I'm Doing IT Again

Wait...Whaaat?  Yup, Its going to be another round of a 10-day cleanse for me....AGAIN!  After the last cleanse in January and 15 pounds lost, don't know what got into me, but the following weeks were filled with excess and gluttony!

Food! Food! Food!  Oh glorious food.  And mounds of it.  There were friends birthdays, road trips, out of town visitors and just generally feeding my face.  And, OH YES!  There was drinking!  Lots of champagne, sake, soju & beer concoction called somek...mmmmmm.

Well...needless to say, I gained at least 10 pounds back! Purium to the rescue!! Yay.

Today is my second day and let me tell you, it had been the roughest cleanse I've had to date.  I got a severe headache yesterday, it was almost unbearable.  I usually don't take ANY medication, however when I woke this morning with the headache 100x more painful..there was no stopping my from popping some ibuprofen before work.

Upside to it all...I lost 5 pounds in 24 hrs.  That is the normal water weight that initially falls off whenever I start.  Can't wait to feel more energy again, too.

We will see where I'm at in a couple days.

Mahalo (Thank you) for visiting.

Amber

Happy ALOHA Friday!

I just wanted to send you all a....

A little history behind the custom behind "Aloha Friday".  According to my father whom did his best to explain to a then 8 year old curious little girl that asked every question under the sun....What began in the 60's as a campaign to promote Hawaii's garment industry became a worldwide phenomenon known as Aloha Friday to us and Casual Friday's to the rest of the world.

From what I could remember from that conversation and the all knowing Wikipedia, The Hawaii Fashion Guild wanted to promote Aloha-wear as suitable workplace attire especially during the very hot and humid summer months in Hawaii.

The Guild gave 2 aloha shirts to every member of the Hawaii House of Representatives and the State Senate.  

The following taken from Wikipedia:

Subsequently, a resolution passed in the Senate recommending aloha attire be worn throughout the summer, beginning on Lei Day, which is May 1st. The wording of the resolution spoke of letting "...the male populace return to 'aloha attire' during the summer months for the sake of comfort and in support of the 50th state's garment industry."

In 1965, Bill Foster, Sr., president of the Hawaii Fashion Guild, led the organization in a campaign lobbying for "Aloha Friday", a day employers would allow men to wear aloha shirts on the last business day of the week a few months out of the year.  Aloha Friday officially began in 1966, and young adults of the 1960s embraced the style, replacing the formal business wear favored by previous generations. By 1970, aloha wear had gained acceptance in Hawaii as business attire for any day of the week.

So....Have a Happy ALOHA Friday and a wonderful weekend to boot!

Mahalo for visiting. See you again soon. ~Amber

Latest Results of The 10-day New Year Cleanse

At the end of my latest cleanse I am proud to announce, 15 pounds lost!  Weeeellll....technically 14.8 pounds....close enough!

I ended on Thursday of last week but with the long weekends outdoor activities it took me a couple days to finally get this posted.  In case you are counting the days from when I officially started on January 5th, yes it ended on the 11th day because I was ordered by my doc to either take a day off due my "condition".

So I took a break after the fifth day to give my body a rest and pump it up with iron and pure protein just as the doctor ordered.  I quickly resumed the next day.

As far as the long weekend....cleansed right in time to indulge just a little bit at a SPA getaway with the girls at the Four Seasons.  There was massages & facials.  Relaxing in the jacuzzi and sipping on mimosas and eating chocolate covered strawberries all day.  Oh and did I mention the brunch buffet.  It was WAY FABULOUS!!  I didn't go too crazy though at the buffet, but I did enjoy it immensely.

Catching some morning sun upon arrival at The Four Seasons Spa

Some of the goodies at the Brunch Buffet

Yumz

Our dining room view.

More goodies!!

 Hanging out by the pool, sunnin' the ham hocks.

The girls in our private jacuzzi waiting for our facials.

"I think my scale may be broken...."

So read my Facebook post after my 1st day on the cleanse.

Upon waking on the second day I immediately weighed myself and to my surprise I had lost six pounds.  SIX POUNDS!  In one day?  Is that even possible?  Now, as a former nurse, that baffled me just a bit.  There is an understanding that any weight-loss program will have a substantial amount of water weight loss to start off with, so I'm thinking that is exactly what that was and sticking to that theory.

