Halfway through! Day 4. May 8, 2008

I woke up this morning and got on the scale.  137.  I lost approximately 10 pounds in 4 days. 

I had a very long day.  Support group meeting. Working out. Matlab programming. Mime practicing. Grocery shopping.

I am pooped!  Therefore this post is going to be shorter than normal.

I have noticed that my sweat isn’t really ‘sweaty’.  I don’t feel all dirty and salty when I sweat now.  That’s pretty cool.  My skin also has a ‘glow’ to it, and I haven’t broken out recently on my face.  My skin is softer and appears to have a more healthy and elastic feel to it.  The difference is really noticeable now.  I am over the hump of this detox!

Today, I had:

• 6 cups of water
• 2 cups of apple juice
• 4 cups of carrot soup

Ok, I am down by 4 cups (2 cups water and 2 cups juice).  My boyfriend is making broccoli juice right now. MMMM…yummy. lol  I will get in my 4 cups before the night is over.

Verses of focus during this experience: 1 Cor. 12:12-26

Ok, I am done…I am OUT!

Devil, you failed with a capital F! May 7, 2008

You can not take my sister away from me.  Don’t you know she is a child of GOD?!?!  How dare you try?  You will not win.  The gates of hell shall not prevail against God’s Kingdom EVER!

Thank you God for being so INCREDIBLE! You are TRULY an on time GOD.  I am fully aware that the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour.  I am fully aware that the devil is trying to kill me.  But you know what devil, the Lord is my Light and my Salvation!  He is my Shepherd and my Protector.  He is the Truth and the Way.  The devil is a lie!

I cannot fully express what has happened this evening in words on this blog but it was personally a gut-wrenching eye-opener.  The devil is so freaking busy trying to take God’s children under his captivity.  It is sickening.  All my huffing and puffing and procrastination with my thesis was me allowing the devil to take my joy away…see, the devil was trying to kill me.  He was trying to get me to give up.  But you know what!  I am prevailing because God says I already have the victory over this trial and the devil.  It is really time to get my mind focused!  I will get this thesis done next month.  For so long, the devil had me feeling doubtful in my ability to be a successful biomedical engineer.  But God has already laid out my path for me.  Why should I feel a lack in confidence when God is my Light and my Guide?  Kristal, just trust God!!!  (Just a side note to myself)

I really need to get my spiritual life together.  There is so much God has in store for me.  No more moping around.  I am ready to get this thesis done so I can see what God has planned for me next! 

Lets get it done!  God and I…we will get this done!  As long as I meet Him halfway there, I can be assured that He will carry me the other half and beyond.

God is great!  Thank you Lord for being so good to me and blessing me when I didn’t deserve any of it.

I shall fear NO EVIL, especially the one that begins with a d.

Detox Program. Day 3 May 7, 2008

I never did update about the rest of my progress on yesterday.  I came up 2 cups short of my goal.  I didn’t drink my last bottle of water (which would have satisfied the remaining 2 cups).  I had 2 cups of spinach juice and called it a night.  The spinach juice…well rather FROTH…was prepared simply by blending spinach leaves straight from the bag into the blender.  Adding water to dilute and eliminate some of the bubbles didn’t even cure the frothy texture.  I sucked it up and downed it (and mentally felt sick). 

I initially entered into this detox Sunday weighing 147 (I’m 5 feet 8 inches tall and just started that magical time of the month so I wasn’t feeling the lightest anyway).  This morning, I got on my scale (which isn’t the most reliable piece of tool I own) and it says I weigh 139!  Granted, most of the weight lost was water weight but still, I had no idea that I was down 8 pounds!  I mean I figure I would get down to 135 by the end of this one week detox on next Sunday but I might get there by tomorrow or Friday at this weight!  It is kind of exciting and scary at the same time because the last time I weighed 135 was freshmen year in college in 2001.  I will post my before and after pictures when it is all said and done.

