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2014 Cleanse and Reboot Self-Motivated Program

Wow! It's been almost a year since I blogged, and it was when I did a cleanse. So here I am, cleansing again!

Today is day 1 of my "Master Cleanse" phase of my reboot program. Just as before I plan to do the Master Cleanse phase for about 7 to 10 days. Then from there I will kick into my juice feasting phase, which I hope to go for about another 5 to 7 days. Then add in the smoothies, raw soups for another few days, then raw salads, and the like. However, this time when I'm done with this initial reboot program I plan to incorporate some new healthier habits to the daily regime.

I finally started up yoga again about 6 weeks ago. I'm so glad I did. It's been great, and my body is truly loving me for it. The last time I took a yoga class was in late 2009 (I believe). I still have been weight lifting/exercising consistently for 3 to 4 times a week for over a year now. It's truly made a difference. Even though I gained back a lot of weight over the past year, it's definitely distributed better thanks to exercise. It's just, I'm over weight - by about 60 pounds! I'm hoping by rebooting, and making modifications to my daily diet regime, and through more yoga, changing up some of my exercise routines, I will start having a healthy, lean body again! That's the goal!

Well, need to close for now. On my way to yoga...

Peace!:)

- Debbie

Struggling, but hanging in there...

For the past 5 months I have been consistently going to the gym at least 3 to 5 days a week. My workouts have been good and balanced. Unfortunately I have been unable to get the amount of cardio I want due to my chronic back pain. However, I still manage to get at least 20 to 30 minutes of walking on the treadmill on an incline, each time I'm at the gym, in addition to my strength and weight lifting exercises. Plus now I've added at least an additional 15 to 20 minute stationary bike ride to that routine. My issue is that I'm not losing weight. In fact, over the past few months I've gained weight. Or should I say, "I gained back the weight I had lost." It's all very frustrating.

I'm still eating super healthy, keeping it mostly raw veggies and fresh fruit. Don't get me wrong, I have my moments at least a few times a week where I will slip in some "not so healthy" goodies. However, the overall should not make that much difference - I know my body. Or at least I used to know my body. Perhaps my body is going through new changes with age. I'm still not getting the adequate rest I need. That could be a big factor! Plus I have had more stress than usual...again. That could also be adding to it. In addition, muscle weighs more than fat, so that could be a part of it. I'm drinking my recovery smoothie too late at night, but we work out late in the evening...that could all be contributing factors. So what to do? How do I break this  frustrating plateau to get back on track and start losing weight?

I'm hoping to have the money later this month to have my very first series of colon hydrotherapy sessions (colonics). From everything I've researched, it may help me out a lot. Especially since I have IBS. When I do this, I plan to start another juice cleanse. I think it's just the thing I need to reboot. So that's my current plan.

Any suggestions to help me break this stagnant physical position I'm in? I'm open to new ideas (within reason). Let me hear from you.

Thanks for reading...check back!

Peace! :)
Debbie

Round 2: Cleansing again...

So it's been about two weeks or so since I blogged last. Just to fill you in, I have been juicing every day, with the exception of this past Saturday. I have kept mostly raw, and mostly vegan. I only had four separate meals during this whole time where I wasn't totally vegan. When we went to visit my son in Flagstaff we went for sushi one night, then one day we had breakfast with him, which I ate an egg white omelette with fresh veggies such as spinach, onion, tomato, and zucchini. Then this past weekend I had one meal of sushi, and a homemade egg white veggie omelette. Other than that my meals have been on a 90+ vegan (since I eat honey a lot), and only about 8 meals in which the food was heated - so I've been a hi raw girl now for a while.

Anyway, I decided to attempt something challenging for myself. I decided that I would cleanse about once a month for about 7 to 10 days, every month,  until March. I just want to see where it will take me. So this Monday I started my second cleanse in my "Reboot" program. I call it "Round 2". I'm hoping to cleanse for at least 10 days. If not, I will cleanse through this weekend, then break into a juice feast for about 2-3 days, then back on my raw food lifestyle. It all depends on whether or not we visit my son again in Flagstaff, and go fishing. We shall see. For now, I'm already on day 3 of the cleanse.

I'm down 4 pounds already, but I think half of it is from water. I've had some challenges with drinking enough of the fluids. I'm just not hungry/thirsty. I'm still drinking plenty to stay hydrated, just not drinking enough of the "energy" fluids, so I'm a bit lethargic and foggy. Hopefully today I can drink more for energy, so that I can exercise. I wasn't able to yesterday because I didn't have enough energy. It's important to drink the fluids that give  you energy, whether it be the lemonade drink, or fresh juices, you need it for the nutrients and the energy.

Well, I don't know if I will blog daily this time, but I will check in as much as possible. On that note, stay healthy, eat fresh live food, and be happy!

