IZO Superfood Cleanse Suggestions....

I forgot to mention in any of my writings over the past three days what worked and what didn't work... Just in case you are interested here are some of my ideas....

• If you work, take some time off to do the cleanse or do it on a weekend (hopefully one that is cold and rainy so you can lock yourself inside and not be tempted to eat).
• Only take the LAX pills if you need them... If things are "progressing" as they should don't take all of them.
• Take the sponge in 8 oz. of juice instead of the full pint. This stuff is the hardest because of the texture, not necessarily the taste. It's much easier to get 8 oz. down then it is a full pint. However; the sponge is my favorite part of the cleanse - you can actually FEEL it working.
• Don't even try to take the stuff in water! Make sure that you are using all natural, organic juice and get the sweet stuff!! Some of the best mixtures so far have been: Fruit with Grape (white or concord), Green with Apple or Pear, Root is just plain nasty! I have tried in in everything... I think my favorite so far has been the Pineapple Coconut, and Sponge with Orange Mango. Skip the Cranberry, Cherry or Blueberry juices, they are to tart!
• If you have any questions, email Tim (the Owner and CEO of IZO Force). This man is amazing! He always responds to my emails so fast.

There you have it.... JB's Cleansing Tips!

Up in the air...

So, I didn't write last night like I said I would... And I have a good excuse. I was pissy! Nights are so hard! Here are my thoughts about why:

• I am a social eater. If I can't eat you have cut my social life practically off! And I don't mean just going out to dinner with friends and family, I mean - going to a movie and eating popcorn, or having people over for meals, or just making dinner with Skip at home and sitting down together to eat. Without these things, what do I do at night? We tried watching movies but do you know what everyone does in movies? They EAT!
• By the time you get to your 3rd root, grass or juice of the day you are sick of it! Not because it tastes horrible (even though it does) but because you have already drank it TWO other times that day. I need to mix it up a little - I can't eat a meal of just one thing, I need two or three small items - meat, veggie and some form of carb. I don't like leftovers because I don't want to eat the same thing two days in a row - I DON'T WANT ANYMORE JUICE.

So with that, please know that I am still not saying that this cleanse is not worth it, I am 4.5 lbs lighter, my skin is blemish free, I finally got rid of the pesky infection that the antibiotic for the sinus infection gave me - I really do feel good! But..... I miss chewing my food. I would say that in the future I would do the 10 day mild cleanse (where you get to have some food with your drinks) instead of the 3 day intense cleanse. I will let you know tomorrow, once I get some food in me and am thinking straight, how I really feel. Right now, it's still up in the air!

Take time to think things through....

So, after one day of drinking mud we decided to re-think our choices in juice. Or rather, just "think" our choices. Honestly, when we bought the juice for the first day we just picked a few different flavors out and went on our way - and i don't know that you could do it any different if you have never tasted the powders - Anyway, this time we thought it through. And, by the time it is all said and done, I think we will have the perfect taste combinations..

I woke up this morning feeling good. I wasn't hungry and i was happy and had plenty of energy. Not to mention, I was 2.5 lbs. lighter on the scale. Now - please know that this isn't about loosing weight for either of us as we don't have a lot of weight that we need to loose, it is more about getting healthy. However, if this cleanse is doing what it should do and "cleaning us out" then we should weigh less. And we know that it's not your typicall "water weight" loss as we are both dirnking our weight in water / juice each day! Skip was 3 lbs. lighter.

I will let you know how we are doing tonight. It seem like when you are sitting at home, you want to munch on something. At least during the day we can stay busy with work!

You are what you eat.

