RFR: Day Nine

So the past week was a little bumpy. I had a couple of social functions that of me off track. I am finding that when I drink alcohol - be it a glass of wine or a couple of beers - then I crave unhealthy foods and don't have the motivation to exercise.

I have decided to do a modified Master Cleanse for the next week or so. If I am feeling good I may extend to 2 weeks. I call this a "modified" MC because 1) I am using primarily grapefruit juice instead of lemon since we have a tree in our yard; 2) I am adding a scoop of Green Vibrance to the morning 32 oz MC batch; and 3) I am having 20 - 24 ounces of carrot based juice in the evenings. I will also continue taking MSM and Apple Cidar Vinegar. In addition, I will be allowing Green Tea or a Yerba Mate/Pau d' Arco blend. So my daily intake will look something like this:

6 AM - Salt Water Flush
7 AM - 1 TBSP MSM powder & 1 TBSP AC vinegar
7 AM - 32 oz MC w/ Green Vibrance
10 AM - 16 oz Green Tea or Yerba/Pau blend
1 PM - 32 oz MC straight up
4 PM - 16 oz Green Tea or Yerba/Pau blend
7 PM - 20 oz carrot-based juice
7 PM - 1 TBSP MSM powder & 1 TBSP AC vinegar

Raw Food Rehab Experiment - Take 2

OK. Again, I know it's been a really long time. I fell off the wagon multiple times and finally kind of gave up for a bit. But I didn't give up totally and that's the point of this post.

I have just signed up to participate in Raw Food Rehab this time becoming a member of "The Vault - Rawk Star Lockdown". It is an 11 week initiative starting Sat 7/10 and ending Fri 9/24. There is a higher accountability for members of The Vault that I think I need right now.

My plans are to incorporate daily yoga into this program. I will be talking about my food choices on this blog and discussing yoga related stuff on the other one.

Stay tuned w/ me for the next 11 weeks. ;))

Day #50

Beginning Weight: 207.5
Today's Weight: 196.0
Highest Weight: 236
Goal Weight: 150


That means I have FINALLY hit 40 pounds gone and the halfway mark towards my weight loss goal. So very exciting!!!!

There are only 4 weeks left in the Raw Food Rehab project I am participating in and 7 weeks left in my yoga experiment. I want to kick things up a notch from here on out. So I am going to *try* my best to adhere to the following routine: green smoothie for breakfast, a big salad for an early lunch, one of Alissa Cohen's recipes for an afternoon snack, and fresh-pressed juice for dinner.

Day #20

Beginning Weight: 207.5
Today's Weight: 199.5
Highest Weight: 236
Goal Weight: 150


YAY!! I broke 200!!!! I am so very excited. And today is my birthday. What a fantastic way to start my personal new year.

I know that I may fluctuate up and down for a few days, because that's usually what my body does when it reaches a new low. But I hope to be out of the 200's *for good* very, very soon now. YEHAW!!!!!

Day #12

Beginning Weight: 207.5
Today's Weight: 201.5
Goal Weight: 150

Again, I couldn't help weighing myself this morning. I'm feeling skinnier every day and I want to relish in it. ;))

Today I wore a pair of capri jeans that haven't fit me in about a year and a half. They're still a little snug but I am tickled that I can wear them at all. They show off my ankles which I have been contemplating all day. The edema from my tattoo has *finally* gone away and it gives me so much joy to look at my ankles now because they look so small!! Oh the silly little things that have the ability to totally make my day.


Yesterday's Food Choices
32 oz green smoothie
w/ spinach, mint, mixed berries, bananas, coconut oil
8 am - home
iced coffee w/ almond milk
blueberry muffin
11:30 am - Starbucks
veggie & avocado sandwich on a croissant
BBQ potato chips
2:00 pm - Baile


Today's Food Choices:
glazed doughnut w/ chocolate frosting
cafe mocha w/ soy milk
9 am - The Patisserie
1 banana
10:30 am - work
fruit salad
w/ pineapple, melon, & grapes
12:30 am - The Patisserie
6 pc falafalel
hummus & pita bread
Greek salad w/ no cheese
3:30 pm - Leo's Taverna

I know that I am not eating nearly enough fruits and vegetables. I try to make a green smoothie every morning but have been getting up late a few days a week so don't have time. Still this week is a big improvement from last week.

