What a Day, What a Day!

These last two days have been extremely busy.

So much so that I was not even able to blog on yesterday.  But I will have you know that I am still drinking at least one green smoothie a day, drinking detox tea, and lots of water.

I feel great!..with the exception of my body trying to fight off/grab onto a cold.

I am proud to say that I walked 4 miles the other day and it felt really good.  Now that the weather is back to being more Fall-like, I will have to try another way.

I am also happy to report that today I was able to fit into a skirt that I had not been able to fit into since last year :-))))))))))))  The cleanse is really paying off.  I just have to maintain some sense of healthy eating/drinking while indulging in some of my favorites like fried Whiting, macaroni and cheese and the like :-|.

As I stated earlier, I have been sooooooo very busy and today was no exception.  I was so busy that I did not eat a morsel of food; only water (which is not a habit that I want to begin).

I called myself trying to make some tea while at work.  I got some hot water and placed my spoon in my mug, but that was as far as I got.  A tea bag never made it into the water SMH.

I just got home from work and ate an apple.  But before I eat my 2 fish sandwiches that I have already heated up, I will ingest some detox tea, followed by my green smoothie made with spinach, mixed greens, pineapples, and strawberries.

OH and my husband is continuing to consume the Chocolate Shakeology drink every morning and enjoys it.

Well, enough for now.

I hope that my journey has inspired some of you to look into healthier ways of living.

Be blessed!

One Milestone Accomplished - a Master's Degree with Concordia University-Portland

One milestone that I was unable to accomplish while I was sick was to complete my Master's degree in Educational Leadership.

After three failed attempts, I eventually gave up...until now.

I first began experiencing symptoms in 2004 and they were subtle at first: it started out with a rash on my leg, similar to that of a bug bite.  Over the years, it morphed into multiple rashes, accompanied by joint pain, and eventually led to my being out of work for 3 months because I could barely walk.  Of course this progression spanned 7 years.

In the summer of 2008, I made my first attempt at starting a master's program with William Paterson University.  Unfortunately, the disease was known to flare up in the summertime, and I was forced to withdraw.

I made another attempt during 2009 and again in 2010 to no avail.  I decided to call it quits. I had very understanding professors, and the Department was behind me 100% but that just was not my season.

Well, then I was introduced to Concordia University Portland.  Although I was no longer suffering from the disease, I decided to pursue an online degree, and it was one of the best educational decisions that I could have made.  Why was Concordia the best fit for me? Easy...

• It was a Christian University founded on Christian principles
• It was an online program
• It was only 1-year long
• I was able to acquire many scholarships
• I was able to complete the entire program with a Study Buddy - Erica Dawson

If I told you that it was easy, breezy, I would be lying.  But the fact that I had professors that prayed for me, a Study Buddy that would not allow me to quit (and I would not allow her to quit either), and a truly, supportive husband (save the best for last), it made that year seem like a breeze.

I went from several failed attempts from 2008 to 2010, to finally graduating with my Master's degree in 2015 AND won a free trip to the graduation in Portland, Oregon.  To God be the glory!

Not only that, but I was selected to share my experience with the world.  See here...

https://youtu.be/bOAQZ_U2nEc - my solo testimony about why Concordia is "one of a kind".

I also got to chronicle my experience with my Study Buddy :-))))))))))

https://youtu.be/ITy7xWcKqlY - Why we decided to choose Concordia? Why having a Study Buddy was a unique help.

https://youtu.be/MGKHfXhggrs - What advice would we give? What are our professional goals?

What an amazingly, awesome experience!

On top of all of this, I am a Concordia University Ambassador and can offer huge savings to anyone interested in pursuing their master's and/or doctorate degree.

If you or someone you know is interested in pursuing their degree online, please leave a comment on my page, or feel free to e-mail me directly at mrsthilbert@gmail.com for more information.

Be blessed!

Less I Forget...

This comparison is why I continue to blog and to share my journey.

I suffered from an Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease (Google it) from 2004 until 2013, and was at my sickest point when the picture on the left was taken (December of 2011).  I was on 12 different medications, had blown up to 198 pounds, every joint in my body hurt, and my husband literally was beginning to make mental funeral arrangements.  

