What in the world is the Shred 10?

Back in January, a friend of mine asked if I wanted to do the Shred 10 with her.  She is a Juice Plus consultant.  Last November Caedmon and I started taking the Juice Plus chewables.  Juice Plus chewables and capsules are whole food based nutrition, including juice powder concentrates from 30 different fruits, vegetables, and grains.  Juice Plus helps bridge the gap between what you should eat and what you do eat every day.  They provide natural nutrients your body needs to be at its best.

I decided to do Juice Plus because with my purchase Caedmon could get his for free.  And Caedmon was having constipation issues that he had to be on Miralax.  I asked the doctor is it okay for him to keep going on and off of Miralax constantly and he said yes.  Well I didn't want to do that.  I thought there had to be something to help him be more regular.  And so far the Juice Plus chewables are helping him.  He hasn't had to take Miralax for several months now.  And trust me he was eating vegetables before Juice Plus because we are fortunate to have a child that does like his vegetables. 

Okay so back to Shred 10.  It is the photo below....

I stuck to the whole 10 days except cheated a little on a Saturday when we were kidless and had gift cards to Ruth Chris.  But I still lost 5 pounds!!  I learned several things from this experience.  I will start with the big one.  I quit caffeine!!!  Do you realize what I just said?  That means I quit coffee!!!  Yes I am being serious.  If you know me you know I LOVE my morning coffee.  Although I do drink decaf now.  I don't think I really needed coffee in the morning to get going.  It is something about just having a hot cup to hold in my hand.  Probably the placebo effect. 

During the Shred I got this killer headache that lasted I don't know how many days but seemed forever.  I was tempted to say hell with it and just drink a cup of coffee to get rid of it.  But I did some reading on caffeine withdrawal headaches and found that my reaction is normal.  But the kicker is that it said that a lot of people who have anxiety and pushed past the headaches ended up getting off their anxiety meds and feeling better.  I also learned how toxic caffeine is to the body.  I decided if it is making me have this bad of a headache then it is not worth it anymore.  I decided then and there that I am quitting caffeine and haven't looked back.  

Also if you know me then you know I LOVE cheese. During the Shred I learned that there are so many good recipes out there that taste good even without cheese.  I don't have to put cheese on everything.  

Another big thing I learned is that meal planning doesn't have to be complicated and vegetables don't have to be boring.  Remember when I said meal planning would stress me out?  The Shred 10 came with a cookbook to help with meal ideas.  In that cookbook gave me some great ideas on how to fix vegetables to add variety.  I made these roasted rainbow veggies.....

And I also found recipes for roasted broccoli and cauliflower.  So easy and tastes great!  I was bored with just canned and raw veggies.  In addition I found a great basic crock pot chicken recipe.  The chicken can be shredded and the possibilities are endless.  Add it to soups, wraps, or salads.  We also started trying to make a couple of meals at the beginning of the week to last throughout the whole week.  

Somehow (and I am not sure how) I have been pretty consistent on drinking half of my body weight in ounces of water.  I used to struggle with that so much and now it is almost second nature.  Again not sure how that change happened.  Although I can say that drinking water from a straw makes it seem easier for some reason.  

Lastly I would like to note that accept for a couple of minor colds here and there, Caedmon and I hardly got sick all winter.  Well, I am going to be doing another Shred 10 starting May 1st if anyone would like to give it a go with me.  You still have 2 weeks to plan for it.  :-)