I did it. I really did it!

                                           
I can't believe it! 2 weeks, over, just like that! I have this overwhelming feeling of pride, accomplishment and lightness. lol. I'm actually looking forward to doing this again. It was mind over matter, and I mustered up enough will power to finish this. All the way to the end. I set out with a goal, and a great new juicer, and I accomplished what I set out to do, and that was to get rid of the meds, detox my body and lose weight. And I did all three. YIPPIE ME!!!!
I apologize for the sporadic blogging the last week. It has been very crazy in my family. Mom had her surgery and ended back up in the ER getting more stitches a week later cuz her drain incision wasn't healing. That was an all day affair. Not to mention therapy 5 days a week. She is doing much better, thanks for all the  prayers!  I also have been taking care of my grandparents house, inside and out for the last 6 months or so. Just very busy, mentally and physically. Although I have followed through with my goal, I failed at blogging like I wanted to every night. This was something I wanted to do for me, so I could look back and remember my triumphs and failures. Where I could do better and where I succeeded with flying colors. No matter how prepared one thinks they are for a lifestyle change, your never 100% ready. Truth! I learned a lot. And I'm ready to do it again. And I will, probably the end of winter into spring. What a great way to prepare for summer! All in all, I did well. I exercised 5-6 nights a week, and will continue to do so. I was only working with a max of 800 calories a day, so my workout only consisted of a brisk walk, usually 2 miles, a good stretch and light weight lifting. Now that I am back to chewing my food, I will continue with raw fruits, veggies and continue juicing 2-3 times a day over the next week, all I can consume in 24 hours. Which will give me more calories to work with. I started biking again, slowly working up to a 10 mile a day ride. Easy schmeezy. But it's been a good 3 years since I have done that. Give me a few weeks and I'll be back to my norm. I am so excited to look at my physical future. The changes I have made guarantee a healthy me! How cool is that!? It takes will power. It takes dedication. It takes the burning desire to really want to be healthy, not just skinny. Which I DON'T want to be! Just because your thin, does not make you healthy! Although I have never had a problem with cholesterol, blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, nor does it run in my family....THANK GOD....I can't be to overconfident I will always be ok. I have to do my part to ENSURE it! Do you know that a whole food/plant based diet has been proven to actually reverse diabetes, autoimmune disease, cancer and other illness in many cases!? FACT. I won't sit here and say it works for everyone, and I won't preach health to everyone. But I know this lifestyle has made me feel unbelievable. And I love the feeling. I don't want to be embarrassed walking down the street, or in the gym, or be afraid to wear a bathing suit, or not do burlesque cuz I'm TOO much of a lady! I wan't to walk with my head held high with confidence!! And I am well on the way!
Kiersten did great too! Although she says she does't feel any "different", she is still glad she did it. So am I! She broke her fast 36 hours early, and I can't be upset with that. I am so proud she saw it through and didn't cheat. Says a lot about her. I could't tell you how much weight she lost. She didn't bother keeping track. SMH. I on the other hand.........................................................18 pounds! Yep, in 2 weeks. I needed a good start to this to carry me through. Heck, I dropped 4 pounds the first 24 hours! So was it worth it? Hell yeah it was!
With that all being said, I will not be blogging every night now. But would like to do it a few times a week. I hope you all continue to follow me on my journey to a healthier me! Thanks again for all the support! Until next post......JUICE ON!!!!!

" It comes down to a simple choice, get busy living or get busy dying."-Morgan Freeman in Shawshank Redemption

Time flies!

