13 is my new lucky number!

I just finished doing another 3 day juice fast.  I'm getting to where I really like those things.  I figured after my belly bomb weekend with my dad, a juice cleanse was probably a good idea.  Get myself re-centered and back in the swing of things.  There really is something liberating about not having to eat anything.  When you get hungry it's time to drink a juice, you don't have to worry about what to eat, don't have to cook anything, don't have dishes to do.  There's no worrying about good choices or bad choices you just drink your damn juice!!  So, I got on the scale and Holy Weight Loss Batman... I am down 13lbs!  13 Freaking Pounds!  The scale said 120lbs and I about peed myself.  I don't think I've weighed 120 in forever!  Now granted, I'm sure I'll put a couple back on as soon as I started eating, but it's still pretty damn exciting!  I guess my little bouts of running really are helping out.  I'm stuck on 5 mins right now.  I can't seem to get past that point.  It's the damn side cramps that are killing me.  I've been repeating week 4 in the hopes that I can get the side cramps to ease up.  I don't want to proceed to running more if I can't run 5 mins consistently and now stupid Hurricane Sandy is "cramping" my style!  

I miss my juice!

   Back on the eating bandwagon,  making a real effort to eat smart and I think I am, but it takes so much effort!  You have to think about what you are going to eat, then make it and then eat it!  It's much easier to be unhealthy.  Doritos and Slim Jims just sit there mocking me in their easy grab, ready to go packets!  I find myself really missing my juices.  All the work and effort taken out of it...hungry? Go in grab your juice and go.  Done.  If that juicing bar was closer, I'd be there everyday!  I miss my Mean Lemonaid, my Easy Green, and believe it or not even my Carrot/Coconut Water!

   I guess it's conceivable that if I really wanted more juice I could actually make my own with the jucier that I own, but talk about effort... that is TOO. MUCH. WORK!  So, not sure what I'm going to do... maybe I'll make a pilgrimage to the juice bar and stock up... Drink one or two a day... I don't know....
                                                                 

     VS. 

Oh my dilemma!

Made my choice...

Oops! I did it again...Done, but it's not about the number.

I woke up this morning and realized I was done with the juicing.  Of course I pranced right over, in my panties and zombie apocalypse t-shirt, to the scale I borrowed yesterday from a neighbor.  We don't own a scale, haven't owned one since I was in my 20's. As a matter of fact, when I was walking into the house with it, John said..."Why are you bringing that evil machine into our house!"  He actually seemed quite perturbed!  I don't believe in scales, I know they aren't good for me personally.  I see a scale and I have to step on it and then there's a number in black and white that you can't get out of your head.  And for me aside from Freshman year in college when I gained the "freshman 25"(thank you Munich West Germany and a "major" in Beerfest!)  I've never been that worried about my weight.  True story... the end of my freshman year of college I weighed the same thing I weighed when I delivered both my kids!!!  Even then I didn't really diet, just quit with the beer and alcohol and most of it went away.
So for me - it's never really been about the number... more about do my pants fit,  does John roll over to my side of the bed when I lie down or do the airlines "suggest" I buy and extra seat just in case!  And lately, more importantly it's been about health and fitness... can I run away from the zombies when the Zombie Apocalypse hits!  I don't want to be the slowest, juiciest, fat-padded runner in the pack!

But I digress....Back to my story... I pranced over to the scale and stepped on it and Lo and Behold...I saw a number I don't remember seeing much even in high school!  123.5!  SAY. WHAT...I stepped on the scale 3 more times just in case.  Sort of like the time when I first worked in the lab and I did my own pee pregnancy test and it was positive, so then I drew my own blood and did a serum test and it was positive and so then I drew my blood from the OTHER arm, I guess just in case I was only preggers on one side and it was positive!  Sorta like that, 4 times on the scale and still the same number!  It was pretty exciting,  now I know as soon as I start eating that number is going to go away.  I understand that that's not even a number I'm interested in trying to stay at.  As a matter of fact as soon as my neighbor is up I will return the evil machine to her and not worry about it again.

But that number and the sense of accomplishment I feel, ARE motivation for me to step back from the Doritos and Slim Jims (but not the Drunken gummies, I'm heading for those when I finish here) and go back to making conscious choices about what I stuff in my mouth.  I almost don't feel like eating yet, because of the pressure to make that first bite a good one....

Oops! I did it again...Day Three

I'm on my last drink...almond milk and then I'll be done.  Went over to borrow my neighbors scale just for the hell of it and I'll weigh myself tomorrow.  Today really wasn't too bad.  I spent most of the day up at the high school doing spiritwear and other stuff and then home working on the computer so it was pretty easy to avoid eating.  I was definitely hungry, but I was easily able to ignore it and by the time I was REALLY hungry it was time for another juice.

