Review: Roots Juices

So, I have been reading a lot on Juice Cleansing.  Some people say its great; some say it's terrible.  Honestly, I don't know so I decided to try one for myself.  Fortunately, Dallas has a company that delivers "freshly pressed" juices right to your door:  Roots Juices.  I read through every inch of their website before ordering.  I even read some of the online reviews.  I was a little concerned because one review stated they had bad customer service.  I can honestly say that was not my experience at all.  I opted for the 3 day cleanse (I just wasn't sure I could actually make it 5 days on liquid only) and placed my order.  It was not cheap but I didn't expect it to be.  $150 for 3 days worth of juices.

DAY 1:

I wanted to start on Monday (the 28th) so I called and talked to Brent.  He said it would be no problem and advised me to order online and put in the notes section I wanted delivery on Monday.  Monday morning they dropped off my 3 days worth of juices in a reusable bag.  They even sent me a text after they dropped the juices at my door saying "Your roots juices have arrived!"  Here is what they looked like after I got them in my fridge:

So Cute! 

They included a handy chart showing the order for consuming these juices.  I started with the Wake Up: a mix of carrot, apple, ginger and watermelon.  So far so good.  I'm not a fan of carrots but I liked the spice of the ginger.  I didn't miss eating breakfast because I'm not a big breakfast person anyway.  I usually just eat a piece of toast in the morning to settle my stomach so I can take my vitamins.

Next on the list is Refresh: cucumber, lime, mint, apple and ginger.  I thought this one was pretty tasty.  I could definitely taste the lime and cucumber.  Again, I wasn't hungry at this point.  In between I sipped on the Aloe Vera h2O (filtered water with aloe vera).  It just tastes like water.  I do notice a slight headache.  Most likely, this is caused from the lack of my cup of morning coffee.

Time for Juice 3.  Oh no!  No no no no no.  This juice is called Restore and the first ingredient listed is BEETS!  I have a specific dislike of beets from my time doing the Tracy Anderson Method. (You can read about that here)  The other ingredients in this juice are carrots, apple, aloe and ginger but I can tell from the red color I won't be tasting anything but beet.  I removed the lid and gave it a little sniff.  Yep, beets.  All the way.  You can't mistake the dirt smell.  But I signed up for this voluntarily so I take a little sip.  And make a face.  Another sip.  Another face.  I can tell this would look disturbing if someone could actually see me.  I'm not a fan of this juice.  Let's just hope my body is thanking me deep down. 

Oh the horror of the dreaded beet!

Juice 4 is called Lean & Fit. It is pretty much straight up grapefruit juice. The label says it contains mint but I didn't taste any. I have to say, this one tasted awesome after the beet juice. It was almost enough to wipe away the memory of the horrid beets. Almost.

At 5 pm, I started Juice 5 - Go Green. It has celery, kale, spinach, romaine, cucumber and lemon. Again, this one is good. I taste more of the cucumber and lemon than anything. I am still not hungry. I think it's because my body is saturated with liquid. I'm still fighting the headache but overall I'm feeling pretty good.

I get home around 6 pm.  It all of a sudden hits me.  I'm hungry.  I know my other half is going to eat soon so I opt for taking an early bath to get away from dinner.  He's in the kitchen cooking chicken in our grill pan and IT SMELLS SO GOOD.  I try not to think about it and after my bath I move on to Juice 6 - Health Nut Almond Milk.  All I can say about this one is YUM!  It is, by far, the best of all the juices and helps fill me up before bedtime.

DAY 2:

Today my headache is gone and I start the process all over again with the Wake Up Juice.  I'm feeling pretty good and not hungry at this point.  The day goes well until I have to drink the beets (blah).  I manage to get them down.

A girl in my office asks me about the juice cleanse.  When I start describing it, she gets a terrible look on her face and says "Just hearing about this makes me want some cheese fries with ranch."  (By the way, this chick eats cheese fries 2-3 times a week and she's not fat.  She purposely abstains from putting anything healthy in her body.)  I tell her my body internally cringed from the thought of all the fat in cheese fries.  Hydrogenated, fried junk just sounds gross right now.  I'm not judging because there are times when I want that stuff too, but right now is not one of those times.

I had to go to a work-related happy hour with some people in the evening.  It was not as bad as I thought it would be.  Fortunately,  alcohol also sounds gross right now.  A guy from work offered to buy me chicken fingers and a glass of wine on Friday to celebrate the end of my juice cleanse/sobriety.  I told him I was good.  Really - chicken fingers and wine?  Um, No.

