I am like most American women. My health has not been the greatest. I struggle with headaches, aches and pains. I am least 40 pounds overweight. I have been on medication for depression and anxiety in the past. I have a feeling that a good number of you suffer with many of the same issues, as well as other not so pleasant illnesses and issues.
My husband and I have tried more than a several times to lose weight using different plans or tactics, sometimes with some success, although not long-lasting. My dear hubby needs to lose at least 55-60 pounds himself.
Our typical American diet
Our eating habits are typical of many Americans. We ate a lot of processed foods, sugars, and foods that had very little nutritional value.
Two weeks ago, we watched a video called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. The story of Joe Cross and Phil, whom he met in America, juicing and losing incredible amounts of weight. But not only that, they overcame autoimmune disorders, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and morbid obesity.
Joe and Phil’s stories intrigued us, and we decided to embark on the juicing journey ourselves. On Joe’s site, Join the Reboot, he has several plans one could do. He recommends a short juicing fast, 5 days, sandwiched in between 5 days of eating just fruit and vegetables. So it is a 5-5-5 program.
Flipping the switch
We made a shopping list, and hit our large, international farmer’s market, and stocked our fridge. It seemed a little expensive at first, $150 for what we thought was 3 days of food! Yikes!
As we went through the menus and our meals, however, it was much more food than we needed. We have made the initial grocery shopping last for a week, with just adding a few things in.
I am happy to report that this has been a great experience so far! We began phasing into the program last Sunday, adding additional vegetables to our diet. On Wednesday, which is what we call Day 1, we began eating strictly fruits and vegetables with very few variances. (There were a few cheats!)
The benefits of juicing
We began noticing a few changes within a few days. We had more energy. We started feeling less bloated, I had less heartburn and reflux. We also noticed the scale starting to drop.
As of yesterday morning, Monday, less than a week on the full Reboot, my husband has lost 10 pounds and I have lost 8. As we are on Day 2 of our juicing phase, I will be interested to see what the weight loss ends up being.
I have noticed another major change, for my husband anyway. He used to come home from work and then pass out in his chair for a half hour or so. He hasn’t had a nap since Thursday.
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While not everyone can, or wants to do something this extreme to lose weight or improve their health, I can encourage you to do these things:
- drastically increase the amount of vegetables and fruits into your diet
- cut down the amount of meat and dairy
- greatly reduce the carbohydrates you eat, processed and unprocessed
If you want more information on the program we are doing, the Join the Reboot site has lots of information. If you would like to try this, but maybe not so drastically, consider this book, The 3-Day Cleanse: Drink Fresh Juice, Eat Real Food, and Get Back into Your Skinny Jeans.
Note: This is not meant to be medical advice. If you are considering a major change to your diet, make sure it is okay with your doctor first. My husband and I had both had physicals and blood work last month.What methods to become more healthy and lose weight have you tried?
Stopping by from SITS.I recently saw a post at Facebook on Fat, Sick, And nearly dead.Do you plan on writing updates as you go through your weight loss? We were strict vegetarians for six months and felt amazing! We have gotten side tracked because of work. After reading your post, i feel more motivated to start again! I want to have more energy!
Melissa,
I won’t be giving a step-by-step, but I will probably give a weekly update for a few weeks. I might even get him to let me take some before and after shots, although they will be with clothing on, lol! I encourage you to get back on track again! We feel great!
Bernice
That’s wonderful that it is working so well! Overall I have to say I am certain that our family eats way more fruits and veggies than most. I chop them fresh and send 2-3 baggies to work with my hubby and me. I do need to try to do more vegan and vegetarian dishes, though. I don’t know that I can do a 100% juice diet but I’d like to try for mornings. I found a recipe for a green shake recently – it had spinach and avocados and cucumbers and more. I will be trying it! Keep us updated on your progress!
[...] big “THANK YOU” to Bernice for sharing about the movie “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.” It’s a fascinating [...]
Hey Bernice!
First off, I LOVE the new site. Or not so new? Somehow I missed the launch. At any rate, great stuff!
As I think you saw from my comment on Faith’s site, my husband and I just saw this documentary for the first time this week. I am incredibly interested in trying a juice fast and would love to read your weekly updates.
Are you a coffee drinker? If so, did you stop drinking coffee? Giving up coffee is my biggest fear about the entire process!
Jenny @ Ex-Consumer recently posted..Tomorrow is Not Guaranteed
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[...] and so I just kept forgetting to take my supplements. Just a few weeks before that, I went on an all natural diet and cut out all processed foods. This helped me feel better in many ways. However, the past 2 weeks [...]
[...] my other site, I have written about my me and my husband’s journey to not only lose weight, but to become healthier. After many ups and downs, we have converted our diet to about 90% clean, [...]
LOVED this post! So great to hear when people begin to turn their health around. Way to go, girl
To you and your husband BOTH. It’s encouraging to know that people are out there, spreading the word about nutrition and how it can change lives if we only take our health back.
I noticed also that you recommended decreasing meat and dairy and that’s the one thing I see from a different perspective. As I understand things, it very much depends on where your beef/dairy come from and the quality of the foods. After all, it’s not only true that “we are what we eat”, but that “we are what THEY ate” so my husband and I consume GreenFed beef and dairy — it’s like grass-fed except a higher quality standard that includes forbes, legumes, and herbs in addition to pastured grass — and there is absolutely NO GRAIN or vaccines for these Beyond Organic cows. If you’re consuming dairy and beef from these special A2 (instead of A1 beta casein) cows, you’re getting much higher doses of CLA (great for weight loss), a better balance of omega-3s and 6s (great for keeping inflammation in check), and a much LEANER meat! Plus, you don’t miss out on the iron, protein, calcium, probiotics, and other important nutritional elements that beef and dairy can provide
Just wanted to return the favor and share my knowledge since I found your blog so informative!
How is your progress – almost 1 year later?
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