Sunday, September 30, 2012

21 Day Cleanse - Day 7

Today stunk... just plain stunk... It was a friends birthday gathering and rather than the normally go out to a bar, we did a brunch and then hit up Main Event for games. Brunch was at a Tex Mex joint and consisted of their buffet. I stuck to vegan, but not everything was raw. I don't know WHAT exactly killed my stomach, but I was in and out of the restroom until about 9pm. I only bowled once at Main Event and went home and then did nothing but lay on the couch and run to the bathroom. OY, that was no fun. Stomach wasn't used to something... I ate a lot of fruit, but also had their guac, some really spicy potatoes and then some salsa... probably the combo and I don't know what they cooked with. Needless to say, next time we do something like that; I'm sticking to the fruit!

Since we were eating and hanging out near the farmers market that I've been wanting to go to, I sucked it up and stopped on the way home. The local farmers can't call their produce certified organic because they can't afford the certification, but they call it "natural", which is the same...they do not use pesticides, no GMO's, everything is naturally grown. This made me happy! It also made extremely excited to find the "over ripe" discount stuff! Perfect for juicing!

Morning:
20 oz Water
Tex Mex Vegan Brunch Buffet (fruit, potatoes, guac, salsa, etc)

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Afternoon/Evening:
Cucumber
Tomato
Green Onion
Hemp Hearts
Olive Oil
Mustard
50 oz Water

Made a sort of tabouli bowl, though I realized I was definitely missing the herbs that the recipe calls for. Didn't realize that until after I had eaten it. The tomato was one of those that was on sale because it was over ripe. I removed one tiny little spot and the rest was amazing! It had so much meat and barely any juice. SO AWESOME!



Saturday, September 29, 2012

21 Day Cleanse - Day 6

Um...today I wanted to hang out at home and do freelance, plus make note of the sun hitting my balcony so I can plant some herbs and lettuce! However, it rained ALL day... I had thought about going hiking down south and then hitting up an outdoor yoga class, but, again..it rained...  :(  these days make me very boring. I laid around basically all day before meeting a coworker and her boyfriend in the evening.


Morning:
Warm Water & Lemon
Handful of Raw Nuts & Raisins
24 oz Water

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Afternoon:
Lettuce wrapped "sub" w/lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and guacamole
24 oz Water

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Evening:
Hummus & Veggies
Salad w/Balsamic Dressing



So, the past few days have literally been eating out. I have stuff I could make at home, though I lack a lot of fresh veggies and fruit. The mustard greens I want to make into chips and the kale I seem to be too lazy to make a dressing for. Oh well... I'll get to it! Hopefully before they go bad...

Friday, September 28, 2012

21 Day Cleanse - Day 5

Today I wasn't quite as hungry as yesterday... I AM REALLY SORE! It feels amazing! I'm going to assume my body is sore from Pilates, though I guess some of it could be from volleyball. I know the floor burns and goose egg bruise on my knee plus the forearm bruises are from volleyball, but the rest of me is extremely sore also. I woke up and could barely roll over - haha.

Morning:
16 oz Warm Water & Lemon

8 oz Coconut Water
1 Scoop Vega Berry Protein Powder

4 Cups Coffee + Nondairy Creamer + Natural Sugar Packets

I realize that the coffee thing was bad, but I needed some caffeine and tea was not cutting it. After volleyball I wound up staying up until about midnight doing some freelance and then woke up at my normal early hour this morning (after a couple false wake ups). Pretty much just an excuse, I realize.

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Afternoon:
Vegan Salad w/Chili Dressing from Blue Mesa

It's fun going to restaurants and asking if they have vegan options. My coworkers I think have gotten used to it now, though we did poke fun and laugh at the terminology of making Almond Milk.

This was a great salad!


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Evening:
Vegan Salad w/Black Beans & Salsa from Fuzzy's Tacos

Met with some friends for dinner. I've had their salad before...so good. SO HUGE, too. I took a lot of it home :)

Thursday, September 27, 2012

21 Day Cleanse - Day 4

Forgot to post this...

Morning:
16 oz. Warm Lemon Water
1 Orange Juiced
1 Cup Coconut Water
1 Cup Strawberries
1 Banana

24 oz Water
1.5 Cups Strawberries
Apple Pie (made with coconut oil and cinnamon)

20 oz Hibiscus Tea
16 oz Green Tea
1 oz Almonds

Afternoon:
16 oz Water
1 Cucumber + Vinegar, Dill, Honey Dressing
2 Bowls Mixed Fruit (melons, grapes, pineapples)
2 Bowls Mixed Salad w/Balsamic Vinaigrette
1.5 Rows Green & Black Organic Mint Dark Chocolate

Evening:
2 Handfuls Mixed Lettuce
Homemade Dressing (see previous post)
1/4 Cup Hemp Seed
4 Baby Dill Pickles
1 Avocado (part bad :( )
Pepito Seeds
10 oz Water
3 Squares Green & Black Organic Mint Dark Chocolate

With this mixture of salad, the combo of dressing, avocado, and dill pickles tasted like an egg salad. It was great!


