I feel rather lithe and long-limbed, like a....gazelle.

I am happy to say I am FINISHED with this juice cleanse. DONE. No more.

Before I give you my feedback I have to make one admission.........
I only did 3 days of just juice, instead of the 4 I had planned. I really just didn't want to do it anymore. Three days was enough for me. I don't feel bad about it, because it's not as though I started to eat junk today (Day 4), but I mixed in some fruits and veggies, quinoa and almonds along WITH the rest of my juice.

The weird thing is, once I started eating real food, I found that I WANTED juice. Or a salad. I can literally feel a change in my taste buds and the foods I'm craving.

For a recap I decided to do this Q & A style.

Why did I want to do a juice cleanse?
I am telling you RIGHT now, I did not do this for weight loss. I am educated and smart enough to know that the weight I'd lose as a result wouldn't be in the form I wanted to lose (water vs. fat). Do NOT let weight loss be a driving factor for you in doing a 3-4 day juice cleanse. It's not that you won't see the scale move (I weighed out of curiosity and I've dropped 6 pounds) but more than likely some of that will come right back when you eat regular, solid foods. Now, if you're doing a juice cleanse for longer than a week, maybe...just MAYBE you could keep some of that weight off, but damn....that's dedication.

I decided to try this for my health, to see if it would make me feel more alert and more awake as people claimed it did for them. I felt like I needed a jump start again- I had been in a workout slump and needed to feel better.

How do I feel?
I really feel GREAT. Besides having a small craving for a hamburger, I feel more energetic than I have in a long time (and I've felt this way since day 2 mind you), my skin is super soft, I feel like I can go workout for hours on end and I'm ready and wanting to eat big salads and healthy even more than I did a week ago. No headaches, no aches anywhere. No stomach grumbles.

How much coffee do I usually drink? How much alcohol?
The cleanse said to stay off of caffeine/coffee a week before the juice cleanse. I usually drink about 2-3 cups every morning. Sometimes less. The past week I hardly drank any to easily transition into the "no-caffeine" zone that the Juice Cleanse asked of me. Alcohol? Usually it's a few drinks on the weekend: wine or whiskey with one ice cube.

Was it tough to give up alcohol/caffeine?
Nope. I only had one small hankering for a glass of wine while watching TV last night. This morning I really wanted a cup of coffee, but tomorrow will come and that cup of coffee will taste like the best thing in life.

Did I miss anything/have cravings/get actually hungry?
There were times at work when I'd get small cravings for things. Not really cravings...more like just a desire to EAT them. lol. I just wanted to bite into them.

What did I like most about this particular cleanse?
SUPER impressed that the drinks are quite low-glycemic and have a very low sugar content. The green juices have only about 7 grams of sugar per bottle, and 18-20 grams on the higher end. A few other cleanses I looked into contained about 40-60 grams of sugar per bottle! No. Just no, thank you.

Urban Remedy's cashew milk and cleansing lemonade drinks are sweetened with stevia (other cleanses tend to use agave), so they’re even lower in sugar than the juices.

I also really love their use of super-nutritious veggies like dandelion greens, burdock root, fresh turmeric, etc. I'm all for trying new and interesting veggies and....weeds/roots. haha?

Would I do it again?
Ehhhh, I'd definitely drink juices again, but I think I'd only do a juice cleanse for 3 days and it would be MAYBE twice a year during season change. I could see myself doing it after the holidays. Other than that, a long-term juice cleanse isn't for this girl, but never say never.

What did I learn the past four days?
First and foremost, my long-time suspicions were true... I love food. I just do. I love the way food tastes, I love the "experience" of eating and dining with others, and trying new foods. I will never NOT love food and that's OK. But, I also love the way I feel when eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet...

90% of the time I'm careful with what goes into my body because I want to take care of it- I want it to last a good while. I want to set a good example for other women on what a healthy body image is and how to have a HEALTHY relationship with food.

That's just how it's going to be for me, but that being said a juice cleanse is a nice way to break things up, try new things. ESPECIALLY if you don't get enough fruits and veggies, I think this would be outstanding for you.

I also learned that tastes and habits can be changed and redirected toward something better.
Cost: Urban Remedy cleanses cost $60 a day plus shipping (which costs $45 per 3-day cleanse).

Support: Urban Remedy sends you a pre-cleanse email containing tips for how to prepare for your cleanse. I liked that little something extra.

How to Order: Their website, urbanremedy.com 


Thanks for following along! If you have questions on my experience, let me know I'd be glad to answer! Now on to bigger challenges...what shall I attempt next? Hmmm.........

