Sandwich vs Juice

My wife wanted a peanut butter (she chose almond butter) and jelly sandwich for lunch.  I considered joining her.  While making her sandwich my calorie counting brain (which is new to me) started adding up the calories in the sandwich. As healthy as it is...

...the calories in this sandwich were adding up fast.

I opted to make two juices instead.
Often I will include kale, collards (both a "superfood") or spinach in my juice.  Today I wanted something lighter, just a minimal flavor. Not every juice has to be "green" to be healthy.  However, the cantaloupe juice below has a lot of the same qualities of a juice with kale or collards in it. I juiced the entire thing, rind and all. The 850 watt juicer is amazing and kicks all the remnants into the catcher, so the juice is just that, juice. However, the valuable nutrients in the rind are separated and added to the juice.

This is what I made.


Cantaloupe
1 Tbls TwinLab Nutritional Yeast
312 Calories
Yield: 36 ounces

9 Organic Carrots
1 Beet
1 Tbls TwinLab Nutritional Yeast
385 Calories
Yield: 24 ounces

Total: 60 ounces; 697 calories

One Peanut/Almond Butter and Jelly Sandwich
2 slices of organic bread (89 calories each)
1 tbls Almond butter (200 calories Which is the same amount for either our peanut or almond butter)
1 tbls Strawberry jelly (50 calories)
Total: 428 Calories

The juice can easily be divided out into multiple "meals." A 12 ounce glass would equal 139.40 calories. Drinking 12 ounces 6 times in one day (like having 6 meals) would keep me feeling "full" throughout the day. If I felt hungry, I could easily consume more.

Trying to divide the sandwich into 6 meals might be a bit more difficult. It can be done, I'd recommend a baggy or something to keep the bread of drying out, if you try it.

Even the 385 calorie carrot juice, at 24 ounces could at least be two 12 ounce meals. Usually I consume my juice in 4 to 8 ounce increments. Going for 12 is a bit more "normal" if you look at a most kitchen glasses being 16 ounces when filled to the brim. Most people probably fill them with 12 to 14 ounces of liquid. I consume 4 to 8 ounces at a time now as my stomach feels full with less than it did three months ago. Another great benefit of eating healthier and smaller portions... I don't pound food like I used to and feel satisfied and full, with a lot less.

I did not do a workout yesterday. An unplanned rest day. With that said, I'll get on the scale tomorrow, but no weight update for today.

2 People. 2 Stages. 2 Juices

My wife says I can consume anything because sometimes I just drink it.  I tell her, "In thirty seconds it will be gone and I'll get all the nutrients and vitamins from it. Then, I just won't make it again."

My wife is eating well and juicing from time to time to help her get more nutrients and vitamins in her body. Much better than just eating breads, processed foods, noodles, etc... This way she is getting a bit of both.

She started with a bowl of European Hot Cereal (oatmeal with figs and raisins) from Sprouts and then made a juice for later in the day:

My wife's juice this morning:
4 Fuji Apples
1 Stalk of Celery
1 large handful of Spinach
Yield: about 24 ounces

My juice this morning:
1 head of Romaine Lettuce
2 Bok Choy heads
1 Yellow pepper
1/4 a Jalapeno (stuffed inside the yellow pepper)
1 small handful of Parsley (also stuffed inside the yellow pepper)
5 Carrots
4 Stalks of Celery
5 Roma Tomatoes (I wish I had more... but this was all I had on hand).
4 leaves (with stems) of Lacinato Kale
1/2 a Lime
Yield: 48 ounces

Stats From MyFitnessPal:
Calories: 775
Carbs: 164
Fat: 6
Protein; 51
Fiber: 58
Calcium: 233

Our taste buds change over time.  Who knows how my juice would have tasted to me 40 days ago, but today, I'd give it a 6, maybe a 7.  Had I had another 2 or 3 tomatoes, I would probably give it an 8 or more. Tomatoes are awesome! My next juice will be a sweeter one. It will consist of pears, fuji apples, kale and possibly blueberries.


Tip:
A nice sweet treat is a few pears juiced with blueberries and a handful of spinach or kale.  You can swap out the pears for really good and sweet apples, like fuji, gala or pink lady.  I'd avoid the green apples... but that is my opinion.

