About the First 30 Days!

They are over and here are the promised halfway pictures!

Nate surprised me with a halfway-mark gift... What a sweetheart!

Here's to the next (and last) 30 days! : )

About a Love Story

About A World Premier

Watch it free for the next 5 days! Hungry for Change

As a side note I am now half way to my total weight loss goal! 15 lbs down 15 to go!

About My Ooops Moment

The first day of this challenge I was making a peanut butter sandwich for my 3 year old and without thinking I licked my finger. It took me a minute afterward to realize what I had done and I discovered then how conscious I would need to be about that behavior during this challenge. Since then I have not had a single lick of anything except my juices....

.... Until yesterday! My sister and her family were over for dinner and Nate and I had prepared something scrumptious for them....

This

With these... and for dessert

These!

It all looks so delicious right?! As per the usual I drank my juice while everyone ate. Not a biggie. I enjoyed that they enjoyed dinner!

As I was serving up the brownies without thinking I licked the bit of brownie batter that was on the back of my hand from mixing the brownies. Once again it took me a minute to realize what I did. Oops! I was surprised I did it. I had gone 21 days without anything but fruits and veggies and I just broke that streak!

BUT I wasn't mad at myself, for a couple of reasons; the first reason being that it was completely innocent, and I was unaware of what I was doing in that moment. And the second... Well I'll get to that after this little story.

A friend pointed out that she's been noticing a lot of the foods I've been pinning, and asked how I was "dealing". I had to laugh because when I started this I went crazy pinning healthy (vegan healthy even) foods to try out at the end of my fast. That has since changed, and a lot of the things I pin now (again) are just anything that looks delicious. I don't care if it's good for me or not!

For a while that scared me, because I assumed that meant that I really am not changing my health habits and I must be planning to go back to my old ways after this is all said and done. Now it does not scare me.

I've learned that pinning food is a coping mechanism for me.... an outlet for any emotions this extreme diet brings. That is ok! It's fabulous even. Because if I am choosing not to eat food the least I can do is look. I've decided there is no shame in looking. I don't care if I'm pinning artery clogging poutine

(LOVE this stuff but seriously, IT WILL STOP YOUR HEART!),

the important thing is I'm not eating it! I NEED an outlet, and this one works perfect for me.

I've realized on days that I'm really appreciating, and dare I say, enjoying, this fast I tend to post healthier things. And on days that I am hating juicing and tired of it and just want it to be over (i.e. days I'm not liking what I see on the scale) I pin anything that looks delicious. Seriously... ANYTHING!

So now, back to the second thing I learned about my slip up... When I realized that I had just licked chocolate off my hand my first reaction thought wasn't Mmmmm! That was delicious! it was instead Hmm. That wasn't vegetable juice.

After processing everything, my mistake, the shock, the reaction in my mind I realized something. This IS about being healthy, and it IS working, and my tastebuds ARE changing! I think I can safely say, that while I still enjoy looking at anything that will make my tastebuds water, I am no longer addicted to sugar. I AM NO LONGER ADDICTED TO SUGAR!!!!

That's a pretty big deal for me! Let me share an embarrassing confession just to prove how big of a deal. When I was a kid, as per Mary Poppin's suggestion, I would literally eat spoonfuls of sugar. Strait sugar. HA! Can you believe that? Am I the only one that did it? Please tell me I'm not. But still. How embarrassing. I'm grateful for the metabolism my body had back then!

Anyway. I'm grateful for my mistake. I needed to know that I am doing this for a higher cause and not just the size of jeans I wear. I had some other things to share, but this post is longer than I expected, so I will share those thoughts at a different time. In the meantime I hope you enjoy looking at yummy foods as much as I do!

And I almost forgot. I discovered "Oh She Glows" today and I can't wait to try out some of the recipes from it at the end of my fast!

About Day 20

I'm 1/3 of the way through!!!!

About Baby Weight

It's gone! I'm officially at my pre-baby weight! Next stop... wedding weight!

About Fennel

It tastes like licorice.... The real kind....

The BLACK stuff!

About Day 15

Well I'm almost a full quarter of the way through, and I feel great!

BUT.... I'm not going to lie...

