Plum Berry Cooler

(This made about 20 ounces of juice for me) 

4 small black plums

12 oz raspberries

1/2 a cucumber

1/4 of a lemon, peel on

This was good! I think next time I will replace the plums with a Granny Smith apple. 

Good Morning, Granny!

This was a refreshing juice that I enjoyed one morning for breakfast. Although, I'm sure this would be just as good for lunch, dinner or snack! 

 

3 sticks of celery

1/2 cucumber

1 grapefruit

1 small Granny Smith

6 or so mint leaves

The celery and grapefruit are amazing for weight loss and the Granny Smith apple gives this juice a sweet taste. 

Veggie Strong

Veggie Strong (approx 16 oz)

1 medium beet

3 sticks of celery

1 cucumber

chunk of ginger 

While I wouldn't recommend you try this as your first juice, I surprised myself by enjoying this juice without any fruit. 

I've been on a veggie heavy kick. I want to be a hardcore veggie juicer! 

Fresh Strawberry Juice (with hidden veggies)

(Try to remember, you might have to use more or less of the ingredients listed below. No two fruits or veggies are alike. Use the recipes as a guide).

This made 2 servings 

A large handful of red cabbage (cabbage is good for weight loss)

2 Roma tomatoes

1/2 of a large beet

2 large handfuls of strawberries 

This is a sweet and delicious juice. Try it and tell me what you think.

My Juicing Recipe Bible

Here are some of the different recipes I've tried throughout my fast. Keep checking back often! 

(Try to remember, you might have to use more or less of the ingredients listed below. No two fruits or veggies are alike. Use these recipes as a guide).

The (yummy) Pink Granny kid favorite
Beet, apples, pear, ginger

Orange, Spinach and Mint
The name says it all

Refreshing Citrus kid favorite
Strawberries, cucumber, celery, tangelos, mint, lime

Anti-Cellulite Juice aka The Fat Shredder
Grapefruit, apple, celery, mint

Spinach (x3) Green Juice
Spinach, celery, cucumber, grapefruit, pear, lime, mango, ginger

Kale Limeade kid favorite
Kale, cucumber, celery, apple, orange, lemon, lime

Hidden Greens

Mean Green Spinach
Spinach, cucumber, celery, apple, lime, ginger

Sweet Potato, Carrot and Citrus kid favorite
Sweet potato, carrot, grapefruit, tangelo, lemon

Tropical Cabbage
Cabbage, pineapple, strawberry

Rabbit Juice kid favorite
Carrots, pineapple, oranges, grapefruit

Kid Juice
Carrot, orange

Playing with Parsley
Parsley, kale, carrots, celery, apple, orange, pear

Kickin Carrot Juice kid favorite
Carrot, orange, lime, ginger

The Mean Green (Joe Cross' juice)
Cucumber, kale, celery, apple, lemon, ginger

The Lipsmackin Limeade  kid favorite
Orange, apple, celery, spinach, lime

Reader Request Juice 
Kale, cucumber, grapes, apple, lime

Broccoli, Celery, Citrus! 
Broccoli, carrots, celery, oranges, apple, lemon

Perfection in a Cup
Spinach, orange, grapefruit, mint

Fresh Strawberry (with hidden veggies) (kid approved)
Red cabbage, beet, tomatoes, strawberries

Tropical Spinach (kid approved)
Pineapple, orange and lots of spinach

Pretty in Pink
Cucumber, grapefruit, watermelon and mint

Peach Pie Dessert Juice
Peaches, sweet potato and ground cinnamon

Army Green Juice
Carrots, kale, cucumber, grapefruit, orange, cantaloupe, ginger

Eve's Envy
Beets, apple, cucumber, celery, ginger

Good Morning, Granny!
Celery, cucumber, grapefruit, Granny Smith apple, mint

Veggie Strong
Beet, celery, cucumber, ginger

My 30 Day May Juice Fast Journal (updated *usually* daily)

Day 1:



So far, day one has been okay.



