When I first met Dave, The Raw Food Trucker, and decided to undertake this juice feast, he invited me to a great event that he puts on every year: The International Day of Juice Feasting. This year it's going to be in Seattle at the Lucky Ladies on September 12, from noon to 4. Can't get to Seattle? You can still join me and Dave and several hundred of our closest friends by streaming it live on your computer! All the other details are in the events section here on RFR.
Ever since I found out that I was going to carpool with the fabulous Annette to the event, I have been thinking about what I should wear. As I said in my post yesterday, I haven't really gotten too many new clothes, but the ones I have gotten are all "my favorite." I have firmly resolved that I would rather go starkers than wear stuff I hate, just because it fits, any more. I've narrowed my choices down to three dresses. Since I can't decide, I'm going to let you do it!
These are not the best pictures; my daughter snapped them quickly in the two minutes between her activities yesterday. So ignore the goofy looks on my face and tell me which dress to say yes to:
First, the red one:
I like the color and the geometric design. It is also very comfy and would be good for a long drive and busy day.
Next, the print one:
Ha ha I love the dorky expression on my face and the fact that my cat Hannibal is just determined to be famous on RFR! That's his tail on the left. Ok, back to the dress, this is my daughter's favorite. It is very "me" in many ways: I love hot pink, I love prints, I love flowers, and it is made of that slinky stuff that packs and travels so well without getting all wrinkled. It is also really comfy. See why I can't decide?
Ok, last one: The Little Black Dress
I think this one is really flattering to my curves, and goes nicely with cat, don't you think? This is Hannibal's favorite, since it matches his fur. I usually think you can't go wrong with black, but I don't want to look like I'm at a funeral. This one is also made of slinky stuff and is very packable, wearable, and won't wrinkle on the long drive.
Ok, it's up to you! Vote for which one you prefer and why in the comments! May the best dress win!
What Day I'm On: 21 out of 40, officially "more than half-way there!"
How's It Going? Yesterday was SO MUCH BETTER. I felt good, except for aches and pains from exercising. Normally I would just pop some ibuprofen and knock out those bad boys, but I was proud of myself for not giving in and just limping through it. But the dizziness and light headedness? Gone! Of all things, we (the nurse at the Nurse Treatment Room) and I think it was low blood sugar. That makes some sense because I wasn't drinking enough juice, only 2.5 quarts or so, and the juice I'd been making was super low glycemic. The combination of just not enough calories for too many days in a row, combined with working out, made my blood sugar go too low.
So yesterday, I made absolutely sure to get 4 full quarts of juice in me, and not to wait more than 3 hours in between them. The difference was like night and day. Just in case, I got my blood pressure taken by the nurse. Completely unmedicated, my BP was 110/70, unheard of for a short woman who still weighs almost 300 lbs. I was so happy, and thrilled that I don't have to go back to the blood pressure medication I was taking prior to the juice feast. (I believe in taking meds if you need them; I just don't want to need them anymore!)
On the advice of my chiropractor (lol, hi Sheryl!) and the lovely Penni, and oh, pretty much all of you, I am going to add in some fruit juice. Yay! I am so excited! I don't want to add too much--but now I am really excited about which one to try! I have a lot of nectarines and some watermelon--doesn't that sound delicious?! I am still going to drink lots of green juice, but I don't want to have any more low blood sugars. That is a very yucky feeling that I don't want to duplicate!
Detox? Today I am itchy all over, mostly my torso. I haven't changed any products I use, laundry or personal, so I am thinking detox. It's annoying but I'm going to put some coconut oil on it and ignore it! My dry skin brushing feels great, though!
Emotional Detox? Penni's posts are really stirring the pot, bringing so much to the surface. I want to really spend some time on that, but I am running out of time today and think I will go there tomorrow.
It feels like I am always making juice! Remember the old Dunkin' Donuts commercial? "Time to make the donuts!" (time to make them and throw them away! dangerous at any speed, those!) Well it's time to make the juice!
Don't forget to vote: Say Yes To The Dress! Which one should Mallory choose? The Red One, The Print One, or the Little Black Dress?
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The Juicy Life--Day 20 of My 40 Day Juice Feast
What Day I'm On: 20 out of 40--halfway home!
I am love, love, loving the Penni's discussions right now around fortitude. If you read the comments in the Bravery post, you know how incredible it has been. Such bravery! Such amazing people hanging out on this website. And I realize, once again, how flippin' lucky I am! You never really know what people are going through in their lives. Juice feasting brings things up: good stuff, bad stuff, it just stirs the pot and brings it all to the surface. I will tell you though, after reading those posts, it will be really hard for me to have a "poor me" moment again. If you're blessed, and you know it, clap your hands! (clap! clap!)
How's It Going? Team: Help me solve the mystery! Ok, yesterday was not so good. I felt spacey and weird. Maybe a little light-headed. It was not great timing because I was at work all day. Nora has daily doubles all this week (she is captain of the dance team at school) so I didn't wake her up to come work out with me. She has a tendency to over-train anyway, and dancing for 3 hrs a day for 2 wks solid is enough for anyone! Since yesterday was a cardio-only day for me, (I do weights on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) I decided I would just do it at work. I work across from a huge park and we also have an employee gym, so I was set.
I was walking outside, listening to my praise music, like I do, for about half an hour. Then it got too hot (over 90 and no breeze) so I went inside to the air-conditioned gym. I didn't have work out clothes on--I was wearing a dress and dress shoes, so I kicked off my shoes and walked on the treadmill barefoot. That was a mistake. After about 20 min, I could feel a lot of pain in my heel--I have had plantar facaiitis in the past and I knew exactly what it was. I finished working out, took a quick sponge bath (wash all the creases!) and went back to work. (Today, it is still sore so I am adding ginger to my juice.)
That's when the spacey thing happened. I drank lots of water, thinking I might have gotten dehydrated. That helped, but not much. I lay down in the break room at break. Again, it helped, but not enough. It was scary and I wonder what it was. Any experienced juice feasters ever have this? My juice always has celery in it because I know you need the natural sodium. I've only been drinking about 2.5 quarts of low-glycemic veggie juice. Could I not be getting enough calories?
My biggest suspicion, other than some detox going on, is my blood pressure is whack. I am off of all bp meds for well, 20 days now. I am going to go get that checked today at work. It felt like LOW blood pressure to me, though, not high. (High usually has no symptoms.) 'Tis curious!
Advice From Dave: Dave asked me what size I am wearing, and I told him, truthfully, I don't really know, because I am mostly wearing my old clothes. Like, my 113 lbs ago clothes. He laughed and said he did the same thing on the way down. He said often on a juice feast you take off weight so rapidly that it is best to wait until it's over to buy new clothes. He just pokes another hole in his belt and makes sure his pants don't fall down!
I have been slowly getting new things, at second hand shops, but I do need to stop wearing my old clothes. They swim on me, as you can imagine, and the neck holes always show my bra strap (classy!) and I because my belly doesn't tent them out as far, all my dresses are getting longer and longer till I look like I'm wearing a formal gown. lol
I am realizing that I have been holding onto them because of that fear that I spoke about yesterday, the one where all the weight returns and I have nothing to wear because I got rid of all the big clothes. This actually happened to me once before: In 1990, I took off 125 lbs (sheer will power, white-knuckling it the whole way because I hadn't learned to deal with my Brat or gotten right with God) and over time, I just lost momentum. I felt like I had been hanging off a cliff holding on by my fingertips and my hands just started to slip. I started binging again and the weight came back, and I had given all my bigger clothes away.
