It's been about a week since I've posted anything, which is much better than 3 years. :-)
We moved from the juice fasting and into pretty much veganism. *Cringe* Michael and I have tried avoiding that word because we always get an opinion on it. In fact, I've only gotten 1 person who said, "Good for you!" Here's an example of a conversation yesterday (Her part of the conversation is bolded.) Are you getting enough protein? Why yes, I am. Did you know that one ear of corn has 10% of your daily protein needs? 2 cups of lentils has as much protein as a hamburger? I'm fine, thanks. I didn't know that. Oh, well I couldn't do that. I love burgers too much and cheese and ice cream. I know a woman who's a vegetarian and she is making her KIDS eat that way. That's not right. Actually, that's one of the best things that mother can do for her child... So how about the weather?...
I don't mean to be rude, but there's a bunch of huge misconceptions. I know I need to watch my protein, my B12, my zinc, my this and my that. We have bought vitamins and supplements. The crazy thing is though, I'm getting more protein and vitamins and minerals than I did before. I had a terribly unbalanced diet anyways. This is a huge step in the right direction. I'll be fine. I need to work on having more grace with people who are trying to just regurgitate the "facts" they've been taught their whole lives.
We watched Forks Over Knives. A fantastic movie. It was revolutionary. I guess I'm pretty much a conspiracy theorist when it comes to anything government and the movie provided a lot of steam. There's just too many questions I have... Why have they allowed foods, that in excess, lead to terminal illnesses? Why are pharmaceutical companies funding the FDA? Why does the public have to work really hard to investigate what's in our food (pink slime? GMO's?)? Why aren't there free gyms? Why aren't there free produce programs? Why, even though flouride is a neurotoxin, is it in our water and the majority of tooth pastes? Why is our country 1/3 obese? Why will 1/3 of all women and 2/3 of men get cancer in their lifetime? Why don't our doctors aim to heal us, instead of address a symptom? Why do most of the members of the USDA have financial links to the food groups they promote (Kraft, for instance)? Why aren't my children expected to outlive me? Why isn't Dr. Max Gerson's cancer work more widely known, where he cured cancer just by changing a person's diet?
Since the answer to most of those questions is that our government and the agencies meant to protect us aren't and won't because it's too profitable to have us sick, fat and nearly dead- I'm taking matters into my own hands. I've never felt better. I feel like my body is working at maximum capacity. Not to mention, I'm having a blast visiting fellow vegan's blogs, Farmer's markets, Organic food corners of the local grocery stores, and vegan recipe banks. I like that I now only purchase items that I know all the contents and ingredients. So, technically, while Oreos are considered vegan, we are also eliminating processed foods with ungodly chemicals.
Last night I made polenta by simmering 4 cups of water with 1 tsp of vegetable broth, then adding the polenta. Then I stirred in 3 tbsp. nutritional yeast (kinda cheesy flavored) and some jalapenos. Then I fried up an onion, portabella mushrooms, jalapenos, and Jamie peppers in olive oil. Mixed the two, added about a cup of vegan cheese, then stuffed that into red and green bell peppers. It turned out fantastic. I also rocked some asparagus in the oven. Michael loved it and so did I! I think we are gonna keep that one on the rotation!
Michael is fishing. I wanted to get up with him at 4:30 this morning, but couldn't. He's probably having a blast not worrying about me and if I'm enjoying myself or not. :-) It's better this way!
We leave for Florida this Sunday, return July 2nd, then head back out on perhaps July 3rd. We have some wiggle room. July 8th we are heading to Portland, OR! I'm so pumped. Since there will be wifi on the bus, I plan to blog our trip. Maybe I'll actually incorporate some pictures. Hah..
We haven't done our official measurements, but that will probably happen today. I'd like to post those. Maybe some before and after pictures. Eek!
6.11.2012
Staggering Day 6 and Yay! One Week!
Saturday, which is the setting for Day 6, was by far the HARDEST day yet. I don't know if it was one cookout invitation too much or just a natural "detox" craving, but I was literally kicking and screaming. Here is my problem- I loooooove my breakfast fruit juice (not the problem)- but I haaaaaate the lunch and dinner juices. I know a lot of people will mix fruit and veggie juices for the taste, but in my research, I read time and time again that the method of doing that is less than ideal because of how the body breaks each one down. I dread eating. I would rather not "eat" at all, than "eat" a "Garden Guzzler". The tastes are overwhelming. We had 6 days with 2 meals of veggie combos- 12 in total and I could not find something I liked. I cheated sometimes and put some tomato paste in it, so I could stomach the concoction, but then I felt like I was cheating somehow. I mean, I was seriously gagging this stuff down. It would take me probably 5 times as long as Michael to drink it and each one was done begrudgingly. I honestly don't know how people do it. Either my taste buds are broken (which I guess isn't a ridiculous option seeing as how we have been inundate with chemicals in our foods my entire lifetime) or my taste buds are really super amazing. I taste everything that goes into a juice. It doesn't harmoniously blend together...
But. I pushed on. After I literally screamed at the universe for a little while. It's so frustrating. I want to crave these veggies instead of hamburger and fries- and the thing is... I think I do. I think through this, I have come to appreciate the work that goes into our food. I don't want to be a mindless grocery shopper (no offense intended...) any longer who just marvels at the options at the store, without giving any consideration how it got there. I appreciate farmers and I especially appreciate those that work extra hard to provide us with organic options. I think I would choose veggies over burgers, but not in juice form!
Michael had me watch Paranormal Activty 2. Good, sweet, heavenly Lord Jesus, why did I agree to such foolery? We followed it up with half of Sherlock Holmes, the first one. I immediately thought about how cool it would be to teach Sir Arthur Conan Doyle next year. We had an excerpt from one of his books in a PSSA book I use. The other cool part is, because they have been around so long, they are free on this one website! Yay! Working in a district with no money makes you inventive with stuff like that.
So, I kid you not, I had nightmares about creating juice combinations to ward off evil spirits. I woke up in a frantic around 4:30 this morning. Thankfully the sun was slightly brightening the sky. I Pinterested for about an hour until I fell back asleep with the sun peeping in my window to scare away anything unGodly. Oh, and I sang myself to sleep with hymns and worship songs... silently of course, as to not wake Michael because he would just have entirely too much fun with that... Hah...
Ahh.... mile marker- Day 7- Week One. Whew!
After we enjoyed another amazing breakfast- we have been putting in 1 whole lemon and 1 whole lime- I had a mini hissy fit. Michael is such a graciously loving man. My goodness.
