Ok, so this morning I am down another 1.5 pounds for a total weight loss of 11 pounds since I started the cleanse!
I must admit, I’ve added some whole, raw foods to my diet since the beginning…but I’m still getting great results. And I even included a wee bit of fruit…I’ll provide a breakdown of what I ate yesterday in a moment. But I’m not consuming any condensed sweet fruits like bananas or mangos or dried fruits like dates or raisins.
Also, I think a big contributor to my success so far is the addition of a powdered magnesium supplement I am consuming 3 or 4 times a day. It’s called CALM and it is lightly sweetened with all-natural Stevia and gently lemon flavored. I mix it into a big mug (about 20 ounces) of cold water and add ice and just sip on it throughout the day. Magnesium is necessary for our bodies to absorb calcium and many other minerals and nutrients in our diet. From the research I’ve done most adults are severely deficient in their magnesium intake. Magnesium also offers the added benefit of reducing anxiety and stress and helps you achieve a good night’s sleep. I have noticed a significant reduction in my anxiety and stress level this past week and I am definitely experiencing more restful sleep, awakening rejuvenated and refreshed! Which is a nice change of pace for me! So, I highly recommend the addition of CALM to your diet.
Ok, so I noticed that I was feeling very satisfied just sipping the vegetable juices I was sipping, from a hunger perspective. But I wanted to change-up the variety of what I was consuming. So, I decided to add in a green smoothie yesterday morning. I made it out of only water, fresh spinach leaves and frozen strawberries with a packet of vanilla Stevia for flavor. That was very filling and satisfying. Then in the afternoon I remembered I had purchased a zucchini at the health food store the other day and wanted to use it up but didn’t really think it would be great in the juicer. So, I decided to make a batch of Raw Spaghetti (recipe below in another posting, but I replaced the tomato with red bell pepper since I didn’t have tomato and I blended all the sauce ingredients in my food processor. Also, I added no olive oil during my cleanse period)
I spent the afternoon and evening out with my daughter visiting an Asian market I’ve been wanting to go to for years. I bought 2 Thai Young Coconuts! (First time I have ever tried them! They are still sitting on my kitchen counter waiting to be opened!) and a couple of big bags of mung bean sprouts. Then we went to Barnes and Noble and I gave into my one vice – Iced Decaf Americano. I don’t add sweetener or milk…just sip it black. But it’s a treat and it isn’t interfering with my progress…at least not the weight loss. I will have to wait and see how my body is doing when next cycle comes around again.
Anyhow, when I got home I was ravenous for something to eat…so, I treated myself to my version of a raw Thai Peanut Sauce dish (I just mixed a tablespoon of fresh ground peanut butter, light soy sauce, powdered ginger and stevia in a big bowl then added about 2 cups of the raw mung bean sprouts I purchased at the Asian market. It was delicious.) I felt a little guilty because of the peanut butter and soy sauce…because they aren’t on my list for what I planned to allow myself for my raw vegetable juice cleanse…but they DO fall well within my regular 80/20% raw foods parameters, so I didn’t allow myself to feel bad too long! I still stayed raw and today I’m seeing even more results!
So, I’m happy!
Today, so far, I’ve only sipped my big mug of CALM and I’m getting ready to make some vegetable juice. I think something light and green, like celery and cucumber…maybe with a carrot and some other fun things…will fill the bill!
Anyhow, I’m going to get back to mostly just juice today after my little “binge” yesterday, but SO FAR, SO GOOD!!!
~tracy
