Day 13 - Exciting stuff is happening!!

Sorry it's been a few days since my last post, but I really wanted to wait until I had more to say.  And today I do!  Lots of exciting things to share...but first, here's some photos of my meals for the day!

From left to right that's:
Cantaloupe/mint
Pineapple/carrot/orange/strawberry/kiwi/ginger
Mean Green
Watermelon/mint

Yum!!

So since we last spoke people around me are starting to notice the weight loss.  Everyone has been very supportive and excited for me.  I really haven't had to deal with too many nay-sayers so far, just one or two here and there and I can handle that.

My husband, Kevin, has been the biggest blessing ever!  I think he's happy to see me eating healthier and the improvements it's making in my attitude and overall health.  He takes me grocery shopping for produce, asks lots of questions, always wanting to know what's on the menu.  Our anniversary is in about 3 weeks and we plan to spend the day going to farmer's markets, a juice bar, and home depot to get supplies for my garden I want to put in.  I love him so much!  Took me 20 years to train him and now he's perfect!  (hahaha)

The other really cool thing I have to share is that my family (my mom and my sister) is finally on board and going to start juicing with me as well.  The back story on mom is that about 6 months ago she developed a tumor on her neck and they don't know for sure whether or not it's cancerous at this point (which is a loooooong story that I won't get into here).  It's very large, almost the size of an egg, and causes her tremendous pain.  She has, unfortunately, had to take massive quantities of prescriptions for the pain, the sleeplessness & nerve damage it's caused and I've been worried about her.  Recently she has also had some unexplained stomach issues to boot.

I told her about how juicing can really improve her health and out of the blue a neighbor just gave her a juicer!  So prayers are always appreciated for her and I'm praying that this will be a healing miracle for her.  I just wished she lived a little closer so I could be of more help with the juicing.

A word here about influence.  You influence the people in your life whether you realize it or not!  Sometimes for the bad, sometimes for the good.  Did you know that the average person has influence over 10,000 people in the course of their lifetime?  I never considered that anyone would want to join me on this.  Frankly, it's a pretty radical move and nothing to take lightly by just jumping right in!  But as of today, I've influenced 4 people to start juicing with me and I'm only 13 days into this!

As for me, since I started juicing I've lost 25 pounds.  17 of that is from the juice fast alone!  I'm going to continue weighing in just once a week so I don't get too caught up with the numbers.  But by the next weigh in, I will be back in the 160's which I haven't seen in 5 years!  I will be checking my measurements every 15 days so the next one will be in just 2 more days.  Oh the suspense!!

My hunger has dwindled off and the only time I notice it now is when I lose track of time and forget to drink my juice.  Then, once I do, I'm good for several more hours.  I realized the other day that between the juice and the water (and this doesn't count the occasional tea or vegetable broth) I am drinking 2 gallons of liquids a day!  At this rate, we'll need to buy stock in the toilet paper industry.

I'm doing a little investigating into the world of colonic hydrotherapy.  If you aren't familiar with that, let me break it down for you.  As you know, I've been using enemas to help the detox process along as I fast.  Unfortunately, they only target the lower portion of the colon so they can only help so much.  A colonic reaches the entire length of your intestine (which, by the way, is as tall as you are!!  crazy, huh?) and removes a lot of plaque that has built up on your intestine walls.  They use water and gravity or pressurized water from a machine (depending on which therapy you choose) to fill you up and clean you out.

If it's not too terribly expensive I may give it a go and let you know how it all comes out (pun intended).  As always, thank you for your support and encouragement!  I pray you have a blessed week filled with God's love and mercies.

Tip of the Day

Make your meals an event!  Don't drink your juice on the run if you can help it.  Treat it like the meal that it is by sitting down at the table and really focusing on it.  Think about all those powerful nutrients and minerals that are coursing through your body as you drink it.  Be thankful that the Lord has provided for you!  You can make it even more special by drinking your juice from a fancy wine glass or   using a silly straw.  My breakfast juice is in a gorgeous hand thrown ceramic beer stein.  There's just something about it that makes it feel more like a treat.

Day 10 - Distraction!

Going to be a busy day, but I didn't want to ignore you - so here's a great link for you to go check out today!

