Days 20 and 21

Yesterday, my sleep schedule was thrown off because I had pulled an all-nighter to finish a book and so was my eating schedule. I spent the day watching movies and almost finishing one juice. Last night wasn't much better because I pulled almost the same stunt, only I went to sleep about three hours earlier than the previous night. My mood for drinking juice has also been thrown off because of the time of the month, so I decided to end my juice only part of this journey early today.

My dad, mom, and I watched the first of four discs of a taped Jon Gabriel seminar, and what he said really spoke to me in my situation. I am trying not to activate my FAT (famine and temperature) Program again, which is the entire reason I decided to eat solid foods again today. I didn't want my body to think my juice fast was a famine or diet; instead I want my body to know I want to be a naturally thin person. Juicing should not be a struggle but a joy. I still intend to drink juice and may even go back to juice only for a time. We shall see.

Salmon never looked or tasted so good

After the delicious meal of a marinated salmon filet that I ate slowly, I waited a couple of hours to have some watermelon, which also had never tasted so good and sweet. Now I am having a snack of popcorn tossed in olive oil and sea salt.

The great part of all this is I don't crave sweets at all. Ice cream, cake, candy, none of it sounds appealing. What does sound appealing are nuts, salmon, melons, good nourishing food.

Even though I may not still be only juicing at this point, I still intend to update my blog with my progress, at least once a week. I have lost a few more pounds since my pictures and hopefully will get around to taking a picture of me in my old jeans tomorrow.

Oh! There were two winners of the contest who will be getting postcards in the mail soon. I have also decided to try again with a picture of this furry little creature who likes to hang out in our yard.

Days 18 and 19

I've had a somewhat lazy last two days.

Yesterday, my mom and I went to see The Croods at the dollar theater, which was adorable (I'm so glad when I find kid movies that are truly kid-friendly). We may or may not have snuck in some chocolate-strawberry-green juice to enjoy in the theater. When we got home, however, my mood was disrupted when I discovered how much bandwidth I had used up by updating my iPad. Frustration grew when I further discovered I would have to redownload all of my music, movies, and apps. A drive to Kroger was in order to clear my head, and while there I picked up a few movies from Redbox (two of which were enjoyed last night - Pitch Perfect and Beautiful Creatures - and the third shall be enjoyed tonight).

Today, we were beset by thunderstorms. Nevertheless, I escaped into the bluster to visit the local library in the vain hope of using their internet to download my things to my iPad; no such luck. In any case, I picked up some movies to watch while our satellite TV was down (my dad and I just finished Captain Blood - I wish they still made men like Errol Flynn) and placed hold requests for some books I wish to read.

Otherwise, I am almost finished with The Gabriel Method and have already started integrating a lot of what I have learned into my life. The most important (and hardest for me to put into practice) tidbit is to let go of negative emotions, to acknowledge, accept, and forgive.

I haven't got any submissions for the deer caption yet, so I'm reposting the picture below in a hopefully not vain attempt to spark someone's imagination.

Day 17

Last night our modem refused to connect us to the internet, hence the late post.

Yesterday my mom and I went to Jungle Jim’s and Costco to restock supplies (carrots, apples, greens, strawberries, watermelon, and water). I also picked up a papaya and a couple of mangoes to try and create a tropical juice.

I had a bit of a rocky day emotionally (I'm way too hard on myself), which wasn’t helped when I accidently hit a pretty little yellow bird while driving, my first driving fatality. The remainder of the day was redeemed with a chocolate-strawberry juice and some yerba mate tea while watching television.

To lighten the mood, I'm having my first contest! Send me your caption for the below photo through facebook, and if I think it’s funny I’ll send you a Jungle Jim’s postcard!

Day 16

Today was a big milestone weigh in and picture day. Running total weight loss: 20 lbs!

Day 1 on the left and Day 16 on the right

Day 1 on the left and Day 16 on the right

The difference in lighting is throwing my eyes off in the photos, but I can definitely see the difference in the mirror. I am at 20% of my goal! Only 80 more pounds to go (I know they won't go as quickly as the first 20, but I'm willing to be patient).

I had my usual three juices today, only this time my mom slipped in celery, cucumber, and cantaloupe into our green juices without me even noticing! Tabata training went well; I huff less each time.

