Detox Extravaganza - Smoothie and Juice Detox (Week 2)

As I look at the title, I have to say that the week somehow became just a smoothie week, but I'll get more to that later of my neglect of juices. Before you ask, yes, it's true - I ONLY drank smoothies the whole week, actually ate NO real food. As bizarre as that sound, it actually wasn't really that bad and quite yummy!

With the guidance of my friend (we are doing this detox extravaganza together), I was to put coconut water in the veggie smoothies and then almond milk in the fruity smoothies.

1st comes the coconut milk. After much excitement when I spotted this at the grocery store (I was just going to buy it off the shelves, he he), I spotted baby coconut! Despite the labor of getting it open, alas came out this delicious fresh coconut water...

And that's it!! Ha! I guess I'd I bought 3 of them!

Even better was scooping out the flesh from the coconut, because I was able to use this in my smoothies. 

Pretty much the exact opposite of what my friend suggested to keep things "simple," I stuffed as much as I could in the blender and.... having said that, had to do it in bouts and was quite a process to keep things even. Needless to say, the blender was working quite hard and by Day 2 started smoking a little...

My "fruit" smoothie

My fruit and veggie smoothie

My veggie smoothie

Ta da!

Above and below: My leftovers! I actually ended up having enough for several "meals," so that was good to save time!

I had the "green smoothie" the one on the left, as a 'snack' smoothie and the one one the right, the fruit smoothie, it was more filling (and I think that mug is bigger), so it was my lunch smoothie. 

So here I am sitting in our pantry, enjoying my smoothie, then in walks in a bday lunch that someone brought in: 

Can I just say this is even worse than UN-Detox!!! It was soooooooooooooooooooooooo gross! Even if I wasn't detoxing, I would NEVER eat that crap!!! Ew!!! No wonder our staff is mostly overweight. BLAH!! So pretty much after that (which of course was the 2nd day, and the day before had almost equally as bad for you Phillipino food, I ate quietly and peacefully in our office. Hahahah! 

Soo.... as before, this is a reference for ME about how I felt just in case I do it again. Again, it was supposed to be 3 days of smoothies and 3 days of juicing, but then we decided to just what we felt like, as long as it was in liquid form, ha ha: 

Day 1: Definitely different NOT having food... But easy to satisfy hunger pangs with a sip of smoothie. Just felt I missed the concept of eating. F x 3
Exercise: run (jog) x 30 min, elliptical x 15, light weights. Tennis!!
Day 2: Although felt my cheeks went down (they got soo puffy during my un-detox, this was my main focus, ha ha), felt I majorly lacked energy :-( Very fatigued... and just tired. Also didn't feel too hungry. Energy picked up in pm, but overall today was just a sluggish day. F x 2.
Exercise: FlyWheel (spin) am, swim pm.
Day 3 - Better mood, not fatigued or tired at all (??)! Feel relaxed and def less appetite. F x 0.
Exercise: None!!
Day 4: Slept really well! Less appetite, feel energetic and good! Although was supposed to start juicing, still had a lot of smoothie left over and you know... didn't want to waste food (I think I've juiced for so long and haven't smoothied in awhile, it was a nice change!). F x 1.
Exercise: none!
Day 5: Blender broke last night so had to buy a new one! Supposed to juice, but because still had smoothies left over, did another smoothie day and bought a new blender and hehe, just had to play with it! Feel energetic and happy! F x 1.
Exercise: swimming
Day 6:Today again feel 'normal.' It's funny how the body adapts... I almost think it's weird to eat food! Just kidding. F x 1.

Exercise: 11km slow'ish run, bikram yoga

*Generally had veggie smoothie breakfast and snack, fruit for lunch, and combo for dinner!
*KEY!!! This REALLY  helped, I think I was sooo fatigued and tired that day 2, I just needed something extra. So after that starting adding chia seeds, nut butters, coconut flesh to make it more filling, which really worked!! 

Here are some examples of smoothies:

-Smoothie green: spinach, kale, broccoli, cucumber, parsley, pineapple, celery, dates
-Fruit smoothie: mango, blueberry, pineapple, parsley, spinach, celery, cucumber, banana.

-Snack smoothie: kale, spinach, cucumber, orange, celery, lemon, dates, pineapple.

