Ja…uice

When I told my fiancé that I had started juicing again, he said the word “juice” as a multi-syllable word as spoken in Encino Man. I am fairly certain I watched the movie as a child, but I did not remember that scene, so I just found it on YouTube and laughed out loud. Click on the link if you want to view a little cheesy 90’s humor.

Last week, I posted about juicing for the first time in years. I have enjoyed fresh juice almost every day since then. I skipped Saturday because I was only home for a short time. I rediscovered some old juice recipes yesterday and bought more fresh produce. I also decided to make extra each time I juice instead of juicing twice a day. I know it is best to drink fresh juice right away, but I really dislike hand-washing anything, and juicers have so many parts to clean.

Thursday – romaine, cucumber, carrot, celery, apple, strawberry

When I juiced Thursday evening, I made enough for me to drink Friday morning before we headed out of town for a funeral. I had some cucumbers and strawberries that needed to be used before they went bad. I had never tried this particular combination, but it turned out well. I loved the hint of strawberries in the juice.

Sunday – vegetable juice (tomato, carrot, celery, ginger, parsley, spinach)

The vegetable crisper in my extra refrigerator was too cold for vegetables. My carrots had ice on them, and the celery went limp. I have adjusted the temperature settings, but I also made room in my kitchen refrigerator for all my fresh produce. I wanted to use all of the half-frozen carrots and celery, so I made vegetable juice yesterday. It was not pretty—very thick and dark green—but it tasted fine. If I make it again, I will use less parsley and spinach and more carrots. This amount of produce made a lot of juice. I was able to drink 16 ounces early in the afternoon and another 16 ounces with dinner.

Monday – pineapple, strawberry, orange, apple, pear, ginger, romaine

This morning, I made a delicious blend of juices and have already enjoyed two 12-16 ounce servings. I still have 32 ounces left! I am trying not to drink it all in one day because this juice has to contain a lot of calories with all of those sweet fruits. I may need to hide this juice from my kids if I hope to save any for tomorrow.

This has to be the prettiest juice I have made thus far. I like to store extra juice in glass jars because they have lids that seal nicely. That makes it easy to shake the juice to mix it up before drinking later.

Fresh Juice

Several years ago, I heard about the benefits of juicing and bought a centrifugal juicer. I made juice almost every morning. My twins loved trying my juice creations as long as the juice contained a little sweetness from an apple. We live within walking distance of my kids’ grandparents, and I would make extra to give to their grandmother. She was more adventurous and would try all the juices regardless of color or flavor.

When I wanted to start adding spinach and romaine to my juice, I realized a centrifugal juicer would not extract much if anything from the leaves. After much research, I decided on a new masticating juicer and waited on my family to buy it for me for Mother’s Day because masticating juicers are expensive. However, they are worth the price because they extract much more juice from the produce, and I no longer had to chop and peel everything.

Breakfast: 2 carrots, 1 celery stalk, 1 orange, 2 small apples, 1 cucumber, some spinach leaves

A few months after I received the new juicer, I started working outside the home and had no time to make juice, so my poor juicer has been sitting in a cabinet for a few years, only making an appearance every now and then for special occasions. Since I work remotely now, I decided last week that I would start juicing again today, and I purchased fresh produce over the weekend. I had to rinse the dust off the juicer this morning, but it worked like a champ, and I had fresh juice in less than 15 minutes.

Lunch: 3 carrots, 2 oranges, 1 apple, 1 celery stalk

I had forgotten how different fresh juice tastes, and I love being able to change the flavor by mixing up the ingredients. I am planning to drink at least one glass of fresh juice a day for the next month to see if it helps with weight loss and skin tone.

What is your favorite juice recipe? Why do you juice? What new fruits and veggies should I try?

New Year, New Goals

As we begin a new year, I am reviewing the goals I set at this time last year and setting new goals for myself for 2017.  I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions because those just beg to be broken.  I prefer to set goals that are attainable yet challenging.  

I’m happy to report that flossing my teeth became a daily habit for me in 2016.  I only missed two days the whole year!  My dental hygienist even noticed that I have been taking better care of my teeth and gums.  Unfortunately, I did not fulfill my 2016 goal of working out for at least five minutes a day every day.  I did work out more in 2016 than 2015, so at least I am making progress.  Another goal I had for 2016 was to memorize the book of Ephesians.  I’m happy to report that I completed this scripture memorization challenge in October.  I had planned to memorize half a chapter each month, and I was doing well until school started. Then I ran out of books to read while working out, so I spent about a week studying verses from Ephesians for 20 minutes to an hour each day while on the elliptical.  I memorized most of chapter five and all of chapter six in record time that week!  The whole book of Ephesians is now on my weekly review ring, but I’ve been trying to review more than once a week because we will be studying Ephesians at church this spring, and I want to keep it fresh in my mind.

