Day 51: November Love With Food

My back is still giving me all kinds of trouble, and I can't stand to ride in the car, or walk around much, so shopping (even for food) has been out of the question. You can imagine how happy I was then, yesterday, to open my door and discover the November Love With Food box on my front porch. It's a good one too!

Without further ado, here's the loot:

The theme for this month is "Baby It's Cold Outside." I hate that date rape holiday song, but since we got our first real taste of winter this week, and it actually is cold outside, I'm okay with it.

This box has a TON of stuff in it. I haven't tried any of it yet, because J is working this week, and I like for us to try the treats out together, but there are some products that are obviously going to be amazing.

The product that I am most excited about, and one that I probably won't end up sharing with J, is this packet of Fruit Bliss soft dried mini-figs. I love figs, and feeling these through the package, they seem soft and chewy and I seriously cannot wait to tear into them. And, I know it shouldn't matter, but the packaging is adorable, and I'm definitely somewhat swayed by that. (Not that they didn't have me at "fig.")

The next goodie is this Marlo's Midnight soft baked chocolate biscotti. I'm a fan of regular, crunchy biscotti, so I can't imagine that I won't also like this little jewel. I've never heard of soft biscotti, but seriously, it's a cookie. How could it possibly be bad?

I also got this packet of Laiki red rice crackers. This is a product I've never heard of, but you know I love salty snacks, and again, the packaging is great, so I'm looking forward to trying this. One of the things I love about this box is that they try to include snacks that might not be the first thing you notice at the grocery store. I don't even know if anybody carries these here.

I think this will be J's favorite thing in the box. These Chipz Happen Cinnful Sweet Heat tortilla chips are right up his alley. They feel like they might have gotten a bit crushed in transit, but they'll still taste yummy. 

We got a kind kids' lunchbox treat too, and while it's not something I would likely buy, if I saw it in the store, I'm sure these are really tasty.  They are Dick & Jane Smart Snacks, and I think they are sort of similar to vanilla wafers. Maybe vanilla shortbread? I don't know, but they're cute, with pictures of the states and their capitals printed on them.

We got two of the next items, so there doesn't have to be sharing, and it's a good thing too, because they are chocolate. The first chocolates are these Jer's Groupies milk chocolate and peanut clusters, which are my favorite kinds of chocolates (except apricot creams, which are impossible to find). 

The other chocolates are these Guylian truffles. We got a milk truffle and a dark chocolate praline one. I think they both sound yummy, but J will probably get the praline one, because he prefers dark chocolate, and I like ALL chocolate.

The last food item in the box is something a bit different for Love With Food. It's a packet of gourmet all purpose seasoned salt from Whole Spice. The ingredients say that it contains sea salt, sugar, celery, chili, onion, tumeric, black pepper, garlic, oregano, and citric acid. I have no idea what to put this on. A rub for steaks or pork chops, maybe? Sprinkle it over popcorn? I don't know, but I'm pretty excited to try it on something, especially since my mom bought me new pots and pans as an early Christmas present, and I'm ready to start cooking winter meals. 

Speaking of winter meals, LWF also included this small Rachel Ray cookbook. It's got 30 recipes in it, and most of it looks like stuff that I'll be able to make, and that J and I will both like. This is the first non-food item I've ever received in a Love box, and I like it. I hope they continue to include stuff like this. 

So, what do you think? Is this worth $10 a month? I definitely think so, particularly for since every box ordered, Love With Food gives a meal to a hungry child. So far, they have donated more than 321 thousand meals. If you want your very own treat box, click this link, or the info box on the right, and get your first box for free!

xo

PS: I've lost 28 pounds, if you're wondering. 

Day 46: Injured

I'm down 24 pounds, which I'm pretty proud of. That's a pretty big bag of dog food. Or two bowling balls. Or 24 footballs. So yeah. Awesome.

The weight loss, for both of us, has increased our sex drives (sorry parents!), and made us generally more...athletic, which has resulted in a pretty sever back injury on my part. The lower intercostal (between the ribs) muscles on my back have been strained (possibly torn), and has resulted in about as much pain as that sounds like.

Anytime I twist, or bend, or go down a step, I'm in agony. Trying to roll over in bed is the worst possible thing I can do. Occasionally, when I'm just standing around, or walking, the muscles spasm, and my torso thrusts forward, pushing all the air out of me. It sounds sexy, let me tell you. So yeah, I can pretty much lay flat on my back and that's it. If I take my muscle relaxer and pain medication as prescribed, and not just when I think I need it, obviously it's much more manageable. However, they make me sleepy, so I don't take them as much as I probably should. Based on today though, I'm going to have to take them as instructed.

The good news is that they took so many X-rays that I now glow in the dark, which is a pretty cool super hero power. I think I'll call myself The Glowing Groaner, since that's the noise I keep inadvertently making.