Let me first start by telling you that this cleanse came in powders and pills, 4 powders and 2 jars of pills. In the instructions it read that you may want to mix the powders with juice instead of water due to the taste not being very "likable." Then it reminded you that this cleanse is about optimum health, not taste. That, right there should have been the warning sign! Another important tid-bit is that in our quest to become healthy, Skip and I have been eating all organic (when possible) and natural. Have you tasted all natural juice? Yeah, it's no Ocean Spray. So with that being said, let me tell you about my breakfast this morning at 7 AM. it was IZO Sponge mixed with a pint of organic, natural blueberry juice. Wow! I had no idea that that particular combination made ASS! I finished it well after 8 AM, which means I was late to drink my next drink, IZO Green, mixed with another full pint (let me just mention here that every drink is a full pint - that is a lot of liquid to consume every hour, even if it did taste good). I can't remember which juice i mixed it with but it doesn't really matter because the taste of grass, or is is alfalfa??? Not sure, but anyway, I am sure it overpowers any juice! My next drink at 9 AM (even though it was almost 10 by the time i got to it) was IZO Root... Need I say more? This one had a very familiar taste, maybe sage or some overpowering spice like that?? Finally, at 11 AM I got to my IZO Juice, this can't be that bad can it??? Actually, it is the best of the four powders, but honestly, that is not saying much. The pills, IZO LAX and IZO Liver, ah..... why can't all of the powders be put into a pill form so you can just drink them down with water? So.... There you have it. Is it worth it? Not sure yet. What I do know for sure are these things:

• This cleanse works differently on each person. I know this because at 7:15 AM Skip was already hitting the bathroom and by 9 AM he told me that he thought he just "flushed the taco he ate a week ago." And it's almost 5 PM now and I, on the other hand am scheduling the water hydrotherapy (fancy word for colonic) to help me get this crap out of me.
• Your sense of smell is very tricky. The smell of the gross frozen packaged lunches that everyone in my building consumes every day usually makes me want to vomit. And today, they smelled like heaven! Needless to say, I came home.
• The TV commercials that usually don't do anything for me are making me want to cry! Yes, I am hungry and the thought of two more days of not eating is killing me.

So, there ya have it, Day 1. I must now go to the store to get 3 more gallons of juice for tomorrow. So for now I will leave you with a quote "Don't gamble with a fart, you will loose every time!" - Skip re. IZO Cleanse

Clean em' out!

Ok - I am going to attempt to write for 5 days straight... Why, you ask? Well, I feel that you should all be aware of what I am going through this week as tomorrow I will start my 3 day cleanse. This is an all liquid juice and tea cleanse, no solid food. (You know I love me some solid food). IZOCleanse is the product, it is a"comprehensive bowel, kidney, liver, gall bladder, blood, parasite and heavy metal detox program." Yep, quote is straight from the website! So today, as i prepare by by eating all organic and raw, I will cherish every bite because tomorrow and the next day and the next I will be eating breakfast, lunch and dinner out of a straw! Check in tomorrow to see how it is going....

Simplify What?

So in an attempt to simplify my life.... Yes I said it again, "Simplify My Life" - seems to be my theme of the past two years... anyway, in an attempt to simplify my life I decided to get a puppy. WTF?

Yeah - I know! Insane. But.... Here she is, "Baby Lucy!" We got her on October 30, and she was a nine pound 8 week old Bullmastiff mix. I SWEAR I was not looking for a dog, although I believe that everyone should have a pet, I was not looking for a dog. I have Joey Bag O' Donuts and lord knows she was not interested in any other additions to our family. But... There she was, on Craigslist - this tiny little fragile soul, in need of a good home. We had to do it! So, two phone calls, one trip to the ATM, a short drive to Mesa and a stop at PetSmart and there you have it - Welcome to your new home Lucy (or Lucy-fer.... read on to find out more).

Anyone who says that owning a dog is easy must be on crack - because it is anything but! For instance, did you know that you can only keep a dog in it's crate for one hour per each month old. This means, that when we got Lucy, at 8 weeks, or two months (you do the math) she could stay in her crate for two hours at a time. Great! So much for our 8 hour a day (at least) jobs! And, then there is the Vet - Lucy has been to the doctor more since we have had her then I have in the last seven years! There are training classes and now.... get ready... Day Care! Yep, you guessed it. Doggy Day Care! You know, you have to socialize your dogs!

Anyway, it's all worth it. Even the scars on my feet and ankles (hence the name Lucy-fer) and the little bite marks on shoes, table legs, arm chairs, etc... The constant cleaning of pee, the tormenting of the cat (JBD is NOT happy about this dog) the vet bills, the PetSmart bills (buy stock people, it's going up!) all of it.

So although my life is certainly not more simple, it is more full. Full of love - I mean, who doesn't have room for the love that a now 4 month old, 30 pound puppy can give?