I know apples have "sugar" in them and so do the other fruits that I mentioned.  Just remember the "sugar" in them isn't refined, bleached or stripped of nutrients.  It is a different kind of sugar than what is found in soda, candy, processed foods, etc... this is natural and it forces your body to break it down and then it (your body) is rewarded with nutrients and vitamins that it will not find in white sugar.

This morning was my first workout since Saturday as I pulled my leg muscle some when I fell skating with my wife on the 13th.  I have been taking it easy, as I didn't want to make it worse. The workout this morning was pure cardio and cardio abs from Insanity. I fully intend on doing another workout this afternoon when the kids are down for a nap... and call me crazy, but probably one more this evening when they go to sleep.  Why?  Well tit is said that there are approximately 3,500 calories in a pound. My days gone by are catching up to my pounds lost.  And I didn't workout for a few days... so, it is time to push myself!  Time to make sure I'm BURNING calories throughout the day and make sure my pounds lost keep in line with my 84 pounds lost in 84 days goal.

My Progress: 41.8 Pounds in 38 Days!

Food Log

I received this question about my food diary on MyFitnessPal... I thought it was a good one and that others might be wondering the same thing.

Q: "When I look at your diary I think wow that must cost a fortune, My hubbs is thinking about juicing. I know we cant put a price on health, but with all these kids I am trying to feed I worry about price often. Do you find it to be expensive?"


A: Honestly, the food lasts a long time.  Also, think about the juicer you get. The more you pay up front for a really good one, the more 'juice' you'll squeeze out. Which means, more bang for your buck. For me, I have two kids... and I need the ability to make a juice fast.  I KNOW that I could be getting more juice out of my vegetables and fruits if I bought an omega or a norwalk, but I don't have that time to prep and the time to juice at that kind of slower pace.  The Breville is awesome!  And I am learning ways to juice more efficiently. I stuff things down inside yellow peppers to prevent them from flying around and little things like that.  The 3" diameter on the Breville is amazing!  I can drop an apple, a pear, a cucumber, a beat, a small jicama, etc... all straight down without having to slice them up.  The juicer will separate the fruit. When I drop grapes in, I do it with stem and all.  The stems go to the catcher and the juice flows out.  I'm really impressed with the Breville for it's speed and juicing capabilities.  However, I want to get an Omega too... that way the smaller, more delicate fruits and greens can be juiced without being 'lost' into the remnant catcher.

I also look at it as, I'm not buying meat, processed food, frozen pre-made meals, or canned foods for myself.... so, I'm saving money, or at least switching where my cost is going. And in the end... I'm not sick, no Doctor visits, or meds.  That saves money.

My mother has diabetes and she actually starting eating more fruits and vegetables a short time ago.  She doesn't have a Breville, she has a magic bullet (which is a lot cheaper if someone is on a budget) and just adds a lot of water to make her "juice." I personally love the juicer though.  She is getting A LOT more fiber than I am, as the bullet keeps everything together. She used to have to give herself insulin shots... she no longer does.

Fruits and vegetables are powerful! Most people just don't know very much about their potential, their protein or their nutrient and vitamin values.  We are designed to eat meats, fruits and vegetables.  The problem is 'man' has gotten his hand so involved in the growth and production process of animals and now science uses chemicals, hormones, antibiotics and other things to raise and care for livestock before it hits the table that we don't consume animals the way our ancestors would have.  Instead, a steak eaten by someone today is polluted with all kinds of chemicals and added items that never were a factor 200, 300 years ago.  Which is why eating "meat" today, unless you pay more to find grass fed animals, is a crap shot... and potentially will land people in the hospital, a doctor's office or the cemetery a lot faster than before. Store bought meat just ins't as good as it once was. I feel that the 'cost' of fruits and vegetables is way cheaper than the alternative. And if you can find a place like the Red Tomatoes Farmers Market that I blogged about yesterday, you'll get A LOT more for even less money! It took me about two weeks to find them, now I am glad I did.  They are about a 30 minute drive away.  When I go, I'll be buying a lot for sure... but their prices are LOW enough that it is worth it.

My Progress: 38.4 Pounds Lost in 31 Days!

aka Roughly 134,400 calories EXTERMINATED!

''How do you all cope?''

I saw this question asked by a fellow MyFitnessPal participant.