I'm having to deal with some very personal issues involving my children so I've been on edge, moody, emotional and just pissed off BUT I know that these feelings have nothing to do with the fast.



I've had plenty of energy today. I did get hungry once, but I just made a juice and drank more water.



I think my personal issues are making it easier to not focus on the fact that I'm not eating. So yay for that, I guess.



I went for a 1.26 mile power walk and run today and it felt great. I'm not sure that I will feel up to it tomorrow, but I want to try to stay as active during this fast. During my first fast, I did very little as far as exercising. I was VERY active with my kids, running and playing, because of the over abundance of energy, but I didn't feel well enough to get out and really push myself. So far, I do. Only time will tell tomorrow.



My starting weight is 169.5 at 5'5 with a BMI of 28.2.



And now....the moment you've all been waiting for......my lovely "before" photos.

Day 2:



167.5- down 2 lbs



I trusted the principal at my children's school to...I don't know.....do what she said she would do and PROTECT MY INNOCENT CHILD. Today I found out today that out of EVERYTHING that was promised to me yesterday, NONE of it happened. Not one single fucking thing and because of that, today has been filled with rage. I've not been hungry, but I've been so incredibly pissed off that I doubt I'd notice the hunger pain over my rage! I've been yelling and screaming at everyone. I have no headaches, aches or pains. I have anxiety, fear, depression, fury, sadness, anger, and helplessness. I want to cry and cry and cry but it has nothing to do with juice. Today sucks beyond belief. And to add more stress to my already overflowing plate, I've withdrawn my children from their school where they are no longer safe and I'm now homeschooling them. Just what I needed. A school that doesn't protect the innocent. Lovely.



I could rant and rage all damn night but I'm going to just shut up now and go to bed. Irritable doesn't being to describe how I feel. I'm lost and hurt.



Day 3:

165.4- down 4.1 lbs



Today sucked on a personal level. I was so stressed out and worn out over all of the events that happened this week that even though I've been juicing exclusively, IF I'm detoxing, I don't notice it. Maybe part of my irritability is from detoxing? But it's also very possible that it's just who I am. I turn into a very different person when the safety of my children are concerned. I'm usually a vey happy go lucky, laid back, loving person. When my kids are in danger, it's like I turn into this fierce Mama Bear that will slice the throats of anyone in her way.



Emotionally today sucked. I wasn't concerned about me at all and at the end of the day, I realized I only had 2 juices the entire day. That's not good. Tomorrow I promise to focus on myself a little more.



Day 4:

164.5- down 5 lbs



My promise for the day is to focus a little more on myself. In fact, it's 6:30 am here now and I think I'll go on a brisk walk and run. I'll check in again later.



I went on a mile long run and power walk today in 13 minutes. I'm pretty proud of myself for that. I am NOT a runner and just started trying to run one week ago.





I'm not sure if it's because it's the weekend and I don't have to worry about my twins' school, but today was better than the previous days. Overall, today was BLAH vs being pure hell the last few days.



We ended the night taking our kids to the park and having fun. I wanted to walk more (I CRAVE daily workouts now) but I decided I needed to spend more time with my guys so we ended up digging for dinosaur fossils. Then, we started playing zombies and when I tried to outrun a 6 year old, I could feel the burn in my legs. I'm interested to see if I'll be able to walk tomorrow!! Hahaha

And on that note, goodnight.







Day 5:

163.8- down 5.7 pounds



Today we have church and I will be helping cook a luncheon for our congregation so I made sure to drink a big juice for breakfast filled with carrots and beets (love that energy) and I prepared and will take a mean green for lunch. No breaking the fast for this girl!



Church was fun! I had quite a few people ask me what I had been doing to lose weight and MOST everyone was either nice or kept their negative opinions to themselves. There was one woman who flat out said, "Yeah! That's not healthy at all." Now, usually I'd just keep my mouth shut and move along but I was fairly offended. This woman had a good 70 lbs on me and was quite a bit sorter, stuffing her face with bread and meatloaf. I just laughed and said, "Well, something must be working because I've lost over 30 lbs, kept it off, and I feel better, younger and full of energy!"



