Day 2: motivated

6:20am I awoke with a severe headache.    Holy wowza it was nasty.   Slurped down a hot cup of lemon ginger water.  No help there.  Actually made me borderline nausious.  

7:00 am I had a cup of coffee and I honestly wasn't really feeling it.   It was good but not really setting well.  I gave it up and reached for my master cleanse drink and immediately started feeling better.   I think the warmth of the cayenne soothed me mentally and the headache started going away.

10:15am I made 6 boiled asparagus spears.     I am completely feeling fantastic.   My headache is gone.   I am ready for my morning walk.  Gonna hit the treadmill due to the weather being quite yucky. I am pretty sure I can hit a mile today.   Not really the walking type but we all gotta change at some point right?  Might put on the latest LOTR movie and zone while I am walking.  Haha.  Distraction always makes ya move more.

Cleanse day 1

Good morning my friends!   It is a gloomy day and I am waiting for the forecasted rain to begin.  Today is the day...    Day 1 of my cleanse.  I am ready to go.   Yesterday I made a delicious simple pumpkin/carrot soup for today.   So easy to make and very tasty.

Pumpkin/Carrot Soup

1 small baking pumpkin (about 4 cups)

3 large carrots

1 tbsp coconut oil

Spices to taste

Peel pumpkin and carrots and slice into chunks about 1 inch in size.

Add chunks and spices (I used 1 tsp parsley and 1 tsp cilantro) to 2 cups boiling water or vegetable broth and cover.

Allow to cook until they become tender but not mushy.

Turn off heat and let soak until cool.

Place all into blender and purée until smooth.  Salt and pepper to taste.

About 250 calories for 5 servings.

Okay..   So I woke up at 5am to a puppy with a tummy ache.   He was whimpering like crazy so I got up to soothe him.   Made a pot of coffee for the boyfriend who had to work early today.  I had thought about skipping my coffee fix this morning but ended up having a cup.   Tasted darn good I might add.

It is 8:43am and I am ready for my first juice.

I opted to use up some of the stock I have in the fridge before making my own juices.   Not ideal but I hate to waste it.    150 calories per bottle.   Tastes really good.   One of my favorite go to juices.  It has beet, pineapple, and apple in it.    12 ounces of Yummy!

9:53am I finished my first juice and filled the bottle up with 12 ounces of water and 1 tbsp lemon juice for flavor.  Still feeling good.   So far I am not hungry but would kill for another cup of coffee.  Lol

12:34pm just woke up from a nap with a killer headache.  Wowza!!!!   Juice number 2 is really tasty too..

Orange +carrot juice.   Orange, Apple, lemon, carrot and acerola.  Another of my go to juices.   This one is 120 calories for 5.5 ounces.  I drank half the bottle and decided to have some pumpkin soup instead.

1:02pm. Savory pumpkin soup.   Recipe is at the top of this post.

I am having 1.5 servings for 75 calories.

2:05pm  I just finished another 16 ounces of water followed by a hot cup of peppermint tea.  Slight upset tummy and the peppermint tea made it all better.  

3:22pm and my busy schedule starts.  Just had a stick of smoked string cheese.  80 calories.

I am going to be out and about for the rest of the day so I made a big bowl of salad to take with me.  I also have my master cleanse juice wih me.   See post before this one for the recipe I use.  I made this one very weak.   I made it for 8 ounce serving but used 16 ounces of water instead.   Mainly for the cayenne and flavor not calorie intake.  

6:21pm  my salad tasted sooooooo good.   I estimate it was around 210 calories.  It was spinach,kale and cabbage based with shredded carrots, onions and zucchini topped with a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil.   Salt and pepper to taste.  I drank all my master cleanse already.  That was 205 calories.   I am working on a 16 ounce bottle of water right now.   Chillin at the park.  Can't wait to get back home to the doggies....

I just realized I am way under my goal calories for the day.   Might have to make a nice juice when I get home.   Maybe a nice refreshing watermelon juice.   An almond mylk would be heavenly as well.   Hmmmmm

9:20pm.    Home sweet home...   I caved in and had an Organo Gold Mocha about 5 minutes ago.    Not on the cleanse but soooo tasty.   130 calories 

Starting weight 183.6

Calories 970

My Cleanse Pre thoughts

Good Morning to all!   I am finally over my week long sick.   Man it hit me hard.   Thankfully I am feeling much better and ready to start my day.   As I said before I am doing a modified cleanse.   This will start out with a couple weeks of pre cleansing my body and getting it ready for a drastic change.   I will spend the next couple weeks adjusting my diet to slowly eliminate unhealthy foods so my body doesn't go into shock mode.

I have learned a few things over the course of my last 2 years.   

Lesson 1:  losing weight is an addiction.  An obsession of sorts.

Lesson 2: nothing is worth making yourself miserable over.

Lesson 3: Cleansing is not the "over the top feel good" solution.  

Lesson 4: nothing is going to make your weight fall off unless you are willing to work for it.

That all said.  My modifications are tailored to fit my lifestyle and ability.  These are by no means a solution to your personal style or needs.  Do it how you choose.   I will document how I feel, what I eat, how many calories I ingest as well as my weight.  You will likely get "TMI" but what the heck..  

Now for the good stuff.   I was sadly surprised that after being sick I woke up to a sickening 184 on the scale.  Holy Crap!!!  How do you gain weight while sick?  I didn't eat much of anything.   Grrrr. Oh well. I am about to change that.  

Have any of you looked into the Master Cleanse?  Holy Cats!   That is one strict cleanse that is about 850 calories a day.  NOT GONNA HAPPEN!   Now I am going to use the juice as a filler only because I love how it tastes but strictly that..   NO WAY!  I would starve to death and be so miserable that my loves would all abandon me.

