Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »

the results

Published January 12, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment

After seven days fasting/flushing, here are my results:

- Headaches – I wish I could say they were completely gone, but they started to resurface today. Ugh. They seemed to recede for a few days, so maybe today was just an off day.

- Sleep – more sound, more restful. Feel tired around 10 pm, wake up refreshed about nine hours later. Probably still catching up on sleep overall, but it doesn’t take as much effort to peel myself out of bed in the mornings.

- Weight loss - 7 days, ~7 pounds. Not too shabby.

All in all, this was a pretty awesome experience. I’d be happy to do it again. And probably will. Very soon. I’d like to try a full ten days. Seven was good, but the detox seemed like it still had a ways to go.

I planned to add more to this, but I’m tired and this is all I’ve got in me tonight.

a musical childhood

Published January 10, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment

I used to be so much better about keeping up on current music. Introduce DJ-less radio, Pandora, iPods and NPR and new music rarely sticks. Something about announcing the band and title at the end of a song made it stay with me.

I’ve always been a big fan of the classics, and it dawned on me the other day that C is growing up listening to the same music I did. Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater, Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who. Great stuff. Pandora makes it incredibly easy to stream a great variety of classic rock from the sixties and seventies. So, when C asks for music, or asks to dance, it’s pretty likely that’s who we’ll put on the stereo.

Even though I grew up in the cassette tape generation, a lot of the music I listened to as a kid was on LP or eight track. Because that’s what my parents had. As a teenager, I started to appreciate the subtleties of music recorded on vinyl, and began to grow my own LP collection. When I was a kid, we had a record player in our living room. One of those large all in one stereos that doubled as a side table. The record player was in the center, sunken down and hidden beneath a wooden lid. When closed, the top was flush. The speakers on each side were disgused behind lattice woodwork. A storage area in the center to house records.

I retained bits and pieces of memories listening to music as a kid. Saturdays mornings in the living room – windows open, a slight breeze, sunshine streaming in through the sheer curtains and the stereo playing. It’s mostly a nostalgic feeling, and the music triggers those feelings more than me trying to recall a specific time that was spent listening to music. My thought is that it was so common that it was just a standard thing, with nothing monumental to remember.

I do have one specific memory of that record player, though. We’d just been to McDonalds for the very special treat of a happy meal. The contest at the time was a little different; it was a rather flimsy record disc with the McDonald’s song on it. Remember that one? You listened to your record and found out if you won. We didn’t, but it was fun, all the same.

My Dad had an eight track player in his van. I remember his collection of eight tracks. They were so cool to me as a kid. The fact that you couldn’t see how they worked made them that much more interesting. They were on the way out, which made them feel special. Rare, unique. I bet he still has them in a box somewhere.

I wonder what new technology will be around when C is thirty. Will she reminisce about the days we listened to CDs? Or MP3s? Or when we streamed Pandora together? Will she remember the clunky computer we had connected to our flat screen LCD TV and laugh about how retro it all was? Probably.

Funny how fast times change.

juice flush – day 5

Published January 9, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: ,

Happy with how easy this has gotten. Granted, I’m not sitting at work, continually assaulted by the aromas of lunches and snacks around me, but I am dealing with preparing meals for C. Still, it feels good to do something healthy for myself.

The level of confidence that comes with losing weight and feeling healthier is also amazing. This morning, Ben called to let me know people from SMUD were on their way over to discuss a tree that needs to be removed. A few second later, a knock at the door. I glanced down at my work out pants, hoodie sweatshirt and warm, but ugly socks. Nevermind that I was still wearing my glasses, had my hair in a pony tail and desperately needed a shower. I shrugged and answered the door.

It wasn’t as if I would have answered the door previously. I just wouldn’t have felt great about it. The thing is, this morning, I just didn’t care. Why did I care what two SMUD workers thought of me? Really? I was surprised at how little it phased me. I guess it probably phased me a little, considering I took note of it and am dwelling in it now, but oh well.