I think a tightly laced corset may provide some support for my back and make me feel better, so we're going to try to do that later.

xo

Day 43: Somebody Felt Left Out

After I posted yesterday, J wanted me to post old and updated pictures of him for comparison too. His changes are much more pronounced than mine are:

Again, the new pic is on the left, and the old one (from May, the same time as my old one) is on the right. I took the liberty of editing out the zombies in the one on the right.

Here's also just face pictures, again, old one on the right. I think he looks weird in both of them, because he doesn't have his beard. I'm not sure why he's making a mug-shot picture in the one on the left.

So, there ya go! Progress!

xo

Day 42: TWENTY-ONE

I'm officially down 21 pounds as of this morning, which makes me a little over 17% of the way to my (initial) goal! All of my once-too-tight clothes fit again, I'm sleeping better, which may or may not be related, and I'm feeling pretty proud. I rarely, if ever, feel deprived, particularly since I got crafty, and have something to do with my hands. I finished my first cross-stitch tonight, and it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.

On the left is a current picture, although, I really don't think there's that much noticeable difference. People do keep asking if I've colored my hair (I haven't), so I think they are noticing something, but can't put their fingers on it. On the right, is a previous, similarly posed photo from May, as a comparison. As far as I can tell, my cheekbones are more extreme, and my chin is pointier. Maybe my neck looks longer? Possibly my boobs are smaller? I don't know. I do know that I'm wearing the same jeans in both pictures, but they are far more comfortable in the one on the left.

J. went to the doctor today, and she was quite impressed with his weight loss, and is considering taking him off of some of his medications, if his various labs continue to improve.

Onward!

xo

Day 40: Busy Hands

I've discovered that it's much easier for me to avoid my major pitfall, which is thinking I'm hungry when I really just need to be entertained, by making sure I have something to do with my hands. In the past, I've tried to crochet, but for whatever reason, I can't seem to count those stitches, and end up with a wonky mess.

Today I went to the craft store to find something to do that a) I'm actually capable of doing correctly and b) doesn't involve glitter, otherwise known as the herpes of craft supplies. I picked up a little beginner's cross stitch kit, and started this afternoon. So far, it's worked wonderfully, the pattern is actually coming together, and I haven't snacked out of boredom once. Win! If I manage to make this a success, I'll get some cool patterns on Etsy or somewhere, so that my house doesn't get covered in items displaying flowers and birds and cartoon characters.

I can't show you a picture of what I'm actually working on, because if it turns out well, it's going to be a gift, sorry!

xo

Needed This

Day 38: I Am a Slacker

It's been 9 days since I posted, although, honestly, I feel like it's been longer. Sorry about that. I have a hard time thinking of things to write about, since I've painted myself into this weight-loss blog corner. Can I talk about my new, cool makeup here? Can I talk about school? I don't know.

I don't have much of an update right now. I've been having my period, so I'm up 5 pounds, but it's not -real- 5 pounds, but I don't want to update my weight until it's over so that it's really accurate. J is down almost 40 pounds, I think.

We went shopping for new jeans for him while we were in Amarillo on Tuesday, and he is down FIVE pants sizes. .He tried to say that he actually didn't need new jeans, but seriously? They were falling off. He's small enough now to order jeans from Old Navy and not just places like Casual Male, so that's really handy, since Old Navy has great jeans for about half the price of the other places.

I'm down maybe 2 sizes, but it's hard to tell exactly since my clothes had gotten pretty tight before I started all this, and now fit a little loosely, so 2 sizes is kind of an estimate.

My cheekbones are starting to be really pronounced, which is kind of weird. Except not this week, since for no reason I can think of, when I'm having my ladies days, the lymph nodes between my mandible and maxilla swell up and the whole left side of my face turns into a pumpkin. It's super painful, and not pretty, and it makes absolutely no sense. But it's happened for the past 6 months, so I don't think it's a coincidence. Maybe the entire extra 5 pounds is in my face? Whatever.

xo

Day 29: Stomach Bug

The stomach bug I've had this weekend has knocked me down another 1.5 pounds (I only count full pounds though, so the.5 isn't showing up on the ticker over there ===>) Normally with a stomach bug I'd say that the loss is water weight, but I haven't been sick long enough for that to be the case, and if it is, I feel like the half a pound I didn't count makes up for it. I never know if I have to count the food that I've thrown up in my calories. I always do, but...-shrug.-

Anyway, I'm still feeling pretty crappy, but I wanted to post the weight update. I'm 15% of the way to my 12 month goal.

xo

Day 27: Love With Food Box

I must confess, I love subscription boxes. I don't actually subscribe to very many of them (I get an Ipsy bag, and J and I share LootCrate and Nerd Block boxes), but I saw an advertisement on Facebook a couple of weeks ago for Love With Food, which seemed like it might be fun, and was free to try ($10/month after that).

Love with food sends out a "tasting box" each month containing healthy or organic/all natural snacks. With every box they send out, they also provide one meal to a hungry child in the United States. It's pretty fun, and something that I think we will continue to subscribe to.

