Results

Okay, so this is the embarrassing post, but if I'm going to encourage you to do this process, I have to do it myself, too.

Now, with full disclosure, I only measured my left leg and arm. Why? I didn't even think about measuring the right side. So silly.

I have to admit that I'm slightly disappointed by the pictures. I don't necessarily see the results with the pictures. However, I FEEL the results. I said weeks ago that I feel a difference in the way my underwear sits on my body. Looking at the measurements, there's a clear reason why. I feel overall less swollen. I'll be interested to take pictures again in a couple weeks to see how eating clean/vegan and using Shakeology impacts my body.

If only I could post my mother's results here. They are INCREDIBLE!! She lost 20 pounds in this process and it is obvious in her pictures.

I'm also considering starting TurboFire as a new program for weight loss. I've only got a few more months to get my body back to where it was before I got hurt. Let's hope I can do this before the wedding!!!

Day 21--And you didn't think I could do it!!

This has been a wonderful day! I feel like I've really accomplished something. Tomorrow I'll take my final measurements to see how I've done. But for now, here's an overview of the day's work:

BREAKFAST
As per usual, I had my wonderful, tasty fruit plate. Super yum.

LUNCH

Meal 62 of 63:

carrot-seaweed medley

microgreen salad

creamy garlic dressing

This was so tasty! I've never had edamame before this experience, and I find it to be super delicious. Of course, since I don't enjoy any flavors that come from the ocean, I modified the recipe a bit and removed the seaweed.

MID-AFTERNOON

HOORAY!!! THE VERY LAST ALKALINIZE BLECH! The final death drink. No more after this. Ick. What a happy day!!! (Like my cup? Circa 1992? Mhmm.. you know how I do.)

DINNER

Meal 63 of 63:

roasted veggies

avocado-cucumber soup

Okay, the roasted vegetables were fabulous. Loved it. The soup sounded yummy, and I even really did enjoy the process of making it. However, this soup is meant to be served chilled. Great in theory, but terrible in practice. I believe I took about 5 spoonfuls of soup before I realized I really couldn't handle it. There wasn't really anything much leftover to eat. I ate all the roasted veggies, waited a half hour, and chugged some water. Brandon I think pretended to like it. He said he'd finish my bowl. I don't see the soup anywhere, so I wonder what actually happened to it...

I'm headed to bed now, just a little hungry, but I'm okay with that. I haven't cheated during this process. I look forward to seeing my final results tomorrow.

Day 17--First Bad Day in a Long Time

For some reason, my computer can't find my SD card, so pictures can't be uploaded. They will be uploaded as soon as possible..

MORNING
I woke up this morning about 10 seconds before my alarm sounded. I was WIDE awake, even though I feel like I didn't get much sleep. I can honestly say that my body is starting to function better now on less sleep than it did before. It would be interesting to have another sleep study to see if my sleep apnea has... reduced. Is that the right word? Hmm..

I weighed myself this morning. Down a pound since yesterday. I'm .6 of a pound away from losing 10 pounds in this process.

BREAKFAST
Breakfast was a lovely bowl of fresh fruit while sitting at my desk at work. I have become a MASTER of SAFELY dripping my Oxygenize into my water bottle while driving so I could take my supplements in the car early enough to eat as soon as I get into work. I was disappointed, though, because the cantaloupe seemed to have gone bad. That or it was so overripe that the flavor and texture were just off. I ended up eating only about 2 cups of fruit. I'm used to eating closer to 3 cups of fruit. I was really nervous about getting hungry during the day.

LUNCH
I had been really good about drinking my water up until lunch. I was really looking forward to dinner because it smelled SO GOOD when I mixed it up last night.