Observations:

- My headaches seem to be subsiding (knock on wood, fingers crossed, add whatever superstitious ritual you like here). Didn’t wake up in pain last night. No sign of a lingering headache now.

- I stopped drinking juice rather early last night. My intestines weren’t agreeing with it and I felt like I needed a break. So, just lots of tea and water. I woke up this morning with no hunger. Drank some water, made some ginger tea, and am again restraining from more juice for now. One of the websites I read said to take intestinal distress during a fast as a cue that your digestive system wants a break to work on things, stick to water and tea and give it some time off. After the water this morning, things got, ahem, moving again, so apparently there was some wisdom in that statement. Water and ginger tea are on the menu this morning until things settle down. Oy.

- Ben came up with the brilliant idea of pulling out the apron for juicing this morning. Seriously? Why didn’t I think of that? Such a fantastic idea.

- C’s been trying juice here and there, although she doesn’t love it, even the super sweet all fruit varieties. Maybe it’s because we haven’t given her much juice in the past, so she’s really not acclimated to the flavors. Or maybe it’s just that she’s crazy. On thing I noticed today? Her poop smelled like fruit. Ew. I guess that’s better than the normal odor, though.

image
- I’ve changed my tune a bit on the laxative issue. In addition to the cayenne, I’m drinking a senna tea daily. Smooth Move… catchy name, eh?

- I do miss coffee. The smell, the ritual of it all. I, fortunately, didn’t have to deal with any caffeine withdrawals this time. I don’t normally drink it daily, maybe a few times a week, so breaking it wasn’t an issue. But there’s something calming about sitting with a cup of coffee and starting your day. I went to Starbucks and got a tea today. Vanilla Rooibos. Yum.

- Non organic carrot juice? Not great. I got some yesterday from a taqueria, and it was not fantastic. It tasted a bit like dirt. Perhaps they didn’t wash their carrots enough. Nevermind that I could have bought a bulk package of organic carrots from Costco for the price they charged. In addition, my body didn’t like it much. And it let me know as such. The rest of the afternoon.

image – Used leftovers for C’s dinner tonight. Added raw peas and butternut squash. Presentation left something to be desired, but it seemed tasty enough. I salivated over it a bit. C hasn’t been great about eating lately, but distraction is a great technique. Tonight, we played a matching card game at the table during dinner. Every time C got a match, we cheered and gave her a bite of dinner as a “prize”. This may be teaching the wrong psychology about food, though. Oh well, at least she’s getting some nourishment. This phase will pass soon enough.

- I had a great day, but am feeling a bit run down now (7:30 pm). I think it may be due to not drinking enough fluids today. I haven’t been feeling hungry, so I haven’t had much juice. I’ve tried to keep up on water and tea, but feel like I could probably drink more.

- Tired of my movie suggestions yet? I’ve got another for you. Better than the last. Forks Over Knives. A little less biased of the medical profession than Food Matters, but there are some pretty strong guilt tactics in this one. Just go in prepared and watch it for the useful information it divests to you.

So ready for Hawaii.

D+ at best

Published January 9, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment

imageObligation is a funny thing, isn’t it? Even when you’re snug in your bed, nice and warm, it tugs and urges you to get up. To leave that nice warm place and do the things we need to do.

We fed our neighbor’s dogs this weekend while they were out of town. One of their dogs is older, and needs to eat a few times a day. His internal breakfast clock goes off at 6 a.m. By the time we get up, around 8, he thinks he’s starving. It’s this obligation that pulled me out of bed Sunday morning. Despite the fact that I got very little sleep the night before, despite my nice, warm, comfy bed. Yup, obligation.

