We shared Ahi and oysters with family and it was ONO. The food was great but when sharing it really makes the experience irreplaceable. Here’s to friends & family, cheers.

If you’re lucky enough to have Aloha with friends and EVEN new friends please remember those that have never had or don’t have. People around the world have traditions that practice living without so they can empathize more easily. I’m not suggesting you become a loner to understand the value of friendship. I am suggesting that we once in a while invite an unfamiliar guest to a family or friend function so they can enjoy the experience and you’ll be glad as you enjoy their happiness. Mahalo to the family that invited us into their ohana and shared memories with us.

Enjoyed Chorizo Chilaquiles with a side of Southern Vegetarian Chili and Sweet Potato Pancakes last Sunday and Crab Cake Benedict with Mango Hollandaise Sauce from Soul Patrol (PacificSoul on Twitter) this past Sunday at Manoa Marketplace.  Washed both meals down with some southern sweet tea w/o the lemon.  LOVED the pancake – it was huge enough for us to share, although we wanted MORE.  Everything is always good.   Great way to start a Sunday.

Will be dropping by tomorrow (Wednesday) in Kakaako to their lunchwagon to sample Shrimp and Grits and if I’m lucky, Korean Kalbi po’boys with homemade kim chee.  Still have yet to sample their fried chicken and their Carolina kalua pork sandwich with buttermilk coleslaw.

For those of you who haven’t tried the cornbread…it is the bomb!!!

Would love to see some desserts too…..peach cobbler, banana pudding, red velvet….just to name a few : )

Thanks Chef Sean!!

On day 10, I left the fast because I had to go back to work and needed food to fuel my brain.  Master Cleanse is much easier when you relax.  Going back to work = stress so I needed to depart the Master Cleanse train.   I enjoyed the day having fresh OJ and I splurged and had a sandwich.  My stomach must of shrunk because that was pretty much my meal for the whole day.  I also would eat Marcona almonds when I had a craving for salt.  I also drank bottled water and Vitamin water to help with the sugar intake.  Feels good not to want anything.  It was like being able to breathe without having to smell. (Hope that makes sense!)

Today is day 11 and I still don’t feel like eating.  I now know that eating for me is a form of entertainment too.  Doing it is fun for me.  Trying new foods, cooking new foods…all of it is very enjoyable.  Man, I need a new habit so I don’t gain back the 10  lbs I’ve lost.  I plan to stabilize this weight by calorie and carb restriction along with introducing myself back weight lifting and light P90X (is that an oxymoron?).  Plan to lose 10-15 more pounds of unhealthiness that I am carrying around.

Welcome back food but you need to wait your turn because I’m not hungry…Yay!

1. Raku – kobe beef with wasabi, grilled chicken breast, agedashi tofu, corn with potato, fluffy cheesecake

2. Baladie Cafe – spicy hummus, roasted chicken, chicken kabob, baklava

3. Hot and Juicy Crawfish-hot and juicy special with fresh crawfish, potatoes and corn

4. Retro Bakery – TDF cupcakes…cookies & cream, lemon tea, milk and cookies, and more!  Mmmmm….

5.  Golden Phoenix – Chinese restaurant close to my home, I loved their Almond Chicken.

6. Island Style- Yu Gae Jung and Spicy Korean chicken plate.

7.  Chicago Dogs – Chicago Italian Beef, green river soda, black cow

8.  Viva Zapatas – shredded chicken tacos, fideo soup, homemade tortillas, salsa & beans, Steak Hacendados

9.  Capriottis – Capistrami and the Bobbie (Thanksgiving when you want it!)

10. MM Chicken & Waffles – fried chicken breast and waffles, corn cakes

11.  McDonalds – iced southern style sweet tea

12. Aloha Specialties (California Hotel) – spicy korean chicken

13.  M Resort & Bellagio Buffets

14.  Rosemary’s Restaurant – high end quality food for good prices

15.  Market Grille Cafe – fresh Greek food, pumpkin Baklava Cheesecake

16.  Gritz Cafe – anything with gritz, southern home cooking

17.  Best Happy Hour – SushiSamba at the Palazzo – Japanese style salt & pepper squid (we ordered three of these), coconut soup (one of the best desserts I’ve ever had).

I will update this if I remember more… : )

16.  Nothing Bundt Cakes – the best bundt cakes you will ever had!!!

I am barely drinking 24 oz of lemonade a day along with my tea at night.  I need to try to drink more to dehydrate myself.  Also tried the salt water flush today and it was too tough for me.  I could only stomach 1/2 a quart of salt water and wanted to throw up after each gulp.  Oh well, not all of it works for everyone and this is the one that will not work for me.

