DIABETES IS A CHOICE AND I CHOOSE TO SAY NO

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.

THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF... AND KILLED A GENERATION OF PEOPLE

First off, I am down to less than a month until my first ever 5K on my Rebirthday!!!  Can I get a YEEHAW!!  I am completing 5K on a fairly regular basis and walk a couple of miles on the days I don't do the 3.1.  The only reason I'm not at least walking 3.1 miles every day is because my area has been under an "extreme heat advisory" lately.  Since the Glow Run is held after dark, I try to do my walk/jog at dusk but lately I have been  having to wait until around 10 at night or else it is still in the 90s!  Come race day, if it is in the 90s after dark, I'll be able to do it, I just probably won't be able to run as much as I'd like.  But even if I walk the whole thing and it takes me an hour, I will finish it.  And I call this my "first" 5K because I have no doubt whatever that there will be more to come.  I have my eye on a couple in September and October.

Now on to what is on my mind today.  I just had to make a quick run to the nearest store for a couple of spices I was out of.  I needed them for the soup I just put into the crock pot (navy beans, purple potatos, tomatos and squash).  As I was checking out, I noticed the Woman's World Magazine.  It's a weekly that I used to read all the time.  I bought one for the first time in a long time last week because I suspected the diet touted no the cover might have something to do with juicing or smoothies.  It said "CURE FOOD ADDICTION; END JUNK-FOOD CRAVINGS!  LOSE 24lbs YOUR FIRST WEEK!"  If you aren't familiar with this magazine, it has screaming headlines like that for a different diet every week.  Dr. Oz is featured on a fairly regular basis.  Here's a few recent covers to give you an idea:

 

 
 

You get the idea.  Just about every diet plan out there has been featured at least once in this magazine.  They don't try to "take sides" or decide which is best but today, it just struck me, no wonder people are so skeptical when they hear people like me talking about what I've done!!  We are  bombarded every day with a different "miracle cure" for diabetes and obesity and thyroid problems and blood pressure!  And they are all contradictory!  "Fat is the bad guy; avoid fat!"  NO!  Fat is a healthy part of your diet; avoid sugar!"  NO NO NO! "Moderation is the key!"  And after all the extreme sounding, contradictory, complicated varieties thrown at us, boy does moderation just start to sound like common sense!?  But then we try moderation.  We try to just use portion control and take baby steps and just reduce our calories and increase our exercise and we fail and fail again.  Some of us fail BIG!

So some of us (I'm talking about me here) give up.  We begin to really believe that we are just meant to be fat and miserable all our lives.  When we see it happening to our kids too, it's harder for us to accept that maybe they are meant to be fat and miserable but what else are we to do?  We are hardened into skepticism or downright cynicism because of all the loud claims thrown at us every day.  We are beaten down into hopelessness by all the headlines about how little chance we have statistically of really getting the weight off and keeping it off.  Why bother?

The headline today said something about curing diabetes by drinking red wine on the new "Mediterranean Atkins" diet.  I cringed because I have a pretty good idea of what any version of Atkins is going to do to a diabetic over time and it isn't pretty.  But the thing about Atkins was that he got you some pretty impressive initial results and it just felt like he was thinking outside the box.  Actually, IMHO the first ones in a long while to think outside the box and start really looking at how human beings were meant to thrive were the Paleo people.  I admire them for that and I honestly think they are on the right track.  Haven't reached the station yet but on the right tracke;o)  I've written before about that so I won't go there again but I really do think they at least are headed in the right direction getting off of the processed, packaged food train and looking at lifestyle instead of just a temporary diet change to reach a specific goal.

It really is a big problem in this culture that we are so hardened to claims that dietary changes can have miraculous results.  The "diet industry" has created a boy who cried wolf.  We don't believe in any dietary changes because so many false claims have been thrown around.  And that's a shame.  Because dietary change really is the miracle we've all been looking for.  I really hate to think that others will have to get as desperate and near to losing their battle altogether as I did before they take that one last shot at a miracle cure.  And it just breaks my heart to think of all the people who will never grab hold of this life line and take their life back.

