Day #6

Wow. Almost a full week into this raw food experiment and 101 day yoga challenge. Penni decided to change the name to "Raw Food Rehab" - which I think is a more catchy title.

I have done yoga 6 consecutive days! 3x Baron Baptiste video and 3x Bikram audio cd. And tomorrow I go back to the studio after a 3 week hiatus.

Today also marked my first day of no dairy. Yesterday I decided that I am going to give up dairy cold turkey for a full year. Now I'm probably going to have to play it by ear as far as items that contain dairy as an ingredient. And I may have butter occasionally. But definitely no cheese and no milk, or really *any* obvious dairy, for that matter. I know that I can do this. I gave up diet soda for a full year and now it's not even an option for me. It's time to give dairy the boot as well.

I am planning to make a couple of Alissa Cohen's recipes tomorrow. Maybe I will post a couple of pictures if they turn out well. I want to have yummy raw food choices on hand so that it's easier to stick with the program.

Anyway, so far so good. I will be weighing in tomorrow so we'll see just how good. ;))

Day #4

Well, still struggling a bit on the diet front. I seem to keep making excuses for why I want to eat things that I know I shouldn't. The good news is that these deviations are limited. And I have been doing yoga every night.

But I know that to get the results I want I really need to get my eating habits in line. Exercise is only half of the equation. I have been drinking a green smoothie every day for breakfast. But then today I had Mexican food for lunch complete with the cheese I've intended to swear off.

HMMM. I know that planning plays a big role in whether I succeed or fail. So this weekend I will try to make a bunch of recipes from Alissa Cohen's book so that I have yummy raw things on hand to eat at all times. I will also get back on track with eating a big raw salad for lunch every day.

I am committed to doing this. Now or never. So what the heck have I been waiting for!?!!

My Big Fat Raw Experiement

So tomorrow I will begin Penni Shelton's "Big Fat Raw Experiment". She will be advising a group of us guinea pigs as we embark on a 10 week journey into cleansing and weight loss through eating raw foods.

The backbone of my meal plan will be:

32 oz green smoothie every morning
Big raw green salad at lunch
20 oz raw juice in the evening

I will also be trying some of the raw recipes from Alissa Cohen's book, the Pure Jeevan e-book, the Raw Fu website and, of course, from Penni's website. I am going to try to eat high raw for the duration of the experiment.

The timing is perfect because I was already toying with the idea of doing 101 consecutive days of yoga starting June 1st. Now I've decided to go for it and to combine a high raw diet with the yoga.

My weekly workout schedule will be:

Bikram - 4x per week at the studio
Baptiste - 2x per week at home w/ dvd
Bikram or Baptiste - 1x per week at home w/ dvd or cd

I had such a great visit with my family but I ate and drank a little too much. And I got my ankle tattoo, so I haven't been doing yoga. I guess that I should be happy that I only gained back 5 pounds because it could have been a lot worse. ;))

Today's Weight: 207.5

Here are my starting measurements taking fully clothed and wearing a bra:

Bust (around fullest part): 42"
Waist (around smallest part): 37"
Hips(around fullest part): 48"

I promise that I will post before pictures in the next couple of days.

MC Day Three

OK. I totally backslid on both my eating habits and my yoga program over the past couple of weeks. It started because my blender gradually stopped working and I could no longer make green smoothies that were palatable to drink. (I've got my eye on a couple used Vita Mix machines on ebay to replace it, though.) Then I had friend and family visitors back to back so what little free time I have was spent going out to eat, going out drinking, and doing fun tourist stuff. Unfortunately, most of my good intentions went out the friggin window.

Not to worry, I am back on track. In fact I am on Day Three of a 15 day Master Cleanse. I want to wipe the slate clean. I also want to get down below the 200 lb mark before my trip. I know that it's doable I just need to focus. I am doing the Salt Water Flush every single morning. I will do yoga at home w/ Bikram's audio cd in the evening at least 10 out of the 13 days left before my trip.

I didn't begin with the yoga right away because I thought it would be better to give myself a few days to get into the swing of the fast before adding exercise. The first couple of days are the hardest and I wanted to make it a little bit easier to stick with.

