Day 24 - Mixed Feelings

Haven't written in awhile. Started back to school last week (teacher pre-service week) and started for real yesterday. I have to say that in the beginning I thought that once I reached day 24 I would have lost over 20 pounds. Not sure if that was realistic, but it's what was in my head. I am still only down 10 pounds, but a lot is going on. It's hard to stay 100% on track with JUST the juice all day every day. The funny thing is, I am not tempted at the times where I thought I would be, for example a staff breakfast or eating lunch with other teachers on my team. I thought dinner would be the easiest - it's NOT. It's the hardest. I can make it all day and then at night I fall apart. When I "cheat" and eat at night (pho soup mostly) I don't lose any weight that day and it takes me a couple days to start losing again. Also, I lose more weight when I work out, but I have been so exhausted after working all day that it is hard. I am giving myself a break this week (although I did lift weights last night) and I am hoping to get started with my workout plan next week. After having the summer off, my feet are killing me this week! I can't imagine running on them. Ouchie!

This weekend my food addiction reared its ugly head after an emotional day. One of the main triggers of my eating is my mother. Mom, if you are reading this, I'm sorry but it's true. After a little stressful situation with her, I was feeling downright depressed all day. Nothing seemed to help get me out of the funk. All I wanted was to eat - BAD food! That, of course, made me angry with myself because once again my food addiction was winning. I knew that I should use my coping skills - pray or mentally go to my happy place - but SCREW THAT. I wanted to eat, damn it. So, I did and I must say, I felt better. So I gave myself the grace of indulging and coping the way I wanted to. I just made a promise that tomorrow was a new day and I would simply try again. One thing I have learned is to LOVE MYSELF and give myself a break - but not too much of a break. Oh, and by the way, even though the pounds aren't pouring off like I would like, I am actually losing inches. Belly (or nasty gut as I call it) is shrinking. Woo Hoo!

Day 17 - Burger Blues

Today is day 17 and I have still only lost 8 pounds. Feeling poopy about it. This whole juicing thing is getting harder every day. I thought it would be getting easier. I have had some feminine health problems the last few days which have made me feel crummy and crave food. I feel like I need caffeine, which I haven't had in 17 days. I also was really craving beef tonight for some reason. I broke down and had a burger at Wendy's. Wish I could exercise, but I am just not feeling it. This week we also went back to school (teachers only) and the days have been long. I have managed to sit through staff breakfasts where everyone around me is eating danishes and bagels with cream cheese. I also managed to have a working lunch today with my teammates who were eating Taco Bell. All-in-all I am still feeling good and energized, but I need to start seeing the scale move down again! Need some encouragement.

Day 12 - Encouragement & New Baby!

185.4 - 7 pounds down.

Ok, so I lost 7 pounds in the first 7 days, but then as you know I ate on my birthday. I felt bloated and definitely retained water even though I tried to make good choices. I spent a couple days at 188. Boo. Sad face. However, I kept on drinking my juice and getting my fanny on the treadmill. Today I am finally back down the 7 pounds and a couple ounces more. Feeling good.

I want to say something today about encouragement. It is so important to feel the love and support coming from family and friends when you endeavor to do something this drastic. At first there were many skeptics and also many who were just concerned or worried about me not eating or about my blood sugars. Both skeptic and worriers were to be expected. Then there were the friends who said - YES, go for it, girl. It's like being in a race and having all these people who believe in you cheering you on along the way. When it gets tough, they remind you to push on, be a futurist, keep going. And, this juicing thing - MY juicing journey - has already started inspiring people and that is awesome. If I can inspire just ONE person to get healthier, then I will be super proud.

This quote was on the wall at the doctor's office. It's not necessarily about encouragement, but I thought it was fitting because even though I was up a few pounds, I kept on going.

One more thing to add about today - today we brought a new baby into the family. It's name - the Breville Elite commercial juicer. Yes, that's right folks, we upgraded to the Mack Daddy of all juicers. Stainless steel and titanium - oh my hubby was drooling just saying the word titanium.

Thanks for reading, and thank you to all my friends and family for helping me stay positive and focused on my journey.

Making the Juice Videos

Day 11 and still feeling great. The ladies at work could not believe I was drinking juice as they chowed down on their sandwiches, chips, Cokes, and cookies. They kept saying how gross it looked and how gross it probably tasted (WRONG) and how they could never go without chewing. HA! That's what I said once.

Last night I was so excited and energized that I made hubby take videos of me making the juice at 10:00 p.m. I felt like a celebrity on the Food Network!
The first video is me making my morning juice.

This next video is me making my version of the Mean Green.

This last video is me explaining how to clean the machine.

Talk to you tomorrow! Thanks again for all your encouragement.

Day 10 - Doctor Says Green Light!

