Out of steam? No, just changing to steamed broccoli.

Hey, everyone! I'll apologize again for the lack of updates, but you know, holiday weekend and all. :) Hubby and I have come to a decision. Our nutritionist had originally suggested we try juicing for 30 days and see how we felt about the whole thing. Well, 30 days will be this Sunday, September 11th. We have decided (mostly because of my whining) that we will begin solid food again on Day 31. We met with Marie last night, and the plan is to slowly work food in. For example, weeks 1 and 2 will consist of a full juice for breakfast, half a juice for a mid-morning snack, a full juice for lunch, and a sensible supper. If we get hungry between lunch and dinner, a half juice will be our snack. Eventually, we will work down to 1-2 juices per day. I believe we'll probably continue to do a juice for breakfast for quite a while. She also mentioned that we should do a 1-week juice fast every 3 months or so to re-cleanse and remind our body what it's really geared for. We mentioned vegan cheese to her, but she felt we should stick with real cheese, but only once a week or so. During the first week or two of our fasting break, it should only be consumed once. Basically, my meal plate will be 25% raw veggies, 25% cooked veggies, 25% protein (beans, legumes, or protein-happy veggies) and 25% brown rice or other complete whole grain. We also want to try kale chips, heard they're really good. I know Earth Fare carries different flavors.

This Saturday will be our grocery store workshop with Marie. She will teach us how to spot truly healthy choices and how to really read labels. The following Tuesday will be a meal planning session. We are to "plan, plan, plan and stick with the plan", to quote her. :) Steven bought three healthy cooking magazines at Earth Fare the past few days, and he is searching through them for some options. The first few days, we are supposed to eat in solid form what we have been drinking (zucchini, kale, cucumbers, chard, fruits, etc.) to help ease our stomachs back into taking in and processing solid food.

The trip to see family in middle TN will still be tough in a week and a half, but not as tough as it would have been. And, by the way, 18 days to sweet, sweet Florida. *love*

I'm blessed...

I have an incredible husband! I just miss chewing and eating.

I also want to say that I want to eat. I understand it wouldn't be what I ate before. I'd even take lentil soup. I just want to eat. *sigh* Work though it!

We're setting a goal for working out at least three to four times a week. I'd like to go every night we're not tied up, though, i.e. Mondays and Wednesdays. I really want to walk the entire 5K on October 23rd. Gotta download some more music to my iPod later today. Think we're swimming tonight, though, yay! :)

I've received several nice compliments from those of you following my blog and my Facebook updates .I really appreciate it, and I hope I can somehow encourage you in your journeys. :)

Easier, but harder...

Hello, all! Sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days, had a super busy weekend. Seems like this juicing thing is getting easier but harder -- easier because we're finding combinations that are more and more tolerable. Either that, or I'm learning to like this stuff...hmmmm. It's getting harder, because my mind wants real food. I want to chew. I wanted to sneak a doughnut Sunday...badly. Got to the room where they are during Sunday School...a box nowhere in sight. The struggle to not give in is getting harder, though. Part of my mind says, "It's not worth it." Part of my mind says, "But, OMG, it's so good." Marie reminded me last night that I would likely become nauseated and feel terrible if I gave in. Plus, it would hurt Hubby. It's just a struggle right now.

I bought a skirt Saturday at the consignment shop for around $6.00. It's adorable...black with pink flowers...and it's an 18. An 18. That's a big goal in eight months. We met with Marie last night and talked about our weight loss goals. Hope to be down to at least 250 by our Italy trip in early May next year. Hope to be under 300 by this Christmas. :) I think we can do it, especially since we're starting to add more movement. I believe I start my walking program tonight with Miss Robyn. :) Steven's gonna hit the gym, since our membership doesn't expire for another six months. I really need to concentrate on walking because of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in late October. I want to try to hit the gym at least three times a week. I have that glorious iPod, I need to USE it! We cleaned out our laundry room night before last, and I found a pair of soft capris I can exercise in, woohoo! :) Here I come!

Floating along...

So, here we are, floating along (literally...so much juice/water)! 64 oz of juice a day and 64 oz of water, but that makes for a hydrated body. :) I believe I've lost a little over 35 pounds now since earlier this year. I'd lost 11 the other day (day 9), so I'm sure it's up some by now, maybe 13 or so. I'm going to start training tomorrow night for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on October 23rd. That's two months away, and my nutritionist thinks I can very well do the whole 5K. I'm not sure with these heel spurs, though. A very sweet friend has offered to walk with me in the race, and she and I are going to start walking tomorrow evening. I'm going to try 5 minutes from the entrance and 5 minutes back. If I feel good, maybe 10 minutes from the entrance and 10 minutes back. Gotta find something appropriate to wear, though. I have some knit cotton bottoms, but they're long pants. It may be too hot for that. I may just say 7:00 instead of 5:30, just depends on her schedule.

