Here’s a juice with good flavor and color! What does color have to do with it? Well, it’s pretty and simply put…it’s more fun to drink! If my eyes like the way way it looks it sends a quick text to my tongue and tummy. Everybody’s happy! It also contains a small red beet which is nutritionally packed. What a great way to start the day. Your body will be singing the hallelujah chorus!!! And, hey! So will your feet.
Day 3 of 30 Juice Reboot– two pounds down! For a total of 32 :)
After taking a pause from juicing during the month March, I’m ready to go again.
Throughout the past five weeks I’ve celebrated in Mexico, romped around East Texas, planted a garden, taught art classes, went antiquing in Round Top Texas with friends and have maintained the 30 pound weight loss. It’s kind of a big deal to go on a Veggie/juice fast for 48 days, lose 30 pounds, then eat for five weeks and not gain any back. Especially after struggling FOR YEARS, with bad eating habits and excess weight. It’s encouraging… to say the least!
I had planned to start juicing again on April 1st and though I have juiced some, I must admit that I’ve been having a difficult time committing to another full blown ‘juice reboot’. Why? I’m really not sure….that’s why I’m here writing this post :)
You also may be wondering what exactly is a Juice Reboot?
According to Joe Cross, of Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, is ‘ Committing for a period of time to drinking and eating only fruits, vegetables, herbal teas and water in order to regain or sustain your vitality, lose weight and kick-start healthy habits that recharge your body and get your diet back in alignment for optimal wellness.’
So, it’s easy to see why you have to gear up for something like this. I like eggs and yogurt and fish tacos! All of which are nutritious and a healthy choice. Which is why I’ve not gained weight and would be perfectly fine except for one thing. I’m still overweight. Notice I didn’t say fat, because the truth is I feel so much better! Smaller! I love being lighter and thinner but when I saw the wedding pictures a few days ago, I could clearly see that there is more work to be done. With that being said, what more effective, energetic, satisfying and pleasant way to lose weight quickly while at the same time giving your body a nutritional boost do I know of than juicing? It does me good to think back and remember those 48 days.
Juice is tasty and filling. I never felt weak or shaky. My energy off the charts! I loved the sense of well being and as if that wasn’t enough, a pound lost, every other day! Wow! What more can a girl ask for?
To matters matters even better. A Juice Reboot can be as little a 3 days as as much as 30 days. You decide what’s best for you. OMG! I just realized something! My birthday is next month, on May 14th and I have just the right amount of time to start and complete a 30 day Juice Reboot! I can’t tell you how fired up I’m getting as I sit here typing this out! I mean really, what could better birthday gift could a chubby girl get, than weight loss? Don’t worry y’all! I’m not on the verge of over doing it. The proof is in the photo. Even though I feel thinner, I’m still fat.
Trust me. I still weigh 65 lbs more than I did after my three kids were born. I don’t know what my ideal weight will be but I definitely need at least 30 more pounds! Then as Kim said, “I’ll be in the fun zone!” …she’s so funny.
Okay, then! It’s settled. I’m going to eat or drink vegetables and fruit only, plus herbal tea and water for 30 days. Today is the 10th, so I’m going to go ahead and start today. Just like last time I’ll post regular updates, thoughts and recipes. More good news! Since it’s April, and temperatures are warming up, I’ll be able to juice locally grown vegetables. I found out about Sunfood Farms, in nearby Rogers, Texas and recently purchased my first box. I picked it up at 7:40 one morning at Scott and White. It was full to the brim of just picked goodness! And only $15! You too, can take advantage of this local produce. Many communities have local growers.
Visit Sunfood Farms online. Here’s what my first box looked like :)
Everything was so beautiful and fresh! I can hardly wait to dig in!
Want to join me?
Put on your veggie face and come along!
Wellness is our goal. Ready, set, go!