Got some great news from my diabetes doctor today. He said my blood sugars are down and he 100% approves of my juicing plans. That's awesome folks. Yesterday was my birthday and I have to admit that I did eat lunch and dinner to celebrate, however today I have renewed my commitment to eat/drink nothing but my homemade veggie/fruit juices for the next 60 days. I am on my way out the door to go running since Grandma and Pop Pop took the boys to the fair!

This is one month's worth of needles from my insulin shots. Not fun at all. I am hoping in 60 days to be off insulin entirely.

New Recipe!
Morning Glory - the best yet!
5 big handfuls of spinach
1 peach
1 pear
3 handfuls of blueberries
3 handfuls of strawberries
2 pieces of pineapple
NO apples in this one.

Day 8 - Flawed, Fabulous, and 41

It's been a little over one week on my juicing journey and I am feeling great. I lost 7 pounds this week and even though one or two came back, overall I lost a total of 4 inches - one from my thighs, one off my bodacious tatas, one off the "no longer expanding" waist, and one off the ole hips. I am feeling fabulous. I spent the day at Mount Vernon with my husband's aunt. Boy, what an amazing place!

Tonight my boys wanted to go out for a birthday dinner to celebrate with mommy. I agreed and we went to Ruby Tuesday's. I ordered the chicken fresca which has the least amount of calories on the menu. I asked for steamed green beans, too. I was doing great until the waitress, a former student of mine, brought over dessert. She had written Happy Birthday in chocolate just for me, her favorite teacher EVER. I let the boys eat most of it.

It was a long day, but a good one. Here is a picture of me taken by my 5 year old. I look tired and my makeup was worn off, but I'm happy.

So tomorrow I am back on the juice and I plan to drink nothing but juice until Labor Day. Plus, I plan to really up the exercise. Wish me luck.

Here are some pictures of my groceries and my mason jars. They are great for storing the juice!

Birthday Blues (and Bloat)

10:30 p.m. Just got back from my birthday dinner and I feel disgusting. I ate solid food for the first time in 7 days and I tried to enjoy it, but the whole time this little voice inside my head was telling me it's just not worth it. That voice is ALWAYS right. I knew better but I convinced myself that it was my birthday and I should enjoy it. I didn't. Now I feel bloated and heavy. It's awful. So, looks like tomorrow I will bust my butt on the treadmill and drink my juice. Lesson learned.

Day 7 - Sweet Jesus This is Good!

185.6 - down 2 more pounds! Woo Hoo! Yippee!

It's the morning of day 7. After the boys bounded in at 6:30 (UGH) I laid in bed for the next fifteen minutes hoping and praying the scale would reflect all of my hard work. I actually tried visualizing the scale saying 185. In my mind that number would mean success. Sure enough, it said 185.6. Yesterday I ran 2.5 miles on the treadmill and tried to be very careful about how much juice I drank and how much of my delicious gazpacho I consumed. My run felt great and really cleared my head. A song by Pink came on that really hit me as ironic. It's called "Like a Pill".
The lyrics go:
I can't stay on your life support,
There's a shortage in the switch,
I can't stay on your morphine,
'Cause it's making me itch...

Run just as fast as I can
To the middle of nowhere
To the middle of my frustrated fears
And I swear you're just like a pill
Instead of makin' me better,
You keep makin' me ill

Guess what? The food that I had been eating was the "pill" and instead of nourishing my body, it actually made me sick. The food was my "life support" that was actually killing me one meal at a time, leading me down the path to diabetes (check), high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. My body was actually starving for the good stuff - never actually satisfied or satiated by what I was feeding it.

Question for all of you - If you don't take care of your body, where will you live? Chew on that for a moment!

Recipe of the Day: I'm calling it "Sweet Jesus" because when I tasted it for the first time I exclaimed, "Oh Sweet Jesus, this is good!"

Sweet Jesus
1 sweet potato (didn't peal it or anything, just stuck it in the juicer whole!)
1 apple
2 peaches
A handful of blueberries
A dash of cinnamon
It's soooooo good! Be careful though - since this one has no green veggies, it is probably a bit higher in natural sugars. Can only have this one once in awhile.

Tomorrow will be 1 week down. Amazing! I have lost 7 pounds in 7 days. Tonight is my birthday dinner though and I am going to eat. I'm not going to pig out like the old Devon would. I'm not going to order soda or alcohol - or birthday cake for that matter. No matter what the scale says tomorrow, I will greet the day with another glass of yummy, nutritious juice.

Day 6 - It's a God Thing

187 - no weight lost since yesterday.

Today I woke up and felt horrible. My head was pounding and my throat was hurting. I needed to just go back to sleep. It didn't help that I didn't lose any weight. So I slept until noon, got up and had a real heart-to-heart talk with my hubby.

