Monday, August 18, 2014

Juice for Life! -competition update

#rebootwithjoe #juiceforlife

So far, since Doug and I started the competition on July 31st (2014) I've lost 13 pounds!
  • July 31- August 9th: cut calorie intake to 1,200 - limited sugars, caffeine, fake foods. Doing T25 and Piyo daily.
  • August 10th-14th: Days 1-5 of my Reboot with Joe - eating veggies and juicing twice a day; about the same calorie intake. Still doing Piyo.
  • August 14th-TODAY; Just Juice! Today is my 4th day of just drinking juice (but juice I mean fruits and veggies juiced in a juicer). I've got 6 more days to go after today. I'm still doing Piyo and light exercise because exercise is important. But it's also important not to overwork my body and crash my immune system. 
Due to my week of preparation I have not really had any headaches. I've had a few minor ones but drinking water fixed them right up! I haven't even been hungry except when I was supposed to be. It's nice to actually feel what hungry feels like.

Today I'm going to do some more research on juicing and find out how to transition off of just juice. I imagine I can just go backwards. Keep juicing but slowly add cooked veggies and stuff back in.

How do I feel? I feel GREAT! :-) I have more energy than I did when I was eating junk. Sure, I miss eating and I want to eat the fun food that everyone else is eating, but I'm holding strong. Here are just some examples of staying steadfast ...
Green Glory at Buffalo Wild Wings
Green Lemonade at Naps Grill
Both places were really awesome about letting me just drink my juice. I had a nice conversation with our waitress at Buffalo Wild Wings. She's actually done the juicing thing before but said she couldn't get past the taste of kale. I don't really mind kale at all, as you probably already know about me!

?Are you interested in doing a juicing program?

Go to Joe's Reboot with Joe website and read about it. There's a checklist of how to begin on there too. 
You don't have to do 15 days; there are 3 day, 5 day and 10 day programs too!
BE PREPARED! Don't start off with juice. Take a week to cut back your calorie intake, cut out sugars, fake foods and caffeine. You'll be glad you did. You'll lose weight & you'll do better once you start the juice fast.
Use a calorie tracker like myfitnesspal to help  you stay focused.
Get connected with people, get support from friends, connect with Joe's online community and communities on facebook.
Good luck if you start! I'd be happy to help if you have any questions! Find me on Facebook and message me!

!HAPPY JUICING!

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And how is Doug doing? Great! We had a long flight this past weekend. Helena to Laurel and back. His instructor said he's not too far from soloing! After that he'll start doing some flights on his own. He has two flights scheduled this week. He's been studying the books hard too. So proud of him!
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Edith and Baldie area from the plane




Friday, August 8, 2014

Competition Update: Reboot with Joe!

I have decided to do a Reboot Juice Cleanse! It's 15 days total. 5 days of eating and juicing and 10 days of pure juicing. I will start on Sunday August 10th and finish on Sunday August 24th. It's gonna be a long long time! But I'm excited and ready for a challenge.

I've been using the myfitnesspal app to track my calories and it's working! I've lost 6 pounds since I started tracking! I'm so proud of myself for sticking with it. Once I start the Reboot I will no longer be able to eat anything extra though, which will be tough... but you can drink all the juice you want if you're feeling hungry.

What is a Reboot you may ask...

Well, awhile back I watched the documentary "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". I've seen several health documentaries (like Forks Over Knives)... but this one was a personal journey and I found it very inspiring. Joe (with supervision from his doctor) drank only vegetable/fruit juice (not from a bottle at the store, but juiced with a juicer, fresh produce) for 60 days!!! 

Juicing is a pretty cool thing and there are a lot of benefits to juicing.

A Reboot is a scheduled plan of eating fresh fruits and vegetables and also juicing. There are 4 different plans to choose from. 

Joe has a lot more videos on his site

I'm super excited about doing this. I think it's a healthy option and it will help me get rid of bad habits. 