To conclude this post, you’ll remember that upon arriving at Paradise Point, on Lake Toledo Bend, after spending five luxurious nights in San Lucas Cabos, Leslie and I were met with the challenge to ‘make a little fun of our own’, while our husbands enjoyed bass fishing. For girly girls, finding beauty in a ‘fish camp’ can be down right tough! At times like these, I’m always reminded of Pollyanna, who when faced with unpleasant situations, in the 1960 Disney movie, would play ‘the glad game’. Which involved shifting ones perspective from the difficult/unpleasant, and to find something good and lovely onto which to place your focus. Smitten since childhood with the concept, I’ve found out over the years it’s hard to play this game by myself but when I ask God to help me see things through His eyes, everything changes.
With His help, this old, barely noticeable broken down house became an object of beauty to me. I found myself wondering about the lives who had l lived there in the past and who had planted the beautiful azaleas and wisteria that still thrive? Not completely certain until this moment why I found this so compelling but my body, like this house, is aging. It will not stand forever but the seeds of goodness and love that we plant during our lives, will grow and bloom and speak of our Creator. Sigh. Thank you, Lord.
Another treasure that caught my eye was this beautiful old church on the Cane River Plantation Road, near Natchitoches, Louisiana. So pretty I had to share it on Instagram.
The Azaleas and Dogwood trees were in bloom everywhere we looked. I couldn’t resist painting a quick study one morning before heading out to shop antiques in Milam, Texas.
Nethery’s, was a great find! We also enjoyed Nuzibell’s Flea Market on the Pendelton Bridge.
Our afternoon was spent perusing shops in Hemphill.
Loading up on Proctor’s BBQ to take back for dinner.
While waiting for the guys, Leslie and I sat down at the dockand acted silly and took pictures with the pretty pink parasol I bought at Nuzibells!
This is probably the sort of thing you probably only do with close friends you’ve known a long time or sister’s. Leslie, is both! I would hope everyone has someone they can act goofy and laugh hard with. It’s so much fun!
Leslie, does not usually play these kind of games but she simply can not resist my
silliness. These are my two favorites! Leslie, please don’t be mad at me. Just look
at your ‘sweet face’!
You are such a good sport.
Speaking of ‘good sports’, I think it would be safe to say after the past few days both of us are! Which only makes me wonder about all the things Coach puts up with to make me happy….hmmm? Maybe I should ask him sometime. Chances are he’s probably a ‘good sport’, too!
As it turned out, there were plenty of fun thing to do around the Texas/Louisiana border and the fun continued as we traveled back to Temple. We stopped in downtown Lufkin and enjoyed walking through several cute shops. Though it was closed, Confections looked wonderful! We peeked through the windows and saw all of these pretty sugar cookies.
Maybe next time. After all these years, knowing what I know about spawning bass
and the ‘lure’ (get it?) of catching the evasive BIG BASS. I’m sure we’ll be back and when we do, I’ll know just what to do
Our trip into Hemphill provided Leslie and I with a tasty barbeque chicken lunch
from Procter’s BBQ and a trunk load of groceries. Which we unloaded as soon
as we got back to P P Park. No pun intended. With the sun setting, we began
cooking dinner in our kitchenette. It really was kind of fun and when the guys got
back we ate and exchanged stories from the day. They had caught some fish and
we had gathered up information about local ‘must see’s. Conversation continued
out on the deck, overlooking the water. We all laughed and had fun. I thought
back to earlier in the day and realized God had answered my prayer. My heart
was grateful! At some point it occurred to me that ‘paradise’ is simply a matter of
perspective and that gratitude and thanksgiving can change everything.
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The next day we headed out for a fun day of shopping in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
We found everything we had hoped for: great seafood and good shopping!
After lunch we drove down the Cane River Plantation Road and stopped to tour
Oakland Plantation. The last tour of the day was at 4:00, which we missed but
walked around anyway just enjoying all of the old. With or without the tour
we loved peering into out buildings, admiring ancient oaks and peeking into the
old glass windows. My favorite are the huge porches.
Oakland Plantation – est. 1821
Melrose Plantation – 1832
When we arrived at Melrose Plantation, we were happy to discover we were just in
time for the last tour (4:45) of the day. We enjoyed ever minute spent in this
amazing old home. Rich in tradition with an interesting history, Melrose Plantation
is listed among the first 26 sites on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.
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