The Second Day After

This morning we had our mean green juice, with slight differences.  I added spinach, blueberries, 2 small carrots, and a nectarine (pit removed).

Breakfast of Champions!

Then we went out to eat with our church peeps.  The following pic is my hubby's meal.

The coffee was his only drink....not the ice tea.  That was someone else's.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a pic of my food, but I had a 1/3 lb avocado bacon cheeseburger with fries.  I used mustard and mayo to dip them in.....and a raspberry ice tea. 

Later in the afternoon we had a little watermelon.

In the evening, we both had homemade mango/strawberry smoothies, and he had some popcorn.

It's almost like juicing!  But I did add some vanilla ice cream in there!

The First Day After......

First we'll start with the weigh ins:
Me: 129   <-----lost 3 lbs
Hubby: 168 <--lost 6 lbs

OK....so of course we know that now that we will be incorporating FOOD into our lives again, we will definitely probably gain it back.  But since we will still be juicing often, in the long wrong, we know we will be losing weight slowly and healthily.

What did we eat today?

Well, let me show you.
First of all, we both  JUICED this morning.

Then, the hubby had a Men's Breakfast at church to go to, so the dish he made was fried potatoes.  He let me sample a small portion.  YUM!!!!!  It didn't feel that great eating that first bite, as I had gotten so used to just eating/drinking only fruits and vegetables.  I chewed very slowly, swooshing it around in my mouth to reacquaint my mouth to it again. By the second or third bite, I was LOVING it!  Potatoes, bell peppers, onions, and Spam!  Mmmmmm.....my hubby had some too.

Then he was off!
After a bit, I had my bowl of cereal.  Half the size than I used to eat. (my cereal was my big crave during the fast)
And around 15 grapes.

HE HAD:

I can't even begin to tell you what's on this plate!  Oh, and this:

                                                                       COFFEE

I've only had water all day. {{ahem}}   But, to each his own, right?


And he brought home a cinnamon roll and a chocolate glazed donut.  Gee, thanks Honey!
I only ate 1/2 of the glazed donut:

And THIS was our dinner!

HIS:

He had already eaten some of it before I remembered to take pictures.  Carne asada wet burrito.

And of course we both had a few chips.  Water to drink for the both of us.

MINE:

And I had a mini shredded beef wet burrito.

I know it looks big in the picture, but it was tiny.  Something like 6" x 3".

With beans & rice! 

Yeah....we had fun being bad.  But hey!  It was our first day out!

Besides, our weekends are sort of our splurge days....so all in all, I don't think we did all that bad.

OH!  He just took a swig of Pepsi from the 2 liter in the fridge!  I really should have thrown that out, huh?  But at the same time, I believe we need to keep ourselves accountable too. Right?

Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Everyday is a blessing from God!

Day Five

Today is the last day of our 5 day reboot! Today is also the first day with absolutely NO headaches (they mostly came in morning/early afternoon for me)! Also the first day of feeling "normal" too! And that goes for the both of us!
It's crazy that for all these days I was always thinking of what kind food I wanted to eat when it was over...Mexican, YUM....ooh Chinese.....yummy yum....but now that it's near the end, my mind goes blank. I watch commercials, see ads....with delicious looking food. Stuff that would normally send me into a crave....make me almost taste it, but on this day....the 5th day....I don't feel a thing when I see them. No cravings, no yearnings....not that I WON'T be eating tomorrow...oh yes I will! But, I know I won't go crazy on food. This really does "reset" your taste buds.  It's totally amazing to me! And Peter just finished telling me the exact same thing....before I told him I wrote this! Wow! Do you think maybe it's because we want what we can't have? And now we know that tomorrow we CAN HAVE food? hmmm......
I will post our weights from tomorrow morning's weigh in.
JUICE OUT!  haha

Day Four

Wow!  Today was an awesome day.  Headaches pretty much just in the morning/early afternoon.  Not many cravings at all.  I was very fulfilled.  Not much more to say than that!
So, it really does get easier.  Almost makes me wanna go 10 days instead of just 5.  I said ALMOST....!!!!
Tomorrow I will share our weights.
I will continue this blog, even after the 5 days are over.  Mostly to document our progress in our eating habits, and also to document our weight.  We won't be losing fast, but I'm sure with the eating plan we have in mind, we will definitely be losing.
Stay tuned!