I am also wearing the big clothes, because I have not quite accepted that I am getting smaller. The first 50 lbs or so, I really didn't look any different. Even now, there's not a huge change visually--I am smaller all around, but in the same proportions. I only have TWO chins, now, though! lol My face looks a lot slimmer. :)
But the longer I do this, I realize, it is time to let those clothes bless someone else. I am not that girl any more. I can not see me living her life. I have changed in a fundamental way. I have changed my mind, and God has changed my heart. I can honestly say, I no longer want that food that was killing me. He has relieved me of that compulsion, because I asked Him to, believing He could, and He answered my prayer. I have to do my part, but I give Him all the glory.
So, no more hording big clothes, and for Pete's sake, no more wearing them! (I apologize for not showing you pictures of my dresses I am considering wearing to the International Day of Juice Feasting on Sept 12. My photographer, Nora, has been hanging with her girls (last hurrah before back to school for her senior year) and gotten home late and then yesterday, I was not up to playing fashion show. Probably tomorrow!) Love you guys! Smootches!
I am love, love, loving the Penni's discussions right now around fortitude. If you read the comments in the Bravery post, you know how incredible it has been. Such bravery! Such amazing people hanging out on this website. And I realize, once again, how flippin' lucky I am! You never really know what people are going through in their lives. Juice feasting brings things up: good stuff, bad stuff, it just stirs the pot and brings it all to the surface. I will tell you though, after reading those posts, it will be really hard for me to have a "poor me" moment again. If you're blessed, and you know it, clap your hands! (clap! clap!)
How's It Going? Team: Help me solve the mystery! Ok, yesterday was not so good. I felt spacey and weird. Maybe a little light-headed. It was not great timing because I was at work all day. Nora has daily doubles all this week (she is captain of the dance team at school) so I didn't wake her up to come work out with me. She has a tendency to over-train anyway, and dancing for 3 hrs a day for 2 wks solid is enough for anyone! Since yesterday was a cardio-only day for me, (I do weights on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) I decided I would just do it at work. I work across from a huge park and we also have an employee gym, so I was set.
I was walking outside, listening to my praise music, like I do, for about half an hour. Then it got too hot (over 90 and no breeze) so I went inside to the air-conditioned gym. I didn't have work out clothes on--I was wearing a dress and dress shoes, so I kicked off my shoes and walked on the treadmill barefoot. That was a mistake. After about 20 min, I could feel a lot of pain in my heel--I have had plantar facaiitis in the past and I knew exactly what it was. I finished working out, took a quick sponge bath (wash all the creases!) and went back to work. (Today, it is still sore so I am adding ginger to my juice.)
That's when the spacey thing happened. I drank lots of water, thinking I might have gotten dehydrated. That helped, but not much. I lay down in the break room at break. Again, it helped, but not enough. It was scary and I wonder what it was. Any experienced juice feasters ever have this? My juice always has celery in it because I know you need the natural sodium. I've only been drinking about 2.5 quarts of low-glycemic veggie juice. Could I not be getting enough calories?
My biggest suspicion, other than some detox going on, is my blood pressure is whack. I am off of all bp meds for well, 20 days now. I am going to go get that checked today at work. It felt like LOW blood pressure to me, though, not high. (High usually has no symptoms.) 'Tis curious!
Advice From Dave: Dave asked me what size I am wearing, and I told him, truthfully, I don't really know, because I am mostly wearing my old clothes. Like, my 113 lbs ago clothes. He laughed and said he did the same thing on the way down. He said often on a juice feast you take off weight so rapidly that it is best to wait until it's over to buy new clothes. He just pokes another hole in his belt and makes sure his pants don't fall down!
I have been slowly getting new things, at second hand shops, but I do need to stop wearing my old clothes. They swim on me, as you can imagine, and the neck holes always show my bra strap (classy!) and I because my belly doesn't tent them out as far, all my dresses are getting longer and longer till I look like I'm wearing a formal gown. lol
I am realizing that I have been holding onto them because of that fear that I spoke about yesterday, the one where all the weight returns and I have nothing to wear because I got rid of all the big clothes. This actually happened to me once before: In 1990, I took off 125 lbs (sheer will power, white-knuckling it the whole way because I hadn't learned to deal with my Brat or gotten right with God) and over time, I just lost momentum. I felt like I had been hanging off a cliff holding on by my fingertips and my hands just started to slip. I started binging again and the weight came back, and I had given all my bigger clothes away.
I am also wearing the big clothes, because I have not quite accepted that I am getting smaller. The first 50 lbs or so, I really didn't look any different. Even now, there's not a huge change visually--I am smaller all around, but in the same proportions. I only have TWO chins, now, though! lol My face looks a lot slimmer. :)
But the longer I do this, I realize, it is time to let those clothes bless someone else. I am not that girl any more. I can not see me living her life. I have changed in a fundamental way. I have changed my mind, and God has changed my heart. I can honestly say, I no longer want that food that was killing me. He has relieved me of that compulsion, because I asked Him to, believing He could, and He answered my prayer. I have to do my part, but I give Him all the glory.
So, no more hording big clothes, and for Pete's sake, no more wearing them! (I apologize for not showing you pictures of my dresses I am considering wearing to the International Day of Juice Feasting on Sept 12. My photographer, Nora, has been hanging with her girls (last hurrah before back to school for her senior year) and gotten home late and then yesterday, I was not up to playing fashion show. Probably tomorrow!) Love you guys! Smootches!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Juicy Life--Day 19 of My 40 Day Juice Feast
I don't know what possessed me to write about my juice feast as my Facebook status. I guess I thought maybe I could spread the good word and make someone get intrigued. The response has mostly been positive, some of it funny. One guy that I've known since second grade but have not been close to asked, "do hops count?" as in beer. lol He always was hilarious! I've only gotten one, "oh that's dangerous" type of response, from someone I know only through my sister. The irony is, this lady chose to have a gastric bypass. I support anyone who decides to go that route, because I know it's tough, but oh my zebra, talk about dangerous. That is a life-threatening operation. This is a few weeks of highly nutritious veggie juice. Again, I'm kinda wishing I could take back that status...I'm not sure my wider circle is ready for a health-nut Mallory. They are used to fast-food train wreck Mallory. Another Facebook friend asked how I could possibly stay on just juice and I answered, "I can do all things through Christ." So bam! I'm coming out as not just a health nut but a Christian one to boot, lol. Also will be quite the surprise for people who grew up with me and only knew me in my er, "wild youth"! Now I'm laughing 'cuz the cat's out of the pajamas now!
I'm having a tough time getting in 4 quarts of juice a day. Sometimes I can only manage 2. The juice does not taste *as* bad to me, but let's just say, I'm not going to be serving cucumber/kale at my next party. I've definitely gotten used to it. I really like it best when it has a base of mostly tomatoes.
I am finally getting that surge of energy people talk about. Yesterday, I had a "power surge" on the treadmill. I walked faster than I ever have before, and felt great! I even questioned if the treadmill speed gauge was accurate, and changed to another one. But no, it was me! I was cruising right along, a good half a mile faster than normal, and feeling awesome, hardly even got winded.
I am still having an end-of-day crash, when I get super tired right around when it is time to come home, make the kids' dinner, get my chores done, etc. I tried drinking more juice at that time, and it helped somewhat. I'll try that again today.