I'm TIRED and a little hungry when I finally get home.  I drink the Heatlh Nut Almond milk (still yum - it's kind of sweet) and go to bed early.

DAY 3:

I got out of bed at 6:20 am!  I never wake up that early.  I was at my office by 7:35; also an unusual occurrence.  I am feeling great.  My skinny jeans are fitting nicely today (a little loose even).  My work BFF came in at 8:30 and cautiously entered my office.  I think she was surprised when I greeted her cheerfully.  She had this "Who are you?" look on her face.  She asked me how much weight I had lost.  Honestly, I don't know because I didn't weight myself before and I wasn't doing this as a weight loss plan.  I can tell my clothes are fitting a bit looser.  I also did not work out during this 3 day period because I was a little scared of pushing it.

One thing I will say - I am a little tired of drinking so much liquid.  Most of it tastes great and I am feeling good but I really want something solid at this point.  I'm hanging in though.  When its time for the beet juice, I delay.  Opting to sip on the Chlorophyll h2O a bit longer...

I had to post this pic on my friend Bryan's Facebook wall.  We were huge Adam Sandler nerds in high school.  In response to the pic he wrote: "No, I will not make-out with you!! On with the Chlorophyll!"

I still don't like the beet juice but the Lean & Fit after it is my new favorite.  I finished the day and was just a tiny bit sad I didn't have any juices to drink the next day.  I thought about going another two days but I have to confess, I was a bit light-headed the evening of Day 3.  I took it as a sign I needed to start back on regular food.

Overall, I really liked this 3 day cleanse.  I was concerned about going back to solid foods, afraid it would throw my body into shock.  Lots of people asked me if I was going to have a cheeseburger.  I opted to ease back into food with carrots and celery.  Later I had a salad and french onion soup.   No bad side affects.

I'm not 100% sure of the benefits of juicing but I can tell you I felt like I was doing something really good for my body.  It also helped me kick the coffee habit and I haven't started back.   If you've been thinking of juicing, I'd say give it a shot.  Don't let my dislike of beets dissuade you either.  They are only in the one juice and beets have tons of health benefits.  Roots Juices has created some great products and there are other varieties of juices besides the ones included here (I'd like to try the Watermelon Cooler and the Pear Pleasure).  Check it out, give it a try and let me know what YOU think...

The Bar Method

I just realized today that I have been doing the Bar Method since July.  July!  What?!  I can't even believe it.  I don't think I've ever done a workout consistently like this ever.  Although I really liked the Tracy Anderson Method, and still do the dance cardio from time to time, that program takes a lot of self motivation.  I'm kind of a loner so TAM worked for me initially, but the Bar Method is addicting.  I feel a bit like I'm going to dance class instead of working out.  Don't be fooled though - this is a workout;  a hardcore, ass-kicking (and ass lifting) workout.  I think (now that I've quit drinking) I'm actually getting abs.  ABS!  Wow.

The results have been great.  I think my posture has improved a TON.  The Bar Method has pretty much eliminated my back pain and improved my flexibility.   I sweat like crazy and the teachers are like pretty little angels/devils on your shoulder that say things like "Good focus, Lesley" (yes they call you out by name), but its totally worth it.

Find a studio near you:
http://www.barmethod.com/

Or in Dallas:
http://dallas-parkcities.barmethod.com/

WARNING:  You WILL be sore after the first class.  I don't care if you work out every day.  These classes will challenge even the most seasoned athlete.  If you're not sore, seriously contact me because I need to report you to the US government to they can do testing on you. 

Metamorphosis Day 10 - Tracy Anderson Method

Yea! Today's workout will mark the last day of this strength training series!  I'm looking forward to something new tomorrow.  My ass actually still hurts from the strength training, although the cardio seems to be getting easier.  I should really be past day 10 but I took two days of rest during this period instead of one.  I have to blame my friend's birthday celebration for one of those days.  But I made up for it by working out BEFORE the Rangers game on Sunday.

I have to say, so far so good.  During this period I have lost a 1/2 inch on my butt and a  1/2 inch on my tummy.  Those are the only two places I'm measuring.  I guess I should measure my arms and legs as well but I'm not too worried there.  If its coming off my stomach and butt it has to be coming off my arms and legs as well right?  Surely! (Lets hope so, because if not, then I'm going to look weird)

I'm **mostly** sticking to the eating plan, but I feel like I'm hungry ALL THE TIME.  It doesn't help that my guy is stuffing his face with pizza, soda and ice cream almost every night while I'm eating a veggie burger.  Last night I made him homemade brownies.  That's right, FROM SCRATCH!  Ok, so turns out its not that hard really.  Somehow I actually had all the ingredients in my kitchen.  I even drizzled some chocolate syrup on them.  He's a pretty lucky guy.  Good thing I'm not a huge fan of sweets.  I'd rather have Mexican food...or a glass (or 2) of wine.