As for me, I am thankful every single day for the every day joys of living a normal life, free of pain and disease.  I will continue to share my story whenever I get the chance because word of mouth, one person at a time is really our only hope for the time being.  Eventually enough people will know someone personally who has experienced this kind of healing that enough doctors will get enough pressure to explain this etc etc.  And eventually, the well-being of the population will become more of a priority than keeping Big Pharma... big.

Juice on ya'll.  We got this.  One person at a time if necessary.

TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES

Lately, I have witnessed some bickering amongst people that I very much respect and admire who disagree about diet.  All of them believe in the power of juicing and plant-based food but some of them also still believe that meat and/or dairy are a healthy part of their diet.  It kind of seems that those who continue to eat meat and dairy end up feeling a bit on the defensive about it because so many juicers end up going vegetarian, vegan or even raw vegan.  Heck I get a bit defensive and snappish myself if I'm around too many vegan purists (ethical vegans) or paleo fanatics who try to tell everyone that their way is the only "right" way.  Anyone would.  Basically none of us has the right or responsibility to tell everyone else what path to choose.  We DO have a right to share what we *believe* to be the healthiest choice.  And, in fact, I believe that we have a responsibility to spread the word about the healing nature of plants because so few people in our world know or understand how tremendous this power is or how much it can change their lives.  I try very hard not to get caught up in defining the details of anyone's path but my own unless specifically asked because the important thing right now, in what is basically the early days of a very important movement, is to get people moving in the right direction and to be a fantastic living example of the power of WFPB eating.  However, and this is a BIG however, I also don't believe that pulling punches or telling people that it will all be okay in the end if they just make a few little changes (baby steps - if I never hear the term baby steps again it will be too soon) because it's a lie.  And people will make those little changes expecting big results and be disappointed and start believing and spreading it around to everyone who will listen that the whole WFPB lifestyle is a lie.  And this will happen very frequently because too often when people try to make small changes, they neglect to consider a few key things about human nature as well as the nature of food.  So here is me giving my opinion on this important issue for anyone that cares to know.  This is a blog.  My blog.  So I can say EXACTLY what I think about the subject without pulling any punches.  It doesn't mean I would be this tactless or blunt with everyone who is genuinely trying to implement positive change in their life.  That will be my only disclaimer for this article.  Read on only if you want my undiluted opinion.

I've been reading "The Pleasure Trap" by Douglas Lisle so what is rolling around in my noggin is colored by that, just so ya know;)  I'm very early on in the book but all the talk in the early chapters about the fundamental motivations of living things got me thinking about Paleo.  Now I have a daughter who believes in Paleo and a lot of friends who do as well so I'm not trying to paint them all as ignoramuses or anything, believe me.  But it just strikes me as a very trendy, "cool kids club" kind of notion.  We'll eat like our ancient ancestors ate.  Now I think looking at how our ancestors ate can definitely have great value and it's fascinating that they can examine the stomach contents of a kagillion year old corpse and tell us what his last meal was.  I think drawing conclusions about the healthiest diet for modern man from that is ludicrous.  Dr. Lisle talks a lot about the primary motivations of pretty much all animals being to "seek pleasure, avoid pain and conserve energy" so as to survive to propagate the species.  If you take a feral human who has not had any "socialization" whatsoever, what will his behavior reflect?  He is going to find food, comfort and safety and, if at all possible, sex.  So our topic today is the food no matter how interesting the others might be;)  With no artificial or refined sugars, salts oils etc to screw with his taste buds, what food is going to be his first choice?  I promise you, sharpening a stick and trying to kill a bear will not be top of his list.  Come on!  He is going for what is easiest to acquire and what tastes nicest, ie, sweet or savory.  Fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, etc.  And let's also consider that what the "paleo" diet consisted of would have been wildly different in every region of the world.  They would have eaten what was most plentiful, tasty and easy to acquire in their particular habitat.  Unfortunately, that pretty well describes what modern man does too.  And what, to our completely raped and tortured taste buds, tastes most savory and is easiest to acquire (so that we may conserve energy to seek pleasure?)  McDonalds.  We also use our limitless human ingenuity to make foods literally addictive in order to make a buck.   So now the unhealthy, easy target foods are also something akin to crack.  Yay.

