I've been watching a series of documentaries this week called iThrive. It's about the pandemic of diabetes that is currently happening in our world and what can be done about it. It features all the experts that I trust and follow as well as a few that I find shady and a couple that I find truly misleading. There was literally nothing in this that I hadn't heard before but I DON'T mean that as a criticism of this series and I DO recommend watching it if you get a chance, especially if you aren't aware that diabetes is a choice and can be reversed most of the time. The doctors who treat diabetes 2 patients with a WFPB, SOS free diet improve their numbers and reduce medication every time and completely reverse it most of the time if the patient is totally compliant.
(*WFPB - whole-food, plant-based; SOS no salt, oil or refined sugars)
It's always hard for me to hear the data on diabetes because, in my mind, it is pretty much criminal how many people are left to suffer and die horrible deaths from diabetes when it is completely reversible if caught early, can be greatly improved if not reversed at any time and it is affecting millions more people every year. It is one of the leading causes of death in this country and many others. And, while it used to be a disease of the elderly and pretty rare when I was a kid in the 60s and 70s, it is as common as dirt now and rapidly becoming a disease that affects little children far too often. But mostly, it hurts to watch a series like this one because I watched my sweet Mama become blind, crippled with neuropathy, go on dialysis for the last 14 years of her life (unusual really for someone to last as long as she did after going on dialysis) and eventually die at the age of 68 looking and feeling more like 98 from this terrible disease.
Mama was a nurse and a very determined woman who had overcome alcohol addiction, given up cigarettes cold turkey after 30 years of a pack and a half a day, went back to college at 48 after her first heart attack and graduated Magna Cum Laude even though her previous education only consisted of completing 8th grade and vocational school. This is a woman who followed her doctors' orders. If she had been told that changing to a diet of mostly fruits and veggies could reverse her diabetes, I promise you she would have done it. She actually loved vegetables and grew a huge garden when we had enough space. She would eat an onion just like an apple and snacked on the raw veggies as she was chopping them up for dinner. And I'm telling you, the woman could have happily lived on potatoes. She could have been a STAR McDougaller. Unfortunately, she was also a Southern woman who learned to cook in Texas. She was chopping those veggies to smother them in butter and/or cheese and to be a side dish to a big slab of meat. EVERYTHING was either deep fat fried or smothered in sauce, cheese or butter. She could make scratch biscuits and sausage gravy in her sleep.
Diabetes is definitely one of the things I always "knew" I would end up with. It is rampant in our family. My brother David is suffering with it now. One of the people in the documentary, sorry I can't remember who it was, said that you can't save the people closest to you and boy is that true and SO frustrating! My brother won't listen to me. He is one of the tough guy, "we all gotta die sometime" types who would rather enjoy his food than good health. And that is exactly how it is! Diabetes is a choice most all of the time. (Please note that I am only speaking of type 2 diabetes. Type 1 can also be improved with this lifestyle but isn't AS reversible as type 2 and the causes of type 1 are not as clear.) It is incomprehensible to me that anyone would literally choose certain foods over good health once the information is made available to them and I tend to think they just aren't allowing themselves to believe it so that they can justify to themselves continuing with that behavior. Plus, they don't seem to acknowledge that they are not only choosing an earlier death but also suffering a great deal more while they live. But that is a whole 'nother blog. I'm getting off on a tangent, which I definitely tend to do when the subject of diabetes is raised. Anyway... I always knew that I would end up with diabetes. After all, I was told over and over that I had the genes for it and because I was obese, I was at even higher risk for it. Doctors told me numerous times that I was "showing signs" of being pre-diabetic and were amazed with each of my 5 pregnancies that I did not test positive for gestational diabetes since I was obese, genetically predisposed and had really large babies. I spent my life feeling like a ticking time bomb. But I now know that I never have to suffer my mom's fate. I can choose differently. Genes can be expressed or turned off with lifestyle and food choices. My family history is not my fate.
So watching this series was hard for me. But it was also really, really good for me. It was another kick in the keester to get myself back on track. I have been feeling more and more strongly that I need to do a juice fast, possibly interspersed with a bit of water fasting to get myself back on the path to weight loss and excellent health. I have, as I have mentioned previously, gotten off track. Fast food and processed food has once again begun to represent a large proportion of my intake. And lately, I have even started giving in to cravings for totally non-compliant foods. I've had actual binges with increasing regularity and I'm too ashamed to admit what my weight is up to at this point. I'm not back to my heaviest and I'd like to keep it that way. It's time. NOW. Today. I haven't eaten anything yet today and I am ready to get this party started again. Today is a blank slate waiting for me to write upon it. I must choose to write "health" or "harm." I remember how incredibly well I felt when I was 100% WFPB. I remember how much energy I had. I remember how clear my mind was. I remember how great it felt to walk long distances or work out and feel my body responding like a body is supposed to! I have to remember those things because they are not true today. But TODAY I change that. So thank you Jon (the fellow who made the iThrive documentaries) for a much needed reminder that I didn't "fix" my problems forever by eating right for a couple of years. I have to give myself the highest possibility possible for excellent health and avoiding the darker side of my genes every single day. I can still develop the heart disease, diabetes, and cancer that are lurking in my genes if I don't choose to disable those genes every single day.
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Baby Steps or Big Change?
As I mentioned previously, I have become fascinated with the idea of neuroplasticity. (According to the dictionary, neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections, especially in response to learning or experience or following injury. In other words, You can create new and healthier connections and pathways in the brain with purposeful behavior.) I started out just looking at techniques for creating new habits, then changing behavior, especially anxiety driven behavior and I stumbled upon neuroplasticity. All of these are intertwined. Even if you know or care nothing about changing your brain but only about creating healthier habits or whatever, you ARE changing your brain when you create a new habit. ;)
So, this morning, I was rewatching a video I had seen a couple of years ago on tiny habits. It's a TED Talk by B.J. Fogg, a Stanford prof who holds workshops and such on changing your life through the use of "tiny habits." (I'll link the video at the end of this blog entry.) I resisted this approach on one level because of my experience of juice fasting (a HUGE, all-at-once change) leading to a far easier transition to eating WFPBNO than I could have possibly made in any other way. I had tried the baby steps, small-changes-lead-to-big-changes approach to diet my entire life which led me to be 340 miserable, ill pounds by age 50. And I've witnessed virtually everyone I know failing the same thing. I'd been force-fed the miserable statistics on how ridiculously few people actually lose weight and keep it off my entire life. I KNEW this approach didn't work. But while listening to professor Fogg and taking notes and finding once again that it really made sense to me and that I really believed I could develop some better habits in this way, I had an epiphany. Now some of you may think this is common sense that should have occurred to me long since but it didn't, okay. Small changes do not work for physically addictive behaviors but may work quite well for many other behaviors.
I still believe that the baby steps approach is not the way to go for many people to change their diet, but it may very well be the best way to change most other habitual behaviors, and make no mistake, anxiety, fear, resentment and often even depression are HABITS and/or the result of habits. The "many people" that I'm referring to above is anyone who is obese or has any sort of eating disorder or who has struggled over a long period of time to lose weight and never successfully lost it or kept it off. There are some people who are a bit overweight and maybe even have diet-related illness who simply need education as to what food is actually doing to them. Once this is clear in their mind, they begin to make the necessary changes a bit at a time so as to cause less disturbance in their home, family etc. Many people in my facebook group, Let Food Be Thy Medicine, advocate this approach and I always cringe because I firmly believe that it isn't likely to work for most of the people who come to the group. But it is such an easier pill to swallow you see. Here is me saying, just do it! Jump in the deep end! Way easier, I promise! While Betty and Bob are over here saying, be kind and gentle with yourself. Cut back on meat to one meal a day and then cut back on cheese, and then... and then... and then.... But in reality, for anyone who has been obese for many years, this approach just doesn't work. If it did, they would have stuck to one of the dozens of diet attempts they made in the past (and they have pretty much ALL made dozens of attempts in the past.) Because if weight loss is your only concern, just about every diet out there will work if applied consistently. Why don't we apply them consistently? Addiction. Many of the problematic foods for the human race are physically addictive. And for we poor souls who also have addictive emotional habits, it is a deadly combination. Now, to be clear, even the lucky few with no true addictive tendencies are probably going to have to go cold turkey to break the physical addiction of certain foods at some point. Cheese and sugar, for example, are highly addictive, period. Cutting back on those a little at a time is going to be nearly as impossible as telling an alcoholic to drink a little less each week till they've cut it out. Any true alcoholic will tell you the folly in that notion. For a far better explanation of the addictive nature of food, please read the excellent book by Alan Goldhamer and Douglas J Lisle called The Pleasure Trap. Really a must read if any of this is of interest to you. And if it weren't, you surely wouldn't be reading my little blog so... read it!!
So, that's my epiphany for today. It may seem obvious to many but it is a huge realization for me. I can now give myself permission to change some things a little at a time and not feel that I am copping out or wasting my time while recognizing that this doesn't change the fact that where my diet is concerned 100% is the only way for me.
You can find the video I referred to here: https://youtu.be/AdKUJxjn-R8
So, this morning, I was rewatching a video I had seen a couple of years ago on tiny habits. It's a TED Talk by B.J. Fogg, a Stanford prof who holds workshops and such on changing your life through the use of "tiny habits." (I'll link the video at the end of this blog entry.) I resisted this approach on one level because of my experience of juice fasting (a HUGE, all-at-once change) leading to a far easier transition to eating WFPBNO than I could have possibly made in any other way. I had tried the baby steps, small-changes-lead-to-big-changes approach to diet my entire life which led me to be 340 miserable, ill pounds by age 50. And I've witnessed virtually everyone I know failing the same thing. I'd been force-fed the miserable statistics on how ridiculously few people actually lose weight and keep it off my entire life. I KNEW this approach didn't work. But while listening to professor Fogg and taking notes and finding once again that it really made sense to me and that I really believed I could develop some better habits in this way, I had an epiphany. Now some of you may think this is common sense that should have occurred to me long since but it didn't, okay. Small changes do not work for physically addictive behaviors but may work quite well for many other behaviors.
