In the ever after...

So, I've been using the calorie counting method since the detox has ended. This, of course, doesn't include our detox celebration day and superbowl sunday. (mental note: I think I'm gonna start calling it superbowEl from now on.)

Anyway, good news! I've lost another 2 lbs.!

::::resisting urge to say "In your face, X!"::::: :P

Eating whatever I wanted for those few days only resulted in me feeling tapped of energy and uncomfortable so I hopped right back on the bandwagon of eating healthy, chemical-less (for the most part) items. I'm eating more fruits than vegetables these days but I plan on tipping back the ratio's starting next week.

The calorie counting is helping me address portions (psychologically and physically) and to stick to my goal of eating 5-6 times a day. It has also given me more freedom in what I want to eat, including indulgences. Did you know, 3 little midnight milky way mini's = 100 calories? So yeah, its not as healthy as fruit, which I'm eating plenty of anyway, but it helps to satisfy the occasional chocolate craving when it comes... which makes me not hate eating well.

I worked out pretty steadily that first week after the detox but this week's been harder. CO visit, not feeling to great, visitors from other countries staying over, etc. But I kept strict watch on what I ate within my daily calorie limit and I'm still losing. I'm secretly hoping the pound loss isn't due to any lost muscle. But I'm still in the exercise mode so it's not a major set back.

The other good news is that I fit into my goal pants today (not pictured.). :)

Now I just need to get new goal pants.

Maintenance

I came across this site today. It's similar to one I used to use but has a better interface. The purpose is to keep track of what you eat and what you burn in order to meet your fitness or weight loss goals.

http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/

Feel free to share any nutritional or fitness tips/websites.

Detox Celebration Dinner!

Here are the photos from our detox celebration.

Thanks to Xavier for treating us :)

After thoughts: Cara

I'm not good with endings, people.

I have been procrastinating making this post cause I put all this pressure on myself. Well, expect nothing, and I will deliver. :)

Firstly, I also want to thank everyone who encouraged and supported us during these arduous/rewarding 3 weeks. From all the FB peeps who've been keeping us going with your comments, the private emails, to my brother clasping my guacamole chip dunking hand and telling me to "be strong", to my sister letting me know its ok to plateau, to the friends in the cong who let me know that my face is 20% less cheeks now, to Rhae eating cardboard crackers with me on a Friday night, and to any of my friends that I've hung out with during this time and had to listen to me ramble endlessly about what I can and can't eat.

THANK YOU!

Especially to Steph for recommending it to me in the first place and being patient with me as I called and texted her from Whole Foods and Trader Joe's all those times asking things like "why can I have butternut squash but not sweet potatoes??!" and for being strong for me and experiencing this together. Steph had a lot more obstacles against her than I did. She was busy with work, taking care of herself and Evan, spiritual responsibilities, and detoxing in other ways yet she totally did it. I'm very proud of her.

I'd also like to say NO THANKS to all the guys at my job who flaunted their decadent meals and constantly questioned me on the validity and futility of what I was trying to do. You know what? Actually, THANK YOU guys, too, because the negative reinforcement made me even more determined to excel. Plus, I know you were just joking around, so it's all good.

Now I want to share some of the physiological/psychological changes I noticed during the detox:

- whiter, stronger nails
- shinier hair (though I also started using a Keritin shampoo and that prob contributed, as well)
- slimmer waist (thank you 8 min abs! but the detox definitely played a part)
- no bloating/water retention
- cleaner more neutral breath (which is sugar's worst enemy)
- clearer mind and ability to focus
- much more energy (so much so that I got to bed late a LOT and lacked sleep :( )
- more motivated
- guilt-free eating
- a satisfying sense of progress
- IBS symptoms completely absent (meaning, regular healthy BM's.. okok I know.. TMI)
- returned to an alkaline state


So, what now?

More than one person has asked me "so did you eat a whole pizza yet?" First off, when did I EVER eat a whole pizza? lol Seriously, I'm a human being, not an animal. Though I can't say I didn't daydream about it.

But I don't want to throw my results away. In fact, I want to keep running on this track of fitness and good health. I'm starting to really enjoy my work outs and miss them when I don't do them. Yesterday, I practically frolicked in delight at the supermarket. And it wasn't for potato chips or Oreos or a frozen lasagna. It was for mushrooms, pears, nectarines, fresh natural salsa, black berries, whole grain bread and yes, even hummus.

We're going to Olive Garden tonight to celebrate and I'm actually looking up the calories of the individual meals. I may choose to disregard them once I get there, but the intention is good. And I feel a new detachment from food and it is all kinds of liberating. It doesn't define me or determine my day. I still think about foods I want but I don't crave them as much. I had some plantain chips last night and felt awful afterwards. Then, Steph informed me that they were probably fried and that's why. So I believe that my taste buds and general food disposition has changed, which is crucial.

This is a new lifestyle for me. I've been trying off and on for years to do this and after 3 weeks of steady dieting, I'm convinced I can do it. Thanks to my God, my family, and my friends.

<3 Couldn't've done it without you.

Total weight loss: 9 lbs.! (And some decent toning)

Completion: A Healthier and Lighter Stephanie

It's ova.

I've never looked forward to a Monday so much in my life.

During these three weeks there have been difficult moments (this last weekend being the hardest) but overall a lot of small triumphs and really, really good results.

Speaking of results ...

I lost 2.8 lbs this week for a total 0f 8lbs lost over the three weeks! More than that, I feel so much better about myself, and feel motivated to keep up the healthy eating (and hopefully more weight loss!)

Next steps ...

