The Hyper Nutrition Smoothie Challenge is Over!
Wow. It’s day forty-two. I had never done a challenge like this before and today is the last day. I did it! Was I perfect? Nope. But I did a whole lot better than I thought I would and it was easier than I imagined. I learned a lot. The first lesson was that initially, the mental aspect was harder for me than the enthusiastic video sales pitch made it out to be. The physical reality of it was easy. Within an hour of waking I had my breakfasts, lunches and dinners done because one huge mega nutritious smoothie and water were all I needed for the entire day. The simplicity of that was priceless. On the rare nights I needed more food, I made a quickie guacamole with raw broccoli.
I got more nutrients in my body than I had ever done with less than an hour of work. It only took me about ten minutes to make a single smoothie, but after a couple of weeks my family saw my changes and partially joined in. From then on, I made two mega smoothies. One for me and another that the three of them split. Add a few more minutes for clean up, making my morning tea and then I would sit outside and drink my greens.
Ahh, those were highlights of my day. Sitting on my back porch rocker, listening to the birds sing as the sun rose over the preserve. Beautiful, peaceful and perfect.
Now for report card time: In the past forty-two days I had one Whataburger #7 meal, which is a junior version of a hamburger and then I had one Chick-fil-A #1 meal. That’s a record for me. Never have I eaten so little fast food in a six week time period. The most amusing part was, I ate these approximately after three or four weeks into the program and when I tasted them again, the butter was incredibly palpable, which was something my taste buds hadn’t really discerned when I had eaten them on a regular basis. Not being a huge butter person, even though I did enjoy my meals, they were more “meh” to me than before.
On two separate nights, after finishing my entire smoothie and not having other raw food washed and chopped, I found myself really hungry and my husband made me a grilled cheese sandwich. Mind you, it was on gluten free bread with diary free cheese, so who knows what I actually put in my body. Bread with no wheat and the cheese with no milk, I suppose I ended up consuming corn and oil, but I am not bothering reading the multi ingredient labels. At this point, I don’t eat it often enough to think it will have a huge impact on my life. The lesson learned, if I didn’t plan well enough, I got hungry and fast-tracked it to comfort foods.
The solution was simple, always have healthier stuff available. It prompted me to make a huge dish of squash, zucchini, potatoes and onions. After adding a bit of seasoning, it turned out quite good. I froze them in one cup containers and voila! I had healthy food whenever I needed a quick meal.
In numbers, out of 126 meals (3 meals per day x 42 days), I went off track four times, that’s three percent. Giving myself a score of 97 out of a hundred. I call that an “A.” P.S. I’m smiling right now.
Where do I go from here? I’m going to keep doing it. I don’t believe in deprivation. If there are days when I finish my smoothie and I want a burger, I’ll still eat one. But not nearly as often as I used to.
One of the times we ate out, I noticed that once our family started having a conversation, I was eating without even noticing or appreciating the meal. It made me think that what I ate didn’t really matter. During prior weeks, there were instances I felt jealous when my family was eating pizza and I was drinking a smoothie. Realizing that once I was distracted, whether with conversation or a t.v. show, I fed myself on autopilot. Meaning, I might as well put good stuff in my body since my brain is more entertained by what is going on around me than what is on my plate. Or in my case, a mason jar.
My runs, energy and naps were good ways for me to measure the impact this challenge had on my body. I would definitely say it has merit. Was forty-two days enough to get me off of my asthma medication? I don’t know, yet. My doctor’s fear of COVID prevented him from measuring my breathing and lowering my medication. I no longer use my inhaler before my runs and I am running faster and stronger than ever, feeling no strain on my breathing. In addition, because I had so much energy and I was off doing stuff, I accidentally missed taking my long term inhaler quite a few times. On those days, my body did not feel any breathing constraints. I consider those all good signs. Am I going to ditch my medication? No. I’ll follow the rules and let the doctor wean me off, but I do feel like I no longer need them right now.
All in all, with it’s ups and downs, I am glad I stumbled onto this challenge. I hope it continues to improve my life. I feel better about what I am putting inside my body, I seldom nap, I have more energy and I am happier. That’s what life is all about. Doing those things that bring a smile to your face and warms your heart.
What’s next? Ooh, well, we might be moving. Maybe. Either way, I am decluttering my home. The less I have, the less I have to pay the movers. I watched a video on “decluttering your home in two weeks”. It resonated with me. Boom. Rip the band aid off, get it done quick and get on with life. Especially, because if we really do move, closings are usually thirty days, making this two week thing perfect. Stay tuned to see what happens. Will it be great or will I drive my family bananas?
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Disclaimer: This post is about my personal experience following the GoodbyeLupus.com Hyper-Nutritious program. The program claims to reverse other health conditions, too. No affiliation. It is recommended to consult with your doctor for all medical decisions, treatments and prescriptions. Please reference GoodbyeLupus.com for full details of disclaimer.