I will be loaning out our copy of Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead to another kind woman from our church. It feels amazing being able to prove people wrong. Juicing is unhealthy? Really? Go on and eat more of that healthy green bean casserole, bread smothered in margarine and your meatloaf. And tell me how full of energy you feel in a few hours when you have to unbutton your jeans just to sit on the couch.



Trust me, I'm not judging. I was once the very same way.....but I also NEVER told someone who was far healthier than I was, that what they were doing was unhealthy.



“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven" Luke 6:37. I choose the high road and forgive her rude and unhelpful comments. :)



Day 6:



Whew. No weight check today. My kids stayed with my mom last night so I got to *gasp* sleep in! I like to weigh myself at the same time everyday to get the most accurate weight so since I slept in, I decided to skip the scale.



I got out and ran/jogged for a mile today. I waited until almost 1 pm and it was getting really, really hot. I wanted to do more but I could tell I was really pushing myself in that heat. Plus, it is different running on pavement than it is running on gravel!



Not much else to report. See ya on the flip side!



Day 7:



163.8-down 5.7 lbs



Looks like I've stalled. I'm not going to stress over it because I know what I am feeding my body is very healthy AND I've been running, which I'm sure is building muscle in my legs.



My plan for today is to really step it up with my water consumption and get a walk or run in if possible.



I'll check in later.



Very stressful day. I had a green juice with kale, cucumber, celery, pineapple, grapefruit and orange this morning.



Then I went up to school to volunteer for 2.5 hours, went shopping for this ADORABLE dedication outfit for my son on Mother's Day, and then went by and made a police report against a child at my son's school. Just got home at 12:30 and made a quick juice of romaine, cucumber, strawberry and grapefruit. YUM!



Now, off to meditate for at least 10 minutes. I need to clear my mind.



PS I'm failing at upping my water intake.






Day 17:


162.5 down 7 lbs.



Wow! I'm officially the lowest weight I've been since High School! Woot! Woot!!



I had something very personal come up and I was unable to use my juicer for 5 days. And not just that, but I also was only able to eat the food someone else made....and that kind of food was just not healthy. Tons of processed junk. I didn't enjoy it at all and I started back juicing as soon as I was able. So even though it says Day 17, I had 5-6 days of junk and since then, I've been juicing full time. It took quite a while to get back to a normal weight and today I realized I was at my lowest weight! So yay me!



The last 10 days have been incredibly hard on me. Physically, mentally, and spiritually. To
day has been a bit better and I actually felt like blogging today. So maybe things are looking up, huh?


Thanks for all of the words of encouragement and thank you for asking me to update this. I'm glad to be back in the swing of things.

I've decided to start over.

Click HERE to see my continued progress and check to see if I reached my goal of being in the 150's by the twins' birthday party!!!!


And as always, thanks for reading!

4 Day (mini) Fast (completed)

This blog post is almost an entire week late so I apologize.

I ended my mini fast on Friday (April 5) so I went 4 full days on my mini fast and I've got to say, I'm pleased with the results!

In 4 days, I lost 5.5 lbs.

My husband and I decided to go out of town Saturday, overnight, and go to both Six Flags Fiesta Texas AND Sea World San Antonio......without kids!!!!! While we missed them, we had a BLAST!

I am not a big breakfast person so I've never, ever had a problem juicing for breakfast. Actually, I don't think there has been a single day since getting or juicer a few months ago that I HAVEN'T juiced for breakfast. Anyway, juicing for breakfast is my normal everyday. We had pistachios for lunch the first day at Sea World and then we went to a nice little restaurant for dinner. I was going to order a salad but my husband reminded me that we were on our own little vacation and that I should enjoy myself. I had half of a pulled pork BBQ sandwich, cole slaw and some potato wedges. It was good and it did not take much before I felt full. I also had a "skinny" martini.