I still believe that the baby steps approach is not the way to go for many people to change their diet, but it may very well be the best way to change most other habitual behaviors, and make no mistake, anxiety, fear, resentment and often even depression are HABITS and/or the result of habits. The "many people" that I'm referring to above is anyone who is obese or has any sort of eating disorder or who has struggled over a long period of time to lose weight and never successfully lost it or kept it off. There are some people who are a bit overweight and maybe even have diet-related illness who simply need education as to what food is actually doing to them. Once this is clear in their mind, they begin to make the necessary changes a bit at a time so as to cause less disturbance in their home, family etc. Many people in my facebook group, Let Food Be Thy Medicine, advocate this approach and I always cringe because I firmly believe that it isn't likely to work for most of the people who come to the group. But it is such an easier pill to swallow you see. Here is me saying, just do it! Jump in the deep end! Way easier, I promise! While Betty and Bob are over here saying, be kind and gentle with yourself. Cut back on meat to one meal a day and then cut back on cheese, and then... and then... and then.... But in reality, for anyone who has been obese for many years, this approach just doesn't work. If it did, they would have stuck to one of the dozens of diet attempts they made in the past (and they have pretty much ALL made dozens of attempts in the past.) Because if weight loss is your only concern, just about every diet out there will work if applied consistently. Why don't we apply them consistently? Addiction. Many of the problematic foods for the human race are physically addictive. And for we poor souls who also have addictive emotional habits, it is a deadly combination. Now, to be clear, even the lucky few with no true addictive tendencies are probably going to have to go cold turkey to break the physical addiction of certain foods at some point. Cheese and sugar, for example, are highly addictive, period. Cutting back on those a little at a time is going to be nearly as impossible as telling an alcoholic to drink a little less each week till they've cut it out. Any true alcoholic will tell you the folly in that notion. For a far better explanation of the addictive nature of food, please read the excellent book by Alan Goldhamer and Douglas J Lisle called The Pleasure Trap. Really a must read if any of this is of interest to you. And if it weren't, you surely wouldn't be reading my little blog so... read it!!
So, that's my epiphany for today. It may seem obvious to many but it is a huge realization for me. I can now give myself permission to change some things a little at a time and not feel that I am copping out or wasting my time while recognizing that this doesn't change the fact that where my diet is concerned 100% is the only way for me.
You can find the video I referred to here: https://youtu.be/AdKUJxjn-R8
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Wheelchair OR 5K... I think I'll RUN!
So let's review. Last August, I was writing goodbye messages to my kids in my journal and challenging The Almighty to finish up anything he had for me to accomplish in this life because I was done. I was in constant debilitating pain. The doctors had long since let me know that there was nothing to be done to improve my lot, they could only treat the symptoms. Since I clearly didn't have the "willpower" to lose weight and I wasn't a candidate for weight loss surgery due to my history of blood clots, I would just have to try to manage the symptoms and accept that I would be in a wheelchair soon. There was talk of amputating my leg because of the damaged circulation from a massive blood clot 20 years ago. My knee had been a mess since 1982 when I shattered the knee cap and it was now bone-on-bone with bone spurs and arthritis and scar tissue. My right shoulder was also "permanently" compromised from multiple tears in the rotator cuff that they couldn't operate on so it also had scar tissue, bone spurs and arthritis. I had undergone physical therapy which helped a lot. I was able to effectively use my right arm again at least. Couldn't do overhead tasks with it and it caused me a great deal of pain but it was at least functional. The stated goal of the PT with my shoulder and knee were to give me enough mobility to perform basic personal tasks on my own. Like dressing myself and going to the bathroom.
I also had ruptured discs in my back twice and had others that were deteriorating. I was told I had "degenerative disc disease." And then, in early 2013 came Paget's. The pain in my back started becoming really unbearable over the 2012 holidays and I was afraid I had or was about to rupture another disc. It turns out I actually had developed a disease called Paget's disease of the bone. It was causing the bones in my pelvis and hip to become very soft and the combination of that with my severe obesity (I was about 320 at that point) was causing remodeling (deformities) in the bones. It caused excrutiating pain to even have to sit upright in a kitchen chair or the seat of a car. Walking was... torture. I had become effective house bound. Rarely left my bedroom.
I had other medical issues; autoimmune disorders - Hashimoto's thyroiditis, myasthenia gravis, fibromyalgia - high blood pressure, irritable bowel. Needless to say I took a number of perscription pills each day. In July of 2013 I was a serious mess and had also started having symptoms of congestive heart failure. I hid this and avoided my doctor as I had made the decision that I wasn't going to seek treatment. That I was, in fact, going to stop taking ALL the pills and let nature take it's course. I figured a stroke from the blood pressure would put me out of my, and everyone else's, misery quickly enough.
On August 17th, I was watching movies on Netflix and a movie came up in my "recommended for you" section called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and the rest is history! That was a Saturday. Thursdays were my husbands paydays so on the 22nd I cleared out every single thing in my house that couldn't be juiced and stocked up. I started my juice fast on August 23rd, 2013. I consider that my "rebirth-day." I don't live in pain anymore. I swim and walk for exercise and have no issues with sitting, standing, walking, getting up and down off my knees, squatting. But I haven't run yet. I haven't run on land in over 25 years, maybe closer to 30. I used to jog in the water, which I'm sure looked pretty crazy, because I didn't want my body to lose the muscle memory of HOW to run.
So yesterday I was on Facebook and my oldest daughter, Bonni, posted that she had set up a team for the Tulsa Glow Run. If anyone wanted to join her, it would be on August 23rd. It took about a nanosecond for me to say, "I'll do it." WHAT?!?!?! Nine months ago I could walk across my yard without my son or husband to lean on! Even when I was active in my teens and twenties, I was into horses and swimming. Never ran a race in my life! Was I crazy?! Well, maybe so. But just watch me run, baby. I have 100 days to train. I will be doing the Couch To 5K program 3 days a week and swimming 2-3 days.
JUICE ON YA'LL! I GOT THIS!!
I also had ruptured discs in my back twice and had others that were deteriorating. I was told I had "degenerative disc disease." And then, in early 2013 came Paget's. The pain in my back started becoming really unbearable over the 2012 holidays and I was afraid I had or was about to rupture another disc. It turns out I actually had developed a disease called Paget's disease of the bone. It was causing the bones in my pelvis and hip to become very soft and the combination of that with my severe obesity (I was about 320 at that point) was causing remodeling (deformities) in the bones. It caused excrutiating pain to even have to sit upright in a kitchen chair or the seat of a car. Walking was... torture. I had become effective house bound. Rarely left my bedroom.
I had other medical issues; autoimmune disorders - Hashimoto's thyroiditis, myasthenia gravis, fibromyalgia - high blood pressure, irritable bowel. Needless to say I took a number of perscription pills each day. In July of 2013 I was a serious mess and had also started having symptoms of congestive heart failure. I hid this and avoided my doctor as I had made the decision that I wasn't going to seek treatment. That I was, in fact, going to stop taking ALL the pills and let nature take it's course. I figured a stroke from the blood pressure would put me out of my, and everyone else's, misery quickly enough.
On August 17th, I was watching movies on Netflix and a movie came up in my "recommended for you" section called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and the rest is history! That was a Saturday. Thursdays were my husbands paydays so on the 22nd I cleared out every single thing in my house that couldn't be juiced and stocked up. I started my juice fast on August 23rd, 2013. I consider that my "rebirth-day." I don't live in pain anymore. I swim and walk for exercise and have no issues with sitting, standing, walking, getting up and down off my knees, squatting. But I haven't run yet. I haven't run on land in over 25 years, maybe closer to 30. I used to jog in the water, which I'm sure looked pretty crazy, because I didn't want my body to lose the muscle memory of HOW to run.
So yesterday I was on Facebook and my oldest daughter, Bonni, posted that she had set up a team for the Tulsa Glow Run. If anyone wanted to join her, it would be on August 23rd. It took about a nanosecond for me to say, "I'll do it." WHAT?!?!?! Nine months ago I could walk across my yard without my son or husband to lean on! Even when I was active in my teens and twenties, I was into horses and swimming. Never ran a race in my life! Was I crazy?! Well, maybe so. But just watch me run, baby. I have 100 days to train. I will be doing the Couch To 5K program 3 days a week and swimming 2-3 days.
JUICE ON YA'LL! I GOT THIS!!
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Exciting Plans for March
So, February is over and I'm glad to see it go. The weather is gradually getting better and better although there are still way too few sunny days for my taste. We are supposed to get ice and frigid temps for Sunday and Monday but then it is supposed to warm up to normal temps for this area and time of year. So with the majority of the really cold stuff behind us, I am confident enough to go ahead and start another juice fast. I'm juicing at least through March and maybe part or all of April. I'm calling this my March Juicing Madness!
I reached my second 10% goal in February so that was a huge victory that put me at 275.5 and I actually got down to 273. But overall February weight loss was quite slow. I believe that it is probably normal for our bodies to hold onto the weight tighter when we are exposed to frequent subzero temps as a safety mechanism and I was definitely exposed. Not as in, "Baby It's Cold Outside" so I'll stay in my house where it's nice and warm. Oh no! I'm talking cold as in my house is a pile of crap and you can't keep it warm. Cannot. I have been freezing my assets off this winter. But I just feel in my bones that my body is ready to start letting it go again so as a kick start, I'm back on Da Juice! I have my brain in juicing gear so that I'm not even looking at or thinking about the chewed stuff. That is the hard-to-describe difference between wanting to do a juice fast and having it just not take off like I did earlier this winter and a juice fast that is working for me. I'm in the zone baby.
I'm really pumped because the 10% goal I'm working on right now is to go from 275.5 to 248. Making 248 will put me just 8 pounds away from having lost 100lbs. So I've been hoping that I could hit 248 by the end of March but now I'm thinking that I will go on into April however far it takes to actually hit 100lbs gone. I'm really going to hit 100lbs gone! Like within the next few weeks! How exciting is that?!
I made a youtube vid about my March plans that I've also posted here on my blog and I am getting ready to upload one about willpower. I said I didn't believe in willpower and a friend said she was curious about that and I should make a vid so I did:) It'll be up shortly. I don't usually feel like I really articulate what I'm trying to say in these videos which is frustrating for me as public speaking is another one of those things that I used to be good at:/ But it is a personal challenge I've set for myself. It's almost therapeutic.
So that's where I'm at for March. I'm planning to weigh in on Fridays so I'll at least post progress blogs on Friday or Saturday of each week.
JUICE ON! WE GOT THIS!!!
I reached my second 10% goal in February so that was a huge victory that put me at 275.5 and I actually got down to 273. But overall February weight loss was quite slow. I believe that it is probably normal for our bodies to hold onto the weight tighter when we are exposed to frequent subzero temps as a safety mechanism and I was definitely exposed. Not as in, "Baby It's Cold Outside" so I'll stay in my house where it's nice and warm. Oh no! I'm talking cold as in my house is a pile of crap and you can't keep it warm. Cannot. I have been freezing my assets off this winter. But I just feel in my bones that my body is ready to start letting it go again so as a kick start, I'm back on Da Juice! I have my brain in juicing gear so that I'm not even looking at or thinking about the chewed stuff. That is the hard-to-describe difference between wanting to do a juice fast and having it just not take off like I did earlier this winter and a juice fast that is working for me. I'm in the zone baby.
I'm really pumped because the 10% goal I'm working on right now is to go from 275.5 to 248. Making 248 will put me just 8 pounds away from having lost 100lbs. So I've been hoping that I could hit 248 by the end of March but now I'm thinking that I will go on into April however far it takes to actually hit 100lbs gone. I'm really going to hit 100lbs gone! Like within the next few weeks! How exciting is that?!