I wanted to end the juice fast today. Partially because the thought of stomaching another veggie combo was enough to send me over the edge, and partially because, as Michael calculated... this whole deal is 2% of our year for a week or 4% for 2 weeks. What about the 98% or 96%? We are heading down to my grandmother's house June 24th to July 1st. I have NEVER visited my grandmother without putting on at least 10 pounds. I have thwarted months of hard work with my gram's Italian prowess. I'm getting anxiety about it. I need a plan in place and to have one week to transition into "the 98%" wasn't enough. We would have had to spent at least 4 days coming out of the fast slowly as to not freak out our whole body, with 3 days of experimenting with portions, and self-control. I pleaded with Michael. He said he didn't want to be a quitter, and I explained all that I just wrote and he agreed. I don't think we are quitting. I think we are transferring our newly learned appreciations and experiences into the 98%.
Things I learned:
1. Fresh fruit juice with absolutely no additives is fantastic.
2. Farmer's markets are amazing. Farmers are amazing. I appreciate their hard work.
3. My dollar is power in this country. I will choose to spend it on foods that will prolong my life and nourish my body instead of slowly killing me prematurely. $40 on 40 pounds of fresh produce is an amazing deal!
4. I love vegetables- beets, spinach, kale, tomatoes, peppers of all kinds, cucumbers, carrots- just not in juice form. Stumbling around in my research I've found plenty of vegan, vegetarian and raw recipes that I cannot wait to try!
5. Michael is such an amazing support system! I'm blessed beyond measure to have him.
6. Our bodies require so little to function properly. Not that I'm going extreme here, but my body did just fine once I chocked back 3 juices each day. Not only that, but I felt sustained, energetic, healthy. I listened to my body for the first time in, maybe forever. It was nice to be in tuned with myself. Small portions will be the way I'm moving forward.
7. You cannot juice a banana or a mango. :0)
8. Juicing is something I would like to continue both daily as a supplement (fruit juices of course) and perhaps a reboot on occasion.
9. Turning to God for my source of strength in challenging times (my weakest moments) is what He is there for... There's no shame in earnestly praying, "Dear Lord, please give me the self control not to buy 17 whoopie pies and eat them as fast as I can in my car, but instead help me to appreciate the Garden Guzzler for all that it will do for my body." *
10. I am married to the most amazing man. I am part of the coolest team Earth has to offer. We support each other, talk things through, and grow together instead of apart. I'm proud of us- even if we fell short of our ultimate 2 week goal. We did something that most people can't claim. Starting this, we got a lot of "I tried that and it lasted 2 meals before I bought McDonald's"-type stories. Well we didn't do that... for a whole week! If you can do it for longer, that's awesome!
Michael and I spent our morning figuring out the plan for the next phases of our summer, which kinda awesomely reflects all scenarios we will probably ever encounter:
Phase 1: Transition to Whole Foods (lots of fruit, vegetables and soup- again listening to my body) (about 3 days)
Phase 2: Grandma's (Learning portion control (overall SELF CONTROL), making good choices, what to do when you aren't in control of the food presented, but are in control of the choices you make) (1 week)
Phase 3: Traveling on Tour (How to you make good choices when a kitchen isn't available? What roadside obstacles are there? Again- CHOICES AND SELF CONTROL!) (3 weeks)
Phase 4: Being apart (How to trust our own choices when we do not have a support system... how to be accountable to ourselves and each other) (2 weeks)
Phase 5: Routine (school will start again and Michael will be home, so how will that look? How many meals? Are the lessons in self control habits?)
We enjoyed our first meal of veggie kabobs and corn on the cob (all grilled). We each had about half a plate full of veggies, once cooked down and were satisfied. I knew I liked vegetables! ;-)
We watched Shutter Island and Mr. Universe tonight. Both were great. Shutter Island reinforced how fragile the human mind is. How people who have experienced horrific things make up a reality so they can even move forward and face another day. I love things that have to do with the mind. It's another thing I have learned to stand back in awe of- the human mind. Capable of creation, originality, schemes and lies... That movie was fantastic and illustrated those points splendidly- 4.5/5 (only because I had to have the ending explained to me.... everything was too suspicious that I didn't want to believe anything... even the end). Mr. Universe, aka Jim Gaffigan, was splendid! He's a genius in his craft. It was just what the doctor ordered... a nice lighthearted comedy skit just before bed! I do hope I dream of creating vegetable dish creations to invite comedians into my home! :-)
Good night!
Tomorrow I would like to post my one week stats! Including inches and pounds lost and blood pressure change.
*Actual prayer prayed.
But. I pushed on. After I literally screamed at the universe for a little while. It's so frustrating. I want to crave these veggies instead of hamburger and fries- and the thing is... I think I do. I think through this, I have come to appreciate the work that goes into our food. I don't want to be a mindless grocery shopper (no offense intended...) any longer who just marvels at the options at the store, without giving any consideration how it got there. I appreciate farmers and I especially appreciate those that work extra hard to provide us with organic options. I think I would choose veggies over burgers, but not in juice form!
Michael had me watch Paranormal Activty 2. Good, sweet, heavenly Lord Jesus, why did I agree to such foolery? We followed it up with half of Sherlock Holmes, the first one. I immediately thought about how cool it would be to teach Sir Arthur Conan Doyle next year. We had an excerpt from one of his books in a PSSA book I use. The other cool part is, because they have been around so long, they are free on this one website! Yay! Working in a district with no money makes you inventive with stuff like that.
So, I kid you not, I had nightmares about creating juice combinations to ward off evil spirits. I woke up in a frantic around 4:30 this morning. Thankfully the sun was slightly brightening the sky. I Pinterested for about an hour until I fell back asleep with the sun peeping in my window to scare away anything unGodly. Oh, and I sang myself to sleep with hymns and worship songs... silently of course, as to not wake Michael because he would just have entirely too much fun with that... Hah...
Ahh.... mile marker- Day 7- Week One. Whew!
After we enjoyed another amazing breakfast- we have been putting in 1 whole lemon and 1 whole lime- I had a mini hissy fit. Michael is such a graciously loving man. My goodness.
I wanted to end the juice fast today. Partially because the thought of stomaching another veggie combo was enough to send me over the edge, and partially because, as Michael calculated... this whole deal is 2% of our year for a week or 4% for 2 weeks. What about the 98% or 96%? We are heading down to my grandmother's house June 24th to July 1st. I have NEVER visited my grandmother without putting on at least 10 pounds. I have thwarted months of hard work with my gram's Italian prowess. I'm getting anxiety about it. I need a plan in place and to have one week to transition into "the 98%" wasn't enough. We would have had to spent at least 4 days coming out of the fast slowly as to not freak out our whole body, with 3 days of experimenting with portions, and self-control. I pleaded with Michael. He said he didn't want to be a quitter, and I explained all that I just wrote and he agreed. I don't think we are quitting. I think we are transferring our newly learned appreciations and experiences into the 98%.