For 2017, I want to lose a few more pounds and then maintain that weight.  I did not reach my goal weight by the end of November, but I had made tremendous progress.  Between Christmas and New Year’s, I put on a several pounds, but those came off quickly this week.  I weighed 129.8 this morning, and that’s where my weight has hovered for a few months.  It’s time to shed those last five pounds!  I have been working out every day this week, and I am keeping a log of my workouts.  Along with my cardio exercise on our elliptical, I do two sets of my age in crunches each day and one set of 15 squats.  (I’ve learned that my knees can only handle 15 squats a day.)  I want to tone my arms and build muscle because I arm-wrestled my son last week, and he won!  He’s not quite eleven years old.  I need to stay stronger than him for a few more years at least, so I have been doing bicep curls, tricep extensions, and tricep kickbacks in addition to push-ups each day (except rest days).  I have researched types of push-ups and why you should do your age in push-ups each day, and I have been working towards doing a set of 38 full push-ups for a few months now.  I have gotten so much stronger and faster, my feet are close together now (not several inches apart, which was easier), and I’m getting closer to the floor on my push-ups.  Many people say they can’t do push-ups, but anyone can do a wall push-up and progressively reduce the incline as they get stronger. I challenge you to get to your age (or at least half if you are over 50) in push-ups by the end of 2017.  

I am now memorizing Psalm 119, which contains 176 verses, making it the longest chapter in the Bible!  The whole book of Ephesians only has 155 verses, so it will definitely be a challenge to completely memorize the whole chapter this year.  This acrostic poem is divided into 22 stanzas, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, so I will need to memorize approximately two stanzas a month.  Fortunately, I started several weeks ago and have already memorized 12 verses.  I only have 154 to go!

What goals have you made for 2017?

Setbacks & Holdups

On October 25th, I weighed myself in the morning and just stood there grinning.  I hadn’t seen a number under 130 since early 2011, and there it was on the screen of my digital scales.  I had lost 17 pounds since July 26th, but I had only lost four pounds for the month of October.  Then I encountered setbacks in the form of increased stress with my husband out of town for two weeks, hormone-induced cravings that conquered my self-control, and exhaustion that prevented me from waking up early enough to work out before school.

I have been too busy with school and the kids’ activities that I haven’t had time to write this post for the past two weeks.  I took all my measurements and photos on the first, and they’ve been sitting in my phone, waiting for me to share them.  I don’t really have time to do this right now, but I am in need of accountability to get me through the next two weeks of this month.  I am holding steady between 129.5 and 130.5.  I knew this leveling-off would happen eventually, but I have also been eating too much.  We have too many sweets in the house, but I think I have finished off just about everything that I enjoy, so it’s time to get back on track. 

My official weight on November 1st was 130.4, only three pounds less than on October 1st.  However, I lost just over an inch each on my waist and my hips, almost an inch on my thigh, and a half-inch on my arm.  Below are my photos from July 26th and November 1st.  

Two Months of Eating Less and Moving More

When I began this weight loss journey over two months ago, my goal was to lose 20 pounds over the next four months.  The first two months have gone well with 5.8 pounds and 5.6 pounds lost each month.  While weight loss was my goal, I’m even more pleased with the inches that have come off and the way my clothes fit now!  

From July 26th to October 1st, I have lost 13 pounds, 3.5 inches on my waist, 1.5 inches on my hips, 2.0 inches on my right thigh, 1.25 inches on my right calf, and just over an inch on my upper right arm. I couldn’t see much change in my photos on September 1st, but I can definitely see the difference now, and I am so pleased that my determination and hard work have paid off.  

I know this isn’t the dramatic weight loss some of my friends have experienced following different plans and using various weight loss products, but I choose to do things the old-fashioned way–eat less and move more.  I lost a lot of baby weight too fast after I had the twins, and my stomach skin is still loose.  I would rather lose this weight slowly and be able to avoid any more loose skin.  I don’t if my belly will ever be tight again. 

About six weeks ago, my first period students were complaining about being tired and getting up “early” that morning.  I told them I had been up since 4:30 am.  They asked me why, so I told them that I work out in the mornings before school.  They asked why again, so I told them about my goal to lose twenty pounds.  They asked why a third time, and I said something about wanting to lose the weight I had put on after having the twins.  They didn’t seem to think that was a good reason.  I couldn’t tell them that I really just want my stomach to be flatter than my chest!  I can tell I’ve lost inches in both places, so I may never achieve that goal, but I will keep trying. 