I still have thoughts almost every day about quitting and just eating regular food. Not because I crave candy or sweets or In-n-Out burger, I don't, but because it is the easy thing to do. It's easy to eat delicious food. It's normal. And while I don't crave anything right now I do miss it. I remember that I liked it. I miss chewing bananas and watermelon! Not really any surprise there but still.

This is hard!

After I think I could quit at any moment, I think about day 60 and what that will be like, and feel like, and how I'll look. Then I think, I will never know if I stop today.

I want to know!

While teaching myself to love healthiness is the biggest reason for doing this, losing weight is the driving force. I REALLY am tired of feeling the way I do, and looking the way I do. I really want to be thin for myself and quite honestly look hot for my husband.

Even after losing almost 10 lbs I still look in the mirror and feel like I'm having a fat day, but I know if I keep this up I can over come that.

In the meantime I try not to feel sorry for myself. Sometimes I do though... like today. But I'm over it now. I think.

Day 60 can't come soon enough.

....

And I also know that my Heavenly Father loves me whether I'm fat or skinny. I have to remind myself of that constantly.

About Grocery Shopping

The fridge is all stocked up for the next 5 - 6 days!

On the menu for this week: (all but the last can be found on the reboot site)

Melon Chard Juice

Peachy Green Juice

Red, White, Blue (and Green!) Juice

Spinach-Fennel-Cucumber

Sunset Blend Juice

Apple-Cabbage-Carrot-Swiss Chard-Ginger-Lemon Juice (ten points if you can guess the ingredients to this juice!)

Kristen's Green Juice

About My New Gear

Today my dearest friend surprised me and stopped by and with her she brought me a sweet gift!

Don't you just love this fun cup?!

Now I don't have to drink my juice 2 glassfuls at a time (our 8 tall glasses died off one by one over the last 5 years). Now one whole meal will fit in the same cup~ all at the same time even!! I love it and it was so thoughtful of her. I will be enjoying my juices from my new cup and her encouragement definitely keeps me motivated!

Oh, and I made up a new recipe today that I was totally happy with. I don't have a name for it, but here it is:

1 Golden Delicious Apple

5-6 lg. carrots

3 celery stalks

1/2 a butter nut squash

It was tasty! What would you name this juice?

About Heart Disease

Another great article!

About Day 13

Today I made a cake and frosted it without any supervision and did not have a single lick! I got this!

I'm getting SOOO close to my pre-pregnancy weight!!!!

About the Family Dinner

I've said it before, but the biggest reason I'm doing this juice fast is because I'm a sugar addict. Nate and I were talking about the different programs Reboot has and he asked me why I'm doing it for 60 days if 10 days is a long enough time to "reboot" your system. The answer to that is simple. Ten days is not enough time to turn me from the sugar addict I am to having healthy habits and a healthy lifestyle. It's all about retraining the tastebuds, and I know me. Ten days is NOT enough time. (As evident from some things I've still been pinning.)

In addition to juicing though, I think one of the keys to doing this is educating myself along the way so I am prepared to continue eating the right food for my body, and start making the right meals for my family~ so I have been reading too. Today I read this article. I love the tips at the bottom of it on how to take back the family dinner, particularly these ones:

"Reinstate the Family Dinner

Read Laurie David's "The Family Dinner". She suggests the following guidelines: Make a set dinnertime, no phones or texting during dinner, everyone eats the same meal, no television, only filtered or tap water, invite friends and family, everyone clean up together."

Growing up we mostly ate at the dinning table and if we at in front of the TV it was a fun family occasion. We also only drank water and if someone called during dinner most of the time we would answer the phone and let them know we would call them back. Oh and the idea that my mom would cook different meals for picky eaters is laughable.

"Eat Together

No matter how modest the meal, create a special place to sit down together, and set the table with care and respect. Savor the ritual of the table. Mealtime is a time for empathy and generosity, a time to nourish and communicate."

I like this one. We also always had a very well set dinner table growing up. Not fancy mind you, but everything we would need during the course of the meal was on the table before we were all sitting for prayer. It was nice not to be jumping up and down because something was forgotten. Setting the table was one of my chores so you would think I would be better at it then I am in my own home. I'm going to start making this a special practice again. That means not using the table as a clutter catcher anymore. I used to visit someone that always had her dining room table set. It was beautiful and looked very clean and inviting.

