Fertilehealthy

Guess what!  Today I’m exactly halfway on my Juice Feast (if I don’t extend beyond 92 days)! What a wonderful journey it’s been so far.  I am changed in so many profound ways.  My life goals are so much more clearly defined, my body is repaying me with extraordinary healing and I’ve lost a nice chunk of weight.  I have challenged myself in new ways, impressed myself immensely and triumphed over old habits.  I am not the Hanlie of 46 days ago anymore.

I have settled into a nice rhythm and routine.  I still haven’t bought the glass jars, so I tend to make juice as I need it, up to 2 liters at a time (the size of my jug).  This has worked well for me until tonight, when our turn to “save electricity” came around just as I was entering the kitchen to make my evening juice.  No electricity = no juice!  Barleylife to the rescue!

(Of course, no electricity = no Grey’s Anatomy as well!  Craig and I was forced to do the only thing one can do in the dark.  Sit in our Jacuzzi - without bubbles - and watch the stars…)

So, for the next 46 (maybe more) days I am on a fitness mission. I may have to endure an 18 hour flight within the next three months and it will be so much more comfortable for me if I’m a bit leaner… So, the plan of action is to do plenty of exercise and drink upwards of 4 liters of juice and at least 2 liters of water per day. I must also not neglect my detox helpers such as enemas, body brushing, contrast showers, meditation, rest and breathing exercises.  I think I’m going to start my parasite cleanse within the next few days too.

About the picture:

-  Harvesting lavender outside the Winelands town of Franschhoek.

-  Franschhoek (Dutch for “French Corner”) was settled in 1688 by the French Huguenots, who brought their wine-making expertise to the Cape Colony.  The area has a distinctly French character and you will come across wine estates with French names, like La Motte, La Cotte, Chamonix,  Haute Cabrière, Dieu Donné, Provence and La Dauphine.  There are also many fine restaurants and boutique hotels in the area.

-  Uploaded to Flickr by slack12

I hope it’s as beautiful a Saturday where you are as it is here!  And to those of you in the Atlanta area, I hope you weathered the storm.  It was all over CNN this morning (in more ways than one!) when we got up.

First of all an update on my liver cleanse, which is now a thing of the past.  It went really well.  I passed a lot of something, which I assume to be the stones.  At the moment I am revelling in green juice after three days of beetroot and apple.  I like beetroot juice, but green is my favourite!

I have made an executive decision to discontinue the daily Juicy News posts.  I was getting so bored with them,  I’m surprised I still have readers!  I will still let you know if something interesting occurs, you are always welcome to ask questions and the Juice Feast continues unchanged.  It’s just that I have so much else to write about!   I know I have promised posts about the following:

-  how to get your children and the rest of the family to eat healthier

-  a letter to my body

-  an emotional breakthrough that has occurred in the last few weeks

- healthy habits

-  some recipes

In the Saturday Weekend Roundup post, I’ll give a summary of my week’s juicy exploits and the progress I’ve made.  Okay?

Without further ado, on to the comments and questions…

This week there have been some lovely testimonies of people who have made changes in their lives or witnessed results in other people.

Lawraw (no blog) says:

I have juiced for years now and my 80 year-old parents do it twice daily and have NEVER been in the hospital, ever!!! Not many 80 year old couples can make that claim. They attribute their good health to how well they take care of their body inside and out.

Lillian writes:

I’ve been vegetarian for 13 years and would never go back. The year before I went vegetarian I had strep throat, an ear infection and sinus infection. Since then, I’ve had a few sore throats but nothing that requires a doctor visit. I’m so much healthier since I stopped eating animal products.

Mary gave me a lot of hope:

One of our regular juice fast ( OK, Juice FEAST, if you will!) began fasting annually over 8 years ago to overcome infertility. After her first fast she became pregnant after having tried for 5 years. She was just here recently, not to get pregnant again but to REST and cleanse from the demands of her busy family! She now has 4 children ( none of the twins!) under the age of 7! So may blessings and good luck from your juice fasting friends at american Yogini!

I mentioned last week that I would like to know where my readers were coming from (I’m stalkerish that way) and Diana suggested Sitemeter. I have installed it and am almost as addicted to it as I was to the in-flight map screen on my last overseas trip - I didn’t watch one movie the entire 40 hours I was in the air! Keep visiting, it’s highly entertaining to wonder why somebody in Texas would be awake and reading my blog at this hour! Although I suppose it could be that they were using the Juicy News posts as a sleep aid… counting sheep is just so last century.

