Day 15

A quick one here. Day 15. Maybe I've cheated too much. Maybe I have other health issues. The extra few pounds just aren't really moving off. That wasn't the main goal in all of this, but I will admit, it would be nice. I do notice a clarity,  and my hair is growing. I had my second acupuncture session at Pin and Tonic today and that made me feel great. The day became incredibly busy. I visited our friends in the hospital, and chased the kids around all day. I barely had time to make my dinner juice. I'm going to stick this thing out-6 more days-then I will probably take a different approach. I think my timing was off. Oh well.

Day 14

I was glad I went to The Juicing Tree yesterday. I drank my green juice, drove the kids to school.

At 9:45 AM, I was super excited to try a new acupuncture place:

http://pintonic.com

Pin and Tonic was an amazing experience, and I'm going back tomorrow. Ignacia, my therapist, suggested, I have kidney/gall bladder issues and maybe eating cold foods-such as juice-isn't the best thing for me. Ah ha! I told her I had one week to go. She agreed and suggested I wait a few months before trying another fast. 

The energy in Pin and Tonic is absolutely lovely, and I can't wait to visit there more.

After, I ran to Udi's to pick up lunch for my dear friend, Susan-who's husband, Alf was getting the brain biopsy today. 

I was relieved to see Susan in such good humor, and we laughed and caught up over lunch. Yes, I did cheat and eat a beet salad. After, we were able to visit with Alf before his procedure, and joke and laugh. I love our friends! What a truly lovely afternoon. I left at 2:30 to pick up my sweet children and took them for ice cream and to play in a park. 

Later Susan texted to say the brain biopsy went well. It revealed a blood clot and not cancer. Whoo hoo! Alf is eating a left over sandwich from our lunch as I write. 

Great day! I'll be back on track tomorrow with one week to go. 

I'm feeling so grateful. 

Shudders and Flutters

It's day 13 and I have noticed I'm getting cold easily. It's been a heavy day, with snow one minute and sun the next. It's also been a day rife with worry. A close community friend is going in for a brain biopsy tomorrow. I'm still up, drinking green juice thinking about it. I also noticed on this day, my body seemed to process the most. At the same time I got really sick just before Christmas, and one friend passed away in a fire in SF, another  friend started a health journey that leads us to this exploratory surgery tomorrow. I am a person that believes all these things are connected. A part of me keeps wanting to delete as I write this. Some reading will say, no way are these things connected! But I'm doing this because I truly believe that they are connected. I believe that they are. I'm sitting here, chugging my green juice, getting ready for bed soon, thinking of all the prayers I can imagine that they are. 

Day 13

I have been so busy all day, I had no time to make juice, so I went to The Juicing Tree earlier. 3 juices-$29.00-but well worth it. I tried the new one! Yum!

I wish I could say the pounds were just dropping off, but they're not. I do feel a lot more energy, though. 

Day 12

I'm STILL at it. Doing my best anyway. Today was better than most. I didn't really cheat at all-and I made my juice at home:

Day 11

I feel like I've gone way off track because of the antibiotics. Today, I started off by drinking a Green Wizzard juice from The Juicing Tree, but quickly got off track when my stomach was hurting from the medicine, and my husband brought home leftover burritos. I ate a quarter of one. I know I'm just sabotaging the cleansing process, but I do it anyway. For the rest of the day, I finished this painting project. Our new dining room is finished. With 10 days left, I'm determined to do better.

Day 10

I'm still trying to do this juice fast. The antibiotics make me HAVE to take at least small amounts of puréed soup- or my stomach gets woozy. When I began this quest, I had no idea my periodontist would bump up my bone graft dates a month ahead of schedule. I'm not really losing weight, and I'm not really eating much food. Ugh. Thank goodness I'm so used to juice right now. One great thing that's come to pass: I have a ton of energy. We have been wanting to repaint our dining room for years. After reupholstering the dining room chairs Monday, I was determined to make it happen. Today, we started. My husband went to the hardware store and to The Jucing Tree. We are almost done. Just about to roll out one more coat of red paint, and then finish the trim tomorrow. I still have 11 days to go. I know good things are happening as a result of this "fast", just not what I expected so far. But hey-the dining room is finally looking the way we wanted it to, after almost 7 years! I'm just going with it! Back to painting now. One day, my body will look like I want it to. Faith!

