Introducing Reliv

I've been on Reliv for about 2 weeks now. I'm taking 2 "shakes" a day. In the shakes, I take one scoop of Classic and a half scoop of Innergize.

I'm noticing some 'detoxing' - mild upset stomach, headaches. I'm told that by now I should be noticing extra energy, but I don't think I am. Annette is getting me on "calls" - 3 way calls with people who have had great success with Reliv. They're pretty interesting to hear - I sure hope that they aren't exaggerating, but it's a little difficult hearing these great stories when I'm not noticing any difference at all. I've committed myself to 3 months of this, so that's what I'll do. . . I have hope. . .

a hefty history

in the years since i last posted, i've continued to explore all sorts of products, systems, avoiding foods, etc, in my quest to be pain free and look my best. let me give you a brief (and somewhat personal) rundown of my history. (sharing this is harder than i expected it to be!!)

let me preface this all by saying that i have a passion for health. i put a lot of effort into feeding my family well, i've been coined the 'sleep nazi', we're very active, with a (fabulous) chiropractor for a husband, health is always on the forefront of my mind. (although i have to say that i have a tendency to become a bit hypocritical as i ensure my girls are doing these things, while i will often sneak chocolate on the side and stay up really late.) we avoid processed items and chemicals as much as possible (we do our best, but don't beat ourselves up.) we are spiritually minded and believe that it's better to find and solve problems with our bodies rather than band-aid-ing issues.

so, here goes.

i grew up with digestive issues. i didn't really know that i had them - it wasn't until i learned how my body was *supposed* to process things that i realized my health could have been better.

i had horrific headaches when i was a teenager. really, really horrible. i have since figured out that it was due to hormonal imbalances. when my hormones are in check, i have no headaches. when they're wonky (i finally figured this out during my fourth pregnancy), they're blinding!

by the time i was in college, my shoulders were *always* sore. i thought that it had something to do with my monstrous backpack that i lugged around, (and it really had to have *something* to do with that!) but i later realized it was more than that. . .

i felt like i was healthy when i got married. i think that we all think that we're relatively healthy, right? everyone gets sick sometimes, or is often exhausted, etc. i had an early miscarriage only a few months after we got married, and then went on bed rest during the second trimester of my next pregnancy due to preterm labor. i didn't attribute any of this with my own health, just circumstances. but, after i weaned my firstborn, i got really sick. i began losing weight quickly, even though i had a voracious appetite. (so much so that i began to make sandwiches to put by my bedside b/c i would wake up in the middle of the night, starving.) my stomach hurt all of the time - like it was turning inside out. after lots of testing (along with finding out i was pregnant with my second child) i was sent to a specialist to rule out crohn's, celiac, and ibs. i was told i was borderline celiac. i changed my diet as much as i could (at this time i already began experiencing complications with my 12 week pregnancy.)

it was about this time that i first saw someone who did energy work. this could be very long (although completely interesting), and i don't want this to be the focus, so suffice it to say that she found that i was overrun with candida and i saw fast and furious results after seeing her. i felt so much better the remainder of my pregnancy (a very complicated and traumatic one - although she's a healthy and wonderful 10 year old now!). after she was born, my shoulders once again bothered me noticeably. it intensified over the years and i was finally diagnosed with t.o.s. about 4 years later. i found relief with nightly adjustments from milo, but i still could only fall asleep with an ice pack, and often the pain would wake me up. during the day, i'd grin and bear it!

after weaning my fourth child, my hormones went crazy. i gained nearly 20 pounds and developed acne seemingly overnight. (pretty, right???) i tried everything i could think to try to rid myself of the acne - diet, creams, potions, cleanses, supplements, energy work, even sleeping with a concoction of honey and cinnamon each night! (and that's not the craziest thing i tried, either!) everything worked for a while, but nothing took it away. (enter the lemonade diet below.) and it always came back as bad, or worse.

life went on, but my quest has been never ending. i finally was 'set straight' last year and i don't actually have acne - it's rosacea. no wonder my 'acne cures' didn't work - and much harder to get rid of.