The next day I had juice for breakfast and my husband had a waffle from the hotel. Then we went to Six Flags and my husband and I shared some nachos (ended up throwing about half away) for lunch and for dinner, we shared a medium turkey sandwich with one handful of chips each.

The next morning (yesterday), the scale's battery died so I was unable to weigh myself but I had juice for breakfast, a small juice and a tuna lettuce wrap for lunch and a small taco salad for dinner.

Today, new battery in the scale and......(drumroll, please).........I've maintained the weight loss from my mini fast!!!!!! It was nice to get to enjoy myself and not have the guilt that usually comes with it. I was able to go out, enjoy foods that I know weren't good for me....but enjoying them reasonably vs. before when I would just stuff my face ALL DAY LONG, and to still maintain.

I'm still not down to my lowest weight, but I am okay with that because I have absolutely NO doubt that I will reach it. Soon! And to quote from one of my favorite books, "Inside, outside, upside down. From head to toe and all around. I like it all. It all is me. And ME is all I want to be!"

I hope you all are having a great day!!!

Stay strong and juice on!
Teela Juicing Herman

Day 4 (part 2)

So far, so good.

I was slightly irritated this morning when I realized I was completely out of celery and I flat out refused to go grocery shopping today (my house was such a mess and I needed to focus on it some) so my drinks were more on the fruity side. Thankfully my husband went to the grocery store and loaded us up on fresh greens and my all time favorites, grapefruit, lemons and limes. I'm all set to get serious and focus on the greens tomorrow.

No headaches or hunger pains today.

I also got in a 2+ mile walk while pushing my 25 pound son in the stroller and I felt GREAT afterward. I think the carrot based drink that I had before my walk really helped.

I am going to end my fast on Saturday, making this a very short 5 day fast, vs my last 40 day fast. My mom is willing to take the kids overnight and my husband and I really need (and deserve) a date night. It's been months since we've been on a date so we are going to go out and have a nice time. I want to get dressed up and feel pretty. I'm excited!

I can't get away from juicing even when I try, so again, I know I will be juicing my breakfast and all snacks, with most times juicing 2 meals a day. I don't think I really need two meals a day, at least not two meals of the same portion I was eating before. I'm HOPING I'll be satisfied with 2-3 small juices and one small meal with maybe an ounce of raw nuts as a snack when needed? Who knows. I'm honestly still learning. I might go an entire day without eating, just juicing, but it probably won't be for more than a day or two at a time until my next big fast in May.

I still have a ways to go before I reach my goal weight (which is STILL yet to be determined) so I'm still fairly certain I will be fasting for 30 days in May, ending my fast on the 31st and I am looking forward to that! Do I have anyone who wants to join me and do a 30 Day May Fast?!?! Leave me a comment below so I know if there is a group interest!!

Stay strong and juice on!
Teela Juicing Herman

Day 2 (part 2)

I woke up 15 minutes late (because I guess both my husband and I slept through the alarm) and after going to bed much later than I should the night before, I had more energy than starting out on Day 1. I also felt lighter! I've lost weight but since I don't want to obsessively track it, I'm not going to tally up the total until whenever I decide to end my fast.

I started off with the Mean Green (about 15 oz) and then followed that up with about 36 oz of cold water. I started noticing a slight headache around lunch time but after drinking about 12 oz of water, it went away.

Lunch was 1/2 bunch kale, 1 stalk of celery, 1 1/2 apples, 2 limes and 5 mint leaves. This yielded about 16 oz of juice and was pretty good. The only thing I might change next time is only using 1 1/2 limes. I followed up lunch with another 24 oz of cold water.

Yesterday I felt like I HAD to take a nap midday and today I don't. I skipped our walk yesterday (it was almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit!!) but I was really looking forward to my walk today (which ended 45 minutes sooner than I had anticipated thanks to the rain and thunderstorm!) but the difference was that I was READY and EXCITED about my walk today.

Dinner was a juice that consisted of 4 stalks of celery, 1 cucumber, 1 apple, 2 grapefruit and a knob of ginger (this made about 34 oz and my husband and I split it). I followed that up with about 8 oz of water.

