Maintaining..... and preparing for another juice cleanse

So after a colleague challenged me to a 'blog contest' tonight, it got me thinking about this blog and how great I felt while doing the last juice cleanse/detox/life makeover.  Lots has changed in our lives since the last one, but I am happy to say that I am still alot healthier and slimmer than I was prior to doing it.  I definitely dont feel as healthy and connected to myself though, so it really is time for another kick in the butt.

Tomorrow is our youngest daughters 15th birthday, then I have a work function out the following evening, so I going to prepare (both in my head and in the fridge/pantry) to begin on Thursday.  Im super excited about this and cant wait to do another buzzy juice cleanse.

I am sitting at around 86kgs at the moment.  For me its not going to be about weight again though, so if you are expecting to see figures and graphs and constant monitoring of scales, you've come to the wrong place.

I dont know if anyone still reads this blog, but Im going to be posting daily to keep myself accountable.
I cant wait to get back to that amazing centred connected 'ME'.

Wow. Its been over a month!

This last month has been....... busy, to say the least.

I went home to New Zealand to spend time with family, and while I was there some health challenges for a family member came up which meant I ended up staying for an extra week, and then my brother, sister in law and their two gorgeous children (3 and 5 months) all came back to the Sunny Coast for an extended holiday, and they are still here.

They all leave this Friday and it is already breaking my heart so Friday might be quite an emotional day - saying goodbye is always so hard and this visit has really changed my heart so much that I just dont quite know how I am going to live so far away from them.

On the health front, I have still been juicing mostly daily, but have had a lot of sugar creeping back into my days, so once things settle again here I am planning to another juice fast to get myself back on track and thriving again.  Plan is to start this on Monday coming and do at least 5 days.  I cant wait to get back into juicing and feeling buzzy again!

Anyway, just a quick post to let you know Im still alive and here but am totally distracted with babies and small children and beautiful family so am being totally fulfilled in that respect.

Hope you guys are all doing well!

Leaving you with my 2 beautiful nieces, Eden (5 months) and Milan (3 years)

Catchup post

So here I am in New Zealand, my homeland, and Im just loving being here.  As I type this catchup blog post I am sitting in McDonalds in Tauranga while my sister in law is next door getting a therapeutic hot stone massage.  Yes, I can see the irony of having a completely shite fast food (food??) restaurant (restaurant?!?) right next door to place of healing, and I can also see the irony of sitting inside so-called restaurant while typing a blogpost for a health blog!

However they DO have free wifi, so I am blatantly utilising this while studiously avoiding the enquiring glances of the staff wondering at the size of my nerve to be so obviously taking (wifi) and not giving (purchasing).

I figure I've ingested enough of this processed crap over the years to warrant a little free wifi, so I sit proud.  :-)

I've been home for a week now and its been quite up and down - the first few days I spent on an island out from Auckland catching up with a long lost friend.  This is where I had my first few 'chewable' meals after the juice cleanse.  The first was a lunch at a cafe and we chose a calamari salad which also had a little spicy chorizo in it.  In hindsight, I shouldnt have eaten the chorizo as it was quite heavily processed...... but I did.   The resulting cramping and half hour in the little girls room SHOULD have been enough to put me off eating the huge wagyu aged fillet of beef that my friend cooked us for dinner.  But it wasnt.  Sometimes it takes me a little while to really get it, you know? :-)

After this I was back at Mum's place and a bit more in control of what I ate.  I cut right back and spent a day snacking on nuts and fruit and vegetables with a little good quality cheese in there too.  My stomach and system appreciated this hugely.

I then made the trip down the country to spend the rest of my stay here with my brother, sister in law and their 2 beautiful angel girls.  These guys are super health concious so it is back to green juices, smoothies, carrot/apple/beetroot juices and lots of whole unprocessed foods.  Last night I actually cooked a vegetarian curry of cashew, kumara and chickpea which was pretty good.

I am pleased to say that barring one day, I have started every day with lemon juice in warm water and Im loving that ritual.  As well as the health and digestion benefits this gives, it really sets me up mentally for the day of healthy choices ahead.

I have been having a major health expression over the last few days however - I have a huge headcold and really painful sinuses.  I battled and battled with this on the first day and night, and about 2am after many many mannnny steam inhalations, hot and cold compresses and apple cider vinegar/honey drinks and gargles, I gave in and took a panadol.   It was a battle of conscience but I needed sleep and didnt want to waste my precious time with my nieces and family being ill so sometimes needs must.

I will write more soon but at the moment am just loving being so concious of what goes into my body and am super loving being an aunty to the most divine girls ever.