I would like to mention I don't have cravings anymore, not even when we walk by bad food. The only distant pangs I feel are when I'm thinking about all of the yummy raw food I'll be able to make in a couple of weeks (like flax seed pizza with raw cheese and olives or "ice cream" made with cashews, cacao, and maple syrup) or the yummy celebration salmon taco dinner my mom and I are planning. Yet, even then, I don't feel the debilitating WANT and NEED for those foods anymore; my body is satisfied with the juices.

Also, aside from those few days I felt strong cravings, I haven't experienced a bed-ridden depression day like Joe Cross did in his first reboot; I've just gotten happier and happier.

Cheers!

Day 15

Today was initially going to be the last day of my strictly juice journey, but, considering the ease and my results so far, I have decided to continue for another fifteen days at the very least. For all those concerned for my health, I would like to say that, for the first time in my life, I am getting all of the nutrients my body needs. I have consumed more green foods in these last fifteen days than I have in my entire life, and the dark leafy greens I use in my juices contain lots of protein.

I only had two big juices so far today, a strawberry-apple and a carrot-apple with cinnamon and nutmeg, but I may yet prepare a small chocolate-green juice for a late night snack.

I'll be taking milestone pictures for tomorrow's blog to show the difference already. My jeans that fit comfortably on the road trip up to Kentucky are now way too big; I now fit comfortably into another pair that were uncomfortably tight two weeks ago.

I've been sitting here at my desk trying to think of more things to tell the world, but nothing came to me. Ah well, tomorrow's post will be more eventful.

Day 14

Another semi-lazy day. My mom's sleep was thrown off kilter, and I again slept in a lot longer than I thought I would (I can only assume my body needs the extra rest for healing). But we were successful in our Tabata training!

Breakfast was a green juice with the added benefits of blue green algae, a superfood for your brain. Then we headed out to what we thought would only be a quick stop at Wal-Mart, so we didn't pack any more juice. However, we ended up staying out for a few hours, wishing we had brought along juice to satisfy our hunger pangs. Dinner is an apple-carrot juice not yet enjoyed (my mom is out watering our 40 fruit trees, so I made the juice for when she comes back inside).

7 apples and about 20 skinny carrots

In case you were wondering about the volume of ingredients, the above shows how many apples and carrots are needed to make four 8 oz servings (I decided we needed a double serving tonight because of how long we went without a juice today).

Otherwise, I started reading The Gabriel Method aloud for my mom's and my own embetterment. The majority of what he talks about rings true for both of us; I cannot recommend his book enough for anyone who has struggled with their weight. Even the naturally thin people could benefit from a read, especially if any negativity is involved in your life.

On the topic of visualization, before falling asleep last night I meditated and did a variety of visualizations, including my usual thin self and accepting the love and support of others. Lo and behold when I woke up, there was a lengthy facebook message of encouragement from my good friend Tim. Plus, I spent all of the day happy, relaxed, and stress-free; good music helps, too (American Authors and currently Harry Nilsson).

Day 13

Today I intentionally took it easy, so nothing very eventful occurred. I had my usual lemon/ginger/hot water concoction, a carrot-apple-beet juice (I strained mine today because the beet adds a lot of pulp that texturally I can't stand drinking), and a chocolate-strawberry juice to which I added a handful of leafy greens and some cinnamon (now it tastes like a cold Mexican hot chocolate!). I am being mindful of my body and drinking whenever it tells me of its hunger or thirst. The one exciting happening was we got our copy of The Gabriel Method book in the mail, and I began to read it out of curiosity.

To preface, I first saw Jon Gabriel in the documentary Hungry for Change, in which he gave a brief summary of how he's lost over 100kg switching to a plant-based diet (diet in the general meaning of the foods we eat and not in the meaning of the torture we put ourselves through to lose weight). He looks amazing now compared to his old self, and I was intrigued by his story and his intelligent speaking skills. My mom did further research and found his website (linked above). She then showed me a video that, to me, came off as one of those scam videos: You hear Gabriel's voice explaining how he's sold so many copies of his book that now for the month of June he's giving it away for only a $1 for shipping and handling. Plus, you get a month's free access to his online support group; a $39.95/month value! Act fast, only 300 copies are being given away like this!

Despite the sleazy marketing, we decided we might as well see what he's peddling and paid the dollar. We've been enjoying the fitness section of the support group (that's actually where we learned about the Tabata method of exercise), but neither of us see the value in paying $39.95 a month for the information past what we'll gather and copy/download this month.

The book, however, is a revelation. I may be young, but I have battled with my weight all of  my life. I tried to maintain a diet on willpower alone in high school (at my skinniest I was 165lbs and stayed in the 170-180lb range for two to three years), but a bad breakup and the emotional stress leading up to it added about 30lbs back. Then over the course of the next few years, leading up to now, I've dieted to lose a few pounds only to gain them back plus extra because of stress.

