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!

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.

Blueberries and Rainbow Collards!

This morning I wanted a real treat. Something crisp!  Something with a cool and refreshing flavor!

I also wanted nutrients, vitamins and some protein.

The craving for lettuce came over me.  Usually I want to throw in Romaine lettuce when I am craving nutrients.  This morning I wanted something different.  Upon opening the fridge there was a brand new head of red leaf lettuce and about a cup and a half of rainbow collard... bring it!

My breakfast:
About a cup of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.
3 bartlett pears
5 medium pink lady apples
1/2 a head of red leaf lettuce
About 1.5 cups, of rainbow collards (all of it... stems and leaves)


This made 46 ounces of juice.  I consumed 32 of those and saved the rest for a few hours later.

I entered in all of the ingredients in MyFitnessPal and this is what they gave me:
Calories    Carbs    Fat    Protein    Fiber   Iron
1,035         265        0        21         71       63

The rainbow collards alone added 14 grams of protein!  BAM!

This juice was amazing!  And since I keep all of my produce in the fridge.  It was exactly what the cravings asked for.  It was cool, refreshing and PACKED with nutrients, vitamins and protein!

When I put in my new weight at MyFitnessPal...
217.2 POUNDS! I received this little message!

Congratulations!

You've lost more than 10 lbs since the last time your goals were set!

I weighed in officially at 252 pounds on January 12th!

Only 27 Days Later...

I am now 217.2 pounds!

I feel more energized than ever!

Possibly better than the Powerball Jackpot!

I don't actually play the Powerball lottery however going to Sprouts the other day delivered me a prize of lottery status...

Check out the size of this organic parsley! And the tiny one on the right.

I asked the produce guy if they were the same and if so, did I just hit the jackpot?  He looked... did a double take and looked at the labels and said, Yes!  You hit the jackpot there!  Both things of parsley were priced at $1.50.

This was by far the largest size difference I've seen in the same items however, it isn't new to me to find large size differences in organic fruits and produce.  Simply said, they aren't controlled like crops are that are genetically modified, therefore you have chances to find these. This is the third or fourth time that I found a larger item just by digging around a little!

If you are going to be juicing or eating the vegetables and fruits raw, why not get the biggest bang for your buck?

Tip:  If you are paying per pound and not per item, look for what is practical.  Tomatoes at $0.99 or $1.50 a pound is a good price, but grabbing 2 or three large ones means that you need to cut them up or buy several more foe each juice.  I LOVE tomatoes and know that I will use a lot of them.  Therefore, when buying by the pound, I select a bag full of small to medium tomatoes.  That way I can juice them according to my needs or recipes.  It is easy to add another tomato or two.  Slicing a large one down to size makes for potential juice loss and then having to store a partial tomato. Simply said, buying multiple small or medium ones gives you variety and flexibility when juicing. Besides it would be awful difficult to remove the juice after it goes in with everything else.

My Progress: 34.2 Pounds lost in 26 Days!

Fitting Better

Several years ago my wife purchased me a nice jacket. Around the first of the year we were in Sedona, AZ And I was complaining about how it did not fit anymore. It was way too tight and it was all I could do to zip it up.

I weighed in this morning at 218.6 pounds. I just got done putting on the jacket to go outside... Expecting the same discomfort, just because the last time I put it on I remember it not fitting well. To my enjoyment and surprise jacket fits perfectly fine.
In a few months I might just have to go and purchase another one... I like this kind of a jacket can be taken in.

Over 33 pounds lost in only 25 days. I have not done a workout today or even yesterday because we just got busy with the kids and family.

Juicing works for losing weight even if you are not able to work out every single day. My intentions are to go ahead and do my work out that I planned for this afternoon,  this evening when the kids go to sleep.
And hopefully in the morning I will be down another half a pound or another pound.

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!

Saw this question.

"What do you guys think about training on an empty stomach? Yes? No? If you do eat before then what is it and how soon before your training?"

My reply:
Just started doing nothing before and I love it! I have heard that some people cannot do it because they get light headed. Fortunately for me that has not been an issue. I would much rather force my body to burn the calories that are already there then to burn the new calories that I just stuffed in. After the workout I wait at least 30 to 45 minutes before I eat. As my body will still be burning calories even though I am done with the workout. It is like having a burning log on the fire. The log will still smolder and burn even if the main flames has been stopped.
My family came to visit and while it has been fun my workouts have been slightly off. I have stayed true to my eating. Otherwise known as juicing.
I have a lot to blog about, including the results from my doctor's appointment yesterday and blood work last week. However, it probably will not be updated until late tonight or tomorrow morning.
Family is what is most important and just about every time I go to do something workout and or blog wise they grab me and want to play games or go do an activity.
I will ask my sweet wife to take some photos and will upload those as well.

