Strawberry Lemonade Juice

Just had an incredible dessert.

In the blender I blended up:

1 apple

1 lemon (peel and all)

about a cup of strawberries

a decent handful of spinach

I then strained it through a paint strainer bag.

If you like Lemonheads or other sour things, you'll love this!

If you just prefer a more lemonade flavor I'd do just half a lemon.

Perfect for a summer treat!

Day 8: Juice Fast... kinda

I have one child napping so I'm going to attempt to get you all up to speed here.

Last Tuesday night, while up with a grumpy toddler who refused to sleep, I watched Fat Sick and Nearly Dead on Netflix. I was inspired. So, the next morning, instead of cereal, I had myself some whole juice freshly made in my Blendtec blender instead. I loaded the kids in the car and ran as many errands as I could, knowing I would not feel like doing anything the next the couple of days. We hit Costco where I loaded up on fruits and veggies. We hit Jamba Juice where I had a fruit & veggies smoothie (fruit, vegetable, ice only). We then hit Whole Foods where I cheated and ate some broccoli and asparagus, as well as picked up some flax seed oil. By that afternoon I thought I was dying. So weak. In so much pain. Bleh.

I had done some research that morning and saw that someone added whey protein powder and flax seed oil to their juice to ensure they got enough protein and fat. I thought this was a good idea since I was hoping to do this "fast" longer term. The first 5 days I did add whey protein to 1-2 juices a day as well as eating a few nuts (cashews, walnuts, and almonds) to try to help get me through. I finally downloaded an app that kept track of all my calories and nutritional intake and it showed I got enough protein even before the nuts and whey protein powder were included, so the powder went bye-bye. I also went a couple days without the nuts. I continue to use flax seed oil, coconut oil, and/or avocado to help keep the fats in my diet. Why? I don't know, really, but it seemed right.

Day 6 I realized that using the blender is not the same as juicing. You still get all the fiber with the blender, which is great, normally, but it is kind of opposite of what a juice fast is supposed to be all about. The juice fast is supposed to give your digestive system a break in order to free up energy to heal the body. With a proper juice fast, supposedly, you no longer feel hunger. However, the Reboot website says you can do both. With juicing you can get nutrition from more fruits and vegetables than with blending because it is less volume. I was wondering how these people in the video blogs were able to drink so much in one day. The last two days I have been using paint strainer bags from Lowe's to strain my blended whole juice in an attempt to turn it into "proper" juice. Not all of them, but most. It doesn't work out too terribly well, however. There is still a decent amount of fibrous material in the juice. So, I ordered a juicer today. I hope to get it on Friday. It is a Breville from HSN, who offers 3 monthly payments making a very good juicer mostly affordable! Yay!

Another way I cheat is for my lunch and dinner juices I blend in the Blendtec blender until steaming hot. These are tomato, kale, parsley, zucchini, bell pepper, spinach, carrot type juices. I add an organic salsa to it to spice it up as well as some no-salt seasoning. I also add some fresh sweet corn and/or black beans to it after it is done. Not a lot, just enough to make it feel like soup. I then pour it into a bowl and eat it with a spoon. It is actually quite good and I look forward to it. I know the corn and beans negate the whole "rest your digestive system" thing, but it works for me. I have been having a hard time getting vegetables in because I'm not a big vegetable fan, and this makes it easy.

The Reboot website also said I could eat as many fruits and vegetables as I liked on their plan. So, when I don't have juice on me and hunger strikes I can eat a couple slices of apple or share a banana with the boys. At dinner time I eat the vegetables the rest of the family is eating, and there usually is some seasoning on those... maybe low-sodium, gluten-free soy sauce, or olive oil.

Last weekend we went to the quilt show in Sisters and spent the night at my husband's aunt's house, who made a large dinner for the family. I brought my juicer and a cooler full of fruits and veggies, as well as some pre-made juice for when we were out and during the 3 hour drive travelling there and back. I was amazed at how easy it was. My husband set aside some cooked potatoes for me to eat on during the dinner, I also had a couple bites of grilled fish. Other than that I stayed on the juice, with some nuts here and there. There was no desire to eat anything else.

So, that is what I'm doing. Originally I planned for 10 days. We'll see how I feel, I may go for 30. Right now I am more energetic than I have been for years and am losing weight. Some health issues I've been dealing with are decreasing as well. It is absolutely amazing. I am just so damn happy!

Here are my weights so far:

Day 1: 221 lbs

Day 2: 218 lbs (-3)

Day 3: 217 lbs (-4)

Day 4: 216 lbs (-5)

Day 5: ??

Day 6: 211 lbs (-10)

Day 7: 209 lbs (-12)

Day 8: 208 lbs (-13)

On day 7, when I measured myself, I had also lost a total of 12.5".

See? Amazing!!

A Long Time Coming...

So, it has been nearly 2 years since I attempted this blog in the hopes it would motivate me (more hold me accountable) to lost weight. It didn't work. But now that I am losing weight I am motivated to update the blog. Yay!