Yes..   That was my first impression of the cleanse.  Being me I just had to try it out.  Surprisingly it isn't bad.   Super easy to follow once I set myself up on a written schedule and found methods that work for me.  Those methods include a cup of coffee in the morning.  My goal was to maintain about 1250 calories a day in food and beverage.  This did not include any exercise deductions or additions.  If I wasn't determined to keep my coffee I am sure this cleanse would still be doable.  Who knows.  Here are the details of the cleanse I did.

MASTER CLEANSE

Per day limits

64 to 96 ounces of juice( recommended)

Half your body weight in water

RECIPE

8 ounces water

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp organic grade b maple syrup

1/10 tsp cayenne pepper

I like to make mine in 16 ounce batches.  If I make the whole days worth the cayenne pepper steeps and gets VERY spicy by the end of the day.   My suggestion is to either:

A: mix your lemon juice and maple syrup together in a separate container so all you have to do is shake and measure each portion. No water or cayenne to this mixture. Add those when ready to drink.  I have heard of people freezing these in cubes so all they have to do is pop a cube into their bottle. I have NOT tried this.  

B: mix your lemon juice, maple syrup and water into your bottles and add your cayenne when ready to drink.   This would be handy if you are working or out for the day.   No supplies to tote except your bottles and bottle of cayenne pepper.  I do this when we are traveling.  This is where I freeze the lemon juice.  I find I have enough juice melting as I need it.  Stored properly in a cooler it is likely to still have a frozen piece at the end of the day.   Just keep it as cold as you can. 

I really dislike drinking plain water so this is what I do to get my water in.

I use a 16 ounce bottle filled with my juice mix.  Once I drink half the bottle I fill it with 8 ice cubes equal to 8 ounces of water.   You will know when your bottle is full to the top again.   Now I have added water to my day and the juice is still good.  I drink another 8 ounces and fill it up once again with ice cubes.  By the time I am done with this I have consumed 2 servings of juice and 16 ounces of additional water.

If you are using the 2 hour clock schedule it would look like this:

8am: 8 ounces of master cleanse( first half of 16 ounce bottle then add ice cubes to the top)

9am: 8 ounces water (another first half then again fill with ice cubes)

10am: 8 ounces of master cleanse (now I just drink on this until noon)

11am: 8 ounces water (technically this is the last 8 ounces in the bottle)

Now I make a new fresh bottle of straight master cleanse and start the morning process again.

12 noon: 8 ounces cleanse

1pm: 8 ounces water

2pm: 8 ounces cleanse

3pm: 8 ounces water

Again another fresh bottle of master cleanse

4pm: 8 ounces cleanse

5pm: 8 ounces water

6pm: 8 ounces cleanse

7pm: 8 ounces water

9pm: smooth move tea( this gives you 8 more ounces of water)

This plan will give you 6 servings of the master cleanse and 7 servings of water.  This is 2 servings less than what the recommend of the master cleanse.  I use those 2 extra servings in where my hungry times are.  Usually around 2pm and 6pm.  They do recommend that you don't drink the cleanse to late in the evening or you will be up all night going potty.  You also have to save room for your nightly cleanse tea.  So..  I was surprisingly not as hungry as I was when I did the blueprint cleanse diy version. I am guessing it had something to do with the cayenne but I could be wrong.

Now on to how I plan on modifying this sucker. I find that 850 calories is sufficient for my old activity level, however, now that I am walking every day in find I need a tad more energy.  (Hence my 2pm hungry time)

I truly believe that you need more nutrients than what lemons and maple syrup can give you. Yes you can survive on it but is it really that healthy?  Unlikely.  I might sub the master cleanse drink 3 or 4 times a day with some fresh veggie juice.   I really have become quite accustomed to Joe Cross Mean Green juice so that's what I will use mostly.  There are many free recipes online to choose from.   I look for ones with minimal kale (bitter to me) and minimal beets (taste like dirt) minimal fruits (generally higher in calories).  I might even add in some vegetable soups.   Not really sure yet.   I am still in the planning stage.   I find that having a set plan allows me better success.

I did go and get my very first colonic.   Holy hell that was intense and quite uncomfortable.   I had cramping and hot flashes thru most of it.   Almost passed out once.   Ended up sniffing peppermint oil to relax me.  It was needless to say something I will NOT be doing again any time soon.   

Then I was told to try the bisacodyl stimulant that doctors prescribe for pre colonoscopys.  

The instructions say to take 1-3 pills before bed.   I took 2.    Holy hell again.   6-8 hours for results.   I took them at 9:45pm with 8 ounces of water.  I woke up at 11:45pm with the most intense cramps.  What happened to that 6-8 hour thing.   Only took 2.   I thought I was giving birth.   It was so awful I laid in the tub letting the hot shower run on me til the hot water ran out.   Then I just laid there.   I had 3 massive incidents where I was barely able to get to the toilet in time.   Soaked the bathroom in the process.  I finally got back to bed around 4am with minimal cramping.   This product definitely works but it is very painful.   I have been putting my body thru hell so I figured I had better get some help.  My nutritionist told me to get probiotics.

This is what I got.   They have to be making a difference in my system but I don't feel any difference nor has anything changed.

All of these experiments are probably not good for me but researching is what I need to do to gain knowledge.  My goal is to start my cleansing on October 1, 2014.   Wish me luck!

Day 6 and 7

Days 6 and 7 went smooth.  I incorporated some raw foods into my diet as well as a little meat, cheese and crackers.  I know those were probably not the best choices, but it was all I had to choose from.