This week I'm allowing myself more relaxed eating habits. Not to go crazy, but to definitely enjoy some of the foods I've been missing. Then Monday morning I start the Fat Flush Plan, which I am really excited about.

A wonderful thing happened today. I went to CVS to fill a prescription and as I was waiting and wandering around the store I stumbled across the candy aisle. It suddenly occurred to me that usually that would have been the place I went to first, and today I didn't even think about it. I went up and down the aisle, telling myself I could have anything I wanted, and you know what? I walked away with nothing. And that's what I like to call, a breakthrough!

I'm so glad Cara and I got to have this experience together. Thanks to everyone who read this blog, and commented and emailed us and encouraged us. You kept us going more than you know.

*look for pictures later of Cara and I at our celebration dinner!*

Day 21 .: Cara

WE DID IT!!!

Day 20 .: Cara

Reflections

As we come to the close of the detox, I've been reflecting on what I've learned and how it's affected me. Here are some lists.

The Challenges:

- being prepared

- avoiding foods I love

- sticking to something for 3 whole weeks

- not giving into direct and indirect social pressure

The Lessons:

- being healthy really pays off

- disciplining your body is initially grievous but can become joyous if you endure

- the importance of preparation to being successful in virtually anything

- the need to believe in myself (I know it's cheesy, but it's true!)

- eating healthy is probably AS expensive as being unhealthy, if you do it right

(I used to think it was more expensive)

I have more to say and I will post it tomorrow... when it's aaaall over.

Day 20: Stephanie

Stacks ... the name of a delicious pancake house in Hoboken.

But today that word turned into something different. A friend in our field service group was calling other friends inviting them to brunch at "Stacks," and as I heard her say that word over and over again, it turned into a little dagger going straight into my heart. Oh how I love pancakes ... right at that moment I told Cara "I want to quit now."

But I haven't quit .... only today and tomorrow left ... "I think I can, I think I can ... "

So as Cara mentioned we were a little over ambitious on doing the master cleanse. My biggest concern was the warning from others that our stomachs would not react well to the celebratory dinner we have planned for Monday night. And well, I'm not letting anything get in the way of that ... especially a lemon, maple syrup, cayenne pepper concoction that leaves a horrible after taste.

Yesterday all I consumed was the master cleanse drink until about 6:30pm. While it tasted awful I wasn't hungry, it really does keep you "full." I had a bowl of left over rice pasta for dinner, not the most stellar meal.

In fact for this post its not even worth mentioning my meals for the day because I haven't thought too much about it and its sure to be a mish-mash of things. My motivation has definitely waned and I don't want to cook anymore.

Ok, now I'm off to order the things I need to make a football shaped cake for the Superbowl ... I couldn't be more excited to eat that cake, oh and the pancakes I'll inevitably be having, next weekend.

ciao : )

Day 19 .: Cara

Mmm.... ok we got a little hasty. Turns out, the Master Cleanse does a number on your metabolism and would basically bring it to a halt completely undoing the work of revving it up with small meals for the last 3 weeks. Aaaand apparently, most people who do it gain the weight back, or so I hear.

So, after drinking half a liter of that spicy lemonade, which was still better than the death drink, in my opinion though not in Steph's, I started throwing back some sunflower seeds and flaxseed crackers. When I came home I had some carrots and garlic & chive hummus. Later I had a single rice cake.

Not really enjoying life too much right now, but hopefully the scale will reward me in the morning. If not, I'm totally getting pad thai. I'm not really sure yet if that's a joke.

So since I have nothing delicious to share with you, here is an unflattering shot of my cats, the brother & sister duo - Thai & Indie.

Day 18 .: Cara

Guess what this is? Our "food" for the next 3 days. That's right, folks. We've decided to do the "master cleanse" for the last 3 days of the detox. It's basically a steady diet of a lemonade concoction made with cayenne, maple syrup, fresh lemons and water.

Why do the master cleanse? Because we're tired of fussing with the same limited foods and our hands are chapped from doing so many dishes. More importantly though, its a quick way to drop the pounds and I think it will give us that final boost into weight loss that will motivate us to continue eating healthy to keep it off. Also, it will shrink our stomachs so that should keep our portions in check.

We'll see how it goes. I'm nervous/excited/headachey.

We have to drink a liter of water with 2 tsp of salt every day to help "flush" out the system. Supposedly it activates your insides within an hour but its been an hour and a half and I don't feel anything. Hopefully, I won't wake up in the middle of the night.

It is a new level of discipline and self-control which is a challenge, but one that I welcome. Steph is confident we can do it so I'm gonna ride on her wings until I believe it myself.

We're going to Olive Garden for our first non-detox meal. Steph's looking forward to the breadsticks and cheesecake and I just want tomato sauce on my tongue. I'll have to think about what I want to accompany it.

Thanks to Candice Lee for the master cleanse info and telephonic reassurance!

Day 18: Stephanie

This week is hard. I hate bananas. I hate Fage yogurt. I still feel sick to my stomach.

That's all I have to say about that.

S.

Day 17 .: Cara

I'm starting to taste the finish line. There's a swelling feeling that this will soon be over. Though I feel great, this is still a form of discipline and is therefore at least partially grievous and hard. So I'm relieved.

I've been a bit sleep deprived, so my energy levels are dampened, counteracting the benefits of the detox.

Today's meals -

breakfast: rice cereal with vanilla rice milk

lunch: roasted chicken and vegetable left overs

dinner: ginger/honey/lemon salmon, asparagus, broccoli, and brown rice with lemon juice and honey drizzled (I am coming to understand that honey covers a multitude of sins. It's like love, only less sticky)

snack: turkey burger patty

I'd like to make this post meaningful but I'm exhausted and need to keep my record of at least one post per day. Soo... sorry for the copout.