6 days NO DAIRY!!! I can feel the puffines leaving my body little by little every day. And of course the sweaty yoga sessions help to flush it out, too.

Day #10

Beginning Weight: 207.5
Today's Weight: 204.0
Goal Weight: 150

Yeah!! 10 days down!!!!

I couldn't help weighing myself this morning. And lo and behold I am down 2.5 lbs from yesterday!!

I believe that there are several reasons for this:

For one, I know I've committed to writing down my food choices and this makes me think twice about what I put in my mouth.

Second, I have been without dairy for 4 whole days now(!!)

Third, and probably most significant, I have been back to the Bikram studio for 2 super-duper sweat-drenched workout sessions this week!!!

I really believe that getting back into the studio is key for me. There's something special about practicing in 105 degree heat with 20-30 like-minded students and a competent teacher to guide you through those magical 26 postures. Of course, I do like practicing yoga at home, too. And I will continue alternating studio/Bikram days w/ home practice/Baptiste days. So far I think that cross training w/ different styles of yoga is making me stronger. At the very least it is giving me a good variety. And that makes it a lot easier for me to practice every day. ;))


Yesterday's Food Choices
32 oz green smoothie
w/ spinach, mint, strawberries, bananas, coconut oil
8 am - home
chai w/ almond milk
blueberry muffin
11:30 am - Starbucks
6 red/yellow mini sweet peppers
2:00 pm - work
chopped veggie wrap
4:00 pm - Salad Creations

Today's Food Choices:
glazed doughnut w/ chocolate frosting
cafe mocha w/ soy milk
9 am - The Patisserie
1 banana
10 am - work
fruit salad
w/ pineapple, melon, & grapes
11:30 am - The Patisserie
special fresh veggie roll
1:30 pm - Safeway
1 slice double fiber bread w/ peanut butter
6 pm - home

Day #8

Beginning Weight: 207.5
Today's Weight: 206.5
Goal Weight: 150

I decided that I will go back to recording my food choices and times. I feel like this holds me accountable and helps me to see patterns. As you can see I haven't really been doing the raw food program. I didn't get a chance to make the recipes over the weekend which left me a little discouraged. Awareness is the first step, I guess. And I haven't had dairy for 3 days now - so that's something to be proud of.

Yesterday's Food Choices
32 oz green smoothie
w/ spinach, mint, strawberries, pineapple, banana, coconut oil
10 am - home
Kona chocolate chip pancakes
coffee w/ almond milk
1 pm - Mulvadi Cafe
dynamite roll
8 pm - Times Supermarket

Today's Food Choices:
32 oz green smoothie
w/ spinach, mint, avocado, pineapple, banana, blueberries
8 am - home
glazed doughnut w/ chocolate filling
cafe mocha w/ soy milk
1 pm - The Patisserie
green salad w/ vinagrette dressing
1 slice whole grain bread w/ peanut butter
6 pm - home

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!?!!

Day #2

As you can see I have posted some very scary before pictures. I shudder to look at them now but I know that I will eventually want documentation of the dramatic changes in my physical appearance. I am completely confident that I will lose all the weight I want to. And I will do it in a healthful manner so that it never creeps back to bother me again.

I got off to a little bit of a rocky start on the diet front. The past couple of days have been a little rough. But I'm pleased to report that I am full speed ahead on the workout front. 2 days of yoga under my belt and 99 to go. ;))

MC Day Eight

The cleanse is still going well. I didn't have lemons to make my lemonade yesterday morning so I bought the MC Lemonade premade from Umeke Market. They clearly used bottled and not fresh lemon juice. As a result I felt kind of tired and cranky and wanting to eat all day. Weird. Today I made my own lemonade and I feel fine. Proof positive that it DOES matter that you use the correct ingredients and not cut corners.

I didn't do yoga last night because I was feeling so low energy. My skin kind of smells funny today. Probably detox or build up of dead cells. I plan to do yoga tonight - so the sweat will help flush it out. I am also going to begin dry brushing every morning so that my skin can better release all the toxins that have built up.

I did some research on the internet and I found a tattoo similar to what I want to get when I go to SF. I will be sure to post it once it's finished. I hope to lose12 more pounds so that when I gain back a few from having food in my system again, I'll still be at or very close to 40 pounds down from my highest weight. ;))

My recent progress:

Day Seven (5/7/09) - 204.0

Day Eight (5/8/09) - 202.5

That makes 15 pounds lost in the last 8 days!!!

