Greetings All,
I hope all it well. Sorry I have been away for a few days. There are many changes coming up for my family and I. All positive of course. In any event, I hope all is well with you all and you all are happy and healthy. :-)
To be completely honest, for the past couple days I noticed when I drink my juice, which is still the same ingredients as the past two weeks, I felt like I was starving afterwards! It is important to note that although we are juicing it is still possible to gain weight. This will defeat the purpose of any lifestyle change unless one is underweight and trying to add on pounds or kilos. I tried to determine what ingredient in the juice could possibly make me so very hungry within 45 minutes of consuming my juice.
I am not a scientist nor a Nutritionist as of yet, but I have found that when I eliminate the ginger I do not have that hungry feeling so readily after consuming the juice. I am uncertain if it is because the ginger is spicy which I always thought spices helped minimize hunger. In any event, I placed ginger back in my juices because it changes the taste dramatically and for the best.
What I did do is make a substantial change in my eating habits. Now I eat raw vegatables all and 2 fruits during the day, that is until 3:00 pm. At 3 I eat fish and kale or another green as always. Then in between 6:30 and 7:30 I drink my juice for the day. That is a major change. But I like doing this because it allows my digestive system to rest and it takes less time for my body to process juices when compared to meals. This is due to the fact that, our body does not have to work extra hard to digest juice it is already broken down and goes rapidly absorbed into our bloodstream unlike whole meals.
I hope I did not bore anyone, but I will continue this regimen over the next few weeks. As of now, it is working and when or if I feel hungry before bedtime, I drink a glass of water prior to bedtime and then off to sleep I go. I do that same thing when I wake up I take my synthyroid with a glass of water. Doing so cleans out our systems so it can began the process all over again the next day.
Please inform me if you all are experiencing hunger or your stomach growling when you use ginger in your juices. Again be mindful that just because we are juicing for healthy does not mean we can have as much fruit and vegetables as we want and eat whatever we want during the day. The juicing calories add up! This is due to the fact that, the produce you are juicing does what? Yield the same calories as eating the produce in its entirety.
I will leave you all with that and I pray you all have a wonderful afternoon/ evening depending upon your location.
Be Blessed,
-GP
Monday, May 20, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
Determination, Motivation, and Planning
Good afternoon everyone,
How are you all today? Today I seem to have more energy than I did previously. I am uncertain of why that is, one could deduce that it is attributed to juicing and eating healthier. :-)
Ok first things first, yesterday was a good day overall. I did not crave sodas, artificial sugars, or nutri grain bars as I once had. This could be attributed to the fact I was so distracted with my Nutrition Class. I did not complete it until 11:00 pm which left me only 45 minutes to spare! Nothing like procrastination to get me on my A-game? lol
Not so fast!!! When it comes to sticking to a lifestyle change especially one that involves your daily consumption of food, we must plan, plan, plan! With that said, I do not like to plan when it comes to eating, now Disney or Vacations that is different. Anyway planning is necessary, because I am determined to get my allergies in check. As a result, starting off I have decided to stick to the simple ingredients I have been juicing. This week I only spent $20 for the entire week for juicing produce! Yay me! But keep in mind I only juice for breakfast and if I have some left over which I usually do, I have it for lunch.
In any event $20 a week for 7 days of breakfast and lunches consist of: 5 bunches of Celery, 2 bags of large carrots, 9 cucumbers, 1 large ginger root, 2 bags of lemons (which I stopped juicing, 5 kiwi, 1 bunch of bananas ) and 2 bags of apples (usually granny, but this time red delicious apples). You may wonder how that is possible to purchase all that for so cheap? Keep in mind things are much cheaper at the base commissary than they are at local supermarkets. If you do not have access to a base simply visit your local farmers markets or local produce farms to see if they sale produce at a cheaper price than grocery stores. But this summer I am planning to start my own patio garden since it stays in the mid 80's during winter in the Keys.
Oops I went out on a tangent! Ok, when I juice I can yield at least 26 ounces but no more than 38 ounces. This is dependant on the size of the produce I am juicing that morning. Currently I juice-- 1 cucumber (peel the skin if it is waxy), 4 or 5 celery stalks, thumb-sized ginger (remove the skin), 2 apples (green, yellow, red), 1 lemon (peeled). Today the produce yield approximately 26 ounces. I could not drink the last 8 ounces so I placed it in a glass jar. Then placed it in the freezer for 10 mins so it would cool faster. Then I moved the glass to the refrigerator for consumption when I feel hungry in the hours to come.
