Raw is better [for now]

Two more 9am yoga classes down. I’m at 37 classes in 37 days (and 22 days in a row). Tomorrow morning my boyfriend and I are doing the Independence Day 5k bright and early at 7am [and luckily beat the 100 degree heat], so I won’t be able to make it to the 9am class {ok, I could, but I don’t think I am going to want to}.

I’ve been breaking my cleanse since Friday. When I first decided to the BluePrint Cleanse, I hadn’t even thought about pre and post cleanse preparation. Thursday was my last day of juices, so on Friday I ate a lot of fruit, and raw vegetables, with some olive oil added to make a salad. Yesterday after feeling easily fatigued at yoga [my quads were screaming at me, in all the standing postures but especially awkward; my muscles were instantly sore], I decided I had to add more protein ASAP, so I bought some raw cashews and at a few servings of those on top of my raw vegetables and fruit {oh and Kombucha, yummm}.

Today, after another harder-than-pre-cleanse yoga class [honestly; dizzy, especially during standing series, I was so close to sitting down], I decided it was time to add in even more protein, so I bought yogurt, shrimp and salmon at Trader Joe’s. Now, I usually don’t eat fish either {I don’t eat meat, ever, I eat eggs and that’s about it}, but sometimes when I order out at a restaurant I will add shrimp [ie: on my birthday 1 month ago exactly]. I never have trouble due to fish or shrimp, so I figured it would be ok to add in. BluePrint Cleanse recommends fruits, and raw non-starchy veggies day 1 & 2 post cleanse, and that day 3 {today for me} to add in brown rice or sweet potato if needed. Day 4 post cleanse is when they recommend adding fish, and day 5 other more dense foods. So today I had a banana, a nectarine, and some almonds, then for lunch I had 7 shrimp, broccoli, and raspberries. After I ate, I had an intense stomach ache, like I had been hit in the stomach. I can only blame it on the shrimp, and that maybe my body wasn’t ready for it? I am kicking myself for it, because I stuck to the pre-cleanse and cleanse itself so strictly. But alas, not much I can do now. I’m starting to feel better, and I will postpone my baked salmon for at least tomorrow night. I am still craving healthy food, I could eat and endless amount of fruit! Aside from my lacking endurance and strength in yoga the last few days, I’m doing well. Just trying to survive the summer heat [100 degrees on the next 7 days of the forcast, yipeee].

Love this video -

 Bikram Yoga Time Lapse

Adios juices [I will miss you the most cashew milk]

BluePrint Cleanse

Day 3:

7:30am- Warm lemon water.

9:30- Juice #1: Green Juice after kettlebells. I felt weaker when it came to my workout, but otherwise I didn’t feel bad. I just felt mellow and calm. I had dreams all night about eating. In my dream I made myself a sandwich, then realized I couldn’t eat still, and I had to put it down, haha.

11:00- Juice #2: P.A.M. last one, which was bummer because it is delicious. I was tired; it took all my strength to get up and start cleaning. I almost fell asleep outside in the sun. I’m not sure I can attribute this to the cleanse, or just my overall state of mind.

1:00- Juice #3: Green juice, my 2^nd to last! I got some major cleaning done [of course there are still a ton of things I didn’t get to yet] for the last 3 hours. It’s hard to believe that this is my last day. It doesn’t feel forced, I just grab a juice every few hours. I need to figure out what I’m going to eat tomorrow to break my cleanse now. Sounds like tomorrow I will be sticking to fruits. This means I need to go to the grocery store…

2:45- Juice #4: Last spicy lemonade L. I was going to wait until after yoga, but I just felt like 1-6:30pm was too long to wait. Decided to drink some of the spicy lemonda for now. I bought a lot of fruit and veggies for tomorrow.

6:35- Juice #4 pt. 2: I only drank a third of the spicy lemonade before bikram. Yoga went well, still felt a little less strong but overall it was a good, more flexible class.

8:00pm- Juice #5: Cracked open my last green juice. It was yummy and refreshing, no longer surprising.

9:20pm- Juice #6: Bye bye Cashew milk. I was so sad to see it go. So yummy, not as full as last night. And now, I’m all done!

I’ve read a lot of other’s experiences with the BP cleanse. I’ve seen a lot said about extra energy. Although I don’t know that I’ve had extra energy, I don’t feel completely worn out. I think I usually keep a pretty intense workout schedule, especially with daily Bikram, and I always eat a lot, so I suppose it isn’t surprising that I’m not as ‘strong’ especially when concerned with kettlebells. I also have had a bit of an emotional rollercoaster the last few days, which may be partly due to a femine issues [TMI, if you catch my drift]. My weight according to the scale has gone up and down. It has been anywhere from 118, to 113 [after yoga].  But, I guess that I shouldn’t really worry about the weight part.

