Monday, January 30, 2012

Still here, still juicin'

Juicing is boring...I mean once you get the hang of it you just do it and then thats it.

Not much to really talk about sadly!

I have decided to switch to all greens for the main part of my meals--I drink 4 times and will only drink a fruit juice 1 time a day. I think I am drinking too much sugar--even though its natural the greens tend to speed up and cleanse me faster so i am trying that this week.

exciting I know!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Day 16 (I think)

Pros :

  • I have lost 20 pounds -- and still have my boobs (so far) which was my main worry
  • People tell me daily how I have lost weight - awesome!
  • I sleep better than I have in years
  • My period -- the vile most painful 7 days of every month lasted 3 days with no cramping whatsoever--seirously I have not gone without eating Midol like candy that one week a month EVER in my entire adult life
  • My skin is pretty fresh and glowy
  • I have tons of energy-so much so that I don't even feel like taking my nap (I am a big napper every chance I get)
  • I have not been feeling depressed since juicing--I battle with depression. Not the {"I am going to kill myself" type--more the "I dont want to leave my house" type)
  • and probally a few more things I am forgetting have all been the positives
Cons:
  • I am bored.
Bored not at only eating/drinking juice but just bored because this isn't challenging anymore. Maybe its because I dont live a life full of distractions --no kids, no husband--so its just me doing what I want to do when I want to do it so I dont have to suffer through making meals for my family or running the kids here and there. I just wake up and juice, drink, drink at lunch, come home and juice, maybe go to the store to grab something I ran out of , juice again, go to bed.

Boring.

I think I have to set some sort of new challenge this week.What I do not know.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Gym or bust!

SO tomorrow I am back to the gym 5 days a week. The weather is supposed to be nicer which means my "its too cold and my bed is warm and toasty" excuse will no longer work.

I actually MISS the gym ---I love working out. I know for sure my weight loss will be more dramatic when I get back into my routine.

Oh and yes..I weighed myself and I have lost 22 pounds in 15 days :)


15 days down and 45 days left. Doesn't seem that unbearable :)

Thursday, January 19, 2012

hunger

today I am actually hungry
i think its because I didn't get a chance to drink my breakfast completely

add to that the smell of bbq chicken that someone just nuked at work and my stomach is rumbling.

I can not wait to get home today to get my juice on!

Day 11 and still rocking and rolling!

Not too much new to report.

Maybe I will get around to taking some after pics so I will post my before and afters eventually.

I think I am up to 17 lbs lost.

Yay! But Seriously I will be excited when I see 50 less pounds :)

Started getting into the habit of cutting my morning veggies (I switched off to drinking a greens drink) and my afternoon fruits the night before, sticking them in chilled (in the freezer) bowls and covering them in plastic wrap so the following morning my juicing only takes 10-12 minutes. Time saver for sure.

I have been trying to get to the gym this week but that has been a fail JUST because I go at 4:45am and it has been like 30 degrees outside. If its between 30 degrees and my toasty bedroom well I will stay curled up.

Got to get into the gym though since 1. I am paying for it and 2. My weight will come off faster.

Oh cold weather you are killing me!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

For the week ahead

I went grocery shopping yesterday since I had the day off to stock up for the week. I love how fruit and veggies are so bright and inviting.

Although I used to feel the same way about the glowing orange from cheese puffs I have to say that oranges definately make me feel better!




The Best Part of Being on A Juice Detox/Fast

is that only after 10 days people are noticing I have lost weight :)

I am 6'1" so for people to notice I am skinnier it means I have lost more weight than I thought I have.

HOORAY !!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Seven Days !!

Milestone #1 is done and done!

Even though I haven't had  my dinner yet its day 7 and I made it one week !!

Who rules? That would be ME!


Breakfast was that frozen drink that finally dethawed in the fridge. Note to self---strawberries when juiced get ungodly sweet if they sit around so drink them asap!

Lunch/snack was a large Jamba Juice of strawberries /oranges and bannas with ice . Those things are filling and although I didn't want to drink a smoothie I was starving and needed to eat something and JJ was my best bet.

