DAYS 2 & 3

JUICE FAST UPDATE

I finished my juice cleanse Friday evening right in time for cinco de mayo and I have to say I'm happy I did it. I did get hungry, especially in the early evening but the vanilla cinnamon cashew milk they have as the last drink is actually really filling. By the last day I felt energized and clear minded but I was just plain tired of drinking. I really didn't feel thirsty, in the least bit at all and I would drink have the juice and want to be done with it. I did lose about 5lbs though, which was nice. So overall I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Good if you want to loose some weight and feel good in a hurry. :)

HUNGER GAMES

Grilled Zucchini Ribbon Salad recipe: here

Ok. I'm hungry. Don't get me wrong, the juices have been great but I'm sick of drinking. I'm not thirsty. At all. I'm hungry...but I'm also determined not to break this juice fast. So instead of eating food I have been looking at all the delicious things I would love to eat online. Torturous? Yes. But in a small way it makes me feel a little better. So I have to share with you some of the things I've found. Starting with a couple salads. These salads look simple to make and so delicious. They would be perfect for lunch or a light dinner.  Enjoy —seriously, because I can't :( 

Tomato Salad with fresh ricotta and grilled bread. Recipe found: here

(Photos & recipes from Proud Italian Cook  and Alexandra's Kitchen)

DAY 1

Today is day one of my three day juice cleanse. I decided to do the Blue Print Foundation Cleanse, and so far (I'm only 2 juices in) the drinks have been refreshing and delicious. The first juice was a mixture of lemon and green veggies, and the one I'm enjoying now has pineapple, apple and mint. I feel clear headed but a little tired...probably from staying up too late though. Four more drinks to go today and I'm pretty excited...especially for the spicy lemonade!

MONDAY HEALTH & FITNESS: SWIMMING

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After 15 years of competitive swimming I usually find other ways to work out. Swimming makes me miss doing it competitively too much, and I get sad. But for most people it's an awesome workout. My advice for people who want to swim for a workout is to not think of it like going for a run. Think of it as more of a track workout, even if you are training for a triathlon or longer swim. Do a long swim to warm up then do sets depending on your goals. Try something like 10x100's (4 lengths) or 200's (8 lengths) on an interval you can hold but not by much, maybe 10 seconds. This type of training will keep your heart rate up and make you hold a certain level of intensity (or you'll miss the interval). When you just swim laps continuously you have no way to know if you're slowing down or slacking off. 

(photo from a friend)

GREEN TEA BREAKDOWN

One of my New Years Resolutions was to drink more water and green tea instead of coffee. The benefits of green tea seem to know no end, from preventing cancer and dementia to boosting metabolism (as long as you don't load it down with harmful sweetners and sugar!). And the best part of it all is it's super affordable and available at every grocery store. 

(photo from here)

HOW TO: KEEP A FOOD JOURNAL

Writing down what you eat and drink lets you take look at your eating habits and make healthy changes. Use the following guidelines to help you as you go:

• Get in the habit of recording everything immediately - right after you eat or drink.

• Write what you were doing (i.e driving, watching t.v. etc) and how you were feeling (i.e. rushed, depressed, excited) when you were eating

• BE HONEST! This isn't something other people are going to read it's only for you and your own good.

PS— a few ways to keep your journal: online/on your phone, in an actual journal, or print out some of these every week

(photo from here)