My total weight loss those 7 days is 5.9 pounds.  Not to shabby considering I did NOT drink as much water as I should have and I did snack on almonds a few times.

I am going to have a few days of normal people eating minus the processed junk.  More Paleo than anything.  Then I will be moving on to more of a juice, smoothie raw foodish diet.  I can tell you that I feel so much better without all the junk I had been eating. 

Day 5 : Urban Remedy last day

Woke up again before the alarm.   I feel GREAT.   I have a confession.   I ate a small piece of cheese last night.  Sigh.   I couldn't help it.   Haha

6:55 am brought me a large yerba maté tea. 

9:00 am I had my first juice of the day.  What a yummy blend.  This one scores a 10.

Juice 2 was sooooo much better than the plain lemon cayenne one from yesterday.  This one scores a 8 only because I don't care for cayenne. 

Juice 3 is called Flush...  This one was a winner too..  scores a 10.  I downed this one halfway then froze it into a slushy and it was amazing that way too.

  

Juice 4 was a real treat.  I do not generally care for beets.  I dislike them immensely.  This one is pretty darn good.  Score 7

Okay Juice 5 was not horrible but not great either.  I guess I just don't like these kinds of shakes.  Kind of boring and I was really hoping for something with a smoother sweet fruity goodness.  Score 6

 

OOOOOOOO..  Juice 6 was the cashew milk.  Much nicer than the previous.  This one is really quite nice.  Mine was smooth and not lumpy at all..  Score 9

Day 4: second day of Urban Remedy Cleanse

Well...  Let me start off by saying that I woke up at 5:00am refreshed and unable to fall back asleep.  Something not normal for me at all..  down 4.3 pounds.. Not to shabby

I made my first lemon tea at 5:30am and had an additional one at 6:00am.  By 7am I was so shaky and weak that I ended up drinking about 3 ounces of the almond milk left over from day 2.  I felt somewhat better within a few minutes.  I arrived at work around 7:30am and was feeling much better and not a bit shaky.

9:00am I opened and gulped down juice 1 (same kind as yesterday).  It took me less than 10 minutes to polish off the bottle.  I was feeling tired and knew I needed juice in me.

9:30am had me feeling quite energized but unsteady and lightheaded.  I was grateful to be sitting down.  I drank some yerba mate tea and it helped a lot.

11:00am I cranked open the lemon juice 2 (again same as yesterday).   It was so much better tasting today than yesterday.  Less pulp and so much smoother that I actually liked it.  Had that gone within the hour and when I had about 2 ounces left I filled it up with cold water and slugged on that.

12:35pm..  Lunchtime...  I went home and warmed up some veggie broth just to add some warmth to my system.  I am not much of a tea drinker so this was doing to have to be acceptable..  Took away all the cold in my body (I have been super cold for 3 days).  I am feeling quite comfortable but definitely ready for juice 3. 

I get back from my lunch break to find this at work.   The whole place smells like pizza.   Wtf!  I realize that people shouldn't have to rearrange things around my eating habits, but come on.  You know that I only have a few days left so why have our pizza party now when I can't even enjoy it.  SIGH

Oh well..  I opened juice 3 and enjoyed it after putting menthol in my nose so I couldn't smell the pizza. 

It is now 5:10pm and I am skipping juice 4 from yesterday.. You know that yucky smoothie one (I will give that one to the kids)....  I am replacing it with the beet one from the Blueprint cleanse.

Day 3: Urban Remedy day

So this starts day 3.   I started my day with hot lemon water.   Woke up before my alarm at 5:45am and still feel great at 10:37am.   Broke open the first bottle of Urban Remedy juice.   A bit tart to begin with but definitely a winner..   It is so good.  Very impressed with the combination.   Definitely need to forge a recipe for this one.   Wow...

Juice number 2.   Okay.   This one is super lemony.   But way better than the lemon one from yesterday.  Still not a huge fan.  I will choke it down because I have to.  It's 11:30am and I really want and cheeseburger.  12:42pm and I still have not finished juice 2.  I am just going to slam the rest of it so I can move on..  I am way behind on my juices.

Juice number 3 was really good until the end of the bottle.  The fennel seemed to get stronger as I drank it. I managed to polish this one off quite quickly.  

3:40pm I opened Drink 4..  well.. it is more of a smoothie.  Not quite what I was expecting.  Never having Acai before I was hoping it was a sweet berry..  Nope.  This was kind of tart and well.. I am not sure how to describe it.  I didn't care for it.  Almost worse than drink 2.

Oh sweet divine drink number 5.  My all time favorite of the day..  This blend is very good.  I savored ever last drop and even added some water to it to get the rest out of the bottle.. hahaha 

It is about 8:30pm and I am starving.  I was going to just finish last nights almond milk but desperately wanted to try this one.  Drink 6 is an amazing cashew milk.  Now this is desert in a bottle.  Smooth with a bit of chunk to chew on..  I am in HEAVEN!!!!   Unfortunately there is no way I can drink this whole bottle.  My stomach has been shrinking and it is just to much.. 

I am absolutely exhausted.  No real energy today and really jut plain feeling foggy..  I am heading to bed with the hopes that tomorrow is much easier...

Day 2: Blueprint day

Wow..   I woke up this morning before the alarm.   Seems typical on a juice feast.   I was in and out of the shower and ready for work with time to sit back and enjoy a cup of tea.  I am thinking of ordering some herbal coffee replacement.   There are several different types.  

Omg!   It just dawned on me..  Today is Tuesday!!!   My cleanses will be delivered today...   Hahahaha   Totally excited to get them so I can give my personal reviews.   Wishing I had gotten the 3 day blueprint cleanse instead of only a 1 day.   But Urban Remedy is a 3 day so I will see how that goes too!.  