I received the box today, and here's what they sent me:

They also sent me a cinnamon/sugar Bananinha bar, but I gave it to J before I decided to post about this. I'm allergic to bananas, but he said it was good. Here's what that looked like:

I'll list the other stuff I got here now, so if you ordered a box, but haven't received it, and don't want spoilers, stop reading now.

The most interesting thing in the box, is something I haven't seen anywhere before. It's these falafel chips. I haven't tried them yet, and I told J I'd wait to open them until we could taste them together. The package is 180 calories.

The next thing is something I've seen at our grocery store, but haven't purchased yet because I think they're a little pricey for something that I don't know if I'm going to throw away or not, so I'm excited to try these:

I like sugar snap peas in general, so I'm sure these will be a win.

I also received this shortbread cookie, which I know is from a bakery that is located at the ferry building in San Francisco. They aren't available anywhere outside of the west coast (mostly the Bay area) yet, but I'm hoping that being included in this box means that they might become more available eventually.

The box also included two packets of Justin's Almond Butter, one in chocolate, and the other in honey. I don't particularly like nut butters, but J does, so I'm giving them to him.

J&M Original Cheese straws are the last salty snack. (Salty is my favorite kind of snack, so I was really happy that this box had a nice selection of crunchy/salty/crispy options). These are pretty high calorie (240 in the bag), but the first ingredient listed is cheddar cheese, so I guess that's not surprising.

The last item in the box was these Surf Sweets organic jelly beans. I had these for a snack tonight (as you can see by the open bag). They are 50 calories per bag, and they were just a little disappointing. The sugar was really grainy, and I seem to have gotten mostly lemon beans in my bag, which is not my favorite. That's okay though, everything else in the box was great, and I suspect that someone who has never had "real" jelly beans would probably be really into these.

Overall I'm really happy with this box, and it's always fun to try new snacks, especially if I can find something that tastes great and keeps me under my calories each day. If you're interested in a Love With Food box, just click that link . If you use the link from my blog, you will get your first box free. (You may have to pay $2 for shipping, although I didn't have to. It appears that they have changed the rules.)

xo

Day 26: Off Topic

I'm up half a pound, but I'm about 2 days out from my period right now, so I'm blaming that. I'm also blaming The Hormones for the outrageous outbreak on my chin. BOTH SIDES. Pretty.

This is only slightly related to dieting, but really, there's not an awful lot to say about that. Nobody cares what I had for lunch. However, I am a stress/emotional eater, which is certainly a contributing factor to how I got fat to begin with. So today I'm going to talk about the feelings.

I have pretty serious anxiety, and my biggest trigger is knowing that I have to be somewhere at a specific time. If I have an alarm clock set, I will absolutely not sleep, and hover around the edges of a panic attack all night. So, as you can imagine, since I have actual, in-class, classes this semester, which are obviously scheduled for certain times, my anxiety for the past couple of months has been through the roof. Next semester I have in-class classes in addition to starting my funeral home clinicals. Just thinking about it makes my heart race. The whole thing has made it that much harder to keep under my calories every day. Because something in my brain says "it will all be better if you eat half a dozen donuts." Luckily, I have a great doctor, and she's very much on top of it, and has prescribed something that in addition to keeping the panic at bay, has curbed my appetite somewhat. Better living through pharmaceuticals.

I'm pretty sure that's candy in those capsules.

I've tried to replace eating as my stress behavior with other stuff, but I can't really find something that I can always use. I used to think that going to the gym would be a perfect replacement behavior, because I feel better after I've been to the gym, and it's obviously better to burn calories than shove them in my face, but when I'm in the midst of it, thinking about getting dressed and driving to the gym just adds to the panic. So, most of the time I distract myself with doing random stuff around the house. Dusting, or dishes, or straightening up are my usual go-to's. I've also started playing around with makeup. I've never been a huge makeup girl, but I've been watching a ridiculous number of YouTube tutorials lately, and so I've been experimenting a bit. Which means I've gone from having like 2 lipsticks, to maybe 15. Insane, but calorie free. And J likes the fancy face looks, so bonus.

How do you distract yourself from anxiety, or boredom eating? Gimme some tips!

xo

Day 23

Sorry for my absence. I had school yesterday and today, and the weekend went by in a blur of homework. I've lost a little over 17 pounds (although I haven't weighed for 2 days, so it might be more), so I'm officially 15 percent to my goal for the next 342 days. I'm finding it pretty easy to stay under my allotted calories, except that I've been super craving Mexican food, and I know that it will be hard to stay under my calories and still visit Ruby Tequila's. I might look on Pinterest for some sort of low-cal enchiladas.

It's starting to get cold here, so I'm really excited about breaking out my pressure cooker and crock-pot and soup recipes. Winter foods are the only cuisine that I do really well, and it makes me feel nice when J compliments my cooking. I'll weigh in the morning and give more of an update.

xo

Day 19: Movie Date and a J update.