I'd also like to incorporate a couple swim sessions next weekend and I'm scheduled to get body wraps on Day 7 & Day 14 as well.

Here's my progress so far:

Day Zero (4/30/09) - 217.5

Day One (5/1/09) - 214.5

Day Two (5/2/09) - 212.0

Day Three (5/3/09) - 209.0

That's 8.5 pounds lost so far on this cleanse!!!


I am drinking plenty of the MC lemonade and pure water. I am also having green tea once a day and herbal teas as needed. I feel good physically but have a very short fuse emotionally. Things just seem to annoy me a lot more than usual. But I think that's because I am used to stuffing my emotions with food and can no longer do that.

When I am finished I plan to get back to my green smoothie routine and will most likely eat a high raw diet. The month of May is my new beginning into Raw Foods. I've built the foundation of yoga and now it's high time to quit slacking and commit to eating well once and for all.

Day 6: Green Smoothie Challenge

The challenge is still going really well. I was running very late this morning and didn't have time to make a green smoothie. So I brought fruit with me as a substitute. But I did have a big salad for lunch and veggie juice later in the day.

Today's Weight: 208 lbs

My weight is up a bit but I am still happy with my progress. I know that fluctuating a few pounds day to day is completely normal. In this case it could be in part that I didn't eat enough calories yesterday throughout the day before going to yoga. And I also didn't have nearly enough fruits and vegetables. But the biggest culprit is most likely that I had sushi pretty late in the evening, with wasabe and soy sauce - so a lot of sodium. I find that I lose better when I do yoga in the evening and then just have juice or fruit after instead of a full meal.


Yesterday's Food Choices:
32 oz green smoothie w/ pineapple, banana,
strawberries, kale, spinach, mint & apple juice
(11am - home)
Kona chocolate chip pancakes
(3 pm - home)
1/2 a dynamite roll
1/2 a veggie tempura roll
1/2 a spicy veggie roll
1/2 a regular veggie roll
(9 pm - home)

Today's Food Choices:
2 apples
3 clementines
(10am - work)
32 oz green/peppermint tea
(throughout the day - work)
wild Alaskan salmon salad
w/ spinach, onions, carrots, tomatoes,
sunflower seeds & vinaigrette dressing
(12 pm - Salad Creations)
8 oz Kombucha
(4pm - work)
carrot, apple, beet , ginger juice
(7pm - Jewel or Juice)

Green Smoothie Challenge

After much deliberation, I have decided to start the Green Smoothie Challenge tomorrow. I've got about 4 1/2 weeks until my trip to California and I'd like to make some big changes in my diet before then. I've been reading/watching a lot of raw food blogs/videos and think that Green Smoothie Girl's approach is one that I can live with long term.

These are the 10 Points she advocates for weight loss:

1. Drink 8-12 glasses of water daily (between meals, not during) starting with two glasses of water when you first wake up.

2. Drink 1 quart of green smoothie daily—this is the minimum, you can drink as much as you want!

3. Eat 8-10 raw vegetables and fruits daily (with most of those being vegetables including plenty of greens).

4. Eat freely of whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds—soak them whenever possible for maximum nutrition.

5. Eat 1 oz. or more of coconut oil daily.

6. Add kelp, dulse, nori, or seaweed to a green smoothie, soup, or salad every day.

7. Take a good probiotic daily, and digestive enzymes with any meal that isn’t mostly raw.

8. Avoid processed sugar, white flour, animal flesh, and coffee/soft drinks (including diet drinks) or other stimulants using NutraSweet (aspartame) and caffeine.

9. Eat three meals daily that are 60% raw or more. Try to avoid snacking but if you must snack as you’re transitioning to three meals a day, have a green smoothie.

10. Break a sweat once a day, 5-6 days a week—do both aerobic and weight bearing exercise, and push yourself.

To read more about it check out her website: http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/weightloss.html

I will be doing Bikram Yoga 5-6 days per week. I also want to try to do The Firm Vol 4 (45 min weight workout video) 2 mornings during the week and swim at least 1000 yards on one of the weekend days. And, of course, I usually take my dog Buddha for a 30 min walk weekdays and to the park on weekends.