A friend of mine posted this photo on Facebook last week in support of his wife who has worked her butt off (literally) the past year and lost over 100 pounds. I love this saying, and I will continue to do what I need to do to achieve my goals. 

First Goal Exceeded!

I am so excited about beating my weight loss goal of five pounds for August!  After a rough two weeks with no loss, I buckled down the last 10 days of the month and started really watching what I ate.  It paid off more than I expected. 

Since August 1st, I have lost 5.8 pounds.  I have lost 1.5 inches on my waist at my belly button and 1.25 inches on my waist at its narrowest, 3/4 inch on my hips, 1/2 inch on each thigh, and 3/8 inch on my upper arm.  I gained 3/8 inch on my calf unfortunately. 

I can’t tell much difference between my photos a month ago and today.  My kids took the photos, so it was hard to get the exact same angle.  My son said my butt looked smaller, and I agree, but it could just be the different angle.  The capri pants I wore yesterday were hanging about three inches too low by the end of the day, so I have definitely lost inches.  It’s wonderful to see some progress.  Just 14 pounds to go!

If you are taking this weight loss journey with me, let me know how you did for August.  Let’s encourage each other to continue moving more and eating less. 

Week 5 Progress

Since school started, I have not been able to work out at least five days each week.  I need to get up at 5:00 am just to get myself and my four kids ready to leave the house by 7:15, and I have been staying up late almost every night to work on school things, so getting up earlier than 5:00 am hasn’t been an option until today.  I worked hard all weekend on lesson plans, worksheets, doodle notes, grading, etc., so that I was able to go to bed at 9:30 last night and wake up at 4:30 this morning.  I enjoy starting my day with a workout.  It wakes me up and makes me feel productive. 

Last Tuesday, I adjusted my calorie goal because I am not exercising as frequently as I had been, and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to shed another two and a half pounds by the end of this month if I continued with my 1800 calorie limit.  I ate between 1400 and 1500 calories everyday (except Friday) this past week, and I only have one pound remaining to reach my goal for August.  I will update on September 1st to let you know if I reached my goal or not. 

The yellow on the graph means I ate over 500 calories less than what I expended, which is fine because the other option on my app was 700 calories below, and I didn’t want to be that limited. My previous goal was to eat less than 1800 calories a day, so this has been a big change.  I am hungry often, but I will drink water and remind myself not to give in because I will reward myself with a fun size Snickers at the end of the day.  This has worked for a whole week.  I will continue with this reward system.  

I have lost 5.6 pounds since July 26th, but I would like to lose another 15 pounds.  My goal for September is another five pounds.  If you committed to going on this journey with me, let me know how you have done this month.  I’d love to hear from others what is working for you. 

If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them

I get so frustrated when I wake up early to work out and my little girls get up before I can finish or, sometimes, even start working out.  Today was one of those mornings.  I woke up at 6:00 am and got ready to work out.  I remembered that I needed to post an answer key for my students’ weekend homework, and while I was doing that, I heard a little voice yelling for me.  She woke her sister, and neither one of them would go back to sleep because they were hungry.  I don’t understand how they can be hungry before the sun rises after eating dinner at 9:00 pm the night before, but I gave them each a bowl of cereal, thinking I could still work out while they were eating.  They saw their “thumbs up” coloring sheets (from gymnastics) on the table and asked for crayons so they could color them.  After last week’s crayon catastrophe (see photos below), I wasn’t about to leave them alone with crayons.  

Little Sister said she was trying to draw circles on the floor.

I made her pose with her “artwork”.

She said she drew a butterfly on this wall.

It took her a long time, but she was able to remove most of the crayon off the floors and baseboards by herself. The walls had to be repainted, and my husband spent awhile working on the grout in the kitchen.

So I stayed in the kitchen and put away dishes, started working on our September menu, and ate breakfast.  Then, the girls wanted to go outside, and after a few minutes, they asked if we could go for a walk, which means they ride their bicycles while I jog along beside them and then push them up hills and over all bumpy, rocky, and uneven areas.  I get a good workout doing this, so we went for a “walk” for about 30 minutes.  

They took their babies along for the ride.

We need to work on losing the training wheels, so I don’t have to stop and push them every time they get stuck. Big Brother rode without training wheels at 4 years and 3 months. Big Sister rode without them at 4 years and 11 months. Three years and six months might be a little early, but I may try it when it gets a little cooler.  

