Crazy Sexy Diet Adventure Cleanse~Day 5

Ekkkk I haven't been able to update & I guess in some ways that is a good thing. Sooooo here is a quick update of what has been going on.....

Day 2 

Was really a great day <3 I tweaked the juice around subbing the pears with a red apple. I also left out the romaine lettuce/ginger and added a little bit of pineapple. For me I liked this combination a lot better and was able to drink around 32oz. I didn't really eat lunch but snacked on unsalted roasted almonds. For dinner I had a romaine salad topped with avocado & cherry tomatoes w/ vegan ranch. Followed by a marinara I made from fresh veggies and for the 1st time I tried some gluten-free noodles not to bad I have to say! 

Day 3 

 Was a complete disaster! It started out with pretty much a lot of stress and things just not falling together. I did do a coffee enema that evening which I HIGHLY recommend. I will talk about this more in another post. I had to do a lot of running around and getting things sorted out. I have a very bad habit of when I am stressed of not eating or just forgetting to all together. I ended up pretty much not eating that day. I ended the day eating some yummy vegan sushi. I like nori but after a couple pieces it gets overwhelming. I also don't like that I can't take a smaller bite and have to shove it all in my mouth. I found soy wrappers a few weeks ago. Chad found a place that used them & picked some up for me :) 

Day 4 

Pretty much the sewage of day 3 seeped into day 4 nice huh? I pretty much ate a couple handful of almonds & some corn chips/salsa. I was able to finish all the errands I needed to do and tie up all the loose ends that made the last 2 days stressful. Because I like to be positive I can say I was able to get 2 really good and restful nights of sleep! Feel asleep fast and slept really hard feeling refreshed when waking up. 

Day 5 

When I put my mind to it. I can do anything. I am Wonder Woman and I wear bullet proof cuffs. I am able to wrangle my cravings with my Magic Lasso and remove them via my Invisible Plane-I'm in charge!

So today started out with some some hot water w/ lemon & cayenne. I have been doing this every morning and I am really really liking it. I don't think it is something I am going to stop doing anytime soon. I didn't juice this morning that is mainly because I have decided to change it up a little bit. I am STILL going to be juicing but I am going to switch to the smoothies in the morning. I really looked at my eating habits overall over the years. The only time I have ever been able to really eat in the mornings and not get sick was for 2 yrs. That 2 yrs was when I was breastfeeding Maxwell and it was only because I would force myself to eat oatmeal & blueberries. I need the calories in the morning/afternoon so I am going to make smoothies. I will still be juicing but I am going to be adding a smoothie(s) :) 

Along with my normal exercise I really really need to finish my pages on here I started a push-up, squat, and sit-up program last week. I also did a huge thing that I am determined to stick to. I have a bad bad bad habit of weighing myself multiple times a day. It is pretty much just a habit the scale is in the bathroom, and when I go in there I just step on it. Yes, I know your weight fluctuates through out the day. No, I don't think after peeing or eating it makes that big of a difference. It just is a bad habit. So I got rid of it OK, that's a lie I put it away I was originally going to weigh myself after the 21 cleanse. Then I decided that this cleanse is not about losing weight so I am not going to do it then. This cleanse was about not about only continuing to be a vegan. It was bigger then that. It was like Kris talks about not being a muffin vegan. It was about cleansing my mind, body, and soul. So I am going to wait till April 8th which happens to also be Easter. I love Easter it just might be my favorite holiday. It will also mark the 40 day mark of the last time I will have weighed myself. I am debating instead of weighing myself at home waiting and getting my body fat % measured. This is what really matters to me more then the # on the scale! 

I am sucking no reason to candy coat it at meditation. It is something I really really want to get good at. I think it is important way before I read this book. It is something I will get better at! I know right now it is hard and I know it will get better as I work on it. I have a hard time shutting my mind off for even 15-20 mins. If anything this just means I really need to get good at this! One thing that I really giggled at was when Kris pointed out The Beatles did it every day & if it was good enough for them it was for you. I am a HUGE  Beatles fan! Like not someone who just likes a couple of their songs. I LOVE them <3 I have pretty much my whole life and might be somewhat of a super fan lol They are actually what I listen to well probably 80% of the play list when I run. 

