A Pound a Gulp: Day 6

It's Day 6 today officially but lets back up 1 day. 

Day 5: Thursday.  Feeling good! I'm feeling better every day compared to that first horrible day.  .5 lbs weight loss but feeling good and rested. I asked my co-worker what she thought I was like.  (I had heard that people are really irritable or not so great mood the first 3-4 days).  She said I seemed like I was dragging before and actually kind of sad.  That seems to sum it up for me.  I couldn't pinpoint how I had been feeling at that time.  It was like everything was foggy and dull to me.  I think I did mourn the loss of food.  It's funny but I wanted to chomp on something but a really good fruit would be just as amazing as a brownie right now and that is not normal for me! It's like my brain is re-training how I think because this process is so dramatically different.  I gotta say though that I did find it hard to focus all week at work.  I was forgetful and unmotivated.  I felt all my motivation was the juice and that's all I could talk about!

Yesterday was much better but I was feeling pretty full.  I mean to say I felt good with not being hungry BUT my body said I was getting constipated.  Its the blender!  I'm drinking too much fiber.  Whereas the juicer spits out the pulp, I had been ingesting it.  I decided to follow my sister's advice and strain my juice last night.  The kitchen and I became better acquainted when the kids went to bed.  We didn't have a strainer but I found an alternate.

Straining blended food: Using a metal steaming basket (the cheap kind found at the grocery store in kitchen supplies) and putting on a very large pitcher in the sink, I set to work. I scooped out large serving size spoonfuls at a time and slopped them on the basket.  The tricked worked but was a constant mess on the basket.  After pressing in a bit to get the juice out of it I then chucked it in a large glass nearby. I experimented with a 1/2 recipe of "Mean Green" recipe that I hadn't tried yet.  It looked like I would normally get 2 servings. By the time I finished measuring the liquid it yielded 16 oz! This was much easier to drink and I gulped don an easy 8 oz but still felt too full for a total of 16oz. The fact that I had been drinking the left over pulp was telling my brain to stop.  I was full and it made me sick to think about it.  I started thinking that I had 4 days of this still in my system. No wonder I was low on weight-loss and felt super full!! So I spend the evening straining the drink already in the fridge and then the ones I made that night.  A regular juicer is now on my wish list.  Until Mr. Budget says so we'll be straining. I mixed up a drink last night before bed of a 1/2 cantaloupe and 1/2 pineapple.  I figured pineapple was a diuretic so it should help me. Sorry everyone, TMI but hey you wanted to know how this diet is if you are still reading! Since it was now hours (seriously) later I drank 16 oz of the fruity juice and crashed.

Day 6: I woke up this morning feeling grand and saw I'm at a 12.5 lb loss!  Okay so 1 pound is better than none.  Maybe the 8oz of strained Mean Green was the trick! I gulped down more of my fruity drink and packed my drink for the lunch.  The day is not over yet but the one drink last night & lunch, coupled with the two pineapple cantaloupe drinks, have been working. I'm looking forward to seeing the scales in the morning.

My first goal is to make it to 10 days. Based on what happens this weekend I may go for 15 days or longer but I'll definitely have to get a juicer.

Here is the Mean Green recipe version I did.  This is half the normal recipe and extra lemon. Next time I'll try lime:
1/2 bunch of kale
2-3 stalks of celery
1/2 cucumber
1 granny smith apple
1 lemon (peeled leaving some white)
ginger root (fingertip size, not thumb)

Thanks for tuning in.  JUICE ON!

A Pound a Gulp: Day Four the Gritty Details

So this juicing raw fruits and veggies is getting better. First things first.  My weight loss total is 11 1/2 pounds!  So I'm at 346.5 now. I've met online a few new Facebook friends that are doing the same thing and it's very encouraging.  I met them on the Facebook page for Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.  Let me tell you that is the most encouraging page with helpful people I have come across.  Aside from a few of my favorite crafting FB pages it's number one for helpful and encouraging CONSTANT postings and replies to postings!  Well hey, there are over 33,826 people on it!  (as of this posting)

So what exactly am I using to juice? I use a HealthMaster which is like a VitaMix.  It is more like a blender than a juicer.  A traditional juicer spits out the juice on one side and the pulp on another.  I am getting all of the fiber I put in there this way and its a very easy clean up.  My sister started the same day I did and so we talk about her regular juicer (Brand: Champion).  She has told me it's quite a mess and some things can clog the pulp side up. She has to place a bowl to the side where the juice comes out which can be messy if not done well.  I'm finding that my blender needs to have the items cut smaller.  I was trying carrots just cut in half but will be cutting unto 4 pieces instead.  I did have an issue Monday night (day 2) with it overheating and it took me an hour to juice!  I was so hungry I cheated.