Let me just say that I knew quite a few "Paleo" advocates who really seem to me to be following a whole, clean food diet with lots and lots of fresh freggies but they just eat meat and dairy as well but they make sure their source for their meat and dairy is more natural and "clean."  No factory farmed, processed, fast-food etc.  Kind of like Joel Salatin promotes.  Love that guy even if we aren't 100% on the same page.  His book, "Folks, This Just Ain't Normal" is very thought provoking and entertaining.  I got the audio book narrated by Joel himself and it is really a fun listen in addition to making you think.  Good combination.  My only advice to people on this version of paleo would be to at least try to keep the percentage of animal protein in your diet down to 20% or less as T. Colin Campbell revealed in his China Study that this was the threshold for promoting cancer growth.

Now, as for me and my own particular diet.... where does the rubber meet the road for Natshell?  Yes, I occasionally eat animal protein.  Usually it is fish or sea food.  That's my particular weakness.  I also occasionally add a BIT of feta cheese to a salad because my family loves it.  And once in a while, that is a good enough reason.  I also occasionally have a greek yogurt if I can't find any soy yogurt.  The sum total of these indulgences is maybe 5 or 6 times per MONTH.  And here is a key for me; these are *indulgences*.  I do not try to kid myself that they are a necessity or even a part of the solution for me health and weight-wise.  Some peope indulge in a bit of dark chocolate or (hello Joe Cross) ice cream or even a burger (ewwww) but me, I indulge in sushi or a boiled egg (from a local farmer only - NO factory farm crap for me.) I recognize it as a treat.  I enjoy it and then move on to my wfpb diet that IS the solution.  But these are very much occasional treats.  I've said it before and I'll say it again; if you are having something every week or multiple times per week, it isn't a treat it's a regular part of your diet.

Lately, when this subject comes up amongst those of us who are into juice fasting, I am likely to hear someone (or a few someones) say, "Well, I still eat burgers sometimes because Joe Cross said it's okay." I knew the first time I heard Joe say this that it would become a big, ugly snowball rolling downhill.  People LOVE to hear good news about their bad habits.  Joe says it's okay to eat a burger so nobody get between me and the nearest drive-thru!  Petal to the metal baby!  I LOVE Joe Cross with a deep purple passion.  He. Saved. My. Life.  I respect him for his foresight, wisdom, strength and pragmatism.  Do I think it's terrible that he has a burger or chocolate ice cream once in a while?  Heck no!  Do I wish he had kept it to himself?  OH YES!  Did your mama ever accuse you when you were a child of "If I give you an inch, you'll take a mile?"  I suspect Joe's burgers are fairly rare occurrences.  I also suspect (no solid proof but I'm pretty sure) that he also is human and puts his pants on one leg at a time just like you and me.  If he has them more than a couple times a month, he is not doing himself any favors long term. That's my honest opinion. I doubt they happen more often than that truthfully.  And I suspect that the quality of the meat on his burger isnt even from the same universe as the @#^% that McDonalds calls beef.  But Joe says burgers are "the good stuff" and suddenly ten thousand people put McDonald's right back on the menu.  And they may start with, "Well, we'll have it once a week."  And it just sort of schmerges right into 2 or 3 times a week and before you know it they are saying, "Hey, why isn't this working?!"

So, bottom line for me (and any time I talk about subjects like this you will see/hear me say that a lot because that is all I have a right to - *for me*) meat/dairy is not going to promote my health or help me get to a healthy weight.  Getting it OUT of my diet was the first thing in my life that got that ball truly rolling.  If I have it, I recognize it as a treat and move on.  If others ask me about my beliefs I tell them to get the meat and dairy out of their life if they want to see the big, dramatic changes I've experienced and if they want optimum health.