What I chewed  today:  two 3"dia. chunks of watermelon, 14 grapes, the same salad we had on Tuesday  (day two)

Just a Few Observations........

Just thought I'd let you know a few things that we've noticed since starting this juice fast reboot.
I'll just list them randomly below:

1. I spend a LONG LONG time in the kitchen for each meal.  Because first I have to gather all the ingredients......

then, I have to rinse them all well, as well as cut anything that needs cutting.
Then I have to juice the ingredients (this part takes the least amount of time).
Then I pour the drinks, and dismantle all the pieces of the juicer.

I have to clean as I go, especially the filter.  It is a super fine filter, so it takes nearly nothing to clog the little pin holes.  This takes the longest for cleanup. Scrubbing till you don't think you can scrub anymore.

It might not sound time consuming, but it is! Especially when you do it 3-4 times a day.....but it's worth it!  Just thought you should know what to expect.


2. Most of this, we believe, is mental.  It's good to have a support group, so here is the link to some groups you can join on RebootWithJoe.com.  You may have to create an account first.
RebootWithJoeGroups



3. We had smaller and less frequent NUMBER TWO'S {{if you know what I mean}}.  I read on the "Reboot With Joe" site that this a common occurrence.  You can go to the site, go to the Reboot tab, then at the bottom of the choices are the Reboot FAQ'S.  Very informative.



4. Another thing is weekness.  Another very common effect.  And soreness.  You can find that in Reboot FAQ'S also.


5. You will be using LOTS of fruits and vegetables.  For one person, the cost isn't too bad, but for two?  Well, it's just a little high, that's all.  But like I said before in another post....you can do a 3day, 5day, 10day, 30day Reboot, etc.
I'm hoping that 5 days was a good number for us.  If not, we'll increase it on the next Reboot.
On the Reboot FAQ'S page, it says it's safe to Reboot again after 8 weeks (if you do a 5day).
But anything after a 15day long Reboot....you should wait 3 months.

If I think of any more things from our own observations, I'll put them in another post.

Day Three

Well, as my husband put it tonight as he drank his dinner, "We're better than half way there.".
I like that!  Saturday just can't come soon enough!

About my day.  It was better.  Headache on and off, but I would just drink more juice, drink water, or nibble on some fruit.  For the most part, that did the trick.  But maybe it's more like I'm just getting used to that dull headache that likes to overstay it's welcome.

My husband's biggest complaint from today is still the pain from his sciatic nerve.  Other than that, he says each day gets easier and easier.....and I agree!  But we do still think about FOOD all day long!



What I chewed today: About 15 grapes,  1/2 small organic avocado, 4 organic strawberries, 1/8 of a cucumber

Day TWO

Today was a lot better for the both of us.  We still had headaches, but they weren't lasting all day, and they weren't half as intense.  My hubby still had some body aching, but it may very well be from a sciatic nerve flair up.

Hunger wasn't so bad either....but I must admit that when I was typing "Day TWO", I was thinking, "nah....today isn't only the second day".  But.....yup, it is!  Wow! ONLY the SECOND day!
But....we did eat tonight.  I made a salad from Kale, spinach, Romaine, strawberries, cucumbers, and avocado.  We drizzled a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Organic Balsamic Vinegar.  It was awesome!!! Oh....and we also had our juice.

Now, from the way I understand it, they have different ways of "Juice Fasting".  On the website, there is a "3 day juice" where you can only drink juiced concoctions.  Then there is a "5 day juice", where again, you can only drink things juiced.  But the next one is a "10 day juice", where juicing is combined with eating too.  No....not hamburgers and pizza.....but stuff that grows from the ground. I guess we kinda shouldn't be eating,  but I really think we needed this salad.  It's the same stuff we're juicing, so I didn't see any harm.  Hey, as long as we continue juicing, right?

