Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts

Much Needed Healthy Reset & Dry January

Between August and December last year we were on a trip every month. One was just a weekend getaway to Los Angeles, but it was New Orleans, Hawaii, Buffalo, and Miami for every other trip. It was a lot! I think I did a good job keeping up with exercising and meal prep up until Hawaii in October but I lost steam after that. There was just so much going on between travel and the holidays. No regrets. I enjoyed it all, but that can only go on for so long. It was definitely time to reset and get back on the exercise and nutrition wagon. My body (and my liver) needed a break.

On Breaking Up With the Scale



For a really long time I had a really unhealthy relationship with the scale.  I still do, and for that reason, I had to give it up. 

How Much it Costs to Feed Me

I have a thing for numbers.  Not math.  I hate math.  I suck at math, but when it comes to creating budgets I'm good at it and I'm fascinated (although sometimes disturbed) with knowing how much things cost.  Now that my normal meal plan has been firmly established for well over a year, I thought it would be interesting to see exactly how much it costs to feed me.  I've heard people say that eating healthy is not expensive, but I've never believed them.  Whole foods are not cheap, and when was the last time you saw a coupon for a bag of apples or a pack of meat?  Yes, those things do go on sale, but you will never find 3rd party coupons for them the way you do for things like Zatarain's rice and pasta dinner mix or Aunt Millie's hamburger buns. I got a thick coupon book from McDonald's in the mail full of the usual burgers and deep fried chicken, but they couldn't be bothered to include a single coupon for one of their premium salads.

This list of foods and prices were collected from several receipts over a period of months, and is a comprehensive listing of everything I meal prep and eat on a daily basis.  When I say everything, I mean everything.  My shopping list is saved as a note in my phone and it rarely changes. I eat out on Friday night and Saturday night always.  I'm sorry, but ground turkey and broccoli while I watch my Friday night movie does not cut it.  I don't mind eating the same thing every week, but I have my limits.  I might take a week off here and there, but for the most part I meal prep every week, and this is what I've been eating for the last year and a half. Same old, same old because I'm just not that into cooking. 

Fats
Peanut Butter (40oz):  $5.48  --$1.27 per week
Almonds (@6.99 per lb): $9.50  --$3.05 per week
Weekly Total:  $4.32

Carbs
Whole Wheat Tortilla (12 ct): $2.46  --$1.43 per week
100% Whole Wheat Bread (8oz/18 slices): $2.96-$3.42--$2.66 per week (I eat 5 days per week .95)
Ezekial Bread 4:9 (24oz/20 slices): $4.99  --$3.49 per week (I eat this weekends only $1.50)
Fiber 1 Cereal (16oz): $3.74  --.87 per week
Weekly Total:  $4.75

Protein
Ground Turkey 93/7 (48 oz): $8.96
Boneless Chicken Breast (2.0 lbs @1.98 lb): $9.51 or
Boneless Chicken Tenders (2.0 lbs @4.95 lb): $7.18 x 2 or
Boneless Chicken Tenders (1.25 lbs): $4.95 x 2
Weekly Total:  $23.32

Fruits & Vegetables
Green Onions: $1.18  --0.59 per week
Frozen Bell Pepper Strips (14 oz): $2.18  --$1.09 per week
Broccoli (2.4 lbs@1.26 lb): $3.02
Shredded Carrots: $1.67  --0.84 per week
Baby Carrots (32 oz): $2.34  --$3.07 per week
Apple (@.97 per lb): $2.33  --$2.76 per week
Weekly Total:  $11.37  

Dairy
Skim Milk (1/2 Gallon): $1.67  --0.84 per week
Fage Total 0% Yogurt (35 oz): $5.98  --$9.57 per week
Weekly Total:  $10.41

Coffee
Stevia (80 ct):  $3.96  --$1.04 per week (I also use this in my Fage)
Creamer (16 oz): $3.18  --0.74 per week
K-Cup (72ct): $35.00 --$3.43 per week
Weekly Total:  $5.21*
*I only use K cups on weekends because coffee is free at work so actual expense is closer to .98 weekly, but I do occasionally stop for $1.25 coffee at 7-11 so I did not adjust.

Wine o'clock: 1 bottle $4.97

Total Spent Weekly $64.35
Total Spent Monthly $257.40

The weekly and monthly totals do not include sales tax.  They also do not include cinnamon to sweeten my Fage or the spices, reduced sodium soy sauce, and reduced sodium Worcestershire sauce ($3.42) that I use to season my meat. It does not include Reduced Fat Ritz Crackers ($1.98) and Pretzels ($1.98) which I like to keep on hand to snack on from time to time.  I almost didn't include my wine because it's not even food, but lets get real, I'm pretty consistent about my weekly wine habit, so even though it might make me look like a wino it made sense to add. 

I know these numbers to be true because I am that person who know exactly how many ounces of everything I eat and can tell you exactly how many ounces are in a pound or how many grams make an ounce without looking it up.  The only thing I did not calculate based on the exact portion size is creamer and peanut butter.  I just eye ball it.  I divided those prices by 30 days because I think I have to replace them about once a month or so.

What this tells me is that eating healthy isn't cheap, at least I don't think it is.  Minus the coffee accoutrements and the wine this is the cost for a healthy diet consisting of 100% whole foods.  Processed food tends to be more expensive.  Right?  So I imagine that my bill would be even higher if I those were a big part of my purchases.

I saved so much money when I didn't eat.  I will never go back to that, but sadly it's true.  It's also sad that I don't even know if I could have afforded $250 a month for groceries back then.  I may have, but it would have been so tight.  I didn't know how to eat properly back then, but even if I had wanted to I'm sure that I would have been put off by how much it costs.

The numbers also tell me that although I did a pretty good job of estimating, I may be a bit under on our joint grocery budget.  When I did Whole30 it cost $520.00 for me alone for 30 days!  I was floored.  After that, I increased our budget from $350 to $500 because we were making changes in our diets and I realized that $350 was not realistic.  If it takes $250 just to feed me, it definitely costs a more to feed my husband because he eats a lot more protein.  He changes his meal plans up a little bit more than I do, but when he returns home it will be interesting to calculate exactly how much it costs to feed him.  And we may have to increase our budget.  Ugh. 

 So how do I stack up? Am I spending too much?

The IRS National Standard for monthly food expense is $345 for 1, $612 for 2, and $737 for 3.  According to the official USDA Food Plan, Thrifty is $164.20, Low-Cost is $207.50, Moderate is $256.30 and Liberal is $327.10 monthly for a female of my age.  For a male & female family of two our $500 budget puts us between low cost and liberal.  According to this Gallup poll from 2012 the American family reports spending an average of $604 per month. In San Diego County a household can qualify for up to $194 for 1, $357 for 2, and $511 per month for 3 through the SNAP government assistance program.

Sometimes when I go through the check out and my total is $85.00, I'm shocked because I realize just how expensive it is to keep yourself fed, and that doesn't even include keeping yourself housed and clothed.  But what else can I do to spend less? 

Giving up coffee and wine isn't an option.

There are probably a few swaps I could make, but overall the cost of whole foods is the cost of whole foods and there isn't much I can do about it.  I buy Ezekiel Bread and Almonds in bulk at Sprouts.  I shop at my Neighborhood Walmart for everything else because it's close to home and cheap.  I am sure the totals would be much higher if I shopped at Ralph's or Von's.  I admit, Ezekiel bread is kind of a luxury item. Fage is pricey, but it's the best.  Regular carrots are probably cheaper, but baby carrots taste so much better.  The biggest swap I could (and probably should make) is to stick with the whole chicken breasts instead of the pre-cut tenders.  It bothers me that I am paying so much more just because I don't have to cut it, but raw meat is gross, and it's easier to have it done for me.  Those thick breasts take so much longer to cook and I got so sick of eating them that way.  I refuse to buy more than two at a time and since it's just me, I'm allowing myself to do it.  Also, since it's just me I don't feel the need to splurge on a "nice" bottle of wine. 

