Day 13 of 21

I admit it. I'm craving a burger. A big fat juicy burger from The Blue Rooster in Flora would be awesome today. But since they don't serve grass fed beef, and I'm not eating bread right now, I'll pass.

I've gone through about three dozen organic lemons so far. At a dollar a lemon, the lemon juice I'm squeezing is more expensive than the wine I drank pre-detox. I hope my liver is happy.

This past week has nearly driven me to drink--but it hasn't. My day got off to a bad start Wednesday when I discovered water dripping down my bathroom wall and puddling on the floor. Seems our water heater was going out. About $900 later, we have a new water heater in our attic. Come see her--she's a beauty! I had a lot of work all week, so that's a good thing, but it kept me busy as I raced to make deadlines. Finding time to prepare appropriate detox meals was a challenge, but I managed to do it. I even cooked for Larry.

As we see the last days of winter, I am grateful I live in the South, and not where all that snow is that I see on TV. We've certainly had our share of rain, but I'm hoping for sunnier days ahead so that I can get outside and work in the yard. I am feeling very sedentary and need to move!

The good thing is that I don't ever really feel hungry and my craving for carbs and sweets is going away. I'm actually looking forward to going to the grocery store later today to load up on more produce for the coming week.

I can do this. I will do this.

Blessings to all who read this!
Susn

Day 12 of 21

What a difference a few days makes. Sometimes, all it takes is finally making up your mind to do something. I had made up my mind. Knowing I had the support and encouragement from the folks at Enhanced Wellness certainly helped. And then there's the accountability. I have to go back on Tuesday to check my progress. I want them to be happy with my progress.

But ultimately, the only person I need to please is myself. And I am pleased. I'm no longer puffy from water retention/ My face looks slimmer. My pants aren't as tight. I have a long way to go, but I've gotten a good, strong start.

Having a "buddy" to go through this with is great. NancyKay Wessman and I are going through the same program at the same time, so it's nice to be able to pick up the phone and ask how she's doing or get feedback on recipes tried, etc.

I'm deviating from just diet talk this morning to pay tribute to a wonderful person who lost her battle with cancer yesterday. Norma Carroll Ezell passed away yesterday. She was Nicole and Joseph's third grade teacher, and she new perfectly how to handle two kids who didn't exactly "fit the mold." We have always given her credit for discovering Nicole's acting abilities. She celebrated it by putting Nicole in every classroom skit and stage play the entire school year. It was that year that Nicole was cast in the PBS series "Funnybones" as one of three child actors. She recognized that Joe was with the wrong teacher when he was in the third grade and helped us get him transferred to her class, where he thrived. When both of them look back to the people who were their real champions, Norma Carroll Ezell will be on that list. She'll be missed.

I'm heading into another weekend...lots to do, including cleaning the house. I'm going to call that exercise!

I can do this. I will do this.

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan

Day 11 of 21

Today marks the halfway point--more days behind me than ahead of me!

Here's an update:

I feel great! I'm eating delicious, clean food and I'm losing weight. My energy is increasing daily and I can tell a difference in my skin--it looks better, too!

Larry is also doing a 17-day intensive as I'm doing this 21-day detox. His diet and mine don't always jive. He can drink coffee, I can't. We are both to drink green tea. He can eat fish, I can't. I can eat legumes, he can't. I can't eat potatoes, he can't.

No worries. I can cook for both of our diets, because it's so important for both of us to be healthy. Last night's dinner for Larry was totally different from mine. I had Mexican Potato Salad from the Core Restore book, and Larry had a green salad, roasted brussel sprouts and tilapia.

It's always good to have something to motivate you to stick with a diet plan. My motivation is this:

I HATE how we both look in this photo taken back in December. We just look overweight and unhealthy. That's NOT how I want us to look in the myriad of photos that will be snapped next October when my niece, Lauren, gets married in Nashville! Her fiance, David, put a ring on it!

So, if we don't want to be totally out-shined by these precious people, we've got to work hard to get in picture-perfect shape!

But the biggest motivation of all is good health. I want to feel good and be much less dependent on daily medications.

I can do this. I will do this.

Blessings to all who read this!
Susan

Day 10 of 21

This is a lifestyle change.

At almost halfway in to this 21-day detox/cleanse, I'm seeing that the things I'm doing now can so easily be carried forward after this leg of the journey is over.

I mentioned the wonderful chicken we baked in the blog post I did on Monday, and the hummus I wrote about yesterday. So, now it's time to write about the most amazing soup ever! It's the Indian Bean Soup, and it's just chocked full of goodness, not to mention ingredients I've never used before.

Anything that has onions, bell pepper, and potatoes is good. Add olive oil, organic low-sodium vegetable stock, coriander, paprika and curry paste, and you're really cooking. But this soup also has turnips and parsnips, two things I'm not real familiar with. I know turnip greens, but the turnip root is a different matter. And, I have to admit, I had no idea what a parsnip looked like. I had to really scour the produce department to find some.

For educational purposes (because, aren't we all really learning a lot during this journey?!), I referred to Wikipedia and learned that the parsnip is richer in vitamins and minerals than its close relative, the carrot. It is particularly rich in potassium with 600 mg per 100 g. The parsnip is also a good source of dietary fiber. A 100-g parsnip contains 75 Calories (230 kJ) of energy.

You're welcome.

I will be incorporating all these recipes into my "normal" life when this 21 days is over.

I can do this. I will do this.

Blessing to all who read this!
Susan

Day 9 of 21

I can't believe I'm into the second week of this journey, and I'm doing great!

I went to our book club meeting last night, where everyone brings an appetizer and most folks are drinking wine or other adult beverages. A test.

