G-Bombs

I've been working on getting in my G-Bombs with each meal. At least, as many of them as I can.

G-Bombs is an acronym the Dr. Fuhrman developed.  It represents the foods that are highest in nutritional value.  It gives you an easy tool when putting meals together.  If I'm including as many G-bombs as possible in a meal or dish, then I know I'm giving my body a rich supply of nutrients.

G - Greens (kale, collards, spinach, chard, dark lettuce varieties)
B - Beans (legumes, black beans being the highest value of protein)
O - Onions
M - Mushrooms (in variety)
B - Berries (low in glucose and most have seeds you eat, which, imo just increases their value for protein and fiber)
S - Seeds and nuts (raw and unsalted is best)

This has been a great tool for me. Not only do I have an easy frame of reference, but, c'mon, it's super fun saying "G-Bombs!!!"  every time you prep and serve a meal. :D

Here's my G-Bomb breakfast for today:



Breakfast bowl includes half a diced Granny Smith apple, 2 large leaves of raw kale, diced finely, 1 heaping tablespoon of ground flax seed, 2-3 tablespoons of raw oats, 1 HEAPING tablespoon of natural, chunky peanut butter (I sometimes substitute with chopped nuts), and a few berries.

I warmed up a pot of black beans with chopped mushroom and onion today.  I'll have a small serving each morning at breakfast as well. This makes my breakfast a Full G-Bomb Breakfast.  Yes, you may applaud now. Teehee.

My 11yo son made a comment the other day that made me smile.  "Mom," says he, "it's really cool when you know that what you're eating tastes good AND is really good for you."

Yes. Yes, it truly is.

VICTORY!

I just need to proclaim.....


I am OUT of the 200's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been waiting for this day FOR YEARS!!!


Thank You, Father!! May You be lifted high in my heart and life as I rejoice in Your goodness today.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Quick report in.  Ate ETL all day. A little short on water.

Today we were all crabby and tired.  Too much Sunday maybe? We worked on cleaning the house and then I took the children to swim for a bit at the lake.

Had a great dinner of Red Lentil sauce over broccoli with a side of yellow and green beans topped with water sauteed mushrooms.

I ate really well the last few days but I'm not seeing the scale go down. Feeling a little bummed about that.

I'm wearing my smallest sized swimsuit, though.  Haven't fit in that comfortably for a few years. :)

My notebook computer died on me. I may have a harder time updating if it stays dead. Got in 30 min on wii fit tonight trying to sweat out my stress and B.A.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

What happened to Saturday?? Oh yeah. I was buried in the kitchen. ;)

Spent yesterday cooking and prepping food. Tried some new recipes that all went over well. Chickpea Crispies, Cauliflower Poppers, BBQ Baked Beans, and a new twist on my Strawberry Spinach Salad.

I impressed myself by putting together an ETL picnic dinner to take to the lake in under 15 minutes with even less notice. ;)

Today we were gone the whole day for church, lunch with friends, and evening service.  I brought along two Mexican Casseroles. One I made with ground beef and cheese and another was strictly beans and vegies.  It was a new recipe and tasted wonderful! I resisted the brownies and coffee ice cream, even though it was super hard to do and super easy to justify it "just for Sunday". ;) 

After church this evening there was a light dinner served. I filled my plate with fresh vegetables and fruit.  I indulged a bit with a dairy based dip, but it was a small amount and I hadn't had a full serving of dairy yet this week. I'm good. :) 

I'm finding this way of eating easier and easier to do.  Passing some of those yummy bread sandwiches by tonight was a little tough.  However, I know that once I meet my goal, I'll be able to plan ahead to enjoy treats like that.  I just didn't want to use my meat for the week on cold cuts or other foods that weren't something I would REALLY love. ;)

Stepped on the scale yesterday and was down again. I'm only .4 pounds away from being under that 200 mark. But, when you think about the fact that my clothes weigh more than .4 pounds, I'm already there!! Under my clothes, that is. ;)

Feeling sleepy and ready to get some rest.  Today was very busy for us all, so we'll be moving a little slow tomorrow. But, we have a house that needs tidying and a garden that needs tending, so resting well is in order.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Today's Good Things:
Ate well, kale at each meal! Under on calories
Water all in
Fun day visiting with a friend
Big grocery shopping done for next week
Husband got some accounting work for next week...yay!

Today's Not So Good Things:
No exercise
Feeling tired/grumpy/overloaded

Had a nice visit with my friend and her children today. We worked on a sewing project with our oldest daughters while the others played. 

We brought along our old favorite, Taco Style Lentils and diced up some peaches.  They added in a spread of fresh cut vegetables and it was a great lunch.

Came home to some potatoes that had cooked in the crockpot, ready to eat.  Mixed up some Yum Good Beans and sautéed some greens in vegetable broth, garlic, onion, and a little too much Bragg's.  Also sautéed some green and yellow beans from the garden with the vegetable broth.  Everything was good. My 11yo son was jubilant about the cooked kale/collards/spinach/chard.  I couldn't believe it!  Dessert was watermelon and fresh pineapple. 

Then we headed to the grocery store to stock up for next week. YIKES!! Between the new recipes, getting in fresh produce at each meal, including fresh fruits, and David's juicing menu, our grocery bill has doubled. That really stinks.

I was hoping to get on the scale today, but I'm simply just beat.  I'm looking forward to getting to bed, enjoying some quiet, and waking up to a Saturday that doesn't require me to be fast moving. 

Tomorrow is full with food prep for Sunday. I'm thinking it will be fun and maybe I'll even get some helpers in the kitchen to try out some new recipes. :)

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Today's Good Things:
Ate well, under on calories
Got out twice for a walk
Tried a couple of new recipes

Today's Not So Good Things:
Missed my afternoon workout

I was tired again today.  I ended up going to lie down after lunch instead of working out. I didn't sleep, but having some quiet and closing my eyes was good.

I made some vegetable broth today. I used it to water sautee' our yellow and green beans tonight at dinner. Very tasty.