Meal 50 of 63:

Moroccan carrot salad

microgreen salad

However....it was a letdown. It could have been really good if I left out the optional cayenne pepper from the recipe. Yet since I wanted to stick to the plan as closely as possible, I wanted to add it. It was a huge mistake. So, I ate around it and only ate the MAYBE 2 cups of mixed baby greens. I didn't add anything else (cucumbers, tomatos, seeds, etc) because I thought it might clash with the carrots. It is a good thing that I had the foresight to include 1/4 an avocado. So lunch consisted of 2 cups baby greens and 1/4 an avocado. After a smaller breakfast and a small lunch, I was now even more nervous about getting hungry...

DINNER
I got home around 4:15 or so. I actually remembered to drink my Alkalinize at 3:00 like I normally do, so I didn't feel thrown off--not like yesterday.

Meal 51 of 63:

roasted delicata butternut squash

steamed lemon green beans

I couldn't get behind the squash. I liked it, but it was bland. I'm not a fan of the aminos, and I added it anyway. When will I learn? The thing is the aminos CAN be good in some dishes, but not all of them. I ended up eating twice the serving of green beans instead. Again, a letdown, and again, I'm left nervous about hunger.

I still have about 28 oz of water to drink for this gallon. Hopefully it will keep me satisfied the rest of the day.

Only 4 days left! I can't believe how fast this has gone by...

Day 15--Going Strong!

MORNING
I woke up bright and early at 5:00 am so I could get out to work for tutoring. I woke up before my alarm went off because my entire left arm from my finger tips to mid forearm was completely asleep and HURT. Waking up was easy. Well...besides the arm that hurt so badly that it was difficult to move..

BREAKFAST
As per usual, I had a wonderful bowl of fresh fruit. I ate it while I sat at my desk at work looking at all my packed boxes that need to be unpacked before September. Too daunting to deal with.

LUNCH
This salad today was MASSIVE!

Meal 44 of 63:

Asian cabbage salad

This picture doesn't do it justice. This salad's base was a full HALF of a Napa cabbage. It doesn't even include all the added veggies that went on top. It was a lovely combination of flavors, but the recipe definitely called for WAY too much dressing. It didn't bother me at first, but as I got to the bottom of the bowl, the flavor was just overwhelming, and I just couldn't handle it anymore. If I were to do anything differently beyond cutting out some of the dressing, I would add some almond slivers. I know cabbage itself is very crunchy, but there's something about nuts.

DINNER
How can I put it..... AMAZING. Oh my goodness, I could eat this everyday.

Meal 45 of 63:

baked sweet potato

garlic veggies

I could eat a sweet potato every day for every meal. I LOVE them. Since I was maybe 5 years old, it has always been my favorite food. (That and lima beans. Weird, I know.) For Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc., I could literally eat JUST sweet potatoes and be perfectly happy. The veggies were wonderful, too. Mom and I have learned over the last two weeks and decided to drizzle far less fresh lemon juice than the recipe called for. In doing such, it was perfect. We added some herbal seasoning to it for some pizzazz, and it was lovely.  But do me a favor and take a look at the plate from another angle:

Look at all those veggies! Sure we doubled the recipe for the two of us. I did ask mom as I was mixing it all how close she stayed to the recipe's measurements, and she said she followed it to a T. How can anyone say they're going to be hungry from just eating vegetables? Sure, I'm drinking a lot of water, but I don't even think I'm near my gallon at this point, and it's 9:20 at night. So good.

---------------------------------

I started my prep for tomorrow. Made my lunch, and set aside my water for tomorrow:

(The green and red bottles combined equal a half gallon (64 oz). The green and blue caps are combined 24 oz for my breakfast and lunch supplements. In the back is the rest of the gallon jug: the water I'll drink upon my return from work tomorrow.)

Normally during the school year, I'm feeling very tired at this point in the evening. Heck, during this summer, I have had nights where I have already been asleep for an hour. I definitely have high energy.

I'm also really seeing some changes in my body. First it was in the way my underwear fit. Then it was my thighs. My sister noticed a change in my face. Then I saw a change in my calves. Next I saw a change in my stomach. Today I noticed a change in my butt and "back fat" as my younger sister calls it. This is definitely the BEST decision I've ever made. Totally loving everything about it.