Tonight I will dine on my greens and call this week a done deal :)

Friday, January 13, 2012

Six..Six Days of Juicing...ha ha ha


This morning I juiced my
green grapes
pears
red apples
strawberries
carrots

for my lunch

shoved the bottle of juicy goodness into the freezer to add a little more chill before I went to work,

juiced my
tomatos
celery
lemon
dash of black pepper

for my breakfast of "man I would love to have vodka in this!" ghetto bloody mary, guzzled it all up,grabbed my stuff, went to the bus, and realized

I FORGOT MY LUNCH!!! In the freezer!!

Sweet baby jesus--looks like I will be dethawing and drinking/eating juice mush for a snack tonight.
To make it through the day I could of went to Jamba Juice which is like  a 10 minute walk or I could do what I have been doing to get my over  the "am I hungry? that smells good--do I want food?" thoughts--I am chewing gum.

As long as you do not swallow it sugar free gum really helps in a pinch to give your mouth something to do besides wonder

I could walk down to jamba juice but in all honesty I look at this as another test of my endurance. What's a few hours and a growling stomach?? (yes it was loud!) I can do this..I can drink water and wait to "eat".


and I will......


LATER...

when I walked in my apartment and realized that my juice in the freezer was..uh..frozen...I went to work cutting up a double batch of my greens for my after work and dinner concoction.

I was pretty hungry by this time (5:45pm) so that double batch didn't take long for me to consume!

Tomorrow is going to be my first big hurdle on my quest for a better me...

ONE WEEK OF JUICING!

I can't wait to hit that mini milestone!!



Thursday, January 12, 2012

DAY FIVE!!

I know I need more photos but in all honesty I am using this as more of a personal journal than anything else. I want to stay motivated so this is helping for sure.

DAY FIVE!!

Can I just tell you how damn proud I am of myself?? Last night I baked cookies for a co-worker and had no desire to eat ANY. Thats amazing! I am a great baker if I do say so myself :) 

My phantom hunger pains are gone
I no longer dream of food
I dream instead of losing even more weight because today I weigh 11 pounds less!! Holla !

You can tell in my face and my waist for sure. I can tell based on my energy level and how my clothes are starting to fit.

Last night for an after work meal I swung by my local grocery store and picked up some pears.
I can not believe how good pears taste juiced!

My drink was a "kitchen sink" of strawberries, raspberries, red apples, pears and carrots and once I served it over ice (cocktail shakers DO come in handy for non-alocholic beverages I learned) it was fabulous.

I also have successfully gotten into the habit after only 2 days of cutting up all my breakfast and lunch fruits/veggies the night before and then storing them in a chilled mixing bowl covered with a wet paper towel in the fridge so they are ready to go in the morning. What was taking me like 25 minutes is now cut down to 10 and that leaves plenty of time to get ready and get to work like I like.

I can not believe I have made it 5 days!!! This really isn't so hard once you get the hang of it. I can not wait to see where I am on day 10!!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Day 4 - Yippee!

So I made it over the 3 day hurdle and am in the juice zone now :)

Yesterday I stayed home from work because in all honesty my stomach hurt and I was exhausted.

A good sleep in (I am generally up at 4:45am to go to the gym so I woke up at 9:30am) really helped.

I also swung by the store and picked up a big bag of navel oranges so after a huge glass of freshly squeezed oranges mixed with strawberries mixed with apples mixes with a bit of ginger I was bouncing off the walls with energy.

After realizing how time consuming washing/slicing/juicing can be in the a.m. I decided to cut all my lunch fruit last night and kept it in a chilled bowl covered with a damp paper towel in the fridge. By doing so this morning I cut my juice time in half and wasn't rushing to get to the bus I like to catch.

All in all I feel awesome. I have more energy, my headache I had the first 2 days went away, I now can curb my appetite very well and I have gotten my juice recipes down so they taste good.

I am stoked at my self!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Lunch at work...some thoughts

Okay so it is pretty clear that I need to make a double batch of lunch juice because man did I feel HUNGRY at work before my lunch break today! Like growling stomach loud enough for my coworker to hear hungry.

I think I need to make a juice tomorrow that is on the heavier side -- going to switch to the all green drink - also to carry me through the day. I think a double batch of the less sweet juice would be perfect on Tuesday.