I also made Mushroom Stroganoff and it was great. I enjoyed mine over steamed broccoli.  Didn't miss the pasta at all and felt VERY full when my meal was done. I even skipped the pineapple everyone had for dessert.

I worked on my menu and recipe binder today. That was fun.  I have a big grocery list for next week.  Trying some new things like bok choy and artichokes. :)

ETL Menu Planning

I've been working on menu planning today.  Actually, I've been working on that for weeks now.  I keep making a menu, then we decide to juice, so I set it aside.  Then I go back to it, set it aside. You know. ;) 

It looks like David will be taking a break from juicing in the coming week, at least for dinner meals.  I pulled out my binder and I'm getting it organized and ready for a week of All New Stuff with some old stuff thrown in.  I tried a week planned with all completely new recipes from my End of Diabetes book, but it was just too much for me to keep up with.  Next week we still have off from school, so I think I can try at least half of the days with new recipes to see if we'll keep them on the regular rotation.

I made a plan for the next two weeks and printed out the recipes for my binder. I'll keep this in the kitchen so it's handy for me and my daughter who helps with the cooking.

I also made a plan to finish out the next couple of days with what I know I need to use up from the fridge. I'm itching to try some new recipes. I'm guessing 4 days of drinking food does that to a person. ;) 

Here's our menu for Thursday - Sunday:

Breakfast:
Breakfast bowl for me;
Omelettes or oatmeal for the children;
Green Smoothies and Peanut Butter Balls for Sunday morning

Thursday
Lunch: Must-Goes (this ended up being Taco Soup, rice and beans, and a raw vegetable tray
Dinner: Mushroom Stroganoff served in layers as veg. pasta, then steamed broccoli, then sauce; salad with seeds

Friday
Lunch: (At friends' house) Taco Style Lentils and rice, raw vegetables, diced peaches
Dinner: Baked potatoes (sweet for most of us - cooked in the crockpot since we'll be away all day), sautee'd greens (I have cabbage, spinach, kale to try), Yum Good Beans (from EOD book)

Saturday
Lunch: Bean & Vegetable wraps, fruit salad
Dinner: Bok Choy Brown Rice Salad; Single Ingredient *Ice Cream*

Sunday
Lunch: (At friends' house) Mexican casserole (one made with ground beef and cheese, one without)
Dinner: Maybe - PB&J on bread or rice cakes, raw vegetables (eat in the car on the way to church)
Evening: We have a light dinner after evening service this week. I'm bringing pineapple and cantaloupe. I'm planning that at least I will eat before we get there, as there won't be a lot for me to have at the meal. (it's a pre-planned menu) I don't want to fill up too much on fruit, but I may just skip dinner altogether if I am not feeling TRUE hunger at that point. :)

I don't have it written in on my photo, but I offer popcorn each day for afternoon snacks. I, however, no longer eat snacks. Following that ETL rule has helped me tremendously.

I'm going to work on typing up an online version of my weekly menu so I can add and edit it on my computer.  That means I can also share it. :)  I'm also hoping to get some more recipes on my recipe page.  For instance, I can link you to most of what I'm making, but we have an applesauce cornbread that we've tweaked to omit the sugar and we like it well. I'll be using that on the Mexican Rice casserole.

The plans for the weekend are a bit heavy on the grains for my normal choices.  I'll be working on choosing wisely with that, small portions and extra nuts on the side for me.  However, I haven't had a lot of calories this week with juicing, so allowing 2 or 3 servings of whole grains in a week seems..well, not Over the Top. ;)

Reboot Juice Fast - Day 4 - Done.

Today is the last day of my juice fast.  Why? Because my body said so.  It would not accept another sweet juice no matter what color I served it.

I enjoyed a lovely salad of fresh greens from the garden, broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini topped with a few kidney beans and salsa.  A side of corn on the cob and 2 little pieces of celery topped with peanut butter and my tummy is way more than full.

Now I know what I can do with juicing.  I'm glad for the results, but I don't think they are so impressive that it warrants a complete fast from all eating. 

I'm going to go spend some more time organizing my Eat to Live recipe book and give my menu plan a look over for which recipes I want to play with the rest of this week. 

David is still deciding what he wants to do with his fast.  I know his day 15 is coming up this weekend. He's talked a little about taking a week break by allowing some kind of foods and then picking it up again when his friend starts his fast the next week. 

However it works out, I want to be armed and ready with delicious, nutritious foods that will satisfy my guy after a long, hard fast. :)

Got in a 30+ minute workout on Wii Fit with my weights.  I'm getting better at those yoga poses and strength exercises. 

Reboot Juice Fast - Day 3

Down...down...down!!

I'm 2.4 down from my last recorded weigh-in.  So happy, though I really was ready to just go eat some of the yummy taco soup the children were enjoying for dinner.  However, when I saw that number come down...the one that leaves me dancing *right* on the verge of moving to the next century weight-wise, well, I guess I'll sip this green jar of juice a little bit longer.

I'm really hoping that a couple more days will find me into the next set of numbers. What a boost that would be for me.

As it is, I'm really excited that I'm fitting comfortably in the next size down in my closet. Really excited. :)

Didn't get in any exercise today. We spent the day shopping and went to friends. I don't think I worked hard enough doing a quick mop on her floors to count it as exercise.  Had a nice visit, though. :)

All the juices seem Very Green today. I've noticed that in the mornings I'm more eager and willing to take on the juicing.  Even the taste is more to my liking. When evenings come around I feel very Done with the taste and texture of the juices.  I'm also feeling SO tired and worn out in the evenings.  Just a few little games on the wii with David tonight left me feeling worn out and ready for an early bedtime.  I thought I was supposed to be energized. ????

Watched this clip this morning on the benefits of drinking kale.  Short and interesting. Oh boy, did I drink some kale today!!

Breakfast and dinner
kale
collard greens
chard
green apples
oranges

Lunch and snack
pineapple
peaches
blueberries
kale
chard
collards

NSV - Non Scale Victory

Just put away a Too-loose-I-Can-Spin-It skirt on the top shelf of my closet.

Currently wearing a skirt that I haven't been able to squeeze into for over a year...or more.

