It's now day 20 and the finish line is near. I've been getting questions about what my first "real" meal is going to be after I finish the purification program. The truth is that I'm not going to deviate much from the diet that I have been on over the past three weeks. I'm not a big breakfast person, but I'm going to continue having the shake in the morning as a substitute for my breakfast. I'm going to continue to eat the salads at lunch and dinner but with more protein. The 3 oz. per serving isn't getting the job done for me right now as I start training for triathlons and a half marathon. I'm going to continue to snack on vegetables for mid-day snacks. I'm also going to continue to try different fruits and vegetables and look for recipes to incorporate them. Overall, the experience has been challenging but very enjoyable. I'm sleeping better, have more energy, and I've lost just a touch over 10 pounds. Not bad for a three week commitment to myself.
For those of who are using the Purification Program as a stepping stone to getting to your goal weight, there is a Post-Purification Program that I would highly recommend. This program helps you stay on track with what you have worked so hard to accomplish so far. This will help you continue to stay on the path to your achieve your goals in a healthy, controlled manner. If you have any questions about the Post-Purification Program, please call the office and ask myself or Sam.
One more day...and to answer that question about my first "real" meal, I'm not worried about that. I just want my first "real" cup of coffee in the morning.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Day 16: Seeing light at the end of the tunnel
It's now 16 days into it and my total weight loss is 8.5 pounds. As I walked through the grocery store today, I realized that this would be my final trip there during the Purification Program. I noticed that there are still a number of vegetables that I want to try and fruits that I want to incorporate into my fruit salad. Throughout this entire experience I must confess that my love of cooking has really blossomed. It's been fun having to get creative and discover new foods and tastes. There is a really good quote that I heard but I'm not sure who said it. It goes something like, "you should live life, love, and cook with reckless abandon." I feel like up until now, I've done the other two and only over the past two weeks have I begun to cook with reckless abandon. It's been awesome! I think that I'm even starting to rub off on my wife. She is starting to cook more with me and we are trying new foods and dishes together.
I don't know about you, but my energy levels have been amazing. That is, as long as I make sure that I am eating something or getting a shake every 3-4 hours. I spent all day cleaning, shopping, cooking, and taking care of my son. Usually, I'd be ready to pass out right now but I have the energy to to for run if I wanted to. I still miss my coffee though. I don't think that three weeks of abstaning from coffee is going to change that.
So with only 5 days left, be sure to stick to the program these last days. You only get out of it what you put into it. So don't settle for only 80 percent of what the program can give you. You should be focusing on getting 100 percent out of the Purification Program. You are worth it! So stay the course for five more days, we're almost there!
I don't know about you, but my energy levels have been amazing. That is, as long as I make sure that I am eating something or getting a shake every 3-4 hours. I spent all day cleaning, shopping, cooking, and taking care of my son. Usually, I'd be ready to pass out right now but I have the energy to to for run if I wanted to. I still miss my coffee though. I don't think that three weeks of abstaning from coffee is going to change that.
So with only 5 days left, be sure to stick to the program these last days. You only get out of it what you put into it. So don't settle for only 80 percent of what the program can give you. You should be focusing on getting 100 percent out of the Purification Program. You are worth it! So stay the course for five more days, we're almost there!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Day 14:A new lesson learned
So yesterday I learned a valuable lesson while doing the Purification Program, don't wait too long before meals or shakes because you may not have another chance forgetting some food. I saw patients in the morning and then I went and taught classes at Stark State College in the afternoon. My morning patient load was completely full and I was running a little late after finishing with patients so I didn't have time to make a shake or eat my already prepared salad. So I didn't eat and that was a BIG mistake. I taught a class from 12-1:30 and I felt pretty good. I taught another class from 1:30-3 and by 2:30 I hit a wall. I felt like my brain had just stopped. The last thing that I had ate was a shake at 8:00am that morning. I thought I was going to past out in front of the class. Needless to say, I struggled through the last 30 minutes and then ran straight the student cafeteria where I was able to load up on a salad. So learn from my mistake. Make sure that you are eating something or drinking a shake every 3-4 hours while you are on the Purification Program.
I'm coming down the final stretch, the last 7 days, and so far the results have been awesome! It's also been fun to hear all of the positive stories that everyone has been experiencing, and there have been some pretty amazing stories. When you are finished with your Purification Program, I'd like to invite you to write down how your experience went so that we can share your experience with others who may be interested in participating in a Purification Program but just don't know if they should. Your story may inspire them to do so and help them to improve their quality of life. So in the next week, think about how the Purification Process has helped you and how you have benefited from it. I'll talking with you about it soon!
