Day # 13 of the Juice Fast

Today was Caianna's Birthday (she turned 9) so we took her on her birthday date this afternoon - went to Burger King.  I should have taken my oil before we went - I wanted a burger!  But we did stop by Wendy's and get me a baked potato.

So this morning, I took my oil.  An hour later I took my water and supplements and headed off to Jazzercise.  After Jazzercise we went to Grandma Conover's house and juiced some oranges to share - it was a hit (sooo good)!  Then we picked up Katelynn and went to the park.

After we got home we talked about the dogs and the yard - wish we had a riding lawn mower (or a couple of goats)!  Then we took Caianna on her date.

Later that evening, Don and I spent some time with Ammon, I had Carrot/Apple/Cucumber/Spinach juice, it was good - refreshing even.  An hour later I took my oil to finish off the evening.

Morning: Oil; Orange Juice
Noon-ish: Baked Potato, Water
Evening: 3 Carrots/1 Apple/1 Cucumber/Handful of Spinach; Oil

I've noticed that I'm getting better at keeping up at Jazzercise (more energy and stamina).  When I started up again, I had to stick with low impact, then I would fluctuate between high and low impact.  I'm still fluctuating, but I stay more toward the high impact.  I'm still using the 3 lb. hand weights, not sure if I'm ready for the 5 lb. weights quite yet.  I just wish I could get a handle on the plank (holding your body up sideways on one arm and your feet - sorta like a sideways push up), the farthest I've been able to go on that one is my knees.

The Shangri-La Diet - Video

Oh, the SWEET taste of VICTORY!!!

I WON the bet with Don!!!!!!  

 (hee,hee)

So here's the deal.  The Olive Oil portion of the diet works like this:

1 Tbs. of Olive Oil = 120 calories and works as an appetite suppressant. The more you take (within reason) the more weight you lose because it helps curb cravings, while still giving you calories.  There's only two rules to this diet:

1) Take 200 to 400 calories of flavorless edible oil daily.
The total number of calories is what matters.  The more calories you consume this way, the more weight you will lose - as odd as that may sound.  Flavorless edible oils include extra-light olive oil (ELOO), safflower oil and canola oil, but any flavorless oil will do.

2) Take the oil well before or well after meals - at least an hour away.
For example, if you expect to eat lunch from noon to 1:00pm, take the oil by 11:00am or after 2:00pm.  Beyond the basic idea of taking the oil at least an hour away from a meal (and all other food - even brushing your teeth or chewing gum), however, the time of day doesn't matter because the oil is not a short-acting appetite suppressant that reduces appetite for a few hours.  It's effect lasts a long time.

Unless the daily amount you plan to take is small (one Tbs. per day or less), divide it into at least two portions that you take at different times.  What works well for many people is to take the first portion between breakfast and lunch and the second after dinner.  The more slowly you take the oil, the more easily your body will digest it.

How much oil to take:

If you want to lose:          Oil                        Calories
Less than 20 lbs.                1 Tbs./Day             120
20 - 40 lbs.                        2 Tbs./Day             240
More than 40 lbs.               3 Tbs./Day             480

* As a note, this can also all be done with regular unflavored sugar water, but the oil is better for you.

All this information is taken from a book I'm currently reading by Seth Roberts, PH.D. called the Shangri-La Diet.  It's a short book and an easy read.  I could try to explain why it works here, but (since he created it) I think he can explain it better than I can, check it out:  http://www.sethroberts.net/

Day # 12 of the Juice Fast

This morning I woke up with a stronger resolve to do better this week than last.  I've only got a few weeks left till the reunion!  I got up, took my Olive Oil and showered, at 7:45 I took my supplements, grabbed my water and loaded the kids into the car.