David was able to put on his jeans he bought years ago. They were a tiny bit tight in the waist, but I think he looked great!  TWO sizes smaller than his current sized jeans that are falling off of him now.

He's comfortably wearing one size smaller than he was last week. Wow!!

Reboot Juice Fast - Day 2 (again)

Today has been a little tough.  I made up my juices and got them down okay, but, well, they still taste like juice and by the time I get to the end of the jar, I'm getting pretty sick of drinking juice. ;)

I'm still in, though! I'm pushing hard to get through at least this week.

Here's what I don't get. My fingers are swelling like crazy.  They have been for weeks, to where I can't get my rings off. I don't get it. I'm drinking like crazy. When eating ETL, I'm decreasing my salt intake dramatically.  I'm losing weight.  So, why would my fingers be swelled to the point where I can't get my rings off?  The temps have cooled here so while it's still a bit humid, the air is cool.  I guess I'll need to read about that a bit.

I'm battling nausea and tiredness this evening. I felt a little better after drinking my dinner juice but now I feel gross again.  I'm going to assume I'm dealing with some detox symptoms and head to bed soon.

Today's Juice recipes (if I can remember)

Morning and Afternoon Snack
Kale
Romaine
Swiss Chard
Bok choy
Zucchini
Lemon
Green Apple
Ginger

Lunch
Beets
Grapefruit
Oranges
Collard Greens

Dinner
Beet
Collard greens
Romaine
Bok Choy
Peaches
Strawberries

For lunch we mixed up some oat and flax seed pancakes adding in some pulp from our juicing.  That made some great Pulp Pancakes that I filled with peanut butter and bananas for sandwiches for the children's lunches.

Walked up to the school to play tennis with David and the bigs for a bit and then hung with the girlies at the playground.  David and I got in a 1 mile walk this evening after the littles were in bed. It's gorgeous weather tonight. So nice to be out enjoying it even if I feel not so great.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

I ate the pizza.

Yep, half a piece with lunch and felt just fine about that.

Then we had dinner. Two half-pieces with my salad. I don't feel so fine about that. I didn't eat those for the right reasons.  I should have set it aside or at least stopped with the one half-piece. It's not that eating pizza is wrong. It's that I ate it because I couldn't resist. I am still in need of more strength and prayer to make these choices well. Sigh.

Today I started back on the Juice fast with David. Sweetly, he explained to me this weekend that he really feels it would be best for me to being doing the juice fast.  He is concerned about my health and wants to see me gain the biggest benefits in the shortest amount of time possible.  We talked some more and I hunted around for a way to do the juicing without the struggle of the taste.

I found a solution.  The foods we juice that are most offensive to my palate are the cucumbers and celery.  I can't stomach those taste sensations. I've replaced the cucumbers with zucchini and the celery with romaine or bok choy and I am a Happy Juicer now. :)

I brewed up some goodies today. This morning, for lunch I made up my own green juice. I think I'll call it Strawberry Surprise.

Kale
Romaine
Zucchini
2 green apples
1 pear
qt-ish of strawberries

Totally Yum. :)

For breakfast we had the Carrot Apple Lemon juice from the Reboot menu. Also acceptable to my taste buds. 

For our afternoon snack I played around with a red juice. 
1 beet
large bunch of grapes
ginger
swiss chard
4 carrots

Then I added a bit of salt. David has been craving some salt or at least a different taste than the sweet of the juices. He wasn't so sure he liked it. I did. Reminded me of when I salt my green apples. Of course, avoiding salt is what I'm supposed to be doing with the Nutritarian plan. But, I don't mind adding a bit if it helps make the juicing a little more enjoyable.

For dinner I put together another Green sensation called Green Ginger Ale (also from the Reboot with Joe website)

For David:
1 large cucumber
2 celery stalks
1 lime
2 green apples
ginger

For Me:
1 zucchini
4 pieces of bok choy
1 lime
2 green apples
ginger

I tried David's just to see the difference. I almost lost my juice right on the spot! Blech!!! But mine was delightful. :)

So, now we know. As long as I stay away from that celery and cucumber, I'm good.  I mean, I do miss eating actual food. And the juice still has that *juice* taste.  But it is not making me sick or crabby having to get it down. I'm looking forward to the week ahead, experimenting with different foods to juice.  I got some pineapple, kiwi, and grapefruit to try for me. I got some tomatoes for something different for David. Fun!

The last couple of days have been a struggle for David. He's been frustrated that the weight isn't coming off in the same increments as it was early in the week. He's really having cravings for flavors other than he's drinking. He's just dying to chew something.  Last night he gave in and had a plate of salad.  Today he sliced up a cucumber for himself at dinner time.  I'm not sure how long he's going to make it with this fast. He still hasn't set a number of days in his mind.  Praying that he'll develop a plan soon.

That means I'm not sure how long I'm going with the fast either.  For now, I'd like to go for the week and see how things are going for me.  I'll make a decision from there.

Short and Sweet

Worked on getting the house and cake ready for Joshua's Coming of Age party tomorrow. He's turning 14.  We're excited to have a houseful of some of our favorite people to join us in celebrating this new journey to manhood Joshua is taking on.  He's elated.

He requested a Pizza Feast and root beer floats for his party.  Knowing this, I stocked up on the goodies he requested and also have the fixin's for a big salad.  When people asked what they could bring, I suggested vegetable trays and/or watermelon.  We'll have healthy to balance out the not-so-healthy.

I've been thinking of this pizza party for a couple of months now, wondering how I want to deal with it. I feel very good about having a half or even full slice of pizza as a treat. I really do love pizza and I've resisted it several times now when it was served as a simple dinner for leisure.  This time, because of the special occasion, I don't feel that it's necessary to restrict myself from it. However, I felt so awful after having that bison burger a couple of weeks ago, I'm not sure I want to give it a chance.  I'm also thinking of David, who is still juicing and not eating at all.  I just feel awful eating in front of him.

