Back to School

School has started.  My babies are in Kindergarten and I don't know what to do.  It was such an emotional first day.  It is crazy to be so emotional as they are in school for 3 hours a day, but this every day schedule is crazy.  We are 3 weeks in and I am still adjusting to the routine.  One of the major routines I have tried to embrace is using my oils daily to help keep us all on track and healthy.

What are my routines?

Every morning (or most mornings) I diffuse Joy or Lemon and Peppermint.  This helps wake up the kids and keep them happy.  While some might think I am crazy, I have actually experience Joy helping my kids.  While my kids wake up at the crack of dawn, they are not really morning people.  They want attention but not from each other so there is lots of fighting and bickering.

I put valor behind the kids ears when they go off to school to help with their confidence and also calm them down a bit.  S can tend to be a wanderer so I also think it helps her stay on track.

I am diffusing Thieves every afternoon, which is awesome because it reminds me of fall.  According to the Essential Oil Desk Reference:

When we are working on homework, I am diffusing brain power.   Brain Power is a blend specific to Young Living with the following single oils: Frankincense, Sandalwood, Melissa, Cedarwood, Blue Cypress, Lavender and Helichrysum.  The Essential Oils Desk Reference says:   

At night we diffuse dream catcher in the girls room to help them drift off to lala land and have happy dreams.  If they are coming down with something, I will put Thieves and Lavender in the diffuser.  

What oils are in your daily regimen?

Food.. I see Food!!!!

I finished my 3 day juice cleanse with a bang.  Saturday morning could not come soon enough, all I wanted was some real food that I could chew.  I had to laugh when I woke up on Saturday morning, I was begging for scrambled eggs with veggies.  My first bite brought a flavor EXPLOSION to my mouth!  It was incredible!  I was so excited to get back to eating real food.  I was going to be able to eat fruits, veggies, eggs and... wait for it... 1 cup of either brown rice, quinoa or half a sweet potato.  SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!  Carbs!   Hello beautiful world!  Everything is looking clear!

I was so excited!  I had been dreaming about what I was going to eat with my "carbs".  I was getting all sorts of crazy, sautéed veggies.. maybe.  Eggs... maybe?  Stuffed zucchini with quinoa.. I am getting crazy.

It is so funny how my taste buds can change.  I just wanted to eat food.  Saturday quickly became challenging as I was running errands to get ready for little man's birthday the next day, we had our first soccer game for one of my daughters and we had a Rockies game.  Yep!  It is the first time in my life that I went to a Rockies game and I didn't get a Rocky Dog.  I only like hot dogs at baseball games and now... dreams and taste buds shattered!

I did my best to try and eat but I mostly grazed (which helped keep my energy and glucose levels up) but it was not quite the AMAZING flavor explosion pig out (on fruits and veggies) day I was planning.  My partner in crime is so awesome that he made me a delicious meal of sautéed sweet potato with veggies (similar to the one from my spiralized post) and I was able to eat before we headed out for the game.

At the game I sliced up a peach and brought some carrots to tide me over, because obviously my carrots taste exactly like a delicious oven cooked pizza or french fries from the grill.  But I was determined to stay the course!  Seriously.. It is for 20 days not the rest of my life... Right?

At the game, each kid had something different (which I would normally munch off of).  Hot dogs, pizza, chicken tenders, fries, cinnamon pecans oh my!  Could life be taunting me any more?!?!  I sat in the corner (ok not actually in the corner but it felt like the food corner of shame) and ate my delicious peach and when a kid tried to take a piece I about take him out (yea it may have been the birthday boy).  Darn it!  I was going to enjoy my peach!  Back up off kid!

I made it through the weekend successful!  I never cheated and I was able to have an amazing dinner of roasted tomato sauce and spaghetti squash as my family had noodles.  But I felt amazing!  I kept reminding myself that I felt amazing and it is only 20 days.  I had a goal of changing my moods, my eating habits and giving my body a break!  By the end of the week, I was on the downward slope of the cleanse and I was ready to face the coming 10 days with excitement and enjoyment!  (and maybe a bad case of Food FOMO).

