Day 59 Weights, Measures and Pictures!

2 months down.

Even more so than last month when I was thinking there wouldn't be much discernible change, I was thinking there would be no change at all this month. I figured a new photo would be a waste of time as it wouldn't show any changes whatsoever. I took a pic anyway just to prove to myself there were no changes.

But while the scales registered virtually no loss, happily the measurements and pics told another story. I strongly recommend people use measurements and photos and not just rely on the scale to track their progress.

Below are all the stats and time line pics. Again, the surgery noted on the pics was a hysterectomy where they found a severe case of endometriosis. I did not have a tummy tuck or gastric surgery or anything like that. I am now 3 months post op from all of that.

Starting weight: 192 (Nov)
Current weight: 170

Total weight lost:
22 lbs since November.
10 lbs lost in January.
No weight lost in February.

Total inches lost:
32 inches lost in January.
13.5 inches lost in February - this really took me by surprise.
45.5 inches lost to date - YAY!

12/31
Weight 180
Neck 15
Chest 41
Bust 45
Midriff 38
waist 40 (on Nov 16th, 2 weeks before my surgery, this measurement was 48". The additional 8 inches is not factored into my inch loss.)
Belly 45
Hips 45
Thigh 26
Knee 20
Calf 15.5
Ankle 8.5
Bicep 16
Forearm 9.5
Wrist 6.25
Hair 16

1/31
Weight 170
Neck 14.5
Chest 37
Bust 42
Midriff 35
Waist 35 (I've lost 13 inches since Nov here!)
Belly 43
Hips 42
Thigh 24.5
Knee 16
Calf 14.75
Ankle 8
Bicep 12.5
Forearm 8.75
Wrist 5.75
Hair 18 (I'm growing my hair...)

2/28
Weight 170
Neck 13.5
Chest 35
Bust 40
Midriff 33.5
Waist 33 (I've lost 15 inches since Nov here!)
Belly 42
Hips 40
Thigh 23.5
Knee 15.5
Calf 14.5
Ankle 8
Bicep 12.5
Forearm 8.5
Wrist 5.75
Hair 18.5 (I'm growing my hair...)




Wow. I was totally wrong about the changes. I'm excited. My daughter asked me if the new picture was one of the ones she was playing around with in photoshop in January. NO IT IS NOT! There is absolutely no photo shopping done here at all.

She was amazed.

I'm amazed she's still living. LOL.

Again, can't wait to see the changes for next month and this time hope a few more pounds fall off. I'm not going to be staying off the scales for a month at a time. I'm going back to my regular routine of weighing daily. While I think it works well for others, I don't think it works well for me.

306 days or 10 months to go.

Day 58 Banana Date Yummy

photo credit calafellvalo@flickr

I mostly like eating my food separate so I can taste each thing. A lot of raw foodist make smoothies out of bananas and greens. I'm not fond of them. I like those things separate.

But one yummy and satisfying thing that I do make occasionally is a banana date smoothie. It couldn't be simpler.

5 large dates
2 bananas
water

In either a blender or a blender cup (for a wand blender) add the 5 dates and enough water to cover them. I sometimes use warm water. Not hot water. Maybe 80 degrees. Blend the dates either in the blender or with the wand blender. Add the bananas in pieces one at a time and blend thoroughly. Pour into a glass and drink. You can change the quantities of any of it. More dates, more bananas. Whatever you like. Depends if you like it more banana-y or more date-y. LOL

Day 57 The Secret End of Hot Flashes

photo credit myori@flickr

Can raw fruits and vegetables end your hot flashes? I don't have a scientific study for you but can tell you something really odd I've noticed about myself.

I had a hysterectomy this past December. I am not on hormones as per my doctor (and my own preferences). I was told I'd have hot flashes for many months while the endometriosis died off. I started to get them in December. In January when I went 100% raw, they stopped. I have no hot flashes while eating raw. But, if I stray I have them in increasing severity and intensity. Without a doubt the occurrences are food related.

Another benefit: If I stay 100% raw I have no urgent little girl's room issues and no incontinence or anything like that. Everything is perfectly normal. But, if I stray off my diet these things come flooding back. Pun intended :)

Just some food for thought.

Day 56 Week 8

Wow week 8. Who knew?

Being sick this week and all meant I didn't get to the gym. So, no walking or swimming but I did some hard slave labor week that was pretty intense, at which point I ended up straight in bed for hours, aching and freezing. I spent a huge amount of time sleeping this last week. I'm feeling a little better energy-wise now.

This week I ate 21 bananas and 65 oranges. I had a few days where I ate very little. That's bad but I'm back now. To date I've walked 31.15 miles, swam 7.5 miles and have eaten 213 bananas and 262 oranges. I think Sunkist would be proud.

8 weeks down, 44 to go!

Day 55 I'm Back

photo credit Xavier Fargas@flickr

I'm back. At least I seem to be. Well, at least the food part is intact so I'm going with it. A few days of feeling wonky and not eating enough have left me looking horrible. Once I'm fully hydrated again I'll look a lot better.

The end of the month is looming and I'd like to make a little progress if possible. Exercise has been out all week. Soon I'll have a whole new month ahead of me to continue on the journey.

Day 52, 53, 54

photo credit: my daughter

I see it's been a few days. If you've read, I've been sick. I'm still standing. I'm just tired. I'm usually tired all the time but now I'm really tired - LOL. Wasn't sure I could be more tired than I was but apparently I'm wrong. Certainly wouldn't be the first time.

I'm not giving up. I'm just giving myself some time off from the computer.

I wish I could have been a little further along in this so I'd be stronger. I see that's not the plan. Still, I'm here. Eating bananas. Juicing oranges. Staying in bed as much as I can when my daughter is at school.

Speaking of which, most children grace the home fridge with colorful artwork. Mine posts warning notices. I have to wonder what sort of career she's headed for.

Stay tuned.

Day 51 Caution: Life Ahead

photo credit Gwen@Flickr

My life: World record for most speed bumps per square inch.

On Thursday I had some persistent itching on my side from my back and across my ribs. Hmmm. In the back of my mind I knew better, but decided to chalk it up to the possibility of some soap residue on my skin.

It returned again Thursday evening around bedtime.