I will be honest though....I will miss the structure. Two weeks ago would I have said that? Probably not.

Day 14--End of Phase 2!

MORNING
Well I believe that drinking the 1.5 gallons of water a day and adding the "p" fruits to my breakfast has helped. I was able to successfully use the bathroom in the morning for the first time since I started Phase 2 a week ago. At least, not with drinking another 20 oz of water beforehand. I'm so glad!

I realized that today was a good day for one reason:

Last day to suffer through Detox. Hooray!!! Now to begin the countdown to the end of Alkalinize...but let's not get ahead of ourselves! We still have 7 days of that...

BREAKFAST
While preparing breakfast this morning, I was giddy. Really giddy. I couldn't wait to sit down and eat my breakfast! I haven't gotten this giddy feeling for breakfast in the last 2 weeks. Sure, I've been excited for some meals, but not like this. I definitely made note of that today.

Meal 40 of 63:

fresh fruit

Like I said.....YUMMY!! Who gets excited about fruit? THIS GAL! I never would have said that 3 weeks ago. Don't get me wrong--I've always loved fruit. Just not like this.

LUNCH

Meal 41 of 63:

kabocha butternut squash soup with coconut milk

microgreen salad (with ONLY sunflower seeds and creamy garlic dressing)

I can speak volumes about that soup. I could easily eat 3 times that amount of soup. It was creamy and delicious. The soup had only a slight hint of coconut which was very pleasant. The creaminess of the squash was lovely. It was tough "cooking" it in the blender because it was a bit thick and was tough to get all the squash out from the blender. This is definitely a soup I'll be revisiting again in the near future.


DINNER

Meal 42 of 63:

edamame and roasted corn succotash

lemon pepper kale

The prep for this meal was intense, but very easy. Maybe it was intense because I had a really bad headache, but regardless, it was intense. The total cooking time was MAYBE 30 minutes. However, there were several steps that built on one another. Headache or no, I really managed to keep up with it. Mom certainly helped with all the prep work, but I was definitely driving it. That's kind of how it's been throughout the process: I drive the cooking, mom drives the assisting and cleaning, and we both split the shopping.


In fact, while I was chopping and mincing the cilantro, mom said, "Wow, Kim, you really handle the knife well!" I find that kind of ironic given my history with knives, but it was certainly a compliment. I love working the knife in the kitchen. Watch out, people!!

------------------------------------

Thoughts on this phase? Well, besides the difficulties I've experienced in the bathroom, everything has gone very well. The prepping and cooking have gotten easier, and I actually look forward to cooking. Granted, I don't have to think much about what I'm cooking because the recipes are spelled out for me. That helps a lot.

I will admit that I'm really doing just fine without the meat. I do acknowledge, however, that I have had a craving for bacon or a burger or something along those lines. I know someone from high school who is vegan, and he said that as my body releases the toxins of the meat from my system, my body naturally has these cravings; they do go away. I can attest to that from when I cut red meat out of my diet 2 years ago. I craved it at first, but then it disgusted me.

I'm really toying with the idea of staying vegan after this is over. I feel cleaner. I feel better. Even when I overeat during a meal (which is NOT often), I don't have that wrenching feeling in my stomach that tells me that I had too much meat and, as a result, will need to lay down on the couch because it hurts too much to sit. When I overeat right now, I just feel my stomach telling me, "Kim, you should have stopped eating 5 minutes ago!" I can still sit comfortably. I'm fine. My energy is high. I'm still sleeping close to the hours that I sleep during the school year, but my days are more energized. Please...I was dancing in the shower this morning to some terrible pop song on Z100. I haven't danced in the shower since I was listening to NSync....about a month ago. Hah.

I mentioned this to my chiropractor today when I saw him, and he was really excited for me. "That's awesome, Kim. Not everyone can do it. I know I need meat. My wife, though, could go days without eating meat. What's great about what you're doing, though, is that you're really testing it out. You're not making this decision based on how you were raised or what people say, but you're listening to your body and making decisions based on what your body can handle." Not verbatim, but pretty darn close. I think he's absolutely right.