I got Katelynn to school at 8:00am so I could walk her in to her teacher, she really resisted staying, but did fine after I left.  I got to Jazzercise at 8:15am, just in time to get set up for the 8:30 class and get my weight.  I was discouraged to find that I weighed 136, but Cynthia told me that scale weighs heavy so to subtract at least two pounds to get my actual weight.  So I'll be modest and say my actual weight is closer to 134.  So my goal for this week is 125.  If I lost that much weight last week while fudging Wed. - Sun. than the weight should come off much easier this week, because I'm not allowing any more exceptions - not even date night!

After the workout at Jazzercise (sore arms and shoulders), I had 3 Carrots/1 Apple/ 3 Celery Juice and took the kids to the park to get some color on my pasty white legs!  Tomorrow I'd like to take them to Tempe Town Lake.  Today, I think it would have been too cold on them wet, but the breeze was so refreshing - what a wonderful day to be outside!

Later, after we got home, I took two more Tbs. of Olive Oil.  Then, for dinner (around 7:30pm) I had some fresh Orange Juice - I prepared the oranges the way it's instructed in the video I posted to this blog, if you haven't seen it, it's totally worth watching.  That was totally the best Orange Juice I've ever had!  For a treat, our family likes to mix OJ and Vanilla Yogurt and drink it as a smoothie, but this OJ was so creamy, it was almost like having the Yogurt already in it!  It's 9:45, and I'm still stuffed - it's hard to stop at "satisfied" when it's so good!

For FHE we watched an old Don Knots movie with the kids, I had my OJ while the family had smoothies and popcorn.  Now they're eating tortilla casserole and I'm getting a little tempted, so I'd better go take my Olive Oil!

Day # 11 of the Juice Fast

Today (with the exception of some Vit. C and the water I needed to take it) I fasted till 7:00pm.  Then I ate some pancakes - yup, pancakes.  I just know I'm going to wake up with those pancakes stuck to my rear!  Tomorrow will be a better day - I'm taking my oil soon and off to bed.

Next week, Oil and juice only!  No exceptions, even for date night!  If I kept losing weight last week even with the regular (crappy) diet I like, then just think about what next week holds!

Can't wait to get back into my "little" jeans!!

Day # 10 of the Juice Fast

I'm starting to get a little sick of the juices, but the Olive Oil seems to really be effective in controlling my "cravings" which is kinda nice.

I think I'm going to have to start using  a wider variety of juices in order to hold my interest.

I took the Olive Oil AM & PM, but only had the juice once (Carrot/Apple/Celery), in the afternoon I had a bowl of Potato/Corn soup - sooo good!  Then, in the evening I fudged and had a granola bar.

I went to Jazzercise.  It was my first experience on a Saturday - they're pretty busy on Saturday, and the parking lot looked like a Lexus convention!  My big red clunker of a Suburban stuck out like a sore thumb - but it's paid for and I don't care (too much) if it gets scratched.

The lady that taught the class said she was 75, but there's no way, I think I must have heard her wrong, because she doesn't look a day over 30!  She worked us hard, so I'm pretty sore today.

Let me just take a moment to mention that, being the driver of the family is giving me a really great tan - on my left arm!  I'm totally lopsided, so I've had to resort to the stinky "sunless tanning" lotion to even myself out.  I think I'm going to spend next week taking my kids to the park and see if I can get rid of my lopsided pasty white complexion.  After all if I'm going to have a better looking body, I might as well have a nice tan to go with it!

Day #9 of the Juice Fast...

Today was CRAZY busy!  Caianna is homeschooling for the last month of school so I couldn't convince Katelynn to get out of the car at school this morning by herself (even though Savanah was going to walk her in).  This last month of school should be interesting.  So I took her with me to Jazzercise, because today was my day to babysit and I couldn't be late (we have a little babysitting co-op, we sit for each other and other Jazzercise members so we get free sitting and we get to workout for free - what a fantastic deal!)  Anyway, the workout today was pretty intense, the instructor today is a personal trainer by trade, so she pushes us hard.

Don & Ammon - buds for life!

Ammon - what's that face for?