"Learn How to Cook and Shop

You can make this a family activity, and it does not need to take a ton of time. Keep meals quick and simple."

I don't know how to do this without it taking a lot of time... ESPECIALLY with the family. Nate and I generally do go shopping together though. I simply need more practice and more organization. Something else I will be working on.

"Plant a Garden

This is the most nutritious, tastiest, environmentally friendly food you will ever eat."

Growing up we had a garden, and someday when I have a house and the space for it I will have one again. I've been pinning stuff on my "garden party" board in preparation for that day.

"Invest in Food

As Alice Waters says, food is precious. We should treat it that way. Americans currently spend less than10 percent of their income on food, while most European's spend about 20 percent of their income on food. We will be more nourished by good food than by more stuff. And we will save ourselves much money and costs over our lifetime."

Ah money. If I had it, this part would be easy for me. I also love the reminder that STUFF is not nourishing, not in any sense of the word.

I'm grateful I have a mother who prepared dinner for us. And though I'm not great at it for my own family, I know what it feels like and looks like because of her.

The other thing I need to do is learn how to get my kids involved in mealtime. Last week I learned that letting your child help with preparation makes them more likely to eat dinner!

About Day 10

Well I made it to the double digits and it wasn't easy, but I did it. Little victory!

Even better than that little victory is this BIG little victory.... I weigh less than my husband!!!! YAY!!!!!! Now I'm ready to turn that into a sizable gap:)

I laid in bed this morning, happy about the milestone I accomplished, and I realized... I'm doing this! This isn't something that's happening to me. This is ME CHANGING MYSELF! That is such a powerful feeling. I hope it carries me through the rest of this journey:)

10 days~ total weight loss = 8 1/2 lbs.

Bring on the next 10 days!

About Chocolate Cake

Today we were invited to a birthday party for a cute little neighbor of ours during which I held a plate of chocolate cake in my hand and didn't even take a lick! Little moments like this remind me that I can do this!

I have this terrible tendency to let myself go too long between meals. Not just juice meals but any meal. I can't do that while I juice. I was SO tempted to just eat just now and if I continue to let myself get to the point of hungry I'm not going to be able to make it 50 more days. Right now that feels SO LONG!

At least in the meantime I can pin new healthy recipes to try out... Like this one...

About Day 9

Yesterday I had a bad day. (I did get the kitchen and dining room scrubbed though) I didn't feel very good about myself so I didn't want to post. BUT today has been much better. Despite my bad day I have not cheated. Tomorrow will be day ten and I feel great! I think I've realized one of the triggers to a bad day vs. a good day is what I've got in my fridge. If I'm left with veggies that I'm not a fan of I feel like this challenge is going to be long an hard. When my fridge is full of better tasting veggies with a variety of what to make I don't really think much about what I'm doing and just do it.

I'm glad I'm getting to know what I like to eat better, but I wish I liked a bigger variety. I don't see how I'm going to maintain this eating style if I only have a small amount that I actually enjoy eating. I'm going to continue to keep trying new recipes. I will cross out the ones I don't like and start repeating the ones I do.

I strained my juice once to see what it would be like if it weren't so thick. It was better, but the pulp looked so healthy and nutrient filled that I put it back in. I had planned on not straining anything again, but then I discovered some juices are not pulpy, they are grainy. NOT a fan of the grainy juice. Those I strain. Beets make a grainy juice as do radishes. Speaking of beets... LOVE the color! Equally dislike the taste.

Breakfasts are great, they are my favorite. I LOVE fruit, always have and I see no problem juicing for breakfast for the next 51 days (at least!). I don't follow recipes at breakfast time, I just throw a bunch of different fruit in and always love what I end up with. Today I had a great ruby red grapefruit juice mixed with a plum, kiwi, apple (I think). I don't really remember. It was just SO GOOD! And pink. I liked that it was pink. Much prettier than green:)

So, energy is up. Still waking up at or before 7:00 every day and even working out. I worked out every day this week and did an ab work every other day. My tummy is getting flatter! Not that I need to say this, but it's encouraging.... VERY encouraging to see and feel that it's not sticking out there quite so far.