Things I learned:
1. Fresh fruit juice with absolutely no additives is fantastic.
2. Farmer's markets are amazing. Farmers are amazing. I appreciate their hard work.
3. My dollar is power in this country. I will choose to spend it on foods that will prolong my life and nourish my body instead of slowly killing me prematurely. $40 on 40 pounds of fresh produce is an amazing deal!
4. I love vegetables- beets, spinach, kale, tomatoes, peppers of all kinds, cucumbers, carrots- just not in juice form. Stumbling around in my research I've found plenty of vegan, vegetarian and raw recipes that I cannot wait to try!
5. Michael is such an amazing support system! I'm blessed beyond measure to have him.
6. Our bodies require so little to function properly. Not that I'm going extreme here, but my body did just fine once I chocked back 3 juices each day. Not only that, but I felt sustained, energetic, healthy. I listened to my body for the first time in, maybe forever. It was nice to be in tuned with myself. Small portions will be the way I'm moving forward.
7. You cannot juice a banana or a mango. :0)
8. Juicing is something I would like to continue both daily as a supplement (fruit juices of course) and perhaps a reboot on occasion.
9. Turning to God for my source of strength in challenging times (my weakest moments) is what He is there for... There's no shame in earnestly praying, "Dear Lord, please give me the self control not to buy 17 whoopie pies and eat them as fast as I can in my car, but instead help me to appreciate the Garden Guzzler for all that it will do for my body." *
10. I am married to the most amazing man. I am part of the coolest team Earth has to offer. We support each other, talk things through, and grow together instead of apart. I'm proud of us- even if we fell short of our ultimate 2 week goal. We did something that most people can't claim. Starting this, we got a lot of "I tried that and it lasted 2 meals before I bought McDonald's"-type stories. Well we didn't do that... for a whole week! If you can do it for longer, that's awesome!
Michael and I spent our morning figuring out the plan for the next phases of our summer, which kinda awesomely reflects all scenarios we will probably ever encounter:
Phase 1: Transition to Whole Foods (lots of fruit, vegetables and soup- again listening to my body) (about 3 days)
Phase 2: Grandma's (Learning portion control (overall SELF CONTROL), making good choices, what to do when you aren't in control of the food presented, but are in control of the choices you make) (1 week)
Phase 3: Traveling on Tour (How to you make good choices when a kitchen isn't available? What roadside obstacles are there? Again- CHOICES AND SELF CONTROL!) (3 weeks)
Phase 4: Being apart (How to trust our own choices when we do not have a support system... how to be accountable to ourselves and each other) (2 weeks)
Phase 5: Routine (school will start again and Michael will be home, so how will that look? How many meals? Are the lessons in self control habits?)
We enjoyed our first meal of veggie kabobs and corn on the cob (all grilled). We each had about half a plate full of veggies, once cooked down and were satisfied. I knew I liked vegetables! ;-)
We watched Shutter Island and Mr. Universe tonight. Both were great. Shutter Island reinforced how fragile the human mind is. How people who have experienced horrific things make up a reality so they can even move forward and face another day. I love things that have to do with the mind. It's another thing I have learned to stand back in awe of- the human mind. Capable of creation, originality, schemes and lies... That movie was fantastic and illustrated those points splendidly- 4.5/5 (only because I had to have the ending explained to me.... everything was too suspicious that I didn't want to believe anything... even the end). Mr. Universe, aka Jim Gaffigan, was splendid! He's a genius in his craft. It was just what the doctor ordered... a nice lighthearted comedy skit just before bed! I do hope I dream of creating vegetable dish creations to invite comedians into my home! :-)
Good night!
Tomorrow I would like to post my one week stats! Including inches and pounds lost and blood pressure change.
*Actual prayer prayed.
6.08.2012
Day 5: Farmer's Market Fun
Last night involved no game playing, but it did include watching the saddest and cutest movie about some Irish guy who owned an otter named Mij. It was real cute. That, combined with my aunt's kitten, made me realllly want something furry to play with (besides Michael). ;-)
Total party bonus: My aunt is letting us use her Jack Lalane juicer! It's fabulous! We don't have to chop everything up so much (whole lemons and limes fit in the chute just fine) and clean up time is about the same. Oh, and it produces sooo much more juice! The pulp is bone dry. That was not the case with our poor outdated Betty Crocker model. We had to rejuice the pulp sometimes and still got just enough. I feel good about maximizing our fruits and veggies.
Michael tried it out last night when we got home and it was awesome!
This morning we slept through Michael's alarm to get the studio by 8 (we woke up at 7:40 instead of 6:30). I was tempted to just say use our pre-bottled juice, but Michael was certain we had enough time. We made the best juice yet- fresh locally grown strawberries (about 3 cups), 1 kiwi, 1 lemon, 1 lime and about a cup each of green and red grapes. It was fantastic and with that we got 2 huge glasses.
We proceeded to the studio. I dropped Michael off and headed to the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg. I called my grandmother and let her know we are venturing down there for a week with my brother Eric. She was glad to hear it. It's a lot of time and money to travel down there, but I just don't want to ever regret not seeing her as much as I can... We were talking about our disgust with the American government in what they allow us to eat. It's two-sided, honestly- the FDA shouldn't approve certain things for ANYONE to consume, but we, as consumers (a very powerful position that many don't realize- how you spend your money is casting a vote on what you allow) need to be more deliberate in our spending. I would like to solely purchase foods from local farmers and butchers from here on out. Knowing how little we need to be sustained has motivated me. While it's more expensive, we really need less anyways. One pound of grass-fed beef with no hormones or other crazy only-God-knows-whats is about $8. That's a lot, but when you think about the serving size of meat being a deck of cards- that's one-maybe two meals. That's not bad at all... Especially when I've spent $15 at Texas Roadhouse on some sort of meat, that for all I know has tons of crap in it. I've got to keep changing my mindset about money and food. I think I'm on the right track.
Broad Street Market didn't really have much to offer. There was a little Amish stand that I'd like to visit again when we are eating whole foods. They had a nice selection of grass-fed meats and cheeses. I still had time to kill before picking up Michael around lunch time, so I went to the West Shore Farmer's Market. That was fun! My goodness was it a struggle though! They had 2-inch high sticky buns with 1-inch of frosting. Gosh... My sugar and carb addiction is still in full swing. The difference today was that I was able to say NO to myself, which I rarely did. I'm not sure I'll ever reach a point where I never want sweets, but I'm hoping I'm better able to control myself. Once in a greaaaat while desserts are okay, not at the end of every gluttonous meal. Anyways, what I did get was ground psyllium husks and natural soap- and two "Garden Guzzlers" for Michael and I. Can't say I loved it, but I know it was the healthiest option in probably all of the Farmer's Market. That made me feel good.