Day 17: Stephanie

Yesterday was an interesting day for me. It all started Monday night actually … I got home from work and the thought of eating salmon made me wanna gag, the thought of eating anything made me wanna gag, but I was strangely hungry so I just had a bowl of Rice Twice with soy milk and fell asleep early. I woke up at 2am incredibly nauseas and the rest of the early morning was not fun … if you get my drift.

Yesterday I stayed home from work. I didn't eat anything until about 11:30am and I ate a handful of grapes and 5 crackers. Both completely off plan, but considering the circumstances, that was all I could stomach.

Today I'm back at work and forcing myself to eat, even though I still don't feel that great. What a way to start the last week …

Breakfast: steel cut gluten free oats with rice milk, agave nectar and cinnamon
Lunch: greens, half a chicken breast, homemade dressing, 2 oat crackers
Dinner: homemade chicken soup

Today's Challenge: co-worker telling me if I had a plain (free) bagel my stomach would feel better (I almost caved, it was good reasoning)

Today's Motivation: I think getting sick has helped me lose more weight : ) … my boss telling me I looked thinner

Today's Funny Moment: sharing my oatmeal with Evan and trying to pass it off as regular oatmeal, his reaction: "why does this taste like rice?"

Day 16 .: Cara

Breakfast: banana

Snack: sunflower seeds

Lunch: chicken soup with a brown rice cake

Dinner: baked chicken with roasted butternut squash, yellow squash, zucchini, sweet plantain

Snack: turkey burger patty with garlic/chive hummus

Kudos to Jesus who suggested I bake the bananas. They were sweet and yummy but firm, probably because they were not filled with oil. They probably would've softened if I had cooked them longer but they were good. I'd bake them again.

Only 5 days left!

Day 15 .: Cara

Alright, I may not have disclosed as fully as I could've yesterday. What I failed to mention was my low moment at Whole Foods.

Stephanie's son Evan followed us into an aisle while still chewing a spaghetti sauce on bread sample. He insists that we get one because "they're really small". Of course, we know this is faulty reasoning and Steph proceeds to look for the brown rice cereal. I, on the other hand, walk over to Evan as if on a conveyor belt and ask him to breathe on my face so I can get a delicious whiff of seasoned tomato.

That concludes the ridiculously pathetic portion of this blog post.

Here was my menu for today:

Breakfast: 1/2 of a breakfast burrito including chopped seasoned turkey burger, eggs (with splash of soy milk), baby spinach, broccoli wrapped in a brown rice tortilla. It was very filling.

Lunch: garlic & chive hummus spread onto a turkey burger patty

Dinner: chicken soup with carrots, celery, onion (which I thought was previously banned), parsley, seasoned with lemon, adobo, salt/pepper and the mix of seasonings that came with the chopped vegetables

Snack: fage yogurt with honey and brown rice cereal

I tried to get slick and make some platano maduros but cooking them in olive oil made them burn (no, Cara, YOU made them burn) No! The oil burned the outside and the inside was still too firm. Next time, I'll try slicing them thinner.... and watching the pan. :/

Now here's a pic of me trying to drink the death juice. And don't say it. I know I look like Michael Jackson in it.

Oh! My weigh-in this morning showed a loss of 3 lbs for week 2 making my total weight loss 7 lbs.!

Day 15: Stephanie

Day 15 … the home stretch. I agree with Cara, this could be the easiest or the hardest week. On our way to Whole Foods yesterday we recapped our experience so far … what foods we are missing most (cake, cheese) and which foods we are so tired of we would probably never eat again (carrots, hummus). How we are feeling … Sometimes really great, sometimes not so much. (I'm still having headaches every day). How we feel about how we are looking … feeling really good about that. This morning we both agreed that while we're losing weight, the scale doesn't measure up to the changes we are seeing in our bodies, and that's what's most important.

On my part I lost 2 pounds this week, for a total of 5.2 lbs so far. I would have liked to lose more, but I'm happy with my overall results. The biggest change I've seen in myself has been that I'm now in a regular routine of healthy eating, brainstorming new foods to make and cooking. That's a huge step for me and something I hope I can keep doing long after this detox is over.

I too had a torturous food court experience over the weekend. I ended up eating half a cookie and one vegetable dumpling. Not near the damage I was dreaming of doing at the Taco Bell that was less than 10 feet away. Yesterday I was completely back on track, however, and ended up running and doing my liver flush drink, which I strangely enjoyed once again.




Day 15 Weight: 153
Total Loss: 5.2 lbs

Breakfast: oatmeal, banana
Lunch: Tuna and lots and lots of mixed greens, 2 oat crackers
Afternoon Snack: Fage yogurt, banana
Dinner: Salmon, sautéed green beans, wax beans and carrots, brown and wild rice

Today's Challenge: feeling tired

Today's Motivation: how far we've come

Day 14 .: Cara

I had a chicken wing today. :O

And I had a pineapple chunk on Friday night.

There. I said it.

Considering what I used to eat before the detox, it's really not THAT bad.

Aaand I conveniently forgot to get the ingredients for the death drink. Will have to do that tomorrow.

Where did I go wrong today? I was running late this morning and failed to eat lunch before I left the house and pack snacks that didn't involve carrots. I also barely drank any water.

But, this is the last week!

It has the potential to be the easiest week since we've had 2 weeks of practice or it could be the hardest week because now we're that much further away from the last time we ate food we really enjoy.