How do you stack up when it comes to your grocery expenses?  Do tell.  I'm fascinated.

In Those Jeans

Wow.  This time last year I was just starting my determined quest to lose weight, tone up, and fix my metabolism once and for all.  To those of you just starting out this year.  Keep going.  Don't quit.  You will thank yourself by the time Summer turns into Thanksgiving and you don't have to beat yourself up about extra carbs and a few missed workouts sabotaging your progress.  They won't, because you have already done the work.


I did an 8 week challenge I found on Instagram and the 12 week Bikini Body Guide back to back from January to May.  I continued consistent workouts, but took two months off from a specific program in June and July.  I took a bit of a break in July, due to travel and other things.  I could feel myself losing motivation so I started the 12 week Healthy Body Guide in August and that took me all the way through October.  I had an I have to do this, no excuses mindset that you really need to put up with hard workouts day in and day out on top of work and everything else.  It kept me on schedule.  If I missed a day, I'd have to double up, or I would fall behind.  Skipping even one day, could lead to another, and another so I committed to the process and that was that. I cannot begin to tell you how excited and relieved I was when I did that last total body workout.  It was the end of ten long, hard, awesome, and productive months of 5-6 days a week of intense exercise.  Being on a program is great for motivation and accountability, but I was so tired and so over it, and also pretty proud of myself for sticking with it and accomplishing my goals.  

The year before, I had gone through my closet and weeded out clothes I hoped I might fit into again and others I knew were a lost cause.  So many designer jeans.  Joe's.  Seven's.  Gone.  Never to be worn again.  Expensive jeans were never important to me.  I was fine with Old Navy, Levi's...whatever fit good at a reasonable price, until that one day I went out and bought a pair of Joe's Jeans.  I was hooked.  They felt AMAZING.  I had finally allowed myself to cough up the money for designer jeans and look what happened?  Sadly, I removed them from my closet because I couldn't bear to look at them any more and I told myself I would never buy another pair again.  Ever.  In my mind I didn't deserve them.  I had my chance and I got fat.
December 2011:  Not my lowest weight | December 2016: 18 lbs heavier 
It was so hard to see my body changing in the mirror and have no control over it.  I was aware of the fabric pressing against my thighs making me want to jump out of my skin, and I felt bulk and fat where there used to be bone.  The scale went up, and up and up and then my clothes got too tight.  I still remember that day, summer 2015, when MJ and I were getting ready to spend the day biking downtown.  I went through my drawers, and realized I had no shorts that fit.  I had been hiding under skirts all year, even in the winter.  I had already busted out of all pants, but could still squeeze into shorts.  We had to stop at Kohl's on the way, and there was hardly anything to choose from because summer shorts had already been replaced by Jeans.  I was devastated, miserable, ashamed, and so angry at myself for putting myself in that position in the first place.

By this time last year, I had mourned the loss of my skinny body for almost three years.  I'd gained so much weight and it felt hopeless, but I didn't give up.  I stuck to the plan and  ever so slowly, my body began to respond.  Ever so slowly, I am learning to appreciate the stronger healthier body I have now.

I know I should have been grateful just to have a body that works, but the reality is that I don't think I was ever going to be satisfied with the body I had last year.  I did not recognize the person I saw in the mirror.  It was not my best me, and I knew it.  That body was the aftermath of years and years of disordered eating.  My quest for thin had backfired, leaving me with a decimated metabolism, and insatiable hunger.  I was hungry all the time!  No matter how much I exercised or what I ate, the pounds piled on, and the only way to fix it was to do what I should have been doing all along.  Healthy eating (not minimal eating) and exercise.  It's no secret, but somehow all these years I had no idea that you could actually eat food and lose weight.  That concept did not exist for me and no matter how many times I read it, heard it, and was told it, I refused to believe.  It was my way or the highway, and my way was to eat as little food as possible, do as much exercise as possible, and still be a functioning human being.  It was a big change.  I had to get used to not ignoring hunger cues.  Hunger pangs used to mean I was doing something right, but now they mean it's time to eat.  I had to learn to feed my body what it actually needed.  1/2 cup of fiber one cereal, one string cheese, and a tiny container of yogurt is not lunch and thin deli slices of ham, with 45 calorie slice of reduced fat cheese between two pieces of 50 calorie bread is not dinner.  It's not normal to have a zero calorie day.  Do you know what that is?  It didn't happen all the time, but it is a day where I ate so little food and exercised so much that my net sum calories was zero.  I was trashing my body and it felt good.  I liked it.  Just think about that for a moment.

Oh, the things I had to do to fit into those jeans!

The worst thing about it.  Well, not the worst thing.  The worst thing was being that physically and mentally unwell.  The second worse thing is that I still thought I was fat, and nobody, not my mom, not my husband, could tell me any different.  If you are going to suffer that much you'd think you would at least enjoy being thin right?  But that's not how it works.

I lost about 10 lbs and 5 1/2 inches.  I am fitting into pants and shorts I couldn't get into before, but there are others that I will never get back into.  I cried when I could barely pull them past my thighs, but I'm coming to terms with the fact that I will not and should not ever be that size again.  It's that simple.  I can't go back.  I have curves.  I have a butt.  I can no longer cut glass with my shoulder bones, and knobby elbows and that's okay.  I still have plenty of days when I miss how I used to look, but overall I'm happy with the progress I made and making peace with how I'm built.  I am sitting at 23lbs above my lowest weight, but thin does not always equal healthy.  I actually think I'm in the best shape of my life right now.  My blood pressure was 97/52 at my last doctor's appointment and my resting heart rate is in the 50's.  Those are the real reasons people should exercise.  Not just for vanity.

It took me a long time to come around, but if this is the body I'm meant to have I think it's time to reconsider those designer jeans.  The "fat jeans" I bought in 2014 are getting too big.  I've worked hard, and the curvy me deserves them even more than the skinny me ever did.  

No Diet Plan Can Save You


Now that the Olympics is over, I guess I have to blog about something else.  I had a dream last night that the Final Five were my friends, and I got to touch their medals.  They were staying at my house, and I waited there for them while they went to compete and then we were supposed to go out afterward.  I think the end of the Olympics is really hitting me hard! I haven't blogged about my fitness journey for a while, but I've been at it for going on nine months now.  I'm no Olympian, but building strength, and sticking to a challenging workout schedule makes me feel like an athlete.

To recap January and February, I did a pretty hard core 8 week challenge I found on Instagram.  I got and exercise plan that included weight lifting and cardio, plus personalized macro support.  It was exactly what I needed to get motivated, get results, and find out what the heck I should be eating.  I could work out 'til the cows come home, but nothing would change until I fixed my nutrition.  I worked out five days a week for seven weeks without losing a single pound.  I was exhausted, discouraged, and frustrated, but determined to see it through.  It's hard to keep going when you can't see change in the mirror or on the scale, and this is the part where I really learned how important it is not to get impatient and give up.  I felt like I was getting nowhere, but in that last 1 1/2 weeks I finally lost weight.  It was only 3 lbs, which isn't much, but when I looked at my side by side before and after pic I was shocked to see that there was real change even though I couldn't see it.  My clothes were fitting looser, and I lost an inch in my waist and almost two inches in my hips.