TOTAL OF 33.5 POUNDS RELEASED!!!!!!

MC Day Six

Still doing great. SWF every morning. Green/peppermint tea mixture when I get to work. MC lemonade throughout the day. Monday I went to Jamba Juice during lunch and got a 2 oz wheat grass shot and a 16 oz carrot juice. I won't do that every day, just when I feel like I need a pick-me-up. Yesterday I had 4 oz of Kombucha, Gingerade flavor. YUM. I am actually really liking the taste now. Or maybe I am just glad to have something different from the lemonade.

I did Bikram's beginner series at home the last 2 nights. It's a totally different experience from going to the studio. It's a lot less intense without the heat. But I am also able to focus better without the distraction of the mirror or the other students. No dizziness or fatigue. Overall I feel really, really good.

My progress over the last few days:

Day Four (5/4/09) - 207.0

Day Five (5/5/09) - 206.5

Day Six (5/6/09) - 204.5

That makes 13 pounds lost in the last 6 days!!!

TOTAL OF 31.5 POUNDS RELEASED!!!!!!

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)

DAY 4: Green Smoothie Challenge

I can't believe how well the combination of green smoothies, fresh juice and Bikram is working on my body. I started this challenge at 217 cause I gained about 6 pounds back from eating badly and not going to yoga for almost a whole week. So I knew that the weight would come off quick because it went on pretty quick.

Today 1st thing in the morning I was 208 and then a few hours later after yoga I was 206.5(!!!) Holy freekin cow - that is 10.5 pounds in 4 days(!!!!!) Faster than the Master Cleanse, faster than juice fasting. This is "Biggest Loser" weight loss and those guys work out a minimum of 4-6 hours a day. It's the kind of weight loss you'd expect from a weekend of doing a bunch of speed, dancing like a maniac every night, and not sleeping for 3 days straight. Not that I'd know anything about that. LOL.

The thing that gets me the most is that I am not at all depriving myself. I even had a big veggie burrito for lunch yesterday w/ black beans, rice, guacamole, lettuce, salsa - fried on the grill and then covered in enchilada sauce. I'm only having one actual "meal" during the weekdays, but I feel like I am still eating plenty of calories.

I read somewhere that a 90 minute Bikram class burns 1400-1500 calories at my weight. So I am definitely burning off a lot. But still, this is pretty dramatic. Really, I am completely blown away. Hope I can keep this up. Just another 10.5 pounds before I go to SF and I will schedule to get my tattoo. I am certain that I will achieve that and probably even more in the next 4 weeks. ;))

Thanks for listening to my rant. I am pretty gosh darned fired up right now. In case you couldn't tell.

Today's Weight: 208 lbs - before yoga

Today's Weight: 206.5 lbs - after yoga

THAT'S 10.5 LBS LOST IN JUST 4 DAYS!!


Yesterday's Food Choices:
32 oz green smoothie w/ pineapple, banana,
red leaf lettuce, romaine, mint & orange juice
(9am - home)
20 oz green/peppermint tea
(11 am - work)
veggie burrito w/ black beans, rice,
lettuce, salsa, guacamole & enchilada sauce
(1 pm - Taqueria Ramirez)
Dove milk chocolate w/ almond bar
(3 pm - work)
carrot, apple, beet, ginger juice
(5 pm - Jewel or Juice)
16 oz green smoothie leftover
(9 pm - home)

Today's Food Choices:
1 apple
1 banana
(10am - home)
32 oz green/peppermint tea
(11 am/12:30 pm - during yoga)
Naked Juice "SuperFood" green smoothie
(1 pm - home)
4 clementines
(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
(5:30 pm - Sushi Man)

DAY 2: Green Smoothie Challenge

So I haven't really been doing the Green Smoothie Girl Challenge verbatim. At least not to start. She is my inspiration and I do take her recommendations to heart. I want to incorporate all ten of her points eventually, but for the next several weeks these are my personal goals:

1 green smoothie per day
1 green salad per day
1 green tea per day
1 fresh vegetable-based juice per day
1 gallon of water per day
workout - yoga, swim or The Firm - every day

Today's Weight: 211.5 lbs

THAT'S 5.5 LBS LOST IN JUST 2 DAYS!!

I kinda knew that this would happen, though. It seems that pounds that come on fast are also fast to leave once I eliminate the junk food that caused them to creep back.

