Day Four

I'm noticing changes. For example, when I eat actual food I eat less than I normally would.  I feel fuller faster.  Now, this could be psychological but nonetheless true.  Even when I am drinking my juice or morning smoothie I feel pretty full fast.

There are also other changes.... here's a quote from a nice juice fast article:

Most doctors will tell you that have 3-4 bowel movements every day is the sign of a healthy body and diet, but most Americans have eaten so many processed food that their body only allows them to eliminate a few times a week.*

Now, this has never really been an issue for me -- but I totally get it.  Wow, 3 to 4 BM's per day is cray-cray!

According to much of the research I did, there are several side effects (temporary) to starting a juice fast or in my case a high-juice diet.  They include headaches, dizziness, breakouts, feeling tired or lethargic, weight loss.  I haven't had any of those yet (maybe weight loss, I didn't step on the scale, yet).

My Day:

1. Breakfast: Berry-Banana Smoothie (whole banana, skim milk, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, ice)
2. Lunch: Peachy Green (2 peaches, bunch of spinach, 2 carrots, Granny Smith Apple)
3. Snack: Banana
4. Dinner: Left over Fun-Ba-Laya
5. Snack: Peanut butter sandwich (whole wheat bread)

Fun Link of the Day:

• Recipe for Carrot Bread with your left over pulp

*Quotes taken from 30 day juice fast benefits and guidelines to cleanse your body and lose weight, examiner.com, March 17, 2013, by Marci Stone (http://www.examiner.com/article/30-day-juice-fast-benefits-and-guidelines-to-cleanse-your-body-and-lose-weight)

Day Three

Howdy-do everyone! I'm down to the final crunch of the current show I am working on - Godspell!  Normally after a rehearsal with friends we like to do a 'diner run'.  You know, head to a diner and shovel our face with whatever (waffles, fries, giro, burger -- any good diner food).  But last night I resisted, I didn't even go out with them.  I knew I didn't have the will power to do it.  Not yet anyway.  So I saved money and calories and headed home to play candy crush (don't judge me!).

So today was blah! Had to give one final in the morning, teach a review class and then NOTHING for the afternoon (well, grade finals).  Normally I would snack while I am grading, but my lunch juice wasn't that great so it took me a little while to finish - and I drank tons of water!

Ordered Chinese food for dinner, since it will be a late night tonight.  Check out today's link for healthy Chinese food options.  BTW - I have 3 food weaknesses - Chinese, Italian or Mexican (yeah, I know that covers pretty much 80% of restaurants in Jersey).  I love them, Chinese especially.  I use to eat it at least once a week (combo #5 anybody?).  So, if you're like me -- do some research to find the healthier choices.

My Day:

1. Breakfast: Pining for a Berry Smoothie (skim milk, Pineapple Greek Yogurt, a few frozen blackberries, strawberries & raspberries) AGAIN! Loved it!
2. Lunch: Ginger Green (bunch of spinach, tomato, 2 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, ginger root, bosc pear)
3. Snack: Banana
4. Dinner: Chinese Take-Out: Chicken with Broccoli - brown rice on the side

Fun Link Of The Day:

• Healthy Chinese Food Options from BuiltLean.com

Day Two

Yes, I cheated - ALREADY! I know, but I owned that I was going to.  Will power!! Ugg.  So yesterday was the Tony Awards and I am a HUGE theatre person (I act, direct, and see just about every Broadway show), so this was my night to party.  I ate pizza and salad (and maybe a chocolate covered strawberry).  Alright, back on the wagon.

Today started out as a MESS if I do say so myself, I got up and started juicing, life was good.  Both roommates were up so I wasn't too worried about noise.  Made an interesting mix for lunch (see below) and packed breakfast.  As I went into the fridge to get the skim milk last night's dinner (Fun-Ba-Laya) came toppling out onto the floor.  About half of it was spread on the kitchen floor (and on my shoe!).  So, I had to clean that mess up and packed my breakfast.

The Fusion Juicer comes with this really cool blender that they call the Fusion Booster. It's essentially a Magic Bullet without all of the accessories (BTW - Love the Magic Bullet a great little machine!).  It comes with a great travel container that pops into the blender and blends your drinks.  So, I packed the whole booster into my bag (after filling it half way with milk) and packed a banana, greek yogurt and a bag of mixed frozen berries.  Here's the tragedy - went to put the milk back and splat the rest of the Fun-Ba-Laya is on the floor - that's right, this genius put it back in the same unstable spot and it fell again (sans the shoe).