I really think that a lot of people who have experienced the incredible healing properties of juice fasting and wfpb diet really say the PC thing about meat/dairy out of a misguided attempt to attract more people to the lifestyle.  In some instances, I am sure it is more likely to attract people if you don't try to tell them to give up the things they love all at once.  I do understand that.  But there are millions of sources out there telling people that they can have it all.  That they can lose weight and be healthy without giving up any type of food.  It's the party line these days.  "Portion control, exercise your brains out and take a diet pill or supplement."  Have cheesecake and cheese burgers!  Just have chemically altered versions or wee little small servings and you too can starve your cells.  I just don't care to try to promote BS anymore.  I believe there are a LOT of people out there who can and would make huge, fundamental changes if they really understood the difference it would make for them.  The end of fear of so many diseases that most of us have come to think of as inevitable.  Weight coming off naturally and effortlessly and (SHOCK OF ALL SHOCKS) enjoying the foods that were put on this earth to sustain and heal us in their natural state.  Finding out how exquisitely fine tuned our taste buds are when they aren't assaulted hourly with chemical additives.  Finding out just how sweet and enjoyable a carrot is when you haven't deadened your tongue with high-fructose corn syrup every day.  Getting off the 15-medical-specialists-and-a-surgeon merry-go-round and forgetting how to find the local pharmacy.  A year ago I would have never believed I would have made the changes that I have.  But I did because Joe Cross and Phil Staples as well as Dr. Esselstyn and T. Colin Campbell made it clear to me just how much better my life could be if I did.  When we act as if our friends and family "could NEVER" make these changes, we are underestimating and insulting their intelligence.  Those who won't make those changes need to come to that decision with ALL the information, all the truth, not more palatable half-truths.

JUICE ON YA'LL!  WE GOT THIS!!!!

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!!

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!!!

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!!

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.

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!!

Welcome 2014!

This is the first time I can ever remember being happy on New Years.  Usually New Years, like my birthday, is an occasion for me to try very very hard not to fall into a terrible depression; or at least to not let it show to my family.  People talking about their New Year's resolutions just reminded me that I had let yet another year go by without doing anything to change the dismal direction of my life.  Thank God for Joe Cross and his movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and for all the other wise and wonderful people and resources that it led me to.  Dr. T Colin Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn among others.  Today I can honestly post this on facebook and mean it!  (As I, in fact, did;o)

That pretty much sums up how I feel about New Years.  I lost 54 lbs during the last 18 weeks of 2013.  And I have every expectation that I will lose double that during 2014.  That will put me at the weight I graduated high school in 1980.  I don't know what my final ideal weight will be but I know that will be an unbelievable victory and that I will be in radiant good health.  I have reclaimed my dreams and plans.  I think of 2013 as the year I came back to life.  If you read my blog, you know that this is not hyperbole.  Now here is how I think of 2014:

I am not one for big, involved New Year's resolutions but I have made some plans for the new year.  I eat a clean, healthy diet but I am still growing and learning in this lifestyle.  I am not fully raw, just high raw and I am not even 100% vegan.  For now, this is cool with me.  Maybe I'll "evolve" beyond this and maybe I won't.  But I really do feel a need to both track my food for my own benefit and to be accountable.  So I plan to start posting here daily instead of randomly.  I may frequently only post what I ate and what specific exercises I did but there will be something every day unless my computer or ISP goes down.  I'll also post my weight every Friday.  And everyone has been after me to do progress photos since I've lost over 50lbs now but trust me, since I started at 340, 50lbs isn't a dramatic change to the naked eye.  But I'll do them. I'll try to do them and post them tomorrow.  And I will post progress pics every 50 bs or every 4 months, whichever comes first or seems to make more sense at the time.

And, for the record, I am starting another juice fast Friday.  I will go to the store tomorrow for supplies and start juice only the next day.  I am committing to 30 days of nothing but juice. Period.  After the 30 days, I'll decide on a weekly basis.  I'm hoping to go 90 days.  I may end up having a one day a week salad and I will be having a special, healthy, vegan meal at a great restaurant for my birthday on February 11th but hopefully I can do 90 days other than those exceptions.  I have no problem with making up my own rules about my juice fast as I have nothing to prove to myself this time.  I am just pushing for as much health and weight loss as I can possible get in the next three months.  I have things to do and horses to ride come this summer so we got to get this party started!!  

