The topic of this week's blog is....OMG!!!
OMG I have followers!! How cool is that?
OMG I came home last Wednesday to find a Vita-Mix on my front porch! Muchas, muchas gracias to my bro-in-law Bill. It came with a note that simply said, "Been following your blog, keep up the good work." Bill is always so generous, but this was above and beyond generous. I was crying when I opened the box. And I have seriously used it every single day since it came.
OMG I've lost 15 lbs in a month!! I was going to take a picture, but the only full-length mirror I have access to is in the locker room at the gym and I got some dirty looks from the ladies who were changing their clothes when I pulled out my camera phone. I don't think 15lbs has made that much impact on my looks yet anyway.
The great thing is that I have lost 15lbs in a month without being absolutely perfect. I'm living what I call an 80-10-10 lifestyle. I stole that from a lady in Arbonne who's name I cannot remember right now, and I will explain why I'm listening to people from Arbonne in a minute. So 80% of the time I am eating vegetarian, I'm not going to insult the vegans of the world by saying I am "trying" to be vegan. "Do or do not...there is no try," is what all my vegan Yodas would say. Then 10% of the time I allow myself to slip by eating cheese here and there, maybe even meat from time to time. The last 10% is all out crazy, eating whatever I want. In the past 24 days I have had about six "slip ups". Now if you break that down into meals...24 days since the last time I weighed-in times 3 meals a day equals 72 meals...six "slip ups" is less than 10% and not even close to 20%. YAY ME!
OK, why am I getting eating advice from Arbonne Consultants? Because I am one! As of May 27th I am officially selling Arbonne. Not only do they have great skin and body care that is all flower and plant based, but they also have a line of nutritional shakes and supplements. And everything they sell is certified vegan! I'll be having little classes and parties every week to educate my friends about the nutritional line and pamper them with all the spa products, so read your emails and texts and those pesky postcards you are getting from me.
Last but not least...The Cure. This is going to be especially interesting to all you Ranch-o-philes (people with a compulsion for ranch). Per the advice of Joel Fuhrman, M.D. in his book Eat to Live I have started putting a squeeze of lemon and just an iddy-biddy sprinkling of feta and an iddy-biddy sprinkling of olive oil on my salads and it is delicious. I can't wait to eat salads this way, its unbelievable. So, following Dr. Fuhrman's book is The Cure to a life-long addiction to ranch dressing.
Last little tip....flax seed + water + mustard + soy sauce + vitamix = elmer's glue. It was supposed to be a salad dressing, but that is not what happened.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
5/23/10
I don't own a scale, by choice. And I haven't been able to get over to the YWCA to weigh myself this week. I had originally said I wasn't going to weigh myself for the first six weeks of this plan, so maybe I should just stick to that. I have had many, many compliments. People that I haven't seen in a long time are all saying, "Wow! You look great! What are you doing?" So that really is enough verification that I'm doing something right.
This has been a really important week in my process. I have gotten to the point where I can get myself excited about certain types of food. Instead of craving bacon cheeseburgers I crave chipotle black bean burgers. Instead of chips and dip I look forward to eating carrots and hummus. Usually on Sunday mornings my husband and I go out to breakfast and I have eggs, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns. Today I could not wait to get up and make a smoothie with all the powders my sister sent me (yacon, lacuma and maca). Everyday that gets a little stronger, its so exciting.
While that sounds so inspiring, I am still struggling. This week I had two situations where I let myself "off the hook".
I knew that on Thursday I was going to a baseball game. I had decided in advance that this would me my one night of freedom where I could eat whatever I wanted. We had these great seats in the VIP section where they have a bar and a buffet. I do have to say that I didn't go to the bar and all, and when I went to the buffet I did a quick glance to see what the vegetarian options were. Potatoes, gnocchi, pasta salad and coleslaw were those options: starch, starch, more starch and cabbage covered in mayonnaise. So, because I had already decided I was going to eat what I wanted anyway, I ate hot dogs. Oh, also because I had pre-determined that I was going to eat whatever I wanted at the game I ate at Burger King earlier in the day.
