DAY 1 - Getting Rid of the Bloat!

Hello Everyone!!!!

Eeek first blog post and it's about BLOAT! Oh well!!! We all get it once in a while and indulge from time to time so it's natural right?! I mean who hasn't had an amazing gastro experience on the weekends?!

But the thing is, IF we ate a perfect diet of WHOLE foods, that are mostly plants and not too much of it ALL THE TIME, we would probably feel pretty great and have no need for cleanses, etc. Yet we do indulge.....even if we didn't indulge....our soils just aren't as nutrient dense as they once were and they're filled with toxins from the air, soil, water...AND we simply eat too much of it. Not only that but our veggies and fruits, etc. need TIME to absorb the nutrients from the sun, water and earth..but our population is growing and we need more and more food and we need it FAST.

Now a proper cleanse would be at least 3 weeks...so please make sure you note this is not a true cleanse...just a little refresh to get rid of some bloat and a few pounds ;) Each time I've done this in the past I've lost just a little over 5 lbs.

Every so often I feel the need to get rid of "sludge", kickstart my eating habits again and get rid of the "bloat". But I want to do it in a healthy way...hey I'm all about balance! One day I'll be eating a great burger and fries, but the next I want to consume as much WHOLE ingredients (not processed) as possible. Plus it just tastes better!! Trust me...the more of the good whole foods you eat the more you crave them!

Eating REAL food...not too much...and mostly plants.

The 3-Day Refresh covers that. Definitely not going to starve...I don't expect to. Typically and if history repeats itself, I'll be hungry by mid-morning of Day 1 but then that usually goes away after my first herbal tea and I'm not hungry again. Here's hoping that's the case this time around! You have to pick three days during the week where you'll be most successful.

For me, it had to be THIS week and it had to be during the work week. I don't have any classes scheduled and while it's OK to exercise while doing this, mild to moderate is what is suggested and nothing too taxing like 3 classes per night! It's fairly low calorie and you shouldn't be taxing your system too much trying to recover from a tough workout.

So this week is perfect, and during the work week (not weekend) is when I'm at my best and less tempted--even though there's a co-worker who tempts me with his breakfast from a restaurant up the street! BUT I didn't spend this money to throw it away right?! AND IT'S ONLY THREE DAYS!!!

So here it is...this is what you get! You either need your own Shakeology or you can get a complete kit that has enough Shakeology for each morning.

You also get a higher protein blend called Vanilla Fresh and some Fiber Sweep that acts like little colon scrubbers.

Water

A day on the Refresh ALWAYS starts with a big glass of filtered water to get your system going! But first I took my measurements!! Although I've also taken note of how I feel...sluggish, bloated, icky.

Onto the water....

I have a 50-minute commute and I'm not usually hungry until I get to work I always drink water on my way to work. Today was no different. Everyone was still sleeping when I left so I was thankful that I had another Ninja blender at work so I could make my morning Shakeology when I got to work.

Breakfast (within an hour of waking up):

Vegan Tropical Strawberry is the one I chose but you can have any flavour or Shakeology. I may do the entire 3 days with Vegan Chocolate or Tropical Strawberry and be completely VEGAN!

Anyway, this is my breakfast! A packet of Tropical Strawberry, 1/2 banana, 4 ice cubes and water...all blended nice and thick :) I could have just eaten the banana instead of having it in my shake, but today I chose to include it. The Refresh booklet gives you all the information you need, including lists of what fruits, vegetables and healthy fats to pick from.

Optional Morning Tea (at least 1 hour after Breakfast)

While the herbal / Green Tea is optional I ALWAYS consumed it before because it helped stave off the hunger mid-morning. Today I'm opting for a Green Tea sweetened with Stevia. Thank goodness Stevia is allowed.

Fiber Sweep (at least 1 hour after Morning Tea)

This stuff should NOT sit for too long. It will gel and be disgusting to chug. The flavour is slightly citrus-y and not unpleasant to drink as long as you don't let it sit. It even tells you in the book to drink promptly after mixing.

I should note that I was NOT hungry by the time I had my Morning Tea...but by the time I was due for my first Fiber Sweep I was getting a little hungry. I'm not "starving" of course and so far it's not hard. Hard is battling cancer. This is fine!

- Here's my filtered water and packet of Fiber Sweep -

- Here it is mixed -

- Here is me drinking it (and it tastes quite good actually) because I know from past experience to NOT let it sit too long, I mean no more than 15 minutes! LOL -

Lunch (at least 1 hour after Fiber Sweep)

Lunch consists of 1 Vanilla Fresh shake, 1 serving of fruit from the provided list, 1 serving of vegetable from the provided list and 1 serving of a healthy fat from the list.

By this time I was ready to eat. I was getting hungry...not HANGRY...but I was glad it was time to eat.

I chose to eat my foods instead of putting all or any of it in my shake...but you can consume these how you want. I forgot to bring some cinnamon for my Vanilla Fresh shakes but thankfully the taste of them is just fine and I actually enjoyed it.

- Vanilla Fresh about to be blended with water and 4 ice cubes (love my Ninja!) -

- Here's the rest of my lunch! 2 medium stalks of celery, 1/2 peach and almond butter alongside my Vanilla Fresh. Definitely NOT starving :) -

Afternoon Snack (at least 1 hour after Lunch)

So mid-afternoon has arrived and I'm not hungry. It was actually tough for me to eat my lunch! BUT I have a feeling if I don't have this snack I'll be pretty hungry come dinnertime AND I need to keep my metabolism fired up.

Afternoon snack consists of a serving from the Vegetables list and a Healthy Fat. I've opted for celery again and almond butter. I love almond butter...the celery just serves as the spoon for it. The paper towel in the container is moistened and stored with the celery to keep everything nice and moist!

Dinner (at least 1 hour after Mid-Afternoon Tea - which I forgot at work on my way home!! Oh well it was optional)

So during the Refresh you are given a choice of some pretty awesome dinner recipes...all are veggies with healthy fats...some are raw, steamed, etc. and all of the ingredients you can find in your grocery store if you don't already have it.

Tonight I chose to have the Spinach Salad, along with the optional Organic Vegetable Broth and of course alongside the Vanilla Fresh.

I can honestly say I was not all that hungry, except for the little twinge of hunger earlier today AND it's only 3 days!

- Mmm mmm goodness right here! -