I'd been struggling for so long that I approached it with an all or nothing now or never attitude.  I needed to make this happen now.  That's why I started early, and why I was 100% perfect in my diet, during those first four weeks.  The person doing my meal plan encouraged a weekly cheat and a weekly dessert that could be on the same day, but I didn't introduce weekly dessert cheats (if I wanted it) until after four weeks, and waited eight weeks for my first actual cheat meal. 

A photo posted by Cece (@mahoganydrive) on
 
March to May I did Kayla Itsine's Bikini Body Guide 2.0 week 13-24.  I did week 1-12 last year, and said I'd never ever do it again because it is so hard, but I needed hard.  I needed results and that was all there was to it.  During the first few weeks I thought, I must be in really good shape because it isn't so bad, but I don't care what kind of shape you are in it just gets harder and harder until the point where you feel like you are dying after almost every workout.  Some of the ab circuits aren't so bad, but every single leg workout and total body work out is killer.  It was around week 8 that I felt like I couldn't do it anymore.  My body was exhausted.  I was doing 3-4 resistance circuits, plus 1-2 days of cardio to get in 5 workouts per week.  I was also taking a 3 hour writing class one night a week.  I felt broken emotionally and physically, but then something amazing happened.  It got better.  During the hardest workouts my body felt like this amazing machine that could do anything.  It didn't get easier, I got stronger.  I didn't get as tired on the treadmill.  I was attacking those leg workouts hard, and getting that mythical endorphin rush that everyone talks about.  I embraced the pain, and got a natural high pushing my body as far as it could go.  I felt myself getting stronger and stronger every week.  Again, I didn't feel that I was making any drastic changes in the mirror, but wanting to maintain that strength and continue to build on it motivated me to keep going.  The intense workouts pushed my old lady knees to the limit.  I got the dreaded fluid build up in one of my knees during the last four weeks so I had to space out leg circuits to compensate, and sometimes I couldn't go as hard, but I never missed a workout.  I was so excited to be done, and it felt like such an accomplishment to finish it out.  I lost another inch in my waist, half inch in my hips, and 4 lost more lbs over the course of that 12 weeks.

My body needed a break, so I took an active rest week where I did yoga, Pilates, walked, and avoided all things HIIT and cardio.

A photo posted by Cece (@mahoganydrive) on

In June I added an extra day and worked out six days per week.  I went to the gym for cardio one day per week and did circuit training type exercises the other five.  The circuits were a combination of BBG and ones from my 8 week challenge, but no real schedule which was nice after five months of regimented workouts.  By the end of that month I dropped 2 more lbs and lost a little bit more in my waist and hips.

This is about the time when I got a bit more lax with my diet.  I had no choice, because we went to Delaware for six days.  It was the longest I had been away from diet and exercise plan so I was a little worried that all of my hard work would be undone, by vacation eating and inactivity, but also knew that I had to be realistic.  Life happens and that's okay.  I can't be perfectly on plan all the time and I shouldn't feel like I have to be or else I'll get fat.  When I came back from the trip only 0.7 lbs heavier than when I left, and it disappeared within a day, I knew all my hard work was paying off.  It took me almost 2 1/2 years of hell but my metabolism recovered, and I finally started to feel a little bit better about my body and progress. 

A photo posted by Cece (@mahoganydrive) on
I consider July a lost month for working out because I only exercised about ten days of it.  I had two long weekend trips for Olympic Trials and Las Vegas that automatically knocked out 10 days of exercise.  After Vegas I didn't go back to exercise right away and it turned into a much needed 10 day exercise break.  Not an active rest week.  A total break.  Not even a walk.  I still meal prepped, but didn't worry too much about hitting macros perfectly.  There was a lot going on, and I needed it.

My short term feel good about my progress goal was Las Vegas last month.  Mission accomplished.  I felt comfortable in my bikini and so so proud of myself for putting in the work to get there.  A friend just announced that she just lost 8 1/2 lbs in three weeks on Jenny Craig, and I've been working my butt off for that amount all year.  But do you know how expensive Jenny Craig is?  It's costing her about $800 per month. It took me seven months to lose 9 lbs.  That sounds terrible.  That's like .32 pounds per week.  Nobody wants to put in that much effort and lose that little, but I knew my body was going to be stubborn and I also knew I couldn't give up.  I had to be patient.  I had to use non scale victories as motivation.  I had to trust the process, and I had to do it the right way.  It took me a really long time to get here, but I finally learned how to nourish my body with food and not punish it.  I exercise consistently, and I eat real food consistently.  I learned the hard way, that starving is not the solution and there is no diet plan that can save you, because you have to save yourself.  You have to learn how to eat properly and understand that consistency over time is the only way. 

I was worried I would have a hard time getting back on the wagon after 10 days off, but Monday fell on the 1st, which feels like a fresh start and I started a new work out plan to keep me motivated.  Another Instagram find!  My fitness journey continues.

Easiest Meal Prep Ever

We've been meal prepping for going on 12 weeks straight now, and I love it.  I wouldn't want to cook every day even even if I had the time, and this way nobody has to.  At first it seems like a lot of work, but it really isn't and it saves us a lot of time and energy, throughout the busy workweek.  I don't get home from work or to the gym until 5:30ish.  I don't finish working out until about 6:30-6:45pm.  I'm not out of the shower until about 7:15ish.  I do not have time to cook dinner at 7:15pm, eat, and be in bed by 9:00pm.
My lunch and dinner (snacks not pictured)
Grocery shopping is easy, because the menu for the week is simple and all set.  We buy similar whole foods every week and make enough food to last the entire week.  Things like seasoning, rice, almonds, peanut butter and string cheese are purchased with enough to last for a while.  We go back back for perishables, like fruit, veggies, milk, and more meat every week. We grocery shop and meal prep either Saturday or Sunday depending on weekend plans.  Sometimes the meal prep happens over the course of two days, and sometimes it happens on one.

A photo posted by Cece (@mahoganydrive) on

I do the easiest meal prep known to man.  The only thing that requires actual cooking is the meat, because neither one of us is eating rice right now.  It only takes about 2 hours in all.  In the amount of time it takes me to make one meal, we can make ten. We do the dishes and then we are done with the kitchen for the week.  I do insist that we stay on top of plastic container washing so we don't end up with an overflowing sink full of plastic containersat the end of the week.  We usually marinate chicken and cut broccoli on one day, and then throw the meat in the oven the next day.  Later on, we get back in the kitchen to dish everything out into the plastic containers, and portion out whatever snacks we need. Fresh broccoli is so much better tasting than frozen, and it's super easy to make.  Actually, we don't even cook it anymore.  Our house was literally stinking of broccoli!  It was MJ's idea to put a little bit of water in the meal prep container and microwave it along with our meat so that we are eating fresh crispy broccoli every day. Both of us opt for no cook breakfast's.  MJ has been drinking shakeology.  I eat two slices of Whole Wheat bread with peanut butter, which is my favorite meal of the day. 