SO, hubby and I think we may hit Italy in May 2012! I found an awesome little farmhouse on an organic farm. There's a chef on site who cooks with the food grown on their farm. It's about two hours from Rome and four hours from some other nifty places. So, we could make a day trip or two out of them. The house is actually in Tuscany, about a mile from the shore. There's a tree-lined bike path down to the shore on this private property. I need to learn to ride a bike first, though. :-o I'm also a little scared to be in a foreign country...not for safety reasons, just the thought of being stranded where no one speaks your language. The owner and on-site keeper do, though. Apparently, there are trains back and forth between alot of these places, so we wouldn't have to drive much. I'm excited, but scared...something new to overcome. :)

I love you, scale...

You're my best friend! Right now, anyway. ;) Steven and I went by the Urgent Care clinic at our doctors' group yesterday, and I'd lost 6 more pounds! That's 11 since I start juicing 9 days prior. That means 26-1/2 total since we started with our nutritionist. However, the scale said he weighed the same thing he did before we started juicing, and I KNOW that's not the case. You can tell in his clothes, they're falling off. So, he thinks it's 10-15 pounds heavy. So, by THAT scale, we've both lost around 30-35. Either way, I'll take it! Our friend Jessica told us yesterday when we walked into church that she could tell we'd lost weight. (Love her!) My parents had said the other day that they could tell as well. I can tell my pants legs are much baggier, and Steven said he could tell my stomach was shrinking. His is, too, and that's where he carries most of his weight.

We went to Asheville this weekend and hit a couple of farmers' tailgate markets on college campuses, one market/juice bar, and a restaurant/juice bar. Didn't get many new juice ideas, but we did have some yummy juice. One was apple/orange/carrot, and the other was apple/pear/orange with sweet Red Delicious apples. Yummy! We spent quite a bit less on produce than we did the previous week at Earth Fare, but we don't think it will be a weekly trip, because it's about an hour drive. He bought me some flowers, too, though! :)

We meet again tonight with Marie, and I'm excited to tell her about the loss. I also need to talk to her about my skin. My face is really drying out and breaking out, it's weird. I thought it would be really balanced with all these nutrients I'm taking in, but maybe it's something simple I can do.

Gotta get some foot pain relief before this Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in late October. I really wanna do this, and I'm doing it timed -- only so I can have a bib to hang on the wall and say, "YOU did that!" :)

Step away from the scale...

Sorry for the lack of updates, but honestly, I don't have a whole lot to say. Not much has changed. I will tell you that I'm going to have to cut down on the weighing. I weighed last Monday, I was 385. Tuesday, I was 380. Five pounds in one day...really?! So, of course, I went back the next day, much to my dismay. Zero pounds gone...next day, zero pounds gone. Marie told me that I will stall for days and then drop a significant amount, stall again, etc. So, I've decided Fridays will be weigh-in day. I'm not going today, though, because I'm ashamed to show my face at the doctor's office, haha! "Good Lord, is that girl obsessive or what?!" It will kill me not to weigh for a week, but I think it's for the best.

Oh, I almost forgot! My friend is a breast cancer survivor and is assembling a team for the local Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Guess who signed up? Yes, I know it's a 5k (3.1 miles), but you can stop whenever you need to. I'm doing it timed, though, just so I can get a bib, hang it on the wall and say, "HEY, I DID THAT!" I may not be able to finish with these heel spurs, but hopefully those will start to get better. Plus, it's October 23rd, which is a little over 2 months away. Hopefully, I'll drop a good amount of weight before then. Plus, my Zumba game for the PS3 arrives today, and a friend has offered to start walking a little with me. She also offered to walk with me in the race. Now, she jogs/runs, so I think it's extra sweet that she offered to turtle walk with me. :) Love you, Robyn! And, I love you Hubby for supporting me!

I almost liked it...

OK, so I just got done with my lunch juice, and I almost liked it. Starting out, it was bitter, of course, but by the last drink, it was like, "I'm used to this now." I guess that's more of it, I'm used to it. Either way, it'll work! I went by the doctor's office again at lunch -- I KNOW, I KNOW!!! I hadn't lost any...well, maybe half a pound. Something told me not to go today. But, still five pounds in one day was like crazy good. I should have realized it wouldn't be that good again today. I'm going to try to calibrate our scale tonight and see what it does. One of my bosses told me how to do it, yay! Then, I really can hop on every day...or not? *innocent smile* I'm keeping my water intake up as well, and I can tell I'm very hydrated. I won't tell you how I know, you'll have to think about that one. ;) I also went to Walgreens at lunch and got a little toothbrush, toothpaste and floss to keep here. I'm sure my co-workers would appreciate me not having spinach breath. I've found today that chard is much less stinky than kale...one discovery at a time. We're going to Asheville on Saturday to check out some of the local "tailgate markets" and check out an organic juice bar or two. Maybe we'll get some ideas of more concoctions I'll almost like.