By the way, there are higher amounts of juicing days on the site as well. With menus and everything!!

It's funny....we're already talking about where we're going to go eat on Saturday. Mmmm......everything sounds so good right now!  Well, maybe not right now, right now (I had a salad, remember?)....but definitely later now!  haha
Cheers!
Tomorrow- Day THREE!

What I chewed today: 2 chunks of organic watermelon that were about 3" dia.  about 8 organic green grapes, a peach, and the salad mentioned above.
Piggy, I know.  But if that's what it takes.....

Day One- PM

I'm not gonna lie.  Today was a bit difficult.  There was the wanting to eat something other than fruits and veggies....yes.  But the headache that came along with it was draining.  It was like going through depression and wanting to sleep the day away so I wouldn't  have to experience it.  Oh, and I did sleep a little today (which I never do). It was my escape from the hunger and headache. UGH.

Both me and my husband experienced the headache.  Mine started in the morning about 8am....and lasted through NOW.  It never stopped!  I'm hoping this doesn't last for the whole 5 days.  I will definitely take an aspirin if it tries to last all day tomorrow too!
My husband's headache started around noon, but he ended up taking an aspirin for it later in the day. He said it took away a good 80% of the headache.

Also, I learned something today.  As I did some more reading, I found out that the 16oz three times a day was not what we're supposed to be drinking.  It's 16oz about 5-6 times a day!  So that's double what we bought stuff for!  So, needless to say, I will have to go buy more fruits and veggies, which will bring the amount it cost for us to both juice for 5 days to about $100.  But, I'm sure it will be worth it.  It better be worth it!!!!
Tomorrow's a new day!  Praise the Lord!

What I chewed today: about 18 organic green grapes and an organic carrot.
The carrot was small and skinny, by the way.

Day One- Breakfast

OK...so today starts our Day ONE of our "Reboot".  Yay!  I had all the ingredients washed off, put back into the fridge, and ready to juice since last night.  We get up pretty early.....4am.  So that's a pretty early breakfast.

Breakfast is ready!

We each weighed in this morning.
Me=132   Hubby=174
Not that we'll lose a measurable amount of weight in 5 days, but more to journal as we continue juicing (for life).  But we will definitely include some solid food after the reboot.

Without actually knowing how this week will go.....this is the "plan".  Well, maybe I should tell you my "hope" first.  So, my hope is that we will love this so much during this first week, that we will continue our juice fast beyond the target 5 days.  Although....my husband does have a Men's Breakfast at our church on Saturday which sorta throws that out the window for him.  But I can still continue with the fast.  My "hope" is to go as long as I can.

The "plan" for after the reboot, is to continue with juicing every morning (no more coffee).
And on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, juicing for dinner as well.  That leaves us with eating normal food (along with morning juice) on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
That is the "plan" anyway. We'll see.

Back to the reboot.
We discussed the possibility of going "cuckoo" from not being able to chew and swallow things, and devised a plan to accommodate that if/when it happens.  The plan is to....only if we HAVE to....eat only the things that we are juicing.  So that would basically be fruits and vegetables.

Joe Cross....the man who made "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead", used a recipe called the "Mean Green Juice".  He drank it for 60 days straight! This is what you're supposed to drink for your "reboot". Here's the recipe below....it's the one I tried for our first juicing, except I think I added another apple, cucumber, and a whole lemon instead of 1/2.  Bad idea, as it didn't really work out that well.  It was too much in the machine and flooded a little:

Picture above from:  http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/mean-green-juice/

Oh, and this recipe says it makes 1 serving, but it fills 2 mason jars.  Not sure if we're supposed to be drinking all of this per person.  I'll have to investigate.

