November.

November is my favorite month.
leaves quickly changing colors and falling all over the ground.
the air is cooler and i can finally wear scarves!
i feel like i sleep better too.

and can we please talk about sitting by a fire?!
the temperatures are usually just right for them.
so far this year i have warmed my hands by a fire twice this month.
i'm trying to plan more of those soon.

my favorite holiday [Thanksgiving :)] is at the end of the month.
i enjoy it most because it's about food and fellowship.
and i am thankful for the extra time i get to spend with my family.
and hopefully catch up with some old friends.

of course, maybe it's my favorite because it's also my birthday month :)
i will turn 36 this year.
the more time i spend in my 30's the more i know these are some of my best years.
i am growing older and, hopefully, wiser.

i already feel like November has flown by.
so i will try to savor these last 10 days as much as i possibly can.
i am headed to the upstate this weekend.
i can't wait to bundle up and collect some beautifully colored leaves.

450.

it has now been over a year since i last partook of the greasy goodness we call fast food :)  unbelievable. i am so thankful for such a dramatic change in what i choose to eat. and what a difference it has made in the way i feel, both physically and emotionally.

eating healthy everyday is a choice, and i don’t always choose wisely. i do know that removing this one temptation has helped tremendously.

again, i want to encourage all of my readers to choose to eat healthier. one of the hardest, yet most fulfilling ways, is to not eat fast food. your pants will get looser and your wallet will get fatter :)

day 7: juicing

on my final night of the juicing cleanse i got nine and a half hours of sleep. i had the day off and was able to sleep in so that was nice. i had more of a "brunch" juice since i slept late. it was weird thinking that i was making my final juices, and nice at the same time.

my final juice ingredients :)

in case you were wondering what the food cost has been for me over the last week, my total spent was $150. i still have some carrots, celery, a pineapple and some ginger left over. i plan on cooking the carrots tomorrow night for dinner. i will definitely eat the celery and pineapple, but i'm not sure what to use the rest of the ginger for yet. 

my friend lauren came over and i had her juice some carrots while i filmed it. i hope you enjoy seeing my juicer at work :) it's crazy how fast it juices them, right? also, i sound silly :)

tomorrow i will have my final weigh in and be able to finally eat solids again. i'll be sure to update you on my total weight loss and how i'm feeling after eating real food again.

come back tomorrow for my juicing challenge recap :)

day 6: juicing

i was only able to get six hours of sleep last night. really it was my own fault. i enjoy staying up late and on the weekends i feel more freedom to do so. however, i was not exhausted like i thought i would be. in fact i felt really good all day, but i was definitely tired by10:30 pm. i got my five juices in again today w/ lots and lots of water. 

the picture above is an example of juice that would technically equal three normal "meals" that you would eat. the juice that it makes is enough for my three "meals" and then i juice some more for "snack" juice.

today i played baseball w/ some friends and it was so much fun. other than that i have not gotten much exercise during my juicing cleanse. i have been doing squats and some crunches. i'm looking forward to a walk tomorrow and getting back in to my normal workout routine on tuesday.

can you believe i only have one more day left? i can't. i'm interested to see how i feel after incorporating whole foods again. i will be eating really healthy for the first three days. i will mainly be eating a lot of the foods i juiced, just whole now. it will be so nice to chew on something and hear that crunch sound again. i love things that crunch when you eat them :)

i just think the juice foam looks so pretty :)

i watched the football game last night at my bosses house w/ our youth group and i had some of the kids taste the juice i had made for dinner. and most of them loved it. one of them even said it tasted like fruit punch :)  

ONE MORE DAY! see y'all at the finish line :)

day 2: juicing

my first full night into the juicing challenge i got 7 hours of sleep. i thought for sure when i woke up i was going to be groggy, per usual, but in fact i was not. i felt really good and had a lot of energy during the day. 

i realized from day 1 that i needed to drink more juice throughout the day and not wait so long in between "meals." i did really well and alternated 24 oz. of water between each juice again. however, i did not pay close attention to what times during the day that i juiced. i was more concerned w/ trying to drink the juice five times a day. and i made sure to start my "breakfast" at 9:30 am. 

yummy juice for the latter part of day 2: carrots, cucumber, tangerines, strawberries, lime, celery, apple, tomato, pineapple and bell pepper. (not pictured: spinach & kale.)

food smells from today were extra strong. i wasn't even hungry all day, but i was wanting what i couldn't have. it is weird not eating solids. when i cook, i just throw things together most of the time. and that's exactly how i juice, which has worked for me so far.

i thought day two would be easier than day one for some reason. but it wasn't. as i said before, i wasn't hungry at all, which was great. however, by the end of the day i just wanted to chew something! i was honestly craving a hamburger :) before bed, i kept wondering if i had bitten off more than i could chew w/ this challenge. (pun intended) and i prayed that i would really crave the juice. my peeps have shown me so much love and have been so encouraging. i thank you immensely for it all. 

maybe i already started planning my first solid meals for when the 7 days are up :) a townhouse salad for lunch sounds about right, doesn't it? 

5 more days to go! see y'all tomorrow :)

200.

200 days since fast food.

i decided a few weeks ago that i am going to go for a full year without it.

at least.

and i'm over half way there :)

not only do i feel better and look better, but it's nice to not spend money on a bad meal as well.

it's kind of crazy.

but a good crazy.

i love to cook and this pushes me to do more and choose healthier options when i do eat at restaurants.

if i can give it up then so can you :)