In Conclusion...

Our friends, strangers, and any others who may have read this blog,

We have gotten through most of Day 6 but have caved in to food that can be chewed. We are officially ending our juice cleanse. Now that there is a juicer in play, we are going to continue to regularly juice and maintain a healthier diet. What have we learned this past week? Enough to fill a blog.

These last few days have been a grand experiment in will power and betterment. I lost about 5 lbs and feel better about my body already. There are still a few soft layers to eliminate but I'm working on that with my regular workouts and a now more keen sense of the affects high fruit and vegetable intake has on my mind and body.

Day 6

Erika's weight: 117.8 lbs
Tyler's weight: 211.4 lbs

Breakfast
1 vanilla protein shake ( I'm not a one or the other kind of guy, I enjoy both chocolate and vanilla)

Snack
1 veggie from dinner Day 4

Lunch
1 vanilla protein shake

Dinner
Jeff's Pizza - 20 inch BBQ Bacon Chicken Ranch

Yes, we are celebrating with a pizza, but I'm not planning on overeating or consuming too many calories from now on. I have goals for my health and I'm going to get there no matter what it takes.

Now I'll be honest for a moment. There have been several moments of failure for me this week. Even with these errors in judgement I lost weight and it goes to show how much the body responds to proper nutrition. Here's the list:
3 bread sticks (most shameful item)
2 chicken breasts
8 slices of turkey

As random as these may seem, they were consumed at work because I am a cook and doing this juice reboot around so much food is difficult. I've turned down steak. STEAK! That moment was a win, but I still didn't remain true. Knowing how I feel when I get hungry helps and staying HYDRATED is essential.

On that note, I'd like to stress the importance of hydration. By simply drinking water all day every day, you'll find increased energy levels, fewer headaches and joint pains, better muscle recovery, and optimum mental alertness. Every time someone tells me they have a headache, I ask them if they have consumed much water today. A lot of the time they haven't, or don't know how much they actually need. I can tell when I'm dehydrated because of my grogginess and hunger. I once read that many people mistake thirst for hunger. Think about that next time you're feeling hungry but know you've recently eaten.

I don't have any more recipes right now, but when I find a good one I'll post it for you to try. This blog will remain active and I'll update it every so often with my diet changes. When another desire/need for a juice reboot arises, you will be the first to know. If you want to reboot, watch the documentary for some inspiration and set a length of time that is challenging for you. You can do it!

Thanks for reading. Feel free to write.

A Few Pictures

Here are some pictures from Day 3. Check out that post for recipes. Erika has been taking pictures and has some more somewhere. I'll find them, if there are many more, and post them for your amusement. 

Refreshed

Tyler reporting:

Day 5

Tyler's weight: 212 lbs
Erika's weight: 119 lbs

Breakfast
1 chocolate protein shake

Lunch 
1 veggie from yesterday's dinner

Dinner
Salad:
strawberry puree
bed of spinach
cucumber slices
carrot shavings
tomato slices

Yes, we have strayed from strictly juices after Erika told me that Joe, from Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, merely chose to juice everything but was not opposed to eating fruits and vegetables. You know what I crave throughout the day? To chew something. To have something between my teeth and be chewing it. Even if it's a soft pear or a crunchy piece of celery. Sounds so simple but going only liquid makes you appreciate the simpler things in life.

Erika struggled with crankiness due to lack of food today, but she got over it after a refreshing lunch. It's amazing how full you can feel after filling your body with just vegetables. Healthy here we come.

Next time you're chewing your food, think of me and know that I'm sucking down vegetable juice through a straw. I can't complain, because I'm feeling full on less food, my energy is strong, my mind is alert, and I actually enjoy the taste of vegetables and fruits in liquid form. For me, these last two days are going to be spent thinking about how much healthier I am going to eat after I finish this liquid reboot.

Except for that one pizza that I'm going to celebrate with. Oh yeah, that pizza...

It's A Hard Knock Life...

Day 5

Well, it's Erika here reporting some bad news...we're changing our 14 day juice cleanse :(

Unfortunately, my body is not responding well to this juice diet. The first night I threw up after having a full day of juices and since then I have had continual headaches. At first, we attributed the negative side affects to symptoms of withdrawal, but now that we've reached day 5 and the symptoms have not subsided I know that there is something else going on. We're pretty sure that consuming less than 500 calories a day is not conducive to the rigorous fitness routine we've adopted - especially Tyler who is doing a 5:30 am boot camp class everyday.

Thus, we will be ending the 14 day juice cleanse on day 7 and starting a fruit, vegetable, nut and protein diet. I confess, we both feel like quitters...but it's not worth feeling sick and weak everyday.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Tyler's weight loss: 4 lbs
Erika's weight loss: 3 lbs

Still Juicing

Day 4 

Tyler's weight: 212.6 lbs
Erika's weight: 119.4 lbs

Today was a much better day then I anticipated.
5:30 am workout class at the gym, more protein intake, lots of fruits and vegetables and my energy is still going strong! Work flew by and I got in a round of disc golf before starting to lag but another juice got me back on track for the rest of my day.

