Day 15

Morning

Still holding strong at 9 pounds (lost). I've lost an inch off my waist (at the belly button) since last week - that's an inch and a half total. And I've lost 1/2 inch off of the biggest part of my lower abdomen since last week - that's also an inch and a half total. I'm pretty happy with those results...but still so ready to get down a bit closer to my goal weight. Patience grasshopper...I know, I know...Speaking of grasshoppers, I look forward to my green drink each morning. Who would've ever thought that would happen?!

I slept a little late this morning due to the headache from last night...took me a while to fall asleep. I woke up at 7:00 and did everything but my morning pages, which will have to be evening pages today.

Lunch

Leftovers rock! I ate a little of the vegan, mock chicken salad, a quinoa dish and a beautiful salad. I think when this cleanse ends, I'll still stick to this lifestyle for the majority of the time, especially during the week. I like to have a routine...when I don't, things tend to go to far in the wrong direction. Plus, it's so nice to be proud of taking care of yourself and accomplishing something - weight loss, better health, getting stronger, more flexible, more relaxed, more confident, more open...the list goes on.

Snacks

I had the tiny bit of the mock chicken salad that was left with a couple of crackers. Then I had some awesome trail mix that I made, comprised of sunflower and pumpkin seeds, a mixture of raw nuts - macadamia nuts, almonds, cashews and walnuts - and cacao nibs and dried gogi berries. I went pretty light on the nuts and let the seeds and sweet stuff make up the majority of the mixture. Cacao is full of antioxidants and gogi berries are also high in antioxidants, minerals and amino acids. Both are sweet and yummy, especially mixed in with the nuts and seeds. I added a touch of Celtic sea salt and boom! Delish trail mix!

Evening

Yoga - 50 minutes. I'm getting a bit more flexible, except for my inner thighs, which have always been tight. I feel a little stronger as well. I think I'm ready to do the power yoga tomorrow night. I'll just go easy on the back exercises. I'm really ready to start running again...I've got to figure out how/when to work that in soon as well.

Dinner - I made an awesome veggie sandwich on gluten free bread with some corn chips and salsa on the side. A couple of dark chocolate squares for dessert made it a near perfect meal for my tastes.

I did my "morning" pages after dinner. Kind of strange doing them at night, but I think they're important, so even when I miss them in the morning, I'm still going to find time to get them written each day. I need all the help I can get with mental clutter! :) Next was dry brushing before a nice hot bath with lavender essential oil, and meditation afterwards...such a great way to wind down.

Green dreams!

Day 14

Morning

Ahhhh sleep! What joy! I slept until nearly 9:00 today! A month ago I would've considered this pretty early for a Sunday. Now it's sleeping in. :) I did a guided meditation after lemon water and morning pages. I seem to do better with guided meditations than when I do them on my own...maybe that's just how it is for newbies. Without some guidance, I still have a really hard time not thinking. That's such a foreign concept! I have such an active brain. I'm sure it's exhausted and would love for me to meditate longer...I just have to figure out how to make it work for me. My back is pretty sore from the massage yesterday, which I fully expected. Yoga will feel good today! I'm down another pound - 9 total. So close to breaking into a range that I haven't been in since 2008 and I'm so ready to get there! Today is another juice/smoothie fast day. I'm hoping that will take me there. Although, since it's Oscar night, I will end the fast around 7:00 and have some healthy munchies.

Two days in a row now, Kris Carr has been in my head! I have the urge to purge and have that planned for today. No, not throw up kind of purge, clean out every closet, cabinet, drawer kind of purge. When I read about Day 14 in CSD this morning, that's exactly what she proposed! Kinda freaky! She did that to me yesterday too.

Evening

Wow! I worked hard all day cleaning house and purging. I have 7 bags of stuff to donate now! My back and neck are so sore. Hot bath and stretching were a must.

At the beginning of the Oscars I had some yellow corn tortilla chips (found some baked, organic ones)...I didn't know that corn chips were cool to have on the cleanse...in moderation of course. I had these with some fresh pineapple salsa from Whole Foods. Oh so yummy!

Around late afternoon I started getting a headache that worsened throughout the evening. Not as bad as many headaches I've had in the past, but nothing I took seemed to get rid of it. Maybe it's a detox headache. I had a few little breakouts on my face over the weekend too...maybe it's all just detox related. Didn't meditate before bed due to the headache and staying up to watch the Oscars.

Day 13

Morning

I got up at 7:30 this morning to do most of my morning routine...changing things up a bit for a 9:00 massage appointment. I started with meditation, then the neti pot, next I made my green juice and read today's CSD page (so timely...just what I needed to read this morning). :) After my wonderful massage (good Lord, was I tight...definitely going to make this a monthly treat for my bod), I did my morning pages and had my lemon/cayenne water. I'm supposed to be meeting a couple of friends for a picnic by White Rock Lake at 12:30...I sure hope the sun decides to join us! It's still a bit chilly right now!

So, how crazy is this?! The scale that I was cursing yesterday must have heard me because today it said I was down 4 pounds from yesterday! That's crazy! I've decided yesterday was just a weight/scale anomaly. The net net (good God, I've been in marketing too long) is that I've lost one pound since Thursday, which makes much more sense...not sure what was up with those other three pounds...just glad they're gone!

Lunch

Sure enough, the sun made an appearance at our picnic...so did the wind. All in all it was really nice though. There's nothing like enjoying a beautiful day outside with friends! I got a salad, some Mediterranean quinoa, and vegan, mock chicken salad from Whole Foods. All very yummy.

No snacks needed today. Instead, around snack-time, I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and got a few nice, new kitchen supplies - a strainer that extends across the sink, a bamboo cutting board, a mandolin for slicing veggies different ways (the one I got came with four different blades - can't wait to try it out), some of those green reusable bags for storing veggies, and a set of fit & fresh brand containers - two little ones that fit in a bigger one and it comes with a thing you can freeze to keep everything cool; also the little boxes have measurements on them. But...I'm still on the hunt for a Bento box! I've found some really cool ones online...probably should just order one.

Evening

I broke out the leftovers from lunch before catching a hilarious movie (Cedar Rapids) with a friend. I can't even tell you how much and how hard we laughed! So much fun!
Prior to the movie I talked to her a bit about The China Study and I realized I need to keep all that to myself, or put it here or discuss it with folks who are interested in the same thing...at least until I can express myself better. I knew I'd be okay discussing it with her (she's very open-minded) and she was great about listening to me ramble on. But it later occurred to me that the topic of nutrition and it's correlation to health is almost as explosive as bringing up religion or politics with most people...somehow it strikes at the very core of who we are and defensiveness ensues. I don't want to instigate that! Just want to spread the peace, love and greens!
Think I'll do some dry brushing and take a long hot bath with a book now.