It's early morning and I have a busy day ahead of me.  I have just a few minutes to tell you about a great article you should go read when you are done here.

It's called "How distraction can help you go the distance"

Yesterday I was bored silly all day.  If you make all of your meals for the whole day in one hour in the morning, that leaves a lot of time open for the rest of the day (that is, if you are a stay home mom with all 3 kids in school, like me!  Ha!).  The weather here in Reno, as I said the other day, is not nice enough to go outside for fresh air.

So I was pretty much beside myself yesterday with nothing to do.  I had too much energy to just sit and read.  All the television and movies I wanted to watch had scene after scene of people eating food in them (not a good idea).  And I would have cleaned house, but it was already done.

It really made me think about how much food has ruled my life over the years.  Thinking about and planning the next meal, shopping for it, going online for recipes, preparing the meal, eating with family or friends in social gatherings...preparing for the NEXT meal....

One of the ideas he suggests in this article is to sit down with pen and paper and make a list of all the activities you would like to do or try out that you have never done before INSTEAD of eating.  I plan to do that this week.  I think it's a great idea!

Here's the article:
How Distraction Can Help You Go the Distance

I hope this week brings you closer to our Lord and Savior, and that you are blessed by His presence.

Tip of the day:

Treat yourself to a job well done - once a week or however frequently you choose.  Go to a juice bar and let someone ELSE make juice for you!  Most big cities have a few of them, and Whole Foods Market has a juice bar too.  Somehow they always taste better when someone else makes them, hahaha!

Day 8 - Tacos and Nachos and Pasta, oh my!!

Yes, folks, that is the sound of my cravings going psycho!  I am so hungry I want to punch someone in the throat!

But alas, I won't.

Yesterday was sooooo hard for me!  I didn't post because I didn't have anything nice to say.  I was fine for the first few hours and then around 2:00 images of tacos with sour cream and jalapeños, and fettucine with sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts and parmesan cheese drifted through my mind.  I could almost smell them!  Today, I thought I had a better handle on everything and then when we got back from church my kids made nachos for lunch...nachos with chili, and cheese and lots of hot sauce.  Oh man, my mouth just started watering.

So I got me some backup!  I asked for my prayer warrior friends to help a sista out and pray for me before I go bonkers.  One good brother in Christ reminded me that I'm not going to be without food forever, just temporarily.  And he said that in the past when he was fasting and cheated with food, he always regretted it BUT when he stuck to his guns, even when it got hard he was so proud of himself and never regretted it.

Thank you Jesus for people who get it!  This is one of the many reasons why having good brothers and sisters in Christ is so vital.  We bear one another's burdens and we strengthen each other and we pray for each other.

I'm finding out that fasting is such a mental battle and how much control food has over me!  I don't like it.  I want to be in control of what I eat, when I eat it and how much of it I eat.  I want to treat my body like the temple of the Holy Spirit that it is ~ keeping it clean and filled with whole and healthy foods, not garbage.  This is just the first step for me, but I want to be a good example to my kids and teach them to eat healthier as well.  I saw someone that someone posted recently on Facebook that really resonated with me...it was something to the effect of "You are what you eat.  So don't be cheap, easy, fast or junk."  So true!!

I don't have a lot else to report except to say that as I weighed myself this morning, on day 7, I was delighted to find I had lost 10 pounds!  Hoping in continues, although I do understand that it slows down after the first week.

Have a blessed day and make Jesus a part of it!

Here's your tip for the day:

Change up your juice recipes from day to day, so that you will get the widest variety of nutrients and won't get bored with your juice.  I have purchased several juice recipe books and it's always an adventure!

Day 11 - Not feelin' it

Uh yeah, so not feelin' it today people.  I just want to crawl under the covers and cry all day and feel sorry for myself.

I didn't sleep at all last night, which is the first time that's happened since I started.  I normally sleep like a rock!  But I tossed and turned and finally gave up at 6:00 a.m.   

And as the day has progressed I'm finding myself achy all over and emotional, and of course even more sleepy than normal since I was up all night.  It didn't hit me until late this afternoon.

AHA!  Detox has finally arrived!  Took 11 days, but it's happening.  I'm actually glad to see it because I knew that my body was toxic, it had to be!  I've been on prescriptions for so many years that my poor liver was about to go on strike!  Now I'm finally getting all those nasty poisons out of my bod once and for all.