I find it odd that my sense of obligation, at least one that compels me leave my bed early on a Sunday morning, extends only to tasks that affect living, breathing things. Family, friends, pets, even other people’s pets, all fill me with that sense of responsibility that keep my eyes peeled wide once I’ve awoken. When someone is depending on me, it’s important that I don’t let them down. It’s nice to feel needed. What’s odd to me is that this same feeling of obligation does not extend to, say, my plants. Even though they’re living and breathing things, even though their livelihood depends on my taking good care of them, and even though I set a twice weekly calendar reminder telling me to water them, I’m terrible about it. Unless they’re unusually hearty, most plants see their demise at my hands. And I feel no remorse. Maybe a bit of guilt over my poor plant tending skills, but no remorse.

Saturday night was a rough one for sleep. I woke up with a headache early Sunday morning, and wasn’t able to shake it. My meditation “homework” wasn’t paying off. Definitely not A+ work this time. My mind was too busy with other things. After about an hour of attempting to get back to sleep, I headed out to the living room at 3:45 a.m. Sometimes a change of scenery is all I need to get back to sleep. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case this time. I laid there for a bit, then finally pulled out my phone and spent some time working on draft blogs. Started feeling tired around 5:45, and moved back to the bedroom. Finally got back to sleep around 6 a.m.

Needless to say, 8 a.m. felt very early, but obligation pried my eyes open. Knowing there was a sweet, loving dog waiting for me forced me awake. Seeing his happy face when I arrived made it worth it. (I know I said dogs earlier, and there were, in fact, two dogs at the house, but one just growled at me the entire time I was there, and seeing her unhappy face wasn’t the payoff for getting out of bed).

What can I say, I’m a sucker for a cute face and drooly grin.

back to basics

Published January 8, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags:

I’d love to say I’m not, but I’m easily swayed by fads, especially diet and health related ones. In all honesty, I know I shouldn’t be. I know that for weight loss, I should stick to the age old calories in, calories out formula and leave it alone. Fewer processed things, more fresh, more fruits and veggies, fewer animal products. Deep down in my heart, I know all of this. It’s a simple enough solution, although one that is undoubtedly easier to talk about in theory than apply in practice.

So, moving past the fact that I shouldn’t be suckered in to fads or quick fixes, I still love them. I get excited when I find something new that seems, for all intents and purposes, like a fantastic idea. As I mentioned previously, I’ve done juice fasts in the past. Every few years I reach a point where I just feel off. Bogged down, lethargic for no good reason, needing more coffee and more sleep than normal. Muscles ache, headaches start, exercise is hard. So, I’ve done a three or four day juice fast. An added bonus, I’d usually lose five or six pounds, and as long as I didn’t go to crazy immediately following the fast, I would keep most of it off. Mostly, though, I loved the clarity that came with it. The first couple days were always the hardest, but by day three, I was loving it. The length of my fasts were usually limited by social factors. Events that I planned my fast around. It was difficult to find more than for consecutive days where some social function didn’t expect you to eat. In all reality, once I got past the third day, I would have been happy to keep going. It was a bit sad to go back to solids after staving of for several days and making it past the point of feeling hungry. Ravenous. Famished. Like you can’t possibly drink any more juice. Yes, it wasn’t easy by any stretch. It takes a firm resolve and commitment to make it happen.

You might be wondering where this sudden idea to hop back on the juice fast wagon came from? Welp, let’s just say, I saw it in a movie. No, really, we watched a documentary called “Sick, Fat & Nearly Dead” the other night, and it set me on a mission. If these “average” people could go through an extended juice fast and see incredible results, why couldn’t I? There was one story was about a lady who conquered migraine headaches with her juice fast. That one really spoke to me (as I popped another Tylenol in my mouth). Like I said, I’m a sucker for fads and easily swayed. I like to say that I’m “cautiously optimistic”. I’m pretty sure Ben would have another term for it.

The main character in the movie? He was a man who’d done a sixty day juice fast. SIXTY DAYS. Along the way, he was monitored by doctors to ensure he was healthy. Blood tests every ten days. Each blood test came back with progressively better results. Lower cholesterol, better triglyceride levels, just better health in general. The story goes on to tell of other “regular joes” taking the same path to health, and embarking on their own juice fast. If you haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend it. Even better, it’s available streaming on Amazon, and if you’re a prime member, it’s free.