Now it's almost done and I feel pretty good about the whole thing.  I don't know how much actual "cleansing" got done or if I'm any healthier but I do feel more ready to get back on the eating healthy bandwagon and after all that was the point of the whole thing.

Would I do it again... probably if I felt like my eating was out of control.  It's a good reminder that you don't always have to eat every time you feel a twinge.  I didn't particularly notice a lag in energy.  Food or no food, by 3 o'clock I'm ready for a nap!  And I really only noticed a headache on Day Two and it wasn't bad enough to even take anything for.

All in all.... now that it's only a good night's sleep away from being over...pretty decent experience... minus the carrot juice!

Oops I did it again...Day Two

Well....Day Two...It wasn't awful, but it has been a little more of a challenge since I was stuck at home waiting for window people to show up.  It's a lot easier to not eat when you are out running errands or in meetings. I've also spent more time in the bathroom... jeez with the peeing...

Pretty much the same juices as yesterday except for two substitutions because the juice bar ran out.  So instead of Easy Green, I had Coco-Phyll which was spinach, romaine, kale, cucumber, celery and coconut water. It was fine, not as good as the ones with apple in them but not awful.  It certainly made me feel healthy drinking it.  The other adjustment I made was I mixed my carrot juice and coconut water - halfsies.  It helped a little bit, I had twice as much carrot to drink but half as strong.  I'm just not a fan of the carrot!  Still absolutely loved the Mean Lemonaid, I could drink that stuff by the gallon!  Yummy!

I also had a different milk to drink tonight. Choco Maca Milk - almond milk, cacao powder, maca mesquite (what the hell is that?) and cinnamon.  It was okay, a little bit like watered down chocolate ice cream.  Probably really good if you like milk and ice cream to begin with, but not really my thing.  But by 845pm I was so hungry I was thankful to have anything!

I was definitely hungrier on Day Two and it freaking amazes me how much "food stuff" is all around us!  Every TV commercial, book, magazine is full of food.  I must have downloaded 15 recipes from Pinterest, it was all I could do to keep myself from licking the TV when a commercial for Stouffers MeatLoaf came on!  MEATLOAF... I don't even like meatloaf... but it looked so moist and gravy-ful and warm....STOP!  I had to go hide down in the basement while John and Zack ate dinner for fear I would snatch that Ramen right out of Zack's hands and slurp it down before anyone could stop me!

I do feel skinner, emptier than when I'm stuffing my mouth with Doritos and cheese and slim jims.  But getting through today is going to be a challenge....

Oops I did it again - Day One

I survived Day One.  I gotta say it wasn't as easy as the cleanse I did myself a few months back.  That one, based on the Blueprint Cleanse, had juices mixed in with smoothies and smoothies are much more filling than straight up juices.  I found myself much hungrier than last time, but as long as I kept myself distracted it worked out okay.

First up instead of my regular tea - Hot water with lemon and 1/2 ginger shot.  It was okay, not particularly tasty, but at least warm.
1st juice - Mean Lemonaid - water, lemon, cayenne pepper and coconut nectar.  It was freaking AWESOME! I was really hesitant at first, but this was really delicious!  Got me started off right.  Although I did find myself mourning a little for my traditional 1/2 bagel with tomato, bacon and a little mayo spread.  But I powered on.
2nd juice - Easy Green - Kale, cucumber, apple and lemon.  It was also pretty good.  I like the green juices - they definitely taste like you are drinking something healthy.
3rd juice - 22 Karat - it's straight up carrot juice.  It definitely tasted like carrots, but I found it a little hard to take.  It tasted a little dirty and it did make my throat itch a little.  I had a hard time getting through it.  I added half a beet shot - but it didn't do much to help.  I might actually skip the carrot juice tomorrow.
4th juice - Coconut Water - It was okay, but I think my stomach was still wonky from the carrot juice and I couldn't make it through the whole thing.  I think if I hadn't had the carrot juice I would have been okay.
5th juice - Green apple - Green apple + cucumber.  It was fine.
Last drink - Almond Milk - not my favorite, but I don't like regular milk.  I drank it all though, because supposedly the extra protein and fat in it helps you feel full and sleep better.