Short post, because J and I are going to see Gone Girl in about 20 minutes. I've officially lost 16 pounds now. J has lost 30 pounds. He looks smaller across his shoulders and chest, and it's super noticeable in his face. His shirts are starting to look too big.

J is officially 2 weeks in. He would like me to tell you that if you decide to start this, and you're taking juice to work with you, plan to make or buy enough to take to drink every 3 hours. He says he doesn't feel hungry anymore, but he does begin feeling tired and drained, but as soon as he drinks another juice, it's like a power-up in a video game, and he is back to normal. He's sleeping well, but seems to be having a harder time waking up. We are assuming this is because his blood sugar is much lower in the mornings now than it used to be. He's also no longer having the crazy bathroom issues that he was experiencing the first week. He's considering adding some food back occasionally at this point.

Since I added food I seem to be losing right around half a pound every day or two, which is only slightly slower than it was with the juice. I suspect though, that it would have slowed down eventually even with the juicing.  J is still maintaining around a pound or 2 pounds a day.

Part of the reason I had a harder time with this, and had to start eating again is because I always had a difficult time drinking enough juice to maintain enough calories to see me through the day. I also had a hard time getting enough water, because typically, I don't drink anything if I'm not also eating something. (I've mostly broken that habit now, thank goodness.) J has always been able to drink enough juice that he gets between 1000 and 2000 calories a day, even without food. He says he is averaging between 12 and 1400.

Time for date night!!

xo

Day 18: Weirdness

I'm down almost 16 pounds, which obviously I'm excited about, but I seem to be losing weight this time in places where it doesn't usually show up. (This isn't my first weight loss rodeo.) Like most women, I usually lose my boobs first, followed by my face and then other parts of my torso. This time, I still have the face thing happening, but the other places that I'm noticing weirdness are my hands and feet. The skin around my wrists and ankles looks too big, like jeans after you've worn them too many days in a row.

Observe:

My ankle/foot actually looks worse than this in person, but I can't seem to bend myself at the right angle to capture it on camera.

Anyway, I don't know what's going on with that, but I'm really hoping that I don't start looking like a shar pei in more places.  Unless I also end up this cute:

Seriously, don't our appendages look the same, right down to the extremely pale color?

xo

Day 17: Restaurants

So, I haven't eaten at any restaurant in 17 days. Since I'm eating actual food now, I'm not restricted from eating out, it just seems to have happened that way, but tonight (today? It's 4am) I'm seriously craving ALL THE RESTAURANTS.

J is still on juice, and is at work this week, so I'm pretty much on my own. Is it just me, or does it feel really weird to go to a non-drive through restaurant alone? I don't mind going to a coffee shop or something, but I just can't imagine walking into La Madeleine with my laptop or kindle. Maybe I can convince a friend to go out with me this week sometime.

J and I are going to see Gone Girl on Friday, I think, and I'm really excited about the movie (we both really liked the book), but I'm also so excited about being able to get popcorn this time. This sounds like I'm obsessing about food, doesn't it? I'm really not, I'm just rambling, and I don't know if I can/should post non-diet related stuff here, so food it is.

Oh! This is relevant! I really love our new scale. It's got an extra wide platform, so it's much easier to balance on, which makes it possible for the scale to get a more accurate weight. Wobbling on a tiny scale with your feet squished together makes the weight fluctuate up and down. I'm going to link you to the scale here, in case you want one. It was super affordable, and weighs up to 440 pounds, which is a lot for a cheap scale. The other thing I like about it is that you don't have to tap it, and wait for it to zero out before you step on it. It's ready to go when you are. It also doesn't do that stupid thing where it "remembers" your previous weights, which I hate, because sometimes those scales just show you the remembered weight instead of actually producing a new measurement. Alright, that's it for today!

xo

Day 16: Goals

My goal with this weight loss is not to be thin. Actually, I prefer myself with a little bit of "extra" weight, because I rather enjoy having boobs, and a butt, and thigh gaps kind of freak me out. My face gets a little horsey if I'm below around 180 pounds, which, I guess is still considered overweight for my height, but I'd rather be technically overweight than sickly looking. (Not that I'm in any danger of that at this moment.)

My ultimate goals are less number oriented, and since these goals are more tangible to me than just a number, I'm going to list them here.

1. I'd like to be able to shop off the rack at Old Navy, instead of always ordering online.

2. I'd like to be able to wear high heels without being in a lot of pain. I don't know if this is really weight related or not, but I remember a time when I could go an entire day in heels with nary an ankle roll. Nothing else has really changed, so I'm assuming that my weak ankles have a harder time now that I'm heavier.

3.  I want to be able to travel without worrying about whether I fit in the airplane seat. (I do right now, but that doesn't mean I don't freak out about it every time.)