Jon Gabriel lived through the effects of yo-yo dieting, so he really understands everything I've gone through with my weight. Not only that, but he went above and beyond to understand the science behind why our bodies wanted to gain weight. While getting a masters degree, he took multiple courses on biochemistry to really get to the bottom of what signals our bodies to gain weight and came to the conclusion that because of our ancestors' lives our bodies are wont to gain weight in times of famine and lose weight when threatened by large predators.

In the modern world, our bodies interpret dieting as a time of famine, so naturally when we end up bingeing or indulging our bodies hold onto the food in the form of fat. In addition, whenever we are stressed, our brains send out some of the same chemicals as when our bodies are starving, giving our bodies the message that it needs to store fat to protect itself from famine. At the root of it all is the distinction between mental and emotional obesity; the underlying psychological reasons why we are subconsciously telling our bodies to stay fat and gain more weight. Once you address those issues, then you can truly start to lose weight permanently.

A technique Jon Gabriel is a proponent of using daily is visualization. Visualization is how we can talk to our subconscious and tell it what we want. If you can visualize yourself healthy and thin before exercising, in the mirror before/after your shower, and before bed, then you are determining your success. The trick is to rewire your brain into wanting to be thin and being satisfied with you. If you are ever negative to yourself, you are only sabotaging your progress. I find a lot of his visualization techniques to be a little cheesy, but I am willing to try anything to improve my self-esteem and encourage my body to want to be thin. In honor of that I am including a picture of myself that I use to tell my body how I want to look.

Low quality because I haven't found the original file yet

I recently came across the tube top I'm wearing in the picture in my move and decided to keep it. Here's to fitting back into again with confidence!

Day 12

Tough day. I started out feeling not great because of a dream, and it's being an uphill battle ever since. I feel bombarded whenever I see an e-mail from Dominos or a commercial for Olive Garden or pass by some delicious snacks in the store. I can't escape it even when I am enjoying a Lana Turner movie: her and Robert Young stopped to have some burgers, and suddenly I wanted a nice, juicy hamburger. Right. Then.

All of these cravings contribute to the juices looking unappetizing, so I don't drink enough, which means my blood sugar drops and my mood worsens. Ugh. Just a few days ago I was so happy driving to Madison, drinking my juice, and listening to some good music. I am trying to rewire my brain to not want all of these foods shoved in my face at every turn, but it's so gosh darn hard. I am now unsubscribing from all food-related promotional e-mails to try and help.

On a brighter note, my mom and I spotted two fawns and a doe while playing our Gin Death Match (which I won with 1023 points).

Scamper, scamper, scamper

Trying to scratch off some flies

The two fawns scampered off into the woods while the doe stayed behind to munch on the vine on the fence. We didn't see another doe, so we don't know if the fawns were following another doe into the woods or if they went on their own. After the doe pictured above had her fill of the vine she ambled in the opposite direction the fawns went, and we never saw her go back. Hopefully, she just needed to fill up in order to feed the fawns who were safe napping or playing with another doe. I'll update you if we see them again.

Breakfast was green juice with an extra orange. I had a hard time starting and finishing it (I only ended up drinking about 8 oz instead of the whole 12 oz). Lunch was a beet-carrot-apple juice started while earthing.

The beet didn't add much flavor, but contributed a lot to the color. There were too many mosquitos out for my comfort, so we ended up going inside pretty quickly. We then drove up to Jungle Jim's for some supplies for a couple care packages, but I didn't feel like drinking any more of the juice, especially after walking through the bakery and gazing longingly at the whoopie pies.

Dinner was the chocolate-strawberry juice, which I drank pretty fast (not surprising since I hadn't had much to eat today). Then my mom and I started a Hearts Death Match, Last to 1000 (neither of us have even hit 100 yet, so it'll be a long, long game).

I'm trying to stay hydrated through this, which is also difficult since I'm drinking my meals, but it helps me out in my more frequent trips to the bathroom. If you know anything about detoxing, you know the grossest thing is the associated scary poops, where it's liquid, some yellow bile comes out, and you find out just how much waste you have been carrying around with you. Well, I haven't experienced the scariness yet (weird because from what I can tell it was supposed to happen in the first three days of just juices). I think because I had so much fiber in my first five days of this reboot my elimination has been mostly soft solids. It also has been more spread out than I thought it should be. I'm on day seven of just juices and am still only periodically eliminating, albeit it is more frequent than at the start of just juices.