Day 10, here I come:) (I think I forgot to cross of day 8... must do that!)

Oh, and I had another dream about cheating.... This one involved some FIERCE finger licking of peanut butter and something else really delish. I felt bad when I realized I had forgotten.

About The Fountain of Youth

Once again, the boost I needed to help me keep going. I missed food until I saw this!

About What I REALLY Want To Do Today

If I was not doing a juice fast today I would would be making an Oreo cake in honor of the 100th birthday of Oreo.

I remember my mom made one for my sister one year and it was amazing! She even put sparklers on it! In my imperfect memory it probably looked a lot like this only w/out the chocolate dripping down the sides, AND with sparklers. It was awesome.

Yes, I know, I'm a sugar addict.

About My First Little Victory

I have tried losing weight a couple of times since my first baby and I did... both times! But neither of those times stuck. Both times I started around 162-ish and ended up around 157-ish. Then I stopped. The first time because a cold that just never seemed to go away and when it finally did I was out of the habit and had lost my desire. The second time was... we can call it winter blues, or there are other reasons that I won't go into, but once again I stopped progressing. I wasn't seriously committed enough to my weight loss and both times went right back up to 162.

I'm happy to say that for the first time in 4 years I am below 157! I weighed in at 156 + a couple ounces this morning! WOOOWHOOOO!!!! I probably wouldn't be quite so excited if this were any other attempt to lose weight, BUT I know I'm only going to keep dropping on the scales so it's ok to get excited!

Next little victory will be at the end of the day today when I will have made it through a full week. Then there's making it through double digits, 1/4 of the 60 days, my pre pregnancy weight, my pre-wedding weight... and the list goes on!!!

Seriously... I wish this were a book so I could read what happens at the end already. Happy day:)

Oh, and I'm still waking up before 7 feeling fully rested. I'm sure it helped that we went to bed at 9:00 last night, but in the past regardless of when I went to bed I couldn't seem to drag myself out of bed until sometime between 8:00 and 9:00. I love these early mornings!

About This Moment

At this moment I want nothing more than to take a nap. Lunch was not satisfying to my tastebuds and I'm tired.

About My Favorite Sweetener

I have always LOVED watermelon. My crazy husband isn't a fan, but that's ok, because I like it enough for the both of us. Tonight I put watermelon juice in my raspberry tea. Big fan! I will be doing that more often.

About Grandma Love

My grandma just called! I love her so much, we've always had a special relationship and I just miss her.

I told her about what I'm doing fully expecting her to think I was going over the top on this... after all, she was the one who always told me I was too skinny and would kick me out of her sewing room. She did not tell me I was crazy or didn't need to worry about my weight though. She said "I hope it works for you." and then shared her experiences with weight battle.

I needed that tonight. I needed the support. Evenings feel like they get harder while mornings feel like they get easier.

I'm off to watch Once Upon A Time. SUPER LOVE!

About Food on Pinterest

Sometimes I avoid Pinterest because of things like this:

I really miss hot meals. It's still winter here and doesn't a hot meal just warm the soul?!

Sometimes when I don't avoid pinterest I pin things like this:

But sometimes I also find blogs like this: The Healthy Dessert Blog

About Sunday (Day 4!)

Nate and I just had a date and watched "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead". He hadn't seen it yet. When I first told him I wanted to do this he was very cautious about it and wasn't completely on board. I think that's changed now. *Big smile* (really by the end of the movie both times I've just been smiling. It's THAT inspiring.)

It was a great source of strength after having started my fast and not only did I enjoy it... again... But I related to Joe and Phil and Siong. And while I can't even remember a tenth of the thoughts I wanted to share as I watched, one stood out to me. I loved what Joe said about his fast. Once he resigned himself to not eating, nothing was going to change that. That's kind of how I feel each morning when I wake up and mark another day off my calendar. Its true what he said about nights. They are harder, but I still know that it's worth it and the tantalizing smells of dinner aren't going to change my mind.