On Saturday my husband and I decided to go to the NASCAR All-Star Race. Now since this was a last minute decision I did not eat crap all day the day of the event. I actually ate Whole Foods Mock Chicken Salad, 365 Woven Wheat Crackers and olives and some soup that I'm going to talk about a little later in this post. But again, because in my mind this was a special event, I ate whatever I wanted once we got on our way. We at McD's on the way there, ate crap while we were there, then stopped at Wendy's on the way home. Let me just tell you, I was sure I was going to die in my sleep from a heart attack last night. All that disgusting food (which didn't even taste that great really) and then all the walking and climbing stairs at the race, I was sure I was going to die. And when i woke up this morning, while I was happy to be alive, I felt like I had drank three bottles of wine.
The funny thing is, after both of those days of allowing myself to eat whatever I wanted I felt the need to purge myself with tons of water, fruits and vegetables. Friday and Sunday were nothing but smoothies, soups, veggie burgers, etc. I'm looking forward to the next "special event" as a challenge. How can I go to something that I normally associate with food and enjoy myself without eating? Or maybe the challenge is still allowing food to be a part of the "special event" but making it nutrient-dense? The good, high-energy feeling that I have when I eat nutrient-dense foods and the sluggish, low-energy feeling I have when I eat fast food is starting to register with me. I like the first one the best.
Even though my realization that I want to feel good is the main topic of my post this week, I am going to say that this week eating a nutrient-dense diet is The Cure to irregularity. Not that I suffer from irregularity, but my bowel movements have tripled since I started this whole thing. Every book I read about good health says that if you can get your bowels moving that is half the battle, I think I'm there.
Speaking of regularity, this week I made Dr. Furhmann's Anti-Cancer Soup. What an endeavor! And what a huge pot of soup! I think I made it last Sunday and we still have a couple containers of it in the fridge. It's good stuff, but a lot of work. I don't have a Vita-Mix and my blender isn't very big so I ended up pureeing the whole thing with a hand blender. The cool thing is that I put some of it in these 1-Liter bottles I usually use for water and just carried it around with me all day. When I was hungry I would just take a swig (got some weird looks drinking what looked like Shrek juice, but oh well). It was kind of like a savory smoothie, and it kept me full all day.
This has been a really important week in my process. I have gotten to the point where I can get myself excited about certain types of food. Instead of craving bacon cheeseburgers I crave chipotle black bean burgers. Instead of chips and dip I look forward to eating carrots and hummus. Usually on Sunday mornings my husband and I go out to breakfast and I have eggs, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns. Today I could not wait to get up and make a smoothie with all the powders my sister sent me (yacon, lacuma and maca). Everyday that gets a little stronger, its so exciting.
While that sounds so inspiring, I am still struggling. This week I had two situations where I let myself "off the hook".
I knew that on Thursday I was going to a baseball game. I had decided in advance that this would me my one night of freedom where I could eat whatever I wanted. We had these great seats in the VIP section where they have a bar and a buffet. I do have to say that I didn't go to the bar and all, and when I went to the buffet I did a quick glance to see what the vegetarian options were. Potatoes, gnocchi, pasta salad and coleslaw were those options: starch, starch, more starch and cabbage covered in mayonnaise. So, because I had already decided I was going to eat what I wanted anyway, I ate hot dogs. Oh, also because I had pre-determined that I was going to eat whatever I wanted at the game I ate at Burger King earlier in the day.