I will record my weight and food choices here. I will discuss my yoga progress and insights to my practice on my "Ellen's Yoga Journey" blog.

I am very excited to see how much weight I can lose and how my body responds inside and out to this regimen. Wish me luck!

Starting Weight: 217 lbs

Day Eight

This new Buddha batik tapestry arrived today. I won it on E-Bay a couple weeks ago. It adds gorgeous color and beautiful energy to our orange sitting room. I am so completely happy with it! YAY! Our house is turning into a haven of good vibes.

Today I had:
24 oz Carrot/Apple/Beet/Ginger juice
64 oz modified Master Cleanser recipe
24 oz Strawberry/Celery/Cucumber/Mint juice
TOTAL: 112 oz
plus: 24 oz of Green Tea

Still having a hard time making the gallon mark. I just can't seem to find the time to make juice or go but it even.

The caffeine in the green tea spaced me out a bit today. I really felt a rush within minutes of drinking it and it made me a little hyper. But I had a lot to do at work so it was actually quite helpful to get a nice power boost in the middle of the afternoon.

I've been on the computer all day and my back is kind of stiff so I think I need to sign off. I wish you all lots of juicy goodness.

Aloha and Namaste,

Ellen

Day Seven

Again, I didn't write yesterday. Blogger had frozen my account because they thought it might be a spammer blog????? I have no idea what that's about. But tonight it's back up and running so here I go. ;))

Yesterday I had:
24 oz Celery/Apple juice
24oz Carrot/Orange juice blended w/ ice from Jamba Juice
64 oz modified Master Cleanser recipe
TOTAL: 112 oz

Yesterday's Weight: 200.5
Yesterday's BMI: 29.9

Then today I got up early and took the dogs far a walk. I don't know if I've mentioned that I have TWO dogs. The old one that I spoke of in my first post is a 14 year old Australian Cattle Dog named Marley. The young one is a 2 year old Brindle Bull Terrier mix named Buddha. I love my girls! Today Buddha was extra fiesty so I stopped at the big park near my house and let them run around. It was so good to see them play. Marley would chase Buddha a little bit and then go off and do her own thing. Buddha would run balls out as fast as she could for about 1000 yards or so and then turn and run back. She'd stop every now and then to sniff at the ground and sometimes roll in it. Then she would take off after a bird in the other direction. So much fun. It made me start thinking about how little it takes to make a dog truly happy. We should be so easy to please. When's the last time any of you felt that kind of pure unbridled joy to be alive and out in nature? Think about it. As for me, I feel so fortunate that I have them to remind me to take in these little moments that are so precious.

Today I had:
32 oz Carrot/Apple/Beet/Ginger juice
64 oz modified Master Cleanser recipe
32 oz Pineapple/Celery/Spinach/Mint juice
TOTAL: 128 oz
plus: 16 oz of Hibiscus Tea

YAHOO! I finally made it to the gallon mark. It's true what Angela says in her blog - that you're much better off if you get in as much juice as early as possible. At least I think it was in her blog that I read that. No matter. Whoever said it, it's very true. Planning is key.

I've also incorporated Bee Pollen over the last couple of days. I don't really care for the granules too much but I found chew able wafers at the health food store. I have one n the morning before I take the dogs for a walk and one in the evening when I get home from work. I let it dissolve on my tongue like a lozenge. Yum! I highly reccommend those wanting to do a juice feast to add Bee pollen. It gives me a nice little energy boost at the beginning and end of my day.

Today's Weight: 199.0
Today's BMI: 29.6

Total Weight Lost: 11 pounds

Aloha and thanks for reading,

Ellen

Day Five

Actually, it's only 10:30 p.m. on the 12th Hawaii Time even though the blog post says it's 12:30 a.m. on the 13th. So it is really the end of Day Five for me. Nothing major to report. I'm feeling better today. Of course I still have moments when I just want this to be over but they are fewer and I am able to work through them more quickly. I'm starting to hit my stride. Haven't lost enough weight to fit into the next size, but my current clothes fit a whole lot better. And I know that it will happen. I've haven't really been doing the skin brushing like I should be. But I did start doing enemas a couple of days ago. Maybe that's why my energy is better. I hate the whole process of the enema but I feel so much clearer afterwards and that feeling lasts through the next day. I have been doing them at night because that's when I have the time. Mornings are a little too hectic for me. But tonight I will add skin-brushing to my nightly ritual. I am also still walking my dogs every morning and it's been getting easier to wake up when the alarm goes off at 6 a.m. I still hit snooze but now I'm doing it for 15 minutes rather than a whole hour. ;)) I haven't started doing yoga yet because I decided to give myself a week to get into the swing of juicing before I added one more thing to my routine.