Rebecca wants to know more about the liter of warm water, lemon and cayenne pepper that I drink in the morning.  The best explanation comes from David Rainoshek:

We are 90% water when we are born, and by the time most of us die, we are about 50-60% water. As we dehydrate, our tissues become toxic and stiffen. Nutrients are not properly assimilated, and toxic matter does not leave our cells and lymphatic fluid in a timely manner. Our blood thickens. Brain function is compromised. Do you know what a hangover is? Dehydration. Most westerners are dehydrated every day of their lives, waking up agitated and groggy, and thinking that another dehydrating agent, coffee, is going to get them going. It will only kick you further down. Water is your best energizer in the morning, and that is why we are training you now to develop as a life practice drinking 1 quart of water each morning. Drinking water will wake up your mind, hydrate your tissues (reducing chronic pain), and some water will go down to your bowel to help you eliminate the waste matter accumulated during the night, so that you do not carry it around during the day and re-assimilate old fecal material back into your system, giving you more problems…

Now, in that quart of water you are adding another hydrator, lemon juice. Citrus is a hydrogen concentrator, and the element hydrogen hydrates. Lemon is also fairly high in Vitamin C, and that brings us to our next morning water element, MSM.

MSM is a sulfur compound, and sulfur is the third most prevalent mineral in the body. It just so happens that MSM breaks up scar tissue, reduces inflammation better than any anti-inflammatory drug out there, and has no side effects (other than the runs if you take more than your body knows how to use). MSM is potentiated, or made more bio-available (and therefore effective) in your body, when combined with Vitamin C.  Also, the lemon in your water will soften the taste of the MSM, which will take a few days to get used to. Just start with a low amount, and move up as your body and taste-buds adjust.

I take my MSM in tablet form with my morning drink.  Cayenne pepper is also high in vitamin C and is especially good for increasing blood flow. Taking it first thing in the morning makes you energetic and alert in a healthy way!

Nutmeg is getting impatient for some “before” and “after” pics.  Me too, Meg!  I’m afraid there’s no “after” yet, but I suppose we can do some progress pics at some stage.  My plan is to have a photo gallery once the website is up and running, so as not to slow the blog down too much.  There will be a link to the photo gallery from the blog.  If you have no idea what I look like, there’s a picture in the About Me section.  Nothing much has changed…

And then three people told me I looked like Charlize Theron when I was 20!  I shoulda gone to Hollywood!  I don’t know what you ladies have been sniffing, but I’m flattered!

I’m getting more and more computer savvy every day.  Today I designed and made a click-through widget (100 DAYS TO HEALTH).  Check it out!  And I got Skype!  I Skyped with my dad, who is house-sitting for my uncle for a few days.  I don’t have a webcam yet, but maybe we’ll get one tomorrow. 

Thank you for bearing with me through another blog relocation.  That was the last time, I promise!  I’m glad you like the template, but I’m going to let you in on a little secret:  I have a whole file full of beautiful templates, so don’t get too attached to this one!

Hope you have a great weekend and a week full of victories!  Be kind and loving to yourself.  Katrina Rainoshek said it best:

What part of YOU needs a love letter today?

When you think about the fact that our bodies are on average 70% water, and then think about water responding with beautiful, crystalline structures to words of love, how well your body will respond to thoughts of love!!

The other wonderful piece of the puzzle is that when love is present, all is beautiful as it is!!

Thank you, as always, for the incredible love and support you give me every day.  I appreciate it so much and know that this journey would be so much lonelier, not to mention slower, without you!

What I consumed today:

* 1 liter warm water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper

* 500 ml Herbal Fiberblend

* 400 ml apple juice

* 1.1 liters beetroot juice

* MSM and flaxseed oil

Energy Levels: Great!

Positive Changes:

* My skin is soft and smooth all over, without the use of body lotion.

* I no longer need to use deodorant.

* I am no longer retaining water

* My hair and body stay clean longer

* My face is no longer oily and my skin is clear or pimples and blemishes.

* My hands are almost healed.

*  The “glow” is back.

Detox Symptoms:

* My tongue is more coated again today.

* There was a slight headache again this afternoon.

* Lots of things happening in my liver area.

*  Everything that comes out of my body is now pink.

Food cravings: None

Self care:

* Enema

* Body brushing

* Contrast showers

*  Jacuzzi

* Relaxation Audio

Emotions: Happy and relaxed.  I feel so calm and serene at the moment.

Thoughts on the day:

* There’s a lot to be said for listening to one’s body.  Intellectually I told myself that I should have gone back to gym this past Monday, but something kept me back.  I now know that it was my inner wisdom.  My body only let me know today that it’s ready to go back.  I’m all excited and geared up for this coming Monday (tomorrow I’ll be passing stones, so that’s out!)

* The liver cleanse has gone really well so far.  Every day I’ve decreased the amount of apple juice and increased the amount of beetroot juice.   I expected to feel worse somehow - more tired - but I’ve actually been feeling great, apart from a slight headache in the afternoon.  I can feel the stones popping from the bile ducts (it’s quite weird).  Tonight before getting into bed I’ll drink the olive oil and grapefruit juice and sleep on my right side.  The stones should pass in the morning…

* Speaking of morning, I’ll be getting up just before 5 am for the Qualifying of the Australian Grand Prix.  And Sunday morning Craig and I will grace the couch at the same time for the actual race.  Can’t miss the first race of the year!  We’re still deciding who we’re going to support. 

