Hello from Joanne

I’ve gotten a ton of great response from my Facebook status updates, tweets, and Instagram photos about this 10 Day Juice Detox I’ve been on so here goes a blog to talk a little bit about this new beauty secret I found.

First off I wanted to thank my friend Gen for sharing this with me in the first place.  Seeing her posts on her Facebook about this detox got me intrigued.  Then I started to see other people posting about this “juicing” so I asked what it was all about.  She directed me to a documentary called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, a film that documented these two men on their amazing journey to cure themselves from this autoimmune disease.  Seeing their journey to grabbing a hold of their health was amazing! The next day I bought myself the Lexus of juicers the Breville Ikon 5 Speed and my journey started.

A little bit about my health and fitness.  I’m an extremely busy person.  I am a mother of two kids, I work at Shampoo Dolls 3 days a week, and I own a husband and wife wedding photography business, Encarnacion Photography. On top of all this I’m still trying to find time for date nights and a social life with good friends.  I work out at least 3 times a week doing about an hour of cardio and 2 days of pilates.  So needless to say I’m a pretty active gal.  The last 2 months has been extremely crazy in my life.  With the recent changes in salons, traveling in the past 5 weeks, and wedding season in full swing I haven’t had much time to be able to prepare the healthiest of meals or cook for that matter. I started to feel bogged down.  I felt like I weighed 300 pounds (not that I looked it) but not fueling your body with the right food made a huge difference in my energy levels.  Our family spent a week in Mexico at an all inclusive resort and let’s just say that margaritas, tequila shots, and pina colodas were my best friends. Life began for me as soon as we got back from Mexico.  I got a new job at a new salon at Shampoo Dolls, wedding season began, and my kids were out for summer. I was going CRAZY trying to find the balance in life all over again.  Shortly after that all began I started to get these crazy headaches, which have never happened before. I have no idea where they came from or from what, but that was the moment I knew that something needed to change.

I knew I wasn’t eating as well as I can be. Don’t get me wrong I eat salad, fresh fruit and veggies, but I also love Spam and rice.  Eating well wasn’t just for me, but for my two daughters as well. If I was ever going to have them eating as healthy as they should be it was going to start with me. So I started juicing!!

I’m currently on Day 7 of my  1o day detox and I have never felt as amazing as this in my life, so great I’m going for 14!  The first few days were tough. I never felt as if I were starving myself, but I missed the actual action of eating.  There were moments in my day where I wanted to just throw something in my mouth: a chip, a bite of the girl’s breakfast, a sausage they were eating, something/anything.  The moment I felt the urge I grabbed my Blender Bottle and drank away.

If you’re considering doing the cleanse, try it! If you’re intrigued by it, watch the film. If you have any questions for me ask away!

Things I expected:

• nutrients being infused to my body
• energy
• weight loss

Things I didn’t expect:

• my skin glowing
• my mind feeling clear
• my body feeling amazing
• my husband drinking juice with me
• my kids drinking carrots and kale
• my mood elevated
• just feeling damn gorgeous!

Some tips for starting your detox:

1. Buy a good juicer!  It makes a difference.  You can use a blender, but from what I’ve read it’s not the same.
2. Buy organic and local if you can. It’s pricey but worth it. You don’t want to be juicing up pesticides when yo’re trying to eat healthy. Local produce because its the freshest. Since local produce doesn’t need to travel thousands of miles before it gets to you, it’ll have to upmost highest nutrient content amount in them and there shouldn’t be any waxes or coating that they put on vegetables to make them appear “fresh” at the grocery stores. So get used to shopping at Whole Foods!
3. Buy a few Blender Bottles. I used at least 2 of these during the day while I’m at work or not around the house.  The stainless steel blender ball inside helps to blend up your veggie juice during the day.
4. Make sure to get lots of rest and drink lots of water!
5. The more green veggies the better, fruit is great but it has a lot of sugar in it.
6. Apples are great for juicing because they yield a lot of juice, if you’re going to use an apple use a green one its higher in nutrients.
7. Replace the apple in your recipe with a cucumber, it’s just as yummy!

Links to some yummy recipes!!!

http://jointhereboot.com/reboot-program/recipes/juice-recipes/

http://www.wholeliving.com/photogallery/detox-soups-and-smoothies#slide_1

http://juicerrecipesnow.com/tag/alkaline/

http://fernsnutrition.com/juicer_recipes.htm

If you’re going to start after reading this here’s some great things to know (taken off the Reboot Your Life site):

At least one week prior to beginning your Reboot plan, start changing the way you eat.

• Say Goodbye To: processed junk foods, white flours, sugar/desserts, fried food, fast food, processed meats, alcohol and begin to wean yourself off caffeine.
• Say Hello To: salads, soups, smoothies with a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains, nuts, seeds, natural nut butters, beans and legumes.
• Transitioning off animal proteins: choose wild-caught fish, organic eggs, gradually decrease poultry during the week and choose only organic varieties when you eat them. If you eat red meat choose only grass-fed organic, lean and don’t eat this past day 3 of the preparation week. By last day of the week, your protein should come from solely plant sources such as beans, nuts, legumes (for example, black beans, hummus, chick peas, lentils, edamame)
• Transitioning off dairy: Choose only low or non-fat organic dairy with little to no added sugars. If you choose soy, rice or almond milk also get unflavored/plain to limit the sugar content. Choose organic cheese, and transition from cow’s milk cheese to goat cheese by the middle of the week. By the end of the week (day 5) all dairy should be out of your diet to prepare for the Reboot.

Good luck and cheers to a healthier and happier life!