I am glad that the bottle I brought stayed cold and the juice tasted just as fresh as it did when I squeezed it this morning so putting it in the freezer last night was smart (yay for my big brain).

Day 2 - Juicing For Work Challenge

Today I have to go to work so this morning I juiced a combination of tomatoes/celery /lemon for breakfast. Not to get stuck with some funky thick juice like I did yesterday I mixed my drink by taking it from the glass I juiced it in then pouring it into a pitcher than back into the glass. This worked awesome and I was able to down my juice easily.

For lunch i then squeezed up a carrot/appple/strawberry concoction and sealed it up in a water jug thing a ma bob.

I kept the jug in the freezer overnight so it would be chilled thouroughly when I filled it today..I think it was pretty cold still by the time i got to work so I am hoping for the best at lunchtime.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Day 1 FINAL MEAL! I made it :)

Yay! I made it through the whole day with ONLY drinking juice and I am super proud of this!
Every day is going to be a challenge for me but I know I can do it if I just go 1 day at a time.

If I make it 60 days fantastic! If I made it less I am not going to be hard on myself. Not eating solid food and only drinking your meals is going to be a challenge for me no matter how I mentally approach it.

I just know that every day is one day closer to my ultimate goal.

My final meal was a bit...spicy.

I added in a jalapeno to my greens and it was just too strong. I juiced together:

jalapeno
1/2 lemon
kale
spinach
2 green apples

and I think I could of been ok with just half a jalapeno so I will change it up next time.

Here is my faux salad before I sent it into the juicer:

Tomorrow comes my next challenging...juicing and going to work.
I do go to Starbucks a few times a week for iced tea--I guess if I get that unsweetened it follows the herbal tea allowed rule to the fast so I can probally still do that if I want. I have to say that I hate unsweetened iced tea so I will most likely skip Starbucks for the next few weekes.
Also I hardly ever eat out -and if  I do its pretty much only going to Subway which is healthy anyways--so it will be easy (I think) to not eat eat at work. I generally bring Healthy Choice meals that average around 260 calories (thats how i buy them--by calorie) so without those at work I really won't be tempted to eat anything else.

I will report tomorrow :)

Day 1 Meal 3

I just got up from a 2 hour nap. Its 5:25pm and I don't know if I napped because I can already feel the affects of the all natural sugars/detoxing or if it is because its Sunday and I love to nap :)

I figured 4 drinks today would equal out to my recommended minimum 32 oz of juice but honestly I need to find a better glass that has some measurement to it.

I have to say that I am not hungry ---although I have thought about food--so my juicing has kept me feeling full which is great. I also don't keep ANY food in the house (well unless you think mustard is considered food) so I have no concerns about cheating because I am bored and feel like eating.

For my 3rd drink of the day I combined
red delicious apples
carrots
strawberries


Although super good (must be the apples--they are nice and juicy) I think the combo strawberries & raspberries was a bit sweet so next time one or the other I think.

My final meal of day 1 will be the super leafy green drink. I have to admit I am a bit concerned about the taste of that guy so I saved it for last.

We shall see....

Day 1 Meal 2

So I don't plan on being able to update what I eat picture by picture every day for the next 60 but I will try to update as much as I can .

For lunch I had pretty much the best fruit/veggie drink I can ever remember having.

Apples-2 red delicious
Carrots - 4 medium sized
Strawberries-half a container


YUM!! 

Day 1- So it begins!!

Day 1 - Yay!
After sleeping in  (thanks to my annoyingly needy cat it wasn't for as late as I had hoped though) I jumped out of bed to open my present to myself:
Behold the already assembled out of the box brand new shiny juicer :)

Even though it was already assembled I am glad I took it apart to clean before using or else I would of missed removing this cardboard disc from the blade:

Washed and ready breakfast would be a ghetto bloody mary with just lemon, tomatoes and celery:

I am lucky because my kitchen counter is higher than that of this built in wall unit I have in my eating area which made it a perfect height differential to fill this tall glass I plan to use:

Yay! It works!
My first juicing yielded more juice than could fill the glass so I had to pour into the pitcher than repour into the glass so it didn't overflow.
The machine gets pretty messy on the inside what with all the pulp. I think they say you can put a plastic bag inside the collection container to reduce some mess but it wasn't really that big of a deal.
I was happy to see this little booklet of juice recipes. I have some ideas for my next shopping trip.