Till next time! Peace!=)

Debbie

Keeping it 100% raw, and feeling great!

On Saturday, I had a very nice day making my juices, shopping for fresh produce, and making a delicious Arugula Pesto Pasta – all raw! I also prepared a recipe I found on MeganElizabeth.com for apple carrot date bites. Oh so good! So in a nutshell, this is what I ate Saturday:

Green Lemonade

Apple, Carrot Date Bites
Chia crackers with coconut butter and honey
Arugula Pesto Pasta (basically zucchinis, Arugula, and mixed veggies – recipe to be available soon)
Raw ice cream chocolate-vanilla shake
Herbal tea

I did make my husband some delicious carrot apple juice – his favorite!

For Sunday, I picked up my kitty from my friend’s house then got to work prepping food for the week. I froze chopped banana, pineapple, and fresh coconut meat. For meals I had my usual green lemonade, and I had Mango Lemonade – oh was that ever good! Later I had fresh grapes, chia crackers and flax crackers with almond butter, honey, and a touch of pink Himalayan salt. Oh, I remember, I also prepared a fruit pudding.  Here’s the recipe I created:

Chunky Fruit Pudding.

The Pudding.
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple chunks
1 cup frozen strawberries
2 large pitted Medjool Dates
(Blend in blender till smooth, add water if necessary)

The Fruit Bowl.

Ingredients:
1 banana sliced
5 figs sliced
1 T cacao nibs
1 T dried organic coconut shredded coconut
2 tsp chia seeds

Assemble the fruit pudding:

Place fruit slices in a bowl. Pour pudding over top. Garnish with more shredded coconut flakes and serve.

For today, Monday, I had prepared a super delicious watermelon and black grape juice. It was so perfect. I have some for tomorrow too! I also made my husband the carrot apple, but I didn’t have my usual green lemonade. Instead, today I made a morning green smoothie. Here’s what was in it:

Green Smoothie with Figs.

Ingredients:
2 bananas
4 figs
1 handful of red grapes
2-3 handfuls of Romaine lettuce
½ cup or more of fresh Young Thai coconut water

This smoothie was super energizing and so good! You couldn’t even taste the greens. Just fresh and smooth! This was definitely a meal-replacer, as I was full till lunch time.

For lunch I had made a raw Romaine hoagie – just like what MeganElizabeth.com created. The only difference is I made a small veggie salad mix with greens that I shoved in my lettuce head, instead of cut veggie slices. It was terrific and also super filling! Then tonight I went ahead and indulged in another raw ice cream shake – except no bananas, no added fudge – I still was slightly bloated, but not any more. Obviously, it’s the nuts that are getting to me. We’ll have to work on that.

Tomorrow I’ll be having my green lemonade, the watermelon black grape juice, and then my version of a raw sushi roll (no fish), using seaweed salad, carrots as the rice, and cucumber. It is so yummy.

 

Till next time. Have a great evening, and a Super Tuesday!!!

Blessings! =)

Debbie

It's Friday and I'm still 99.9% raw!

So if you read my post last night you would already know what I had today. The only thing I didn't manage to drink again was the carrot apple juice, which I gave to a co-worker. Then this evening I made myself a delicious shake again. This time I used my newly made raw Mexican spicy chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream. All I added to it was some fresh Thai coconut meat, and some fresh Thai coconut water. Oh my goodness was it ever so good!!! The key to this delicious ice cream shake was the fact that the ice cream base was made with Brazil nuts instead of my usual cashews. Wow! You got to try it!!!

As I'm blogging I'm making some more flax and chia crackers in the dehydrator. I'm going through those crackers pretty darn quickly since that is my "chip" of choice. I'm also planning what to make for my solid meal tomorrow. I've been viewing several great videos by Fully Raw Kristina. She is so adorable, talented, and informative. Just love that young lady. I'm also looking through several of my wonderful raw recipe books too. I have so many to look at! I've decided to make a fettuccine/pesto pasta using up the zucchinis and yellow squashes I have. I'd also like to use the fresh arugula I brought home from Trader Joes too. I think that would be the perfect meal for me tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Tonight was also exercise night. I did okay, but I'm still trying to improve on my energy. The main issue I'm having is "lack of sufficient" sleep. I still very relaxed, and very happy with my progress and the future. I really feel good about things.

Well, I'm going to sign off for now. David and I plan to watch a movie tonight, and get to bed somewhat early (even though it's Friday). Then tomorrow it's juice time, raw meal making, a trip to the Asian market, and Kitty-cat play date with my friend's cat Muffin. I just know Samantha will have fun. Our Samantha is getting so socialized that she likes leaving for visits as long as she gets to come home afterwards...

So that's it. Hope you all have a super evening, and a super weekend! Till next time.

Blessings! =)
Debbie