NancyKay and I had a plan. I went to her house yesterday afternoon where she made hummus from scratch. I have bought Sabra hummus for years, but this put that in the shade.

As a matter of fact, it was the best hummus I've ever eaten, hands down. And the best part of all is that it was super-simple to make. We took the hummus along with a tray full of cut veggies (carrots, cucumbers, celery, red and green bell peppers and turnips). Despite the table at book club being filled with all manner of delicious treats, the hummus was a big with everyone. Someone had brought cut up fruit, so I made a small plate piled high with veggies and hummus and fruit, and that was my dinner. I was perfectly satisfied.

(For illustration purposes. I forgot to snap a shot of our hummus, 

which was garnished with fresh parsley and toasted pine nuts.)

The hummus recipe can be found on page 36 of the Core Restore patient guide:
http://www.drmichaelmadden.net/pdf/Core_Restore_Patient_Guide.pdf

While NancyKay was making the hummus, I ate a bowl of the Indian Bean Soup, a recipe also found in the guide. It was delicious. I'd order that in any restaurant.

Being around ladies drinking wine at our book club didn't bother me either. NancyKay made up some of our green tea-lemon juice-maple syrup blend and took that to book club in a gallon jug. We sipped it out of wine glasses!

I'm going to meet with Kelly Engelmann at Enhanced Wellness this afternoon. I am looking forward to standing on the big scales there and seeing those numbers go d-
                                                                 o-
                                                                     w-
                                                                          n!

I can do this. I will do this. 

Blessings to all who read this!
Susan

Day 8 of 21

Day one of week two!

So far, so good. I'm 12 pounds down, but much of that is water weight.

Yesterday was a day of rest. Larry was off work, and we just pretty much took it easy all day. I don't have the energy I had hoped I would, but I feel that will come...I'm eating good food now.

People have asked me if Larry is doing the diet as well. He's not. But he is doing another diet--one his cardiologist suggested to him. (Make that strongly encourage...). It's the "17 Day Diet" plan. And unlike the 21-day program I'm on, this is just the first 17 days...there are two more rounds that follow.

While the diets aren't exactly alike, they are surprisingly similar. He started the day after I did, so he's now seven days into his journey. 

Yesterday he baked an amazing chicken for our lunch. It was a big ol' roaster I bought at Fresh Market--no hormones, no antibiotics--you get the drill. And it was sooooo good!

We had steamed broccoli with it, and I had a serving of brown rice. Larry, unfortunately, can't eat rice in this 17-day cycle. 

So, in addition to my detox buddy, Nancykay Wessman, Larry has joined the ranks! 

I can do this. I will do this!

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan

Day 7 of 21

I'm one-third of the way! I'm seven days into my 21-day detox/cleanse. I'm seven days into a healthier lifestyle. And I'm down some pounds already!

So, that's one week down and two to go. Yesterday I started eating "real" food...and it was a little harder than I thought. I ate a small bowl of fruit for breakfast--apple, blueberry and strawberry. After breakfast, I met up with Jonni Webb at Village Beads in Ridgeland. I stayed busy all morning, stringing beads and creating a necklace and earrings (the earrings feature pottery by jr webb pottery, Jonni's pottery business.).

Wouldn't you know we met a lady at Village Beads who had been a patient at Enhanced Wellness. She said she used to refer to Kelly Engelmann as "the witch doctor." However, she said that when she was going, she felt better than she ever had, and talking to me today made her remember that. She says she wants to go back! Do it Pat!!! :-)

After beading, Jonni and went to lunch with our new beading friend at Signa Grill in Ridgeland, where I ordered a half salad with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, pepperoncinis, green and black olives. The dressing, however, kind of tripped me up. It was a shallot vinaigrette, which should have been fine, but for some reason, the acid of the vinegar was too much in my mouth. Are my taste buds changing? I ate a little over half of it, but that seemed to be fine.

After lunch I went grocery shopping. First to Fresh Market, then to Kroger. Eating healthy is NOT cheap--I bought the organic version of just about everything on my list, an that's always more expensive. My kitchen looks like a farmer's market. We have to eat all this produce this week or it will go bad. But the cost of the groceries is offset by so many other things: no snack foods, eating at home more than eating out, and of course, the long-term effects of (hopefully) getting off the blood-pressure medicine I've taken for 24 years and fewer doctor visits in the future.

(I need to add here that I was pretty disappointed in Fresh Market's produce section. Most everything except a small section was "conventionally-grown" produce. That means it was grown using pesticides and fertilizer. Also, the vast majority of the produce was from other countries. We should eat local and what's in season, and that's not what they offered. Boo on Fresh Market for not offering more locally-harvested, organic options. Kroger really beat you out on that level. There wasn't much I couldn't find in the ever-expanding organic section of Kroger.)

I wanted to get some exercise in today, but by the time I got home from grocery shopping and putting up all the groceries, I was beat. I think I'm a little weak from lack of food... So, instead, I smeared some of the almond butter I ground up at Fresh Market on a plain rice cake and savored it for a snack. I really liked the textural quality of the rice cake, and the almond butter was really tasty.

Dinner was sauteed onions, zucchini and red bell pepper--delicious. I also had a salad on the side and I put olive oil and balsamic on it.

Here's the kicker. The balsamic was TOO SWEET! After a week of no sugar, I'm wondering what's happening with my taste buds. In hindsight, I should have cooked up a chicken breast, but I didn't think about it. Tonight, we're having roasted chicken. I bought a whole roasting chicken from Fresh Market--all natural, with no antibiotics, etc.

It's almost easier NOT eating than dealing with adding food, but I am going to learn how to make this work for us. I think the trick is cooking way more than you need, then heating it up for meals later in the week.

I can do this! I will do this.

Blessings to all who read this!
Susan