Round two of the cleanse complete

Whew! I'm glad that's done.  I don't know why, but I was cold for days. I don't know if it was related.  I lost another 7 pounds. Since then I have been drinking a smoothie for breakfast and lunch.  I recently joined JJ Smith's VIP group and it's a bit overwhelming. In addition to her regular FB group it's another FB group that is very active with a lot of posts.  Granted, most of them are very motivational but it's a lot to keep up with. There is also a website you log into, daily emails (which I enjoy) and twice per week JJ is available on FB for a group chat. I haven't checked it out yet.  She also does a live web cast which I haven't checked out yet either. 
I went to Vegas last week for three days and two nights and it was a whirlwind trip.  I couldn't drink green smoothies but did well with my eating. We did a lot of walking too.

I wanted to share this image that I took from FB about how successful JJ's book is.

I would love to post some of the success stories on here but I need to respect the privacy of the people who post in that closed group.  Some of the photos are just amazing.

Round two - day four

So I'm on my second go round on this ten day cleanse and I gotta say, it's a lot tougher this time around. The first time I was pretty enthusiastic about it. The difference between now and then is that I have been drinking green smoothies daily since the end of December (at least for breakfast and often for lunch too). 

The FB page has been motivational so that helps.  I needed the kick in the butt to get disciplined again. I found I was snacking on pretzels and crackers at night, not to mention the paralyzers I was drinking with them.

 

Two months later!

The whole point of blogging is to do it regularly but I kinda got stuck after two posts.  Here's a recap
after I finished the cleanse, I continued to drink two smoothies per day and enjoyed it. I found that I didn't have to think about what to have for lunch because when I made the smoothies in the morning there was always enough for two smoothies.  It was difficult when I went on vacation for two weeks. The first week was on a cruise and my cabin mates were supportive of making our own smoothies. One of them even brought a Magic Bullet blender but we couldn't really find any ingredients to make the smoothies.  I ended up just really watching what I ate.  For breakfast I had boiled eggs and fruit.  I tried to eat as much salad and veggies as possible. I did okay and kept the weight off that I lost.
I'm pretty happy with the FB group from JJ Smith that has over 300,000 members in it.  They post inspirational photos and stories every day.  One thing they posted was the benefits of drinking apple cider vinegar, water and fresh lemon juice in the morning.

 

I drink a tall glass of water (10-12 oz) with two table spoons of the apple cider vinegar, the juice from one lemon and three packages of Stevia.  I hate lemons and I hate vinegar but the Stevia makes it doable.

Today I started the challenge again.  The FB group announced a few weeks ago that they were starting it today so there are likely thousands of us all in the same boat.  I like that. I like the community.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to eat the Easter meal at my mom's house.  I did the same at New Year's and survived.  I just recall how happy I was when I could fit into clothes that previously didn't fit.  

 

Day 11 of a 10 day cleanse?

I'm happy to report that I was able to do all ten days and am still going a few extra days. I've got a good momentum going for weight loss and I want to keep going. I lost 8.5 lbs and a few inches here and there.  Some jeans that I couldn't do up before I started the challenge can be pulled down without undoing the button and zipper.  I wore a t-shirt today that was tight on me before and now it is loose.

I just read over the first entry and how I didn't like the smoothie on day two and that I didn't want to have that one again. The funny thing is, that is the one I made today and it tasted just fine. It must have been just how I was feeling on day two.  I chose to to make that one today because the mixed greens that I have in fridge were going a bit limp and I didn't want to waste them.  Other smoothies call for kale and spinach.
I have lost weight before and I felt like the skin on my face was hanging and droopy. With this cleanse and this weight loss, the skin on my face feels really tight. It's hard to explain. It's kind of like how your face feels after you wear a face mask, if that makes any sense.
Today was a bit challenging in that my family at my favourite pizza.  I was out of the house when it first arrived and likely smelled fantastic so I am happy about that.  We are doing kitchen renos at the moment so pizza really was the easiest thing to eat, as well as serve the guy who was helping my husband Guus today.