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I was SO hungry all day long. I couldn't stop eating. I got up early and did Pilates (though my friend didn't join me after all). Sadly it was the last one of those classes because they are canceling it. I'm really glad I came, though! I would love to do more Pilates! 

But, I seriously ate all day long... And you can see I had plenty to drink! 

I went for a 30 min walk on my lunch with a coworker and we've decided to try to do it 3 times a week. 

Went to volleyball practice from 7-9 and HAD SO MUCH FUN!! I can't describe the pleasure I had from doing this. The group I practiced with is very new to the sport, but I still had a blast. When I join I will definitely not be playing with them as I seemed to have picked my skills back up where I left off (well, probably not, but I did damn well!). 
Seriously, though...I loved it. My forearms are SO bruised, though. I've not played in 10 years, so they aren't conditioned at all. 

Great group of people, too :) Can't wait to actually start playing! I don't think it'll be until next session, though (I might do some subbing until then) since Oct is pretty booked for me.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

21 Day Cleanse - Day 3

Downed some more water before bed last night...was REALLY thirsty. I toyed with the idea of hitting up the gym this morning, but after searching the classes at all the locations around me, I was less than inspired. Forgot I was going for coffee/tea with a coworker on lunch today, so I will not be walking, but I did enlist another coworker to do a couple walks a week on our breaks. Start tomorrow! I'll be walk/running (not sure if my friend is or wants to run) with a buddy after work this evening. It'll at least get me moving! She's trying to get in shape after having put on quite a bit of weight. She does boot camp Tues and Thurs and now walking Wed with me. I'm determined to get my friends to socially move!

I could easily just go look, but I don't remember if I posted my excitement over volleyball Thurs! It's only practice and only to see where I might fit in with the different levels, but I'm so excited!! VOLLEYBALL! Man I love the sport. Depending on what team I wind up on will determine when practices are...and that might stink for my newly acquired walking buddies. They spread over Tues-Thurs with games on Fri.

Oh well, I'll figure it out!


Morning:
16 oz Warm Water & Lemon
12 oz Water
5 min Meditation
Quick Stretches/Core

Smoothie
4 Oranges Juiced
1 Banana
Handful Fresh Strawberries
16 oz Green Tea

I could not sit still for meditation this morning...not sure what the deal was but it's a sure sign I need to do it for MUCH longer. I decided to add in some strawberries to the blend this morning. They need to be eaten.

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Afternoon:
24 oz Water
16 oz Lemon Tea

Chowder
1/2 Bunch Celery
1/2 Cup Coconut Water
1/2 Tomato
3/4 Cup Brazil + Macadamia Nuts
1 Tbsp Agave
1 Clove Garlic
1/4 Onion
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Cayenne + Chili + Cumin + Salt + Pepper

The chowder is pretty great! Not sure why I didn't like the original recipe; perhaps the young coconut meat? I don't know. I'm eating it early so that I won't be too hungry while out with a coworker (I WILL be getting tea at this coffee house!). Granted, there's a TON of it and I'm darn full after 1/2...so I imagine I'll eat the rest later in the afternoon.



Afternoon Part 2:
Bunch of Grapes
Soy Mocha
Rest of Chowder

So that trip to the cafe I mentioned...yeah, well...they didn't have tea. They had coffee (apparently some vegan food too, but I already ate). The mocha was really not good. It was SO SWEET. I wish I had gotten just a coffee and had them put soy milk in it. It was bad. I wasted the money on that sucker and now have a horrible headache. Even my friend who had been there said it was more like hot chocolate than anything else. I have a headache to boot :(   The grapes were from my coworkers plate. She has food intolerance so I happily ate them. (Please note the chowder was after all of this!)



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Evening:
Black & Green Organic Mint Dark Chocolate
24 oz Water
Mini Cumin Nori Wrap Snacks (organic and raw from Natural Grocers)
Handful of Cashews
Handful of Organic Raisins
Handful of Homemade Sweet Potato Chips
10 Organic Baby Dill Pickles
1/2 Can Organic Olives

Random Salad
Handful Mixed Greens + seeds + olives
Homemade Dressing (Olives, Capers, Garlic, Mustard, Olive Oil, etc, etc...)