Sorry if I grossed you out, but my mom thought I should let people know all sides of this journey.

High spot: Tabata kicked my butt way less than it did the first time!

Day 11

Just weighed myself, and I lost another 5 lbs! Running total: 15 lbs lighter.

For breakfast, I decided to play with the green juice by adding cacao powder and agave to see if the combined powers of pineapple and chocolate would make this juice taste great.

On the road to Jungle Jim's

I had to use more cacao than in the chocolate-strawberry juice because the pineapple was not as ripe as the one we had been using, but the addition definitely made the juice more enjoyable to drink. However, the thickness and heaviness made it last longer than normal and reduced my juices down to two instead of three today.

We had to make a trip to the new Jungle Jim's for cheap apples, oranges, and more cacao powder. When exiting, I made a wrong turn onto the freeway, so we ended up going to the closer outlet mall for fun and exercise. I picked up a cute scarf and lightweight pullover hoodie, so the trip was not wasted. For dinner, my mom made a strawberry-apple juice, which was light and refreshing.

Enjoyed while playing cards

My mom and I finished our Spades Death Match when I reached 1003 points, so we started a Gin Death Match to 1000 (current standings: Mom 371 vs. me 495).

I tried the chai tea tonight, and it disappointed me because it did not have the depth of the mate chocolate tea. Oh well.

Tabata tomorrow.

The Original Jungle Jim's

Here's yesterday's trip to the original Jungle Jim's.

Exit now for yumminess

Are we in the jungle?

Having fun in the water

Ready to enter

He told us some corny jokes. HAHAHA

Have you ever seen cheese this big?

The wizard himself

Th-thank you, thank you very much

Gilligan's Island meets General Mills

Aloe is a wonder plant

I didn't know the Sherwood Forest was in Ohio

Jungle Jim, now in 3D!

Penguins!

The tram's out back here

Our usual entrance

Bye Jungle Jim's!

Day 10

Tonight's post is late because of a Spades Death Match to 1000 (which will have to be finished tomorrow).

Before breakfast, my mom spotted a doe and her fawn ambling across our lawn.

Poor momma was afflicted with flies

They went on their merry way, but I suspect we will be seeing them again.

Breakfast was a carrot-apple juice on the road, since we had to forage for more supplies at Costco and Jungle Jim's (we went to the original Jungle Jim's this time, so I'll be posting pictures of it tomorrow). I figured out apples and other produce were cheaper at the new Jungle Jim's, so we only picked up some red delicious to tide us over as they were the same price per pound. Costco yielded not only organic greens, but also organic strawberries! They also have started carrying their organic frozen berry mix again as well as their frozen raspberries, which means I'll be enjoying smoothies at the end of this. Yay!

We came home and made a triple batch of chocolate-strawberry juice for a lunch and dinner combination (we even had a little left over for my dad).

Nom nom nom

My dad did join us for some Tabata method exercise, which lived up to its name of intensity again. Hopefully tomorrow my mom and I will be able to walk the levee in Lawrenceburg if the weather permits.

Day 9 and Lanier Mansion Civil War Days

First off, I just weighed myself, and I'm 10lbs lighter already! I also fit comfortably into a men's size medium shirt I got at the Gap Clearance Center the other day.

My mom was a badass and got up early to make all of today's juices so we could enjoy the Civil War Days.

Four different kinds waiting to be loaded into the cooler

It took an hour to drive to Madison, Indiana, so we consumed breakfast on the road (green juice).

Once there we caught the tag end of Abraham Lincoln's stories.

He told the boy to row them down to New Orleans

Then, we watched a battle demonstration.

The first casualty

Keep shooting no matter what

Honor the fallen

Resurrect!

The Union boys ended up winning because of a hidden Gatling gun (seen in the Taps picture). After the battle, we wandered over to the small encampment where they had period games, a blacksmith, a whole family dressed in period clothes sitting down to a dinner, and a man turning wood.

Showing us the basics of how to make a bowl

I bought a lace wood pen from him that a man in his coalition made as a souvenir. We then ambled over to a giant tree to listen to a group of musicians play Civil War-era songs.

Hammered dulcimer, dulcimer, fiddle, mandolin, and hand drum

The behemoth of a tree that sheltered us from the rain

On the drive home, we enjoyed a late lunch of carrot-apple juice. My dad drove home today from northern Michigan in time to join us for dinner (chocolate-strawberry juice for my mom and I and a carrot-apple-strawberry juice for him) and a few rounds of cards. Happy Father's Day!

