DAY 5

Written by Hannah:

Okay... a word to the wise.... DON'T CHEAT!! My poor mama hardly slept last night from a sick stomach and has become good friends with the potty. She told me this morning, "My legs fell asleep because I was on the potty so long!" LOL! Yes, I'm feeling pretty miserable too :(

When you've been exclusively juicing raw, fresh veggies and fruits, throwing your body off with treats is never a good idea. If you are juicing, make sure to do it all the way, and give your body time to clean and reset itself. When you feel like you've reached your goals, gradually transition into eating actual food by starting with fresh fruits and veggies, then slowly add in nuts, grains, fish and lean meat, etc. Slamming your body with junk, treats and fast food is a BAD idea! Mayday! Mayday!

After her cheat session last night, my mom is now up to 139.4 pounds this morning. We think it's just water weight that she has gained, but it stinks to go up almost 4 pounds from eating junk for one meal! I think she will get that all back down again by tomorrow, especially after being on the potty all day- haha!

Well, we started our morning today with a great pear and apple juice mixed with a scoop of "greens" powder that we are using. I personally have a REALLY hard time trying to put down my juice mixed with kale, cucumber, etc. My mom does pretty well, but we highly recommend using "greens" if you have a hard time getting enough veggies mixed in to your juice! It tastes just fine, and gives you tons of veggie servings in just ONE scoop! And, it gives you tons of energy. We love it! If you mix it in with a scoop of protein powder, it's just an added plus. It tastes great, and gives you a shot of protein too!

Another great juice that we love is strawberries, kiwi and a handful of spinach. Spinach is a great way to get in veggies, without having an overwhelming veggie taste in your juice. Here's the recipe:

- 2 kiwis
- 8 strawberries
- 1 cup packed spinach

We didn't go running this morning because I had to leave early for work, but we will do that when I get off later. Something I've found helpful is using empty water bottles for my fresh juice. We have a fridge at work, so it's great to be able to store my juices and drink them throughout the day instead of giving in to the cafe food. If you have access to a fridge, USE IT!

I've learned a lot the last couple of days about avoiding debt and having money saving goals. I think Mom mentioned yesterday that I am considering selling my car (my baby!!) so that I can have more available cash for school and savings. I actually have a beater car that I bought as a teenager that only needs a little bit of work to get running again. I was going to save that for my brother who is a missionary in Peru right now, but it just makes sense that I use the paid off car instead of continuing to pay a car payment for four years! Beaters are all the fashion at college, right?! Haha!

Happy juicing!

DAY 4

Written by Shannon:

We started our day with a run around the lake. I was super tired, so Hannah held back and ran with me....until I had to walk because I was going to fall over if I ran another step. Yah, my energy really plummeted today.

We juiced our shots of kale (blah!!) and chased them with the yummy orange juice we made on DAY 2. That helped :)

Later in the morning, we visited with a friend who is pretty much a juicing expert (in our opinion). She introduced us to a new, delicious juice recipe:

1 sweet potato
1 orange
2 carrots
2 apples
Pumpkin pie spice, if you like that

Our friend also showed us a supplement she uses with lots of grasses and other greens. To be honest, Hannah and I are struggling with kale...A LOT! We know it's important that our juice is heavier on veggies than fruit, so this little supplement is really going to help us out.

Since it was Hannah's day off, we watched two videos from Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Hannah sketched out her first budget and set some savings goals. She's also thinking about selling her car (that has a monthly payment for 4 more years) and using a car she bought years ago that is parked in our garage with two flat tires and in need of some work. As a mom, I'm really pleased that she's thinking about these things!

Afterward, Hannah helped me with some Spanish....mostly, we listened to Enrique Iglesias and Marc Anthony songs on her playlist, and she told me what they were saying, haha! In addition to feeling like I wanted to shake my body, I also learned some common Spanish phrases :)

Toward the end of the day, I started to really crave FOOD! I told you in the beginning, I am addicted to food...and that is not an exaggeration! So this evening, I tempted my disciplined daughter away from her juice and we had dinner at Culver's.....cheeseburgers, fries and chocolate frozen custard....with brownies and peanut butter cups mixed in. "We've done so good and will get right back on track tomorrow," I told her. Now I feel like a big cheater pants AND a rotten excuse for a support system! At least there's tomorrow!

