Food and More Food (Last Week of First Detox)

It is stormy today with occasional bursts of thunder and the rain is coming down.  I love these kind of days.  If I close my eyes for a second, I can pretend it truly is fall with the subtle chill in the air, but who am I kidding? LOL!  Before I even got out of my comfy bed this morning, I knew from the pain in my head the humidity was thick.  So the rain is pouring, but it feels like 90 degrees and the humidity is 81%.  Yuck.  Definitely not fall, but thank God it is not in the 100s!!!

Every week on the FB group, they give us a new menu.  I have appreciated this from the start because that first week is so daunting and challenging with knowing exactly what you can cook!  I don't always make every single thing on the menu as the spaghetti with zucchini or the salsa chicken or chicken and rice soup goes very far in my household with just the hubby, Journee and I.  We have a lot of leftovers.

Monday since it was Labor Day and I was feeling a little blue that my parents were in California and hubby was working and no fun plans, I decided to make chicken spinach pizza.  I had tried this out the first week and it was okay, but this time I decided to use basil pesto for the sauce instead of the usual marinara.  I coated the pizza crust (GF, DF) with the basil pesto and then layered the vegan Daiya mozzarella shreds. Since I didn't have any grilled chicken on hand, I decided to use organic chicken breast from Applegate.  I shredded it all up and layered and then threw chopped bell pepper, Roma tomatoes and baby spinach on top.  Lastly, I decided another layer of shreds would be good.  It looked yummy!

It cooks very quickly and in no time, it was out of the oven cooling.  As a side, I baked yellow squash marinated in EVOO, garlic salt and pepper.  I was absolutely delighted when I had the first bite.  It was absolutely delicious!  I could have ate that whole pizza which you can see from the photo isn't very big in the first place.  However, I am watching calories for optimum weight loss and so I had three slices which equals half the pizza.  Three slices also ended up being 488 calories which is quite a lot when you are only taking in 1200!  The basil pesto itself is very high in calories and that is where most of the calories come into play.  Hubby ended up coming home early and had the other half.  I will definitely make this again!!!

Today since I was loving the rain and thunder, I decided to make homemade tomato basil soup.  It was so easy!  Saute garlic cloves and add crushed tomatoes and whole tomatoes, 2 cups of free range chicken broth, teaspoons of sea salt and organic coconut sugar and pepper.  It simmers for about 10 and you add your basil and a tiny bit of coconut cream.  Since I wanted something solid in my stomach, I cut one of my brown rice tortillas in half and made into a quesadilla with mozzarella and one slice of the organic chicken breast.  Okay, this soup is divine.  I never liked tomato soup until several years ago, I tried BJ's Brewhouse tomato soup.  I've been hooked ever since.  I was worried I wouldn't like this clean version because I absolutely love creamy soups.  I knew the coconut cream would help, but how creamy could it be?  Actually, it was just perfect.  It was creamy and I didn't add any additional salt because it tasted great!!!!  The quesadilla was awesome for dipping into the soup.  An added benefit is that Journee loved the soup too!  Score again for Mama!!!  I figured the soup would serve about 4 and there are plenty of leftovers!

I have tried new shakes, also.  Last week, I made the carrot cake shake.  I was uncertain if I would like the combination of carrots and almond milk, but wow!!!  I loved it!!  Shocked me!!  Most mornings, I will have a strawberry shake or the apple cinnamon shake and occasionally the carrot cake.  Most afternoons I like to have a chocolate shake.  I love adding cocoa and coconut almond butter for an almond joy taste.  However, all this week, I have added a tiny splash of peppermint extract to my chocolate protein and almond milk and wa-la, I have a mint chocolate shake!!!

This is the last official week of the first month of detox boot camp.  It ends as of Sunday.  However, since the weight loss has been a tad disappointing, I am continuing on this month and probably will continue in October.  I started the week at a loss of 7.4 pounds.  I was actually very excited about this!  I thought surely by Sunday, I would come close to 9 pounds for sure and maybe 10.  However, it is Thursday and as of today, I have only lost 2 ounces for a total loss of 7.6 pounds.  What a bummer!!!!  I have went over calories and I haven't went over at all.  I do think my body is somewhat still messed up over that cleanse.  So, I have accepted that for my first month of detox I won't lose 10 pounds, but I'm also still encouraged because hey I have a weight loss for the month instead of a weight gain.  Seven pounds isn't much, but still it is the most I've lost over the past year even when I was on ACE and limiting calories to 1200.  So big smiles here!  I'm excited about continuing this gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free lifestyle for at least two more months because I know for one thing, there will be weight loss however slow it may come off and second, there is no way I want to ever go through sugar and caffeine withdrawal!!!