I just asked my boyfriend what he expects to gain from this.  He said “Mental strength for my physical body.”  Great answer because it really takes a LOT of mental strength to overcome that temptation to quit and go eat that Bo’Jangles.  If it wasn’t for his determination, I probably would have cheated.  He has kept me strong for the past few days.  We joke about what we will eat at 12:01am Monday morning when our detox is over.  LOL…we are so silly.  He said he was going to start baking the lasagna at 10:30pm Sunday night so it will be ready for us to chow down after midnight.  I just pray that we will continue to be mentally and spiritually strengthened from this experience and that once it is over, we don’t abuse our temples with junk and will take better care of our bodies.  I haven’t figured out exactly how I will break my fast but I guess I still have a little time to think about it.

Anyhoo, today, I felt better when I woke up and got started compared to yesterday.  I managed to have the following today:

• 2 cups of cabbage
• 4 cups of zucchini, cauliflower, and green bean blend
• 4 cups of apple juice
• 6 cups of water
• 1 cup of carrot soup (My boo boo created a knock-off version of sweet potato soup, and it was MMM MMM GOOD!  We both looked at each other and said we can do this detox thing for sure now…lol.)

I am going to down a bottle of water before bed so I will reach my 4 quart goal of the day.  I worked out for about 45 minutes today in the fitness center at my apartment complex with a combo of cardio and lower body strength training.  I still get VERY drained by the end of the day but it has gotten better since I first started.  Lets see how I feel tomorrow.

Detox Program. Day 2. May 6, 2008

Oh my goodness!  I was SOOO drained yesterday.  Here is a run down of what I had yesterday:

• 2 cups of carrot, cuccumber, and celery juice
• 2 cups of broccoli soup
• 2 cups of spinach, green beans, and zucchini juice
• 2 cups of apple juice
• 8 cups of water

Totaling to 4 quarts of liquids!  I also walked 2.75 miles at the local trail.  When the evening hit, I was SO unfocused, so hungry, and so tired!  That was just my body being in total shock to what was going on.  My body was waiting for that meat and potatoes! LOL  I was SO glad when I went to bed.  That was at least 7 hours away from hunger agony.

I woke up this morning still feeling a little lethargic.  I honestly didn’t feel like getting up.  But today, I decided to make 7 cups of fruit juices so I could have some sugar in my blood stream and hopefully some more energy.  I made:

• 3 cups of apple juice
• 4 cups of pear and cucumber juice

The pear and cucumber juice is actually refreshing and went down easily.  The apple juice wasn’t bad either, which I didn’t expect it to be.  My first cup was really great since it was fresh out the blender and very warm (I boiled the apples to soften them up before they went into the blender).  As of right now, I still have 2 cups of apple juice to drink and 2 cups of pear and cucumber juice.  I will most likely finish these by 6pm.  I have already had 3 cups of water to drink and have 5 more to drink.  I will update later.

Oh, and walking that 2.75 mile trail was much easier today!

My first detox program! Day 1. May 5, 2008

Yesterday, my boyfriend and I decided to start a detox program by going on a vegetable/fruit juice diet. Lord, give us strength to make it through this whole day! We are trying to do this for at least a week.  We took before pictures to compare them to the after pictures next Sunday.  This morning I had a cup of carrot, cucumber, and celery juice blend. It was not so bad going down when I first started to drink it WARM but as it got cooler near the end of the cup, I started to feel like BLAH!  I have a broccoli soup in store for lunch and apple juice as a snack between lunch and working out.  I am going to finish up my cup of carrot, cuccumber, and celery blend after I finish my exercise to carry me on until my boyfriend and I decide what blend to have for dinner.  I have already finished up 2 cups of water and will try to drink 4 more cups before dinner.  My goal is take in at least 8 cups daily.

 But I tell ya, if you check out the crap that can accumulate in your digestive system over the years, it might motivate you to do some type of cleansing or detox.

To find out more info on google, CLICK HERE. Be warned…there are some disgusting images that can be found HERE. After seeing these pictures, I felt really sick and concerned for the health of my system ESPECIALLY after reading that someone actually found a maggot expelled from her system during her colon cleanse…eww GROSS!

There are also services called colonics where you can get a total system flush. What are your views about colon cleansing/detox programs?

I just wish Saturdays would NEVER end… May 3, 2008

Sometimes I think of a Saturday being that cozy little pit that you have longed for the entire week to hop in and dread to get out as you head towards the next week. 

I just want to stay in this cozy pit for a few more days…*sighs*

I guess I will sop up as much of the day as I can…wish I didn’t have this thesis on my mind though…grrr!