How do you take your lemonade?

Today is the big day!  I start 3 days of nothing but Pure Lemon Juice (about a 6 oz - twice a day) and 2 oz of Maple Syrup (twice a day) and then 24 oz of water (twice a day).  PLUS ALL THE WATER I WANT!  Can you believe it?  All the water I want?!?!  It is amazing!  Seriously AMAZING!  ha ha!

So in truth, the lemon/syrup/water mixture is quite good.  It is a bit bitter at first but I ended up taking my water intake and adding it to the lemonade mixture throughout the day and it was pretty good.  The first day I was doing well.  The maple syrup is supposed to help your glucose level stay steady so that you don't crash and then binge eat (or that is what I told myself).  I must say it did just that.  Nutritionist Amy did say I could have 1 scoop of the protein shake eat day if I needed to.

The first day I started to get anxious at noon that I was going to crash and feel tired and cranky by 4pm.  My husband was out of town so I knew that I needed to be on the top of my game for the littles.  I had 1 hard boiled egg and 2 small cucumbers peeled at lunch.  When I got home we quickly ran out the door for swim lessons, but I was dreading having to make dinner for the kids.  I wasn't hungry but I really didn't want to be spending time making meals and be tempted by the delicious carbs and breaded nuggets that would be gracing my children's plate.  So instead I drove through, gasp, fast food.  I know... I win WORST mom of the year.  Here I am eating... oh right nothing, and my kids are getting fast food.  But it was how I survived the night so I am calling it good.

The next day, Day 4 of the cleanse Day 2 of the liquid, I was feeling confident.  I felt great.  I was not tired, I was not hangry like I expected, I was however getting a bit delirious.  On this day I was determined not to eat if I could avoid it.  I wanted to see if I could make it one day without eating anything.  Around 3:00pm I decided I wanted a little more.... LIQUID.. so I made a shake.  1 scoop of chocolate did a body good.

But let me tell you what really happened this day.  My darling children decided that while having a play date and mommy was upstairs folding laundry, they would do some cleansing of their own.  After 15 minutes of being upstairs, I came down to find this...

Mommy it snowed!

My littles (minus their little brother who was sleeping) decided to cleanse the couch of the armrest stuffing.  Because honestly why not?  Or in 5 year olds minds: "It was fun."  But the best part was when I saw the mess I gasped a bit but then calming asked the kids where the mess came from.  It was all good we were able to quickly pick up the stuffing and put it back in the arm rest but the best part was the angry and annoyed feeling I would get from my kids clearly doing something naughty was not there.  I laughed told them to NEVER do that again and went about my business.  Because it really wasn't the end of the world.  There was no need to get all worked up about it.  

I finished out the night feeling great.  

My last day doing the juice I was feeling confident.  I was ready to take on the day, I had done 2 days with this juice cleanse I could do one more day.  But around 1:00pm my FOMO was quickly rearing its ugly head.  The kids had a quesadilla and the smell of the amazing melted cheese on a warm tortilla was making me basically want to scream.  I had visions of grabbing the quesadilla right out of their hand and licking it.  I JUST WANTED A TORTILLA.  At this point I am losing it and decided it would be safest for all if I spent the rest of the day away from the kitchen.  When daddy got home, I locked my self in the bedroom until bedtime.  I could not tempt myself any more. 

After the three days though, I woke up feeling amazing.  I was ready to eat some real food (of fruits and veggies) and add in a sweet potato.  

The coolest thing I learned about myself is that "I CAN."  I can do this.  I can choice health, I can make different choices about my food and I can feel better!