BUT GOD showed up through a holistic nutritionist named April Chapman, who recommended that I do a full body detox and blood cleanse*, which I began in 2012.  When I tell you that God healed me through this cleanse, that is exactly what he did.  The pic on the right was from December of 2012. What a difference a year makes!  

View my posts from 2012 and 2013 to get a full picture of that part of my journey.

Although I have not been consistent since the healing part of my journey began, I always revert back to what works.  This is why the 10-day green smoothie cleanse was so important.  

I used to do the full body detox every season as is recommended, but after 3 years of doing the same detox, my body now rejects it.  But my body welcomes a green smoothie and daily exercise.

Whatever you are dealing with at the moment, please know that it is only a moment.  It may be the hardest moment of your life but I am a living witness that God is able to do ALL things; even a miraculous healing that STILL has ALL OF MY DOCTORS (and there were many) baffled!

Trust God through your journey, and He will show up and show out right on time.

Be encouraged and stay blessed!

*www.dhealthstore.com is where I purchased the Full Body Detox and Blood Cleanse

The Results Are In

I am happy to report that the 10-day green smoothie cleanse did yield some great results.

I measured my bust, waist, and hips before and after the cleanse and here are the results:

• Bust - BEFORE = 38.75...AFTER = 37.00  That is a loss of 1.75 inches
• Waist - BEFORE = 38...AFTER = 34.5  That is a loss of 3.5 inches
• HIPS - BEFORE = 42...after = 40  That is a loss of 2 inches

I know that if I had incorporated exercise, I would have lost many more inches but this was a great start.

I can also visibly see that my thighs are smaller, and my clothes are a bit looser.

I also took some before and after pics of my face in its rawest form as you can see below.  See if you can tell that there is a difference...

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THESE ARE NOT BEAUTY SHOTS BUT RAW SHOTS FOR COMPARISON PURPOSES ONLY

                                             BEFORE                           AFTER

Although I have naturally chubby cheeks and a full face, I could tell that my face slimmed down a bit.

                                   BEFORE - pay attention to the whites of my eyes...

                                  AFTER - can you tell that the white is whiter?

Detoxing is known to make the whites of your eyes whiter.

It is amazing what a bit of cleansing will do.

Detoxing is the vehicle that God used to heal me from the auto-immune disease that I suffered with for over 7 years, so I know first-hand the tremendous benefits that detoxing has.

After initially detoxing 3 years ago, I changed my eating habits for a few years and was very close to eating like a vegan.  Then life and stress happened and unfortunately, I often eat for comfort so my healthy lifestyle went out of the window.

I do need to get back to a consistent healthy regiment as my life truly depends upon it and so does yours.

I hope that my journey has encouraged you to at least commit to a a cleanse and/or more healthy eating habits.  

It is recommended that one detoxes every season in order to cleanse out the toxins that our body absorbs on a daily basis.

Until the next post, be blessed!

Back On the Right Track

I am happy to say that I woke up this morning with a made-up mind to do the right thing.

I completed day 21 of the 24-day Ab Challenge by completing 130 crunches, 52 leg lifts, and an 80-second plank.

I took full advantage of this beautiful weather and went for a 3.52 mile walk.

I drank some detox tea and two green smoothies.  Whoo hoo!!!

I feel so much better than I did yesterday.

I fried some fish and ate way too much of it but still did better today than I did yesterday.

The eating of heavy food is making me kind of sluggish.

I am still feeling kind of sick so bought some Thera-flu and will be going to bed soon.

I have documented the results from the detox and will share them in a separate post.

Have a great night everyone.

Be blessed!

Definitely Overdid It Today

Well, as promised, I went ALL THE WAY IN.

I was so happy that today was the first non-cleanse day that I shocked my system and definitely not in a good way.

As a rule of thumb, when you come off of a cleanse, you are supposed to ease into heavy foods by continuing to eat light for at least three days.  Although I know this, I was so hyped to eat regular foods that I messed up royally.

I fasted until about 1:30 PM and instead of easing into my day with a green smoothie or salad, I went almost as heavy as you can get.  Anyone care to guess what I ate?

I wish I would have taken a picture but I was too sick to do so...I ate French toast and scrambled eggs with cheese.  Ughhh!!!  It was a lot of food and I scarfed it all down.  