                                                
I can't believe day 13 is over! As they say, time flies when your having fun! OK, I won't push it THAT far, but it def has been an amazing experience! I have learned so much about my body it's actually scary. I gotta admit, even I was skeptical when I started this journey. I read and researched, pondered and doubted. It wasn't til I saw the movies "Forks Over Knives", "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and "The China Project" was I 100% completely sold. With that being said, Mr. Joe Cross, Dr. Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn and my friend from the MRI office, Martin, thank you. Thank you for opening my eyes to a healthier lifestyle and giving me the motivation to do something about it. I was always taught that things that are good for you are not an easy change. Well I sit here and disagree. If someone told me that I could lose all the weight I wanted without being hungry, without surgery and lap bands, get rid of all the aches and pains, clear my mind and give me Hercules energy and all I had to do was drink all the fruit and veggie juice I wanted.....I would/did laugh! Could it REALLY be this easy?! My curiosity once again got the best of me, and yes, it CAN be this easy! Could a cure all really be this simple? Has it been in front of our eyes all along and we have just disregarded the obvious? I cannot speak for everyone, all I know is it worked for me. I feel energized, light on my feet, quick to think, powerful, and ___ pounds lighter!!! (that will be disclosed on my last day, you'll be SHOCKED!) I have also weened off of 20mgs of Prednisone, and feel fine! HELLLLOOO?!?! That HAS TO prove SOMETHING! It means my inflammatory response is down and the toxins are out of my body. Enough said. 
Now I know your all thinking, there has GOT to be a down side! Fair enough. Ok, my garbage can has been a BITCH to bring outside. It's heavy with melon rinds, fruit and veggie pulp, fruit pits and cores. My fridge and counters are stained pink from beet juice, and my cabinets and floors are sticky with juice. Whenever I go to the store, I'm all alone in the produce section and it takes an extra 5 minutes at the checkout for the girl to figure out and weigh all the different and exotic fruit and veggies. I have had to try new things, and forced myself to drink healthy stuff. I got my kids addicted to fresh juice. Yep, bout sums it up. Sounds awful, doesn't it? Now come on, if that stuff deters you from juicing, you are not ready for a healthy change. Period. 
I am planning to eat all raw for one week to break my fast. THAT I am looking forward to! I have visions of a Jason's Deli all you can eat salad bar dancing in my head. Again, an all you can eat that I don't have to feel guilty about. Kiersten and I are going to have a mother/daughter/best friend day on Saturday. Pedicure, lunch, maybe a little shopping. We deserve it! I am so proud to call Kiersten my daughter. The heart and drive that woman has, I'll never know where she gets it from. I like to think I was/am a good parent and instilled that as well as morals, trust, honesty in her. She will be 19 in a few weeks. I only hope she continues this path in life. I can't believe how time flies when your having fun...........


Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.
- Buddha

This finish line is near :-(

Gotta admit, I'm a little sad to see the end in sight. This has been one hell of an experience! I have considered going just one more week, and I still may, but I'm afraid Kiersten will feel obligated to continue with me. It's time for her to be done. She did well, and I'm proud of her but she's only 19 and doesn't have nearly the amount of crud built up in her system as I do, and she's losing weight, which she doesn't need to do. She's only 130 lbs to begin with (must be nice) lol.
I'm still waiting for this giant burst of energy.....today I "napped" for 2.5 hours! I used to get that at bedtime. I felt fine, just sleepy today. My knees are still swollen from my 5 mile adventure the other night, oddly enough not sore. So I decided to skip my walk tonight *shame on me*. I have guilty feelings about that as I write this. I'm not perfect, I screw up, and I guess I still make excuses. But I know I'm still in the game.....my favorite jeans fell off me today! Literally fell off me. I was in Jewel and had a handful of produce ( will NEVER by produce from them again. Was in a pinch cuz I needed just a few things and Pete's closes at 10p) I was walking and felt my pants start to slip but figured they were just a little loose, and they made it below my hip bone before I was able to put the stuff down and grab em! A little embarrassing but exciting at the same time. I haven't felt that skinny in a long time! LOL. When I went to get my jammies on tonight, I didn't even have to unbutton or unzip them, I just shimmied them right off ( those burlesque classes really paid off!!)
Today was my mom's first day of outpatient therapy. She did awesome! I can't believe how well she is getting around. She even went out to get the mail today! She lives in a townhouse and has community mailboxes at the opposite end of the complex, roughly 1000 feet away! I hope this means she's gonna work super hard during therapy and get back to being 100% independent quickly. I'm sure she will. :-)
Made a trip to Jamba Juice today and got my extra large jug-o-juice. Berry upbeet...yummmm! Now that is one drink I will never feel guilty about "super sizing"! Actually thought seriously about franchising a Jamba Juice here in Oak Lawn til I read the requirements. Gotta have 350k in liquid assets and have a net worth of 1m. SERIOUSLY?! Maybe next year. LMAO!!!! Then I though about getting a part time job there! OMG, I'd never eat food again. So I decided against it. hahaha.
As far as juice goes today, I nailed it. Uhm, don't remember what I made today though. My Jamba juice counted as 2 juices, and I made 3 more. So I got close to 3 liters today. Let's not discuss water, ok? Making ANOTHER batch of Hippocrates soup. I'm so addicted. The smell is making me drool on myself a little. OK, a lot! I've decided when I break my fast Friday I will go all raw for a week. Fruits and veggies of course! Primarily veggies since I haven't focused a ton during this detox. But RAW, whole, intact veggies I can eat all day! Love em! So it'll be a little yummy game of catch up.
That's about all the news I have today. Thanks for reading. See ya tomorrow. Same place, uhm, probably a different time. lol. Til then.....JUICE ON!!!!