Day 9

Today feels like an epic fail. I didn't eat a burrito or anything like that. I stayed totally on the program with the juice UNTIL the antibiotics started bugging my stomach so bad, I had to eat puréed soup. That was fine, I expected I'd have to. But taking antibiotics seems to be so counterproductive to the whole cleansing thing. I'm going to try to just work through it. Get this-I'm not supposed to have any Ginger for awhile, something about it thinning the blood. Of course, all I crave is mass amounts of Ginger.

Recently, we've been busy fixing up things in our old house. Tomorrow, we finally paint the dining room. Tonight, we put together the kids beds in their room. They are so excited for the new set-up. 

I really feel I need that Ginger to keep all this house project stuff going. Hmmmmm.

Day 8

The periodontal surgeries went smoothly, and I'm resting. There will be not much chance of cheating because my mouth is too uncomfortable for anything but juice. I stocked up at The Juicing Tree earlier, so I'm all set.

Day 7

Those "cheats" have set me back weight loss wise. Oh well. I wasn't expecting my periodontal surgery to be scheduled so soon. Since I need two at once, covering both sides of my mouth-eating solids will simply be out of the question for several weeks anyway. So in a way, this cleanse is good timing.

I did go to The Juicing Tree to stock up. Pricey, and necessary.

I felt guilty about that burrito yesterday. It was freezing out and I let my blood sugar get too low. Today, I didn't cheat.

I did make an acceptable cheat for the upcoming days of dental yuckiness:

Roasted Cauliflower Soup-All Vegan and low cal. 

Day 6

Ugh. It's hard not to cheat on a snow day, so I did big time. I had that burrito. Uh oh. I went to a non GMO burrito place and had a pinto beans/no rice/guaqamole burrito. The cheat was totally justified and premeditated. We woke up late and I had no time to make myself a juice. After running the kids to school and going to my periodontal appointment, I learned that I will have 2 bone graft surgeries this coming Thursday. Since they need to do this on both sides of my mouth, I will not be able to have solid food for up to two weeks anyway. At noon, I had 2 more hours worth of errands ahead of me, and my blood sugar was getting low, so I had no problem getting that burrito.

Later, I did drive to the Juicing Tree.

I was surprised to find they were almost all sold out for the day, but glad to know their business is so successful. I grabbed the 2 Apple Lemon Mints they had left, and drank one on the way to pick up the kids.

Tonight, I'm back on track . I made myself a fresh Apple/Celery. I'm finding that a 2 or 3 flavor combo tastes much better than multiple fruit veggie combo.

Day 5

Today was a rough one. I had to cheat a lot. It's a good thing I have 16 more days to do better. In the morning, I drank the rest of the big juice I made yesterday. And I still haven't had any coffee. That alone has to be worth something. I cheated with tumeric roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Not too bad. I ran to Vitamin Cottage to grab some more supplies. Knowing I would be super busy all day, I grabbed an Evolution Juice there for lunch. It's totally pasturized, but still better than getting a burrito right. Mmmmmmm burrito!

I meant to stock up at Juicing Tree, but never made it. Instead, I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a staple gun and 2 yards of new upholstery fabric to try my own hand at reupholstering our dining room chairs. Also, my husband had a half slab of ribs in the fridge that needed to be cooked. So, after running tons of errands, I made dinner for my family while blindly tackling this reupholstering project. I didn't have time to make a juice for myself, but I did drink tons of decaf Yerba Mate. 

Here's what I cooked for my family:

I didn't cheat by eating ribs, but I did eat a little roasted broccoli, and about a half a cup of my quinoa stuffing (vegan). 