So here I am, midway through and thoroughly impressed with the merits of a freshly pressed juice fast. Even with buying in bulk at Costco, it’s more expensive than I thought it would be. Organic produce just ain’t cheap. But at the end of the day, if we’re taking health costs, it’s cheaper than my next few doctor visits. If I can avoid those and break even, I’ll be a happy camper.

That’s my story. Thanks for reading. :-)

that’s just wrong

Published January 8, 2012 Uncategorized 2 Comments

image
Remember when you were a kid, and everything was off limits? Well, not literally everything, but usually enough that you felt repressed? It didn’t matter how lenient your parents were, you still had to push the envelope, find your own path, make your own mistakes. Something about it just appealed to you. Drew you in. Made you feel like you were in control of your own little world.

I had friends in high school who pushed the already very loose boundaries their parents had set. I saw one friend spiral downward, dealing with situations and experiences far beyond her brief sixteen years. I don’t want that for C. I don’t want to shield her from the world, but is it too much to ask that she be kept in a bubble until after college? Or maybe until she’s thirty? Ok, ok, just kidding. But seriously, I’d rather not have her face those type of distractions during high school. It’s tough enough without extra drama thrown in. It goes hand in hand with my commentary on wanting a smaller setting for raising kids. Large cities come with large problems. In my idealistic setting, my small town, those problems are significantly downscaled, if not nonexistent. And those problems definitely don’t happen to my kids, or their friends. Naive, I know. Let me live in my fantasy world for now.

Why is it so enticing to forge your own path? Why is it more exciting to be defiant? To do something that you know is wrong? What is it in human nature that pulls at us so strongly? Maybe it triggers parts of our brain that bring euphoria and excitement. These questions are mostly rhetorical, ones that can’t be answered. Regardless, as a parent, it’s frustrating to be on the receiving end of defiance. It makes my life more difficult, more challenging.

C is pushing boundaries these days. She’s testing the waters, seeing what she can get away with. If it wasn’t already apparent, the “I’m two” switch has definitely flipped. She demonstrates her new defiance often. Like when she runs away from me while we’re standing in a very long line at a department store, laughing with glee at the fact that I’m scampering behind her, trying to catch up. Or runs out in to a busy parking lot while my hands are full, giving me a mini heart attack. Or when she tests boundaries by hitting or pinching me. Softly, yes, but knowing that what she’s doing is wrong and seeing what happens when she does it. Right now I try to explain that “mommy doesn’t like that” and “it hurts mommy”, but I see more time outs happening very soon.

With defiance comes independence, which is exciting to see. I love knowing that C is growing and becoming her own little person. She still checks in with me when dealing with something she’s really uncertain about, but when she thinks she knows what’s going on, she rushes ahead full steam. Scary for us lowly parent types, but exciting all the same. Seeing her grow. Watching her come in to her own.

So, where do you draw that line of lenient versus strict parenting? How do you decide where that line should be? Being too strict will ensure certain rebellion, but being too lenient, and failing to provide much needed rules, expectations and boundaries isn’t much better. I guess well figure it out when we get there. It’s just something to keep in mind as these little battles occur today. During the twos, and the threes, and the fours… sigh.

See? Not leaving C out of the blog, just refocusing my direction a bit. This post deviated a bit from my original plans, but we ended it how I’d hoped, so I guess all was not lost. Too many thoughts in my head right now.

Until tomorrow.

juice flush – day 3

Published January 7, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: ,

imageToday was the hump in the flush. The precipice, if you will. Tomorrow should be easier. Not that today was terrible, it’s just nice to know that easier days are ahead.

I was down to 146 this morning. A weight I haven’t seen I’m years. It’s less than my wedding weight. A weight I last saw several months in to dating Ben. A weight I’m not embarrassed to publish on the internet. This puts me down in the “healthy/normal” range of BMI again, for as much as you agree with that measure. Again, shirts fitting looser today. Yes, I’m well aware that this is a water weight loss. It’s still great motivation to keep going. Let me enjoy this false win momentarily.