I'm coming down the final stretch, the last 7 days, and so far the results have been awesome! It's also been fun to hear all of the positive stories that everyone has been experiencing, and there have been some pretty amazing stories. When you are finished with your Purification Program, I'd like to invite you to write down how your experience went so that we can share your experience with others who may be interested in participating in a Purification Program but just don't know if they should. Your story may inspire them to do so and help them to improve their quality of life. So in the next week, think about how the Purification Process has helped you and how you have benefited from it. I'll talking with you about it soon!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Day 12: Protein, how I've missed you!
Well it's Day 12 and the total weight loss is now 7.5 pounds. I've started reintroducing protein into my diet the last two days and I can honestly say that I am not nearly as irritable. Days 8, 9, and 10 were pretty rough and I was craving protein with a vengeance. Now that I'm able to to get the protein back in my system, I can definitely feel the difference. My poor wife had to put up with me on my worse day, bless her heart. Now she says that I'm back to my normal fun loving self, so there will not be any divorce in the near future.
My wife made a phenomenal dinner last night. She baked a Spaghetti Squash. I had never even heard of one before, but she used to have it all the time when she was a child. She took the spaghetti squash and baked it for an hour and twenty minutes. She says that to know that it is cooked well, take a sharp knife and poke the squash. If it goes in easily, then the squash it finished. She then cut off the ends and sliced the squash in half. The seeds were taken out and then she carefully grated out the contents of the squash. What you had left were pieces of squash that really looked like spaghetti and it tasted amazing! Needless to say, we are going to be having more of this in the weeks to come.
I've also noticed the cravings for the things I miss the most are creeping back. I still miss my morning cup of coffee. It's the former Starbucks employee in me. It's plain torture to make my wife a pot of coffee in the morning and not have any for myself. But I told myself this morning, 10 more days and you will be rewarded! In the meantime, I have to settle for the sweet aroma of fresh made coffee.
My wife made a phenomenal dinner last night. She baked a Spaghetti Squash. I had never even heard of one before, but she used to have it all the time when she was a child. She took the spaghetti squash and baked it for an hour and twenty minutes. She says that to know that it is cooked well, take a sharp knife and poke the squash. If it goes in easily, then the squash it finished. She then cut off the ends and sliced the squash in half. The seeds were taken out and then she carefully grated out the contents of the squash. What you had left were pieces of squash that really looked like spaghetti and it tasted amazing! Needless to say, we are going to be having more of this in the weeks to come.
I've also noticed the cravings for the things I miss the most are creeping back. I still miss my morning cup of coffee. It's the former Starbucks employee in me. It's plain torture to make my wife a pot of coffee in the morning and not have any for myself. But I told myself this morning, 10 more days and you will be rewarded! In the meantime, I have to settle for the sweet aroma of fresh made coffee.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Day 10 and counting
Well it is now Day 10 and the scale says that I have lost 6.5 pounds so far. I've noticed that I am starting to get a little irritable toward the end of the day and after working out. I need some protein and my body is letting me know about it! The good news is that starting tomorrow (Day 11) I will finally be able to start to supplement protein in my diet. Now for those individuals that have been working out from the beginning of the Purification Program, it's alright to use the Standard Process Whey Protein in a shake after your workout. This will help with recovery and the extra shake will help with your caloric intake.
Yesterday I spent the better part of 4 hours shopping and preparing food for the week. This task was a lot larger than I had anticipated. I decided to try four new vegetables which included celery, cucumbers, and sweet peppers for my salad and spaghetti squash. The salad is amazing and I haven't yet tried the squash but I'll keep you posted when I do. For my three fruits, I bought a cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and pineapple. I cut the three up and made an awesome fruit salad that I love and my lil' dude keeps wanting more of. I also made a pot of lentil soup, which has quickly become a staple for me during this Program. It's easy to store and take to work and I get 5-7 servings from one pot.
I'm changing up the shakes a little bit this week. I had been just using bananas and strawberries for the shakes for the first week. I bought frozen cherries and blueberries, which I added with my frozen strawberries, to be used in my shakes. So far, the shakes taste great and I can tell they are not as thick. I noticed that they have frozen peaches at the store as well, so I will be trying them soon.
Remember, starting tomorrow (Day 11) we are able to re-introduce protein into our diets! Woohoo!!!
