The Green Smoothie Challenge

Last November, I started drinking green smoothies.  Now, most people cringe when they hear that. "What IS that?" they always ask.  Well, friends, let me tell you what that is... it is life and healing...in a cup!  Made of 1/3 water, 1/3 frozen fruit, and 1/3 leafy greens, other veggies, nuts, seeds, spices and herbs and it is absolutely delicious!

I started on the smoothies because I had an inflamed hip.  For what reason, I have no clue.  I couldn't sleep on my left side and going for walks was painful after a few minutes.  On top of that, my achilles tendons tightened and going up and down steps made them burn.  I went to the doctors for a diagnosis but, as usual, they just shrugged and said, "We don't know what it is."  Typical.  So, I figured if I was going to get better, I'd have to do some research and that's when I came across info on the healing power of the green smoothie.  It took a month or two of eating smoothies everyday and the pain in my hip stopped.  It has been 8 months and though I still feel something is yet out of whack in my hip, the pain is totally gone.  My tendons are still a bit stiff in the morning but are much, much better.

Now, I've been wanting to lose some weight and regain a better measure of health.  I remembered the Green Smoothie Challenge and the testimonies that people were losing a pound a day!  So I decided to try it: ten days, nothing but smoothies and fresh raw fruits and veggies.  The result: I'm down ten pounds!

Now, if you decide to try this yourself, let me tell you what you need to know.  First, this is a CHALLENGE, and challenging it was!  The first 3 days are the hardest because your body screams, whines, fusses, pouts, complains and begs for mercy.  Give it no quarter!  Secondly, having your mind prepared for this, in my opinion, will make or break you.  So, you have to understand this is not a lifestyle change, it is a temporary cleanse.  I had to tell myself over and over that I will eat meat, bread and goodies again, just not today.  Third, you have to be prepared for the healing crisis, which can manifest itself with headaches, fatigue, flu-like symptoms, etc.  These are all good signs and shows the cleanse is working.  If you don't have symptoms, that's ok too.  Not everyone reacts the same way.  But you should see weight loss...up to 1 lb. a day.  Evidence it is working!  Lastly, don't fear you will go hungry.  A 10 ounce glass of green moothie prepared this way (1/3 each of frozen fruit, veggies and water with a little spice, nuts and seeds) will hold you over for HOURS!  You'll be amazed!  And when you get hungry again, just have another smoothie.  If you want something to chew, have an apple or a carrot.

I didn't believe at first this would work for me because I have not been able to lose weight for two years now no matter what I did.  Once I got past the first 3 days, the next 7 days were much easier and watching the scale go down, down, down everyday blew me away.

Oh, and there's one more great benefit... the smoothies are ADDICTING!  So when you're done with the challenge, you won't want to go back to all that dead processed food!  Your body will have had a taste of life and who wants carion?

Enjoy!