The days that followed went just as the schedule lists.  On the second & third day I experienced some major hunger pangs so I had some flex foods to stave them off.  The weight loss was steady as well. 

What I loved most of all was the energy had returned!  I cannot get enough of it.  It was immediate, like right on the first day after my first shake! A lot of the aches and pains have subsided and I can move quicker and more efficiently.  I LOVE IT!!

By the 5th day I lost 10 pounds.  That is too AWESOME for words.  Feels so good to feel good.  I cannot even think of what to say.. only that I am grateful for this program and all that it has brought to me.  I wouldn't have achieved this much weight loss without it.  Thank you Purium Health Products!

Stay tuned for my 10 day update :) 

My companion while I write this.

It is not too late to JOIN the Purium New Year Group Cleanse.  Use code: reedchang

Thank you for visiting.  Aloha and Be well ~Amber

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year!!  Hope 2015 is treating all of you well so far just a week in.

Today is the start of a new 10-day cleanse for me and many other Purium enthusiast.  We are all part of a global-wide Group Cleanse which I for one am looking soooo forward to.

Learn more about it here.

My original plan was to start on January 2nd, posted it on all social media and everything.  Well when I found out about my friends and family doing the group thing of course I postponed it to join the largest weight loss support group in the world and do the Purium New Year Transformation Group Cleanse.

Everyone is so excited and we are confident it will be a great success for all involved.  I, myself set a goal of 20 pounds this time around.  It is mostly holiday gain, can you believe it?  It was all that bread.. and rice ...and meat ...and desserts!  Oh my!

I was doing so well there and had a great run those first couple 30-day runs, until I was made to take a break by my doctor.  There will be more elaboration on that in another post.

For right now, I just wanted to tell the WORLD how excited I am to be back on the Purium 10-Day Transformation Cleanse bandwagon with my friends and can't wait to reach my 20 pound goal.

Wish me and the other members of this Group Cleanse luck!

The more the merrier, we would love for you join us.
Use code reedchang

Be Well ~Amber

Can I make it to Day 30?

One day there will be some resemblance of organization in my posts, but like my mind, they're all over the place for now.  Bear with me.

The days following the steak incident was pretty routine.  One day on, one day off.  That sort of thing.  There of course was variations in cravings, what I ate, how much weight gained and/or lost.  But all in all it was without a snag.

Some days I craved noodles, so we went for Chinese food.  By the way..I love love love noodles.  If I could eat it everyday I would.  Any-which-way, any-type.  I love Chinese noodles, Japanese noodles, Italian spaghetti, you name it I love it.

Anyway, Chinese food is a weakness and I noticed I gained a substantial amount of weight.  I would notice the next day there would be 2-4 pounds gained back.  Baffling!

On my off days, I tried to NOT have any flex foods just to maximize the weight loss factor.  Unless the growling was too bad to handle, then I'd have an apple or some cucumber slices or an avocado.  Really..whatever was easiest and closest to grab and eat.

On the 14th day (24th day since the start) I lost a total of 20 pounds!  A milestone to say the least because that was the most I've ever lost on any diet I've ever tried and in such a short time.  Happy happy happy!

Having said that, it made me even more determined to watch the things I ate on my off days.  So the day until the last day will be very monitored and controlled.  I wanna beat the fat blues!!  I buckeled down and by the end of Day 20 (day 30 total) I lost a grand total of 22 pounds!

Not bad for 1 month of being as disciplined as I've never been before.  And without working out!  Thats probably the most amazing thing of all.  I mean I did walk, but nothing too strenuous.

To here is the Purium 30-Day end result:

TOTAL LOSS:

Weight:  22

Inches:  17

AFTER

Weight: 256.2

Arms:  R. 17  L. 17

Chest:  43

Chest Under:  40

Chest Nipples:

Waist: 43

Hips:  50 (46)

Legs/Thigh:  L. 28 R. 28

This is the progress.  During this process I never really noticed the difference, and most of my close were tight, like really really tight so as I lost weight it was hard to tell.  But looking at these and measuring sure tells the truth.

BEFORE

Weight.  278.2

Arms. R. 18". L. 18"

Chest Upper. 45"

Chest Under. 41 1/4"

Chest @ Nipples. 50"

Waist  46 1/2"

Hips. 54"

Legs/Thigh. 30"

Remember this day?