If you're going to make faces, at least make them count!

The guys look great, but this is not the most flattering pic of me for sure!

Me and my Sweetie!

Ammon, my boy - what a sweetheart!

After Jazzer we headed home, I did some work on the computer, spent some time with Sophie, then headed to school to have lunch with Ammon (the school was putting on a Mother's Day luncheon)  we had a good time visiting and taking goofy pictures.  Don came too, which was also really fun.

After the luncheon, Don and I headed home, gathered our stuff and went to LA Fitness.  I biked 5 miles (Don went longer), we worked on some of the weight machines, played racket ball and swam a few laps.  Don laughed when he realized that I could only doggie paddle, he said "You can't swim?!"  I told him that I could very well swim, I could doggie paddle, at least I could get around.  I was definitely not going to win any races, but it was fun anyway.

So I came home, place an ad on AZCentral for the Boxer pups, left to pick up Ammon, came home and took a nap!  At 5:30 Don and I got ready to go to a marriage class we signed up for, it's a fun class, and I believe if your marriage isn't constantly getting better, then it's slowly getting worse!

So now it's nearly 11:00 and I'm posting my meals and findings for the day.

6:30AM - 2 Tbs. Oil
Water before, during and after Jazzercise
Southwest Chicken Salad with Ammon
Carrot/Cucumber Juice (ran out of Beets)
Hamburger with Don (I'm slipping - very bad!)
11:00PM - 2 Tbs. Oil

I weighed myself at LA Fitness, I think the scales (even though they are the same kind) might read differently, because if it's right, then I'm down to 131 which means I've lost 9 lbs. in 9 days!  Take THAT HCG! 

Today I discovered (in the full length mirror) my rear end - eeeeeuuww!!!  I can hardly believe that's me looking back!  Not for long!  By the time I'm done, I'm dedicated to looking better than I ever have, my sweetheart deserves that (and so do I). 

I also discovered that I suck at racket ball, I swear, anything with a ball has me looking pretty stupid, but it was fun anyway, and Don just plays with it, so I don't feel as stupid as I look!

Day #8 of the Juice Fast...

Got up this morning at 6AM and took two, yes, two Tbs. of Olive Oil. I thought I was going to bring it back up, so I drank a bunch more water till the gag reflex passed.  Then I showered (I think I'm doing this wrong, I should probably shower AFTER Jazzercise), got the kids to school and off to Jazzercise.

Just when I think I know all the moves, they spring a new one on me.  We celebrated Cinco De Mayo, so did a bunch of Latin moves - I discovered my hips today, and my thighs are way sore!  But, it's all good,

I came home, took my vitamins and made my kidney cleanse juice (3 large Carrots/2 Cucumbers/1 Beet), yuck!  I can't stand the taste of the Beets, but if it gets rid of the UTI, I'll stick with it)

Don and I went on our date early, because getting to bed late is not fun when I'm getting up at 6AM, of course it's 10:00 now, so I guess I kinda missed the point.  Anyway, we had a good time.  We went to a Chinese Buffet, I had a plate of Salad, Fried Rice, and a bunch of fried chicken stuff (sweat & sour & sesame), but when I say a bunch, let me just say that I could not eat it all, I was basically full after the salad.  I think next time I'm just going to get my plate to go, it seems a waste to get "all you can eat" and only be able to eat one plate.  Oh well, we had fun sharing dating stories from before we met.  I shared my bowling experience - still the most embarrassing moment of my life (dork)!  He shared a story about running a lady off the road on his way to pick up a date.  The lady was stranded, so he took her with him to pick up his date - funny!  After dinner (or was it lunch?  Dunch? Linner? Whatever, after we ate) we watched a movie we got from Netflix "Bride & Prejudice" it was cute - a new spin on Jane Austen's Book.

I came home and took two more Tbs. of the Olive Oil at 9:00 so now all that's left to do is take my supplements and go to bed!