Tonight I am headed on a run & am planning on getting some strength training in along with my squats, sit-ups, and push-up challenges. I am also hoping to sit in the sauna at the gym for awhile and mediate in there. One thing I haven't talked about really is the dry brushing that is recommended. I have been doing this and I.LOVE.IT!! My skin was already pretty soft but even after such a short time I notice a huge change. My skin feels like I have been layering the lotion on. Which is kinda funny because I haven't used any since I started dry brushing :)  

Crazy Sexy Diet Adventure Cleanse~Day 1

DAY 1 

I am capable, confident, intelligent, resilient and in charge. Heath and happiness are my birthrights and I accept with gratitude. 

Day one 1 went well with a few but expected bumps in the road. I started the day out really well and experimented with Kris's "Make juice not war" green juice. It was good but not my favorite. It wasn't hard to drink by far and I don't even want to say it was bad. It just needs to be tweaked a bit to make it a perfect blend for me. I am also going to get a fancy big wine glass to drink it out of. I think a pretty glass is what I need to drink my Princess Juice out of. Yeah I renamed it Princess Juice <3 My biggest issue which has nothing to do with the cleanse is that I just don't eat enough. I tend to not eat during the day and then eat my only meal in the evening. It isn't on purpose I just honestly forget or even worse fill up on fluids. I love to sit and drink ice cold water and hot tea all day. Maybe snacking on raw almonds off and on. The messed up thing is it doesn't happen because I am running around. Most of the times it happens when I just sitting at home. I am have to get better at this and I am hoping that if anything this cleanse will help change this! I have decided that if it means setting a alarm on my phone or even carrying a bento box with me I will do it. 

20 questions for 21 days

1. Did you abstain from coffee? Yes, I cut most of that out when going vegan in November :)
2. Did you abstain from alcohol? Yes, this isn't a big deal for me.
3. Did you abstain from gluten? Yes, I am really excited about this!
4. Did you abstain from animal products? Oh course! 
5. Did you abstain from crack(aka sugar) and choose low-glycemic fruits and better alternatives such as stevia or agave? Yes
6. Did you dry brush today? A big YES and I LOVED it!
7. Did you clean your sinuses with the good ol' neti pot? No, but I am planning on going to the store and getting one ASAP I never thought I would say that!
8. Did you move your body for at least 35 minutes? It was my *rest* day but I did get in a pretty good work out.
9. Did you meditate for at least 15-20 minutes? I only made it 8-9 minutes, but it felt great. I AM going to get to 20 minutes. 
10. Did you chew your meals throughly and mindfully? Yes 
11. Did you laugh out load and tell someone you loved him or her today? I was very filled with love and let everyone around me know that <3 
12. Did you spend time in nature? Even 5 minutes is better than nothing. No...I won't even stretch the truth and lie. 
13. Did you get 8 hrs of uninterrupted sleep? Big ol' fail on this one :(
14. Did you eat today and juice? Yes, but I need to get better. I talked about the juice issue. My biggest issue is that I just do not eat enough. I tend to forget to eat till the end of the day. I am determined to get better at this. Even if it means setting a alarm on my phone!
15. How much purified water did you consume? No, I need to either buy or get a filter. 
16. What supplements did you take? I get B-12 shots(changing to sub-lingual once I use up the last 8 I already paid for. I don't want the aluminum in my body!) I need to pick up some Vitamin D. 
17. How was your elimination? It is not where it should be still. It was great right after going vegan(1st time in my life!). The 1st month I went to a pretty much raw vegan. When I added back in grains etc. it was very apparent my gluten intolerance. 
18. What time did you stop eating? There hours before bed is optimum? Yes
19. How did you feel physically? I was tried near the end of the day but that had to do more with being tired. Overall I felt great.
20. How do you feel emotionally? It was a good day. I was emotional but in a good way. 

Can I be Crazy & Sexy?

