BPC Excavation Day 2

Wooooo here it is! That amazing mid-cleanse feeling of AWESOME, ALIVE & ENERGETIC. If there is any reason to cleanse...it's this day 2 feeling. Who knew juice could make you feel this good?

One of my favorite parts of cleansing is getting incredible sleep. Your body hasn't seen caffeine in oh about 4 days so it's able to wake itself up and wind itself down appropriately. Now, I am a coffee addict. At one point this past winter I was taking in about 3 cups a day. Besides the fact that I had the mono, I just love coffee and I needed to be up late doing school work--coffee is my crack people. I was sad though that at 6 am I couldn't refuse the urge to use the restroom so I caved and got up...but man I fell right back asleep and got a solid 45 more minutes worth of rest.

This time around I upped the cleanse level so that means no Pineapple Apple Mint (PAM) Juice. What it also means is that I have 3 green juices in a row before I get to taste something new and different. However, I could not be more happy that it is the one and only Spicy Lemonade. Boy oh boy do I love me some Spicy Lemonade.

Spicy Lemonade and I take on 4pm meeting

I love this stuff so much that I drink it while not cleansing as an afternoon pick-me-up. You're probably wondering how cayenne pepper and lemonade really work together, but that's just it, they really work together. Imagine the freshest lemonade with a little kick at the end of it, it's a nice surprise. At first it was a little too much for me to handle. To counter the kick I added some ice into the bottle to dilute it a tad, it really made a difference!

Green Juice #5 and I enjoying Sons of Anarchy after work

Green Juice #5 is one of the more exciting juices to drink...not because it tastes any different from the other green juices (hint:they're all the same) but because it's after the Spicy Lemonade and before the Cashew Milk. I love the anticipation of a nice Cashew Milk. I'll rave about that guy tomorrow.

For Day 2 I felt so good that I went to the gym...in my head I negotiated some weights and sauna but I felt well enough that I busted out some cardio on the treadmill too! 

Day 2 Stats: .8 lbs from Day 1; 2.4 lbs total

XOXO-G

BPC Excavation Day 1

I'm realizing this is slowly turning into a healthy-type blog...I promise I will have a cupcake soon folks.

The first day is always tricky because you’re anxiously waiting for your juice to get delivered. To avoid everyone at work looking at me as the weirdo intern I had it delivered to the house and not to my office. BluePrint says it will be delivered around 10:30 am and something that I have learned in this cleansing process is that BluePrint is always right. I checked my FedEx app a million times out of pure excitement…& TA-DAA!

Around 11 am I took an early lunch because I had just been drinking water all morning, and I headed to go pick up my juice. I threw all my pretty juices in the refrigerator and grabbed 4 that I would need to make it through the work day and it was back to work I went.

Green Juice #1

Because I didn’t get to start at 8 am (which is ideal for my schedule) I worked HARD to get all the juice and water down in the right intervals. BP recommends keeping the juices at least an hour apart with a lot of water in between and being sure to have the last one at least 2 hours before you go to bed to make sure your digestive system has had a chance to get it all down—so yes, I ran the Juice Olympics. 

Friends/peers of mine are always skeptical about drinking juice all day and being hungry. I can’t say it enough but I get so full. You might think I am handing you a pile of poo but I swear I’m not lying. If anyone was going to get hungry while doing this thing, it would be me.

BPC goes to work: #2,3 & 4!

All in all it wasn’t an IDEAL first day. I say this because I was rushed in taking down all my juices and I wanted to slow down. But I will get that opportunity today! I’m down 1.6 pounds—about the same amount I lost last time I did the cleanse just after one day.

Waiting

Today's post is short n' sweet as I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my BPC! I have overcome what I think is the hurdle in this whole process, the prep, and am ready to cleanse!

It's 10:40 am and I am hungry because I am being patient and waiting for my cleanse to get here to start. BP says you can munch on some fruits while you wait for it to be delivered, and I was prepared to do that but so far--like last time--I haven't found the need to do so. I am taking an early lunch at work so I can go home and get everything situated and take down my first of MANY (12 to be exact) green juices. When I first did the cleanse I was scared of the green juice because I had read way too many reviews...but I honestly love it. I can taste the green and the healthy and that's why I am doing this cleanse in the first place.

I am super looking forward to the Cashew Milk. I don't know how something that delicious is on this cleanse, but it is.

Follow along with me on Instagram: @gabbearr & Twitter: @GabBearr for the latest pictures and updates!

note to self

Note to self: Preparing for the cleanse is actually harder than actually doing the cleanse. 