Hopefully, my third long juice fast will be late this summer when I have a garden of my own to harvest and I'll be juicing as fresh and organic as it gets.  Yeah babay!  JUICE ON my friends!  2014 is Going. To. ROCK!!

But But But... Tough Love

Nota Bene: if you don't like reading long blogs, cut to the last paragraph. That's the long and the short of it.

Okay, lets start by getting the provisos out of the way.  First, I am addressing people like me.  People who are morbidly obese with multiple serious health problems that are connected to that obesity and have decided to address the problem with a whole food/plant based diet.  Many of us watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and also incorporate juicing into our quest for healthy bodies.
Second, I am NOT addressing people who truly, literally do not have control over their own environment.  It's not all that common and you need to really look at whether or not that is true and not just a cop-out.  But if you really are not in control of your home environment then stop reading or understand that I'm not really speaking to you.  Work environment is much more commonly out of our control but not nearly as critical either.

Another group I really can't address in this post is a large one.  In my interactions with people seeking better health and/or weight loss, I see many, many more come and go than those who stay. Most people just aren't ready.  They just haven't hit their own, personal, rock bottom yet.  When it becomes uncomfortable they make a beeline for the mac and cheese muttering, "I can do it with portion control and working out like Jillian Michaels.  I don't need no stinkin' vegetables."  Cuz, that has worked out so well for them in the past:/   Heaven knows there is plenty of propaganda out there to feed their desire to choose an "easier" path or to even just continue on the one that is killing them.  Everyone likes to hear good news about their bad choices so when the media spouts off crap about how we really have to eat dead animals or how chocolate is a health food, it's easy to grab onto that. Anyway, that's another soapbox entirely.

Right now, I want to address people like me.  You're obese and unhealthy and truly committed to changing that.  You have come to believe that a WFPB lifestyle is the best medicine out there.  You are making changes and seeing progress.... and this is where SO  many insert a "but."

But... it's the holidays.
But... my family is visiting.
But... my girlfriend doesn't want to give up chips and ranch dip so it's there in the cabinet taunting me.
But... I still need to fix cookies for my kids or I'm a bad mom.
But... my husband deserves fried chicken because he works so hard.
But... I have to go out to dinner with clients a lot.
But... nobody wants to see a veggie tray at the party.

When people who are just as sick and fat as I am/was say things like this, I want to ask them just how important this is to them.  For me, it was literally life or death.  If you've read my early blogs you know I don't exaggerate.  So many people describe situations just as dire, nearly as dire or even more dire than mine was and then turn around and say, "Oh I have to fry chicken and bake cookies."

I believe we need to look at two things when we find ourselves letting these "buts" interfere with our best intentions.  First, how important is this to ME and second, how important am I to the people around me.  How much can I reasonably expect from those nearest and dearest to me.  Here is where I start to sound harsh but bear with me.  I know that I am lucky.  Blessed actually.  I didn't know how my family would handle it but, to be honest, my family is a matriarchy.  My hubby is a truck driver and I'm a bossy, independent type chick so it works for us. In other words, I worried I would meet opposition but I.  Didn't. Care.  Once I knew that I had finally found the answer, I knew that I would follow through with it whether they liked it or not.  I have kids from 17-32 and I wanted to influence them but I can't control them so I figured I would do what I had to do for me, require of them what I needed and leave their own bodies to them.  I have been absolutely astounded how readily my family has not only embraced and supported my needs but followed my example.  I have not exactly been a shining example to them in the physical/health department so they had every reason to shrug this off as "Mom's latest attempt" but they recognized something in the way I talked about it and in the evidence I presented and they have been on board 100% from day 1.  I have NOT, however, been all that surprised that they had no problem with all the junk food and processed foods going bye-bye.  If I told them I had developed a deadly allergy to cotton that was leaching away my health and energy, they would be right in there helping me find all the hidden cotton in our house.  Because they love me!  I would have expected nothing less.  If you can't depend on your family to support you in your own fight for your very life, then what is wrong with that picture?!

