Weighting Game --- New Year New US!

As long as I can remember, I’ve been consumed with my weight. Having been on both ends of the spectrum, I can definitely own up to my struggles with weight. I remember the first time I noticed I was a little heavier than the “other girls”. I was in the fifth grade, and my mom lovingly suggested I not eat another something or other because I was getting chubby. I actually called myself going on a diet in the fifth grade. It’s funny now but then I was devastated. I remember packing my lunch and having water, townhouse crackers, and a couple boxes of raisins.

As time went on it seemed as though I gained about five to ten pounds every year. So much so that by my senior year in high school this is what I looked like.

I struggled all through high school and college with a desire to slim down but I didn’t know where to begin or how to eat. Freshman year in college became my take-charge year. I remember my dorm room being stocked with Tae Bo VHS (yes, VHS), and Slim Fast. I didn’t see any results. Not drastically anyway.

Sophomore year, I was required to take a PE class and a health elective. I took a nutrition course and the little bit that I learned charged me. My professor mentioned how vegetarians tend to way less than meat eaters. I decided that when the fall semester was over and January rolled around, I’d turn over a new leaf and give up meat for good. That was eight years ago and I’ve been a vegetarian since.

When I first became a vegetarian, the weight began to steadily melt away. I took up yoga and made it a point to do a [walking] lap around campus every morning before classes. I became vegan briefly, started juicing when I could, eating an abundance of raw food and became the epitome of a health nut.

I weighed 250 pounds going in and weighed in at 150 going out. I’d done it! I had lost the weight that had bugged me for years! But there was one problem, I didn’t know how to maintain. I went out with my friends, had a few drinks, ate pizza and nachos and expected to stay slim. Even though there wasn’t any meat on my plate, I still had massive amounts of junk food and expected to stay thin simply because I wasn’t consuming meat.

I have the type of physique that HAS to be worked on to be maintained. I’m not effortlessly slim. I started gaining weight really fast after the second time I was laid off and I didn’t know how to make it stop. Still practicing a vegetarian lifestyle but eating TONS of processed foods, not being dedicated with exercise, and being extremely depressed does not a skinny girl make. I was averaging a steady gain of about 10 pounds a YEAR! Over the span of four years….

This past summer, I decided to join Weight Watchers but in one meeting someone asked what the difference between brown rice and white rice was and the meeting leader responded, “Nothing! It’s the same thing.” Because of how nutritionally sound I’d been for close to eight years, I took offence to her not giving a truthful answer. Well, I guess it was true based on the Weight Watchers Points Plus system but in actuality there’s a big difference between the two. Needless to say, I didn’t go back after that meeting.

My brother passed in July and that emotional trigger sent me over the edge of “comfort” eating and not really thinking much about what I put in my body.

I realized recently that I had to get back to brass-tax. I had to re-educate myself on what the body needs, what weight loss methods really work, and which ones will truly help me lose and maintain weight.

Now that I know where to begin (AGAIN) and having a partner in my sister Racquel, I can pinpoint my food struggles which are sugar and processed foods. Including all veggie nuggets, burgers, frozen waffles, veggie sausage, Swedish Fish, Air Heads, Twizzlers, Skittles. I have a weakness for chewy candies and sugar has become THE demon that I really need to exorcise (immediately).

So here’s the plan:

I will be eliminating the following things from my diet (indefinitely) –

1)   Sugar (including raw and unbleached sugars)

2)   Oil (oil is considered good for you but is a highly concentrated source of calories)

3)   Gluten (I’m leaning towards the suspicion that I have an allergy and getting it out of my diet will help me really know if I do; puffiness in my face, abdomen, and ankles)

4)   Caffeine (We all should do it at some point)

5)   All processed foods

6)   And of course, meat and dairy

I’m on a mission to look BETTER than I looked here….

Let’s make 2012 a great year and do it together! 

Product Review---->L’Equip 215XL Big Mouth Juicer Review

Good Morning JoOcers!!!! This is my new baby The L’Equip 215XL Big Mouth JoOcer.  I absolutely love this juicer.  One reason that I love is because it gives you a smooth, clean juice.  What I mean by that is absolutely no pulp, and when you clean up your pulp is very dry, meaning that it has extracted all of the juice.  

The L’Equip Model 215 XL Juicer has a “big mouth” but a “quiet motor” and it is designed with convenience in mind.  The feed tube  medium apples without slicing.  The pulp ejection is designed to shoot pulp directly into the pulp basket.  Very powerful motor.  It’s very easy to clean.  It has a 10 year warranty, and a 3 year warranty on the motor.  I have had my new baby for 2 weeks and he has put out efficiently.  This morning it produced for me my daily “Green Dream” Beet greens, Dandelion greens, Arugula, Celery, 2 kiwi, 2 Green Apples, Ginger root, and cucumber.  I call it that because we all dream of being healthy, eating healthy and living healthy, this juice makes it possible the natural way.  Then it produced for me “The Beat the Beet” Carrots, Pomegranate,  Pears, and Beets….so refreshing!!! I purchased the L’Equip Juicer because it is American made, and I am absolutely loving it. 

This is Racquel

Keep JoOcing!!!!!

JoOce to Boost ----> Immune System Tune Up

Okay, we're already staring October square in the eyes and with autumn already here there are tons of critters and germs floating through the air. I spend my days off in the throws of daycare germs and I can already feel my body sponging up all the cold season ugliness. No reason the fret though. All it takes is some planning, a little patience, some diligence, and well, a juicer of course. Here, I'll explain what I do to get ready for a big juice feast, how I prep every day's "meals", the recipes for this month's juice feast, and a little bonus or two. So here we go....