Hannah: 154.8 pounds (down 7.2 pounds)
Shannon: 135.6 pounds (down 6 pounds)

DAY 3

Hannah - Second trip to get produce!

Written by Hannah:

Day 3 of our 40-day fast has been brutal for both of us!

I had to be to work at 7 a.m., so I grabbed a jar of juice from the fridge as I was running out the door. Mom also got up early to get kids to school and pulled juice out of the fridge to start her day. Although they say you can keep juice in the fridge for 72 hours, we discovered today that juice with kale or ginger in it is almost impossible to drink the next day because it becomes so bitter the longer it sits.

I couldn't pawn the gross juice off on Mom today because I worked a 10-hour shift. So, I had to muscle through and drink as much of the nasty, bitter stuff as possible. I'm not going to lie, it was so gross that I mostly drank water all day to save myself from having to drink the juice. By the time work was over, I still had juice left in my jar. No bueno! On the bright side, I felt completely satiated all day. I only drank the juice because I know I need calories and nutrients, not because I was hungry.

Mom had a similar experience with the bitter juice today, although she did better than me (probably all the practice she had on DAY 1, haha!). She also had 8 ounces of almond milk with a scoop of veggie based protein powder because she said she was going to chew her own arm off if she didn't have something more than juice in her stomach. She said that one of the positive things about having bitter juice all day is that water tastes delicious, haha!

When I got home from work we had about 45 minutes of daylight left, so we ran the short trail around the lake (a little more than two miles). It was freezing cold, but we both felt pretty good. Neither of us were tired, which was surprising when you consider what we've put our bodies through the last couple of days. It may have also helped that we ran a mile less than we usually do, but we were glad we could do it.

After the lake, we went to our favorite market to get some more produce. We decided that tomorrow, instead of mixing all our juice together, we are going to juice the leafy greens separate and drink those in shots. Then, we will follow the greens with fruit juice.

A juice we discovered that does keep very well in the fridge overnight is:

8 strawberries
2 kiwis
2 cups of spinach

Mom drank all of that while I was at work....okay, she saved me a tiny taste so I could write about it. Honestly, it smells like poop when you open the jar, but it tastes really good :)

We forgot to mention earlier that we are also taking a multi-vitamin and a calcium+D supplement every day. Although a lot of people say it's not necessary, we just feel like there is no way we are getting all the nutrients our bodies need right now (especially on days like today!). We've also decided to research more about the safety of long term juice fasting, as we are completely open to modifying our plan to keep ourselves healthy.

Shannon: 135.4 pounds (down 6.2 pounds)
Hannah: Did not weigh in today

DAY 2

We didn't go for a run today, and it was a pretty quiet day overall. We did go to church to feed our spirits, and we watched the first lesson in Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University" course. I liked how he suggests that the first thing you do for your financial health is save some money in a small emergency fund. That is something I will begin working on right away.

Our juice was better today because we used some recommended juice recipes we found on Pinterest. Our favorites were:

1 tangelo
2 carrots
1 cup of pineapple

1 cucumber
2 apples
2 cups of spinach







The results don't lie. After only one day, we've both lost some impressive weight. I know, I know....it's water weight. But I don't care. It's enough to motivate me to do it another day :)

Shannon: 137.2 pounds (down 4.2 pounds)
Hannah: 158 pounds (down 4 pounds)

Ciao!

DAY 1

Pic we snapped when we decided to
start this blog - say veggies!

We woke up this morning feeling excited to get started. Because we'd been running three miles a day before we started, we decided to continue that and see how it goes. We know there's a chance that we will lose energy over the next couple of days while our bodies transition over to detoxing and weight loss, so we wanted to run while we can.

During our run, we decided that it would be fun to blog about our experiences, just in case we would need motivation later (by seeing our progress) or if what we are trying to do will motivate someone else start to make positive changes in their life. Also, if we're blogging about it, then it will be harder for us to give up!

After our run, we came home and put the new juicer together. It was surprisingly fast and easy.

Hannah preparing our first juice

We started with a juice our friends told us about last night. We were pleased with how fast the preparation was. From washing to drinking, it took about 5 minutes.