Wish me luck and I will update as I can!

I can use all the support I can get!

PS... Doug went on another flight yesterday! He said it went really well. He could be soloing soon! I'm so proud of him! 



Saturday, August 2, 2014

Competition Day 3 - Flight and a Chia Power Health Nugget!


Day 2 & 3 of my competition and it's off to a great start! I did T25 Cardio and Piyo Sweat for a total of an hour and 5 minutes yesterday. Today I did T25 Total Body Circuit.... It's not gonna be that easy on my heavy work days but that's the challenge isn't it? Whew!!! 

I've started using the free myfitnesspal app to aid in keeping track of my eating... I've done it before and it really works, but keeping track of everything you eat is so annoying and tedious! But oh well. It works so I'm gonna do it... at least for now. (if you don't have a smart phone you can do it online too)....

Today Doug has decided to up the ante and take me for a flight...

 





Well since I have the time, and since this inevitably happens whenever I'm on a health kick, I shall share with you some knowledge... the power of the chia seed...


http://www.nuts.com/cookingbaking/chia-seeds/premium.html - follow link to buy chia

This is what Chia looks like. Tiny tiny little seeds but so gorgeous when you look at them up close.
When you let chia seeds sit in a liquid, they excrete this gel that forms around them, making them excellent for healthy puddings. 

Here are some of the excellent qualities of chia...
Omega 3 (they contain more than salmon)
Protein
Fiber
Antioxidants
Calcium 

Some people claim that eating chia seeds will help you lose weight because you will feel full (because of the expanding nature of this little seed)... however there hasn't been any real proof that eating them makes you feel more full. 

But you should still eat it!!!

Omega 3 fatty acids are EXCELLENT for your brain! Unlike flax seeds, chia seeds can be absorbed by the body. They also slow down how fast our bodies convert carbohydrates into simple sugars.. this means that they help control blood sugar.

here's what they look like after they've been soaking in water.

Here are some chia puddings that I made myself... it's easy!
Choose milk or your favorite non-dairy milk and add a bit of honey (or sugar) and 1-2 tablespoons of chia seed... stir well and then let it sit for a few hours... keep stirring cuz they'll stick together... (you can also add a small dash of vanilla). In the picture on the right I added some raspberry jam for yummy flavor. YUMMY!







Thursday, July 31, 2014

a little healthy competition

Alright folks... it's almost been a YEAR since I started my healthfood blog and what have I done with it? Nothing. That's right. Typical slacker-Ciara is at it again. But today is a different day. Today is the beginning of a CHALLENGE!

My boyfriend Doug and I are challenging each other to see who can reach their goal first.

Let's meet the contestants...

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Doug 

Goal: to get his pilot's license. 
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Ciara

Goal: to lose 50 pounds.

                        ____________________________________________________________

We are both looking at approximately a 6 month time period but we will adjust if for some reason we need to do so. 

We do not, however, have a prize in mind for the winner. So if you think of a great idea please leave me a comment!

A little more about myself and my goal... I've been a part of TeamBeachBody for about a year now, but I have recently gotten a new coach Alyssa, who I started following on Instagram awhile back. I noticed that she did a lot of the beachbody workouts I was trying (T25 for instance) and I enjoyed her posts about fitness... just recently she became my new coach officially. I'm now a part of her team and there's a great support group on facebook. 

I'm hoping that by documenting mine and Doug's progress I will remain motivated and hopefully I can help others stay motivated as well. This is also another form of accountability. I am now accountable to my boyfriend and my team community. So I've decided to post my before pictures and stats. The quality isn't the best (i'm kindof a stickler about photo quality) but I can't find my regular camera cord and it's more important that I get these pictures up and not worry so much about the quality.

Wish me luck! GO TEAM BOOM!

5' 0" - 170 lbs
hips: 42.5
waist: 41.5
thighs: 24
calves: 15
arms: 13
boobs: 44



LET THE GAMES BEGIN!