So, here's what I noticed today.  I have a few skin "bumps" I wonder if it's because of the food I ate last night, but Don thinks it's from my body cleaning itself out.  Whatever it is, I hope it passes fast.  I'm still at133, at least I didn't backslide with all the food I ate last night.  Since I ate today too, I think I'll just take the juice once tomorrow and do the Oil when I get hungry.

Day #7 of the Juice Fast...

Okay, so I was too tired to post last night.  I woke up in the morning with another RAGING UTI.  PAIN!  So I took 2000mg. Vit. C, Ibuprofen and took my Olive Oil.  This has been a problem (on and off) since I was pregnant with Heather.  I've taken LOTS of different antibiotics to no avail.  The ONLY thing that brings down the pain and works fast for me is Ester C type of Vitamin C (the stronger the better) - it amazes me how something so simple can knock it out so much better than an antibiotic (which kills everything so I end up getting a cold or a yeast infection during or close after taking it)!

I worked out at Jazzercise (I'm gonna have sore arms and shoulders today - I kinda like it - means it's working!) and spent some time with Caianna at school.

When I got home, I ran some more ads for puppies and stud service and had Carrot/Cucumber/Beet juice (kidney cleanse)  I'll be juicing this recipe for about a week along with 6000mg of Vit.C daily, to get rid of the UTI.

Savanah explaining the rules to one of the Moms

RUN! RUN! RUN!

Hey there Heather!

Me and my girls - what fun!

Then later in the afternoon, I went to Mutual with Heather & Savanah for a Mother's Day activity.  I ate dinner with them (Pita Pockets, veggi. tray, chips & salsa mini chocolate chip cookies).  So I got a little of everything - the salsa was fantastic- not your average red salsa, I totally want that recipe!  I'll post it here when I get it! Then we played games, you should have seen us try the two legged race with 3 people - talk about looking stupid!!  Then we got someone to be Savanah's "mom" for the balloon race.  

We had fun, but by the end of the night, that food caught up with me and I knew I'd need my bathroom soon so we headed home!  Talk about feeling crappy!  I am totally sold on this Juice Diet, I can't tell you how much better I feel, and I have tons of energy!  I feel like I've just woken up from a 3 year coma!

So I took my Oil, waited an hour, took my Vitamin C, Bee Pollen & Coconut Oil capsules with a tall glass of water and went to bed.

No real noticeable changes today, except my poor reaction to dinner.  My weight is down to 133 though!  Yipee!

A few quick recipes:
Juice twice (put the pulp through after juicing to get all the juice out, then strain)
3 Carrots, 2 Cucumbers, 1 Beet - Kidney Cleanse
3 Carrots, 2 Apples, 1/3 head of GREEN LEAF Lettuce (never Iceberg - no value)
3 Carrots, 3 Stalks of Celery - Good for better sleeping
Watermelon Juice (the whole thing, not just the red stuff) - Good source of chlorophyll
3 Carrots, 1/2 bunch of Spinach - Move bowels
3 Carrots, 2 Stalks of Celery, 2 Radishes - reduces mucus
* All leafy greens are lung builders and good for detox (always include an apple or a few carrots
*50% Carrot 50% Apple - Good for fighting Cancer

Day #6 of the Juice Fast...

Today was another busy day, but I'm left feeling like I didn't get much done (I planned to clean my room).  I did, however manage to sell a Boxer puppy today which brought in some much needed cash.

So, this morning I took 1 1/2 Tbs. of Olive Oil - nasty!  I have to take my second dose tonight and I'm not looking forward to it.  Don says it'll get easier as I go.  I worked out at Jazzercise, my calves are going to be sore tomorrow, my chest is a little sore too so tomorrow should be fun.

So my first "meal" was around 1:00 this afternoon - Carrot/Cucumber/Green Leaf Lettuce Juice

Then around 5:00 I had Carrot/Cucumber/Spinach Juice

Pizza!

