Ok, so I am horrible...

I didn't even make it 8 hours on that stupid cleanse. Every time I started to think about having to drink those HORRIBLE protein and vitamin shakes, I would gag and almost make myself sick. So I switched it up, and I'll get whey protein shake mix and make my own fresh fruit shakes and eat fruits and veggies. Like I said before, not a meat person at all.

I lost 4 lbs in two days!! Woohoo! Yup. Can't complain about that!

Cleansing the Body and Mind

Today, I'm starting a 9 day (well 11 days with two "pre-cleanse" days) cleanse. I am kinda pumped because you can see results by day 3 and HUGE results at the end. I'll be happy with any change.

Right now, as I type this, I'm forcing down my first "shake". It tastes like every Smoothie King enhancer without the yummy fruit and juices with a crappy chocolate after-taste. Yeah, pretty bad. I'm fighting to not get sick.

The name of the cleanse is "Isagenix 9-day Cleanse for Life". My 2nd cousin did it and lost 27 lbs. Yeah, and it's good for you, just doesn't taste good so far. It speeds up your metabolism so you are burning calories more often than right now. Which for most people is only 1-2 times a day. You eat and drink every hour, so you are burning calories constantly. For 9 days, I will drink a lot of water, lots of the "Cleanse for Life" juice/water mixture, sometimes the shakes, and eat two dry roasted, unsalted almonds, and these snack wafers, and take accelerator tablets. Basically it's all vitamins to keep you healthy then you have one meal. You eat one meal, lunch, a day of a lean protein and vegetables equaling 400-600 calories.

Today, I'm having a Smoothie King "Passion Passport", make it skinny, protein booster, and slim down booster. I require fruit more than protein to survive. I am basically a vegetarian who some times eats chicken, and rarely requires any red meat. If I'm eating red meat, my iron is bottoming out to about zero. My mom says I'm a vegetarian. I could live on pasta and spicy arrabiatti sauce. Add in peaches, nectarines, melons, bananas, and apples and that's my diet most of the time.

So you may ask, why do you need to lose weight? Well mostly two words. Portion control. Oh and soda. I'm a Coke-aholic. And I like fatty Starbucks drinks. And I ate horribly for two months following my shoulder surgery. Now, I'm paying for it and all my horrible eating since having my shoulder injured in January 2010.

I've weened myself off of soda the past few weeks. I started drinking diet Coke two months ago to cut out some sugar and the last three days I've basically had one Coke a day and either Ginger Ale, Sprite, or water. Granted, two of those are still sodas, it's A LOT less caffeine than I'm used to consuming.

I'll also be joining a gym this afternoon. It's right by my apartment so that's great. Convenience is key! They offer 4-5 cardio classes per day, plus yoga. I do a lot of weight lifting at physical therapy with my athletic trainer Angela three days a week, so if I get an hour of cardio or more in per day, I'll be set.

I will probably blog a few times a day just to keep myself sane during the next 11 days, if I make it the entire 11. My mom made it 4 days and lost 10 lbs. My trainer Angela is on the 30 day cleanse and she's been going at it for a while. Neither of us knew until Friday that we both would be on it. She loves it, and has seen up to 3 lbs a day results.

Hopefully, I'll see great results and this blog marathon will be useful.

I see a lot of music, reading, and PS3 to bide my time.

Wish me luck.

Peace & Love.

Reading Like It's My Job

Thus far in 2011 I have read a total of 11 books. Which equals out to almost 3 books per week. What have I been reading, you ask? Well, a few different things. Since I got my Kindle I've kinda gone books bonkers. I'm constantly searching for the next book to read and still trying to work my way through books that are considered classics - since they are mostly free on Amazon.

1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

I'm a big fan of Dan Brown's work and I love the Robert Langdon character. If you liked Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons it's a must read.

2. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Good book. The mystery behind the story line really struck my detective side.

3. Dracula by Bram Stoker

Wow. The book is a historical classic. The journal entry story telling really made it feel real. And as a precursor to all the vampire novels there are out there now, it's a good read.

4. My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking

Ok, so it's a young-adult centered book, which makes it a little weird I was reading it. But

truthfully, Amanda makes you feel like less of a perv and more of a nostalgic glance at times past. The book is the first in a series of four - right now, number five is to be written - and

sets out to tell the story of boy, Jake - who is that hunky skater boy we all love - , meets girl, Alice, boy likes girl, boy is a vampire who was 24 when he turned in 1993, girl is meant for brother, brother almost kills girl, etc. You get the picture. It's a cute story of a love triangle.

5. Fate by Amanda Hocking

Fate is the second book in the My Blood Approves series.

6. Flutter by Amanda Hocking

Book three in My Blood Approves series.

7. Wisdom by Amanda Hocking

Fourth Book in the above series. Can you tell I enjoyed her writing yet?

8. Switched (Trylle Trilogy) by Amanda Hocking

Well, because I liked the first series, I decided to try this one out. It's about a girl who is a troll - not the kind that guards the bridge in Monty Python and the Holy Grail- and was switched at birth with a human to be raised by a wealthy family only to return years later and fight who she's supposed to truly be. Again a paranormal type book, so if you like that, read it. Plus there is a hunky handler named Finn, which only make me envision Cory Monteith from Glee...

9. Torn (Trylle Trilogy) by Amanda Hocking

Second book.

10. Ascend (Trylle Trilogy) by Amanda Hocking

Third book.

11. Hollowland by Amanda Hocking

Ok last book by her for a minute. This is a book about post-apocalyptic, zombie land. It's kinda like Zombieland the movie, but more depth and not as much comedy. The lead is a girl named Remy who is trying to find her brother Max after the military run quarantine safety zone they were in was breached by a large number of zombies. Remy, Harlow - a girl who escaped the quarantine with Remy, and two guys they meet a day later, Lazlo and Blue, set off to take on the zombies and find Max. Yes, there's a love story background so that helps.

So that is my list so far. Reading 1984 by George Orwell right now for the second time, proving slightly easier. Hope to read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk soon.

Have any recommendations?