I wasn't starving, but I did spend most of the day at least slightly hungry.  The biggest challenge was the mindset of grabbing a snack when the hunger pangs kicked in.  That and watching TV is a pain in the ass... sweet lord do you know how many FOOD commercials there are???  EVERYTHING starts to look good by about juice #3.  I even found myself a little jealous as a scooped Cooper and Zoey's food into their bowls tonight.  I also have a wonderful bowl of Drunken Gummies "brewing" in the refrigerator and their allure is growing daily!  I keep telling myself "one gummy won't make that big a difference."  But we all know it's never just one gummy!  And really, when you are trying to cleanse your system I don't think the best thing to sneak is processed, artifical perservatives and sugar + vodka! Stay Strong! Stay Strong!  I think today may be a challenge.

Oops! I'm doing it again!

I've decided to try another one of those 3-day Juice cleanses.  Only this time I'm paying someone else to do all the work.  I found a fancy Juice Bar in Maryland, through one of the bloggers I read and I thought Why Not?  I've been doing really great all summer watching what I'm eating, not dieting, but just trying to be more aware and consciously making good choices.  Only eating when I'm really hungry, no mindless snacking, measuring out appropriate portion sizes and making healthy choice instead of always defaulting to a slim jim and some Doritios when the first hunger pangs hit.  That, in combination with our Summer Fit in 15 had 6 lbs falling by the wayside.  Yeah!  Pants that were a tad snug are now loose and flappy.  Anyway,  all that has fallen by the wayside over the last 2-3 weeks.  I know it's all stress.  Brenna going back to college, Zack starting high school, I've taken over a huge administrative position on the Crew Board and am still doing all the same stuff for Athletic Boosters. With school starting sometimes I have 3 different meetings in one day not to mention all the little "critical" shit that's gotta get done so the big stuff doesn't go down in flames.  Let's not forget the upcoming bathroom remodel. Can anyone say Post Traumatic Tile and Paint Syndrome!  It's all starting to get to me, I'm having the "can't find my locker" "can't find my class that I forgot to go to" and  "can't catch the hundreds of snakes appearing in my house" dreams.  Those are always an indication that I'm feeling overwhelmed and out of control.
Long story short (too late), I've been partaking of the snack food just a little too much and been feeling yuck!  Soooooo, I saw this bloggers Blog and I thought "Hey, I should do that again."  But I just couldn't add the stress of having to make it all myself, and shop and blah, blah, blah.  I've been tucking away "Mad Money" every month forever, and what better to spend my mad money stash on than  Juice Cleanse torture therapy!

I drove out to Bethesda yesterday and picked up my 18 bottles of juice, my 3 beet juice shots and 1 ginger shot and tucked it all away in the refrigerator.

Today's the day... of course, just like when you make an appointment for your kids at the doctor and they suddenly get better, I woke up this morning, the first morning of my juice fast....STARVING!.  Not just a little twinge of "Hmm I think I'll eat a little earlier this morning" hungry.  Freaking, stabbing hunger pangs hungry.  Oh well...

Right now I'm "enjoying" hot water with a slice of lemon, and 1/3 of the ginger shot (it's very spicy).  Not nearly as satisfying as the bagel and cream cheese I would love to be eating.  But I bought, I committed and I will persevere!

We're all still in the land of the living...

Day 2 completed with a minimum of pain.  I was definitely hungrier yesterday than the first day, but still not terribly so.  Maybe around 7pm when I was sitting and watching TV I got a little cranky as that is my prime "munching" time.  But I persevered and made it through just fine. Athough watching Chopped and Top Chef was probably not my best choice.  Never before have I been tempted by squid ink pasta or a sardine salad with spinach and rice cakes!  I'm not really missing the eating part, as a matter of fact it's sorta nice not eating - not having to figure out what to eat and then make it, not having to cook, but I am totally BORED with drinking... and with the peeing every 30 minutes... and with the cleaning of the juicer and blender 6 times a day.
Here's my menu for Day 2:

730a - Water with lemon
830a - Greens with apple juice
1130a- Blueberry/pineapple rice milk smoothie
230p - Pineapple/raspberry/mint rice milk smoothie
6p - Spinach/blueberry/apple/lemon juice
9pm- Strawberry/mango rice milk smoothie

I was supposed to be drinking nut milk - made with ground up cashews, coconut oil, water and vanilla...but that shit was disgusting!!!  It sorta smelled like you were trying to drink suntan lotion, but I with chunks.  Frankly I think I would have preferred suntan lotion.  So no nut milk in this house, I just saved my last smoothie for before bed.

 I will say my stomach is definitely flatter after 2 days of not eating, but I'm sure that's short lived. :o)  I do feel like after this it will be easier to start eating healthier, although I'm not sure I'll ever be able to restrain myself totally when a tasty gummy bear dances in front of me...oh and that Papa John's double layer pepperoni pizza...  I'm definitely getting me some of that....

