We are 40% done! Amazing. The time is flying by, and this hasn't felt difficult in the slightest, fortunately. Marielle snuck a peek at the scale and she was down about two pounds after the first week, but I am still holding out until October 1st. I feel much more in tune with the changes this way; I feel much less bloated, when I rest my chin on my fist while sitting at a table, the underneath of my chin feels smoother, and my pants are definitely fitting better.
Between June 2010 and April 2011, I lost 35lbs. Then over the course of the summer, I put back on three pounds, and let me tell you, I felt like I was starting from scratch. The difference in how I feel when I'm eating well and exercising (and not drinking too much) is huge. Three pounds made such a difference because I was bloated, retaining so much water, feeling run-down and lethargic. The overall puffiness gave me a perpetual muffin-top.
I still need to do better with the yoga, though I have stepped it up with walking. Tonight is my first belly dancing class, which is apparently great cardio and a good core work-out too! I'm looking forward to it, though I'm kind of nervous about going by myself and not knowing anyone else in the class. Better to embarrass myself in front of strangers though, I guess!
Last night was the full moon (it was actually around 5.30am today), so we did our detox baths (during the full moon, the body absorbs more minerals). I mixed two cups of Epsom salts with half a package of mineral salts scented with essential oils, made sure the water was 98.6°F, put on a chocolate mud mask, lit some candles, and asked Marielle to tell me when a half-hour had passed. I turned out the lights and just lay there. It was actually really relaxing. I tried to do some meditating, thought about my "Intentions" (almost like prayers for the agnostic--I just wanted to think about people I should reach out to, think about any friends or family going through any issues with whom I should check in, see if I have any negative thoughts about any people or situations that I want to let go of, etc), and kind of zoned out. I didn't even ask for a time check until 25 minutes in.
Marielle had hers next, and while she was in the bath, I put on my softest cotton oversized t-shirt, which was fresh from the dryer, and crawled in between clean sheets. Heaven!! I must've passed out shortly after 9.30pm. I feel great today.
I will end this entry with some food photos from the past week!
This was a stirfry I made to use up all the veggies we had. I didn't serve it with rice, but I did add some yummy toasted almonds at the end! They were delicious--I can't imagine a stirfry without roasted nuts now! I sautéed some tofu cubes until crispy on the outside--we love these in salads, too.
This was our Friday night "treat" dinner. Salad, pizza, and a movie! You can get anything gluten-free and wheat-free these days. We try to limit processed foods on Joshi's, but once or twice a week we do like to make mini-pizzas or a brown-rice pasta dish. On this pizza we put walnut-arugula pesto, red onion, chicken breast, goat cheese, and fresh arugula.
Saturday was an especially good day. We started with a breakfast of gf-wf toast with goat cheese spread on it, some arugula, smoked salmon, and a soft poached egg to top it all off. We spent the afternoon wandering around the National Gallery checking out the Caravaggio exhibit with Nic and Munia, and then did groceries. We were somehow really not that hungry this day, and didn't eat again until about nine hours later, when we made the world's best pasta dish: arugula (yes, I know, we eat a lot of arugula), brown rice fettuccine with pesto, chicken breast, caramelized onion, goat cheese, and toasted walnuts. Unreal!
Yesterday was our second Liver Flush. It went well--same idea as the last one. Went for a walk with the dog, made the drink, choked it down (ugh!), did some deep breathing, and then lay in bed for an exquisite (mandatory!) two hours. We chatted, cuddled, read magazines, and even napped for about half an hour. Marielle had plans to see a movie so she had to get up and get going pretty quickly. I prepped our breakfast, which was toast again--two slices, one with just an egg, the other with goat cheese, red onion, smoked salmon, and arugula. While she was gone, I made some dahl for lunches this week, had a shower, walked the dog again, tidied under the bathroom sink, and started prepping other foods. When she got home from the movie, she helped too. For dinner last night, we made a puréed broccoli soup, and tilapia 'en papillote'--we sautéed some veggies and let them cool, then lay them in the middle of two pieces of parchment paper. We put the raw fish on top with fresh thyme, basil, and cilantro, and some lemon slices. Then we wrapped it all up and baked it in the little parcel. I wasn't sure how much I was going to like this, but I ended up loving it.
The fresh herbs were the star of the show. I removed the fresh thyme, but ate the basil and cilantro with the fish. The texture of the tilapia was incredible, too. Next time we do papillotes, we're thinking that we'll probably do bok choy, onion, and asparagus sautéed with ginger, garlic, and Braggs, with a piece of salmon on top and a little drizzle of sesame oil, with some lemon and cilantro. This is something we'll probably pull out for dinner parties as well--everything can be prepped in advance, and they take 15-20 minutes in the oven.
And that's it! I'll be back with more photos in a few days I'm sure.
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