I made a youtube vid about my March plans that I've also posted here on my blog and I am getting ready to upload one about willpower. I said I didn't believe in willpower and a friend said she was curious about that and I should make a vid so I did:) It'll be up shortly. I don't usually feel like I really articulate what I'm trying to say in these videos which is frustrating for me as public speaking is another one of those things that I used to be good at:/ But it is a personal challenge I've set for myself. It's almost therapeutic.
So that's where I'm at for March. I'm planning to weigh in on Fridays so I'll at least post progress blogs on Friday or Saturday of each week.
JUICE ON! WE GOT THIS!!!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
The Fox Guarding the Hen House?
Am I the only one who just feels like the world has really gone insane? I mean, first off, we've already learned that medical schools do not teach nutrition. Period. They just don't. Maybe 1 in 4 requires even 1 full credit class in nutritition. We already know this and while this is disturbing, I really have no problem owning my own health and well-being. Okay, I'll go to the doctor when I get exposed to a communicable disease that really responds well to antibiotics (those are a lot more few and far between than you think they are though... just saying.) I'll go to the doctor if I break a bone. When I'm deciding what foods are going to nourish me, I'll go elsewhere. But it gets crazier. For real.
I like my doctor. She is pretty cool. I'm not trying to bash doctors but people, what you need to remember is that your doctor is a regular human being just like you. Their pants go on one leg at a time just like you. They may or may not have spent a few more years in school than you but I question the true value of that even. During those years they are under extreme stress, they are sleep-deprived, they are overwhelmed with more information than they could possibly realistically absorb in the short span of time they are there. It is a miracle they learn and retain as much as they do. Well, thank goodness for ongoing education, right? All doctors go through regular courses of ongoing education to keep them on top of things. I mean after all, how long of never using your high school trigonometry did it take before you forgot how to do trigonometry? Use it or lose it.... So, it's great that they have ongoing education resources and opportunities. Right?
Well... not-so-much. It would be great if not for the fact that most of those classes are sponsored (paid for) and/or provided by pharmaceutical companies and food and drink manufacturers. Pepsico, Merck, The Dairy Council.... Yup. Your doctor probably took time from his or her busy schedule to attend a class taught by a doctor or scientist paid by Pepsico to explain why there is no problem with HFCS (High fructose corn syrup.) Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? See when I was growing up we called that setting the fox to guard the hen house. And in case you aren't sure... that's a bad thing.
I like my doctor. She is pretty cool. I'm not trying to bash doctors but people, what you need to remember is that your doctor is a regular human being just like you. Their pants go on one leg at a time just like you. They may or may not have spent a few more years in school than you but I question the true value of that even. During those years they are under extreme stress, they are sleep-deprived, they are overwhelmed with more information than they could possibly realistically absorb in the short span of time they are there. It is a miracle they learn and retain as much as they do. Well, thank goodness for ongoing education, right? All doctors go through regular courses of ongoing education to keep them on top of things. I mean after all, how long of never using your high school trigonometry did it take before you forgot how to do trigonometry? Use it or lose it.... So, it's great that they have ongoing education resources and opportunities. Right?
Well... not-so-much. It would be great if not for the fact that most of those classes are sponsored (paid for) and/or provided by pharmaceutical companies and food and drink manufacturers. Pepsico, Merck, The Dairy Council.... Yup. Your doctor probably took time from his or her busy schedule to attend a class taught by a doctor or scientist paid by Pepsico to explain why there is no problem with HFCS (High fructose corn syrup.) Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? See when I was growing up we called that setting the fox to guard the hen house. And in case you aren't sure... that's a bad thing.
Friday, January 10, 2014
JANUARY JUICE AND CHEW DAY 10
So with the van broke down, it was late evening before we got any groceries. We usually get our groceries on Thursday afternoon so we were out of just about everything! No greens! No carrots! No oranges or lemons! It was pretty crazy so I didn't have any juice today:'( I did take my water way up. I was a bit constipated for the first time since I started this whole thing and I realized that with the cold weather I was literally, even with herbal tea, only getting about 20oz of water each day. No bueno. I ended up just doing a lot of snacking and water drinking today. We'll see how that plays out on the scale tomorrow and the next day (I don't believe results of what we eat today always show up immediately.) So without further ado...
Weigh-in this morning 280.6
76oz water
Large salad
Grapefruit
3 tangerines
1 banana
Quinoa with red peppers and spinach - 1.5 cups
Small apple
1 oz raisins
1 cup popcorn
I suspect my calories were low today. That definitely might slow me down a bit but maybe with the increased water I'll be okay. Anyway, I feel like my body felt sufficiently nourished. As I said, it was just a lot of snacking. I prefer when I divide my eating into some semblance of meals but I'm not really concerned. I have a lot on my non-food "plate" right now and I'm keeping it healthy, which is the bottom line. But I have to say I really can't wait to get up in the morning and get my juice on:) Speaking of which, JUICE ON!!
Weigh-in this morning 280.6
76oz water
Large salad
Grapefruit
3 tangerines
1 banana
Quinoa with red peppers and spinach - 1.5 cups
Small apple
1 oz raisins
1 cup popcorn
I suspect my calories were low today. That definitely might slow me down a bit but maybe with the increased water I'll be okay. Anyway, I feel like my body felt sufficiently nourished. As I said, it was just a lot of snacking. I prefer when I divide my eating into some semblance of meals but I'm not really concerned. I have a lot on my non-food "plate" right now and I'm keeping it healthy, which is the bottom line. But I have to say I really can't wait to get up in the morning and get my juice on:) Speaking of which, JUICE ON!!
Thursday, January 9, 2014
January Juice and Chew Day 9
Day 9
4 pints juice
3 tangerines
1 banana
1 boiled egg
1 large baked potato with Mrs. Dash
I'm a little overwhelmed by my non-food related life today so I'm going to leave it at that for today.
JUICE ON!! Everything is better with juice! Even all the sh** the world throws at you.
4 pints juice
3 tangerines
1 banana
1 boiled egg
1 large baked potato with Mrs. Dash
I'm a little overwhelmed by my non-food related life today so I'm going to leave it at that for today.
JUICE ON!! Everything is better with juice! Even all the sh** the world throws at you.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Winter 2014 Juice Fast Day 1
First off, I have to start by saying my heart goes out to those affected by this insane cold front that has blanketed the nation. Many areas are getting down in the 30 below area!! Here in Oklahoma it was in the single digits most of the time for the last two days. Windchill last time I checked yesterday during the day was around negative 12 degrees. My main source of heat is out so we have portable electric radiator style heaters. They do all right when it is in the 20s or 30s but single digits are too much for them. It was 35deg in my house when I went to bed last night. It is supposed to get up in the 40s and 50s for the rest of the foreseeable forecast so we're fine here. But so much of the country is just frozen. My husband is snowed in at a truck stop in Gary, Indiana. And this cold is apparently hard on heating systems because my daughter and several friends have reported their heat going out. However, my main thoughts and prayers at a time like this are for the homeless. The shelters are just woefully inadequate, at least around here. I feel bad because I didn't take any hats and scarves to the shelters this year at all. The last couple of winters have been so mild it sort of fell off my radar. So my knitting challenge for the duration of my juice fast is going to switch to just making as many hats as I can, both adult and infant, as well as scarves and glittens. If they report another cold front headed for us, I'll take them to John 3:16 shelter. If not, I'll send them to the reservation. (To make the time pass faster during my juice fast, I'm knitting for charity. When I set myself a knitting deadline, the time always flies by.)
Now, my report for Monday. I have to report on the previous day, obviously, since I can't know for certain what all I will do today! So, weight will be current mornings weight. Food will be from the previous day. Got that? So tomorrow will read "Day 1 - Again"
MONDAY, 6 Jan 2014
Weigh in: 282.3
Juice: 3 pints
Liquids: 16oz water, 16oz broth from cabbage soup with pepper
Food: 1 banana, 3 tangerines, 1 baked potato with salsa
Detox symptoms: Yes! My eyes are all gummy and I have a headache and some nausea. Someone just asked me yesterday if I experienced nausea last time and I said, "No, not really." And then in the wee hours of this morning, bam. Nothing too unbearable, but not all that pleasant either. I also feel pretty upbeat and cheerful from some fool reason. But I do feel like the glitches on the reboot website are maybe more than I can handle right now without ripping someone's head off so I'll wait a while to log in.
And, by the way, it is up to 40 degrees inside my house! Whoopee! I am planning to also include any workouts I get in on these posts but I didn't do any yesterday. Maybe today or tomorrow at the latest it will be warm enough for me to take off some layers (ha! I typed lawyers at first - I'll take off some lawyers) and work out with my resistance band:)
Stay warm everyone. And pray for those who can't.
Now, my report for Monday. I have to report on the previous day, obviously, since I can't know for certain what all I will do today! So, weight will be current mornings weight. Food will be from the previous day. Got that? So tomorrow will read "Day 1 - Again"
MONDAY, 6 Jan 2014
Weigh in: 282.3
Juice: 3 pints
Liquids: 16oz water, 16oz broth from cabbage soup with pepper
Food: 1 banana, 3 tangerines, 1 baked potato with salsa
Detox symptoms: Yes! My eyes are all gummy and I have a headache and some nausea. Someone just asked me yesterday if I experienced nausea last time and I said, "No, not really." And then in the wee hours of this morning, bam. Nothing too unbearable, but not all that pleasant either. I also feel pretty upbeat and cheerful from some fool reason. But I do feel like the glitches on the reboot website are maybe more than I can handle right now without ripping someone's head off so I'll wait a while to log in.
And, by the way, it is up to 40 degrees inside my house! Whoopee! I am planning to also include any workouts I get in on these posts but I didn't do any yesterday. Maybe today or tomorrow at the latest it will be warm enough for me to take off some layers (ha! I typed lawyers at first - I'll take off some lawyers) and work out with my resistance band:)
Stay warm everyone. And pray for those who can't.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Progress Pic As Promised
Okay, so this is not exactly earth shattering but there is a difference. Pic on the left is August 23rd, 2013 at 340. Pic on the right is January 2nd, 2014 (that's 4 months and 10 days) at 287.
I was going to try to use the same clothes but it was too freaking cold! It was hard enough to take off my jacket for this one. and the next one probably won't even be able to be in the same spot since we are moving soon. (Thank God!) The only measurement I'm going to share right now because I am being lazy, is that my waist went from 52" to 45" so far but trust me, my hips, legs and upper arms are all smaller too. Now... bring on the next 50! Now THAT will be a progress pic!!
So for my daily update that really will hopefully become daily:/ Friday and Saturday, I had a couple juices along with a couple pieces of fruit and a big ol' salad. Today, I'm having more juice, less fruit and a veggie soup that I'm mostly just taking the broth off of. It has herbs and spices, very little salt, cabbage, mushrooms, squash, green beans and a few stray carrots. It's yummy:) I plan to scoop out the veggies and put them in the blender for a cream soup for the girls and I'll set back the broth for me.
