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

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

Day Nineteen

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY. I've got so much going on at work right now I feel like my head is going to explode. That's the reason I haven't written for several days. Not to worry, though. I am staying the course. I have moments when I'm kind of tired of juicing, but for the most part I am on auto pilot. Still not too much exercise to report and I know that needs to change. I am going for a walk with my dogs every morning, so at least that's something. I've been having basically the same thing every day:

24 oz Carrot/Apple/Beet/Ginger juice
32 oz modified Master Cleanser recipe
32 oz Pineapple/Celery/Greens/Mint juice
TOTAL: 112 oz
plus: 24 oz of some sort of tea - Green, Hibiscus, Una del Gato, etc.

I know that this isn't a full gallon, but this quantity seems to work for me. So until I begin a more strenuous exercise regimen I feel like this quantity is OK for right now.

Today's Weight: 193.0
Today's BMI: 28.5

Total Weight Lost: 17 pounds

It's weird, when I've done regular Master Cleanser I had a hard time going past Day Twenty psychologically. Probably because I was so gosh-darned sick and tired of the stinkin' lemonade. ;)) But this time I am really confident that I will do the whole 92 days. And the reason I've kept with the same juices every day is because I LIKE THEM. When I've deviated early on and tried something else I was always slightly disappointed. Now I really look forward to my juices.

Anywho, once I get through this week things should settle down a bit and I will do my best to write - at least a little bit - every day.

Aloha, Namaste, and thanks for reading,

Ellen

Day Thirteen

PICTURES!!! Really embarrassing pictures. I've already lost 14 pounds and I still look so fat. I guess in everyday life I don't realize how big I actually have become. At one point not too many years ago I was a size 6! These photos are a rude awakening. Just shows how far I still have to go. I am posting them - even though I cringe to look at them - because I want to document the amazing changes that are possible through juice-feasting. I want everyone to marvel at the tremendous difference once I complete this juice program and reveal a super-trim, smoking-hot bod.


And no, in case you're wondering, I did not fall off the face of the earth over the last few days. I just got a little lazy. Actually busy is more like it. I have an event coming up with my job and I've been scrambling to get everything ready. But after tomorrow night it will be finished and things will be calmer until next week when I have to travel to 2 islands in 3 days. Fun stuff. I work for a non-profit that does teacher trainings on economics and financial literacy. Spring is our busy time so I have events coming up every couple of weeks all the way through the beginning of May.

Monday I had:
32 oz modified Master Cleanser recipe
24 oz Carrot/Orange juice
32 oz modifies Master Cleanser recipe
TOTAL: 88 oz
plus: 16 oz Green Tea

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

Today I had:
32 oz modified Master Cleanser recipe
24 oz Carrot/Orange juice
32 oz modifies Master Cleanser recipe
TOTAL: 88 oz
plus: 16 oz Green Tea

So, not nearly enough juice lately. And I haven't done an enema for the last 2 days either. But I am going to do one before I go to bed. So I am sure that I will see the difference tomorrow. My weight has sort of plateaued and this may be because I had a couple really low juice days so my body could be holding onto the calories I'm intaking. In addition to no enema to flush the garbage out. Still I am very happy with my progress so far. I just need to be careful not to let my metabolism slow down too much.

Today's Weigh: 196.0
Today's BMI: 29.0

Total Weight Lost: 14 pounds

Well, that 's going to be all for now. Tomorrow will be a better day I can feel it.

Aloha and good night,

Ellen

Day Ten

YOWZA! 10 days down 82 days to go. I can hardly believe it. Things have been going smoothly and I am still totally committed to doing this. It's kind of like something I heard in a Wayne Dyer lecture years ago. He talks about making a change in your life and compares it to going through a self-closing gate that slams and locks behind you. Once you've gone through it there's no turning back. Which is very much how I feel right now - that there's no turning back. Baby, I am going through that gate! Part of my reason for blogging about the experience is to keep me real and accountable. And so far it's definitely working. But I also want to share this journey with others and to show them how accessible a raw food lifestyle is for everyone. I feel like I am taking the abundance of knowledge I've collected over the years about health and finally, actually living it.

Yesterday I had:
24oz Apple/Celery/Romaine/Ginger juice
64 oz modified Master Cleanser recipe
24 oz Strawberry/Cucumber/Spinach/Mint juice
TOTAL: 112 oz

Yesterday's Weight: 197.5
Yesterday BMI: 29.1

Total Weight Lost: 12.5 pounds

I know that I've lost a lot of weight pretty rapidly, but now it's slowing down a bit. I did have a good amount to lose - 75 lbs - so I guess this just proves the amount of excess baggage I needed to get rid of. I feel quite good physically and I trust in the wisdom of my body. At this point, I even have a couple of pairs of jeans that were too tight that I can wear now. And a whole closet of clothes in descending sizes that I'll fit into at different stages along the way. ;))

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


Anyway. I am very happy with my progress so far. No major crises, no major emotional breakdowns, no terrible cravings. I'm just kind of cruising along. Hopefully it will stay this way throughout the rest of my 82 days. Wouldn't that be nice?

Aloha to all and to all a good night,

Ellen