Yay!! So Beachbosy is participating in Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year!

If you've ever wanted to try P90X or TurboFire, but didn't really have the money to do so in one setting, now is the PERFECT time!!

TurboFire is 55% off and save 27% on P90X Friday through Monday! Supplies are limited so buy quickly! I just got my TurboFire today! Nope...can you believe I didn't have it yet? Mom and I will be sharing it :) See other programs on sale below! May find something else for that stocking!!!

Click HERE to buy

This post was inspired by a good blog friend of mine, Kelly. She's as awesome as they come and her latest blog post was about those pounds that just aren't coming off quick enough. We've all been there, right? When nothing budges and you don't know what the freaking deal is. What up fat?? Move on! Oh, but you can stay in my chestal area. Thanks so much! ;)

Kelly was asking me specifically about higher protein snacks, so I gave her my short but sweet list of the foods I grab for throughout the day for protein. Needless to say, that totally spun me up and I realized just how much I miss blogging about my healthy eating and fitness routines. A total STRONG yearning to write about it even. So, that's what I'm doing.

I think I blog about this every few months, so if you don't wanna read, move along.

At present time I can honestly say I've been doing so well with my workouts and eating healthy. So much in fact, that I've lost almost 8 pounds in TWO weeks! Then again, I gained about 15 during the holidays. LOL. Yeah, I had a bit of a free-for-all last Holiday Season. It's not normal to lose that much weight so quickly, but I'm happy it's peeling off me.

My secret? The type of cardio I choose and my diet. 

I rely HEAVILY on my at-home DVD workouts. I honestly wouldn't have it any other way! Thank you, Beachbody! Seriously. I'm just not big on paying gym memberships- I'd much rather have everything I need for an overall body workout right at home. I'm more likely to do it, for one!

Currently I'm relying on Insanity to whip my ass back into shape. It's SO amazing. High intensity, so if you're a beginner you'll need to start slow, but once you get into the program you'll start to see MAJOR changes FAST!

One of these days, I promise I'll show you a before and after comparison photo. It scares me to think that I'd show my less-than stellar figure off, but if it motivates someone else, who cares. But that won't be for a few more months ;)

I'm a firm believer that a healthy diet is a LIFESTYLE change. You can't just eat healthy and then after losing that weight or gaining the muscle you want, go back to your old ways unless you want to end up RIGHT where you started. And who needs or wants to move backwards?? No one!

That being said, I also believe in "everything in moderation." There are times I just want that Chocolate Peanut Butter Reese's egg, aiyt?? And I'm going to eat it! That also means, that I'm going to still do my workouts the next day and STILL eat my lovely Salmon or chicken breast at my next meal. The biggest thing I've actually soaked in recently is that I am my BIGGEST hindrance in my quest for true fitness goal reaching. I want to look back on this year and realize that I did everything I possibly could to get my body to its full fitness potential! Our bodies do so much for us and to take care of it is a HUGE deal. I want to see those defined abs and arms. I want my legs to be able to climb hill after hill- I cannot WAIT!

I expect this journey to take a year or so, and the maintenance to last a lifetime- and I'm OK with that.

I know this post is all over the place!

I've added a few new recipes to the "Eat This" page- just a few things I've been eating as of late, and also, you can follow me on Pinterest- I'm always adding foods to my boards. Healthy and the not so healthy. haha

My eventual goal? I'd like to be a personal trainer. I love the idea. I love giving advice to others on fitness and health. I love to workout MOST days. I couldn't imagine anything cooler than helping people achieve a healthy mind, body and soul. I don't know why I've never said this out loud before, but I am now. I am determined to one day be the person people look up to and ask advice. Until the, I can only add my two cents to this blog of mine.

My first step is to become a Beachbody coach! Anyone can become one, actually. You do have to pay a monthly fee, but you're part of a team and you get people to become coaches and make your own team. It's a great way to make money, yes, but you also have a big group of motivation behind you! Plus, as a coach you get discounts on Shakeology and the Beachbody workouts! UHM, yes please!! I can't justify doing it quite right now because of Brady's vet bills, but soon. it's not expensive to become a coach, but every cent counts for him.


Anyone interested in being part of my Beachbody team once I start one?? I'd love to have you guys as part of my group! 

Thanks for listening to my blab! I think the next post I do will be my daily meal plan. I always like to see what others eat and how often they eat. I'm weird.

Have a great weekend!