During the workweek I just need healthy meals to put in my mouth and fuel me through the week.  It's kind of a blur anyway, so dinner doesn't have to be anything special as long as it's nutritionally balanced and keeps me satisfied.  I don't mind eating the same thing every day, but you don't have to be boring.  MJ likes variety and sometimes cooks Chicken and Turkey plus a pasta salad.  It would be much more time consuming, but another option is to make three separate meals, all at once.  I stick with chicken.  Chicken, chicken, chicken all day every day.  I am a slow cook, and even I can make chicken quickly.  I don't even set the timer.  A digital meat thermometer tells me when it's done.  The marinade powder we use is really tasty and if I want to spend a bit of extra time I can pan sear it before baking to pack in even more flavor.  I usually don't.  Even better, if MJ throws all the meat on the grill.  For lunch I eat chicken with baby carrots because they are easily transportable and don't require cooking.  For dinner I eat it with broccoli.

The hardest thing is figuring out how much you need of everything to last the week.  I eat 5 lbs of chicken by myself and it takes at least 7 heads of broccoli to feed us both for a week.  We were short on chicken this week, so we are still figuring it out. 

A photo posted by Cece (@mahoganydrive) on


We use Reditainer® - 2 Compartment Containers.I love having grab and go healthy meals all ready to go in the refrigerator during the week.  I don't have to worry about cooking.  We don't have to spend time thinking about what we will have for dinner, and we don't have to stop on the way home and pick something up.  It makes sticking to my specific meal plan really, really easy.  I am entitled to a cheat meal on the weekends so I have that to look forward to.  MJ enjoys cooking so he will want to cook something more exciting, at some point but during the weekdays our simple easy meal prep is perfect.

I'm not a cook, so if it's not easy, I'm not doing it and if I can do this meal prep anyone can.

The Thing About Motivation

If you had told me a year ago that I would be doing Bikini Body Guide again I would not believe it.  The workouts are a short and sweet 28 minutes, but the sweat I was drenched in after each work out was anything but.  By week eight I was exercising six times per week.  Three circuits and three days of either steady state or high intensity interval cardio.  I was so tired and so done and so determined that I would never ever do anything like it ever again.  I like the workouts.  I'll incorporate them into my routine, but never will I ever commit to twelve weeks of that kind of suffering again.  That's what I said, but almost a year to the month later and I'm doing it again.  This time it's Bikini Body Guide 2.0 (week 13-24) and the craziest thing is that I'm actually excited about it.  Ask me how I feel in two months though.

I finished Bikini Body Guide (1.0 week 1-12) in June just in time for Maui.  I knew that I had done everything I could have done (except start earlier), and I felt okay but I wasn't satisfied.  Mind you, there is a good chance that I will never be satisfied with my body.  That's just how I am, but I still have hope that some day I will at least feel comfortable in my skin, and I wasn't even close.  Not one to give up, I kept exercising. Not with the vigor and consistency of BBG, but I was still in the game until I wasn't.  It wasn't even the holidays that did me in.  It was frustration with lack of progress and those muffin tops I couldn't seem to get rid of.  I felt like the only person in the world who didn't lose weight on Whole30 or have a magical transformation after BBG.  It was just a lot of things, but ultimately I gave up because for the last two years I'd lost the ability to control my body I so treasured.  I was damned if I did and damned if I didn't, so why bother.  Then the time changed.  The weather got cold, the nights got darker, and I went into hibernation.  It was too dark to walk after work, it was too cold to get out of my pajamas.  My motivation had completely left the building.

I quit exercising altogether in December, but come January I was ready to get back on the wagon.  I signed up for an 8 week exercise challenge on Instagram with @Ashley_Cavitt to keep me accountable and get me motivated.  I had no idea what the workouts would be or what I'd be eating, but I needed to be told what to do.  I had an exercise schedule, macro recommendations, and bi-weekly check-ins.  The rest was up to me.  There were lots of gym days with lifting and cardio.  I had to google almost every exercise before workouts, but I did it.  I figured it out and I pushed myself in the gym and did cardio afterwards when all I wanted to do was get home.  The circuit training exercises, that could be done at home took me anywhere from 40-60 minutes long to finish.  They were longer and harder than the Bikini Body Guide and I didn't think that was even possible.  I did five days a week for eight weeks.  I didn't miss a single work out and there was exactly one cheat meal and a few cheat items.  It was so hard to do it day in and day out when I saw no progress and was hopeless that I would, but that was nothing new.  It hurt my heart to pay good money to get my hair did on a Wednesday and sweat it out on a Thursday, but it had to be done.  I was chronically sore for the first 4 weeks.  I meal prepped.  I hit my macros.  I pushed myself and FINALLY started to feel like I was making progress.  It was not free and I'm 99.9 % sure I didn't win the challenge, but it was time and money well spent.  

Ashley kept saying the body will respond over time.  It is all about consistency and the changes you see physically that don't necessarily show up on the scale.  I'd heard it all before.  Blah, blah, blah in one ear and out the other.  It's always been about the scale for me so I never believed it before and I still didn't until I finally saw and accepted it for myself.  My measurements and body fat went down.  I could see the difference in pictures.  I have gained so much strength that I'm actually worried that my BBG workout schedule won't be challenging enough.  I probably shouldn't say that when I'm only on week one!  In one circuit I whipped out three sets of twenty burpees like it was no big deal and I remember how hard ten was a year ago.  The sad thing is that I think I gave up too soon last year after BBG 1.0.  My measurements went down, then too.  I was shocked, because I was so upset that I had accomplished nothing.  I did a side by side with my progress pics.  I saw the difference but I was impatient and blinded by lack of progress on the scale.  I believed that because I didn't have the kind of drastic transformation in twelve weeks that I see all over Instagram I failed.  If the scale did not drop significantly, I failed.  If I couldn't fit back into my size 25 designer jeans I failed.  It was that black and white for me.  Had I not lost all hope, I would probably be much further along right now, but that's fine because this is the journey that I am on.  It isn't going to be easy for me and I have to learn the hard way.  I used to consider exceeding 800 calories a day failure, so it is going to take me a little while to get where I need to be not just physically, but emotionally as well.

Motivation is one of those things that can't be forced.  Well, it can be but it's really just you forcing yourself and not motivation in the truest sense of the word.  Sometimes we need to be forced, but it is so much better when the drive is already there.  When you are willing to do what it takes and ready to take on the challenge.  I already know there will be plenty of days over the next 12 weeks where I will want to give up, but for now I will ride this wave of motivation as far into the sunset as I can.

I posted my 8 week progress pics on Instagram @MahoganyDrive.  Don't ask me how it's any different, but I'm not not posting them here!

My Whole30

When I first heard about Whole30 I thought it was crazy and quickly dismissed it as something I would never try.  It requires 100% compliance 100% of the time and there are way too many restrictions. No dairy, no grains, no sugar, no soy, no legumes and absolutely nothing processed.  What on earth is there left to eat?  That leaves fruit, veggies (no corn), meat, nuts, eggs and potatoes.  I couldn't imagine what my life would be like without coffee in the mornings and all the grocery shopping and meal prepping I would have to do.  Don't even get me started on life without peanut butter, bread and wine.

Then we booked our airline tickets to Kauai.  I realized how fast our beach vacation was approaching and how bad I would feel in my bikini if I didn't start doing something about it.  I've been feeling very uncomfortable in my skin, so I figured this would be a great way to kick off my bikini body action plan.

I eased into it by starting out with one week that was closer to Paleo because I allowed myself wine and dined out without question to how my food was prepared, but did eliminate grains, dairy, legumes, processed food and non wine sugar.  I was ready to start, but had some dinner dates already planned so I figured it was a good compromise before going into the four weeks.

It's been one month since I finished Whole30.  These are my observations.