Observations:
- Ben has decided, and I agree, that fresh pressed juice is infinitely better than stuff that’s even hours old. So, as much of a pain as it is to thoroughly the clean juicer five plus times a day, that’s the preferred method, both for taste and nutrients. It’s a small inconvenience for nice benefits.

- Body is still definitely in the “cleaning out” phase, which is incredible considering no solid food has gone in for nearly sixty hours. You know the white film you’re supposed to get on your tongue during a detox? Mine showed up tonight. First time I’ve noticed this during a fast. That’s a good sign it’s working.

- Juice consumption slowed down today. Maybe you need more the first few days just to adjust, then it evens out. That’s my theory for now, at least.

- Our house stinks. I’m thinking that the broccoli and cauliflower pulp are to blame. Not pleasant aromas, even though the juice isn’t bad. Trying to mask it by juicing pineapple and lemon after is futile. I need to dump this stuff immediately instead of letting it sit in the compost bowl during the day. Took a thorough airing out to smell right again.

- Feeling incredibly “bright eyed” today. I’m not sure that I fully understood what that meant until today. It’s an odd sensation, not bad, just odd.

- Thinking clearer. Able to keep lists in my head again and not struggle to remember them. An amazing feeling.

- The hardest part of the day was definitely when I cooked for C. Last night, I got away with dumping stuff in a casserole dish and baking it. Other than when I served it to her, I didn’t actually come in contact with ready to eat “food”. Today, though, I made her a spinach, egg and cheese wrap, sauteing all of it on the grill before putting it in a tortilla. Man, that smelled good. It took all my brain and will power to not taste as I went… brain power to remember that I wasn’t supposed to consume the succulent shredded cheese that fell from her wrap on the plate, and will power to stop myself once I remembered.

- Juicing can be messy business. Don’t wear white. My white Cal Poly sweatshirt, which spent the night in oxyclean, can attest to that.

- Headaches continue. I wish I could say they’re better, but it’s just not true. Still holding out hope that things will turn around soon.

Until tomorrow.

nirvana

Published January 7, 2012 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Tags:

imageAhhhhh, Saturday mornings. Ben takes C away for a weekly class and I get the morning to myself. Forty five minutes uninterrupted. Pure bliss. This morning, rather than attending to the dishes in the sink or the laundry waiting to be put away, I’m relaxing in an indulgent bubble bath. Pandora in the background, streaming indie hits that make me reminisce of days not so long gone.

Blogging has filled my spare time lately, and I’m really enjoying getting back in to it. Ideas fill my head, I grab my phone, start a quick draft, then come back and fill it out later. I have thirteen drafts started right now. THIRTEEN. It’s great, although I’m struggling a bit with deciding when to post them. Especially now that I have daily posts happening for my juice flush. Those don’t really fulfill my need to write, they fit the “status update” category a little better, so I still tinker with my more thoughtful pieces in the background, not really sure when to put them up. I’ve decided the solution is that some days, I’ll put up two posts. And some days one. And, I’m sure soon enough, some days none. I will try to stick to at least one a day for the immediate future, though.

I attended a meditation class earlier this week. I’ve never tried meditation before, and it was really interesting to take part in this type of class. Learning breathing exercises and “mindfulness”. Closing eyes and imagining your breath entering from the front of your body, leaving from the back, returning through the back and then leaving through the front. Then sitting with eyes open, softly focused, and just focusing on your breath. Counting at the end of each breath… in, out,1… in, out, 2… in, out, 3, and so on. Each time you notice yourself wander, you reflect on what your thoughts were, then gently bring yourself back to a count of one. If you actually make it to ten, you start back over at one again. It’s about training yourself to just sit and be in the present moment. Not focusing on the past or the future. Letting go of the bills that need to be paid, the cleaning that needs to be done, the traffic outside. Just enjoy being present with yourself.