We will now be going into the third and final phase of this cleanse. I will still be eating vegan, but all the grains will be cut out from the diet. They will be available as options during certain meals, but I'm going to do my best to stick as closely to the meal plan without using the grains.

Fingers crossed!!

Day 13--Easy Cooking

MORNING
I was so thirsty this morning! By the time I went to bed, I drank close to 1.25 gallons of water. I slept super well, though.

BREAKFAST
I've been looking forward to this since last Wednesday--half for the taste and half for creating the picture.

Meal 37 of 63:

mashed chick pea

avocado

cilantro

steamed spinach

I love it. It's so good. Anyone reading this should try this at some point. It's so so yummy! Even my mom who hates cilantro really enjoyed this. I enjoyed "cooking" it. I never really enjoyed cooking before, and I'm really starting to enjoy it. I look forward to it even.. This was done solely through the food processor. It was lovely. I added a hint of Himalayan salt to it during the mashing process and prior to eating it. So yummy! I wish I could eat this again real soon, but alas, I won't be able to. Sad face.

LUNCH

Meal 38 of 63:

Mediterranean roast beets

microgreen salad with ONLY avocado and sunflower seeds

slight hint of fresh lemon juice

It was even better today than it was yesterday. The combination of the beets and the avocado is amazing. I ended up draining all the excess lemon juice because it was completely unnecessary. The hint of lemon from making the beets last night was more than enough. But like I said...the combination of the beets and avocado was fantastic. I will say, though, that having two days worth of beets (and a lot of them) have caused my urine to turn a shade of pink. I didn't realize it at first, but thankfully my fiance can put 2 and 2 together.


DINNER

Meal 39 of 63:

kabochu butternut squash with tahini filling

steamed asparagus

One thing I'm noticing is that as a whole, the amount of prep work that goes into the meals is slowly reducing. This was super easy to prepare. The hardest part was waiting for the squash to cook. I steamed the asparagus perfectly, and they were a beautiful bright green. However, I forgot to take the cover off, so they continued to steam which resulted in mushy asparagus. Boo. Oh well. It happens. The tahini filling was fantastic! Super easy to make, and very rich. I actually diluted it with some distilled water to make it a little thinner. Earlier it was so thick that it wouldn't even move when you tilted the bowl to the side. The tahini filling was so rich, though, that I actually had my sister finish some of the squash for me because I just couldn't make it work. It is a lovely combination, and the flavors just sing.

------------------------------------

I reflected a bit today, and I realized that tomorrow is the last day to drink the detox drink three times a day. I'm looking forward to not having to drink it so much. There are only 8 days left, and I'm hoping to finish out strong. I'm hoping to maintain drinking all this water. My head has been hurting the last few days. Hopefully that doesn't discourage me at all.

I've gone this whole time without snacking--not even any of the approved snacks in the afternoon. I have, however, had very vivid dreams about snacking.

In a recent newsletter update, they said that I might break out a bit from the toxins releasing. Almost on cue, I've broken out with pimples. Not too many, but enough that it's irritating. Hopefully with the continued water consumption and eating well, they will go away soon.

Here's to tomorrow--the last day of Phase 2!

Day 12--Lessons Learned

MORNING
I weighed myself this morning, and I'm down 8.2 pounds. I've made the executive decision to try to drink 1.5 gallons of water a day. We'll see how I do...

BREAKFAST
Can you guess??

Meal 34 of 63:

fresh fruit

So going on people's advice, I opted to have some "p" fruits today--plums and peaches. I added them to my regular cantaloupe, blueberries, and strawberries. The peach and plum were delicious. I really enjoy eating fruit in the morning. Have I said that yet? As mom and I ate, I explained to her the purpose of the fruit. According to the DVD, since we don't eat food for roughly 12 hours between dinner and breakfast, the body needs something easy to digest as the body wakes up. Fruit is an easy food for the body to digest. In one meal, I'm eating all my daily servings of fruit. It is surprising how easy it is to survive until lunch. Maybe it has something to do with my water intake, but I'm not often hungry for lunch after eating the fruit. Maybe it's the water...maybe it's my stomach shrinking. Either way, I'm satisfied.