What Day I'm On: 19 out of 40--almost half-way!
How It's Going: I've really got a lot of peace around it: This is what I am doing. It is not forever, and it is doing me a world of good. This is like crazy extreme self-care: I am spending money on me. I am spending time on me. Those are the single-mom's most precious commodities. I am treating myself with the loving kindness I would lavish on my precious child. That includes loving limits too.
Detox? Not really.
Emotional Detox: Just feeling like I'm standing naked in the school yard because I am coming out to the world. It sounds funny, but I feel pretty vulnerable, even about the weight loss. Being huge, ironically, makes you kind of invisible. Any big change brings a lot of a attention. I'm embarrassed because I've taken off more than 100 lbs and I still have 150 to go. I don't mention the "150 more" part, but still, people look at me and do the math in their head and gasp. I don't mention the number of pounds off unless people press. I get the feeling people have no idea what people really weigh. I immediately apologize, "I've taken off over a hundred but I have a long, long way to go." Like, "don't worry! I know I'm still fat!" Honestly, how DID I ever let it get so bad? All I can say is that I left my Brat home alone, and she really trashed the place. I don't know if I can ever really trust myself not to go back there. It's a shadow that looms over me. Promise you won't let me?!
Advice From Penni: I've not talked with Dave (I've called and texted but I believe he's either on the road or crazy busy with the event he's coordinating.) No worries--I know he's got my back. He says I don't need as much hand-holding as most people. Little does he know, I've got all of you to hold my hand! So I am going to point out one of the best pieces of advice I ever got from Penni: If you look for explanations for why your life is screwed up, you will find them. You may determine it's because of your child hood, because of abuse issues, because you have a compulsive nature, it's a disease, you have health issues, yadda yadda yadda. These may all be legit, but they have one thing in common: knowing WHY will never serve you if you let it be an excuse not to change. We all have baggage. We all have a burden we carry and a history. Use that energy to get OUT of the hole, not to figure out HOW you got there. You got there, because at some point, you gave YOURSELF permission to be there. Revoke that permission! Get the best you back in charge. As long as you love your pain more than you love yourself, you cannot grow, and it can't get better.
(ok, Penni put this much nicer and more positive, but honestly, I needed a swift kick to the rear at the time, and this is what I got out of her eloquent advice!)
I'm having a tough time getting in 4 quarts of juice a day. Sometimes I can only manage 2. The juice does not taste *as* bad to me, but let's just say, I'm not going to be serving cucumber/kale at my next party. I've definitely gotten used to it. I really like it best when it has a base of mostly tomatoes.
I am finally getting that surge of energy people talk about. Yesterday, I had a "power surge" on the treadmill. I walked faster than I ever have before, and felt great! I even questioned if the treadmill speed gauge was accurate, and changed to another one. But no, it was me! I was cruising right along, a good half a mile faster than normal, and feeling awesome, hardly even got winded.
I am still having an end-of-day crash, when I get super tired right around when it is time to come home, make the kids' dinner, get my chores done, etc. I tried drinking more juice at that time, and it helped somewhat. I'll try that again today.
What Day I'm On: 19 out of 40--almost half-way!
How It's Going: I've really got a lot of peace around it: This is what I am doing. It is not forever, and it is doing me a world of good. This is like crazy extreme self-care: I am spending money on me. I am spending time on me. Those are the single-mom's most precious commodities. I am treating myself with the loving kindness I would lavish on my precious child. That includes loving limits too.
Detox? Not really.
Emotional Detox: Just feeling like I'm standing naked in the school yard because I am coming out to the world. It sounds funny, but I feel pretty vulnerable, even about the weight loss. Being huge, ironically, makes you kind of invisible. Any big change brings a lot of a attention. I'm embarrassed because I've taken off more than 100 lbs and I still have 150 to go. I don't mention the "150 more" part, but still, people look at me and do the math in their head and gasp. I don't mention the number of pounds off unless people press. I get the feeling people have no idea what people really weigh. I immediately apologize, "I've taken off over a hundred but I have a long, long way to go." Like, "don't worry! I know I'm still fat!" Honestly, how DID I ever let it get so bad? All I can say is that I left my Brat home alone, and she really trashed the place. I don't know if I can ever really trust myself not to go back there. It's a shadow that looms over me. Promise you won't let me?!
Advice From Penni: I've not talked with Dave (I've called and texted but I believe he's either on the road or crazy busy with the event he's coordinating.) No worries--I know he's got my back. He says I don't need as much hand-holding as most people. Little does he know, I've got all of you to hold my hand! So I am going to point out one of the best pieces of advice I ever got from Penni: If you look for explanations for why your life is screwed up, you will find them. You may determine it's because of your child hood, because of abuse issues, because you have a compulsive nature, it's a disease, you have health issues, yadda yadda yadda. These may all be legit, but they have one thing in common: knowing WHY will never serve you if you let it be an excuse not to change. We all have baggage. We all have a burden we carry and a history. Use that energy to get OUT of the hole, not to figure out HOW you got there. You got there, because at some point, you gave YOURSELF permission to be there. Revoke that permission! Get the best you back in charge. As long as you love your pain more than you love yourself, you cannot grow, and it can't get better.
(ok, Penni put this much nicer and more positive, but honestly, I needed a swift kick to the rear at the time, and this is what I got out of her eloquent advice!)
Monday, August 23, 2010
The Juicy Life--Day 18 of My 40 Day Juice Feast
Wow. All I can say is that I will always cherish the responses from yesterday's post. I receive it all with gratitude, and I love you guys.
What Day I'm On: 18 out of 40, 45% of the way
How's It Going? Great, and not so. The great part is all the support. I also feel like I have the time management part down, and the actual juicing and supplementing is going great. Thanks to Annette, I'm adding in Zeolites, which are like a micro-porous sieve, filtering out toxic heavy metals in your body. I unfortunately have some silver fillings, so I know there is mercury and other heavy metals in me, and a detoxifying fast (or juice feast) is a great time to get them out.
The only part that's hard, is that the food cravings have come back, in a big way! I think it has to do with my sense of smell, which has suddenly come back after being pretty bad for a long time. I am glad I have it back; I look like a loon, going around and smelling every flower and even opening up my cinnamon and spice jars and sniffing away. But the truth is, a lot of things smell bad in life! lol I never noticed before but boy, howdy, I do now. One thing that does not smell bad to me, at all, though, is FOOD. Food that other people are eating. I never want to eat unless I smell it. Then it slowly tortures me, lol. Unfortunately, I work directly upstairs from the cafeteria in a medical facility, with an open-plan big atrium in the clinic so all the good cooking smells waft up to me as I work!
Don't worry! There is no way I am going to quit now or even cheat! When I smell it, I just try to enjoy the aroma (no harm in that) and tell myself, "That is not for me. I am content with my juice." It just means that my willpower is getting an extra heavy duty workout. I am going to have such big muscles to flex in that regard when this is over! For the girl who had 0% ability to resist temptation before, you can see what a huge miracle is being done in me!
Detox? Nope.
Emotional Detox: Not detox, but really feeling all the love and support and kindness in a profound way. It is kinda sorta incredibly beautiful. I am so glad to be having this experience, even if I walk around with a curious combination of tears in my eyes and a huge silly grin on my face.