A few days ago I ran to the grocery store to just grab a couple things really quick after I picked Alexander up from school. My plan was to get in and out before the  madness of the 3-6 PM rush. I was done and Alexander manged to pull me into the book/magazine isle. As I attempted to shuffle him along a book caught my eye or maybe the title of the book did. I flipped through a couple of the pages attempting to see if I could find anything crazy or sexy. Then headed on my sweet little way. 

That night for some reason I couldn't get this book out of my head. I actually couldn't sleep I kept thinking about the couple of pages I glanced at. That morning I ran out and bought the book. It has been a very very long time since a book called me. I sat down and read it all in one afternoon and by the end of the 1st chapter I knew why. 

I feel silly because I didn't know who Kris Carr was!! I slightly remember seeing her a long time ago on CNN. She is the author of Crazy, Sexy, Cancer & also had a documentary on TLC titled the same. As I was reading it all I could think was, "Why didn't anyone tell me about her before!" I can honestly say I feel like I stumbled upon this book at the perfect time in my life. 

This book took a whole new take on a plant based diet. Not only did Kris Carr take an approach that was easy to understand. If anything she talks about it in a very real and honest way. It was refreshing because being a vegetarian/vegan is not hard! If anything it is painfully simple people just want to think it is hard. There is no counting carbs, points, calories, or anything else. It's simple you just don't eat anything that had a mother or face. Being a vegan you just add in stuff that comes from an animal. I think the biggest issue with most people is that they approach it as a diet. Going veg/vegan is not a diet it is a lifestyle. I personally think that this is a huge positive! Who wants to be on a diet the rest of their lives? Kris Carr does't talk about it as a diet even if the book has diet in the title she jokes about that too! 

The book is funny & candid mixed with information that can not only change but save your life. When I first picked it up I thought it might be similar to the Skinny Bitch book. I liked Skinny Bitch don't get me wrong, but I had several issues with it. It can be very overwhelming reading it and not in a good way for many people. I laughed at many parts and their overall attitude toward life in general. Skinny Bitch at times has the feeling of the mean girls in high school attempting to bully you into going vegan. They also promote a lot of processed/mock meat substitutes. You don't read Skinny Bitch and feel really inspired after. With Crazy, Sexy, Diet you feel inspired to want to make a change in your life not just diet. She also promotes eating clean & living up to your full potential. Kris is also really good at talking about how a plant based diet might be the best, BUT also talks how even incorporating aspects of it could change your life. Someone who never plans on going veg could read her book and take a lot from it. As someone who has been a vegetarian most of her life and recent vegan I felt like I had found a pot of gold <3 

I am surrendering to bad produce & chia seeds

I love Colorado, but I have a huge issue and have for the past 8 years. I can not get over how produce here seems to be if anything but substandard. I am not talking about the cantaloupes and listeria :( It has been a almost constant battle for me, and I strongly dislike frozen. I have tried all different kinds and they all seem to taste processed and just all around bad. 

I have skated around this issue since we have moved here. I would go on a *kick* and only eat what was tasting good that week. This was annoying but not a big issue until I went vegan. Mostly because when you are a ova-lacto vegetarian is really not that hard to do. It can also be pretty unhealthy. I will throw ova-lacto vegs under the bus with this one. It is sad but many don't eat much actual real vegetables & fruits. Not to mention load up on processed foods :( I am not anti someone being one don't get me wrong! I was one for the better part of my life, and I know many. It is very easy to be unhealthy and even over weight some of the people I know who have battle most with their weights have been lacto-ova. It is hard to be unhealthy or over weight if not losing if you switch if you are a vegan. This of course if you do it the right way which I have found as I have transitioned is KEY. If you don't plan & prepare it is easy to fail. My meat and dairy lovin' husband cut down drastically on his milk intake had crazy results. It wasn't really his reason for it but lost a huge amount of weight. This was JUST from cutting down/out milk & other dairy products. I don't believe in to many conspiracy's......but I really think the government & diary industry not talking about the small farmers doesn't have the best for us in mind when mass producing the products for consumers.