Eternal youth does not come from a fountain. It comes from a 4 speed blender.  :-) "Jamba Juice motto"

DAY 9!

I can't believe how far I have really come! I never in a million years thought I would have the will power to pull off a juice fast. I really thought, especially the last year, that I would always be "fat, sick and nearly dead". Either that, or the next in line for lap band or bariatric surgery. Well guess what peeps?! Not this girl! Not any more. I have made the decision to better myself naturally. To change my lifestyle drastically. And it's working. I never want to be in this place again. I am better than bad, over processed, fattening and/or fried food. I am bigger than my vices. I will succeed and live to be healthy. I am thankful for another chance. I am blessed with awesome friends and family who support me in my crazy endeavors. I am also thankful for the people who call me crazy, laugh, and say it can't be done. THEY are my motivation to push on. To be able to give them that shit eating grin while saying "I did it, bitches". To pull ahead healthier, stronger, both mentally and physically, leaving them scratching their head wondering what just happened. I live for that stuff.

I apologize for being so intermittent with my posts the last few days. I have had my hands full with my mom. She's home and really can't do much on her own. Yet. She is doing much better than I expected and I am super proud of her. :-) 

Yesterday was pretty uneventful as far as juicing goes. Got my 2 1/2 liters, not enough water and a 5 mile walk in. Yip, 5 miles. My knees are paying for it today. Overdid it just a little. lol. But I feel good about doing it. I feel energized and rejuvenated after. 2 months ago I didn't have the desire to even walk around the block. So I have come a long way, with a long way to go. But I feel like I am on a great path and need to stay focused. Today got 3 liters of juice in, most of my water ( forgot to keep track today. Oops)  and a light walk. Only a mile. Knee is still swollen from last night. But I got up and got moving,  and that's the main thing.

 Came up with some yummy concoctions today. For breakfast just did strawberries, mineolas and soy. Juice 2 was cucumber, carrot, sweet potato and apple. Actually very good and sweet! "Juice" 3 and 4 was my Hippocrates soup. Love that stuff! Juice 5 was blackberries, raspberries and pineapple. MMMMMM!!!!!! Super delish!  So I did well today. Although I am waiting, patiently, for this "runners high" everyone speaks of while doing a juice detox. I am expecting it any day now! I have just been kind of in a limbo so to speak. I have days that I feel I can run a 24 hour marathon, my mind remains sharp, yet my body doesn't feel like keeping up. It's weird. I don't know if it's because my body is only taking in 1/4 of the calories it is used to, if it's an excuse or what. But, I am going to leave it be, let my body do what it needs to do and get on with it. Can't say I'm stoked about all the breakouts and blemishes though. I was warned!  

On a side note, It's been a long, busy day. Time for my cold shower and a comfy bed. Til tomorrow.......JUICE ON!!

“I am a better person when I have less on my plate.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert

This week is OVA!

