Dr Oz's Three Day Cleanse: My Review

I want to preface this by saying, that I've never done a cleanse before.  I bought the Master Cleanse Book and was too scared to actually go through with it.  I'm not really about starving myself and want to lose weight in a healthy way.  So when I saw Alissa's review on Dr. Oz's 3 Day Cleanse, I was definitely intrigued.  First of all, Dr Oz seems like a pretty reputable source {I mean, hello Oprah!} and second of all, I trust Alissa, since I know she's a "real" person!  ;)  Third of all, this is a cleanse that has  substance to it.  You essentially drink 4 whole shakes which consist of vegetables, fruits, and other fats.  No starving involved. 

Aside from all of that, I've been really struggling to lose those last 10 pounds from my pregnancy.  Nothing seems to work.  Just when I think I make progress, I gain 2-3 pounds back.  It's been super frustrating.  So I figured, this would be a good way to rein in my out of control food proportions {breastfeeding was the culprit here}, curb my sweet tooth, and maybe even lose a couple pounds.  

Here's an overview of what's involved:

And here's my review:

Day 1

I started the day with the hot tea and lemon...I skipped the sweetener   The breakfast smoothie was yummy!  I loved the combo of raspberries, banana and almond butter.  Speaking of, how have I never had almond butter?!  It's so delicious!  I was off to a good start!

The lunch smoothie is one word: DISGUSTING!  It's not so much the ingredients...I like apples, cucumber and can tolerate kale...it's the texture.  It's really dense and thick and just gross.  It took me 3 hours to choke down the first day. 

I got pretty hungry between lunch and dinner, so I made myself half of a breakfast smoothie again.  And then had the dinner smoothie 2 hours later.  The dinner smoothie is not bad...just a little spicy because of the cayenne pepper.

That night I took the epsom salt bath, which was nice, but it's hard to find time to really enjoy it with a small baby around the corner.  I did get to bed by 9:30 which is unheard of!  I was super tired.

Day 2

Still love the tea and breakfast smoothie and actually look forward to it.  I'm not missing caffeine nearly as much as I thought I would.  

I reduced the celery to two stalks and used a food processor which helped immensely with the texture.  It's not AS bad, but still my least favorite.  

I'm still hungry after work, but decide to just eat the raspberries and banana with a little almond butter instead of making the entire shake.  I was literally licking the almond butter spoon.

Dinner is the same.  I actually had the hardest time with day two.  It was hard knowing what I was going into and knowing that today wasn't the last day.  I end the day with another bath.  

Day 3

SO happy it's the last day!  Happily drink my breakfast smoothie and choke down my lunch smoothie.  Had the same snack after work and then my dinner smoothie followed by the bath.  I notice that I'm not as hungry as the first day and even feel less bloated.

Results

I can't say I felt immensely better...more energized and such.  But I did notice my skin seemed a bit clearer, and most importantly, I lost 7 WHOLE POUNDS!  Yes, I was shocked to read the scale on the 4th morning.  It's been two weeks since I did the cleanse and I've kept five pounds off...not bad for three days.  I can already tell that my cravings have been curbed and my proportions are much more in control.

If you're thinking of kick starting a healthy lifestyle, I would recommend this cleanse.  I really feel like you can do anything for 3 days...and it's probably best to start at the beginning of the week.  I even had a similar breakfast shake on the 4th morning, I was that hooked.  Update: I've been having a variety of the shake every morning along with the green tea and lemon.  I really do love it!

I hope this helps!  Let me know if you have any questions.

xo natasha

Ethan's 9 Month Photo Shoot

I'm kicking off my weekend by sharing Ethan's 9 month photos!  I'm so happy with how these turned out...Darcy of Artyard Photo captured the moment perfectly {as usual!}.  I wanted to get outdoors to showcase our spring and incorporate some fun and whimsical details, like the adorable tepee below.  We also took some shots in his nursery...totally obsessed with all of them!