During the exercises, I had an interesting observation. These headaches I’ve been dealing with, they mostly go away when I’m distracted. If don’t notice them, it’s as if they’re not there. If someone asks about them or I attempt to lie down, wham, there they are again. During meditation with my eyes open, I had no issue with headaches. They simply didn’t exist. But when I closed my eyes and removed visual stimuli, there they were. During the breath exercises, each time I imagined my breath touching my head, it was excruciating pain. To the point where I wasn’t sure I could continue the class.

I told the group leader about my experience, and she gave me a homework assignment. The next time I noticed a headache, avoid giving it a label of “terrible” or “excruciating” and just observe it. Let the pain be whatever it is and see how your body responds. That night, when I woke up at 1 AM with my head pounding, I tried the new exercise. I paid attention to the location of the headache, trying to give it shape and color and texture. And, amazingly, I was back to sleep with little more effort. Two weeks of not sleeping, and this magic trick puts me right out. I woke up a few more times that night, used the same technique, and again, fell back to sleep. I used the same trick last night, and my thoughts actually evolved to giving my headache it’s own little personality. Ok, so I think I was half dreaming there, but, really? Who cares. I was getting back to sleep without the use of drugs.

Weird? Maybe a little. Still, quite peaceful. I’ll trade weird for peaceful.

We discussed how our culture is such that we feel useless when we’re not doing something. Some task, some plan, some action. We don’t just sit and enjoy being with ourselves. Even now, with forty five minutes to myself, I decided those would be best spent soaking in a bath, while listening to music and blogging. I can’t even limit myself to one activity or stimuli, the bare minimum this morning was three. Add the aroma of my vanilla bubbles to the mix, and there’s yet another sense actively engaged.

So, did I reach enlightenment during meditation? Did I find Nirvana? You mean, I wasn’t there already? I don’t think I crossed over that threshold this time, but it was still very cool to see the steps one might take to find inner piece.

oh man

Published January 6, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment

imageWith Hawaii just ten days away, I’m getting excited. I’m also realizing how much we have left to do before we go.

Mostly we need to coordinate daycare for C to cover the few things we plan to do things without her. We purchased a helicopter ride to tour the island for Ben and me, and C won’t be accompanying us, so we are planning to use a daycare service for that. Our meals well mostly be at the condo we rented, but we hope to get out for at least one nice dinner while we’re there. So, again we’ll be in need of babysitting. There was also talk of a massage… which is preferably an adults only activity. So possibly one more time slot to find childcare.

Then there are activities we want to all do together, but still need to make reservations. We’ll hit up a traditional (although touristy) luau, do some snorkeling near our condo, maybe ride on a glass bottom boat, do the drive to Hana. It’s just a matter of figuring out where it all fits in best. More than anything else, though, we just want to relax while there. Our condo is on the ground floor, “just 23 steps from the sand,” according to the vrbo website. A have grand plans to take advantage of our long distance baby monitor and lounge in the sun with cocktails while C naps. We’ll spend lots of time at the beach with her, too, but I imagine our “relaxation time” will come easier when she’s not there.

Given that we don’t have very aggressive demands for our trip, it does take some of the planning stress off. I’ve started packing already and have some laundry to do to finish up my bag. The clothes I recently pulled out of my “too small” box (more on that later) absorbed an unpleasant plastic odor that needs to be washed out. I have big plans for our washing machine this weekend. I hope it’s ready for all the action!

the juice flush – day 1

Published January 6, 2012 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Tags: ,

image

In light of the fact that this juice thing is more of a flush than a fast, I’m renaming it from here out. Others support this terminology as well, but really, it’s just a matter of semantics. Fast or flush, whatever you want to call it, still describes the same thing.

Thursday was day one. Really, it was half of day one, due to a delivery delay. My juicer should have arrived yesterday, but Fed Ex couldn’t handle my next day air request and got it to me a day late. I watched the tracking online anxiously yesterday, seeing the package arrive in an adjacent city, only to have the tracking status update a few hours later with “delay expected due to additional processing.”