Ok.   I am off to get the kiddo to school.  Then on to work to patiently await the arrival of my packages.  Pictures to come...

Still patiently waiting.  It is 10am and I am drinking my first juice of the day.   My head was foggy so I did drink a cup of coffee.   Not good but tasted great.   I do not feel bad about it.   Hahaha.  I should really take this more seriously than I am.   Feasting is a great way to cleanse the body.  I have already kicked most of my cravings.   Coffee is one I am not sure I want to kick though.   I love coffee. 

This is juice 1.   Fennel is sooo amazing..  frond and all. 

I strain all my juices to decrease the pulp.   I do not like textured juice so I try to get it as smooth as I can.

My only exception to straining is mint.   I juice the mint then throw the pulp in the juice.   I like to chew mint.  Tasty!

I got a call from work letting me know I had packages so I immediately turned over my fennel juice to a friend and let her finish it.  I only drank about 3 ounces of it.  She loved it as well..  so... I am gonna go get my juices and pop one open..  Wonder how I am gonna get all 6 drank in one day.. hahaha

 

My packages arrived with a few issues.. The Blueprint box arrived perfectly fine..  The Urban Remedy box not so much.  3 of the 4 sides were split.  Slightly concerning.  However upon inspection...  Only one juice had a crushed top but seems to be fine.    

Now you will notice that I have 2 different juice 1 drinks..  That is because I ordered 2 days of the Purify cleanse and 1 day of the signature cleanse.  Slightly saddened that I did not receive a cooler bag like some others received..  hmmm

 Blueprint sent me a super cute cooler lunch bag.  Looks like it will hold 6 bottles of juice.  Love love love it!!!

 Here are my 6 Blueprint juices.  They really look yummy.  I am going to start with Blueprint and pop the top on juice 1.

Holy crap!!   This Juice 1 is AMAZING!   Very refreshing and smooth.   I do not like tart or pulpy juice and this one is neither.   All the flavors blend perfectly.   Should have ordered more of this one..  2:23pm and almost finished.

4:00pm-  Okay..  my mouth feels nasty.  I didn't bring a toothbrush and I should have.   My tongue is starting to feel all cotton like.   Really sticking gross.  I scraped it with my.spoon but even my teeth feel yucky.   Sigh

4:36pm.   Popping open the second juice.   Wowza!!!   This one is really good too..   A bit sweeter than I expected but super tasty nonetheless.  Not sure how I am going to get 4 more in me.. hahaha

 

Juice number 3 was the same as juice number 1.  

7:33pm and I still have 2 more to go.  No way I can stuff any more fluid into my body..  I am just not hungry at all..  Number 4 and isn't that great to be honest.  Lemon isn't my favorite so it is challenging to say the least.  It isn't to spicy so that is a bonus.. 

8:00pm and I am not doing well with this number 4 thing.  GROSS!!!!  I have it half gone.  It is going back in the fridge and maybe I will polish it off later.  I still have 5 and 6 to go.  Good thing I stay up late.  I have until 10pm to drink it and still manage to finish 2 hours before bedtime.

9:05pm and I am just plain stuffed.. I cannot drink anything more..  I drank half of 4, skipped 5 and drank half of 6.  OMG!!  The cashew milk is AMAZING!!!

Day 1 Juice feast not fast!

 

First let me just ask you to ignore the fact that my fridge needs a good cleaning.. hahaha

This is a couple days worth of juice made up for today and tomorrow.  I also played around with some cashew milk and almond milk.  I am starting out my feast the right way.  I am starting with some fruity juices with carrots and sweet potatoes added for my veggies.  I also discovered that labeling them with either the recipe name or the ingredients makes it super helpful when grabbing for one.  Then I am not left wondering which juice I am going to have.  I am really tired of strictly green juice so I figured I would give this a shot.   So far the fruity ones have filled me up much better than the veggies ones have.  It is 12:36pm and I have had 2- 16 ounce jars of juice and I am not even hungry.  I only had 8 ounces of water in the mix so far.  Will try to get at least 20 more ounces in today.

I wanted to try out a couple different juice cleanse plans so I ordered a 1 day cleanse from Blueprint and a 3 day cleanse from Urban Remedy.  They will both be delivered tomorrow.  I am want to try out their juices just to compare to the satisfaction aspect.  Some have reported that both those companies provide juice that seems to satisfy them better than the ones they have made at home.  I will give a review of each when they arrive.  I am having them delivered to work so I can be sure they stay cold.

I am back at work and there are so many goodies here.   Sigh!   We have inventory so there are 30 extra people all walking around with snacks that smell so darn good.   Grrrrr

Finally home..  I failed..  I snacked on some stupid oreo balls..  6 of them were eaten before I even realized I had done it.  I got sidetracked and I ate them.  sigh.. In my defense who can really resist oreo balls.. hahaha  They were good but thankfully there are no more around me.

I managed to drink 5 jars of juice today.  I am no longer hungry.   Sad that I ate those stupid things..  but...  it was a learning lesson.  While they were really super good... They didn't last long enough for me to even really enjoy eating them.  Promise to do better from here on out..  Maybe i will slice up some veggies in case I get snacky again..  grrrrrr 

I have really been struggling today.  I know I can do this but dang..  I really love food.. hahaha

I am heading to bed so the temptation of the steaks and mashed potatoes do not get me...    Goodnight to all..  Cross your fingers my cleanse juices arrive tomorrow so I can start them on Wednesday.  got plenty for tomorrow all made up.