"All these cravings are driving me crazy. .. How do you all cope? =/"

This was my answer:

I look at it like this... I WILL BE ALIVE THE NEXT 3 MONTHS ANYWAYS... And I tell myself that.

Seriously!  I'm going to be here.. so I can be here FAT or I can be here Healthy and Fit and enjoy life!  I have chosen to be here as a healthy fit person!  Something that I let go for way to long.  I have the unfortunate stretch marks on my stomach to show for my horrid choices and lazy ways... funny thing is.  My choices were not HORRID... I was not a big soda, or candy person.  I was simply a BIG lover of food.  I'd pack it in.  Instead of slowing down and enjoying it.  I'd simply keep shoveling it in.  Why? Because it was good!  Food was good! Food IS good!  When it comes right down to it.  I have decided that once I hit my goal (166 pounds) that I will seriously maintain.  How to maintain? How to get me there.  By savoring each bite.  One bite at a time.  By slowing down and ALLOWING the food to sit on my taste buds longer.  You no longer 'taste' the food once it passes the back of the tongue.  So... I'll enjoy it.  I'll let each bite resonate on my tongue for a bit longer and I'll take smaller bites.  I'll eat less and truly enjoy the meal a lot more!

I'll do all that I can.  And I'm not taking any 'diet pills' or supplements. I'm simply consuming the most nutrient rich foods that I can.  The Standard American Diet consists of a lot of 'white' food (rice, noodles, breads, sugar, etc...) that has been stripped of most of their nutrients and minerals. That is what we eat.  And we feel that we need a lot of it!  Give us the most bang for our buck!

We don't need that. We simply need a nice meal and a bit of self control.  Small bites... (place your fork or spoon down between each bite will help too) Allow the AMAZING food and flavors that we love to hangout on our tongue and in our mouth for a few more seconds. That we can truly enjoy those flavors before we send them down the pipes to be decomposed, broken down and absorbed. Allowing us to satisfy the desire for flavorful food and will give the stomach time needed to tell the brain that it is full.

One of the best thing (imo) to overcome eating bad things when a craving hits is having less of the 'bad' things in the house.  Have your fruits and veggies in the fridge ready to go.  When I buy grapes, strawberries and blueberries for the family, I wash them when I stick them in the fridge.  That way they are ready to go and become a quick snack when a craving hits. You can do this for apples, pears, etc...  I also wash off my greens first. Collards, kale, cucumbers, or whatever else I have.  It takes a few seconds and then they are ready to go whenever a craving hits.

For anyone taking the steps to lose weight and to get their life back... Best of luck to you all!

My Progress: 35.8 Pounds Lost in 28 Days!

Before Photos & Day 27 of Juicing Photos!

My wife and others wanted to see some before and after photos. The pictures in the shorts were taken on January 12th, 2013 when I weighed in for the first weight loss challenge. I was 252 pounds.

The pictures above on the right were taken on February 9th, 2013. 

After only 27 days of juicing exclusively... I am down to 217.2 pounds!

A 34.2 pound weight loss in 27 days! 

For kicks... Since a pound is roughly 3,500 calories, 119,700 calories have been exterminated!

The initial 18 to 20 pounds were lost solely due to juicing!
The next 14.2 pounds were lost with a combination of juicing, Insanity workouts and P90X workouts!

I have more energy today than I have had in years! Special thanks go out to my friends Mike and Breann for introducing me to Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead! Special thanks goes to my sweet wife for having faith in me and for letting me do all I can and allowing me to freely juice and accept this change of pace. A thank you also goes out to BeachBody, Shaun T. and Tony Horton for their programs and workout DVDs! And of course, to my Doctor for giving me the green light to continue after the blood work results came back with my being 'healthy,' besides still being overweight.

Discipline + Motivation + Willpower all combine to create the smaller man you see above!
I look forward to successfully completing my weight loss goal and returning to 166 pounds!
Feel free to join me on Team BeachBody and send me a Buddy Request I signed up as a coach o help inspire others. I'd love to connect and be yours too, click here to make that happen.

Thank you to ALL of you who frequent my blog! I am motivated THAT much more knowing that YOU are watching me lose while I achieve this 84 pound weight loss goal! Yesterday this blog was visited by over 300 people... WoW!  Thank you! Several people have said that they are inspired by my story and progress. If you want to share this blog on facebook, twitter, or wherever... please feel free to do so!