Ready set go...Day 1-2

So Day 1 and 2 were not so hard.  I had to give up caffeine and in preparation I reduced my coffee intake starting a week before.  I only had decaf until the day before.  With the plan, I received 2 protein shakes and other supplements.  I was really nervous about having no coffee.  It is my routine to take a shower, make the coffee and drink a cup while I get ready.  It is warm and delicious.  But alas it was time to make a change.  With no coffee first thing in the morning I knew I would need to make sure I ate or had the protein shake right away.

Morning 1: It was labor day so I was able to relax and my hubby was home helping me feed and entertain the kids.  I was able to make my lunch and have it packed so we could spend the last day of summer at the pool.  Dinner was easy since my husband is an amazing cook and super supportive.  He sautéed veggies for me and it was AMAZING!

Day 1 down!  I felt great all day.  I wasn't starving, I wasn't tired.  It was awesome.  We shall see what comes next!

Day 2 brought a little more chaos.  I had to get the kids ready for school on my own plus I was working so I had to pack my lunch and get out the door.  I was able to pack a HUGE salad with lots of leafy greens and veggies.  I had made a dressing the day before and I sliced up some eggs for my salad.  I grabbed an apple for my mid morning snack and packed one scoop of my shake for the afternoon.

All was good until lunch.  All my friends at work on similar diets/clean eating so we have been going to the hospital cafeteria.  There is a huge salad bar and it is not expensive.  I was happy with my food.  I wasn't hungry but I was starting to have some FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).  What I forgot to mention to Nutritionist Amy is I am a social eater and I LIKE food.  I like to eat.  I typically eat something every 2-3 hours and I usually eat whatever I want.  Most of the time I make healthy choices but I am a petite person so I don't really have to be crazy strict with my diet (or so I thought). Lunch is where it hit me.  I like bread.  I like pasta.  And I feel like with a meal a piece of bread finishes out the meal nicely.  (I know this is not true but my inner child can't get over it).

Yea, I finished out the day.  I felt great.  I wasn't tired, I wasn't too cranky.  But my FOMO was ragging!  Like something fierce.

But what was really lingering over my head was the 3 days where all I did was basically drink my body weight in "juice" and water!

To Cleanse or not to Cleanse

I have been tossing around the idea for some time now.  I have been looking into the options.  Health food store? Online Regimen? Meet with a nutritionist?  I don't have much weight to lose, but I do need to reset my health and get on track.  I was invited to a presentation at a nutritionists office in my town and I decided to check it out.  After her lunch hour presentation I decided, YES!  I want to do a cleanse.  It is time to give my body a reset and give my liver a break.  (I am afraid to say that I may or may not be drinking more these days than I should be).

Fast forward 2 weeks when I meet with my Nutritionist, Amy at Living Well.  She is so nice, great energy and super knowledgeable.  She totally got me.  When I complained of feeling yuck, tired, bloated, frustrated.  I needed a change.  She knew exactly what I needed.  A 20 day detox.  I told her it was very important to me that I eat real food and that I not do something that I won't be able to succeed on.  She assured me that I would be eating real food and would come out the end of 20 days feeling AMAZING!

One of my major concerns is that I am ALWAYS tired.  Like always.  I get 8 hours of sleep a night (but I am not getting the deep sleep I would like), I am up by 6am and by 8am my eye lids feel HEAVY!  I have been also dealing with being moody and frustrated (for really no good reason).  While I have that mostly under control by using Progessence Plus Serum, I still have bouts that there is no reason I should be annoyed with things but I am.

Nutritionist Amy got me all set up and I was ready to start on Monday, September 1st.  The first 2 days were eating real food but only fruits, veggies and eggs.  Day 3-5 were the special days.  I would have two 32 oz containers of pure lemon juice, maple syrup and water plus ALL the water I wanted.  WHAT?!?!  Don't be so generous!  Haha

Day 6-20 were back to just fruits, veggies, up to 3 eggs, 1 avocado a day and I could add in either 1 cup of brown rice, 1 cup of Quinoa or 1/2 a sweet potato/yam.  Woohoo!

I went to the store to prep for this diet and I will update you as I go!