JUICING FOR HEALTH, FOR LIFE and FOR WEIGHT LOSS

So like many people around the world I saw "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" back in 2011even though it was out in 2010. Years before this movie I had been juicing and following Doctors like Joel Fuhrman and even Dr. Oz to me the king of the "Green Juice" I was just not juicing 100% for all meals. I have always eaten pretty healthy after my early 20's.  I've been eating real whole foods for over 18 years now; after I gave up my addiction to soda & fast food dollar menus back in the early 90's.  So why have I had a horrible time loosing weight? I know my workouts were few and far between but wouldn't that make me a skinny fat person? I have not been a big fan of dieting and I have tried a few but if they lasted more then 2 weeks I'd be shocked. So I would not put myself in a yo-yo dieter category. I'd been to counseling and therapy for the childhood trauma and drama, I felt my spiritual life was on track and my beliefs were strong. My love life had been awesome and now I was happily married to a man who loved all parts of me with no judgment. So why all the weight? The only thing I could think of was my body needed to cleanse and balance. Was I really eating as much plant base food as I thought? The answer was NO! I WAS NOT. So began my first ever juice cleanse and somehow I am on a mission to find true balance that I can eat like this for the rest of my life without giving up pizza, pasta, Indian food, Eggs Benedict & fried chicken with mashed potatoes if I really wanted! 

My first whole week on the juice fast went well but again not 100% plant based. 
Day 1 perfect all greens, some root veggies and some fruit. My husband came home popped a meal that I made him to get through the week and I went crazy! Just like a true addict I wanted whatever was in that microwave and I wanted it NOW! It was horrible, I went crazy and yelled at him...poor guy! I have no idea how that one lady on "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" went to a steak house, there was no way I could have done that on a juice fast. After that night my guy came home and said let's have some kale juice! I smiled because it was so sweet of him but nights were hard for me. I needed something else, so I started making veggie soup with my own juice as broth and I did add 2 potatoes to a huge pot because I really needed to feel like I was eating something yummy! It worked for me I was able to do that for 12 whole days nothing but juice morning and noon and at night I did a salad with soup and juice over a couple hours. People kept asking "how do you feel?" I said "the same" why because I pretty much was eating healthy just not CLEAN. For me eating clean is no sugar, no salt, no flour and for the most part few grains. I did however add avocado, quinoa, sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, chia seeds, hemp seeds, Brazilian nuts, walnuts, bananas, olive oil, coconut oil & almonds. There were a few times i needed salt so bad and I would make kale chips but in the end I really wanted a potato chip so I would eat one of those little 1 oz size bags and I would feel better and stay on track. 

Looking back on that 12 day period I am very proud of me and I did have some weight loss. Most of all I fit into pants I could not wear 6 months ago and they were BAGGY on me! So I chose to do 2 days off and start again. That was easier then I thought it would be but today on day 4 of my second go a round, I saw a frozen giant blueberry muffin and had to have it with a glass of milk...oohhhh was that a bad idea! I have such cramps right now and I felt crappy right after I ate that big ol muffin. Not in a emotion way but crappy in a physical way.  What I did in those 12 days before was truly cleaning out my system and I did shrink my stomach in how much I can eat. That muffin was truly an overload of fat, sugar and crap I have not really eaten for over half month. 
So was that muffin good? YES, at the time it was super good all warm and moist with an icy cold glass of vitamin D milk. Now was that muffin good? Not really because my gut hurts and I feel queasy...so for rest of the day I am flushing myself with pure water, not yukky chlorinated tap water either. I will eat a green apple in a couple hours then start off with a simple green juice like spinach, celery, cucumber and a few carrots. Tonight I will kale up with a shot of beet juice but today I have learned my lesson and I will love me for where I'm at. Lesson learned and in my eyes I am still on track.

~ Heather
Ms Foodie or now Ms Veggie
Recipes coming soon and I will share all about my blenders, juicers and kitchen gadgets too.