Speaking of drinking - that has been kind of hit and miss.  I drank at the Rangers game on Sunday (of course) but for the most part I have stopped drinking during the week. I do have a pub crawl coming up on April 16.  I'll have to try and refrain from drinking at all until then.  We'll see how that goes.

(After tonight) 10 days down, 80 to go.

Metamorphosis - Day 2

OW!!!!!

This is what my brain has been saying to me since I woke up this morning.  Its a bad sign when you make a slight movement in bed and the soreness rouses you from your otherwise peaceful slumber.  My calves hurt, my shoulders hurt, and there is an area in my ass/hips that hurts - not quite sure where the pain is coming from.  I've never had this area hurt before in my life.  No doubt this was caused by the inverted leg raises done yesterday.  Who thinks of inverted leg raises?  Tracy Anderson, that's who.

I hadn't planned on blogging about this journey every day - I don't think 90 days of me telling everyone how much my body hurts is really all that interesting - but I had to write today because I feel quite accomplished for actually doing the workout despite the protests from my embittered muscle groups.

I have to confess, I did not do as much jumping during the cardio as I did yesterday.  My ankles/calves won that fight.  Once I did start jumping, they actually hurt much less to my suprise.  Of course the strength training was tough.  Its not the ab work that kills me - oh my abs hurt, don't get me wrong - but all the leg lift work.  I feel like it goes on and on and I'm thinking to myself - when will this stop or get easier?  I know exactly when the leg portion will get easier, it will be the last day of this 10 day series.  Then I will have to change it up and my body will hurt all over again.  You are a cunning little devil, Tracy Anderson. 

2 days down, 88 to go.

Metamorphosis - Day 1

The Mission:  Flat Tummy

I have never had a flat, toned stomach in my life.   I am determined to have one by summer and look fabulous in my bathing suit. 

I was going to wait until Monday to start Tracy Anderson's Metamorphosis but I decided today was as good a day as any.  Plus Monday's are so hectic.  Better to start a new workout when I have more time to learn it on the weekend. 

The dance cardio was tough.  After about 10 minutes I was huffing and puffing and pretty much wanted to die.  I am out of shape!  Not a good sign for my overall cardio health, I think.  My doctor would be so disappointed.  She's always wanting me to work out, eat better, drink less...blah blah blah.  Guess she is getting her wish.

Its only an hour a day, 6 days a week for 90 days.  I can do this.  I actually don't feel that bad now that its over.  I'm just drenched in sweat from working out in my hot-ass sunroom (Tracy wants you to do the workout with no A/C.  As she likes to say - the only magic fairy dust is sweat).

Now I need to shop for food.   And bid adieu to my beloved Mexican food for the next 90 days.

Day 1 down, 89 to go.

I'm BACK!

So... I haven't blogged in a long-ass time!  That's what happens when you focus on nonsense instead of the important things.  That's what I've been doing lately...focusing on nonsense.  Its time to get back to business!

There are a lot of exciting things going on right now.  I'm starting my Tracy Anderson Metamorphosis on Monday.  I actually got my butt out of bed and started working out today just for good measure - but I don't start the full on program until Monday AM.  Its never to late to get in shape for bathing suit season! 

Also, after a lot of hassle, I finally have a fully functioning printing press! (FedEx did a poor job shipping it and it arrived broken).  Now its fixed and I already have a project to work on this weekend for my best friend who is a Senior Lecturer at A&M.  I need to think of a name for my little printing press business...  I think I'm going to name it after my little pug, Iris.  Not really fair to her brother, but I just love the name Iris.  I almost wish I had saved it for a future daughter.  Now, of course, I can't name a future daughter Iris because I suppose its vaugely insulting to be named after the dog. 

My other project is my house.  After being there almost 3 months it is still not all set up.  I have lots of decorating to do yet and need to purchase a lot of large items - such as a dining room table and office furniture.  I'm on a timeline because I want to have a housewarming party this summer!  Also I have a huge garden box (16 feet by 4 feet) that I am currently filling up with carrots, peppers, tomatoes, squash, and whatever else I can think of to grow.  If I'm successful I am going to have a lot of food to bring to the office!

I'm really inspired right now to get my whole life into shape.  People are constantly changing and I feel like now is a good time to put my life in a better direction than it has been the last few months.  Stay tuned for more!