My husband looked at me while he was eating his chicken salad (LOL he got it right and I chose to get it all the way wrong) and said, "You're gonna be able to eat all of that?"

Being the greedy girl that I usually am, I said, "Watch me!"

Oh my goodness, I wish I would have used wisdom because before I knew it all of my food was on its way back up.  Thankfully I was able to swallow it back down (yuck!) but the fact that this happened just proved why you are not supposed to eat such heavy food so quickly.  

Now I am bloated, nauseous and just feel Blah!

So in an effort to rectify the situation, I came home and drank some detox tea, made a green smoothie which consisted of kale, spring greens, strawberries, a half of a banana, and flaxseeds.  Had I just stopped there, it probably would not have been a problem.

But no, no, no, no, no...I would not be hard-headed Tyeshia if I would have stopped there.  I shoveled some spinach down my throat so that I could make my system ready for some dinner.  Anyone care to guess what that consisted of?????  Fried chicken wings, white rice, and corn.  SMH.  I mean, I am really asking for trouble.

I will tell you this - I messed up royally today so it is a wrap.  However, tomorrow I will force myself to start the day right with my detox tea, a green smoothie, and something light.

My husband did it all the way right - I made him a Shakeology Chocolate shake for breakfast, he drank water, and then had a chicken salad for lunch.  He ate the same dinner that I did but keep in mind that he did the modified version of the cleanse, which consisted of him eating heavier food for dinner anyway.

Even as I type I feel sick!  So sick in fact that I am not even able to share the results from the cleanse.  But no worries, I will do this tomorrow.

Please do not make the same mistake that I willingly made.

Be blessed and stay obedient!

What A Day!

What a day, what a day, what a day!

It is hard to believe that today is the beginning of the end of the cleanse.

Out of all of the days, today was the most off for me.

I woke up this morning feeling so horrible that I contemplated, and even informed my boss and secretaries that I was taking a sick day.  After changing my mind and deciding to go in, I realized that I did not have enough time to make my smoothies...NOTHING has gotten in the way of me making the smoothies this entire time.

Nevertheless, I went to work WITHOUT my smoothies and figured that I could go home during lunch, make and drink them...NEGATIVE.  It was just that kind of day.

So I drank water, green tea, and ate apples.  I did not even drink my detox tea, which I have done every morning since the first day.

BUT I am determined to finish just as strong as when I began so, I just made my Pineapple Kale smoothie which consists of the following:

• 2 handfuls kale
• 1 handful spring mix greens
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peaches
• 2 handfuls pineapple chunks
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds

This smoothie is the greenest one to date.

Oh and I just drank my detox tea.  I am getting back on track already ;-)

I have to tell you - with me not drinking my smoothies today I felt out of sorts.  Like, I could not figure out if I was coming or going at times.  For example, when I arrived home from work a few minutes ago, I was looking all over the place for my coat so that I could hang it up...little did I remember that I had already hung it up.  Instead of remembering this, I asked myself, "Hey, who hung my coat up?!"  Mind you I am the only one in the house at the moment 0-0 (wide eyes).

I KNOW I will need to drink at least one green smoothie each day going forward; there are no negatives, only benefits.

SOME RESULTS

OK, my plan was to report all of my results today but being that I really did not begin drinking my smoothies until a moment ago, I will measure and take pictures first thing in the morning before I go IN!

1. One thing that I can report is that my belly is the flattest that it has been in many years - and that is WITHOUT my sucking it in :-))))))))))))))))))  
• This could be partly due to the 24-day AB Challenge that I was participating in, which I took another couple of days off from.  But I know that this cleanse has definitely helped.
2. My mom commented that my face looked brighter.  I joked that this could be because I had on foundation but she usually sees me with foundation and still saw a difference.
3. If you have read my blog in the past, you know that as a result of the auto-immune disease, much of my memory was null and void.  But I have to comment, at least for the last 10 days, I have been able to remember a lot.  
4. I have been able to fit into clothing that I have not been able to wear in years.  Unfortunately my scale shattered so I did not weigh myself before and will not be able to weigh myself afterwards.
5. My wedding ring is sliding off of my finger, which is a sure sign of weight loss.
6. Although my husband does not see any change, I can definitely tell that he has lost weight, and I noticed that his face looks brighter as well.

I am looking forward to sharing more results with you tomorrow.