On Saturday my husband and I decided to go to the NASCAR All-Star Race. Now since this was a last minute decision I did not eat crap all day the day of the event. I actually ate Whole Foods Mock Chicken Salad, 365 Woven Wheat Crackers and olives and some soup that I'm going to talk about a little later in this post. But again, because in my mind this was a special event, I ate whatever I wanted once we got on our way. We at McD's on the way there, ate crap while we were there, then stopped at Wendy's on the way home. Let me just tell you, I was sure I was going to die in my sleep from a heart attack last night. All that disgusting food (which didn't even taste that great really) and then all the walking and climbing stairs at the race, I was sure I was going to die. And when i woke up this morning, while I was happy to be alive, I felt like I had drank three bottles of wine.
The funny thing is, after both of those days of allowing myself to eat whatever I wanted I felt the need to purge myself with tons of water, fruits and vegetables. Friday and Sunday were nothing but smoothies, soups, veggie burgers, etc. I'm looking forward to the next "special event" as a challenge. How can I go to something that I normally associate with food and enjoy myself without eating? Or maybe the challenge is still allowing food to be a part of the "special event" but making it nutrient-dense? The good, high-energy feeling that I have when I eat nutrient-dense foods and the sluggish, low-energy feeling I have when I eat fast food is starting to register with me. I like the first one the best.
Even though my realization that I want to feel good is the main topic of my post this week, I am going to say that this week eating a nutrient-dense diet is The Cure to irregularity. Not that I suffer from irregularity, but my bowel movements have tripled since I started this whole thing. Every book I read about good health says that if you can get your bowels moving that is half the battle, I think I'm there.
Speaking of regularity, this week I made Dr. Furhmann's Anti-Cancer Soup. What an endeavor! And what a huge pot of soup! I think I made it last Sunday and we still have a couple containers of it in the fridge. It's good stuff, but a lot of work. I don't have a Vita-Mix and my blender isn't very big so I ended up pureeing the whole thing with a hand blender. The cool thing is that I put some of it in these 1-Liter bottles I usually use for water and just carried it around with me all day. When I was hungry I would just take a swig (got some weird looks drinking what looked like Shrek juice, but oh well). It was kind of like a savory smoothie, and it kept me full all day.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
5/15/10 - No Weight
Well this has been an interesting week. I didn't do a very good job of shopping and preparing food, so I found myself eating vegan but eating crap. French fries are vegan right? So once I realized I was not really accomplishing my goal of eating healthy I threw the whole plan out the window and just started eating whatever I wanted. For our anniversary we ate seafood, I had a couple of stressful/busy days where I ate fast food, we had a gift certificate to Brixx so we went there on Thursday and had the worst of the worst (bruscetta, pizza, pasta AND dessert), and I went to a wedding where they had a mashed potato bar of all things (they also had a buffet of candy...are you kidding me?!)*. I guess I could say I ate vegetarian at the wedding, but even though the butter, sour cream, cheese are considered vegetarian they are not nutrient-dense in any way, shape or form. Oh and there was bacon, so that REALLY didn't count. At that point I had pretty much given up on vegan/vegetarian/nutrient-dense....everything. (Which is why I refused to weigh myself this week.)
But then I came home and there was a little box on my doorstep. My sister had sent me a gift set from www.oneluckyduck.com of different powders to put in shakes and other vegan recipes to add flavor and nutrients. Awwwwwwww! I can't quit now! I also woke up the next morning after the pizza and pasta feast feeling like a slug. All that crappy food had caught up to me. I couldn't get out of a bed. I've also gotten some aches and pains back that had disappeared for a while.
I went to Costco and Whole Foods and spent a whole lot of money on all kinds of stuff to get me back on track. Now don't get discouraged, I spent a lot of money because I bought a lot of stuff I didn't have: herbs, spices, vinegars, grains, etc. Now that I have all that I can buy a little at a time and not spend quite as much money. If you aren't eating out and you aren't eating fast food you will have the money to spend at the grocery store.