I feel great!  I'm looking better, healthier and from what I've been told, younger.  AMAZING!  In case you are wondering I will be doing another 30 days of Purium - 10 days of cleanse and 20 days of continuation.  

There will be more journey-ing.  Stay tuned.

Thank you for visiting. 

What is a Flex Food?

When I decided to do this Cleanse, my first question was "Am I  able to eat on this cleanse?".  My next question should have been "What foods can I eat?".  That's the real question!  As shown on my post 'The Program', there are a list of foods we are able to consume during those crucial days of the cleanse.  They're called Flex Foods.

Flex foods assist in elimination during a cleanse such as this where solid food intake is greatly reduced.  The avocado fats and fiber in apples along with adequate water consumption aid in nutrition absorption and lubrication of the bowels.  For that reason alone, the flex foods are a must on this cleanse.  The last thing anyone wants to be is bloated, constipated AND hungry!!  NO THANK YOU!

Ok. LETS BE REAL!!  Cucumbers, broccoli and kale were not high on my everyday list of foods to eat, let alone like.  If that was the case, this program may have not been needed.  My health and weight wouldn't be such an issue.  So now the task becomes how to make those food not so boring and monotonous.  Not to mention how to make them tasty so that I'd look forward to eating them on a daily basis.

Aside from not eating the proper foods in the past, I really really hate to cook.  So it was a huge transition in so many ways for me.  I had to really try hard to be creative and thank goodness for the internet and sites like Pinterest or there just would be no hope for me.

During the cleanse when I actually came up with some of my own concoctions, I didn't have the foresight to write it all down but did commit them to memory.  There's quite a plethora of  resources to choose from on the web and a few in particular that I really loved, too.  As we go along further I'll post some of the creative ways I've come across to prepare and incorporate flex foods into my own program.

To my surprise, I enjoyed and still enjoy eating those flex foods.  Its not so much a chore as it started out to be in the beginning.  Working on writing the recipes down and putting them into my ever growing collection.  Yet, still not a fan of cooking I figured, every girl is supposed to have a recipe collection and I gotta start somewhere.

So....Stay tuned for the more of my journey and the yummy-ness to come.

Thank you for visiting.

Video: Day 8 of the 10-day Cleanse

Day 8 and feeling fabulous.  See blog posting of day 8 and what I was feeling as it gets closer to the end of the 10 days.

As I've mentioned before, all of my postings are not in real time and delayed.  My method, not that I actually had one was just start the blog and figure out the details later.  Well as you can see, if I thought it out and organized my resources, this would've gone a little smoother and more efficient .. and ORGANIZED.  So forgive me for these being out of order and very very out of sync.

Thank you for visiting.  See you again soon.

Video: Day 6 of the 10-day Cleanse

Just passed the half way mark and feeling no pain.  This is a little long of a rant, but I was so relaxed it didn't matter to me if it was 5 minutes or a lifetime. 

See my post about days five and six as it was to have been posted simultaneously.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy.

Video: Day 7 of 10-day Cleanse

On Day 7 of the Cleanse happened to be my most busiest days of my work week, Friday.  I knew there would be a challenge because of the schedule of the cleanse and me getting enough nourishment to sustain the rigorous work ahead.  

As I go day by day with the program my energy level increased exponentially.  I just wasn't sure if could stand up to my line of work.  To my surprise it more than kept me going through my day but also left me with enough energy to keep on going.

I cannot rave enough, like I've said, about how good I feel during this cleanse.  Its an energy I haven't felt in such a long time.  So grateful to have been given this gift.

Thanks for stopping by.

Video: Purium Arrived in the Mail

This was the day that I received the Purium package in the mail.  Hope you enjoy, albeit a few posts late.

It took me a little while to figure out all this tech stuff - like how to get my videos posted on my blogs.  For some reason I guess I was doing something wrong because no matter how much or what I did, the video just wouldn't upload to Blogger...whew!

Obviously I got it to work.  You may have to go back a few to sync this vid with my blog post.  There are a couple more vids in this series so stay tuned.

As always, mahalo for visiting!

The Program

I wanted to share with you the actual schedule of the 10-Day Celebrity Transformation Cleanse.  Because there have been a lot of questions about exactly what is entailed during those crucial cleanse days.  Here's an insight of life on the cleanse.