I ate all the food.  The first week we underestimated the quantity of meat I would need to consume and ran out.  I stopped at the store for 2 lbs of emergency turkey and MJ grilled it up so I would have something to eat.  After that he made additional meat for himself and only ate "my meat" for a night or two if that.
fruits & nuts // beef stew // filet Mignon & potatoes
We spent lots of money on groceries.  Our grocery budget is $350 per month.  I tallied up all the receipts for grocery shopping onWhole30 and it added up to a sickening $520.00.  That is just not cool.  MJ wasn't bothered by it too much but I was pretty sad that we spent that much.  I can't even imagine what it would have been if we were both doing the diet.  Whole30 is on the extreme side, but it's further proof that eating healthy is more expensive.  It just is.


Meal prep is a must.  If you work full time and/or have kids or other obligations that take up a giant chunk of your time there is no other way.  If you don't you will either starve or quit.  After the first week we figured out that about 5 lbs of meat for me alone would be sufficient.  Two 24 packs of chicken (about 3 lbs) and two 16 oz packages of ground turkey.  Yeah, that's a lot of meat, but fruits and vegetables aren't filling enough to exist on alone and you can't overdo it on the nuts.  I prepared the chicken breast and made a giant pot of fresh broccoli.  MJ seasoned the turkey and grilled everything on Sunday.  You get kind of bummed out when you know you don't have any food to eat nor time to prepare it so it's best to prep it so it's readily available.
eggs, chicken, turkey, veggies
You don't have to be a chef.
  I'm no cook and I managed to do this on the most simple of foods.  There are all kinds of Whole30 recipes out there but I couldn't be bothered.  MJ made a roast the second week which was a nice change and we had steak one night, but other than that I stuck with chicken and turkey.  It helps that I'm okay with eating the same things over and over and that my sweet husband was willing to make my sausage every week and grill my meat.  I wanted salad one week so I had to make my own salad dressing and if I can do it anyone can.  

I had to give up the concept of traditional breakfasts.  The only traditional breakfast item allowed is eggs.  MJ made my turkey taste like sausage so that was good, but you can't do regular bacon, ham or sausage because even if there is no sugar on the nutritional label if it's cured in sugar it's a no go.  There is bacon not cured in sugar but it wasn't worth it for me to scour the stores for it or order it online so I didn't.  Same goes for coffee.  No sugar or dairy is allowed and I wasn't going to make my own almond milk.  I tried unsweetened coconut milk and it was disgusting.  It tasted like liquid plastic and there were nasty looking oil circles floating at the top.  I forced myself to finish that cup but that was that for me.  No coffee on whole30.  I've heard that some people do coconut oil, but no.  I was over it.

It crimped my style.  We went to the movies and while MJ ordered a hotdog I munched on almonds and raisins.  I would have also brought my carrots but neither MJ or the rest of the audience would have appreciated my loud munching.  In general we don't go crazy and eat a bunch of junk at the movies but I have associated movie watching with something sweet or indulgent even if it's just a bag of mini gummy bears so anything else just feels like a let down.  I wasn't even excited about doing a picnic if I couldn't drink wine or the most indulgent treat was going to be grapes.  Forget about dining out.  I would either show up and not be able to eat anything or I'd be that person peppering the server with a million questions trying to figure out if my meal would be compliant.  I preferred not to bother with it at all.

I was slightly paranoid about everything I put in my mouth.  The hardest thing about Whole30 is not what you can have.  Nobody wants to mess up in week 3 when they've worked so hard at being compliant and a lot of the restrictions are hidden.  If any of the ingredients are really hard to pronounce and/or you don't recognize it you probably can't eat it.  You have to read labels very carefully because even things you think you can eat, you can't.   Like canned Tuna in water.  I checked the label and it has soy.  I quit my mult-vitamin because I couldn't be sure if it was compliant and I thought I could eat tuna until I read the label closely and found soy.  No more Pam spray oil and even seasonings may be non compliant.  You really have to check.  This is the official "Can I have" Whole30 list.  If you have soy, dairy or grains you definitely have to start over, but any slip up is grounds for a re-start according to the guidelines.

Sometimes I saw non compliant foods and wanted to cry.  I couldn't snag a cracker when MJ was eating them or have any samples at the grocery store.  When MJ did a donut run one Sunday I tortured myself by sticking my face in the bag and taking a big whiff.  One day he came home with freshly baked still hot cookies from Subway and I couldn't take one single bite.  It was torture.  I couldn't taste his sandwich either.

 I was okay as long as I didn't let myself get hungry.  The first week I thought chicken for breakfast lunch and dinner was going to be fine and I was starving by the end of the week.  Chicken was just too lean to sustain me.  MJ had the bright idea to make me sausage out of ground turkey. We went with lean (not extra lean) and that way I got a little bit more fat in the morning to help control my hunger.  The last week all they had was extra lean and it was not the same.  He flavors it up pretty good so it tastes like sausage but without that extra fat it was kind of rubber like and disappointing.  As long as I wasn't hungry I was okay with all of the things I wasn't allowed to eat.

You will be challenged, but you can do it.  You can do anything for four weeks if you really, really want to right?  There are tons of resources to help you figure it out, like Whole9.  Once I got through the first week to work out the bugs and knew exactly what I needed it became routine and that was it. 

Getting enough food on a limited selection is hard.  Yes, I tracked my calories too even though you aren't supposed to. It's easy to eat a ton of calories on junk without even realizing it (and still be hungry) but not when you are dealing with nutrient dense foods and a very limited selection.  I'm trying to heal my metabolism.  It's really important for me to hit my minimum calorie goal consistently, but it was difficult.  I found that nuts and raisins are a good way to up calories but at the end of the day there just wasn't anything else for me to eat.  It's entirely possible that I'm just doing it wrong, but even off Whole30, I find myself barely meeting my minimum.

So, did it work?  I guess that answer depends upon what your goals were.  For me, I was hoping for an energy boost and to feel more comfortable in a bikini.  Well, neither one happened for me.  I had days where I was more energized and days where I could barely keep my eyes open at work just like before.  I didn't experience any life changing energy boost or overall sense of well being.  I had to go to the bathroom a lot and I think it's because my carbs were so low.  And now for the million dollar question that everyone wants to know.  Did you lose weight?  For me, it's always about losing weight even when it isn't so there is no denying that I hoped to drop a few.  I did not, unless you count gaining and losing the same exact pound for a month.  I know, I know, you aren't supposed to weigh yourself on Whole30, but I have a co-dependent relationship with the scale and a lot of wackiness going on with my body lately, so there was no way I was going 30 days without it.  Even when I realized I wasn't losing weight and it didn't look like I would quitting wasn't an option for me.  I started it and I would finish it no matter what.  It is incredibly hard to find the motivation to continue on a diet like this when you see no changes but honestly, I think I would have been more devastated to find out at the end. 

I did not do the proper 10 day post Whole30 reintroduction of foods phase.  If I'd had a miraculous Whole30 experience I would have been more interested in that, but it did not feel relevant to me based on my experience.   I couldn't deal with 10 extra days of vigilance, and I was over it.  I did not see a difference when I cut everything out so I was fairly certain there would be no change when I added it back in. The first day I had bread, peanut butter and sugar paying attention to how my body felt.  No change.  I tried out cheese on a separate day with no issues and called it good.

What I learned.

There is life without cheese.  I have always been a huge cheese lover so I thought I would really miss it, but I didn't.  I didn't even start eating string cheese again until a few weeks after I finished.