last year, amongst more stress than usual, i also found myself depleted in many ways. my adrenals were 'shot', my thyroid coined 'hyper', and illnesses on top of each other. i had no energy and felt horrible. i got my first ever urine infection - which turned into a kidney infection - which turned into kidney infection-induced-stones. fabulous fun. more pain than i thought possible, really.

and then there's been. . . my teeth. ah - where to begin!! i have wickedly bad teeth. without having insurance, problems went neglected way too long. by the time i finally couldn't stand it any longer (about 5 years of not being able to chew on one side of my mouth), i finally 'shopped around' and found that i had so much work that needed to be done. 8 root canals, 8 caps (if a few of them could even be saved.) several cavities, bite issues, etc. . . we began the work 2.5 years ago. he started on the 'not as painful' side b/c he said the problems there were actually worse. so, when things went really bad, (including an excruciating surgery where the specialist had to lift away my gums and drill into the jaw bone) it left me without a 'side' to chew on. i got a bone infection after the surgery, which hasn't responded to any treatment and has been very painful. it also ate up all of the money we could come up with for my teeth, so the rest of my mouth has been left untouched - getting worse, of course. so, for the last 2.5 years, i've been using my 8 front teeth to eat. (i use my tongue to thrust and mush a lot!)

this is where i was when my friend introduced me to Reliv. so, once again, i begin another journey in hopes of finding relief to my shoulder pain, mouth issues, awful face and energy.

Ode to Orange Juice, And Other Thoughts

I tried blogging earlier today, and I just kept getting a blank page. So - here's the whole day's update for you!!

Day SEVEN!!!

I woke up this morning overjoyed that I was going to be drinking something NEW. Fresh Squeezed ORANGE JUICE! I went through 7 oranges by 11:30, and 11 today. It tasted *fantastic*. I took some with me on all of my errands this morning - orthodontist appt, ballet, target. . . but, i was fading so fast -the orange juice was not sustaining me at all. By the time I was checking out of Target, I was shaking and felt really dizzy. (It's amazing that the lemonade really does give you all that you need - that was apparent today!) I was almost worried about driving home. I decided on the drive that I was going to need to eat something. I made myself some more orange juice when I arrived home, and then went about preparing the vegetable soup for supper. The smell was intoxicating (a bit misleading, since it was incredibly bland!) and I finally partook of solid food at about 2:00 - with the vegetables not even completely cooked. I decided - why wait?? ;-) I'm feeling pretty good now, although weaker than I did all week. . .? I'm thrilled that I've slimmed down a bit - my face is looking pretty good - not completely clear, but I have hope that it will continue. My organs are certainly a lot cleaner than before and I'm hoping that as time goes on, I'll continue to see the benefits of my cleanse. Milo and I will be doing another one in the not so distant future, and I am **SO** happy to hear that so many of you are looking into it! I know that you won't regret it. My one lesson that I learned is to be careful of who you tell . . . some people are so interested and supportive, and some just think I've completely lost it!!

Last day's stats:

Weight: 111, not a lot lighter, but slimmer!
Face: I'd say 70% better.
Teeth: I never measured, but they've continued to get healthier!!

COMPLETELY WORTH IT. And now - I know that I can do *ANYTHING* that I decide to do. That was worth it all by itself.

You're *Not* Going to Tempt Me!!

I had the opportunity to run out by myself this eveing. . . I thought that since we're leaving for Florida in a week that I should get the stuff I need for the girl's Easter Baskets. Rite-Aid was having an incredible sale on Easter treats. I walked up and down those ailes, and you better believe that I bought a couple of bags of my delectable mini eggs. Don't worry, friends - they will sit absolutely untouched until Thursday night - after I've eaten dinner at the Country Club - I *AM* high society now, you know!! ;-)

Thanks for the Support!

