Summer has begun, and I'm feeling great! I don't have official numbers to share but from January until June, I've dropped around 10lbs and at least 6 inches total in various areas. The weight loss and inches are just a bonus though, my real success has been in how I FEEL.
When I first heard about Juice Plus from my friend back in February, one thing that really stuck out to me was when I heard someone say, " We are not a society with a vitamin deficiency, we are a society with a whole food deficiency."
Once hearing about how
Juice Plus helps to fill that gap, between the variety of fruits and veggies my family needs to be eating and what we do eat, I ordered, and have never regretted it. As you can read in previous blog posts from my first couple of months on the product, I noticed changes pretty quickly. I've tried to be more aware of our health, making small changes & sticking to them then adding a new change in. We are well on our way to becoming a healthier family by drinking more water, consuming more fresh or frozen fruits and veggies, less packaged foods, and taking our JP+ on a daily basis.
Six months ago, my typical breakfast would have been a bowl of cereal with 2% or whole milk or maybe a bowl of instant oatmeal. Not too bad, right? Lunch was either leftovers from the night before or whatever I made the kids that they didn't eat.. which could only give me a couple of baked chicken nuggets and some mixed veggies. Supper was usually where you'd see a few more veggies, maybe a side salad. I was not eating enough, nor was I eating enough of the good, whole foods my body needed. My typical day now consists of a breakfast of either fruit & greek yogurt or scrambled eggs & spinach and a smoothie of almond milk, spinach, and whatever fruit sounds good. I have a snack mid morning of fruit or another smoothie, usually a JP Complete smoothie, then lunch varies, but 95% of the time contains fruit, veggie, and a lean protien source. My carb intake has went down, and whatever carbs I do take in are whole grain. Do I cave once in awhile and eat something not-so-good? Sure, but I always try to stay within reason. I don't deprive myself, I'm not starving all the time. Actually it's quite the opposite, I'm rarely hungry and have to remind myself that I need to eat.
I still have a long way to go. If you look at it by a scale or BMI charts, I have a very long way to go especially at the slow rate those are changing. I really don't mind. Losing the weight slowly is a good thing, so they say!
I know there are positive changes going on in my body, disease prevention is among the top on that list. I still have not had a migraine since February either other than one after a physical therapy session, and another headache last week after trying to run on the treadmill for 2 days. I have noticed little things, like my nails, as annoying as it is to me, are growing so fast. My gums don't bleed when I brush my teeth at all, not that they did it on a regular basis before, but at least once a week I would notice that happening. I love having more energy, feeling more in control of what is going on, and most of all I KNOW my family is benefiting from the prevention that comes from a healthier lifestyle and being on Juice Plus. I have goals of getting more physical activity worked into our days, and eventually getting myself into a better workout routine. Raising 4 kids of my own, and having 6 others entrusted to my care on a Monday - Friday basis makes it tough. We attempted a bike ride today with 7 of the 10 here, but although the kids got some movement, I spent most of the time stopping and waiting for the shorter legged munchkins to catch up. Our evenings are filled with activities for 4H, Scouts, appointments, grocery shopping, working on the house & yard. I know I NEED to carve out time, but it's much easier said than done. I am not giving up on the notion though.
So, now that I've come this far, I have to set myself a new goal. By then end of another six months, another 10lbs would be nice, but first of all I want to find that workout routine that will work for me. For my family goal, I want to get the kids drinking more water consistantly and keep my husband on track for eliminating soda from being a daily drink, which he's in his 3rd week of staying away from. *pats hubby on the back*