Whole foods is the way to go.  I already knew this, and we already cut out most processed foods awhile ago but this only reinforced that.  If I had a craving for something, anything, my only option was whole foods.  It kind of broke that cycle of craving something sweet or junky when I'm hungry.  Whole foods are filling, tasty, and when I'm hungry that's what I want.  Not junk.  Although, I will admit to having a thing for Twizzler Bites that I can't quite seem to shake.  

Eggs are not my friend.  During the last week when I saw absolutely no change on the scale or in my physical appearance I decided to make one more change.  I'd cut out everything, but the one consistent was eggs so by process of elimination I knew I needed to give them up to see if that made a difference.  Within two days, that stubborn pound that I kept hanging onto disappeared and by the end of the week I was down four pounds, my stomach flattened out and that bloaty feeling that I had accepted as normal was gone.  I was shocked, because I've been eating eggs consistently for over a year and it kind of sucks that eggs sabotaged my Whole30.  I still want to figure out if it was the white or the yolk (or both) but for now eggs are off the menu.  I was sick of meat so I decided to make some lentil soup and lo and behold, the same exact reaction that was happening with the eggs.  I was bloated and heavy feeling within a day, so no more lentils for now and I still need to give other beans a try and see how I react.

I also decided to quit splenda.  After "cleansing" I decided I didn't want to put such a questionable substance into my body on a regular basis.  If I'm out and about and that's all there is I will use it but I won't buy it anymore or use it at home or work.

Would I do it again?  Probably not.  I could see myself doing a Whole7 or Whole 10 maybe, but not another 30.  The expense and attention to detail that it requires is just not something I want to deal with for that long again.  It's just so inflexible.  Discovering the egg sensitivity was the success story of my Whole30.  Had I not done it who knows how much longer it would have taken me to figure that out, so even though nothing miraculous happened I don't feel that it was a waste of time (or money).

Healthy eating is always a win. 

What to Eat

I've always been a calorie counter but lately I'm trying to pay more attention to the make up of those calories.  When I don't, I come up short in protein, calcium and fiber and too high in sugars and random carbohydrates of little to no significant nutritional value.  When you focus on a calorie max AND the composition of those calories it forces you to make different decisions about what you eat.  I started this in January.  I knew I wouldn't be exercising for at least two months after surgery and thought it would be a good habit to get into.  I do not hit this mark every day of course but shooting for it helps me make better choices on a day to day basis.

Some people say a calorie is a calorie and it doesn't matter where it comes from as long as you are within a reasonable calorie budget.  I'm not sure how that can be true when the body reacts to fat, carbohydrates and proteins differently.  Protein is more filling while empty calories made up mostly of fat and carbohydrates leave you hungry.  Excess protein and carbohydrates serve a function even though any excess is stored as fat but fat is just fat and is 9 calories per gram whereas carbohydrates and proteins are 4 calories per gram.  They are different but you need them all which makes it a really tough balancing act to consume them AND stay within a reasonable sodium range.

These are foods that are helping me hit the 25% Fat, 50% Carbohydrates, 25% Protein range that I'm shooting for.  And yes, there are other macro nutrients and vitamins to be aware of.  I can't account for them all but in general when I watch these three categories the healthier foods naturally follow.

String Cheese
One stick has 6 grams of protein and is full of calcium.  Yes, it also has 6 grams of fat and 200 grams of sodium which is why you have to eat it in moderation which really, really sucks.  If you give me a block of cheese I'm gonna go wild, but the perfectly portioned 1 oz sticks of string cheese keeps me in check.  I don't drink milk so this is a good calcium source for me.  I usually eat one a day.

Fiber 1 cereal Original
I've been eating this for years to try to help me get to the recommended 30 grams of fiber per day.  Just 1/2 cup has a whopping 14 grams of fiber and only adds 60 calories to my day.  It also has 2 grams of protein and is very low fat.

Greek Yogurt
This is a new one for me but I'm giving it a try because just 4 oz of Fage Yogurt has 12 grams of protein.  That's huge!  It's also a good source of calcium.  It's high where you want it and low everywhere else with very little carbs and sodium and 0 fat.  It's pretty much the perfect food.  Except for the tart taste that is.  I've  been adding 1 teaspoon of honey or agave and a stevia packet to tone down the tartness.  You can also mix in granola or Fiber 1 cereal.  You have to be careful with the flavored ones because they are sometimes loaded with sugar and not as much protein but Yoplait makes a Vanilla flavored one that has only 7 grams of sugar and 13 grams of protein per serving.

Apples
My favorite fruit is an apple.  Yes, fruit tends to be high in sugar but at least it's not artificial.  Apples are a good fruit source for fiber and helps satisfy my sweet tooth too.

Baby Carrots
Baby Carrots are a favorite of mine to snack on because they are easy to pack up for work and they give me that snacking hand to mouth motion that I seem to crave.  I've heard that fresh is best but frozen is easy so that's what we usually end up eating for dinner.  Canned vegetables have way too much sodium.  Vegetables add to the protein count and have other nutrients without adding any fat.  The only ones I really hate are Peas, Lima Beans and celery.  I used to only eat corn and green beans but as I've gotten older I've branched out and like broccoli, spinach, Brussels Sprouts and cooked carrots. 

All natural popcorn
This is another latest obsession of mine.  There is healthy microwave popcorn out there but even the healthiest will typically still have at least 200 grams of sodium.  I've been buying the kernels and popping it on the stove to save myself the sodium.  1/3 cup of popcorn kernels makes about 10 cups of popcorn which is basically a giant bowl of goodness with zero fat AND protein that I can munch on without guilt.  It's the perfect snack for sitting on the couch to watch TV and movies.  It satisfies my snacker impulses in a healthy way.
  
Nuts
My favorites are peanuts and almonds.  They are a good source of healthy fats and protein.  The only way it's possible for me to eat them at all is because I count out the serving size.  I used to eat out of the can and couldn't stop so I stopped eating them for a while.   It's good fat, but they have too much of it for over doing it.  If you cannot limit yourself to the serving size do not, I repeat, do not bring nuts into your home.

Dreyer's Light
I'm putting this on the list because Dreyer's Light Coffee flavored ice cream tastes way too good to only be 100 calories and makes the perfect light treat.  My favorite flavor is Coffee.  I gotta have my sweet treats.  I can eat 1/2 cup, okay it's probably more like 2/3 cup the way I pack it into the tiny 1/2 cup pyrex dishes as MJ is quick to point out.  But still, even then it's still satisfies my sweet tooth in less then 150 calories.  The sugar count on 1/2 cup is also a surprisingly low 11 grams and you are still getting 2 grams of protein.  Cha Ching!!

Ezekial and Double Fiber Bread
I've been addicted to Peanut Butter on toast for months now and it all started when I decided to try Ezekial bread.  Some people don't like the flavor and while it wouldn't be my preference for a sandwich it's perfect for toast.  Sodium is lurking silently in so many things including bread.  The low sodium version has zero sodium and the regular only has 75 grams when an average slice of regular bread has 125-190.  This helps me keep the sodium down, allows me to eat my beloved bread AND get the 4 grams of protein from it.  The Double Fiber bread is whole wheat and helps me up the fiber.  I'll usually have one of each.  The ezekial to keep the sodium down and the OroWheat Double Fiber bread for the extra fiber.  I love bread.  Eating it is inevitable so this way at least I can justify it with the whole grains, protein and extra fiber I'm getting.