Today I had:
24 oz of Carrot/Apple/Beet/Ginger juice
64 oz of my modified Master Cleanser recipe
24 oz of Pineapple/Celery/Spinach/Mint juice
TOTAL: 112 oz
plus: 24 oz of Hibiscus Tea & 16 oz of Peppermint Tea


I am *really* trying to get all the juice in but I leave for work at 8 in the morning and don't get home until 6 at night; so it's hard unless I bring it all with me. And even the days I do bring enough I have a difficult time getting it all down.

Today's Weight: 202.0
Today's BMI: 29.9

Total Weight Lost: 8 pounds

Good night for now and sweet dreams to you all,

Ellen

Day Four

Well... I am still pretty low energy. I think it has to do with detoxing mostly. And sorry for not writing yesterday. I was was out and about all day and then feeling pretty wiped out once I returned home.

Yesterday I had:
24oz Orange/Carrot juice blended with ice from Jamba Juice
24 oz water with Green Vibrance powder
48 oz Blackberry/Spinach/Cuccumber/Mint juice
TOTAL: 94 oz
plus: 24 oz Peppermint Tea

I also took my measurements yesterday (2/10/08):
Bust: 41 inches
Waist: 37 inches
Hips: 47 inches


Today my coworker went out to get garlic chicken for lunch and then she and my boss proceeded to eat it DURING our staff meeting. That was tough. She did offer to pick up some for me, too; but I declined of course. Even though I realize that it is nowhere near the best quality food - it smelled sooo good. I get a little bit of a hunger pang just thinking about it. But I'm well into juice-mode now. And I am sure that it smelled a lot better than it tasted - at least that's what I'm telling myself. ;)) There is no turning back for me. Every little act of discipline makes my resolve stronger. Besides, knowing that I am going to blog about it helps to hold me accountable somehow.


Today I had:
24oz Carrot/Apple/Beet/Ginger juice
64 oz water w/Lemon Juice/Honey/Aloe/Cayenne Pepper/EmergenC/MSM/Green Vibrance
32 oz Strawberry/Celery/Romaine juice
TOTAL: 120 oz
plus: 24 oz Hibiscus Tea

Today's Weight: 203.0
Today's BMI: 30.0

Total Weight Lost: 7 pounds

Sometimes during the day I feel like this is such slow going. But I realize that Rome was not built in a day and neither were my unhealthy habits. It's going to take time to undo the harmful effects of the diet I've eaten for the last several years. Time well spent, if you ask me.

Aloha and good night to you all,

Ellen

Day Two

It's actually 10 p.m. on the 9th here, so still day two for me. I did pretty well today despite some minor obstacles. I don't know if it's the detoxing or what; but I woke up at 2 AM to go to the bathroom and I had started my period. I took some medicine I have for cramps - which was less than ideal during feasting. But I didn't want anything to derail my efforts. I took my dogs for a 45 minute walk as soon as I got up despite feeling crampy and bloated - so I am pretty proud of myself for that. I did like 3 loads of laundry and I also hung some Tibetan prayer flags up on our roof. They are so festive blowing in the wind. The wind is supposed to activate the prayers and release their intentions into the universe. I'm very glad that I finally got them up. Hopefully they will bring beautiful blessings to everyone who sees them. ;))

Then this evening my roommate spent 2 1/2 hours in the kitchen making seafood paella from scratch. At first it smelled simply awful. I had to take a little walk down the block. Then I proceeded to burn cinnamon incense in my room all night to try to counteract the foulness. Once he got everything together and into the oven it actually smelled pretty good, but I was still a little grossed out by the original fishy smell. Then my other roommate made cookies. JEEZ! I normally have a very acute sense of smell but when I'm juicing it is ridiculous. I know they both meant well. And they were individually disappointed when I told them that I wasn't going to eat any of it. Oh well. If there's anything that you really get when juicing, it is to honor yourself and not be influenced by other peoples agendas, no matter how well-meaning.