Here we go!

Day 13 .: Cara

Today was hard. I had to bypass vanilla chai tea from Dunkin' Donuts while in the service group (I felt your pain, Steph). Walked through the delicious aroma of spanish food while doing house-to-house on Palisade Ave. in Jersey City. Sat in a mall food court and watched certain someones scarf down delicious chicken wings and .... I can barely say it without wanting to collapse in the arms of an animated, gloved potato.... french fries. (one of said "someone"'s has been made anonymous upon request, though the ginormous head is a dead giveaway for some of you).

After spending way too much money at the mall, without intention, we faced the dilemma of where to eat. I hadn't brought my leftovers this time so I felt susceptible to a carb breakdown. We ended up at Ruby Tuesday's and thankfully they had a decent salad bar. They had more detox friendly ingredients than I had anticipated. Mixed greens, baby spinach, beets, shredded carrot, broccoli, sunflower seeds, thinly sliced yellow and green squash. I made my own dressing with a bunch of sliced lemons, olive oil, and honey sticks (which were basically like pixie sticks, but with honey instead of sugar and plastic instead of striped paper).

I asked for a side of grilled chicken and to my delight, received this heart shaped pollo de amor.

Only 1 week left. Can't believe we made it this far. I've never dieted for 2 weeks straight before, so this is a serious milestone in my life. I've been praying a lot for help to complete this detox for the sake of being healthier and I believe it's been working.

Day 12 .: Cara

This... wasnotgood. Tasted delicious in my mind, though. It was brown rice tortilla with hummus spread, sliced turkey, mixed greens, alfalfa sprouts and shredded carrots. I squeezed some lemon on it but still not good. :/

I love when Steph breaks it down like that. I definitely agree on the saving money and time flying bits. I also share the excitement about being in the single digits! It'll be over before we know it.

This week of detoxing was much better than last week. I worked out 4 times and that helped keep me focused and accelerate my results. 8 min abs is working like a charm, too.

Day 12: Stephanie

As soon as I got to work this morning I checked the blog just to see the single-digit on the counter. I'm thrilled that we are more than half way done with the program and we are both still going strong. It really is starting to feel like a lifestyle change. Some observances so far …

Creativity … It has increased, not diminished, as time has gone on. I was concerned in the beginning that I would run out of ideas and end up with the same meals over and over again, but that has not been the case. In fact today I realized that I haven't eaten salmon since day one (I look forward to enjoying that over the weekend).

Time … After day 4 it has flown by. Those first few days really were the hardest, but since then it has gone by quickly.

Money … I have more of it. Nixing trips to Starbucks for parfaits and pecan toffee bars and to the Treat Truck for peanut butter cookies and mini pumpkin pies, is really paying off, in more ways than one. Not to mention bringing my lunch to work every day and cooking every night has greatly reduced the amount I usually spend eating out.

Cravings … I still have them. Its entirely possible that my system is so toxic that it will take more than three weeks before I'm clear of cravings and before my palate no longer enjoys the taste of wonderful unrefined white sugar and flour. I still have to walk by Auntie Anne's and Au Bon Pain in the bus terminal every day with my head down so as to not be tempted. While cravings have not yet subsided in the way I hoped, one thing that has changed is that I feel more full and satisfied by real food than I have in the past. Last night I had my super great dinner and felt completely content after, wherein usually I'd be looking for something sweet to top off the meal.

Lastly, an update on my new book, The Fat Flush Plan. I'm really excited to try this program next! The first part of the book is heavy on the scientific research behind the program, and can be a little deep, so I'm still amongst reading that portion. But this part is interesting because it really shows how much work was put into devising The Fat Flush Plan and its motivating to hear all the wonderful things it can do for your body. Just reading the part about how toxic the liver can get will motivate you to do something, even if you're already thin. I discovered the other night that a friend in my congregation (Lisa Oliveri) is a big Fat Flush believer, so I look forward to talking to her more about it / leaning on her for support!

Breakfast: gluten-free oats, rice milk, agave nectar, cinnamon
Lunch: salad, homemade dressing, 2 oat crackers, 2 boiled eggs
Afternoon Snack: Banana, Fage Yogurt
Dinner: leftovers from last night: 1/2 fillet flounder, brown and wild rice made with chicken broth, snow peas

Today's Challenges: feeling a tad emotional which always makes me want to eat!!

Today's Motivation: 9 more days!! Monday's weigh-in

Today's Funny Moment: Noticing that my left hip is reducing in size at a much greater rate than my right … I'm officially lopsided

Day 11 .: Cara

Day 11. Still going. Didn't cheat. Worked out. Watching Conan.

Day 10 .: Cara

We're just about at the halfway mark for the detox. I hear it gets easier from here.

Had the standard foods during the day but I really wanted to treat myself for dinner (without cheating, of course). So I prepared roasted chicken smothered in olive oil, minced garlic, dried thyme, salt, pepper, topped with sliced lemon. Separately, I roasted diced butternut squash and drizzled it with honey, sprinkled with salt & pepper, and tossed in a little bit of olive oil. Then I threw on some sliced and seasoned yellow squash and zucchini. The butternut squash with the honey tasted like sweet potatoes. 'Twas a cozy winter dinner.

Day 9 .: Cara

Today was pizza and wings day at my job! Hooray? No. But it wasn't as excruciating as it could've been. Especially because I had my food heated up and Eated up about 30 min. before the pizza came. The wings were surprisingly more tempting to me than the pizza. I have sorely missed tomato sauce, but I don't miss enriched flour or pepperoni. Buuut I've been eating chicken all week. Hmm... strange.