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!

Best Monitor?

Do you have a favorite heart rate monitor or way that you track calories?

I want something that will track most accurately track my calories lost. After searching, I'm at a loss as to what is a GREAT and ACCURATE heart rate monitor and calorie tracker. I feel that I need a heart rate monitor.  When I looked online I found over 2,900 results in the Sports and Outdoor section on Amazon alone! When I sorted those by four (4) stars and up, the results were still over 700! When sorted by low to high, 506 results came up, but not all were monitors. The Health and Personal Care department had over 1,900 results.

What heart rate monitor do you suggest? The top one on amazon is the Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor. It has a 4 star rating with 1,103 votes giving it that rating.  Are monitors with a chest strap, like the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor better or more accurate? It also has 4 stars, but only 428 votes.

Any suggestions or ideas on which monitor will work best would be greatly appreciated.  Feel free to leave your thoughts and suggestions in the comments or send me a tweet via twitter @84days84lbs

Readers Digest Version

At time I find myself being a bit long winded.  I didn't realize how long yesterday's post was... or how much long it would appear on a mobile device.  Here it is, in a nut shell.  Simple. Shareable and fast to read.

I hit my first real plateau.  My previous weight had been 224.6  When I stepped on the scale again, it said... 224.6, yet again!  Ugg... are you serious, not even .2 of a pound difference?

I was determined to do more and force the scale to reflect my weight loss efforts.  Around 11:30 p.m. I hit play on Insanity's Pure Cardio.  After completing that workout I felt great... dead, tired, and exhausted due to the nature of the program but, I felt like I had surely burned some calories.

The next morning I stepped on the scales: 223.8 -- Down .8 of a pound. The thought rolled in; "Hmmm... I wonder what the scale will say after an Insanity workout if I don't do anything to add weight?"  I was about to "Bring it!" on a whole different level!

I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE DOING WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ.

This is a BLOG post of ACTUAL EVENTS.  I am not a Doctor. I had an idea and I ran with it.  I don't intend on repeating it verbatim again... It was a test. The results were mine and mine alone. This is for readers to see and comment on, but I do not suggest anyone doing this.

I hit play on Insanity's Plyometric Cardio Circuit workout only about six (6) hours after finishing up Pure Cardio the night before. I took an inventory of how I felt, as I planned to drink a minimal amount of water to test how many calories I would burn. Throughout the course of the workout I felt fine... exhausted, but not dizzy or lightheaded. When Shawn T called for a water break, I gave it a thought and then just kept running in place or, I went to the sink, took a big mouthful, and then spit it back out.  Allowing my mouth to become wet, as it was drying out some.  However, I felt okay and didn't actually consume any water... not a single swallow as I worked out.

After completing the workout my boy wanted to play... so, we ran around the living room and then played "horsey" and other activities.  My heart rate was still up and I knew I was still burning calories.  Much like a log smoldering after the flames die out on a campfire... I headed upstairs, took a shower, went to the bathroom before weighing again.

I stepped on the scales: 221.4! 

Yes, that is what it said!  I stepped back off... and stood on it again. 221.4 again! WoW!

From the time I stepped on the scale before the second workout to when I stepped on it again, I dropped 2.4 pounds! I immediately drank some water. Went down stairs, told my wife the news and then consumed 24 ounces of the protein and caloric juice that I blogged about yesterday.  After doing so, I felt... Full. Satisfied and I could tell I needed to be more hydrated so I drank another 16 ounces of water.  After that I made sure to drink 16 ounces or more every hour throughout the day.

Progress 30.6 pounds lost in 20 Days!

Actual Calories Burned...

...do we even know how many one actually burns in a workout?

A sad day progress wise hit two days ago.  While stepping on the new digital scale that was purchased just after weighing in for the first weight loss contest, I was shocked to see my first 'plateau.'  I wasn't that surprised that the weight hadn't changed much as I hadn't competed a workout as of yet. We did spend the day doing things around the house, drinking some juice and just kind of enjoyed the kids.  Thinking that those daily activities would burn off a few calories at least was what led me to being surprised at the numbers being displayed on the scale.  The day before it read. 224.6  When stepped on yesterday morning it read again, 224.6  Ugg... are you serious, not even .2 of a pound difference?  Quickly stepping off and getting back on once again confirmed my weight. 224.6 WoW!  No change. That became the first day since I began this journey with NO change in my weight loss.