On Friday morning I went back to bed forever after taking my daughter to the bus stop. Laying on my right side seemed painful as well as itchy. I've been impossibly tired lately. Nothing seems to help. It's so easy to blame 'the diet', but I can't ignore the fact that I'm depressed and run down from too much stress lately. 'Luckily', stress ramped itself up 100 more notches Thursday night thanks to my darling pre-teen daughter.

Friday night I knew I was doomed and needed to see the doctor first thing Saturday morning. "I went to the doctor with mom today and she has Sherpels disease", I hear my daughter tell my ex on the phone tonight.

By the time he called back to say WTF... my Sherpels had been downgraded to Shingles. Ah, yes, now it makes sense, as if any of my life ever really does. Everyone knows that only characters in Dr. Seuss stories ever get Sherpels.

For the record, I did not see the doctor. I saw the nurse practitioner. I never get to see the doctor except for the one 'fortuitous' encounter when the blithering (female) troll told me I should have both my ovaries removed so I could do away with, you know, that pesky sex drive. My male GYN was appalled. I wasn't reporting any sex drive issues, nor was I interested, Dr. Weinstock, in your slight of 'hand' that revealed yours. I was asking about the wisdom of keeping one ovary vs removing both. Oy.

Anyway, this nurse practitioner has never ceased to be a complete moron and complete morons are rare. I hesitate to even give him credit as a nurse much less a nurse practitioner. I know so many more highly intelligent people in the nursing field.

The first time I met him he 'diagnosed' me with 'bipolar disorder'. I was very sick that day and was suffering some anxiety over what was going on with me. Truth is you can't diagnose someone with bipolar disorder the first time you meet them, and certainly not in a 5 minute evaluation, I don't care who you are.

Furthermore, having been through 14 continuous years (my entire marriage...) of therapy, complete with visits to a psychiatrist to treat major depression as well as having been administered all the regular psychiatric tests, not once was I ever diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Just major depression attributable to living with an alcoholic. I think they would have clearly established if I was bipolar at some point over 14 years of care. Right.

Oh but he didn't stop there. He also 'diagnosed' my Vit D deficiency as IBS or Crohns or possibly colon cancer without any formal tests. This guy has the psychic powers of a medically sterilized turd. Ahem, I had Vit D deficiency. Let's not make it out to be anymore than that.

Since I despise this person, naturally that's who I get today. I tell him I've had this before. I'm having relentless itching again with pain in a band around my right side, across my ribs.

He informs me itching is not associated with Shingles.

Quoting from WebMD regarding Shingles:

* Pain or a bruised feeling -- usually on one side of your face or body -- often along with a fever, chills, headache, or upset stomach.
* Tingling, itching, or prickling skin and an inflamed, red skin rash several days later.
* A group or long strip of small, fluid-filled blisters.
* Deep burning, searing, aching, or stabbing pain, which may occur once in a while or last a long time.

I said, "Are you f*cking kidding me? I think you need to update your education." He retreated immediately.

I trounced him previously on the bipolar disorder and the Vit D. oversight. Drama Queen, much? He should know better than to mess with me by now. He's easy game but it's a shallow victory to have to put the hammer down on the guy every time I go in there. It's not satisfying in any way that my 'health care provider' is a massive idiot.

He determines my right eye is also affected, though says it's rare to see it in two places, so it may not be unless my immune system is compromised or I have HIV.

HELLO! Shingles IS an outcropping of an immune system crash. God this man is dumber than a box of hair and for the record, last time I had it I had it on BOTH sides of my back. 'Fortunately', I had meningitis at the same time ( I'm a multi-tasker) so the 10 day coma and round the clock nursing care in an isolation facility really came in handy to avoid the unpleasantness of Shingles. I recommend it to everyone *rolls eyes*

He tells me if my eye gets worse to see an ophthalmologist as I could lose my vision. Yeah, I'll do that and avoid coming back in here, trust me. Though going blind and never laying eyes on you again is looking like the better option all around.

He writes a script for Valtrex and I ask for Motrin for pain. He says, "What pain? Are you having back pain or something?"

I said, "THE PAIN OF SHINGLES. IT'S A VERY PAINFUL CONDITION. I'M NOT ASKING FOR NARCOTICS. I'M ASKING FOR RX MOTRIN. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?"

"OH", he says. "The pain. I see. Okay."

GOD HELP ME.

Day 50 Orange Heaven

photo credit Creativity+@flickr

Today I went to Costco armed with a few returns as well as a bonus card they gave me for some poor treatment at the cash register a few months ago. I forgot I had the card - total spiff for me! Sorry about the dude who was out of control at the cash register, but I didn't make the news. I just reported it. $25 for my endurance? Hmm okay. I didn't ask for it but it was a nice gesture and perfect timing to support my new orange habit.

I must say employee problems at Costco are a very rare event, which is probably why I was in such shock when this guy, who seemed very hopped up on at the very least 126 cups of coffee, decided to flip out because I didn't hand him my card quick enough. There was no one in line behind me. It wasn't even a busy day. Memorable, but even more memorable is one of my favorite movies which showcases employee life inside a warehouse, "Employee of the Month". Though it's plain wrap, it's done in a Costco. I ♥ this movie! I ♥ Costco! Rent it. You'll never be able to look at the towering shelves that hold all the goods the same way again. ROFL at the car sale...LOL!!!

So after grabbing 6 new shiny boxes of oranges I head up to the cash registers. After applying my store credit and employee freak out compensation, I check out for a total of 10¢. Orange Heaven. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Which is not to say I got away entirely unscathed. Apparently I'm the only person in history to buy 120 oranges at once. At least you'd think by the comments I got, which really perplexed me. 6 boxes of oranges fit neatly into the cart. Stacked three deep and two high, they did not even breach the top of the cart. It's not like I had a Beverly Hillbilly's thing going on with orange boxes strapped to the front and sides and in 2 tow. I mean, seriously.

But the comments didn't stop til they were resting peacefully in my little car. "No scurvy at your house, eh?!" one guy shouted. Umm no, matey, no scurvy here. "Wow! She's gonna be really healthy!" one lady proclaimed to the door check girl while I waited for my receipt to be gone over twice and marked. Look, it's six boxes of oranges. Nothing else to see here, let's move along.

