Revived after 4 years!
Since starting work full time again I have gained a few {too many} pounds. It's funny when you are not chasing kids around all day, and when you hit the 40s how the pounds can creep up
as the metabolism slowes down. Enough where I'm not happy with my body. Most people would not notice any real change in me but I do and that is what matters. A few weeks ago I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead on Netflix - a recommendation from a friend. I was hooked. I knew this is what I wanted to start doing. Not a cleanse, but as a supplement to my diet.
as the metabolism slowes down. Enough where I'm not happy with my body. Most people would not notice any real change in me but I do and that is what matters. A few weeks ago I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead on Netflix - a recommendation from a friend. I was hooked. I knew this is what I wanted to start doing. Not a cleanse, but as a supplement to my diet.
I began 8 days ago. Day one was easy - I replaced breakfast and lunch with juice. No coffee, no soda, and snacks were salad a fruit. We all ate a well balanced dinner. Day 2 was a bit harder - I woke up with a headache! It was bad and got worse throughout the day. Again, I replaced breakfast and lunch with juices and had a healthy dinner, BUT I did drink a small mug of tea and had 2 Advil after dinner to rid myself of the fast approaching migraine. Day 3 was AWESOME! - Woke up with no headache! Same regimen. Days 4, 5 & 6 were exactly the same, 2 juices a day healthy snacks and balanced dinner, no soda, no coffee. Day 7 was a bit different, no juice, just tried to make healthy choices, did have a small soda, but it was not as good as I thought it would be, and I felt yucky the next day. Back to the healthy choices…juices.
I am not alone in my juicing. My husband and mother have been consuming the juices and I even asked my teenage girls to try drinking the juice in the morning before school. The trick is finding the right mix of healthy and yummy for them.
I am not alone in my juicing. My husband and mother have been consuming the juices and I even asked my teenage girls to try drinking the juice in the morning before school. The trick is finding the right mix of healthy and yummy for them.
I'm not watching the scale as I know that would make me anxious and it is not healthy to watch it so closely. I watched this TED video and was even more confident in my choice of methods.
I am confident that I can make healthy choices.
I am confident that I can make healthy choices.
I am confident that I can make healthy choices.
I believe that dieting is not for me. I can't deprive myself of foods. I don't like to feel hungry. With juicing as a supplement to my diet, when I feel hungry I'll eat. If it is breakfast or lunch time I'll drink the juice first and I'm usually full. I'll eat an apple or banana if I feel the need to chew something.
Juicing opened up great conversations in our home about girls and dieting. I have two teenage girls (16 & 13) and they are aware of friends dieting and hyper aware of their skinny bodies. This conversation was great in that there was dialogue about how they don't like when people (strangers sometimes) comment on how skinny they are. My oldest said, "people don't say things to overweight kids, why is it that they think their words don't hurt the skinny kids?" Great question. Girls have body image issues because society tells us that there is a certain body type that is acceptable. Those to big or to small will struggle to be "normal." My goal on a small scale, is to model healthier habits in my home, this in turn will allow our bodies to find its natural normal. Hopefully my girls will see and feel this natural normal.
On a logistics note: This is the juicer I got for home use:
I got a smaller Breville Compact Juice Fountain for the break room at work:
(click on the picture to get one from Amazon.com)I also purchased 101 Juice Recipes for iPhone that has hundreds of recipes for juices.
Juicing is a great supplement to my making healthy choices. Cutting down on my caffeine intake, my red meat consumption, my sugar habit, and my possible addiction to complex carbs, is going to make a difference in my health for the long term.
I am confident that I can make healthy choices.
If Shannon Can ….You can too!
