Day 20 - Going Vegetarian

So after watching "Forks over Knives" at Liza's house, I was thinking about becoming a vegetarian. As every day that passes, I think about it even more. I haven't have meat in a week, and I'm not even craving it. I'm eating again, and I'm choosing nothing but veggies and fruits. I've even cooked meat for family and guests, and I opt for veggies! I can't honestly say that I'll be 100% committed, but for now, let's just say that I'm a vegetarian. Seriously, watch that movie!

Lauren, Jeff, and Jackie had a sleepover this weekend and I had them try some of my juice and they loved it! Granted I made it with way more fruits and no kale. By the way, the BEST juice is when you add cantalope!!! That and cucumbers make the drink really refreshing!

So for an afternoon Sunday snack I made myself a vegetarian sandwich which I've been dreaming about for a while.

In between the olive oil toasted Italian bread, starting from the bottom, is hummus, raw red onions, pan sauteed zucchini and portabella mushrooms, melted fontina, romain, and guacamole. It was pretty awesome and DJ devoured the other half. I could have added some cucumbers, tomatoes, and other veggies, but the sandwich was already pretty stacked up high. After half a sandwich I was stuffed.

For dinner I'll be cooking pork chops for DJ and Haley, and I'm having juice!

I ate food!!!

I just scarfed down a 3/4 lb cheeseburger, french fries, and a large chocolate milkshake!!!! Totally kidding. Those days are over with. As planned we went out to lunch with Kate for her going away lunch. Decided on Jimmy John's, which was totally fine for my diet. TBH I really didn't want to go. 1) I wasn't hungry. 2) The guilt was already kicking in.

I brought in my Mean Green Juice to drink and I ordered a Vegetarian on Wheat. I also told them to hold the chips! It looked absolutely awesome.

It was very delicious! But I actually had a slight puking sensation. Back in the day if I was bored, I'd eat even if I wasn't hungry. That's how I felt while eating this sandwich, and I got full really fast. And I don't care what kind of diet I'm on, I'm not going to waste food and I'm going to eat it all! So yes, I finished it. Let me tell you that if I hear anyone eating a vegetarian sandwich on wheat, I would tell them that is a super wise decision and good for them for eating healthy. But man, after a week of nothing but juice, I feel SOOOOO guilty right now. I think of the cheese, the mayo, the carbs. What was once considered healthy, I now think of "not healthy enough".

Total damage: 670 calories, 35g fat, 49g cholesterol, 70g carbs, 24g protein. WTF??? Isn't that really bad even if you're NOT on a diet??? OK, so maybe Jimmy John's wasn't such a great idea, and now I REALLY feel guilty!

In other news, Liza just commented on my previoius post with a list of side effects from detoxing/juicing:

feeling cold - I feel cold all the time! But I thought it's just cuz it's winter!
light headedness/dizziness - Little bit, but not much
bad breath - I dunno, I'll ask DJ
body odor - DJ hasn't complained!
constipation or diarrhea - Yes on the rrhea!
stomach ache - little bit
canker sores - YUP!
acne or other skin eruptions - nope
increased dreaming - YES! I'm actually going to play the lottery today cuz I dreamed last night that I won!
changes in sleep patterns - nope
aches and pains - just this morning I was massaging my own shoulders while driving into work.
frequent urination - ALL THE FREAKIN TIME
coated tongue - a result of your body shedding toxins and cleansing itself - nope
headaches – possibly the result of withdrawal from caffeine or a reduction in salt or sugar consumption. - very very slight

Day 18 - A Bright Future

So it's day 5 of my juice fast and I'm going to break it during lunch because it's my coworkers last day here. I plan on eating a salad or something. To be honest, this is the best I've ever felt since I started dieting. The past couple days were pretty rough. I think there's a bug going around cuz a few of my coworkers are out with a stomach bug, and I def have the runs. I feel much better today tho!

So Liza just confirmed more side effects that I currently have. I'm constantly brushing my teeth cuz my teeth are always fuzzy...kinda like when you don't brush your teeth in the morning and they feel like they're wearing sweaters. I told DJ that the juice is always coating my teeth. In actuality it's all the toxins in my body that's being released in my mouth! Another side effect is canker sores and man do I have a lot of them. Again, it's toxins being released from my body via my mouth. So I guess it's a fact that this does help detox your body!

So I weighed in this morning at 188.8 lbs for a total of 12.2 lbs since I started 18 days ago. This week alone in the fast I lost about 6 lbs! I feel so good right now that I feel like doing pushups, but that would be a bit weird doing it in my cube at work. Absolutely no hunger and no cravings.

Some people say "Life is too short. Enjoy your food and eat that cheeseburger!". My reply to them now is, "You're right. Life really is too short. That's why I'm trying to make it last much longer!"

Day 16 - Still going strong

So I'm on my 3rd day of my juice fast. I haven't had a single bite of solid food since Sunday night, and I'm still going strong! No headaches, no lethargy, almost no side effects at all! I have not noticed any lack of energy. In fact, I even found the time to hit the exercise bike for half an hour! My wedding ring is looser. My pants fit better.

From Sunday night to Tuesday morning I lost 2 lbs. From Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning I lost another 2 lbs. Total weight loss so far: 10 lbs in 16 days! It actually would be more if I didn't have those cheat days and if I could find more time to exercise. But I think I'm going at a good pace.