So I didn't wind up going to workout.... my friend had to work late. Little bit disappointed in myself. I probably should have gone on my own and I would have if I had been dressed. I was going to change at her place. As soon as I got home I knew I wasn't going out again. I dislike walking around my neighborhood. I stopped at Natural Grocers for the heck of it and kind of fell in love with their spices, nuts, and some of their produce. To my disbelief everything was organic and a LOT was cheaper than Sprouts! How did I not know this?!?! Not everything, mind you. But I will definitely be buying spices, nuts, and some produce there! 

When I got home I don't know why, but I was craving the crap out of salt. I wanted salty... I bought baby dill pickles and I couldn't stop eating them. And then as I was making the dressing I couldn't stop eating the olives. I also really craved mustard...to which I put on the sweet potato chips. Weird, eh? 

A friend asked if I wanted to workout in the morning, to which I said "Heck Yes!" We're off to do Pilates at 6. Whoohoo! I made the apple pie for lunch tomorrow and the cucumber salad (with vinegar, honey, and dill) for dinner since I'll be going to volleyball practice. :)  Excitement!


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

21 Day Cleanse - Day 2

So hey... I woke up this morning and was HIGHLY disappointed with the scale; especially after having done a colonic and getting rid of so much.

Whatever; I will not be ruled by you, Mr. Scale!


Morning:
2 Glasses Warm Water & Lemon
20 oz. Grapefruit Juice
12 oz. Water

I remember the grapefruit eating the crap out of my stomach last time. It didn't this time around; not sure why. I will say that having drank all of that...I'm really quite hungry. I was tempted to eat the banana I threw in my lunch for emergencies but am deciding not to. What I REALLY want is some coffee. I don't know why I can't get the same satisfaction out of tea (maybe because it's not quality tea?), but it just doesn't appeal to me!

I'm going to drink tea, though.

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Afternoon:
32 oz. Green Tea
3 Handfuls Mixed Greens
1/2 Large Tomato
1 Carrot Shredded
1 Avocado
1 Lemon Juiced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Dill, Rosemary, Chives

Definitely brought too much salad....buuut so tasty! However, I don't know about the rosemary. My friend has some growing wild in her back yard, so I went and trimmed, but I'm thinking I either didn't get the right plant (it was dark and the light wasn't working) or I trimmed in the wrong spot because it smells and tastes more like a pine tree - lol...but having looked them up online they are a woody plant. Guess, maybe I should just look for the younger parts of it next time.

I love the smell of dill :)   Chopping it up this morning made my kitchen smell sooo good. Speaking of herbs - update on the cilantro: it perked up and looks healthy! Water is amazing.

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Evening:
48 oz Water
Raw Protein Bar (can't remember the name...)
3 Leaves Kale
2 Handfuls Lettuce
1 Avocado
1 Large Tomato
1 Green Onion
Cilantro
1 Clove Garlic
Cayenne
Salt
1 Lemon Juiced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Hemp Hearts
1 Tbsp Chia Seeds

Fitness:
Week 3 Distance Couch25K Run

Did week 3 of the C25K! I've done the timed version a long time ago, but this app has the distance version, which I'd rather do because you're not guaranteed to run 5k by the end of 30 min if you're slow! Lungs buuuurned, but it felt good. I didn't make it as far as I have in the past on the timed, but hey, whatev. I didn't want to push myself too much. Went the entire way one way so that I had to walk back. I stopped by Sprouts on the way home and picked up some items, including that raw protein bar. I need to make my own!

Definitely feel some great energy right now. I am making sweet potato chips via the dehydrator, I've signed up to try out a volleyball league, got multiple people to do a once a week run/walk after work with me (starting tomorrow with one friend!) and one will help me as he's already a runner. I plan on signing up for Warrior Dash next year (there's people wanting to join also!) and he's going to be my training "coach" - haha. I've gotten a lot accomplished today! Nothing was going on at work, so I was productive in other ways.

Dinner was late. I decided to massage the kale with half a lemon's juice and a little salt, added the lettuce, and then made some guac/salsa dressing out of everything else in that list. I'm going to fiddle with tomorrows lunch menu as I never found a young coconut and I was not a big fan of the recipe. Think I'll add in the half a tomato I have left and some other spices!

Monday, September 24, 2012

21 Day Cleanse - Day 1

This morning was a bit unconventional as I wound up staying at my boyfriends last night and leaving really early this morning to get ready at home. Luckily I had nice clothes to wear to work at his place and really just had to drop off the mounds of groceries for this week, make up my lunch, take care of the cat, and take off. I have some cleaning to do tonight, though... it's kind of a mess (at least to my standards, which are really high)! A friend is coming over to juice with me tonight, so I hope I have time to get it presentable.