I dropped off Michael's "lunch" at the studio, as he and Conrad are gonna try and crank out the rest of the mixing of these songs and is probably going to be there until "dinner" time. I didn't want him to go that long without food.
I came home, watered my plants and "treated" myself to psyllium husks... I'm about to watch a movie and continue my on-going research of all things juice, FDA sucking, whole foods, what your body needs and wherever else it takes me!
Total party bonus: My aunt is letting us use her Jack Lalane juicer! It's fabulous! We don't have to chop everything up so much (whole lemons and limes fit in the chute just fine) and clean up time is about the same. Oh, and it produces sooo much more juice! The pulp is bone dry. That was not the case with our poor outdated Betty Crocker model. We had to rejuice the pulp sometimes and still got just enough. I feel good about maximizing our fruits and veggies.
Michael tried it out last night when we got home and it was awesome!
This morning we slept through Michael's alarm to get the studio by 8 (we woke up at 7:40 instead of 6:30). I was tempted to just say use our pre-bottled juice, but Michael was certain we had enough time. We made the best juice yet- fresh locally grown strawberries (about 3 cups), 1 kiwi, 1 lemon, 1 lime and about a cup each of green and red grapes. It was fantastic and with that we got 2 huge glasses.
We proceeded to the studio. I dropped Michael off and headed to the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg. I called my grandmother and let her know we are venturing down there for a week with my brother Eric. She was glad to hear it. It's a lot of time and money to travel down there, but I just don't want to ever regret not seeing her as much as I can... We were talking about our disgust with the American government in what they allow us to eat. It's two-sided, honestly- the FDA shouldn't approve certain things for ANYONE to consume, but we, as consumers (a very powerful position that many don't realize- how you spend your money is casting a vote on what you allow) need to be more deliberate in our spending. I would like to solely purchase foods from local farmers and butchers from here on out. Knowing how little we need to be sustained has motivated me. While it's more expensive, we really need less anyways. One pound of grass-fed beef with no hormones or other crazy only-God-knows-whats is about $8. That's a lot, but when you think about the serving size of meat being a deck of cards- that's one-maybe two meals. That's not bad at all... Especially when I've spent $15 at Texas Roadhouse on some sort of meat, that for all I know has tons of crap in it. I've got to keep changing my mindset about money and food. I think I'm on the right track.
Broad Street Market didn't really have much to offer. There was a little Amish stand that I'd like to visit again when we are eating whole foods. They had a nice selection of grass-fed meats and cheeses. I still had time to kill before picking up Michael around lunch time, so I went to the West Shore Farmer's Market. That was fun! My goodness was it a struggle though! They had 2-inch high sticky buns with 1-inch of frosting. Gosh... My sugar and carb addiction is still in full swing. The difference today was that I was able to say NO to myself, which I rarely did. I'm not sure I'll ever reach a point where I never want sweets, but I'm hoping I'm better able to control myself. Once in a greaaaat while desserts are okay, not at the end of every gluttonous meal. Anyways, what I did get was ground psyllium husks and natural soap- and two "Garden Guzzlers" for Michael and I. Can't say I loved it, but I know it was the healthiest option in probably all of the Farmer's Market. That made me feel good.
I dropped off Michael's "lunch" at the studio, as he and Conrad are gonna try and crank out the rest of the mixing of these songs and is probably going to be there until "dinner" time. I didn't want him to go that long without food.
I came home, watered my plants and "treated" myself to psyllium husks... I'm about to watch a movie and continue my on-going research of all things juice, FDA sucking, whole foods, what your body needs and wherever else it takes me!
6.07.2012
Three Days a Charm/ Day Four Feelin' Fine
I didn't post yesterday. Not intentionally, I guess I just filled up my day more than I realized. I hit the hay hard last night.
Yesterday, Day Three, started out rough. I had this weird "mental fog". I began researching it and came across some ideas about feeding bacteria with fruit juices... Candida something... Well no sooner was I 15 tabs thick in research did my brain fog magically lift. It was interesting... Haven't experienced it since. I was starting to get paranoid about what I'm putting my poor body through- detoxing 29 years of crap- and maybe it couldn't handle it... But I guess it wanted to prove I was just fine and the body knows how to care for itself- especially given a rush of vitamins and minerals. Come dinner time, which was an amazing combination of like 12 vegetables (thanks to Chef Michael), I felt fantastic. I couldn't stop noticing how AMAZING I felt. We were watching a movie and I just felt so alive. I felt like I was experiencing everything at a whole new level. It was really cool.
The move we watched was The Apostle... one of Michael's favorites. Robert Duvall is a pastor whose humanity (which I guess he embraces more than the average person) leaves him wifeless, childless and with a warrant out for his arrest. It was interesting... As a Christian, I was kinda upset at first- the guy is a fighter, a flirt, and runs from his choices AND wanted to call himself a Christian?- but it was those very things that helped me really appreciate the movie. He was human. He embraced who he was- very flesh, but very spiritual- the average Christian should resonate with that. He builds up a church in the middle of nowhere, changes most of the lives of the people that encounter him, and ultimately balances being true to himself and God. It had multiple fantastic scenes that had you fired up or crying. I like for a movie to move me. It was awesome. I would totally give it a 4.75/5- only because 5/5's should be reserved...
Rewind to lunch... Michael and I had the idea that we wanted to "go out for lunch" by finding a cool juice bar. Well the Interwebs led us to the Lemon Street Market in Lancaster. We were pumped because it advertised itself as a co-op, a juice bar, an espresso bar and a healthy grocer and listed multiple products they had- right up our alley. I called LaToya and she was game to join us. Michael and I were starving, but thrilled. We get there and there is NO JUICE BAR!! Not only that, but.. and this is just a HUGE pet peeve of mine... the woman working there spent the first 10 minutes of our time there trying really hard to help this good-looking gent. When she wasn't able to help him and he left, I had to go up to her and inquire about the juice bar, just to clarify. She did apologize that it was on the website. They intended to have one, but it fell through. I advised she let the web designer know to change that. She then said she was sorry, but they didn't have ANYTHING along those lines. We decided to browse anyway and within 5 minutes, Michael walked up to me with a home-made organic vegetable soup- which contained all veggies and salt (unfortunately). As a sales person, who was running around frantically trying to help the gent before us, she could of at least attempted to help us or sell us SOMETHING... ARG! Sorry... just venting. Anyways... we thought we still found a goldmine for when we enter into "normalcy". The home-made veggie soup was really good. We could tell immediately that there was too much salt, but we were in a bad situation. We had to eat something. Home was now another 45 minutes away... Ah well... I'm learning that I looove the taste of raw fruits and vegetables. I didn't like the salt content. Yay. This is working!