Yesterday's Food Choices:
32 oz green smoothie w/ pineapple, banana,
red leaf lettuce, romaine, mint & orange juice
(9am - home)
Kona chocolate chip pancakes
(1 pm - home)
2 apples w/ chyawanprash
(3 pm - home)
carrot, apple, beet, ginger juice
(5 pm - Jewel or Juice)
carrot spice muffin
(7 pm - Coffee Talk)

Today's Food Choices:
32 oz green smoothie w/ pineapple, banana,
red leaf lettuce, romaine, mint & orange juice
(8am - home)
wild salmon fillet
salad w/ spinach, onions, carrots, tomatoes,
artichoke hearts, sunflower seeds & vinaigrette dressing
(1 pm - Salad Creations)
peanut M&M's
(3 pm - work)
carrot, apple, celery, beet, ginger juice
(8:30 pm - home)

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 NINE

Still doing great! Sticking to the MC recipe. Having green tea w/ peppermint in the morning and hibiscus tea w/ ginger every evening. Went to Jamba Juice a couple of times and got fresh carrot juice and a 2 oz wheatgrass shot.

Over the weekend I had a body wrap at Suddenly Slimmer. I am going to do one per week to help with the detox process and prevent loose skin.

I have also been pretty religious about doing the Salt Water Flush every day. Sometimes in the morning sometimes in the evening. I have only missed one day so far and will try my very best not to miss another. It is so important to get all the toxins that have been released *out* of the body.

I am really fired up that I am well on my way to reaching the 180-190 range by the time the 4 weeks are finished.

Today's Weight: 221.0

Total of 15 lbs lost so far!!!

YAY ME!!

DAY THREE

WOW... I haven't written in such a long time. So much has happened. The good: I have completely weaned myself off of Diet Soda - which was no small feat considering I have had at least one a day for the last 25+ years. I got about a migraine a week for 6 weeks but then nothing after that. Aspartame is REALLY scary stuff. For those who haven't sworn off it yet do a simple search for "aspartame side effects" - the result is frightening.

The bad: I went back to my junk food, meat and cheese eating ways and was drinking regular soda and/or sugared tea for the last several months. As a result my weight ballooned up to 236 - the highest it's EVER been.

So I finally decided enough is enough. I need to do something drastic but I also need a real, permanent solution. I decided to do The Master Cleanser for the next 4 weeks until I visit my family over Thanksgiving. I haven't been back to San Diego in 2 1/2 years and I could not bear to face those I haven't seen in so long. I want to use this fast as a time of contemplation and also as a clean sweep, if you will. I hope that this will be a springboard into better health and vegetarianism FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!!!

I started on Sunday 10/26/08 and will end Saturday 11/22/08. I hope to lose a minimum of 40 and possibly up to 56 pounds in that time period.

Today is day three and I am down 6 pounds so far. That and I have just gone through the first 3 days of my period along with brutal cramps. So the next 25 days should be smooth sailing - knock on wood. ;))

How did I let this happen? I've been wracking my brain for the answer. Food has become my comfort and my coping mechanism. It is truly an addiction and that's why the drastic measures are necessary. I feel like I literally need to stop cold turkey. Again, I need to approach this like trigger foods are a drug that I must avoid at all costs because I am *truly* only a couple bites away from a relapse. It isn't a diet this time. It is a new way of life. I WILL NOT FAIL - PERIOD.

And so I am going to do this pretty much by the book. No modifications to the recipe. I will let myself have one 16 oz fresh squeezed juice if I *really* need something different. I will let myself have Green Tea and herbal teas ans I will continue taking my Yoga Body supplements. But I will use the traditional MC this time around - just lemon juice, Grade B maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. No more trying to reinvent the wheel.

Day One Weight: 236.0

Day Two Weight: 232.0

Day Three Weight: 230.0

Total of 6 lbs lost so far!!!

Crankiness and really jonesing to eat the first day. Crampy and headachy the second day. But today I feel pretty good. Kind of like I hit my stride. I did take medication for the cramps because it would of been completely hellacious otherwise. No workouts yet but I have been taking my dog, Buddha for a walk every day.

I am not going to put up before pictures because I am absolutely horrified at the size I have become. But I do have faith that THIS TIME I will stay the course and finish the full 28 days.

Anyway I am off to do the Salt Water Flush, since I didn't have time in the morning.

Aloha, Goodnight, and God Bless,

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