Post 30 day Tracy Anderson Method bootcamp

I've got news.  It works.  No, really - it does.  But here's the real kicker, it only works if YOU work at it.  And believe me it is very hard work. 

Here's the deal afterward....if you are going to do the 30 day boot camp you will end up with these amazing results.  But of course you cannot go back to old eating habits and no exercise and expect to look great.  So far I have continued the workouts although not as intense.  And I would say my eating habits are about 80% good, 20% bad. 

For me, I feel like I have about 10 lbs to go before I will be at my very best.  So this week I started again with no alcohol, only water.  After giving up caffeine, I decided not to start up again, although Tracy does have some teas that she recommends - http://www.dragonherbs.com/prodinfo.asp?number=601 - (I can't tell if this has caffeine or not to tell you the truth but either way it looks pretty good for you.) 

Overall I would say I like the method and will continue.  It is varied - which is what I need.  And its a lot more active than some other fitness options.  The trouble is, between work, buying a house and all the other demands from the day-to-day, it is hard to stay motivated.  I'm certain I will slip up one day an go pig out on some delicious Mexican food.   Before I get down on myself for all that I try to remember one of my favorite quotes from silent screen actress Mary Pickford, 

"If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down."

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mary_pickford.html#ixzz17clBwHMO

Tracy Anderson Method: Sequence 3

Soreness isn't really the proper word to describe the way my body is feeling.  I am sore but its so much more than that...  I guess when Tracy says you will have "flu-like" symptoms from her workout she is right.  At least this is how I feel after the first two days of Sequence 3.  The muscles that are normally hanging out, enjoying the ride have been woken up and told to get to work.  And they are protesting.  BIG TIME.

But I believe the results are good.  Here's where I messed up:  I didn't weigh myself before I started.  I don't even own a scale (a bad thing I think).  But I do know how my clothes fit before and I know how they fit now and let me say, things are looking up.  Plus, my body feels stronger. 

I did get a semi-compliment from a loved one on my complexion as well.  I was told that I looked sort of glowing - not my usual drunken red color.  (nice compliment, eh?) I don't know if that is from the work out or the fact that instead of rolling in after a night of drinking and passing out, I now actually have the time to wash my face and put on moisturizer before going to bed.  I'm thinking the latter. 

So I have 9 more days on the program.  4 more days of eating regular food.  Then I start the dreaded "cleanse" of pureed mess.  We'll see how that goes.  I have the feeling that the last five days I'm going to be more cranky than usual. 

I will be so glad to have a cup of coffee or some tea.  Or a glass of wine.  But for now, I'm off to have my breakfast of mango and ice water. 

2 Weeks to Go! - Tracy Anderson Method

So I have exactly two weeks to go on the Tracy Anderson Method.  I just finished my beets (blah, blah, blah) but overall, I'm feeling pretty good.  I think I can see some definition in my arms which is pretty cool.  Jacob keeps saying my butt is little.  He is boarderline obsessed with the fact that my butt is small.  The butt has never been my problem anyway.  I have always been a tummy girl.  I get it from my dad's side of the family.  Thank God I got my mother's long legs or I would have really been in trouble. 

But even the tummy is smaller.  Not perfect but its getting there.  I think I need to suck it up and do more cardio.  I average about 40 min a day but I think I need to increase to an hour for these last two weeks.  It is tough to devote the time to working out with my job being so demanding but I'm muddling through. 

Not drinking was the hardest part of this whole thing but even that has gotten better.  Lots of the other attorneys that I know drink.  Hell, I drink.  I enjoy going out with them to drink.   But now I've been MIA from the drinking/social scene.  One attorney told me a bartender at one of the places we visit regularly was asking what happened to me.  I just got a text from one of my friends that said "I'm drinking at TABC if you want to come.. Oh wait.."   I called her a bitch (I meant it in a friendly way).

But two weeks to go and I'll be done!  I'm trying to decide if I even want to go back to drinking alcohol - It really hasn't been that hard to drink water only.  Maybe I'll stick with water and then have a drink occasionally.  That would probably be best. 

So Its Friday, 5:00 and I am looking forward to going home and working out for 2 1/2 hours.  Yea. 
After that I am going to sleep.  I should change my bio from semi-reformed party girl to reformed party girl.  Or maybe I should just say I'm a total bore. 
((sigh))

BEETS! blah.

Beets taste like dirt. 