When I 1st switched I struggled only with really 1 part which is getting fresh fruit/veggies. I did my normal cherry picking of stores that I knew had the best stuff. I of course upped my level of fresh produce and it was a lot more then before. I think no matter what dietary needs you have you should eat as much fresh none processed foods you can. SHOP THE OUTSIDE OF THE GROCERY STORE! The aisles are filled with junk and for the most part is stuff you & your family should not be putting in your body. I didn't want to transition to vegan and do it with a bunch of processed *fake* products. I like many have read Skinny Bitch which I did like but took it as very tongue and cheek. My biggest issue with that book was not their in your face borderline offensive delivery like many will think. It's that they say they are anti processed foods and then advocate vegan processed food options. Their meal plan was where they lost me. Now I know for someone who may go from eating meat to vegan it might appeal too. I have never eaten bologna so I am not planning no eating torfurkey cold cults ;-) I do eat some processed foods I just try to stay away from as much as I can. 

I wish I could say it was the taste of the produce that was the only issue which it is. If anything it was for some reason the produce was bad if not before leaving the store if not in a 1-2 days. Nothing is worse then grabbing for something and it being so soft if you grabbed it too hard you would crush it completely. I knew this was going to be a issue but I put it on the back burner till last week. It was then it became something I had to move up to front & center. 

I spent a couple weeks with very weak if not horrible produce all around. Last week I felt defeated and bought 50% what I needed on my list frozen. I knew I would be disappointed but really didn't have much of a choice. Most of the frozen stuff sat in the freezer. It was about day 3 that the effect of being a vegan and not eating as much as I should be started to come into play. I felt weak for the 1st time since I switched. My mood was roller coasting and I noticed that quickly. My workouts were suffering. All this also made me fall off the wagon a few times. I had some dairy products a couple of times & got really sick both times. My stomach bloated out like I was pregnant and I balled up in the fetal position. It was  accompanied with feeling like I was going to throw up & severe heart burn. This freaked me out!! I think going vegan is a process so I didn't mentally beat myself up but my body did that for me. 

So with this experience I decided right then and there I was going to have to deal with what I have. I am going to have to work my meal plans even if it is daily to what I can find good in the store fresh daily. I also might just have to go outside of my comfort zone and try different recipes. I could eat the same probably 10 meals over and over again. I have also found even though I don't like frozen stir fry mixes aren't too terrible so I will always have my tofu stir fry standby. 

Ch Ch Ch Chia!!!

Oatmeal with chia seeds & blueberries in my snazzy Christmas bowl

For awhile I have been hearing about Chia seeds and how amazing they were. I 1st  heard about them on several different running forums. People were calling them everything from a super food to saying they helped improve their running. I didn't really put to much thought into them. It wasn't till my friend Paula asked me about them again and if I had tried them. I did a little more research and thought they were worth a try. If you haven't ever heard of its health benefits they seem like some awesome little seeds!

I picked some up from GNC and put them in my oatmeal this morning. You are suppose to soak the seeds in water or a liquid for 15-30 mins. They expand into a kind of a gel substance around the seed. They don't have any taste to them but I did notice the texture. I have heard people just drinking them in water this is something I couldn't do. I did notice that I did feel fuller then I usually would. I also had to almost force myself to eat lunch. I am bad at forgetting to eat already and need to up my calories with the amount of exercise I am doing. That is probably my biggest negative thing with them that they do fill up, but for many people that would be a big + I am going to give the bag a try and think I am going to try them in a shake next. 

30 days of being vegan

*I guess I should say a couple of things before I post this entry. I believe being a vegan is if anything a lifestyle. Because of that I tread very lightly calling myself a vegan some would disagree with me. I guess for myself I see it as I  follow a vegan diet or as I call it sometimes a strict vegetarian diet. Which is a lot different from what I was doing as a ovo-lacto vegetarian* 

The last few months things started to build up when it came to my dietary habits. This also included even going back to being a meat eater for a short time. Which was a hot-mess of a disaster I will talk about that later on. I ultimately hit the wall or rock bottom depending on which way you like to think of it. I guess sometimes you have to do that to see what you really need to do!