At this point, I am still not craving Dr. Pepper or most comfort food.  I do miss my tea, but not to the degree that I feel like I'm totally deprived.  The two cravings that haven't gone away and getting stronger by the day are cheese and Alfredo sauce.  I crave cheese.  I dream about enchiladas with cheese layered all over.  I dream of a juicy hamburger with cheese dripping as I bite into it.  Some days I just want a simple sandwich with pepper jack cheese.  When my stomach is nauseated, I crave cheese and crackers.  The mozzarella shreds aren't bad at all, but there is nothing in the world like real cheese!!!  I still dream of pasta drowning in warm Alfredo sauce.  It is funny I crave these two things as I thought for sure I would crave my caffeine or sweets.  When I get the feeling of something sweet, I will have my chocolate shake or a lemon chew. The only other thing I want on a consistent basis is steak.  I can live with that for sure!

Next Monday will be a full month of detox and the start of a new month.  These first three weeks were a roller coaster for sure, but this week actually hasn't been bad.  I have had a headache every single day, but nothing compared to my full migraines and these headaches aren't at all diet-related.  I know that for sure.  I am hoping since this week is a tad better than the previous three, I am finally seeing the end of my body detoxing hard.  I still do not energy to run a marathon and I haven't exercised as the shaking and feeling faint were a bit too much, but I started a bit of my fall deep cleaning and felt good enough to scrub baseboards.  It is very possible because of my thyroid I won't ever feel energized like a normal person, but I am hoping through eating clean my thyroid will benefit.  I am also planning on seeing an endocrinologist and asking for further thyroid tests.

And Sunday, I had two lovely ladies comment they could tell I had lost weight!  I think the clothes might have had something to do with it, but they both agreed no, they could tell!  I appreciate that because normally it takes my body losing 15-20 pounds before it is noticeable!  Another added benefit is I noticed this week, my skirts are just a little bit looser!  Yay for me!!

Have a great week, ya'll!

One Size Does NOT Fit All

Have I ever mentioned I love Zulily?  I love it so much there is an app on my phone and I visit very frequently.  I love that I can find boutique items especially since where I am in small town Texas, there aren't any boutiques!  Often when I am pursuing outfits, I see "one size fits all."  Now I have learned with clothes, that just isn't the truth!  For instance, the designer might have had a tiny petite size 0 body in mind, but everybody doesn't have a size 0 body.

The same goes with diets and medications and life in general.  This past week, I discovered that even with detox boot camp, one size does not fit all.  The boot camp is 28 days long and on the third week, you add a cleanse.  It is supposed to help the detox process and clean out your gut in the process.  Most people lose a lot of weight during the third week.  I had my reservations about doing the cleanse as I have watched my mama suffer any time she attempts a cleanse.  I don't think she has ever found a cleanse that works for her without making her deathly sick and gain weight by the end of the week.  Honestly, I always thought she didn't consume enough water.  Boy, was I wrong with that assumption.  The 7 day cleanse by Arbonne is made to be very gentle on your gut.  Also, the more toxic you are, the more acidic and worse it's supposed to taste.  You mix the cleanse concentrate in 32 ounces of water, refrigerate and drink over 4-8 hours.

So despite my reservations, I made my cleanse on Monday.  I thought for sure with that first taste, I would gag.  I expected that because I assumed I was more toxic than usual with my past health problems and long history of sugar and caffeine.  Shockingly, it wasn't bad at all.  It tasted like weak peach tea.  No biggie.  I was surprised and gave myself a high five.  I drank it over 5 hours and also drank over 32 ounces of water along with my fizzies and detox tea.  Nothing happened.  Tuesday I did the same thing, except I noticed I was starting to bloat.