Happy Monday everyone, I hope y’all had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend, I know I did!

My cleanse starts tomorrow which means I have been prepping for the past few days. Ok, yes I cheated on the first day but it was totally worth it and I didn’t do too much damage.

Blue Print will send you an email with some instructions on the cleanse but also on how to prepare as well. The summary of the email is to start phasing out caffeine, sugar, meat and the dairy. Yeah guys, cutting all of this out at one time is hard and the first time I did this I went completely cold turkey and I struggled, so this time I actually PHASED OUT these items. On my first day I had a ton of fruit for breakfast, a green juice for lunch and then OOPS Dinosaur BBQ for dinner…sorry, not sorry. On Sunday I kept it simple with green juice, a “Hippie Shake” from Breathe Yoga, a shot of wheat-grass for lunch and then a kale smoothie for dinner. I sprinkled in some fruits and maybe a bite of chocolate. Today is my last day of prep and I have had some watermelon and blueberries along with a green juice for breakfast. I have a salad planned for lunch and then my Berry Blend smoothie for dinner!

I say that the prep is harder than the actual cleanse because the initial pull of caffeine from my every day is a tough one, but I haven’t been taking in as much as I used to so it has helped. I’m also pretty sure I could eat a little bit more than I do or look into how I can round out these prep days to give me all the vitamins and nutrients I need. The cleanse is packed with all the good stuff my body needs to be awesome so the minute I start to cleanse I know I will feel better!

Stay tuned for my cleanse updates! You can follow me on Twitter: @GabBearr or Instagram: @gabbearr for a stream of my experience!

Have you ever cleansed? Thought about cleansing? What did you do?

Blue Print Cleanse Part Deux

Y’all, I am EXCITED. Next week, my Blue Print Cleanse will be delivered to my door step. Last time I did the “Foundation Level” Cleanse. The Foundation Level is the middle option when choosing from their cleanses. In short, each level increases on detoxing by adding in more Green Juice. Now, it did warn me last time that the Foundation is a gateway cleanse into juicing and wanting to cleanse again. Well, they were right. On the 23^rd I will be doing the highest level they offer, the “Excavation Cleanse”. You can read more about it here.

The BPC offers a various cleansing options. Different levels as well as how many days you choose to cleanse for. I opted for 3 days last time which worked out perfectly…so I am going to cleanse for 3 days again.

I’m a huge advocate of the BPC for several reasons. Their system makes complete sense. I drink 6 juices a day for three days. I am in taking about 1200 calories a day, maybe less. And for me, standing at 5’3” that’s a normal calorie count to maintain weight. Incorporate the daily run/gym visit and I eat a little more than that.

People usually look at me weird when I tell them about cleansing. They say “Oh I could never just drink juice” or “Why would you do that?” blah blah blah. First, you can do anything for three days…it’s not that big of a commitment. Second, the results are BEYOND worth it. All I have to say is…don’t knock it until you try it. It will probably change your life, especially if you have battled weight loss or food in general.

I look forward to sharing my journey with you next week!


...as a side note Blue Print has not asked me to sing their graces, I happily do it on my own. 

Smooth Mornings: Berry Blend

I make a smoothie almost every morning for breakfast. I like smoothies because it's one item that has so many possibilities! I am going to start a series called "Smooth Mornings" that documents my own smoothie recipes. Recently I have been experimenting and I have had some good GREAT outcomes that keep the taste buds happy.

Berry Blend

• 1/2 cup all natural, nothing added Coconut Water
• 1 tbsp Hemp Protein
• 1 tbsp Chia Seeds
• 1/2 cup Cut Strawberries
• 1/2 cup(ish) Cut Pineapple
• 1/4 cup Blueberries
• 1 1/3 Banana
• Handful of Spinach

Blend above ingredients until smooth. Add ice cubes until desired consistency & enjoy!

Do you have any awesome smoothie recipes? How do you kick start your morning?

Post Vacation Rituals

…with food. 

With my recent lifestyle change I have been paying attention to what I put in my body. Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression, I’m not the hippie psycho that HAS to be all natural, all this or all that…I just like to put a main filter on what I am consuming.

A typical day for me will consist of a smoothie, a green juice, a small snack and a bigger meal that I try to eat at lunch-time. Training my body to get used to its new way of life was no easy task as I love chocolate cake and ice cream as much as everyone else.

This is the part where this thing called “vacation” slips into your life and you allow yourself to indulge not for just one or two meals, but for a few days! In my own philosophy I think it is important to let yourself have a sweet treat or something fried every now and then because it’s important to understand that it’s not about never eating those goodies again, it’s about portions and control.