Boys!

Mom and Me!

Tonight Don and I took Ammon to see Knomeo (I have no idea if this is how it's spelled) and Juliet in 3D - cute movie.  We stopped for a pizza for Ammon on the way and I thought I'd be really tempted by it, but I wasn't!

After the movie we stopped at Sprouts and bought Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Apples and more Carrots - also, Grandma Conover gave us two bags of Oranges from her neighbor's tree - yum!

When we got home, there was a huge pot of Potato/Corn/Alfredo soup on the stove - leftovers from dinner - NOW I was tempted!  Oh man, that smelled so good!  Luckily Don was there taunting me so I didn't cave!

Instead I made some Carrot/Apple/Celery Juice and went and hid in my room while the girls put the leftovers away!

So to sum it up, I haven't really noticed any dramatic changes today, just small stuff.  I think my waist size is going down and my skin is clearer than I've seen it in a long time, but I think I'm either going through a "cleansing crisis" or maybe I've caught something because I feel maybe a head cold coming on.  Now I'm adding Vit. C to my supplements - determined not to let anything slow me down now, I'm on a roll!

Day #5 of the Juice Fast...

This is Jane - our little 3.5 lb. Yorkie

Okay, so I was hoping to wake up this morning refreshed, but Sophie got me up at 3:30 and had other plans for me.  So at 6:15 I finally gave up and got up 15 minutes before the alarm.  I went to the kitchen to take my first dose of Olive Oil, but couldn't find it.  So I settled for Carrot/Apple/Cucumber juice and got ready for the day.  Once the kids were off to school, I headed to Jazzercise for an hour long, butt kicking, workout.

After Jazzercise, I picked Katelynn up from school and dropped her off to play at Grandma's house while I went home to work on advertising our Boxer pups for sale (www.FawnsBoxers.com - know anyone looking for a Boxer pup?).

For lunch I had Carrot/Apple/Spinach/Green Leaf Lettuce juice - it was good.  Sophie helped me drink it, she loved it - Savanah tried it and liked it, Heather, not so much.

For Family Home Evening, we took the kids to Pioneer Park to play for a couple hours.  I wish they'd make swings for fat people, those swings squeezed my rear, and I think I dislocated my shoulders trying to go across the monkey bars - the park gets less fun the older I get!

After my post, I'm headed to the kitchen to juice Carrot/Apple/Spinach/Cucumber juice for my evening meal, then in an hour I'll take my first dose of Olive Oil.  I didn't take my supplements today, I'll have to be better at remembering that!

So here's what I noticed today:  I weighed myself at Jazzercise and I've lost 5 lbs (down to 135)!!!  So fun!  Also I had way more energy today than I've had in years (at least 2).  It seems like my outlook is healthier now too.  The further into this juice fast I go, the more resolve I have to make it a lifestyle rather than just a way to lose weight.  I think I'll start involving my whole family in these juices to help them with their issues too!

Day #4 of the juice fast...

Jazzercise!

Today was fast Sunday.  I forgot this morning, so I had a couple sips of Raspberry Tea, but then fasted till around 8:30PM.  So I finished off the day with about 32ozs. of Carrot/Apple/Cucumber juice - YUM!  I think I found my mainstay!  It was really refreshing.  I took my Coconut Oil capsules and my Bee Pollen with it.  Starting tomorrow I'm going to take 2 Tbs. of Virgin Olive Oil morning and night - something out of one of Don's book.  I can't say more about the why's of this technique until he loses the bet we made.

Here's the bet - I will last longer on my diet/exercise program than he will on his.  If I win I can put the information about the Olive Oil on my Blog, if he wins (he won't) then he gets to save his information for his up and coming website devoted to health and weight loss.

My program is that I have to stay on my juice fast and workout once daily (M-F - workout) till I hit my target weight/fitness/body fat.  He has yet to come up with his plan, but he has to get it to my by tomorrow night or he automatically forfeits!  He, he - fun!