Morning:
20 oz OJ (4 oranges)
Raw Tea
Vitamins
58 oz water

Been watching the clock from about 10:45 until noon waiting for lunch to hit. SO HUNGRY. I tried chugging water (hence the amount I've had so far), had all the tea, did some quick exercises, tried walking around...I think that's a sign that I really am just hungry. My head hurts, also. Perhaps because of the caffeine withdrawal? I have had some in the past few days!

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Afternoon:
1/4 Cup Hemp Hearts
1/4 Bunch Cilantro
1/4 Bunch Parsley
1 Tomato
1 Avocado
2 Green Onions
1 Lemon Juiced
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 tsp salt

I love this type of meal. IT IS SO GOOD! There is more than what the recipe called for, but I'm making it at work, so I didn't want to leave half an avocado. I did chop the herbs this morning at home and I apparently neglected the cilantro in the bottom of the fridge because it was all sorts of wilted! I put them in a jar with some water and then an open bag draped over top. The jar was void of water. Oopsie... I cut off the ends this morning and filled it with water again in hopes to revive it at least enough to get some use out of it until I go shopping again.

I need to get in the habit of not eating at my desk, or at least not being on the computer and doing other things while eating. I tend to scarf down the meal and not realize what I even ate or relax and enjoy the flavors of fresh food!

I still have some of this left and I'm quite full. Makes me happy.

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Snack:
Organic Black & Green Mint Dark Chocolate
Apple
24 oz water

Somewhere along the line I got cravings for chocolate again. I don't tend to HAVE cravings unless I'm not eating optimally. Which was kind of my clue I needed to do this. I will slowly ween myself and hopefully just not have the desire to eat it at all soon!

I don't know what it is about apples, but they really fill me up...maybe because my body doesn't digest them so well. I don't know.


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Evening:
Green Juice (carrot, celery, apple, cucumber, lemon)
Almond Cheese
Kit Kat

I went and had my second colonic and feel amazing! I am also STARVING. A friend came over to try out juicing. I gave her the recipes from Kris Carr and she chose this spicier one. It turned out to be EXTRA spicy because she accidentally got mustard greens instead of kale. Whoops! Probably not the best way to try juicing.

My green juice was about 32 oz...it was good, but I was so hungry afterwards. I've had so much water today! Probably need to eat more food. I had some almond cheese that I finished off and then decided it was a good idea to eat the remainder of a Kit Kat bar I had in the freezer. Um... it didn't taste good at all. Added to the fact that my Packers lost (good grief refs...)... :(  Anyway...it's at least gone now and the only chocolate I have in the fridge is organic dark....so no milk! I'm not beating myself up over it. It happened. I learned my lesson.

Raw Cleanse Reboot

I decided, now being armed with much more knowledge -- especially when it comes to raw and my body -- to start the 21 Day Cleanse today! I haven't gained back a lot of weight, but I did gain some pounds since the first round and having gone through all of the health issues.

Please note that the health issues were purely my own. I loved the raw diet, however, there are things that my body cannot digest (cabbage, broccoli, etc) unless slightly cooked. I'm also convinced that my body was "WTF?" having gone from eating fairly poorly to dropping everything (chicken and fish, sugar, grains, etc) cold turkey and hitting the raw hard. That's kind of how I am...though I did slowly get rid of the other meats and dairy, I dropped the others pretty fast.

So, I'm pretty determined to finish these 21 days again, without the hormonal imbalances! Honestly, the first cleanse was a HUGE success for me. This one will only be better!

Since having done the 21 and 28 day programs, I've stuck to lots of greens and meatless. I did add in some cooked legumes and quinoa as well as cooked vegetables here and there. I've gotten in the habit of doing a green juice for breakfast and will stick to it, even through the 21 days. There will definitely be meals that I substitute as there were a couple that I wasn't fond of. I'll just be doing ones that I loved :)

The point of doing the 21 days now is to get back on track because I foresee myself slipping further into the cooked realm and I dislike it! I've noticed a change in my body; fatigue being the main.

Here's my routine, most of which started during and after the first round of 49 days!

Morning Ritual:
Warm water and lemon
10-20 min meditation
Yoga stretches
Dry Brush
Netti Pot
Shower
Green Juice
Tea throughout the morning (will be learning about loose leaf tea making soon!)

Afternoon Ritual:
Lunch (salads mainly)
30-50 min walk (or run at the gym, haven't gotten to that point yet! I take lunch time to do errands too)
Snack (fruit usually as I crave sweets after lunch)

Evening Ritual:
Some form of exercise after work (walking, running, cycling, lifting, etc)
Dinner (this depends if I get home late, but it tends to be some form of salad or mixed bowl)
Prep food and clothes for the next day
Relax (if there's time left for this, lol...)

I definitely can't say that EVERY day goes exactly like that, but for the most part.