Update on No POO

So, it's been a while since I posted and I am happy to report that other than a handful of times that I used shampoo I have remained 95% or more No POO :)  I have fallen in love with using a mixture of cucumber and lemon juice on my hair.  It really works and my hair seems to react very well to even just lemon juice by itself.  The few times I have used shampoo was because I had gotten grit and sand in my hair from mowing our property.  The sand can blow back in my face covering me in a layer of dirt.  I always come inside looking like I have a great tan, but in actuality it all washes away in the shower.  Anyway, I have stuck to no hair products with the exception of a little hair spray a couple of times.  Otherwise, I only use a mixture of tea tree oil & coconut oil in my hair that acts like a 'gel'.  I really like the way my hair is doing.  Pleasantly impressed with it lately.  It's nice not spending all that $$$ on hair products too!

UPDATE on my NO POO

Yesterday we hit a milestone!  I rinsed my hair with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water...and guess what???  YES, I COULD RUN MY FINGERS THROUGH MY HAIR!!!  I couldn't believe it...it felt like a miracle!  YES, my hair smells like nasty vinegar...but I do not care!  It feels so much better and I can't wait to do it again (I don't think I'm supposed to do it for a few more days).  I think I am getting closer to feeling like I have normal hair again.  I'm so happy.  It's just amazing!  Okay, that's that...I'm in week 3 of no poo and that was the second wind I needed...I can do this!

NO POO - Day 11

DAY 11

All I can say is yuck yuck yuck!  It still feels like sticky straw when I wash it.  I'm really having to keep my resolve here...because I HATE the way it feels.  

Here are some updated pictures.  And YES, that IS Gray coming in...and I swear it's either the SIX kids that have done this or the NO POO attempt...hahaha!

The darker place is NOT darker hair so much as it is OILY feeling...so don't be fooled by the curls...they are just masking the yuckyness (if that is even a word).

Can you tell I'm thinking "must we really document this funky hair stage?"

Gone RAW - Day ONE

My 30 Day RAW Challenge – Day 1
Okay! This is my first day on my raw food challenge. Results are below!
MY FOOD
Breakfast – Green Smoothie (2 Bananas, 6 oz Berries, ¾ C Coconut Water, ¾ C Apple/Carrot Juice, 2.5 oz Spinach, 2 oz Kale)
Morning Snack – HA! I slept so late this morning that my breakfast was my morning snack.
Lunch – 1 medium Apple, 1 Banana, 1 Kiwi, 1 Persimmon, 2 oz Grapes, 8 oz carrot/apple juice (with RAW PROBIOTIC Powder added to offset the bacteria leaving my system due to the coffee enemas).
Afternoon Snack – 2 dried Apricots, 1 RAW Almond, Date, Apple Bar
Dinner – 1oz Spinach, 5oz Tomatoes, 1 Pear, 2oz Blueberries, 1 Banana
Evening Snack – leftover fruit from dinner & 2 Mejool Date (YUM)
Water – 60 ounces

Calories – 1,769.35 (Carbs 75.06%/ Protein 3.84% / Fat 2.09%)

Fiber - 60.45 grams! (13.7%)

MY EXERCISE:
None
MY RESULTS:
I won’t weigh or measure myself until Thursday, January 5, 2012
EFFECTS I’VE NOTICED:
Um, well…I would love to say that I TOTALLY had a great day…but this just isn’t the case. I felt hungry on and off and a bit weak at times. Part of my mind was very distracted with the other meals I was cooking for the fam. Let’s see, they toad in a holes (eggs inside a hole cut from homemade bread) with jelly on the side. I kept them eating about what I ate during lunch except they got peanut butter on whole wheat crackers too. Then dinner was yummy spaghetti, aguave nectar glazed carrots & a slice of pound cake. None of which I ate (except once when I forgot and licked the peanut butter off my finger while making their crackers). The kids were exceptionally well behaved today and praise the LORD for that…J. I also began my coffee enemas today…I’ve gotten through 2 at this point and will have one more before bed. Yep, upside down coffee does has its benefits. If you want to read about those benefits you can go HERE.

My dinner was extremely filling and I couldn’t finish the plate of fruit so I will munch on it for my after dinner snack. I’ve done okay on water…looks like I’ll only get it about 48 ounces for today…just can’t seem to drink more than that while drinking smoothies & fruit juices also…kind of makes me want to puke with so much liquid in my tummy.
It’s almost 10pm and I feel so hungry. That’s hard to believe considering all the food I’ve consumed today sometimes feeling like I would explode if ingested one more bite!
Its day one and I haven’t noticed anything else really, but will note that my mind has drifted numerous times to the chocolate cake I threw out yesterday. YES it was not very good and I didn’t enjoy the piece I ate but I STILL keep thinking about it. This could be a very long 30 days.
If you are interested in my adventures with my going “no poo”, then go HERE.

No Poo - Day 4

Day 4 of my NO POO adventure has gone pretty good.  I’ll post pics after my seventh day to show you how my hair is looking…um, or not looking. :) I’ve read it can take up to six weeks to completely get to the end result of optimum health…so I’m psyching myself up for that and if it is sooner, well then that will just be sheer joy on my end!

No Poo

So today was my first day of 'no poo'...I took a photo of how much hair I lost during my shower and am hoping that the amount changes after a week or so of going without the shampoo my body was used to.  I'm not sure what to expect as my hair has never looked oily since my curls would probably mask such but I'm very excited to see my grocery bill go down since I won't be purchasing these products anymore.  I'm still trying to figure the best way to deal with going 'no poo' for the kids...it should be interesting.  My second son has a very distinct smell to his hair when it isn't washed...I'm wondering what that will morph into over the next few weeks..?
I'm experimenting with the raw recipes I want to use.  I want to get the caloric count down to make my job of posting it easier as I go.  We will see what I can come up with.  I'm really looking forward to these changes!  :)

Here I am...

So...I'm stepping out of my comfort zone here and gonna use you all for my personal gain.  In return you will get to read about the peaks and valleys in my life as they come.  I will gain your unspoken accountability as I will tell myself that you will be reading my blog and rooting for me daily.  Whether this is really happening doesn't really matter to me, however, the thought of a single person reading it will hopefully spur me on to my goals day by day.  In this new year I will be starting a few challenges for myself...not huge ones, but challenges none the less.  With all my other daily duties any size challenge I give myself warrants a plan...so alas this is mine.  Over the course of the next month I will work on my daily moments with God being more meaningful and consistent, begin a raw food challenge hopefully resulting in better sleep, weight loss and more energy.  I will incorporate some form of weekly exercise, more consistent family nights and brace yourself...I will start my own journey in going "no poo"...lol, yes...that actually means to stop using shampoo!  I have naturally curly hair and I believe this will be the answer to all my crazy frizzy days and am excited as to where this is going to take me.  We are also journeying through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and you'll be along for that ride too. :)  Okay...so I have more research to do, but I wanted to prepare you for our journey.  Looking forward to it!!!