Mid October I decided I was done with all this bullsh*t!! This epiphany hit me as I stood at the kitchen counter cutting up meat and doing what is very normal for me.....throwing half of it away. WHY? Well that is very easy to answer. Meat freaks me out and always has. With that said Chad & the boys are NOT vegetarian or vegan. I also don't believe I have the right to force someone to choose the same diet as myself even if that is what I think is best. I also pride myself being a pretty darn good cook and over the last 8 years I have really focused on being as good as I can!  Now when I am cooking these meals for my family I tend to over analyze what I am cooking. I almost always think the meat is not good or has too much fat on it or something else wrong with it. This also means I tend to throw away a good amount of the meat we buy by dissecting it. Now I will say one of my biggest things is if you are going to eat meat you need to eat the best quality you can....grass feed, none hormonal, cage free meat. To me its all flesh but if my loved ones are going to eat it we buy the best we can. Even though I knew it was good flesh it still grossed me out. This meal also included the use of eggs.

As I was cooking I let myself do something I never do or try very hard to not. I started to really think about what I was cooking. Now I don't do this very often because for myself I am not going to stop cooking for my family. I do incorporate a lot of vegetarian style meals. Which always go over very well. This may surprise many but meat does freak me out but no where near as much as eggs & milk. Eggs & milk are in many vegetarian recipes.

After that meal I decided something. If these things are grossing me out so much to the point of making me almost physically ill why am I eating them? It was then I decided I needed a change. I was going to go VEGAN!!!

Now I was scared at first like many I didn't know what I was going to eat. Even though I had been a vegetarian I was still somewhat scared. So I decided I was going to read the controversial, blunt, straight forward, laughable, but very helpful book "Skinny Bitch" Now I will say this book is a super easy read it took me a couple of hours. There are things I don't fully agree with them with but one thing that I do is that being a vegan is not as hard as many think it is just about getting of your ass and deciding to do it!! It helped motivate me and put many of my fears to rest. I decided November 1st was going to be start a new beginning. If only I knew how amazing it would be. 


Now the 1st week was probably the most eye opening but also shocking of them all

• No way of putting it any other way. Grocery shopping took a lot longer. Now this is something I think probably gets better as you get familiar with things. Oh course the fruits & vegetables are safe, but many other things you would ASSume a lot of things were safe and not. This list saved me Accidentally Vegan. Realistically there is A LOT of vegan food that is not healthy Oreos, Lays, and Pop are vegan ;) But there is nothing wrong with having them once in awhile....other then the pop is not good for you! and this comes from someone who had a long long affair with Coke Cola.  
• I wasn't eating enough. Funny how going vegan made me eat MORE.

My body went into shock. A GOOD shock I have a had a serious dependency to coffee. To an very unnatural level. I could easily throw down 2 pots a day. I love(d) the taste but I wont pee on my leg and tell myself it's raining. I drank all that coffee because I needed it. My body was always tired. I always felt like I was somewhat running on empty and coffee with a able to give that extra kick to push me over the edge. I decided I was also going to stop that November 1st. I switched to tea. This mainly happened because I like some coffee with my cream. I liked to fill my my cup almost 1/2 way with powered creamer my personal fav and the rest with coffee. I couldn't have that being vegan ;) By the end of the week it wasn't a big deal. WHY?

• I had a HUGE jump in energy. To the point I was Freaked the F' out! No I am not kidding. I didn't have coffee and I couldn't figure out what was going on. I thought it was all in my head....it wasn't. I had read about people going vegan and it happening, but didn't realize it was so big. 
• I was falling asleep fast and waking up almost jumping out of bed. I wasn't needing that mid day 2PM nap. 
• By week 3 my exercise started to transform. I was running faster and lifting more. I had to actually stop myself because It knew I was going to over do it and hurt myself. 
• My skin was Ah-mazing! Now most people think well yeah it already was. Well here was my little secret. I use prescription ance meds if I didn't my skin breaks out horrible and I get black heads all over my face. I never really broke out as a teen. It wasn't until I was an adult it started. Awhile ago I started using  2 creams daily. 1 of those being Micro Rentin-A a very strong med. It worked wonders but every night as I applied it I got a little freaked out. It was accidental I stopped using all the acne meds I was really busy and didn't pick up my refill. Around week 2 I noticed how good my skin looked and didn't pick it up. It actually looks better then it ever have!
• Now this one I am still having a hard time grasping!! I work out 6-7x a week for usually 1 1/2-2 hrs. I don't play around I really work out and by the time I am done I am a big sweaty mess. I smell like a high school boys gym locker room. I wish I was joking but I am not I stink!! I read an article awhile ago back about what your sweat is suppose to taste like in Runners World. Pretty much it isn't suppose to taste like anything. mine was very salty....a horse would of used me for a salt brick. It was around the end of week 2 during a 7 mile run I noticed something. I didn't smell O_O also my sweat didn't taste like anything. Now I was still sweating the same, but I didn't have any type of smell what so ever. Oh and this wasn't just when I was working out either. I always wear deodorant and usually some yummy smelly lotions. After I noticed I didn't have any odor when I was working out I did an experiment and after showering didn't apply deodorant. It was somewhat shocking that I didn't need it. It actually if anything really freaked me out and made me realize that obviously putting healthy stuff in your body makes your body work better. I will say I haven't stopped using deodorant mainly because it is routine for me. But I will say I don't have any type of odor at all when working out. It is just too much of a routine for me too stop :-P