Overall, though, I feel great. I'm in day 2 of the detox + work out and it's giving me power. I'm more productive. My thinking is clearer and more focused.

I got an oil change today. That kinda says it all.

Ate some of the usuals today. Rice cereal, left overs, banana, octagon crackers, salad with grilled chicken and rice tortilla (because I was craving it all day).

I took the pH strip test today and my saliva shows a strong alkaline result! The instructions say that urine yields more accurate results, though. According to my urine, I'm between 6.0 - 6.5.

That's all for now. :)

Day 9: Stephanie

Today is a good day. I cooked, and prepped food and planned a lot over the weekend, so I feel really prepared for this coming week. In fact I'm looking forward to it! I took much pleasure in eating my tuna lettuce wraps for lunch today, and not just because they tasted great, but because I knew it was great for me. It's an amazing thing to eat without feeling guilty afterwards. It’s a big change from how I've felt these last couple months about my eating habits.

This afternoon I went into the kitchen at work and saw a girl standing at the vending machine. Instead of feeling jealous of her food "freedom" I was really happy it wasn't me standing there.
Breakfast: Gluten-free oatmeal with rice milk and agave nectar
Lunch: tuna lettuce wraps, oat crackers
Afternoon Snack: celery and hummus and/or fage yogurt
Dinner: leftovers from last night: sauteed yellow squash and zucchini tossed with brown rice pasta and grilled chicken

Today's Challenges: None so far! : )

Today's Motivation: in exactly one month I will be shopping for a dress for my friends wedding

Today's Feelings: confident

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Day 8 .: Cara

Week one is over and today's weigh in showed a loss of 4 lbs.! I'm so pumped! And super proud of Steph, too for her hard work and weight loss!

The transition is getting more comfortable and I'm adapting better than last week. I did the 8 min abs again today and made it back to the gym for the first time in 2 weeks.

My brain is blank right now cause I'm watching Oprah gush over James Cameron and Avatar. It's distracting and annoying.

So whad I eat today?

breakfast - rice cereal with vanilla rice milk (first time having it.. it's really good)

snack - banana

lunch - leftovers

snack - greek yogurt with agave nectar and rice cereal

dinner - salad with mixed greens, shredded carrots, ready to eat grilled chicken from trader joes with honey, olive oil, lemon, salt&pepper, basil dressing

But then I decided to "wrap" it in a brown rice tortilla. It was really good and very satisfying. I'm now a fan of brt's.

Day 8: Stephanie

Since I didn't post over the weekend ... a lil catch-up ...

Like Cara's weekend, it was one full of temptations. Being social meant watching people eat donuts, dumplings and bagels ... oh my. However, I'm very proud of my level of resistance even though I had a few stray bites of things I shouldn't. As Cara disclosed earlier I had one bite of a cheesy biscuit and one bite of ice cream on Saturday night, last night I had 2 more bites of Evan's ice cream. As far as I'm concerned I did fantastic considering what I was faced with! Watching my field service group go to Dunkin Donuts while I sat in the car eating a banana is a special kind of torture.

Since today is a holiday the temptations didn't stop, as Evan, me and my Dad went to Houlihans for lunch. I ordered a salad with grilled chicken, only for it to be brought out with a nice yummy breadstick on the side. I quickly handed it over to Evan, and thankfully he ate it right away before I could change my mind.

I won't bore you with a recap of all my meals the last 3 days, but for one lunch I made some really delicious chicken soup and another tuna salad with yummy oat crackers, both were really satisfying, completely on plan and I didn't feel like I was giving up anything.

The first week's sacrifices paid off when I weighed in 3.2 lbs lighter this morning! Yaay for me! I really wished I would have taken my measurements at the start of this because I'm sure I would have seen losses there too. I just FEEL slimmer. : )

Today I did two things I've been dreading ... the liver flush and running. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed both. I was prepared to be gagging drinking the liver flush after Cara's description, but I actually liked it and found it really refreshing. But maybe that's because I like grapefruit (Cara doesn't), and for me that was the overwhelming flavor.

I also had a great run while Evan was at his violin lesson. I went slow, alternated with walking and most of all didn't expect too much from myself. I just wanted to enjoy it. It was great to be outside exercising again, I really had missed it. It was a beautiful day, not too cold, sun was out, it felt wonderful. I can't wait to go again.

Evan wanted to go to Barnes & Noble today and I found myself browsing in the "health" aisle. I bought this book called The Fat Flush Plan. I haven't read a word of it yet, but by flipping through, it seems to be in the same vein of our current detox but a little more structured and more diversified. If I like what I read I'm hoping to go right into this plan after our current detox is over.

Week 1 is over, and week 2 is in progress!!! Woo-hoo!!!

Day 8 / Week 2 Weight: 155

Today's Challenges: unforeseen breadsticks, having to wash sooo many dishes from all this cooking I'm doing

Today's Motivators: weight loss and a great run!

Day 7 .: Cara

DEATH, people. It tasted... like death.

Some things were just never intended to go together. Grapefruit, garlic, ginger, lemon, and oh man! I forgot the olive oil! Oh well.

I held my nose as my brother suggested. That helped. But when I had to pour the remaining "juice" from the blender I got a whiff of garlic and almost hurled. To be fair, it tasted more like bile than death. Hope no one's eating anything as they're reading this. If so, be glad it's not this!