Be blessed

Bitter Sweet

Well today is the next to last day of the cleanse and it is a bit bitter sweet (more sweet let me tell you).

Both of the Hilbert's are so ready for some "real" food we cannot even begin to explain.

Now out of the two of us, hubby has been doing the modified version for the last few days but is totally over the cleansing LOL.

He went on a rant about how he does not see the benefits (I do), and how he has been hungrier than ever (but at least he has been eating more healthy).  Although he ranted for a bit, he still asked for his smoothie so that is a good sign.

Today's smoothie was good and was called Apple Mango.  It consisted of the following ingredients:

• 3 handfuls spinach
• 2 cups water
• 1 apple, cored, quartered
• 1 1/2 cups mangoes
• 2 cups frozen strawberries
• 1 packet stevia (for Dwayne)
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds

I still feel kind of flu-like but I feel great at the same time.  I am so glad for that.

With tomorrow being the last day, I will be sharing my overall results on tomorrow because I truly intend to be eating on Friday, which is the day after the cleanse ends :-))))))))))))))))))))

Today was a lonnnnnnnng day so I hope to turn in a bit early.

Be blessed.

Day 8: Kind of Late But Still Great

I know that today's post is a bit late but it is better late than never.

Today was another successful day for the Hilbert's.

Thankfully I had a good night's rest and am hoping the same for tonight.

I felt horrible like these flu-like symptoms will not stop but I feel great at the same time.  Does that makes sense?  I cannot really explain it except to say that I feel great and horrible all at the same time.

We absolutely hated today's smoothies.  I think my Nutribullet was too small for all of the greens that I packed into it and the smoothie was mushy, soggy, and yucky!  I was a trooper and drank it but the one that I made for Dwayne, because I could not give him bananas, it was one of the most horrible things that I have ever tasted.  No pics to depict it.

He came home and was like, "Tye, I just couldn't today."

I asked, "You didn't like it?"

He replied, "NO!"

I then proceeded to taste it and it was ewwwwwwwwwwe :-(  I poured it right down the drain and made him the smoothie that he likes, which he drank for the most part.

I do not even want to share today's recipe because it was not a good blend at all; not for us anyway.

Tomorrow's smoothie is Apple Mango which sounds yummy!  It mainly consists of an apple, mangoes, and strawberries.  I will share the recipe tomorrow.

Day 9 is going to be fine!

I already have my chops ready for Day 11 which I will be in Heaven to be able to sink my teeth into something other than greens.  Do not get me wrong, I am enjoying this journey but I will enjoy the mixture of both the smoothies and chicken or fish or crab legs or shrimp or salmon or all of the above ;-)))))))))))))))))

Be blessed!

1 Week Down - 3 More Days To Go

Whelp, we have come to the close of a full week of cleansing WHOOO HOOOO!!!!!

We have both lost weight, feel great (with the exception of the detox symptoms), and are looking forward to the finish line...Like we are already tasting Salmon, Crab Legs, Shrimp, anything but greens; as our sensible dinners of course :-))))))))))))))))))

Unfortunately, I thought that the peaches in my freezer were mangos so I was not as prepared as I should have been for today's smoothies, but we improvised accordingly.

Our Pineapple Berry Smoothie was prepared with the following ingredients:

• 2 handfuls spring mix greens
• 2 handfuls spinach
• 1 banana, peeled (only for myself)
• 1 1/2 cups pineapple chunks
• 1 1/2 cups peaches (should have been mango chunks)
• 1 cup frozen mixed berries
• 3 packets stevia (only for hubby)
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds

We have been so dedicated that I ended up forgetting my other half of smoothie at work and we both drove there to pick it up.  If we had not, then I would not have been able to make our smoothies in the morning because I used the blade top as the top to my smoothie cup :-/

I also have refrigerated our ingredients so that I can just dump and blend in the morning.

I have not been sleeping very well the last couple of nights but I am praying that tonight will be different.  

On that note, night night zzzzzzz.

Day 6: What A Mix

I had such an amazing day yesterday that I should not have been surprised when I woke up feeling horrible. I really believed that I had the flu - body aches, coughing, sneezing, feverish, headache, ugh!

Despite my not feeling my best, I understand that it is just part of the process.