 Doing high fives!

 We adore his Freshly Picked Moccs.  They're the best!

I LOVE our tepee!  It's by TwoFeetFirst and I highly recommend them!  The tepees are made in the states and come customized with the poles.  Megan was awesome to work with!

 Ethan's Shirt: Zara Pants: Gap  My shirt: Zara

 Seriously...one of my faves.

 Shirt: Zara Pants: Gap

 Crawling like crazy!

And we're done!  :)

Hope they made you smile today...Happy Friday!

xo natasha

F21 Finds {and Zara too!}

I'm not a regular Forever 21 shopper...I get way too overwhelmed when I step foot in a store and usually leaved empty handed.  But when some of my favorite bloggers, like Andee and Natalie, post about their fabulous finds, I always get hooked.  I just bought the following items and love all of them!  Better check them out before they sell out!

Popcorn Chain Bracelet

Best $4 I've spent in a long time...this is actually two bracelets, but they're great for layering with gold or silver because of the two tones.  I think they look pretty high-end too!

Cheetah Print Top

Such an easy top...I've already worn it with some boyfriend jeans.  I also plan to dress it up with slacks for work.

Faceted Spike Studs

These are a little bigger than I anticipated, but they're grown on me now that I've worn them a couple times.

Cutout Floral Midi Dress

How adorable is this dress?  I love the length and the little cutout!  It's definitely meant for a bustier gal {so sad my BF boobs are gone!} but it's nothing a little alter can't fix!

Another retailer that I love, but don't get to very often is Zara.  I love all of their things, but can also sometimes get a bit overwhelmed with all of their inventory.  I found this dress on my last trip to SF and love it!

Do you shop at F21 or Zara?  What are your favorite finds as of late?

xo natasha

Baby Ethan: Week 46

Weight: I think somewhere around the 18 pound range?

Health: Pretty healthy, though he's showing a lot of signs of teething.  But not new teeth in sight!  He hits his cheeks and drools a ton, so I'm thinking they'll show up sooner than later.  We'll see!

Sleep: Super hit or miss...but averaging at least one wake up call per night.  We hit him with a bottle and he's back down pretty quickly.  I'm enjoying the cuddles in the meantime.

Social: He's a social little butterfly!  Especially enjoying time with family...and his girlfriend Eden!  ;)

Diet: We fed him shredded chicken from the slow cooker last week and he scarfed it down!  Trying to be more consistent with proteins, but he loves his raspberries.

Clothes: Officially moving into 12-18 jammies...but still rocking 6-9 month onesies and pants.

Baby Gear Love: Balls!  We just found out that he loves balls and will totally throw the ball back and forth.  Too cute!  

Crying: Never. {I kid}

Likes: He's recently loving to twirl his hair when he drinks his bottle.  Love it!  

Postpartum: Not too much new to report here!  But I am super excited to share Ethan's 9 month photo shoot on Friday!  ;)

Milestones: He can officially climb stairs, but not climb down them yet.  And as I said above, he throws the ball back and forth.  Also, he's been able to drink from a sippy cups.  OH!  And he loves making a MMMMMMMMMMoo sound, like a cow.  Love.

xo natasha

Summer Mantel

I usually let my spring mantel roll into summer without making too many changes.  But this year, I scored a couple fun decor items and was excited to really do it up!  We've hosting several summer birthdays and barbecues over the next couple months, so I'm happy to have a fun mantel on display.

I won this awesome tassel garland in a giveaway.  It's by Everylane and I love the colors.

I don't know if they're supposed to be this crinkly, but baby got to them before they went up!  ;)

I scored this vase at our local TJ Maxx.  I love the seaglass color for summer.

The mantel even matches the art on the wall.

This is probably the least I've had on my mantel, but I really like how fresh and open it makes the room.

xo natasha

PS...I'm also posting over at Jen's blog, Down with the Dearmore's, talking about my go-to outfit these days!  Check it out here.