Liver Cleanse and Detox

It has been over three weeks since my last check in.  I have barely given any of this a thought in this time, except for continuing to eat as well as possible, get a walk in when I can and do the liver detox.

Pharmacy school took over once again, but now there's a little extra time for getting back on track with the daily stint on the elliptical plus a walk in the evenings with my dear and patient hubby.  I haven't weighed in, although sometime during last week I had a strong urge to, thinking I could easily be under 200 lb now.... but I didn't, I guess because I didn't want to know and think about it anymore, in case I was still just at 200 or had gained any.  I had way too much more on my mind to accomplish and study and I didn't want to be distracted as I would have felt compelled to write about it.

I am going to wait until this coming Monday morning to weigh in, but I wanted to take some time and describe the liver detoxification I am doing.  It's pretty low-key compared to some I've done in the past.  I figured since my diet is quite non-toxic as it is, that I needn't let go of even more things and that I could let the medical food do its thing.  I have started with the UltraClear medical food that Metagenics produces, and added their product AdvaClear to help promote the detoxification process.  I mix the UltraClear (2 scoops) with a mixture of 1/2 to 1 cup organic apple juice and 2 cups filtered charged water.  I shake it in a cool shaker bottle I bought at Vitamin Cottage.  At this point I'm at two servings of this each day.  My routine looks like this:  

Wake Up

Meditate

Cruise Moves for core, belly-flattening (eventually!) work

Breakfast with Richard before he goes to work, very low sugar, little carb plus our supplements

Work out for 30 minutes on elliptical or walk around the "block" a couple of times, around 30 min.

Shower

Drink a full glass of filtered and charged water with 2.5 tablespoons of psyllium husks

About an hour after that I drink my first UltraClear drink of the day.  The other is in the middle of the afternoon.  

Lunch is light, usually hummus and almond thins, or a salad, or sometimes 2-3 ounces of grain-fed, hormone free beef.

Snacks are generally nuts, or a string cheese, , blue corn chips with salsa, or sometimes a nibble of organic dark chocolate.  It depends on what I'm studying or working on.

Another snack is a mix of unsweetened chocolate Almond Breeze mixed with a scoop of Jay Robb's chocolate protein drink. 

Dinner tends to be quite light with a protein, maybe a carb and lots of vegetables.

We try to walk before dinner, at least around the mile long block.  Some nights we have a yummy no/low fat, sugar-free treat made with non-fat Greek yogurt mixed with matcha green tea powder and Barlean's flavored sweetened fish oils, either lemon or orange creme.    I will post this recipe soon.

I honestly have not been very hungry lately, and/or my attitude about food has shifted a little, maybe a lot.  Last week we barely had any solid food in the house, it seemed, and I was mostly ok with that, maybe because I had far too many things to do and take care of and was happy for the convenience of my liquid drinks and meals.

Anyhow, the things I have noticed while doing the UltraClear detox system is feeling calm, feeling clean, sleeping well most nights.  I feel as though my liver and gall bladder are getting the attention they've needed.  One of the main goals for starting it was to help with my monthly cycle at the suggestion of the acupuncturist I visited in August.  I would have to say that *maybe* it has helped, there was less pain, a bit more regularity, but this is the topic of a different blog.  I am going to continue the liver cleanse in this manner for at least a few more weeks to see if it will help further in this regard, but I feel, in terms of dietary cleansing it has served its purpose and I feel pretty darned good!

It's kind of interesting that in my latest order of Metagenics products as a practitioner that yesterday I was offered a special to purchase several liver detox packages for patients/customers, a $110 value for $80 (including the UltraClear medical meal plus the AdvaClear and a bag and nifty shaker bottle, and information pamphlets).  I went back and forth wondering how popular this would be with my current clientele and declined for the time being, however if I hear that people are interested, I will jump in and get several sets to provide to those who are interested in detoxification.

Days Five and Six of Sugar Awareness Week

Yesterday went smoothly, although we did not do our four mile walk.  Neither of us has had abundant energy since beginning this One Week Challenge, and after all of the body and energy work I'd had the previous three days, it was time to take a break.  Today I moved my middle son into his dorm, which involved lifting and carrying on a day that is supposed to be a "break" day from the 8 minute exercise plan - oh well.


Yesterday's menus looked like this:
Breakfast: Chili Relleno Bake (essentially home-roasted Anaheim peppers sprinkled with a bit of low-fat Mexican-style cheese and a combo of whole eggs and egg whites whisked with some baking powder and salt and pepper).
Snack: Chocolate Protein Powder shake with unsweetened almond breeze
Lunch:  More Chili Relleno Bake
Snack: low-fat, hormone-free mozzarella cheese stick, and 2 Almond Butter Cups since I could spare the carb servings (Recipe for Almond Butter Cups)
Dinner: 4 ounces of delicious pan-fried steak (Richard had marinated tofu), spring greens with a bit of parmesan cheese and homemade red wine vinegar dressing, and some strawberries and blueberries with an ounce or two of nonfat plain yogurt sweetened with stevia.

