2016 Check-In...

Wow!  Where has this year gone already?!  I can't believe it's already early June!  I was flipping through my photos on my phone to remind myself of what's happened so far this year.  Here's a brief run-down:

January went smoothly enough.  I was able to spend quite a bit of time with my baby nephew and my family.  I was on a roll with my capsule wardrobe and with purging.  (The capsule wardrobe has now become a way of life, though I no longer count my number of items as diligently).  

February and March were very challenging!  We had a pipe burst and ended up having to move into a hotel for nearly three weeks while we dealt with our insurance, plumbers, etc.  That was by far one of the worst experiences I've ever encountered owning a home!  There's not much you can do without running water!  (I did learn how to make a toilet flush by pouring gallons of water down it that I lugged back from the hotel though.  Gravity is a beautiful thing sometimes).  It truly tested my patience and made me thankful for the simple things in life!  It also made me realize I could live in a 4 room home and be completely fine.  (If only the pets could've come with us).  Thus, three weeks of living between the hotel and our house with no water began.  (Driving around with dirty dishes from home in your car so you can wash them at the hotel anyone)??

Towards the end of March, I saved enough $ up for a down payment on a pretty little convertible.  I had been driving my Honda Civic for 11 years and had been contemplating doing so when the pipe burst.  Fortunately, I found a great deal on a used car with very low miles.  Her name is Peyton (after 2016 Super Bowl Champ Peyton Manning) and she's so fun!

At the beginning of April, I stumbled across this post on Facebook and it really hit home with me.  The photo on the left shows a 250 lb woman and the photo on the right shows a 120 lb woman.  Being able to see weight gain internally was really scary, especially seeing the fat around her heart and brain.  So did the compressed knee joints!

I began thinking about eating cleaner and trying to lose weight again.  Towards the end of April, I had a work meeting with someone who sells Arbonne and we happened to talk about how good her skin looked/discussing the program.  On April 3, 2016, I began their 30-Day Detox Challenge.  I didn't follow it perfectly, but I would say I ate clean/did the protein shakes about 80% of the time.  As of today, I've lost 10 lbs and really have changed my lifestyle.  I now crave slightly frozen mixed berries rather than chocolate bars and drink about 60 ounces of water at minimum a day.  I make my two protein shakes the night before work usually, which gives me an easy, healthy breakfast and lunch for the next day.  (Previously I would get so busy with work that I'd go through the McDonald's drive thru for breakfast and usually skip lunch or order something full of carbs that delivered for lunch).  I feel better and I'm dropping lbs!

At the end of April, my best friend gave birth to her first child, which also inspired me to continue trying to get healthy.  (Perhaps one day hubs and I will be blessed with a baby of our own).

May was really hectic at work, so when my scheduled PTO rolled around, my mom and I decided to take Peyton on a road trip (literally booked less than 36 hours before we left) to North Carolina and Myrtle Beach.

We did fun things like take a helicopter ride (which neither one of us had done before.

We saw a show (Pirates Voyage) and went to the Ripley's Aquarium.  (Both of which were a lot of fun)!

The main thing was we got to spend time together and RELAX, which was something we both really needed!

I came home and planted my "garden" for this year.  OK, so it's a hanging pot (minus the hanging part), but the flowers are pretty and it makes the deck more enjoyable.  I've decided gardening just isn't for me after all.

For those of you who followed my blog last year and my process of becoming more minimalist, I've purged around 35.5% of all my belongings.  I seem to be hanging around that percentage.  I just started week 47 of the process.  My goal was to get to 50%, but I'm quite a ways from that unfortunately.  If I really put my mind to it, I might get to around 38% to 40%, but we'll see.  I've been working really hard (at work), so my focus right now is to enjoy my life and my friends and family.

Hope everyone is having a blessed 2016 so far!

XOXO,
Stephanie

JUS by JULIE 3-Day Juice Cleanse

What it is:  A 3-Day Juice Cleanse.

