Re-Boot Day 3

This morning my husband told me I slept so quiet during the night that he felt the need to watch me and make sure I was breathing.

That is nice to hear.

Favorite Red after sitting
in the fridge.

Today so far I have done

Orange: 4 carrots, 2 oranges, 1 beet
Green: 2 granny apples, 1 big cucumber, 4 handfuls of spinach, handful parsley
Red: 1/2 watermelon, 1 lime, a bit of fresh basil

The red is my favorite! I could drink it all day long. Too bad there is no green nutrition in it.

My head is more clear and the tension has calmed down. Praise God! The churning in my stomach is less too.

Papa God, I want to be healthy and feel good. It blows my mind how many times a day I have thought to grab food. Help me know and choose.


Later......

I made the rest of my drinks for the evening.

Green: 2 granny apples, 1 big cucumber, 4 handfuls of spinach, handful parsley (trying to use up some produce so I did the same as earlier)
Purple: basket of blueberries, 30 red grapes, 1 granny apple, 1 celery stalk

The purple recipe didn't call for the apple and celery but I found that volume of berry really gummed up my juicer. I needed the crispy texture to clear out the basket. It also called for a handful of mint but I don't have any right now.

I am trying to figure out how I want to proceed from here out. I had mentally committed to 3 days. My husband wants to start this juicing on Friday. That will be fun to both be working in the kitchen and cheering one another on.
Am I committed? Yes Most Definitely. I still want to focus on produce. I just don't know about doing only juice. I am wondering about adding a little bit of fiber tomorrow.

I recently heard a very "in the know" speaker talk about the benefits of juicing but also the importance of fiber....which gets pulled out when we juice. She said that juicing is awesome for the micro-nutrients and suggests that after juicing we can pour it into the blender and add back some of the pulp fiber to a reasonable consistency so we aren't missing that important bulk.

Makes total sense to me and I trust her knowledge base.
Then I think about Joe Cross and how he and so many others are walking success stories on 60 days of just juice.
I don't think I have the stamina for that. I don't want to do that. But I would like to get in control of my cravings.

And I am nervous for the weekend. I am making dinner for my brother and his family on Friday and then Saturday I will be out all day with my mom and cousin. I can pack my juice and be prepared. But I am scared of the questions. Scared of the "steering away" conversations with everyone's "knowledge".

Focus on good choices and ask God for guidance with each one.

Papa help me with these fears. I feel silly in saying I have an addiction. But that silly feeling is rooted in shame and shame has no ground in You.

Re-Boot Day 2

I slept really good last night. I was worried I would be hungry or fitful. But I feel like I had solid sleep. And I didn't wake up congested! I wonder if I snored.......

Yesterday when I started my morning orange drink I felt shaky and foggy in my brain. I had to sip it over time or it was too much of a jolt. Today I don't feel that.

Tuesdays are a busy day for me so I decided to dig in and make my day of juices ahead of time. It is best of course to drink as soon as your juice is made. But I have them covered and in my fridge so they are safe and will still yield me a mega day of nutrition.

I laugh looking at my line up of color. I can hear the Skittles candy mantra in my head

"Taste The Rainbow"

 I have one more drink to make for today but I have run out of apples and need to run to the store.

Interested in what I am drinking today?

Red: 1 personal seedless watermelon, 1 lime, handful of fresh basil
Green: 6 kale and romaine leaves, 1 cucumber, 2 celery stalks, 1 granny apple, 1/2 lemon, 1" ginger root
Purple: 1/4 red cabbage, 1 carrot, 3 celery stalks, 1/2 lemon, 1 orange, 1 handful basil
Orange: 3 carrots, 2 granny apples, 1" ginger root

As I look this over with a clear head instead of a "wake up head" I am realizing that the "purple" drink recipe I pulled from the wrong column. Oops! Oh well. I am still getting in tons of produce and micro-nutrients. It is not a fail. I just need to make one more green for today.

And how long did it take me? Well... 1 1/2 hours seems a daunting amount of time. But the factors of the morning were phone calls and a visit. And while I have an amazing juicer, the food chute is narrow so it takes time to cut up food small enough. Plus my learning curve is that I keep stopping to refer to my papers. The plus side.....once I make that last juice I will be done in the kitchen for the whole day! There are good foods in the fridge for my family to eat and they take care of themselves well.