Now that I am approaching day 5, I feel like I can make it to Day 10, which is 4 more days since my last cleanse.  I will take it day by day though – the moment I don’t feel well, I will return to my normal realm of eating.  I do plan to pursue a limited calorie intake.  Don’t laugh but I plan to eat one Yu Gae Jung meal with brown rice and vegetables and make it last a whole day with just water.  I will minimize the carb intake (rice).    I don’t know how many calories  the meal is but I’m sure it is below my allowed intake of 2000 calories so I should be able to continue to lose weight slowly.  I am looking forward to doing this while enjoying my favorite meal.    The results are exciting – I’ve lost 6 pounds (probably half water) but with my continued calorie restriction, I hope to lose much more.

Today was harder than yesterday.  I have a slight headache, feel lethargic and I am craving Yu Gae Jung, a spicy korean soup.  Had to deal with cooking edamame for the kids, chocolate chip cookies, french toast and my leftover thai chicken coconut soup that my hubby and kids had to eat today.  Wow, is my mouth watering for this stuff.  That’s okay, I’ll be able to have some in a week or so : ).   I plan to have Yu Gae Jung as my first meal after my fast, after a day of orange juice and chicken soup broth.  I didn’t realize how much calories a 1/2 cup of rice has (180 calories).  I think I need to reduce the amount I eat along with switching to brown rice.  Lucky for me, Palama’s Korean takeout does offer brown rice for free and doesn’t give mac salad (I can’t say no to mac salad – LOL) but extra vegetables that I pile into my soup.  I need to watch my rice and carb intake the first week as I heard my body will try to store as much fat as possible after the fast.  I will also remove the beef strips in the soup and just eat all of the egg and vegetables.  I also plan to load up on edamame, hummus, grilled fish, shrimp, chicken breast and tofu.    Trying to get a game plan so that I don’t try to fill up on “bad” food.  I usually do better when I have a plan.

I already see results in my skin and muscle tone.  Most of it is water weight but I know it is a good start.  Day 2 was tough and still not over but I’m really happy I’m pushing through.

This year I know what I need to do that will better my chances to last at least 10 days on this cleanse.  It isn’t an easy feat but I know it will be good for me.  We just moved from Vegas 7 weeks ago and went through a time of tremendous stress and change.  We still feel like we are just stepping off a roller coaster.  I am learning a new job, got my smallest potty trained, unpacked about 70 boxes, shipped a car after driving from Vegas to Long Beach, put two cats through quarantine, etc. etc.  My hubby and I are A-type personalities but this has pushed us to our limit.  I feel my metabolism has taken a huge hit as my lifestyle is moving towards a healthier one with our eating and exercise/lifting habits but without any evident results.

Last year, day 1 was really really difficult.  I was working from home and used to preparing my own meals.  I would find myself getting up to get something to eat and realizing that yes, I’m not supposed to eat anything.  I would reach for food without thinking.  I noticed how many food commercials were on TV.  I started to realize how much our lives revolve around food.  Yes, we all have to eat but many people in the world do not get to eat when they want to.  I started to feel how much it hurt to be hungry.  It made me appreciate having access to food.  I suffered for about 2 days and then on day 3, all of my hunger pains and cravings were gone.  It was the weirdest feeling of euphoria.  I conquered it and I was okay.  I had a lot of energy from not using it to process food.  It was enlightening.

As time went on to day 6, as I mention before, I felt I was getting sick.  I believe I only got 300-400 calories a day when you are supposed to triple that.  It is also very dry in Vegas so I got slightly dehydrated.  After discussing it with my husband, I decided it was time to come back to the land of food.  I had OJ and Lipton chicken noodle soup.  You are supposed to have vegetable soup and juices but I wasn’t prepared and I was starving for anything.  Everything tasted so good.  For a while, I didn’t have any cravings so it felt great to “reboot” my digestive system.

So here we go.  Day 1 – not as hard as last year.  Not too many hunger pains and not one time where I find myself grabbing food without thinking.  Maybe my body remembers what I did last year.  Maybe I’m much more in control since I know what to expect.  Whatever it is, I am still happy.  I am taking cayenne pepper capsules instead of ingesting it orally.  I still don’t like the maple syrup so when it runs out I’m switching to agave which I heard is a good alternative.  I’ve only had three full bottles today and will soon have a cup of tea.  Maybe not enough calories but we’ll see.  I’m not much of a drinker of liquids anyway.  Endured being around Pizza hut pepperoni pizza, sauteed garlic and shimp, miso soup, grilled cheese sandwich that my hubby and kids had.  Already miss eating food.  LOL  I had a moment of slight nausea and then it went away.  Right now it’s 10pm … I’m okay and looking forward to tomorrow.