No one is dead yet!

No one is dead, no one is injured, no one is mad and no one is even crying yet! 14 hours into my cleanse and it's going fine.  Here's how it's gone...

600am - hot water with lemon

930-11am - 1st green juice - blueberry, apple, lemon and spinach

130-3pm - 1st fruit juice - Mango Strawbery with rice milk 

5-630pm - 2nd fruit juice - Mango Cherry with rice milk

800pm - 2nd green juice - Greens with apple

It hasn't been bad at all.  The fruit juices are more like smoothies so I quite enjoy those.  I actually have one more fruit juice and a nut milk I'm suppose to drink before bed and I don't think I'm going to be able to do both.  You have to wait at least an hour between drinking.

I actually haven't been horrifically hungry at all today.  It's amazing to me.  I have had some twinges of hunger, but then it's time to drink another drink and I can go a little longer.

I will say - I don't think anyone realizes how many FREAKING commercials about food there are until you aren't eating!  It's crazy and of course everything looks stunningly tasty. :o)

Overall, very successful day.  I'm a little more nervous about tomorrow because I plan to stay home and work on Christmas decorations so there won't be as many distractions as there were today so it might get a little more difficult.  But we'll see.

I must say I'm a little impressed with myself.  I don't think I've ever gone a full day without eating - minus food poisoning or the flu... so yeah for me!

Hangry or not, here I come...

I went to Trader Joes today and stocked up on things like rice milk, organic coconut oil, raw cashews, kale, spinach and all sorts of organic fruits and veggies.  Now I've spent so much money that I have no choice but to cleanse away.  I feel like I should be enjoying my last meal tonight.  I kinda want to run through the house stuffing everything I shouldn't be eating into my mouth, but I know that defeats the purpose so I am trying to be mature and adult... but I don't like it very much.

I just lost my virginity.... my juicing virginity that is!

I just made and consumed my first official Jack Lalanne juicer juice!  I thought I better do a practice run before the big kick-off tomorrow!  I made Spinach-Blueberry-Apple-Lemon juice.  It was actually pretty tasty, pretty tart but that's okay for me because I love sour - a normal person might find it a little daunting. It sure smells healthy and tastes pretty fresh.  Not sure how 3 days of these juices will go, but I'm going to give it the old college try.  I'm a little worried considering the time between my yogurt breakfast and my salad lunch was only 4 hours and I was about ready to eat my sweatshirt.  You know it's bad when the Yam Sticks you bought for the dogs Christmas stockings are calling your name out of the back seat.   I'm not making any promises, but I really feel like I need to jumpstart myself out of the "2 pieces of apple pie aren't so bad especially if you only have one scoop of ice cream" or "taquitos make a great breakfast, they have CHEESE in them!" mentality.  So, tonight is my last hurrah before I jump on the healthy bandwagon.  I sure hope they play a lot of rocking' music on that bandwagon, cause I'm pretty sure I'm going to be cranky as hell! :o)

To cleanse or not to cleanse...

I've been toying with the idea for months of doing some sort of cleanse.  I just feel like my eating has gotten a little out of control.  Not so much the amount, although who in the world wouldn't like to lose 5-10 lbs, but mainly what I'm eating.  Just junk lately,  whatever is easiest to grab and eat, whatever takes the least amount of effort.  I would like to just hit restart and start over.  But... there is no way I can do any sort of lemon juice, cayenne pepper thing.  It has to be something reasonable not torturous.  Not eating is going to be bad enough, not to mention having to choke down some god awful concoction.  As a woman who is famous for getting cranky if she misses a meal... a cleanse seems a little daunting.  I am the one that the work "Hangry" was invented for. When the kids were little... John would say... "don't talk to mommy until we get her some food."   If I seem a little touchy or cranky, the first thing everyone askes is "Have you eaten?"  I admit that not eating for 3 days seems a little bit like asking for trouble.  But I need something to wake me up and snap me out of this bad food choice hell I'm living in.  So... I found a book called 3 Day Cleanse.  It seems to be a very reasonable approach to the idea of cleansing.  You drink lots of fruit juices and smoothies.  Herbal teas, nut milks and if you absolutely get DESPERATE ( or more likely your family gets desperate) and before the police are called.... you can eat some cucumber, celery or even a bit of avocado.  I envision my family standing in the bedroom doorway and just lobbing cucumbers and celery sticks at me.  Just knowing that I can eat something if I have to, makes me feel like I can do it.

I even used my credit card points to buy a Jack Lalanne juicer in preparation.  I have given up caffeine and soda.  I am ready to go.  Let's see if I can actually follow through... D-day is Friday....