Monday, Day 7
Feeling much better today! Was tempted to drink wine and eat processed food but I didn't.
Decided to add fresh local deer meat to my diet and see how I feel. Tonight I'm cooking venison cube steak. We'll see!
I had black coffee this morning. I ate a roasted sweet potato and my last avocado. Yum.
Skipped lunch.
Dinner was venison cube steak - no side dishes. I wanted alcohol but drank a Dr. Pepper instead. 12 oz can. Meh.
December 05, 2021
Today I feel like shit and I don't want to blog but here I am. Ugh. Everything annoys me, nothing satisfies me. I'm exhausted.
Breakfast was an avocado with a baked sweet potato. Black coffee. Water.
Lunch was apple cinnamon oatmeal with some granola and blueberries tossed in. Water
Dinner was a mistake. Bear Creek Potato Soup. I can now confirm that I am indeed lactose intolerant and I regret the soup. Gave the rest to the big dog.
Made herbal tea with turmeric and ginger. Still not happy.
Finally got ONE CAN of Dr. Pepper from the fridge. At least it's not booze, wine, or beer. Or meat. If the worst I do is have a soda today, so be it.
Took a hot shower and washed my hair. Going to bed early. Very irritable and antisocial today. This day is almost over. Happy to get through it in one piece. Might test the gym out tomorrow, might not. Gut still tore up from beans and now the potato soup.
Bye y'all - goodnight.
December 05, 2021
Today is day five and I am feeling GREAT!
It's only 11am and I've had black coffee, orange juice, and water to drink. For breakfast, I made a baked sweet potato using NO OIL and I had one small avocado with it. I love that combination and the colors are gorgeous and satisfying too. I just gave it a little salt and pepper and now I'm full.
I'm excited about going to try out the gym on Monday.
My brother is gone all day today so I'm watching my nephew and doing a little housework, but otherwise I'm free to watch documentaries and plan meals and write. I think I'll do some online work today as well.
TO BE CONTINUED...
December 03, 2021
Today is Day 4 and I feel AMAZING! I still haven't mastered the "good night's sleep" yet but I'm succeeding in so many other areas. I still had a little tummy trouble today so I sliced some ginger root and boiled it, then used that water to make herbal turmeric ginger tea. I'm 2/3 finished with the very large mug of it and I feel great. I haven't even taken any pills today and my back and body feel better than when I was downing the Advil. I think it's poison, tbh. When I lived in Thailand, I had a hard time finding ibuprofen and someone recommended turmeric capsules to me. I was very skeptical but I tried them and they worked wonders. It's shocking how easily one falls back into bad habits. Well, I'm a turmeric gal for life now!
I started moving my body today. I put Hang Massive on and watched their 2019 live from Samsara performance and just VIBED. I wasn't able to do a lot but I did stand and stretch for a bit, then used the chair for support, then finally sat in the chair and moved my upper body. I still feel like I got a workout and I moved my body in ways that it hasn't moved in a shamefully long time.
My brother went to the grocery store to pick me up some more fresh and frozen veggies for the weekend. He's being very supportive! He's taking me to the gym on Monday so I can use my free day pass and talk to them about a membership. Last night I made over $8 online and I'm going to work all weekend so I'll have enough to join. I'm really excited! I'm making an investment in ME!
TO BE CONTINUED...
To finish out the day, I fixed a salad of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I topped with a variety of seeds and nuts and dressed it with my FAVORITE pomegranate dressing. It was very satisfying but my stomach cramps returned. I wasn't sure what the problem was, but after I had about 8 french fries, my tummy calmed down! Miracle cure LOL! My brother grilled burgers and cooked fries in the oven. I wasn't even tempted by the burgers but I had to have some fries - so I did! After that, I was still feeling like I wanted something else to eat so I got a small bowl of red grapes. I drank water all day and I had a glass of orange juice at some point. I added melatonin to my regimen and I slept really well last night. I went to sleep around midnight and woke up at 6 something with no middle of the night wake ups! I actually felt GOOD when I got up! I am not in pain like normal. I would wake up in pain daily, stiff, sore, barely able to get up, numbness in my feet and sharp pains in my lower back and legs. Today it's barely noticeable and I bounced up off the bed like a 30 year old! I don't know if it's the elimination of alcohol, ibuprofen, meat, or breads, or the combination of all the above, but I feel GREAT!
December 03, 2021
Yesterday was day 3 and it was terrible! I skipped breakfast and just had some black coffee. Later in the day, around 4 pm, I had two bowls of my 15 bean soup and the rest of day and night was spent in agony with horrid gas pains. I was in a lot of pain and I finally took some Benadryl around 7pm just to go to sleep once the worst of it had moved through my body. I woke up again around 11 pm and was starving, so I ate a small bowl of red seedless grapes. I was still uncomfortable from the beans, so I took a shot of Nyquil to knock myself out. I woke up around 3am and had the brilliant idea I should now join a gym so I searched for local gyms and printed out a 24 hour day pass for the 24 hour fitness place by my house. I fought sleep and finally got up at daybreak, around 6 something and made coffee. Ugh. I don't feel like using the day pass today! One positive thing though, I did manage to work online and make around $8 in a couple of hours!
