Bye bye solid foods; easing into a juice cleanse

Fresh Produce

If you flip through a magazine or turn on the television at times you might see some celebrity talking about cleanses.

One that seems to be extremely popular is the Master Cleanse also called the Lemonade Diet. The ingredients consist of lemons, pure maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and purified water. That’s it!

I’ve heard about this cleanse for years, and although some claim that it’s healthy, I have a hard time believing that based on the ingredients used.

How can that be healthy following that routine for several days? I think one of the main reasons it has become popular is because of the amount of weight some have lost. I can see how that’s possible, but it’s not a healthy way to lose weight.

I do enjoy juice cleanses the difference between the liquid cleanses I use, and something like the Master Cleanse is I’m not depriving my body of nutrients, I receive my nutrients from freshly juiced vegetables and fruit – whole foods in liquid form.

I make sure I’m receiving adequate nutrients to match my active lifestyle.

Yesterday I decided to ease into the juice cleanse with an extremely delicious “green soup” that I created.

Mustard greens are plentiful in my garden, so I picked about six cups of them. Ginger, garlic, onion, garden tomatoes and corn, were quickly added to my food processor, and I blended everything. Although I could have eaten this soup raw, I decided to heat the soup.

My daughter loves the soups I make, but some of the ingredients added to this soup (garlic and ginger) would have been overpowering (for her) in its raw forum. “Mom, that’s too spicy!” would have been the comment I received, accompanied by an accusing stare. I added the puree into a stock pot, and added three cups of water, balsamic vinegar, and sea salt to taste.

I let the soup cook down for an hour. The soup turned out  delicious. It was nutritious and filling. In my daughter’s soup, I added about 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast. I stirred and served. The results? My daughter said, “Mommy this is unusual but very yummy!” My main course was a bowl of the delicious of green soup, however it was my daughters appetizer. Her main course was a homemade vegan pizza.

Lessons learned from my first cleanse

In my early twenties, I did my first juice cleanse. Even before I became Vegan I did choose healthy foods. It’s how I was raised, and when I lived on my own, I incorporated many of the principles into my eating lifestyle.

However, fasting from solids made me realize that sometimes I ate out of habit. I wasn’t really hungry since my body was used to eating at a certain times, it gave me “cues” to eat even if I wasn’t hungry.

After that first experience, I only eat when I’m hungry. I’ve been on several cleanses since my twenties, and really enjoy taking a break from solid foods.

 Cravings

The one thing I crave when I’m drinking liquids, is a vegetable pot pie. Homemade pot pies were one of my favorite meals, and I associate them with cooler days, snuggling by the fire, sipping a cup of herbal tea, book in hand as I savor my delicious pot pie. I’ll be preparing a Vegetable pot pie a few days after I start eating solid foods.

Question: Have you ever tried a juice cleanse?

Photo: Suat Eman

Exercise: Similar routine; different location

Precor EFX 5.31 Premium Series Elliptical Fitness Crosstrainer.jpg

I’m happy to report that exercising outside of the home is going very well. Exercise has always been a part of my life the only major change I’m seeing is getting back into the gym. I’ve been a gym member with the same exercise facility for the past ten years. The last year I have done the majority of my workouts at home. Thankfully I have a gym at home, complete with a treadmill, free weights, pilates machine, workout bench, so the exercises I am doing at the gym are similar. Of course, there is additional equipment available at the gym but the workout (and the intensity I always bring) is still the same.You don’t need gym equipment to work out at home. Sometimes I do simple exercises like pushups, sit-ups, scissor kicks, ab exercises. All you need is your body to complete those.

Cardiovascular activity

Although I’m a free-weights lover, I do realize the importance of cardiovascular activity and make an effort to include it in my daily lifestyle. It’s been part of my routine since I was a child. As a child, the cardio activity  involved some type of outdoor activities such as gardening, mowing the lawn, biking, running, hiking, and sports (team related and pick up groups started with my friends). As an adult I picked up additional activities; inline skating, cross trainer, and the elliptical trainer.

A nice bonus for staying physically active and following a healthy diet is I can eat whatever I want and not gain weight. I’m still the same size I was at 17 (size 4) and the benefits of staying fit is amazing. When I was pregnant, I added twenty-two pounds of weight, and dropped it within two months after my daughter was born. I worked out through pregnancy. When I work out at the gym, my cardiovascular activity is usually getting on the cross trainer or elliptical machine for 25 to 30 minutes. Around the fifteen to twenty-minute mark the amount of fat burned increases significantly, since cardio is part of my routine excessive fat does not have a chance to accumulate. The bodies metabolism decreases as we age, but I really haven’t noticed a difference.

Cardiovascular activity can still be done at home. Jumping jacks, jogging in place, squats, scissor kicks, are a few exercises I do at home. It keeps you active, your still burning calories, and you’re reaping the benefits of exercise.

Cardio exercises at home

 

Recommended Home Workouts:

  1. Zumba

 

References:

  1. MSN Health: Triggering Your Body to Burn Fat

Turned 40 and loving it…

This past Saturday I turned 40, it passed quietly since I don’t get into celebrations that much. I love doing things for others though. I would have escaped the bulk of well-wishes if I weren’t a member of Facebook, family, friends (past and present) and even two lovely ladies from the blogging community Megan and Kaozz popped by my page to wish me a Happy Birthday, thanks you two! It was nice receiving from people I’ve met throughout the years. A few days later, I was finally able to respond to the individual notes left on my page. In a few instances, the contact spurred an additional email or phone call to catch up with one another.

With friends like these…

My oldest friend, naturally gave me a supportive comment. Hey old bag, it’s all downhill from here. Ahh, the lady has jokes! I did point out to her that she’s an older bag than I, since she’s older than I by a few months. We haven’t seen each other in a while, but we’re planning to meet up within the next few months to hang out, reconnect, and move forward with our friendship.

Renewing my membership

Initially, I was going to purchase an iPad for my birthday instead I renewed my gym membership by an additional three years. My membership was coming up for renewal soon. Since my daughter has gone back to school, my workouts begin within hours after I drop her off in the morning. Initially, I’d make the mistake of coming home and completing a few client projects before beginning my workout. Of course, there were many times I didn’t get into the gym since I became wrapped up in my projects so I’d work out at home. Monday, I decided to do something different and go directly to the gym, after dropping her off at school. I get an amazing workout at home, but as a business owner who works at home I do enjoy getting out of the house too.

Just do It!

Physically going to the gym turns the “I need to get out of the house and do something!” into a reality. If you’ve worked from home, you might have had that feeling a few times also. My initial concern was establishing a set gym time might throw me off with my work, and although it’s still too early I am happy to say that I am able to complete my assignments even with two hours knocked out of my morning schedule. I’ve always worked better after a morning workout. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been physically active since I was a child. Making smart food choices, feeding my emotions with things that are nurturing, and staying physically healthy by incorporating exercise into my daily lifestyle had kept me fairly sane even when I’ve encountered major obstacles within my life.

It’s ok to do things for yourself…

This time of year is extremely hectic, however, I do realize that I still have to deal with the busy aspects of my life. It’s not going away, so I have to handle whatever challenges I might face. I’m doing that. Part of that means taking time for myself too. At times, I feel guilty doing things for me. I tend to put others first, and myself last. However, I realize I need to put myself in the equation too. Even though I work out at home, scheduling workout time at the gym (even though minor) is an excellent way to take care of me.

Caron Wheeler: Wonder