The last couple of days at Juicy Oasis went in a flash. Jason gave us his juicing talk, which was fun and I learned some new things despite having mostly heard it before back in August. He also gave us a talk on Friday about next steps and we got the last chapter of his new book, which hasn't been released yet, but deals with the 28 day program. His advice as ever is to find the option that you'll be able to stick with and to go steady on your forays back into actual eating. This is definitely good advice as going too rich or too much at first is not advisable. I've been pretty cautious - mostly sticking to salad with a little baked or grilled or steamed protein. So far so good!
On our very last night at JO we said a farewell to the group in a circle lit by candles. It was warm and welcoming and I got a bit emotional. We burned small pieces of paper with things we wanted to leave behind as we move forward. I burned my emotional eating and eating to spite myself. Things I've done that seem more insane the more I think about them now. Eating when not hungry is lunacy but I've done it so often in the past.
We also said goodbye to Kate and Jason and the rest of the team. I blubbed all over both Kate and Jason as they hugged me. I thanked them both because without their retreat I feel like I would be in a much worse position now.
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| Saying goodbye to Kate and Jason - first of many many tears that night, even though they were tears of joy and happiness and gratitude. |
I lost 28lbs in weight over the month (27.6 actually but I'm claiming that last pound!), my cholesterol dropped 41 points (using the scale where under 180 points is normal and I'd started at 267 and it dropped to 226), my blood sugar was normal before and normal after, my urine test showed I was nicely hydrated and was producing ketones.
I dropped 16cm from my waist, 8cm from my hips and 1cm from my thigh. This pretty much correlates with where I felt I was losing the weight although the thigh is a bit misleading as I've definitely lost weight there but need to get toning before the difference shows in cm.
I can also see a real difference in my arms and it's looking likely to me that at some point I might need skin reduction treatment there, but I'm not going to worry about that til I hit the weight I want to be because lots can change as you shrink.
Here are my before and after pics!
Before:
After: 
Before: 
After: 
It's more noticeable in the photos below:
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| Taken July 2014 in NYC a couple of weeks before my first trip to Juicy Oasis. Here I was 4 stone (56lbs) heavier than at my final weigh-in at JO on Friday 14th November 2014 |
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| Taken Thursday 13th November 2014 at Juicy Oasis, Portugal. |
I truly believe that if I'd not gotten into juicing and gone to JO I might not be walking now. My mobility was on a downward path and my weight was increasing a little each month. I'm very glad to have had the resources and family/friend support to be able to go to the retreat because I think back then I'd have struggled to do this at home. So much so that I really don't think I'd have stuck with it. I'd have found it too hard and fallen off and I'd be just as big as in that picture in NYC.
My journey started at the beginning of 2014 when I stepped on my scales and saw the heaviest weight I'd ever been. It was also scarily close to a new decade of stone weight and quite literally I frightened myself. I started reading everything I could get my hands on about diet as I'd tried so many before and felt like I must be missing something. It was around this time that I saw the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. This struck such a chord with me that I started looking around for UK juicing websites and resources. This is how I found JuiceMaster and Jason Vale's books and then their Juicy Oasis retreat.
I do honestly think I'd be in a wheelchair right now if I hadn't pursued this. I now weigh 4 stone 12lbs lighter than the day I scared myself silly as I stood on my bathroom scales. It's all due to juicing, learning about clean food, cutting out refined sugar and following these principles to completely redesign my lifestyle with regards to food. I daresay I'll have the odd thing that I didn't make or that has sugar in it as I like to be social and sometimes its difficult to avoid. But these things are no longer in my day to day diet or in my cupboards! The truth is I have no yearning for them because even the memory of the taste is artificial and too sweet. I made the mistake of having a sip of ice tea drink after getting home and nearly gagged on the sweetness - and this was a drink I'd always liked before! The re-education of my tastebuds never ceases to amaze and amuse me. Every food I'm eating is a new wonder in the context of juicing for that long. Tomatoes have become an event! Avocado is to be savoured like a food of the gods. Cucumber is cool and hydrating and deliciously crunchy.
Sorry Steffi - still haven't eaten the flipflop - having too much fun with veg!
Fi
xoxo
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