Weight this morning 284.
Exercise - 0 (I usually don't exercise on Sunday.)
JUICE WITH ME!!
So for my daily update that really will hopefully become daily:/ Friday and Saturday, I had a couple juices along with a couple pieces of fruit and a big ol' salad. Today, I'm having more juice, less fruit and a veggie soup that I'm mostly just taking the broth off of. It has herbs and spices, very little salt, cabbage, mushrooms, squash, green beans and a few stray carrots. It's yummy:) I plan to scoop out the veggies and put them in the blender for a cream soup for the girls and I'll set back the broth for me.
Weight this morning 284.
Exercise - 0 (I usually don't exercise on Sunday.)
JUICE WITH ME!!
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
There Are No Magic Bullets, But There Are Miracles
Every time I find myself describing my journey to someone new, I realize just how much I sound like an infomercial or like I'm just caught up in the pink fluffy honeymoon cloud of a "new diet" but I've never in my life stuck to a diet for this long much less been in the "honeymoon" phase of it for several months and going strong. This has most definitely settled into lifestyle mode.
So that begs the question, how can a simple change of diet create the incredible changes I've experienced. Well, lets look at a few things. First, getting the disgusting mess the local grocer passes off as meat and animal products that I was eating - hormones, puss in the milk etc - out of my body. Just removing those has to help. If I had changed to homegrown, grass fed, lean cuts and healthy prep and still ate the meat, I would be better off but still not as good as just getting the animal protein out of my diet. (If you aren't following me here, read the China Study and/or watch Forks Over Knives.) I'm 90% animal protein free. I still eat a serving of fish 2 or 3 times a month, have a bit of organic chicken or turkey in the crockpot soup once or twice a month and I have an organic, cage-free, hormone free, preferably locally grown boiled egg a couple times a week. I don't know if I will eventually eliminate those or not. Even the China Study noted that the cancer growth and other bad effects weren't triggered with a low intake of animal protein. So I'm good with this for now.
Next, let's note that my diet went from very near zero fresh fruit and veggies to a good 75% freggies. That alone had to be a huge shock (of the good variety) to my system. At this point, every system and cell in my body has to be singing for joy. It's like, "Halleleujah! She's finally giving us something to work with!"
Now let's add the fact that I juice and blend a lot of freggies and add really nutrient dense, natural additives like ground flax etc. Now you are taking the great nutrients that your average healthy eater would consume in a day and putting all those nutrients into one serving. You are literally just FLOODING your system with nutrients it's been deprived of for decades.
Our bodies are amazing self-healing machines but we take a machine that has the ability to repair itself and even regenerate on its own but we deny it the building blocks it require to do that. And then we wonder why we fall apart. So what do we do? Instead of handing it those high-quality, sound and solid building blocks that God gave us in abundance, we give it man made imitations made of cardboard and chemicals. And then we wonder why we fall apart!
One last thing to consider that really just makes our body sing is that even when I was eating a salad or drinking juice before, it was made and packaged and stored and shipped and stored again before I ate it. If I had ever gotten ground flax in something, it had probably lost most of it's nutritional value before it got to me. Now, I grind my flax seeds, throw that into the soup or smoothie and consume it. No nutrional loss there. Again, tons more nutrients hitting my body than it is used to. And next year is really going to take it up a notch as I will be able to just go to my own garden and pick the veggies as fresh as fresh gets:)
So if I sound like a crazy infomercial sometimes; if it sounds crazy to say that I went from depressed, barely able to walk across a room, in constant pain and a mental fog every day of my life and then literally became pain free, regained my energy, improved health conditions dramatically, started losing weight at a steady pace and regained a much higher degree of mental clarity all within days of starting a juice fast and now I'm still feeling fantastic just as much after 4 months of a clean, plant-based diet, you can understand that I'm not promoting the latest fad or a magic bullet or even a "diet." I'm just saying to eat the way God meant you to. Eat the abundance of things he gave us to thrive on. If that includes meat for you then at least make that a smaller ratio of your calories and make it fresh, untainted by a disgusting industry and prepare it in a healthy way.
It's not a miracle... and yet it is the biggest miracle of all. How miraculous that those plants include all those crazy nutrients that really can heal, regrow, vitalize and maximize the potential of every cell in your body. The things your doctor throws his hands in the air over and just writes another script for? Your creator gave you the cure. When the few doctors who have actually studied the topic of healing through nutrition say, "Sure, a plant based diet would help my patients but they won't follow it so I just give them a pill instead." You can shout, "I'll do it! I'll heal myself with nutrition!" Maybe more doctors will seek out that information and share it with their other patients if they have patients coming in with dramatic improvements and telling them, "I don't need those pills, doc. I stopped taking those months ago." I am praying that by the time my grandkids are grown, they will defy all those predictions about the newest generation of children dying younger than their parents did.
So that begs the question, how can a simple change of diet create the incredible changes I've experienced. Well, lets look at a few things. First, getting the disgusting mess the local grocer passes off as meat and animal products that I was eating - hormones, puss in the milk etc - out of my body. Just removing those has to help. If I had changed to homegrown, grass fed, lean cuts and healthy prep and still ate the meat, I would be better off but still not as good as just getting the animal protein out of my diet. (If you aren't following me here, read the China Study and/or watch Forks Over Knives.) I'm 90% animal protein free. I still eat a serving of fish 2 or 3 times a month, have a bit of organic chicken or turkey in the crockpot soup once or twice a month and I have an organic, cage-free, hormone free, preferably locally grown boiled egg a couple times a week. I don't know if I will eventually eliminate those or not. Even the China Study noted that the cancer growth and other bad effects weren't triggered with a low intake of animal protein. So I'm good with this for now.
Next, let's note that my diet went from very near zero fresh fruit and veggies to a good 75% freggies. That alone had to be a huge shock (of the good variety) to my system. At this point, every system and cell in my body has to be singing for joy. It's like, "Halleleujah! She's finally giving us something to work with!"
Now let's add the fact that I juice and blend a lot of freggies and add really nutrient dense, natural additives like ground flax etc. Now you are taking the great nutrients that your average healthy eater would consume in a day and putting all those nutrients into one serving. You are literally just FLOODING your system with nutrients it's been deprived of for decades.
Our bodies are amazing self-healing machines but we take a machine that has the ability to repair itself and even regenerate on its own but we deny it the building blocks it require to do that. And then we wonder why we fall apart. So what do we do? Instead of handing it those high-quality, sound and solid building blocks that God gave us in abundance, we give it man made imitations made of cardboard and chemicals. And then we wonder why we fall apart!
One last thing to consider that really just makes our body sing is that even when I was eating a salad or drinking juice before, it was made and packaged and stored and shipped and stored again before I ate it. If I had ever gotten ground flax in something, it had probably lost most of it's nutritional value before it got to me. Now, I grind my flax seeds, throw that into the soup or smoothie and consume it. No nutrional loss there. Again, tons more nutrients hitting my body than it is used to. And next year is really going to take it up a notch as I will be able to just go to my own garden and pick the veggies as fresh as fresh gets:)
So if I sound like a crazy infomercial sometimes; if it sounds crazy to say that I went from depressed, barely able to walk across a room, in constant pain and a mental fog every day of my life and then literally became pain free, regained my energy, improved health conditions dramatically, started losing weight at a steady pace and regained a much higher degree of mental clarity all within days of starting a juice fast and now I'm still feeling fantastic just as much after 4 months of a clean, plant-based diet, you can understand that I'm not promoting the latest fad or a magic bullet or even a "diet." I'm just saying to eat the way God meant you to. Eat the abundance of things he gave us to thrive on. If that includes meat for you then at least make that a smaller ratio of your calories and make it fresh, untainted by a disgusting industry and prepare it in a healthy way.
It's not a miracle... and yet it is the biggest miracle of all. How miraculous that those plants include all those crazy nutrients that really can heal, regrow, vitalize and maximize the potential of every cell in your body. The things your doctor throws his hands in the air over and just writes another script for? Your creator gave you the cure. When the few doctors who have actually studied the topic of healing through nutrition say, "Sure, a plant based diet would help my patients but they won't follow it so I just give them a pill instead." You can shout, "I'll do it! I'll heal myself with nutrition!" Maybe more doctors will seek out that information and share it with their other patients if they have patients coming in with dramatic improvements and telling them, "I don't need those pills, doc. I stopped taking those months ago." I am praying that by the time my grandkids are grown, they will defy all those predictions about the newest generation of children dying younger than their parents did.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
BRRRRR and Some Embarrassing Truths About My Life
So here in Oklahoma, winter is making up for how mild it was the last couple of years by icing on us and leaving us in the single digits. I'm freezing and pissy. I HATE ICE!!! I don't mind snow, I kinda like it. And when it's cold outside, it can make you appreciate your warm house and your fuzzy slippers (or in my case, hand-knit wool socks) even more, right? Yeah right!! We are doing good to keep it over 40 degrees in this place. My house is old. Really old and falling apart. They found problems with the gas pipes so they won't allow the gas on. Some nonsense about the danger of explosions or fumes... whatever. (Yes, for those who might not understand me yet, I'm being sarcastic.) So we have no hot water and only space heaters. We are supposed to be moved out by the end of the month but it may realistically be January something. We rent, by the way. The windows and doors are so poorly installed that you can literally pass things through to someone outside around the edges. Seriously, we've done it. The sliding glass doors have about a 3 inch gap on one side because they don't fit the opening! We've filled that with foam but it still lets in air. There are holes that you can throw a cat through, as the old saying goes. Although nobody better be throwing my kitties anywhere;o) I know the holes are that big because possums keep sneaking into my house. Yes, literally.
Totally off subject but I have to tell this story now, since I mentioned the possums. They live under our house. I'm cool with that. Well, this one is so comfortable living with us that he likes to stroll through in the night. We would usually just yell at him or the dog would bark or a cat would hiss and he would take off back out the hole. (It's not a hole I can get to - the landlord made the holes last year trying to fix the gas problem.) Possum wasn't aggressive, in fact he was quite shy and nervous so we just ignored the problem. I grew up in the country; critters don't bother me. My cousins had a pet raccoon for years. Well a couple weeks ago, Cameron woke up and the possum was strolling across his body on his bed as he slept!!! He screamed like a little girl and the dog came running and started barking and the chase was on. Well, possum realized he had screwed up big time (even though he was considerably bigger than the dog) so he did what possums do.... he played possum. He had made it to my room by this time. So Gadget dragged what he presumed to be his "kill" behind my love seat. Possum still playing dead. Cameron moved the love seat, put a bucket over it, took it outside and THREW it across the yard. Still playing dead! He came in the house and we watched out the window. About two minutes later, he gets up and casually strolls back under our house. Yup, it's like that around here.