The food cravings and hunger has abated considerably and sometime in the last few days I made a decision.  I'm absolutely not going to give up - no matter what it takes.  I'm in it to win it, as they say and frankly I think I'm worth it!  

I've always sorted of coasted through life, not really thinking too much about what I was putting into my body.  If I was hungry, I ate, and it never occurred to me that some foods could be toxic to my system.  Yeah, I knew that certain things would make me fat or cause upset stomach.  But actually, literally, causing my health to slowly fail.

To be honest, I rarely gave any of my non-organic fruits and veggies more than a cursory rinse with water before eating them, until now.  In the course of my research I've read and seen more about food production in this country and how food affects our health positively or negatively, than I ever knew was possible.  

Frankly it's pretty scary!  We need to open our eyes...I'll say it again, if you haven't already seen the following documentaries, go watch them.  NOW.

Food Matters
Forks Over Knives
Hungry for Change
Food Inc.

It will revolutionize the way you eat and the way you treat your body.  I promise.  And after all, our bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit.  We should be treating them with the utmost care and respect :)

That's it for today, will be back tomorrow if I get more time, it's my honey's 50th birthday so I could be busy celebrating.  Blessings on each and every one of you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Tip of the Day

When you want to give up, when the cravings become too much, when it doesn't seem like it's worth it...go back and read that list you made!  You remember the one right?  The list I had you make of ALL the reasons why you are doing this.  If that doesn't work, read it again.

One other thing, if you are brave enough.  I had someone take a photo of me in nothing but a sports bra and pair of spandex workout pants at the start of my weight loss journey. (Yuck!  My temple needs to be remodeled!) I made that my wallpaper on my computer!  You could do the same thing, or put it on the refrigerator.  Remember where you came from and why you don't want to go back there!

Day 9 - Yippee!!!

Friends - I feel so goooood today!  My energy is finally being restored, I am sleeping so good at night, my hunger is dissipating and my skin is looking better each day!!  I feel like I could make a juicing infomercial right now...

I have some exciting news to share today.  First things first, I have influenced three people already to join me in this fast!  I haven't really talked to a lot of people about it because for me, right now, it's sort of a private thing.  But as I get further and further along, I will probably start to open up more about it and who knows?  Maybe others will want to tag along as well!

I have lost 13 pounds to date on this fast and a total of 17.5 inches overall.  I'm so thrilled with that and I know I have another 61 days to go - this could get me back to what I weighed the day I got married 19 years ago!

Today is the first day that hunger hasn't hounded me at all - I totally credit this to God and to all the prayer warriors backing me up.  I had to remind myself a couple times to drink my juice because I wasn't hungry.  Very, very thankful for this!

More important than all of that though, my relationship with Christ is being strengthened and renewed day by day.  I'm finding myself spending less time on the computer or in front of the tv, in favor of devotional and prayer time.  And it hasn't been a chore for me, it's been refreshing and beautiful.  God is so good!

It is snowing here in Reno so I haven't been able to walk in the last couple of days which I really miss.  I'm sooo ready for warmer weather, as are all Reno-ites.   I want to put a garden in once it starts to actually look like Spring!  I am hoping it will not only encourage everyone to eat more veggies around here, but also help to defray the cost of some of the produce I've been plowing through.

Not much else to report today, but I will be back in a few days to chat with you more.  In the meantime, may the peace which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Tip of the day:

If you haven't already done it, go right now and watch "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead."  It will forever change the way you think about juice fasting.  There are literally thousands of people around the world who changed their lives completely after watching this film.  Joe Cross is my hero!

Day 5 - SALSA!!!

Welcome to day 5, or as I like to call it, the day of Salsa Juice!!!  Oh yes, folks, I made a juice that tastes just like homemade salsa...and not to toot my own horn, but dang, it was the BOMB!!

Ok, done bragging.  But for real, I was getting tired of all the sweet juices and was craving something spicy.  So I juiced some tomatoes, anaheim peppers, cucumber, garlic, lime, cilantro, onion, red pepper, threw in some apple cider vinegar & cumin and BAM!  You got yourself some salsa juice!  This one is going down as a new favorite!