I'm using a tweeked version of Joe's mean green.  I added a small handful of spinach leaves and 15 green grapes. I'm also going to alternate the spinach with some....I think it's Romaine lettuce that I got.  Plus I'll be adding some carrots, watermelon, purple grapes, and a few other fruits that we got. Just to alternate for different flavors.  But always keeping the base of Kale, spinach, celery, cucumber, lemon and ginger root.  I guess it would've been easier if I'd just simply said I'd be swapping out the fruit parts. haha
Luckily, we both very much like the juice.  I'll be juicing for myself 3 times a day, and I make an extra juice in the morning for the hubby to take to work with him for his lunch.  He also takes a couple of solid fruits in case he feels the need for chewing (and fiber, which fills you).

Here's my hubby telling me, "but these are FRUIT snacks".  Nice try honey, but I think not!

When I started at the beginning of this post, it was 6:30am.....and I have to admit, I was already hungry.  It's now 7:30am ( I was surfing the internet in between writing, hehe), and the hunger has subsided. So just because you feel like your hungry, fight for a bit.  It may go away. And remember, water is your friend. So is activity....so do something that takes your focus away from hunger.  You see, now I'm writing about hunger and I'm getting hungry!

I'll be writing another post after lunch, and another after dinner.  Cheers!

Tomorrow's the Big Day!

We're both a little nervous about it, but excited as well.  We're both used to drinking coffee every morning, so going without it will be quite foreign to us.....not to mention a bit of a challenge.

I've heard it said that during the first few weeks of juicing, people may experience things like migraines, dizziness and nausea.....just to name a few of the not very pleasant experiences.  I'm hoping that neither I nor my husband will be one of those people.  If we are, we're gonna just have to suck it up!  Right?

Well, until tomorrow then!  Our first day of JUICING!  I'll tell you all about it!  Let the journey begin!

Found An Organic Market

We went out yesterday to check out an organic market that I had seen on a list of organic stores, and my husband had also come across while working.  We loved it!

Clark's Nutrition Natural Foods Market

We loved it!  We bought all the fruits and vegetables we would need to juice for 5 days, and it only came out to $46.00!  ALL ORGANIC!  We seriously were thinking we'd have to dish out at least around $80.00......so for breakfast and dinner for 2, for 5 days....that's not bad!

So many natural peanut butters!

A beautiful produce section!

Several different kinds of Kale!

So many beautiful vegetables!  I haven't seen "natural looking" carrots like these in forever!

I'm really happy to have found this place.  Our new juicing market for sure!

I'll tell you what though......Kale sure does take up a lot of room in the fridge.  Especially when you're stocking it to be used for 5 days!  We need a bigger fridge!

Second Juicing

I made tonight's juice a little differently.  Here's what I used:

• 4 leaves of kale
• 1 cucumber
• 4 celery stalks
• 3 apples (I halved them this time...didn't need to)
• tiny piece of ginger root (it's near the center of picture)
• 1/2 lemon
• small handful of spinach leaves
• 15 green grapes (seedless)

It was the PERFECT amount for our two cups, and this time.....with this recipe that I tweeked a little....I LOVED it!  It was perfect for me!  My husband loved it as well.

It was smoother, and didn't have that strong essence of ginger root or the lemon.  Just subtle enough for it to blend nicely with the other ingredients.  Thumbs up! 

I have more confidence in being able to do the 6 days now.  YAY!  Because after Tuesday's juicing, I was having a whole lot of apprehension. But now.......IT'S ON!!!!

My First Juice

I wanted to make sure I documented everything....so for the record, I weighed myself this morning and came in at 133.  Ok, so now that that's out of the way, let me tell you about my first juicing experience from last night.  This juicing was just practice and experimentation.  I will begin my actual juice "fast" next Monday (7.27.15).  scary!

So I started with washing my new machine's plastic pieces, dried them, and then put it all together (it was SUPER DUPER easy!).  I then gathered up my ingredients and washed them.