I've mentioned that I had given up on life until last August when I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Well, I'm admitting to all of this so you can understand just how low I had sunk. We were living in a house that should have been condemned. We can only plug use one appliance at a time in the kitchen other than the frig. Throwing a breaker is a very regular occurrence. Basically if you turn on the toaster without unplugging the juicer, bam. This neighborhood isn't great either. Oh and my beloved old truck (I LOVE old trucks - especially Fords; I would rather push an old truck than drive a new car) has been neglected and left in need of repairs for over a year. I had to have someone to help me in and out if I went anywhere anyway and I couldn't do my own shopping anymore as I couldn't walk unassisted and was too proud to use an electric cart. So what did it matter if I had my own transportation. My poor family could do nothing to pull me out of this downward spiral. It was actually quite telling that I was even willing to live in town. I have always hated living in town. I need to be in the country surrounded by nature and critters and air. I feel trapped and claustrophobic in town and it sets off my PTSD something fierce.
So this really does relate to all my healthy life changes. I hated myself so much that I didn't care how I lived. I don't now. Juicing and WFPB eating has not only given me back health, energy, weight-loss and independence (which is so important to me I can't even express it here - I am independent to a fault by nature) it has also given me back my self-respect and my desire to live the life I choose. We are getting out of this rat trap. We are looking for land to buy out in the country. We are going to buy a large RV to stay in while we pay off the land because once you have 50% equity in your land, there are a couple of companies that will either put a double wide on it or build a prefab home on it for no down payment. Your land serves as your collateral. The RV will also allow me to do another thing that I've always yearned to do and never been able to - travel. And buddy, let me tell you... we are going somewhere warmer for the winter. We should have the RV by the end of January at the latest - probably a 32' 5th wheel, haven't decided for sure. Getting the truck fixed by the end of the month as well - that's my Christmas present. I have friends in South Texas I'd like to see as well as a sister in Arizona and brothers and tons of cousins in California. I am most definitely going somewhere warmer for at least a good chunck of this miserable, cold, icy winter that Oklahoma apparently has planned. I love Oklahoma but I HATE ICE!! (See how I brought that back around. I really did have a point!)
Oh and lest you think I'm too off topic on this post, let me just say that as long as I have to literally bundle up in several layers including hat and scarf and mittens inside my house, I will probably not be losing as much weight because I'm not drinking cold juice and eating cold salad today. If I can see my breath in my bedroom, I'm having hot lentil soup and warm broth and baked potato with salsa and oatmeal and anything else that is served nice and hot! Don't get me wrong, still plant-based and clean but not much raw. And I have really come to believe in the power of raw. I'm not getting involved in all the drama going on in the raw community these days but I do believe that eating as much raw, fresh foods as you can manage will always benefit you. Except when it's 8 degrees fahrenheit outside and you only have a space heater.
Oh and as to my weight, I have lost a bit more. I'm down to 293 which means I've lost 47 lbs since August 23. I'm really curious to see how much the weight loss slows with these changes or if it will surprise me and keep going at 2-3 lbs a week. Stay tuned!
Totally off subject but I have to tell this story now, since I mentioned the possums. They live under our house. I'm cool with that. Well, this one is so comfortable living with us that he likes to stroll through in the night. We would usually just yell at him or the dog would bark or a cat would hiss and he would take off back out the hole. (It's not a hole I can get to - the landlord made the holes last year trying to fix the gas problem.) Possum wasn't aggressive, in fact he was quite shy and nervous so we just ignored the problem. I grew up in the country; critters don't bother me. My cousins had a pet raccoon for years. Well a couple weeks ago, Cameron woke up and the possum was strolling across his body on his bed as he slept!!! He screamed like a little girl and the dog came running and started barking and the chase was on. Well, possum realized he had screwed up big time (even though he was considerably bigger than the dog) so he did what possums do.... he played possum. He had made it to my room by this time. So Gadget dragged what he presumed to be his "kill" behind my love seat. Possum still playing dead. Cameron moved the love seat, put a bucket over it, took it outside and THREW it across the yard. Still playing dead! He came in the house and we watched out the window. About two minutes later, he gets up and casually strolls back under our house. Yup, it's like that around here.
I've mentioned that I had given up on life until last August when I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Well, I'm admitting to all of this so you can understand just how low I had sunk. We were living in a house that should have been condemned. We can only plug use one appliance at a time in the kitchen other than the frig. Throwing a breaker is a very regular occurrence. Basically if you turn on the toaster without unplugging the juicer, bam. This neighborhood isn't great either. Oh and my beloved old truck (I LOVE old trucks - especially Fords; I would rather push an old truck than drive a new car) has been neglected and left in need of repairs for over a year. I had to have someone to help me in and out if I went anywhere anyway and I couldn't do my own shopping anymore as I couldn't walk unassisted and was too proud to use an electric cart. So what did it matter if I had my own transportation. My poor family could do nothing to pull me out of this downward spiral. It was actually quite telling that I was even willing to live in town. I have always hated living in town. I need to be in the country surrounded by nature and critters and air. I feel trapped and claustrophobic in town and it sets off my PTSD something fierce.
So this really does relate to all my healthy life changes. I hated myself so much that I didn't care how I lived. I don't now. Juicing and WFPB eating has not only given me back health, energy, weight-loss and independence (which is so important to me I can't even express it here - I am independent to a fault by nature) it has also given me back my self-respect and my desire to live the life I choose. We are getting out of this rat trap. We are looking for land to buy out in the country. We are going to buy a large RV to stay in while we pay off the land because once you have 50% equity in your land, there are a couple of companies that will either put a double wide on it or build a prefab home on it for no down payment. Your land serves as your collateral. The RV will also allow me to do another thing that I've always yearned to do and never been able to - travel. And buddy, let me tell you... we are going somewhere warmer for the winter. We should have the RV by the end of January at the latest - probably a 32' 5th wheel, haven't decided for sure. Getting the truck fixed by the end of the month as well - that's my Christmas present. I have friends in South Texas I'd like to see as well as a sister in Arizona and brothers and tons of cousins in California. I am most definitely going somewhere warmer for at least a good chunck of this miserable, cold, icy winter that Oklahoma apparently has planned. I love Oklahoma but I HATE ICE!! (See how I brought that back around. I really did have a point!)
Oh and lest you think I'm too off topic on this post, let me just say that as long as I have to literally bundle up in several layers including hat and scarf and mittens inside my house, I will probably not be losing as much weight because I'm not drinking cold juice and eating cold salad today. If I can see my breath in my bedroom, I'm having hot lentil soup and warm broth and baked potato with salsa and oatmeal and anything else that is served nice and hot! Don't get me wrong, still plant-based and clean but not much raw. And I have really come to believe in the power of raw. I'm not getting involved in all the drama going on in the raw community these days but I do believe that eating as much raw, fresh foods as you can manage will always benefit you. Except when it's 8 degrees fahrenheit outside and you only have a space heater.
Oh and as to my weight, I have lost a bit more. I'm down to 293 which means I've lost 47 lbs since August 23. I'm really curious to see how much the weight loss slows with these changes or if it will surprise me and keep going at 2-3 lbs a week. Stay tuned!
Thursday, November 28, 2013
The Real Thanksgiving
So for those of us trying to live a healthier life and lose weight and regain vibrant health, Thanksgiving can represent a challenge. I must have been asked at least 85 times in the past week how I would "handle" it and even asked for advice about how best to handle it for others. That's new. I still haven't gotten used to having other people act as if my opinion on topics of health and weight loss really matters. LOL Everyone really has to decide for themselves. Some people have complicated family situations to consider and I would never presume to get in the middle of that! But, as usual, my real, deep down feeling is that family should value your health and well-being enough to make some concessions or even (gasp) just support what you are trying to do. I can't imagine not having a family that supports me like that. And that is probably what I'm thankful for this year most of all. My husband is one in a million. He supports me through all things. He epitomizes "in sickness and in health" and "for better or for worse." My kids and grandkids bless every day of my life and don't hesitate to do anything in their power to support my efforts. So how did I "handle" the challenge of Thanksgiving?
I have had a great Thanksgiving with my two teenagers. I am so proud of them. I told them that if not having pie or rolls or something was going to make them feel deprived or like this lifestyle was too hard, I would get them some. They both said NO! And Harmoni (17 year old) said, "The main thing I'm most thankful for this year is how happy you are just living every day now." My hubby is on the road but we are used to that. We have a nice meal when he gets home and we don't celebrate Christmas until Epiphany so that he can be home. I told my grown kids that since Thanksgiving meal was going to be turned on it's ear that they should probably just spend it with their inlaws. I hope to be so used to this lifestyle by next year that I will make them a feast to remember that I won't hesitate to eat as well. I'll be spending some time with my oldest daughter and that new baby boy next week and I'm definitely thankful for that! I'm really thankful that all three of my grown kids have found really amazing and wonderful people to share their lives with. Both son-in-laws and my daughter-in-law are really awesome. I honestly couldn't have chosen better for them myself. I have NINE beautiful, healthy, intelligent grandchildren. God has blessed me beyond measure.
Thanksgiving was really my Mom's holiday as she was an amazing cook in the old-school Southern cooking style. I see her in my daughter Cheyenne. I always miss her so much on this day but part of me is glad she isn't here to see what terrible condition I have let myself get into. At least I have felt that way every Thanksgiving until this one. I know that she would be so proud of the changes I've made, the things I've learned and the rest of the family for their unwavering support. A few weeks ago when people first started talking about Thanksgiving, my first thought was, "Oh no! Mom's stuffing and apple pan dowdy and heavenly hash!" Fixing her recipes always made us all feel closer to her. We knew that she was there with us in spirit. Well, the day came and we ate our small serving of roast turkey and roasted veggies and lots of fruit. We even had a special treat that Cameron brought us; gluten free, dairy free cookies! I do NOT feel like I missed a thing. Rather, I feel more thankful and more blessed than I have in many years. And that, my friends, is what Thanksgiving is about, not turkey or pie or cornbread dressing.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Three Types of People You Meet in Juicing Communities
I have watched all the youtube videos and read all the blogs I could find by and about people who lose weight juice fasting and/or a whole food/plant-based diet/high raw diet etc. Yes. A lot of people do regain the weight but the ones who have the courage to come back and tell you what went on will tell you exactly why. (Check out Steve Crider's latest videos STEVE CRIDER YOUTUBE CHANNEL- love that guy because he is honest and never gives up!) They regained the weight because they went back to eating whatever they used to eat that made them fat in the first place. If you do what you've always done, you will end up where you've always been. I read and watched and researched and read some more. I saw that many people regain the weight with juicing and WFPB diets just as they do with WW, Atkins, South Beach and Weight-loss surgery. I took all that in and used it to motivate me to really research and plan so that when I was finished with my first actual juice fast, I would have a solid plan in place for what I was going to eat for the rest of my life to continue to lose weight and eventually maintain a healthy weight, feel great, live an active and joyful life and love my food all at the same time. And I have. I NEVER would have believed that I would love eating like this and I sure as heck never thought I would LOVE eating like this. I grew up a country girl. We raised our own beef, chickens, and pork. I showed livestock in the shows and went hunting with my dad. Vegans and vegetarians were extremist nutcases. (Note - Personally, I still think PETA is nuttier than fruitcake.) Well, call me nutty because I am now very near vegan and I LOVE what I eat every single day. And my two teenagers have gone along for the ride and are losing weight as well and they love the food too! And my 19 year old was one of those kids who never touched a veggie other than a tomato or canned corn EVER before we started this. (No! I'm NOT counting french fries. That is a fat, not a veggie, in my book.)
