Juice Plus has started! (weekly progress)

Hello everyone!

Well I finished my detox after 12 days in as this package arrived >>>

Above, you can see that it was a months supply of Juice Plus supplements! The box on top contains lots of capsules! The capsules that have 27 different nutrients in from veg, fruit and berries. I take 2 of each per day and have been doing so for the last 4 days. The packages below are full of powder which I make smoothies with. I'll talk more about that later.

I'd done so well with not cheating on my detox so I had to treat myself (treats are important!) with something very naughty...

2 10 inch pizzas which (at the time) were lovely. It was a little experiment too, I wanted to see how my body would react to this food after the previous 12 days of detoxing. I felt TERRIBLE! I felt sick, bloated and actually put on 0.2% of body fat which didn't go till a few days later! I did used to have 3 of the pizzas so at least I only had 2! (I had a mars bar too!)

Before showing you a few snacks and meals I've been having, I'm going to show you the latest results of my PROGRESS. Still no pics but they are saved for a later date!

In the last post, my latest results were:

6th May:
13 stone 8.6
18.9% body fat.

Today (15th May) my results are:
13 stone 5.8
18.7% body fat.

I'm happy with the amount of weight lost as it isn't too much. However, I'm a little disappointed that I've only dropped 0.2% body fat. 0.4% if you include the pizzas!!!

I'm happy with my diet so exercise is the next thing I really need to focus on. I have made slow progress with that but it's hard when you have a chronic illness that debilitates you. The last couple of mornings I woke up with very heavy pains all over so exercise would not have been a good idea. I'm working my way up slowly and I'm sticking to pure body weight. To get more out of the exercise, I will perform each exercise slower so that the muscles are under tension for that bit longer. Here are the exercises:

Press-ups (normal position)
Press -ups (close position)
Pull-ups
Plank
Squats
Calf raises

There's a bit of everything in there. I will perform 8 repetitions of 1 set. Any more and I start to go light-headed and fatigued so it really is slow progress. If I'm up to doing any more later in the day then I will perform the exercises again. I'd love to be doing much more but it's just not possible. I started Juice Plus to strip the fat and feel healthier, I don't want to get carried away and send myself into a relapse.

Since I've started the SHAKES it's been such a relief for me as I don't have to worry about making breakfast or lunch. It gives me that extra freedom during the day. I'll give you an example of what my diet is like now... I like sticking to the same foods and then will change something once in a while:

This was the first day I started on the shakes. I have a soup maker which blends the smoothies for me. There's chocolate and vanilla flavours and I like to mix it in with strawberries, banana and soya milk. It also shows the capsules too.

This is my lunch (1 of my 2 snacks). 3 rice cakes topped with feta cheese. Tastes good!

Mid-afternoon I will have my other shake, here's the vanilla one mixed with strawberries and banana. Usually though I will have both shakes the same flavour in a day as I can make them both at the same time.

Here's a picture from my last post hence the reason it's smaller. This is my tea. Still my favourite. Chicken, sweet potato, mixed veg and tomato with seasonings.

Here's my last snack of the day. I'll sometimes have greek yogurt with frozen raspberries but here is a nakd bar (delicious and very good, lots of flavours too) with a little box of raisins. Perfect to line my stomach up before bed time.

Lastly, I'm going to show you a pic of a soup I made last week:

It had butternut squash and sweet potato in. I had oat biscuits to dip into the soup too. A bit watery but I'll know next time to put less water in!

And just thought I'd share with you my neat presentation of a days worth of shakes:

DELICIOUS!!!




Thanks for reading and see you all next week!

Barry x

Nutrition - Fat & Water soluble Vitamins

As explained in the last post, there are 6 different vitamins: A, D, E, and K which are fat soluble and B and C which are water soluble.

Vitamin A and D are both found in seafood, cod liver oil, liver, butter from grass fed cows and pastured whole eggs.

Vitamin E is found in butter, organ meats, raw seeds and nuts, dark green leafy veg, whole grains and unrefined vegetable oils.

Vitamin K is found in whole grains, liver, pastured whole eggs, dark green leafy veg and butter from grass fed cows.

Vitamin B is found in raw nuts, seafood, legumes, organ meats, fresh fruit and veg and whole unrefined grains.

Vitamin C is found in fresh fruit and veg and also in some organ meats.

Now for the purposes...

Vitamin A helps to produce rich blood and also helps in RNA production. It also stimulates gastric juices for protein digestion, protects against degenerative damage/pollution and also plays a pivotal role in building bones.

Vitamin D helps form strong teeth and bones, it is needed for phosphorus and calcium absorption and also appears to protect against MS and cancer.

Vitamin E helps to circulate blood as well as repairing tissue and healing. It helps to slow down age, is a powerful antioxidant and it protects against CHD and cancer with certain trace minerals.

Vitamin K help to form bones and  is also important in blood clotting.

Vitamin B helps to prevent fatigue, produce cholesterol and maintain the iron levels in blood. It keeps normal growth and fertility, is a vital role in metabolism and it also works to help healthy nerves, eyes, liver, hair, skin and muscle tone.

Vitamin C supports lactation and adrenal gland function whilst helping tissue growth and repair. It also makes capillary walls stronger and helps the healing of wounds. It's pivotal for forming collagen and is lastly a powerful antioxidant.

So, next up is minerals...

Nutrition - Food Portions

So, continuing from yesterday's post...

When talking about the different macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat), they have an approximate amount of calories and useable energy. These figures are as follows:

There are 4 calories per gram in carbohydrates, 4 calories per gram in proteins, 9 calories per gram in fats. Although alcohol is not a nutrient, there are 7 calories per gram in it... approx!