First, let me introduce you the main components of the cleanse and that is the products themselves.

Apple Berry Power Shake™ (also comes in original flavor) was created to be able to easily consume all of your super foods at once.  It comes in a very fine powder.

     • Rich in vitamins and nutrients
     • Increases energy, endurance and strength
     • Supports healthy glucose levels

I swear by this stuff!!  Don't want to go a day without it.  It is a Godsend.  Definitely provides the energy and clarity as well.  This is taken 3x / day alternating with the Master Aminos.

More information...

Master Amino Acid Pattern™ is a pre-digested vegetarian protein made from non-soy legumes.  Comes in tablet form.

     • Keeps body tissues firm
     • Aids in muscle recovery, endurance and volume
     • Helps minimize body fat

Addicted!  I get so protective with this that I literally count how many is left everyday and don't want to share with The Hubs.  Works in harmony with the Power Shake for total nutrition.  Taken 3x/day.

More information...

Ionic Elements™ is a great source of magnesium.  A concentrated blend of humic & fulvic acids with trace minerals from the ocean.

     • Reduces the signs of aging
     • Strengthens hair, skin and nails
     • Helps for restful sleep and supports healthy immune
       system.

I add 20 drops to my 1st and 2nd power shakes of the day.  This is probably the reason why I get compliments on my hair looking more shinier and healthier. Hmmmm....

More information...

Daily Fiber Blend™.  This is fiber EXTREME! It ensures your body gets the purest, most potent protein, essential fatty acids, enzymes and of course essential fiber.

     • Enhances bowel functions
     • Supports a healthy cardiovascular system
     • Contains highly digestible amino acids

Is it just me or does that sound awesome?  I rather like it, in its functionality that is. So I sometimes add it to my shakes because in my book, you can never have too much fiber.

More information...

Apothe-Cherry™ is probably my favorite time of the day.  Sleepy time!  Nutrient dense tart cherries are full of a variety of  anti-oxidants and phyto-chemicals.

Contains melatonin which is essential for well rested deep sleep. (cue singing angels)  It also helps healthy joint function and can even reverse the aging process.

Now do you see?  Why I love it so much.  Insomnia be gone!  This one I take right before bed and it literally knocks me right out.

More information...  


Flex foods are allowed

Now you know what the products are that have changed my life thus far and for the better.  This is the schedule that I kept tweaked to fit my life and work schedule.  Since I work from the afternoon through into the night as you can imagine, I am not awake at 7 a.m. to start the day.  My schedule starts at 9 a.m.

These foods and beverages support the cleanse.  I never thought these foods could truly satisfy me but they turned out to be some of my favorite and delicious meals.  

Thank you again for visiting and see you on the other side.

  

Eeeeewww STEAK!! Gross!

This will be the very first day of eating a full meal.  Anything I want!  Its day 12 or Day 2 of 20 of the Continuation.

So...since I've started with the cleanse, even though most of my worst cravings have gone there was one constant food item that kept coming to mind.  Steak! Big fat juicy steak! Thoughts of ordering it medium rare, the smell of it.  Cutting into it, taking a bite, tasting its wonderfulness and feeling the juices flowing on my tongue.  Mm. Mm. Mm. Mmmmmmmm.

Well guess what I've decided will be my first meal.  You got it!  Went to meet my Aunt for breakfast at one of our favorite places to eat in our town.  My favorite meal of the day IS breakfast and I love eggs any-which-way with a really good steak and that is exactly what I ordered - medium rare, thank you very much.  I was so excited to finally be able to get some of that awesome red meat in me, I could hardly wait for it to come to the table.

We like to eat family style so we can have a little of this and a little of that.  And in celebration of my completing the cleanse, my Aunt ordered a few more of my favorite foods.

Steak and Eggs just the way I like it!

Photo credit: Me So Hungry!

I never remember to pull out my phone to take pics of food..besides I just want to eat it not photograph it.  I DO NOT own the photos below, but thought these would be the best representation of what we had at the table.

Char siu (chinese roast pork), this one is done Hawaiian style.

Photo credit and recipe: Hawaiian Ethnic Kaukau

Simple Fried Noodles w/Char Siu

Photo credit: The Tasty Island Honolulu Food Blog

Poke -pronounced: poh-kay (cubed raw fish seasoned Hawaiian style)

Photo credit: The Tasty Island Honolulu Food Blog  

Poi (pounded steamed or baked taro) a staple in Hawaiian foods.