LUNCH
As I said yesterday, I wanted to try out the miso soup...

Meal 35 of 63:

hearty vegetable-miso soup

microgreen salad with creamy garlic dressing (my fave)

The prep work for this soup wasn't so bad. I actually preferred the prep for this soup over the prep for the sweet potato soup. The only down side is that it does take a long time to cook because the vegetables have to become tender. It's the first time I've worked with bok choy which I already knew I enjoyed. One nice thing about this system is that it forces you to interact with vegetables that you may not be accustomed to eating or using. I don't hate ginger as much as I used to since I've learned how to handle it better.

I couldn't eat my salad. I was full enough from the soup. I did, however, take a couple bites of tomato since they are from homegrown plants courtesy of my chiropractor from Earth Day. Yayy!

DINNER
I was really excited for this meal since eating the root medley during the first week.

Meal 36 of 63:

Mediterranean roast beets

collard greens

quinoa

So yummy! I've had collard greens before but never this way. We added coconut milk to it to give it a creamy texture. It was so yummy! It has a slightly bitter taste as the end. Apparently it's similar to brussel sprouts (which I don't eat--yuck). The flavors of this dinner were very good but very overwhelming. In the end, I was only able to eat about half of the beets, quinoa, and collard greens. Stephanie was more than happy to help Brandon finish the plate.

-----------------------------------

Mom asked me what I've learned through this process (besides eating cleaning). Here are some responses:

• measurement conversions (ie, 3 tsp. = 1 Tbsp.)
• HOW to cook as I am not the most stellar chef there is
• various recipes to incorporate into daily life
• new vegetables (ie, jicama, swiss chard, kale, bok choy, etc.)
• multitasking in the kitchen
• reading recipes more efficiently
• portion control--you don't need to eat as much as you think
• when hungry, drink water FIRST--then wait a half hour to decide
• water is your friend
• steaming vegetables should only take 3-5 mins--NO MORE
• never use the microwave to reheat food because it kills all the good vitamins and nutrients
• I CAN survive without meat.

I'm sure I had more, but my memory is failing me. The excitement of True Blood and The Newsroom are distracting me.

Until tomorrow! Oh, and I only have to take Detox 6 more times! Alkalinize is only 9 more times! Current water consumption = 144 oz (1 gal = 128 oz), and I'm not done yet. Hip hip!!

Day 9--I've got "K9" written on top of my gallon of water. I've been waiting for it since I started.

Super long title, but whatever.

This day was a long day, and I knew that in advance, so I was able to prepare. Like I mentioned yesterday, I cooked all my food for today yesterday. I spent a good 6 hours in the kitchen. Prepping and cooking. It was worth it, though, to have a day of no cooking. I spent the day out in Hillsborough tutoring, and then went up to visit Michele.

People on the boards have revealed that it could take 2-3 days for the Detox to work it's magic. Oh, if I forgot to mention, this is the RELEASE phase where my body is supposed to release everything it's been holding onto. I'm still waiting for this release to happen. It's supposed to be a gentle release, not a OH-MY-GOSH-I'M-ABOUT-TO-CRAP-MY-PANTS release. We'll see.

MORNING
Waking up this morning was super easy, and that's with not going to bed until 10:45. My alarm went off at 5:00, and I was up, bouncing, and ready to go. This is clearly not because I'm cute, but rather than this cleanse is really helping me sleep. It took me no time to fall asleep last night, and I don't remember waking up once. Nice change.

BREAKFAST
The breakfast in the book for this morning was miso soup which I refuse to eat. So rather than suffer, I decided to eat a different breakfast from this week. This week mostly has fruit in the morning for breakfast, but I didn't want to have fruit. Instead, I took the only other non-miso non-fruit recipe for this week's breakfast and used it for today. I was pleasantly surprised. I ate it at my desk at work while I scribbled some answers to a Romeo and Juliet study guide question packet for tutoring since I've never used the guide and, oh, yeah, all my materials are boxed up for the summer.

