DETOX: Day 15 update

It has been one hell of a roller coaster, this detox thing. I made it exactly 14 days without even wavering off the program. So far I've lost a total of 7 lbs, and a few inches off my waist... But last night, I did waver..... I had a MEAL for dinner.

However, I don't plan on quitting all together. It was a special night, and I went to have a nice meal - one of my favorite things in the world: Pumpkin Curry. Yes, I'm aware it wasn't the healthiest thing in the world to eat after a detox, BUT it was a far cry from terrible for me. After all, I did still order brown rice (always) instead of white, and it only had a little bit of cream in it.

How I felt after eating it: Extremely full, even though I ate about 1/2 of what I would have normally, so I can definitely tell my stomach has shrunk. I didn't feel sick, my stomach didn't hurt... nothing felt out of the ordinary.... so maybe I didn't waver too far off my path. Food for thought.

I juiced again this morning. I wanted to try to stick to the healthy morning regime. I think that is where a lot of my calories come from. I used to eat a smoothie with protein powder - probably totaling something around 300 calories, then I'd also have 2 eggs - another 160 calories and a good amount of fat, and i'd snack on nuts before boot camp..... so before lunch that was probably an average of 600 calories.... and that doesn't include my sugary 290 calorie coffee drink. Hmmm...
Come to think of it, if I compare that to what I'm doing now: A large fresh juice blend from 2 apples, 1 lemon, a little bit of ginger, 1 cucumber and a few stalks of celery - probably at most 100 calories. Then about an hour after I drink that, I have some tea.... no sweetener. 0 Cals. At 10:00 I have an apple with sunflower seed butter for energy before boot camp - about 275 calories.

Morning totals before detox: 600 cals
Morning totals after detox: 375 cals

Calories saved with new regime: 225
Calories per week saved: 1575

Yikes. Thats pretty good. I really need to try my very hardest to stick to this morning regime. If I look at that from a monthly perspective, thats almost 2 pounds saved per month. What a concept.

ANYWAY....

Goals for the remaining week, stick to the program as best as I can. Follow the elimination diet as much as possible for as long as possible, and TRY WITH ALL MY MIGHT to keep making smoothies and/or soups for dinners -  and at a reasonable hour.

Let's see 10 lbs lost!!!

DETOX: Day 8

It's been a few days since my last detox update. Thought I'd report on the progress....

I'll admit, the weekend was really hard. Old traditions die hard folks.... First thing that entered my groggy Saturday morning head was... mmmmmmmmm what to have for breakfast.

.... Then I came to and realized, nope.... juice. 

I recovered from that initial disappointment, and went to a vegan restaurant for lunch with some friends who are also detoxing with me. I actually enjoyed {no lie} my kale salad with carrots avocado and walnuts, with a cacao and almond milk "shake" YUM. {stick together if you're detoxing, folks. It really helps.} All in all, I survived the weekend without cheating. I've yet to fall off the wagon, 8 days in. I'm pretty proud! 

In other news, I weighed myself on Sunday. 6 lbs down.

That's my biggest achievement so far. I really hope it continues to drop.... I could use another 14 lbs to fall off.... but that's just being a little optimistic. HEHE

Other changes of note: 

• I'm on NO meds, other than my inhaler. Allergy pills have not been taken for 8 days, and I feel fine without them. I'm also off the pill because I wasn't thrilled with the idea of all of those hormones and other toxins being pumped into my body on the daily... and it feels good to be free of them.

• My skin is more supple. I suffer from dry skin and right now is the worst time of year for my skin, and somehow it's doing quite well. Especially in my face. My face is actually dewy.... in a good way. Not oily. Just even and calm. Calm seems to be the best word to describe it.

• Energy is still low for workouts. I've found that eating an apple with the BEST BUTTER is my saving grace..... allow me to clarify:
The BEST BUTTER is also known as SUNFLOWER SEED BUTTER. 

The best stuff on earth. Better than almond butter. Just try it and you'll see. {on this cleanse you can't eat peanuts because of some sort of fungus that grows naturally on them that causes tummy trouble if you're cleansing.}

New exciting discovery: CLEAN BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

At night I am supposed to drink a smoothie for dinner.... or I have the option to make a healthy soup, it just has to be the same consistency of a smoothie. So I found this recipe and I've got to say, it's better than most restaurants. I'm not kidding. 

{I added 1/2 sweet onion to add a little extra flavor}

I made enough that I get to have it again tonight.
Ask me if I am excited about that.

Why YES. YES I AM.

hahahaha

And...... that's it for Day 8.

DETOX: Day 3

Day 3 was interesting, a bit more difficult for some reason. I've been sleeping like a rock, and it's been hard to get up and get ready for work. I've noticed my digestion isn't "changing" like it should, so I've started doing hot water with lemon in the morning while I get ready for work. It helps with the "I need coffee" craving, which is still one of my lingering problems.

Workouts are getting harder, as I have a lot less energy to keep me going through the hour. I've noticed cardio isn't that tiring, I can keep up in that department, but its the weight training, push ups, and workouts of that variety that really make me see stars.... yep I saw stars one day, and it unnerving, but I pushed through it and was ok.

My hardest time of day is still dinner. I'm cranky then too. It's hard getting home from a long day knowing I can' have a nice warm comfy dinner - I have to have a smoothie. HOWEVER, once it's over, I actually feel satisfied. I don't want anything else.

I really miss coffee. I miss my afternoon latte treat. Honestly I could keep most of these healthy habits alive, but I will need my coffee and my dinners back please.

That is all.

E

DETOX: Day 2

Day two is here. Day one is in the past. 

And you know what? It wasn't that bad.

I'm honestly a little shocked it went as smoothly as it did. I wan't hungry after my morning juice, I had a pear right before my workout, had an AMAZING workout and felt great afterward. Then I had a great lunch, and was pretty much full the rest of the evening, with a little beet and almond juice concoction for dinner. 

I even woke up this morning without a growling tummy. c r a z y.

This mornings juice was better than yesterday.

cucumber, apples, lemon, some spinach and a little ginger. delicious.

(I really like the juicing concept, and its working for me.... but the only thing i'm disliking is the cleanup of the juicer. What a mess. But it's just fruit so everything rinses off rather easily.)

So, as of this morning the feelings of note are: 

• my tea tastes different, not as good. So I tried a different one.

• I'm not running to the bathroom every 20 minutes like yesterday... even though I'm drinking the same amount of water.... huh.

• Not sure if its a mirage, but my skin already looks a little bit better. It probably also helps that i switched face and body lotion to all natural almost-vegan lotions (I LOVE the refill shoppe)

and, that's about it for my DETOX DAY 2 entry....

DETOX: Day 1

A couple friends and I are embarking upon a new adventure: DETOXING.

This is my very first time detoxing, and I think we chose a very safe, and tolerable plan. It is inspired by the CLEAN diet, where you juice in the morning, have a leafy lunch with a protein (think salad with chicken and light Olive oil and balsamic) and then a smoothie for dinner.

Today is my first morning of juicing. This morning consisted of carrots, apples and celery. YUM. It actually is very sweet (I am actually a big fan of carrot juice) and the apple gives it a nice little tang. I'm current'y craving something crunchy, and might munch on a pear in a little bit.

I'm very hopeful this detox will help my body get back on track. Something has just felt slightly off for some time now, and I have had a serious struggle with weight loss, and I have this gut feeling there is something going on internally that might be fixed through this cleanse. 

I plan on doing a journal entry every day throughout this detox. It'll be nice to see the highs and lows of this process.

Until tomorrow, happy juicing!!

E