One thing I did learn while watching this time around, is the top reasons I haven't been miserable during these first couple of days. Living the Word of Wisdom has given me a big push start. A couple of dull headaches don't seem like much when I compare them to Joe, Phil, and Siong's experiences at the start. Not being a drinker of coffee, tea, or alcohol really has made this easier for me. Also as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I am not a stranger to fasting. I fast the first Sunday of each month for 2 meals or 24 hours (and also for special reasons that may come up). It's a beautiful way to teach our bodies to submit to our spirits and not the other way around.

Something that took me by surprise, was being at church and having the sacrament passed to me. I take the sacrament every week and yet it came as a surprise to have it put in front of me with the expectation that I would take a piece of bread and eat it. I actually paused for a tiny moment in my mind to think about it and of course I partook. The sacrament isn't about bread or eating or cheating on my fast, it is about Christ and the blood he shed for me, and life he gave for me. It was almost a new experience and really gave me a unique opportunity to remember what the sacrament represents and the covenants that accompany it. I think that's why the bread tasted different this time.

Today has been good. I did learn, while watching the movie again, it's ok to have just a fruit juice once a day and putting it in my herbal tea wasn't cheating at all! Yay! Mmmmm! I love me some fresh fruit juice!

And now I will happily put myself to bed. I'm eager to cross another day off tomorrow. Can't believe at the end of tomorrow I will be halfway to 10. DOUBLE DIGITS!!!

About Day 3

I love marking the days off on my calendar. I have 57 more days I get to put and X on!!! Yay! (57!?)

I'm learning that with my recipes simple is best... kinda like the old adage says, "Keep it simple stupid." I can get a good tasting juice with just 4 or 5 veggies and fruits. I don't need bits of everything.

I didn't really organize myself very well when I started this. I just kind of went to the grocery store and threw stuff in my cart, including some stuff I'd never used before... like leeks. BAD IDEA! I have looked through a lot of the recipes on the reboot site and I'm pretty sure every recipe I've been missing ingredients for. Therefore I've been left to make up my own, and being new to this, it isn't really ideal. Most of them have been ok but I question if the recipes on the site are any better.

SO next time I go shopping I will be prepared for with a grocery list of items I need from specific recipes I'm interested in trying. To start in preparation for my next shopping trip, here is my grocery list for the 5 day reboot program broken up according to vegetables/fruit... Some items aren't exact numbers, but I'll be able to do a better estimate with veggies in hand at the grocery store.

Take it. Use it. Love it.

Because right now I am making up the recipes as I go and I did have 1 bad experience I have been tasting each individual juice as I juice it. I really like carrot juice and tomato juice and of course the fruit juices as stand alone juices. (No surprise there) I found I like Yellow bell pepper as well. Red is ok, but nothing special. Spinach and Kale... yuck. They are both kind of bitter so it's a good thing they mix well with other juices.

I don't have a very refined pallet BUT I'm hoping this will help me as I combine flavors. It's been fun getting familiar (and reacquainted) with the taste of the different vegetables.

About Spaghetti Juice

Tonight Nate and Bud had chili cheese dogs for dinner. Heck, the baby even got in on that action. My smell buds went wild and I found myself leaning over the stove just sniffing it in.

Feeling very deprived I was tempted to make myself some fruit juice and ignore my 4th serving of vegetables. I'm glad I share my thoughts with my husband because he encouraged me to go for the vegetables.

Looking in the fridge, deciding what I thought looked good I pulled out the swiss chard and the basil. When I pulled out the basil I thought of spaghetti sauce and a light bulb went on. If I could gather veggies that I might put in a spaghetti sauce maybe I'll end up with something good.

And I did. I SOOO did. I really needed something good after my small temptation to cheat when Nate went out with Bud earlier this evening... because... hey, no one would know. But I didn't cheat. And I didn't eat a chili cheese dog. So I needed something that tasted better than "ok... not gross, but ok."

So, with no further ado i give you "Spaghetti Juice"

3 large leaves of Swiss Chard

1 bunch of basil

1/2 bunch of parsley

2 carrots

2 green apples

2 handfuls of plum tomatoes

I want to play around with the carrot amount. I only had 2 carrots left sooo.... but really it does taste great as is.

Besides the taste I also like that this juice is thinner than most I've made. I don't mind the thickness, but it's a nice change of pace.