Seriously, I'd LOVE it if this blog was shared more. Why? Because, I am truly inspired to keep digging deeper and pushing myself harder just knowing that my blog is being followed, shared and read!

Once again, thank you for visiting and following my blog! I look forward to losing, as I achieve the goal of shedding 84 pounds!

My 'Motivaion' post can be seen here. This image is on Facebook too! Feel free to comment, like and share.

22 days into juicing... and I had my first HOT meal (Juice).

I'm human. I am.

I have cravings too.

Most of which I have found the will power to ignore, modify or overlook. At times though, embracing them is the best way to overcome them!

I actually enjoy going to dinner with my family, knowing that I will not be eating. I will be smelling the food.

Crazy? Not really.  When it comes down to it, making a big scene over "not being able to eat" would be much worse.  And in reality, I LOVE flavorful, excellent, unique and intriguing foods and dishes. The flavors, the spices, the way they can all come together to make one's mouth water.  Excellent.  I also love spending time with my kids, having clean arteries, and not carrying around so many extra pounds.

When I go to dinner, walk by a restaurant or through a kitchen, I take in all the smells and aromas. They remind me of what I had and satisfies my cravings.

The other day someone told me (or I read it somewhere) that once your food passes your taste buds, it is gone.  I knew this... but now I really think about it a fairly often.  There is so much truth to that statement.  On my way to 252 pounds I would pound food like none other!  I knew that I could punish at least two plates of food and a pizza... a large pizza was something I would finish on my own, without even thinking about it. I'm not talking about your normal pepperoni or meat lovers pizza.  No, I would do gourmet pizzas.  If I was going to eat, I wanted it unique and as flavorful as I could get it!

Why? Because food is good!  It tastes great! Smells amazing! And it is a social activity that builds friendships, brings families together and helps individuals bond in ways that other activities may not be able to.

Two nights ago I had a craving for a hot meal like none other.  I had not thought of it, it truly had been over 20 days since I sat down to a warm meal or eaten with a spoon or fork. I pulled out the Breville juicing / cookbook. I was determined to make something warm even if that meant I would juice a bunch of vegetables and then warm it up on the stove.  To my surprise upon opening the book I discovered three soups.  Two called for meats and one did not. I picked the one with the most vegetables and commenced juicing!

The recipe: "Gazpacho"
4 medium tomatoes
4 sprigs of parsley
1 large clove garlic, peeled (I used about 1/4th a clove)
1 small onion, peeled and trimmed (I used a tiny onion that I picked up from Sprouts)
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
1 red pepper
1 Lebanese cucumber (I used an English one)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar <-- Omitted this.
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup crushed ice <-- Omitted this (My Gazpacho was going on the stove.)
3 tbl chopped fresh basil -- sprinkled on top <-- Didn't do.

It may not have looked the best... but it HIT THE SPOT! And slaughtered the craving!

After warming up the juice that came out of the Breville, I poured it in one of our bowls and grabbed a spoon.  After about 3 bites, I grabbed a large hot chocolate mug and poured it in there and drank it.

My Progress: 30.6 pounds in 22 Days!

Lab Report

My wife has been very supportive thus far however, as anyone who cares about someone she also has been concerned with "IF" I am healthy and if I am getting enough protein.

On the 31st of January (day 19 of my Juice Fast (my reboot)), I had blood work done.  With that blood draw they checked my sodium, potassium, CO2, Glocose, Calcium, Protein, Cholesterol, Triglycerides, HDL Cholesterol, and LDL Cholesterol, among other things.

On February 4th, I received my results:

**Drum Roll**
After juicing for only 19 days:
Test name            Result            Normal (reference) Range
Sodium:                  137                          136 - 144
Potassium:              3.9                             3.6 - 5.1
Protein:                   6.7                             6.1 - 7.9
Cholesterol:            127                               0 - 200
HDL:                       49                               40 - 60
(Good) Cholesterol
LDL:                       66                                0 - 100
(Bad) Cholesterol
Triglycerides:           57                                0 - 150
Calcium:                 9.6                            8.9 - 10.3
Alkaline:                  59                                32 - 91
Glocose:                  75                              74 - 118

After seeing the above lab results and the rest of the two pages of results my Doctor gave me the "Green Light" to keep juicing and to continue what I've been doing.  He also mentioned that with my numbers looking as great as they do, that I have no risk of stroke, heart problems, etc... He said the normal range for LDL (Bad) Cholesterol is 0 - 100 however, with these results he'd make the range 0 - 160 for me.  In addition to that he said that I brought my Good Cholesterol up 30 points! This was since the last time I had lab work done!