Emotional De-Cluttering: This week, I released 3 more pounds (running total of 113 lbs if you are keeping track) and my first thought was, "But I'm not eating anything! It should have been more!" Ok, let's look at that. True, I am not eating, but of course, I am getting 1500 calories of juice or so a day, so I am hardly starving. Also, it is the first week of being on my cycle when I can ever remember having a release instead of adding to my total! I used to have a 10 lb JUMP in my weight every cycle, which was one of the reasons I used to not weigh myself. It would go, just as fast, the next week, but in my cranky hormonal state it would seem terribly tragic and unjust, lol.
But why I put this under emotional detox is because of that limiting thought: I should be releasing weight QUICKLY. There is a quota I need to make each week, or something. What I SHOULD be doing is feeding my body the right things (right now that means veggie juice) and giving it loving movement (I did a ton last week.) And then, (listen closely, self!) how my body takes care of itself is up to the wisdom of my body! It may be ready to release some more weight, and it may choose to heal me some other way. As long as I am doing the right things, I don't need to worry about it. I actually don't need to worry about anything! Good lesson for me to remember.
Physical De-cluttering: The house looks a little better following the great purge. I've got the de-clutter bug and I want more! I am going to try to keep the momentum up during the week if I can.
Advice From Dave: Haven't talked to him in a few days. He is getting so busy with organizing the International Day of Juice Feasting. You're going, aren't you?! You can go in spirit, by streaming it, if you can't make it to Seattle. Tomorrow I'm going to model some outfits for you guys and you tell me which one to wear to the event!
What Day I'm On: 18 out of 40, 45% of the way
How's It Going? Great, and not so. The great part is all the support. I also feel like I have the time management part down, and the actual juicing and supplementing is going great. Thanks to Annette, I'm adding in Zeolites, which are like a micro-porous sieve, filtering out toxic heavy metals in your body. I unfortunately have some silver fillings, so I know there is mercury and other heavy metals in me, and a detoxifying fast (or juice feast) is a great time to get them out.
The only part that's hard, is that the food cravings have come back, in a big way! I think it has to do with my sense of smell, which has suddenly come back after being pretty bad for a long time. I am glad I have it back; I look like a loon, going around and smelling every flower and even opening up my cinnamon and spice jars and sniffing away. But the truth is, a lot of things smell bad in life! lol I never noticed before but boy, howdy, I do now. One thing that does not smell bad to me, at all, though, is FOOD. Food that other people are eating. I never want to eat unless I smell it. Then it slowly tortures me, lol. Unfortunately, I work directly upstairs from the cafeteria in a medical facility, with an open-plan big atrium in the clinic so all the good cooking smells waft up to me as I work!
Don't worry! There is no way I am going to quit now or even cheat! When I smell it, I just try to enjoy the aroma (no harm in that) and tell myself, "That is not for me. I am content with my juice." It just means that my willpower is getting an extra heavy duty workout. I am going to have such big muscles to flex in that regard when this is over! For the girl who had 0% ability to resist temptation before, you can see what a huge miracle is being done in me!
Detox? Nope.
Emotional Detox: Not detox, but really feeling all the love and support and kindness in a profound way. It is kinda sorta incredibly beautiful. I am so glad to be having this experience, even if I walk around with a curious combination of tears in my eyes and a huge silly grin on my face.
Emotional De-Cluttering: This week, I released 3 more pounds (running total of 113 lbs if you are keeping track) and my first thought was, "But I'm not eating anything! It should have been more!" Ok, let's look at that. True, I am not eating, but of course, I am getting 1500 calories of juice or so a day, so I am hardly starving. Also, it is the first week of being on my cycle when I can ever remember having a release instead of adding to my total! I used to have a 10 lb JUMP in my weight every cycle, which was one of the reasons I used to not weigh myself. It would go, just as fast, the next week, but in my cranky hormonal state it would seem terribly tragic and unjust, lol.
But why I put this under emotional detox is because of that limiting thought: I should be releasing weight QUICKLY. There is a quota I need to make each week, or something. What I SHOULD be doing is feeding my body the right things (right now that means veggie juice) and giving it loving movement (I did a ton last week.) And then, (listen closely, self!) how my body takes care of itself is up to the wisdom of my body! It may be ready to release some more weight, and it may choose to heal me some other way. As long as I am doing the right things, I don't need to worry about it. I actually don't need to worry about anything! Good lesson for me to remember.
Physical De-cluttering: The house looks a little better following the great purge. I've got the de-clutter bug and I want more! I am going to try to keep the momentum up during the week if I can.
Advice From Dave: Haven't talked to him in a few days. He is getting so busy with organizing the International Day of Juice Feasting. You're going, aren't you?! You can go in spirit, by streaming it, if you can't make it to Seattle. Tomorrow I'm going to model some outfits for you guys and you tell me which one to wear to the event!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
The Juicy Life--Day 17 of My 40 Day Juice Feast
Today is Sunday, and this post is dedicated to GRATITUDE. Since I have started this journey of getting healthy, and especially since starting my juice feast, I have been the recipient of outrageous kindness and acts of generosity which have left me with such feelings of gratitude, I don't have the words to adequately express them. That is saying a lot for the girl who never lacks for something to say! I am still working on the rare art of knowing when to shut up! lol
But honestly, I cannot help but believe I am on a divinely appointed path, when every step of the way, I am loved, supported, and lifted up. It started when I joined RFR and I got plugged into all the amazing resources in the Rooms. I wanted support to be a Christian vegan; I found it in the Media Room and in the Chapel. I wanted to know more about my curing my health conditions; I found it in the Wellness Center. I needed recipes to support my journey: there was the Kitchen and the Culinary Center. I needed to stay accountable: I immediately locked myself in the Vault and got real with my weight. Every day, Penni's message seemed to be something I really needed to hear. Susan's inspiring blogs left me scribbling down notes in my notebooks, and going around saying, "Yes!" at random times.
Most of all, the love and support I have gotten through blogging and reading others' blogs has been tremendous. Never underestimate what your taking the time to comment really means to someone. For me, it has lifted me up and made me say, "Yes, I can do this. I WILL do this. And actually, I AM DOING THIS." It even gave me the courage to do a crazy thing like decide to live on veggie juice for almost 6 weeks!
This is the hardest part to talk about, but I gotta do it. When I took time off to take care of Joe after his surgery, I was out of paid ill-time at work. I had known his surgery was coming, and horded all my ill and vacation time, but then, I got terribly sick myself in January and had emergency abdominal surgery in February and used it all up. I had no idea how we were going to get through a month with no pay coming in; I only knew that Joe needed the surgery and we had already been on the waiting list for 8 months and I couldn't change the date. I saved as much as I could from February to June, and I am proud to say, we made it through ok. But things are still really tight; I knew that I wasn't going to be able to spend money except food and rent and what my kids needed. I thought I would have to go without the Vault. But then Darlene Knight created her scholarship, and I got to be in the Vault after all! (Thank you, thank you, thank you, Darlene!) You guys, the Vault has been incredible this time; Penni's materials were so helpful and the recipes so good. The conversations and support in the Vault just exploded this time--there has been so much participation and actively helping one another and accountability. There have even been prizes, really nice ones, which has just been the icing on the cake. I would have missed out on all that without Darlene. Bless you and your huge heart Darlene!
Later on I heard Penni talk about juicing and checked it out, and I thought, oh that sounds HARD but interesting. Hmm. Then I met Dave the Raw Food Truck Driver and he inspired me so much (I dare you to talk to that man and not get inspired) and he said, "Hey, I still have some more weight to lose, let's go on a juice feast together!" So before I knew it, I had agreed to go on a juice feast without knowing really what that meant. I needed info fast: then Penni decided to release her book, Real Juice Daily. It was so inspiring and so full of great info and recipes. I was psyched!