Here's the thing. I really believe there are three types of people around juice fasting communities. Those who think they want this, try it and, within days or maybe a couple of weeks at most, decide it is too hard. Even though detox has been explained to them, they may become certain that juice is making them sick. They drop out and are never heard from again. Then there are those who throw themselves into it and white knuckle their way through a nice long juice only fast while counting the days til they can once again hit the Burger King drive through or pat themselves on the back for having more veggies on their pizza than they used to. They lose a ton of weight and then promptly gain it all back. It is absolutely true and can't be repeated often enough; If you do what you've always done, you end up where you've always been. One hundred percent accurate! Funny how that works:/
Then there are those who use the time on juice fast to allow the process to fundamentally change them. If you are one of these people, you come to realize that this doesn't just change what you are doing for a few days or weeks or even months; it changes everything. It is physical, mental and emotional. You discover things about yourself that you didn't know before including inner reserves of strength. You educate yourself. You discover that your weight gain had nothing to do with lack of willpower and that you've been duped by a huge industry into becoming addicted to things that harm you in order to make them richer. You get pissed and You. Change. Everything. And you love it! Free of all the salt and sugar and chemicals, your taste buds come back to life! You rediscover that the foods given us by our creator actually are wonderful to the taste without all the chemicals and that foods that aren't over-processed and overcooked and genetically modified taste better and sustain our bodies the way they were intended to be. You relearn what healthy feels like. You rediscover having energy to burn. You realize the miraculous thing that the human body really is! It begins to heal itself! I have a number of friends who have gotten off of blood pressure medication just as I have and off of asthma meds and acid reflux meds like my daughter has and even off of INSULIN! The body can and will heal and regenerate itself if you flood it with all the nutrients it needs.
I'm NOT saying everyone has to give up meat or dairy or gluten as I did. But it is certainly wise to very cautiously add those substances back in and pay attention to the effect on your body. Most of the ones I know who are still losing or maintaining after a long period of time have definitely made whole-food/plant based foods the center of their diet. And I literally do not know one who has maintained while still eating a processed, junk-food based diet. I really, really recommend you check out Dan Miller's web page here: DAN MILLER WEB PAGE or go to DAN MILLER JUICING & PLANT-BASED FOOD and look over his discussion thread there. I'm in there as Natshell:) Dan has been at this a long time and has more knowledge and information available on this topic (not to mention succes at losing and maintaining for a long period) than anyone else I know of and he is great at answering questions.
I assume most people who find my blog have already watched Fat Sick and Nearly Dead but if you haven't, do so! I also strongly recommend anyone who hasn't already, please watch Forks Over Knives. If you are a reader, read The China Study, The Pleasure Trap, Wheat Belly and Clean. Check out youtube videos and websites by Dr. McDougall, Dr Fuhrman, Dr Esselstyn and Rip Esselstyn, Douglas Lisle and Robert Lustig. Let one discovery lead to another. Make it your business and your top priority to discover what food/long-term diet will best serve your weight and your health once you aren't juice fasting anymore. Shouldn't your health and well-being be a top priority? Lots of people do regain weight after juice fasting. But YOU don't have to be one of them.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
The Gluten Summit - SOOO much information!
I read Wheat Belly several months before I saw FS&ND. I started trying to eliminate gluten - keyword there is trying:/ While under the influence of a toxic diet, trying to eliminate foods that are addictive in nature is HARD! Once I got on my juicefast, of course, gluten was automatically eliminated. Along with sugar and dairy and added fats. LOL That is why coming off of juice fast is the ultimate perfect time to carefully and individually add things like that back in to see what causes a bad reaction. For me it was all of the above but especially the gluten. Dairy makes me nauseous and bloated but gluten is literally debilitating. VERY quickly. Sugar just triggers food cravings and makes me think I'm hungry all the time.
This week, I have been watching tons of video presentations of The Gluten Summit. It makes me really sad that the vids are only available for 24 hours because there is WAY more information than I can really assimilate and share in that short time period. I can't afford the DVDs unfortunately. But one good outcome is that both my youngest girls have decided to eliminate gluten too. Harmoni was feeling yucky after a sandwich and said, "Mom, I wonder...." And she hasn't had any gluten anything since then, about 6 days ago. When we weighed in Friday, Gini was excited because she has lost 47 lbs but she said, "It is a little frustrating because I'm not losing this (pointing at her belly) as fast as I hoped." I said, "Get off the wheat." She said ok and went and threw out the last bit of bread in the house! She was the only one eating it by then. LOL So I'm really curious to see what her waist measurement is in a week or two. We already knew she was lactose intolerant and I've learned at The Gluten Summit that the two OFTEN go hand in hand but people don't realize it. People will even try elimination diets and when eliminating the gluten or the dairy doesn't have as much effect as they were hoping they give up not realizing that they need to try a period of giving up both. So many people just don't want to face the idea of giving up something they "love." Whether it is relationships or people. They say, "But I love it/him/her!" Instead they should look at whether or not it is a healthy reciprocal relationship. If it isn't serving you well, kick it to the curb and don't look back!!!
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Guest Blogger Reynolds - Surely Juice fasting isn't (gasp) ever difficult!?
Hello Ladies and Germs, it appears to me that contrary to all previous articulated notions to the contrary, doing a juice fast can, for some, in certain specific circumstances, be just a tinge on the difficult side.
Who would have thought? Let's see.... ceasing to chew food after decades of that thrice daily ritual ... ingesting liquids that look like your grandpa in South Louisiana just dipped a pitcher into the swamp to conduct mosquito larvae experiments... giving up our favorite foods of Snickers and Cornflakes on rye and cold Chef-Boyardee ravioli with apricot and dark chocolate pieces... living in a world where inundation from food sellers is more difficult than winning the lottery three times in one week... being ridiculed, criticized and called crazy by our FRIENDS!!! ... having removed from our listening pleasure the melodic sound of freshly produced cellophane wrappers crackling in our fat little fingers... having that little invisible monkey that piggybacks around with you screeching that he is hungry at the top of his lungs ... and the icing on the cake, so to speak, having to wash the dog in the backyard as your sadistic neighbor grills burgers and bacon every night. Then you realized that you've bathed the dog in the back yard four times this week already.
This is a big head game, this juice fasting. It is an exercise in distraction, illumination, redirection, denial and wistfully hoping.
It is all about dealing with THIS hour. Whatever it takes is what it takes. Taking a walk, cleaning the bathroom, calling your mother, vacuuming the car, weeding the roses, reading a book, watching Fat Sick and Nearly Dead again. Whatever it takes. The big thing is you have to believe that rebooting is beneficial and worth the sacrifices. Has stepping on the scale and seeing a smaller number show up, does that spin your top? How about knowing that you just began the process of expelling decades of stored toxins in your body, likely extending your life and making your remaining years healthier? If none of that works, then get creative. Try following a squirrel into a tree and do the squirrel bark at him until he looks mad enough to jump on you. Get creative!
Just please, please........... don't go eat 19 twinkees and a bag of Oreos and expect to feel good tomorrow, or feel good about yourself. It is not gonna happen. We are rooting you on gal. We've walked that walk. It is all about THIS HOUR. So just win this hour. Whatever it takes.
- See more at: http://community.rebootwithjoe.com/discussions/topic/100-lbs-or-more-starting-a-9113-30-day-reboot?p=135#sthash.Ys8JReho.dpuf
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Dear Doctor, Why?
I have spoken many times about all the medical issues I faced before starting my journey to self-healing and weight loss. It was pretty grim. Over the last few decades, I (and my insurance companies) have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to make my life bearable. In all those years, I found pretty much zero help or relief. I just got progressively worse and worse. The answer to many if not all the problems I was having was as simple as changing my grocery list. Yes, I spend a little more on groceries now but, recall that "hundreds of thousands" I mentioned? Not hyperbole folks. So there's expensive and then there's expeeensive. And there is more than one sort of "cost." Basically, what's it worth to you? Expensive is a relative term A $50k house is a bargain basement find! But a $50k car is expensive! What's the value of the thing is a a better question that what is the cost. So to me, my new diet is not expensive. For it's value, it is quite cheap. How much do you spend on perscriptions? What if your food was your food and your medicine?
First off, I find it laughable when people say to me that they can't afford all this "expensive" produce but it is actually a serious issue for many so let's talk about that for a moment. I understand tight budgets. No really, I do. We have been on the nothing-but-ramen-noodles-all-week diet more than a few times. I know from broke. But most of the time in recent months, before becoming whole foods/plant based and juicing (WFPB from now on) we spent around $125-175 per month on food for the family. We also ate out at least once, often two or three times every week. It was our payday ritual. We usually got pizza or Sonic or Arby's or Taco Bell. Taco Bell and Little Caesars are cheap for those weeks we had a more limited food budget. But that was an additional $15 to $60 per week or more. And then let's add up all the stops at Quick Trip for soda and a "snack." Am I the only one who would routinely spend $5 on #%$!* every time I filled up the gas tank of my car? I think not. So I was spending $150-200 per week on crap that was killing me. Literally. Literally crap and literally killing me. Not to mention the money I was spending on medications I no longer need. Nowadays, I routinely spend $180 a week on food. I haven't spent a solitary dime on fast food, packaged junk or convenience store snacks in 4 months. Yup, that WFPB diet is just too expensive. Still think it is too expensive? Check out Ellen Jaffe Jones. You can find her on facebook and youtube. I am not sure if her website is working but she also wrote a book called Vegan on $4 a day. And then there is this blog: http://homelessformyhealth.blogspot.com/. Go read it. Seriously. AFTER reading that blog, you come tell me that a healthy diet is too expensive.