Today:
Breakfast:  2 blue cornmeal pancakes with stevia-sweetened maple syrup
strawberries and blueberries with an ounce of non-fat plain yogurt with stevia
Snack: Chocolate whey protein powder shake with unsweetened chocolate Almond Breeze
Lunch: (out with son at Egg & I) veggie fritatta (no mushrooms, no green peppers, no toast, no English muffin, and no potatoes - this made it is "free" Sugar/Carb meal, and it was very satisfying this way.
Snack:  Matcha green tea frappuccino (Match green tea with stevia blended with unsweetened plain Almond Breeze and Vanilla protein powder shake (Jay Robb- sweetened with stevia).
Plus we cannot forget our daily Almond Butter Cup allotment!
Dinner:  looks like it's going to be some roasted Anaheim peppers, mixed with some combo of cheese and corn tortillas (enough to make our carbs count, but not over-count), and probably a salad, too.


I do have to say, that on this diet, we have increased our saturated fat intake (cheese, a little bit of cream in the first frapuccino (Day 1), which can be tough on cholesterol levels, so I/we are thinking when we come to modifying our intake in light of sugar content of foods, we will be searching for a happier intake of types of fats. 


Having said all of that, I did sneak a peak at the scale this morning, and am at 200.4 pounds, which means that I've lost 3.4 lb in the last five days following this eating plan and doing the 8 minute exercises each morning.  We'll see on Monday what the grand total is and the difference from last week's waist measurement, and maybe I'll actually be under 200 lb, probably for the first time in several years.  That would be pretty cool (as would seeing it decrease more and more!)

Day Three of One Week Challenge

Today, since I knew I was going to to be out and about most of the day, I packed my lunch, drinks and snacks.  The day started out with a fairly big breakfast including another Mediterranean omelet with the usual "free" veggies, a slice of gluten-free toast with olive oil and my bowl of fruit and yogurt (getting the Sugar counts in early in the day, so I could use them to get through the day - I learned from yesterday's fatigue!)   I packed a couple of mozzarella cheese sticks, a small container of tuna, and lots of celery with a dab of almond butter on each one.   I also included about 1/4 cup of roasted pumpkin seeds and a Virgil's Diet Root Beer (sweetened with stevia).  This seemed to hold me through the day all right.  I was pretty hungry when I got home, and Richard had prepared a light dinner for us that included some hummus with endive, and guacamole and 15 blue corn chips and a chocolate protein drink mixed into some unsweetened Almond Breeze.  Of course we had to each have an Almond Butter Cup afterwards.  Yum. 

Richard's pretty tuckered out, as am I.  We are a bit challenged by the fact that we need to limit our servings of fish each week to help decrease the amount of mercury we ingest.  Richard is a vegetarian who eats fish, so it looks like we need to look into some tofu options to increase our protein intake, along with the protein shakes we drink every day.  Everything I've read about greatly decreasing sugar in the diet is that it is supposed to increase your energy... maybe we are going through a natural process of fatigue as our bodies realize that it doesn't have free access to sugar anymore.


We're still in it, I continue to give Richard an "out" if he's not feeling well, but he plugs away with me, meticulously accounting for those Sugar grams and Carb counts.  Also, I notice that we are not getting to the 15 grams of Sugar every day, even if we eat 6 servings of Carbs, so maybe if we made sure we get all 15 grams that would help energy-wise.   

We did just a short walk around the neighborhood, about a mile, and it felt good.  Not much else to report here, except I am looking forward to seeing what results show up on Monday after all of this accounting of sugar and carbs, plus those crazy "mini" toning workouts every morning.   Maybe I will sneak a peak at the scale tomorrow morning, maybe not.  :-)

Day Two of the One Week Challenge - ow!

Ok, I can barely move!  I felt great this morning, if a little hungry, and eagerly did my seemingly simple upper body exercises for the prescribed 8 minutes.  However, we just returned from our four mile walk, which was a challenge, because I not only felt the effects of yesterday's 8 minutes of abs work, but also today's arm workout, plus I think my body suddenly realized that it hasn't had any significant sugar in over 24 hours, and it may not (likely!) get significant sugar in the near future. 


Richard and I agreed (AND pinky swore) that psyllium husks are NOT going to count as a Carb serving for us on our plan. We have only 6 Carb servings each day to work with. It just seems so silly that something that provides so much extra beneficial fiber and is nasty to drink, has to count against our total carb count.  It is highly unlikely that I am going to get a severe craving for psyllium husks or even become a closet psyllium husk eater, so I think we are safe with this slight modification.  I did tell Richard that if we end up gaining weight and/or belly inches, that we will have to go right back to counting the psyllium husks as a Carb serving.