One new change I noticed - my eyelashes are getting longer and thicker again, and my skin looks clearer.  I can't wait to notice that my "double chin" is gone!

Where I'm at and where I want to be...

Here are pictures taken today

Double Chin

May 1st, 2011

and here is a picture of where I want to get back to.

Day #3 of the juice fast...

I woke up this morning feeling like I was STARVING!  I've noticed that this tends to happen to me when I eat "empty" food the night before.  So for breakfast, I had Carrot/Apple/Turnip Green Juice - kinda spicy, not my favorite - note to self, no more Turnip Greens!  Later, for lunch I had Raspberry Tea, and for dinner, I made baked potato soup for the family (yum, I only tried a bite - had to make sure it was good!) and I made Carrot/Apple/Cabbage/Parsley, but I couldn't eat it - WAY SPICY (another note to self - NO MORE CABBAGE)!!  So Don drank it and I juiced Carrot/Apple/Celery instead.  I took my supplements twice today. or was it 3 times?  I forget, I hope this diet will improve my memory soon!

I haven't noticed any weight loss, but I'm beginning to feel better, and I can't BELIEVE how soft my skin is!  I don't think my skin has EVER been so soft!  When I mentioned it to Don, he said he noticed it yesterday.  I thought that was kinda fun!

No splurging today!  Hopefully, once the healing part is over, I'll be able to document some changes.  I'm excited to try the Watermelon juice and the Orange juice.  I'm also adding Cucumber and Green Leaf Lettuce to next weeks regimen!  When I can either grow or get my hands on some Wheat Grass, I'll take that too - we already have a special juicer for it, so why not?

Day #2 of the juice fast...

Today I had Raspberry Tea again (good for women).  Then I had carrot/apple/celery juice with my supplements for breakfast and for lunch I had carrot/apple/spinach juice.

In the evening Don and I went to a local Mexican food shop and I had a Chicken Burro with Rice and Beans.  I couldn't finish most of it, I guess my stomach is shrinking on the inside - it sure doesn't look like it on the OUTSIDE!

I haven't noticed any real changes yet, hopefully soon.

Day #1 of the juice fast...

So the first day I started my fast was Thursday, April 28th, 2011.  I began my day with Raspberry Leaf Tea sweetened with Honey.  My next "meal" was 5 Carrots & 2 Apples juiced with a Champion Juicer.  Jay suggests you juice your vegetables because you can consume more that way than you could if you had to eat them regularly.  In other words, he suggests you juice your vegetables and eat your fruit.  He says that there are very few fruits that go well with vegetables so far, he has mentioned Apples and Cantaloupe, but Don said he has read that Pineapple can digest well with vegetables too.

In the tapes I've been listening to Jay suggested also taking Unsaturated Amino Fatty Acids to help break up fat and cellulite, so I take Coconut Oil in gel capsules in addition to Bee Pollen with every "meal."

He also recommends eliminating all animal products - this is going to be a hard one for me, but I'd rater eat more selectively as a skinny person than eat what I want as a fat one!

My next meal was 3 Carrots, 1/2 of a Beet and 1 Apple - not my favorite, so I drank it fast.

Then, because it was date night, I ate Chicken Pot-Stickers and a few small pieces of chocolate.  Not exactly helpful to losing weight, but I don't want to be too stringent and end up giving up and binging!

If this is your first time visiting this blog...

Go to the very first post and work your way up!  The videos make more sense if you start with the first one!

Part B

Spark Plug of Life - Part A

Best Liver Cleanser

Real Orange Juice

#1 Beta Carotene Drink in the World

Nature's Perfect Mineral Water

The Juice That Saved My Life - Jay Kordich

1st Jiuce Video by Jay Kordich - Start Here!

Introduction...

This is Me and Sam (my oldest daughter) a few years ago

Okay, so here's my new blog.  I'm writing it mainly to remind myself of what I've learned, and to motivate myself to stick with it.

