Juicing after Halloween candy!

Halloween was tough, but as you can see we are looking a bit thinner in our plain and peanut M&M shirts. Together we have lost over 50lbs. More to go, but great progress thus far. Today, November 7th, all the Halloween candy goes in the trash!

Alex and Max have been juicing everyday with us and for the last week Alex has been really sick to his stomach. Why? He's been eating candy out of his pumpkin each day. Amazing how much sugar messes with your body no matter what your age.

Juicing. Week 10 - 46lbs. lost

Two weeks ago Bryson celebrated his 40th birthday. He met his "birthday goal" of losing 30lbs. Way to go! He's lost another pound since then. I'm still hanging out at 15lbs. We are still on track and rocking on!

Juicing. Week Seven - 36lbs. lost!

Bryson and I have now lost 36lbs together. He has lost 22lbs. and I've lost 14lbs. In the past two weeks we cut back the juicing to just once a day because of poor time management. Big mistake! The weight loss has pretty much stopped. We are going to start a new juice fast next week to get back on track. This is not easy, but losing weight never is. We still say juicing is the best way thus far.

It is clear that two things happen when we juice two or more times a day: we feel better (more energy, less aches and pains) and we LOSE WEIGHT. We are proving that juicing once a day doesn't change our body that much. Yes, we are getting powerful live nutrients, but not seeing it on the scale. More juicing = more pounds lost.

We are NOT quitting. Stay tuned ....

The Skinny on Thin Mint Cookies

The Girl Scouts of America struck gold in 1951 when they created the Thin Mint cookie. Last year, they sold a total of 700,000,000 cookies. 25% of them were in that fantastic little green box ... the one and only Thin Mint. That means 175,000,000 dollars were made in Thin Mints alone. If a box sells for $3.50, then the total boxes sold were 50,000,000 in 2010. Yes, 50 MILLION boxes of cookies. If you are wondering who came in second place it was the equally destructive and delicious Samoa at 19% of the total sales.

On the Girl Scouts of America website they answer the question of childhood obesity. They say, "Girl Scout cookies are sold for a short time every year, and are considered a snack treat. As with all treats, they should be enjoyed in moderation." Have they heard of Thin Mints? Moderation? In other words, I should only eat one box a day?

Good gracious. Clearly, I'm not the only one with a Thin Mint cookie problem. I've got 50 Million other people tracking right along with me. No wonder I've resorted to drinking carrots ...

Juicing. Week Four Results

Bryson and I began juicing on Friday night, July 29. It has been four weeks and Bryson has lost 21lbs. I've lost 11lbs. If we can keep us this trend we are golden!

Over this past weekend we both cheated bigger than ever and it wasn't worth it. I ate chinese food and pizza. He ate pasta, bread, dessert etc. and then pizza. The feeling I had afterword was pure exhaustion. I was so tired I couldn't move. I just wanted to sleep. Whoever said carbs give you a burst of energy must be mistaken. They made me lethargic and cloudy. I juiced yesterday and felt great again. Back on the energy wagon. If you want a quick fix ... here is the answer. Juicing.

Juicing. Week Two Results

The juicing experiment continues on with great success! We have added more solid food meals into the plan and even cheated on occasion (pasta, bread, dessert). I am noticing how extremely salty food tastes now as well as how much the slightest amount of sugar gives me a roaring headache. I've lost 8lbs in two weeks and Bryson has lost 16lbs. In the picture posted we can tell we've lost some in our faces as well as our clothes. I'm wearing a size 12 in this picture and my skin is glowing. Bryson's suit fits much better and his cheeks are slimmer. Overall, the juicing is absolutely worth it. We are actually craving the juice now. Incredible progress for two over the top carb lovers!

My goal now is to lose 5lbs a week. That means I could be 40lbs down rather quickly just by juicing. I am trying to add the exercise back, but it's tough with the boys always on my arm. We'll see what I can come up with. Bryson is still walking almost every morning at 5:00 AM. Amazing!

Another huge inspiration we got was from watching a YOUTUBE video called SUGAR: THE BITTER TRUTH. Thanks to my FaceBook friend Karyn List! She posted the video and it was overwhelming. 90 minutes long, but totally worth it. You will definitely re-think the amount of high fructose corn syrup you are poisoning yourself with everyday. It's a harsh realization for sure, but with the truth comes freedom. And forgiveness ... forgiveness for all the Thin Mint cookies I've eaten over a lifetime.