Thoughts from the plane...

Here I am on the plane and as usual I cant either sleep (its too early) or watch movies (it's a Virgin cheapie flight) so thought I’d do a brain dump post to keep me occupied.

Reflections on the last couple of weeks….

Firstly, I feel amazing.  My skin looks clear, my hair doesn't get greasy after the second day of not washing it, and my eyes are bright.  I’ve definitely lost weight but I don't know how much as Im not really weighing myself.  I did so the other day and was 85kgs but as Im not sure what I really started on I cant compare.  My jeans are fitting nicely and I only have one small muffin top as opposed to an entire bakery….

Im loving how the juicing is making me feel, and also the ease of it.  Knowing I can whip up a juice for breaky that is going to give me a big bang of nutrients and goodness is awesome. 

The next habit I am going to continue with (after the lemon & warm water start to the day habit) is to have at least one green juice each day, and one carrot/apple and beetroot juice each day.

Karl and I have introduced foods now and we are eating meals consisting of steamed veges and a little protein.  Today at a pinch in Brisbane airport we shared a chicken wrap from Red Rooster and it tasted amazing.  The meat was more than likely heavily processed, as was the small amount of cheese and the sauce in it, but we only had a few bites each and overall we are doing great with making wise choices. 

My taste buds have become much more sensitive and I am really tasting my food, which means enjoying it way more too and savouring it in my mouth rather than gutsing it down.

Another thing I have noticed is how much food I ACTUALLY need to feel good and sustain my body – not only sustain it but help it to thrive.  I now know I was eating way too much, and way too much of the wrong stuff.  I always knew this but doing this juice cleanse and getting myself onto this path of education about my food has really opened my eyes.

These next days while I am away from home will be a plethora of choices to make regarding what I consume.  I am going to choose whole foods as much as possible, and organic wherever I can.  I know this is not always going to be possible, and Im not beating myself up for it if I am unable to do so.  

This is a marathon, not a sprint, and this is for life…..  I am so excited and energised by life and so much more present than I have ever been.  A fog has been lifted and I am engaged and in control of my life and I’ve never been happier J

Homeward bound

There's nothing quite like the excitement of packing and anticipating an overseas trip.  And when its back home to spend time with loved ones, its got a special kinda glow.  I am all packed and sorted and just doing a few final hours at work this morning before heading to the airport this afternoon.  The only downer is that my lovely man and kidlets are not coming with me, but at the same time, the distance and solitude always causes life to rush in and fill the void and makes the homecoming so much sweeter, so am looking forward to some time with myself and my family too.

Plane trips for me are notorious for being 'open slather junk fests' where I seem to think that the minute I step into the airport all bets are off and I can just shovel food in without a thought.  

That was the old me though!!! 

Today I have had my green juices and my carrot and apple juices, and I just need to sort out one meal with some protein before my flight.  Not quite sure what that will be as I will be at Brisbane Airport so will have to make some good choices there.  The selection and availability is not huge, but I know there are some cafes with salads so will probably go for one of them.

I also stopped at my lovely friend Lou's organic health food store this morning on the way to work and stocked up on snacks for the plane.  Wanted to give myself a bit of a treat, so have got a packet of organic Beetroot chips, some cacao chocolate covered macadamias and some raw almonds.  Sorted!

Will update more from the airport as I will have quite a bit of downtime there before my flight, so will leave you now with this gorgeous wee darling that I am so hanging out to see.  My lovely 3 year old niece.  Cant get enough of her and looking forward to lots of cuddles and fun very soon.

End of cleanse catchup

Day 10 of the cleanse passed without fanfare.  For me.  Karl had an interesting time of things.  He didnt really grasp the 'ease back into food' concept and instead became overwhelmed with the smell of lamb curry cooking and had 2 big bowls.  Less than 12 hours later he was extremely ill.  Aching joints, shaking, vomiting - it was rather like he had food poisoning.

It was a massive lesson for him (and me, although I was still juicing so didnt feel bad at all) in easing back into food slowly.  So now we are both through the juice cleanse/detox section of the programme and are slowly introducing foods.

Yesterday we had a market stall at an art and craft market about 1.5 hours away from home and so I prepared all my juice for the day on Saturday night and took them with me in flasks and bottles.  This is the first time I have felt tempted to eat something 'off plan' during this whole process.  The smells of freshly popped hot popcorn, fried food and coffee was very strong, but I am happy to say that I resisted all of this.  At the end of the day I ate a small amount of fresh cooked corn on the cob and it was really nice to 'chew' some food.  Here is my 'grazing platter' set up on the back of a seat in our car :-)

Last night Karl steamed lots of vegetables and we had those for dinner - all yummy beans and mushrooms and brocolli.  He also made a chicken broth to go with our youngest daughters dinner and we had our veges floating in this clear broth.  Karl loves spicy food and so used some chilli's from our garden in this and it was super spicy.