Post cleanse 

Day 1:

7:30- Started the morning with warm lemon water.

My stomach felt empty in a good way; not bloated for once.

I just got home from Bikram {class 35 in 35 days}. Class kicked my butt. Honestly, I woke up a little light headed, and that never went away, in fact it got worse during class. This is to be expected, I fasted all night, and the last 3 days have been my cleanse. I was very light headed, and during the side postures I wanted to give in and sit, but I didn't. I got through it, although mentally I wanted to give up. I even had a bit of a revelation about locust pose quite by accident. While in the third part of locust, I got my elbows and hands in the prime position [apparently] and managed to find the strength by pushing against my hands and elbows and shoulders. I got my legs up higher off the ground than I ever have. Usually, it’s only a few inches [as far as I can feel], but today, they went up much higher. It’s like something clicked, and I finally figured out where to pull the strength from in order to lift. However, after both sets my left elbow was a little tweaked, but hopefully that will go away. Lastly, camel was tough too, as it has been the last 3 days on the cleanse. I was able to put my head back, but couldn’t hold the pose the whole time.

11:15- First food since Monday PM: Bowl of strawberries. Yummm. It’s interesting how much more I notice the texture of the food now. I’m very out of it, weak and just need to sit. No kettlebells today. {12:30pm- feeling MUCH better after strawberries. I think I was experiencing low blood sugar}.

Overall, I enjoyed the cleanse, and I would definitely do it again. I'm actually sad I don't have any more juice. It was so easy just reaching in the fridge and grabbing a juice, and not worrying about food. According to the scale this morning, my weight went down about 5 pounds. I’m bummed I didn’t feel the great energy and glee that I’ve read that other’s have experienced, and honestly I think a lot of it has to do with Bikram. I felt my most light headed, and most out of post class, otherwise I felt pretty good. Class takes a lot out of me, always, so changing my eating threw a bit of a curveball into my practice. But, it certainly helped me mentally. I could have sat down many times, but I didn’t, and that is a testament to my growing mental strength and stamina. My teacher asked me today if I was going to go for 60 classes in 60 days. She and the director both congratulated me when I hit 30 days [my mom was the one that them know I was doing the challenge]. I told her I wasn’t sure, seeing as how that meant I would have to do at least 7 doubles to make up for the classes I will miss while out of town. We will just see how it goes. One day at a time…

6 more juices

BluePrint Cleanse

Day 2:

[yesterday]

8:00am- Warm lemon water, then off to yoga {class 33 in 33 days}.

11:00am- Juice #1: Green juice taste is becoming more familiar each time. I had just got home from bikram. I could tell I was weaker and shakier in class, easily light headed. I hit a wall around triangle, but I managed to push through without sitting out {I still haven't had to ever sit out any postures}. I didn't want to push it and go to kettlebells at 12pm like usual.

1:15pm- Juice #2: P.A.M is still delicious. I didn’t feel like I needed it as quick as I thought I would [I was going to give myself until 12:15pm]. I had some hot lemon water between juices and that filled me up. Still no real hunger pangs. Feeling a little better than I didn’t earlier.

3:45pm- Juice #3: Green Juice after some errands. I started feeling a little more out of it while I was out, not sure how to describe it, kind of zoning out. Definitely was ready for a juice.

5:15pm- Juice #4: Spicy Lemonde to the rescue! Yum, super delicious still. I was feeling down [not because of the cleanse... life + that time of the month= lovely]. So, I sat and drank my juice and watched a movie {Barney’s Version}, and cried a little... Not sure if it was me or the movie, haha.

7:10pm- Juice #5: The Green Juice flavor is growing on me more and more. I just couldn't wait to enjoy my cashew milk.

8:40pm- Juice #6: My beloved Cashew Milk. I. Love. It. Great way to end the day. I appreciate the thick, creamy consistency after the 5 fruit/veggie juices all day. I drank it too fast I think {20 minutes?}. I was feeling incredible full! 