Meal 25 of 63:

chick pea mash with avocado and cilantro

spinach

I added a bit of Himalayan salt on top of the chick pea mash before I packed it away. I was DELICIOUS! I could eat that a million times over and over again. The avocado really helped. The recipe called for slices, but who can really slice an avocado nicely without mushing half of it? I put it in the food processor which resulted in a guac-like avocado for my topping. So good. I highly recommend it.

LUNCH
Basic microgreen salad with some pinto beans and rice from last night. Also yummy. I added some more Himalayan salt to the top, and it was divine.

DINNER
This was the most frustrating part of yesterday because it was so time consuming, but the end-product is so darn good!

Meal 27 of 63:

sweet potato and roasted red pepper bisque

roasted asparagus with slivered almonds

This was the second meal that made me want to do this cleanse. If I can eat something as good as this and feel better about myself, why wouldn't I? Like I said yesterday, it's totally vegan and totally good. It does have a strong ginger flavor which I know some people don't like, but I thought it was fabulous. It's amazing how little you have to put into it to make something so good. There were even some small chunks of sweet potato and roasted red pepper. I love it. Yummmm...

Also, this was the first time I roasted my own red peppers. I felt so accomplished! One thing I'm learning is that sometimes I actually CAN cook. I might not actually burn the house down. I am finding that I do sometimes put the wrong quantity of something in the mix. I mean, really, what's the big difference between tsp. and tbsp.?? Unfortunately, it has resulted in unplanned doubling or tripling of recipes to make it work and not throw everything away.

This was a really good day, and a really good day for food.

Day 8--Welcome to Phase 2!

MORNING
I woke up and weighed myself this morning: down a total of 7 pounds. Woot! I'm feeling good. Even my headaches seem to be more manageable. They haven't gone away, but they're not as severe as they could be.

Today marks the start of taking the supplement Detox. Similar to Alkalinize, Detox comes as a powder and must be mixed with water to consume. Overall, it isn't difficult to drink. It takes like a weak unsweetened iced tea. The only downside is that it is somewhat grainy. Some of the mix does not dissolve. Imagine drinking weak unsweetened iced tea in a mug where the tea bag broke and is filled with the tea leaves. Best comparison I can make.

BREAKFAST

Meal 22 of 63:

fresh fruit plate

I love fruit for breakfast. It's simple, easy, and very tasty. On this meal plan, there aren't a lot of sweet foods that we eat, so having the occasional sweet fruit because we're supposed to is nice. I don't really miss other sweets right now. The fruit is taking control of that for me. It was pretty filling.

I ate around 7:00, but I started to get hungry around 11:15. Water should have been my friend, but I forgot to go to the store yesterday to get more distilled water. I've been really bad with my water intake today because of that. Ughhh. I finally got out to the store, but it completely through off my meal prep and eating schedule for the day. I like schedules. I like sticky to them. Today was completely off.

LUNCH
I was so hungry for lunch that I believe I didn't wait the full 30 minutes after taking my supplement. I think I waited just about 20 minutes. My stomach was growling so badly. I didn't start eating until about 12:50--fifty minutes later than I've been used to. Believe it or not but it can really throw you off. Lunch today was a basic microgreen salad.

ALL AFTERNOON
I cooked all afternoon. I've been in the kitchen from about 2:30-7:30. The only time I wasn't cooking was when I took a drive out to the store because I needed green beans, and I didn't like the supply at the first store earlier today. While there, I also grabbed some asparagus for tomorrow and more raspberries.

DINNER
Mmmmm....

Meal 24 of 63:

pinto beans and rice

steamed zucchini

steamed string beans with lemon

I've been looking forward to this meal since I decided to do the reset. This is actually one of the two meals that made me choose to do this cleanse. Alison had me try it about a month ago when she was eating it for lunch. It was so delicious!