So, my plan, for now, is to load up on salad, vegies, and fruit and see if I even have room for a bite or two of pizza. And, I am going to try to do that out of David's view. ;) I guess you'll have to tune in again to see if I eat the pizza or not. :-P

I stayed up late tonight decorating Joshua's birthday cake. It's a compass cake in honor of the gift David bought for him, a compass. It's connected to the bible we also have for his gift.  Both follow the idea that when you use them often and well, you will stay on the correct path and keep from losing your way. I'm so excited for my boy's special day tomorrow. :)

 

 

I didn't get in a workout today. I decided today would be a break day since I was up and moving with all the cleaning chores we did. I did fine with food, though. No snacks, ETL all the way.  Tossed in some diced kale with the stir fry we had tonight.  I was noticing that, while I used to serve my stir fry over brown rice, I didn't even notice the difference as I crunched my way through my dinner. It's interesting to me that I was eating so many more calories just for the simple reason that stir fry should be served over rice.  Oh, my silly brain!

 

So far, David is down 13.5 pounds. He looks so great! You can SEE a major difference already in less than a week. AMAZING!! 

 

We watched this movie tonight and it was super.  Fantastic information on nutrition and plant-based diets.  There was some discussion on the history of the government food pyramid. I have been talking about that for a week or more. I loved learning how it all came about.  We rented it from Amazon.com and the whole family enjoyed watching it. Great stuff, and, again, I didn't even know Dr. Furhman would be featured in the film. Honest! ;)

 



Thursday, July 18, 2013

Good Things:
Ate well. Under on calories
Workout after lunch
Found a way to get kale into all three meals today, though I didn't eat it for breakfast.

Not So Good Things:
TIRED
unmotivated

I'm worn out.  I don't have that energy surge I normally do.  I have been staying up too late and I wonder if that is what my problem is.

I added some diced kale to the children's scrambled eggs today. I put some in a new salad I mixed up for myself for lunch. (Still deciding if I like it or not) Then I added in some more to the taco salad topping for dinner. That was a big accomplishment for me.

My salad: Shredded beets and carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, tossed in a sweet dressing. 

That's about all I've got for today. I'm tired. I need some sleep and I'm all peopled out, I think.  Tomorrow we prep for the big party on Saturday. Everyone is excited, though I'm just a teensy bit overwhelmed.

Wednesday, June 17, 2013

Today's Good Things:
Under on calories for the day
Morning yard work and after lunch workout on the wii (lunges!!)
Tired and ready for sleep and it's not 10pm yet.

Today's Not So Good Things:
No evening exercise - shopping for this weekend's party
scale was up today - though I'm not fussing about it

Today was good.  I enjoyed my apple, peanut butter, flax seed, and raw oats for breakfast. Love that Breakfast Bowl!  Simmered up some delicious Indian Spiced Lentils for lunch and whipped up a smoothie for dinner.  I did not want to be eating food while out on our date tonight.

I'm still thinking a lot about how to get in more greens.  I'm not eating them at breakfast and I wasn't confident enough in my blender to add them to my smoothie tonight. I need to get more brave on that.

For lunch, I added kale to the lentils and then we filled romaine lettuce leaves with the lentils and ate them like burritos. That was good!

I was TIRED after lunch, though. I still got in my workout, but I had to push myself. Where did my energy go?

Hey! My wonder, amazing, hard working husband is down 10 pounds!!! That's incredible! He's been working outside in the awful heat all week and juicing the whole time.  He's tired, but has such a great attitude and keeps working hard at this.  Love that man!

I just added my recipe for Indian Spiced Lentils to my Recipes page here on the blog.  I revamped the original recipe to exclude the chicken and chicken broth. I switched that out for mushrooms and added kale. So good!  The mushrooms give the texture of the chicken with way more of the nutrition our bodies need. :)

Juice Fast Reboot - Ease Out

So, this is the morning that I'm dropping out of the Juice Fast. I have a tiny tinge of guilt at the thought of being a quitter. However, the fact that my attitude is SO completely different knowing I don't have to down that stuff is helping me see how the Lord answered my prayers.

In my journal yesterday morning, I was begging the Lord to enable me to embrace this fast and be a source of blessing to my husband that the Lord would be magnified in his life. I realized today, as I bounced out of bed early, prepped all his vegies, worked on cleaning more produce, cheerfully helped him pack up the cooler for his day, that I was being the person I had prayed I would be to him. I could NOT get there yesterday with those horrid juices looming on my horizon. 

The fact that I knew I was not going to DRINK that stuff took such a weight of anxiety and dread off of me and I am now able to joyfully walk this journey with David.

My plan for me:  Eat raw and minimal today as I ease back to food. I had my cup of detox tea this morning and I think I'll savor the crunch of a Granny Smith for my breakfast. Some raw vegies w/o dips or dressings for lunch, and the same for dinner.  Lots of water and I'll likely add some lemon to it to keep my system cleansing. 

No nuts or grains or cooked foods for today and maybe tomorrow. I want to go easy on myself.  I know it was only two days, but it was two days that I've never done before and I don't want to upset my system.

I've got a lot of yard work to do this morning and plenty of laundry and ironing to keep me moving today. Overall, I don't really feel any detox symptoms that I've read about with this fast. I'm a little tired and slow moving, but I really think that is more an emotional/mental block I've been having just dealing with the struggle to force what is distasteful into my body. Now that that battle is gone, I'm feeling the energy and joy of taking on a new day.

------------------
Finished the day well. Got in 38 minutes of Wii Fit plus yardwork in the morning. Lots of sweatin' today. 

I didn't go with all raw food today.  I made a meal for some friends and then prepped up some veggies for the children. I just joined them for dinner instead of making my own.  I haven't had any kind of issues coming off of the fast.  I actually feel great and upbeat compared to the last couple of days.

I'm down 2.9 pounds from Sunday.  I'm super excited because I saw a number today on the scale that is lower than I have ever seen since I started working on losing weight back in 2010.  That's a huge deal to me!!

Juice Fast Reboot - Day 2

I'm total dropout!!!


Several times today I was heading to the bathroom ready to see that juice come right back up on me. Sorry for the graphic description, but I simply cannot keep that stuff in me. I gave up on the coconut juice today and couldn't even finish half of the juices I had to drink. I was mostly water all day because that is the only thing palatable to me at this point. 

