Isn't Food Grand?

I survived my first ever cleanse/detox program. My program lasted seven days which was just the perfect amount of time, if you ask me. For my HASAY group, I would definitely have to say that it was well worth my time and effort. Here are some thoughts and suggestions and a few parting words:

1) Make sure you a great health care practitioner working with you, as I did with Dr. Keith Smigiel, DC. Sure you can go online and buy a tub of the UltraClear PLUS but you can also just eat less and exercise more and that hasn't always worked for us in the past. Having someone who cares about your progress and is paying attention to what you say through out the week is very important. And believe me, sometimes you are quite woozy and need a clear head around.

2) My main goal was to "jump start" my metabolism and lose some weight. Both objectives were achieved. I lost 6.5 pounds and time will tell whether the rate is kicked up enough to help me lose weight quicker.

3) I could not believe that I rarely felt hungry. The medical food drinks and about two helpings of green vegetables filled me up. I missed the nightly wine, I'm not going to lie.

4) You have to keep the exercise light, like walking and simple strength training as you can get pretty dizzy.

5) No real unpleasant side effects: no gas, no smelly urine, etc.

6) Some great side effects: detailed, interesting dreams, you feel very relaxed (almost high).

7) Perhaps my favorite thing: my stomach has flattened (not gone away, but I lost the pooch)!

8) Maybe my insides are all cleaned and the toxins have all been removed; I honestly don't have any feeling or sensation about what's going on inside.

9) You will be tired of every vegetable you eat. Really, no vegetable should be eaten all day long and without any pepper, salt or other ingredients. I ate: broccoli (twice), asparagus, romaine lettuce, green beans, and zucchini squash (twice).

10) Now that I am eating real food again, everything tastes and smells divine! I am working on only small portions. But I can tell, my inner devil is trying to tempt me with my favorite fattening foods. I must stand strong, as I am on a roll, now. I'd like to lose 5-10 pounds and then I can fit into my closet full of clothes that are just hanging there, looking sad.

Perhaps most importantly, I made my mind up to do this program and stuck with it all week, no matter what. I attended a ladies luncheon where I only chowed on lettuce and packaged up the rest for Bill's dinner, I was offered a slice of pizza fresh out of the wood stove and said "no" and I even cooked a gigantic steak and potato dinner for Bill and sat with him at the table, nibbling on zucchini. I feel good about these things and helps me to know that if I really put my mind to it, I can lose the extra weight on my body.

If you have questions or just want to talk to Keith, here's his contact information:

602-485-9390 or drkeith@smigielfamilychiropractic.com

Aspargus Day: Detox Day Four

I may never eat asparagus again after today. It's simply not meant to be eaten plain and all day long. I have to say this was not my favorite day in the 7-day detox program. I was blurry all morning, hungry in the afternoon and I'm impatient this evening. Then, I'll go to bed.

I was pleasantly surprised that I did not have an asparaGAS problem. Most people were telling me that I would be passing smelly gas. I am way too much of a lady for that to happen!

Dr Keith Smigiel (McDreamy) spoke to me today and gave me some good recipes to try after the seven day period is over. I was thinking of a big cheeseburger and an ice cold beer, but I didn't see that meal on the list. It is so nice that he keeps such a close eye on my progress.

I look forward to more crazy dreams tonight. Last night I met a juggler and a opera singer while dining at Bones (a restaurant in Atlanta, GA that I went to once about 9 years ago).

Three days to go, but who's counting!

Detox: Day Three

It's day three of my detox/cleanse program with Dr. Keith and I'm feeling mighty fine. No kidding. I drank my medical food shake with a tiny bit of juice and had some green beans around 11:00 am. I am drinking a ton of water, too.

I do feel a little fluffy today. Not really dizzy...just soft in the head, if you know what I mean. And everything seems beautiful and sexy. First thing this morning, I receive an email from Dr. Keith and he's asking how I am doing. He gives me a few suggestions and tells me I'm progressing very well. I think I'll call him 'McDreamy' as he does look like that character on the TV show(only Keith has a better body). Next, I cannot get the poker face song out of my mind, although in fairness, it's probably because they play that song on many channels about every 12 minutes. Finally, my dreams are off-the-chart weird: last night's took place in Sag Harbour, NY (a place I've never been) and my old boss was standing in line behind me and I think we were getting cotton candy or fudge.

I attended a really nice ladies luncheon that served a wonderful lobster salad with grilled asparagus and an amazing chocolate dessert. Some of the attendees may have thought I was crazy, as I ate the grilled asparagus (and on green bean day, oops) and had the rest boxed up for Bill to eat tonight. And I toasted the day with chilled ice water. Ah, I'm living the high life.

Okay, some scoop: Sunday's weight was 135 pounds, this morning: 132 pounds. I almost fainted for real. Of course, that's just the beginning, I hope. Clothes are still tight.

Today's parting thought: Appreciate those around you and enjoy the fuzzy moments of your day. They can be really quite pleasant (almost like you're high with an illegal substance in the house).

That doesn't sound much like a "green bean grouch" to me. But I might just get that way if I don't receive a lot of comments on this post!

Two Days Into my Detox Program

This is the 20th week of participating in Casey's HASAY group diet and like many dieters I am right back to where I started...135 pounds. Well, that was what I weighed last Friday. Too much St Patrick's Day fun, too much neighborhood fun, too much food experimenting......all adding up to weight gain.