We rounded up our journey to Lancaster by going to That Fish Place. We like to torment ourselves with all the animals we are not allowed to have with renting. Gosh, I fell in love with 3 of the cats. Just a few moments of petting them and I felt my stress go down... I've read multiple places that cat ladies live FOREVER... I want to be one, and married. :-)
I woke up today at 8 AM feeling very alive. I Tumblr-ed in bed until Michael started stirring. We had yummy fruit juice again for breakfast with green and red grapes, cantaloupe, pineapple, and cherries. We mixed in a little C-Monster and 'legit' orange juice. It was fantastic. For our walk today, we went to Rails to Trails on our way to the Mennonite stores. It was really nice out today. We walked for half an hour, then proceeded to BB's. I got my bottled lemon juice, which I'm probably addicted to... but I can't drink water without it... and it encourages me to drink a whoooole lot, which is helpful at this time and lemons are great for detoxing. We were on our way to Horning's and found an awesome little roadside market, we think is called Zimmies? It had gorgeous tomatoes and locally-grown strawberries. We ate the strawberries for lunch. We know! We shouldn't be doing that... but we are still trying to work around needing to be home to juice without exception. We don't want to be too rigid or we'd drop it as soon as we had one blip. They were realllly good. At Horning's we really lucked out- mangoes were .25 cents each (organic), green peppers were 2/$1, red and orange peppers were 3/$1, we got peppermint and hot and spicy oregano for $1.50 each, we got turnips and cucumbers- probably like 25 lbs of fruits and veggies for $18. It was awesome. We came home and tested the mangoes and they were to die for! Yum! Dessert right from the Hand of God... literally.
That's something that I've been thinking about a lot. When I snack after this fast, I want to crave a chilled mango. I want to yearn for one-bite-sized strawberries. I want to pine after a pineapple. I'm certain that will happen. This "experiment" of sorts, in just 4 days, has taught me to appreciate what God has provided from the earth. He's given us everything we NEED to nourish our bodies with nature. What a wonderful God!
Michael got kinda grouchy, but he's so awesome- he announced it, it lasted like 5 minutes, then he had himself laughing. I'm a lucky lady. :-)
Tonight after our dinner, we are heading to Sue's house to play games. I'm excited. Should be a good time focused on each other instead of food. Man... Sue knows how to cook. I hope and pray she has everything put away by the time we get there!
Yesterday, Day Three, started out rough. I had this weird "mental fog". I began researching it and came across some ideas about feeding bacteria with fruit juices... Candida something... Well no sooner was I 15 tabs thick in research did my brain fog magically lift. It was interesting... Haven't experienced it since. I was starting to get paranoid about what I'm putting my poor body through- detoxing 29 years of crap- and maybe it couldn't handle it... But I guess it wanted to prove I was just fine and the body knows how to care for itself- especially given a rush of vitamins and minerals. Come dinner time, which was an amazing combination of like 12 vegetables (thanks to Chef Michael), I felt fantastic. I couldn't stop noticing how AMAZING I felt. We were watching a movie and I just felt so alive. I felt like I was experiencing everything at a whole new level. It was really cool.
The move we watched was The Apostle... one of Michael's favorites. Robert Duvall is a pastor whose humanity (which I guess he embraces more than the average person) leaves him wifeless, childless and with a warrant out for his arrest. It was interesting... As a Christian, I was kinda upset at first- the guy is a fighter, a flirt, and runs from his choices AND wanted to call himself a Christian?- but it was those very things that helped me really appreciate the movie. He was human. He embraced who he was- very flesh, but very spiritual- the average Christian should resonate with that. He builds up a church in the middle of nowhere, changes most of the lives of the people that encounter him, and ultimately balances being true to himself and God. It had multiple fantastic scenes that had you fired up or crying. I like for a movie to move me. It was awesome. I would totally give it a 4.75/5- only because 5/5's should be reserved...
Rewind to lunch... Michael and I had the idea that we wanted to "go out for lunch" by finding a cool juice bar. Well the Interwebs led us to the Lemon Street Market in Lancaster. We were pumped because it advertised itself as a co-op, a juice bar, an espresso bar and a healthy grocer and listed multiple products they had- right up our alley. I called LaToya and she was game to join us. Michael and I were starving, but thrilled. We get there and there is NO JUICE BAR!! Not only that, but.. and this is just a HUGE pet peeve of mine... the woman working there spent the first 10 minutes of our time there trying really hard to help this good-looking gent. When she wasn't able to help him and he left, I had to go up to her and inquire about the juice bar, just to clarify. She did apologize that it was on the website. They intended to have one, but it fell through. I advised she let the web designer know to change that. She then said she was sorry, but they didn't have ANYTHING along those lines. We decided to browse anyway and within 5 minutes, Michael walked up to me with a home-made organic vegetable soup- which contained all veggies and salt (unfortunately). As a sales person, who was running around frantically trying to help the gent before us, she could of at least attempted to help us or sell us SOMETHING... ARG! Sorry... just venting. Anyways... we thought we still found a goldmine for when we enter into "normalcy". The home-made veggie soup was really good. We could tell immediately that there was too much salt, but we were in a bad situation. We had to eat something. Home was now another 45 minutes away... Ah well... I'm learning that I looove the taste of raw fruits and vegetables. I didn't like the salt content. Yay. This is working!
We rounded up our journey to Lancaster by going to That Fish Place. We like to torment ourselves with all the animals we are not allowed to have with renting. Gosh, I fell in love with 3 of the cats. Just a few moments of petting them and I felt my stress go down... I've read multiple places that cat ladies live FOREVER... I want to be one, and married. :-)
I woke up today at 8 AM feeling very alive. I Tumblr-ed in bed until Michael started stirring. We had yummy fruit juice again for breakfast with green and red grapes, cantaloupe, pineapple, and cherries. We mixed in a little C-Monster and 'legit' orange juice. It was fantastic. For our walk today, we went to Rails to Trails on our way to the Mennonite stores. It was really nice out today. We walked for half an hour, then proceeded to BB's. I got my bottled lemon juice, which I'm probably addicted to... but I can't drink water without it... and it encourages me to drink a whoooole lot, which is helpful at this time and lemons are great for detoxing. We were on our way to Horning's and found an awesome little roadside market, we think is called Zimmies? It had gorgeous tomatoes and locally-grown strawberries. We ate the strawberries for lunch. We know! We shouldn't be doing that... but we are still trying to work around needing to be home to juice without exception. We don't want to be too rigid or we'd drop it as soon as we had one blip. They were realllly good. At Horning's we really lucked out- mangoes were .25 cents each (organic), green peppers were 2/$1, red and orange peppers were 3/$1, we got peppermint and hot and spicy oregano for $1.50 each, we got turnips and cucumbers- probably like 25 lbs of fruits and veggies for $18. It was awesome. We came home and tested the mangoes and they were to die for! Yum! Dessert right from the Hand of God... literally.