There is a lot of other things that happen. My mind was sharper, I felt better, had more energy, and many other things I will cover at later times. But there is one thing I get asked the most about when it comes to going vegan DID YOU LOOSE WEIGHT??? Now I will say I didn't decide to go vegan to loose weight. I also didn't decide to do it because of my love for animals. wait that didn't sound right. I do love animals but I did it because my doesn't body perform well when I eat them. I don't feel right doing and for me it just isn't worth it. 

• Yes, I lost a lot of weight. Funny thing is I was eating more then I probably ever have. I didn't count one calorie or carb. I didn't worry because I knew what I was putting in my body was good and was plant based and that in it self didn't make me  freak out. 
• The drastic weight lost at first actually freaked me out. Because again I didn't do this too lose weight. It was also an eye opener about how many bad dairy was for you! 
• This was the BEST part my body got defined in a month. No, I am not kidding. I have been working out for a long time and it was going vegan that I started really seeing definition in my body. 
• My body fat dropped. I am somewhat obsessed with working out and a low body fat means way more to me then a low number on the scale. This was a huge thing for me! I actually got my body fat professionally measured before I started and again towards the end of the month. 
• Like I said before my workouts got better. I am training for my 1st marathon too. This month I also ran my fastest 5k. 

Now I think I made this 1st month with being probably 90% vegan. I did have a few slips up. I am pretty sure there was mayo on my veggie sandwich despite saying no. I didn't send my bean burrito back that had cheese on it my server was looking like she was having a pretty hard day already. I slipped up and had sour cream 2 oh tofutti sour cream is just as good as regular I promise! Now this was also good to happen because the times I did have the dairy I got SICK my body broke down. I got tried and and felt bloated. Which as a vegetarian would piss me off when I got bloated. Well it wasn't or veggies or fruits it was the damn dairy and sugars. Nothing is wrong with sugar its all the processed crap that is bad. Sorry to break  your heart but its a fact. Do it is moderation and make it a treat. I also noticed I really leaned to TASTE food! It's kind of hard to explain and I will save that for another post but this has been the biggest reward of all doing this <3

I have serious issues with what you are choosing to NOT put in your body!!

"You really are giving me the red ass by this choice"

When I decided to to go vegan this I quickly found out it pissed a lot of people(Subway artists a story I will save for another day) and it baffled me at first and still does. One thing I learned a long time ago from being a vegetarian is for some reason when many people find out it invokes a lot of emotions....I am pretty sure this is from lacks of hugs or gold stars as a child. I am surrounded by meat eaters(was one myself at one time) and I rarely get angry at someones dietary choices. Would I like to see more people be veg ABSOLUTELY but do I get angry. Nah I am too weak to start an argument from lack of meat. I would rather wooooo them in with meals that my meat & baked loaded baked potato's husband even loves. 

So this is what this blog is about kinda the other gaps filled with musing of my daily life and sprinkled with sarcasm. Oh and I am training for a marathon because well I am pretty sure I enjoy pain. I wonder if I can just buy the 26.2 sticker for my car?