More importantly, I made it through the weekend. Cheat free... except for the sweet potato incident but hey, I didn't actually digest it so it doesn't count. For dinner today, I had 2 diesel spring rolls from Trader Joe's. But now I'm thinking I may have accidentally cheated. I thought they were ok cause they were in rice paper/noodle(?) wrapping and stuffed with shrimp, romaine, carrot, itty bitty cucumbers (not Joshi approved) and confetti rice noodles.

.... but they weren't brown rice noodles. :sigh: Oh well... OK fine! and I dipped them in the stupid sugary side sauce like 3 times.. ok once was a slight pour.. hey! what's that over there?! :runs:

WEEK 1 COMPLETED!

Only 2 more to go.

I realized that I was focusing so hard on this detox that I kinda forgot to LIVE. So my hopes for week 2 are to incorporate the lifestyle change more seamlessly and carry on with the daily things I need to do, like studying, Bible reading, working out, writing songs, and watching American Idol (don't judge me!).

To start off, I took a nice trip to Trader Joe's and stocked up on some goodies. ... wow... It's kinda strange that I'm now referring to brown rice "tortilla" wraps as "goodies". Anyway, I got to thinking that one way to add some good flavor to my meals is to add more fresh herbs. The prices at TJ's seemed a bit too ridiculous for a palmful of herbs so I'll pick them up at ShopRite some time this week. But here's what I made tonight for lunch/dinner in the days to come.

It's vaguely inspired by chili and jambalaya. I shall call it Chumbawamba. Because the first people who used that name murdered it.

Made with the following organic products -

- ground turkey

- brown rice

- carrot strings

- green beans

- lentils

- garlic

- olive oil (don't say it, Bob!)

I seasoned the meat with chili powder, cumin, dry sage, salt & pepper. Squeezed some lemon juice all over it, too. Seasoned everything separately. Came out pretty decent. I wish I could've thrown some corn in there and tomato sauce but I'll live.

Here's to week 2!

Day 6 .: Cara

Temptation comes in so many forms. Today, it seemed to come in most of them.

It started off innocent enough, with a breakfast of eggs (beaten with soy milk), broccoli, beets, and rice crackers. My challenge was figuring out how to get through being out all day and into the night without breaking the detox.

So I stopped being afraid and started getting prepared. I packed for the day. Had my greek yogurt with honey and rice cereal on my way (yes, in the car) to the movie theatre to meet my family. Leftovers, complete with ceramic container, sunflower seeds, baby carrots, and a banana all shoved in my purse. Why my purse? Because I have yet to find a decent lunch bag and plus I'd probably never use it even if I did. Who wants to carry a square around all day? I don't. But I should.

So after the movie we go to On-the-Border. Now, anyone who knows Cara knows she loves her some Mexican food. I'm only half chicana but you'd think I was born in the heart of a small Mexican village if you saw how I can down fresh guacamole. Which is why the scene depicted was extra hard for me. As I watched my family eat fresh salsa and homemade tortilla chips, I made a promise (threat) that the only way I would have some guac is if my 3 yr. old niece offered it to me. She's never offered me food before so I thought this was pretty safe. But as you can see, my nightmare (dream) came true.

She picked up a chip and put it in front of me and smiled. I picked up that chip and had it knee deep in guac before a dotted half note could be played. Thankfully, (unfortunately) my older brother squeezed my hand to let loose the doomed chip and told me to be strong. :insert sadface:

But I'm glad he did. The waiter was kind enough to heat up my leftovers and even put them on a plate. I told him I was on a special diet. He went so far as to give me some fresh lemon to squeeze onto it. As an added bonus, he validated me by impressing upon my sister the importance of lime in a good guac.

Then, I went to a fondue dinner party. I know what you're asking. And the answer is: because I hate myself. No, but seriously, after resisting the guac and salsa, I kinda wanted to test the limits of my new (will)power... you know, like Spiderman.

Here's what I resisted!

- sweet potato fries, crusty bread, swiss beer fondue cheese

- meat spread to be cooked in vino broth and served with 3 dipping sauces

- fresh pineapple, melons, apples, strawberries and warm chocolate

Pretty hardcore, right?

At my weakest, I "wandered" into the kitchen and chewed half of a leftover sweet potato fry just to have the flavor on my tongue, and then spit it into a napkin. LOL My mama would be so proud. It was definitely a "What have I become?" moment.

But overall, another victory to end day 6.

Meeeeeanwhile, Steph was at Red Lobster unabashedly eating cheese biscuits and ice cream! :O

That's right, gasp!

Nah, she just had a bite. I admire her balance.

Oh! oh! Oh! I tested my pH level. I'm balanced!! It seems likely that I could return to an alkaline state within the next 2 weeks. Kinda wish I had tested myself at the beginning to see the difference but I'm sure it was really acidic. This is a win!

Day 5 .: Cara

Joshi was right. He promises in his book "If someone doesn't comment within two weeks on how great you're looking - then you're cheating."

Well, today the Fed-Ex guy made my day. And noooo he's not some pervy delivery man who schmoozes all the laydez. He's a very dignified, honest, and friendly older man who comes here every day bringing correspondence from the netherworld... but mostly Connecticut.

Anyway, as I was signing his electronic thingamajiggy, he said "are you losing weight?". I stopped mid-signature. "I think so..." I managed, with a puzzled look. He goes "Yeah, you are. I can see it in your face.. and your arms." His eyes then looked at my stomach but I think he was too embarrassed to say so. See? I told you he was a gentleman.

So that was nice.

In other news... its DAY 5, people! I know it may not seem a lot to you steady diet goers with magical powers, namely discipline. But it's a lot for me. I'm a bit trepiditious (apparently not a word? but whatever) about this weekend but I think I'll be ok for tonight. I've devised a plan.