I think going forward I have learned to make my juices according to what might taste good in a meal. Maybe that was obvious to some, but I'm a little slow sometimes.

About Art

Some day I'm going to have a small collection of these mini paintings by Meaghan Smith and put them in my kids' rooms. I just love them.

About Trying Again

So when I wrote that I'm poor at being consistent I should have added being committed.

Like when I try to be consistent about cleaning my face at night to get rid of my acnes... I get lazy.

As I was responding to Christa's comment I saw a picture from a previous blog about my goals to lose weight. Ummm. I didn't do so hot. I did well until December and then it all fell apart. Not only did I stop losing weight, I gained back what I had lost...

Why? SUGAR!!! I just love the stuff.

Sigh.

Oh well.

Failing in that goal is what led me to this, and I believe this will be more of the paradigm shift that I need.

AND I guess I didn't really fail. I still have time.

About Day 2

I have so many small thoughts on whats going on.

First of all I was not starving by the end of the day yesterday. Hungry, but not starving. There was a moment yesterday afternoon when I felt like I needed food right then and there, but I think I waited too long between juices. I don't think it's wise to let more than 3 - 3 1/2 hours max pass between "feedings". I usually feel sufficiently full after 16 ounces of thick juice, but because I had waited so long it took a little bit of time for it to register to my body that I had eaten. But it did register and I was able to go about my day, which included making a snow angel with Bud.

I had a night cap of raspberry tea with some apple juice and grape juice in it. It was ok. Is that cheating to drink fruit juice w/no greens? I will have to figure that out.

One thing I'm loving is I am now using my strawberry huller to core my apples. I don't know if I'm slow for not doing it before or if I'm genius for thinking of it. I don't know if other people use them for apples but I prefer it to an apple slicer. I hate it when I use an apple slicer and it doesn't go through evenly and get the core and then there's all kinds of good apple wasted!

I started having moments of missing food yesterday. Chewing it and tasting it. But they were moments and they passed. I even had the opportunity to turn down a dinner offer from Nate's grandparents. Grandpa looked at me funny when I said I was doing a juice fast. It made me laugh. While Nate and Bud ate I did g-ma and g-pa's grocery shopping. I was glad to have something to do. I don't mind seeing food or watching them eat but on night one when they were eating dinner I was drinking my juice so I didn't really feel like such an odd ball. I didn't have any juice w/me last night so it would have been weird and hard, I think, to sit with them.

I feel today like if I made it 2 days then I can do this. There's a very good chance those feelings will change but for now I will cling to them.

One reason I think this might be easier for me than some people is, I often feel liked food is a nuisance; stopping what I'm doing to prep for it, or even eat it, figuring out what to eat, preparing a menu, grocery shopping. It's all too much of a bother for me and my husband has many a times heard me question why we were blessed with the need for food and why we can't function without it. When I was a teenager my grandma would kick me out of her sewing room until I ate something because I didn't stop for food. I still don't when I'm deeply involved in a project. It's a nuisance! But grabbing some veggies out of the fridge, chopping somethings when necessary and pushing them through a blade... now that's easy! It takes me less than 2 minutes to finish eating every meal and I'm back to doing what I want.

A reason I think this might be harder for me than some is because I've never been consistent and even worse, consistently disciplined. Using a juicer 4-5 times a day means cleaning it 4 - 5 times a day. I've already started getting a little lazy about it, though I'm haven't left it for too long yet. I've also never had a consistent schedule except for when Bud was born. That was the only time in my life I was consistent with a schedule and it was for his feedings and naps. Now I have to make sure I'm consistent with when I "eat" so my body will function. Also I'm not sure if my will power is strong enough. I've never tested myself in this way and what if I fail?

I guess all I can do is take it one day at a time whether it be an easy or a hard day.

One benefit I feel might come of this is requiring less sleep. Last night Nate and I went to bed at 10:30. I woke up just before 6:30. At first I thought it might still be the middle of the night and was thinking there was no way I would be able to fall back asleep, but when I looked at the clock I realized that I didn't have to. It only took me a minute to decide that if I was awake and felt rested I should not try to go back to sleep. So up I was at 6:30 and it thrilled me! I LOVE mornings. There has only been one short time in my life when my body was awake every morning and I was able to function and enjoy them. That was probably about 7 years ago. I've always wanted to get to that point again. Apparently all I need to do, besides go to bed at a decent hour, is to eat a healthy diet. Imagine that!