I worked on changing out the recipes a bit, but it still wasn't working.

I'm sad because I really wanted to do this for David.  I wanted to be cheerful and excited and have fun taking this on together.  I prayed this morning, asking the Lord to enable me to endure.  I'm not enduring, though.  Sigh.

I talked with David tonight. He is loving the fast and it is accomplishing for him what he hopes.  He would like me to go back to my regular diet plan the Lord gave to me during my Daniel fast. He feels that coming along side of him, helping him prep the juices and cheering him on is the help he desires to do this well. 

I am so relieved. All that complaining I did about getting tired of chewing salad, I take it back!! I will CHEW my salad every meal just so I don't have to DRINK it anymore!!!

Thank you, Lord, for an amazing husband.  Help me be a blessing to him!!

I got in 25 minutes on Wii Fit today.  Did a little bit of weeding this evening. Worked all morning in the kitchen cleaning it and a bunch of produce.

I can't wait until morning to EAT food.  I guess a 2 day juice fast is all I got in me. Interesting what happens when I venture off the path the Lord put me on.

Juice Fast Reboot - Day 1

July 14, 2013

We just made our juices for breakfast and lunch. Lunch is going in a cooler for after church. 

As I was drinking my hot lemon-ginger water this morning I was feeling nauseous.  Sick.to.my.stomach. and what I would have, before, labeled as hunger. 

Then I tasted my first juice for breakfast. 

Blech. 

My stomach was altogether unhappy with me.

David added some crushed ice. 

I ironed my shirt for church.

I just sat down to finish my juice and I feel amazing relief! I'm not sure what is happening in my body, but the juice tastes better iced and I feel better now that it's 3/4 gone. ;)

Be back later for more updates from our first day!

----------------
The Mean Green juice for lunch was horrid.  It was SO hard to get it down.  When I had to drink it again at dinner, I just couldn't finish it.  My stomach was not going to hold it in any longer. I am going to need some other recipe to get that stuff down.

I was feeling really icky just after my dinner juice.  I ended up in the bathroom with my first cleaning out.  It took until this evening for me to feel a little better.  I wasn't sure I was going to like the next juice, Peach Delight, but it really is refreshing.

The thing is, there is this taste with juicing. I can't explain it, but I remember it from YEARS ago when I tried a carrot juice someone made for me. It's distinct.  It's earthy.  And, well, I don't really like it.  In fact, I can even smell it in my house now. *shiver*

I've been adding crushed ice to my juices. They are much more palatable when they've been chilled. The Peach Delight had that *taste* when I first tried it, but now that the ice is chilled it, it's much more enjoyable.

I am burping Juice and, well, that's isn't so delightful.  ;)

In other news, my weigh-in tonight had me down another pound. :)  Yippee! 

Got in 25 minutes on the Wii and a Body Test this afternoon.  I'm feeling a little overwhelmed today and craving some quiet, alone time.  I escaped to my room with my juice and water bottle in hopes I'll get it.   I'm finding that I am feeling really thirsty today. That surprises me, because I thought maybe I'd want less water with drinking the juice and coconut water. (which is also gross!)  But, I'm being told that keeping my water up is important to avoid developing kidney stones while juicing. 

Water is is!!

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Today's Good Things:
Attended a church cookout today.  Made great choices from what was available. Skipped the dogs and burgers!
Spent my time on my feet instead of just sitting after we ate.  Stayed busy taking pics, running around for the little girls, and doing a bit of stretching while I kept an eye on the little ones.
Got our shopping done for the juice fast!

Today's Not So Good Things:
I gave in and had a sweet treat from the dessert table.  I reasoned it away knowing we were fasting tomorrow. It was a small treat. Really, it's *okay* but I didn't NEED it, that's for sure.
Still dealing with some lingering *crab* in my attitude when we are dealing with stressful, get out the door, type moments in our days.

We are all shopped and ready to start our juice fast tomorrow.  I feel like I'm not quite ready, but I guess we'll just jump in and see how it goes. We're using the 15 day Reboot that Joe Cross (of Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead fame) recommends. We've decided to skip the first 5 days of prep since we've been eating so close to a vegan diet these last few weeks.  Tomorrow we begin the 15 day juicing fast.  We'll see how we're doing at day 15 and make a decision on continuing from there.  I am SO excited to see my husband take this on! I just know we are going to see great results and feel so much better doing this together.

Here's our shopping trip and my awesome job fitting all the juicing produce in ONE fridge. I am so thankful the Lord blessed us with two refrigerators in our home. Now the children have one for their menu this week and we have one for ours. :)

Friday, July 12, 2013

Today's Good Things:
Water
Good choices at home
Work out after lunch

Today's Not So Good Things:
I feel AWFUL after eating out tonight

We went out with friends tonight.  We went to a burger place. Good burgers. I had a bison burger, thinking, less fat would be good. I had a whole burger and shared a sweet potato fry with David, water to drink.  Good choices, considering my options, I thought.

By the time we got home, my stomach started bothering me, big time.  I'm working in the kitchen now, getting food ready for tomorrow and I feel so nauseous, I think I'm going to be sick.  I'm not sure it's the food, but it's hard to think it isn't related.

I don't know as the bison is making me feel ill, the grease/oil from how it was prepared or just that I put way too much food in my stomach.  Ick.

I got in a good workout today on the wii again.  I've been doing more of the yoga and strength training and my body can feel it. The tops of my legs are very sore from the lunges I've been doing.  Going down the stairs right now is brutal.

David is so eager to start his juicing fast.  We need to get groceries and I need a chance to think it through and have things ready.  I know he wants to start tomorrow, but we'll be out all day and that makes for a difficult time to be starting a whole new diet plan.  I am hoping I can pull it together so we're ready to start as soon as possible for him.  Maybe after a decent night's sleep I'll be ready to take it on.

Note to self:  Order the salad.

Those Jeans

You know those jeans I bought a couple of years ago?  The ones I got because my skirts were way too loose and I rewarded myself with some new jeans.  Yeah, those ones that were still a tiny bit tight and buttoning them held me in.  Then, a couple of months ago, they were WAY too tight and I had to do the Squat and stretch thing and wear a really long, baggy shirt if I wanted to wear them. 