So day 3, da da dum, I think all this "hard" blending was just a little bit too much for my little 'ol blender/food processor. Although it was a Kenwood, which I found out isn't what it used to be, I did buy it 2 years ago and it has had a LOT of use :-) At the time I was pretty much buying my whole apartment ($$$) and looked for something middle'ish range. Soo... when it broke, although I was sad, it was due time. And as these things go, I bought my new one and it is like a whole new world! Soooooooooooooooooo nice and powerful!!!! I zipped up these "hard" smoothies in no time flat! The cool thing though was that I was certain I wasn't going to buy another combo unit of blender and food processor, I ended up buying one that was one machine unit and then you attach the different components. It's space efficient and compact, so I am super happy with hit!!

So here it is, out with the old....

And in with the new!!!

My first fancy new blender smoothie - I don't think I could have stuffed anything more in it! hahah!

Ta da!!

Not to be neglected, tested the food processor, and although it didn't really save on any time, it worked well and I was able to make my favorite nut butters (almond and walnut):

So there you  have, I survived! I thought this was going to be hardest week, but it really wasn't too bad. Again, initially just weird not having solid foods, but it actually was a bit better to sip on these thick liquids when I felt hungry, it really quenched my hunger!!

Next week (tomorrow) starts Whole30 (www.whole30.com). Now this is the REAL test! This other stuff was a week, but this is a whole month! What can I say about it except for it is similar to the Paleo diet - okay with most all types of meat or fish, but after that NO dairy, sugars, grains, even things like beans and lentils. Gasp! Most disturbing for me is NO oatmeal (my breakfast!) or quinoa - which I have regularly. I did some shopping in prep, came across this simple recipe for a snack, prosciutto wrapped around asparagus! It  is a costly snack.

I of course will write when I finish it, as far as in between, we'll see how things go!! Happy days! 

Detox Extravaganza - Raw food ONLY week

Here you have it!!! Again, this is more for FYI to myself I EVER decide to do this again, so it's overly detailed. I have to say, growing up with cooked foods, it was kind of odd to NOT have ANYTHING cooked. Manageable for a week because I knew I REALLY needed this, but I definitely miss something warm and comforting!!!

Soo.... what did I eat??

Not ready yet, but this is a chia seed pudding! 1/3 cup chia seeds and then 2 cups a nut milk (almond, quinoa). It's actually really good! With a touch of cinnamon, even better! This was one of my snack foods. The picture above is when I added the ingredients, after it soaks (1-2 days) then it really looks and tastes like pudding! 

Fresh from the farm, dates! Pretty much the only thing that grows in these HOT desert climates. Another snack for me!

My lunch for the week! Yup, ate this every day! Actually fairly yummy (with apple cider (organic) vinegar and a wee bit of olive oil) - cucumber, zucchini, beets, broccoli, carrot, green pepper, blueberries and added some pumpkin and sunflower seeds to it.  

Another snack food - green apples! And then cucumbers chopped with homemade almond, hazelnut, and walnut butter. Yum!

Doesn't look that delicious and it's an "acquired' taste, but room temperature purified water, a teaspoon of tumeric, and a 1/2 a teaspoon of 100% raw organic honey. 

Above and below.... RAW quinoa. Yes, raw. Because it's raw, it takes longer to soak, so I soaked it for almost 2 days and then it actually sprouted! I was reading about that and didn't believe it, but it did! It smelled more potent than the cooked one and ... didn't really taste like anything, but just needed some extra protein to keep me going through the looooooooooooooooooong working days!!

Here's my little diary/synopsis:

Day 1 - Okay, I need this!! Didn't feel too hungry but pverall felt a little down. F x 0
Exercise: Run on treadmill, super light and minimal strength, played tennis (easy).
Day 2 - REALLY tired, headache. Felt a bit down again. Had hunger bouts, but went away. Snacked a lot (green apple, banana, chia seeds, nuts, celery sticks with nut butter). F x 3.
Ex: FlyWheel (cycling) am, swimming pm.
Day 3 - Still felt fatigued and low on energy. Got slightly less headache, but still one that is persisting. Felt I drank a lot of water, but still dehydrated? Have felt hungry throughout the day. F x 1.
Exercise: Nothing!
Day 4: Slept well last night, feel good! Got comments from staff I look like I am glowing and my eyes look more "fresh." No headache, feel I can see my cheekbones (not as puffy), and feel super calm and relaxed. F x 1.
Exercise: Nothing! Opted for sleep and also was going to play tennis, but neighbor bailed.
Day 5  - Still feel good! Off today so relaxed. Overall feel "lighter." F x 2
Exercise: Swim. Was going to do bikram yoga, but missed the class :-(
Day 6 - Felt less bloated, good mood, relaxed. Went to social events and was able to handle it although other cooked food looked delish! Again ate salads and snacked on things like nuts. F x 2
Exercise: Sloow 10km - felt more difficult then it should be. Same for HBY. Walked 93873634 miles around the Marina. Was totally exhausted! 
Day 7 - "Glowing" skin by colleague. Feel less appetite and ... Good! Happy! Still energy! F x2
Exercise: None!