Sometimes all this planning makes me feel like a squirrel stashing nuts! lol My husband would agree because the first two shelves of our refrigerator consists of only fruits and vegetables! However, he has no problem with me taking over the freezer, which has collected a vast amount of broccoli which he loves and a mass of frozen fruits. This is because I make my husband and our daughter fresh smoothies each day before work and school. When I do this I add a tablespoon of flaxseed to their smoothies. Ha! There is nothing like sneaking fiber into their diets without protest and occasionally a lil spinach shhh! Thats our secret.
Again I am long winded. Please have a safe and fun filled day! It is beautiful outside here, time to go ride the bike! Enjoy your day no matter what you do-- God Bless.
-GP
To avoid adding artifical flavoring to my water. I use a 1 liter pitcher and fill 3/4 of the way with water. I then slice 2 lemons horozonatally with peel on, then I add 1 sliced kiwi, and 5 frozen strawberries. The combination is wonderful! After about 6 hours I usually eat the fruits before dinner which is usually around 6:30pm.
Ok you can stop reading now, but please feel free to continue. I know I am going to sound like a broken record, but make sure if you are counting calories to count the whole caloric value. No matter that state of the produce rather whole or juiced the caloric value is the same. When juicing calories are not removed, yet the pulp which is the fiber of the fruit and minimal juice depending on what juicer you purchased.
Since I live in the FL Keys and I totally dislike throwing away the pulp accumulated in the juice extractor. I decided it would be ok to give my dog 1/4 of a cup of pulp. That is not nearly close to what is extracted from the produce which yields aapproximately 4 cups of pulp. If I were at the North FL house I would lightly cover it in the forest behind my house and leave it for the birds and squirrels to eat. But until I am there next week, this is what I have done. So far so good :-). Be sure not give carrot pulp to your doggie if you try this. As you know humans should not consume alot of carrot juice. Due to the fact that, it could change the skin color to an orange color and too much of anything can be bad for our health.
How are you all today? Today I seem to have more energy than I did previously. I am uncertain of why that is, one could deduce that it is attributed to juicing and eating healthier. :-)
Ok first things first, yesterday was a good day overall. I did not crave sodas, artificial sugars, or nutri grain bars as I once had. This could be attributed to the fact I was so distracted with my Nutrition Class. I did not complete it until 11:00 pm which left me only 45 minutes to spare! Nothing like procrastination to get me on my A-game? lol
Not so fast!!! When it comes to sticking to a lifestyle change especially one that involves your daily consumption of food, we must plan, plan, plan! With that said, I do not like to plan when it comes to eating, now Disney or Vacations that is different. Anyway planning is necessary, because I am determined to get my allergies in check. As a result, starting off I have decided to stick to the simple ingredients I have been juicing. This week I only spent $20 for the entire week for juicing produce! Yay me! But keep in mind I only juice for breakfast and if I have some left over which I usually do, I have it for lunch.
In any event $20 a week for 7 days of breakfast and lunches consist of: 5 bunches of Celery, 2 bags of large carrots, 9 cucumbers, 1 large ginger root, 2 bags of lemons (which I stopped juicing, 5 kiwi, 1 bunch of bananas ) and 2 bags of apples (usually granny, but this time red delicious apples). You may wonder how that is possible to purchase all that for so cheap? Keep in mind things are much cheaper at the base commissary than they are at local supermarkets. If you do not have access to a base simply visit your local farmers markets or local produce farms to see if they sale produce at a cheaper price than grocery stores. But this summer I am planning to start my own patio garden since it stays in the mid 80's during winter in the Keys.
Oops I went out on a tangent! Ok, when I juice I can yield at least 26 ounces but no more than 38 ounces. This is dependant on the size of the produce I am juicing that morning. Currently I juice-- 1 cucumber (peel the skin if it is waxy), 4 or 5 celery stalks, thumb-sized ginger (remove the skin), 2 apples (green, yellow, red), 1 lemon (peeled). Today the produce yield approximately 26 ounces. I could not drink the last 8 ounces so I placed it in a glass jar. Then placed it in the freezer for 10 mins so it would cool faster. Then I moved the glass to the refrigerator for consumption when I feel hungry in the hours to come.