I made six servings of this meal. Mom and I need servings for lunch and dinner. I also wanted Brandon and Stephanie to try it. I added some more Himalayan salt to it for a little depth. Mine looks different, though, from the book, DVD, and Alison's recipe. It might be due to the color of some of the ingredients and also the fact that I made so much. I also added some more distilled water to it while mixing it so the meal wasn't dry. I liked it; Brandon liked it. When Brandon likes it, it's a success. He's now proud that I can successfully cook a third meal since I'm not the chef in the relationship. It's lovely. Thanks, honey.

--------------------------------------------------

As of 8:00 this evening, I am officially done cooking for the day. Not only did I cook dinner tonight, but I also cooked ALL my meals for tomorrow. The picture below illustrates all my meals for the day tomorrow. I won't be home all day, so when I leave my house at 6:00 tomorrow morning, I'll be bringing my gallon jug of water, supplements, and all these meals.

I need to make sure I remember a fork and spoon. And some Himalayan salt.

It's been a busy day, but it's been good. I'm sooooooo sore!!!! My legs and back are killing me. I've been standing all day, and I can tell. Mom wasn't here to help with the cooking as she's babysitting my nephew. But mom, I cooked you your serving of the soup for dinner tomorrow if you aren't tired of having it for dinner at Ali's tonight...


Tomorrow I'll reflect on the process of cooking all tomorrow's food. For now, I need to relax a bit.

Day 6--Keeps Getting Better!

MORNING--6:45 am
Waking up this morning was a little challenging. I had to wake up at 5:00 so I could shower and get out to work to tutor a student. I was really tired. Understandably, however, since I stayed up late last night watching True Blood and some of The Newsroom. Eek. I may have almost fallen over in my bedroom on the way to the bathroom...

BREAKFAST--6:45 am
Breakfast was supposed to be baked tempeh, but there was no way I could marinate the tempeh for an hour, cook it, and then eat it. Instead, I had a Vegan Chocolate Shakeology. I mixed it with ice and water like I normally do. I had a mixed reaction to it. I am so used to drinking the regular Shakeology which is thick, rich, and creamy. The vegan version is not as rich, and it's a bit grainy. Adding to it might reduce the graininess, but I can't do that right now given the program. There are no approved recipes for the chocolate. I will say, however, that it went down very easily. And quickly. I only thought about snapping a picture of it while I was getting gas, and it already was half-consumed. I'll be making another on Thursday, I think. If I do, I'll snap a picture then.


LUNCH--1:00 pm

Meal 17 of 63:

quinoa salad

microgreen salad

creamy garlic dressing

Super good. Both my mother and I think that we need to add more mint to the quinoa next time. Overall, satisfying and tasty meal.

MID-AFTERNOON--3:00 pm
The dreaded Alkalinize came around again. This time, however, I was determined to try it without drinking lemon juice just before and after taking the drink of death. I was successful! I noticed that the smell of the drink isn't as bad as it once was. It smells like a combination of grasses. Day 1, it made me sick. Day 6, I was able to successfully consume the entire thing without needing to even chase it with distilled water. I had to drink it twice, however, since a lot of the powder stuck in the corners of the cup. Both times, though, I was fine with it. I'm making some awesome progress!

DINNER--7:50 pm
I've been looking forward to this dinner since I started with both anticipation and hesitancy. It sounded so good, but I wasn't sure if I'd be satisfied.

Meal 18 of 63:

roasted root medley

millet

zucchini-cashew soup

Mmmmmm.... yummy. Problem #1: Mom and I made the soup yesterday. I believe we didn't let the zucchini steam long enough because the soup, which is supposed to be smooth and creamy, was a little chunky. The flavors themselves were really nice, but the chunkiness needs to be fixed. I would definitely make it again. Problem #2: Beets turn your hands red. Didn't know that. They're still slightly stained, but whatever. I was hoping it would stain well enough to look like blood so I could send another "kitchen mishap" picture to friends, but that was unsuccessful. Problem #3: I've never cooked millet before, so I didn't know what to expect. When I first made it, and the time went out, the millet was still hard and seemed like it hadn't cooked enough. We added more water and let it sit on heat to see if it would absorb more water and soften. It was successful. Its consistency is not something I'm used to. The flavor is bland as well, but it tasted much better when I added some Himalayan salt to it. 