Here are just some of his little pearls of wisdom: Weight is NOT the issue - it is the RESULT. (Wow, how brilliant is that?) The problem is in your head. It's how you think about food. You now have a new understanding of how food works and what your body needs (through watching these awesome documentaries: "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and "Hungry for Change"). It's no coincidence that you are on this journey right now - it's a GOD thing. God is in control - not us! You have a sickness. You have to heal your brain or else you will just put the weight right back on again like you have so many times. You put food in the wrong priority. (Boy he is right about that!) Revel in the fact that you didn't lose weight (wait, what?) because it is not the "end all" - go pray, go run, go read, go do something else. This means you have to deal with all the steps of the process, not just skip to the end. It's forcing you to do it the right way and learn this time. The key is - you have to get right in your head.

Isn't he amazing? And damn it if he isn't right. Through this incredible dialogue we are also sharpening each other (it's biblical! LOL) and strengthening each other the way God wants us to as a married couple. It's so special to have such an amazing partner to walk through life with. Again I say, it's a God thing.

Full disclosure - last night I made a veggie soup that we did not juice. Basically I threw in tomatoes, onions, zucchini, green beans, peas, lima beans, and carrots along with 2 bay leaves, some dill and some parsley. I let that simmer for one hour and then put it in the blender. It needed a little salt and pepper, but was pretty darn tasty.

We are finding that there are not any rules to this "juicing" thing which is partly good and partly bad. It's easier not to break the rules when the rules are specifically laid out for you. But, since this is a lifestyle and not, I repeat not, a diet, we need to be able to make choices. It was a choice to make soup instead of juice the vegetables. Heck, it was a choice to make gazpacho instead of juice. Now maybe those choices have led to me not dropping as much weight as I wanted in the first 6 days, but those are both completely all-natural, all veggie, all homemade great foods that will nourish our bodies and minds. So I'm good with that.

New Yummy Juice Recipe!

So have I mentioned that I hate my hubby's "green shit" juice with a passion? It's basically Joe Cross's (from Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead) Mean Green except hubby adds a peach to sweeten it a bit. I don't like the taste of the celery or the ginger. By simply removing them, I created a very light, lemony juice sensation.

Recipe:

Light & Lemony

6 big kale leaves

1 large cucumber

2 apples

1/2 lemon

1 Peach

1 Pear

Enjoy and happy juicing!

No Diet Coke

Thought I would post real quick about Diet Coke - another one of my addictions. I usually have about 5 a day and have to have one every day before work. I don't drink coffee - that used to be my justification, besides saying to myself that it is DIET. However, I am now on my 5th day without it and I actually don't miss it at all. I watched the first hour of the documentary called "Hungry For Change" and some doctors in that film said pilots don't drink diet sodas because it can mess with your vision! It's chemically engineered crap that I just kept buying and pouring down my body. But guess what, my body is NOT a trash can any more. Also, the aspartame also causes a euphoria that leads to the craving of carbs. People who drink diet soda get FATTER!!!! It's a fact.

And of course, regular Coke is terrible because it has WAY too much sugar. Got to just stick with water and tea.

Day 5

187.2 - only lost about a half pound. Think I need to stop weighing myself every day. Started the morning by making a new breakfast drink I am calling Going Bananas. Hubby and I both drank it and then went for a 20 minute walk. Felt good but a bit sluggish.

Dilemma! My birthday dinner which has been scheduled for months (also hubby's mother and aunt's birthday dinners) is on Saturday night. We have reservations at an upscale Indian restaurant. To eat or not to eat, that is the question. Many of my closest friends have weighed in about my dilemma and even my therapist (yes, I recently added a therapist to help with my food addiction). The consensus has been that I should eat but not go crazy, and then go back to juicing the next day. I know that my stomach will hurt for sure, but I can almost taste that chicken tika masala! My favorite. Is that being weak? Is that giving in to my old way of living? Or, is that being practical and affording myself a little grace? The point here is to be successful and not feel like I am denying myself, because let's face it folks, I am a food addict. It would be very awkward to sit at the table with 7 people celebrating birthdays and drink my juice. See, I am human! Flawed, fabulous, and days away from 41!

Recipes:

Going Bananas

Lots of spinach (and I'm talking like a whole bag)

About 20 straberries

About 30 blueberries

2 apples

2 peaches

After I juiced that, I threw it all into the blender with 1 banana. Yum!

Day 4

187.8 - down another pound. Today I felt great until I decided to mow the lawn. That zapped me of energy and also made my blood sugars drop. I think you are not supposed to exercise very much at first because you are consuming so few calories. Around 6:30 p.m. I felt awful. I wanted to eat so badly. Had to find the strength deep inside to say NO to my old self. Made a new recipe today that I am calling Aloha. My hubby doesn't like it but I think it's better than his Green stuff.

