Day 11: New Year's Eve Green Juice Du Jour

Well, here we have reached the last few hours of the last day of 2010. Parting is not "sweet sorrow" it's actually a celebration of achievements and a time to look to the future.

In 2010, the health of my immediate family was great. It was the first time that I made sure that 90% of my house was clean...almost beyond recognition, before the stroke of midnight. In 2010, I made a healthy resolution for the new year and started it BEFORE January 1st. Finally, this year, I lost more pounds than I gained for the first time in 10 YEARS! All in all, 2010 was a great year. I am looking forward to 2011 and have many positive plans for the next 365 days.

Today marked the second day that I juiced in the evening and I must say that I feel all the better for making this decision. Breakfast is the easiest meal for me to prepare and it sends me into the day feeling full and loved. I am usually a captive audience for lunch and use frozen dinners or a salad/sandwich combination to get me through the day. Dinner is the hardest meal for me to face because by the end of the day I am exhausted. By that time, eating is more of a task or chore. Therefore, juicing in the p.m. is a win-win situation for me.

My final breakfast for 2010 included 2 pieces of toast, 3 turkey sausage links, red grapes and water. Snack included 1/2 of a turkey/cheese sandwich. For lunch, Tim and I went to Olive Garden where I had the Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo...well it is the last day of 2010...Someone had to celebrate! Finally, for dinner, my green juice included: a plum (for the first time), celery, cucumbers and a blend of spinach leaves.

I believe that my system is getting used to not having such a sweet taste in this juice. I used my Produce Wheel to help guide me to fruit with 10 grams or less of sugar per serving. This tool has taught me the way to choose the healthiest fruit and vegetables, as well as the proper way to store them. It should be a part of every household's meal planning.

Day 10: A Reversal of Order

I had a slow start this morning. I spent about 3 hours dancing last night and I paid for it this morning. I was EXHAUSTED, but I still managed to get up. Even though I promised myself to stop worrying about checking my weight every other day, I did it anyway. (I weighed 186.4 lbs...partial smile.)

I had an appointment today, so I ate a breakfast sandwich that included two eggs with American cheese on two pieces of wheat toast. An orange juice was also included in that meal. For lunch, I stopped by Zaxby's and ate five BBQ boneless wings and a salad. I made my own salad dressing with lemons, peppers and a little salt. I drank only about 1/8 of the fruit punch. For dinner, I made a green juice that consisted of 2 pineapple slices-juiced, 1 roma tomato-juiced, 1 cucumber-juiced and a handful of spinach leaves blended. As I poured the drink into the glass, I remembered that I wanted to add 1/4 cup of soy milk, so I re-blended all of the ingredients. The juice was just as green with the soy milk; however, the juice did not separate the second time. It was suspended within the soy milk and held its consistency until I had time to drink it. (See photos above.)

After today's experience, I decided to blend the green drink for dinner, instead of for breakfast, when I resume my regular schedule. This will keep me from having to disassemble and wash the juicer and the blender in the morning. In addition, it will let me savor the hot, homemade breakfasts that love so much.

Day 9: My Lovely Purple Juice

The juice that I blended, this morning, was a lovely shade of purple. We learned in elementary school that red and blue make purple...right? Well, this morning, I juiced celery stalks (green), carrots (blue/purple & yellow), cucumbers (green) and tomatoes (red & yellow), then I blended the juice with blueberries (blue/purple), cucumbers (green), and tomatoes (red & yellow). This mixture created the prettiest purple drink that proved to be just as tasty. After my scare, yesterday with adding too much additional sugar to my meals, I decided to use my handy fruit/veggie color wheel to add up my the total carbohydrates for this drink: carrots-10 grams (g.), cucumbers - 2g., tomatoes 8 g., blueberries -about 3 g. and the delicious celery has 0 grams of carbohydrates...which makes this veggie one of my new best friends!

Today is is my shopping day. Unfortunately, I juiced/blended my produce BEFORE taking a photo...bummer! (That just means that I will have to juice it again in about four-five days and take a shot to share it with you.) Above, I shared three of the ingredients (cucumber, carrots, blueberries) from this recipe. I am well on my way to juicing with all of the colors of these food groups.

Day 8: Measurements Day & My New GREEN Drink

Pre-breakfast included: 1/4 c. of soy (because I juiced late and really needed something in my stomach)

Juicing/Blending: 3 1/2 slices of pineapples, juiced; 2 celery stalks, juiced and blended with 8-10 small spinach leaves and 1 tbsp. alfalfa sprouts. This juice was definitely GREEN and delicious.