Then I came back to reality: this juice feasting is expensive! Can I really afford to spend all of this on just ME? I am a single mom; I have responsibilities. I have fabulous teens who do great things, great things that cost mucho dinero. Plus, my juicer I had seemed to barely be getting any juice out of stuff. My kale would come out looking almost like it went in--I used the so called "pulp" to make kale chips for the kids!
Like an answer to unspoken prayer, someone I only know from Raw Food Rehab got me a NEW JUICER. Like, a nice one! A great one that I love and adore, and one that you know, GETS JUICE OUT OF THINGS! I was floored! I mean, who does such a nice thing for someone they've never met in real life? Who has a heart like that? I won't say, because the person asked me not to. But know that I still get tears in my eyes and a giant face-cracking grin when I make my juice. I know that juicer puts LOVE in my juice, because of the loving energy that came from that incredible person when they did that for me. I hope that person receives a thousand percent return in blessings. I love them and I will never forget them.
Then Annette told me she can get me my veggies at wholesale, and suddenly, I can not only afford my veggies, I realize I am going to save money in the long run after I am off the juice feast! Not to mention that Annette is an incredible lady who has been raw over 10 yrs and has done crazy cool things like climbing giant mountains and doing races from Portland to the Coast. Not only that but she doesn't even live in Portland--she drives more than an hour each way to get the veggies and make sure I get mine. I have offered to come to her, but she always says, no, it's no trouble.
Just yesterday--it happened again. Someone, I don't even know who, this time, donated some money for me for my juice feast! Not only did it come when I really need it--back to school time is here with all the huge costs of having active kids in high school: activity fees, senior pictures, college entrance exam fees, school clothes, school supplies, yearbook, dance team, etc, etc until you can actually hear the wallet screaming. But now, I've got a little bit of money to get what I need and not worry--which is such a huge relief. But even more than that--I have been so inspired again, and walking on a cloud of pure appreciation so complete I feel it at a cellular level. "Some one cares about me that much!" I marvel. "I've gotta see this through. So much love coming my way!" It just blows me away.
So, this post is just going to be thank you.
-Thank you, Penni, for having RFR, for your encouragement, and for being the amazing, inspiring woman that you are.
-Thank you, Susan, for your inspiring posts, and for all the copious amounts of information you add to this website that has made it such a huge boon to my health
-Thank you, anonymous friend, for the wonderful juicer, I love it, and I love you. I think about you every day, and I bless you and remember you in every prayer.
-Thank you, Dave, (though you'll probably never see this, lol) for being my mentor and coach and inspiration. You know how much I love you, and I've got your back, always!
-Thank you, Darlene, for letting me be in the Vault. I want you to know what it has meant to me, what a wonderful lady you are, and also that I think of you and try harder. I really do! I want to make you proud for what you did for me!
-Thank you, Annette, for giving me so much support along with the kale and cucumbers, and most of all for being my friend, and being in this juicy boat with me. We will do it my friend! You rawk hard!
-Thank you, other anonymous friend, for the money, and even more than that, for thinking of me, and helping me, and for your loving spirit. I am so grateful!
-Finally, thank you to you, if you've ever left me a comment, or written me a note, or said a prayer for me or for Joe. Thank you so so much. You inspire me, you feed me on your loving energy, and I feel a thousand hands, supporting me and lifting me up. I love you all!
But honestly, I cannot help but believe I am on a divinely appointed path, when every step of the way, I am loved, supported, and lifted up. It started when I joined RFR and I got plugged into all the amazing resources in the Rooms. I wanted support to be a Christian vegan; I found it in the Media Room and in the Chapel. I wanted to know more about my curing my health conditions; I found it in the Wellness Center. I needed recipes to support my journey: there was the Kitchen and the Culinary Center. I needed to stay accountable: I immediately locked myself in the Vault and got real with my weight. Every day, Penni's message seemed to be something I really needed to hear. Susan's inspiring blogs left me scribbling down notes in my notebooks, and going around saying, "Yes!" at random times.
Most of all, the love and support I have gotten through blogging and reading others' blogs has been tremendous. Never underestimate what your taking the time to comment really means to someone. For me, it has lifted me up and made me say, "Yes, I can do this. I WILL do this. And actually, I AM DOING THIS." It even gave me the courage to do a crazy thing like decide to live on veggie juice for almost 6 weeks!
This is the hardest part to talk about, but I gotta do it. When I took time off to take care of Joe after his surgery, I was out of paid ill-time at work. I had known his surgery was coming, and horded all my ill and vacation time, but then, I got terribly sick myself in January and had emergency abdominal surgery in February and used it all up. I had no idea how we were going to get through a month with no pay coming in; I only knew that Joe needed the surgery and we had already been on the waiting list for 8 months and I couldn't change the date. I saved as much as I could from February to June, and I am proud to say, we made it through ok. But things are still really tight; I knew that I wasn't going to be able to spend money except food and rent and what my kids needed. I thought I would have to go without the Vault. But then Darlene Knight created her scholarship, and I got to be in the Vault after all! (Thank you, thank you, thank you, Darlene!) You guys, the Vault has been incredible this time; Penni's materials were so helpful and the recipes so good. The conversations and support in the Vault just exploded this time--there has been so much participation and actively helping one another and accountability. There have even been prizes, really nice ones, which has just been the icing on the cake. I would have missed out on all that without Darlene. Bless you and your huge heart Darlene!
Later on I heard Penni talk about juicing and checked it out, and I thought, oh that sounds HARD but interesting. Hmm. Then I met Dave the Raw Food Truck Driver and he inspired me so much (I dare you to talk to that man and not get inspired) and he said, "Hey, I still have some more weight to lose, let's go on a juice feast together!" So before I knew it, I had agreed to go on a juice feast without knowing really what that meant. I needed info fast: then Penni decided to release her book, Real Juice Daily. It was so inspiring and so full of great info and recipes. I was psyched!
Then I came back to reality: this juice feasting is expensive! Can I really afford to spend all of this on just ME? I am a single mom; I have responsibilities. I have fabulous teens who do great things, great things that cost mucho dinero. Plus, my juicer I had seemed to barely be getting any juice out of stuff. My kale would come out looking almost like it went in--I used the so called "pulp" to make kale chips for the kids!
Like an answer to unspoken prayer, someone I only know from Raw Food Rehab got me a NEW JUICER. Like, a nice one! A great one that I love and adore, and one that you know, GETS JUICE OUT OF THINGS! I was floored! I mean, who does such a nice thing for someone they've never met in real life? Who has a heart like that? I won't say, because the person asked me not to. But know that I still get tears in my eyes and a giant face-cracking grin when I make my juice. I know that juicer puts LOVE in my juice, because of the loving energy that came from that incredible person when they did that for me. I hope that person receives a thousand percent return in blessings. I love them and I will never forget them.
Then Annette told me she can get me my veggies at wholesale, and suddenly, I can not only afford my veggies, I realize I am going to save money in the long run after I am off the juice feast! Not to mention that Annette is an incredible lady who has been raw over 10 yrs and has done crazy cool things like climbing giant mountains and doing races from Portland to the Coast. Not only that but she doesn't even live in Portland--she drives more than an hour each way to get the veggies and make sure I get mine. I have offered to come to her, but she always says, no, it's no trouble.