I made our smoothies as usual - today's was Pineapple Spinach made with the following ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh spinach, packed 
• 1 cup pineapple chunks 
• 2 cups frozen peaches
• 2 bananas, peeled
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons flaxseeds 

I made the Day 1 smoothie for hubby as he is allergic to bananas. In fact, the next few days call for bananas but I will try to make him the daily smoothie just without the bananas. 

I have to do a better job of incorporating exercise into my daily routine as I know I would see much better results.

As a result of the 24-day Ab Challenge, I see my Abs coming back so that is a good sign.  Oh and hubby reported that he has lost weight too, which I had already noticed.  
 :-)))))))))))))))))))

We have both agreed that after the cleanse we will still incorporate the smoothies for breakfast and lunch, and will eat a "sensible" dinner.

Oh and let me share this tasty treat that Estelle Boyd put me on to...Organic Protein Bars.

All natural and simply deeeeeelicious!

She gave me one for me and hubby.

I ate the Chocolate Coated Coconut flavored bar - I personally am not a fan of coconut but it tasted good.

I left the Chocolate bar for hubby so we will see how he likes it.

She told me that we can get them from the Vitamin Shoppe and that they come in 4 different flavors.

Well, I do not intend to be up too much longer as I did not sleep that well last night.

Everyone have a blessed evening, night, and day tomorrow.

I Feel Absolutely Amazing!!!

I just have to share this mid-day update:

I feel absolutely amazing!

I woke up this morning not feeling well at all but thanks be to God, that now I have so much energy, a new pep in my step, and I feel great!

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Hilbert part deux LOL.

He is still being a trooper but experiencing the necessary detox symptoms - while I am feeling great, he is irritable, hungry, weak, and tired.  I have felt these symptoms from past detoxing experiences but thankfully not this time...not yet anyway.

He said, "I have not felt this hungry in a long time. Why can't I eat meat?!" I explained the detox process and how the cleansing comes from the raw diet. He's not trying to hear any of it.

However, he did agree to eat hard-boiled eggs for lunch as opposed to another turkey salad.  But I will make the salad for him later.

Although Kool-Aid is really off of the menu, he let me put Stevia (a natural sweetener) in it as opposed to the goo-gobs of sugar that I usually pour in.  He even suggested for me not to add any sugar at all. 0-0 (wide-eyes).  Now that is progress!

I really have to commit to making at least 1 green smoothie daily even after this cleanse, so that I can continue to feel this good; hopefully hubby will be on board with that for him as well.

Ok good people...until the next post, continue to be blessed!

Side bar...for those of you who are not familiar with me or my story, read some of my posts from 2012 and 2013, and you will understand why I am so passionate about posting onto this blog.

Although I have not been as consistent as I would like to be, God has still done a great work in me and I know that He is continuing to do so... I am yet a work in progress but I know that...

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:..." - Philippians 1:6

I will continue to share my story in order that He might get the glory.

Halfway Mark: Back on Track

Good day all,

I am happy to report that the Hilbert's are back on track.

We began this morning with some water, detox tea, and our Peach Berry Spinach smoothie which consisted of the following ingredients:

• 3 handfuls spinach
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup frozen peaches
• 1 handful fresh seedless grapes
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries
• 3 packets stevia to sweeten (I only put these in Dwayne's)
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds

In case anyone wants to make it, the directions are as follows...

1. Place spinach and water into blender (NutriBullet, etc.) 
2. Blend until mixture is a green juice-like consistency.  
3. Stop blender and add remaining ingredients.  
4. Blend until creamy.

Voila! There you have it...

Oh, did I share that I am also participating in the Brazen Fit 24-Days Ab Challenge?  Well I am.  

I began on November 16th (I think) and continued faithfully until the day I began this 10-day green smoothie cleanse.  

So after being on hiatus for a few days, I am on Day 19.  It is not too late to incorporate this Ab challenge along with this cleanse.  

Exercising will only help the results.  But let me teeeeeeelllll you...if you have not done crunches, leg raises or planks in awhile, then there will be days when this challenge will be brutal.  But trust me, pushing through is worth it!

Be blessed!