That's something that I've been thinking about a lot. When I snack after this fast, I want to crave a chilled mango. I want to yearn for one-bite-sized strawberries. I want to pine after a pineapple. I'm certain that will happen. This "experiment" of sorts, in just 4 days, has taught me to appreciate what God has provided from the earth. He's given us everything we NEED to nourish our bodies with nature. What a wonderful God!
Michael got kinda grouchy, but he's so awesome- he announced it, it lasted like 5 minutes, then he had himself laughing. I'm a lucky lady. :-)
Tonight after our dinner, we are heading to Sue's house to play games. I'm excited. Should be a good time focused on each other instead of food. Man... Sue knows how to cook. I hope and pray she has everything put away by the time we get there!
6.06.2012
Day Two was Twice as Hard!
Alright... so today started wonderfully. I woke up with energy, feeling vibrant and ready to face the day. We started with an all fruit juice- pineapple, apple, grapes and cantaloupe. It was delicious. I was pumped and ready for a walk to use up all that liquid energy- Michael on the other hand was not. He was experiencing what I did last night- headache, fogginess and overall "yucky". I sat with him for a little while until he was better. We then proceeded with our half an hour walk. I was so pumped, I was literally dance walking down the sidewalk to my Hip Hop Dance Workout Pandora station. I felt on top of the world. I did notice feeling a little weak in my legs.
When we got back, I gathered laundry for laundering purposes. I proceeded to the laundry mat. I was in good company on a Tuesday afternoon with a couple elderly couples. We watched The Price is Right and I resisted my typical ritual of picking out a snack with my extra quarters. Whilst my laundry was drying, I ran to WalMart to get some items for a V8 juice I wanted to try for dinner. Mixing fruits and vegetables bothers me... I returned, folded laundry for half of a lifetime, then Michael showed up just in time to load up my car with the laundry baskets. :-) He was vacuuming out his car for his mother, who is borrowing his car to take to Indiana.
I ran home and began work on our own V8 juice- I think I counted and it was really V11, but I did cheat- I couldn't find cheap tomatoes, so I bought can and I added marinated zucchini and onions. The oils and sodium weren't good. To that though, I also added spinach, celery, a beet, red and green bell pepper, carrots, cilantro, and cabbage. So it was V11, but 3 questionable items... Oh and we added cayenne pepper and Tabasco sauce. I think I played around with too many things. It was reallly good, but it did seem salty. That's good to know that too much salt is a carrot (care at) all... Hehe... Michael would appreciate that. :-)
Michael's parents and sister arrived to get his car. They didn't stay long. They tried our leftover juice from lunch and said they liked it. Michael said he didn't think they were being honest.. haha...
We were supposed to go to see a live show at ABC with Koonsy, but we both agreed there was no way we would be able to survive not having some bar food. Hopefully by day 6 it wouldn't be an issue.. hah
Instead we watched Lost in Translation. I had always missed seeing that movie somehow. I'm glad we watched it. It was ehh... a 4/5 stars. I enjoyed the plot (two Americans "stuck" in Japan alone, who find each other and begin having fun to bide their time), however, the love between a young married girl and an older married man kinda freaked me out. Call me old school... it was just interesting. The tension was building since they first met in the elevator, but when they actually kiss in the elevator and are both receptive, it was awkward. They were both married. I think I wouldn't have minded it half as much if they were single... Even if they aren't happy in their marriages, that's not how you show it. So... yeah, it's hard for me to enjoy "entertainment" that goes against my beliefs and morals.
It was between movies that we both began craving foods- specifically popcorn (a ritual for movie watching) and any kind of burger. We were quite vocal about it. Yo-yoing back and for with who was the stronger one. That's why I love him. He is strong when I'm weak and vice versa- almost instinctively.
So that was Michael's pick. Then my choice was What Dreams May Come. Holy crap, talk about getting to the bottom of some of my fasting purposes. We both basically sobbed the whole time. When you've found a love so perfect and fantastic- your soul mate- that movie will get you. It deals with issues of death, heaven/hell, parenting, honesty, and love- all of which I've worked really hard to understand and grasp in my own world context. Michael and I had an epic chat afterwards, which involved some soul-baring conversations (and tears). We are going to work really hard at being parents. It's something so many people don't respect or take seriously. We want to be very intentional. It's odd because one of the biggest things we both got from the movie is with a love this big and perfect, what sort of obstacles will come our way? Not everyone gets the chance to experience the deep-rooted peace, love and joy that comes from marrying your soul mate... So if you do, what is expected of that? We know kids will play a role at some point, but it's just interesting to think what else might be in store that will make us rely on our amazing love for each other for strength and guidance.
I don't know the answers to those questions, but I do know this- God is good.
Instead of a prayer, I want to put the lyrics to a song we sang in church on Sunday:
Aaron Shust- My Savior, My God
I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior
I take Him at His word and deed
Christ died to save me; this I read
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my savior
That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior
Chorus (2x's)
My Savior loves, My Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God: He was, my God; He is
My God is always gonna be
Yes, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring;
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior
That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior
Chorus (2x's)
(Instrumental)
Chorus: (2x's)
My Savior loves, My Savior lives
My Savior loves, My Savior lives
Amen. :-)
When we got back, I gathered laundry for laundering purposes. I proceeded to the laundry mat. I was in good company on a Tuesday afternoon with a couple elderly couples. We watched The Price is Right and I resisted my typical ritual of picking out a snack with my extra quarters. Whilst my laundry was drying, I ran to WalMart to get some items for a V8 juice I wanted to try for dinner. Mixing fruits and vegetables bothers me... I returned, folded laundry for half of a lifetime, then Michael showed up just in time to load up my car with the laundry baskets. :-) He was vacuuming out his car for his mother, who is borrowing his car to take to Indiana.
I ran home and began work on our own V8 juice- I think I counted and it was really V11, but I did cheat- I couldn't find cheap tomatoes, so I bought can and I added marinated zucchini and onions. The oils and sodium weren't good. To that though, I also added spinach, celery, a beet, red and green bell pepper, carrots, cilantro, and cabbage. So it was V11, but 3 questionable items... Oh and we added cayenne pepper and Tabasco sauce. I think I played around with too many things. It was reallly good, but it did seem salty. That's good to know that too much salt is a carrot (care at) all... Hehe... Michael would appreciate that. :-)
Michael's parents and sister arrived to get his car. They didn't stay long. They tried our leftover juice from lunch and said they liked it. Michael said he didn't think they were being honest.. haha...