So, I'm a teacher and today is the first day of final exams and my schedule is very odd.  I won't have a break until lunch time so my breakfast had to be portable.  I made an amazing smoothie (recipe below) and can drink it throughout the morning.

My Day:

1. Breakfast: Pining for a Berry Smoothie (skim milk, Pineapple Greek Yogurt, a few frozen blackberries, strawberries & raspberries)
2. Lunch: Is that a Radish? Juice (4 radishes, McIntosh Apple, 2 carrots, 3 stalks of celery)
3. Snack: Banana
4. Dinner: Chicken Francese & Eggplant Rollatini

Temptations: Like all teacher's lounge's there was FOOD today! Ugg ... but I resisted temptation and only had my juice.  Considering taking some home for dinner?!  Chicken Francese and Eggplant Rollatini-- might not be too bad -- chicken has the protein, but the cheese in the eggplant could be a downfall (plus the eggplant is obviously fried!).

Fun Link For The Day:

• 3 Day Juice Fast Info

Day One

Well, hello world!  Today I start my Juice Me @ 33 --- what does that even mean?  Well, I am trying a new way of living, a healthier way of living.  I am taking what I have learned from several different sources and putting together my own life style.  Which includes a different way of eating, living, and loving life.

This blog will mostly be about my new way of eating.  Here's the basics of my plan:

• Juice only for Breakfast 
• Fat Free Yogurt Snack
• Juice with a piece of fruit or vegetable for Lunch
• Juice Snack
• Sensible dinner (such a diet catch phrase, am I right?)

Now, I know myself - sticking to this is going to be VERY hard, but it's time to give it a try.  That's where the 33 comes in.  Yesterday, June 8, I turned 33.  I know, I look good for my age!  So, one of my biggest decisions was purchasing a juicer.  I have been thinking about it for a while, basically since I saw the documentary - Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Basically it's a documentary about Joe Cross and his mission to get healthy.  The basics of his plan was to juice life -- literally all the mad did was juice all day.  Now, I've done a 3 day juice fast before (thanks to my amazing roomates) but this 30 day thing - Yeah, I know that would kill me - so I though, baby steps might be the solution.  That's how I came up with my plan.

Don't get me wrong - it's not just about eating healthy - there will be exercise and other lifestyle changes along with it, but for today I will focus on my eating habits.

Let's talk about the juicer that I chose.  A previous roommate had purchased a juicer that was big and beautiful - and LOUD! You could tell whenever she was juicing - that was going to be a problem for me since I am the first one up in the house and don't want to wake everyone just so I can create my breakfast and lunch!  I happened across a info-mercial for a new juicer - the Fusion Juicer.  Like most infomercials, it seemed to work well and everyone loved the juice (don't you love the hosts on these things? "Mmmmm that's the most delicious thing I've ever had!" Really, I'm pretty sure Butter Pecan Ice Cream with crushed up brownies is the best thing you've ever had! I digress...).  The best thing about this juicer was they claimed it was pretty quiet.  So far (after making 2 juices) it is! (Don't get me wrong it's not silent, but way quieter than the roommates!)

So, today, Sunday June 9 - Day One ... here's the menu:

1. Breakfast: Peary Pear (1 Anjou Pear, 2 carrots, handful of blue berries, handful of raspberries)
2. Lunch: CarApple Juice (2 McIntosh Apples, 2 carrots, 3 stalks of celery)
3. Dinner: Fun-ba-laya (recipe below)
4. Tony Party (will let you know what BAD choices I made tomorrow!)

Here's my recipe for Fun-Ba-Laya (wanna-be jambalaya)

• 1 Can of diced tomatoes
• 1 Can fat-free sodium-free chicken broth
• bunch of veggies (I used a  frozen mix of water chestnuts, broccoli, carrots, snap peas, peppers, onion, corn, mushrooms, etc.)
• bunch of cilantro
• fat-free imitation crab meat
• frozen salad shrimp
• mussels (my grocery store sells them shelled and ready to go!)
• McCormick Perfect Pinch Cajun spice mix
• brown rice

I basically put everything in the pot (except the rice) and let it sit on the stove on low heat for about 2 hours.  Then added the rice -- YUMM!!

So there you have it ... my first day.  I will explain more.  I'm off to a rehearsal and then the TONY Awards are tonight - I'm sure I will make some bad choices at the Tony Party but will be as consciousness as possible.

Fun Link for the day:

• Learn about Apple Varieties!