UPDATE for Mobile Device Users (all others can see the tracker at the top of the page):

My Progress: 31.2 Pounds Lost in 24 Days!

An eventful day.

Sunday... Insanity calls it the "rest" day.  Not a day of vest around here.  Not with two kids.  However, I think the scale knew it was a rest day too.  As it actually moved my weight up a little.  Truth be said, that makes since, as I knew I wasn't going to be hitting play so I drank my juice and started the day without thinking of what the scale would say or reflect.

For some reason I didn't sleep much through the night and found myself wide awake at 3:30 in the morning.  After about an hour I finally fell back asleep.  11 a.m. church means we we're going to get the kids fed and ready for church, etc... We somehow actually got there on time!  With two kids, that alone is a challenge at times.  

After church we put the kids down for a nap around 3:30.  I was thinking that they would sleep while the Super Bowl was on and that my wife and I would get to see most, if not all of it, before they woke up.  Then the big lights out / delay happened.  Oh well... we love our little family and enjoyed the family time as the 49ers gave the game a new surge of energy after the blackout!  It was fun to watch the game turn into a "game!"

Today was the first Super Bowl ever for me to juice all my meals... I feel great! It has been over twenty days since I started juicing! I'm looking forward to completing another Insanity workout in the morning and getting the numbers on the scales to keep dropping!

Today's juices were nothing flashy or special.  To be honest, I was looking for nutritional value over flavor. I need to look into some other great tasting juices as I know there are plenty out there.  Why the value over flavor then? Because we didn't head to the store today... so I made due with what was in the house.  A mixture of rainbow collards, bosc pears, fuji apples, carrots, spinach, and more... not all in one juice.  But throughout the day.  My Super Bowl treat was a strawberry, orange and pineapple juice... wow!  Very SWEET! But a nice treat for sure.

Tomorrow morning I'll be hitting play again. Onward I go... with 166 in sight!

Juicing Gone Wild!

The desire for protein and no red fruit came over me tonight...

I grabbed 60 asparagus spears, 3 bosc pears, an entire 'bunch' of Lacinato Kale, and a HUGE Papaya and threw them all into the juicer!

**CAUTION** If you do this, be prepared to exchange out your catcher and have another container on hand... as this yielded over 64 ounces!

Initially I didn't have in mind to do the papaya.  That was before I tasted nearly only asparagus.  I thought, hmmm... I could add more pears. Then I saw it. The papaya was probably 12 inches in length and about 6 inches around.  I got it at Sprouts and had the notion that I'd try it.  A few days ago I tried a smaller one and was surprised by how sweet it was... almost overpowering!  I knew that would do it!  I grabbed it, sliced it in fourths and then slipped each one (rind and all) into the juicer


I called this 'Juicing gone wild!' as look at the specs of this juice alone!
Calories: 881, Carbs: 431, Fat: 8, Protein: 38, Fiber: 51 and Iron: 9

Which combined with my meals (other 2 juices earlier) makes my total for the day:
Calories Carbs Fat Protein Fiber  Iron
1,844       431    8      67      123    82
*Fiber isn't really THAT high, as my juicer kicks out most of the pulp.

Ideally you can have this for two meals... there is no way I'm consuming all of that in one setting.

In the end... I'd say the drink is good.  However, if I could turn back time I would have only used half of the papaya.  That is one powerfully sweet fruit!

It SNUCK right up on me!

I was responding to a tweet when the number of days I've been juicing came up.  I didn't know.  I lost track.  I simply have been juicing and not thinking about the "days." Each meal, 3 to 5 juices a day.  If I want to consume it, I'm juicing it.  I had one exception... one morning I had to run to the Emergency Room and knew I would probably be there for a few hours!  Since it was an emergency I grabbed a bowl of the rolled oatmeal that I made the kids that morning and just consumed that.  I'm glad I did as we were there for about 6 hours... I didn't eat again until we got home. When we arrived, the juicer got flipped on.

