the Juice

The juice did me good! But boy was I happy to eat some food I could chew :) At the end of the two week juice fast I had clarity of thought, an appreciation of veggies and what they do for your body, and I was 11 lbs lighter! Ryan did the fast for 10 days and experienced just as much benefit as I did. Probably even more since he could care less about a number on the scale and dudes always lose way more then the ladies...its quite upsetting :) The last four days of the fast were the most difficult since Ryan had started incorporating food. I felt so grateful that he was willing to the fast with me to begin with, I did't realize how much easier it was with a buddy until he wasn't doing it any more.

Now that its over Ryan have been making wiser, healthier food choices and huge part of it was not eating out as much. Its so rewarding to eat at home and know that we are making good decisions for our bodies, mind, and essentially the wellness of our family as a whole. I didn't go through all the pantries and clean every thing out thats "not healthy" because I know myself...I would start to panic and eat a box of Oreos. We are slowly switching out the processed and saturated fat filled foods with organic, free range, and raw foods. Though the price is higher the taste is better and I am DOWN for that!

P.S. I still love ice cream. Just making sure I dont substitute a meal for it or eat a whole carton with out even blinking :)

Carynn and Stella had sleep over.

They're old friends

Stella had been really looking forward to this past weekend because her best friend was coming to visit and was going to sleep in her bed!!! It was so nice to have Carynn here, I needed my Carynn fix. She is probably my biggest fan when it comes to the juice fast so I was so happy I was able to share it with her for the few days she was here.

I love having her at my house. She loves my babies and gets up early too. We were able to hang out for a good amount of time each day before we had to get to the res to of our days. We snuggled the babies and drank juice on the porch in the rain. Talked about life and how she is in such a good place right now. I couldn't be more proud of her.

Sunday we woke up hung out a bit then we went out separate ways. She was going to see Babe and Ryan and I were going to the Scream the Prayer tour at The Glass House. A couple of the bands that I do "day to day" stuff for Ryan were on this tour so I was really excited to go and see them all.
I kinda liked my hair that day. It was stormy and humid and kinda gave my hair that "messy but cute" thing.


The show was great. Hot but good. Wish I took more photos though. Heres Mr. Green.


Here are some of my fave photos from the weekend

To me you are a work of art

Thursday I was tattooed by Brent Vann, my absolute favorite tattooer, male (besides my husband), and baseball fanatic, somehow he turns me into a baseball fan when Im with him, probably cause he loves it so much :)
Anyways, I got my "Lincoln" tattoo on the inside of my arm and I am absolutely crazy about it, except for the healing process cause that totally sucks.



Friday I was ever so lucky to go out with my girlfriends whom I adore more and more. I realize that it seems like we've been going out a lot...well we have! Wooohoo! I love it! We went to the Branding Iron cause it was ladies night and dollar beers till...ummmm....10? !!? I don't remember since we tried to drink as many $! Bud Lights before then.
When we first arrived everyone was already on the dance floor doing their fancy line dancing that EVERYONE knew the steps to except for us, well I take that back, Candice knew the moves, she was undercover though. As the night progressed and the beers were a flowin' all the sudden we became line dancing experts. The "regulars" totally hated us. But we had a GREAT time! The mechanical bull was also a hit until it started over heating and not all of us could ride :(












Oh yeah, did I mention that I totally fell in love with Candice?

Day 8 and feeling great

Today is day 8 of my two week juice fast and I couldn't feel better. I can't say that my hunger pains have completely subsided but they are definitely not as difficult to get through.


Benefits that I have seen so far:
-Weight loss: 9lbs :) :) :)
-Clear skin, I dont have acne but my dark circles are definitely better and it's not like Im getting more sleep :)
-Clarity of thought. This one is HUGE! I just feel so aware and alert, I like the way Carynn put it, it's like "I'm smarter" haha whatever it is it feels good in my brain.
-My view of food and what I will put in my body from here on out is rapidly changing. Veggies look good to me. Thats something thats never been a fixture in my life, the only vegetables that I was able to eat before was salads, which are good, but not enough. I love this benefit. It was one of my main goals!!
-Ryan and I have grown closer because of this. YES he stuck it out. Even after the terrible carrot ginger juice I gave him. It was almost a deal breaker, but we made it through :) It may sound strange and Im not even sure how it happened, it just did. We totally bonded over veggies. We talk about the healthy things we are going to eat after the fast and how we are drastically changing the way Nelson's do food. Which I am so so grateful for, there is no way I could make this lifestyle change without him! But Don't judge us when you see us at In-N-Out every once in awhile, I may just be eating a grilled cheese but I can guarantee I will be there from time to time! Ryan says he "just feels better" which is great! He works such long hours and things can get pretty stressful for him, I figure since he internalizes most of that stress these veggies could help him out a little on the inside.
-I've received so much encouragement from friends and family and it has made it that much easier! Being able to talk to my husband, Shawnna, and Carynn about it all has made it almost impossible for me to fail.

Theres only a few negatives I've experienced so far:
-Im not sure why it is but I pretty much need to brush my teeth after every juice. I guess its because its so concentrated but man my mouth kinda doesn't love the aftermath of a juice. I did have a friend warn me it could cause bad breath so maybe thats why I feel that way after. I just keep a pack of gum on hand in case the brush is not around.
-The desire to snack when bored is still there. For this reason I have also been eating a handful of raw almonds a day and have eaten fruit if the hunger is too strong. This may go against the "juice fast" but like I said before I didn't want to be to militant on myself because I knew I would fail. Im perfectly fine eating some fruit and nuts along with my juice.


I definitely recommend the juice fast to anyone. A couple things I suggest doing is...
-When you purchase your fruits and veggies, right when you get home, prep them for juicing. Even if you're not going to juice them right then. Whether its washing, coring, peeling, or cutting do it all when you buy it. Coming from someone who has a pretty busy life, its easy to put off juicing, especially if nothings ready for you when you go to juice. This has helped tremendously!
-Buy as much produce from your local farmer. Its cheaper, it tastes better, and your helping support your community and that farmers business.
-The early bird gets the worm. I realized I was going to the produce stand after I got off work and it was slim pickens since Redlands/Mentone restaurants and families are big on buying from local farmers, by the time 530 rolls around theres not much to choose from.

Ill post again in a few days

P.S.
I decided to do 14 days instead of 17. My birthday is on day 14. C'mon...a girls gotta eat!

P.P.S.S My wonderful husband is currently buying "superfoods" online right now. This man owns my heart!!