So what if your family isn't on board?  Get tough! It's your health people!  In many cases it is how long you will be around for them and it is definitely how you will feel and function during that time.  Sit them down and watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and, even better, Forks Over Knives.  Tell them that you want to look better, feel better and be around to annoy them in your old age!  Say flat out, if you love and value ME, you will support me.

I don't want this to be too long for anyone to get through so I'll cut this part short.  If you have grownups who don't have the issues you have, look at two things.  Do they actually need or benefit from the foods that were making you fat and sick?  Does it really make you a bad mom/wife to refuse to prepare foods that contribute to diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart disease?  So Susie isn't overweight? Yet?  Most of us were thin at some point.  The groundwork was laid while we appeared to be healthy.  If they are healthy and fit, let's keep them that way!  And if the hubby really has to have something like fried chicken or chips and dip, they are adults, they can go through the drive through.  Same goes for adult children.  They have to decide for themselves.  But they should have enough concern and respect for you to support your effort to create a clean, healthy environment.

Here is my bottom line.  Yes, I realize it sounds pretty harsh.  If your family will not support your need to eliminate junk food and food that trashes your health from your home, then you have some deeper problems than weight.

And my other bottom line (hey, who says there is only one bottom line?) is that no matter how thin or fit your family appears to you, if you have discovered that certain foods are deadly, why would you continue to feed them to your family?  If you've come to understand that a high consumption of sugar, animal protien, saturated fats... whatever, creates terrible health problems over time, then tell me again why you are a bad mom if you don't give it to your kids?  You don't have to make the change completely overnight but I can't understand why you wouldn't start transitioning them to healthier and healthier foods.  That is what my daughter is doing with her boys.  I'll let ya'll know how that goes;o)  But, trust me, you aren't a "bad mom" if you refuse to feed a diet laden with sugar and salt and animal fat to your growing children.  Frankly, if the children are dictating what goes on the dinner table then we have a case of the inmates running the asylum.

Now about all those other "buts," if you have to eat out with clients, is it really going to make them lose respect for you in your professional capacity to eat a salad instead of a steak?  To leave the butter and cheese and bacon off of your baked potato?  If others at the party don't want a veggie tray... okay!  More freggies for you!!  And more of the junk they are scarfing for them.  If your family is visiting, visit some vegan chef websites and find some really impressive recipes to show them just how tasty your diet can be.  Sure, go ahead and fix PopPops favorite casserole but offer a couple of really yummy things they've never tried before with it!  It gives you some healthy options and shows them that you aren't starving yourself on rabbit food;o)

I really want to add one last note to those who have somewhat dysfunctional families.  You know who you are.  You read this and think, "Yeah, try telling my husband that.  He would start bringing home Kentucky Fried Chicken and eating it right in front of me while taunting me the entire time."   "Try telling my mom that this is healthy.  She is just as overweight as me but she would start bringing my favorite fattening treats over every weekend and telling my kids that I don't love her because I won't eat her thoughtful gifts."  Yes, some families are dysfunctional.  If these things are a problem, you probably know you have other issues besides food to deal with.  You, my friends have to advocate for yourself.  You have to love you.  You have to realize that a healthy you can work on your families dysfunction better if you are in a healthy body.  Especially since WFPB diets also make you think better and feel emotionally and mentally stronger.

Okay so THIS is actually my bottom line. (Yes, really! Why do you doubt me? LOL) Do what you need to do to get healthier. You count. YOU matter. Advocate for yourself, even with your own family, employers, clients. Unless you have some pretty extraordinary circumstances, clean up your environment. Your family won't die from lack of deep fat fried food. Require those who love you to show it. Become fierce about your own well-being. I know many people (myself included) who have spent November and December losing an extra 10 or 20 lbs while the average american gains 8 or 10. For the first time in many years, January 1st will be a time to celebrate all I've accomplished and plan for all I will accomplish in 2014. My only regret is that I didn't start way sooner in the year! I don't for one second regret skipping the pumpkin pie or sugar cookies.  And I don't regret refusing to contribute to the poor health choices of others either.

