My Fitness Pal

Well, today I was 175.7 at weigh in.  So I am down a little!  I also joined a site called My Fitness Pal where you can log your foods, keep track of your weight, use forums and chat with other people who are also trying to lose.  So glad I found it!  And, I am starting another juice fast on Monday.  I would start now, but Jeremy's parents are coming for a visit and I don't want to rain on anyone's parade.  Jeremy and I are getting a night out and I'm sure we'll go out to eat - I will, however, choose wisely so I am prepared for my fast on Monday.  Feeling really good lately!

Day ???

Ahhhh.... well, the last time I weighed in I was around 177.  I was not watching what I ate AT ALL!  However, this last week has been great.  I've been juicing again, and I feel fantastic.  I need to juice once a day on a regular basis, because it really does eliminate cravings.  Last weekend I cut up a bunch of bell peppers and celery to have in the fridge for snacking.  Jeremy has been taking them to work for lunch as well.  It makes juicing much easier when I have some of the veggies ready to go.  I have also been craving sprouts lately for some reason.  My favorite snack is to take sprouts, celery, bell peppers and a teaspoon of dressing - all wrapped in a big romaine leaf.  Pure heaven!  So I'm back on track and feeling great!  I will do a weigh-in on Tuesday.  I'm back!  Yay!

Day 78

Grrrr!  I was 172.4 when I got on the scale today.  I think I'm holding some extra fluid as I'm about to start my monthly.  Because yesterday morning I was 170.4 and I was totally on track with my eating all day.  But, today's weight is what counts.  Hopefully next week I'll see a bigger loss.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Balls

Tonight, I (along with Sophie) made these vegan (mostly raw) chocolate chip cookie dough balls.  I found the recipe on a blog I follow.  The recipe can be found here if you want it.  Let me tell you, they are delicious!  You know they're a hit when both your two year old and four year old gobble them up, too.  Which they happily did!  These will definitely make it in our favorite recipe folder.  Those four lonely balls were all we had left to go in the fridge..... perhaps my breakfast tomorrow?!   :-)

Day 77

Well, Jeremy and I made it 4 full days on the juice feast.  We both felt great, and feel we got out of it what we wanted... a jumpstart to eating healthier and viewing food differently.  I'm having a smoothie for breakfast this morning and will add healthy food back in, too.  And, we may do another juice feast starting June 1st.  They really are great! 

When I weighed myself this morning I was 170.4.  Official weigh-in day is tomorrow.  I really want to make it to the 160's!

Juice Feast - Day 2

I did my first ever juice fast with Natasha last month.  Other than having a headache for two days, I felt awesome and had lots of energy.  This time around is different.  Yesterday I felt tired all day and was pretty irritable.  In the evening I felt a little achey like I was coming down with something.  Not sure if that was just detox or if I really was coming down with something.  I'm feeling much better today.  Although I have to admit I've had a harder time getting pumped about this juice feast.  Maybe because I wasn't feeling well yesterday, not sure.  But I'm sticking with it! 

So, how is Jeremy doing?  Much better than me at this point!  He was feeling really good yesterday. He is at work right now. I'm looking forward to him getting home so I can hear about his day.

Where do you get your protein?

Whenever I talk about transitioning to a vegan diet or a raw vegan diet, people always ask me this.  I have been reading a ton of books over the last 1-2 years and have read many explanations of this, but sometimes have a hard time explaining it to people.  I knew it wasn't the "protein" you needed, but the amino acids.  The problem in getting them from meat is that your body uses A LOT of energy to break down the protein to get the amino acids, and a HUGE amount of energy to digest the meat.  So why not get those amino acids from fresh whole foods where your body and easily access them and easily digest them?!?!  Leaving you more energy for other things!

I found this video on Rawalicious's blog and it's great... thank you!

Day 72

Well, I forgot to weigh-in again this morning.  It has been busy in the morning since my car is in the body shop and we are sharing Jeremy's car.  That means the girls and I get up early to drop him off at work, then come back home and rush to get the girls ready for school.  I should have my car back tomorrow, so they say.  I'm crossing my fingers! 