I'm not going to go into any long update at the moment, I hope to do that tomorrow, but wanted to say that I am on day 7 of a modified juice fast. So far I have lost 12 pounds and I am feeling incredible! I'd love to share what got me to this point, but need to run off right now. I want to document my changes with photos, too. That will come.

I zipped up a pair of jeans today that I have been holding on for years in the hopes that I may wear them again at one point ~ and now I can! I am giddy and had to share... I'd shout it from the rooftops if I could ... it is, simply put, amazing.

I am trying to decide how to go about this whole weight loss thing. No diet has really worked before. I am a strong believer in looking at our past... way back past... for clues on how we (as in humans) should be eating. I was an Anthropology major at one point, what can I say?

While I comtemplate that, this week I have been trying to incorporate more activity into my life. I had a very tough pregnancy this last time and I am still recuperating. I had pretty bad pelvic problems, which are slowly resolving themselves. My back, however, is still giving me a lot of trouble. I have to be really careful. But I have been walking more, going up the stairs more often, and did a nice nature walk with Ander in the stroller and Finn in the sling.

I apologize for the thinness of posts this week. Trying to get my groove, so to speak, in life. It is always a bit awkward after a baby is born. I know it has been over 2 months now, but those first 2 months really don't count. It is all a blur :).

The Eating

Today I am dealing with a cold, so that changes everything.

My husband made me breakfast, 2 hours after I had already had cereal. He made me french toast with what was left of the challas, omelet with zucchini and cheese, and turkey sausage. That was pretty nice. I took a nap for lunch. Dinner I had brown rice, peas, carrots, and turkey kielbasa.

No cookies today!

I have also had a TLC dark chocolate and cherry granola bar, 2 whole wheat tortillas, and a few diet cokes and coffees throughout the day. Not terribly bad, but nowhere near where I want to be.

The veggies. Need more veggies. And the water! Gah! I forgot about water today.

I need to brainstorm some ideas on ways to get to eating better, and what I view as "better"... another time, when I'm not feeling miserable. Off to bed...

"Before"

My question to you all... how old do I look?

Measurements

I can't even remember the last time I took my measurements. I did it today, however. They are in the sidebar. I plan on taking photographs as well, I just need to wait for the camera to charge.

I was going to start a food log, and just thinking about that makes me cringe. Lets take today, for example. I ate like crap. All day. Crap. Why? I didn't have time. Woke up, have baby in arms. Drink coffee (Mom bought us a Keurig, you can do that one-handed easily). Grab a cookie to eat as I'm doing stuff. Grab another cookie. They happen to be right on the counter. Easy to grab.

Next thing I know we're off running errands. I'm really hungry. We're broke, though, so no drive-thru for us. First stop, however, is Great Harvest Bread Co. The kids have coloring sheets to turn in for a free cookie. We also get a loaf of Challas and I get a muffin to tie me over until lunch.

After errands we get home and the kids are hungry so the older ones make themselves food while I deal with a grumpy baby. I grab a slice of challas to eat while I deal with the baby. And a Diet Coke. And another slice of bread. Oh, and a cookie. Maybe it was two.

Ahh, quiet. Finally some peace. Youngers are napping, olders are playing outside. I sit down and relax. Finally get some work done, posting some items on Amazon to sell. Baby wakes about 20 minutes later. Then the toddler. Now it is time to start dinner.

Need to hurry, the baby is super fussy tonight and won't stand to be put down for more than a few minutes. I make the kids tortellini with some olive oil and pepper, little mozarella on top. Peas and sliced cucumber. Glass of milk to the side. Baby is screaming, so I nurse him. Cleaning up the table I take a few bites of tortellini. Time to try to get the two youngest down for bed.

Got them both down, I grab another slice of bread to go with my small serving of leftover egg noodles with beef and green beans. I grab a Fresca to drink as well. I veg out on Facebook while I eat. I'm still hungry.

I normally don't eat so much damn bread. And the Fresca is normally not around, either. And I try to eat at least a bowl of cereal in the morning, but sometimes that doesn't work. I'll probably pig out on various convenience food tonight because I am feeling ravenous. I am breastfeeding so that just makes me so hungry all the time. When I don't get enough to eat I just feel like I need to eat as much as I can get my hands on.

During pregnancy I drank a ton of water, about 100-120 ounces a day. Now I just have a hard time remembering. I drink about 20 ounces a day now, sometimes. Sometimes I forget and all I have during the day is coffee and soda. That needs to change. I also forget to take my prenatal vitamin. So I don't even have that to help me out.

I know my habits are unhealthy, and I know what I need to do to change. It just has been so difficult. And I'm scared. I like my food. I like to keep eating and eating, it makes me feel good. Well, kinda. It also makes me feel like a fat pig with no self-control. But it tastes good. Kinda. Well, normally it doesn't taste good because we can't afford good food right now. So why am I eating it?