 

FRESH DAY JUICE

Today is the fresh start to my juice fast.   One of these days I am going to succeed.   This is going to be the time.  I have the day off and will be traveling with the boyfriend so it should be pretty easy to keep my mind off food.  I will keep all my juice in a cooler bag with ice packs to keep them cold.  I also have 2- quart mason jars with fruit infused water ready to go.

 

Here is the ingredients for the Mean Green Juice from Joe Cross (I forgot the lemon and ginger in the picture)

 

This is the pulp after I was done juicing. 

2 pint jars of lovely Mean Green Juice. 

I apologize for this next bit..  My picture seems to have evaporated and I cannot find it.  I will leave the post but excuse the missing picture.  (2/16/15 picture is missing from blog)

The line up.  Starting top right with the orange one.  

1. Carrot, apple, ginger and lemon.  

2. Mean Green Juice.

3. Romaine, carrot, celery, pear, lime

4.Mean Green Juice

5. Tomato, carrot, celery, yellow bell pepper

6. blood orange, apple, celery

I woke up again. Feeling quite poor.  I was up all night with fighting doggies.  There are just some nights they insist on being disagreeable.  Drives me crazy!

I am however up and ready to begin my day.  Lemon water here I come.

I am going to have a redo

I totally blew it yesterday so I am going to have a redo.   

Still juicing but I was around so much food that I caved.   I can't believe it.   Totally caved and ate way to much.   I was miserable all day and night.  I am pretty sure that I learned a valuable lesson.  Over eating after days of little food makes for one UNHAPPY tummy...

Day 4: Feeling GREAT!!

WOW!!  I woke up early this morning feeling FANTASTIC...   Refreshed and not even slightly groggy.  I had a cup off lemon water and for once it didn't make my belly feel sour.

I got to work at 7:30am and my co-worker commented on how I looked so much better than yesterday...  In which I was feeling quite yucky for bits of the day. 

I had a cup of coffee with sugar free/dairy free creamer.  It was tasty but I didn't really feel like I needed it.  I just wanted it.. hahaha..  I did limit it to one cup though..

10:30am I finished a 25 ounce bottle of water.

I got a bit hungry around noon so I went with the only option I had available and that was 3 ritz crackers.  Just enough to take the edge off until I could leave for lunch at 1:00pm.

1:30pm I had 1.5 cups of Cauliflower soup.  Made with Cauliflower, carrots and parsley.  Nothing else added except water, sea salt and pepper for flavoring.
 

Day 3: Overly Cranky

I am soooo cranky today.  I have thus far managed not to go off on anyone but I am really cranky.  I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and just wanted to climb back in bed.  I did manage to get motivated once I was at work it was just a matter of getting there.

I am wore out and just want to chew some food.  Meaning cooked food.  hahaha

6:00am got up and made coffee for the boyfriend.  Drank a glass of lemon water.

8:00am rank a 12 ounce bottle of It Tastes Raaw juice.  The wheatgrass blend was surprisingly sweeter than I had hoped for. (The boyfriend accidentally broke my jar of breakfast green juice so I had to substitute it)

9:00am I had a large cup of coffee with vanilla extract.  What a blessing.  Made me feel a little less cranky but then it also made me very hungry.

11:00am I drank a 12 ounce It tastes Raaw  juice.  It was the Strawberry
Purple Carrot blend and it was a sweet tarty thick blend.  Very good but not as good as what I make at home.

1:30pm  I have decided to have some Cashew horchata.   wowza is it ever filling and tastes divine...

3:45pm I chose a Grilled Chicken Sweet Chili McWrap from McDonalds since I was starving.  I opted to eat all but the actual wrap.  Leave out the unnecessary carbs.

5:35pm polished off 18 ounces of water.

8:00pm I had the remainder of the Cashew Horchata I made earlier..

Day 1: Modified juice cleanse

Okay..  So here is to another day 1.  I am including raw foods in this cleanse...  Veggies, fruits and nuts..  Only because I am not ready to go all out juicing again yet.  My intentions are to juice most of the day but with nice raw snacks..

I woke up around 6am feeling quite groggy...  Drank my morning 8 ounce lemon water and my mouth was rank.  GROSS!!!   I scraped my tongue and then brushed my teeth really good.  Much better..

I arrived at work at 7:30am feeling horribly tired.  We were super busy so I didn't realize it was 10am before I even popped the top on my 16 ounce green juice.  Super tasty..  I calculated it out to be about 130 calories for 16 ounces.

I left the building for sales calls and ended up drinking 10 ounces of veggie broth because it was just plain cold out and I am still freezing..  Come on Spring..  I need a visit for a few months.. hahaha

I have 5 more juices to drink as well as my almond milk.  It is already 11:40am and I am not sure I will squeeze all of them in. 

I forgot to mention that I am signing up for some beginner yoga classes at the community center.   Should be interesting.  Lol

1:40pm and I am STARVING!!!!   Just finished my second 16 ounce green juice of the day.   Wouldn't be so hungry if I was able to drink my juice.   I should be starting my 4th juice in 20 minutes.   Sigh.   I am getting headache and I am feeling like I need some caffeine aka..  COFFEE....

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS JUICE AND I ALSO LOVE MY ECO JARZ LID.   16 OUNCES OF LOVE!  This was juice #1 and #2 for the day.

I am desperately trying to survive today.   I wish I wasn't working so I could take a dang nap.

 

Finished my 3rd juice of the day 16 ounces of juice at around 3:30pm.  It is the fantastic Carrot Apple Pick me up juice from yesterdays post.  OMG it is soooo good.  I got 32 ounces of it from the recipe so that is 2 servings for me.  Might have the other one later in place of my almond milk it is that good.  This recipe calculates out to be around 200 calories per 16 ounce serving.