Okay, you don't remember, but I DO.

Yesterday, while wearing those same jeans, I realized something.

I can pull them off and on WITHOUT undoing the zipper and button at all. 

How's that for a Non Scale Victory? :D

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Today's Good Things:
All good food choices
Made my first green smoothie!
Played some tennis with the fam tonight
Body check on the Wii
Watched F,S, & ND with the fam again, this time my husband watched with us. He's stoked and wants to start a juice fast ASAP!!

Today's Not So Good Things:
Felt crummy this morning with upset stomach, bowel issues and headache throughout the day
Only exercised after dinner, felt too icky to push for more

So, our afternoon found me feeling poorly and my husband needing a break from a busy week working on building our accounting firm.  We decided to give ourselves a rest and watch Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead together since he missed it last night.  I was pretty sure he was going to like it and I was not wrong!

He's so excited to do a reboot and can't wait to start a juice fast.  We've found some friends that have a juicer that we can borrow so we don't have to come up with the funds up front.  What a blessing!

I'm excited too, but I'm not sure I need/want to do a long juice fast.  I'm definitely going to do it with him to encourage and help him stay motivated.  Just not sure how long this will go!  I certainly could use a reboot as well, even though I did go through that detox with my Daniel Fast.  More detox and more nutrients are definitely going to be a huge help to me right now.  As we go, I'm hoping we'll like it well enough to do a 10 day-ish fast regularly throughout the year to keep us healthy and strong.

I added a page for Before and After Pics at the top of the blog.  I think David is going to start using this blog as well to record some of his thoughts on our journey, especially during the juice fast. Stay tuned for His and Her blog posts soon!!

So, off I go researching and making a plan for our juice fast!  We still need to finalize when we start and get ready.  It's exciting, though, having something so positive and good for us to work on together.

OH!! I almost forgot! I'm down 2.2 on the Wii tonight, so I met my next goal early!  After I take out what I had gone up over the week, I'm still down about another pound bringing me closer to that magical day when I'll FINALLY get back under that 200 mark again.  I am getting excited again now that I've got some momentum building and the numbers shrinking.  Thank You, Lord!

And, just for fun, here's a pic of our dinner tonight, Roasted Vegetables with Cashews and Hazelnuts. Yum. :)

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Good Things:
Great food choices today, got in my kale!
Great workout on the wii after lunch
All my water in
Kept up with schooling and choring, mostly

Not So Good Things:
Only exercised once instead of with each meal

We watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead tonight, the children and I.  It was pretty neat to see Dr. Furhman on there. I didn't even know he was featured on that documentary.  I was pleased to see that what I'm doing can create so many positive changes.  It was a great encouragement when I've been starting to feel a little defeated and alone in this.

I'm concerned for my husband, but I need to just keep bringing that to the Lord in prayer.  I'm know the children are newly motivated to keep pressing on with the good choices I've been making. Benjamin even came and told me that he thinks I've lost a lot of weight since the last couple of years after looking at photos.  That made me feel good. :)

I will say, it's easy to want to give up and just go back to living life the easy way.  I'm still struggling at times to like the foods I make and not wish for the tastes I enjoy.  I'm not sure how long this will take, but I'm really hoping I can enjoy more of what I eat soon.  The salads are getting harder to chew.

I AM so grateful that I FEEL so much better and have more energy.  I know that I'm putting GOOD food in my body and that my body is healing because of it.  I just need to get my tongue and mouth sensors to agree that what I'm eating tastes as great as it feels.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Good Things:
Made good choices up until dinner time
Got a double meal made for dinner, one for friends, one for kiddos
Schooling complete
Choring directed

Not So Good Things:
Gave up at dinner and just went with the best I could do while eating out
Very little exercise today

I am feeling just blah.  I could not get myself moving today.  I did fine eating-wise up until dinner. We delivered a meal and then went out to eat for our date. I decided to just enjoy and ordered baked fish. More fat than I'd choose, but the fish was a nice treat for the week. I enjoyed a lovely salad of fresh greens but also over did it on the bread.  Sigh.

We went out for a decaf coffee which had cream and sweetener. I decided to just enjoy the treat with my husband and work it off tomorrow.  We did get out for a walk around town when we got home, so I at least got in some activity.

I'm feeling just beat.  I'm sleeping well, but something is making me drag. I'm not sure what it is.  It could be my cycle. It could be the grains. It could be I'm a little low on iron?? I don't know, but I am definitely going to work on loading my plate with greens tomorrow to flush out whatever it may be.

Well, Waddya Know?!

I was just posting on how this cycle has been quite mild for a first pp cycle.  I remembered sharing this article on the blog some years back.  As I read it again, I can see that I am eating exactly how they recommend.  Maybe, just maybe, that has something to do with how well I'm doing, physically, right now.

Emotionally, I have some room to grow. Sigh.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Good Things:
Logged, blogged and ended the day under on calories
Over an hour of yard work after breakfast, 15 minute walk after lunch, and a walk with the girlies down to the library before dinner.  Activity x3
Met my protein goal for the day (been trying to watch that to be sure I'm not slacking or missing anything)
All my water is in
School completed
Poison ivy is clearing
Very good bible reading and journaling today

Not So Good Things:
Did NOT deal with the Monday stress well at all
short-tempered
feeling yuk physically


My first pp cycle started over the weekend.  Today was the first day I really felt icky with it. Interestingly, I haven't had any cramping at all. I was severely hurting a few weeks ago while detoxing on the Daniel fast, but this week I'm just feeling worn out, tired, and, you know, icky.  No cramping, headache, or pain of any kind, though. Pretty amazing for a first pp cycle if I do say so myself. ;)

I am emotionally wound up, though. Yikes.  Today was rough, trying to get people on track and doing what they should be doing. I lost my cool way more than I want to even recall. :(  I'm really hoping tomorrow is a better day in that regard.