Meal 1 thoughts:

 More lemon I think would be better. The drink gets thick if it sits for a minute so stirring is needed--maybe more lemon would reduce this a tad.

The juice was good and filling overall. I can see myself drinking it with no problem many times in a row.

Unfortunately the only problem I see taking on this challenge is lack of support.
I haven't told that many people about my goals but the few I have told have been very doubtful and not supportive at all.
I think , although pretty shitty, is a great motivator for me.
I can and I WILL succeed. Just to show em!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

T-Minus 24 hours.....

      January 8th...that's tomorrow...that is the day that I have designated to begin on what will most likely be one of the most challenging / rewarding journeys of my 33 years. Speaking of 33 that is partly why I am doing a 60 day juice fast. I turn 34 soon...as in 65 days from today I will be hitting my next birthday and in all honesty I don't want to feel like shit anymore. I made resolutions for this year--no more fast food/no soda (even though I dont partake in either very often I still have deleted it from my life completely) go to the gym 3 days a week minimum , but I need to do more. I need to detox--I need to revamp my eating--I need to have ENERGY! I have so much I want to do but the energy levels I have to do the things I want  doesn't exist. I am not sure why I am plagued with the energy levels of a 70 year old but it really has to stop and a juice fast sounds like just the trick to bring my mind and body together on the same page. Of course I know another  end result of this fast is also going to be weight loss and seeing as how I would love to lose quite a bit of weight (like 100 lbs) that doesn't hurt either. Sure I am 6'1" and curvy but lets be honest..I want to be in better shape and if I could feel my hip bones then BONUS!

So tomorrow I begin on 60 days to a better me....and today I prepped so I will be ready to take the first step and so I would have no excuses to getting started.

First stop this morning was a trip to Target to check out and to purchase the most important kitchen appliance needed for my 2 month adventure-the juicer.
I chose a Jack La Lanne Power Juicer that seems to come with decent reviews and even though he is dead I remember meeting Jack years ago when I worked for a health club and he seemed pretty decent--why not support him post mortum?


Is it odd to say that I was excited to blow my parent's pretty generous Christmas present gift card on a juicer?? Well I was!

So for less than $20 out of pocket I have a brand new juicer that will undoubtly rock out some bad ass juice combos for me :)

Next stop was the grocery store. Now I live in an area with a high quality farmer's market--pretty much the best market in a 50 mile radius which means that although I could probally have found somewhat better quality produce than what a grocery store offers I was not in the mood to fight crowds just to get some better kale. Also the grocery store is right next to Target so I figured my intial shopping trip could begin at  the grocery and then next week I can check out the farmer's market and see where I can get the best bang for my buck.

Pac N Save (which is sister to Safeway if you are familiar with that store) actually has a huge selection of produce. I was able to buy all this (and about double what I have shown) for less than $90.00.

Thanks to Makisha and her supreme scanning skills I also got a $10.00 coupon to use before January 15 so all in all I spent $80 on enough fruits/veggies to last me a good part of the week. 


My diet will be 4 32oz glasses of juice everyday (minimum) so A LOT of veggies/fruits are going to be neccessary for 28 "meals".

My shopping list included:
lemons
cucumbers
spinach
fuji apples
granny smith apples
kale
jalapenos
tomatoes
celery
carrots
strawberries
raspberries

If you take $80 and divide it by 28 meals that will come out to appx $2.86 for each meal so that sounds pretty sweet and is even less than what I pay for all the "healthy" microwave meals I live off of for lunch and dinner.

So I got the juicer and I have the food to stick in it. The only thing that I may still have to buy is some sort of sealed container to take my juice to work in. If I go to the gym in the a.m., juice before I go to work I will need something to eat/drink at work so I will have to figure out how to keep my drink fresh until lunch. I will juice when I get home--go to the gym again and then juice before I go to bed.

I have to confess that I am REALLY excited to get my juice on. I am excited to start this Juicin' Journey and to begin feeling better about myself physically and mentally. Its going to be a tough 60 days but I KNOW I can do it.

Until tomorrow.........