It is almost 7 pm of Day 2 and I've got to say, at least this time around (*knock on wood*) it's been relatively easy. I'm hoping that my 80 oz of water helps. I know I wasn't drinking near enough during my first 40 Day fast. Also I have to keep in mind that I only had one week (of fairly good eating) to detox from so I didn't expect it to be nearly as brutal the second time around.

Tomorrow I get to chaperone a bunch of kindergartners while they go on a field trip to a wildlife nature preserve, so I am really looking forward to that. Tomorrow morning I am going to start off with a juice heavy in carrots to give me that extra boost I'm going to need.

Well, I guess that's it. Not too much to report. I wish you all well and I'll try my best to check in again tomorrow.

Stay strong and juice on!
Teela Juicing Herman

Day 1 (part 2)

Yup. That's right!

I'm starting another juice fast today!

This fast will be different because I'm starting out today not knowing how long I want to go. I think I will take it day by day and rather than focusing on my weight loss (which I will still track, but this time not so obsessively), I am going to focus on myself! I want to focus on how I feel and how my clothes fit.

I also want to focus on meditation and prayer.

Prayer because I owe everything to God and even though I feel closer to God than ever before, I can always work on strengthening that relationship. While I know I am flawed and very, very far from perfect, I am extremely confident in the person I am today because of God. Today, I am far more blessed than I ever imagined and I owe it all to Him.

I also want to focus on meditation because I feel like it helps keep me calm and it helps put things in perspective. It's also a great stress relief and it just makes me feel good when I'm done, so why not do more of that, right?

Anyway, that's about it for now. One of my dear friends is starting her very first juice fast today so everyone out there, wish her some luck! I know she is going to do GREAT! She is actually the amazing friend who bought me MY first juicer. How cool is that??

Best of luck to all of you out there!

Stay strong and juice on!
Teela Juicing Herman

Orange Energizer

This drink tastes like orange juice to me but there is no orange in it. Delicious and the carrots give me a lot of energy. I will certainly be adding this juice to my favorites.

2 carrots

1 stick of celery

1/2 Braeburn apple

1 grapefruit

1/2 lime (peel left on)

Chunk of ginger

Red Celery

4 sticks of celery
1 Granny Smith apple
1 black (red) plum
1 lime (peeled)

Next time, I think I will cut the lime in half. It was a very tasty juice but heavy on the lime (and I love me some lime).

This made a little over 20 oz of juice but my Granny Smith apple was HUGE.

Day 39

Wow.
39 days.

I've got to say, I'm impressed. While I knew I was stubborn, during that first week, I just wasn't sure I was going to make it.

I had just about every negative thought under the sun. I didn't really post much about it because I could just TELL I was in a bad mood. Look, some of these things I'm ashamed of....but I'm going to still admit to them because I've found that sometimes it really DOES help people because sometimes people are feeling some of the same things and I want them to know, they are NOT crazy. Or if they are crazy, there's a woman in Texas who's equally batty. Crazies Unite!!!!

During the first week I....
*thought what I was doing was INSANE.
*thought I wasn't being healthy about this "diet thing" (boy was I wrong).
*thought that feeling like crap was never going to go away.
*didn't think I'd ever make it.
*would literally cry and throw really ugly fits because I was either pissed that I wasn't losing enough weight, comparing myself to others or because I just really wanted fast food (crap food).
*I treated my husband like crap because I was jealous of his success (I have apologized profusely and I am so lucky to have had his support this entire time).
*treated myself like crap and no amount of weight loss was good enough.
*told myself that "no one would ever know if I cheat" (but found great victory in staying strong).
*felt like I was never going to lose enough weight.
*felt like here I was STARVING MYSELF (soooo not true) and yet ONLY losing a fraction of a pound.
*just KNEW that in the end, I was going to still be fat, miserable and disappointed.