This is a photo of our fridge... 

...well the bottom half of it. II have been buying MOST of my fruits and vegetables from Sprouts. I discovered that for variety, Sprouts or a Farmer's Market is key to getting the most for your money.  $50 at Sprouts goes a lot further in terms of getting all ingredients for multiple recipe, then it does at Costco.  For sheer bulk / quantity, Costco is great for that. Unless of course you find a place that will give you a great deal on bulk items.  I purchased 20+ tomatoes two days ago and have already used most of them.

I juiced my first juice on January 12th. 

Today is the 21st day of juicing!

When you're the stay-at-home-dad you're always in demand.  It was all I could do to think about, do I have food needed for the next day then to think dreadful thoughts that sucked energy away and could possibly make me not want to continue.

How do I feel? I feel great, energized and ready for anything!  I still have pounds to lose and a lot of them!  However, the headaches and ill feelings that people say they experience when doing a reboot or a cleanse, never happened.  I had a slight, ever so slight headache on the second day... but that passed and has never been back.

I'm looking forward to successfully completing my goal! I feel great and am getting proteins, minerals and vitamins... and practically NO fat! I believe MyFitnessPal says I've consumed 5 grams for the week!

More Apples! "It's all gone!"

This morning the little man was super excited to help!  "But, Daddy! Daddy! I want to help!" After sitting on the counter next to the juicer, I handed him each large item and he stuck it in the chute.  He loved watching the juice come flying out! He would then say; "It's all gone!" After we finished he excitedly yelled; "More APPLES Please!"

I found a recipe on www.healthfulpursuit.com; called "Cinnamon Ginger Nectar."

It called for

• 4 cups spinach
• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 1 English cucumber
• 1 celery stalk, about 10 sticks with leaves
• 1 apple <-- I ADDED TWO Fuji Apples... if a recipe is ever to bitter, I add Fuji (or Pink Lady Apples) to sweeten it up.
• 1 small knob of fresh ginger, about 1 inch section
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 5 drops of liquid stevia <-- I DID NOT ADD THIS.

When I enter this in MyFitnessPal I get the following:

Calories     Carbs Fat      Protein Fiber Iron

450                 97           3       13          35      52

The Protein mainly came from the head of romaine lettuce: 8 from there, 4 from the spinach and one from the apple.

Tip: Anytime (IMO) that a recipe is too tart, apples, red grapes and even most pears can add a nice sweet flavor to offset the bite a juice might have.

Second Tip: Pay attention to what has protein in it.  Before juicing I thought Spinach was the main vegetable that contained protein.  I have since learned that tomatoes and now, romaine lettuce both pack a powerful punch of protein too!

Helping Hands.

My son is so excited to 'help' daddy make a juice, but won't touch them when it comes to drinking them.  His sister however, is quite the opposite!  She loves trying them and asks for them.  I don't give her very much but a taste from time to time in "her" glass and she is thrilled!  The little man wants to help all the time.

He wanted to make apple juice for mommy during her lunch... nothing else in it, just apples.  He placed each apple in the juicer and then pushed them down the chute with the food pusher. He was so excited to watch all the juice come pouring out.  And a bit sad when all the apples were gone.  Little ones are tons of fun.  Nearly the entire time he was doing that, his sister was saying; "Apple juice please! Apple juice!" Haha

Having fun and involving the family as I get thinner is the greatest!  When my wife saw me today she said; "WoW! You are getting smaller!"

Words and phrases like that help this man keep going!

I feel excellent! Energized and ready for anything.  No longer do I feel sluggish.  I look at it as, if I feel this good now... IMAGINE how I'm going to feel when the remaining 58 pounds come off!

My own Disneyland Marathon... kind of.

I've heard of and actually have looked into the Disneyland marathon but have never done it. However, after yesterday I felt like I had participated in one or maybe an Iron Man.

The day started with me taking the two little ones to Disneyland.  Before leaving I made sure breakfast was consumed and that food for the day was prepared.  I also juiced a lot more, quantity wise, than I have ever done before (I included a screenshot of what I did and the values from MyFitnessPal below).