Another person asked me if I was expecting company. WTH? As hospitable as I can be, I've never bought 120 oranges for guests. Have you? As I pulled away I thought my troubles were over. Once home and neatly stacked in my uber-freezing garage my daughter looked at them and then up at me and rolled her eyes.

It's FRUIT people. Not a threat to national security. Get over it.

Day 49 Week 7

photo credit lusitania.etsy.com

For week 7 I walked 4 miles and 1.5 swam miles. Actually, that surprised me because I thought it was less. More would have been nice. The snow didn't help. I had other exercise in terms of physical work that is really taking a toll on my very stiff and sore arthritic spine. I actually burned more calories today (over 900) than I did even when I walked 2.5 miles and swam a mile all on the same day (600). If it didn't debilitate me so much I'd do more physical work but it really is hard on me. I crashed for 3 hours this evening. I couldn't help it - I was freezing and hurting and I just fell asleep where I was sitting.

This week I ate 27 bananas and 76 oranges. Wow. Just like trombones! To date I've walked 31.15 miles, swam 7.5 miles and have eaten 192 bananas and 197 oranges. Looks like the oranges are winning. I ♥ oranges.

I noticed in my weekly reports I have difficult weeks every week. I don't mean with food but with stress and things in my life. As I said, I'm working on it. Depression is starting to loom due to the longevity of it with not many rays of light ahead. I don't ♥ winter right now.

It doesn't feel I've made many body changes this week, or month for that matter. Not weighing leaves me feeling rather ungrounded. I'm not fond of it. Maybe it's part of my old anorexia days where it's one of the few stabilizing factors my little brain thinks I have. I think it's not a good idea for me and I probably won't do that next month.


7 weeks down, 45 to go!

Day 48 Toxic Stress

Despite normally being able to just carry on everyday and brush off 'life's little annoyances', there are times when elderly parents, teenage children and unreasonable other people just converge to take you out.

I tend to carry a pretty high level of toxic stress around with me. It's not my choice, I scrape off as much stress as I can, but there are things in life we have handed to us that we can't just scrape off. There are things we can control and so out of some self preservation, I gave away my littlest poodle. Yes, it was to relieve stress but it brought me a lot more stress in the process, and no, not like, "Do I now change my blog to Screaming Poodle?" I don't want to talk about it.

Like I said, I normally handle life with aplomb despite the static but today it took me out. I felt bad, I was shaking and forgetful, stupid even, and just the most mundane tasks were hard. I endeavored to eat right but I'm wondering really if I can even do that right. Anytime I work out really hard I crave salt like crazy and there doesn't seem to be a cure for that. If I were to crave sweets (and I don't) it just means I need to eat more sweet fruit but the same isn't true for salt. I don't eat salt so eating more of it doesn't work. I've occasionally had popcorn and hated myself and it hated me and it didn't fix the problem. I'm really not sure what to do during those times. The only advice I get is to eat more.

I seem to have gotten a grip or groove that 2500 calories is good for me, sometimes more but now I see I'm supposed to exercise 40% of those off everyday if I don't want to fail at this. I looked at my last work out which involved 2.5 miles on the treadmill and a mile in the pool - no small time commitment there and realized even at that I'd only shaved off 25% of my intake that day by burning 625 calories, according to Fitday. I needed to burn closer to 1000.

WTF? I mean seriously - I'm a single mom. I have a teenage girl. I take care of my elderly dementia ridden mother. I deal with lots of other barking and quacking in my life from other sources to boot on top of all of that. To say it's stressful would be to say the ocean contains water. I'm recovering from years of being sick with a brain tumor and recently a very involved hysterectomy. I don't sleep at night. I sleep now an hour or two, occasionally more but then I'm often up for hours. I'm not feeling too well. The thought of having to fit in 15% more exercise is overwhelming and I'm not making it to the gym everyday as it is.

Last but not least I'm reading that according to 80/10/10 I need to be 'emotionally poised'. As in, without stress. I'd laugh at that if it weren't so tragic. So what do I do? Is there anyone in the U.S. who is 'emotionally poised'? Are YOU? If so, I want to meet you and let you spend the afternoon with my mother and then the evening with my daughter. What am I supposed to do? Is my only solution really to send my 82 year old mother off to another state so I don't have to deal with her anymore, and thus never see her again (which is what would happen because I don't have the means to visit my niece) and my daughter back to my ex? And get rid of all the other stressful people in my life including the people at Medicare who make no sense to me in terms of my mother's benefits and then I can become a raw vegan?

I dunno. Any of my friends over in Banana Land care to help?

Day 47 CABIN FEVER

photo credit Tgrab.@flickr

I don't know how many days I've been snowed in - what 39 now? Okay, so it's just been two days with freedom tomorrow, but I can tell you I'm really sick of it despite growing up in a ski village. Maybe it's the 12 year old who is making it such a remarkable experience or perhaps the screaming poodle who cannot even begin to fathom why his grassy knoll has vanished. Even the hamster seems crabby.

I've taken this opportunity to clean out my pantry and fridge even further. Unlike every other year that I've been snowed in, I'm not craving chocolate. That's pretty much a mandatory staple in snow conditions. Unfortunately, my daughter announced on an hourly basis that we had nothing to eat all day despite the fact we have plenty of food. Thanks to the lack of junk food she was reduced to eating a banana and several oranges and proclaimed them yummy. Well imagine that.

I should have put some time in on the treadmill today but I didn't feel like it. I didn't really feel like doing much of anything. I didn't eat enough calories today and I didn't get my exercise, but it's a process. I did review my nutrition and made some corrections, which is really important on any diet. We all need to be responsible for our own nutrition. No book or guru or blog can take complete care of you. You have to be the most important part of your good health.

I think as the weather warms up all the starts and stops and difficult days will melt away into a much easier time.

Day 46 Forks Over Knives

I'm looking forward to this film coming out - Forks Over Knives.

It about the rejection of animal-based and processed foods - the cornerstone of the standard American diet. Unlike my blog, this one's done by people who have more than my one brain cell. Wow, data, research and findings - OH MY! I don't think it's 100% raw but it should be a good step in the right direction.

I'll be sure to post updates about it when they become available. You can also sign up at the film's website, Forks Over Knives and get the updates emailed directly to you.

Day 45 That Bright Shiny Object? Closer Than It Appears

photo credit ♥.·•Lovely Haru!•·.♥@flickr (seriously...)