Sometimes all this planning makes me feel like a squirrel stashing nuts! lol My husband would agree because the first two shelves of our refrigerator consists of only fruits and vegetables! However, he has no problem with me taking over the freezer, which has collected a vast amount of broccoli which he loves and a mass of frozen fruits. This is because I make my husband and our daughter fresh smoothies each day before work and school. When I do this I add a tablespoon of flaxseed to their smoothies. Ha! There is nothing like sneaking fiber into their diets without protest and occasionally a lil spinach shhh! Thats our secret.
Again I am long winded. Please have a safe and fun filled day! It is beautiful outside here, time to go ride the bike! Enjoy your day no matter what you do-- God Bless.
-GP
To avoid adding artifical flavoring to my water. I use a 1 liter pitcher and fill 3/4 of the way with water. I then slice 2 lemons horozonatally with peel on, then I add 1 sliced kiwi, and 5 frozen strawberries. The combination is wonderful! After about 6 hours I usually eat the fruits before dinner which is usually around 6:30pm.
Ok you can stop reading now, but please feel free to continue. I know I am going to sound like a broken record, but make sure if you are counting calories to count the whole caloric value. No matter that state of the produce rather whole or juiced the caloric value is the same. When juicing calories are not removed, yet the pulp which is the fiber of the fruit and minimal juice depending on what juicer you purchased.
Since I live in the FL Keys and I totally dislike throwing away the pulp accumulated in the juice extractor. I decided it would be ok to give my dog 1/4 of a cup of pulp. That is not nearly close to what is extracted from the produce which yields aapproximately 4 cups of pulp. If I were at the North FL house I would lightly cover it in the forest behind my house and leave it for the birds and squirrels to eat. But until I am there next week, this is what I have done. So far so good :-). Be sure not give carrot pulp to your doggie if you try this. As you know humans should not consume alot of carrot juice. Due to the fact that, it could change the skin color to an orange color and too much of anything can be bad for our health.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Juicing Tid Bits
Greetings Everyone,
As always I hope all is well. I plan on making this entry a quick one.
If you plan to juice please allow for time to research your juicers. I have read a lot and still am not versed on the terminology well enough to relay it to you all. When I figure it out I will bring you abreast on my findings. At the moment I have the Jack LaLanne juicer, which was purchased 2 years ago from Walmart. It is holding up very well, although there are times when I have to hold the shoot part of the juicer in place to keep the assembly from vibrating. I experience this mostly when I juice whole apples.
So far in my research I am leaning towards purchasing the Omega 8006 juicer. It is a bit pricey depending on your perspective but worth it if you plan to stick to it for a lifetime as I am. After watching youtube videos I find it extracts the juice leaving the pulp 60% drier than the pulp from the Jack LaLanne. Since produce can be expensive it is wise to "squeeze" the most out of if by purchasing a product that yields the most juice.
It is important to note that juicing is not bad for anyone. It can be time consuming but in my opinion it is worth it. If you are a beginner to juicing and is doing so for whatever reasons, please take the time to search the internet to determine which types of juices you want to start with. I started juicing oranges for breakfast. Then I started juicing carrots and apples because they were my favorite produces and when combined with a little ginger juice the final product is heavenly.
This will counter my other post on storing and consuming juices. But, after juicing if possible drink your juice immediately but dont wait more than 30 minutes. I have learnt that the enzymes found in vegetables are most beneficial within 30 minutes of juicing.
Also when you are juicing do not allow the sunlight to touch the juices, as it will break down the product faster. In addition, try to juice more vegetables than fruits or if at all possible juice 90% vegetables and 10% serving of fruit. I say that because fruits are high in sugar if you drink them versus eat them whole, your insulin can temporarily go up. However, when eating fruit whole the pulp slows down the absorption of the fruit juice. Additionally if you juice more fruit than vegetables it can cause you to gain weight over the long run which is not benefical to your health if you are overweight or even obese.
