Fit Healthy Mama

Tonight, at 6 pm, the BES, or Body Enlightenment System, officially starts. I`ll be fasting from then until the next day. To be honest, I`m not sure I will make it the whole 24 hours. I`ve had very poor success with fasting in the past because I get too dizzy and weak, but we`ll see. It`s also All Saints Day tomorrow here in Guatemala. Which means tons of food and stuff that only happens once a year. I want to commit to the program, but I also would like to celebrate with my family, so I`m not really sure if I will choose to have a little fiambre or not.

Today, I`ve got all my course materials downloaded, it`s just a matter of printing them out. There is a workbook to fill out each day, a planner to plan and evaluate yourself at the beginning and end of the system and a fitness planner, as well as a few other odds and ends. The system includes two different meal planners. I`m going with the green one for two reasons . . . one, it`s supposed to be better for losing weight, because you don`t have all that fruit, and second, my body is craving more veggies than fruits. If things go the other way mid-way, I`ll probably incorporate more sweet fruits into my diet plan.

The system is complex, but simple to use, if that makes any sense.

Today, we hit the market in Antigua and came back with a huge amount of fresh food. There are some ingredients in the menu plan that I can`t find here, so I`m going to substitute other items. For now I have the following in my fridge:

• 12 baby zucchini
• 3 lbs fat round tomatoes
• 3 lbs strawberries
• 2 watermelons
• 2 cantelope
• 1 canary melon
• 1 papaya
• 1 lb. spinach
• 1 huge head of ruffle lettuce
• 1/2 lb garlic root
• 2 vanilla beans
• 5 huge limes
• 3 lbs onions
• 3 heads of garlic
• 2 pineapples
• 12 big carrots
• 24 bananas
• 2 enormous bunches of basil

I`ve also picked up some celery salt and a few dried herbs to spice things up. However, this isn`t all for me. While I`ll be eating a ton of fruit and veggies, so will my kids! They usually eat at least half the fruit I buy for my smoothies, so I knew to pick up extra, hence the doubling up of several items.

At the moment, I`m feeling excited and eager to begin. I know it`s going to be tough. However, I`m really tired of feeling so tired and lethargic. It`s time to get this show on the road!