sugar level this week was 78! Fantastic!!!**

I lost:
1/2 inch above each knee
1 inch on each thigh
1 inch in my hips
1/2 inch in the belly
1 inch in my waist

I lost 6 pounds! I totally did not expect that as I was aiming to build muscle, and it weighs more than fat!

I dropped a pant size, which I didn’t think was possible. My lower half has never been so small. Wish I could say the same about the abdomen!
Hubby can feel muscle, yay! And I can SEE muscle

And as you can see from pictures, I can zip and button my wedding dress! But as you can also see, it’s a little tight, as evidenced by the creases in the waist.

So what’s next? Another 30 days. Same diet, same Plexus products, and same basic exercise routine. I’m adding in some weights, Theresa Tapp’s flat belly exercise every morning, and some exercises to strengthen the diastasis recti.

My goals?
* To loosen that waist on the wedding dress so that it fits just right. Our kids are already planning our vow renewal.
* To continue to build and shape muscle, particularly in the arms this month. Hubby is officiating a wedding mid July. I have a sleeveless dress and want to knock his socks off!
* Continue to target that stubborn upper belly fat. That stuff is bad news. I gained with during my pregnancy with Precious #4 when I started drinking soy milk!! And by the time I realized the soy wagon wasn’t a good thing to join, it was too late for my belly. This fat contributes to the inflammatory “dis-eases”, and produces hormones I don’t want going on! So, banish the belly fat!                                                                                                       *  Increase my bone density
* Enjoy doing some thrift shopping and garage sale-ing to find some fancy pants that fit.

Taking care of my body is not only a privilege, but also my responsibility.  God gave me one body with which to serve Him.  I never want to miss out on walking into good works He has prepared in advance for me to do because I didn’t take stewardship of my health seriously.

30 more days…Who wants to join me? As Theresa Tapp likes to say, “YES, you CAN!!!”

If you would like to learn more about Plexus products and how they can help you on your wellness and fitness journey, please let me know.  I’d be happy to help in any way I can.