Our first juice:
8 leaves of kale
4 ribs of celery
1 cucumber
1/2 peeled lemon
2 apples
1 inch of peeled ginger root

Our first impression was that the juice wasn't that bad. The kale kind of made it taste a little bitter, but we've read enough in the last 24 hours to know that the health benefits of kale outweigh the bitter taste. We can definitely see ourselves being able to do this for several weeks, if we need to.

We also took our weights and measurements. It goes against every ounce of feminine pride that I have to share this information, but for the sake of keeping it real, here goes:

Shannon (age 40) - 5 feet 4 inches tall
Weight: 141.6 pounds
Thigh: 23 3/8 inches
Hips: 41 inches
Waist: 34 inches
Chest: 37 inches
Bicep: 11.5 inches
Neck: 12.5 inches 

Hannah (age 22) - 5 feet 2 inches tall
Weight: 162 pounds
Thigh: 23 inches
Hips: 40.5 inches
Waist: 37 inches
Chest: 38 inches
Bicep: 11 inches
Neck: 13.5 inches

We spent the balance of today experimenting with different juices. Our advice to you is DO NOT EXPERIMENT, haha! We made some of the most disgusting concoctions you can imagine. Although they began with veggies and fruits we enjoy, we realized that mixing them willy nilly is NOT a good idea. So as not to waste, Shannon (a.k.a. Mom) got to drink the gross ones, and Hannah drank the good ones. Not fair, but you know....

Before heading to bed, we read scriptures together and had a family prayer. We also plan to have our own personal prayers tonight. Shannon loaded a Spanish app onto her iPhone and started reading the book, "10 Great Souls I Want to Meet in Heaven," by S. Michael Wilcox. Hannah began looking through Dave Ramsey's website.

Goodnight, friends.

Meet Hannah

Hannah - Before my mission to Chile

Hi everyone! My name is Hannah, and I have just returned from an 18-month mission in Chile for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I had so many wonderful experiences while serving the people of Chile and teaching them about our Savior, Jesus Christ. It was honestly the hardest thing I've ever loved to do!

I'm 22 years old and the oldest of 6 children. In high school I played lacrosse and I love to run outside. Although I've been accepted to continue my education at a university for the summer term, I'm thinking about deferring my entry until autumn to give myself a little more time to adjust to life after my mission (and to save some more money, haha!).

One of the things I learned while on my mission was the importance of keeping my body, mind and spirit in balance. When those three things are not working together, my days just don't seem to go as well. Although my spirit and mind were constantly growing and expanding on my mission, my body really took a beating (and did some unfortunate expanding itself, haha!). Now that I am home, and have some time to focus on myself again, I want to share my journey with you.

Toward the end of my mission

When I left for my mission, a little over 18 months ago, I weighed 135 pounds. Although I walked miles and miles every day, my diet was limited to lots of bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, and hot dogs. I'm embarrassed to share that over the course of my time in Chile, I gained over 50 pounds. It really affected my confidence and my self esteem, but spiritually and mentally I was doing great, so I think that helped me continue to be positive and successful in my efforts to serve and help people.

My goals for the food portion of my fast are to eat lots of raw vegetables and fruit. I will incorporate lean protein and grain back in when I feel like my body is getting back to normal. I don't really know what to expect, as I've never tried something like this before, but I'm hoping I will lose the last 30 pounds I need to within a couple of months. In addition, I hope to be able to run a half marathon by summer time.

Now, to the mental part of my 40-day goal. Something I didn't have to worry about on my mission was money. But, now that I'm home, I remember the poor financial decisions I made before my mission and realize how important it is that I get myself on track now. I never really cared to learn about money before now, but I saw on my mission the positive or negative difference our relationship with money makes in our lives by observing the people I served and taught. Although I believe "the LOVE of money is the root of all evil," I also know that money is a big part of our lives and we need to learn how to manage what God has given us so we can enjoy life and share with others (see 1 Timothy 6:10).

Spiritually, I plan to continue practicing the good habits I developed as a missionary of having daily morning and evening prayers, reading scriptures, and learning what God would like me to do in my life. I also got in a good habit of journaling every day, and I plan to continue that as well.