I "cheat" with a piece of fruit.  A peach does it for me or grapes and then a full glass of water.  I figure its not really cheating if I would have juiced it.  I may try carrots for something substantial if needed but I haven't had to do that yet. This is in between juicing.  I don't usually get the craving while at work.  It's more when I get home and I'm making dinner for the kids.  I know I could drink juice while I work in the kitchen but I'd rather sit down with it since I'm still having to have a water chaser with every sip!

What does my day look like? I start off with a juice blend of fruits.  Last night my sister told me a fist of spinach you cannot taste in a fruit juice...or at least the one she tried. I'm going to juice that recipe soon and try it out.  If I like it I'll try that one to get more nutrients.  I think we have programmed our minds for so long that veggies are for later in the day that we can't eat them earlier in the morning unless stuffed in a quiche or omelet.  I'm an egg fan so a nice omelet with spinach and mushrooms is appealing to me.  I just don't think I could handle mentally a veggie taste in the morning. Lunch & Dinner are a veggie concoction.  So far I'm made a beet mix drink that was terrible because it was too fibrous.  You had to chew part of it and that was on day one!  YUCK!  I almost killed the program for my husband with that.  I added another apple, carrot, some agave syrup (a naturally sweet extract, a lot like honey in the look & consistency), and more water & ice.  Blended that up till it was totally liquified was the key!  The mix also had kale in it, which is rich in nutrients including protein but it can be pretty fibrous.

Last night and today at lunch I drank a mix of 5 carrots, 1 cucumber, 4 leaves of cabbage, 3 large broccoli florets, 1/2 lemon, water & ice. I ended up adding in more agave as well & I think I added a kiwi.  When I make a juice it makes well over 70 oz so I'm able to share it with my husband and have it the next day, too.  It's great so I'm preparing 2-3 juices at a time and just juice every other night.  This gives me freedom to have a small variety and not have to juice every meal.

My favorite recipe so far was this morning.  I had 5 peeled oranges, 1 kiwi, 2 bananas, 3 handfuls of berries (blackberry, blueberry & raspberry), 1 1/2 C of ice & 1 1/2 C of water.  My blender shows it gets 70 oz but it will hold more.  I got 80 ounces out of that which filled my 16 oz cup & 64 oz pitcher! I love having a blender now that I'm understanding how to use it better.  I think I'm getting more nutrients and more for my money.  Factor in eating organic fruits and it really helps!

So how did I feel in the beginning versus now?
Day 1: Sunday I felt like crap and I waited WAY too long to make lunch.  We were out of the house and driving around. We wanted to stop at a juice place but Jamba Juice and Smoothie King only had fruit juices.  I was still learning at the time but I know that would be way too much sugar for our system.  We needed vegetables in the worst way.  Then I made the infamous terrible beet juice! That's another tale...So after we downed this nasty drink I made a "treat" to make up for it which was only 5 oranges, a banana, water & ice.  I think I won some points for the apology drink to my husband!  By the time we went to bed we were irritated at each other and worn out! (Hunger headache periodically)

Day 2: Monday I dreamed all night about juicing and was completely stressed in my dreams. I wake up to weigh-in and found I had lost 4 lbs!  That was so encouraging!!  My day continued and I felt more of the crap from yesterday.  The crap I refer to is the toxins apparently leaving my body more in a sweat form.  Randomly I would get super hot and start sweating. I do live in Texas where the heat is getting to 104 but this was different.  I wasn't having potty visits like my hubby (sorry!).  This is about to be too much info I know but I did say Gritty Details: I attribute not experiencing that to my having my gall bladder out 8 years ago.  Ever since then it has been an issue.  I was worried it would be worsened but it hasn't. As we say in our house of kids it was just a lot of #1! Ha! (Hunger headache periodically)

Day 3: Tuesday Still having the sweats.  I didn't get much sleep the night before. Now I was running late and didn't weigh in. I managed to get to bed about 30 minutes early. (Hunger headache periodically)

Day 4: Wednesday.  It's today.  I'm feeling better and better as the day goes on.  The sweats are less and I can see the bright end of the tunnel! I mentioned to co-workers that I think I need a Before picture soon before it's After! So I need to get those done tonight. So far no headache today, yay!

My initial goal is to do this for 10 days and see where I am and how I feel.  If I can make it to 30 days I may do that.  The past 2 years I have sang the National Anthem at the Ballpark in Arlington for "Walk Now for Autism Speaks!". It's in November at a different location this year.  I'd like nothing better than to get up there and sing and have them not recognize me!!


I'd love to hear back from you in the comments below! 
-Kristen