I'm starting to wonder how I'm going to swing this eating style with our budget.  I feel like I'm overspending every week.  Not sure that completely true, but it's hard to figure right now. 

I can also tell that my husband is getting a little bored or tired of the various beans being served at each meal.  Tomorrow I plan to make a meal to bring friends filled with meat and potatoes. I'll double it for the fam and just enjoy some leftover lentil soup myself at dinner time. I think that will go a long way for my guy.

I'm feeling proud of myself for getting in three spurts of exercise today as well as schooling getting done.  I still need to work on budgeting my time so I can keep that up, but I have hope I can make it happen, at least.

So grateful this dreaded poison ivy is clearing. I didn't even need to do the scalding hot shower today to deal with the itch.  That's huge when I think of how I was taking 3 a day for a while there.

Ready to hit the sack!  Just finished a cup of red raspberry leaf tea and I'm ready to enjoy some cool quiet in my own little space. :)

Lunchtime Pics!

My children are all laughing at me these days as I keep snapping pics of my plate before I eat. :)  I'm feeling a little proud of the foods I've been trying and liking.  I should be sending these pics to my mother so she can see, "Yes! I'm FINALLY eating my vegies!!"

One thing I really love is seeing how much my children are learning to enjoy eating real, healthy foods.  We've been eating primarily whole foods for several years now, but increasing our vegetables so that they are the primary source of our meal has been a little challenging for some folks in the fam.  Slowly but surely, they are acclimating to the changes. 

One of their favorite meals that we've always enjoyed, even before moving toward a plant-based diet is brown rice with vegies.  This will win them over every time. (even if a few still slide those mushrooms off the fork.)

 

One thing I keep thinking about is how our babies all start with a plant based diet, along with breast milk.  It isn't until much later that we add animal protein. While I am still including dairy (yogurt) and a bit of animal protein (eggs and chicken) in her diet, it sure does make me smile to see her plate so colorful and full of nutrition on a regular basis. I mean, really, when my oldest was this age, I teased that the only vegetable she would eat was salsa.  I'm thrilled to see Baby Number Eight enjoying this on a daily basis!

 

 

And, last, but not least, my yummy lunch plate. 

 

 

A couple of changes for me from the old favorite:

1. I leave out the rice on my plate, add in some slivered almonds for extra fat and protein

2.  I am now serving my meals on a salad plate instead of a dinner plate. I manage my portions much better with this little trick.

 

Another interesting thing to note:  I've learned that black beans are the best choice for fats and protein, nutritionally speaking, from all the legume choices.  The other day when I was serving up MustGoes for lunch, I realized that almost every child chose the leftover black beans over the sweet beans made with northerns, the lentils, or the chili made with kidney beans.  I was pretty happy to see them favor the top of the nutrition list. :)

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Good Things:
Great choices while eating out after church
Snacked on the way home, but healthier choices than old habits
30 minutes on the wii, added hand weights to my advanced step
Scale is going down again

Not So Good Things:
Too much salt with my snack
Sugar today

I was so glad to be exercising again. The last two days have left me with no activity and I was feeling so sluggish.  I got in a good 30 minutes that left me sweating.  I was down 1.5 since my last weigh-in.  Whew!

David got some greek yogurt bars at the store today. I have such a hard time saying no to him when he gets me a treat. Thing is, I didn't WANT to eat it, it was high in sugar. And, even though I did, it didn't even taste good, so it felt like a waste of a treat. I need to figure out a kind way to decline or at least redirect his efforts. I did the same thing with Josh this week when he saved part of his sub sandwich for me.  

I know I shouldn't rejoice so much over the scale going down. But, well, I am.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Real Quick:

Busy last couple of days.  Some ups, some downs.

This poison ivy has really gotten the best of me. Yesterday I could barely move my arms. I'm on David's meds and it is starting to lift a bit.

I haven't exercised for two days now. Needed to today, but got bogged down with a birthday gift project.  Yesterday was the first day I ended over on calories for the day. Bummer.

I did well today, though.  I made a very yummy French Lentil Soup from my End of Diabetes book. Turned out so good!  Who knew I really did like lima beans??

David ordered a late night pizza for the children to enjoy during bible time. Guess my soup didn't go over quite as well with them. ;)  It was SOOOO hard to resist a slice of that meat lovers delight!  But, he was sweet and ordered some plain potato skins for E and I to enjoy together.  So, we still got a treat. :)

It's been HOT here too, so no walks for me.  With David leaving early in the mornings to work now that the rain let off, I've been lazy and sleeping in.

I need to enter in the recipe for the soup so I can see how my day ended today. I'm feeling pretty confident that I'm close...but maybe over again with those potato skins.

My thrill over the scale going down-down-down ended when it went up that bit.  I need new incentive and motivation.  But, mostly, I need to get rid of this stinkin' rash so I can FEEL better and not be going crazy!!

Thursday, July 4, 2013 - Independence Day!

Today's Good Things:
Had a fun day celebrating the Fourth of July
Stayed away from the meats from the grill, didn't even mind it
Made great choices for my celebration feast
Enjoyed my afternoon blogging
Got in 20 minutes on Wii Fit and a few games with the boys on Wii Wipeout (I don't count that one as exercise, though)
As a rare treat, I have the house to myself this evening. The little girls are asleep and David and the older children went for a drive. Lovely. :)

Today's Not So Good Things:
I overate at lunch. I didn't over eat calorie-wise, but I didn't eat slow enough or take smaller portions like I should have. I left the table feeling over-full.
This evening I am feeling SO snacky! It must be because the day has been rather lazy. Or, maybe it has to do with this dreaded poison ivy that is making me INSANE!!!  Whatever it is, I gave in and had an evening snack. Sigh.
I've been battling irritability all day.

Some pics of our Independence Day Feast:

 

And here's a pic of what was on my plate. All good stuff!!

 

And, guess what I learned today. Go ahead...GUESSSSS. :) 

 

I like Brussels sprouts!! All these years I thought of them as stinky, soggy, yucky cabbages.  But, today, with the yummy marinade my daughter made, they were divine!! And, with just a brief bit of reading, I can see that Brussels Sprouts are definitely going on my weekly list of vegies. Yum.

