Day 6: Green Smoothie Challenge

The challenge is still going really well. I was running very late this morning and didn't have time to make a green smoothie. So I brought fruit with me as a substitute. But I did have a big salad for lunch and veggie juice later in the day.

Today's Weight: 208 lbs

My weight is up a bit but I am still happy with my progress. I know that fluctuating a few pounds day to day is completely normal. In this case it could be in part that I didn't eat enough calories yesterday throughout the day before going to yoga. And I also didn't have nearly enough fruits and vegetables. But the biggest culprit is most likely that I had sushi pretty late in the evening, with wasabe and soy sauce - so a lot of sodium. I find that I lose better when I do yoga in the evening and then just have juice or fruit after instead of a full meal.


Yesterday's Food Choices:
32 oz green smoothie w/ pineapple, banana,
strawberries, kale, spinach, mint & apple juice
(11am - home)
Kona chocolate chip pancakes
(3 pm - home)
1/2 a dynamite roll
1/2 a veggie tempura roll
1/2 a spicy veggie roll
1/2 a regular veggie roll
(9 pm - home)

Today's Food Choices:
2 apples
3 clementines
(10am - work)
32 oz green/peppermint tea
(throughout the day - work)
wild Alaskan salmon salad
w/ spinach, onions, carrots, tomatoes,
sunflower seeds & vinaigrette dressing
(12 pm - Salad Creations)
8 oz Kombucha
(4pm - work)
carrot, apple, beet , ginger juice
(7pm - Jewel or Juice)

DAY 4: Green Smoothie Challenge

I can't believe how well the combination of green smoothies, fresh juice and Bikram is working on my body. I started this challenge at 217 cause I gained about 6 pounds back from eating badly and not going to yoga for almost a whole week. So I knew that the weight would come off quick because it went on pretty quick.

Today 1st thing in the morning I was 208 and then a few hours later after yoga I was 206.5(!!!) Holy freekin cow - that is 10.5 pounds in 4 days(!!!!!) Faster than the Master Cleanse, faster than juice fasting. This is "Biggest Loser" weight loss and those guys work out a minimum of 4-6 hours a day. It's the kind of weight loss you'd expect from a weekend of doing a bunch of speed, dancing like a maniac every night, and not sleeping for 3 days straight. Not that I'd know anything about that. LOL.

The thing that gets me the most is that I am not at all depriving myself. I even had a big veggie burrito for lunch yesterday w/ black beans, rice, guacamole, lettuce, salsa - fried on the grill and then covered in enchilada sauce. I'm only having one actual "meal" during the weekdays, but I feel like I am still eating plenty of calories.

I read somewhere that a 90 minute Bikram class burns 1400-1500 calories at my weight. So I am definitely burning off a lot. But still, this is pretty dramatic. Really, I am completely blown away. Hope I can keep this up. Just another 10.5 pounds before I go to SF and I will schedule to get my tattoo. I am certain that I will achieve that and probably even more in the next 4 weeks. ;))

Thanks for listening to my rant. I am pretty gosh darned fired up right now. In case you couldn't tell.

Today's Weight: 208 lbs - before yoga

Today's Weight: 206.5 lbs - after yoga

THAT'S 10.5 LBS LOST IN JUST 4 DAYS!!


Yesterday's Food Choices:
32 oz green smoothie w/ pineapple, banana,
red leaf lettuce, romaine, mint & orange juice
(9am - home)
20 oz green/peppermint tea
(11 am - work)
veggie burrito w/ black beans, rice,
lettuce, salsa, guacamole & enchilada sauce
(1 pm - Taqueria Ramirez)
Dove milk chocolate w/ almond bar
(3 pm - work)
carrot, apple, beet, ginger juice
(5 pm - Jewel or Juice)
16 oz green smoothie leftover
(9 pm - home)