Just yesterday--it happened again. Someone, I don't even know who, this time, donated some money for me for my juice feast! Not only did it come when I really need it--back to school time is here with all the huge costs of having active kids in high school: activity fees, senior pictures, college entrance exam fees, school clothes, school supplies, yearbook, dance team, etc, etc until you can actually hear the wallet screaming. But now, I've got a little bit of money to get what I need and not worry--which is such a huge relief. But even more than that--I have been so inspired again, and walking on a cloud of pure appreciation so complete I feel it at a cellular level. "Some one cares about me that much!" I marvel. "I've gotta see this through. So much love coming my way!" It just blows me away.
So, this post is just going to be thank you.
-Thank you, Penni, for having RFR, for your encouragement, and for being the amazing, inspiring woman that you are.
-Thank you, Susan, for your inspiring posts, and for all the copious amounts of information you add to this website that has made it such a huge boon to my health
-Thank you, anonymous friend, for the wonderful juicer, I love it, and I love you. I think about you every day, and I bless you and remember you in every prayer.
-Thank you, Dave, (though you'll probably never see this, lol) for being my mentor and coach and inspiration. You know how much I love you, and I've got your back, always!
-Thank you, Darlene, for letting me be in the Vault. I want you to know what it has meant to me, what a wonderful lady you are, and also that I think of you and try harder. I really do! I want to make you proud for what you did for me!
-Thank you, Annette, for giving me so much support along with the kale and cucumbers, and most of all for being my friend, and being in this juicy boat with me. We will do it my friend! You rawk hard!
-Thank you, other anonymous friend, for the money, and even more than that, for thinking of me, and helping me, and for your loving spirit. I am so grateful!
-Finally, thank you to you, if you've ever left me a comment, or written me a note, or said a prayer for me or for Joe. Thank you so so much. You inspire me, you feed me on your loving energy, and I feel a thousand hands, supporting me and lifting me up. I love you all!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
The Juice Life--Day 16 of My 40 Day Juice Feast
What Day I'm On: 16 out of 40 (40% of the way)
How's It Going: Yesterday was much better. The migraine faded to a dull ache that came and went throughout the day, and that made it so much more tolerable. I got in a good workout at the gym. Throughout my juice feast, I've chosen to keep working out with my usual workout: I hit the gym about 5:30 a.m. every day and walk on the treadmill for 40 minutes (there's that 40 again!) and then lift weights for another 20 minutes, 3 times per week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I've noticed a definite serge in energy for working out doing my juice feast. In addition, I walk on my lunch hour every day, not at "work out speed" but slower and more contemplative; a walking meditation and prayer time. I listen to Christian music on my iphone and watch the squirrels and the birds play in the park across from my job. Even though it is not for the purpose of exercising, I think the more movement I can get in, the better for me, and the more calories I'll burn, too. We humans were designed to move it, move it. Walking is one of the very best things you can do. It doesn't need any fancy equipment, you can do it any where and any time, and it's free. It's easy on your joints, great for your circulation (get that blood and lymph moving!) and at least for me, there is a clarity of mind and spirit that I get while I am walking that is unparalleled by anything else I do.
How awesome is it that my 17 yr old daughter, who loves nothing in the world as much as a good sleep-in, has gotten up with me at 5 a.m. this whole summer to work out with me? I know there were times when I would have just as soon rolled over and gone back to sleep, but I got up and did it because otherwise I would hear about it from Nora! She is a great kid. This is her senior year and I am just enjoying the heck out of her, and my son Joe. They have really grown into neat people; ones I would be friends with, even if they weren't my kids. I'm feeling really blessed and grateful today.
What I'm Drinking: The word of the day is tomatoes! I got the attack of the killer (but in a good way) tomatoes yesterday! The crew at Limbo saved me bags and bags of them for my juice feast! Since I go in there almost every day, they know me, if not by name, but as that crazy raw vegan who buys up all their dollar bags. I haven't told them I am on a juice feast--I wonder if they think I am eating all of this? lol Anyway, there will be red, juicy goodness today! Oh yes! (Of course I will add celery and greens, lots and lots of greens, gotta have the greens!) Kale and romaine and spinach on tap today. I am looking forward to this one!
Detox: Nothing to write home about.
Emotional Detox: Feeling good today, and felt pretty durn good all yesterday. Life is sweet!
Emotional De-cluttering: Here's another scary trip into the deep recesses of Mallory's psyche to uncover and release her limit beliefs. (Don't be afraid--I'll hold your hand!) Today's limiting belief is around being a "fat slob." I have been overweight all my life, and I have heard that phrase over and over again, not directed at me (except maybe in elementary school when kids basically tortured me about my weight.) That phrase resonates with me, down in my soul, in the dank, smelly recesses where fear and loathing hang out. And it is time to clean house! The thing is, while I crave order, I do tend to be a messy person. On top of that, I am a busy person, so often when I have an abundance of good intention, I don't have an abundance of time, and the execution suffers. There was a time, not that long ago, when I was so depressed about my weight, I let everything slide: my house, my person hygiene (not horrible but I wasn't great about making sure that I was looking my best.) I let my hair go too long between cuts, I wore clothes that had stains on them or small holes sometimes. I never even bothered with make-up; to me it would be like lipstick on a pig. (Ouch! More harsh limiting beliefs!)
During my juice feast, I've been putting a lot of emphasis on choosing things I like to wear and that I look good in. (Sometimes hard to find since my closet is full of clothes that are way too big for me now. Time to bless someone else!) I get a shower after the gym, every day, and take time to brush and floss. I put coconut oil on after my shower to be nice to my skin and be dewy soft. I'm going to get a haircut and get my eyebrows done--something that makes me feel great. Although I can't believe I pay good money for a nice Vietnamese lady to lovingly rip my eyebrow hairs out by the root! lol
I also have hoarding tendencies--which I fight hard, and have made great strides in my life, the FlyLady really helped there--but behind them is that other limiting belief, "I will need it and I won't have it." This is the ultimate poverty thinking, and in a way, it is a slap in the face to God, who has provided so well for me every moment of my life.
But my bedroom is cluttered up right now with big cardboard boxes. Why? Ironically, so I can fill them with stuff to give to charity! But they are messy and in my way right now. Procrastination is a bad thing.
So this morning is going to be dedicated to order and self-care. I am going to fill the boxes and get them out of there.
The fat slob will please exit the building, and oh yeah, my life. 'K thnkx bai!
Physical De-Cluttering: This week's plan: too big "good" work clothes go to the resale shop; the rest go to charity, along with all the stuff I was saving for a garage sale that probably isn't going to happen. I hate having garage sales anyway! They are such a pain. I would rather bless the Salvation Army! A few things will get listed on ebay.
Advice From Dave: The International Day of Juice Feasting is coming up, and all of y'all need to be there! If you can't be in Seattle, you can stream it live on your computer on September 12, from noon to 4pm PST. Just look at the line-up: Dave The Raw Food Trucker, Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes-Monarch, Elaina Love, and even some of your friends from RFR, like me and Annette and Thubten will be there. Maybe, just maybe, there will be another surprise guest or two that will definitely make you squeal. I put all the details on the events section, so check it out. It's going to be great!