We were supposed to go to see a live show at ABC with Koonsy, but we both agreed there was no way we would be able to survive not having some bar food. Hopefully by day 6 it wouldn't be an issue.. hah
Instead we watched Lost in Translation. I had always missed seeing that movie somehow. I'm glad we watched it. It was ehh... a 4/5 stars. I enjoyed the plot (two Americans "stuck" in Japan alone, who find each other and begin having fun to bide their time), however, the love between a young married girl and an older married man kinda freaked me out. Call me old school... it was just interesting. The tension was building since they first met in the elevator, but when they actually kiss in the elevator and are both receptive, it was awkward. They were both married. I think I wouldn't have minded it half as much if they were single... Even if they aren't happy in their marriages, that's not how you show it. So... yeah, it's hard for me to enjoy "entertainment" that goes against my beliefs and morals.
It was between movies that we both began craving foods- specifically popcorn (a ritual for movie watching) and any kind of burger. We were quite vocal about it. Yo-yoing back and for with who was the stronger one. That's why I love him. He is strong when I'm weak and vice versa- almost instinctively.
So that was Michael's pick. Then my choice was What Dreams May Come. Holy crap, talk about getting to the bottom of some of my fasting purposes. We both basically sobbed the whole time. When you've found a love so perfect and fantastic- your soul mate- that movie will get you. It deals with issues of death, heaven/hell, parenting, honesty, and love- all of which I've worked really hard to understand and grasp in my own world context. Michael and I had an epic chat afterwards, which involved some soul-baring conversations (and tears). We are going to work really hard at being parents. It's something so many people don't respect or take seriously. We want to be very intentional. It's odd because one of the biggest things we both got from the movie is with a love this big and perfect, what sort of obstacles will come our way? Not everyone gets the chance to experience the deep-rooted peace, love and joy that comes from marrying your soul mate... So if you do, what is expected of that? We know kids will play a role at some point, but it's just interesting to think what else might be in store that will make us rely on our amazing love for each other for strength and guidance.
I don't know the answers to those questions, but I do know this- God is good.
Instead of a prayer, I want to put the lyrics to a song we sang in church on Sunday:
Aaron Shust- My Savior, My God
I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior
I take Him at His word and deed
Christ died to save me; this I read
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my savior
That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior
Chorus (2x's)
My Savior loves, My Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God: He was, my God; He is
My God is always gonna be
Yes, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring;
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior
That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior
Chorus (2x's)
(Instrumental)
Chorus: (2x's)
My Savior loves, My Savior lives
My Savior loves, My Savior lives
Amen. :-)
6.04.2012
Day One: Dinner
Alright... I'm at the point where I was questioning this whole gig. Haha... Thankfully I have Michael going through this with me. We stopped ourselves from whining and prayed. It helped. :-)
I've read both sides of juicing and the thing with the internet anymore is that everyone has an opinion. That's most of what was available to read. The people who support juice fasting, swear by it. It changed their lives. They didn't regret a second of it. Their body changed, their thinking changed. To actually eat the recommended 3-4 servings of fruits and 7-10 servings of vegetables is almost impossible, so juicing is how you get the nutrients of those fruits and vegetables. Another point is that by consuming only juice, it allows your digestive system to solely focus on detoxing.
Those who oppose it seem to argue that eating the whole fruit or vegetable provide the ultimate combination of nutrients with fiber. Makes sense. It also can slow down your metabolism and easing out of it can be tricky because your digestive system drastically slows down and is no longer used to digesting food.
All this said, we are going to push through. We are going to try it and believe in the benefits of flooding our systems with phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals that our bodies were designed to use to nourish itself.
I have had some nausea and light headedness. Surprisingly I'm not hungry, though. Nothing I can't push through. I've resorted to reading others' miserable first 3 day experiences to soothe myself. Misery loooooves company. ;-)
Dinner was some crazy concoction of kale, spinach, celery, grapes, apples and carrots. It did not taste delightful in the least. We did incorporate the advice to have more vegetables than fruits.
After day 1- we have eaten the following:
1 cup of grapes
8 small apples
6 giant carrots
1/2 a bag of spinach
1/4 a canteloupe
About 7 stems of kale
6 stalks of celery
I wonder if presented with all of those in their "whole" form, if I would have consumed everything? Proooobably not.
Good news is, I'm about to go do laundry, then I get to sleep and wake up to day 2.
My closing prayer is this:
Lord, remind me that you are what I need. You have provided food to nourish me and I have distorted that. Lord, help bring me back to the basics of life. Please use this fast to break me of my addiction to unnatural foods. Heal my body, my soul, my mind. Thank you for your wisdom and love. Amen.
I've read both sides of juicing and the thing with the internet anymore is that everyone has an opinion. That's most of what was available to read. The people who support juice fasting, swear by it. It changed their lives. They didn't regret a second of it. Their body changed, their thinking changed. To actually eat the recommended 3-4 servings of fruits and 7-10 servings of vegetables is almost impossible, so juicing is how you get the nutrients of those fruits and vegetables. Another point is that by consuming only juice, it allows your digestive system to solely focus on detoxing.
Those who oppose it seem to argue that eating the whole fruit or vegetable provide the ultimate combination of nutrients with fiber. Makes sense. It also can slow down your metabolism and easing out of it can be tricky because your digestive system drastically slows down and is no longer used to digesting food.
All this said, we are going to push through. We are going to try it and believe in the benefits of flooding our systems with phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals that our bodies were designed to use to nourish itself.
I have had some nausea and light headedness. Surprisingly I'm not hungry, though. Nothing I can't push through. I've resorted to reading others' miserable first 3 day experiences to soothe myself. Misery loooooves company. ;-)
Dinner was some crazy concoction of kale, spinach, celery, grapes, apples and carrots. It did not taste delightful in the least. We did incorporate the advice to have more vegetables than fruits.
After day 1- we have eaten the following:
1 cup of grapes
8 small apples
6 giant carrots
1/2 a bag of spinach
1/4 a canteloupe
About 7 stems of kale
6 stalks of celery
I wonder if presented with all of those in their "whole" form, if I would have consumed everything? Proooobably not.
Good news is, I'm about to go do laundry, then I get to sleep and wake up to day 2.
My closing prayer is this:
Lord, remind me that you are what I need. You have provided food to nourish me and I have distorted that. Lord, help bring me back to the basics of life. Please use this fast to break me of my addiction to unnatural foods. Heal my body, my soul, my mind. Thank you for your wisdom and love. Amen.
Day One: Lunch
I don't intend to break each meal down everyday. It's just the hype over day one. It's been pretty uneventful, actually. No God of War happened, but lots of research on things like oxidation, vitamin overdosing, juicers, ratio of fruits to vegetables, etc.. Things that maybe probably should have been researched before we jumped into it, but this is kinda how I am. I can do all the research in the world, but sometimes I just need to jump in and experience it. Now that I have some experience under my belt, I've learned ginger root is ridiculously bad tasting, celery has an obnoxiously strong taste, carrots are very pulpy and should be juiced last to prevent blockage, and always have a bathroom nearby. I've read probably all of those, but they got lost in the dark recesses of my mind until I actually experienced them.
