A Pound a Gulp Day 27

Well I'm getting better at getting back to 3 drinks a day.  Sometimes in the evening I'm having a small dinner but I keep slipping.  Boy am I ready for our schedules to get back to less birthdays and tempting cake & cookouts!  We have one more cookout/birthday tomorrow to attend and then our youngest child's official 1st birthday party.

I was low on groceries so we had a very late night shopping trip and then I juiced into the wee hours getting the next two days of juices ready.  Here is the yummy recipe I made, it yeilds about 2 - 16oz cups worth, I doubled this and also made a more breakfasty one:

 Sunset Twist:
1 large sweet potato
3 large carrots
1 red bell pepper cored
2 golden delicious apples
1 peeled orange

*all organic except the orange

I'm glad I made them last night because I really don't feel like preparing anything right now.  Its was 105 on my way home in Texas. I think I need a big bowl of ice cream...oh wait...how about a bowl of fresh cherries?!  Yum, now that is a better choice!  Take care and Happy Juicing! -Kristen

A Pound a Gulp: Juicing slacker Day 23 Update

Hi everyone!  I have been such a slacker on the blogging and on the juicing, too.  Since I last wrote we have had two birthday girls and their double party.  We also had another friend's birthday party this past weekend.  This coming Friday is my son's birthday and we have a party on Saturday to attend and then his on Sunday.  It is quite a whirlwind and then our oldest starts Kindergarten a week from today.  whew!  It is no excuse but only to say that this chocoholic woman CAVED!! ha-ha!  Hey well I've got to pick myself back up and start where I am.  Here is my video log.  I also show off the juicer I ended up with.  I bought a Breville Juice Fountain 900 watts.  The first one I got actually stopped working after 2 juices.  The store switched it out for a new one.  Apparently it is a known problem.  However I haven't had any trouble with my new juicer.  And now for the video!  Thanks and Happy Juicing!! -Kristen

 

A Pound a Gulp: Day 11 still going!

It's day 11 & still going strong! I weighed myself this morning and I've lost a total of 17.5 lbs. So 10 days was 17.5 pounds, wow! I've decided to continue.  I haven't bought my juicer yet because I'm still deciding which one but it will need to be very soon.  Straining food is tiring & it shouldn't take this long to make a meal that is just a drink.

It's just a short post for the day folks but I'll catch you up in a few days.  It really does get easier and easier.  I've got more energy now, I feel "normal" again and my perspective on food is changing.  Last night I had major cravings for pizza or ice cream or even just for some string cheese.  Instead when I opened the fridge I saw my organic cherries waiting sweetly for me to spot them.  I grabbed a handful and some coconut water.  It really hit the spot.  My brain still lingered a bit of wanting dairy but my body actually helped me out this time.  Sometimes you have to have a mind over your own mind!  Sounds funny but TRUE!  Hmm. Could this be that will power thing I've heard of before?

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

This is not the norm for my blog.  The usual is crafting or loom knitting talk and tutorials. I've debated on how much to blog about personally.  Do I get a separate blog or do I put my personal self out there on this site?  Well today I will. I STARTED JUICING!

Yes.  I started to juice yesterday.  That is taking raw fruits and vegetables and turning them into juice.  The thought has always grossed me out.  I mean "gag me with a spoon!" Seriously I am doing this.  Why?!!  Kristen, Why?! 

Many of you don't know me in person but I am overweight. I don't mean I am a little heavy or very heavy.  I am extremely heavy and hesitate to say it but I fall in that scary morbid O class word!!! Morbid Obesity.  I said it.  That term just sounds scary.  It should sound scary because it is.  If you looked at me in person today you would see a very tall (6'-1") lady.  I stand so tall and am more of an hourglass proportionate type that you would not know I weigh 358 pounds.  I'm not sure what people think but I would guess it looks more like 250-275 maybe.  I'm not sure.  I'll put it this way, when I was in high school and early college I plus size modeled and I think I weighed about 180. I probably looked like a size 12-14 but I'm so tall I wore 16-18. I'd love to get back down to that size.

Fast Forward.  I was inspired. I turned on my Netflix on my Handy Apple TV and picked a movie to work on my afghan is was loom knitting (on my Infinity II for you loomers). I had heard this documentary was a must see so I watched.  It is called Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. Watch the trailer.  Watch the movie.  The movie takes on a whole new feel later when he meets a truck driver who ends up losing over 200 lbs on this.  wow. So by the time the movie credits rolled I was out of my chair dancing to the theme song as the credits rolled! I had my husband watch it the next night and we paused the movie so many times because he got excited and started commenting.  Ha-Ha!  Then, it hit a spot with the truck driver said something that really made him think.  It hit home and he was hooked.

We started our juice journey yesterday Sunday July 24th, 2011. Our goal is 10 days.  It is supposed to be the hardest till day 4 or 5.  Today is Day 2 and I've already lost 4 pounds!  It is super hard and getting through a meal can be tedious.  I'm "chasing" the drink sometimes with water and it must be through a straw.  But I told my husband, "just think of it as every sip you take is a pound lost!"  That's my motto now. A Pound a Gulp!

More on details later but I really wanted to share with you as I begin my journey.  I don't know how far I'll go but I know I must try. I need to do it for my kids and my husband but also for myself. I need encouragement and support.  Please feel free to encourage me or comment. 

bye for now!
-Kristen

P.S. Please know that the plan I am going by for the moment is this one.  My apologies in advance but I'm not interested in what worked for you or someone else at this time. I have planned my meals already and invested in purchases.  Thanks for your support!