Recipes:

Aloha

6 kale leaves

1/2 pineapple

2 apples

1 large cucumber

1 peach

Day 3

188.4 - down 4 pounds in 2 days. Woke up feeling yucky and sluggish. Took a hot shower and decided that I was going to make this a great day no matter what. I was not going to lay around all day wanting to eat. So, what do women do to feel better - that's right, I got a mani/pedi and went shopping with my mom. Bought a new ring at Pandora shop for my upcoming birthday! While we were out I tried a juice from Robek's. It was Pineapple, papaya, and kale. It was very delicious, but it spiked my blood sugar a bit. Still haven't cheated at all. Very proud of myself!

Recipe:

Homemade Gazpacho

4 tomatoes

1 cucumber

1 tablespoon garlic

1 splash of red wine vinegar

1 splash of olive oil

1 splash of Perrier

1 teaspoon cumin

3 tablespoons of organic pico de gallo containing red peppers, green peppers, onions, cilantro, and lime

Put in blender and then chill in fridge. Delicious! I don't consider this cheating because everything is totally all natural and homemade - all veggies.

Day 2

190.6 - lost 2 pounds! Woo hoo. Woke up feeling great. However, if you are starting this juice fast, please stay close to home on day 2! I actually pooped in my pants at Target today. I have never done this before and of course I was as far from the bathroom as possible. Drinking lots of water.

Day 1

Actually started August 4th, 2013 but just beginning this blog today.

So it's day 1 and I've committed to this new way of living. It's pretty darn radical, I must say. I'm feeling energized. I made it until 6 p.m. before I really started feeling hungry and wanted to eat everything in the house. Watching TV didn't help because it seems like every commercial is for food. I didn't want to cheat so I went to bed at 8:30!

Tip: Mason Jars are perfect for storing juices! Make sure to scoop out some of the foam so that it doesn't oxide as fast. You can see from the jar on the far right that I didn't get all the foam, so I will drink this today to make sure it's still good. These juices will keep for 24 hours.

Recipes (all made in the Breville Fountain Plus Juicer)

Devon's Yummy Breakfast

Big handful of Blueberries

1/2 Lemon

1Pear

1Peach

2 Apples

3 big handfuls of spinach

Green Shit (sorry about the name but it's kinda fitting)

6 leaves of kale

1Cucumber

3 Celery (not too much)

Small amount of ginger

1/2 lemon

2 apples

1Pear

Eric's Red Shit (again, sorry about the name but we've got to have a sense of humor about this!)

3 carrots

1/2 lemon

2 celery

1 red pepper

Small amount of ginger (about 1 inch)

Starting My Juicing Journey

Hi everyone! I'm Devon - wife, mother, teacher, writer, and unfortunately an overweight, diabetic, food addict. This is quite embarrassing to put all of this out there, but I really feel like I need to. Hopefully there are other people who can relate and will get inspired.

Here I am last Christmas with my husband. As you can see I am hiding my body as I try to do in every picture.

My food addiction started when I got to college and for the first time in my life I had complete control over my own eating. My habits were awful and have been awful ever since. I started college at 132 pounds thinking I was fat! As the years have gone by, I have added 60 pounds and have done every diet there is. I even tried phentermine pills three times, and had a breast reduction and tummy tuck thinking that would help me look skinnier. When I got married at age 31, I weighed 175 pounds and after our first child was born I weighed in at a whopping 200. I had gestational diabetes with the pregnancy which turned into type 2 diabetes. I have been living in total denial that I am a diabetic - still eating whatever I want and feeling horrible every time I have to get bloodwork done or see my doctor. Speaking of eating - I am definitely an emotional eater. I eat when I am happy, sad, angry, stressed, oh and simply awake! Ha, ha. I probably consume 3,000 calories a day. I have hidden food from my mother and my husband by going through the drive-thru at McDonalds and then taking out the garbage before anyone finds out. It's definitely a sickness.

So last Saturday night my husband wanted to watch this documentary called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" about an amazing man named Joe Cross from Australia who ate (drank) nothing but juice for 60 days and lost over 80 pounds. His auto-immune disease also was totally cured. I was immediately inspired and knew this is what I must do. I must "reboot" my system and stop this food addiction once and for all before I literally kill myself. I had to get a juicer and begin in the morning. It was Sunday and I knew Bed, Bath, and Beyond would not be open until 10 a.m. and I had to have breakfast, so we went to the grocery store and bought a "Naked" juice called "Green Machine". It is close to Joe's "Mean Green" and didn't taste that bad. Later that day we bought the juicer and got tons of veggies and fruits at Costco.

Here are the big, bad, ugly details:
Starting weight: 192.2
Measurements:
Breast 44"
Arm 15"
Thigh 26"
Hips 44" (and they don't lie)
Gut 41 1/2"

Wish me luck! Please feel free to leave a comment of encouragement or ask me a question, but please do not comment if you are going to be negative. I only need positive vibes sent my way! Thanks!