Sooooo.... basically 1st few days was down and could tell my body was going through some detoxing (had persistent headaches, sugar withdrawal? haha). Then as the week went by, felt better and better. Really, my cheeks are less puffy and feel MUCH less bloated.

Next week's challenge of the Detox Extravaganza:

3 days of smoothies ONLY

Then...

3 days of juices (veggie) ONLY

Eeek!!!

Un-detox

I realize that my blogs have mostly been about 3 things:

1. Travel
2. Sport (particularly running!)
3. Eating

Well, I've talked enough recently about the top 2, now it's time to get to this favorite topic of mine, Eating (well, nutrition).

As I mentioned before, I am inspired by goals. Aren't we all? So for the marathon, I KNOW what a difference it makes to do healthy eating AND especially that the lighter we are, the faster we go! Although I didn't quite achieve the weight I wanted, it was somewhat close and I felt good. Then with all the subsequent events, minus the carbo loading, kept up with a pretty good diet: Overnight oats in the morning, raw salad for lunch, and a juice in the evening. And of course lots of snacks in between.

Well, once all these athletic events finished, even before it finished, I made the decision to UN-detox. Basically, eat like a pig, ENJOY life and food, especially with all this ATP Tennis stuff, THEN come March to start a full new program. Fortunately, my BFF Allison was thinking about a detox herself, and being that BOTH of our birthdays are the end of April, we decided to BOTH do a smashing detox and be healthy and happy at 28y/o  (hehehe). So yes! A goal! And this is a goal that will require MUCH willpower and mental strength. I have to confess when I'm good with eating, I'm good, when I'm wishy-washy about it, I can be sloppy. When I'm bad, I'm BAD.

Soooooooo.... basically, these last 2 weeks, I have eaten pretty much all the crap and junk I've avoided for... what seems like forever. Mind you, I am NOT super extreme to do fast food - EW! When I say splurge, it's things like pizza, pasta, desserts, CHEESE, snacks (chips, M&M's)... did I mention CHEESE? Hehe. Well, out of this I realize I think I am definitely intolerant to all this crap. My cheeks and stomach have been sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo puffy and bloated, it's not even funny! I don't know if it's all the sugars, the dairies, and gluten, but I have never felt soooo heavy and just GROSS in forever. I am actually DYING to get on this DETOX!!

So what is this infamous detox? Be forewarned that I will most likely be going into detail about how things are going. I REALLY need to stay strong, I blame my mom for her weakness in turning down goodies when it's in front of her. Good thing is I live by myself and am in the process of getting rid of ALL unhealthy things, which pretty much is ... not too much. Phew! Good thing I don't keep too much around here anyway! But that makes it easier! I'm pretty good about avoiding work temptations when people bring in goodies because they are not appealing to me anyway. Going out to eat will be a challenge, but manageable!

Here's our plan:

1st week of March - RAW FOOD ONLY!!!! Yes, you read the correctly, NOTHING cooked, JUST raw food.
Then 3-6 days of ONLY smoothies (fruit and/or veggies)
THEN 3-6 days of ONLY juicing (same, fruit or veggies)
THEN.... a MONTH, yes 30 days of this program called Whole30 (www.whole30.com). Basically, what i would expect - no dairy, no gluten, no grains (including quinoa! Gasp!), and... gasp, what i was most shocked about, NO legumes (lentils, chickpeas). Soo... don't really know what we CAN eat, but hey, it's a measly 30 days of my life. I WILL SURVIVE! Fortunately, there are 2034832048320432 websites to encourage and motivate us, and here are some:

www.whole30.com
www.affairsofliving.com - mostly has recipes
www.fullyraw.com - a GREAT website
www.glutenfreegirl.com
www.kriscarr.com

Soo.... all of them recipes and encouragement on HEALTHY eating!!!

This will take us just before our birthdays. We may modify or change some things, but that is the general plan for now!

In the meantime, INDULGE! INDULGE! INDULGE! (But feel GROSS! GROSS! GROSS!!!)

Note on indulging - our bodies are mysterious things. We can work sooo hard to lose weight and it barely budges. Then not working too hard, weight can increase way to easily! Let's just say I weighed myself and.... umm... NOT happy with the weight gain, it wasn't just me thinking my cheeks got big, they are big! Hahah!  I plan on losing it ALL with the Detox!!