The juice fast starts tomorrow.  Last night I juiced 4 cups of fruits/veggies for Jeremy to have this morning, just to help him get used to the idea of drinking it.  Starting tomorrow (actually tonight), I'll become a juicing freak.  It requires a lot of time to juice for all meals, especially for two people.  Juicing itself is fast and easy.  It's the preparation and cleanup that requires time.  Jeremy has volunteered to make sure there is always pineapple and melon cut up in the fridge, ready to go.  That is very helpful!  He also offered to help juice.  I had to pass on that one.  LOL.  He is the type of guy to just throw a bunch of stuff together and drink it, even if it doesn't taste very good.  I just can't do that.  If it doesn't taste good, I'm not drinking it!  So I'm in charge of making all the juices.  We'll both be happier because of it.   :-) 

Day 71

Well, I was rushing around this morning and totally forgot to weigh myself before having breakfast and getting dressed.  So I will have to push it off to tomorrow.  I also have a typo on the previous post....  the juice fast starts April 1st which is Thursday, not Monday.  We just started eating more whole foods on Monday to prepare for Thursday.  Looking forward to it.... however, juicing for TWO is going to be A LOT of work!

Day 68

Well, we were in FL last week for vacation (Disney World!).  I tried to make good choices...got veggie lasagna, etc....but even that was greasy and filled with cheese.  It was pretty gross.  Ordered salad a couple times, but all they use is iceburg lettuce.... no flavor or nutrition in that.  When I got home I was 5-6 pounds heavier!  But, I'm happy to say as of this morning I weighed exactly 172.0.  So I lost it all, plus and extra 0.8 pounds.  Official weigh-in is on Tuesday, and I start the next juice fast Monday!  Looking forward to both!

Day 50

Drum roll please....I lost 3.6 pounds.   Yippeee!  Now the challenge will be to keep it off and lose more!  I am more motivated than ever....so close to the 160's!

Day 48

For breakfast I juiced:  one bunch romaine, one canteloupe, one apple, two oranges, and one lime.  Tastes really good!

For anyone wondering how I'm feeling....I feel wonderful!  I am drinking tons of juice and getting plenty of calories.  I'm normally not a morning person (like don't talk to me for at least 30 minutes), but lately I wake up feeling happy and refreshed.  I woke up at 5am this morning feeling ready to go.  I have more energy than I've had in a long time, and just feel so happy - I totally attribute this to all the nutrtion by body is getting - something I have been lacking for YEARS!  Yes, I've been big into nutrition for quite some time.  But other than a smoothie and salad on some days, not every day, I have not been getting near enough fruits and veggies.  So I feel fantastic!  Oh yeah, and I have had a few slip-ups with food.  It WAS healthy food.  But I have not been 100% juice, more like 80-90%.  Once this fast is done, I plan to continue juicing for breakfast.  It is that great!

Day 47

This morning I juiced:  1 bunch kale, couple handfuls of carrots, 1 red bell pepper, 1 celery stick, 1 peach, 1 apple, and 1 lime.  Delicous!

Day 46

This morning I juiced a whole pineapple, two kiwis, two peaches, and a whole head of red leaf lettuce.  It made close to 4 cups of juice.  Definitely one of my favorites so far!  Later I'm juicing two whole canteloupes with some other fruit and greens!  Yummo!

My goal is to make it to the gym both Saturday and Sunday this weekend.  We don't have any major plans, so there's no excuse not to!  Still feeling fabulous, and lighter!

Day 45

Today for breakfast I juiced: 3 grapefruit, 3 celery sticks, and 2 cucumbers.  It made close to 5 cups of juice.  I did drink it, but it was a little tart for my liking, so I don't think I'll do this one again.  Excited for my afternoon juice.  I cut up a whole pineapple I'm going to juice along with a whole head of red leaf lettuce, and some other things.

I feel great....actually surprised I don't have a lot of cravings....well, except for those darn Bubbies Pickles!  Yum.  I definintely had more energy both yesterday and today.  The first couple days I had some detoxing symptoms: tired, headache, some aches and pains.  It's funny, Natasha had mentioned that often times you'll feel pain from an old wound or fracture (as in a broken bone, torn muscle or tendon, etc).  Both Tuesday and Wednesday my right arm was killing me.  It was only one little spot on my arm, but the pain was deep.  Today it is almost completely gone.  Natasha said that when your body gets natural, healthy food that is easy digestable (whether solid or juiced), it has more energy to work on other things in your body that need healing or fixing, and your digestive system gets a little (much needed) break.  I think that is what was happening with my arm.  I'm just feeling so fantastic today, now that most of the detox symptoms are calming down.