This is the second time I've had to eat them as part of the Tracy Anderson 30 Day Program.  The first time I did it by the book, steaming the beets with some orange juice as she instructed.  I could barely get one down.  It was pretty sick.  These aren't like pickled beets (which I happen to think are pretty good).  No no...the beets I cooked retained their flavor of the earth in a strong way.  And by earth I mean dirt. 

So imagine my horror when yesterday, as I was planning my trip to the store, I saw that, once again, beets were on the menu.  Ayy dios mio!  No no no no no, I said out loud, emphatically shaking my head.  I told myself I would skip the beets this go around.  Tracy Anderson and her diet be damned!

But then as I'm walking into Whole Foods, (stopping on the way to say hi to the cart guy who is, by now, recognizing me and bringing me the little cart which is the one I prefer) I start to feel guilty about not eating the beets.  I start to beat myself up over not following the program, and how far I've come to bail on it all now.  I pass by the raw beets and shudder, telling myself I will pick them up on the way out.

But then, in the prepared food aisle, there they are!  Steamed beets!  Surely these would be better than mine!  Surely Whole Foods knows the magic secret to make beets taste good! I didn't have to skip out on my program! I could have it all! This was a win-win! 

I asked the girl dressed as a teenage mutant ninja turtle behind the counter for some help.  She had on crazy green sunglasses so I couldn't see her expression when I asked for a small container of the beets. 
It looked like I was the only person to ask for beets all day as they were still piled high.  She was probably thinking just before I got there that she was going to have to dump out the beets again today and what a waste it is to prepare them since nobody, I mean nobody, orders them.  But, alas!  There I am with my cart full of salmon, endive, and tofu asking for beets. 

I wasn't even worried as I brought my beets to work today.  I just knew that these were going to be much better than mine.  So at 3 o'clock, I go get them out of the refridgerator and sit down at my desk to partake in my afternoon snack.

My fork goes into the beet easily.  I take this as a good sign that they are soft.  I take a sniff of the beet.  Smells alright.  So far so good.  I bite bravely.

Beets taste like dirt.  :(



** to be fair, apparently beets have lots of health benefits.  see: http://hubpages.com/hub/Health_Benefits_of_Red_Beets

Self Torture

Why did I decide to quit drinking at one of the most stressful times in my life?  This is the question I keep asking myself.  You could say I like a good challenge.  Or you could say I'm a glutton for punishment.  Either works. 

I started the Tracy Anderson 30 day method 10 days ago.  I stopped drinking to do the method.  In fact, all I'm drinking is water.  No caffeine, no alcohol...just plain ol' h20.  The first two days I thought my head was going to explode from the massive headache I had.  But it went away.  Last Saturday I wanted to drink in a bad way but talked myself out of it.  The Conversation in my head went something like this:

Devil:  Just one glass of wine won't hurt.  You've been so good all week.
Angel: No.  You made a commitment to 30 days - no alcohol.
Devil:  Meh...its been, like, 8 days already.  One drink won't hurt. 
Angel: There are a lot of other things to do besides drink.
Devil: Anything you want to do would be so much better with a glass of wine.
Angel: Wine is just extra calories. You don't want extra calories do you?
Devil: Ok, scrap the wine and have some vodka. 
Angel: Vodka is just as bad. 
Devil: Vodka is practically like drinking water.  Its clear.
Angel: Vodka is NOT like water and you know it!

Long story short, the Angel on my shoulder won.  Mainly because I couldn't fathom doing my 2 hour workout hungover.

The Tracy Anderson Method is good.  I like the work outs.  The most challenging thing is the food.  You have to prepare EVERYTHING from scratch.  I have probably eaten more fresh fruit and fish in the last 10 days than I did all last year.  This diet is not for the poor either.  I think they know me by first name at whole foods. My former drinking money is now going to purchase things like leeks, beets, shallots, cod, salmon, etc...

My friend had a birthday Tuesday so I stopped off to get her some Sprinkles cupcakes. (further evidence that I am into self torture)  It crossed my mind to eat the whole box as I drove to work but I restrained myself.  To make it worse I didn't go out to celebrate with her because I'm not drinking.  I thought to myself, this is the worst, most terrible idea I have ever come up with.  On Tuesday, I dreamt about cupcakes and vodka (in no particular order).

On top of all of this, I'm trying to buy a house before the end of the year and keep my job from spinning out of control.  Just pile it on...

But now its Thursday...and the two week mark is in sight.  I have a feeling if I can make it to Sunday I will have won the battle for the most part.  I'm tired but I feel like my body is getting a much needed break from my bad habits.  I woke up yesterday morning and my liver had written me a thank you note.  Ok not really but I feel like it would if it could.