That was my Day 3.
December 02, 2021
Yesterday was day two of my journey back to healthy eating and living.
What I ate:
Breakfast: A small cup of black coffee. 9-ish AM
Lunch: Mango and mixed berry smoothie in the Nutri-Bullet 12 noon
Afternoon snack: About a cup and a half of seedless red grapes and a mini bowl of 15 bean soup just to taste test it. Around 3 pm
Dinner: 15 bean soup with one roasted sweet potato, one half of an onion, roasted, and a two roasted cabbage steaks. I had an additional cabbage steak and a few pieces of onion left over and I simply put them in the crock pot and added them to my bean soup!
Snack: About a cup full (small plastic bowl) of seedless red grapes.
PICS OF FOOD
Supplements:
Here is a list of the supplements I currently take on a daily basis:
Women's 50+ Multivitamin
Glucosamine and Chondroitin
B-Complex
Magnesium
Zinc
B-12 Drops
Immuneti (garlic bulb, elderberry, zinc, echinacea, vitamin C, vitamin D3)
Melatonin (at bedtime)
December 01, 2021
Yesterday, I woke up and decided to change my life for the better. I'm not sure what exactly came over me, but I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I'm only 51 years old and I feel like I'm 81 most days. I'm in constant pain, always tired, and I usually end up drowning my sorrows, feelings, and emotions in food and a whole lot of wine. No more. I'm also incorporating IF 18/6 (intermittent fasting where you fast for 18 hours a day and only eat during the 6 hour window).
I'm no stranger to health and nutrition. I've lived and worked on several organic farms around the world, mostly in the Hawaiian Islands, and I've learned a great deal about food, nutrition, and healthy eating. I've also traveled internationally for seven years and eaten a wide variety of local dishes and I paid attention to how other people cooked around the world. The only time I ever felt fat and sick was when I was living in the United States -- Hawai'i being the exception. The typical American diet is HORRIBLE. Our food is contaminated with things that are actually illegal in most other countries. Healthy foods are expensive but there are $1 menus on every fast food place lining most towns and city streets across the country. Access to healthy foods can be problematic and expensive.
I'm not here to preach about the failure of the American food system. Go watch "What the Health"
What The Health free on YouTube (opens in a new window) for a ton of great information about that and much more. I'm here to explain and document my new direction in life and to hopefully inspire one other person to give it a try. I'm here to answer questions to the best of my ability and to offer whatever advice I can give you. Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.
So, November 30, 2021 was DAY ONE of eating clean and vegan. I've chosen to adopt a WFPBD or whole food plant based diet. I've eliminated all animal products (no meat, fish, eggs, cheese, butter, etc.), as well as eliminate all processed foods, sodas, and pre-made juices or bottled drinks. No alcohol or ibuprofen either - I was taking entirely too much of both, often times together. Yikes. I owe my liver an apology. Sorry liver.
I originally decided to do this for two weeks but I've now committed to 30 days. This is my journal of each day on that journey, the good and the bad, the important information and probably so bitching and moaning too.
Yesterday, for day one, I ate:
Breakfast: Black coffee
Brunch: Strawberry puree made in the Nutri-Bullet with organic granola and seeds, fresh blueberries. I made the puree from frozen strawberries. It turned out like a sorbet and was delicious. I'm new to using a Nutri-Bullet so bear with me. The strawberries alone were too dry and frozen so I had to add a liquid. I hate milk and this is all vegan anyway, so I added a cup of orange juice (processed, I know!) and some pomegranate seeds. That worked. I poured the puree into a bowl and added the seeded granola and topped it off with fresh blueberries. DELICIOUS.
Lunch: Filtered water with the juice of one lime.
Dinner: Long grain rice with quinoa topped with spinach dal and chickpeas. Confession: These were pre-packed meals I already had in my kitchen that I wanted to use up. They were non-GMO, totally vegan, organic, and actually made in India. They weren't cheap, so I thought I'd go ahead and use them. It was really tasty so I'll be incorporating the remaining packets into my home made cooking over the next month.
More lime water.
Snack: About two cups of large white seedless grapes.
I was finished eating by 6-7 pm and only had lime water the rest of the night.
I broke my fast today around noon by having a mango and mixed berry smoothie, nothing added. I have a pot of 15 bean soup in the crock pot and so far I've added garlic, onions, and spices. I've ordered sweet potatoes, cabbage, and avocados from the store so I'll be making a vegetable dish later in the day to accompany my beans. I'm aiming for a 6-7 pm final feed daily.
Quotes I like to think about:
Let today be the day you give up who you've been for who you can become.
-Hal Elrod
A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time.
-Mark Twain
Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most
-Abraham Lincoln