Breakfast consisted of a two-egg omelet with softly sauteed (in olive oil) onions, yellow squash, spinach (about 8 leaves), a sliver of fresh ginger root, 3 sage leaves, sun-dried tomatoes (stored in olive oil) and 1/4 tsp. of minced garlic (in oil), which was added at the last minute. I chose to omit the cheese even though I simply LOVE sharp cheddar! From the photo, it looked a little needy, for an omelet; however, I was surprised that it was so tasty. With the addition of the sea salt & freshly crushed black pepper (which was added to the beaten eggs), I didn't even miss the cheese :) .

Lunch: I bought a Kentucky grilled chicken breast, discarded the bun and paired it with steamed brussel sprouts cooked al dente (with no sauce).

Dinner: I ate about three Parmesan chicken bites from a frozen dinner. I discarded the penne pasta and added steamed broccoli (with only the tomato sauce from the frozen dinner).

For snack, between lunch and dinner, I ate a cup of applesauce and a shortbread cookie.
After dinner, I ate two more shortbread cookies. They are delectable and irresistible.

All in all, I think that my daily meals were spaced between 2-3 hours with very little time for starvation...LOL.

My water intake was about 24 oz. I still need to increase that amount.

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My current measurements are:

43 1/4" bust--> increase of 1 1/4"
36 1/2" waist (at navel)--> decrease of 1 1/2"
38 1/2" pooch (directly below navel) --> decrease of 1"
44 3/4" hips -->no change
29" left thigh--> decrease of 1/2"
28 3/4" right thigh --> no change

Weight (from 12-22-10) = 189.8 lbs. ---> increase of 2 lbs.

Exercise = Powerwalking (outside) for 20-25 minutes.

*Next weigh-in & measurement = Sunday, Jan. 2, 2010.

*FEATURED WEBSITE*: The African-American Diabetes GURU

I had a restless night. I awoke thinking about juicing. I had a bad feeling that I was setting myself up for serious failure. Was I juicing too many fruit, which would shoot my glucose levels higher. As I've stated before DIABETES is a huge concern in my family. My grandmother had her leg amputated about five years ago and battles eating right on a daily basis.

Before eating breakfast or saying my morning prayers, I hit the computer. I googled "juicing & diabetes" and found an amazing story. In this world, there is at least ONE man who has had his blood sugar elevated to over 1300 and LIVED to share his story. After awaking one morning, unable to move, he called 911. After regaining consciousness from a diabetic comma, he realized that decision saved his life. He was told that he would have to have BOTH legs amputated in order to live. Luckily, his daughter rejected that option, which set DeWayne McCulley on his fateful journey to save millions of people who continue to suffer from the side effects of diabetes.

*ARTICLE REVIEW*: Diversify Your Diet

On my journey to get feedback on Dr. Mehmet Oz's green juice, I surfed Oprah.com and found a link to Dr. Oz/Dr. Roizen's website, Real Age.com.

At first, I thought that Real Age.com was a gimmick to get money out of me. It seemed too good to be truly free. Then, I realized that it was a treasure-trove of ideas and recipes. As I stated in my 12-26-10 blog, I wanted to find different types of fruit and veggies to eat so that I can rotate my food choices.

The Diversity Your Diet article, on Real Age.com, takes a simple approach to diet variety. It suggests that we choose fruit and vegetables by color. Each color represents a different nutritional benefit for our bodies. As it turns out, many veggies & fruit are cancer-fighters, which is a plus for anyone's well-being.

Take the time to read this article from beginning to end. You will be amazed at the information that you will find.

Day 7: Carrocumber & Fruit juice

This morning, I ate the 2x2x2 special at IHOP, but not before I juiced. This mornings concoction consisted of: carrot juice & cucumber juice as the base. I dubbed it Carrocumber & Fruit Juice. This was blended with strawberries and grapes. Soy milk was omitted from this drink, since I added it for the first of my six-day juicings.

Day 6: Introducing Orangespinstraw Delight & the Rotation of Fruit/Veggies

This morning was a struggle for me. After a few days of juicing, I grew complacent and forgot that one meal doesn't make for a lifestyle change.

Weight: 189.8 :(

I increased my weight by 3.2 lbs. (I ate out for lunch & dinner on Christmas Eve AND for lunch on Christmas Day.) I was a little depressed by this early morning information; however, I pressed on. I resumed my a.m. wake-up exercise and juiced.