 Lau lau (pork and butterfish wrapped in taro leaf then steamed).

Photo credit: Photos by Janla - Wendell's Lau Lau

 

Saimin (Hawaii style Ramen)  The dashi (soup base) is so

nice at the end of a meal to wash everything down. Mmmm.

Photo credit: The Tasty Island Honolulu Food Blog

Yes, I know, that is a helluvalotta food!  Gives you a little insight on how I used to eat, especially with my Aunt.  But...back to my steak and eggs.  When it got there I did the usual ritual of mixing some steak sauce and pepper for dipping on the side and prepared to dig in.

To my dismay & disappointment when I put that first bite into my mouth I literally immediately wanted to spit it out!  For some reason, it was the grossest thing I ever tasted right in that moment.  At first I thought it was the steak so I had my Aunty try a bite - she said it was perfectly delicious.  So I took another bite - same thing and this time I did take it out of my mouth.

Could it be?  Do you think..?  Have my taste buds changed so much that it made me not like the taste of meat?  Whaaaaat?  I am way too confused at this point and I can't even tell you how disappointed I am because I was really looking forward to that steak.

Needless to say, aside from my taste buds, my stomachs' capacity for food is virtually so small that I ended up taking just a little bite of laulau, 2 cubes of poke and a few scoops of poi and I was done.  I did drink a lot of the dashi from the saimin because it soothed me.

Auntie packed up the food to go, she'll have a great leftovers for dinner at least.  I on the other hand and going to have to reassess again what and how I eat.  Hmmmmfff!!

Well.......We'll see where it goes from here.

Mahalo for visiting.  Be well.

Well, Technically its 16 Pounds.

Maybe it was a little premature of me - technically the results of the full 10-days would not show up until the 11th day.  So...total weight loss as of this 11th morning, the day after the cleanse is 16 pounds!!  I lost another 1.8 pounds since yesterdays weigh in.  Can you believe it?! I can't! ...and then again...I can.  This stuff is that good.

You do not know how much more happier this makes me.  A whole 16 pounds in 10 days.  Even more elated than I was yesterday.  That alone seems to have boosted my energy level so much I wanna run for some reason. {giggle}  But were not gonna do that - for fear of injury. {giggle} Feeling giddy too!  Is that weird?  Without care of sounding cliche, feels so surreal.

Ok.  Get on with it, Amber!  Day 11, the continuation of my cleanse.  Its 20 days alternating Purium schedule days and eating foods days.  In retrospect, it should've started with an OFF day, but instead it started as an ON day.  Don't ask me why, just didn't think far enough ahead is all.

Besides, mentally (maybe physically too) I just wasn't ready for FOOD!  I mean the concept of being able to eat anything I wanted sounded like a good idea, but really...it made me scared.  Scared of going back to my old ways of eating, even though most of my cravings, especially for sugar have all gone.  It was more that I just didn't know how to act anymore when it came to eating.

A whole new way of life.  That's what it is.  Looking at what I was eating before and putting it all into REAL perspective.  REALLY!!  I will not only have to change my body - as far as its cravings, but change my brain.  Learning how to shop & cook differently with different foods..actual REAL foods.  Not processed crap that have been a staple for years.  Even eliminating, or at least cutting way back on some major players in my life.  Like dairy.  Mainly cheese.

The BIG picture needs to be more closely examined at this point.  Like I said, didn't think far enough ahead...

Mahalo (thank you) for visiting.  I will see you on the other side.  Be well.

Make or Break Me! Last day of the Day 10 of the Cleanse

Hooray!  Day 10!  I survived!

Survived is an understatement.  I am, for the first time in a long time, feeling VERY ALIVE! A foreign concept to me in the past.  My energy level is now through the roof..unable to be measured.  I woke up in the morning literally running out of the bed.  So much so I almost slipped on the rug on the side of the bed.  This is so incredible and I am grateful.

Between weighing myself yesterday morning to this morning, somehow I lost a whole pound.  That makes a grand total of 14 pound in 10-days.  WOW!!  Fourteen pounds?  That is a lot of weight in 10-days.  That's such a big deal because I've never lost that much weight that fast.