I'm meeting Steph at the mall later to which she will arrive with a thumb sized section of ginger for me. After that we will go back to my place and eat my leftovers from last night. It's amazing how much a lb. of pasta, bundle of broccoli rabe, 2 chicken breasts, and a bag of spinach can yield! So we will have that and then carry on with our fun evening plans.


Cereal's got my back this weekend along with those little saviors I call fage yogurt cups.

As for today, the usual...





breakfast - ambrosia (still yummy)

snack - half a banana

lunch - leftovers

snack - hey its 3:45p and I didn't have a snack yet. im not even hungry really.. I guess I'll have some carrots.

dinner - leftovers (it's ok, it was really that good)


I'm ok with eating similar things a lot because I'm still riding the rush of actually wanting to complete this detox and reap the benefits. For me, this is about losing weight and learning new habits long enough to replace my old ones. If I can accomplish that, then it has been full of win.

In the meantime, I think I speak for Steph also when I say THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has supported us in these 5 little days. I've been getting emails, private messages, fb comments and encouragement on on here and it all means so, so much. You're all awesome and we hope we can in some way inspire you as a token of our gratitude.

Well, that's all for now folks.


Oh, and can someone please text me later to remind me to give Steph a hungry man's portion of NOOGIE tonight when I see her for telling me now about the death juice we gotta drink?

Thanks.

Day 5: Stephanie

ginger root ... doesn't it look yummy? :insert sarcastic intonation here:

Last night I put my Dad and son through a torturous trip to Whole Foods, which involved me going up and down every aisle (sometimes twice) and meticulously searching for things I'm allowed to eat. I read the ingredients on countless items. It continues to surprise me how many things have added sugar, or some form of it ("organic cane juice" is fancy-speak for sugar, people). I really wanted to find bread crumbs that fell within our guidelines, but while they had gluten-free, wheat-free ones, they all had sugar added!

So, I had to forsake my hopes of a crunchy breaded piece of chicken, but found a lot of other new things to try. I bought the ingredients to make my own chicken soup which I will try over the weekend. I also bought some pre-sliced zucchini and yellow squash. I'm pretty sure I don't like either of those items but I want to give them another chance. Same for the piece of flounder I got, not sure if I will like it, but this is a good time to branch out. I bought some canned tuna (the super good kind with nothing added). Joshi isn't a big fan of tuna (he thinks there are better, healthier fish options) but its not banned and I need some variety! I look forward to trying that with some hummus in a wrap, or crumbled on a salad.

Something else new for the weekend … THE LIVER FLUSH. I've been remiss in sharing this with Cara up until this point, and it's something Joshi recommends we do once per week during the detox. I actually never did it the last time I did this detox, but I'm trying harder this go round. I hope I can choke it down …here are the details …

Function: Improves liver function by stimulating the elimination of toxins and wastes from the body.

Ingredients: grapefruit, lemon, garlic, ginger root, EVOO (haha)

Method:
Take 300ml of freshly squeezed grapefruit and lemon juice and dilute with 200ml of water
Take 1 or 2 cloves of garlic and a small piece of ginger root, and using a garlic press, squeeze this into the fruit juice mixture
Add 2tbs of olive oil and mix with juice in a blender. Drink.
Follow with 2 cups of cleansing herbal teas

stats ...

Breakfast: Rice cereal with soy milk (I am surprisingly not tired of this, still love it)
Mid-morning snack: Banana
Lunch: left overs from last night: grilled chicken, snow peas and rice pasta tossed with olive oil, lemon and garlic
Afternoon snack: celery with hummus
Dinner: I don't know, might be going out to dinner, will have to be very selective!

Today's Challenges: the girl at work that is constantly offering me chocolate, going out tonight

Today's Motivators: all the people reading the blog, and the first week is almost done!

Day 4 Dinner .: Cara

Dinner:

- brown rice pasta
- broccoli rabe
- dark greens mix incl. spinach, red cabbage, shredded carrots
- grilled Rosemary chicken
- pesto sauce

(cheat alert: contains trace amts of parmesan & canola oil)

- fresh squeezed lime
- minced garlic

Tossed. Very satisfying and.... delish...ous.

Day 4 .: Cara

OK, now it's just getting cool.

According to the scale, which I'm taking with a grain of salt because it's still very early and weight can fluctuate within a weeks time, I have lost 4 lbs since Tuesday morning. That's a bit insane but that's what it says. And scales are not like people - they don't lie.

pictured: random internet belly

There's more room in my pants around the waist AND in the legs. I feel like I've completely lost any water I was retaining. In fact, I'm pretty sure that at least 2 of those 4 lbs. I lost were water.

I've been taking pictures of my stomach every day to track the progress (privately). I'm interested to see where I'll be on day 21.

Other physiological differences - my lips are uber chapped. I'm going through more lip conditioner than LL Cool J on a blustery day. Also, I almost fainted in the shower today. It could be because I was laying in bed all day and maybe I got up too soon? The water was hot and steamy so that could have contributed, as well. I then got suddenly nauseous and felt dizzy and light headed so I went to lay down (conditioner still in hair). I don't know if this is what a sugar withdrawal feels like or if it's some freak thing but I didn't like it. I felt much better after laying down for bit.

I'm a day late on Steph's worry about variety. Today it's starting to hit me. I keep imagining how wonderful my vegetables and rice would taste with some type of light italian dressing or just a simple balsamic. I miss bold flavors and lemon's starting to wear it's welcome.