Couple of things I noticed yesterday....

Number 1:  Almost immediately after eating the spicy dinner, my little finger started aching HEAPS in the joint where it attaches to my hand.  I have had issues with my little finger for ages now - it seems to be a weak point for me - it is often rashy and achy and something is going on there that I need to get to the bottom of.  Anyway, last night it was so sore that I had to sleep with it stretched right out away from me in case Karl bumped it or I rolled on it.  This morning it was alot better but I still feel tightness when I clench a fist.

Number 2:  I have so much more energy than I used to.  I had no problem at all getting up and leaving the house (yes LEAVING the house) at 3am yesterday morning to head to the markets.  And during the day at the market I usually have all these little energy slumps and feel very tired.  Yesterday - nothing.  Felt amazing all day and I didnt even come home a crash out for a little late afternoon sleep catchup.  Just went to bed and sleep by about 9.30pm and feel fine now on Monday.

So on this Monday I have had my green kale/cos/silverbeet/apple juice for breakfast, and I have a flask of carrot/apple juice for throughout the day.  My plan was to go over to the local mall across the road and buy a salad, so I headed to the food court and went to Subway as a last resort.  I ordered a basic chicken salad, and cringed when they charged me $9.00!  Stupidly I went ahead with the purchase (instead of cancelling it and heading to Woolies and buying a 1/4 chicken and some salad greens).  I got back to my desk and just started to feel really angry.  No wonder we have such a weight problem in this world.  When a chicken salad costs you $9.00 and at the very same place I could have gotten a foot long meatball sub, dripping with cheese and sauce and fatty meat for just $5.00.  Something is very wrong there....

Got back to my desk and ate about half the chicken salad and just didnt feel great.  Maybe it was psychological but I now have a headache and just feel a bit groggy.  The chicken was very processed and not along the lines of the type of chicken that I will choose to eat from now going forward, and there was also some processed cheese in there too.  I dont know what I was thinking really, but it was a good lesson for me in making better choices!

I am heading to New Zealand tomorrow to visit my family and Im in 'last minute' mode for that today.  Getting all my work sorted here, purchasing last minute gifts for the babies in the family, and just tying up loose ends.  All very exciting and cant wait to spend some time with my loved ones.

For now, the focus is on integrating chewable food back into my diet and making great choices.  Its an interesting journey!

Cleanse - Day 9

Today has been a day of working on our business with my lovely man, and we are excited about restructuring things so that the workload is more shared by each of us in all areas of the business.

Both of us are really feeling the effects of the boxing class from 2 nights ago, and so went for a casual walk along the river this morning to loosen up our muscles which helped a little.  Still very sore though.

Today we have had our first 'chewable' meal in 9 days.  For lunch we had salad greens with almonds, mushroom and kiwifruit.  Karl also had about 100gms of baked chicken with spices as he is far worse than me with his body aching and muscle fatigue and just really felt he needed some sustainance and repair building protein.   I hereby give you.... lunch!

I have also eaten 3 kiwifruit today to try to help with my bowel situation.  I am happy to report that all systems are GO on that front.  Thats all I'll say about that.

Tomorrow is Day 10 and meant to be the last day of our juice cleanse.  The next phase is to slowly reintroduce vegetable and fruits and nuts and whole foods over the next few weeks.  I am going to New Zealand to be with my family for 9 days on Tuesday so am going to have to be quite vigilant with what I consume.  Holidaying in my motherland used to mean an all out pig out on all the kiwi food treats that I grew up on.  Nothing was off limits.  This time round will be completely different.  The focus will be on whole, unprocessed choices, with at least 2 juices per day (one of them being a green juice).

I cant wait for this next step on the path and this new challenge.  My brother and sister-in-law live in a beautiful part of the country and are very health conscious so while Im staying with them (for the last 6 days of my stay), making these choices will be very easy.  I have so much to talk to them about with all of this new information I've been learning so I cant wait to get there and just sit and chat to them.

Im also catching up with one of my besties Bay Chick who is on her own health journey too so really looking forward to spending some quality time with her.

Off to our eldest daughter's footy game tonight, then back for the usual ritual of 'friday night footy' on the couch watching NRL.  Its all about the game tonight!