Now as fate would have it, I sat in my weekly BNI group meeting and heard Dr. Keith Smigiel, Family Chiropractor, give a presentation on UltraClear Detox Programs to eliminate the toxic waste in our bodies. At 7 am, I listen as hard as I can (being half awake) and Keith gave us all the important information about these programs. But all I heard was that both Dwight (another BNI member) and his wife did the seven-day program and each had lost over 14 pounds, felt great and have kept off the weight. I didn't need to hear those words because I see and know Dwight and Kira, and they both look fantastic. I mean, seriously HOT. So, on Friday, I place the call to Keith to get my bucket of medical food.

Basically, I take this powder and mix (I use my latte swirler) with filtered water and a tiny bit of fresh OJ and drink two or three of these each day. In addition to the shakes, I get to eat one organic, green vegetable a day. But, I can eat that one veggie all day long. Sounds simple, right?

Sunday morning I have my first shake and almost gagged at the chalkiness of the drink and eat some cooked spinach, but I need top buy more for the rest of the day. I decide to shop at Whole Paycheck (Foods) to get my green vegetables. It's midday and I feel a little woozy. I walk up to the grocery worker and ask where the spinach is and he barks at me that he has no spinach anywhere. (He must be in 'Day Four'). NO SPINACH! I am thinking a quick kick to the jugular because I am too tired to go to another store. Turns out I didn't have to kill him after all because they have some in their takeout salad bar area.

Sunday night, my son and his girlfriend come up for dinner and it was hard to make the food and not be able to eat it. On accident, I ate a grape when I was rinsing them off. I had a delicious medical food shake and some more spinach. It's a good thing I learned how to chug a drink in my earlier years, as that skill is coming in handy now!

Monday was broccoli day! And, I have not become "broccoli bitch", thank you. I have eaten three helpings of broccoli and chugged two shakes today. I was not woozy and I'm not hungry.

My parting thought for the day: I really hate that eating food can make you fat. Why couldn't smoking make you fat or running make you fat? Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if eating pizza and homemade apple pie with vanilla ice cream, gave you a flat stomach or maybe even, give you big boobs? Someone should have asked for my opinion on this topic before they went and created the world.

Stay tuned for daily updates. Keep me strong; I have a feeling I am going to need y'all!

Sticking with the HASAY Diet

I am beginning to get the hang of this HASAY diet. I know, I have been participating for 19 weeks and maybe I should have gotten the hang of it a lot sooner. That's just how diets seem to be, though.

This week, I kept the alcohol content way down which is boring, but seems to really help lose the pounds. The rule is no drinking from Monday through Thursday, except for holidays and special occasions. Several people in the neighborhood are doing this together, so it makes it a little more fun. PS: I am thanking the little green leprechauns that St. Patrick's Day falls on a Tuesday this year. I hear a Smithwicks calling me already!

I went on two difficult hikes this week and to the gym twice. Mostly I was entertaining my daughter and her friends for their spring break. Exercise Tip from the girls: dance the whole time you are driving or in a car...burns at least 100 calories per trip. Here's an example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY2wBE8UdQY

Original HASAY weight: 135 pounds:

Current Weight: 130 pounds

Losing Weight Taking Baby Steps

I feel very close to the chararcter that Bill Murray played in "What About Bob?" because this week's HASAY efforts has been about baby steps for Beth. Here is how the week played out:

Baby Steps Forward:

I wrote down everything I ate. Remarkably, I had no guilt whatsoever writing down the three Girl Scout cookies I ate for breakfast on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. But the exercise does make you stop and think before shoveling the food in your mouth.

I tried some new group classes at my gym. Normally, I am too intimidated to join the classes. This week, I said "to hell with it, you have to start somewhere". My yoga flow class was really good. Pilates at Sommet Fitness is always strong and the spin class was off the wall. I also added more jump roping to my daily exercise routines.

Baby Steps Backward:

My daughter came to town with three of her college friends for spring break (yes, it is her fault) and we ate delicious Mexican food with lots of chips, guacamole sauce and several margaritas. We also went out to breakfast and we enjoyed a big blended coffee drink that had to have at least 400 calories.

My BNI group had a bowling function, which had to include (at least for me) a pitcher of beer and some slices of thick-crusted pepperoni pizza.

This week's net result: I did not lose weight, but I did not gain weight, either. I just need to take more baby steps forward this coming week. Hope "life" doesn't get in my way........

Original HASAY weight: 135 pounds

Current Weight: 131 pounds

I Am as Cute as the HASAY Baby

Every week (that's 19 weeks) when I place Casey's adorable child's picture in my update post, I say to myself, "he's such a cutie pie. Those arms and round tummy are so cute, I just want to squeeze him"!

Only this week, I was sitting on the floor of my bathroom clipping my nails, facing my full length mirror, when I reached up to get the lotion.....I saw that I look almost exactly like him! I have that cute horizontal line underneath my sweet little boobs. My tummy is round and sticks out just like his. The arms? Identical, I swear. The only noticeable difference is my hair. (I took a picture of myself to show you, only Google would have shut down my massive revenue stream for that one, to be sure). The only problem is that the look is NOT SO CUTE on a 51-year old woman. But a picture is worth a thousand words and I have it pinned on my desk next to the computer to help me become successful in this old diet.

This week I am going to write everything down and share it with you next week. I have been good so far today, but hey, it's only been 9 hours.

I exercised 4 times this week, but for me, this amount doesn't even allow me to maintain weight. I know.......that does suck.

Having a period every two weeks and shedding like a 14-year old girl isn't helping either. The doctor thinks I'm just about at "the end". Yeah, now that would be cause for a celebration...of celery and low fat peanut butter, of course.

Original HASAY weight: 135 pounds
Current weight: 132 pounds