Now to get to my tasks....


Later.....

Here I am at the office doing my evening work. It has been a usual eventful day, a typical Tuesday.
I feel a little achy in my head, been a little queazy and tension in my neck and shoulders. It is interesting how many times I thought about grabbing something to chew on......because I deserve it......because when I am busy who knows when I will have opportunity......because because because.

Apparently I get more wound up than I have given credit to.

I did get to the store and make my other green drink.
It is: 2 fuji apples, 1 lemon with peel, 1 romaine heart, 5 bunches of spinach

It tastes REALLY good. It is like a cool lemonaide.

Ok back to work......

Re-boot, Cleanse and Re-focus

Today I am weighing in at 199 lbs. I wear a size 14 pant and some days it is only because I refuse to buy the next size up.

Here I am. This was taken a little over a month ago at our daughter's wedding rehearsal. I had been doing the usual preparation that you hear most women talk about leading up to a wedding.....you know the I want to get into my dress talk. The problem was it was all talk. Yes I got into my dress but it was not the size I wanted to buy. Since my husband tells me every day that I am beautiful and he loves me (he is so amazing) I really had the confidence to think I look and feel better than I actually do.

Ugh! Ok granted I had no make up on and I was in a state of high stress at that moment.....still the resounding view is that my clothes look melted on to me and if I am honest with myself I can remember that I wrestled with those clothes all day constantly trying to re-situate myself in them as I rolled around.

I have focused so many times on being healthy, dropping weight, reading articles, being obsessive about one aspect of it or another and then utterly burning out and giving up. I give myself permission to give up usually because of time schedules.  Things happen like someone comes into town for a visit or a special gathering happens.....and it all revolves around food. Food stimulates those happy feelings and makes everything more memorable.

But I want to learn how to have those happy feelings about foods that God made. He made them for a reason.

My husband and I recently watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It was inspiring and motivating.
I have so many learned schools of thought in my head on how to eat and be healthy. Raw, juice, smoothie, healthy choices, 80/20 rule, how to balance it all......

Every one has a different opinion. It makes me wish someone would just put food in front of me and tell me it is the best choice. But then I remember I can ask God and He will tell me.....there is a novel concept.

Today I am starting a 3 day cleanse to get me going. I know long term juicing as an only source of food is not optimal. It keeps away the important fiber bulk that our bodies need. But a fast is a different story. A fast is a good thing.

Last night I stocked my fridge with beautiful produce and get everything ready to follow a 3 day reboot. I am excited.

Here I go..........



Later at the end of my first day...

It has been fun and interesting.
Fun: exploring God made flavors, nice to not have to think about what and how to cook
Interesting: I didn't realize how emotional my eating has become. Wow I found myself pacing and wanting to throw something crunchy in my mouth.

What did today look like?
I had 2 cups of hot lemon water first thing in the morning. I chased that down with an "orange" juice. Mid morning was a coconut water and then a "green" juice for lunch. Afternoon snack was a "red" juice which really looked more like super dark and alarming had I not known what was in it. Dinner was another "green" juice and now I am enjoying a "purple" juice.

Are all the colors odd? They say we are supposed to have a rainbow every day and these color combos help be do just that. Here is what I chose today....

Orange: 2 granny apples, 4 carrots and a whole lemon with peel
Green: 2 granny apples, 2 cucumbers, 6 kale leaves, handful parsley
Red: 1 granny apple, 1/4 red cabbage, 3 carrots, 3 cups leafy greens (oops forgot the ginger)
Green: 6 kale/romaine, 3 handfuls spinach, 1 granny apple, 1 cucumber, 2 celery stalks, 1 lemon with peel
Purple: 2 peaches, handful blueberries, 1 sweet potato

Timing is important. I let my afternoon get too long in between drinks and my stomach was grumbling.
But then again, that hungry feeling is nice. It has become such a foreign feeling to me.

I am so grateful my husband is supporting and encouraging me.