So vacation. Vacation brings (for my family) fried food in the form of fish n’ chips, the occasional ice cream, the morning walk to Dunkin’ Donuts—donut included, the extra snack at the random bar you decided to grab a beer at & so on. You see what vacation did there? Processed fats, hydrogenated oils, sugar for days, your BFF sodium, and some extra carbs on the side!

Others may not struggle with weaning off these bad YUMMY foods, but I definitely do. The minute I feed myself all those things my cravings ramp up. I have a hard time getting them under control and getting back to my normal way of life. It’s things like the free bagels at work yesterday…did I need one? No. Did I eat one anyway? Duh. It was delicious. But you see that bagel then effs up my craving system for the rest of the damn day. So how do I get it to stop?

Water. Water is a small miracle. After all those nasty foods my hands were so swollen from the influx of sodium and other crap that I put in my body. The best way to counteract the sodium is by drinking lots of H20 throughout the day. Not only does water help me reduce swelling but it keeps me FULL and less likely to reach for the random bagel, check out the chip drawer or snack on all the free m&ms our office has to offer—a blessing and a curse I tell you.

On Monday evening I knew I had to get my ish together quickly or the rest of the week would be a gorge-fest. Environmentally-friendly people please don’t hate me but I bought a 3 liter bottle of water from the grocery store so I could CHALLENGE myself to consume the whole thing. I work best if I can challenge myself. Playing a sport for years really paid off. And guess what?! I drank the whole thing. My rings fit onto my finger again. I lost a half of a pound…not a lot but come on that was definitely from the water drinking! I haven’t convinced myself to run yet… ;) Maybe today or maybe tomorrow—running is for another post.

Of course there are a whole other host of tips and tricks that will help to get you back on track. But after this 4^th of July, water has been my key. 

Now go fill up a glass of water and enjoy!

dessert...I mean healthy oatmeal smoothie

I have recently discovered a heavenly smoothie that really starts my day off on the right foot. I like to make it when I wake up with a little bit more of an appetite than usual or when I cannot get my sweet tooth under control. This bad boy is PACKED with protein and complex carbs that will be sure to hold you until your lunch hour. 

I present to you, the oatmeal smoothie.

• ½ cup unsweetened almond milk

• 1 banana

• 1 generous tablespoon of all natural almond butter

• Some cinnamon (really add how much you want here, cinnamon has so many health benefits)

• 1/3 cup of rolled oats (I use Quaker)

Add all of the above ingredients into your blender. Blend until smooth-ish. Some people enjoy oatmeal smoothies without ice…I simply cannot do that. I add about 6-8 ice cubes and then blend until it hits that nice smoothie consistency.

**Note: you can do up to a ½ cup of rolled oats; it’s really up to you. The more you add the thicker it will be. I suggest starting with less and then working up to more.

via.

Sadly I have not snapped a picture of my smoothie but mine mostly resembles this.

I encourage you to be Martha Stewart-esque and throw some extra cinnamon on top for presentation because, why the hell not?!

xo

Gab

Getting my toes wet

I knew that starting this blog after being a dedicated reader and follower to many, that it would be difficult to start my own...

In my head I have all these grand ideas and plans as to how to make this baby go. But, after thinking about it, ok not thinking, just realizing...every single blog I have read has always started out with baby steps. So, baby steps it is!

I have recently turned a new leaf in my everyday existence and that is JUICE. Yes, juice. I am now the poster-child as to why everyone should drink their green juice or at least not be afraid to try it.

My background with juicing is as follows:

• Summer 2012 I was watching my diet and consistently working out.
• DUN DUN DUN, I am cursed with Mono in the fall of 2012.
• During this blissful exhausting period of my life I begin to stuff my face with carbs in order to barely function during the school day.
• Winter 2012, bye Mono.
• Through the many wonders of the world wide web, I discover this thing called the Blue Print Cleanse.
• I went home for spring break (February 2013) and my mom's co-worker had been RAVING about this cleanse her and her husband had just did and how great they felt afterwards yada yada yada....are we surprised? It's the Blue Print Cleanse.
• I am SOLD! This was my answer to getting back on track with good habits, out with the yucky post-mono habits and in with a new and freshly cleansed system.
• March 2013...DONE & DONE. I took on the cleanse....

And the rest is history. Ladies & probably only ladies at this point, that is how I got myself wrapped up into the juice life, I hope to never look back.

No fear, you can plan to learn a lot about the BPC and juicing right here on this part of the interweb with me, Gab. It is something that has become just as a part of me as the hair on my head.

xo
Gab