10 Day Juice Fast

So Dustin and I have wanted to start making green smoothies for a while now, but our $20 blender is just AWFUL. Seriously, it blends like an inch of stuff unless it's all liquid, and I have to SHAKE it to get it to mix things well. We considered a juicer, but I think they're wasteful- both nutritionally and monetarily. All of the "scraps" that are left over after juicing are the most fibrous parts of the plants! Why would you throw that out? (And yes, I know that some people use them in cooking/baking, but most do not. It just seems so wasteful to me!)

So we decided we needed a blender to make smoothies instead of juice. After reading reviews and watching tons of youtube videos (Ninja vs. VitaMix was a real eye-opener, because the Ninja is supposed to be a pretty good blender, but the VitaMix made it look like junk when they went head to head!) We ended up agreeing that it was probably worth it to plunk down the money for THIS:



I am dying of anticipation waiting for it to arrive! I can't wait to make hummus, hot soup (yes, it HEATS the soup,) peanut butter, and sooo many other things! But first I want to do a 10 day juice fast and see how it makes me feel. I love the idea of being able to eat raw fruits and veggies, and the VitaMix even breaks down the cell walls so the nutrients are more readily available!

So expect some posts as soon as it arrives chronicling my 10 day juice fast. THAT should be interesting! I'm also considering making a youtube channel, but I don't know if talking into a camera is really my thing. If anyone is interested, maybe I will!

Health Update

Well, I finally got blood tests done, and it turns out there IS something wrong with me! I have an underactive thyroid! And high cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, high white blood cell count, high lymphocytes... presumably all related to the thyroid issue, but I'm not really sure.

At first, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I did both. I am SO happy to know that I'm not crazy or the laziest person in the world, but I'm sad that it's not something that can be fixed. I will be on medication for it for the rest of my life. If you know me, you know how much I hate the idea of medication. But the idea of feeling "normal" again is an incredible thought- I can't remember the last time I felt GREAT. I am picking up my prescription for Synthroid today, and from what I've read, it should take about 6 weeks for my thyroid to become normal. I may or may not start feeling better before then.

Fortunately, I have an overwhelming amount of support from friends and family who have the same condition. I'm going to follow my Doctor's orders to start, but it'll be good to have all of the drug and testing information people have given me in case things don't improve on Synthroid. Thanks, everyone! :)

Oh, also... I am now officially an Ohio Valley Roller Girl! I passed my skills testing last night and it felt great. Everyone in the league has been so welcoming and awesome. They're really just a stellar bunch of ladies (and dudes!) and I am proud to be a part of their league.

I'm also proud of myself for busting my ass so hard last night, even though thoughts of calling it quits before I even started definitely occurred. I was so tired when I got to the practice space hours earlier than I needed to be there. It's an hour drive for me, so I usually shop a little after work and go straight there instead of home, which is in the other direction, but I was too tired to shop. So I ended up sleeping for over an hour in the backseat of the Soul (which is super big and comfy, btw!) I woke up feeling groggy and crappy, and I honestly just wanted to give up. It's frustrating to require such huge amounts of sleep yet never awake feeling well-rested. But I sucked it up and wound myself up with an energy drink, which I can't WAIT to stop doing/needing, and tryouts went well!

I'm so excited to stop feeling weak and tired. To stop aching anytime I do anything. To be able to think clearly. To be able to lose weight without eating less than 1200 calories a day.

I hope my expectations aren't too high, but I want to be optimistic about this! :)