Bubbies Pickles

These are my new addiction!  Bubbies Pure Kosher Dills.  I am sad I cannot have them on my fast, so I'll just blog about them.  lol.  I've never been one to munch on pickles, but when I saw these were naturally fermented with NO sugar, vinegar or preservatives....I just HAD to try them.  And, boy, are they good!  They are actually a little spicy and taste a lot different than any other pickle I've had before.  I just happened to have a couple jars of  "regular" pickles in my fridge, so I took a look at the ingredients, which were - artificial colors, preservatives, and even one of them had high fructose corn syrup!  Really?!  High fructose corn syrup in pickles??!!  No, thank you.  They went right in the trash.  Next I'm trying their Sauerkraut.  Never liked sauerkraut, but I have a feeling I will like Bubbies Sauerkraut!

Day 44

This morning I juiced a 1 pound bag of carrots, 1 pound container of spinach, and 2 pears.  It made about 2.5 cups of juice.  And it was really tasty!  I had a bit of a headache yesterday - completely normal!  I feel great this morning.  And I haven't had any cravings for solid food.  The juice is very filling and nutritious, and I'm getting plenty of calories throughout the day.   I would say the juice fast is a success so far....but I still have 8 days to go!

Day 43

As anticipated, I gained weight this past week.  I was at 176.4 this morning.

I am starting a 10 day juice fast today, with Natasha from Raw Radiant Heatlh.  The fast actually started yesterday, but I didn't see it until yesterday, so I started it today, one day late.  This morning I juiced 1 lemon, 3 stalks celery, 2 cucumbers, 1 apple, 1 orange, a little parsley, and 1/2 bunch of kale.  It made a little over 3 cups of juice, and tastes really gooood!  You can obviously do the fast on your own, but the cool thing about doing it with her is you get access to a forum that only people doing the fast have access to.  You are able to chat with those people, share your juice recipes, ask questions, etc....and Natasha chimes in daily with inspiration, answers and videos.  It's great!  I will update you along the way!  And, if anyone would like to try it, she normally has a fast starting the 1st of each month!  I may just do the next one, too!

Day 42

Well, tomorrow is weigh-in day, and I know for certain I will see a gain because I've had a not-so-good week.  But I'm staying positive and this week will be better.  :-)

I am really excited about one thing.  I just placed an order for Tooth Soap... a non-toxic tooth and gum cleaner...it is all natural, mostly organic, and it will replace my toothpaste.  I opted for the Salty Mint flavor.  My teeth are in great condition.  I only have one cavitiy.  But I've had issues the last few years with my gums being a little inflamed, borderline of gum disease.  I've been following Natasha's blog, Raw Radiant Health....I heart her!   She also has a lot of You Tube videos.  I came across one of her videos about receding gums that I found very interesting.  She recommended Tooth Soap, soft toothbrushes, and to also stay away from sugar.  While my gums are not receding, they are a little irritated and inflamed.  I'm going to give these things a whirl and see if there is an improvement!  

Day 37

I'm sure you've noticed that I haven't been blogging everything I eat lately. I just felt too much pressure doing that...simply blogging a little about my day helps me stay on path...especially disclosing my weight each week.

I normally weigh myself several times a week to make sure I'm on the right track. I was 174.8 when I weighed myself this morning. That made me happy, because I had a little bit of an off day yesterday. On weigh-in days, if I see a loss, I tend to "treat" myself to something I wouldn't normally have, which I did yesterday. That way I still have a whole week to be good and make up for it. After picking the girls up from school we went to the mall so they could burn off some energy at the play area. I got a meal from the food court....french fries (yuck and yum at the same time!), and a veggie sandwich, but the veggies were sauteed in oil, so it wasn't really low in calories.

A smoothie is sounding wonderful right now, so off I go to make one!

Update: I am making Moroccan Lentil and Kale Stew. It is on the stove cooking right now, and looks so yummy! Can't wait for dinner!

Update: Just had my dinner...and the stew was soooo good!  Next time I will add even more carrots and kale.  The recipe is from the book "150 Vegan Favorites".  The picture isn't the greatest because it was taken with my Crackberry Blackberry. 




Moroccan Lentil and Kale Stew

1 TB Olive Oil
2 large carrots
1 medium yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
7 cups water
1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups coarsely chopped kale or spinach
3-4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
juice of 1 lemon

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add the carrots, diced onion, and garlic and cook , stirring, for 5 minutes.  Stir in the water, lentils, cumin, and pepper and bring to a simmer over high heat.  Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 45-55 minutes.  Stir in kale, parsley, salt, and lemon juice and cook for 10-15 minutes.  Then Enjoy!