Whelp the Hunger Won But He Still Kept it Healthy

I knew it!  My husband has had just about enough.  He came in the house and said, "Tye, I need to eat."  I knew that it was a wrap...well, for tonight anyway.  But he trusted my judgment and settled for a turkey salad, but wanted to ensure that there was enough turkey in the salad.

I am proud of him AND he drank water with it instead of the usual soda, Kool-Aid or some other drink filled with sugar.  Now this is just round 2 so we shall see how the night ends.

Meanwhile, I just drank my evening smoothie, about to drink my Green tea, and may eat a hard-boiled egg or 2 or 3 :-))))))))))))))

Ughhh and the symptoms are not so bad with the exception of the toxins that are coming out of my skin.  I mean it is so bad that I am almost scratching my face off.  I do not quite remember this experience but if it is a sign that I am getting healthier in my body, then I will take it.

Oh and I was able to fit into a skirt today that I have not been able to wear in a few years.

A special shout out to Estelle Boyd for telling me about this cleanse in the first place.

Alright everyone, I am getting ready to catch up on the Finale of America's Next Top Model Season 22.

Be blessed.

Oh, and this is what the salad looked like once he had his way a bit...filled with French dressing.

Hunger Got the Best But Day 4 Was a Success

My poor hubby has definitely been a trooper throughout this entire detox situation.  He really has not enjoyed the smoothies that much but he is yet holding on.

I shared with you that hunger got the best of me last night as I was craving fried chicken, but thank God I did not give in... I cannot say the same for my hubby LOL.

I just so happened to come out of the bathroom last night to find him standing in front of the refrigerator, door wide open, with his pointer finger lightly caressing our leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, and having just a slight taste.  Poor thing!  I had to laugh but I also had to ask what he was doing.  Just like a 3-year old he said, "I'm hungry! I've been hungry for days!"  I felt so bad.  So he grudgingly closed the door and came back upstairs. I offered him some carrots and nuts but he opted not to eat anything.  SMH poor thing!

Although he did not really like the Berry Peachy smoothie today, he drank most of it.  He really did not eat too many of the nuts either.  I have a feeling that he is just about done with this process but hopefully he will hang in there a bit longer...6 more days to go.  Hey, he originally thought that it was for 15 days so 10 should be nothing right?  I have to remember that he has NEVER detoxed before so this is all new to him, and I am glad that he agreed in the first place.

I even offered for him to do the modified version which asks you to commit to 2 smoothies a day (which he has been doing), and then have a sensible meal like turkey, chicken breast; nothing fried, no beef, nothing too heavy.  So actually if he truly gave in and ate that turkey last night, it would not have been all bad.

We shall see what tonight and the weekend will bring.

I am getting ready to eat my share of hard-boiled eggs :-)))))))))))))  Maybe only 4 as opposed to 6. ;-)

Toodles

Preparation is Key

I am all set for our detox/cleanse for Day 4.

I have washed and laid out all of our NutriBullet containers, and have prepared all of the necessary ingredients for tomorrow.

Tomorrow's smoothie is called Berry Peachy and consists of the following:

• 2 handfuls kale
• 1 handful spinach
• 2 cups water
• 2 apples, cored, quartered
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peaches
• 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries
• 2 packets stevia 
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds

I have divided up all of the ingredients, packed them in freezer storage bags, and have placed them in the freezer/refrigerator as necessary.  All I have to do is pack my husband's raw nuts into his container and we are ready to go!

Considering that my One Word for the Year was "Prepare", this lesson on preparation is fitting.

I am looking forward to what tomorrow will bring but for now, I am looking forward to a good night's rest.

Be blessed everyone!

Day 3 - I'm Hungry :-\

I am glad to report that today was another successful day.

• Smoothies with flax seeds...CHECK
• Raw nuts...CHECK
• Raw fruit...CHECK
• Water...CHECK
• Detox tea...CHECK
• Cravings for fried chicken...CHECK, CHECK, AND MORE CHECKS

Trust me, I am well aware of the benefits of this cleanse, which I remind myself of each time I want something other than this cleanse, but boy oh boy is fried chicken calling my name.  :-/

Don't worry, I'm not going to eat any, I'm just saying... 

Even my hubby was complaining that he was hungry but he is a trooper...he just grabbed a handful of nuts and settled for them LOL.