My new creation is called Orangespinstraw Delight, which consists of carrot & celery juice blended with oranges, spinach and strawberries plus the usual soy milk. It made the perfect 8 oz. Mason jar full of nectar. Because I chose not to add fresh apple juice, this mixture was not as sweet; however, it was just as satisfying.

In the book, "Get Healthy Now! with Gary Null" (specifically Chapter 10: Weight Management), it's stated that when dealing with food allergies, it's good to rotate food selections, so that the system does not get flooded with the same food over and over again.

So, it is my goal to use different ingredients each day (for a four-day cycle) to keep my system cleansed. That means if I have apples on Monday, then I will not juice it again until Friday (at the earliest).

This mini-rotation of ingredients means that I will need to research other fruit and vegetables. Also, I will have to reduce the DIFFERENT types of fruit/veggies that I add to my drinks and in addition find alternatives to soy milk.

Day 5: The Alpineblu Special & a Merry Christmas to ALL

I can tell you that I tried to sleep as LATE as possible today. Even though I arose to take my hypertension medication, feed my six zebra finches and get some water, I promptly went back to sleep until 11:50 a.m.! (Yeah for Cindy!)

My Christmas Day breakfast included a juiced apple and carrots that was blended with soymilk, fresh alfalfa sprouts, blueberries and pineapple slices. I will dub this drink my "Alpineblu Special". This new concoction made exactly 8 oz./1 cup of juice...yeah. I think that I just about have this process down.

In the January 10, 2011 First for Women magazine, Dr. Oz suggested that another slimming strategy was to "automate one meal". This means that I need to create a habit with one meal that stays the same. So, I am planning to make my morning juicing ritual my first good habit of the new year.

Unlike many people who start their new year resolution in January, I always clean out the old and bring in the new in December.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2010...and it snowed in Atlanta (Rex) on CHRISTMAS!!

Day 4: Christmas Eve Juicing 12-24-10

Good Morning, Merry Christmas Eve and Happy Juicing!

Current Weight: 186.4 lbs.

My day started with a breakfast of the juice that remained from yesterday's breakfast PLUS spinach leaves, a handful of red grapes and store-bought pineapple juice (not shown in photo).

It is nice to know that I don't have to drink or throw out my juice, when I make too much for one serving.

I must say that with all of the juicing, I wasn't "discarding" as much waste as I thought I should have been...until this morning. What I forgot to do was drink more WATER. The extra fiber in the veggies and fruit should have created more mass; however, I just wasn't seeing it. So, last night I resumed my water intake. (I keep a full glass of water by my bed, so that I can drink during the night.) Adding more water to my body seemed to do the trick...

I'm down to 186.4 lbs which is the second lowest weight that I have registered since I started keeping track on Aug. 1, 2010. (On 12/6/10, I weighed 186.00 lbs.)

Day3: 12-23-10 & Measurements

Today's breakfast consisted of: freshly-squeezed apple blended with alfalfa sprouts, red grapes, blueberries, strawberries and an orange PLUS Eden Soy Original milk. (I took this photo before I decided to decrease the oranges and increase the apples.) The flavor was delightfully good. Even though I could smell the alfalfa sprouts, I could not taste it.

This amount of fruit and juice made about 2 1/2 cups of fruit juice, which is definitely too much for me. I only need about 8oz. of juice in the morning, so I placed the remaining 1/2 of this juice in the refrigerated in a Mason jar. I definitely need to make sure that I am not overloading my system with too much sugar. Diabetes is an issue in my family and I do NOT want it to become an issue with me.

*In addition to the juice, I ate a mini bagel and about 2 TBSP. of cream cheese.

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On 12-21-10 my measurements were:
42" bust
37 1/2" waist (at navel)
39" pooch (directly below navel)
44 3/4" hips
29 1/2 left thigh
28 3/4" right thigh

Weight (from 12-22-10) = 187.8 lbs. ---> Next weigh-in = Friday, Dec. 24, 2010.

...next measurement will be on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010
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LUNCH consisted of 2 small soft shell tacos (homemade), 1/2 c. ground chuck, lettuce, diced tomatoes, 1/4 c. cheddar cheese and medium salsa.

snack: 2 fig newton cookies

DINNER included three slices of Boar's head turkey on two-slices of wheat bread, mayonnaise and a small salad (romaine lettuce, cucumbers, onions, roma tomatoes and salad dressing (from Olive Garden).