Usually my day almost revolves around eating [eating healthy, at home, but still]. So, going into this, I thought I would really struggle with not eating. I still haven’t really craved any food. I even tempted myself by trying to think of yummy food, but I just didn't really seem to care. I just grabbed my juices, which I'm still looking forward to. I've had a bit of a headache the last few days, and have been a bit out of it. But nothing that would keep me from doing the cleanse. It's really hard to say how the cleanse has affected my energy levels, since I'm not working right now, just relaxing and working out. I wonder how it would be if I were working 8hr days right now.

I'm halfway through day 3 now. Made it to kettlebells this morning, and I'm planning on going to yoga this evening.

Juice galore

I'm currently on Day 2 of my BluePrint Foundation 3-day cleanse. Here's a recap of yesterday.

Day 1:

I woke up a little later than usual [8:15am] and decided to forgo 9am yoga since my BPCleanse was going to arrive and need my signature. After eagerly awaiting the FedEx truck all morning [and being teased by another truck on my street that didn’t stop at my house], my juices arrived at 11:15. Surprisingly, I didn’t need to sign for the package, so I didn’t really need to wait around, but oh well.

11:20am - Juice #1: Green juice: It was sweet from the apple, and I could definitely taste the celery and greens in it, but overall it was not bad. Either way, I have to get used to it since the Green Juice makes up half of my 18 juices.

12:45pm- Juice #2: Pineapple, apple, mint juice [P.A.M]: Yum! Sweet, and I could definitely taste the mint. I wanted to go to bikram at 4:30pm, so I was worried about how soon before I should drink my juice. Since I started later than expected, I decided to space them out about an hour, so I could drink the first 3 by 2:30, and give myself 2 hours before yoga. I’m not sure it works the same as with food, but I don’t want to chance feeling crummy.

2:10pm- Juice #3: Another Green Juice, I wasn’t surprised this time by the flavor. It was familiar, and refreshing. It was the last juice after yoga, which meant I had 3 juices to drink after yoga. I was so excited to try the spicy lemonade and most of all the cashew milk.

6:35pm-Juice #4: Spicy Lemonade: I had just got home from bikram, and was feeling a little bit shaky. Bikram {class 32 in 32 days} went great though despite no solid food today. Really loved the lemonade, just like lemonade, but with a kick in the back of my throaght right at the end. Yum.

8:00pm- Juice #5: More Green Juice: I didn’t really want to drink it. I was still kind of out of it and cold (rain outside isn’t helping) from all the liquid. Just really wanted to try the cashew milk!

9:15pm-Juice #6: Cashew Milk:  FINALLY! I waited all day. So yummy, thick, creamy, sweet, vanilla and cinnamon. Yummm. Great treat at the end of the day. Until tomorrow cashew milk...

I didn't really crave food at all, I never felt hungry. The juice was filling, and I looked forward to them. I never felt tempted as far as food was concerned; it wasn't even an option. I also drank hot lemon water, water and herbal tea. I got to bed around 11:30 and slept great.

I am currently on Day 2. Just got home from another bikram class {class 33 in 33 days}, and just drank my first juice of the day. I'm still a little cold, and kind of spacey, but I think after my second juice I may feel better.

Full fridge

Two more to go

Well, the past two days have been full of Bikram classes and kettlebell workouts. Today was class 63, 28 classes in 28 days. Only two more mornings of Bikram until I reach the end of my 30-day challenge! Today was a full class [~20 people], with several new people. We had a teacher today who I haven’t had in a few weeks; it was a nice change. Our studio is small, and is directed by a man who teaches along with his partner, but she also works out of town during the summer. Aside from the two of them, there is one other female teacher who teaches the two classes on Thursday evenings. Since I have been going so often, I have been mainly having the director of the studio, which is fine, but having a different teacher from time to time breaks up the daily experience. I find myself struggling with the spine strengthening series [everyday] just because it is so very challenging. I am getting  my body lower and my leg is becoming more extended in my standing bow {on my first leg}. I know I have a lot of other challenges and victories, and sometime soon I will have to review each pose individually.

Next Tuesday I have a special delivery that will be arriving at my door: 18 pressed juices.  I decided after months and months of considering and reading other individual’s experiences, to try the BluePrintCleanse. The thing is that I really want a break from food; to just let my body take a break from my constant food struggles. I love to eat, and I eat fairly healthy, but often my sugar cravings and boredom lead to unnecessary eating. The reason it took me so long to order is because the cleanse is expensive. I got a 15% off code from their Facebook page today, so I decided what the heck. It will last 3 days, with 6 juices a day. I’m excited, and I hope that it can help me feel better mentally and physically, as well as help me be more mindful when it comes to what and how much I eat.

Photo care of BluePrintCleanse.com