Yesterday I spent the better part of 4 hours shopping and preparing food for the week. This task was a lot larger than I had anticipated. I decided to try four new vegetables which included celery, cucumbers, and sweet peppers for my salad and spaghetti squash. The salad is amazing and I haven't yet tried the squash but I'll keep you posted when I do. For my three fruits, I bought a cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and pineapple. I cut the three up and made an awesome fruit salad that I love and my lil' dude keeps wanting more of. I also made a pot of lentil soup, which has quickly become a staple for me during this Program. It's easy to store and take to work and I get 5-7 servings from one pot.
I'm changing up the shakes a little bit this week. I had been just using bananas and strawberries for the shakes for the first week. I bought frozen cherries and blueberries, which I added with my frozen strawberries, to be used in my shakes. So far, the shakes taste great and I can tell they are not as thick. I noticed that they have frozen peaches at the store as well, so I will be trying them soon.
Remember, starting tomorrow (Day 11) we are able to re-introduce protein into our diets! Woohoo!!!
Friday, January 8, 2010
Finishing Week 1
Week one is close to being finished and as I sit here and think about what I have experienced so far, it has all been positive. I have now lost 4.5 pounds. I'm sleeping better and I've noticed I've been sleeping less, so it looks like my body is not requiring as much sleep. I have already noticed that I don't have the afternoon crash that I'm used to having while at work .
The only thing that has been a challenge for me is that eating the same things over and over is getting redundant. To remedy this I am going to go out and buy four new vegetables and three new fruits this weekend that I haven't had up to this point of the Purification Program. I've developed an appreciation for the vegetables that I am currently eating and have a familiarity with their individual texture and taste. So I think that going outside of my usual spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, onions, and lentils will be a fun experience, expand the tastes my palate experiences, and make the Purification Program more enjoyable.
Now you should be finishing the SP Cleanse soon, so make sure that you start taking your SP Green Food.
The only thing that has been a challenge for me is that eating the same things over and over is getting redundant. To remedy this I am going to go out and buy four new vegetables and three new fruits this weekend that I haven't had up to this point of the Purification Program. I've developed an appreciation for the vegetables that I am currently eating and have a familiarity with their individual texture and taste. So I think that going outside of my usual spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, onions, and lentils will be a fun experience, expand the tastes my palate experiences, and make the Purification Program more enjoyable.
Now you should be finishing the SP Cleanse soon, so make sure that you start taking your SP Green Food.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Day 5 has arrived!
It's now day 5 and the Purification Program has gone rather smoothly. I just got off the scale and I have lost 4 pounds since day 1. I noticed that when I woke up this morning, I felt extremely alert. I had no problem rolling out of bed and starting my day and this was 15 minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off! So I made a cup of tea and drank the shake that I had prepared the night before and enjoyed 15 minutes of "me time". Then I heard my son calling out, "Mommy! Daddy!," and it was back to the usual morning routine.
I had a patient call me yesterday explaining that she has been having difficulty finishing the shakes. She complained that they were so thick and filling that should could barely drink two a day. First let me say that if you are only able to drink two shakes a day that is just fine. Just make sure that you are supplementing the rest of your diet with the foods listed on the back of the Purification Program booklet. Secondly, to remedy the problem of the thick shake, put less fruit in before you blend the shake. This will make the consistency thinner so it will not be so heavy on the stomach.
The only other comment that I have so far is that people are already telling me that they are getting sick of eating the same thing day after day. This is where a little creativity comes into play. Try the recipes in the back of the Purification Program or go to the store and look was is available in the produce section. This is your opportunity to try new foods that you have never tried before! Take your Purification Program booklet with you to the store and pick out some foods listed that you have never tried. You can add them to your salad or go home and Google a recipe for that ingredient. Have fun and be creative!
I had a patient call me yesterday explaining that she has been having difficulty finishing the shakes. She complained that they were so thick and filling that should could barely drink two a day. First let me say that if you are only able to drink two shakes a day that is just fine. Just make sure that you are supplementing the rest of your diet with the foods listed on the back of the Purification Program booklet. Secondly, to remedy the problem of the thick shake, put less fruit in before you blend the shake. This will make the consistency thinner so it will not be so heavy on the stomach.
The only other comment that I have so far is that people are already telling me that they are getting sick of eating the same thing day after day. This is where a little creativity comes into play. Try the recipes in the back of the Purification Program or go to the store and look was is available in the produce section. This is your opportunity to try new foods that you have never tried before! Take your Purification Program booklet with you to the store and pick out some foods listed that you have never tried. You can add them to your salad or go home and Google a recipe for that ingredient. Have fun and be creative!
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