More-so, if you are keeping a food diary to track your meals and count calories as I do then you may wonder, "Does juice yield the same amount of calories as whole produce"? The answer is yes, because the pulp is the fiber of the produce, the calories are primarily in the juice and that is what the juicer extracts predominately juice. The amount of juice you yield will depending upon what type of juicer you purchase.
In case you are wondering, I am use my Iphone app "Lose It" to track my progess. What type of apps do you all use to track your daily food intake? As many of you may know the Lose It app does not have produce calories in the form of juice in ounces. That is because the calories do not change when juicing. Juicing only removes the fiber which makes us feel fuller. However, the calories are still extracted by the juicer in the form of the juice. Therefore, the calories are the same whether juicing or eat the product whole.
I hope this helps. I do not know everything about juicing; however, I am learning. Nutrition is my passion now and I hope to become a nutritionist within 2 years. My advice to everyone is find something you are passionate about and learn and live all while doing it as much as you can.
If any of you have questions on insight please comment below or email me. Have a wonderful day and may God Bless you all.
-GP
As always I hope all is well. I plan on making this entry a quick one.
If you plan to juice please allow for time to research your juicers. I have read a lot and still am not versed on the terminology well enough to relay it to you all. When I figure it out I will bring you abreast on my findings. At the moment I have the Jack LaLanne juicer, which was purchased 2 years ago from Walmart. It is holding up very well, although there are times when I have to hold the shoot part of the juicer in place to keep the assembly from vibrating. I experience this mostly when I juice whole apples.
So far in my research I am leaning towards purchasing the Omega 8006 juicer. It is a bit pricey depending on your perspective but worth it if you plan to stick to it for a lifetime as I am. After watching youtube videos I find it extracts the juice leaving the pulp 60% drier than the pulp from the Jack LaLanne. Since produce can be expensive it is wise to "squeeze" the most out of if by purchasing a product that yields the most juice.
It is important to note that juicing is not bad for anyone. It can be time consuming but in my opinion it is worth it. If you are a beginner to juicing and is doing so for whatever reasons, please take the time to search the internet to determine which types of juices you want to start with. I started juicing oranges for breakfast. Then I started juicing carrots and apples because they were my favorite produces and when combined with a little ginger juice the final product is heavenly.
This will counter my other post on storing and consuming juices. But, after juicing if possible drink your juice immediately but dont wait more than 30 minutes. I have learnt that the enzymes found in vegetables are most beneficial within 30 minutes of juicing.
Also when you are juicing do not allow the sunlight to touch the juices, as it will break down the product faster. In addition, try to juice more vegetables than fruits or if at all possible juice 90% vegetables and 10% serving of fruit. I say that because fruits are high in sugar if you drink them versus eat them whole, your insulin can temporarily go up. However, when eating fruit whole the pulp slows down the absorption of the fruit juice. Additionally if you juice more fruit than vegetables it can cause you to gain weight over the long run which is not benefical to your health if you are overweight or even obese.
More-so, if you are keeping a food diary to track your meals and count calories as I do then you may wonder, "Does juice yield the same amount of calories as whole produce"? The answer is yes, because the pulp is the fiber of the produce, the calories are primarily in the juice and that is what the juicer extracts predominately juice. The amount of juice you yield will depending upon what type of juicer you purchase.
In case you are wondering, I am use my Iphone app "Lose It" to track my progess. What type of apps do you all use to track your daily food intake? As many of you may know the Lose It app does not have produce calories in the form of juice in ounces. That is because the calories do not change when juicing. Juicing only removes the fiber which makes us feel fuller. However, the calories are still extracted by the juicer in the form of the juice. Therefore, the calories are the same whether juicing or eat the product whole.
I hope this helps. I do not know everything about juicing; however, I am learning. Nutrition is my passion now and I hope to become a nutritionist within 2 years. My advice to everyone is find something you are passionate about and learn and live all while doing it as much as you can.
If any of you have questions on insight please comment below or email me. Have a wonderful day and may God Bless you all.
-GP
Monday, May 13, 2013
Surprise!
Good evening everyone!
What's up? lol I am just playing you guys! I hope your day is going well. I will try to make a daily update on how my day went or is going.
