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!!

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead

So Ryan and I watched the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead the other night and it really affected me. Im not the person to just agree with every documentary and what its trying to prove. Im actually quite the opposite, a devils advocate if you will. But this documentary is about a man named Joe Cross that was overweight and was also suffering from an autoimmune disorder. He goes on a 60 day juice fast in order to cleanse his system, loose weight, adjust his taste buds, and ultimately change the way he views food and what he puts into his body.



Needless to say I was inspired! Im not usually one post or promote something like this especially since I tend to fail and these sorts of changes but I would really love to make some changes. My intention in posting this is for accountability to myself and maybe some pointers here and there. I know I have friends that like to juice so hit me with your favorite recipe!

Oh yeah I forgot to mention they follow s woman that is also doing the cleanse, she suffers from migraines. After her cleanse her migraines were GONE! That alone is worth it to me. I also suffer from migraines, debilitating migraines and if that was the only result from the juice cleanse that would be enough.

Ryan, my wonderful husband will be doing it with me so it will make it that much easier. I wont have to be sitting at Red Robin watching him eat french fries while Im drinking liquid spinach :) We are committing to a 17 day juice fast. Just a little over two weeks I think i can do, at least for now. After that time I will evaluate, go to vegas for my birthday, and see how Im feeling.

So I got a Juiceman. Works great! AND it was on sale at Target for $60!


Okay so here was my first juice minus the grapes....I know I know its not green. Lunch will be :)


Looks so pretty


The juicer was super easy to take apart and clean...till next time

layydeeez

So a couple friends and I have been trying to do a "girls night out" every now and then and they have done wonders for my psyche. Having a family, two jobs, a house, and two dogs life can become a bit much at times that a well deserved break is called for! In no way am I complaining because I am so very lucky but I need a little breather every once and again :) We "pre partied" at my house then headed downtown.





As I have got older I have learned to cherish and love my friendships with women as a very special thing. I don't have to agree with everything all of my girlfriends does but thats what makes the friendship so beautiful. I have the best girl friends and although I wish we could hang out like this all the time I know its just not possible so i am just so very grateful for the time that we do get together.

stuff and things

So life has been pretty crazy and I would LOVE to keep up on my blog better because so many great things happen! Unfortunately I am terrible at it but I am going to try again. The last month has been pretty incredible filled with friends, fun and food! The 4th of July tends to be one of my favorite holidays but for some reason leading up to it I wasn't "feeling it". Maybe its because of my lack of sleep, who knows, but it actually didn't disappoint. It started off at the Highlands for a yummy waffel breakfast and then on to Matts for a pool party. We ended up at the U of R like every year for fire works.








Such a good day!

Lets watch the flowers grow

The Clarks came to visit




Valentines Day




Easter



Stellas last day of Kindergarten


We went to visit the Clarks :)