Why Baby Steps?

Why "Baby Steps?"  I guess I chose that because it's a journey and not a race.  I also like the movie "What About Bob?" in which Richard Dreyfuss' book was called Baby Steps. Richard Dreyfuss was Bob's therapist.

 My favourite scene is when Bill Murray is eating corn on the cob. It's a lot shorter than calling this blog "One day at a time" which would have Valerie Bertinelli/Mackenzie Phillips/Bonnie Franklin references.

I've been meaning to start a blog for a while now for an online course I was doing called the Great Creators Academy by Aaron Paquette but life just keeps zooming by. I have told many of my friends about it.  It is an 8 week course and although it is about being creative, in each video of Aaron talking, he talks about improving your life.  He discusses the importance of drinking water, getting enough sleep, exercising, improving your memory, managing your time, etc.  I got to lesson 5 where he said "don't go on to lesson 6 until you master lesson 5" where he talked about meditation. I can't meditate. I can't sit still and always have stuff to do. In mid December I attended a workshop on Mindful Meditation so I got some good pointers. I will blog about that course on here as well.

On December 30th, I started a ten day green smoothie cleanse.  I heard about it in an interview with Phil Collen from Def Leppard. He and his wife Helen did the 10 day cleanse through a booked called "10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse" by JJ Smith and continue to drink green smoothies. You can snack on seeds, nuts, apples, carrots, celery, boiled eggs and unsweetened peanut butter.   Once you are done the 10 days, you gradually introduce food again by replacing one of the smoothies with a salad. You can choose to do a smoothie for one to two meals per day, followed by a well balanced meal.
I'm not going to lie. It isn't easy. I thought I wouldn't have much problems because a lot of the things that you cleanse from, I don't eat (fried food, coffee, junk food).  At the end of day two I felt like I was getting the flu. The book warns that you could experience headaches and flu like symptoms.  It also mentioned that you might be irritable from not eating the foods you want.  I think I mostly just miss using a fork!  It's tough when others around you are eating good smelling food. My daughter Emily is trying to do it with me.  She isn't strictly drinking the smoothies, and I'm glad.  She needs to eat other food as well but it does help to have someone experiencing it with me.  It's nice to compare the taste and have a support buddy.
I thought I would post some of the recipes and what the smoothies look like as I journal through this.

First you blend the water and greens and then add the other ingredients. On this day, the fruits were grapes, apples, frozen mangoes, and frozen strawberries. The recipe calls for optional plant based protein powder, which I use to help me feel full longer. 

It really reminded of the toy called "Slime" when I was a kid, especially with the bubbles. Slime was packaged in a plastic garbage can.  Does anyone remember it? Later they came out with Slime with worms in it.

You can ask both of my kids, I really don't like green drinks. It seems like my brain sends me a signal that it's wrong. My girls both buy matcha tea drinks from Starbucks and Booster Juice and I cringe.  I guess they only green drinks I ever enjoyed was Shamrock Shakes from McDonalds around St. Patrick's day  and green Kool Aid as a kid. Anyway, the point is, I'm not used to drinking green drinks so that has been a challenge as well. The cup I use is a reusable Booster Juice cup so I don't have to look at it, and I use a green Starbucks straw.
The smoothie on the first day was delicious. It was a pleasure to drink. The greens in it was spinach. The second day however called for mixed greens and I used a package called Supergreens. That day, you could really taste the greens.  JJ suggests removing the stems because the stems alter the taste.  It is quite time consuming because I basically make two batches per day since Emily and I are both drinking the smoothies.  In totally, I have to take the stems off of 6 handfuls of greens each day.  Because I wasn't feeling well at the end of day two, I didn't finish the smoothie.  I hurt my neck earlier in the day and had a terrible headache that wouldn't go away. I'm not sure if it was just the detox symptoms or a combination of that and the headache that made me feel nauseated but I don't think I want to drink that smoothie again. Here's the recipe...