To begin with, I can already tell that JoOcing for health has become a bit of an addiction for me and my sister. We had a family gathering this past Sunday and with all of the food that was around we looked at each other and said, "It's time to fast again." Even with the little bit that we did eat (huge salads, fresh cole slaw (recipe will be shared Friday for Fresh Taste and black beans) we felt like we'd over indulged. I think it was because we were watching everyone else eat like they were going to the electric chair, but I digress.

So, it's time to fast again and I can see this being a monthly routine to reboot my digestive and immune system. This month, I plan to fast for at least seven days (I could go a little longer) on Lemon Ginger Blasts and Carrot-Apple Juice.

I prefer to make all of my juices at once. Early in the morning. This way if I have to run to work, or run errands or am in the middle of something around the house, I don't have to stop when I'm hungry to lug out the juicer. I clean it once and I don't see it again until the next morning. If you wish to save yourself even more time, do some of the prep the night before (as far as some of the chopping). Personally, it doesn't really take that long for me to wash and cut my produce so I just save it all for the morning. It's all about preference and scheduling.

I try to make at least three quarts of juice and I store them in mason jars (as I've previously explained). The reason being, mason jars are durable, inexpensive, and they seal tightly which prevents premature spoilage and enzyme leakage. Enzymes are whole other blog so let's keep going :-)

The Menu:

I wasn't too fond of the lemon ginger blast when I made it for myself on my last juice feast but my sister made it one weekend and it was very tasty. I've altered it to suit my taste buds and you can do the same. My only advice is if your a novice, don't do too much mixing. Keep your juices simple to avoid overwhelming your taste buds and your system. If you've been surviving on processed foods for a significant period of time, you will get sick on more complex juice recipes. Stick to no more than a few ingredients. This way, you go into cleansing slowly and you remember what you put in juice so that you can make it again.

Here's the recipe:

2 lemons
3 inches of ginger
1 bunch of spearmint
1 bunch of basil
1 bag of kale or spinach
2 celery stalks
4 persian cucumbers or 1 regular cucumber
2 apples (I like Pink Lady or Granny Smith)
1 habonero pepper

*recipe for one quart of juice

Another one of my favorite juices that I made my "go-to" during my first round of detox was the Carrot-Apple juice. Apple juice alone is very sweet and the carrots maintain the sweetness while cutting the overwhelming flavor of fresh apple juice.

Here's the recipe

1 lemon
4 apples
1 inch ginger
8-10 carrots

*recipe for one quart of juice

This round of fasting we'd like to bring YOU along for the ride! All it takes is a little bit of will and some discipline! Visit us here or on our Facebook page (GoddessNectar/RAWk the JoOce) or follow us on Twitter @GoddessNectar!

Have a Wonderful Wednesday and Keep JoOcing!

Ashley

Day 8 ----- Juicing for Optimal Health

We have a second blog!!!! Yay!!!! These posts are to document our juicing journey and health benefits from not only owning but using our juicers daily. For the next 32 days (minus the 8 days that have already lapsed) we (Racquel and Ashley) will chronicle our progress, highs and lows, and weight loss right here and on our Facebook page [GoddessNectar]. 

Just a quick update, so far Racquel and I have lost approximately 23lbs between us and are getting over the first hump. 

Basically a juicing journey is a detox of sorts. An opportunity for your body to cleanse itself of fish dinners,  Domino's, Big Macs, and other overly processed foods. The digestive system is given an opportunity to rest so that the body can heal itself from the damage its owner has done to it. No need to wince, we've all done a little bodily damage. Juicing is all about damage control. 

So you're probably thinking.... What? You don't eat for 32 days? Gimme a break! 

Look at it this way, you've been eating all of your life. Don't you think your body deserves a resting period? 

When your body is constantly digesting food, it isn't given the opportunity to heal itself properly because it's always working to break down foods it was never meant to break down in the first place. But I digress. 

Since, my fast started, I've already gone through my first cleansing crisis which is basically when you're on a juice fast and chronic conditions or reoccurring conditions rear their heads during your fast. Anything you've suffered from in the past or present will arise and take over. This is your body working overtime to get rid of it. It could be arthritis, acne, eczema, sinus problems. In my case it was the latter and I had a very bad cold for a few days. If you don't know, summer colds are the worst! But the secret is, the worse the crisis the better you feel when it passes. I didn't think this would be true but it actually is. I've never been clearer. Anyway, that's where we are now. 

Oh yeah one more thing, when you realize how many fruits and veggies it takes to make just one quart of juice you'll see why juicing is so efficient for achieving optimal health. Example: This morning I made my usual grapefruit/valencia/lime juice and a carrot/pear juice. To make it I need THREE grapefruits, THREE valencia oranges and a lime. I couldn't eat all of that in a sitting if I tried. But juicing it extracts all of the nutrients so that you can benefit completely from everything that that food has to offer. And for the carrot/pear juice took about EIGHT carrots and four pears (a lemon to maintain the vibrant color).

I could juice talk all day but I'll leave you with a tip (in case you've considered trying a short or long juice fast). Don't try fasting on shelved juices. For one, they're dead. They've been cooked to lengthen their shelf life. YES even NAKED juices (which I love). The fresher the juice the better the results. And two, they're simply blended foods not actually juices so your body is still working to digest them. Just some "food" for thought :-) 

Have a super duper Monday, everyone..... 

And make sure to follow us on Facebook and Blogspot.

Here's to your health,

Ashley