Upon arriving I discovered that I left the second seat for our Phil and Ted's double stroller at home.  Not having this, presented an immediate problem.  With this particular stroller the seats stack. Thus creating a seating arrangement similar to that of a double decker bus. Making it easy to use, steer and control while still being streamlined.  We bought ours from a lady selling her's on craigslist years ago and we love it!  If you haven't seen a Phil and Ted's before here is what our stroller looks like.  I told my little guy the issue and said that he would need to walk or be carried. He looked at me and said, "I want to walk." I was glad and somewhat relieved.  After about two minutes, the little man said "Up please Daddy" and I knew that my day was going to be interesting. After picking him up and continuing on, I quickly became thankful for all the weight I've lost over the last two weeks.  Seriously, if felt great knowing that I could carry him and push the stroller as we walked in Disneyland from the Mickey and Friends parking lot.

If you are wondering why we didn't take the tram in... simply enough a tram is convenient if you have one adult and one child or two adults and two children. In my opinion it is easier to walk in (pushing the stroller) when you are out numbered and a day supply of food for the kids. Trying to break down the stroller, hold the food bags and keep two kids on their bums, just wasn't something I wanted to attempt.

After about 200 yards it became evident that carrying a 3 1/2 year old was going to be more of a challenge than I thought.  Switching arms every 100 yards or so helped, but still was difficult. Eventually the light bulb turned on... my shoulders!  Stopping to hoist the little guy up and then securing him by his two legs with my left hand accompanied by directions to "hold on and lean forward" we were on our way... as I became the missing seat.  People looked at me with eyes of surprise.  Some smiled. Others shook their heads as we passed.  Upon arriving in the park I had high hopes of leaving the stroller at Main Street Station as the boy wanted to go to the Haunted Mansion.  A quick train ride (while leaving the food, gear and stroller at the station) would have been easy... but the station was closed. Completely blocked off.  Onward we went. At times he walked, but mostly he wanted to be carried. When the three of us got to a ride they would walk in for the most part under their own power, at times they both wanted up... and the stroller was no where in sight.

If you are wondering how many calories one can burn while spending over four hours walking around at Disneyland, while carrying one or two kids... let me know, as I am too.

In the end, we had a great day!  I got a huge workout in and the kids met many Disney Characters, rode several rides and even had lunch with Jasmine, Alladin and Genie!  It was a great day!

To top off my day (night), once the kids went to sleep, I hit PLAY on day 3 of Insanity! A little more cardio to help me with this weight loss adventure!

Before leaving I threw together a 'juice' that was UNLIKE ANY I had ever made before.  I was looking for quantity and sustainability... not flavor.  I knew from previous juicing that a sweet potato / yam would leave me feeling full and satisfied longer than anything else I have previously combined.  I started there... and then added more.

Tip: Juice for flavor and enjoyment most of the time. Sometimes you need (or should) juice for substance. Ideally, getting both is best!  However, knowing that I would need something to last all day, the above all went into ONE juice. After making the juice and having about 32 ounces of it for 'breakfast' I poured the remainder into a stainless water bottle with a few pieces of ice... this way it would stay cold.

Mish Mosh Breakfast 'Juice'

Before leaving to visit family last weekend, I was sure to grab my juicer and most of the fruits and vegetables in the house. Upon returning home last night, I remembered that the fridge was mostly empty.  My son woke up at 3:30am and wasn't "tired" so I stayed up with him until after 5:30. We worked on math, watched a movie and then lessons about not breaking toys we're given before he was sleepy again.

Getting out of bed around 7:45 didn't give me the time I would have needed to run to the store before Jannene's school started so I stayed home and figured I would eat something and then head to the store... since I'm juicing, "eat something" means, I'd hope to find something to juice with nutritional content and hopefully be flavorful.

I easily could have juiced just fruit... but I wanted the nutrients and vitamins more than just a sweet drink.

I scoured the fridge and found:


1 beet (with top / greens)
5 large carrots
2 purple potatoes
1 yam / sweet potato
1 handful red grapes
1 fuji apple
1 handful parsley

And decided, why not.  Worst case scenario... it'd be gone in 30 seconds.

The pitcher that comes with the Breville has an option to pour juice with or without froth. I opted to pour without it, as I wanted a "smooth" juice.

Taste test... passed!

And then the second glass... I added the froth. The top actually tasted mildly sweet. Almost a treat.

I'd make this again!