This particular cleanse allows you to eat additional foods besides just the raw fruit, veggies and nuts that I am used to.  For example, you're allowed to eat natural peanut butter and hard boiled eggs.  And boy are they both yummy! ;-)))))))))))))))))))

I am not sure how much cleansing I am really doing when I am eating, I don't know, let's say 6 hard boiled eggs at one time. 0.0 (that's wide eyes just in case it doesn't translate in the blog).  But hey, they should have never told me that they were allowed!

Today I just felt like I needed a bit more roughage so I just shoveled handfuls of kale and lettuce down my throat.

The symptoms are not as bad today...well, at least the headaches are gone.  The fatigue and nausea are still there but it comes with the territory.  Oh and I have acne to add to the mix - a sure sign that my skin is releasing toxins.  Yayyyy for me!

Time will tell.

I took some pics but they look almost identical to past pics.

Berry Green smoothie (made with spinach, apple, mango, strawberry, grape and flaxseeds)

Technically this should be for Day 1 but I improvised because my husband is allergic to bananas

Apple Berry smoothie (made with spring mix greens, spinach, blueberry, banana, apple, and flax seeds) and detox tea (Dhealthstore).

Day 2 - Another Successful Day

Well, my husband and I have successfully completed Day 2 of our Green Smoothie Cleanse.

As promised, I prepared last night and although I was still running a bit later for work than anticipated (I arrived right at 8:00 AM as opposed to earlier), smoothies and snacks were in our hands and ready to go by 7:30 AM.  OOPS...I did forget to put flax seeds in our smoothies though :>|

Today's smoothie was not as tasty but we still kept up with the prescribed diet of raw fruit, veggies, and nuts, and of course water.  My husband is allergic to bananas, which is one of the ingredients for today and tomorrow's smoothie so I improvised by putting extra of the other ingredients.

We are beginning to feel the normal effects of detoxing such as headaches, fatigue, nausea, and flu-like symptoms which are all good signs of progress. WHOOO HOOO!!!!! :-/ Uggghhhh!!!

On that note, I am going to bed zzzzzzzz.

Here are a few pics...

                                                                 Ingredients

                                         

                                Detox tea courtesy of www.Dhealthstore.com

Last night's late-night snack...celery and carrot sticks dipped in natural peanut butter

Day 1 -Trial to Triumph

So, of course you know that today was the 1st day of the 10-day Green Smoothie cleanse yayyyyyy!!

When you are on the horizon of something great, trials must come your way.

My trial began when I woke up cheery eyed to begin making OUR smoothies (my husband has joined me on this 10-day journey :-)))))))))))))) and I discovered that my Smoothie maker was broken :-(  Not only was it broken, but all of the contents of my smoothie ended up in the kitchen sink.  I immediately went into panic mode because I knew that my NutriBullet had already conked out on me.  What was I going to do?  It was 7:30 AM, the time that my husband was supposed to leave for work, and here I was still standing in the middle of the kitchen not even ready for work myself (I have to be at work at 8:00 AM) and I had no smoothies.  My panic turned into prayer and I asked God to make a way...and He did.  I ran to the closet and took out the NutriBullet, praying the entire time that it would work for me... it did! There is power in prayer!

So, I began emptying the ingredients into the NutriBullet, which now needed to be divided up as my NutriBullet is not as big as the Smoothie maker, but it began to work.  My husband began walking down the stairs noticing that I still did not have a stitch of work clothes on, and he was ready to walk out of the door.  Panic turned into prayer which turned into praise as I was able to present him with his very first smoothie.  AND he liked it! You do not understand the magnitude of this.  I have invited my husband to join me in detox after detox and cleanse after cleanse and his response was always the same, "NO, I'm not doing that!"  So imagine my surprise when not only did he agree, but he enjoyed.

So, he walked out of the door with his smoothie, water and snacks (raw nuts) and I just spoke to him and he admitted that he finished half of his smoothie this morning, and ate most of his nuts.  Now he is ready to finish consuming his smoothie for dinner.  God be praised!

Now that I have a working process, I will prepare myself for the morning by taking JJ Smith's suggestion and place all of our ingredients in a storage bag so I can just dump and blend in the morning.  I will also pre-pack our snacks so that the preparation is shortened.

Because of the way my morning went, I was not able to capture the pictures that I would have liked to but here's what I got...