By Tuesday night, I was severely bloated and severely nauseated.  I also was going nuts as I smelled like I just walked out of a tanning salon after spending a week in a tanning bed.  Really!  You know how almost every tanning lotion or tanning solution smells like coconut and that slight chemical smell?  I hate that smell.  Yeah, I reeked of it!!  Now I have never been in a tanning bed.   Every tanning salon would take one look at me, total white girl, and tell me I would be crazy to tan.  So I tried over-the-counter products and in 2009 for my friend's wedding, I tried my last tanning spray in a salon.  It didn't work.  At her wedding two days later, my legs were once again white, not beautifully tanned.  Since 2009, I have never used any tanning product.  I gave up.  So, when I started stinking of a tan, it puzzled me and kinda freaked me out.  Seriously, was my body retaining tanning chemical from 2009?  What a totally SCARY thought!!!!  I would wash my hands and within five minutes, they were stinking again!  Oh my word, I about drove myself crazy!!

I posted on our group and asked if anybody had ever reacted in such a manner.   The ones who replied said it could be coincidental, but very interesting.  One suggested just maybe it was from ingesting coconut oil and coconut milk over the last two weeks.  I thought that was totally plausible and better than the thought my body had held onto a chemical for five years.  I mentioned I was bloated and a lady who isn't a consultant for Arbonne replied and said she took her cleanse in 8 ounces of water and wa-la no bloat.  I liked that.  After all, bloating makes you feel totally yucky.

Wednesday, I got up still very bloated and took my cleanse and then about 20 minutes later had my shake and fizzy.  Within 30 minutes, I was in the bathroom very sick.  I can tell you, the cleanse, almond milk and citrus fizzy tastes absolutely horrible the second time around!  That started my morning and all day whatever I put in my mouth, water, soup, shake and fizzy, it all came up.  I literally threw up all day long.  Nothing stayed in my stomach where it belonged!  I posted back on the group under my original post and told them what was happening.

One of the consultants got me back to me almost instantly and was very unhappy and apologetic about the bad advice I had been given.  No, you are never supposed to take that cleanse in anything less than 32 ounces.  However, still my reaction was very abnormal.  Basically, they had never heard of a bootcamper having as much trouble as me and nobody had ever reacted so strongly to the cleanse.  She also asked if I had sensitivities since I have had a very difficult time with detoxing.  Normally, after 1-3 weeks, people feels great because they have went through the withdrawals and their bodies are loving eating clean.  Since then, the post with the incorrect advice has been taken down and admin has to approve any post I post on the group.  The group is there to be positive and motivational.  I love that.  I wasn't posting my symptoms to be negative, but just matter-of-fact that this is happening and what in the world should I do?  When you are going through a huge lifestyle change, it helps to know there are other people who might be struggling same as you.  I love the positivity, but if I am having a problem, I would like to know if anybody else had the same problem and if they did, what did they do to fix it?  It isn't necessarily a negative thing.  Nobody wants to feel absolutely alone in their struggle.  I do have a support group outside of the FB group and I am so thankful for them.  The young lady who is my sponsor/upline is awesome and wonderfully supportive and there whenever I need her!

In other words, what works for one may not work for another.  One size definitely does not fit all.  Does that make the cleanse or any other medication or product bad?  Absolutely not!!!!  You have to see the humor in my situation.  After all, it is probably people like me who prompted the pharmaceutical companies to list those rare reactions!! LOL!!!  "When using this product, you might have such anxiety and worry" that you feel like an elephant is sitting on your chest!  Been there, done that in those early weeks on bed rest with Journee.  I can totally recommend this detox because, bottom line, eliminating sugar and junk will have a beneficial effect on the body.  I see more and more posts every day about how sugar and food can help cancer grow.  I feel great knowing that I am doing something great for my body.  Even though, I have yet to see benefits, I know in time, I will.  You cannot expect a body that has ingested sugar, caffeine and all those good ole comfort carbs for 35 years to detox and heal itself in 28 days!!  That is unrealistic.  Rome wasn't built in a day either.

I have to say I do not blame that poor lady for telling me the wrong thing to do.  It works for her great!  No problem.  I am happy she is able to go through the cleanse without any problems!  I think most people have excellent results with the cleanse.  I would still recommend the cleanse because all the other products and nutritional support from Arbonne have been fantastic!  Who knows, one day there might be someone who experiences a bad reaction and at least I will know exactly how they are suffering and can empathize!  Every experience, even a bad one, has the possibility of being a positive experience in the long run.

Oh, the tanning salon reek was gone by Thursday morning.  Regurgitating has some benefits, let me tell you!

And the week wasn't a total loss!  I am proudly 7.4 pounds down and will be posting more about that on Thursday!