Anywho... lunch was a combo of carrots, spinach, celery, apple and Green Machine with milk thistle drops. This was much better than breakfast. Celery was strong, but the apples and carrots made it sweet.
I ended up napping after my research session for about an hour. The weather is cooler than it has been and I was cuddled up under a blanket and BAM. Nap time.
I think our intent is to watch a movie now. This is like the first official day of summer with no agenda, so why impose a plan, when one isn't needed? Ahhh... summer.
Anywho... lunch was a combo of carrots, spinach, celery, apple and Green Machine with milk thistle drops. This was much better than breakfast. Celery was strong, but the apples and carrots made it sweet.
I ended up napping after my research session for about an hour. The weather is cooler than it has been and I was cuddled up under a blanket and BAM. Nap time.
I think our intent is to watch a movie now. This is like the first official day of summer with no agenda, so why impose a plan, when one isn't needed? Ahhh... summer.
Day One: Breakfast
I woke up with such anticipation... like Christmas morning kinda stuff... at 6 AM. I just wanted to get started! When Michael woke up to go to the bathroom around 6:30, I was thrilled that I might not have to wait until 7. We stayed in bed for a little planning out the day.
Our breakfast was cantaloupe, apple, carrot, and orange juice with ginger root. Note to self: Quit trying to love ginger when you don't. :-) It was really overpowered by ginger flavor to the point that it didn't really taste good at all, while it really should have been amazing. After we cleaned up IMMEDIATELY following our juicing to prevent a horrendous mess, we did measurements (weight and inches of body) and took pictures. Talk about motivation... I'm pumped to put up before and after pictures and measurements. I know this will work.
Since it's a gorgeous 65 degrees out and Stacey wasn't able to make it to the gym with us today, we decided to just walk around the neighborhood. I walked 15 minutes in one direction randomly and then my alarm went off and I headed back. I didn't have any deeply profound thoughts- mainly I was being nosey and looking at yards- daydreaming about what mine will look like someday. I did end my route by walking around most of the Palmyra Cemetery. I had a passing thought about how I hope I'm cheating death. I'm certain I was on the way to a life full of health issues and premature death. I'm now certain that I'm on my way to a life full of vibrancy, great health and long life.
Random thought: I'm thinking our juicing routine should be 9 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM and 6 PM.
Okay, well I think Michael and I are going to play God of War. :-)
Life is good. Thank You, Lord.
Our breakfast was cantaloupe, apple, carrot, and orange juice with ginger root. Note to self: Quit trying to love ginger when you don't. :-) It was really overpowered by ginger flavor to the point that it didn't really taste good at all, while it really should have been amazing. After we cleaned up IMMEDIATELY following our juicing to prevent a horrendous mess, we did measurements (weight and inches of body) and took pictures. Talk about motivation... I'm pumped to put up before and after pictures and measurements. I know this will work.
Since it's a gorgeous 65 degrees out and Stacey wasn't able to make it to the gym with us today, we decided to just walk around the neighborhood. I walked 15 minutes in one direction randomly and then my alarm went off and I headed back. I didn't have any deeply profound thoughts- mainly I was being nosey and looking at yards- daydreaming about what mine will look like someday. I did end my route by walking around most of the Palmyra Cemetery. I had a passing thought about how I hope I'm cheating death. I'm certain I was on the way to a life full of health issues and premature death. I'm now certain that I'm on my way to a life full of vibrancy, great health and long life.
Random thought: I'm thinking our juicing routine should be 9 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM and 6 PM.
Okay, well I think Michael and I are going to play God of War. :-)
Life is good. Thank You, Lord.
Lettuce Rejoice!
Alright. So, my whole life has changed since I last posted. That will be for another post.
The purpose of this post is to chronicle the juice fast that my husband Michael and I are doing for the next two weeks.
We are watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead as motivation. Fantastic movie. We watched it last summer and wanted to do it then, but with his traveling and the wedding- it never happened. Now... we are determined. The main character, Phil Staples, in the movie does it for 60 days. He loses 70+ pounds and rid himself of medication and a skin disease he has had for most of his life. Not to mention, he ends up being healthier than he has ever been. All he consumes 4 times a day is a juice made from 6 Kale Leaves, 1 Cucumber, 4 Celery Stalks, 2 Green Apples, 1/2 Lemon, and 1 piece of ginger.
Ours will vary. We are following the recipes from a girl who did a 40-day fast. Here is our basic program:
Breakfast:
1 Cup Bolthouse Farms
C-Boost
½ Cup Fresh Juice
(cantaloupe, apple, orange, & carrot)
Lunch:
1 Cup Odwalla
Superfood
½ Cup Naked Superfood
½ Cup Fresh Juice
(spinach, apple, & carrot)
Snack:
½ Cup Odwalla
Pomegranate Juice
½ Cup Bolthouse Farms
Berry Blast
½ Cup Fresh Juice
(Grapes, Strawberries, Blackberries, & Raspberries)
Dinner:
1 Cup Odwalla
Superfood
½ Cup Naked Superfood
½ Cup Fresh Juice
(spinach, apple, & carrot)
We went with this because they already had a grocery list. It was convenience. We are open to changing things up. Since having everything fresh and "live", we can only buy week by week.
Going into this, I want to be deliberate and intentional. I have goals:
Mind:
I want to change my mindset about food. I want to look at it as a way to nourish my body and help it to function. I want to acknowledge my body as a temple and I'm a steward of it. I want to change my thoughts on how I spend money. $10 could buy us a round at Rita's or peck of locally grown organic apples (which I learned is about 10 lbs) and an awesome bag of locally grown organic spinach. I want to think about everything I put in my body and openly reject things that aren't good for it.
Body:
I want to realign my body to crave what it was created to crave. The juice fast is supposed to be good for that. It reminds your body that this is what God created for us and it contains everything you need.
Soul:
I want to treat this juice fast as a true "fast" and focus on reconnecting with my God, who ultimately sustains me. I want to do topical bible studies on forgiveness, self-control and food and drink. I want to be fed by God first and foremost.
Off we go to do measurements before we sleep! Wish us luck!
Lord, keep us focused on You. We want to be stewards of our body. We want to appreciate the food you intentionally created to nourish us and be enough for us. Give us strength and a spirit of determination. Help us be a light in the darkness regarding the food war we are all involved in. Our food isn't helping us, it's killing us. Thank you for your faithfulness and love. Amen.
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