You may not realize it, this just being Valentine's Day and all, but there are only 157 days left til the first day of summer. You've rolled your eyes at me, but I did detect your split second heart rate increase. Yes, I did.

If you do absolutely nothing different between now and then you'll spend another summer wishing you were fit and trim at the beach in your new orange bikini. Or whatever rings your bell. Speaking of which, I guess the only logical choice was to put the pink bikini on the doll with pink hair but I oh so wanted to see it the other way around *shrug*

Seriously, if you're one of the 17.2 billion of us who suddenly have that gigantic bright shiny object in the sky come out of no where, leaving a wake of frumpy sweat clad wearers behind, maybe now would be the time to make some inroads...

Today I ate 2,567 raw calories, banged out 2.5 miles at a 4.0 average pace and swam 1 mile - which was 60 straight minutes. I kinda love what's going on with this. I walk around in impossibly baggy sweats, sometimes two pair at a time because it's freakin' cold here. I wear plain, non-descript shirts and over-sized jackets. I toss my hair into a pony tail and forget the make up. I look 'like crap' most of the time. No one sees me. I'm completely invisible. I walk through the market and no one notices me. I go to the gym and though I have less clothes on, I don't have fancy work out stuff. My racing suits are ratty and I'm glad. I'm the invisible woman. I could have gone dancing on both Friday and Saturday nights - the two best days of the entire year thanks to Valentine's Day but I stayed home. On purpose. I washed oranges. I did laundry. I was happy.

Why? Because this is time for me. Just me. I don't care what anyone thinks. In an hour I could dress up and look 'hot' by some standards but that's not what this time is for. This is time for me to finally take care of me, work on my diet, my body and my life. I've never consciously devoted any amount of time, much less a year to the care and feeding of myself. Oh, yes to quite a few others - boyfriends, daughter, my elderly mother, former ungrateful spouse, squirrels, birds, dogs, cats, fish, hamsters, neighbor pets - but never myself.

When would be a good time to start taking care of you? What will you do with your next 157 days? What will you do for yourself over the next year?

Day 44 The Two Types of Raw Food People

photo credit Libraryman@flickr

There are basically two types of raw foodists:
Raw Gourmet and Raw Low Fat.

1. Raw Gourmet. Many people initially embarking on raw food start here. They recreate as many SAD (standard American) diet recipes with raw food as they can. There are websites and glossy magazines devoted to fancy, beautiful raw food. So you have people making fancy stuff as well as pizza and White Castle sliders and crackers, etc., from raw food and you end up with a diet that can be as high as 80% fat and with as many health problems as they had before. Salt also runs a bit rampant in this mix which holds its own health problems.

Besides this flying in the face of proper food combining (a whole 'nother topic) they don't eat a high ratio of fruit and this is the downfall of the gourmet raw foodist - you have to consume enough fruit everyday to make it work. You simply cannot get enough calories from greens, zucchini and tomatoes - you would eat endlessly all day and never make it up. Furthermore, you don't just need 'calories'. You need specific things from those calories. If that were not true, we could all just blissfully chow down on Ho Ho's for the rest of our days and be thin, beautiful and healthy. Right.

1 cup of spinach leaves is only 7 calories. I eat 6 cups a day, sometimes more, but 6 cups are just 42 calories. Wow. Why bother? Well because of the minerals - that's why you'd want to eat those lousy 42 calories. You need that, particularly if you're in your first year. Calorie-wise, you need much more than that, obviously. On good days I eat around 2500 calories so what else am I gonna eat to make that up?! You have to eat high calorie fruit. In fact, this has to be the mainstay of your diet so you replace your glycogen stores. This is why we crave sugar in the first place: To replenish our glycogen stores - the fuel we run on all day.

Granulated sugar will never serve your glycogen stores properly. You'll just need tons and tons of it over and over and it's not the right stuff, so you'll just feel and look like crap. No one ever got thin and healthy eating large amounts of refined sugar and that's a fact. Only whole food (fruit) will meet your bodies requirements - and probably for the first time in your entire life. Wow.

If you eat enough fruit you will never crave sugar again. I have cravings sometimes if I've not eaten enough calories in a day but to my surprise they are never for sugary things because my glycogen needs are finally being met. I admit it's a relief to no longer crave sweets. So what do I crave? Stupid crap like McDonalds cheeseburgers. When I crave that, I know I just need a couple hundred more calories for the day. I finally learned how many calories a day make me tick. It's around 2500.

It's different for everyone but everyone who is a low fat raw foodist or low fat raw vegan needs a lot more calories than you're probably eating now. I've never eaten that much a day on a regular basis in my life. I had to work up to it but it feels good now :)

Those who don't make their calories up in fruit make it up by default in FAT instead. Lots and lots of nuts, tahini, possibly oils and the sad thing is, nuts in America are DEAD. Unless you get them from small independent farms, thanks to the USDA, any nuts you buy in the stores have all been heated - cooked - no longer raw. If you claim to be a raw foodist and you are eating heat treated nuts - you're no longer a raw foodist. You can't even buy them at Whole Foods. An independent store might have them. The way you can tell they are dead is they will not sprout. You're basically eating fat gravel You'd be better off fat-wise on a SAD diet where the fat is around 35-45% than do that to yourself. If you buy nuts locally you need to ask if they've been heat treated. Ask if they're sprout-able. If the person doesn't answer you with conviction either way, yes they're certified raw, they will sprout or no, they've been heat treated and they will not sprout - don't buy them.

Besides the fact they're not raw, even if you buy raw nuts you need to understand that fat will never fill your glycogen stores and you'll be forever craving everything you were trying to get away from in the first place, including your health issues. You cannot make up your other 2458 calories of the day with nuts - aka FAT. You need fruit.

You also need to know that too many nuts will start to affect your teeth. People think it's the sugar in the fruit when they start to have dental problems from a raw food diet, but fruit is not the culprit. It's the nuts. They stick to the teeth and embed in between far more than the fruit ever does. You can rinse the fruit down with water but the nuts stay adhered. Trust me on this one - cut the fat - forget the nuts! I eat some pumpkin seeds once in a while but I'm pretty much even over that. Bottom line - you don't need nuts at all.