I finally got my hands on the new juicer today, and nine hours in, I was in LOVE. Or maybe it’s just lust. No matter, I’m just as thrilled either way. Why did I wait so long to find you, breville juice? You are everything I could have hoped for in a juicer. A beast with the tough stuff, yet able to finesse the most delicate fruits and vegetables into a luscious nectar. Oh, yes, it’s love. Seriously, this thing is quiet, powerful and easy to clean. My only complaint would be that the juice and pulp reservoirs fill up too quickly, but we were powering through a lot of produce today, so I can’t fault it too much. It did a great job, and it is the junior model, so the capacity restrictions are a trade off for a more compact size.

Since the juicer didn’t arrive until noon today, I had a light breakfast of an apple and cheese. The cheese wasn’t the greatest choice before the flush, but I got sucked in when C requested a cheese stick. Not on her first request, but on her second helping… I caved in. I remember reading a study about exposure to a temptation increasing your likelihood of giving in to it. They analyzed office workers passing by a bowl of candy. Each time you passed it, your resolve weakened a bit until you came to terms with the excessive number of calories you were about to consume. You actually came to feel entitled to that piece of candy. Yup, the cheese was sort of like that. I knowingly embraced it. Come to me, cheese, let me savor your deliciousness.

So, back to the juicer. C napping, I excitedly unpacked and washed all the pieces, ready to give it a go. My first attempt? Straight from the recipe book enclosed with the juicer. Apple, carrot and celery. Surprisingly sweet! Very palatable.

image
Apple, carrot & celery juice

At that point, I started to feel rather energized. Most likely due to my new gadget, but possibly also a slight side effect from the delicious juice I’d just consumed. I felt a little buzzed, actually. So I continued to juice, testing out various combinations of fruits and veggies, not really hitting on a “bad” one. They all tasted pretty good. That’s something I wasn’t expecting.

I also continued to drink freshly pressed juice throughout the day, replacing lunch and dinner. Here’s what’s even more shocking… as long as I kept my juice intake consistent, I didn’t feel hungry. Crazy, right? I’ve been eating smaller meals and more whole foods for the past few days in preparation for the juice flush, but still was amazed at how easily my body adjusted to the lack of solids.

Ok, so here’s the run down of the day…

what I juiced:
carrots
apples
brussel sprouts
bock choy
asparagus
cucumber
artisan lettuces
kale
pears
clementine oranges
lemons
kiwi
broccoli
butternut squash
zucchini
yellow squash

Some things of note…

- Best combo? Hands down, apple, carrot & kiwi juice. Amazing. Add some ginger and cinnamon? Mind blowing. I kid you not.

- I purchased precut kale, which I thought might save me some time, but ended up being EXTREMELY messy. The centrifuge created by the blades spinning inside forced all the little orphan pieces back up and out. Kale all over the counter, the floor, the cabinets. Not pretty. The same thing happened with the brussel sprouts, but to a lesser extent.

- Butternut squash juice was incredible! Sweet & yummy. Even Ben approved.

- With the lack of fiber, some people can have digestion issues while on a flush. In that, their body is trying to rid itself of toxins, but the bowels aren’t working (because there’s no fiber), so the toxins get reabsorbed. Icky. Some remedies for this are laxative teas, enemas, special herbs… my personal favorite is a bit easier, and definitely tastier – spices. Specifically, garlic and cayenne pepper. I’ve tried the garlic method before, and, while effective, it turned my stomach a bit. So this time, I’m throwing some cayenne in to every third or so drink. Plus I get the added bonus of the metabolism boost that comes with cayenne. So far, digestive system is still, um, functioning.

More to come… stay tuned.

« Previous Page — Next Page »


Mom to "C", wife to Ben. I'm a part-time blogger, cook, organizer, seamstress, house cleaner, taxi, nurse (the mom kind), accountant... I could go on, but really... it's all in the blog. Read away!

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.