I'll start out by discussing my health a little.  I'm 5'3 and my average weight has always been around 100lbs.  I wasn't the healthiest kid around, but I never really complained (unless my gym teacher made me run the mile, I swear it took me the whole hour - hated running).

When I started having children, I never really changed my eating habits which were the typical American teenager foods (however, ice became a daily necessity).  When I met and married Don, I started changing my diet to exclude sugar and milk (with the exception of a piece of chocolate every now and then) 

Left to Right: Ammon, Katelynn & Caianna about 3 years ago

Between Ammon, Caianna & Katelynn I started actually losing weight (I averaged somewhere between 89 & 95) but it wasn't until my miscarriage that I started having real health problems.  I was hospitalized for 10 days and told I had a cyst on one of my ovaries and abscesses filled with "fluid" in my abdomen. I was given a bag of blood, 2 bags of Potassium along with pain killers and tons of antibiotics.  They even went in to drain the fluid, but never could explain what was going on.  Friends who came to see me thought I was going to die, I was too drugged to really know how bad I was.  Don was pretty worried.  My veins kept collapsing, so they had to change my IV almost daily - ouch!  Before they could operate, they needed to make sure my bowls were empty, I couldn't understand how I could have anything in there because I was so sick I couldn't keep anything down, but they brought me 2 Dixie cups of the most salty disgusting stuff I have EVER had.  I thought one cup would do it since I was 90lbs sopping wet, but they insisted.  So I took the second cup, threw up and pooped ALL OVER THE BED and left a very smelly trail on the way to the toilet.  Serves them right, it think! Anyway, they still couldn't figure out what was wrong with me, so $60,000 (and an infection in my arm from not changing my IV the last day) later I told them I was leaving.  Because if I was going to die, I would do it on my terms with my family, not in that hospital bed and not so drugged that I couldn't even speak right!  The nurse said "You can't just leave... you at least need to get released by the doctor."  So I told her to get the IV out of my arm and get the doctor because I already called Don and I was leaving.  The doctor came and asked me if I was leaving against my will (give me a break).  I said no and that we were no closer to knowing what my problem was now than 10 days earlier and I was leaving.

So Don took me home, put a salve on my arm and gave me tons of  herbs and vitamins to help me get heal.  By that afternoon I already felt 50% better, then slowly got better from there.  Don's good at this stuff.  It's not main-stream medicine, but I have found over the years, that he's usually right when it comes to my health (sometimes irritatingly so).

I should probably mention here that our diet has drifted into regular eating and strayed from trying to eat carefully, avoiding regular sugar and milk by using substitutes like honey, fructose, stevia and rice or soy milk.

Sunshine holding Sophie last year

Now two more children later (Sunshine and Sophie) I am 40lbs overweight and not feeling too well.  That stupid cyst is double the size it was before and I've been fighting a nasty kidney infection.  I have constant headaches, I fluctuate between being sick to my stomach and cramps.  And I'm tired to the point of exhaustion all the time.  Pregnant? Nope, regular menstrual cycle.

I told Don the other day that I was so sick and tired of being so sick and tired and that I was going to go on a juice fast.  So he got out some tapes that he found at either Good Will or Deseret Industries and suggested I listen to them.

The cover looks like something out of the 80's and my tape player is broken so the guy sounds like a chipmunk.  But that chipmunk had good information, so I  got Don's Champion Juicer out, dusted it off and went to the store for a bunch of produce.

In this blog, you'll see videos by the guy I listened to in the tapes (Jay Kordich).  He talks a little funny - not my favorite and oh, my, those eyebrows need HELP, but his intentions are good and I believe his plan will help me not only lose weight, but get me truly healthy for the first time in my life!

I will track my progress here, list the food and juices I'm eating and drinking and what changes I've noticed as I go.  Hopefully I'll feel well enough to get some Jazzercise in again soon.  This should be fun!