To be totally honest, last night I felt like I was starving! Yes starving :-( instead of starting the lifestyle change today I began it after the Mother's Day post. Why would I do that? In keeping honest, every-time I opened the refrigerator I wanted to eat whatever was in sight whether good, bad, or in between smh! When I glanced at the juices I thought oh no, yuck, not you not you yet! No! Then I began to bargain and reached for the cake and that's it! But I stopped myself, so I saw the juice and I said ok since I am starving and stomach is growling like no other, I should give that strange looking juice a try! It was brown instead of green, because of the carrots I added. I figured since I was starving it wouldn't matter the taste. As any of you know when you are starving you will practically eat anything..
I retrieved a straw and closed my eyes tightly and made the sour face as I drank it-- but surprise! I even enjoyed it unlike the true ingredients used in the mean green. Joe used 1/2 cucumber, 4 or 5 stalks, thumb-sized ginger, 2 green apples, bunch of kale, and 1 lemon. When I made my juice I used 4 green apples instead of 2. I also omitted the kale. So I used a whole cucumber instead. Be forewarned that, if you used a whole cucumber be ready to go to the rest room often :-).
Great news! Today was easy I only drank 20 oz so far and 2 glasses of water. As you all know this is not nearly enough fluids or nutrients for the day; however, since I am taking Master courses to be a Nutritionist I decided to modify this diet to make it a lifestyle change. Ask many of you know juicing for life can be done healthy over a lifetime by incorporating other healthy foods. It is important to understand that juicing alone is not sustainable over a lifetime, because you would be putting your health and life in jeopardy.
My plan:
1. I ride my bike or stationary bike 20 miles 5- 6 days a week for the last couple months. I will continue to do that and it takes 90 minutes.
2. I will juice every night and drink my juices throughout the day if I drink all the juice which I will only be making 36oz a day. I do this to ensure nothing goes to waste and I will supplement the juice with cooked kale or greens. I prefer that over putting kale in the juicer.
3. Often times than not I will continue to make smoothies and add flaxseeds to them. I will also eat a fish each night so I can get my 1000 calories per day and ensure I have a source of omega in my diet. Besides that I can not lie I love baked fish! Anyone with me on this?
4. Modifying is better for me because I want it to be a lifestyle change rather than doing another fade diet. Although I am using juices, cooking veggies, and eating fish at night this is best for me. I am sure I can yield the same results. Why? Because since last night I lost 3lbs but that is without the fish for dinner. So, yes this modification is working. But its not about losing weight it is about clearing up my severe allergies and when I do the smoothie and juice feast they cleared up dramatically.
Ok I will let you guys go and sorry for being long winded again I will keep you all posted. Please let me know if you are going on this journey with me. Much love and many hugs!
-GP
What's up? lol I am just playing you guys! I hope your day is going well. I will try to make a daily update on how my day went or is going.
To be totally honest, last night I felt like I was starving! Yes starving :-( instead of starting the lifestyle change today I began it after the Mother's Day post. Why would I do that? In keeping honest, every-time I opened the refrigerator I wanted to eat whatever was in sight whether good, bad, or in between smh! When I glanced at the juices I thought oh no, yuck, not you not you yet! No! Then I began to bargain and reached for the cake and that's it! But I stopped myself, so I saw the juice and I said ok since I am starving and stomach is growling like no other, I should give that strange looking juice a try! It was brown instead of green, because of the carrots I added. I figured since I was starving it wouldn't matter the taste. As any of you know when you are starving you will practically eat anything..
I retrieved a straw and closed my eyes tightly and made the sour face as I drank it-- but surprise! I even enjoyed it unlike the true ingredients used in the mean green. Joe used 1/2 cucumber, 4 or 5 stalks, thumb-sized ginger, 2 green apples, bunch of kale, and 1 lemon. When I made my juice I used 4 green apples instead of 2. I also omitted the kale. So I used a whole cucumber instead. Be forewarned that, if you used a whole cucumber be ready to go to the rest room often :-).
Great news! Today was easy I only drank 20 oz so far and 2 glasses of water. As you all know this is not nearly enough fluids or nutrients for the day; however, since I am taking Master courses to be a Nutritionist I decided to modify this diet to make it a lifestyle change. Ask many of you know juicing for life can be done healthy over a lifetime by incorporating other healthy foods. It is important to understand that juicing alone is not sustainable over a lifetime, because you would be putting your health and life in jeopardy.