Here's how the juicing went -

Breakfast
1 protein shake
1 banana

Lunch
1 juice from bulk cucumber batch
1 apple

Snack
1 bunch kale
4 pears
6 small beats
1 ginger knob

Dinner
4 carrots
1 handful spinach
1 bag red lettuce
1 jalapeno
2 cucumbers
2 garlic cloves

It feels good to be shredding fat and gaining some strength. Class is a slap in the face every morning, but that's what I wanted when I signed up and that's what I need.

It's getting easier not to think about food every time I get hungry. When the feeling hits me I just drink a glass of water and push through til I get my next shake or juice. Don't stop if you really want it, my friends!

Alterations and Failure

Day 3 continued

Today was my first day back at work, after having the weekend off (woop!), and I am pleased to say I showed up and did my job. That doesn't matter, I'm just trying to figure out a way to tactfully say that I cheated. If I'm going to blog about this "Reboot" I'm going to be honest about it. It wasn't a big cheat and I could make up some reason for doing it but there is only one real reason it happened. I am weak and work in a good restaurant with delectable food surrounding me for 7 hours a day. It's not easy having to smell the steaks, cook the chicken, refill the cheese, put fries on plates, make quesadillas, etc. when you're trying not to think about and eat 90% of everything you touch. Pick a food that is the bane of your diet, focus on that smell, taste, and texture; that was my day.

3 bread sticks
1 oz. chicken

I am ashamed but it's done and there's only tomorrow.

"Over it!" -Dennis Saunders

Here's the healthy end to my day.

Lunch
1 pear
&
1 glass of the bulk batch from 2 days ago

Sitting down for a while and drinking some water after that refreshing lunch brought me back to life for another couple of hours. My energy levels have not dropped at all and I cautiously pronounce that I may be gaining endurance. Combination of nutritious food and regular exercise for the win. It would seem Erika is going in the opposite direction, even though she's feeling healthier and getting regular exercise sessions in, as well.

There is also a clarity of mind as a result of this cleanse that I hope will pick up momentum as we go along. This isn't just a physical journey but a mental one. It's going to be challenging my will power every step of the way.

Since I have to be up at 5 am to get to my morning workout class, I'll just leave you with my dinner juice.

Dinner
1 pineapple
4 carrots
1 ginger knob

Ignorance Corrected

Day 3

Tyler's weight: 212.2 lbs
Erika's weight: 120.8 lbs

Breakfast:
1 protein shake
&
1 glass of the bulk batch we made yesterday
1 banana

In next few months, God willing, I will be enlisting in the Air National Guard. It's been a little while since I sent in my paperwork but the challenge to my patience is much needed and the delay gives me an opportunity to get into proper shape. Basic training will come soon enough and I need to be ready. In anticipation of this event, I joined a morning class at the gym from 5:30 am- 6:30 am and it's painful. Here's where we get to the title of this post.

Although this cleanse is a highly beneficial and undeniable reboot of my health, it's not going to provide me with enough protein for how hard I am working out. So, with no reluctance because of the damage it would do to me if I didn't, I have added a minimum of 3 protein shakes/day to my cleanse.

Yes, yes. It hasn't taken long for me to alter my regimen but I'm not going to risk damage when exercise and intake of the proper substances to not just maintain, but strengthen my body is imperative. In addition to the protein shakes I am adding various nuts between meals to add to my protein intake. As well as bananas to be eaten. Turns out, you can't juice a banana or an avocado. If you've ever touched either one you'll understand why. Not in this juicer, anyway.

As you can already see, I am dropping weight and so is Erika. Hopefully this slight change won't deter you from visiting the blog and keeping up with our progress. There are so many more great juices to come, so don't miss out on those recipes.

On the final day, I'll reveal my "before and after" pictures. That's something worth sticking around for.

Day 2 complete!

Day 2 continued

Last  night ended with a bit of the World Cup, a couple rounds of disc golf ( my best day on record ), and a refreshing dinner juice designed by Erika.

Dinner
6 tomatoes
3 celery stalks
1/2 jalapeno
pinch of sea salt

This ended Day 2 of our 14 day cleanse, but changes had to be made. Stay around and see what alterations are made on Day 3.

Bulking

Day 2

Tyler's weight: 214 lbs
Erika's weight: 120.6 lbs

Money spent on produce: $70
With our purchases from yesterday and today, we will be able to go several days without purchasing again.