Egg Beaters & Egg Whites
This is a staple for me.  I've been eating it for breakfast at work for a really, really long time.  Like, years.  I used to eat toast with jelly but the toaster got blown up at work and I had to find a new breakfast.  I was mad at first, but it's turned out okay because egg beaters or egg whites have 9 grams of protein for 1/3 cup.  To give it more flavor I add one slice of the pre cooked bacon which is only about 27-45 calories depending on what kind I get but that ups the protein power.  I pour it into a measuring cup, zap it in the microwave for about 1 minute 30 seconds and eat it right out of there.  I think some of my co workers may think it's weird that I'm eating bacon and eggs out of a measuring cup but oh well.

Beans
I really, really love beans and they are an excellent source of low fat protein and fiber.  My favorite are kidney, pinto and black beans but I'm pretty sure I like them all.  Except Lima.  Canned beans are easy but like anything canned they often have too much sodium.  Some of them you can buy without sodium or you can buy them fresh in a bag.  It requires soaking over night to soften them but when I made Chili with them it cut out a ton of sodium so it was worth it.  I want to make a three bean salad with fresh beans too.  

Grilled Chicken Breast
It's low fat, low calorie, packed with protein and can easily be mixed with vegetables or added onto a salad for a satisfying meal.  If you get the lean version ground beef and turkey is just as low fat as chicken breast.  I mostly stick with grilled chicken and mix in the other kinds of meat periodically.  You pretty much can't go wrong with grilled chicken.  Unless you are a vegetarian in which case Tofu is very similar in nutritional content.

I Tried the Advocare Cleanse & This is What Happened

Fad diets and weight loss gimmicks are everywhere.  The Cabbage Soup, Atkins, Paleo, Blood Type, French Woman, HGC, Juicing...and it just goes on and on and on.  Those are just the ones that I remember hearing about at one time or another off the top of my head.  People are obsessed with pills, plans and quick fixes to get what they want yesterday.  I admit to trying some of them.  Not because I'm looking for a miracle but mainly just because I think it's fun to experiment.  I've done low Carb for 3 days and juice fasting for up to 5.  Just because.  And I think it's okay to experiment and try different things as long as you know that when it comes down to it weight loss and being fit and healthy is 70% eating balanced meals and 30% exercising.  We may want to believe otherwise but there really is no way around it.  That's all it is.

 Advocare drink & Pills // Chix Veg Stir Fry // Grilled Chix Salad // Egg Whites // Veg & Fruit snacks // Chix Breast

So when I heard about AdvoCare Herbal Cleanse I was like sure, why not?  It's not so much as a diet plan but diet supplements that are supposed to aid in cleansing. I have a difficult digestive system and I can use all the help I can get. I figured it would be nice to try a cleanse that would actually allow me to eat food and does not require Cayenne Pepper because I already know I can't handle that.  Yuck!  The kit  comes with powdered fiber drink packets and two different packets of herbal cleanse and probiotic supplements.  The schedule tells you what to take when during the 10 day period.  The Fiber drink is thick!!  It's less like a drink and more like the consistency of Apple Sauce.  I learned the hard way that you should not try to drink it with a straw.  It just clogs it up.  I have a stainless steel straw and I literally had to insert a coffee stirrer straw just to unplug the muck.  And you should just drink it right away.  Chug it.  The longer it sits the thicker it gets.  The citrus flavor is pretty good.

Adventures in Juicing

I'm weird and decided to to another juice fast.  Five was hard so this time I went for 3 days and then eating clean and low carb for the last two days. 
The Juice Factory//The Omega VRT350  

 I decided not to be lazy and actually make the juice instead of buying it.  If you make it all at once it's really not that bad.  You don't have to cut them into very small pieces and cleaning out the juicer parts wasn't that bad either.  If I ran out and needed some more I'd definitely just go buy it.  Instead of just tossing things into the juicer without counting everything out this time I kept track of how many vegetables it took to make how many ounces of juice.  This will help the next time I'm crazy enough to juice because I'll know exactly how much of everything to buy. 

Just in case you were wondering.

1 cucumber = 8 oz
2 apples =8 oz
4 carrots = 4 oz

3 cucumbers
29 carrots
16 apples
6 oz (4 cups) spinach
8 pieces of ginger root
Equals 148 oz (18.5 cups)

This should have given me enough juice to cover 48 oz per day for 3 days.  Or so I thought.  I counted each pour but my measurements must have been off probably because of all that foam at the top and I was about 8 oz short.   Which is about 2 Apples.  That was fine because instead of juice on Wednesday night I figured I'd just break my fast with a snack.

Nutritional Data per 16 oz
Calories 213
Total Fat  1g
Cholesterol 0
Sodium 160mg
Carb 68.5g
Fiber 0.5g
Sugar 45g
Protein 4

In order to come up with these numbers I added up the amount of Fiber in all the fruit being used and subtracted that number multiplied by calories per gram of Fiber which is 4.  I did however leave 0.5 grams of Fiber because I'm sure I'm getting a tiny fraction even through the juicing process.  I suck at math and numbers but when it comes to knowing that the calories in a piece of string cheese is 80 or that 16 oz equals= 1 pound =2.2 kilos = 14 stones or that there are 28 grams in an ounce I know it by heart.  I don't even have to look it up.  Just another mostly useless talent of mine!

The total cost was $22.  I'm still trying to figure out if that seems like a lot of money or not.  It averages out to about $7 per day.  I'm scared of Kale now because I had a really bad experience with it last time.  AFTER washing it but BEFORE I put it in the juicer I discovered a tiny caterpillar that came thisclose to making it into our juice.  The Horror!! Never again will I buy the Kale that has all the nooks and crannies in it.  It has to be the flat kind or pre washed until I'm able to get over that horrible experience.  They didn't have either at Sprouts when I went so I used spinach instead.  Pre washed spinach just to be safe.

Just like last time the first day was the hardest.  Going to bed too late and not getting enough sleep didn't help.  I don't even know how I dragged my butt to the gym on Monday and Tuesday.  On Tuesday I almost drove right past it.  I was sooo sleepy.  Day 2 and 3 were better.  All I could think about all day on Wednesday was the cheese and nuts I was gonna get to eat that night.

For the last two days I've been avoiding obvious carbs like bread, pasta or crackers and sticking to foods with high nutrition density and/or are not processed.  No snack monster allowed.  No candy.  No sweets.  I should probably eat like that every day or at least the majority of the time.  It's not that I'm eating a ton of unhealthy foods it's just that a lot of them are nutritionally void.  You don't get much in the way of nutritional value from Fat Free pringles.  I like to get my snack on and I like to eat like a 10 year old.  For dinner I like to eat Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches or a Cheese Quesadilla and I could eat the same thing every single day.  Mj practically has to wrench the PBJ right out of my fingers to get me to eat the healthy meals he cooks.

It's not a quick fix for weight loss and it's not for everybody.  My older sister won't try it and some believe it's just too extreme.  I had two other bloggers join me and like Mj one of them couldn't make it.  It's not the easiest thing to give up food for days but I've always had a high threshold for tolerating hunger.  I've never been that person that thinks they are about to die if they get a hunger pang.  Another useless talent?  I'm not sure how much of a habit I'll make it but so far it's been really good for helping rid myself of chocolate and sugar cravings and just get back on track.  Sometimes you just need a re set button.

That time I Didn't Eat for Five Days

Like any diet Juicing seems to be quite the controversial subject.  If you watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead you are told that juicing is the healthiest thing you can do for your body but not everyone agrees.  Proponents say you are giving your body what it really needs in a high concentration, it can work for weight loss, it allows for a greater variety of veggies in your diet then you'd normally get, it's helpful to give your body a break from digestion and it aids in the prevention of several diseases.  Adversaries say it's too high in sugar, you don't get enough protein or fat and you lose a lot of Fiber in the juicing process when you eliminate the skin.  What do I think?  It sounded like a fun challenge so I was willing to give it a try.