My plan:
1. I ride my bike or stationary bike 20 miles 5- 6 days a week for the last couple months. I will continue to do that and it takes 90 minutes.
2. I will juice every night and drink my juices throughout the day if I drink all the juice which I will only be making 36oz a day. I do this to ensure nothing goes to waste and I will supplement the juice with cooked kale or greens. I prefer that over putting kale in the juicer.
3. Often times than not I will continue to make smoothies and add flaxseeds to them. I will also eat a fish each night so I can get my 1000 calories per day and ensure I have a source of omega in my diet. Besides that I can not lie I love baked fish! Anyone with me on this?
4. Modifying is better for me because I want it to be a lifestyle change rather than doing another fade diet. Although I am using juices, cooking veggies, and eating fish at night this is best for me. I am sure I can yield the same results. Why? Because since last night I lost 3lbs but that is without the fish for dinner. So, yes this modification is working. But its not about losing weight it is about clearing up my severe allergies and when I do the smoothie and juice feast they cleared up dramatically.
Ok I will let you guys go and sorry for being long winded again I will keep you all posted. Please let me know if you are going on this journey with me. Much love and many hugs!
-GP
Sunday, May 12, 2013
WHAT TIME IS IT?
Greetings All,
I know, I know everyone is doing some form of lifestyle change or dieting. Of them all I believe vegan before 6 to be one of the best plans; however, I felt I needed to jump right in. So what time is it? IT'S JUICE FEAST TIME! Yes, I am juice fasting again after nearly 15 months since my last feast. I said I wouldn't do this again but here I go. Key is to never say never ;-). My feast officially begins tomorrow.
So far I juiced-- 5 celery stalks, 4 green apples, 1 lemon, 1 cucumber, 1 thumb sized ginger, and 4 carrots.
I stored the juices in glass containers-- 2- 8oz glass jars and 1- 20oz jar to store the juice in. Totaling 36oz of juice per day. I may have to modify as needed after each day. But, I believe this is sufficient because I will make an effort to drink 6- 8oz glasses of water per day.
I will be juicing from 13 May 2013 to 28 June 2013, if any of you would like to join please comment below. I look forward to you taking the journey with me :-) For some of you this is the 2 or 3 time. This time I hope to go the entire way, God Willing of course.
One thing I am not excited about and that is juicing lol. Totally weird right? I am praying the juice can be stored for 24 hours like Jeff Cross says. If not I will be drinking some unpalatable juice tomorrow lol! I will let you all know how that goes! Pray for me on this one! The goal is to ease up these allergies and stop taking so many allergy medications. If this work then I will consider going 60 or even 100 days it all depends on the results.
Well, have a wonderful day everyone. Happy Mother's day to all the wonderful mothers and father's who are in those roles. God Bless.
-GP
I know, I know everyone is doing some form of lifestyle change or dieting. Of them all I believe vegan before 6 to be one of the best plans; however, I felt I needed to jump right in. So what time is it? IT'S JUICE FEAST TIME! Yes, I am juice fasting again after nearly 15 months since my last feast. I said I wouldn't do this again but here I go. Key is to never say never ;-). My feast officially begins tomorrow.
So far I juiced-- 5 celery stalks, 4 green apples, 1 lemon, 1 cucumber, 1 thumb sized ginger, and 4 carrots.
I stored the juices in glass containers-- 2- 8oz glass jars and 1- 20oz jar to store the juice in. Totaling 36oz of juice per day. I may have to modify as needed after each day. But, I believe this is sufficient because I will make an effort to drink 6- 8oz glasses of water per day.
I will be juicing from 13 May 2013 to 28 June 2013, if any of you would like to join please comment below. I look forward to you taking the journey with me :-) For some of you this is the 2 or 3 time. This time I hope to go the entire way, God Willing of course.
One thing I am not excited about and that is juicing lol. Totally weird right? I am praying the juice can be stored for 24 hours like Jeff Cross says. If not I will be drinking some unpalatable juice tomorrow lol! I will let you all know how that goes! Pray for me on this one! The goal is to ease up these allergies and stop taking so many allergy medications. If this work then I will consider going 60 or even 100 days it all depends on the results.
Well, have a wonderful day everyone. Happy Mother's day to all the wonderful mothers and father's who are in those roles. God Bless.
-GP
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