No, I'm not bulking up muscularly. Quite the opposite, actually. Today we decided to start doing some larger quantities of juices and our first attempt turned out great. When I say "attempt" off and on throughout these posts, it's because we've looked at other peoples recipes, taken the general ideas of what they've done, and made our own out of them. Not that we're going to be innovative and original, because I know there are so many good juicers, juice stands, and recipes out there who have been at it for a while.

Enough rambling. Here's the day so far:

Erika and I went to church this morning after a refreshing pineapple juice.

Breakfast
1 pineapple
6 carrots
1 ginger knob

Filling and refreshing. You know what was more refreshing? LUNCH! Our first big batch.

Lunch ( makes 8 full glasses - 128 oz. )
6 cucumbers
2 honeydew melons
2 bunches of mint

Erika is feeling weak today but she's is resolved to see this through. That's why I like her! I, on the other hand, am feeling refreshed, energetic, and healthy. My iron stomach is very resilient so I'll be very surprised if anything bothers me through this process.

Cheers to getting healthy!

Before the After

6/14/14

Day 1

Tyler's  weight: 216.6 lbs
Erika's weight: 122.4 lbs 

Money spent on produce: $60

Today we started the juice cleanse and the excitement of getting out of the gate got me through breakfast with no problems. Erika and I hadn't gone shopping yet, so we made due with the little we had between us.

Breakfast: 
1 lemon
2 Gala apples
fill with Red Berry tea

Yes, this wasn't entirely a fruit and vegetable juice, but it was a liquid start. At 9:30 AM, we met up and drove down to Des Moines for the Saturday morning Farmer's Market.

It's a glorious 6 block extravaganza filled with food and beverage, trinkets and crafts, and all the fresh produce you could want. Except carrots, no one had carrots. They're not in season yet but that's alright because we have an Aldi. If you've never shopped at an Aldi, I'll take a moment to shed a quick tear for you.
.
.
.
Moment passed.
We found half of the items on our juice ingredients list and headed back up to Ames. With all of our fresh goodies, we put together our lunch.

Lunch:
6 carrots
4 Golden Delicious apples
2 Gala apples
1 bunch Kale
1 lemon
1 ginger root knob (1 in.)

This turned out fantastic for a make-it-up-ourselves first run. Shortly after, Erika went out seeking garage sales and I met up with a couple friends for disc golf. At this point, I'm fairly hydrated and feeling good about moving forward with the challenge of this juice cleanse. By the end of hole 18 I was not. My body was feeling the urge to consume some chicken, or beef, or any meat or solid food out there but my mind knew it was for the best to abstain.
Erika said, "All I want to do is bite into a tomato."
Words I never thought I'd hear out of her mouth.
Anyway, a day off is a day off\ so we took our disc golf game to the other course in town and played another 18 holes. I forgot my water. Now I'm a little edgy and ready for another juice.

Erika picked me up and I made a snack, but she wasn't hungry so I kept it for myself.

Snack:
2 cucumbers
1 jalapeno
4 carrots
1 pinch parsley
2 bunches Kale
1 lemon

The lemon was added after tasting this one for the first time and burning my mouth. That whole jalapeno smacked me in the face, but after I added the lemon the heat was cut down to a mild sizzle.

Blah blah blah, things happened between the snack and dinner. Mostly boring life necessities that you know about and I know about and there's no need for me to explain. Here's Erika's home planter to take your mind off it.

Dinner:
2 tomatoes
1 pinch dill
4 garlic cloves
2 cucumbers
1 bunch Kale
1/2 jalapeno

Like an Italian dinner, this one was savory and full of flavor. Turns out Erika isn't very good with that much garlic and she vomited the entire juice back up an hour later. After talking to her this morning, she feels much better. Though she won't be having any garlic anytime soon.

If you made it to this point in my post, thank you for sticking with me. They say the first three days of a juice cleanse are the hardest. Personally, I'm feeling great but the same may not be said for Erika. She's a trooper and I have great faith in her ability to stick with things to the bitter end.

Unless there's pizza involved. Pizza may be the downfall of this whole operation.

Getting Started

Two days ago my girlfriend, Erika Carley, and I were browsing Netflix and came across a documentary titled Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. A man with a rare disease decides to go on a 60 day juice "reboot" to get himself off medication and into a healthier lifestyle. It was inspiring to see that drastic changes that occurred in the main characters life and we wanted to get back in shape both mentally and physically. So, we took this as a challenge to stop being lazy and start becoming our full potential.

 Each day you'll get to see our juice creations and, for those who may want to try them, all of the ingredients we use. Don't worry, I'll let you know how I'm feeling each day too. Yay, you get a rare glimpse into Tyler's ability to cope with himself...for better or worse. If Erika wants to give her input, you'll hear that too.

The plan:
14 days using only the juicer for meals. Fresh vegetables, herbs, and fruit will be the only things, apart from the OCCASIONAL cup of coffee, going into our bodies. 3-4 juices a day for better health!