Notes for the future:

• more Tabata method exercise tomorrow (my dad said he would join us!)
• continue losing weight!

Day 8

Quick post tonight so my mom and I can watch Les Miserables before bed. Tomorrow's post should be long and filled with pictures because we're going to Madison, IN's Civil War Days.

Today we packed up breakfast and lunch to take with us to the flea market where we manned my dad's booth while he's visiting his dad in Michigan.

We added ice after the picture was taken

We stopped by Kroger to get more red delicious apples on the way home and decided to stop by the Gap Clearance Center as well (if you're reading this Amanda Mitchell, I may or may not have found a little something for you today!). Yoga pants were on sale for about half the price they were yesterday, so we picked up a few pairs so we can exercise in comfort.

Once home, my mom brewed some mate chocolate tea for us. I let mine steep a little longer today than I did yesterday, and it was even more delicious. Dinner is, again, my chocolate-raspberry juice (we're out of raspberries now, so tomorrow it'll be chocolate-strawberry!).

We took a break in the middle of dinner to try some Tabata exercising and boy was it intense. Tabata was a Japanese scientist who did a study on exercising. Half his group did moderate exercising for an hour a day, totaling 5 hours in a week, and the other half did high-intensity interval training for four minutes a day, totaling 16 minutes a week. The first group had a 30% improvement, but the second group had a 22% improvement for way less of a time investment. My mom and I found a guided video to follow and did alternating 20 seconds of intensity with 10 seconds of rest for four minutes. Fingers crossed this will get results!

After I finish dinner I plan on trying the new chai tea we got and see how it holds up to the mate chocolate.

Notes for the future:

• continue the Tabata method every other day from now on
• cucumber is amazing for cleaning out toxins

Day 7

Two days down, and I'm ready to commit to at least 28 more days of a strictly juice fast. The key to success is really the better tasting green juice and my newly discovered chocolate-raspberry juice.

For breakfast today I had a wonderful thought of adding pineapple to the green citrus juice I tried yesterday, and boy, what a difference. I did not need to add any cinnamon or vanilla; the pineapple juice masked the green vegetable flavors completely.

Pineapple for the win!

The recipe, for anyone curious, was two green apples, two oranges, six handfuls of leafy greens, and about three inch slice of pineapple. Delicious!

Lunch was a carrot-apple juice again as we went out to the Gap Clearance Center and Kroger for some discounted clothes and more berries (we'll be trying a chocolate-strawberry juice next since the organic raspberries at the store were molding).

Dinner was enjoyed along with some earthing out in the near-sunset sunshine. The chocolate-raspberry juice became even more delicious and magnificent with the addition of a little vanilla.

The best thing in life

If anyone is curious about the benefits of cacao, I highly recommend reading up on David Wolfe, who is a proponent of superfoods and a raw, organic plant-based diet as wells as being a raw, gourmet chocolatier.

After dinner, my mom and I enjoyed watching Food Matters, an 80-minute long documentary about the benefits of using nutrition to cure yourself instead of popping pills. I found it well worth watching, as they interviewed multiple MDs and PhDs who used science-based research to support their arguments. Last I checked, it's available to watch on Netflix, so if you have access, watch it! Seriously, watch it! You could be saving your and your loved one's lives!

As I'm writing this blog, I am savoring a cup of mate chocolate tea from Guayaki. The flavors of yerba mate, cocoa, nutmeg, cinnamon, stevia, and cloves combine to create a delicious drink that tastes like a really good homemade gingerbread. Yum!

So far, outstanding success! 

Notes for the future:

• pineapple!
• chocolate!
• exercise!

Jungle Jim's

Here are some pictures from the new Jungle Jim's over by the Eastgate Mall. Whenever I go back to the original Jungle Jim's I'll remember to bring my camera so you can compare.

The front entrance

The back entrance that we always use

Rhino!

This guy talked to us about his love of wine

Some gangsters making bathtub gin

Penguin!

Be careful of attacking crocodiles!

Cincinnati is obsessed with flying pigs

A collection of fire hose nozzles by the hot sauces

Pirate!

Magical Jungle Jim himself

Barney and Fred over their Fruity Pebbles

The seafood display

Seating for those waiting for people in the bathroom

The reason we came

Natural foods

Where I got my awesome deodorant

John Lennon in his airstream

Evacuate!