And I almost forgot to mention. 2 days of juicing, 2 nights of dreaming about food. The first night I cheated horribly by licking my fingers after preparing yummy food, which made me feel awful. And the second night I had a really yummy plate of chicken and salad (a very healthy meal) in front of me. I almost ate it because it was healthy, but decided not to because I would rather stick to my commitment of just juicing. That dream made me happy.

So here's to another day crossed off my calendar and another day to live! If you want a change and feel overwhelmed with the idea of a juice fast, try something small like a sugar fast. My sister, Christina is doing one for a month. Check out her blog to see the simple things she'll be doing to be healthier. Kristi is starting a 10 day green smoothie challenge on Monday... if you are interested, try it out. What have you got to lose?!

About Day 1 and Onto Day 2

I wasn't sure how this was going to go yesterday after the leek juice, but today my juices have been a lot more tasty so I'm not quite so nervous anymore.

I'm not hungry... yet... But here's hoping I won't get hungry. I have been mentally prepping for that part.

Every day I will be drinking about 4 - 5, 16 ounce juices and adding approximately 16 - 24 ounces of additional fluids. Besides drinking LOTS of water I can also drink herbal tea, lemon water and plain coconut water. Gotta get me some of that stuff!

With each serving of juice I am getting somewhere between 200 - 400 calories. Multiply that X 4 -5 servings I am probably consuming 1500 - 2000 calories a day. Not so bad right? I remind myself that constanty so my head knows I'm not starving and hopefully will send that message to my body. I really hope I don't feel like I'm starving at any point during this reboot.

I'm not a fan of cleaning the juicer 4 - 5 times a day but after making a couple of batches that have lasted me more than one serving (i.e. sat for a couple of hours) I've decided I like it fresh MUCH better. I started lining my pulp catching pail with the produce bags from my groceries and the pail is big enough to catch a days worth of pulp, so I only have to pull the bag out and replace it once a day. I like that.

See more of the benefits of what I'm doing here!

About Leeks

I have never had a leek or used leeks in cooking before today. This is what I learned. A leak is NOT a "leafy green". It's a giant green onion. Yep! And when I juiced it, my eyes started watering like crazy until I got the carrots in. Poor Bud, eager to watch me, was in the line of fire and his eyes started watering too.

I suppose I should have figured it out. Look at those stems! They look just like green onions!

I will NOT be making that combination juice again. Too bad there was enough juice for 2 servings.

I can't decide if I should just stick to tried and true recipes or continue to experiment and learn about different vegetables in surprising ways. Thoughts?

I have a dull headache forming. Too many leeks perhaps? Sugar withdrawals?

About An Answered Prayer

Yesterday morning I was said prayer asking my Heavenly Father if this would be right and good for me. I think he thinks it is. This is why.

• Sometime in the morning after my prayer I got on KSL classifieds and craigslist to try once again to find an affordable juicer. Most of the juicers I was seeing before then were 70-75+ and of the 4ish people I called I only got one call back and it turned out the guy was in Roy (too much gas money and time.). Well I decided to search again only this time I searched the whole classified section instead of just the "other appliances" section. Up popped just one more ad for only $50!!! I left another message and the woman called me back! She was very kind so I bought the juicer.
• After reading through the "mommy meltdown" blog again I noticed for the first time a hulu reference to the documentary "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" by one of her commenters. I didn't have netflix so until yesterday I hadn't seen the blog. I watched it. I felt good. I felt inspired. I thought, I should do this!
• After posting my first blog on this experience on the wrong blog I saw a new blog by my friend Kristi. And who woulda thought but she posted about the EXACT SAME THING only a day before me! She will be doing the reboot challenge as well (I'm not sure for how long). I felt encouraged (after being bummed that my sister who wanted to do it couldn't) that not only did I have the support of some of my closest friends but I had a friend actually wanting to do this as well!

On hard days I want to remember that these are all little things that led to me feeling this is right after my prayer.