It's time for a change

Well lots have happened since the 7 day detox that we did together. As I have shared I was considering myself “veganish” because I occasionally had dairy, fish, and shhhh lamb. The crazy thing about the lamb part is when I was a “meat eater” I couldn’t STAND lamb…so strange.

Anyway as much as I love not being so “rigid” (a plant based lifestyle doesn't have to be rigid, I was just like that with myself) I’m noticing I do not feel my best. The full plant based lifestyle REALLY works great for me. I feel my absolute best, I have great energy; I look my best, everything just coincides together perfectly.

So I've been praying about what to do because I have felt like this for a while. Sure I’m happy to allow myself more flexibility but fully knowing that I don’t feel or look my best I know some changes need to be made BUT I want to be realistic with them. I now have a plan that I’m VERY excited about:

•        Starting next week I will be going fully raw- end date Apr 1

o   I felt my ABSOLUTE BEST when I was raw. Now realistically this is not a full time lifestyle- it messed up my teeth (more on that another time but check out http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/ he shares a lot about the raw vegan lifestyle and the effects on the teeth. I didn't believe it but man I learned the hard way when I went to the dentist.

•     After that I plan to lead a majority plant based lifestyle-

o   Meaning if I want sporadically I will have fish etc. BUT eating mostly plants and many raw plants is my plan of action. I want the love for it that I felt before I started allowing myself more freedom so that’s what I plan to be praying about during my raw journey

So stick with me as I update on how things are going. I’m excited and nervous! It’s been kind of fun going to restaurants and not just ordering sides or salads because they are not fully vegan friendly BUT I’m looking forward to the challenge.

Signed,

Excited, Scared, but READY

Lesson Learned

Yesterday I let my mind get me and I ate some chips AND a veggie sub from subway. While the sub wasn't horrible, my body is adjusting and getting used to not having bread and especially not having chips. I reasoned with myself because they were a healthier version of chips BUT they were still chips. I even had the nerve to eat an additional bag a few hours before bed time and boy did I pay the price!

I have read that you go to sleep easier when you eat at least 4 hours before going to bed. So I stopped eating after 6pm and have been sleeping like a baby minus last night. I was so annoyed with myself- restless, couldn't get comfortable, felt the chips digesting, all the no no's I was experiencing.

This morning I was discombobulated(big word lol) thought it was Saturday, and struggled to get up. Now I know some of you are like "Keesh, go sit down, it's one time." You are absolutely correct. I don't always practice what I preach and beat myself up when I eat unhealthy(my version of unhealthy) or don't do what I'm supposed to and I'm working on that BUT this time I don't like how I felt last night or this morning so the lesson for me is this: No eating before bed, AND work on not listening to my mind but allow my body to dictate what it needs and NOT what I want.

Anybody want to make me some raw chips? LOL!

I feel freakin GREAT!!!!!!

I feel GOOD!!!

WOW!! Words cannot explain just how good I feel! As I reflect, I have to reference a previous blog I wrote in which I set several goals for myself. Please see below with updates:

1.    Vegan-am

2.    Majority raw foods-somewhat- RAW VEGAN NOW!!!!

3.    No processed foods- pretty close

4.    No GMO's-working on- pretty close

5.    Make all food- pretty close

6.    Garden-future

7.    Juice Fast – done and will do again

8.    Cookbook/book-future- working on

These above goals basically list what I have accomplished and what I wanted to work on. So let me update you……I am now a raw vegan!! That means that I do not eat foods that are cooked above 105 degrees to keep the enzymes intact insuring my body is receiving all of the enzymes and nutrients. I have been reading this book called Living on Live Food by Allisa Cohen and I’m telling you this book has made me completely change my thinking as far as food is concerned. Not only that, I cannot express enough how GOOD I FEEL!!!! Let me list some things that have changed for me:

·         Every morning Mon-Fri I wake up at 5:30am and workout with my husband. I am not tired, I’m actually excited to get up and get it done.

·         I look forward to the day, I no longer press snooze on my alarm clock but am up and wide awake.

·         I appreciate nature, I notice the green of trees, I hear the birds, I desire to be outside

·         I need less sleep.

·         I am in a better mood overall.

·         I value my relationship with God more and really appreciate Him for who He is and just His overall awesomeness.

·         I really appreciate my husband and my love for him has grown. I have less attitudes and feel a stronger sense of admiration and respect for him.

·         MEN IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE LOOK AWAY FOR THE NEXT TWO BULLETS!!!-

·         MY CYCLE IS SOOOOOO LIGHT AND ONLY LAST MAYBE 3 DAYS. I MEAN LIGHT TO THE POINT THAT I DON’T EVEN HAVE TO WEAR ANYTHING TO PROTECT MYSELF MOST TIMES. I have had the same bag of “materials” for months!! For this reason alone, I won’t go back LOL!

·         I went from a 40G when I first started on my health journey years ago to a 34(I leave the cup size out for respect of my husband) but I can get PRETTY bra colors now not just nude and black which are the only color options for well-endowed women.

·         I’ve gone down two dress sizes

·         I actually LIKE the way I look in bathing suits.

I can go on and on but I think you get the idea. Do I crave cooked food? Yes. I actually had a few tortilla chips with some guacamole and made some popcorn the other day so let’s say I’m 99.9% raw. But even in and through those cravings, I feel too good to turn back. I am also finding new and fun things to cook. I am learning more about myself and life and am just plan happy!

Just wanted to share the good news with you all!!

Time to get it together!

Soooo I'm noticing that I'm becoming a unhealthy vegan. Partly because of boredom, and partly because of lack of planning and self control. Maybe not unhealthy in most eyes but in my eyes, I definitely need to step my game up. Processed foods, fries, fried vegetables, and bread have been on my plate for a while now. I know that doesn't sound horrible, but for me it is not good at all.

Yesterday I ate at two places: Cracker Barrel and Buffalo Wild Wings- both places scream "if you're vegan run!!!" But nonetheless, I was with my family and my friends so I went. Normally every morning I start off with water, raw juice, and then fruit. The past couple of days it has been bread, or something that I normally don't begin with and I KNOW this is not healthy. For breakfast I had sourdough bread french toast and potatoes. For dinner I had fried onion rings, fries, chips and salsa, and of course I had to throw a salad in there, still no meat or animal products but not great either.

I think it all began with the Superbowl. I found all of these vegan dishes to make and they ended up being REALLY good- veggie pizza(my own recipe), nachos and cheese, corn muffins, chili, cupcakes, and cookies all vegan. Not to mention my famous mixture of juices. It was all soooo good even our company didn't know it was vegan! I just kept eating and eating and eating annnnddd eating. Before that, I really was just eating raw foods and some occasional cooked stuff and since then I have been going crazy! Drinking with my foods, just going overboard with my eating style and it kind of stuck.

Again I know this may not sound crazy but for me I feel like I am the example not just for others but for myself. I know what has been working for my body and my health, and when I fall off it's hard for me to get it back together BUT there's good news.....Lent is right around the corner and yes I participate in Lent.

So starting Tuesday- no processed foods at ALL, majority raw foods, and back to the way I was eating when I first started out along with some other spiritual things. I'm looking forward to growing and getting back to the extra healthy vegan that I started off as.

Keep me in your prayers!