 

My snack tonight was a rice cake topped with natural peanut butter and all fruit. Good choices as far as food goes. Just not a great choice as far as timing and intent.  However, it's a holiday, I'm still under on calories for the day, and I did give myself permission to loosen up for the day.  With all that, I can give thanks to the Lord and enjoy my pb&j happily.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Good Things:
Morning walk
Logged and blogged, under on calories
Worked outside in the sun and heat, sweating a lot
Got in my Wii time this evening

Not So Good Things:
Very irritable and emotional today, battling anger
Tired, worn out, little energy or motivation around the house
Scale was up tonight on the Wii. Boo.
Poison Ivy is making me mental

Today was a hard day. I'm so uncomfortable with this stupid rash, I'm doing a lousy job being loving and kind. I just want to get out of my skin.

Today's lunch we had Caesar Salad topped with white beans and homemade dressing. It was, interesting. I'm definitely not going to say I'll be craving that one. ;)  Tonight's dinner needed to be easy, so we heated up some black beans, seasoned them, and wrapped them into burritos. Everyone was happy. Served them with some water sautéed green beans and garlic and we called it Easy and Done. 

We worked in the yard today trimming shrubs, trees, and I worked on some digging. There is never a lack of work to be done in this little yard of ours. Thankfully, this work doesn't involve dealing with poison ivy.

Spent about 30 minutes on the Wii tonight.  I'm having fun with that but have a hard time using it when everyone is around.  Or, maybe I'm simply going through a "I want to be alone" phase and it will get better.

Bummed that that scale was up tonight. It went down again the second time I weighed in, but it was still up from last night. That's why they tell you not to weigh yourself every day, Tracy. I know. I know.

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July. Our company cancelled on us tonight, so I guess we're running solo for any kind of celebration we do. The children are all really excited to have burgers and hot dogs. I'm still undecided what I want to do. All I know is, I don't really want to cook. Fat Chance. ;)

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Good Things:
Morning walk with David
Showered and bible time before breakfast
Schooled them all
Walk to the library with most of the children
Great choices while eating out with David
Got in some wii tennis and boxing on our date night
Ended the day under on calories
The scale is still going down!

Not So Good Things:
Most everyone was crabby and irritable today, including me
This poison ivy is making me insane, it keeps getting worse and spreading more and more

I made another new recipe today, Sloppy Lentil Joe's. I tweaked this recipe a bit, omitting the sugar and adding in corn.  Everyone loved them!  Big hit and staying on the Keep List.  Every time I get a win like that, it gets me a little excited to try the next new thing.

It is so rainy and dreary here these days.  I guess it's good for getting inside stuff done, but I think we are all longing for some sunshine in our life again.

I'm down .4 pounds. Yay!  I didn't weigh in yesterday. I was just too tired. But tonight I'm still seeing the scale move down and that makes me very happy.  I had more grains than I intended to at dinner, but I avoided meat and had only the teeniest bit of butter and salad dressing. David had a coke for the first time in a long while and said he felt a huge buzz right off.

He's never complained about feeling strange after a soda.  I guess it was good to get it out of his system.  I had a cup of decaf coffee tonight after dinner as we worked through the chapter of the book we're reading.

 I feel like a complete traitor typing this, but...it didn't even taste very good. <gasp!>

Monday, July 1, 2013

Good Things:
Got out for a brisk walk first thing this morning with my husband
Started the day smiling, showered, and even fussed with my new haircut a bit. ;)
Enjoyed a lovely cup of lemon ginger tea this morning.
Did a ton of shopping with a couple teamers.  Got in all the groceries under budget. I was a little nervous. 
Went out for lunch with my husband, sat in on an important meeting with him.
Saw my dear, precious friend who is also The Best Midwife Ever today. :)
Ended the day under on calories and very tired.
Made some new recipes for dinner and everyone had great attitudes and even LOVED one of them.

Not So Good Things:
I have the poison ivy now and it's spreading. Blah.
Fumbled a bit with lunch and ended up eating some chicken that I hadn't planned to eat along with white flour flatbread at Subway. 
Lost all energy by dinner time. Probably the lunch hangover kicking in.
No Wii workout tonight. Too physically worn out.

The Simple Bean Burgers were a HUGE hit!! Everyone was asking for seconds.

The three oldest children and I worked together to make them. We served them on pitas with burger fixins and it was a huge success.  The Great Greens (steamed kale, chard, spinach with a vinegar dressing), not so much. Pretty sure that fail was on our end because they were just way too salty.  But, my Benjy boy really liked them and even had seconds when the rest of us didn't want to eat them. I'm impressed with that boy trying hard to like his mom's weird food. ;)

I was feeling discouraged that I didn't make a better choice for lunch.  It was a last-minute decision that I was even going with my husband to this meeting, so lunch had to be on the run.  I walked in the restaurant and just completely blanked out on what to order. It's like my brain isn't sure how to think about food just yet without the boundaries of the fast. I didn't want to choose an animal protein because I knew I was planning for that later in the week.  But, I couldn't think beyond that. What I did choose, I worked with wisely, I think.  No cheese, no sauce, add some cucumbers with the lettuce and spinach...it should hide okay in there...and it did.  The sandwich was delicious and I purposed to eat it with joy, giving thanks in all things. :)  Now that I've entered it in to mfp, I'm not feeling so bad. Even though it wasn't the most nutritious choice I could have made, I still made good choices overall and enjoyed a lovely lunch with my husband.

I do think I'm feeling the effects of it now, though. Worn out and lethargic a few hours later. I read that this happens after the fast when you start adding in foods. 

Overall, my first day off the fast went very well. I was busy and active all day.  I made wise choices, overall.  I got in all my water and some exercise.  I'm working my plan and doing it joyfully with the people I love.  The poison ivy that is overtaking me isn't so great. I could do without that.  But, I'll be thankful that I can better empathize with my husband and sons who are battling it as well.

My verse for the day:

Psalm 34:1    I will bless the LORD at all times ; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Praying that my mouth will be so filled with His praise that none of the ugly words or foods fit! :D