I used:

• 4 celery stalks
• 6 kale leaves
• 2 cucumbers
• 3 apples
• about 1 1/4" sized pc of ginger root
• 1 lemon

The "juicing it" part was awesome and fun!  This machine juiced each item in seconds, with no hesitation.  For the first juicing I wanted to try everything whole, although I did cut the lemon in half.  The only ingredient that I had to use any pressure for was the apples, so I will probably quarter those next time. You can remove leaves, peel, core and cut....but completely not necessary.  Except when you use oranges.  I read that you should never juice the peels of an orange, as it leaves a very unpleasant flavor in your drink.

This is how the juicer looked after juicing.  You can see the pulp attached to the inside of the container.
 I also ended up using too much produce.  I should have only used 2 apples, not 3.  And only one cucumber, not two.  I will also only use 1/2 lemon next time.  The flavor of lemon was just a tad strong for my taste and so was the ginger.  But the machine squeezes an amazing amount of juice out!  Should've paid a little more attention to the pitcher filling up.....kinda had a little accident.  oops!

But....live and learn!  I'll do better next time.....I will!

And this is how the pulp "catcher" looked.....along with how it looked when I pulled the bag out.  Made clean up that much easier.  In fact, the only part of the machine that took some time to clean was the filter.  I probably spent at least 10 minutes cleaning it with the handy dandy scrub brush that was enclosed for that purpose.  Oh, and it's always a good idea to clean your machine pieces immediately after juicing.  Don't let it set in and dry onto anything....especially the filter!

There was enough juice for my husband to have seconds, even though a lot of it leaked onto the counter!  He actually LOVED the juice!

For me, the flavor wasn't bad at all.  And the drink was, to my surprise, completely filling!  This was our dinner last night.  With a little tweaking to the recipe to better suit my taste buds, I know I can make a juice that I can call delicious.  Or at the very least, "almost" delicious.  

cheers!

The next "practice" drink will be tomorrow.  So keep an eye out for my post!

Juicing Into The Unknown

So.....I really just learned about juicing within the last month or so.  I first heard about it from my husband's daughter and son-in-law, who came to visit and mentioned that they had been juicing.
Let me back up a little....I've never been a health food type person in the past.  I'd have to say that as soon as I had my eyes opened to the world of GMO's, is probably the first time I considered eating healthier (GMO free).  I haven't gotten to the point where I'm completely GMO free, but I've made changes in many of the things that I buy.
Also, around February of this year (2015), I started doing a morning health regime, which includes:

• 1 tbls unrefined organic coconut oil
• 1 tbls raw unfiltered unpasteurized apple cider vinegar (I usually just take a swig)
• 1 tbls raw unfiltered honey
• 3 almonds
• 7 pistachios

I don't mix them or anything.  Each is taken seperately, and each has it's different variety of benefits.


So, back to juicing.  Once I had some time to start investigating juicers, I hopped onto Amazon and started the process of finding the right machine for my (our) needs.  Not too expensive, great ratings, easy to clean and quick to juice.  I found the one I was sure would work best, especially because of all the reviews.  I also kept coming across a recurring name being mentioned....Joe Cross.  Along with a recurring title.....Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.  I decided to check out Netflix to see if this documentary was listed there, and to find out what the big hubbub was about.  And it was!  And it was very informative and eye opening.  So, needless to say, I was sold.  Not only on juicing, but on the machine I was going to purchase, as it just so happened to be the one that Joe Cross used in his travels for the documentary.

So this blog will be my diary of my own experience and journey into the juicing world.  I'm not obese or anything, but I do have some extra "baggage", especially in the tummy area.  If I muster up enough courage, I might show the before picture to kick off this journey.....but let me chew (or not chew) on that for a bit.

I actually just received my machine yesterday, and am planning to try a few juicing recipes with it this week.  Then, come next Monday, I will do a 6 day ONLY JUICE cleanse, using Joe Cross's "mean green juice fast" recipe.
So, for today, I just have a picture of my machine......along with the link to where I purchased it on Amazon.  I was not asked to do a review or promote this machine. I am not receiving anything for doing so.   I will be mentioning things I use, simply to document and share my experiences.

Breville Juice Fountain Plus