I'm finding that at day 5, routine is the one thing that is really helping me hold this thing together.  I have my way of doing things each and every day, and it keeps my mind off food. I'm also seeing a pattern of rising earlier than I used to because I not only slept well, but I'm also excited to get into that kitchen and make some juice.  The fresh fruits and veggies all lined up on the counter, the smell of grapefruit as it goes through the juicer, even the sound the juicer (or as my kids lovingly call it - the "alarm clock") as it grinds away, it's all so therapeutic to me.

On another topic...I've always enjoyed gardening, and for years our Mother's Day tradition has been to get some new plants to put in the ground.  This year I'm putting in a garden!  As much as I am spending on produce these days, there's no reason not to.  And we have half an acre here, so there's plenty or room.  Now if the weather would only cooperate that would be just splendid!

Still no detox symptoms to report - maybe that will happen next week?  I'm pretty sleepy all the time, but the headaches are gone.  This might sound weird, but I was almost looking forward to the detoxing because at least that way I would know that they toxins were leaving my body.  So perhaps I wasn't as toxic as I thought, or perhaps they are all going underground and going to pop out and surprise me later on down the line.

Today I started a video blog for youtube.  I don't plan to post any of the videos until I get at least to day 30, it will give me something to look forward to.  But I'm just hoping to see some physical progress by then and I can say, "Look!  I did it and so can you!"  Once I have that up and ready to go, I will give you the link here.  I'm really hoping that I'll get over the whole "Man-I-feel-like-a-giant-tool" feeling I get when I'm making the video.

Blessings to all of you who are reading this!  May the Lord Jesus Christ keep you in the palm of His hand today, and may you know of His incredible love for you.

Tip for the day:

Make all your juice for the day at once, so you can relax the rest of the day!  As long as you store it for no more than 24 hours in airtight glass jars (I got a case of ten 32 oz jars at Walmart for $10) your juice will be fine.  My routine is to fill the jar to the top (if it's not all the way to the top, add some water), scoop out any foam (because once the foam bubbles pop, you'll have air at the top of your jar and the juice will start to oxidize) and add in some more water.  Then pop on your lid, stick it in the fridge, and you're done!

Day 4 Shocker!!

I blew it last night!  I had tacos, pizza, chocolate, apple crisp and cheesecake!  I didn't even enjoy it...made me feel pretty sick...

And then I woke up feeling horribly guilty and incredibly disappointed in myself.  Thank God it was just a dream!

Day four and I'm hanging in there, people!  Yesterday I did not one, but two, enemas!  First a water enema and then a coffee one.  You are never supposed to start with a coffee enema apparently.  Not the most pleasant experience but I felt really great afterward.

So far, no really bad detox symptoms to report.  Still feeling very tired, but mellow (it's almost like this insane peace has invaded my spirit.  God is surely with me!) and have a bit of a headache.  Other than that I feel good - very light and satisfied with just juice, water and tea.

I'm really enjoying this process immensely!  I knew I would - after doing so much research I had this anticipation and excitement to get started.  I'm very thankful that I eased into it the way that I did, because so far it's going super smoothly.

There is so much variety in what you can have when you juice, the combination of fruits and vegetables are endless and some that I have made are so delicious that I don't miss regular food at all!

In other news, I found a "fasting buddy" for support and encouragement.  He is a brother in Christ from North Carolina, doing the same type and length of fast as I am.  I think this is a wonderful idea for all of you who are venturing into juicing territory.  You NEED someone to talk to who will understand what you are going through and help you through it, and you can do the same for them.  Trust me on this!

Finally, this week I'm praying that God will bring me a Breville juicer.  My "Juiceman Jr." works ok, and will hold up for a while, but the pulp comes out really wet so I have to run it through twice and it's difficult to clean.  I believe this is something that I will stick to for many years to come, at least one juice a day.  So I need something that will really hold up for me.

Ok, I'm off to pick up more produce.  Happy juicing to all and to all a good night!

P.S.  One more thing I'd like to add.  I know it's only day 4 out of 70, but I have to say this....I'm SUPER proud of myself.  I feel like I've already accomplished something amazing for my health.  :)