After our “walk”, I was not as grumpy as I was earlier this morning.  I felt that if I made the effort to get up early, I should have been able to work out.  I need to remember when I can’t beat them in the mornings, I should just let them join me in exercising.  It’s definitely better than not exercising at all.  

Whew! & Week 4 Progress

I can not believe it has been three weeks since my last post!  Things have been more chaotic than usual around here with school starting and me teaching three different classes–Math 7 (seventh graders), Algebra II (tenth and eleventh graders), and Pre-AP Algebra II (tenth and eleventh graders).  Even though I taught Pre-Algebra last year, I did not experience the first week of school as a teacher because I was hired in mid-October to fill an unexpected vacancy.  I have not decorated a classroom, planned the start of a school year, or endured that grueling first week since before I had children.  It is a completely different experience as a mom!  I forgot to take first day of school photos of my children before we left the house.  I almost forgot to take photos entirely!  I snapped a couple of all of them together in my classroom just before we left to walk the little girls to their classroom. 

I have been wanting to share a little about my weight loss journey, but I haven’t had time to blog.  (This post has taken me three days to put together!)  I lost 1.6 pounds before August started, but my goal remains to lose five pounds this month.  With the stress and busyness of school starting, I haven’t lost much since the first week of August when I dropped another 1.6 pounds.  Since August 8th, I have only lost 0.8 pounds.  I’m just happy I haven’t gained anything because I have definitely been stress eating.  As of August 22nd, I have lost an even four pounds, but I’m only down 2.4 pounds for August.  I need to lose 2.6 pounds by the end of August to meet my goal.  I’m determined to do it. 

It has been difficult to find time for working out and taking enough steps.  I have not taken the time to enter my food in my calorie counter, so I have just been guesstimating until yesterday and today when I decided I have to take time to track everything I eat.  I have only started back with push-ups and crunches this week too.  I’m struggling to fit it all in my day, and I’m working on things for school until almost midnight half the time, which makes it hard to wake up and work out in the mornings.  Excuses, I know, but I want to be honest and let you know I don’t have it all together–not even close.  Please let me know if you are struggling too, so we can encourage one another.

I love Snickers.  I think they are the perfect combination of chewy, crunchy, gooey, chocolate-y deliciousness.  I can’t buy the minis because I will eat too many, but the fun size bar is enough to satisfy my craving and only contains 80 calories.  I bought a large bag of these yesterday and put them in the refrigerator because I like them cold and to keep them from being a constant temptation.  I lowered my daily calorie goal and told myself that I could have one fun-sized Snickers each evening if, and only if, I have enough calories left. I ate one yesterday evening and another one tonight.  I’m hoping to continue my reward streak and eat one every night.  I have found that I won’t give in to cravings throughout the day if I have a Snickers to look forward to at the end of the day.  What motivates you?

Week 1 Progress

The experts say you should lose no more than two pounds a week, so I allowed myself to eat up to 1800 calories a day.  I was afraid this would be too many calories, but my workouts have enabled me to eat a little more than I would be able to otherwise.  I will continue with my current daily calorie goal until my weight plateaus, and then I’ll make adjustments.  

First thing this morning, I weighed and took my measurements.  I am down 1.6 pounds since last Tuesday, which puts me at an even 145, which works out perfectly for my goal of losing five pounds each month.  I like for my numbers to be nice and neat.  I didn’t lose any inches on my hips, but I lost a whole inch on my waist at its narrowest point.  My other measurements ranged between 1/4-inch and 3/4-inch less than last week, so I feel good about my progress.  Slowly but surely, the weight and inches will come off.  

I am eating a balanced diet with plenty of lean protein and vegetables.  I usually eat leftover dinner casseroles/entrees for lunch, but sometimes there are no leftovers, and I need something that is healthy and filling, so I have made a large salad for lunch each day.  I don’t usually enjoy salads because there are very few dressings I will eat, but I love a salad piled high with meat and vegetables.   Yesterday, I added some grilled chicken leftover from dinner last week.  This was delicious without any dressing. 

The day before, I topped my salad with leftover taco meat from dinner last week. I used a head of romaine hearts, tomatoes from my garden, about a quarter cup each of corn (leftover) and black beans (another leftover), and one ounce of pepper jack cheese (yes, I measured it on my digital kitchen scale).

I was out of leftover meat today, so I added extra black beans and corn.  I planted an heirloom tomato plant this year, and it has large yellow tomatoes that have a wonderful flavor.  I topped my salad today with one of those tomatoes that my daughter picked fresh from the vine.  It was fabulous.

What are your favorite lunch options?  If you eat salads, what are your favorite toppings?