I just want to thank all of you who have been supportive. This is going great, and I'm so happy that I did it, but it's also been quite hard at times. A couple of days ago, I experienced probably my hardest time. I was wondering if this was going to be worth it, I was feeling 'lonely' in my experience, I was quite hungry and really just doubting the process. I ended up talking to someone who said 'I can't believe that you haven't cheated!' but in that 'I *really* can't believe what you're saying' voice. My usual personality would just be more motivated, but it made me so sad. I realize that I set myself up for that, in a way, by being so open with my love of food and my constant eating since about the day I was born - but it really, really got to me. Anyway, I can honestly say that all of you who have been super supportive have tipped the scales for me completely. I'm over the hump - day six - and actually, I think I came up with a great plan to end this thing. . . *Ready??* I think Milo's ready to jump on board! **SO**, I'm going to end my fast sometime before Thursday - it will be either tomorrow or Wednesday morning, depending on if today ends up being a 'detox' day or not. If yes - I'll start the fresh squeezed orange juice fast until Thursday. If not, then I'll cleanse Wednesday too and shorten the OJ fast. AND THEN. . . Milo and I are going to do another one together sometime after his basketball season is done. . . Maybe in 6-8 weeks we'll start it. That makes me feel so much better because I don't want to 'come this far' and then quit, but I was reading in one of the books, that the second cleanse takes a couple of days to get where you ended last time, and then just picks up from there. I'm down with that!! And the thought of doing it with somebody else is just a huge relief. Especially Milo, because right now, he hasn't curbed his eating in *any* way. He's eating in front of me constantly. Not just meals, but snacking, too. It can be brutal at times, and others don't really bother me. (That's one of the signs of detoxing along with cravings, irritability sometimes, fatigue, several bms, and more. . . )I'm definitely over the feeling of being hungry, I'm happy to report - but I still love the smell of food and the ritual of eating it. I've read that a lot of people who have done this cleanse decide to go vegan after they are finished. I'm not there yet - although Milo and I did talk a bit about it last night. It's just such a huge change. I think that as of now, we'll just go back to only buying the best ingredients and trying to avoid processed foods as much as possible - along with as many fruits and veggies as possible. . . just some food for thought. . . HA!

Trouble in Paradise?

I realized this morning that I have to eat out on Thursday. There's really no way around it. Thursday is day 9. See, here's the problem . . . Almost all of Madison's swim team swim at a country club during the summer. It's probably not possible for her to swim there, too - expensive and really not necessary. But, it's looking like she'll be the only young kid to swim on her normal team over the summer now, and practices are in the middle of the day. (2-4 p.m!) Swimming at Lochmoor (country club) is supposed to be so fun, they have tonnes of parties for the kids and work so hard without realizing it for all the fun they're having. So, we told Madison that we'll at least look into it. We had an appointment to meet with the Directors and have dinner there last week, but (1) I had forgotten and started the cleanse and (2) Milo ended up having to work. So, we rescheduled. For this Thursday. While I'm still on the cleanse. Darn!!! We can't reschedule again or we'll look flaky and we really won't be able to join then! There are such crazy strict criteria. So again - you're probably thinking - no big deal, only one day - right? WRONG. There is a process of getting off the cleanse that I didn't realize. Two days of just orange juice. They say if I jump right back into food, it will take away some of the progress I made, and also that it can really upset your stomach. SO. . . maybe I can do the orange juice for one day instead of two - but even that puts me at stopping on Wednesday - and that's only 8 days. . . Before I read all about the cleanse, I would have been thrilled about this, but now I hear about how great the changes are on the 8&9th days, and I don't want to come this far without having that. At the same time . . . if we really are considering having Madison swim here, it would be rude for me to go to this country club (bringing my own lemonade!!) and decline to eat the food that they have prepared for me. . . seriously. This is where we make our first impression and we have to be nominated. . .

On another note . . . I took the sacrament at church today (I don't consider this cheating.) and the taste of that bread was delectable! Oh, my. So good.

Set Your Clocks!

It's been a *long* day! But, here I go. . . tomorrow is hump day! Woohoo!! I've felt pretty good today, and I was busy enough to have had the energy to run a half marathon!! I'm pretty tired now, though - and I'm sad because with the time change I'll get an hour less sleep. I'm ready to run to bed now so that I can maximize any of that precious time that I can!

Day Four stats:
Weight: 113

Face: Not much change right now, but my skin is softer!!

Can't wait until Monday! I'll be "almost" finished! I can do it, I can do it!!