Cost:  $129.99 on Amazon;  $150 thru Jus by Julie and Groupon

Details:  From the Jus by Julie website - "A three day juice cleanse is a quick and easy way to restart your body and start fresh. The cleanse is designed to rid your body of unwanted toxins that cause your body pain, bloating and discomfort. Our three day juice cleanse consists of 18 uniquely blended juices, allowing you 6 juices a day. We have designed the cleanse so that your body gets the maximum amount of nutritional benefits in a quick three days. Upon finishing the cleanse you will most likely feel a renewed sense of energy- thanks to ridding of the toxins, a noticeable decrease in cravings, and a side effect of weight loss. Our cleanse allows you to transition back to a healthy diet as soon as you complete the three days so that you can get right back to catering to your busy lives.

Additionally, our juices are freshly made every morning through our unique blending process that is designed to maintain the fiber of all the ingredients, as this will help your body feel full and nourished all day long."

I have always wanted to try a juice cleanse!  A few weeks ago I hit my all-time heaviest weight ever and decided it was time to focus on weight control/loss again.  I knew I needed to try to "detox" my body from all the sugar cravings I was having and figured this would be a great way to do so!  I did some research and found the Jus by Julie 3-Day juice cleanse to be the cheapest on Amazon.com.  ($129.99 + free overnight shipping).  I also found it on the Jus by Julie website and thru Groupon for $150.00.  

As luck would have it, my Jus by Julie Cleanse and my first shipment from Hello Fresh came on the same day.  The juice cleanse won out though, so the new recipes/meals went into the freezer.

Each day, you are supposed to drink six juices approximately 2-3 hours apart.  The juices were grouped together into three groups of six to make for easy planning.  All of the juices also are numbered on the bottle so you know the order you're supposed to drink them in for each day.

Informational brochures are also included to give you information about the cleanse, including how to do it and how to plan for re-introducing solid food back into your diet.

I started this cleanse on April 29.  The first juice of Day 1 was called "Morning Glory".  I'd never tasted "green juice" before, so I was a bit nervous.  It just tasted like watery lettuce, which makes sense since it consisted of romaine lettuce, kale, spinach, apple, celery, banana, strawberry, and water.  The texture was a bit odd and leafy, but I quickly got past that.

My favorite juice of Day 1 was the last one.  It's called "X-Treme Greens" and consists of kale, spinach, pineapple, orange, hemp seeds, and water.  It's smooth and has a sweet taste to it.  Each night I drank it in a wine glass to celebrate completing the cleanse for the day, but it's one I would gladly drink daily.

The green juices were all the same from day to day, but on Day 2, the second, fourth, and fifth drinks were different.  

I LOVED the Spicy Lemonade (lemon, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water)!

The Chia Berry was really good too!  It's definitely one I would drink daily as well as a meal replacement!

Day 3's juices are shown above.  Again, I loved the lemonade and Chia Berry drinks.  The Island Coconut was good too, but not as sweet as I was hoping for.

In the end, I am very proud of myself for sticking to the cleanse!  I was nervous about how I'd do with not eating solid foods (I truly enjoy the taste of certain foods), but I was fine!  This cleanse is surprisingly filling!!  I lost 5 pounds doing the juice cleanse, but no inches from my stomach like I was hoping for.  (Not sure if that's normal or not).  My taste buds had to adjust to solid foods when it was over.  (Nothing seemed to have much of a taste for several days afterwards.  Not even Ketsup!).  I am very proud to say I haven't drank any pop since finishing the cleanse and have instead been loading up on water.  I discovered I like Chia seeds too and have been putting them in omelets and whatever else I can blend them into.

Would I do it again?  If I ever feel like my system needs a re-boot again in the future, I probably will.  I would like to learn to make my own Spicy Lemonade drink and X-Treme Greens drink to end my day with.  Both were really good!

Have you ever tried a juice cleanse before?  If so, what did you think?  Any tips??

XOXO,
Stephanie