4. I want to go to Disneyland in a few years and not worry about whether I fit on the rides.

5. I want to be comfortable in a restaurant booth. 

6. I want to be able to find knee high boots that I don't have to battle to zip. I don't know if that's ever going to be truly possible, because the muscles in my calves are really big, so I can't tell if weight loss will make them smaller.

I think that's pretty much it. I mean, I'm sure there are other things, and I'll post them in other blogs as I think of them, but generally, I'm healthy with no cholesterol, blood pressure, or blood sugar issues. My health concerns are primarily psychological, and I'm pretty positive that being smaller isn't going to change that. So yeah, unlike J, weight loss for me is primarily about vanity and convenience (and somewhat preventative, since eventually I could develop weight-related illnesses).  I don't think those are bad reasons to lose weight, and I don't think I, or anyone, should have to justify why they choose to lose weight, or NOT lose it.

xo

Day 15: A Chart!

Blogging has been slow, I know. I'm not feeling great, and I've got a lot of school-work right now, and really, I don't have an awful lot to say about this weight loss thing at the moment.

I'm officially down 15 pounds.

J is down, I think, 26 or 27.

I've been Super Anxiety Girl this week, while my Wellbutrin is settling back in my system, and that's making it hard for me to focus on anything for more than a couple of minutes. It seems to be getting better, so maybe by the end of the week I'll be back to "normal."

It's super satisfying for me to look at this little progress chart, so I'll leave you with that.

xo

Day 14: This is All I've Got Today, Folks

Day 13

I really have nothing to say at this point, but the overwhelming majority of people following on Facebook expressed that they'd like posts every day, so here it is.

J has officially lost 23 pounds. I am at 14.5ish. I'm really impressed with his commitment to the juice thing. He doesn't seem to be tempted by food at all at this point, even the pan of brownies I made last night.  He's on his 3rd night of 7, at work, so I haven't really gotten to talk to him much for a few days, but I'm planning a little "interview" with him to post here for more insight on how he's feeling

xo

Day 12: 500 Calories

I try to keep my meals under 500 calories, and my snacks under 200 (I usually only eat 2 meals per day). Reading that, for some people (me), doesn't sound like much, but this is what 500 calories looks like:

That is three baked, skinless chicken legs, and a full package of Green Giant cheesy broccoli and rice. It totals 498 calories, and is super filling and delicious.

I don't really have anything else to say today, except that for the first time in our marriage (8.5 years), J is officially under 400 pounds. He's on day 10 of his juice fast, and seems to be doing really well, and hasn't had any of the weird overwhelming cravings for meat that I had (which is what ultimately made me break my fast). I'm super proud of him. And of myself.

xo

Day 11: Visible Progress, Oh My Gosh!

So a couple of weeks ago, ModCloth had their Stylish Surprise thing happening, if you aren't familiar with this promotion, for $10 you can order a dress (their stuff is usually between $50 and $200), but you only get to tell them your size range, and you have no idea what you'll get. It sounded fun, and I figured if I got something that didn't fit, or was hideous, I could always eBay it for more than $10.

It came today, and I was somewhat dismayed to see that it was a size 22. I typically wear a 26/28, and didn't realize when I ordered that the range for 4x was 22-28 and not 26-30, which is ModCloth's usual sizing system. It's a super cute dress though, and I figured I'd at least try it on to see if there was a chance in the foreseeable future that I could wear it, since I'm losing weight.

Y'all, IT FIT.

(Excuse the blurriness, I made J take this picture just as he was getting out of the shower.) It's a tiny bit tight in the bust, but everybody knows boobs are one of the first things to disappear when weight is lost, and it's not so tight as to be uncomfortable. It totally zips, and doesn't fit like a sausage casing, and I can totally wear it.

Oops, forgot to tuck the hanger ribbon in...

 Wheeee!!

xo

Day 10: ELEVEN!!

We finally got our scale. This morning when I got up I had officially lost ELEVEN pounds. That is -more- than a pound a day. Hell's belles.

My belly has developed weird, bumpy spots, that resemble cellulite (which I don't typically have very much of). I guess this is where little bits of fat have shrunk. Maybe?

I'm on real food, but trying to stay between 1000 and 1500 calories a day, which should have me losing around 2-3 pounds a week from here on out. Very exciting.

J has lost 20 pounds, and is on day 7 of his fast (he's still doing all juice). I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow, and will let you know what she has to say about this whole thing.

xo

The Beauty of Veggies.

This is 75 calories of cauliflower. Far, far more satisfying than 50 calories of any juice you can name.

Day 9: Cutting it Short

I've lost 6 pounds in 8 days. That's a lot. Justin has lost 10 pounds in 6 (I told you guys lose faster!). I am officially adding food back into my diet, but I'm going to stay under 1200 calories a day. I feel like if I consume only juice much longer that I'll drown or something. So I'm going to keep drinking it a couple of times a day, and supplement with healthy foods and tons of raw veggies. Hopefully I'll lose between 2 and 3 pounds a week, and if not, I'll re-evaluate, and possibly do juice 2 days a week. I'm going to keep writing here, but as I've stopped fully juicing, I'm going to change the title. When I think of something, I'll let you know.