The idea behind this forty day fast is to get my body, spirit and mind firing on all cylinders. I've learned that the best way for me to feel successful and be of the most help to those around me is to have that balance in my life. I hope that following my journey will motivate you to become your best self too!

Meet Shannon

Shannon - My birthday shirt!

Hi there! My name is Shannon, and I'm a 40-year old wife, and a mother of six amazing kids. I have three girls and three boys, ranging in age from 8 to 22 years old. When I have rare free time, I like to write, read, and watch movies. Yes, I really am that boring, haha!

My daughter, Hannah, encouraged me to contribute to this blog with her, just to give another perspective on this health journey we are taking together. Although I've never been what most people would call "heavy," I am absolutely addicted to food and struggle with making healthy food choices every single day. I've noticed in the past year that I just don't feel as perky as I used to, and my body is changing shape. My goal for the body aspect of this journey is to significantly improve my overall feeling of health by consuming lots of veggies and fruit and drinking more water. I'd also like to lose 10 - 15 pounds of fat and be able to run 5 miles.

It's funny because we never intended to start this blog until this morning when we were running around the lake near our house. Both Hannah and I were excited to get started on "DAY 1" and talked about how nice it would be if we had someone to mentor us. We knew that this would just be a trial and error thing for us, haha! But we thought it would be fun to document our days, and wondered if seeing our mistakes and victories might help someone else who wants to take a similar journey, or make some of the changes we will be working on. You'll have to be the judge of that!

No laughing! This was after my run on Day 1

I like the idea of "balance" that Hannah talks about between our bodies, minds and spirits. She did some pretty hard things in Chile (and some pretty wonderful things too!), and she learned a lot about how it feels when our mind, body, and spirit are all working well together. Before I turned 40 at the beginning of this month, I had some big plans for making this my healthiest year ever. Those plans sort of fizzled out with birthday cake, celebrations of Hannah's homecoming, Valentine's Day, etc....you know how it goes. It never really feels like a good time to start! I am the queen of procrastination, especially when it comes to making wise food choices. Oh boy, I can't tell you how much I love my treats!

So, here I am, working on this blog with my adorable daughter, and not feeling very eager to bare all my "nasties" to the world. Oh well, I guess it's good to be humble and real. Here goes nothing!!

Welcome!

Hannah and Shannon - Welcome to our 40-day fast!

Hello, Friends!

Welcome to our 40-day fast! We have been talking for a while about how we want to get our bodies healthy, learn some new things that we've been putting off, and make sure our spirits are being fed every day. And every day we've said, "Starting tomorrow....."

Last night, we had dinner with some friends who've made some amazing health changes this year. They told us about a documentary that really motivated them to get serious about their health. As soon as we got home, we pulled up the documentary, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead," by Joe Cross.

To say we were motivated is an understatement! We drove out to our favorite super store and bought a fruit and vegetable juicer right away. We didn't know what we were going to juice or how to do it, but decided it couldn't be that hard, haha! We also did a little more research online about juicing. Honestly, the studies and data out there are overwhelmingly positive.

We understand that there are restrictions for those who have chronic health conditions, and those who are pregnant or nursing a baby. In those cases, you definitely need to meet with your doctor before beginning any new diet or exercise program.

Since we don't fall into those categories, we just jumped in. We'll be posting our progress every day and welcome your comments and questions. Just so you know, we are moderating the comments and questions to keep spam at a minimum. But please contribute, as we want this to be a beneficial and inspiring conversation!

So, that's the body part. Now, we'll share what we hope to achieve for the mind and spirit part of our 40-day fast. First of all, Hannah has been out of the country, serving as a missionary for our church, for the last 18 months. One thing that is super important to her right now is learning how to budget her money and make it work for her. Shannon will begin learning Spanish, with Hannah's help :)

On the spiritual side of things, we are going to be working to maintain a close relationship with God, while learning new things and incorporating or improving spiritual practices we already have. We will each share those goals and experiences in our daily blog posts as well.

That's it, friends! We welcome you and hope that by following our journey, you might discover ways to improve your own life and become your best self.

Very best wishes,

Hannah and Shannon