As for the actually root medley....mmm mmm MMMM MMM mmm! So good!!!  The vegetables roasted perfectly. The yams were sweet with the hint of onion, and the beets were lovely. I would definitely make this again.

I do have to say that I am noticing some changes in myself. I've lost 5 pounds, and I can see clothes sitting on me differently. It isn't a noticeable change to others, but I certainly notice it. It's fun to know that this actually works, and I'm only 6 days in. 15 more day to go! I do like how even in the first week, the program has already begun introducing vegetarian and vegan dishes. I haven't had actual meat in days. I don't mind it whatsoever. I'm hardly tempted by other foods I see. Nice change.

Day 4--Hallelujah!

MORNING --7:10 am
Thankfully my headache faded away during the night. I still had 32 oz of water to drink of my gallon which were left unconsumed by the time I woke up. I fell asleep on the couch while trying to watch Mary Poppins overtake Lord Voldemort, but that was unsuccessful. Since I woke up a half hour ago, I've consumed 20 oz of the 32 oz. I don't want to start a new gallon until I finish the previous.

My body was aching when I woke up. THAT I know is from the cleanse as we have to limit our physical activity. My legs, calves, and arms all achy.

Okay 32 oz done. Now time for another 12 oz, supplements, and breakfast.

BREAKFAST -- 8:29 am
I drank my 12 oz of water and put the Mineralize and Oxygenize in it, but I forgot to take my Optimize. The videos said it's no big deal, but I do need to take them later. They recommend splitting them up and taking 3 Optimize with lunch and 3 with dinner. That will be my plan. So prior to eating, not so hungry, but I was really looking forward to it! It was definitely a big improvement over the meals yesterday.

Meal 10 of 63:

2 cups fresh fruit

1/2 cup plain FF yogurt sweetened with Grade B maple syrup

1 slice multi-grain toast

So good. I love fruit. I am a little nervous, however, because I've never just had fruit for breakfast. Well..I guess that's not entirely true. I've had fruit with yogurt and granola, so this isn't completely foreign. I am nervous about possible hunger in a short time, but we'll see. I can foresee that this will be a plenty of water kind of day!

I'll also be testing myself today. Brandon and I will be driving out to get his license plates for his new car. It gives me a bit of anxiety because since I've started this, I haven't been more than 10 minutes away from the house where I could easily access everything I needed. This will help me prepare for tutoring next week.

LUNCH--12:45 pm
I was actually getting hungry for lunch. By 11:15 this morning, my stomach started growling. Soon after (and 20 oz of water later), I had another serving of black beans and rice with salsa and some cucumber salad from last night. Very satisfying.

DINNER--8:00 pm
Dinner was lovely tonight! I am a little nervous about getting hungry again...

Meal 12 of 63:

quinoa

stir-fry vegetables

cucumber and tomato salad

As you see, there is no meat or soy protein here. That's the lovely thing about quinoa. It's a grain, but it's very high in protein. I finished eating over an hour ago (first time since we started that we ate at a "normal" hour for dinner), and I'm stating to feel a little hungry. I know this means I just need to drink more water, but it's so tough when my younger sister is in the kitchen making popcorn on the stove.

I feel good today. Body aches were limited to this morning. I haven't had a headache since I went to bed last night. Food prep didn't take too long (this may be due to the fact that there was no marinating involved...). I'm feeling happy today. I'm more energetic than I have been. It certainly is night and day when comparing yesterday and today. Many people on the facebook pages say that Days 1-3 were tough and foggy for them, but starting Day 4 they saw a difference. I can certainly say the same thing. I hope this stays...