How's It Going: Yesterday was much better. The migraine faded to a dull ache that came and went throughout the day, and that made it so much more tolerable. I got in a good workout at the gym. Throughout my juice feast, I've chosen to keep working out with my usual workout: I hit the gym about 5:30 a.m. every day and walk on the treadmill for 40 minutes (there's that 40 again!) and then lift weights for another 20 minutes, 3 times per week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I've noticed a definite serge in energy for working out doing my juice feast. In addition, I walk on my lunch hour every day, not at "work out speed" but slower and more contemplative; a walking meditation and prayer time. I listen to Christian music on my iphone and watch the squirrels and the birds play in the park across from my job. Even though it is not for the purpose of exercising, I think the more movement I can get in, the better for me, and the more calories I'll burn, too. We humans were designed to move it, move it. Walking is one of the very best things you can do. It doesn't need any fancy equipment, you can do it any where and any time, and it's free. It's easy on your joints, great for your circulation (get that blood and lymph moving!) and at least for me, there is a clarity of mind and spirit that I get while I am walking that is unparalleled by anything else I do.
How awesome is it that my 17 yr old daughter, who loves nothing in the world as much as a good sleep-in, has gotten up with me at 5 a.m. this whole summer to work out with me? I know there were times when I would have just as soon rolled over and gone back to sleep, but I got up and did it because otherwise I would hear about it from Nora! She is a great kid. This is her senior year and I am just enjoying the heck out of her, and my son Joe. They have really grown into neat people; ones I would be friends with, even if they weren't my kids. I'm feeling really blessed and grateful today.
What I'm Drinking: The word of the day is tomatoes! I got the attack of the killer (but in a good way) tomatoes yesterday! The crew at Limbo saved me bags and bags of them for my juice feast! Since I go in there almost every day, they know me, if not by name, but as that crazy raw vegan who buys up all their dollar bags. I haven't told them I am on a juice feast--I wonder if they think I am eating all of this? lol Anyway, there will be red, juicy goodness today! Oh yes! (Of course I will add celery and greens, lots and lots of greens, gotta have the greens!) Kale and romaine and spinach on tap today. I am looking forward to this one!
Detox: Nothing to write home about.
Emotional Detox: Feeling good today, and felt pretty durn good all yesterday. Life is sweet!
Emotional De-cluttering: Here's another scary trip into the deep recesses of Mallory's psyche to uncover and release her limit beliefs. (Don't be afraid--I'll hold your hand!) Today's limiting belief is around being a "fat slob." I have been overweight all my life, and I have heard that phrase over and over again, not directed at me (except maybe in elementary school when kids basically tortured me about my weight.) That phrase resonates with me, down in my soul, in the dank, smelly recesses where fear and loathing hang out. And it is time to clean house! The thing is, while I crave order, I do tend to be a messy person. On top of that, I am a busy person, so often when I have an abundance of good intention, I don't have an abundance of time, and the execution suffers. There was a time, not that long ago, when I was so depressed about my weight, I let everything slide: my house, my person hygiene (not horrible but I wasn't great about making sure that I was looking my best.) I let my hair go too long between cuts, I wore clothes that had stains on them or small holes sometimes. I never even bothered with make-up; to me it would be like lipstick on a pig. (Ouch! More harsh limiting beliefs!)
During my juice feast, I've been putting a lot of emphasis on choosing things I like to wear and that I look good in. (Sometimes hard to find since my closet is full of clothes that are way too big for me now. Time to bless someone else!) I get a shower after the gym, every day, and take time to brush and floss. I put coconut oil on after my shower to be nice to my skin and be dewy soft. I'm going to get a haircut and get my eyebrows done--something that makes me feel great. Although I can't believe I pay good money for a nice Vietnamese lady to lovingly rip my eyebrow hairs out by the root! lol
I also have hoarding tendencies--which I fight hard, and have made great strides in my life, the FlyLady really helped there--but behind them is that other limiting belief, "I will need it and I won't have it." This is the ultimate poverty thinking, and in a way, it is a slap in the face to God, who has provided so well for me every moment of my life.
But my bedroom is cluttered up right now with big cardboard boxes. Why? Ironically, so I can fill them with stuff to give to charity! But they are messy and in my way right now. Procrastination is a bad thing.
So this morning is going to be dedicated to order and self-care. I am going to fill the boxes and get them out of there.
The fat slob will please exit the building, and oh yeah, my life. 'K thnkx bai!
Physical De-Cluttering: This week's plan: too big "good" work clothes go to the resale shop; the rest go to charity, along with all the stuff I was saving for a garage sale that probably isn't going to happen. I hate having garage sales anyway! They are such a pain. I would rather bless the Salvation Army! A few things will get listed on ebay.
Advice From Dave: The International Day of Juice Feasting is coming up, and all of y'all need to be there! If you can't be in Seattle, you can stream it live on your computer on September 12, from noon to 4pm PST. Just look at the line-up: Dave The Raw Food Trucker, Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes-Monarch, Elaina Love, and even some of your friends from RFR, like me and Annette and Thubten will be there. Maybe, just maybe, there will be another surprise guest or two that will definitely make you squeal. I put all the details on the events section, so check it out. It's going to be great!
Friday, August 20, 2010
The Juicy Life--Day 15 of My 40 Day Juice Feast
I want to try to answer questions along the way, so if you have them, shoot them my way. I am by no means an expert, but I love doing the research and sharing it.
There was a question about MSM. Here are some highlights I found on the net:
MSM is biological sulfur, which may...
Remove inflammation; permit muscles and joints to heal more rapidly
Increase energy, alertness, mental calmness, and ability to concentrate
Reduce muscle cramps and spasms
Plays a role in collagen synthesis: skin becomes softer, more resilient, hair and nails grow faster and stronger (the beauty mineral)
Help to normalize stomach function
Help relieve heartburn and GERD
Help relieve allergies to foods and pollens
Help create an internal environment unfriendly to many types of parasites
Helps with diabetic neuropathy of the extremities and gastrointestinal tract
Speed wound healing, reduces scar tissue
Stimulate immune function
Next to oxygen, water, and salt, MSM is the fourth most needed
element in human and animal nutrition. Sulfur is involved in nearly
every metabolic process in the body, and is essential in the
regeneration and nourishment of healthy cells.
Penni said that all the MSM on her juice feast made her nails go from peeling and thin to strong as the other kind of nails. To absorb the MSM optimally, it is best to take it with a citrus juice. That is why everyone seems to take it with lemon water or citrus punch (a mix of orange, grapefruit, and lemon or lime juice.)
What Day I'm On: 15 out of 40 (37% of the way)
How's It Going? Yesterday was tough. I had a migraine all day, and I chose not to take any drugs. I should tell you, I used to have a virtual pharmacy in my bathroom. I did not believe in suffering. I had an over-the-counter remedy for any condition you can name. As I have been getting more healthy, I have stopped all the OTC's, and been able to get off of my prescription drugs too. The only thing I was still taking, prior to the juice feast, was one blood pressure med which had a side effect of stopping my migraines. I had cut it down to a half-dose, but I was still taking it. (I monitor my blood pressure VERY regularly! Please do NOT go off your BP meds without your health practitioner's approval! I got approval from mine!) I also took a lot of ibuprofen, because being this heavy causes enormous amounts of pain in your body: sore feet, back aches, knee pain, etc. I had really cut back on the ibuprofen, but not cut it out until the juice feast.
So here came my monthly cycle, and like it has since I was 12, a migraine came with it. I thought I was "over" them because the blood pressure medication was preventing them. Now, I was hoping that my substantial weight release (110 lbs or more) had balanced my hormones enough that I might not get one. I have to say, it was not as severe as I have had in the past.