Juicing. Seriously?

I've known about juicing for forever. My granola sister has been juicing for years, and yes, she is thin and healthy. My brother-in-law does triathlons for sport! Totally out of my league. Some of my weird tree hugging friends juice, and yes, they also hike and bike. I guess in my sugar coated mind I thought I could still eat steak, potatoes, and oreo cheesecake and turn out thin as long as I really respected the people who juice and exercise. Yeah, not happening in this lifetime!

I came across the documentary called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. This guy, Joe Cross was really overweight and sick. He juiced for 60 days straight and lost 82lbs. Then he began eating whole healthy foods and added exercise and lost up to 100lbs. Incredible. Bryson had already began exercising and had lost a few pounds, so it was a great time to embrace juicing. I thoroughly researched Amazon for juicers and read every review on every juicer in every price category. Wow, that took a long time! I learned that juicers come in centrifugal, masticating, twin gear, one auger single press, one auger double press and so on. The price range is crazy $50 to $550+.

After a lot of reading and watching demo videos, we decided on the OMEGA VERT Model 350. Why? Because it is extremely powerful (masticating, one auger double press: more juice, less pulp), easy to clean (this is crucial), 12 year warranty, has two juicing baskets for soft and hard fruits and vegs and delivers a very high percentage of antioxidants into our juice (between 70-80%). Price: $375. Yep, it's a hefty price to pay, but we felt like it was worth it. And it is simply incredible. Super easy. It can juice ANYTHING! My favorite juice so far is: 10 carrots, 2 Granny Smith apples, 1 orange, 1 lemon, 1/2 lime, hand full of kale, little slice of ginger, hand full of cherries, strawberries and blueberries. All this makes 32oz of juice. Basically, two meals. It can be refrigerated for 72 hours too! I admit the radical juicers are juicing drinks like: celery, kale, beet, ginger, wheat grass and cucumber. Almost all green drinks. But I'm not there yet. I'll let you know when I arrive. As a side note: If you are an orange juice lover, get a juicer because the real fresh o.j. is awesome. No added sugar and much cheaper.

Now, let's get down to the nitty gritty. Does it work? Yes, so far. I have tons more energy (which is the primary reason why I did it). I am losing a pound a day. Seriously. Bryson is losing about 2 pounds a day, but he is walking 5 miles every morning and I am not. My skin is clear and glowing. And as for the extra pooping ... yep, it's a pooping party and if you are juicing, then you're invited! We are juicing three times a day and have eaten a little bit of solid food. Grilled salmon and brown rice or spinach salad with grilled chicken, pecans, and a bit of dressing. It does require a lot of prep time to wash, cut and juice the stuff, but it really does taste great and you can feel instant energy. The clean up is super simple. Take it apart in a few pieces and run cold water through it. Done.

Over six days of juicing I've lost six pounds. I currently wear a size 12 pants and a few 14 dresses. The rest of my 14's are too big and my 10's seem like a world away. I weigh 43 pounds less today than the day I gave birth to Max (he is 18 months old). My size as a pregnant woman was 16+. I lost those 43lbs by working out with a trainer and some dieting. I have 47 more to lose and I'll be at my goal 160lbs (I'm 5'7 and anything from 160lbs or below is a size 10). My weight is a sad reality, but at least I know what works to lose it ... Juicing! Getting back to regular exercise will speed the weight loss up too.

So, can we keep this juicing up? Only time will tell. We both turn 40 soon and the writing is on the wall for us regarding our future health. My mom is a cancer survivor, but sadly Bryson's dad died from a heart attack. We need to get the extra weight off and re-do our bodies from the inside out. It's not for vanity this time, it's because we have two precious toddlers who need us to be there for them until we are 80. Period.

Thin Mint Reality

This is my first post, so I need to address Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies. Thin Mints are the perfect display of deception. A tiny, "thin" cookie made of dark chocolate & mint housed in a cheap clear sleeve that always tears apart, which only beckons me to eat the whole roll, and so I must! Even the little green box with pictures of wholesome girls on the front speaks of fun and laughter and childhood. Yeah, it's fun, until I eat the whole box, then another, then a case of them. Then I've got a problem. Now I'm fat from eating a thin cookie. Come on!