Day 22 of the Juice Fast

My totals after three weeks are:

Down 10 pounds

Down 17.25 inches

Although I’m disappointed that the scale showed no loss on Sunday morning, I must confess that I ate two dinners last weekend, which explains the stall in weight loss (likely water weight from the salt in the dinners).

 

I am thrilled, however, to still be losing inches!

 

Stay tuned for next week’s report! 

Day 15 of the Juice Fast

My juicing results remain positive.  The totals after two weeks are:

Down 10 pounds

Down 14.5 inches

On the positive side, I still feel great.  My energy is increasing.  I find myself walking faster, limping less, and not feeling nearly as stiff when I wake in the mornings.

 

On the negative side, although I’m not experiencing actual hunger, I am constantly tempted to eat solid food, especially when I smell it cooking.  Also, having my body in calorie burning mode makes me cold to the point of shaking at times.  I find it almost impossible to type accurately when my hands are trembling with cold.  I will admit that last night I was so cold that I thawed, microwaved and consumed 12 ounces of homemade turkey soup.  Even though it was mostly broth, it gave me a sense of eating solids that I don’t get with the straight juice.  And it had the added benefit of warming me up for the first time all day.

 

I also let my water consumption levels drop toward the end of the week, which definitely slowed my weight loss.

 

This week, my intentions are to drink more water, and if I get cold, to drink hot water with the juice of a lemon and a little stevia to ward off the chill.  I will also attempt to add half an hour of exercise to my morning ablations before I head off to work.

Stay tuned for next week’s report! 

Day 8 of the Juice Fast...

The Breville Juicer continues to churn out my liquid repasts.  So far my experience with juicing has been positive.  I’m drinking half a gallon of juice each day.  After one week, I have no actual hunger.  Here are last week’s numbers.  As of this morning when I woke up, I‘ve lost 6.5 pounds and 8.5 inches.

 

More importantly, I feel better.  I’m not bloated, and my joints are definitely less painful.  My skin feels smooth and hydrated.  I read that juicing reduces inflammation in the body due to lack of toxin intake countered by massive micronutrient intake.  I can’t yet say that this is the case, but if the improvements continue, I have to say I would tend to believe that theory.

Stay tuned for next week’s report! 

Day One of the Juice Fast...

I’m not quite sure how this will go.  The Breville Juicer I bought seems to be quite the beast.  I am amazed at the amount of pulp left behind after the juicing process.  Today is my real learning experience with the machine.  So far, I like it.  I made a little over half a gallon of juice and refrigerated it in 16 and 20-ounce containers.  This will be my daily allotment.

 

I divided up produce into plastic bags (so many carrots, cukes, sweet potatoes, fresh ginger, apples, lemons, etc.), so I can grab a bag each morning without having to think about what I’m doing.  I’m definitely using a pound of kale each day, and adding spinach, other veggies and fruits.

I started the morning by weighing in, and measuring the parts:  neck, upper arm, chest, waist, hips, thigh and calf.  I will weigh daily while doing this, and I will measure all parts once each week.  Fortunately, I don’t have to go through this while giving up pop and caffeine at the same time.  I’m happy to announce I haven’t had a Diet Dew (my drink of choice 24/7) since Thanksgiving 2013, so no additional withdrawal symptoms will be put upon me now.  

I will let you know how it goes, possibly with a weekly update of pounds and inches lost.

Web Site Woes (or Desperate Measures for Desperate Times)

So you all know by now that the new book is out.  A Mystery in the Mailbox is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and on Kindle.  The point of writing the book was to share with the general public a project I’ve been working on for over 20 years and to inspire others to do the same thing I’ve been doing. 

The fact is anyone can do it from beginning to end.  I tell them exactly how I did it.  I tell them where to find what they need, what supplies to obtain, and every single thing I did.  But I admit, I had years to develop this system.  Some people won’t have the patience to build their own database or create their own record-keeping templates.  So I decided to make my database and templates available for download for a small fee. 

All I needed to do was put a shopping cart on my web site and an automatic download would be available to all who wanted it. 

I have now spent two weeks struggling with the e-commerce portion of my web server in an attempt to make everything work.  So far, all I’ve really accomplished is testing the limits of my frustration before a total nuclear implosion!

In an effort to make the database available to those who might want it before the “Easy shopping cart and instant download” actually work, I posted instructions on my web site for mailing a check and receiving the database by e-mail.  I suppose I should have thought of that sooner, especially for those who despise using credit cards, but better late than never!

Don't worry.  Once I get the darned shopping cart thing working, I’ll post a web site update.

"A Mystery in the Mailbox" now available!

Many years, many volunteer copy editors, one book editor, one agent, and lots of work have finally culminated in the latest offering, A Mystery in the Mailbox.  It's a new year, and I was determined to start it by finally putting out this book for reader consumption.  Be forewarned, this is not your typical non-fiction book.  It's a great story that's part autobiography, part how-to, and a huge dose of inspiration.  I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy the read!  

A Mystery in the Mailbox is now available at Amazon.com.

Ringing in the New Year Right?

This time last year, I was sitting in the living room, sipping a glass of wine after un‑decorating the tree.  I was convinced that I wanted to start the New Year fresh.  Perhaps starting with fewer chores to accomplish would set the tone for a really good year.  That plan didn’t quite work out as I would have liked.  2013 turned out to be a year of personal turmoil.  I can take a hint.  My Christmas tree is still fully loaded as I take my first halting steps into 2014, and I have populated my to-do list with all the items I was unable to cross off in 2013.

 

The first thing on my list is completion of a book that has been languishing in my unfinished stack since my agent passed away suddenly in 2010.  That task will be removed from the list in short order, since the manuscript and the cover art have been submitted for review, and the finished book will most likely be for sale by mid-January.  I hope that starting the year off with publication will set the tone for 2014.  One of these years I will pick the right beginning that will herald the coming of a very good year.

What are you doing to start off 2014 on a positive note?