Since I have been off work, I am not nearly as active; therefore, this little amount of food is ok. However, before I resume work, I will need to restart my exercise program AND increase my daily intake of food ....AND WATER!

Day 2: 12-22-10

Before I went to bed last night, I realized that it was the first day (in a long time) that I didn't require a nap. Was it a direct result of juicing or did I just forget that I was tired? Oh well, 364 days to go. I will surely find out before next Christmas.

Pre-Breakfast included: fresh apples and carrot juice blended with a handful of blueberries, oranges and of course and soy milk. I decided not to juice my oranges because I read that the pulp was an essential aid for digestion. Not juicing the oranges made the drink a little thicker than I am used to drinking, but the taste was good.
I ate breakfast about 30 minutes later. It consisted of three pancakes (diameter of about 21/2 to 3 inches, 1/2 c. of syrup, which was probably too much and three turkey sausage links.

Day 1: Tuesday 12-21-10

My juicing program began last night. I just could not figure out what to have for dinner. It was getting late and I knew that I had to find something to eat. Here is what I consumed: juice from carrots blended with soy milk and a sage leaf, which could help with inflammation in my joints. (Oh yeah, I have inflamed joints, too.) It was pretty satisfying and got me through the night.

Today my meal went like this: Pre-Breakfast - apples (juiced), oranges -peeled and juiced blended with romaine lettuce stalk, a sage leaf and soy milk. Breakfast - 3/4 cup of soy milk and 8 oz. of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal. Lunch - 1/2 cup of Jasmine Coconut rice with 3/4 cups of curry. Believe it or not...I COOKED! Snack - 1 small cup of applesauce with 2 sugar cookies.

Earlier today, I went to Oprah.com and located Dr. Oz's actual green drink (which was also printed in First for Women magazine). So many people talked about how thick and undrinkable the concoction was that I decided to create my own version of it for my dinner. It included: apples, juiced and cucumber, juiced. In order to recapture most of the fiber from the apples and cucumber, I took a good portion of the pulp (from the juicer) and placed it in my blender with spinach leaves, fresh ginger root, celery stalk and soy milk. While this recipe created a much thicker drink than I was used to enjoying, I know that the added fiber will help to cleanse my system better than juice alone. It will take a little adjustment on my part, but I think that it will be worth it in the long run.

With each gulp, I think about the ladies in the magazine who lost between 50 and 120 lbs. With weight loss on my mind, I daydream that this drink is nectar from God!

2011: New Year, Healthier Me!

Well, it's less than five days 'til Christmas and all is relatively well. I have decided to give this food diary blog another shot. In 2010, I was busy with teaching my ESOL students and took on additional duties as an after-school environmental educator. However, as I move into 2011, I know that I have to be more deliberate about the way in which I approach being healthy. For me, that will begin with sticking writing my daily entries into this food diary.

This 180 degree about face was inspired by an article that I read in First for Women magazine (January 10, 2011 issue). On the cover is a smiling Dr. Mehmet Oz. The claim states that he has the #1 fat cure. REALLY? Well... I just HAD to buy this issue to see for myself.
On page 32, the claims start about juicing and losing. I read every word AND decided to see if his claim could work for me.
MY STATS: For more than five years, I have tried to lose weight. I had a personal trainer for two years (2008-2010) and the weight didn't budge. In 2010, at 43 (now 44) years old, I maxed out at 200 lbs. After guidance from my nutritionist, Chandra Carty, I watched my diet, started this blog and managed to lose down to 188.8 (as of 12-20-10).
Many people may think that 188.8 is a good size. For me, standing at 5' 4" my weight and height place me in the obese category. I have bouts with depression, fatigue, eczema, hypertension and stress. So, what could I lose by trying this "fat cure" from Dr. Oz and resuming work with Dr. Carty? Well...actually...I COULD lose unwanted pounds, get more energy and get off my hypertension medicine.
The hardest part of this self-help challenge will be to maintain this DAILY blog. Even though I love to write...I'm actually passionate about it...finding the time for entries will provide a challenge for me. However, on this 21st day of December 2010, I will make the following 2011 goals for myself and my health.

GOAL #1: Place at least ONE entry into this food dairy per day.
GOAL #2: Juice at least once per day.
GOAL #3: Record my weight every TWO days. (Goal = 175-180lbs.)
GOAL #4: Record my inches every week.
GOAL #5: Get off hypertension medication.
GOAL #6: Inspire my significant other, Tim, to join me in getting healthier.

Pray for me and my ability to find a healthier me! I hope that you come along for the ride, Chandra.