These days I still have my easy (no problems, no cravings) days and my harder days (days where I am still tempted) but I am NOT fat (I have some fat left to lose, but I repeat, I am NOT fat). I am SO happy, full of life and inspired! And I'm about as far from disappointed as one can get.

In the past 39 days I......
*have learned that I can do absolutely anything I can set my mind to.
*learned so much about myself.
*took control of my life.
*broke my addiction to unhealthy foods.
*stood strong when I felt like I was going to crumble.
*have had to FACE my emotions head on and not run to food.
*have celebrated and went on vacation and did not allow food to control my life.
*have a much better understand of what good foods and bad foods are.
*feel like I can stand on my own.
*went on a raw vegan diet for 39 days!
*feel like I can actually get to a healthy weight.....and maintain it!
*have had the energy of a 20 year old.
*have naturally become more active and because of that, my house is cleaner!
*have spent far more QUALITY time with my husband and children.
*can say I truly love my body and myself. Inside AND out.

This is NOT just weight loss. If you get stuck on weight loss alone, you'll end up giving up. This is about an entire change from head to toe. I haven't just lost an awesome amount of weight, I'm healthy, I'm HAPPY, I love life, I feel great! I've gone from a size 18 to a size 12. I've learned how to take control of my life and I just couldn't be happier.

One last thing......I went to visit my sons teacher yesterday. The last time I really spent a lot of time with her was the day after I started my 40 day fast. I walked in the class and some of the kids ran to hug me. I walked up to the teacher I told her something about my son and when I was done she asked, "have you lost weight or something?" And I said, "Yeah. I started this crazy juice fast the day before our Valentines Day Party and I've lost a little over 23 pounds but more than that, I feel amazing!" And she said, "I honestly didn't recognize you."

Wow. Isn't that awesome!? I thanked her for that wonderful compliment and it was hard to fit my head through the classroom door! Lol Seriously though, that was the best compliment I've received in I don't know how long. I'll be taking all kinds of photos tomorrow to share with everyone.

If you aren't sure about this....if you don't know if it will be worth it.....TRUST ME! IT WILL!!!


I get absolutely NOTHING (no money, no products, NOTHING) from my blog or from anything I say. I blog because it helps me and I've been told it helps other people. I say what I say because it DOES work. I'm just so happy that my husband had me watch Fat, Sick, And Nearly Dead. It honestly changed my life. I have never been so passionate about something like this in my entire life.


Stay strong and juice on, y'all!
Teela Juicing Herman

Grapealicious Cabbage and Celery

Yeah. It doesn't sound too good, does it?

I had some cabbage sitting in my fridge and I've juiced cabbage before....but that was back when I had a terrible sinus infection and couldn't taste anything! Needless today I was a little scared to try it again. It's really good!!! I think the grapes, grapefruit and mint really help hide the cabbage....but I've also been on this juice fast for over 30 days and I know my taste buds have changed. I'm curious if anyone else finds this juice appealing?

Oh! I've noticed drinking this one with a straw really helps. Even though I couldn't taste the cabbage, I could smell it.


3 sticks of celery
Cabbage (I cut off a chunk about the size of the palm of my hand)
1/2 large grapefruit
2 handfuls of white seedless grapes (about 24)
2 sprigs of mint

Cabbage and celery are great aids in weight loss. I can't wait to see what the scale says tomorrow!

San Marcos Sunrise

I'm getting really creative with my juice names.

I'm from Austin, Texas and we moved our family to San Marcos (about a 30-45 minute drive south from Austin) about 4 1/2 years ago. Compared to Austin, San Marcos is a very small, sleepy little college town. We have a natural spring fed river PERFECT for tubing which brings visitors to our little town all summer long. It really is a beautiful place and I feel blessed to live here. I don't know what it is about the sunrises around here (and throughout the Hill Country) but they are simply breathtaking.

Now, I have no idea what a sunrise would taste like if you juiced it.....but when I made my lunch today, the color of the juice reminded me of the beautiful sunrises here in San Marcos, thus the name The San Marcos Sunrise.