4:15pm I had a small handful of almonds.  Took away a bit of the hunger..  Only 18 ounces of water in so far.  Will try to push down at least another 18 before bed.

It is now 6:05pm and I have a raging headache that is really quite killer.  I will take a detox bath in a bit.  Gotta make supper for the kiddo and then maybe catch an episode of Bones.  Popping open another 16 ounce green juice for my 4th of the day.  

I finished my evening off with a small handful of homemade raw flax crackers.  I made them with almond pulp, flax seeds and sea salt...  

Now I am hitting the hay.  I wanted to do another load of laundry with the new washing machine but...  this piece of crap that I paid a ton for squeaks like crazy and doesn't seem to be able to center the loads properly.  It just walked across the floor.  I can hear the stupid thing all the way upstairs on the other side of the freaking house...  GRRRRRRRRR

Back in the saddle

Tonight I am preparing my juice for tomorrow as I intend on hitting it hard this week.  I ate all raw today after my explosive weekend with junk food.  I went to the grocery and purchased about $32.00 worth of veggies and that will be enough to make about 4 days worth of juice.  Mainly veggies and apples..

 If you have not visited the site Vedged Out you are really missing out.... She has a recipe there that is just plain amazing..  It is called Ultra Green Juice and is probably the best tasting GREEN juice I have made to date... WOW>>>  I could drink this all day..  It made a whopping 80 full ounces of juice.   I do not think I will be making another juice for tomorrow simply because I had not anticipated it making quite so much.

She also has a recipe for a cashew milk that I just might try.  I love my almond milk but cashew milk might be a nice change..

These are my lovely Kefir bottles..  The 2 on the left are milk kefir with blueberries. The one in the middle is water kefir with Raspberries.  The 2 on the right are milk kefir with lemon and orange.  While juicing I intend on using the milk kefir in place of my evening almond milk on certain days.  The water kefir just any old time.  I , of course, will not be eating the fruit.. hahaha  I do realize that I will not get the full benefit of juicing by drinking kefir, however, relatively speaking the almond milk isn't juice either...

Okay..  After thinking about it I decided to make a jar of  Pick-Me-Up Apple Carrot Juice.   Just in case I needed something different in the afternoon.  I have never been one to really be able to drink the same thing all day irregardless how much I love it..  Doesn't look great but sure tastes sweet and refreshing!

long week

I had the worst long week ever...   Short handed at work... Felt horribly crappy with a nasty cold.  The boyfriend was gone at a class for work..  sigh...  I was so grateful when Friday afternoon rolled around..

Headed to the boyfriends house after work and enjoyed a lazy weekend eating horribly bad choices in food.  But I had a good time with Bruce and was just happy he was home..  Now.. I am back at my home wishing I didn't have to work tomorrow.. lol

On another note.. I know I said I would NEVER do another salt flush...  However.. a super nice gal emailed me with an alternative method of flushing...  Instead of chugging 32 ounces of salt water followed by all kinds of nasty things...  she said to mix the salt in 16 ounces of water followed by 16 ounces of flavored water.  The flavored water will erase all the nasty salt taste in your mouth and still mix with the salt water in your system..  So.... I just gave it a shot..  I have downed the salt water and the flavored water.  That was 20 minutes ago.  No cramping, no puking, not a bad thing in sight so far.  I figure in another 20 minutes I should start to feel the belly rumbling with signals to get close to the bathroom..  I don't even feel like laying down like I did the last time.. hmmmmm...  Wonder what the effects will be...

Stay tuned...

It is 9:28pm.   Effects were the same as previous..  This method is just as effective and way less traumatic.  Many trips to the potty..  Same gross outcome but with much less stress leading up to it.  I can handle this method much easier and would recommend if you insist on doing a Salt Water Flush please give this way a try.  You will like it much better.  I lost 3 pounds in the process.  172.2 before I drank the water..  169.0 about 3 minutes ago.  All that stored yuck is gone.  3 pounds of it..  Doesn't even seem possible but the scale wouldn't lie.  hahaha

Salt Water Flush

Have any of you ever done a salt water flush?  Holy crap DO NOT DO IT!!!  I don't care how many people tell you it is healthy and good for your body.  I don't care how many people tell you your body will thank you...  It is a crock of crap!

Does it work?  Heck yes it works...  I am in a world of disgusting.

9:00am: I woke up and followed the instructions I was given.

32 ounces of water with 2 tsp of sea salt.  Mix well and drink as quickly as you can..  Flippin' DISGUSTING!!!  I managed to get this horrible salty mix down in 20 minutes.

It says to stay active and do not lay down no matter how much you want to.. Okay..  Well..  I felt horrible but followed the rules.. I managed to get the dogs outside, fed and watered, woke the kids up, called the boyfriend and talked for 15 minutes and then it was an awakening..   I had to hang up the phone because I got sick..  I mean... Horribly vomiting from hell...  I power puked at least half of what I drank...  Layed on the floor and thought.. WTF did I do?...  Am I dying or what?

9:55am:  I decided to take a hot shower to help ease the cramping.  It hurt so bad I just laid on the tub floor and let the hot water run all over me..  It felt amazing until my belly started talking to me.. Then it went from talking to shouting...  Holy crap...  It begins...

10:45am:  I am still going strong..  This is insane..  7 trips to the bathroom and it wasn't to pee..  Lets get graphic for a moment shall we... When it says it cleans you out it doesn't mean normal poo..   It means water...  I do not like this nor would I ever recommend this to anyone.  DISGUSTING!!!!

