Day 8

Woke up feeling really good! I fell asleep close to 11:45/midnight and woke up around 4:15. Stayed up for maybe 45 min meditating, visualizing and praying (also took this opportunity to have my hot cup of lemon water). Fell back asleep around 5. Next thing I knew it was already 7. Wow, slept like a baby and once again, woke up happy and feeling refreshed and ready for a new day.

After washing up and brushing teeth, I had my first juice of the day. A green concoction from yesterday. That yucky salad mixture thingy... but, I'm not about to waste it, lol! Glugged a 20 oz bottle of that down. Had water and tea. For lunch I had another bottle I took with me while running errands. Glug, glug, glug.... More hot lemon water to warm my insides when I got home. By dinner time I was looking at the bowl of veggie soup I had just heated up and thought... gads, I'm so sick of GREEN (even my poop is now green!!!!)!! I took a few bites and sighed. I just wanted something with more flavor, more texture to BITE into. Knowing crackers were out of the question (as are cheetos, lol), I opened the cupboards to see what I could possibly put in to make it more palatable. Alas... a can of peanuts!! I scooped a handful (while greedily eating a few on the side) and dropped them into the bowl. Stirred em up and... oh my... FLAVOR!!! I reasoned that the nuts were OK because my vitamix recipe book often adds various nuts to beverages for the flavor/nutritional value. So if THEY say it's ok.... it MUST be, right??? The entire time I'm in my head wondering if I should blog my little misdeed, tell Kari, or keep it to myself.

The answer came about ten minutes after I had eaten the last bite of my soup.... Kari texted me asking what constituted cheating. I wasn't sure at first what she was getting at so I sent her this LONG text about how I'd eaten the nuts and blah, blah, blah only to have another message from her pop in saying 'Like... can I roast a carrot onion and potato: Or is that cheating:....  Hurry up and answer!!!!!!!! (I noticed she used LOTS of explanation points. My goodness, how RUDE!) Anyway...., OMG... IS THAT CHEATING?!?!?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

What's the difference between eating a carrot and drinking it?! :o)  I know where she's coming from for the plan calls to strictly juice this week, BUT... because I don't own a juicer, technically I haven't been 'juicing' all this time. The vitamix keeps ALL the veggie and pulverizes it into a beverage but where she gives the 'pulp' to her farm babies, I ingest ALL of my 'juice' ingredients. Hmmmmm, maybe that's how she lost twice as much weight as me.... LOL but I'm still benefiting from the side-effects of eating healthier. As I looked into the mirror this morning I swear more and more the dark circles under my eyes and the lines on my face (of fatigue and worry) have greatly diminished. I feel a glow from within and believe it's also showing on the outside more.

I like the plan. I'm glad I'm doing it. I will continue to do this until the end of the month (yikes! which means MORE than the 15 days originally planned!) for brain clarity and functioning. But, I might just continue to incorporate other healthy alternatives. NO dairy or meats just yet. I'd really like to see how my body responds to the plan I'm currently on and then slowly reintroduce them to see what the effects are. In the meantime, I haven't been eating after 7 pm either and can hear my tummy digesting the food whereas before it probably had to work overtime as oftentimes I'd eat late or snack IN bed (cracker crumbs anyone?!) :o)

Aloha oi for now. Time to get back to studies. My brain is functioning again. It's been an awesome day full of joy, love and happiness. My inner flower is blossoming w/each new day. Thank goodness for a sturdy inner stem to provide the nutrients needed. Yummy :o)