Which is not to say you don't need some fat. I track my food everyday and if I need fat, I eat a half an avocado last thing of the day, all by itself. That's it. My body has all night to process the fat, I get to 'sleep on it' and I have no active fruit in my system to get bogged down in the fat - causing blood sugar issues. AH! There is much to learn.

2. Raw Low Fat. Those who eat simply fruits (80%) and vegetables (10%) and fats (10%) and those really into it take the time to learn about food combining (which is not recipes...) and they are adamant about exercise daily. They never try to recreate any of the former SAD foods they ate.

I'm of the 2nd group if you couldn't tell by now, but I'm considered 'transitioning' since it can take a year to fully adopt a raw low fat diet. Wow - just my luck I've set aside a year to do just that. HA! Those who are 100% low fat raw vegan absolutely never, ever eat anything they're not supposed to - not ever. That's why they're considered 100%.

I'm doing better than most people I'm told with my transitioning - mostly because I'm doing it in the public eye so I don't want to cheat or fall back or transition slowly. It's a little tough but I get there nearly all the time. I'd say once every two weeks something stupid happens and we're talking one item - not a Thanksgiving dinner or binging for days on end. It's one item - like some popcorn or a few bites of my daughter's pasta. It's OK. I pay the price which is huge (very painful) and learn once again why I don't want to do that.

The great part is I always get back on the horse, unlike other 'diets', and that's because this isn't just a diet. It's a lifestyle and once you embark on it, it's pretty compelling. Just one example, often gourmet raw foodists are still over weight even a year down the line, they have bloating and digestion and other chronic health issues that they really should be able to get relief from. All dedicated low fat raw foodists are very trim and cut, their faces and bodies have redesigned themselves in the most fantastic ways and they've eliminated their bloating and digestion issues as well as a myriad of health issues. Cut the fat. Up your fruit. Change your life!

As far as all the raw food info out there, a good rule of thumb is if the person is selling you supplements and hawking 'super foods' you might want to take their raw food info with a grain of salt. If you're 100% low fat raw vegan - you won't even have any salt! If you're really doing raw food you wouldn't need processed 'super foods' or any other strange processed preparation. Just RAW FRUITS & VEGETABLES.

Low fat raw vegans/foodists take little if any supplements. I thought I needed calcium recently but upon tracking saw I was actually above the RDA. I supplement Vit D in the winter and I'll supplement B12 as this is a concern for ALL vegetarian type people, but let me tell you - I needed B12 even when I ate meat and many other meat eaters do as well. So there will be no more blaming the veggies ;)

Day 43 Pilates Free - For ME!

When I lived in L.A. I used to attend Pilates classes. Let me tell you, it's a LOT harder than it looks. Sleek little machines with shiny cords and hand holdy things - what could be easier? Well after they scraped me off of it the first time, I had respect.

I moved shortly there after to somewhere the word Pilates didn't even exist. That is until QVC. My friend, a quirky 6'2" guy, saw it on TV and thought that was just what he needed to tone up his already rock hard body.

I remember him telling me about it on the phone. It sounded like a Pilates reformer. But surely he did not just buy a reformer, did he? His description left me confused. He couldn't really read the writing on the side so I was clueless. He's a true country boy who has somehow managed to unwittingly slather metro all over himself.

When I saw it I said, "OMG you have a PILATES REFORMER!" He gave me a bewildered look. Even HE didn't know he was doing Pilates - despite the fact it says right on it: Pilates Power Gym. My friend isn't the most literate or worldly guy, but he's genuine. It cracked me up.

Well, I was secretly jealous of the sleek little steel machine with all the bells and whistles. He was doing the coolest work out around and didn't even know it. At about $300 there was no way I could ever get one. Anytime I'd visit I'd look at it with envy.

The good thing about QVC, however, is they always have something new. Couple that with the fact my friend is a QVC addict and you have a marketers dream. When he gets home from late shift he's always seeing what the latest greatest thing is on TV. I can't even begin to name the various interesting gadgets he has in his house now.

Last night at 3 am he calls me.

He said, "I have a gift for you. Would you like my machine thing that you love?"
"Umm - your Pilates thing?! OMG, what? Really? YES!", I said emphatically.
He said, "I saw a new one on QVC and I just ordered it. I'll bring this one over tomorrow afternoon all oiled and cleaned up for you. Happy Valentines' Day!"

Wow! So right on time my cool new gleaming Pilates reformer shows up, complete with the DVDs it came with.

Now I just need to find the time and motivation to use it.

Day 42 Week 6

photo credit Jennifer Chait

For week 6 I walked 1 mile, did not get any swim time in, which is not to say I had no exercise at all. I did. It just involved the clean up of an enormous mess which pretty much ate up 16 hours of my life in the last week rather than the preferred walking and swimming I usually do.

This week I ate 23 bananas and 54 oranges. To date I've walked 27.15 miles, swam 6 miles and have eaten 165 bananas and 121 oranges. Since my orange consumption is so high I thought it'd be fun to track it. Thank heavens no one is asking me to track baby spinach leaves! In other news, yes, Lori's bananas did come from the same farm as mine. I bought both batches but on different days. Hey, it was fun for me!

Well another difficult beyond belief week. Not having food on Monday just kicked my butt and I continued to live the after effects the rest of the week. I'm trying to get a grip on my food and exercise and sanity. I'm determined to win despite most days being pretty tired and needing a nap. My sleep is really messed up at night. I'll sleep 3-4 hours and BING! I'm done - up all night! Then I crash at 5pm for 2 hours. Yes, it's perpetuating it but honestly, that 5pm sleep is like the BEST sleep ever. I am so warm and happy and I sleep SO well. I decided to go with it today and hopefully things will sort themselves out over time. Maybe I just need to start counting sheep.

My goal is to start to get to the gym first thing in the morning, after my daughter gets on the bus. I'm usually so messed up from not sleeping all night that I just come home and go back to bed, then the day gets away from me and my daughter gets home and that's all she wrote. I'm told I 'have' chronic fatigue syndrome but I don't really like that label. I'd like to think I can FIX it, despite the medical profession being useless other than to assign labels to people. I am not doing that great with it right now but I've not lost hope. I have to wonder if a better label would be 'chronic bullshit' instead of chronic fatigue. Yes, I think that's a better title. The crap that goes on in my life wears me out. Like I said last week, I need some changes. I'm working on them. Maybe God will smile upon me soon.

