Day 115

Day 15     January 12th 2014
Well the new year is really starting off amazing! First off I want to give a big shout out to my friend Frank. I have mentioned him a few times in my blog. Frank and I have been friends since we were 10 years old. Even though we live on different sides of the country, we still talk on a regular basis. We have both struggled with our weight since our early 20's. He has been super supportive of me trying to get healthy and even tried juicing himself. Well even though it didn't go well the first time, he has started a fast again and is on day 10! He is already talking about how much better he feels and of course losing weight. I am so excited for him and his family!
I'm also really excited about going to Texas in a few days for the New Year New You Health Fest. Can't wait to see my cousin Amanda, she has been one of my biggest supporters. She has also introduced me to some amazing people. I'm a little bummed that that my friend Lisa can't make it, but I know that she is even more bummed than I am.
I have continued to spread the word to anyone that will listen about the benefits of juicing and a plant based diet. This blog has not had over 16,000 hits so I must be talking a lot! In the process of dishing out advice I came across a Facebook page called Juicing for Health, which led me to the website Juicing for Health with Sara Ding. What an amazing Facebook page and website. Sara has so much great information on juicing on her page. She has also written a couple books in what she calls the Healthy Pretty Happy Lifestyle Series.

The e-books The Healthy Pretty Happy way to Juicing and 100 Healthy Pretty Happy Juice Recipes are available for just $6.95 for both at Healthy Pretty Happy Lifestyle Series. I recommend that everyone checks our her site and Like her Facebook Page. Not that she needs my help, her page has over 500,000 likes.
The other kinda cool thing that happen this weekend, I tried a new Farmers Market new my house in Wrightwood CA. It's only about 7 miles from my house and I had no idea it was even there. I met some really great people there including the people from the family farm that sponsors the market. They gave me a lot of pointers for starting my garden in the spring. There was also a woman that I was telling her all about  my juicing and plant based diet. It turns out that she is has been a vegan for many years and a big fan of Dr. McDougall and went on trip to Costa Rica with the McDougall group this past summer. If you don't know who Dr. McDougall is click on the link to his page. The McDougall Health & Medical Center's slogan is "It's the food" I can do a blog entry just on Dr. McDougall (good idea)  She was so excited to tell me all about her trip. She went zip lining, river rafting, and snorkeling which sounded pretty incredible, especially when she told me she is 78 years old! Just amazing, and she give all the credit to her healthy plant based lifestyle.

That's all for now, Happy Juicing!!!!

Day 107

Day 107    Jan 3rd, 2014

Hello Juice Friends, 

Well it's a new year and it has already been pretty good. New Year's Eve was very cool. My good friends asked if I wanted to go hiking with them on the 1st. They have seen the results I've been having and after reading this blog, wanted to pick my brain a little. Then I received a message on Facebook from someone I went to high school with. She is on her own path to getting healthy and checked out the blog. Hopefully we can share and help each other along the way. I've also received lots of messages from friends of friends as well as strangers asking for advice and giving support. 
The night got better as I rang in the new year with some really awesome people. I'm really looking forward to 2014 and hope they are part of it. We had such a great time although some may not of been feeling to good the next day. 
The next morning I woke up and decided to check the scale. 199.8! This is the first time I have been under 200 lbs in over 20 years. What an amazing feeling! It was also pretty great the night before to not be able to find anything to wear because all my 2x and 3x cloths just hang off me. I even ordered a new Buddhist Boot Camp T-Shirt because the one I had was too big. Well I ordered a XL and it was still to big. I've been able to buy some shirts in size Large. 
In addition to paying it forward with what I've learned about juicing and a plant based diet, I've given out several copies of the Buddhist Boot Camp book. I really think it's a great book that can help you live a little happier in your everyday life. I've received nothing but positive feedback. 
While I was sitting updating the blog I noticed a Facebook message from another friend from high school. He said he is in the same boat as many of us and ready for a lifestyle change. It is just so cool to have people ask you for advice and be able to give it. 
Well I've also had some great food this week. MA PO Tofu at PF Chang's, it's spicy garlic-red chili sauce with crispy silken tofu in a ring of steamed broccoli. It was so good! I also made my own garlic Hummus that was oil free. It came out a little fluffy instead of creamy without the oil, but tasted yummy. 

So going into the new year I would like to continue on my path to a happier healthier me. I would also like to continue to help others get on tract to do the same thing. I had said earlier in the blog that I wasn't sure if I would be able to go completely plant based but so far I have and it's not really that hard to do. And I also want to learn to live without the Salts, Oils, and Sugars. That is a challenge because almost everything you buy in a store has all 3 of those  in once way or another. 
Happy Juicing 

Breville vs Omega Juicer

Breville Elete 800JEXL vs Omega J8006 Juicers

I came across a pretty good deal on an Omega J8006 juicer. Even though I already have a Breville which I love, I have heard and read about the benefits of a masticating juicer. The big one being you get more juice out of your fruits and veggies. 