I totally plan on getting back on the juicing band wagon first thing in the morning. The awesome thing is, so far, I have tons of energy. I'm not too bummed I didn't juice like a manic today because 

a) I drank tons of organic Aloe Vera juice

b) I finished the whole dining set! Yay!

Before:

After:

Day 4

"Help! Our Mom has turned into the crazy juice lady!"

Yesterday, Paul from Juicing Tree suggested I run my pulp from the first juicing through the juicer at least 2 times, in order to get best possible yield. What a mess! Woody veggie pulp ALL over the kitchen! 

Running the pulp through did make a little more juice, but I'm not sure the mess is worth it. I will say that lemon and ginger help dress up the funkiness of purple cabbage. 

This is a LOT of work, but I feel great. 

Later, we grabbed a bite to eat at Udi's. It's cool that they offer fresh juice on the menu. 

Day 3

Yesterday I was feeling totally discouraged until...

I awakened today to find that only after a few days, the scale has moved back by 5 pounds!!! Even with cheating a little, my body is just shedding weight! Not to mention, this is the second night in a row that I've slept like a baby. 

With great enthusiasm, I ran to make my morning juice:

And...I saved some of the pulp to make a face scrub. The apple/carrot/parsley/cucumber combo exfoliates the skin beautifully.

Later, we visited Juicing Tree:

http://www.juicingtree.com

Wow! The fact that this business is right in our neighborhood is amazing! Paul, the owner, let us sample all of their delicious juices. We were so very impressed. This place is one of a kind. The juices are raw, organic, fresh, and non pasturized. 

Juicing Tree is a true gift to our neighborhood. Thanks to finding this place, I have a renewed sense of excitement about this cleanse. Not only did Paul give me excellent advice about how to maximize my home juicing, but he also offered many helpful suggestions regarding specific juice combos to optimize my 21 day fast.

River and Zella also loved it! I feel so grateful for this new neighborhood awesomeness! 

Day 2

I slept like a baby last night! And I felt great this morning! I woke up, made a big batch of green juice, one for breakfast and one portion to take on the road. Today was my daughter's big Shakespeare performance at Denver Center for the Performing Arts! I drank my second batch on the road, and quickly grew hungry, so I cheated with a clean salad at the celebration lunch. 

Also, I felt a little discouraged when I already had to go to Vitamin Cottage for even more supplies. So far, all this produce is 100 dollars in in just a few days. Wow! By the time I got home, it was 4pm and I was feeling shaky.  Another cheat:

I definitely don't feel guilty cheating just a little bit. I figure its healthiest to eat something when I'm hungry, and cheat just a little now - rather than freak out later and inhale a pizza. I made a healthy juice to drink, and drank some right away - and saved some for later. I was not that impressed with the red cabbage taste. 

Day 2 and I'm already running into snags. Mostly, I found myself pressed for time to actually make the juice awhile organizing my family's day. Also, this IS expensive! I started looking into the cost of different pre made cleanses and they are ridiculously pricey. 

Then, I found out there is a fresh pressed juice cafe that just opened in my neighborhood! Yay!

http://www.juicingtree.com/

I plan on heading there later tomorrow and finding out if it would be more cost effective and healthy to buy my daily juice supply here. At this rate, I feel like I'm wasting a lot of pricy organic produce. 

Day 1

I've had experience with juicing in the past, mostly in 2007, when my weight was at an all time high. We had just gotten engaged. Determined to slim down for the wedding, I juice fasted for 10 days. In that time, I was able to drop 15 pounds, and kick start a diet and exercise program that eventually led to a 25 pound weight loss. I got pregnant on our honeymoon in 2008 and the weight found me again. In 2011, after River was born, I was determined to change my shape. I worked out with a trainer, attended group exercise classes, spin classes, Ballet Bar classes, and ate a clean high protein diet. Eventually, I went from a size 12 to a size 6. I don't want to get too hung up on numbers here.
My weight has been up and down. Let's just say, most of the larger clothes I gave away a few years ago-I could use them today. BUT!!!!! I've learned the ONLY way to achieve fitness and weight loss goals is to truly appreciate where you are in the now.