6 weeks down, 46 to go!

Day 41 Making Up For Lost Time?

photo credit Rocketeer@flickr

Imagine my surprise when I realized I'd logged over 2700 calories for today - and I'm still hungry! What's up with that? I made sure I drank enough water (sometimes we confused hunger with thirst...) and I took a nap and took it easy today. Am I making up for Monday, still? I dunno but that's a new record for me. I'm not worried about it. I don't expect to 'gain weight' at all. Isn't that wild? In the past that'd be considered a banana split day for sure and I'd be beating myself up.

I'm getting a lot more used to eating what I want and not worrying about it. I don't feel like I've lost anymore weight this month but I did a quick waist measurement and lost another inch off my waist. That was pretty exciting. My hair seems to be oddly a lot longer all of a sudden, too. I won't measure til the end of the month but it's very noticeable. Ah - the power of oranges!

I've not been at the pool due to the weather and icy roads. Which is not to say I couldn't hop on my treadmill but I just haven't. Monday killed me, burning something like 3300 calories for the day on no food. I just want to get over this week and get on with it. It's the best I can do.

Day 40 Frozen Orange Juices Futures

photo credit artsydots@flickr

If you've ever seen Trading Places you'll laugh at that title and the pic! I'll bet you a dollar that orange can be reformed! Truth of the matter is it's FREEZING out and last night I bought a fabulous *new* orange squeesher thing (juicer...) and I was excited to be snowed in today to use it. We open it up and it seems someone else already had the same idea. I cannot believe that Bed, Bath and Beyond sold me a USED squeesher. GMAFB!

So this afternoon I head out against my better judgment into the great white-out. They took it back, gave me a *new* squeesher and off I went. Had trouble getting home but finally made it. Let's not do that again.

I hand juiced my oranges this morning but I'm not feeling too well 'cause I did way too much yesterday, didn't eat and made myself really sick. 12 hours of sleep later and some OJ I'm doing a little better but my energy is still lagging behind. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day with plenty of fresh orange juice.

Day 39 Some Days Chicken. Next Day Feathers.

This photo sums up my day exactly

I had a very long and tedious day today cleaning up a total mess. There was no time for myself and no food. I packed food for my day but left it on the counter :( It's freezing beyond belief here and after a 12 hour day with no food I'm just beat. Some days chicken. Next day feathers. It just happens. I grabbed something later but it wasn't the best thing and now I'm sick. Tomorrow will be a better day.

In other news I bought a new orange squeeger thing. You know, a thing that juices oranges :) I'm pretty excited about it. At least I think I will be once this awful bone piercing exhaustion wears off sometime tomorrow.

Day 38 YES They Had NO Bananas Today!

OMG I absolutely could not believe my eyes when I finally got through the crowds at Whole Foods to discover that YES they had NO bananas today! I just stood there in astonishment, blinking away, while the sign that loomed over the deserted lot came into focus and said something about their inability to get fresh produce due to the weather conditions at their warehouse in Washington, D.C.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

My daughter reminded me we needed to get water, too, so it wasn't a total loss but it certainly felt like a total loss. I can live without water. I can't live without bananas!!!

So, off to Paul's Fruit Stand I went. The locked gates reminded me they're closed on Sunday. What are they some puritanical fruit eaters - they don't eat fruit on Sunday? Holy freaking cow.

I begrudgingly drove to Kroger where they had plenty of bananas. Sadly they were mostly green and pathetic looking. I grabbed 3 big bunches since another storm is due. I then stopped at Costco and stocked up on oranges. Truth of the matter is I can just eat more oranges. I actually like them better, they're just not as user-friendly and I'm staring down the day from hell tomorrow and I need user-friendly food. Such is life.

I texted Lori (BFF) to casually inquire about her banana stock...and she said she had 3 left. Well, that's not going to do anyone any good at all! LOL - thank you Lori for sensing the panic in my text and offering me your last 3 bananas. It might have been the all caps that gave me away.

I'll be okay. I just want to carry on about it :D

Day 37 Pantry Progress!

Well, it didn't happen in January but now in February I finally got my pantry and fridge cleaned out of literally tons of stuff that is NOT needed. Many things were just old (graham cracker crumbs, anyone?!) that had to go but there was some 'useful' food for others that I will give away.

My daughter (12) is not fully low fat raw vegan and so there are still things around for her. It's not really good for me but you can only do so much. I have been slowly phasing her into healthier eating, though prying the macaroni and cheese out of her little fingers may prove difficult. She also sits in a classroom all day and can't just go eat a banana or orange if she's hungry, so it's a challenge. Then there is the almighty peer pressure for a kid just launching into the teen scene *HELP*

My plan is to get me there and get her eating better overall. In time we'll find new ways for her to have healthier choices at all times.

I wish I would have had these things introduced to me as a kid. I struggled so watching my mother fail on diet after diet, not to mention my early Milk Bone dog biscuit diet from age 4-8 when not enough other food was available to me since she felt withholding food would prevent me from getting fat like my older sisters were. Turns out my sisters were just growing and it all evened out once they got past puberty. Ugh. The dog and I were great friends. It really sucked when she bought the liversnap flavor. I kept telling her the dog hated those but he didn't help the situation by gulping them down. Damn dog.

I still remember her 'scrambled egg and celery diet' that went on forever and who can forget the, "Peel a Pound Soup" that so many people ate. Ew. I remember feeling hopeless that everything I ate 'made me fat' and either binged or did not eat. At least my daughter has had better info and better nutrition and better examples for all of her life, even if she was on a SAD diet. At least it wasn't a junk food SAD diet.

So, one step at a time. Can't wait to clean out my closet. Tons of clothes that are so old, don't fit one way or another and just must go!

Day 36 Week 5

YES I'm a day late and a banana short on this one. I don't know what I was thinking last night but I'd had the longest day that never ended and to add insult to injury, I was up all night. Which then made me sleep half the damn day today. I hate that.

For week 5 I walked 9.25 miles, swam 1.5 miles and ate 37 bananas. To date I've walked 26.15 miles, swam 6 miles and have eaten 142 bananas. Is that a bushel? Who knows. But while you're here, go visit the farm that my bananas came from today. Pretty wild! This farm has really big bananas compared to some other farms I've gotten bananas from. I'm wondering if Lori's bananas came from farm 633 as well. Though she did report that the bananas I gave her were definitely better than other bananas she's had. Can't wait to find out which farm she had. Keep those stickers woman!