Today's Food Choices:
1 apple
1 banana
(10am - home)
32 oz green/peppermint tea
(11 am/12:30 pm - during yoga)
Naked Juice "SuperFood" green smoothie
(1 pm - home)
4 clementines
(3 pm - home)
1/2 a dynamite roll
1/2 a veggie tempura roll
1/2 a spicy veggie roll
1/2 a regular veggie roll
(5:30 pm - Sushi Man)

DAY 2: Green Smoothie Challenge

So I haven't really been doing the Green Smoothie Girl Challenge verbatim. At least not to start. She is my inspiration and I do take her recommendations to heart. I want to incorporate all ten of her points eventually, but for the next several weeks these are my personal goals:

1 green smoothie per day
1 green salad per day
1 green tea per day
1 fresh vegetable-based juice per day
1 gallon of water per day
workout - yoga, swim or The Firm - every day

Today's Weight: 211.5 lbs

THAT'S 5.5 LBS LOST IN JUST 2 DAYS!!

I kinda knew that this would happen, though. It seems that pounds that come on fast are also fast to leave once I eliminate the junk food that caused them to creep back.

Yesterday's Food Choices:
32 oz green smoothie w/ pineapple, banana,
red leaf lettuce, romaine, mint & orange juice
(9am - home)
Kona chocolate chip pancakes
(1 pm - home)
2 apples w/ chyawanprash
(3 pm - home)
carrot, apple, beet, ginger juice
(5 pm - Jewel or Juice)
carrot spice muffin
(7 pm - Coffee Talk)

Today's Food Choices:
32 oz green smoothie w/ pineapple, banana,
red leaf lettuce, romaine, mint & orange juice
(8am - home)
wild salmon fillet
salad w/ spinach, onions, carrots, tomatoes,
artichoke hearts, sunflower seeds & vinaigrette dressing
(1 pm - Salad Creations)
peanut M&M's
(3 pm - work)
carrot, apple, celery, beet, ginger juice
(8:30 pm - home)

Green Smoothie Challenge

After much deliberation, I have decided to start the Green Smoothie Challenge tomorrow. I've got about 4 1/2 weeks until my trip to California and I'd like to make some big changes in my diet before then. I've been reading/watching a lot of raw food blogs/videos and think that Green Smoothie Girl's approach is one that I can live with long term.

These are the 10 Points she advocates for weight loss:

1. Drink 8-12 glasses of water daily (between meals, not during) starting with two glasses of water when you first wake up.

2. Drink 1 quart of green smoothie daily—this is the minimum, you can drink as much as you want!

3. Eat 8-10 raw vegetables and fruits daily (with most of those being vegetables including plenty of greens).

4. Eat freely of whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds—soak them whenever possible for maximum nutrition.

5. Eat 1 oz. or more of coconut oil daily.

6. Add kelp, dulse, nori, or seaweed to a green smoothie, soup, or salad every day.

7. Take a good probiotic daily, and digestive enzymes with any meal that isn’t mostly raw.

8. Avoid processed sugar, white flour, animal flesh, and coffee/soft drinks (including diet drinks) or other stimulants using NutraSweet (aspartame) and caffeine.

9. Eat three meals daily that are 60% raw or more. Try to avoid snacking but if you must snack as you’re transitioning to three meals a day, have a green smoothie.

10. Break a sweat once a day, 5-6 days a week—do both aerobic and weight bearing exercise, and push yourself.

To read more about it check out her website: http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/weightloss.html

I will be doing Bikram Yoga 5-6 days per week. I also want to try to do The Firm Vol 4 (45 min weight workout video) 2 mornings during the week and swim at least 1000 yards on one of the weekend days. And, of course, I usually take my dog Buddha for a 30 min walk weekdays and to the park on weekends.

I will record my weight and food choices here. I will discuss my yoga progress and insights to my practice on my "Ellen's Yoga Journey" blog.

I am very excited to see how much weight I can lose and how my body responds inside and out to this regimen. Wish me luck!

Starting Weight: 217 lbs