First and foremost, my mom had her surgery and is still in the hospital recovering. The surgery went well. Dr. said her knee was extremely inflamed and highly unstable. He also said he fixed it "perfectly". I did not go to see her today, she needs her rest and was busy with therapy. My uncle did go to see her today, just a quick hello and told me her pain is off the chart and she is very nauseous. They had her on morphine via PCA, but switched her to dilaudid PO. She is due to come home tomorrow evening...I will be staying with her for a few weeks. So keep the prayers coming, she has a long road to recovery.
Welp, I did it. Week one is in the record books! I gotta say, it wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be. Was I hungry? A little. When I was, it was my own fault for not drinking more juice and water. Was I cranky? Only on day 5, as you all read. Did I have any energy? Ungodly amounts! At times. The first 3 days were the hardest. Sluggish, unmotivated. Cravings? Yup. Still do. But they are def. diminishing day by day. I have to admit, I was on a bigger learning curve than I thought. I had done so much research, I thought I was totally ready for this! HA! But ya know what? I am so glad I embarked on this journey! If nothing else, it proved to me that I can accomplish ANYTHING when I want it bad enough and put my mind to it. This is more of a mental hurdle than anything else. I still cant get the greens down. LOL. I have asked so many people how they do it. I've gotten responses that range from "its an acquired taste", "it takes time to ease yourself into that" to "ya just gotta choke it down". So I cheated. I went to Jamba Juice and got a green juice! Berry Upbeet. Strawberries, blueberries, kale, apple, celery, green bell pepper, spinach, beets. It was fantastic! Of course they have top of the line blenders and some secret squirrel stuff they do to make it taste yummy, but that was, and will continue to be, my green juice for the remainder of this fast! Breakfast was simple grapefruit juice, 4 cups of it! Was off and running early this a.m. so didn't have time to chop n dice n slice. Dinner was strawberry and minneola juice tossed in the blender with whey, almond, oatmeal, soy milk, banana. More of a breakfast smoothie, but I had a taste for it. After dinner "juice" was my soup. OHHHH my soup!!! This stuff was so amazing I made another batch! Celery, carrot, spinach, tomato, parsley, garlic, leek. That's it. Throw it in the blender after it simmered for 2 hours and done. So fab. that I will continue to make this as a treat for myself when I come off the fast. I have been trying to incorporate new fruits and veggies every time I go shopping. Just one or two. Today I got starfruit and lychees. Anxious to try. Speaking of shopping.....grand total for one week of juicing? $120. And that is just doing the minimum 3 liters of juice a day. Imagine if I had juiced EVERY time I was hungry or bored or thirsty?! Easily $200. Now I will be the first to admit, there were many things I have guessed on as far as the fast goes. I am not a puritan juicer! I have used soy and greek yogurt in my smoothies. Hell, I have made smoothies instead of pure juice. I have juiced mostly fruit, and I am drinking tap water *GASP* instead of distilled water!  But guess what?! Total weight loss for the week? 11 lbs. :-) I feel pretty damn good! AND.....the 20mgs of Prednisone? Yep, not any more. Down to 5mgs. and will be off by next week, I hope. No headahes, no aches and pains..... I must be doing something right!
I am listening to my body. When it is tired, I sleep. When it is hungry, I drink. Thirsty, drink. Spun up seven ways to Sunday, blog. :-)
My goal for this upcoming week is to FORCE the water and pay more attention to bedtime. I haven't been getting to bed before midnight. Partly because I have so much dang energy! Even after my 2 mile walk. I lie in bed, tossing and turning. It's crazy. They say around day 10, the body will experience a constant "runners high" for the remainder of the fast. This should be interesting! Are they trying to tell me Ill have MORE energy?!
So in celebration of a successful 1st week, I will be treating myself to a pedicure and a warm shower! I have been taking ice cold showers all week as a way to hold my attention. To force me to focus and think about the day ahead and what I need to do to live healthy. I have done some of my best thinking in the shower! But tonight, a warm shower and early bed. Thank you guys for the constant motivation. I couldn't do this without you! With that being said.....JUICE ON!!!!