I was determined to do more and force the scale to reflect my efforts.  I took care of things around the house, played with the kids, got things ready to go to Dinseyland with some friends and then, they cancelled. Hmmm... this actually worked out, as we rescheduled for another day and went about our day. Which helped me, as I had been looking forward to crushing the next Insanity workout!

Around 11:30 p.m. I hit play on Insanity's Pure Cardio.  After completing that workout I felt great... dead, tired, and exhausted due to the nature of the program but, I felt like I had surely burned some calories.

*The next morning (today).*
Upon waking up and laying in bed for thirty minutes I finally stepped on the scales: 223.8 -- Down .8 of a pound. The thought rolled in; "Hmmm... I wonder what the scale will say after an Insanity workout if I don't do anything to add weight?"  I threw my workout clothes on and headed to hit play.  I was about to "Bring it!" on a whole different level! In the back of my mind I wanted to limit my water intake to the bare minimum, possibly none... as water weight is still weight. I wanted to see if the scale would reflect any weight loss after the workout.

First things first...

I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE DOING WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ.

This is a BLOG post of ACTUAL EVENTS.  I am not a Doctor. I had an idea and I ran with it.  I don't intend on repeating it verbatim again... It was a test. The results were mine and mine alone. This is for readers to see and comment on, but I do not suggest anyone doing this.

I hit play on Insanity's Plyometric Cardio Circuit DVD. This took place only about six (6) hours after finishing up Pure Cardio the night before. I took an inventory of how I felt, as I planned to drink a minimal amount of water to test how many calories I would burn. All was going well... and then the kids woke up.  They wanted to help and join in. The 37 minute workout turned into probably 57 minutes, as I kept having to restart some of the exercises. And from time to time, hold a child while doing "butt kickers" or wait for one to get done; "Daddy! I'm stretching." so I could have floor space again.

Throughout the course of the workout I felt fine... exhausted, but not dizzy or lightheaded. When Shawn T called for a water break, I gave it a thought and then just kept running in place or, I went to the sink, took a big mouthful, and then spit it back out.  Allowing my mouth to become wet, as it was drying out some.  However, I felt okay and didn't actually consume any water... not a single swallow as I worked out.  I was determined to see what the scale would say. After completing the workout my boy wanted to play... so, we ran around the living room and then played "horsey" and other activities.  I was thinking, my heart rate is still up.  I'm still burning calories.  Much like a log smoldering after the flames die out on a campfire... I knew my body would still be burning calories for a while after my workout.  After playing for about 10 minutes I headed upstairs, took a shower and took care of the morning "business" all before weighing myself.  Doing ALL of the above without drinking any water as of yet.

I stepped on the scales: 221.4! 

Yes, that is what it said!  I stepped back off... and stood on it again. 221.4 again! WoW!

From the time I stepped on the scale before the second workout to when I stepped on it again, I dropped 2.4 pounds! I immediately drank some water. Went down stairs, told my wife the news and then consumed 24 ounces of the protein and caloric juice that I blogged about yesterday.  After doing so, I felt... Full. Satisfied and I could tell I needed to be more hydrated so I drank another 16 ounces of water.  After that I have made sure to drink 16 ounces or more every hour as throughout this day.  It is now 4:28 and I feel great! I don't feel sluggish, maybe a bit tired (anyone doing two (2) Insanity workouts in less than 7 hours would probably feel tired though) but, nothing abnormal.

With the above said, I tried to Google how many calories one would burn in an Insanity workout. Since everyone's body is different and everyone works out differently, ball park figures (at best) were all I could find.  Somewhere between 300 and 800... WHAT??  That's a huge difference.

I want something that will track most accurately track my calories lost. After searching, I'm at a loss as to what is a GREAT and ACCURATE heart rate monitor and calorie tracker. I feel that I need a heart rate monitor.  When I looked online I found over 2,900 results in the Sports and Outdoor section on Amazon alone! When I sorted those by four (4) stars and up, the results were still over 700! When sorted by low to high, 506 results came up, but not all were monitors. The Health and Personal Care department had over 1,900 results.

Those of you who are reading this, I would love to hear from you.  What heart rate monitor do you suggest? The top one on amazon is the Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor. It has a 4 star rating with 1,103 votes giving it that rating.  Are monitors with a chest strap, like the Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor better or more accurate? It also has 4 stars, but only 428 votes.

Any suggestions or ideas on which monitor will work best would be greatly appreciated.  Feel free to leave your thoughts and suggestions in the comments or send me a tweet via twitter @84days84lbs

Time to go drink some more water and make another juice!

Progress 30.6 pounds lost in 20 Days!

Dessert... via a Juicer!

