I did colonics and survived!

So here I am, two days after receiving back-to-back colonics on Thursday and Friday nights, and well... I survived!!

The experience was definitely interesting.  I'm pleased to report that there was absolutely no pain whatsoever.  I was diligent about preparing well for the procedures and my body was ready for it.  I did experience some discomfort due largely in part to my monthly female cycle, so if you are considering a series of colonics and are female I highly recommend you schedule around your cycle.  The experience was completely tolerable even with my situation and I'm so glad I went for it.

My stomach is now much flatter, I lost 4 lbs in two days (true, I'm not focusing on numbers but that number tells me I had a significant amount of poo stuck in my body that I wasn't eliminating on my own) and I am so glad it's gone - the weight and the poo!!

I promise not to talk a lot about poo on my blog, but this is definitely a significant part of my journey to wholeness.  Now my body is prepared to more readily absorb the nutrients from the amazing healthy food I'm putting in it.  I'm convinced my body will thank me for cleaning it out and getting  fresh start.

Prepping for colon hydrotherapy

I first heard about a colon hydro therapist in Redding while on a mission trip to Tijuana about a year and a half ago. The girl I met was a ministry school student who was on her own health journey. She said something that felt like a bold statement, that though she had been on this journey for quite some time, if she could change anything she would have started with colonics. Colon hydrotherapy was the single most important and impactful thing she'd done for herself.

My response was something like, "wow, that's amazing. What's the therapist's name? Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to visit her as well." And I my head I'm thinking, "oh man, I just don't think I could ever do that."

So here I am now, running full speed, head first into my own health journey and I'm ready to say, "yes, I'm going to do this for myself!"

So I have an appointment tomorrow evening at North State Hydrotherapy with Kris Mann. I have to say, that in the few interactions I've had with Kris, I already feel safe, welcomed, affirmed and fully supported. I have no doubt this will be an amazing experience with incredible benefits.

Now part of my prep is two days of eating light, avoiding a few key foods and drinking lots of water, aloe Vera juice and plenty of fresh veg juice! This one is carrot, celery, kale and ginger. Yum :)

Before & After

I'm really excited to share my before and after results from my four wraps in four weeks.  I challenged myself to eat a cleansing, whole, high raw food diet and I've done so for the past 28 days with two more to go before embarking on another fun cleanse ;)

As I've said before, I'm not focusing on the numbers on the scale (though I am tracking them) but rather measuring my results through actual physical body measurements.

Here are the results of the fourth wrap after:

24 hours - 0.5"
48 hours - 0.5"
72 hours - 1.5"

Total = -2.5"

GRAND TOTAL (Full Treatment of Four Wraps) = - 11.5"

I know that like myself, many of you are really visual people so here you have it, my before and after photos!  The picture on the left was taken Sept 1st before doing my first wrap.  Yes, I had a different iPhone case in that photo (I just got a much needed new case a couple of weeks ago, partially to make myself feel better for not being able to get an iPhone 6 yet :)  The photo on the right was taken this morning, 72 hours after the final wrap of my four wrap treatment.

If the numbers above (measurements taken from sum of three areas around my waist), then I think the photos will speak for themselves!  I'm definitely pleased with the direction I'm heading and am feeling so great, so confident that I can make positive changes in my life and I am all smiles :)  :)  :)

If you have any questions about my cleanse or the wraps, feel free to contact me.  I'm happy to share information and resources with anyone who would like them!  And of course, if you're ready to give body wraps a try, you can check out my page: wholenessrevolution.myitworks.com

Thigh wrap results

So after doing three wraps around my waist and shedding 9" total, I thought it would be a great plan to try another area: my thighs. Here are my results after:

45 mins - 1.5"
24 hrs - .5"
48 hrs - 1.5"
72 hrs - .5"

Grand total = 4" from my thighs in 72 hrs. Such a great result :)

If you'd like to try wrapping, too, you can contact me here on my blog, via Facebook or on my It Works! website:

WholenessRevolution.myitworks.com

After Third It Works! Wrap

I did my third It Works! wrap several days ago and here are my results:

24 hrs = -1"
48 hrs = -.5"
72 hrs = -.5"
Total = -2"

As I went back and wrote my earlier results I discovered a happy surprise!  I had made an error in my previous calculations and my actual number of inches lost up until then was not 5.75" but 7" :)  That brings my grand total after three wraps to 9" gone from my midsection and waist!!  Wow, I'm pretty impressed with that number. 

Additionally, my skin looks much smoother and feels softer.  I realize that actual photos would be an excellent tool to show the difference, however, that still feels very vulnerable for me and I'm not quite ready.  I will post them at some point, just not yet.  Thanks for your patience and understanding with that aspect of my process.

In the next post I'll share the results of wrapping my thighs!  That was definitely a different experience.  I'm already seeing results and look forward to the final 72 hours measurement.

Love is the key to transformation

This morning as I was preparing for my day, I spent a few moments intentionally blessing myself audibly.  I simply told my body that I loved it and I thanked it for serving me so well for all of these years.  I told individual body parts that I loved them, my arms, legs, ankles, feet, belly, all of me.  It only took about 30 seconds but I can't help but believe that it makes a difference.

After I did this, I had a revelation: if we intentionally bless everything we like AND everything we dislike about ourselves, we lose the desire to curse the things we don't like about ourselves. We live in a culture where its common for girls and women to openly proclaim all that they hate about themselves as though this hate or anger will somehow compel us to change the habits that resulted in realities we don't like.  Unfortunately focusing on what we hate has the opposite affect we want it to.  