Today I had:
48 oz of Strawberry/Pineapple/Celery/Romaine juice
16 oz water w/ Green Vibrance powder
48 oz of Carrot/Apple/Beet/Ginger juice
TOTAL: 112 oz
plus: 24 oz of Una de Gato Tea

I'm still not getting in a full gallon of juice so I really need to work on that.

Today's weight: 207.0
Today's BMI: 30.6

Total Weight Lost: 3 pounds

I have a little bit of a headache again tonight, so I'm going to sign off for now. I will try to make a point to take measurements and post a picture tomorrow.

Sweet dreams and well wishes,

Ellen

Day Zero

So... Tomorrow begins my quest. I'm jumping into this a little bit earlier than the rest of the Global Juice Feasters because I've got a couple of events coming up in March and I want to be well into my journey by then.

I guess, the question is: Why a 92 Day Juice Feast? I've done several fasting regimens in the past but ultimately returned every time to the dairy rich, processed vegetarian diet that led to my weight gain in the first place. Not this time. I want to give my body plenty of time to detox and I want to give my mind plenty of time to process the physical & emotional changes.

I first stumbled upon the concept of "juice feasting" when I was researching a raw food diet for my 14 year old dog. She was diagnosed with heart disease and a little over a year ago began to deteriorate very quickly. It seems that the valves to her heart had been leaking fluid into her lungs for years until it finally got to the point where she could hardly breathe. Almost overnight she went from being a little bit stiff and tired to barely able to get up to go outside. And I had never given her grocery-store variety dog food either. I was buying the good stuff. I had read about the benefits of raw food for humans here and there over the years but always thought it a little extreme. Now I had to do something extreme because my old girl was fading fast. I switched her to Natural Balance frozen raw canine diet immediately after reading about it. And I am happy to report that after about a year on raw I can really see the difference. She still has a chronic cough and she's a little tired & stiff. But she's not debilitated anymore and she's still with me. I expect she'll have a good quality of life into her senior years. There was even a month when I went back to her previous food due to the Natural Balance raw food being discontinued and her symptoms got worse again. I found a new manufacturer of raw pet food, Primal Pet, that is stocked here in Hawaii and got her back on schedule quickly.

Sorry for the long-winded intro. But if this sort of thing can work for an old dog going through a pretty severe health crisis, then why not for someone who is healthy to prevent those problems from ever developing? And it was in these online searches for resources on raw food that I came across Angela Stokes Raw Reform website. I was amazed by her before and after pictures and could totally relate to her personal story. Many of the emotions around food that she describes are ones I know far too well. But I guess I wasn't ready yet. Then one day at Borders Bookstore I picked up Natalia Rose's book, "The Raw Food Detox Diet" and read it cover to cover the same night. I went on to read Carol Alt's "Eating in the Raw" and Alissa Cohen's "Living on Live Foods". I went back and read through Angela Stokes' old blogs documenting her own 92 day juice feast and all three of her e-books. But, apparently, I still wasn't ready.

About the same time that I first started really studying the raw food lifestyle I also tried Bikram Yoga for the first time. This specific style of yoga was popularized by Bikram Choudhury in the sixties and seventies. It's a 90 minute series of 26 postures done in a hot and humid room. Pretty hardcore, but I absolutely love it. It feels like a shower from the inside out. My practice has not been consistent over the past year, but that is something I plan to change during this 92 day experiment. I will probably not be going to Bikram studio classes because I think that experience may be a little too intense for me during the feast. However, I am committed to do the series at home at least 3 x per week for the next 14 weeks. ;))

Anyway. That's my lead in. It all begins tomorrow. Friday, February 8, 2008. That day will go down in my personal history as THE day I stopped reading about it and thinking about it, and began to actually LIVE it for myself.

Aloha and thanks for reading.

Ellen