The best thing about that is how effortless it was to do so.

I'm so happy right now I could do it all over again.  In fact thats exactly what I'm going to do.  Tomorrow will be day 1 of the 20 day Continuation plan.  The next phase consists of alternating days on and off of the cleanse.

Can't wait to see how much more energized I feel, how much more clearer my mind will be, how shiny my hair will be and how much younger I look.  Yeah, I forgot to mention that other side effect...younger looking skin.  I will touch more on that in a dedicated post - soon to come.

So...casually concluding the way I feel about the 10-Day Celebrity Transformation.  I'm ELATED!  Hows that for casual?  This is the best I've ever felt in years, the side effect is weight loss and looking younger.  Needless-to-say I'm very happy.  In the next 20 days I'm hoping more of the same.

I didn't take any measurements at this point, will wait until the end of the total 30 days.  The only pic I could find taken at the 10 day mark was this one because I accidentally deleted the others. :(

Thank you for visiting and viewing.

Bye Bye Insomnia

As I mentioned before, I've suffered from insomnia on and off for at least a few years now.  When my husbands work alarm would ring at 4:30 a.m. I just wouldn't know where the night went.  Sometimes I would just pretend to be asleep so he wouldn't know I was up all night.  There were many nights that turned into another day without a wink.

During most of those sleepless nights, there was the internet.  A lot of social media browsing.  Pinterest projects bloomed from insomnia.  Books sometimes kept me company, thinking they would make me drowsy enough to fall asleep.  To no avail.

While on the cleanse a beautiful thing happened.  I got a full 8 hours sleep on the first night of the cleanse.  There is a product called Apothecherry that helps you achieve that full nights rest.  AMAZING!  It contains ingredients that help you sleep.  And that it did.

 

Puruim's Apothe-Cherry™ made from 100% Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate

It was such a relief to be able to sleep.  My sleep was deep and hard too.  I could tell because trying to wake to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night was harder than usual and felt like I was dreaming, if that makes any sense.

I haven't had this much rest and abundant energy in years.  Can't stress enough how great I feel.  All due to the 10-day Celebrity Transformation Cleanse.  So grateful.

Have a Happy Hula Day everyone.

Got so much energy I can dance hula all day long, just like Lilo.

How RUDE!!!

I was startled awake by The Hubs at 7 a.m., very rudely I might add, because he just realized he was late for work.  About an hour late.  In his line of work, that's called a flop, so he would be home for the day and he was not a happy camper that he missed work.  He hates that.

My alarm was set for 9 a.m., so I went back to bed for another couple hours.  More so that I benefit from the maximum amount of sleep as where before when there were many-a-night that insomnia got the best of me.

Its Sunday...Walk Day with the BFF.  We usually meet up at 11 a.m. and start doing a warm up lap.  Today were going to Wilson Park.  It is the best park in my area.  There's an awesome walking path that is just under a mile long so it makes it easy to gauge our walking distance.

Its a very HOT and still day.  No breeze and it feels like an oven.  Its been a hot summer this year.  We start out just a stroll to warm up,  I pre-stretch before I leave the house because its part of my daily routine.  Besides, in my work its what I preach to all of my clients to do on a daily basis.. STRETCH!  Now if I could only get the BFF to do the same.

On this day I was extremely proud of both of us.  We approached the hill with verve and a positive attitude.  On this 9th day of my cleanse and to my surprise, we did that hill without any problem.  I wasn't breathing overly hard... steady and rhythmic.  My heart wasn't beating out of my chest and I felt really good.  IT WAS AMAZING!  As I was coming to the top I remember thinking that walking this hill won't kill me after all.  I can go another round without the stopping. Which we did -that never happens.

I didn't want to slow the heart rate for fear that the fat burning aspect of it would not work.  I'm so happy at this point, for a second I thought I could run.  But we won't attempt that just yet.  We have a bit to go as novice walk-for-fitness-ers, but I'm confident we'll get there.

There was no weight loss on this day and that's fine.  Probably due to all the food I ate yesterday.  Tomorrow is the last day of the cleanse and we'll see where all this dedication has gotten me.

Be well and Have a beautiful day.

Wanted to share the Wonderful Wilson Park:

 View of part of the walking paths and the Tree House.

Another view of the Tree House 

The Duck Pond.  You can see the walk paths in the back there. 