Again I've had a stressful week and I'm pretty unhappy with parts of my life and I don't mean my diet. Things need to change. I can't keep doing things like this to myself, I'm destroying my body. I also need support from other people who eat like I do and I think I'm going to get that now, which will help.

If you're following this and serious, it will help you to connect with others on the same path. I did discover there is ONE other person in my city (that we know of...) who ascribes to 80/10/10, also called LFRV - Low Fat Raw Vegan. Maybe I can meet him. There is a girl another city away and I hope to get together with her as well.

5 weeks down, 47 to go!

Day 35 Swim More. Quack Less.

Back in the pool this week I finally hit the mile mark. Of course, I pick the worst possible night to do it. I'm late getting to the swim center. I have to run first to get warmed up and that takes time and I have to allow time afterward to shower. Plus I need a big chunk of time to swim. Ugh.

I head upstairs and bang out a mile and a quarter on the treadmill and then head down to the pool. I always dress the same way everyday to save time. I put my racing suit on first, then my running shorts and a t-shirt on over that and then my street clothes and running shoes atop that. When I get to the gym I take off my street clothes and I'm ready to run. When I get done running I take off my shorts and t-shirt and I'm ready to swim. I've done it this way for my whole life. Works great.

A quick hop in the shower to lather up, rinse off and I'm ready. NO ONE should enter a pool without fully showering and that includes your hair because if you think about it, it's like getting in a bathtub with a bunch of strangers. Ew. Shower. Please shower. This is everyone's responsibility as it keeps the pool clean but it actually does something for you as well. If you let your skin, and more importantly your hair, absorb clean water first and then put a cap on, it won't readily absorb the pool water. Betcha didn't know that :) No green icky hair here. Of course I swim in a salt water pool which I'm so lucky to get to do but there is still some chlorine and chemicals. You don't want that attaching to your hair. I also put a silicon coating on the drier parts of my face and where my goggles will sit to reduce irritation and abrasion. Works great.

I hit the pool and it's nirvana: I have the entire pool to myself. Ahhhh! It's 8:35 pm and the pool will close at 9:45 pm, and the showers will be open til 10 pm. It takes me a half hour to swim a half mile and I want to swim a mile and still have time to ease the arthritis in my low back/tail bone in the jacuzzi before I hit the showers. Sounds like enough time but the 2nd half of the mile might take me longer due to fatigue.

So I feel pretty pressed the first half mile. I really want to get the first 33 lengths under my belt so I can work on the second 33. I use a special finger swim counter that you wear on your forefinger and click with your thumb after each lap. I would never be able to keep count without this. People are always asking what it is but it's a pretty common swim device. It looks like a little watch for your finger :)

My laps are slowed down as I cannot do the flip turn because for some reason since I had brain surgery it causes a massive equilibrium disturbance. I can't fix that, I just have to live with it but I'm out of breath at the end of each lap because I'm pushing it so much. I finally get through the first 33 laps which seems like an eternity and then I'm onto the second set.

It's a little after 9 pm when I start those but oddly they seemed to go by a lot faster than the first 33. I end at 9:30 - finally my first full mile in a very long time.

Swimming is amazing for trimming your waist, sides and hips. I make it a point to make each stroke count. I really reach for it, stretching out each side fully with each stroke and adding a little twist to work my sides a bit more. It's paying off. It's also tremendous for my arms and shoulders. Though I'm a bit sore today, it still feels good.

I am having a hard time imagining getting back up to 2 miles at a time. I used to swim 2 miles a day, almost daily. Energy levels aside, as a single mom I'd need to really carve that time out. We'll see. A mile right now is a lot for me.

Here's a pic of a guy with a swim lap counter thing for your finger. That's exactly what I have. They work great. You can use them for other sports, too. Hmmm I'd like to lap swim with this guy now that I think about it...:D

Day 34 Orange Secrets

About a billion years ago when I was a teen I somehow ended up with a copy of Jethro Kloss's book, "Back to Eden". In it was a small section on the 'orange cleansing diet'. I remember I followed it and one of the benefits was my hair grew ridiculously fast. It always did grow fast but this was like over 2 inches a month and the effects seemed to last well past the month I followed the cleanse. I never did the orange cleansing diet for a whole month or months on end. I didn't have free access to fruit as a teen (which is sad...) but when I was able to get 3 days worth of oranges in, I went for it.

I LOVE ORANGES. I admit I like them much more than bananas, but they're not as user friendly. I hate peeling them and getting it all into my finger nails and so I'm forever slicing them. Not something you can readily do while driving down the highway. Anyway periodically I'll remember the orange cleansing diet and follow it for 5 or more days. My skin will glow like never before and my hair will grow like a weed. In my mind it consisted of eating nothing but oranges for the duration of several days to a week.

Upon a closer look at Jethro's book, I see that's not exactly what it says. Hmmm. It says something about the juice and then doing other things that possibly should not be done and well - let's just leave it at that. Then there is another section that talks about just eating oranges. Hmmm.

Anyway, what I'm here to tell you is that if you eat an abundance of fresh oranges, either on their own as a 'mono meal' (or meals...) or with other fruit you might just be surprised at the bonus results you get from them. Longer hair, clearer skin, etc. If you haven't noticed from my stats my hair grew two inches in the last month. So, even at this age and all I've endured it's still effective.

I eat 2-4 large oranges a day and have been for the last month. Of course I ate a lot of other fruit, too, but I know that oranges seem to have some special powers when it comes to my hair. Whatever it is, I highly recommend it.

Orange you glad you read this? :D

Day 33 Bananobsession

photo credit mondopanno @ flickr

I remember thinking there was no way I could eat a banana everyday much less anything more than that on a continuous basis. At most, I ate 2 bananas a month. I'd read about other raw foodists eating 30 bananas a day. I love this site: 30bananasaday.com and Harley Johnstone is da bomb but there was no way I could conceive of anymore than 2 bananas a month. I remember when I first read Steve Pavlina's blog and didn't understand the whole 80/10/10 thing thinking that he was eating way too much fruit. I thought if I was to become a raw foodist I'd eat more vegetables.