Now, on to the things that are really on my mind today. A couple of things I have been hearing lately really have me pissed. Both have to do with doctors. First off, why the holy heck in all the years I've been to doctor after doctor, spent many weeks in hospitals and had dozens of very expensive tests done and been lectured about my weight continuously, has no doctor ever, once suggested that I had a leaky gut or gluten intolerance. Never once has any of them suggested I try eliminating sugar or dairy. Not ONE medical professional has ever suggested that people who eat primarily a plant based diet have little to no heart disease, cancer or diabetes. You know why? Because they know squat about nutrition. Seriously. They can't tell you what they don't know. There is, of course, the problem of the bought and paid for research they are being fed by USDA, FDA and Big Pharma plus there is the absolute absence of any real education. In medical school, our future physicians get a few hours of training in nutrition. Hours. NOT class hours or credit hours. As in your history class counts as 4 credit hours. No. A few actual clock hours of their entire education. Don't believe me? Check this out:
First off, I find it laughable when people say to me that they can't afford all this "expensive" produce but it is actually a serious issue for many so let's talk about that for a moment. I understand tight budgets. No really, I do. We have been on the nothing-but-ramen-noodles-all-week diet more than a few times. I know from broke. But most of the time in recent months, before becoming whole foods/plant based and juicing (WFPB from now on) we spent around $125-175 per month on food for the family. We also ate out at least once, often two or three times every week. It was our payday ritual. We usually got pizza or Sonic or Arby's or Taco Bell. Taco Bell and Little Caesars are cheap for those weeks we had a more limited food budget. But that was an additional $15 to $60 per week or more. And then let's add up all the stops at Quick Trip for soda and a "snack." Am I the only one who would routinely spend $5 on #%$!* every time I filled up the gas tank of my car? I think not. So I was spending $150-200 per week on crap that was killing me. Literally. Literally crap and literally killing me. Not to mention the money I was spending on medications I no longer need. Nowadays, I routinely spend $180 a week on food. I haven't spent a solitary dime on fast food, packaged junk or convenience store snacks in 4 months. Yup, that WFPB diet is just too expensive. Still think it is too expensive? Check out Ellen Jaffe Jones. You can find her on facebook and youtube. I am not sure if her website is working but she also wrote a book called Vegan on $4 a day. And then there is this blog: http://homelessformyhealth.blogspot.com/. Go read it. Seriously. AFTER reading that blog, you come tell me that a healthy diet is too expensive.
Now, on to the things that are really on my mind today. A couple of things I have been hearing lately really have me pissed. Both have to do with doctors. First off, why the holy heck in all the years I've been to doctor after doctor, spent many weeks in hospitals and had dozens of very expensive tests done and been lectured about my weight continuously, has no doctor ever, once suggested that I had a leaky gut or gluten intolerance. Never once has any of them suggested I try eliminating sugar or dairy. Not ONE medical professional has ever suggested that people who eat primarily a plant based diet have little to no heart disease, cancer or diabetes. You know why? Because they know squat about nutrition. Seriously. They can't tell you what they don't know. There is, of course, the problem of the bought and paid for research they are being fed by USDA, FDA and Big Pharma plus there is the absolute absence of any real education. In medical school, our future physicians get a few hours of training in nutrition. Hours. NOT class hours or credit hours. As in your history class counts as 4 credit hours. No. A few actual clock hours of their entire education. Don't believe me? Check this out:
The approximate time devoted to nutrition science over the first two years of my medical education is a measly 6 hours.... James Haddad [http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/12/nutrition-taught-medical-school.html] After the first two years they are in actual medical settings as interns and residents. With live patients.
Your doctor was not taught nutrition unless he went out on his own time and dollar and researched it himself. Since doctors in training have all that.. ya know... spare time. And since becoming a doctor, he is consistently fed the SAD conventional wisdom that is killing us all by degrees. So when people ask me if my doctor is on board with me going WFPB and all the juicing, my response is, "I don't give a rat's tail." My nutrition is up to me.
The other thing that set me off was several instances of hearing that what few doctors actually got the memo that WFPB diets can prevent a host of diseases dropped the ball anyway. Mostly. There are those few voices in the wilderness but your average physician in your average town or city? Well, the prevailing attitude seems to be that they don't bother recommending any radical change in diet because patients will likely find it too challenging and won't follow through. Changing your way of eating is too hard. Why bother when weight loss surgery is so much easier. And heck, many insurance plans are starting to cover it now too! Bonus! (In case you missed it, insert heavy sarcasm there.) So if even one doctor over the years looked at me and thought, "Damn woman! All you need to do is make salad the main dish! Throw out the cheese and the bread and eat some veggie stew instead." he or she then decided that I couldn't possibly have the physical or mental fortitude to deal with such advice so they just scheduled the next MRI or bone scan, filled out another perscription and sent me home. We are being treated like idiots and fools by the people we trust with our lives. Weak idiots and fools. Sure lots of people say, "Oh I couldn't do that!" But the problem is that they don't really believe in it. If our doctors were educated enough and committed enough to our health to really teach it to their patients, a LOT of them would say, "It will actually give me my health and energy back?! I can do that!" Some wouldn't. So for them, doctor, go ahead and schedule that next scan and write that next prescription. Do what you can to prepare them for the fact that their lives will be shorter and more painful and miserable. But at least learn what you need to know to give as many of us as possible a shot at real health. I know the first rule is supposed to be "do no harm" but shouldn't that be closely followed by "do as much good as you possibly can?"
Saturday, November 9, 2013
11 WEEKS IN - An Update
It is pretty crazy to think that we only started this new lifestyle 11 weeks ago. I haven't blogged as much lately because I tend to think I don't have anything interesting going on. I'm just a mom and grandma dealing with day to day life just like anyone else. I forget that certain things about our lifestyle nowadays are considered "non-norm." I forget that it is not "normal" to find no meat and no dairy in the average kitchen. I forget that not every mom hears their teenagers arguing over who took all the mushrooms in the salad. "I want mushrooms too!" LOL The average home probably doesn't have 10 pints of beet/apple/carrot/ginger juice in the frig. For about a minute; until the teenagers discover it. Not every house on the block contains 3 ladies who have lost a combined total of 115 lbs in the last 3 months. Is it normal for you to spend 90% of your grocery shopping time and money in the produce section? I used to barely glance in there; maybe to grab some bananas for the grandkids or a bag of potatos. Is the average families trash made up almost entirely of juice pulp and peelings? Where are all the cans and boxes and plastic containers?
Here are the problems we have lately:
Honey, should we sell the microwave?
No! I heat up my lemon/ginger water in there in the mornings!
I am NEVER going to finish my holiday knitting if I don't find some time to sit and knit!
Mom! We're out of celery!
I can't BELIEVE I was dumb enough to consume gluten again! Gluten makes me ill! What was I thinking?!!!
So life around here is just the same old boring routine as anyone elses.... With a few twists;o) And the most beautiful part is that I am actually participating in that routine. I'm not sitting in my room watching life go on without me. Yes, I am still on the program. Yes, I am still losing weight although it isn't beating any speed records. I have broken through to the 200s again but since I hit 299 last week, I haven't lost any more. The scale likes to screw with me like that. I'm not worried. I am giving my body what it really needs and trusting it to do the rest. Meanwhile, I feel fantastic!
A few things have changed. I no longer have to mindfully create positive dialogue about my food. I don't have to say to myself, "Those foods are poison to me. I am not the sort of person that eats whatever is easiest. I nourish my body." I don't have to mindfully say those things any more than I have to mindfully say, "I am a mom. I am a wife." They are just who I am. And did I mention I feel fantastic?
Here are the problems we have lately:
Honey, should we sell the microwave?
No! I heat up my lemon/ginger water in there in the mornings!
I am NEVER going to finish my holiday knitting if I don't find some time to sit and knit!
Mom! We're out of celery!
I can't BELIEVE I was dumb enough to consume gluten again! Gluten makes me ill! What was I thinking?!!!
So life around here is just the same old boring routine as anyone elses.... With a few twists;o) And the most beautiful part is that I am actually participating in that routine. I'm not sitting in my room watching life go on without me. Yes, I am still on the program. Yes, I am still losing weight although it isn't beating any speed records. I have broken through to the 200s again but since I hit 299 last week, I haven't lost any more. The scale likes to screw with me like that. I'm not worried. I am giving my body what it really needs and trusting it to do the rest. Meanwhile, I feel fantastic!
A few things have changed. I no longer have to mindfully create positive dialogue about my food. I don't have to say to myself, "Those foods are poison to me. I am not the sort of person that eats whatever is easiest. I nourish my body." I don't have to mindfully say those things any more than I have to mindfully say, "I am a mom. I am a wife." They are just who I am. And did I mention I feel fantastic?
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Guest Blogger - Reynolds
I am a member of the fantastic community of juice nuts at rebootwithjoe.com based on Joe Cross and his experiences as seen on "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead." My friend Reynolds is the guy that everyone in our group turns to for wisdom and inspiration. He is in the middle of this same journey that I am on and, like me, feels that nothing in this world is going to offer the things that juice fasting can. Another friend on the group had had a pretty significant slip-up on day 6 of her first juice fast and wondered if she should just give up and "pig out for a few days" or jump right back into juice fasting or maybe just try to transition onto a healthy "diet" instead of juice fasting. She got tons of great advice and support but Reynolds words really hit home for many of us. I asked him if I could post his reply here and he agreed so here it is. Someone out there needs to hear this. I just have this feeling.
Heathie: I read your post then went offline to compose a thoughtful response. When I came back to post, Katie had posted her very sage advice gleaned from numerous reboots over the last 6 months where she trimmed over 100 pounds from her frame. My words are very similar to hers, I'm just more long-winded. But the common points on which we both touch, we hope resonate with you. Here is mine:
ROFL..... Heathie your number three, "pig out a few days and then start back?" had me splitting my side. You probably don't get it but Natalie, Katie and Jana do for sure.
You are likely saying, "but I wasn't trying to be funny." Exactly! You were asking the SAME question every Fattie asks themselves when they get a mouthful of mud... "so do I just go back to being who I was for all those years?" Every single one of us in this forum have had huge doubts when we stumbled and we asked that same question.
Here is the whole enchilada wrapped up in a long thought :
All fat people got that way for a reason, maybe three. Once fat, we had family, friends and society send us mixed messages about our rising weight. At some point we became obese, and while we learned a host of excuses to push back anyone who cautioned or criticized us, we never managed to get around to accepting responsibility for STAYING fat. It is one thing to get fat over our teenage and young adult years, but it is another thing to keep gaining in our twenties, thirties and forties. Jana, Natslie, Katie and I are all near or above 50. Sure, we'd tried to lose weight every year or two. But we never found a way to get it off and keep it off. Until we ran into Joe Cross and juice fasting.
Heathie, what happens on a JF is a fundamental change in the mind. It doesn't come with most any other weight reduction plan. During a prolonged JF the mind is allowed, yes even forced, to put some distance between food and ourselves. Not having reason to be so intimate with chewed foods for a period of time allows us to reduce, and even remove, the emotional bonds that exist between EVERY Fattie and food. Finally, the stranglehold food has had on us is broken, literally, for the first time. It is not a permanent break up, necessarily, and yes that is the challenge of every Fattie that has gone through an extended JF must deal with.
I can't tell you how many days you have to be on a JF (10-45?) before the brain makes the switch and the mind sees things like it has NEVER seen them before. That change has as many looks as there are people doing a JF. But most JFers come to the realization that they have been lied to by the commercial food companies, but worse they've been egregiously lying to themselves as well.