Then I realized a beautiful thing.  We're perfectly loveable just the way we are.  Whether we're 70 lbs overweight or don't fit into our favorite jeans or haven't exercised in months, God literally meets us where we are.  He loves us right here, right now.  He doesn't look at what we hate about ourselves because when God looks at us, He sees that what He created is good!  His love for us is the very thing that fuels our desire to love ourselves into wholeness.  Love always wins!!

So I'll continue to tell my body how much I love and appreciate it daily.  I'll continue to choose to love all of me and trust that as I love, those things that I'm not so fond of about myself will lose their influence over how I think about and treat myself.   Love is the key to transforming the physical me to match the transformation that has already occurred in my mind and spirit.  I feel like I've found the missing link that I've been searching for for so long, and it's absolutely liberating!

Zoodles

This is what a typical meal looks like for me. Zoodles are simply zucchini noodles. I have this fancy little contraption that allows me to spiral slice veggies into tasty noodles. I eat them raw, though they could be lightly steamed and eaten hot if you like.

The sauce is a simple mix of tomatoes, fresh Basil, olive oil and a touch of sea salt. I also included a small handful of raw cashews to add a bit of texture and sustenance.

You can find the recipe at my raw food experiment blog: staceyraw.blogspot.com

Wrap 2 Results

I wrapped for the second time several days ago and I'm just not getting around to sharing the results.  This time around I saw 1.25" gone after 24 hours, another 1" after 48 hours and an additional 1" after 72 hours.  The total loss in inches after 3 days = 3.25"  Again, I have to give full disclosure in saying that this was in conjunction with eating clean (no processed anything) during the course of these 72 hours. 

So as I tally this up, since September 1st after using 2 wraps and eating a healthy diet, I've had a total loss of 5.75".  I'm thankful for these numbers to reflect on, because I don't seem to see it in the mirror and though I feel good, I would never guess that 5.75" have been shed from my body.  The measurements are evidence that my investment in myself is proving fruitful. 

Yes, the scale has moved as well but I'm making an effort not to focus on the numbers I see on the scale.  This journey is about loving myself well and focusing on my weight is not conducive to remaining in a posture of love as my motivation.  I've tried that before and it has never ended well!  I'm depending on grace daily and this is where I want to be.  In grace.

Orange Basil "Julius"

Whenever I use oranges in smoothies I'm reminded of my teen years at the mall with my friends drinking the first "smoothies" we ever had: Orange Julius. So my breakfast smoothie for today is named after those first glimpses of smoothie greatness :)

Orange Basil Julius

1 banana, frozen
2 fresh oranges, peeled
1 handful fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp raw shelled hemp seeds
1 cup water

Blend and enjoy! It's such a fresh and clean flavor, creamy and cool!

My story and ItWorks!

For years I've neglected myself.  There are a number of reasons for this: rejecting societies definition of beauty, an effort to avoid vanity, lack of resources, busy-ness and eventually even laziness all contributed to my behavior. 

I didn't want to take the time, waste the money or put forth the effort to pursue beauty and physical health anymore.  I didn't feel like it was worth it, but unfortunately this fed a mindset that secretly said that I'm not worth it.  The less I did for myself, the less I liked myself.  This affects all areas of my life, how much love I can give, how much love I can receive, how I relate to myself, others and even God.

In my first year of ministry school I learned so much about who I am.  I am a daughter in the Kingdom of God.  I am important and what I believe has an impact on my life.  My beauty isn't for my vanity, but rather points to the creator Himself and His nature.  For the first time in years, I decided to intentionally love myself.  To express on the outside the transformation that was happening on the inside mentally and spiritually.

I started out small.  I started playing with color in my hair again.  I started wearing makeup again.  I started trying to buy clothes with some sense of fashion (though I still struggle in this area - mostly because nothing fits the way I think it's supposed to ;)  But it's a process, change can happen over night but this one is taking some time.  And I'm choosing to embrace the process of it all.

At the beginning of this month I started a cleanse.  I'm eating ridiculously healthy and I feel amazing.  I wake up each morning ready for the day.  I'm thinking clearly and accomplishing so much work.  I'm enjoying the process of getting my body clean.

After many months of curiosity and skepticism, I finally tried my first ItWorks! body wrap.  The product is designed to help tighten skin and detoxify the body.   They come four to a box and retail around $25 each, though customers have the option of becoming "loyal customers" and receive wholesale prices, earning free shipping after 3 months.  Another option is to become a distributer, sell the wraps and other products and get wholesale prices. 

I chose the latter.  This is quite a bit out of my comfort zone, but I'm very curious about these products and how they fit in to my journey of wholeness.  Coupled with eating clean (no refined anything, only whole fresh nutritious foods), my first wrap resulted in 2.5" lost around my mid-section after 72 hrs.  The measurement is the sum of three different measurement areas across my belly.  I've heard of much more dramatic results, but I'm pleased with my first go at it.  They say, "One wrap is a treat, four wraps is a treatment."  So I'll continue with the other three in my box, and if I'm brave enough at the end of the month I'll post the results in photos!

I'm excited to continue trying more products from the company and reviewing them here.  In the mean time, if you'd like to learn more you can visit my page at:

wholenessrevolution.myitworks.com

Welcome

Here we go, in the midst of my delightfully full schedule of life, I'm setting aside some time for myself.  I'm choosing to get healthy.  I tend to feel like I'm quite healthy emotionally and spiritually but have left the physical part at the wayside.  There's always room to grow.  I believe that body, soul and spirit are interconnected and wholeness is dependent on all aspects being in a state of wellness.

I'll share bits of my life here, but mostly my intentional journey to health.  I'm excited to share photos, videos and recipes along with my process and transformation as I go.  It won't all be clean and pretty, but it will be real.  And I hope to share what I learn along the way with others.  So thanks for joining me and feel free to post comments and ask questions.

Blessings!