I did mention above that I have almost no side effects. Well the bad part is I'm peeing every 30 min, at least! So annoying having to go to the bathroom this much! Oh, my poos are pretty miserable. It's all pulpy and beets make my poo red. Thought my asshole was bleeding! And not sure if it's the carrots or the beets, but my pee is orange. Aside from that, and the slight hunger, it's all positive!

So the 5 day fast will actually be a 4.5 day fast. Got a going away lunch on Friday, but 4.5 days is good enough! Oh, also going to Liza's house tomorrow for a juice lunch party! Lame, I know...

Day 14 - The Juice Fast

I was bad this weekend. Not BAD BAD...but bad enough to give me a guilt trip. Since I'm not tracking my food on loseit.com anymore, I can't really remember what I ate. I do remember that Friday night was my night to cook for us and the extended family. I made rigatoni with a ragu sauce consisting of ground turkey, onions, celery, and carrots. It was DAMN good! Sunday was especially bad. It was Phillips 1st birthday so of course there was a ton of Filipino food, including the infamous Lechon (whole roasted pig) made by the infamous Marco Sandiego. Right after that party we went to my Tito Charlie's "surprise" 75th birthday. I do recall having two pieces of cake and two slices of pizza! Liza actually made these killer stuffed mushrooms with spinach, Feta, and crushed red peppers...only 40 cal a pop!

Anyway, time to make up for all those extra calories. I moved forward as planned and started my 5 day juice fast. Unfortunately, Andrew isn't joining me this time around. Liza, however, is going to go on a 3 day fast starting on Wednesday! I'm hungry, but not starving! I guess it doesn't help watching Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.

So veggies/fruits are getting mad expensive. I figured to go bulk so hit up the Costco. Three Asian pears, three cantaloupes, 2 bags of baby cukes, 2 bags of celery, 1 bag of snap peas, 3 lbs of pineapples, 16 apples, a big box of oranges, and 7 lbs of carrots. SEVEN POUNDS! Total damage was still damn expensive: $77. And I'll prolly destroy everything in about 4 days. At 3 meals a day, that's 12 total meals, which equates to over $6 a meal. Not bad considering I was averaging about $15-$20 every single day JUST for lunch! Costco seems great for fruits...not so much for veggies.

So the love for juice is spreading. I already convinced DJ and the MIL. The hardest part was convincing Haley. I started her off easy with just apple juice. Then I stepped it up and gave her apple juice and carrot juice (above pic), and she loved it! Today she went ballsy. I juiced up some cukes, celery, kale, apples, and pineapples. She loved it, too! I'm so happy that my little angel loves this super nutritious juice!

So I've been juicing for a full week now. Still love it. I think I'm addicted actually. My energy level hasn't taken a dive at all, and my pants even fit better! I even asked DJ if I could use a portion of the backyard to grow my own veggie garden, and I even priced out a Bokashi composter! Do I miss food? Hell yeah I do! Believe me, I constantly convince myself every day to not stop by Five Guys. But like I said. My taste buds have had enough partying and I'm not doing this just for some competition. I'm also doing this for my family.



So day 1 of the fast was as expected. It's tough, but not that bad. The trick: If you get hungry at night, just go to sleep!

Day 10 - Temptation

Didn't weigh myself this morning but pretty eventful day:

So went to lunch with the usual suspects, Bill and Quinn. They decided on freakin Cheesecake Factory. Quinn has an excuse cuz she's preggo. Bill, on the other hand is in this freakin weight loss bet with me, and Cheesecake was his idea! I decided to stay good and get a SkinnyLicious Salad for under 590 calories. I stayed away from temptation and decided not to get dessert, unlike my other two lunchmates, although I did have two bites of Bill's strawberry shortcake. Funny thing is, saying no to a cheeseburger and a cheesecake for lunch wasn't too hard!

When this weight loss competition first started, my boy Andrew at work told me that I should juice. I asked Liza about it and she said, "I be he watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead". It turns out that he did! I told him that I'm all about juicing and the good news is that he decided to join me! He's not in the competition, but has always been health concious. He said that he's super excited to buy a ton of veggies tonight and start juicing. Come next Monday, he's going to go on a 5 day juice fast. And guess who's going to join him in this fast? Me! Andrew, my friend, you won't go at this alone!

Told Liza I was concerned about missing fiber and protein in my diet if all I'm having is juice. So decided to buy a 2 lb bag of Chia seeds! Yes, same seeds as the Chia pet, but did you know they are super healthy? Liza gave me a big sample a while ago. It's like a super fiber food that helps you get full. Want more info? http://www.mychiaseeds.com/Articles/Top10ChiaBenefits.html

As of this morning I ran out of veggies/fruits. So from Monday night until Thursday morning I was able to polish off four apples, four cucumbers, 2 lbs of carrots, a giant bag of kale, a bag of spinach, four lemons, two bunches of romain lettuce, and a bundle of celery! If I ate that without juicing, do you know how long it would take me? Since I ran out of "food", I hit up the grocery again and re-upped. This time I got even more veggies including beets!

So today's diet: juice for breakfast, salad for lunch, juice for snack, and juice for dessert. Gotta admit tho, the extra kale for "dinner" made the juice pretty disgusting. So far the biggest complaint is prep and cleanup. Shit's a bitch!

Sick, Fat, and Nearly Dead

WATCH THIS!!!!