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. 

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.  

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

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?

Thanksgiving Plans

I have been asked by quite a few people how I'm going to handle Thanksgiving.  Thankfully, I have a very uncomplicated, supportive and understanding family so I am under no real pressure to fix or even attend a big, fattening, American fat fest on Thanksgiving. Why do we Americans take everything sacred, every beautiful occasion and turn it into something kind of vulgar and all about consumption. MORE presents, MORE booze, MORE food. (sigh) I'm kind of over it. I want to be with loved ones, eating something that make me feel great and watching some football. For that, I will be extremely thankful. LOL I realize that some people have much more complicated family expectations but for me, it is simple. No traditional meal or comfort food is worth losing what I've gained. I was literally crippled with my weight and with disease so no way am I giving that up for a pumpkin pie or even my mom's stuffing. My Mom has passed and her stuffing is a big tradition for us.  But I promise if you put in a call to Heaven and ask her, she will tell you that my good health and the amazing new habits I have cultivated are way more important to her than any food.  I don't need that stuffing to feel close to her.  I have looked up amazing, beautiful and yummy recipes that will not damage my body that I can celebrate with. All that being said, if you aren't as lucky as I am in this area, you have to decide what is best for you.  A lot of people are juicing right up to Tday and then just letting themselves completely off the hook for a couple of hours during that meal and then getting right back on juice fast. At least that is their plan. I suspect it will be a struggle for a lot of people. I also know quite a few who are going to go to the family gathering and have some nice lean turkey breast and a big helping of salad and some fruit and call it good. Everyone has to make their own decision. For someone who was as bad off as I was and then given a miracle, it is an easy decision. My friend Jana posted a pic the other day that pretty much says it for me. "Don't give up what you want MOST for what you want RIGHT NOW." Natalie Michaele

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

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.

The Gluten Question

Well, for me at least, the question is settled. A few months ago, after some research and reading*, I decided to try eliminating gluten for a couple of weeks to see if it helped with how horrible I felt back then. It did seem to help and I was pretty much convinced that I was one of the unlucky few to have significant problems with modern wheat gluten. I was trying to keep it out of my diet as much as possible. 

Fast forward to October. After juice fasting for several weeks and then combining plant-based clean eating with juice, I was completely gluten free. And if you've read any of my blogs, you know I was feeling fantastic. My experiment during the Spring was done when my diet overall was a mess. I noticed a reduction in joint pain and stomach pain and brain-fog but any improvement was just a matter of degree. I had come to think that was all I could ever expect from anything so that was good with me. Well now, I know that I don't have to settle for a few degrees better; I can demand GREAT! So I decided to redo the gluten experiment. 

This past week, I reintroduced very healthy, limited portions of sprouted, whole-grain bread back into my diet. For the first time since I began my juice fast, I have had stomach pain, brain-fog and aching joints. Also (coincidence maybe? I kinda doubt it....) the first week I haven't lost a single pound. So that's enough proof for me to make a decision. FOR ME, the gluten question is resolved. No gluten for me. I don't settle for better any more. I want to keep feeling fantastic. I am not saying that everyone should eliminate gluten, but I would recommend that if you have a pretty healthy diet and are still struggling with weight loss and/or digestive issues, joint pain, brain fog, fatigue, etc, it might be worth it to at least try a couple of weeks without it and then put it back into your diet to see if it affects symptoms. 

*Wheat Belly by William Davis is a good laymans introduction to the issue but I always advocate looking up the research for yourself if you can.  The wheat we are sold today is NOT the same as the wheat our ancestors ate.  That much is fact.  You can have all the opinions your little heart desires but you can't have your own set of facts.  Wheat today barely resembles the wheat from even 100 short years ago.  If GMOs aren't remotely disturbing to you then...  wake up.