2 sticks of celery
1 grapefruit
1 tangelo
2 sprigs of mint

Enjoy!

Collard Greens!

1 bunch of collard greens
Handful of curly leaf parsley
3 sticks of celery
1 cucumber
1 1/2 Granny Smith apples
1 grapefruit
1 lemon, peeled

Kale Me A Tale

I'm running out of creative names. Sorry.

This juice had:

1/2 bunch of kale
1/2 cucumber
3 sticks of celery
1 grapefruit
1/2 Granny Smith apple
1/2 lime

And this made me a big 20oz serving for lunch.

I'm not sure if my youngest son (19 months old) is a freak or what, but he would much rather drink my juice than his vanilla almond milk!

Does anyone else out there have young children who like the really strong green juices?

Refreshing Citrus

This juice was delicious after taking the family to the park to play today.


About 8 strawberries
Half a cucumber
3 stalks of celery
1 1/2 tangelos or naval oranges (peeled)
5 mint leaves
1/2 lime (peeled)

Juice all of the above, pour over ice then squeeze the remaining 1/2 lime over your drink. Enjoy!!!

Unexpected Motivation

About a month ago I went to some training (for lack of a better word) for a stay-at-home business I do on the side to earn us some extra income. A friend of mine whom I've not seen in about a year was supposed to meet up with me there.

About an hour after I get there, I get a text from my friend asking me where I was. I replied with something like, "I'm at the front of the room, over to the left of the stage. Where are you?" And she replied saying she was also to the left of the stage. I turned around to find her but I couldn't find her among the thousands of other women there so I stood up and walked to the side of the room, standing up against the wall. I sent her a text telling her where I was now.

A minute or so passes...and I'm starting to wonder if I've lost my mind. Why can't my friend find me? I know we are at the same convention center. We are in the same room, same side of the room....what is going on?

And then she sees me and comes over apologizing.

"I am so sorry!! I saw you standing there and I kept saying to myself, 'That's not Teela.' You've lost a TON of weight! You look great!!!"

And man, that made me feel good. Not to mention, this happened about 4 days before starting my 40 day juice fast.

And while I've not forgotten her kind words, when the scale was refusing to budge for me, I started having really negative thoughts. "Yeah. She said I look like I've lost weight but she's always been sweet. She was just being polite."

And my husband suggested that I go back and find some photos of me last summer, at my heaviest (around the same weight I was when I last saw my friend) so I went looking. And MAN, when you are as fat and miserable as I was, you will go to great lengths to make sure you aren't in a photo. And I did a good job of using my children as shields anytime a camera was present.

I'm almost ashamed to even share this photo....but it also shows how far I've really come on my own. And it makes me proud, which is huge. I've not been proud of myself in a very long time.

There I was, about a month after being told my husband had aggressive bone cancer, and about a week before the surgery that almost took him away from us. That's my husband holding our Little Dude 3.0 and I am trying, though not being successful at all, to hide behind Little Dude 2.0 and Little Dude 1.0.

The second photo is of me and Little Dude 1.0 and Little Dude 2.0 last night at their school play. And last night.....I felt pretty. Last night while I was in Little Dude 2.0's classroom, a little girl came up to me and said, "Mrs. Herman, you look beautiful!" and I almost cried right then and there. Silly, I know. She's just a 5 year old girl. But she thinks I'm beautiful and that gives me motivation.

A friend who doesn't recognize you due to the amount of weight you've lost, that's my motivation.

Having one of my 5 year olds wrap their arms around me and knowing they can touch their fingers.....that's motivation.

Blog comments by strangers and loyal blog readers.....that's motivation.

15.4 lbs down in 24 days.....that's motivation.

56 lbs down in about 6 months.....that's motivation.

Zipping up my size 12 jeans.....comfortably......that's motivation.


What's YOUR motivation?

Photo Update!

Day 23
No food, only juice.

I'm down 14.6 lbs and feeling great!

And wow. Not only do I feel the difference, I can SEE it!