A different angle from the back of the pond. 

The Steamers are right next to the park with train rides every 1st Sunday.

The children's Playground

View from way back on the hill.  Those buildings back there are the batting cages, hockey rink and indoor sports center.

note: pics taken from a google search of images of the park and do not belong to me personally.

Was That a Hunger Pang?

Well maybe I spoke too soon about this being effortless.

Its day 8 of my cleanse and the hunger pains are intense.  It woke me from my sleep they were so strong.  I actually gave a little chuckle when I realized what it was.  It was funny to me.

It felt like my body was telling me to put some solid food in me.  Some very tasty, very chewable food.  Like a steak or something, which I have been craving for a couple days now.  Which is ironic because I'm not much of a meat eater - in my mind at least.  I prefer fish & chicken.  My husband is a carnivore to the core and thats what we primarly eat at home, but I do not prefer it.  So it took me by surprise that that is what my body wanted.

To satisfy my hunger I incorporated more of the flex foods, as much as I was able today.  Every chance I was able I ate a flex food.  Got a little creative too.  Sauteed my spinach in coconut oil with garlic and that was so delicious, I didn't want it to end.

Had an apple as a snack.  Half an avocado for my afternoon meal with Himalayan salt and cayenne pepper.  The flavors are so vivid and just popping.  Maybe that in itself helped satiate me.  The fact that everything tastes so good is a great plus.  It's like I've never tasted food so delicious.

As of this day I lost a total of 13 pounds.  In 8 days, thats not bad.  Not bad at all.  Two more days to go and I just may have my steak when all of this is done.  We'll see.

This is what I want to eat...

Picture from Serious Eats at www.seriouseats.com

But what I'm  able to eat during my cleanse instead...

Picture from www.breasthealthandhealing.org

I could go for both together right now.  Ok, I'm done drooling for now.  Have a great day.

What Happened? Hmmm

Aloha all.

Although I set the scheduled postings so that there wouldn't be a lapse in my blog postings, it seems that it hasn't worked.  We've been out of town for a week or so and I was confident that my blog will post like clockwork.  When we got in this morning, I noticed it wasn't to be.

Anyways...just wanted to apologize for the lapse in postings.  I will go over and do them manually.  Stay tuned for more of my journey.

Thank you for stopping in.  I greatly appreciate you for your interest. Wishing you a great weekend and Happy Aloha Friday.

Walk in the Park

Weeks before my cleanse my best friend and I started walking for exercise to get the blood pumping and the body moving after years of inactivity.  The only way I could motivate him to come with me was to go to the beach or to the park and tell him he could "people watch".  If you know what I mean.  There's a helluva lot of beautiful healthy people there.  Gave me motivation too.

In the beginning it was very difficult for me.  For both of us.  There were pains in my knees, hips and muscles.  The hills or ramps and stairs would prove to be most challenging.  My heart would be pumping out of my chest - sometimes I thought I was having a heart attack.  It was hard to breathe and I would get light headed and needed to rest at the top.  Not to mention the pain/numbness in my legs and hips. The struggle was real people!

I knew we had to just suck it up and continue on, build some endurance and stamina over time.  And that's what it was going to take, time.  Time and determination.

It seemed as soon as I started the Cleanse that everything changed, literally overnight.  And that is no exaggeration.  Day two on the cleanse was a walking day and even that early on I could tell a significant difference.  One - I had an abundance of energy, two - I wasn't breathing hard and the hills, ramps or stairs weren't as much of a struggle as before.

By the next week I was doing them with absolutely NO PROBLEM.  My heart wasn't pumping out of my chest, I could breathe easier and didn't need the rest at the top.  Plus we added more laps, more go's up the ramps/stairs to our usual walk...which I just loved.

Don't understand how that worked so quickly.  Maybe the blood was pumping through my body because it was a little cleaner.  My heart was being fed the proper nutrition that it didn't struggle to pump efficiently.  I don't know.  Whatever it is, I am so grateful everyday for Purium.

A walk in the park (or beach) isn't something that I loathe anymore, instead I look forward to it.  That has never happened before.  The couch will win before a walk would.

Walking and moving has become a very big part of my life.  I'm up to 3 miles 3-4x a week.  Someday's I'll go longer or further.  Depends on what time allows in any given day.