After my appendix burst, I became even more determined to feed my family clean, organic, non GMO food. Even with all the clean eating, I have a tendency to over do it. I LOVE cooking for friends and family, and I LOVE eating what I cook. Let's face it, I'm probably never going to be super skinny again. I'll take enjoying delicious farm fresh food over fitting in to my tiny jeans any day. The doctors said that my appendicitis was a random occurrence. I have a hard time believing it just burst for no reason. Here are the reasons I think it happened:

Too much meat (Paleo Diet)
Stress
Feeling competitive
Not making enough time for myself
Stress, stress, and more stress

I woke up the other day feeling like I really want to make a change. I know that change has to start with an intense reset: Juicing!

So this morning, I went to Whole Foods and spent 70 dollars. I prefer getting my produce at Vitamin Cottage because ALL of their produce is organic and the quality and prices are better. Today, I shopped at WF because that's where I went to buy the Copper River Salmon my husband requested for dinner.



First, I made a GREEN juice:
Bunch Dino Kale
Bunch Flat Leaf Parsley
I Cucumber
4 Stalk Celery
2 Carrots
Half Yellow Bell Pepper
Handful of Baby Spinach
Ginger
Lemon
2 Green Apples

I use the same Breville Juicer I bought in 2007, and it's great! It cost about $100 on Amazon. It's really important to drink the juice right away. I drank half the batch immediately and I did save the other half for 2 hours later.



All of the popular websites say to cut out caffeine. NO WAY! There's just no way I could kick caffeine completely. But I did stock up on Organic Yerba Mate. I'm convinced coffee makes me bloated.



Later, I went for a brisk 3 mile walk in the Park Way. At the end I felt faint, so I decided to cheat a little.



I heated up a cup of Roasted Cauliflower Soup I made a few days ago. It's basically cauliflower, onion, celery, jalapeno, roasted and pureed with veggie stock. I had just one cup, plus the rest of the juice I made earlier, and LOTS of water.



I meant to do a Kundalini Yoga routine, but time got away from me.



Part of doing this juice fast is all about cleansing and releasing all that no longer belongs in my body or in my world. At around 1pm, I noticed I felt very chilled, so I did some skin brushing and took a hot detox bath.



I'm really excited about the changes that should occur in the next 21 days. Lately, my chief complaints have been:

Weight Gain
Sluggishness
Insomnia
Not Feeling Social
Procrastination
Stress

My goals in cleansing are to vanquish these symptoms, and start Spring with a new sense of self; free to do anything.

I am lucky to have the most wonderful reasons in the world to take care of my health. This afternoon I convinced them to try some Freshly Juiced Organic Apple Juice! I even let them help work the juicer.



They LOVED the fresh juice!



Then, I made afternoon/dinner juice for myself:

21 Day Juice Fast

Today I started a 21 day juicing cleanse! Yee Hah! In 2011/12, after my son was born, I worked out like a maniac and ate mostly Paleo, and lost a ton of weight and 3 sizes. I was able to keep it off for a year eating reasonably and working out moderately. Soon, I experienced work-out burn-out. The weight started coming back. Now, I'm slightly chubby again, and have a hard time feeling like joining group work-outs. I'm totally in anti-social workout mode.

Also, a few months ago, my appendix randomly burst. I had no idea what was happening because I was traveling at the time. Luckily, I got to the ER on time for them to pump me full of antibiotics and remove my appendix.

Two months later, and it hurts to work out as hard as I used to. Also, my stomach cannot tolerate meat, barely any dairy, and not a lot of solid food at all. The other day, I woke up feeling like crap and decided it was time for a good old green juice cleanse. 

My two inspirations are:

http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com

and 

http://www.enlightenedbeings.com/juicing-cleanse.html

Joe Cross fasted for 60 days. I figure setting a goal of 21 days like Jafree of Enlightened Beings is a more realalistic goal for me. 

I've been all through the ego boost of working out, getting thin, fitting into gorgeous clothes. It was amazing, but there was something missing.

Now, I'm juice fasting for health and clarity. Wish me luck.