There are portion guides that people prefer to follow to save time counting each calorie they take in. Some guidelines will give out typical portions of foods to help.

According to the guidelines, these are what are classed as typical portions:

Fruit - small, medium, large, dried and juice. Small = 2 satsumas, 2 plums, 2 kiwi, 7 strawberries, 14 cherries. Medium = 1 apple, 1 banana, 1 pear, 1 orange. Large fruit = half grapefruit, one 5cm slice of melon, 1 large slice of pineapple. Dried = about 30g, one large heaped tablespoon of raisins or sultanas, handful of banana chips. Fruit juice = 150ml glass of unsweetened juice.

Veg - green veg, salad veg, cooked veg. Green = 2 broccoli spears, 4 heaped table spoons of kale, spinach, or green beans. Salad = 3 sticks of celery, 5cm piece of cucumber, 1 medium tomato, 7 cherry tomatoes. Cooked = 3 heaped tablespoons of carrots, peas, corn or cauliflower.

Bread, rice, pasta and potatoes = 1 slice of bread, handful of rice or pasta, handful of breakfast cereal, 1 small to medium potato.

Meat, fish, eggs and beans = lean meat the size of a deck of cards, 1 large egg, side of fish the size of a standard chequebook, handful of beans, nuts or seeds.

Milk and dairy = small cup of milk, 150ml of yogurt, piece of cheese size of small matchbox.

Food and drinks high in fat and sugar = limit these foods to no more than 8% of total intake.

The next post will be about food quality etc...

Nutrition - Food Pyramids and the rest...

Hello!

As I said in my last post, I'll be briefly moving onto nutrition for the next few days. I didn't mention this in my last post but I have an exam next Wednesday. It's a resit that I've been putting off for around a year now! I was due to go in October but was too ill from my M.E. to make it. I failed by 1 mark last time! It's a vicious circle... my worst time of day when I have bad brain fog, aches and pains with fatigue is 1st thing in the morning which is when the exams are, non negotiable - if it was in the afternoon I'm pretty sure I'd have passed it long ago... anyway, got to be done!

I'm fairly knowledgeable about nutrition, it's all the technical terms I get a bit confused with at times!

1st of all, the human body repairs itself daily and requires energy to maintain. Oxygen, food and water are the most important ingredients!

What can healthy eating be defined as? The "technical" term is "food intake that promotes the correct and optimal operation of the structures and systems of the human body". Seems simple enough?

So next, there is what is called "Macronutrients" and "Micronutrients".

Macronutrients are carbohydrates, protein and fat whilst the micronutrients are vitamins and minerals.

The macronutrients are used for structure, function and fuel within the body.

However, the micronutrients are needed in smaller amounts. It's also used to activate the energy that is contained in the macronutrients.

Food is used to repair and rebuild vital structures constantly in the body though not all food we eat is digested, some parts of food will be excreted.

There is a certain organisation that is needed in the body, this starts with the cells, the tissue, organs, systems and eventually the human body.

In 1992, a "National Food Guide Pyramid" was made to help people choose what they have in their diet. It was very vague so a new "US National Food Pyramid" was made in 2005.

It was helpful with regard to servings but didn't give any advice regarding the macronutrients quantities.

This included:

•  Fats, oils and sweets to be used sparingly.
• Milk, Yogurt and cheese group - 2-3 servings
• Vegetable group - 3-5 servings
• Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts group - 2-3 servings
• Fruit group - 2-4 servings
• Bread, cereal, rice and pasta group - 6-11 servings

Moving onto the "new" pyramid... it is a lot more thorough and improved!

• At the bottom of the pyramid it has "daily exercise and weight control" as priority
• 2nd level it has "whole grains, healthy fats/oils, vegetables and fruits
• 3rd level consists of nuts, seeds, beans and tofu as well as fish, poultry and eggs
• 4th level consists of dairy
• And to the top of the pyramid are food to be used sparingly such as refined foods, red meats and butter

The biggest reason the pyramid was changed due to the fact that in a healthy balanced diet, some fats were necessary in larger amounts.

However, there are still advantages and disadvantages...

Obviously, the pyramid will get people to think about their diet though the pyramid isn't aimed at individuals but more so certain populations. The pyramid shows that processed food should be minimised along with alcohol whilst foods such as fruit and vegetables are encouraged. It's still very unclear on the amounts that should be included in portions. The pyramid is a good starting point but more advice would be needed overall, especially for someone who wasn't knowledgeable about food portions etc.

In the UK, there has been an adapted version of the "US National Food Pyramid". It is called "The Eatwell Plate".

This is divided into different sections like a pie chart. Fruit and vegetables, bread, rice, potatoes and pasta taking up a large section of the chart whilst meat, fish, eggs, beans, milk, dairy foods, foods high in fat take up a small section of the chart.

There are 8 healthy eating tips that have been stated by the FSA (Food Standards Agency).

These include not skipping breakfast! It is true that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!! Drink plenty of water, around 6-8 glasses a day. Cut down on sugar and fat that is saturated. Eating 2 portions of fish a week including one oily, eating 5 portions of fruit/veg a day and also basing meals on starchy foods such as rice/pasta etc. Get active and try to be a healthy weight! Eating less salt too, no more than 6g.

The average target calories per day for Males and Females are 2550 and 1950 respectively.

When working on your diet, it's also very important to get the right balance between the macronutrients. No less than 50% carbs, no less than 9% protein and no more than 35% calories from fats.

That's enough for now!

I'll be back tomorrow with some more facts!!!