 One should eat to live, not live to eat" -Benjamin Franklin

DAY 5

I know this post is a little early in the evening, but tomorrow my mom is having surgery at Weiss Hospital and I have to be up at 4am to go with her. Sooooo........I wanted to get this done before my walk tonight so that when I get home I can hop a shower and head to bed!
Thank you guys for all of your encouragement here and on FB. Yesterday was a BAD day. I am not sure how I survived it, or how anyone else survived me for that matter! UGH. Its was brutal. None of which I was not expecting, I just wasn't as mentally prepared as I thought for it. Woke up with a pounding headache that stayed all day. Failed on juice. Failed on water. Failed on walk. Talk about a wash! But, in typical Flaws fashion, when I am knocked down, I get back up with vengeance. Which I did today and kicked some serious juice ass!!! :-) Not only did I meet my 2 liters of juice, I EXCEEDED my 64ozs. of water! As this is only as of 7pm! GO ME!! I woke up good and pissed off at myself for my temper tantrum yesterday and promised I would make up for it today. I am promising myself a 2 mile walk as well. After the way I rocked today, that should be NO problem! I may even do 3! I felt absolutely wonderful today! No headaches, no aches or pains, no stiffness. A miracle, right?! I fell like I'm 25 years old again! (I won't even dare push it to 21, lol) Josh and I worked in the yard all day, and other than having to pee every 15 minutes, working in the heat and high humidity did wonders for my stiffness.
I kept my juice primarily simple today. Nothing fancy or unusual. For breakfast I juice a mess of strawberries and added the juice to the blender with a banana, soy milk and ground steel cut oatmeal. Very delish and very filling. A "hearty" smoothie to start my day. For lunch I had blueberries, kiwi, black grapes, apple, BIG handful of spinach and mint leaves. It turned out the color of stagnant pond water, but was very mild in flavor and good. Dinner was pink grapefruit, oranges, carrot over sparkling water. YUM! My last juice for the day really isn't a juice but broth. It is called Hippocrates soup. Basically a bunch of veggies cooked, thrown in the blender to puree and returned to the flavorful broth and sipped. Old people food. Or people with cancer, it is known as Gerson Therapy. Cooking as we speak, can't wait til it's done! Making extra so it lasts a few days. It smells UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
So I'm back from my walk. I did manage to meet what I did yesterday, and exceed by 2 blocks! *bootie shake*, even got another 2 bottles of water in.
On that note, it's time for a cold shower and bed. Long day tomorrow. Oh, and since you guys have shown ME so much support, would you mind saying a little prayer for my mom? She is just having her knee replaced, but she is in for a long road of recovery because of her underlying psoriatic arthritis, spinal stenosis, plantar faciatis, plantar and heel spurs! She has been a mail carrier for 28? years and her body is beat up. She said when she recovered from her knee surgery, she would be willing to try a juice fast with me!!! I think we'll go easy on her and start her off with a weekend fast.  :-) I will be juicing all my stuff for tomorrow, tonight and bringing in in a cooler. I will probably be spending the night at the hospital with her, so I may or may not get a change to post tomorrow. If I don't, rest assured I will be back Friday...full steam ahead! Until then......JUICE ON!!!!!


 Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food.- Hippocrates

DAY 4, ugh.

I am not even going to beat around the bush with this one. Today sucked. I was a total waste of space and juice. So very upset with myself. I am honestly considering quitting this at the end of the week.I can't even tell you what I juiced today, really don't care to remember. If it was any good I would've remembered. This is a full time job! All I do is juice, take apart, wash, put back together, blend, take apart, wash, put back together, grocery shop, peel, slice, dice, wash, juice. What am I really getting out of this? Am I destined to be fat the rest of my life? Why don't I have enough will power? DO I have enough will power? How can I make this better? How do I improve? Why do I fuck everything up all the time? Can't I just start something and finish it well? Why do green juices have to be SO vile? Will I EVER be able to drink a green juice? Will I ever be able to add anything other than fruits, carrots, spinach and cucumber to my juice? Am I a sally ass? Why do I have a texture issue? Do I have a texture issue or is this my way of making excuses as usual? Why can't I push my body anymore? Why can"t I drink enough water? Why can't I find a happy medium between juice and water? Why isn't MY juicer here yet? Why is my daughter doing this? Why don't my friends and family understand why I WANT to do this? Why DO I want to do this? When will I get my life in order? Has my life BEEN in order all along and now I'm just screwing it up? Is this really as good for my body as the Juice God's say it is? Why am I running out of GOOD juice recipes? WHY WHEN I GO PRODUCE SHOPPING WHY DOES ONE CAR INSIST ON TAKING UP 3 PARKING SPOTS!? Why do people drive like assholes? Why do trains only come when I am in a hurry to get somewhere? Why do I have such an awful headache? Why do I have no energy? Why do people expect so much from me but refuse to give back? Why do I give so much of myself? Why do I KEEP giving? Why can't I say no? Why do I ache all over? Why can't I catch a break once in a while? Why are cranberries only available frozen in the summer? Why do I have to press one for English? Why does there have to be purists in EVERY FUCKING THING?! Why can't I ever come up with a good answer? Why can't people just MTOB?! Why does McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King, and all these other shitty ass fast food places even exist!? Do people honestly believe they serve "food"? Do you have ANY idea what is in  McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King and all these other shitty ass fast food places ? Am I in withdrawal? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!