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 5: juicing

i got seven and a half hours of sleep last night. again i felt really good, but i also got in a two hour nap :)

due to that nap, i threw my juicing schedule off and only drank four juices. but i wasn't hungry and made sure to drink lots of water in between.

another yummy juice in the books! (not pictured: ginger & blueberries)

if you didn't notice the link in day 1 to the new juicer i chose, please scroll over the word Breville, click the it and you will be directed to the store where i purchased my new juicer. one of the main reasons why i chose that juicer is b/c the spout where you put the fruits and veggies in is so much bigger. and as i stated before, it's quieter and the clean up is so easy.

last night i bought some pears to put in my remaining juices. excited to try those. today i started saving the kale, spinach and carrot pulp from my juices. i plan on using them in some recipes on tuesday, which i will of course share w/ you all. 

here's the pulp!

there are only two more days left in my juicing challenge. i can't believe i'm almost there. i'm almost finished. it has surely been a challenge and also a learning experience. and so many people have been so encouraging to me about this process. thank you again if you were one of those who have spoken words of encouragement to me and if you have said a prayer for me during this time.

see y'all back here tomorrow :)

day 4: juicing

seven pounds people! 

that's how much weight i have lost after three full days of juicing. unbelievable. that brings me back up to 26 pounds total lost. what?! i know that there is a great possibility of gaining back some of the weight i lose from this juicing cleanse, but i'm excited to see how much more i lose by day 7. 

there is a lot going on in this juice and it was so yummy!

i got eight hours of sleep last night and i'm feeling great! i made another juice today that is so good. i'm halfway there and feel like i'm finally starting to enjoy the process. i'm still drinking five juices a day and alternating water in between each one.

i have decided that grapefruit is my favorite thing in a juice :)

if this juicing cleanse has taught me anything it's that i need to drink so much more water than i have been  drinking. now i love water, and besides decaf coffee that's usually all i drink, but it has become very clear to me that i need to be drinking more. it's good for your body for so many reasons.

see y'all again tomorrow :)

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 1: juicing

first things first - i bought a new juicer! my old one did a good job in the two years i've had it, but it was time for an upgrade. the new one is a beauty :) it does a great job at the actual juicing, keeping the waste of the fruit and veggies at a minimum, makes less noise, AND it is so easy to clean!

for the days following up to the juicing challenge i made sure to eat really well. i got lots of protein, fiber, fruits and veggies in my system. i worked out the day before as well. "they" say you are not supposed to work out a lot during a juicing cleanse b/c you won't have the energy for it. i plan on walking some later in the week though.

the night before the first day of juicing i got 9 hours of sleep. that is not normal for my life, but i want this juice cleanse to do what it does and a good night's rest is sure to help.

i started my day w/ 24 oz. of water, which i will alternate throughout the day between juices. i didn't actually have my first 24 oz. of "breakfast" juice until 11:30 am. on a typical day, i tend to either not eat breakfast or just something small, and drink coffee. and i always eat a late lunch. after the first juice i had another 24 oz. of water. i waited too late to drink my "lunch" juice, so i did get a little hungry around 3 pm, but drank the juice and did not feel hungry again. i followed that juice w/ more water. 

*juice for my breakfast, lunch and snack.* (ingredients: lemon, apples, cucumbers, spinach, romaine lettuce, tangerines, blueberries, celery, bell pepper, carrots & pomegranate.)

*juice pulp aka waste.*

around 4:30 pm i had another 24 0z. of juice and again followed that w/ water. (my apologies if you are already bored.) i left work around 6:45 pm and went home to juice my dinner :) followed by more water and then i had another "snack" juice around 10:30 pm.

*dinner juice consisted of these fruits and veggies.*
(not pictured: spinach, romaine lettuce, pomegranate, bell pepper and cucumbers.)

i had so much energy at the end of the day! it was kind of hard to wind down. i read a little and finally winded down around midnight. when i checked my blood sugar before bed it was in the range it needed to be and i was so happy to see that. i was concerned my blood sugar might drop so it was good to see that it was consistent w/ what it normally is.

a side note for any of you coffee lovers out there wondering if i felt sluggish w/out any - i've been drinking decaf since august. my doctor suggested i stop drinking caffeine after i went to see her for my weird heart palpitations. apparently those are normal for a lot of people, but she told me i could either take something for them or change things in my diet. i obviously chose to change things. within two days of not drinking caffeine the weird heart palpitations basically stopped. it is a rare occasion that i have them. and if i ever have any caffeine it's when i drink the occasional chai tea from my favorite local coffee shop, Lula's :)

see y'all tomorrow for day 2 of my juicing challenge.

                   

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 :)