WELL that's not the way it works and now while I don't eat 30 bananas a day, I'm absolutely obsessed with them. They are the most important thing I eat everyday. They are the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about on my way to bed. Then of course all day long I'm thinking about bananas. When I'm really hungry it's the first thing I want. I average around 6 bananas a day, which is actually very light for most raw foodists but there's so much more to it than that...

Banana Management
One of the things you learn right away is that you need to maintain a steady supply of ripe bananas. Sounds simple enough but one snowstorm and the banana supply chain is broken. You find yourself either cut off from access due to the weather or find your store only has hard green bananas or worse - there are no bananas. "Yes, we have no bananas today" is NOT funny during these times. Pretty quickly you learn that PANIC is your friend and you start to worry about your banana supply on a regular basis. Everything from inclement weather to truckers on strike and world trade agreements stand in the way of you and your main food source: Bananas. I can't even begin to face the fact that the bananas we currently eat today are not expected to be available in 20 years. IT'S STRESSFUL!

Even with ideal weather, trucking and trade agreements there are days you walk in the market to a sea of only green bananas. HOW CAN THAT BE?! This results in visiting multiple stores to see if they have ever-ready fruit. This is a real step down for me because if they're not Whole Foods organic bananas they don't taste as good and now you're settling for second best on your most important food.

By then you're so tetched that regardless of the fact they're not the bananas you really desire and despite being successful at the next store, you'll still drive to others just to verify that there is still food available for you on the planet. While there, you'll go ahead and buy another bunch and then continue on, arriving home with 4-5 bunches of ready to eat right now bananas. Oops. Mostly, it works out. To date I've never been bananaless but it's been close. I can tell you though I've yet to waste a banana!

If you've survived the supply chain problem and can buy the bananas you like in various degrees of ripeness to keep you going, you still must address ripeness on a daily basis. This goes hand in hand with banana demand but basically you're always overseeing your lot for ripeness and guesstimating when the next batch will ripen and if you have enough in between all that to make it through. You contemplate how many you'll need over the foreseeable future and weigh that against the varying shades of bright green to yellow before you. Your job is to make a determination worthy of the psychic network in terms of just how yellow they will become in a given amount of time. Despite sucking at math, I find I'm fairly banana psychic but it's not fool proof.

Banana Obsession
You thought I just described banana obsession above? No, my friend. The obsession has to do with having a ripe banana or two within your grasp at all times. At any given time there is a ripe banana in my car console, my purse, my swim bag, next to my computer and so on and so forth. Of course they're not just traveling, I'm frequently eating them as well. I'm driving, I'm online writing, I'm helping with homework, you name it.

This morning I was faced with the reality of just three mint condition bananas remaining and a huge bunch of still super green bananas. OMG! What the heck happened? Those three bananas would be gone by mid-day and the other bunch was inedible. What were the banana stores like at Whole Foods and when can I fit a trip into Whole Foods? GAAAAAAAAA! I managed it after my run/swim but I was down to my last banana at the pool. I bought two big bunches and the other ones should be ready in a couple days. Whew.

Banana Complications
A friend of mine recently asked me if I'd go on a water rafting trip with him this summer. I admit my first visualization was the bananas in the raft. I'm serious. I was thinking how would I keep them in the raft and how would I keep them from getting bruised? The idea of the water rushing over them was appealing to me, no pun intended. All I could see was me and a big bunch of brightly colored bananas bobbing through the rapids. Not him, not him and me, just me and the bananas. Is that bad? He mentioned there was a base camp but holy cow - we'd be away from camp all day. I am seriously going to need to EAT during the day. He then mentioned how the ranch hands would be cooking up more food than anyone could eat at all the meals. Ahem. Cooking? I realized I'd have to pack in 3 days worth of bananas as well as the other fresh food I eat. Plunging into a cooked food camp out on the first night would be suicidal. I'd be as green as the unripe bananas on my counter hanging over the side of the raft the entire next day. Now this doesn't mean I can't travel or do things but it does bear some thought. I think I'll wait til I'm further along in the program to make any life altering decisions.

Bananas & Your Friends
Basically your friends (who aren't raw foodists or at least vegan) think you're insane. My daughter thinks I'm insane. But to your good friends they're a gift of the highest honor. I recently gave a very beautiful bunch of organic bananas from Whole Foods to Lori, my BFF, who launched her vegan lifestyle just yesterday. YAY Lori! And now I'm obsessing over her bananas, contemplating when those will be exactly ripe and when she'll need more...

Day 32 New Month!

I'm kind of excited - a whole new month to get at it again. Sort of like getting a new lease every 30 days. The only thing I'm really concerned about right now is that the numbering thing on the days is going to get harder. During January it was easy. What day is it? I'd simply have to look at a calendar to see it's January 5th - Day 5! Now it's all messed up and I'll have to look at my last post to see what my next post needs to be. I'm probably making it harder than it has to be - my forte. Got any ideas?

I spent last month getting things right, and of course, getting them wrong sometimes too. I bought a large variety of fruit but discovered I really only wanted certain things. I pretty much ate everything I bought but wish I'd stuck to the few things that I kept craving - bananas, oranges, grapes, melons, cherries. I'm not really fond of mangos. I hate peeling them and hate cutting them almost as much as I hate peeling them! There are a few left. I'll try to eat them so they don't go to waste.

While I'm here, for the record: I hate celery. I've put up with it smeared with peanut butter or in chicken soup but no more. I don't have to eat celery if I don't like it. YAY for me! Sometimes I really like salad and other times I eat it because I need to. I make a salad dressing now that I like and once in a great while just put a little garlic salt on it. I like that, but I don't really want to eat the salt. Someone told me that dried celery is salty and used by raw foodists. I HATE CELERY. So, we probably won't be trying that! LOL!

This month I'm going to stick to my simpler fruit choices, endeavor to work out more and make a concerted effort, even if it means duct tape, to stay off the scale the entire month. I'd like to work hard this month and be surprised (in hopefully a thrilled way...) at the end of the month.

February is supposed to be a very good month for me (Pisces, yes, I'm one of those people...) and so I want to get the most out of this month. I am ahead of the game, though. I had planned a 5 lb a month weight loss over the next 12 months, but I lost 10 last month. YAY! I'd love it if I could continue to lose 10 lbs a month. We'll see. If not, Christmas is still coming :)