Well, I finished the 60 Day Challenge with Hallelujah Acres.  All told I lost just shy of 30 pounds and just over 5% body fat in the process.  I didn’t lose my 40 pounds like I was shooting for, but I’d say it was still a success!

I’ve had quite a few people ask me what I’m going to do now that I’ve finished the program.  If I’m going to stay on the vegan train, or go back to eating normal or what.  To be honest, I feel so good and my body has performed so well through this process that I’m not going to change that much.  This lifestyle is not hard for me to do (especially with the results) and I still want/need to lose another 10-15 pounds so I’m going to mostly eat exactly like I have been.  I will add in some meats 1 day a week for probably 1 meal on that day.  I’m also going to continue on the barley grass and beet juice drinks every day because they help to balance my blood sugar to well and I just like them!  Amazingly this has truly been a lifestyle changing experience for me and I’m excited to stick with it and see what happens over the next few months.

Now just because this program has been so beneficial for me do I think everyone should do it as a lifestyle?? Not necessarily.  I think everyone could benefit from a period of time where they don’t eat breads and sweets and anything else and just focus on raw fruits and veggies in order to less their body reset and heal.  That I think is really vital.  But not everyone could do as well on this dietary style for a lifetime.  For example, Cindy really thrives better off of some animal protein.  If she doesn’t have at least a small amount, then her blood sugar doesn’t stabilize as easily and she doesn’t feel as good.  So for her, vegan raw for long periods of time wouldn’t be as beneficial.  You really just have to see what works for you and your body and then stick with that.  And that’s not to say that further down the road my body changes again and I switch this program up some more to meat the needs of my body.  I’m open to anything I feel I need to do, but right now I’m staying on this program indefinitely.

Countless people have come up to me through this process and exclaimed, “You’ve lost how much weight?!? Wow, I need to lose weight, maybe I’ll do this program too!!”  The weight loss is an awesome side benefit and it is an easy tracker of progress….but don’t do a program like this just to lose weight.  Why?? Because if you do it merely to lose weight you won’t eat enough, you won’t feel as good, and as soon as the “diet” is over then you’ll go right back to eating like you did before and gain all your weight back and be frustrated that once again a diet didn’t work for you.  Do a program like this because you want to improve your health and the health of your family with the hope of losing weight, but without the obsession with it.  Give yourself a goal of weight loss but really pay attention to all the other incredible heath benefits you’re getting from feeding your body incredible, living food.  For me, yes, I’ve lost 28 pounds so far, but the better things are the fact that I sleep better, I can breath better, my blood sugar is more stable, my feet don’t hurt at all anymore, my energy levels are through the roof, and my temperament has totally calmed down.  Those are great changes that I’m just as proud of as the weight loss.  With that being said you will lose weight on this program because it is the natural thing that will happen when you decrease the amount of harmful, dead foods you are consuming and add in more healthy, live foods.

If you are interested in starting a program like this to try and reclaim your health then go to the Hallelujah Acres website and look up the 60 Day Challenges.  Pick the one you want (there are two) and get signed up for the emails.  This part is totally free!  I do recommend getting on a B-Complex during the program and they have a very good one.  I have used their powder mixes for the barley grass, beet juice, and carrot juice drinks so unless you have time to juice all of those all the time then this is a good investment. The last product I took was the Digestive Enzyme from HAcres and would recommend it to help your digestive system handle the food as you switch.  Other than that all you need is a good fish oil supplement to keep your healthy fats up.

Another thing I would highly recommend is to find a mentor or accountability partner to help you do this.  I had one for me and I also had another friend go through the program with me and that made all the difference in the world to be able to text them on specific days to encourage one another and get ideas from them.  One couple I know, respect and refer to a lot for this is Jim and Monica Brown (Jim was my accountability partner!).  They own and run an organic food co-op that delivers fresh, organic produce all over the metroplex.  They are a wealth of knowledge and are great people to get hooked up with.

Well, thank you guys so much for going on this journey with me! It’s not over yet for sure so I’ll still post from time to time things I’m doing with the diet and weight changes as I check them.  Hopefully this blog series has given you a little inspiration that you too can do a program like this!

Here’s to praying for you that your 2011 is healthy and happy!

Dr. JB

Tags: 60 day challenge, finished, Hallelujah Acres, Monica Brown, organic co-op