So this week I have to say that a nutrient-dense diet is The Cure to feeling like a slug when you wake up in the morning. When I eat healthy I wake up feeling good. Not only do I wake up with a clear head, but I can walk across the bedroom without my back, knees and feet screaming at me. And I don't think I've lost any weight yet, but my aches and pains are still going away. I strongly feel that certain things that are in the processed foods we eat cause unnecessary pain.
I have another motivation factor. One of my massage clients was fascinated by what I'm doing. I don't think she believed me when I told her that you get all the protein you need by eating fruits and vegetables. I see her every three weeks, so I really, really want to stick to this so that when I see her in three weeks I can tell her just how much weight I've lost without feeling weak and sick and anemic.
*By the way Ashley your wedding was fabulous, I am not knocking your potato bar or your candy buffet, they were two of the most original things I have every seen at a wedding. I am knocking my own inability to be strong.
But then I came home and there was a little box on my doorstep. My sister had sent me a gift set from www.oneluckyduck.com of different powders to put in shakes and other vegan recipes to add flavor and nutrients. Awwwwwwww! I can't quit now! I also woke up the next morning after the pizza and pasta feast feeling like a slug. All that crappy food had caught up to me. I couldn't get out of a bed. I've also gotten some aches and pains back that had disappeared for a while.
I went to Costco and Whole Foods and spent a whole lot of money on all kinds of stuff to get me back on track. Now don't get discouraged, I spent a lot of money because I bought a lot of stuff I didn't have: herbs, spices, vinegars, grains, etc. Now that I have all that I can buy a little at a time and not spend quite as much money. If you aren't eating out and you aren't eating fast food you will have the money to spend at the grocery store.
So this week I have to say that a nutrient-dense diet is The Cure to feeling like a slug when you wake up in the morning. When I eat healthy I wake up feeling good. Not only do I wake up with a clear head, but I can walk across the bedroom without my back, knees and feet screaming at me. And I don't think I've lost any weight yet, but my aches and pains are still going away. I strongly feel that certain things that are in the processed foods we eat cause unnecessary pain.
I have another motivation factor. One of my massage clients was fascinated by what I'm doing. I don't think she believed me when I told her that you get all the protein you need by eating fruits and vegetables. I see her every three weeks, so I really, really want to stick to this so that when I see her in three weeks I can tell her just how much weight I've lost without feeling weak and sick and anemic.
*By the way Ashley your wedding was fabulous, I am not knocking your potato bar or your candy buffet, they were two of the most original things I have every seen at a wedding. I am knocking my own inability to be strong.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
5/6/10 - 310lbs
So I've been reading the book "Eat to Live". I've been daydreaming about following the plan and blogging about what its done for me and changing the lives of millions of people. Except that today was day-one and I am already tired of it. Dr. Fuhrmann says in the book that the first few days (possibly weeks) will feel like drug with-drawls. I haven't felt sick or anything, but I want cheese, I want meat, I want to eat junk food.My plan is to blog on a weekly basis about how this plan is truly a cure. Today my husband would tell you its the cure to domesticated-itis. I've probably cooked five meals in five years and done the dishes just as many times (I have an amazing husband who has been cooking and doing the dishes for five years). Last night I stayed up late making my shakes, then I came home from work today and made dinner AND did the dishes.
I was also very strong today. I wanted to stop at the vending machine at the hospital. I wanted to stop at the pizza place at the hospital. I wanted to try the bison sausage samples with dill dip at Whole Foods. And I didn't do ANY OF IT. I drank my shakes all day and drank plenty of water. Also had vegan chili with "Food Should Taste Good" tortilla chips and hummus for dinner.
Originally my plan was to drink Green Shakes (recipe from my brother-in-law) all day and then have a regular vegan dinner because when I drank them while I was in Colorado I was never hungry. But when I was in Colorado I was sitting around doing nothing all day. Now I'm movin' and shakin' and I'm not sure the Green Shake is going to cut it. So I think I'm going to have the shake for breakfast and then have a salad (maybe some hummus) for lunch and then a soup, stew or chili for dinner.
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