Anyway, I am proud of myself for not giving in and taking pain medication. I am really trying to do a full detox, and to make drugs a part of my past. I still have some remnants of the headache today, but not as bad. I am going to the gym so maybe I will sit in the hot tub and see if that helps.
What I'm Drinking: I tried adding some jalapeno to my juice because Penni talks about a Pico De Gallo juice in Real Juice Daily that sounded really good. Plus, I am getting in a rut with my kale, romaine, cucumber, tomato, and red bell pepper. I decided I do not love jalapeno! But it did taste like salsa, which was bomb. I am going to try half as much today. I am a wimp when it comes to hot! lol
Detox: Migraine, probably due to hormones rather than detox, but who's to say there isn't some detox going on?
Emotional Detox: Feeling kinda down, again, I blame Aunt Flo, my least favorite relative
Advice from Dave:
The extremely awesome Momdebbie commented yesterday with some great advice from her talk with Dave, and I wanted to make sure no one missed it because I know I don't always read all the comments on other people's posts. A huge shout out to Momdebbie for being on day 6 of her own juice feast! She is building her discipline muscles and curing her diabetes and I could not be more proud of her!! This is what she wrote:
1. Never - EVER be without your juice! Dave said this is especially imperative to those like he and I who have had diabetic issues or other health concerns. He prepares 3 gallons of juice at a time to take with
him on the road and drinks a gallon per day. He also takes juicers on
the road with him along with a super long extension cord so he is ready
to juice whenever and wherever he is. Again, he can't stress this
enough. Keep your juice next to you in the car, on your desk at work, in
the fridge, next to your computer while surfing the web or enjoying our
own Raw Food Rehab. Wherever you are -- your juice is there too!
2. Don't ever feel badly or like you have failed if you have to end your juice feast earlier than you had planned. Listen to YOUR body. Dave
said that because he had been overeating the SAD diet for soooo long and
to the point of weighing 430 pounds and had never eaten organically -
he suffered through some major detox when he went on his first juice
feasts. He had to slow things down a bit and would intersperse his
feasts with phase 1 of Gabriel Cousen's plan as outlined in "There is a
Cure for Diabetes". He may had to slow things down at first but as most
of you know, Dave went on to be a champion of and for juice feasting and
lost over 200 now pounds in the process!
Oh and Dave wants to give a huge shout out and send his love to Penni and RFR! He is really jazzed to hear about how many of us are juice
feasting now and even more thrilled to hear about how we are supporting
one another! Penni, Dave says it's time to come to Gods' country and pay
him a visit!
There was a question about MSM. Here are some highlights I found on the net:
MSM is biological sulfur, which may...
Remove inflammation; permit muscles and joints to heal more rapidly
Increase energy, alertness, mental calmness, and ability to concentrate
Reduce muscle cramps and spasms
Plays a role in collagen synthesis: skin becomes softer, more resilient, hair and nails grow faster and stronger (the beauty mineral)
Help to normalize stomach function
Help relieve heartburn and GERD
Help relieve allergies to foods and pollens
Help create an internal environment unfriendly to many types of parasites
Helps with diabetic neuropathy of the extremities and gastrointestinal tract
Speed wound healing, reduces scar tissue
Stimulate immune function
Next to oxygen, water, and salt, MSM is the fourth most needed
element in human and animal nutrition. Sulfur is involved in nearly
every metabolic process in the body, and is essential in the
regeneration and nourishment of healthy cells.
Penni said that all the MSM on her juice feast made her nails go from peeling and thin to strong as the other kind of nails. To absorb the MSM optimally, it is best to take it with a citrus juice. That is why everyone seems to take it with lemon water or citrus punch (a mix of orange, grapefruit, and lemon or lime juice.)
What Day I'm On: 15 out of 40 (37% of the way)
How's It Going? Yesterday was tough. I had a migraine all day, and I chose not to take any drugs. I should tell you, I used to have a virtual pharmacy in my bathroom. I did not believe in suffering. I had an over-the-counter remedy for any condition you can name. As I have been getting more healthy, I have stopped all the OTC's, and been able to get off of my prescription drugs too. The only thing I was still taking, prior to the juice feast, was one blood pressure med which had a side effect of stopping my migraines. I had cut it down to a half-dose, but I was still taking it. (I monitor my blood pressure VERY regularly! Please do NOT go off your BP meds without your health practitioner's approval! I got approval from mine!) I also took a lot of ibuprofen, because being this heavy causes enormous amounts of pain in your body: sore feet, back aches, knee pain, etc. I had really cut back on the ibuprofen, but not cut it out until the juice feast.
So here came my monthly cycle, and like it has since I was 12, a migraine came with it. I thought I was "over" them because the blood pressure medication was preventing them. Now, I was hoping that my substantial weight release (110 lbs or more) had balanced my hormones enough that I might not get one. I have to say, it was not as severe as I have had in the past.
Anyway, I am proud of myself for not giving in and taking pain medication. I am really trying to do a full detox, and to make drugs a part of my past. I still have some remnants of the headache today, but not as bad. I am going to the gym so maybe I will sit in the hot tub and see if that helps.
What I'm Drinking: I tried adding some jalapeno to my juice because Penni talks about a Pico De Gallo juice in Real Juice Daily that sounded really good. Plus, I am getting in a rut with my kale, romaine, cucumber, tomato, and red bell pepper. I decided I do not love jalapeno! But it did taste like salsa, which was bomb. I am going to try half as much today. I am a wimp when it comes to hot! lol
Detox: Migraine, probably due to hormones rather than detox, but who's to say there isn't some detox going on?
Emotional Detox: Feeling kinda down, again, I blame Aunt Flo, my least favorite relative
Advice from Dave:
The extremely awesome Momdebbie commented yesterday with some great advice from her talk with Dave, and I wanted to make sure no one missed it because I know I don't always read all the comments on other people's posts. A huge shout out to Momdebbie for being on day 6 of her own juice feast! She is building her discipline muscles and curing her diabetes and I could not be more proud of her!! This is what she wrote:
1. Never - EVER be without your juice! Dave said this is especially imperative to those like he and I who have had diabetic issues or other health concerns. He prepares 3 gallons of juice at a time to take with
him on the road and drinks a gallon per day. He also takes juicers on
the road with him along with a super long extension cord so he is ready
to juice whenever and wherever he is. Again, he can't stress this
enough. Keep your juice next to you in the car, on your desk at work, in
the fridge, next to your computer while surfing the web or enjoying our
own Raw Food Rehab. Wherever you are -- your juice is there too!
2. Don't ever feel badly or like you have failed if you have to end your juice feast earlier than you had planned. Listen to YOUR body. Dave
said that because he had been overeating the SAD diet for soooo long and
to the point of weighing 430 pounds and had never eaten organically -
he suffered through some major detox when he went on his first juice
feasts. He had to slow things down a bit and would intersperse his
feasts with phase 1 of Gabriel Cousen's plan as outlined in "There is a
Cure for Diabetes". He may had to slow things down at first but as most
of you know, Dave went on to be a champion of and for juice feasting and
lost over 200 now pounds in the process!
Oh and Dave wants to give a huge shout out and send his love to Penni and RFR! He is really jazzed to hear about how many of us are juice
feasting now and even more thrilled to hear about how we are supporting
one another! Penni, Dave says it's time to come to Gods' country and pay
him a visit!
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