During the JF the combination of detoxing, losing lots of weight and stepping back some distance from food synergizes together to give the person a birdseye view of food, addiction, compulsion, cravings and binging. I guess it is akin to seeing a ghost or Bigfoot. -- you might later question what you saw, but at the time you were unmistaken in what you saw. It is that pronounced of an awakening. The trick is to live out what we know. But we have 10-20-30 years of bad habits and only days/weeks/months at having a deep appreciation of vegetables and juicing.
So it is hard at first to win every single fight with our compulsive/addictive self. We'll lose once a day, then once every third day, then once every week, until finally ... finally the body relents and goes along with what the mind has been saying! Then, the struggle is cut to a fraction and the person is "over the hump." Will he or she struggle occasionally? Most certainly. But the struggle isn't at 10:42am, 2:39pm, 6:05pm, 8:47pm -- it is once every week or so.
The addiction is broken, but no immunity is created or a magic shield thrown up around the person. The lust of the eye is still there. The difference is that the new mind sees food differently. It no longer is a surrogate lover as it was. Now it is something to use as needed to meet a basic nutritional need. Sure, enjoying food is fine, but seeking pleasure from food no longer controls your every chewing decision. Most critical for the typical JFer out living in the chewing world again is the ability to master perceptions of food and thereby strictly controlling what goes in the body. There is no longer a free-for-all where just anything goes. We cant kid ourselves anymore. When eating again, every meal is a considered decision. Do want me to say that again? Every meal is a considered decision.
So why this loooong post? Well, what I'm telling you is this, it is so US. So fattie, to flop off the horse and then say, "oh what the hell, I think I'll just go eat a pan of peach cobbler." That is what fatties do routinely.
But in the near future, maybe within only a week or two, you too will recoil from the thought of going and pigging out with every stumble. Soon, you'll want to flee from pig outs as you will see them for what they are -- compulsive , uncontrolled bouts of mania. Yep, as part of JFing the mind changes its perceptions and with the changed perceptions comes a changed behavior. But! It is possible to slide back into the abyss, so vigilance is required for a long time, usually for more than a year.
Have you ever talked with someone that has climbed a massive peak like Kilimanjaro or Denali? Invariably they will mention that besides being staggeringly difficult dealing with all the adversities, it was a very specific system to summit and return to base camp safe. Freelancing was tantamount to death. The many that had gone before had spelled out all the problems and obstacles threatening each climber. While only thousands had done it before, nevertheless all the perils, risks, pitfalls and dilemmas any climber could face were very well articulated and defined by previous climbers writing about their experience.
So it is with a JF. There are no new wrinkles to be discovered by a new JFer. The struggles are all well known and written about here and in many blogs. It is important to know that what each of us are going through on our JF, is completely commonplace. It is predictable! Really!
Oh, not everyone has the exact same issues of headaches and diarrhea, or like. But your weaknesses, cravings, panics, listlessness and other symptoms experienced in your JF are the same ones the rest of us have experienced. Promise! So you see where I'm going with this -- learn from climbers that have summitted and come down to tell about it. Don't think for an instant that you , or me, or Natalie, or Katie, or Jana or Danielle -- can beat the established path that has been blazed ahead of us. We simply can't do it. Knowing the regimen and then sticking to it is imperative. We just aren't smart enough to find a new, better route up the mountain. Stick to the known, proven routes. Going rogue has bad consequences.
So what! You fell off the horse! You did it. Now that is history. Are you going to live in that momentary failure or instead jump back on the horse and ride. I hope you choose the latter, and choose it immediately.
Heathie, you have inside you a champion. But you'll have to find that champion. Usually the champion doesn't show up in the first couple of days as that time is so full of confusion, angst and flailing about.
But she will show up if you stay on the horse. But, before she does, it seems like you are about to expire. The body throws a fit, and then capitulates finally in day 4, 5 or 6. This gets lots easier. We are sure rooting for you and want you to ride with us on our journey to get healthy and lose weight. We hereby grant you a full absolution of your face plant! Now c'mon, go with us. You can only fail if you quit. So don't quit! :)
- See more at: http://community.rebootwithjoe.com/discussions/topic/100-lbs-or-more-starting-a-9113-30-day-reboot?p=83#sthash.AEETWGPg.dpuf
Thursday, October 17, 2013
My Personal Dialogue
I belong to several wonderful and amazing groups who are committed to the same path that I have, more or less. I also follow every committed juice faster and raw foodist that I can find on youtube. Lately I have seen a rash of people hitting "bumps in the road." It always hurts my heart to see/hear someone questioning their own commitment and wondering if they should throw away all they've accomplished because of the slip ups, whether it be the first one or the 101st one. I have a favorite saying: "You never fail until you quit." The problem is that when you really screw the pooch and dive headfirst into a mountain of processed or fast food, all your past failures and all the nasty chemicals start whispering to you that you are a failure; that you "can't do it" and trying to convince yourself to tune those voices out is really hard while you are under that influence. It's like trying to talk to an alcoholic about AA WHILE they are drunk. It just doesn't work.
I consider there to be two kinds of slip-ups. Lets get this straight first. There are slip-ups and then there is screwing the pooch. A slip-up is, for example, eating too much of a food that is actually allowed on your plan. The food is okay but you ate much more of it than planned. Or perhaps you ate a slice of tomato while on a juice fast. It isn't going to really mess with your head in a chemical way but it wasn't "The Plan." Now screwing the pooch is an entirely different thing. For example, going for a value meal at McDonalds, possibly followed up with a box of donuts or a trip to Braum's for a brownie fudge sundae. Of course, there are also all the degrees in between. I have had slip-ups but since I started down this path back in August, I haven't screwed the pooch even once. Not even close. I see these people who seem so committed and so strong and who are even having great results slip and sometimes fall altogether. The ones who just never show back up break my heart. The ones that get up, dust themselves (and the juicer) off, and trot right back down that path again are heroes.
As I said, I've encountered quite a few of both types of slip-ups, fall-downs and crash and burns lately and it's got me asking myself how have I avoided it? I have only experienced the milder version of slip-ups and one week of trying to put bread back into my diet and discovering that was a bad idea. (Previous blog - and for the record, I have taken off the 7 lbs I regained from that little experiment as of today.) Every healthy thing I have attempted in my entire life, I have screwed the pooch within short order and then I've given up entirely. Every time and there have been many. Weight watchers, Nutrisystem, Atkins, South Beach, you name it. I have been the Crowned Queen of excuses and giving up. How have I avoided that?
I know this will sound simplistic but it really, really isn't. I have not screwed any pooches this time for a couple of simple reasons. This plan, this path is awesome. That's reason number one. I don't feel deprived. I have learned the truth about the caca I was eating before and I really, truly, deeply don't have any interest in putting that junk in my body anymore. The other reason is a little harder to articulate so bear with me.
I have changed my personal dialogue. I don't stand in front of a mirror and tell myself I'm thin and healthy and becoming more successful every day. I have literally internalized and come to believe different things about myself. I think of myself as someone who has conquered a huge slavering beast and come out of it with super powers, because I did. I think of myself as someone who loves all those beautiful rainbow treats in the produce section, because I am. I think of myself who has the number of the food industry liars and the FDA and the Dept of Ag liars and doesn't fall for their bs anymore. I'm smarter than that. I think of myself as someone who sets a good example for her family and friends because I AM. And I think of myself as someone who is clearly losing weight and becoming healthier and stronger every day Because. I. Am.
I am human and, let's face it, the holidays are approaching like a locomotive. I was concerned that the first big test would be all the masses of Halloween candy that appeared a couple of weeks ago. But honest to goodness, it just isn't even on my radar. Not even when a friend holds out a big basket of it and says, "have a piece!" I mean it sincerely when I say it isn't even difficult to say, "No thanks." If I ever, finally, face that day, that situation, that I can't say no to and I experience a true Screw-the-pooch moment, I am confident that I will have the strength to turn right back down my chosen path. But I reject the conventional wisdom that says that day is inevitable.
I consider there to be two kinds of slip-ups. Lets get this straight first. There are slip-ups and then there is screwing the pooch. A slip-up is, for example, eating too much of a food that is actually allowed on your plan. The food is okay but you ate much more of it than planned. Or perhaps you ate a slice of tomato while on a juice fast. It isn't going to really mess with your head in a chemical way but it wasn't "The Plan." Now screwing the pooch is an entirely different thing. For example, going for a value meal at McDonalds, possibly followed up with a box of donuts or a trip to Braum's for a brownie fudge sundae. Of course, there are also all the degrees in between. I have had slip-ups but since I started down this path back in August, I haven't screwed the pooch even once. Not even close. I see these people who seem so committed and so strong and who are even having great results slip and sometimes fall altogether. The ones who just never show back up break my heart. The ones that get up, dust themselves (and the juicer) off, and trot right back down that path again are heroes.
As I said, I've encountered quite a few of both types of slip-ups, fall-downs and crash and burns lately and it's got me asking myself how have I avoided it? I have only experienced the milder version of slip-ups and one week of trying to put bread back into my diet and discovering that was a bad idea. (Previous blog - and for the record, I have taken off the 7 lbs I regained from that little experiment as of today.) Every healthy thing I have attempted in my entire life, I have screwed the pooch within short order and then I've given up entirely. Every time and there have been many. Weight watchers, Nutrisystem, Atkins, South Beach, you name it. I have been the Crowned Queen of excuses and giving up. How have I avoided that?
I know this will sound simplistic but it really, really isn't. I have not screwed any pooches this time for a couple of simple reasons. This plan, this path is awesome. That's reason number one. I don't feel deprived. I have learned the truth about the caca I was eating before and I really, truly, deeply don't have any interest in putting that junk in my body anymore. The other reason is a little harder to articulate so bear with me.
I have changed my personal dialogue. I don't stand in front of a mirror and tell myself I'm thin and healthy and becoming more successful every day. I have literally internalized and come to believe different things about myself. I think of myself as someone who has conquered a huge slavering beast and come out of it with super powers, because I did. I think of myself as someone who loves all those beautiful rainbow treats in the produce section, because I am. I think of myself who has the number of the food industry liars and the FDA and the Dept of Ag liars and doesn't fall for their bs anymore. I'm smarter than that. I think of myself as someone who sets a good example for her family and friends because I AM. And I think of myself as someone who is clearly losing weight and becoming healthier and stronger every day Because. I. Am.
I am human and, let's face it, the holidays are approaching like a locomotive. I was concerned that the first big test would be all the masses of Halloween candy that appeared a couple of weeks ago. But honest to goodness, it just isn't even on my radar. Not even when a friend holds out a big basket of it and says, "have a piece!" I mean it sincerely when I say it isn't even difficult to say, "No thanks." If I ever, finally, face that day, that situation, that I can't say no to and I experience a true Screw-the-pooch moment, I am confident that I will have the strength to turn right back down my chosen path. But I reject the conventional wisdom that says that day is inevitable.
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