Day 8: One Full Week

I am back in Amarillo today and tomorrow, but this time I had the forethought to make some juice last night and bring it with me. I packed 5 servings of homemade juice, and a couple of the Raaw juices to supplement. Hopefully this will get me through. There are also places like Jamba Juice here, where I can go for a treat.

I realized last night that part of the reason my hunger has come back is because I ran out of my Wellbutrin, which is what usually keeps me from feeling too snacky. My refill will be waiting for me on Wednesday, and I eexpect to feel much better.

Week 1 of 8.5 is over, and this is both easier and harder than I expected. I'm not as hungry as I anticipated, but I miss the textures of foods, and I'm super bored with juice. They all taste pretty much the same, and that makes it harder to look forward to drinking one.  Over all, I think I can make it, at least for one more week.

xo

Comments

I think I've fixed the comments feature so that you can comment without having to log in to OpenId or any of that stuff. If I start getting a lot of weird spam though, I'll have to change it back to being a pain in the butt.

Day 7: A Setback

Last night, some of my family came to town to see The Boxtrolls with us. You should see this movie. On Friday night, I had a little breakdown, because this was really the first social interaction we were scheduled to have since we started the fast, and I was upset that we couldn't join my family for dinner. Plus, popcorn is such an integral part of the movie experience for me, I felt overwhelmed.

I planned to just drink juice before, have a drink in the theater and suck it up. But then I ran out of time getting ready and didn't have enough time to have a juice. I hadn't had anything all day, and I was so hungry. My blood sugar was low, and I was feeling seriously not great, so I made the decision to eat real food.

I fell off the wagon and had a grilled chicken Caesar wrap at the theater (with no dressing and no nuts). It totaled 710 calories. So, I'm sorry if you are disappointed in me, but you know, life still has to happen, and I know that if I didn't eat something during the movie, that I would have come home, dropped the whole thing and binged on Eggo waffles because I allowed myself to get overwhelmed. I figure that by eating something semi-reasonable, I avoided collapsing and quitting completely.

The fast was broken. But just for one day. I'm back on the wagon now. I don't know if I'll be able to keep this up for 60 days. At some point, I may need to opt for a small, healthy meal at lunch (a few hundred calories) and have juice for other meals and snacks. In 6 days, I have not hit 1000 calories a single time, in a day (even with the wrap). Most days I've been well under 900, and that's just not a realistic amount of calories to maintain long term. I haven't decided yet, but I don't think that I can drink enough juice to get enough calories, because with the water I'm also drinking, I feel sort of waterlogged all the time. I don't know. I feel better having eaten something, and like I can move forward.

I also chopped a chunk of my index fingertip off last night, while I was trying to peel a lime, so typing is difficult. Excuse any typos that I may have missed!

The good news: I got on a scale today and have lost 5 pounds. We also ordered a scale, which I think will be here on Tuesday.
xo

Day 6: Possible Side Effects

WARNING: Today we're gonna talk about poo, so skip it if you're squeamish. (We're going to talk about other stuff too.)

We're on day 6, and I think I can safely say that I am over the hump, and feeling pretty good. I walked down the Halloween candy aisle at Target today without even a twinge of longing. Victory! So far, today has been J's worst day. However, I think that we've reached a turning point, because we made a very exciting discovery. Y'all ready?

WE CAN HAVE BROTH!

That is not a sentence I ever anticipated typing with an exclamation point, but let me tell you, after nearly a week of not ingesting anything warm, it feels like winning an Oscar. We checked to make sure this is actually true, on the site that's run by Joe, the documentary guy, and his site even has -recipes- for drinks using broth. So we are in the clear. Oh, happy day!

Moving on. I want to discuss some stuff that I've noticed, and maybe warn anyone who is considering undertaking this sort of experiment about a few things.

1. If you drink a lot of beet-based juices, it will look like you are bleeding out when you go to the bathroom. J, who is a nurse, and knows better, totally freaked out a couple of days ago when he discovered that little treat.

2. Your poo is going to stink. I mean, I know it isn't something you'd want to make a Yankee Candle out of on a regular basis anyway, but seriously, this is worse.

3. There is good news though, you may not have to go much at all. This has been my experience. I was warned in the days leading up to this that I'd have terrible diarrhea, and all sorts of unpleasant digestive experiences, and while J seems to be following that trend, I am not. I rarely have to go, and when I do, there isn't a lot of...volume. Now the whole, wide Internet knows about my bathroom habits. My parents will be so proud.

I've also noticed some changes in my appearance in the past couple of days. I still don't know if I've lost any weight (haven't gotten around to ordering a scale), but there are some new and different things happening.