Today’s picture:

* The area between Mossel Bay and the Storms River mouth on the south coast of South Africa is known as the Garden Route. It is lush and green year round and very popular with tourists and holiday makers alike. 

*  One of the best-loved Garden Route towns is Knysna, built around a large lagoon.  The entrance to the lagoon is a narrow passage between two high rocky outcrops known as The Heads.  This picture was taken from one of the lookout points at The Heads.

*  Knysna is well-known for it’s annual oyster festival, and the indigenous forests surrounding it.  There are elephants in those forests, but they are rarely spotted.

*  The Knysna forests are also home to the Knysna loerie, pictured at the bottom of this post.

*  One of South Africa’s most well-known authors, Dalene Matthee, rose to fame with her stories set in these forests.  If you ever come across “Circles in a Forest” and “Fiela’s Child“, don’t hesitate, they’re great books. (I’ve just added them to my Amazon Store.)

* Uploaded to Flickr by slack12

What I consumed today:

*  1 liter warm water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper

*  500 ml Herbal Fiberblend

*  750 ml apple juice

*  750 ml beetroot juice

*  MSM and flaxseed oil

 Energy Levels:  I was allright today.  We had an early night last night and I didn’t need a nap during the day.

Positive Changes:

*  My skin is soft and smooth all over, without the use of body lotion.

*  I no longer need to use deodorant.

*  I am no longer retaining water

*  My hair and body stay clean longer

*  My face is no longer oily and my skin is clear or pimples and blemishes.

*  My hands are almost healed.

Detox Symptoms: 

*  My tongue is more coated again today.

*  There was a slight headache again this afternoon.

*  Some sensation in  my liver area.

Food cravings:  None

Self care:

*  Coffee enema 

*  Body brushing

*  Contrast showers

*  Inspirational video

Emotions:  I am fit to be tied at this very moment!   But previously I was fine.

Thoughts on the day:

*  I spent most of the afternoon working on an elaborate post with my top 10 reasons I want to lose weight, published it, got two comments and then inexplicably lost the whole fucking thing!  Man I’m upset! 

*  I  did an enema today, my first ever.  It was all right, and I expect that I’ll get better at it.

*  American Idol again tonight.  I bought more wool for socks and a pattern for a waistcoaty thing for my niece. 

*  Talking about knitting, Kathy had a brilliant post likening weight loss to knitting today.  Check it out here.

*  There’s a new published post up at Associated Content. 

Today’s picture:

*  This picture of Table Mountain was taken from the beach at Bloubergstrand across Table Bay.

*  Uploaded to Flickr by slack12

What I consumed today:

*  1 liter warm water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper

*  750 ml Herbal Fiberblend

*  1.1 liters apple juice

*  400 ml beetroot juice

*  MSM and flaxseed oil

 Energy Levels:  I could not have had more than 4-5 hours sleep last night and was wide awake this morning when Craig got up.  My energy definitely waned during the day and I’m quite tired now.  I will be going to bed shortly!

Positive Changes:

*  My skin is soft and smooth all over, without the use of body lotion.

*  I no longer need to use deodorant.

*  I am no longer retaining water

*  My hair and body stay clean longer

*  My face is no longer oily and my skin is clear or pimples and blemishes.

*  My hands are almost healed.

Detox Symptoms: 

*  My tongue is more coated again today.

*  I’ve had a headache since this afternoon.

Food cravings:  None

Self care:

*  Body brushing

*  Contrast showers

*  Affirmations

Emotions:  I’m in a happy place right now.  I’ll write about some of my feelings in a separate post in the near future.

Thoughts on the day:

*  I was hungry all day!   Not starving, but really, there’s a huge difference between 1.5 liters of juice and my usual 4 liters of juice!  Also, the apple juice is quite sweet.  Tomorrow the ratio changes to equal amounts of apple and beetroot juice, which might provide a  somewhat “earthier” taste.

*  Pepper is back and has made herself at home on my ample bosom. I have to work around her.  She seems quite chipper for a kitty who’s a had surgery today!

*  Thank you for being so loyal and supportive and for the lovely comments!  I couldn’t do this without you.

Today’s picture:

*  Between the two Wineland towns of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch lies the picturesque Banhoek Valley.  I love sitting on one of the many restaurant terraces in this valley and admiring the view while sipping a glass of the estate’s wine and eating a beautifully presented, fresh gourmet salad.  That’s life (although I’ll have to fore-go the wine in future)!

*  Uploaded to Flickr by RobW_