In case you are on a mobile device and cannot see the tracker above... I added my updated weight and days gone by at the end of this post so that you can see it too!
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I watched this video about raw sushi on twitter/youtube last night. While doing so jicama was brought up.  The guy raved about how 'good' the juice is and well, I just happened to have two of them in my fridge. I have never used them before and wasn't sure what I was going to do with them... besides, hopefully juice them.  Well, after his words in the video, I decided I'd try it.

When I pulled the jicama out of the fridge I was surprised to see wax all over them.  A quick search online says that grocery stores do that... sadly, even the ones purchased from sprouts had wax on them.  I wasn't about to "juice" wax so I peeled them... usually I juice the entire fruit (with the exception of citrus) or vegetable as the juicer kicks out the remnants.

While searching for how to clean off the wax I came across this Strawberry and Jicama juice recipe (list of ingredients and photos are below). The recipe called for mint... which I did not have, so I omitted it. The author of the site called this more of a "dessert."

The ingredients:

1/2 lb strawberries
1/2 medium Jicama, brown skin peeled off <-- Peeled only because of the wax.
1/2 cucumber, peeled <-- Did not peel it.
1 Chinese pear, quartered and seeds removed <-- Did not remove seeds.
2 sprigs mint, plus some leaves for garnish <-- Did not have mint on hand... still tasted great!

My wife smelled it (as she ALWAYS does) and then tasted it... "Wow.  That is pleasant.  I'll have some."

She always wants the things that taste good. Can you blame her? It was refreshing and was much sweeter than other juices that has been created since starting this weight loss journey.

Tip: Use a few extra strawberries if you want. The jicama I used was a pretty good size, if you don't have a 'medium' one, just know that the jicama is rather sweet by itself... but not a strawberry or orange kind of sweet.  I found myself wanting a few more strawberries to make it just right.  Had I had a 'medium' jicama or only used half of it, the 1/2 pound of strawberries would have been fine.

**UPDATE**

In case you are on a mobile device and can't see the tracker above.

This morning's weigh in: 221.4! 

This after doing two rounds of Insanity!

Total thus far: 30.6 pounds lost in 20 days!

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!

Attention iPhone, Android and Mobile Readers!

It has come to my attention that the super efficient weight and day tracker that a friend coded for this blog, doesn't show up on iPhones, Android units and other phones... UNLESS you press the "View web version" at the bottom of the blog, as you view it on your mobile device.

I received this image from a friend who has been following my weight loss.

This is what I see.

However, when viewed in the web version on your phone, a laptop, or pc then you should see this.

There is also a FOLLOW @84lbs84days on the right side that is not showing up on mobile devices.  I'm not sure why this is happening.

Please click the "View mobile version" at the bottom of your mobile device to see the updated pounds lost!  Additionally, feel free to click the follow button and follow me on Twitter.  I tweet a new post is published and also throw random thoughts and tweets throughout the day.

Thus far, I have lost 27.4 lbs in 18 Days!

Thank you all for sharing this blog with others and for coming back daily to read and to see the progress!

*Update:*
Just added... the Google+ button for the site, now you can +1 this site... the button is on the right side, below the About This Blog and Twitter Follow Button.

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.

Earned but not used.

After doing two rounds of Pure Cardio yesterday I was very interested in what the scale had to say. MyFitnessPal said I earned 1,200 calories after the workouts. Since I didn't take em' up on that and eat more, I had hoped the scales would reflect the loss.  Since a pound of fat is roughly 3,500 calories, I had high hopes.

This morning's weigh in.. 225.6. Yesterday; 226.4

I was just emailed a list of recipes of juices and also hot and cold meals that are not created in a juicer, but are actual meals that you would eat with a fork.  I have at least 44 more days of juicing. When that day comes I want to have raw recipes and equipment for preparing them on hand so that I can continue eating healthy without having to wait for something to arrive in the mail.  I still plan on juicing, but to mix juicing with eating meals such as Taco Soup, Portobello Strognaoff, Teriyaki Stir Fry and other recipes that were sent to me.

If you have any favorites, please send them my way or include them in the comments. I'm compiling these as soon as I can and will start making some of the ones I just received probably today so my wife can enjoy healthier eating without juicing each and every meal.  She is very supportive but I know she wants more variety than just a juice 4 to 6 times a day.

If you haven't yet, click the "Follow me on Twitter" button.  I throw out daily tweets and also tweet when a new blog post is added.

Thank you for reading this blog! Knowing that you are reading this and following adds motivation and support like nothing else can!  Just knowing that others are watching this "Goal" become my reality helps me stay focused and a lot easier to say; "No thank you. I'm good." When friends offer me chips and salsa or to buy me dinner at a restaurant.

Thank you all!