You know, I don't want to jinx myself but this has been surprisingly easy so far. I didn't give up coffee so no caffeine headaches. I am still allowing myself little cheats here and there. Like a cookie or some peanut butter chocolate popcorn. But the kicker is that I haven't gone crazy on any of these. I have definitely eliminated the "obvious" animal products. And I think that's a good start - sort of a PHASE ONE - if you will.

Today's Weight: 213.0
Today's BMI: 31.5

FOR A TOTAL OF 2.5 POUNDS LOST SO FAR!!!!!

I am extremely pleased with that number. That was my AM weight this morning, so only two and a half days into my vegan journey. Just goes to show you how awful I was eating before.


TODAY'S FOOD CHOICES:

16 oz coffee w/ 4 oz soy milk & 2 squirt2 hazelnut syrup
1 cup Kashi GoLean dry cereal
1 ziploc baggie baby carrots
12 inch Subway veggie sandwich w/ honey & dijon mustard
1 sugar cookie
1 semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie
1 oatmeal raisin cookie
2 medium mangoes
1 cup rice w/ 2 cups steamed veggies & shoyu sauce
Mixture Green & Peppermint Tea


YESTERDAY'S FOOD CHOICES:

16 oz coffee w/ 4 oz soy milk & 2 squirts hazelnut syrup
1 cup Kashi GoLean dry cereal
1 vegetable samosa w/ sauce
Vegan yellow curry w/ brown rice
Salad w/ roasted sunflower dressing, raisins & sunflower seeds
20 oz ginger mint lemonade
1/4 package of peanut butter chocolate popcorn
3 big slices of watermelon
2 Yukon Gold potatoes mashed w/ garlic salt & water
2 cups steamed string beans
Mixture Green & Peppermint Tea


TUESDAY'S FOOD CHOICES:

16 oz coffe w/ 4oz soy milk & 2 squirts hazelnut syrup
3 - 8 inch celery stalks w/ peanut butter
Huge salad w/ garbanzo beans, lots of raw veggies & vinaigrette dressing
1 medium mango
4 slices watermelon
2 homemade chocolate chip cookies
Big bowl of popcorn popped in coconut oil w/ a pinch of sea salt

I am trying to make lunch my biggest meal and I have completely eliminated sodas. Even with the not so great "cheat" foods, I still feel pretty clean. And all this through the first couple of days of my period when cravings are usually pretty bad. Monday I had to take medication for cramps a couple of times throughout the day and I had a glass of red wine with ice cubes after I wrote in my blog so it didn't get listed.

Still haven't started yoga but I have been taking my dogs for a short walk every morning. I will add in more strenuous exercize. Right now I am still sort of letting myself ease into my new lifestyle. All in all I am pretty damn proud of myself and can imagine sustaining this way of eating over the long term.

Aloha and Goodnight to all!

Ellen

OK. I didn't start the Master Cleanse as planned. But I did read a book that I think will change my life. I ordered "Skinny Bitch" and "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch" from Amazon last week and they arrived today. I read "Skinny Bitch" cover to cover without putting it down. It's a pretty easy read and it completely drew me in. From the foul-mouthed, sarcastic style to the extremely well researched information - it presents a very compelling case for eating Vegan.

None of the content was new information for me. As I mentioned in earlier posts, I was a vegetarian for 10 years or so until a boyfriend I was living with turned me back to the dark side about 7 years ago. But even when I wasn't eating meat or chicken I was never able to take the final step and become VEGAN. Eliminating ALL animal products just seemed a bit extreme. I mean, I *really* like my cheese and lattes. ;)) But after reading this book I think I've finally reformed. I am going to try my best to live 90%+ vegan.

I hesitate to put 100% because I know that situations will arise when I'll eat items that might contain animal products from time to time like a piece of bread or a cookie someone else has made. But my goal is to avoid these instances as much as humanly possible with a goal of eating about 50% raw/living foods to boot.

I am ready to embrace a cruelty-free lifestyle. I just cannot imagine the horrendous suffering billions of farm animals endure every year to satisfy human taste for flesh. That and the enormous environmental impact agribusiness has on our poor planet. I read that the average American eats the equivalent of about 35 animals per year - so that's 35 lives I am sparing with my food choices. Not to mention the gallons and gallons of water needed to raise those animals that can be diverted to other purposes. Pretty substantial.

I am also hoping that my improved health and appearance will cause the people in my life to take notice. This will give me the opportunity to prostheletize for a karmic-free diet. I can be a powerful example to everyone I come in contact with.

At some point I probably still want to do a juice feast but I think that I need to lay a better foundation rather than use it as a quick fix. I need to instill better eating habits and lose most of my weight slowly. This is really difficult for me because I always want to take shortcuts. But there are none when we're talking about health. And so I will get better day by day, bite by bite from the inside out. That's my quest.

Today's Weight: 215.5 lbs
Today's BMI: 31.9


Breakfast:
1 large vanilla iced coffee from McDonalds
Sausage & Egg McGriddle Sandwich
2 hash browns
(this was before my epiphany)


Lunch:
Vegan Lasagna
Brown Rice
Lentil soup
Tofu Curry
Salad w/ sunflower dressing
(from Govindaji's)

Dinner:
1 cup Kashi GoLean Crunch dry cereal
2 medium mangoes
mixture of Green & Peppermint Tea

Snack:
2 fresh-baked chocolate chip & walnut cookies
(these were not vegan but homemade
from scratch by my roommate)

I have not had a single soda today and I have a bit of a headache, which could be caffeine withdrawal or just from ingesting less sugar than I'm used to. But all in all I feel good. No yoga tonight but I plan to practice 5-6 days a week. I'm just not up to it tonight cause of the headache.

I am pretty proud of myself. Not a bad day aside from the Mickey-D's at the start. And that was my last meal of that sort at McDonalds EVER. With god as my witness I will make it so.

Aloha and goodnight,

Ellen

GETTING BACK IN THE SADDLE

Well I totally jinxed myself with all the talk about not usually being able to make it past day 20. Because on Day Twenty I fell off the wagon. Super Big Time. And I stayed off for a couple of months. But now I am ready to get back in the saddle again.

This time I've decided to do 2 weeks using a modified Master Cleanser. I will also have Green Tea, Hibiscus Tea, etc... because I've found that the teas really help me to add variety.

I am going to do the Salt Water Flush every day because I think that really helps as well. I will be sure to add probiotics back in when I'm finished because I realize that this can disrupt the balance of intestinal flora at the same time as it clears everything out. I will try to post measurements within the next day or so.

So.. tomorrow it begins again in earnest. I hope to wipe the slate clean and start fresh with new eating habits after the initial 2 weeks. Maybe I'll even complete a 92 day fast in the future, but for now this is my plan. Wish me luck.

Aloha & Namaste,

Ellen