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 3: juicing

i can already tell my skin is looking different, like it has a glow to it or something. last night i only got six hours of sleep, and needless to say i was tired. i didn't feel exhausted though, i'm assuming juicing has helped w/ the lack of exhaustion.

i put my juice in this fun old glass oj bottle :)

i started my morning off w/ the rest of some yummy juice i had made the night before. i continued to alternate water w/ my juice. i made a gazpacho type juice to drink for "lunch" and a "snack." i was thinking it would be like cold soup or something. that was a huge mistake. it was not disgusting, but after three sips i knew i could not finish it all. i only drank 1/3 of the pitcher it made. i ended up drinking a lot of water while at work the reminder of the day. 

the best juice i've ever made :)

when i got home from work i immediately juiced something else that i knew would be yummy. and it was :) maybe the best juice i've ever made. what a relief! i was starting to get discouraged and now i know i can do it. i was really excited to be able to drink the rest of that juice for "breakfast."

tomorrow i will weigh in and see just exactly what this juicing cleanse is doing. see y'all then!

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 :)

a confession and a challenge.

i'm about to be really honest w/ you and put myself in a vulnerable position. i'm doing it b/c i think it's important, i want people to be more aware of their health, and i want to encourage someone else.

on july 26, 2013 i was diagnosed w/ type 2 diabetes.

(i went to my doctor the day before b/c i had been having some weird heart palpitations for the last several days and wanted to get them checked out. i had also been extremely tired recently and very thirsty, which i would later be reminded are symptoms of diabetes.)

my doctor's office called me and told me the news while i was at work. it came as a complete shock to me. (both of my parents have diabetes so i knew i had a chance of getting it, but i thought my chances were slim b/c i do not have a big sweet tooth, very rarely drink sugary drinks, etc.)

i immediately broke down in tears and left work early. i called my mom and texted a few close friends who i knew would pray for me. it's one of those things where i felt embarrassed and just knew that people could look at me and tell that something was different. i realize now how dramatic that sounds, but that is honestly the way i felt. i also knew i just needed to get through that day and i would be able to see more clearly.

i went back in to the doctor the next week to talk about medicine and what i needed to change in order to get my blood sugar down to the number range it should be in. one of my greatest fears in life is being dependent on medicine and i knew i wanted to do everything in my power to change what needed to be changed.

i started checking my blood sugar twice a day and taking a pill every morning. losing weight was next on my list. for two and a half years prior working out was more of a dream than an option, due to back issues that i have. i had recently gotten clearance from my chiropractor to exercise again. i was really excited and scared at the same time.

i joined a gym again, for the first time in four years, and began working out three to five times a week. i watched my sugar intake, which was making sure i didn't eat any sweets (unless sugar free - aka that fake sugar), yogurt and watching the sugars i ate in salad dressings, and other sauces, which if you know me then you know i love a sauce :) and i also limited my carb intake.

my blood sugar got down to the range it needed to be in (and has consistently stayed there) and the weight really seemed to just begin falling off. i've never known what that felt like. i lost 26 pounds in three months! when i went back to check in w/ my doctor about my progress she told me that i was a poster child for what people should do when they find out they have diabetes. i was so encouraged!

a fire had been lit under me. God used the horrible news of diabetes to kick start a healthier lifestyle for me. i had already stopped eating fast food five months prior and knew that God had put that change in to effect to make this one even easier now. i could see clearly. i could see the bigger picture.

my end goal is definitely to come off of the medicine and, God willing, erase the diabetes completely. it won't be easy and i'm not even sure it's entirely possible to wipe it out completely, but i want to do everything i can to try and make that happen.

healthy lunch option for me: lettuce & hummus "sandwich" w/ grapes :)

here's the latest: after losing that 26 pounds in the first three months i gained back 7 of it at the beginning of november, lost 5 of it again after a week of not eating any processed foods, but eventually gained that back. i have kept off the other 19, even through the holidays! unfortunately i have not lost any weight since then. and that is discouraging.

and here comes the challenge: juicing. i love to juice and have used it as a meal replacement several times before. one of my friends decided to juice this week for 5 days. and i thought it would be a great time to do it myself. but i will be doing a full week, 7 days. and i began today! i'm doing it in order to reset/cleanse my system and jump start my weight loss. (among other reasons.)

i'm sure this sounds absolutely crazy to some of you, and that's ok. if you would like to better understand why i'm doing what i'm doing and what juicing can do for your body, PLEASE go watch the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. it's on Netflix and it's so good. you can also read more about it and the guy behind the documentary at www.fatsickandnearlydead.com

a previous juice spill :)

i will be blogging each day of my juicing cleanse to share how i'm feeling, what i'm drinking and answer any questions that y'all may have for me. thank you for taking the time to listen to me and i encourage you all to listen to your bodies when things don't seem quite right.


please click these links for even more information on juicing:
Joe Cross's 3-Day Weekend Juice Cleanse
How To Do A Juice CLeanse