NOTE:  I drank the 32 ounces of salt water...  In addition to that I have gone thru 4- 20 ounces bottles of water and working on my 5th and it is only 11:47am.  I cannot seem to get enough fluid in me...  I will note that I am not hungry..  I want to eat because I love food but I can't even seem to get in the mood for a nice fresh juice..  sigh...   Maybe I will try some almond milk I made last night.   YUMMY!!!

1:45pm:  I decided to make a new batch of almond milk.  Its heavenly aroma is filling the house..  Well not really the house, but it is filling the kitchen with its cinnamony vanilla fragrance...  I drank the rest of my jar earlier to ease some of my stomach cramping and it worked for a while..  I attempted to drink it warm and that was pretty much stupid..  Doesn't taste as good that way...

5:40pm:  I am now feeling much better...  I managed to get some toast down a few hours ago and it stayed down well enough but now I am starving and just want something hot so ...  Cauliflower soup it is..  It is soooo hot and tasty..  Smells like a bit of heaven. 

Day 5: Enjoying a day off

I have decided to take a day off of juicing.  My body is screaming at me that it wants food so I obliged..

I made bacon and cheese biscuits for breakfast...  It was soooo dang tasty...

I have been feeling quite good today..  Alert and full of energy..  I just needed a full day of solids...

It is 5:20pm and I have downed 32 ounces of water so far...  I am slowly drinking an iced vanilla coffee as I smells my cauliflower soup cooking...  I will take a picture if I can and insert it later..  It smells divine..

Cauliflower Carrot Soup

3 heads cauliflower
5 medium carrots

Boil in water until tender.  Turn off and let cool.
Once cool blend cauliflower and carrots until smooth using the water you cooked them in.

Put back in pan and add salt, pepper and spices to taste.. I like dividing the base and making different soups by changing the spices I use..

Thats it... No dairy.  No flour... You just do not need it unless you want to use it..

Day 4: Woke up early and refreshed

Holy crap!  I got up this morning at 5:45am feeling like a million bucks!  I haven't had coffee yet and I don't even feel the need to drink a cup.  Hahaha.  Still gonna take an iced coffee to work but might skip the creamer.

I have decided to stop taking the cleanse pills.   I suspect they are why my belly has been feeling yucky so I am going to see how I feel today. 

Anxious for this storm to show up.  Supposed to be nasty with Gov. Walker calling a state of emergency.  We will see.   Hoped school would be cancelled but no such luck.  I like staying home with the kids.  Maybe early release?  Hahaha.

7:00am:  6 ounces of water with lemon

7:10am:  off to work.  3 juices in my bag along with 1 veggie broth.  

8:00am: 16 ounces of Suja Purify Juice.

9:00am:  Broke down and made a 15 ounce iced vanilla coffee.

10:00am:  finished up 18 ounces of water

12:00pm: 1 cup cabbage soup

1:45pm: 18 ounces of water

4:45pm:  16 ounces of Green juice

  Morning weigh in 168.4

Random thoughts

I am just being random here..  I sit here and think about all those that do a complete juice feast for months and wonder why someone would want to completely give up food for that long..  Now don't get me wrong.. I want to lose weight just like everyone else and I have hopes of shedding around 30 pounds..  I am not overly huge but big enough that being smaller would be nice.  I did manage to fit into my size 14 jeans a few days ago..  What a lovely feeling that was.. I didn't even feel cut off..  They fit just right!

I had someone ask me today why I drink that "nasty" green stuff and eat all the soups I eat..  Well....  to be honest...  I love it..  Honestly... I have a few recipes that are quite amazing...  Some premade ones are quite intolerable and some are bordering decent if they are without beets..  Did I ever mention my extreme dislike of beets?  YUCK~!!!!  Once you find the recipe that your taste buds love, you will learn to adjust your recipes to include other yummy flavors.  Making my own is so much nicer than store bought.  I do wish we had a juice bar around here but alas we do not...

I also refuse to give up certain things like my coffee with french vanilla creamer (sugar free).  My feelings are that I should not have to give up everything to lose weight.  I try to balance out the juices I drink as well as taking vitamins.

I also have to say that taking all these cleanse pills seem to be quite a waste..  I don't think I am going to take them tomorrow.  Not mixed with the juice and skinny fiber..

Day 3: Feeling good but to busy

So this is the beginning of day 3.

6:00am:  I woke up sluggish.  I did not sleep well at all.  Cramping and a bit nauseous.  Took 2 cleanse pills and 2 skinny fiber with 14 ounces of plain water no lemon.

Stepped on the scale and was sooo happy...  See weight below..


6:30am: coffee with creamer

8:00am:  4 ounces of water with green tea bag..  Strong to calm my belly.. It is not feeling good at all.  Took my next 3 cleanse pills.

10:00am:  I am feeling okay but not great.  Kind of sluggish and really wanting to just lay down for a nap.  Where is the energy I am supposed to have?  grrrrr  

12:00pm:  Headed home for lunch..  No juice in so I gulped down 8 ounces of that nasty Purify Suja juice..  I really hate beets.. haha   Followed by 10 ounces of cabbage soup.

12:45pm:  I am feeling so much better with warm soup in my belly.  However...  I still have 3.5 hours of work and I still want that nap.  Feeling slightly weak but not super tired any more.

1:30pm:  I had some 16 ounces of Suja Glow juice.  It had a much better flavor than yesterday.  Still prefer my own better but I just didn't want to waste what I had already bought and it expires on the 22nd.

2:00pm: polished off 8 ounces of water.  2 Skinny Fiber pills

3:00pm:  2 tbsp of a trail mix..  I couldn't get my belly to stop growling and this did the trick..  Feeling fantastic.