For those that don't know the difference between a centrifugal and a masticating juicer here you go. 

A centrifugal juicer spins at a high RPMs. Fruits and vegetables that are put into the feed shoot are chopped up by a disk and juice is forced through a fine mesh screen. The remaining pulp is thrown into a separate container. They juice very fast but your pulp can come out pretty wet meaning your not getting as much juice as you should. 

A masticating juicer chews and crushes your fruits and veggies between 1 or 2 augers. As it grinds and crushes and presses the juice through a small screen. 

Both have pros and cons for different fruits and vegetables. Some will say that the centrifugal oxidizes the juice because of the high speeds which will reduce shelf life.  Also I have heard that it's heats up the juice because of the high speeds causing it to loose nutrients.   

So keep in mind this is only my opinion based on my use of both machines. I juiced all of the following on both:
Kale
Romaine
Swiss chard
Beets
Celery
Carrots
Cilantro 
Apples
Lemons 
Mint
Watermelon 
Ginger
Strawberries
Grapes

First off I will say the Omega did produce more juice with the leafy greens, plus you can rejoice the pulp again and get a little more juice. That is the best I can say about the Omega. While it did produce more juice it took close to 3 times longer to do it. I make a gallon of juice a day. Cleaning the fruits and veggies is the same but prepping is a different story. In the Breville the only thing I had to cut up was the watermelon. Everything else I was able to put in whole. The Omega required everything to be cut into small pieces. Even carrots had to be split. The leafy greens had to be put in small leafs at a time. The Omega also clogged several times while making the gallon of juice requiring me to take it apart and clean it. When I was done I strained both and the Omega juice also also had a lot more pulp in it. 
I repeated this three times on different days and the results were pretty much the same every time. The Omega produced more juice in the beginning with the leafy greens. By the time I was done with both batches the Breville had produced slightly morels juice. As far as heating up the juice, the juice produced by the Omega was almost warm when it was done compared to the Breville. Speed, the Breville took 23 minutes to make 1 gallon of juice after cleaning the fruits and veggies including cutting the watermelon. The Omega took 1 hr 36 minutes including cutting up everything to fit and stopping at least 3 times to clean the screen and corkscrew. Cleaning, the Breville only had 4 pieces, all pretty large and easy to clean. The Omega has more pieces and some are small but I didn't think clean up was an issei really with either one. 

In summery while I do not think the Omega is a bad machine. You can also make pasta and breadsticks if you want to and I really wanted to like it. But in the end it's just way to slow. If I was only doing leafy greens it would be slow but make a lot of juice. But I'm not, I juice all kinds of fruits and veggies. Does it make a better quality juice, maybe but not enough to justify the extra time it takes. 

Day 101

Day 101    Dec 28th, 2013

Hello everyone,

I'm being told that I'm not blogging often enough. I agree, I just don't know where the time goes. 100 days has seemed to fly by. The biggest question I've been getting from people "How much weight have you gained since you stopped juicing?" Well first off I haven't stopped juicing, I still have juice everyday. There has been only one day in that last 100 days and that was on Christmas. I ended up traveling all day and didn't have any juice to take with me. By the time I got home with my kids I was exhausted. As far as how much weight I have gained......wait for it..... Zero!! I have continued to lose weight. On Christmas Day I was at 68 lbs lost, 1 lb short of a goal I had for Christmas morning. I was really wanted to see 199 on the scale. It has been at least 17-18 years since I've seen that. But I'm not disappointed at all. I've freaking lost 68 lbs and feel better than I have in years. 

I've had some good luck paying it forward as well. I've mentioned my friend Frank before and how he was interested in what I was doing. He decided to try juicing but only lasted a day or so. Well now after seeing how well I'm doing he has decided to try again. He even bought a Breville 800JEXL like the one I have. I know he can do it. He has always been someone that once he sets his mind to something he does it. Him and his family will be out in California in May. It will be so awesome for both of us to be fit and healthy for the first time in decades! 

Speaking of family, last night I seen Franks brother, sister, and mother. Needless to say they were quite shocked with my transformation. They were equally shocked when I told them I haven't had meat or dairy in almost 4 months. They have known me my entire life and how I have always eaten. It really made my day to talk to them about my journey. 

That's all for now, Happy Juicing 

Fat Sick & Nearly Dead Special!

I encourage everyone to check this out! It really was the jump start I needed to make a change in my life for the better. You can also watch the full movie on Netflix!