We also made our yummy green tea (matcha) frappuccino after our walk, but without the 1/2 cup per serving of heavy cream from yesterday's drink.  This is definitely preferable, I simply substituted some unsweetened Almond Breeze, and it was a much lighter drink than yesterday, so hopefully we won't have that sluggish feeling (if I'd even notice it with the recovering muscle aches) that I had last night.  I also planned ahead and pre-made and cooled the matcha green tea drink, which takes awhile to cool down before it can be blended successfully into a cold and refreshing beverage.  This way we could have it more immediately after our walk.


When I awakened this morning, I had a sensation of belly fat melting, my muscles, especially my abdominal muscles seemed to be heated up.  Let's hope so!


We both chose to not have a piece of toast with our breakfast this morning, to save the precious Carb serving for later in the day.  I also made an experimental recipe of almond butter cups (Recipe: Almond Butter Cups) that will count for 1 Carb serving, and no Sugar (I have a particular weakness for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (21 grams of sugar and 25 grams of carbs) so am hoping to create an alternative I can live with).

I am going to need to plan ahead for tomorrow since I'm going to be on the road for most of the day at various appointments. I plan to pack all of my food which will include snacks, drinks and lunch.  

Today's Menu looked like this:
Breakfast: Mediterranean omelet (spinach, kalamata olives, garlic sauteed in olive oil, served inside cooked eggs with feta cheese and fresh basil) no toast, hot green matcha tea, water


Snack:  Unsweeteened Almond Breeze with a scoop of chocolate whey protein (Jay Robb); two tablespoons of roasted pumpkin seeds


Lunch: tuna melts on Udi's whole grain gluten-free bread.  (Tuna mixed with mustard and mayonnaise, topped with part-skim mozzarella cheese and alfalfa sprouts and 1/4 sliced avocado)


Snack: Matcha Green Tea Frappuccino (Unsweetened Almond Breeze, 1 scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Powder (Jay Robb), match green tea with stevia, ice cubes.
Fruit:  strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries with goat yogurt and a bit of stevia


Dinner:  Huevos Rancheros (Richard is foregoing his corn tortilla, which counts as a Carb serving (no sugar), since he had a Zevia earlier in the day) eggs, bit of cheese, a couple tablespoons of black beans, tomatillo salsa and a corn tortilla softly cooked in light oil, for me, and a salad on the side which this week we are making our way through arugula and spinach, tossed with a little shaved parmesan cheese - mmmmm, tasty!


After dinner snack:  1 Almond Butter Cup


Yum!  Hopefully I will be able to move easily tomorrow when I awaken!  Burn, Baby, Burn! (Says me to my belly fat!)

Recipe: Stevia Chocolate "Milk"

Stevia Chocolate Almond Breeze

This is one of my favorite quick chocolate fixes.  It's filling, and satisfies the sweet and chocolate urges.

2 c. unsweetened chocolate Almond Breeze, shaken to froth

2 packets of stevia

Mix these ingredients thoroughly.  Add another packet of stevia for a sweeter drink.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Sugar-Free Pumpkin or Mocha Latte

This recipe uses a product that has sucralose (Splenda) in it, but it is a small enough amount that it doesn't negatively effect my digestive system.  I look forward to the day when this syrup and the chocolate syrup (for mochas) are made with stevia instead.  For now, though, this will suffice as a treat drink.

Sugar-Free Pumpkin or Mocha Latte with Almond Breeze

1 shot espresso or 1/2 c. very strong coffee (can be decaffeinated too)
3/4 c. unsweetened Almond Breeze, either vanilla or plain
2 TBS (adjusted to your taste) Torani Sugar-Free Pumpkin Pie or Chocolate syrup

Create your espresso or coffee with the method you have available.  Stir in the syrup.  Froth and warm the Almond Breeze, and stir into the coffee mixture. Enjoy!


Serves 1

Recipe: Blue Cornmeal Pancakes

Blue Cornmeal Pancakes with Almond Breeze and Stevia

Ingredients:
3/4 c. blue cornmeal
1/4tsp.salt
2 packets stevia
1 c. boiling water
1/4 c. egg whites
1/2 c. unsweetened Almond Breeze
2 TBS canola oil
3/4c.whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Directions:
1) In medium bowl, mix together the blue cornmeal, salt, and stevia.  Stir in the cup of boiling water until all of the ingredients are wet. Cover and let stand for a few minutes.

2) In a measuring cup, combine the almond drink, egg whites and canola oil.  Stir the almond drink mixture into the cornmeal mixture.  Combine the flour and baking powder, stir into the cornmeal mixture until just incorporated.  If the batter is stiff, add a little more almond drink until if flows off the spoon thickly but smoothly.

3)  Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, grease it with a dab of oil. Use about 2 TBS batter for each pancake. When the entire surface of the pancakes are covered with bubbles, flip them over, and cook the other side until golden.  It's hard to tell when blue food is cooked through - so give them a few extra seconds if in doubt.

4) Serve immediately with maple syrup, fruit preserves, or agave nectar.

Serves 4.