4:30pm:  polished off another 10 ounces of water. 3 cleanse pills

5:15pm:  Finally home from work.  What a busy day.  I totally forgot to eat most of the day because not only am I feeling funky but we were swamped.

We are supposed to have a nasty storm coming in tonight.  Ice, rain and snow mix..  Cross your fingers for a snow day so Mama doesn't have to go to work.. hahaha (Conveniently I have Friday off too)

6:30pm:  Had a slice of white bread with a tbsp of peanut butter and a half can of white tuna...  I couldn't help it.. I was just soooo hungry...

8:50pm:  10 ounces of water.

9:50pm:  Heading to bed...  Last 2 cleanse pills

10:15pm:  8 ounces of water

I am going to do my best to get more juice in tomorrow and less solid food..  Seems night time is really difficult for me..  I need to focus on my knitting more at night I think.  Or maybe a good book.
Something to keep me occupied and not think of food...

1167 calories
11,882 steps

 Morning weigh in 169.4

Day 2 : Detoxing I Think

This is part of my daily line up.  Suja juice and blended cabbage soup.

I made it thru the morning without much incident.  I ended up going to bed last night at 9:30 pm due to udder exhaustion.  I really have to start going to bed earlier than midnight.. hahaha

5:45am : Awoke feeling quite alert and energized.  I was out of bed and in the shower within minutes.  Not that just NEVER happens..  I felt great..  Took my first 2 detox pills with a 10 ounce cup of hot lemon water.

6:30am: 2 skinny fiber pills with another 10 cup of hot green tea with fresh lemon juice.

7:00am: 1 cup of coffee with sugar free french vanilla creamer (big no no but I refuse to give that up)

8:00am: finished 10 ounces of water. 3 detox pills

8:30am: had the 9 ounces of glow juice.  I was just to full to even force myself to drink more.

9:30am: I managed to get 9 ounces of suja fuel juice down.   Not really in the mood to eat or drink anything.  Nothing significant other than lack of appetite or thirst.

10:30am: I had another 8 ounces of water.  2 skinny fiber pills.   Feeling kind of sick to my belly.  Not sure what the deal is but it isn't really a nice feeling.  Thankfully I was on sales calls to different businesses so I was able to sit and drive a lot.  Walking is not making my belly feel good at all. 

1:00pm: 2 cups of cabbage soup.  About 10 ounces give or take.  It is about as delicious as you can get..  All warm and making my belly feel soooo good..  I am pretty alert.  No headache or out of it feelings.  Feel quite energized actually. 

I did not manage to make my cauliflower soup last night so I am stopping at the store tonight to get the ingredients so I can tonight.  I am so in the mood for the creamy goodness.  I love cabbage soup but a mix would be lovely.

2:10pm: I am feeling quite weak at the moment.  I just ate 2 cups of soup so I should be feeling good.  Wtf..  My head is starting to get a little headachy.   Not bad but also not nice.  

Did i mention i have been in the potty many times today?  At least 10 times to pee and my boss keeps looking at me funny :)

3:30pm: I opened the 16 ounce Suja Purify juice..  Ewwwww...  It is so beety tasting that I almost gagged..  I really hate beets..  They just plain taste like dirt.  I have 2 more bottle of that junk to drink.  And being $9.00 a bottle I will manage..  Maybe mix it with something fruity.. IDK...

4:40pm: 16 ounces of cabbage soup.. 3 detox pills

I cheated through the day by nibbling on a half cup of almonds..  Made me feel better..  

Oh.. and 18 ounces more water thru the day..

As I am making my juice for tomorrow I have been sampling..  Around 8 ounces of variety juice.

I just wanna munch on my green pepper and tomatoes and celery..  ooooo and the soaking almonds look yummy!  Can you tell I am starving...

I am going to have another 8 ounces of cabbage soup before bed. I know I shouldn't but something warm other than tea will be nice.. 2 cleanse pills

1143 calories

10,334 steps

morning weigh in 170.2 

Day 1: Soup and Juice

6:20 am :  rolled myself out of bed and took the first 2 cleanse pills and my 2 skinny fiber pills with 12 ounces of water.  I was kind of groggy this morning.

7:30 am : I arrived at work with my pint mason jar of green juice, 2 suja juices and a water bottle.  I did bring a carton of veggie juice just in case I wanted something warm.  3 cleanse pills

8:30 am : I finished my pint of green juice.  I was absolutely starving so it didn't take long.  I also had about 12 ounces of water.

10:30 am: I caved in with a cup of coffee with french vanilla creamer.   I just can't seem to be strong to withhold that from myself..

11:00 am : 1 cup of blended cabbage soup.  12 ounces water.

1:30 pm : 16 ounces Suja "glow"  juice.. Not as tasty as I had hoped.  A bit hard to choke down actually..   but I did manage to get it down.  2 slices white bread with 2 tbsp of peanut butter.

3:00pm : 1 cup of cabbage soup.  This is the point where I am really tired of liquid.  Chewing it isn't even helping.  Seriously.. how the heck do you chew a liquid drink without looking like an idiot?

4:00pm:  2 Skinny Fiber pills

6:30 pm : 12 ounces green tea and 3 mini pancakes with butter.  I know... I know..  but they were small 4 inch round ones. 3 cleanse pills

It is now almost 8pm and I am totally drained.  According to my fitbit I have consumed 1388 calories today..  Not to bad.  I want to drop it by another 100 tomorrow.  I have to manage to get in another 750 steps to get to 10,000 and I am almost to pooped to get in 10  hahaha...  I will manage it..

9:00pm: 2 cleanse pills

1388 calories
9,612 steps

morning weigh in 172.2