Overall though, I am really enjoying eating healthy. I don't feel bloaty or uncomfortable. When I was at my worst, eating chicken parm and doritos all the time... with my after dinner snack of oreos, I remember actually craving vegetables. So, I'm glad I'm "indulging" in them now.

The organic carrot juice is really yummy and helpful in getting me to drink 3 liters of water every day.

Today's eats -

breakfast - joshi ambrosia (that's what I'm calling it now. the greek yogurt, agave nectar, diced bananas and ricetwice cereal)

snack - a few Mary's crazy crackers or whatever they're called. they're flat brown octagons with seeds

lunch - leftovers from last nights salmon, brown rice, broccoli, asparagus, raw carrots dinner

snack - hummus & baby carrots

dinner - grilled chicken, fusilli pasta tossed in pesto and wilted greens, maybe with a salad

snack - banana


helpful sites:

how to lose belly fat

8 min abs (thanks, X)

clean vs dirty fruits

Day 4: Stephanie

my lunch today

For me, being at work is my most challenging time to eat right. Unfortunately I spend most of my life there which has resulted in a lot of bad eating. When I'm busy at work I want to eat to relieve the stress and when I'm not busy I want to eat to relieve the boredom. It's really a lose-lose. In the past I haven't done well at being prepared for either scenario leaving me standing in front of the vending machine. However, in line with the detox I've had to develop better eating habits at work, and in just the past 4 days I've realized the following things really help me, and they might help you too.

Toss the Tupperware: display your food on real plates with real silverware, even when at work, to make lunch feel like a "real meal" and more appealing

Think Ahead: plan what you'll eat for the day so your mind isn't forced to try and be creative while also being hungry and tied to your cubicle

Over Pack: bring more food than you think you need to work, just in case you get a hunger pang you weren't expecting you'll have plenty of healthy things to choose from

My stats for the day ….

Breakfast: Brown rice cereal with soy milk
Lunch: Dark greens salad with homemade dressing, hummus/gluten-free wrap "sandwich"
Afternoon Munchies: Fage Yogurt Combo (banana, yogurt, agave nectar, rice cereal) - its my fave!
Dinner: Grilled chicken tossed with pasta, veggies, olive oil and seasonings

Today's Challenges: lack of creativity with my food choices, tired of chicken!!

Today's Motivators: waking up with a flat stomach, and what appear to be smaller hips (is that possible only on day 4?!! I hope so)

Day 3 Dinner .: Cara

So, I made it out of bed.

Turns out, being vertical can make you really, really hungry. Since I called myself out publicly on here for my green salad wuss-dom, I decided to rebel against... myself. and my wuss-dom. Enter, mixed greens salad. Mixed green? Greens? Anyway, it was leafy and dark green and healthy.

Ok, so I have a thing with tart and sweet things. I like lemon. But even more than a nice acidic lemon, I like something sugary to balance it out. So I made a dressing with...

- extra virgin olive oil (I refuse to say "EVOO" so from now on when I say "olive oil" you can just go ahead and assume it's extra virgin... cause it will be.)

- lemon juice

- minced garlic

- salt/pepper

- oregano

- honey!

My ratio's need work but it was generally delicious. Let's just say, my tongue got the idea.

For dinner I made this (see pic below).

Salmon baked in a lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper, and basil marinade (next time I'm going to add honey, too), brown rice, broccoli florets, cut asparagus, and raw diced baby carrots seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

I think my stomach may be shrinking because I wasn't able to finish this. I added the remnants of it to the portion I had set aside for tomorrow's lunch.

Day 3 Afternoon .: Cara

It's day 3! Not too shabby. Some say the first 48 hours are the worst and now it's behind us. I suspect the one week mark will be when this gets really tough for me.

I didn't go to work today cause I'm not feeling well. My mind feels crisp, though which I'm going to attribute to the detox. I have noticed that while my garbage is now stinkier, from being the refuse of organic and naturally decomposing items without preservatives, my breath feels fresher, cleaner, and more neutral. I don't have that residual fake sugar taste lingering in my mouth since I haven't had any sucrose, high fructose corn syrup or even cane juice.

My stomach is less bloaty looking and I feel like I'm not retaining as much water. There's no yeasty bread floating around in me waiting to soak up any streaming liquids that pass along. I've been drinking 3 liters a day (about 101 ozs. which is 27 short of a gallon). According to the scale, I lost 2 lbs. but I'll put more stock in Monday's weigh in.

Other than my physical "ailment", I feel pretty good. This could be in my head but yesterday I was doing something... I can't remember (maybe the detox will improve my memory eventually?) and my nail would've otherwise broken but in this instance, it did not. It could be the french manicure I got last week, or the Sally Sansen "tough as nails" polish that I applied a day before getting said manicure, I'm thinking it could be the detox. I read about someone else who did the Joshi diet and also noticed improved nail strength.

So, because I wasn't feeling well, today's foods are not surprising.

breakfast - fage yogurt with half a diced banana and honey (the cereal was at work)

lunch - left overs again which was fine cause it was still delicious and easy

snack - some baby carrots and these wheat-free, gluten-free crackers

You may note, the box of organic gluten-free, wheat-free brown crackers says "tastes great!". I actually laughed out loud when I read that but after not having sugar for 2 days or inordinate amounts of salt, they actually do taste pretty good. "Great" might be stretching it a bit, though. Mary may very well have gone "crackers".

Tonight I will try to get out of bed and bake some salmon with salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and lemon with brown rice, crushed baby carrots mixed in, and snap peas.

I'm still not-so-subconsciously avoiding a leafy salad since I know I can't have it with my favorite dressing - low-fat raspberry walnut vinaigrette (how I've missed you!)