I read that you should prep for a juice fast by limiting dairy and sugar a few days before to reduce withdrawal symptoms and prepare the body.  Not eating was going to difficult no matter how you slice it so I pretty much said to hell with that and just went for it.  On Sunday I ate the cheesiest Pizza you ever saw and after that, nothing but juice for five days.  On day one I went to the gym but I gave myself a pass for the rest of the week.  Physically, I think could have but If my stomach gets a digestion break then it seemed only fair that I get a gym break. 

What I drank:
They say for a veggie juice the only thing acceptable to mix in with it is Apples.  Something having to do with enzymes and sabotaging digestion.  On Day 1 and Day 2 I drank 32 ounces of a Veggie based Mean Green combo of Apples Kale, Cucumber, Ginger, Mint and Lemon for Breakfast and Lunch.  It took me most of the day sipping on it at work to finish.  In the evening I switched it up to a fruit based combo of 12 oz of Pineapple, Apples, Oranges, Mango and Strawberries for dinner.  On Day 3 after running out of the Mean Green concoction we juiced up 24 oz of Carrots, Kale and Apples for me to drink during the day.  I could really reduce the sugar content by eliminating the Apples from the Veggie drink but I'm thinking it probably would have tasted awful without that sweetness and I just didn't want to go there.  I also drank a ton of water on top of that.  Can you believe that I was "over" juicing half way though day 3? I didn't want to make anymore so that night and the last two days I survived on Naked Juice.  It was good but I liked our homemade juice better.  It seemed thicker and more "hearty" so it kept me full longer. A Juicing diet has a lot more carbs and sugar then I realized.  I should have known this because I know that is what fruits and veggies are made of.  My Fat, Sodium, Fiber and Protein intake went down while my Carbs and Sugar went up.  I got all the wonderful vitamins and nutrients that you get from fruit and vegetables but nothing else.  I don't know how that could be healthy for you long term without supplementing for what you are missing out on.  I estimate daily calories at around 1,000 or less.  

Cost:
Juicing isn't cheap because in general produce isn't cheap and it takes quite a bit to make an adequate supply of juice to live off of.  I don't know exactly how much we spent on vegetables but we went to Sprouts and spent $16 to add to vegetables that Mj had already bought.  It took five large carrots, 6 medium sized apples and some kale leaves to make 24 oz.  It's definitely cheaper to buy the produce and make it yourself then to buy it.  When I got lazy I it cost $5 on sale for 32 oz of Naked Juice.  At that price it's about $7.50 for enough juice to last a day which is about $37.50 for the week at the minimum and more if you want more then 48 oz a day.
What I survived on for Five days:  Mean Green Juice, Fruity Juice Mix, Carrot Based Juice and Naked Juice

Day 1:
I didn't start to feel hungry until lunchtime.  By the afternoon I was feeling a little headachy but it didn't last.  I went to the gym after work and had a decent work out. I actually felt really energetic for about an hour after but then my energy just dropped.  By 8:00pm I was so sleepy I was falling asleep on the couch and the low grade headache came back.  

Day 2:
I got some stomach growls in the morning and was very sleepy for most of the day. Caffeine is not recommended but I drank some anyways.  Coffee doesn't really work on me for some reason.  It never perks me up but I'm always hoping that if I think it could help that I can mentally trick myself into thinking it is.  Plus, I like it in the morning.  It was hard to tell if I was sleepy just because I was sleepy or if I was sleepy because I hadn't eaten.  I didn't really crave food because I'd already made up my mind that I wasn't having it.  The overwhelming sleepiness finally passed at about 5:30pm just in time for me to get off of work.  I felt fine for the rest of the day.  No headache.  I just feel a hollow pit in my stomach where food usually is.  It wasn't a hunger belly ache or anything like that.  I was just constantly aware of being empty.  The hardest thing about day 2 was that I lost my juicing partner in crime.  Mj was super tired and couldn't continue working without eating so he had a bagel while he was at work and then came home and made pancakes for dinner.  It smelled so good!  Normally, I'd at least taste his food but I couldn't even have a single bite. 

Day 3:
On Wednesday morning there was no hunger, no emptiness in the pit of my belly and no headache either.  I did not feel like someone who hadn't eaten for going on 3 days.  I've been way hungrier on some mornings after I've had a big dinner.  I had coffee again.  I just wanted it and so I did.  I felt awake and just fine during the day and then the hunger pangs started to hit around 6:00pm but they passed by bedtime. Mj made a BLT for dinner and I went to bed with the tantalizing aroma of bacon in my nose.

Day 4:
I felt just fine in the morning.  I had another coffee cheat.  I wasn't hungry or tired.  I wanted so badly to just have one little piece of one of the left over cookies from our meeting but I resisted.  By the time I got off work I was feeling really hungry.  Drinking my 16 oz of juice for dinner helped but by bedtime I was really hungry again. I literally dreamed I was eating Pizza that night.

Day 5:
This was the hardest day yet.  I woke up feeling fine but as the morning wore on I just felt tired and hungry.  There were cookies sitting out in the office and I wanted one so bad.  I became very aware of how much we snack in our office.  There were cookies, chocolate and pretzels in addition to the normal office organic popcorn that our boss gets for us. Normally, I'd be right there with them munching on something or other but I sipped my juice and blocked it out.  I broke my fast that night with some raisins and as soon as my stomach got a hold of them it started growling louder then it had all week.

The food cravings weren't so bad because I'd already made up my mind I couldn't eat.  What I missed most was the action of eating food.  I missed the flavors and the enjoyment that I get from it.  I missed snacking while I watched my favorite shows which is probably a habit I need to break anyways.  In my opinion a liquid diet is way easier then a low Carb diet or even just eating in moderation.   I tried low carb for three days last year and found that to be so much harder then five days on juice.  With a liquid diet there is no margin for error and it's really clear cut.  Either you ate food or you didn't.  There is no extra cookie, five servings of tortilla chips, just a tiny piece of bread or whatever else you couldn't keep your hands off of to screw you up before you even realize it happened.  If you drink an extra juice it's not a big deal, plus it's not like I was sitting there craving mean green juice or anything anyways so I drank my juice and when it was gone that was it.  I wasn't running back to the kitchen for more juice or a "snack" as I might do if I was eating food.  I lost 6.8 lbs in five days.  It's not real weight though so I expect to gain some of it back. 

Because of nutritional deficits like most extreme diets I don't see it as a realistic approach to weight loss and diet long term.  Bottom line; you need to know how to eat right to maintain a healthy weight and body but there were some positive things about it. Juicing is great for hydration.  I am so hydrated right now and feeling very regular if ya know what I mean.  I eat pretty healthy most of the time despite what my Instagram feed might tell you but I do have a sweet tooth and sometimes I fall off the wagon and go on a bender and fill my body with a ton of crap.  Sometimes all I crave junk.  Eating Healthy is a lifestyle and a mindset and juicing helped me get back on the right track.  I'm not craving chocolate at all like I was before.  Five days was pushing it but I really wanted to see if I was capable of it. It actually was a fun challenge which is weird to say about not eating food but somehow it was.  Call me crazy but I already have another one planned for May with another blogger but I'm only doing 3 days.  There's a very good chance I will never do five days again!!  If anyone wants to join in for motivation let me know.

Read about my 3 Day Juice Fast here.