First of all, my nose looks bigger. This is something that usually happens when I've lost some weight in my face. It's not a look I particularly enjoy, but J likes big noses, so there is that.

I have also seemed to develop some serious eye circles. I always have little pockets of darkness around the inner corners of my eyes, but now, I have deep, I don't know...pockets all around my eyes (but they aren't so dark anymore). It's the direct, extreme opposite of puffiness. Observe:

J says this is because I've lost the subcutaneous fat and fluid around my eyes. Well, yay for losing fat, but that's not exactly where I wanted to lose it. At least Halloween is around the corner; I've got the zombie look down. Those pictures also showcase my giant new nose. 

J's whole head looks smaller. He's been doing this for about half the time I have, and he seems to be seeing more visible results. This is what always happens when a female trys to lose weight at the same time as male. They will always have more dramatic results, that's just the way it is, so be prepared if you are doing this with your spouse/significant other and they happen to be the opposite gender of yourself. 

We both seem to have more energy (except for J, today, but he'll move past that). Our libidos have improved (Sorry, dad!). Our skin looks clearer (except for one small hormonal face demon on my chin). And I am waking up thirsty, instead of hungry. 

That's all I've got for today!

xo

Day 5: The Cost of Juicing

I've had several questions about whether this juice thing is super expensive, that is something that definitely needs to be addressed. I think, overall, it doesn't actually make that much difference, financially, if we are juicing or eating real foods.

When I went to Amarillo last week, I purchased 6 juices to take with me, as well as 2 large bottles and 3 small bottles of juice for J to take to work with him while I was gone. It cost about $45 for all of the juices. That sounds like a lot for 11 bottles of juice, but if you think of it as being 2 days of meals, for 2 people, it's not quite so daunting. If I had eaten out for lunch in Amarillo, I probably would have spent about $10 per day, and I probably would have grabbed dinner on my way home somewhere, so really, by taking my $15 of juice, I spent less than I would have otherwise.

That's the breakdown for store-bought juices, which are typically more expensive than what we make at home.

As an example, of what we're spending at home, this is my favorite juice, which I usually use for breakfast, since it's pretty sweet. It is made of:

1 Keitt mango ($2.50)
2 Stalks of celery (less than $1)
1 cucumber (69 cents)      
1 large carrot (less than $1)
1 honey crisp apple (about $2)

So all that together adds up to less than $8, and usually makes me 2 servings of juice. The other juices typically cost about the same, almost all of them are under $10 for 2 jars. I drink between 4 and 6 juices per day, so I'm looking at about $25 per day, for all of my meals. (Also, things like carrots and celery and beets, etc. come in packages of more than one, for usually less than $2, so that makes the price breakdown slightly higher than if I estimated how much that one carrot actually costs.) If I buy things that are on sale, or in season, it's obviously cheaper than if I was going to buy, say, watermelon in December.

J started his full juice fast yesterday, but I'm assuming his intake will be similar to mine. So, for both of us, it's about $50 per day. Again, that sounds like a lot, but think about it like this:

A typical meal for us would include a pound of chicken ($7), some kind of fresh vegetable ($3-$5), some kind of starch (pasta, potato, bread, whatever) ($2-$5), so that's about $12-$18, or more if I need sauce or other ingredients, for one meal. We also eat out a lot, and fast food generally runs between $16 and $30, for one meal, or if we go to a "sit-down" restaurant, we're looking at at least $40 to $50. Again, for one meal.

I know that's sort of rambling, and might be confusing, but it's all to say, we are spending about the same amount on groceries that we always do (maybe just a bit more), and we are saving money by not eating out, so it pretty much breaks even. If you want to try a juice fast, definitely don't let the cost be what scares you away. I know that people always say that fresh produce is expensive, but it's really not, if you're careful, and you end up saving money in other places.

xo

Day 4: Things I've Learned So Far

It's day 4, and I've learned some things, and I'm going to share, in case any of you decide to do this.

1. It's much easier to stay on track if I make a bunch of juice at once and store it (in mason jars) in the fridge (enough for a whole day, but not more than that). That way, when I'm hungry, I can grab an already made juice, and I don't let laziness stop me from drinking some. Yesterday I made a batch of mango/apple/celery/carrot and a batch of beet/carrot/sweet potato/cucumber/celery/apple, and that worked out well.

Lovely juices
 (The jars are blue, the the juice isn't actually that weird green color.)
(Also, most of the beet juice was already in my drinking glass when I decided to take a picture.)

2. If you add spices (which is allowed) to some juices, the flavor is more complex, and it's more satisfying. I added about 1/4 teaspoon of salt to my beet mixture, and felt immediately better about having juice for dinner. Other recommended spices are cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and if you're into that sort of thing (I'm not) pumpkin spice.

3. Water is just as important as the juice, if not more. If I drink water at the same time as my juice, I don't get overwhelmed with the flavor of the juice. Water also helps me feel full, at least for awhile.

