Juicing or not?

I've been watching a ton of health related movies since getting a Roku which gave me access to Netflix, Amazon and a bunch of other channels. I usually watch them as I'm walking on the treadmill. It makes me feel virtuous to do double-duty, plus it motivates me to keep on moving.

It's been very interesting and educational. I've watched "Food, Inc.", "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead", "Vegucated", and other similar movies.

After watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead I decided to experiment a bit with juicing.

I don't really need to lose a ton of weight although I wouldn't mind dropping some. My main reason for wanting to try juicing is to get a few more veggies in my system. I'm also a bit concerned about my joints as I've had issues off and on for years since I pushed myself too hard and fast when training for a marathon. Long story but the end result has been an inability to run marathons...or for any length of time.

Tale after tale of people getting of medications, reversing diseases or chronic conditions sparked a strong interest. I'd like to prevent going down the path of doctor visits, prescription medications lined up on the counter, poor health, lack of energy, obesity, brain-fog, and all those other negatives that are so prevalent these days.

I'm a vegetarian, been one since my teens. I don't eat sugar of any sort except, horrible I know, Splenda in my hot tea in the morning (more on that sinful choice at some other time). I stopped with the gluten long before it became a fad. Despite all of those so-called "healthy" food choices I know I am addicted to carbs. Give me a choice between a piece of toast and a stalk of broccoli and guess which one I'll grab?

I have a Nutribullet and had been using it for smoothies but I thought juicing might be a better option. I get plenty of fiber so ditching the natural fibers isn't that big a deal for my intestines, but I am not thrilled with tossing all the good stuff out.

My daughter-in-law loaned me a juicer. She had tried it, said it was messy, a hassle, she'd done it a few times and given up.

I just tried my first juicing. It's messy, it's kind of a hassle and something I may or may not do again! I made a kale, strawberry, apple concoction. It was good. If someone else made it and handed it to me I'd love it.

Right now I have a bunch of glob-filled things in my sink waiting to be cleaned. And the residue on my little glass is not appetizing. My teeth may be green also. 

I'm kind of thinking that maybe I'll just stick with the Nutribullet. I can toss all the same stuff in it, whir it a bit and have a filling, fiber-rich, vitamin-rich drink.

I did learn a few things during the process though. I have been making my smoothies completely backwards. I've been fruit heavy.

I just watched a video on YouTube by Elizabeth Rider (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45XdMtaig1E) about some common juicing mistakes. I watched it thinking she was going to tell me how to do things so I didn't have such a mess (ha ha). I need to make sure my smoothies are green. More kale, fewer bananas, mangoes and strawberries.

If you're interested in more on juicing here are a few YouTube videos that caught my attention:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjt3bxyKcCI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDeTKomY4P8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKzng1_byMY

Here a trailer for a movie/documentary I'm going to watch if it's on Netflix/Amazon, etc. :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQNNX2Oo7Kk&list=PLDB08EB984B46CB4D

On a side-note: I saw a number of videos lamenting major weight gain after going off a juice-fast. I think if someone slowly goes back to eating HEALTHY foods, makes veggies a platform of a normal diet rather than the little exclamation point on the platter, and has done their juicing correctly that shouldn't be an issue. I didn't watch any of the videos as I wasn't going to do a juice fast like Joe Cross or others who tout the benefits.

Zumba... R.I.P.P.E.D. and more

I've been working out regularly for a number of years. Mostly I hit the treadmill and the weight machines with my friend. We've been getting out butts out of bed and to the gym between 5:30 and 6:30 almost every morning. Yawn.

I hit a plateau and really wasn't seeing the kind of changes I wanted so about a month ago I started tossing in a few classes to the mix.

Zumba is fun. I'm still working on all the steps, but I move, and move, and move. More often than not I move in a different direction that the rest of the class but who cares? I'm moving. Some instructors are fun, some are fun to watch, some are focused...all bring a different style...all get my heart rate going.

I think that the R.I.P.P.E.D. classes are possibly my favorite "get something done" type class. They push my limits. It's weights, jumping jacks, all kinds of varied things. Those initials stand for something...Resistance, Intervals, Power, Plyometrics, Endurance, and Diet. So far no one has said anything about diet in the class aside from "eat well", whatever that might mean. I didn't realize the D stood for diet until I just looked it up to share!

I'll probably try a few of the others but I think I need to stick to the ones I've mentioned for a bit.

I won't climb on the scale until I go to the doctor next month. I needed a goal and the doc visit is it.

Wondering why I'm writing this? Me too.

Go see "Annie"!

I read the reviews by the reviewmeisters.
They panned Annie.
I almost didn't want to go see it.
I'm glad I did.

The movie is positive. It's uplifting. It's fun. The acting is good. The music is great. There's really nothing negative I can say about it. Sorry to those who make a living reviewing movies, you got this one wrong (dang, you need to take a dose of something to counter your cynical minds).

It has GREAT messages:
- you can be anything, background doesn't matter
- work hard and you can achieve
- hard knocks happen but your attitude will help you triumph
- redemption for any and all

I could probably list some more but those are the ones that shouted out at me as I thought about Annie afterwards. I thoroughly enjoyed getting a dose of positive in the guise of entertaining theater.

The music is fun, catchy, sing-able and yes, good. Sure, the words are a bit different but so is the movie. It's very loosely based on Annie. I think it kept the main themes but with a modern twist.

Sure, it's different. But go out and read the first comic strip then watch all the subsequent cartoons, movies, spin-offs, remakes. Think Annie has changed? What creation from the 1930s hasn't been changed to fit the times? 

They dissed Cameron Diaz (Miss Hannigan) for overacting. Did they SEE Carol Burnett in the 1982 remake? Kathy Bates in the 1999 version?

They didn't like the music? the singing? We left the theater and went straight to the store to find the CD. We bought the last one. I don't know if that means they're selling like crazy or the stores just didn't stock them!

I hope every parent takes their children, all ages, to see the movie. I have seen most of the other versions, if not all. I like the fact that they modernized this one.

(I'm going to come back & add some more later, breakfast calls).