4. I do not enjoy kale. No. No, no, no. Spinach, however, is great juiced.

5. Drinking with a straw makes the juices that are taste failures easier to drink. Straws also prevent any sort of disgusting juice mustache.

I do seem to have more energy, which helps to distract me from thoughts of food. I've managed to do -all- of my laundry, which never happens, and clean out both hall closets (after spending most of the day in Amarillo on Tuesday). I don't know if this is due to the Spark (which always gives me an energy boost, but not typically this much), or if it's because of the added vitamins and nutrients that I'm consuming (as opposed to my usual diet of restaurants, fast food, junk food, fancy cheese, and French butter).

I have not had any of the horrifying digestive side effects that everyone told me to expect, which is making me feel incredibly lucky. I'm sure that I wouldn't be able to continue if I was having to spend most of my day in the bathroom.

So, that's today. Let me know: should I continue daily updates, or switch to every couple of days now that I'm in the swing of things?

xo

Day 3: Regret Sets In

I miss food y'all. I know I had the teeny cheating scandal, but that was TWO DAYS ago. (And only a little bit of food, like 3 bites!) I miss chewing. Foods I don't even like are starting to look like the most delicious thing in the world. Suddenly I'm like "Lima beans? Yes! That sounds AMAZING!" When, in fact, lima beas are the least amazing thing one could put into their mouth.

I'm back home and have access to the juicer now, which is good, but I still feel so limited. Even when the flavors are different, it's still juice, y'know? The one good thing is that I finally got my new order of Watermelon Spark, which has increased my energy. The bad thing is that because I am at home, there is easily accessible food. And most of it isn't great or interesting, but as I mentioned all foods sound good at this point.

mango juice and watermelon spark

I keep clinging to the hope that things really do get easier after day 5 or so. Please let it get better.

Also, I should probably look into getting a scale, so I can maybe track my progress...

xo

Day 2: Already a Cheating Scandal

Confession: As I anticipated, I was hungry around bedtime last night. That's no big surprise; I consumed less than 500 calories for the entire day. I didn't want to break into my juice stash for today (since I only had 3 with me), so before I went to bed, afraid that hunger would keep me awake, I ate a cheese stick. One.

There were only 90 calories in that little jewel, but it curbed my hunger, so I'm not beating myself up about it. 

Today I was able to sleep a little later since I was already in Amarillo, and didn't have to get up crazy early to drive to class. I think the extra sleep has helped to keep me from feeling super hungry today. So far, I've had another Bolthouse farms protein plus shake (chocolate, yum), a This Tastes Raaw Better Beets juice (which is exactly what it sounds like) and a Strawberry and Purple Carrot juice from the same brand.

These were both really good (and pretty, which helps for some reason), so I'm going to try to get our grocery store to order more flavors of this juice, because they have a lot that I would like to try, including pineapple cucumber, very berry wheat grass, and carrot lemonade. Cross your fingers for me. I obviously need to be drinking more juice per day, since 500 calories is not going to cut it long term (or even short term, if I'm honest). My mistake here was not looking at the calories on the juices, and only packing 3 per day (when I really should be taking 5 or 6). Oh well, live and learn. 

I don't feel starving yet, and I don't feel particularly edgy or any meaner than usual (it's a pretty high bar). For the good of society, let's all hope that continues. 

A bit of a non-sequitur: My mom handled cremated remains over the weekend (putting them in memorial jewelry for a friend), and didn't get squicked out. I am -super- proud! Death interaction for the win! 

It's already 9pm, and I'm home, with access to the juicer, so I don't anticipate another cheating scandal tonight. I know you'll forgive me for the last one!

xo

Day One: Complete

Okay, I started this morning with a vanilla flavored soy bean sort of milk thing, which is technically breaking the rules, but I wanted the extra protein, since I had to drive this morning and spend the day in class. In any case. It was actually delicious and filling, so yay.

Lunchtime I had a Blue Goodness juice from Bolthouse farms, also delicious, and it took away the hunger that appeared between breakfast and lunch.

I was super tired, and ended up napping in my car over my lunch break, but I don't think that has as much to do with the juice as with the fact that I only slept a couple of hours before getting up at 6.

I wasn't hungry for the second half of my school day, and I'm beginning to think this might actually work. It's currently about 5:45, and I am having my "dinner" which is a green juice (also Bolthouse Farms) which is full of kale and celery and spinach and I don't know..green stuff. It tastes like celery. I don't love it, but it's not the worst thing I've ever put in my mouth, and it's got lots of vitamins. I picked this one mostly because I wanted something that was mostly veggies, since I had a fruit based juice for lunch.

So yeah, this is a quick entry, since I'm out of town, and don't have an awful lot to say, but I wanted to document the beginning of this whole thing. I typically get hungry around bedtime, so I'm hoping that I can just drink some water and go to bed early to avoid the urge to snack.

I feel like I should post a "before" style picture here, so I guess this will work: