Residual Results

Had the most unusually cleansing weekend that felt like a mirror of the juice fast - only in a household way.  We made a major change that we've been considering but avoiding for some time, and once that was done it was as though the accelerator had been pressed.  I suddenly rearranged all the furniture in the living room (okay, there's not really that much furniture, but still) and I felt so energized by the space that had been opened up that I took on some other cleaning and technical projects.  Overall it's been a stabilizing few days.


Cooked black beans, zucchini and tofu for dinner this evening.  I marinated the tofu in balsamic vinegar and sort of stir-fried it; it didn't exactly come out right but it was edible.  The flavor was great, just didn't get the texture I was going for.  I cooked the beans with water only, no seasonings or other vegetables, and I ate them just like that.  It was a surprise how delicious they were - I've gotten accustomed to eating them with nutritional yeast and Bragg.  I was really craving simplicity today in the food department, and the plain black beans satisfied that craving.  Between the beans and the tofu, my protein intake was solid, and that's hopefully a focus this week.


In this month following the fast I can see how much food affects my energy and mood.  It's not that I've been on the straight and narrow ever since we completed the fast, but I've been much more aware of how my choices are dragging me down or lifting me up.  I must always remember that it's never the wrong time to take a positive step.  

Another Week Done

We've dropped our juicing down dramatically, not intentionally but probably a result of getting a little tired of juices after the fast and because we've been just plain lazy.  We're getting back on track though.  I think it's important to drink at least one juice a day.  We're still eating pretty well and keeping off the weight we've lost.  It's time to step up the food tracking though and get creative about lunches again.  Definitely a work in progress.


I found another great recipe, this time at cooks.com, using black-eyed peas which are very popular in our household.  It's really delicious and I think it's going to become a fallback.


That's all for now.  I'm off to the Puyallup Fair later today to table at an informational booth for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest.  I'm glad I can get the word out to the community that planning is the key...

A Week After

It's been a little over a week since we finished the fast and I'm still feeling great.  I have been drinking coffee again, but no more than a cup a day and not every day.  I'm still finding that once I get out of bed in the morning and get past the initial brief grogginess I feel plenty alert without the caffeine.  It's quite remarkable!


Since I came off the fast, I've continued to track my food using SparkPeople and seeing what nutrients I need to boost. Of course, I've been tracking calories as well, and I'm still amazed by how easily I can get by on few calories when I'm getting the best nutrition.  It's a work in progress and I'm finally getting to be able to accept that - I may never be effortlessly eating the perfect balance of nutrients and calories every day, but I definitely won't if I don't try.  


I'm exploring many ways to prepare cabbage recently, and ways to prepare quinoa.  Although it's important to eat a variety of different foods, sometimes one or another catches my attention and I'm taking advantage of that by trying to learn new ways to prepare those foods and also to start keeping in memory what foods provide me with which nutrients so I can reach my daily intake goals with a minimum of time spent tracking and researching!


I went for a walk last night, which hasn't been happening in quite a while.  The energy pick-up since the fast has  evidenced itself in a number of ways; got the compost bin started, unpacked our camping gear as soon as we got home (this may be a first!), met up with a friend I hadn't seen in ages, traded in that ridonculous long hair for a manageable and healthy shorter style...well, a new season is coming in and it's a good time for change!

Day 7: We made it!

NOTE: Discouraged that I wrote this last night but somehow didn't post it...


UPDATE:  1845:  I made a cabbage dish from a Vegetarian Times cookbook.  It was great and complemented the black beans and brown rice nicely.  I like to put nutritional yeast on my beans and/or rice.  Then I don't use salt and it livens up the flavor.  I had a half cup of rice, a cup of beans, and one serving of the cabbage.  I felt full when I finished the plate.  I think the rice kicked up the craving to overeat because I can feel myself thinking about going back for more, and my mind is saying "but you have plenty of calories left in your plan for today" - and that's true - but I need to struggle against eating for the sake of eating.  The more I overeat the more my stomach expects it and my brain thinks it's okay.  One meal at a time.  It's good to know I could eat this meal tomorrow for lunch.  I definitely feel the difference today having eaten about double the protein I ate yesterday or any day in the past eight.  It's a good difference.  It's been a good week so far.  I've really gotten a lot done and have been on a more even keel.  Also, I don't seem to be fighting going to bed this week, which is normally a big issue.

Sunday we are going camping.  Just for one night, but I really need to put some thought into the food that we bring.  Last time, we brought sandwiches with vegan lunch slices, and vegan brats, and nuts, corn, and IDK what else.  We ate a lot.  I really don't want to get into the processed vegan food habit again.  So I need to dedicate some time tomorrow to think about it and be ready to make some food ahead of time on Saturday.  It will be a test of my dedication to our rebooted eating habits!


1430:  Yikes, I can't believe I didn't get a chance to write yesterday.  Probably because I was so full of energy that I was busy doing lots of stuff around the house.  I can't believe how great I felt yesterday (and I feel great today too).  Yesterday I brought plentiful small quantities of food with me and ate small amounts throughout the day between appointments.  I didn't let myself get ravenously hungry, and I didn't stuff myself when I ate.  When I looked at my caloric intake at the end of the day, and my nutrient intake, I was shocked that I had felt just fine with such a great carb/protein/fat ratio and low calories.


Last night we had Israeli couscous with steamed zucchini and yellow squash, spritzed with Bragg, with edamame and sunflower seeds.  I served a very small amount of the couscous and quite a lot of vegetables.  I was full after only half of what I served myself and I put it away in the fridge before food addiction told me to eat the rest.  My partner did the same.  


Today my partner offered to make me a cup of coffee in the morning and I couldn't resist.  However, after less than half a cup, I began to feel extremely dizzy.  I didn't drink anymore .  I had eaten only a banana, so I got the rest of the edamame to see if some protein would help.  After a little while I juiced some carrots with parsley and during all this time drank water.  The dizziness went away.  The caffeine didn't affect me adversely the other day, maybe because I was sleep-deprived and responded to it, but it didn't go well today!


Tonight we're having black beans and I'm not sure what else, unfortunately. I think my partner is dying for some rice, so I may make some brown rice and eat just a little bit.  I think it's time that we ramp our protein back up, so I'll plan to make the beans the heart of the meal. 

Day 6: First food

1530:  Today we began breaking the fast.  I had a banana and a vegetable juice in the morning, then some salad around 1100.  I had the rest of the salad around 1400 and then I drank my first cup of coffee.  I was going to wait another day or two to try coffee, but between my neighbors ( :-( ) and our cats I didn't get much sleep last night.  Eating seemed to make me sleepy and I really struggled during my 1130 (against sleepiness) so I decided to go ahead and see how it went with coffee.  It sure tasted good.  I savored it.  Now an hour later I don't feel wired, but I do feel full.  I ate so little compared to how I had been eating prior to the fast.  I hope that although we will be adding more foods back in - beans, tofu, grains - that I'll continue with the smaller portions. 

Another reason for the coffee was that, oddly enough, today I had a headache.  It didn't start until mid-morning.  Strange that I got a headache the day I started eating solid food?  Since it was also the first day during the detox that I didn't get enough sleep, I don't really know what to attribute it to, but it's gone away since I drank the coffee...

Looking forward to that raw soup this evening.  I looooove avocados!

UPDATE 2220:  I just went through the food I ate today and tracked it on Spark People.  I'm shocked at the fact that I was full on less than 800 calories today.  Apart from getting hungry between breakfast and the 1100 salad, I wasn't hungry all day.  I ate more or less 5 times today - I think that's part of it.

Of course, I'll be adding some protein foods in and likely some grains, so the calories will not stay so low; however if I can keep up with the small portion sizes maybe I can continue to feel great and also lose weight.  My body really needs me to take off some of the weight so it isn't under so much pressure.  I've lost all but 6 pounds of what I gained back after my great health streak in 2007, and I feel really good now.

The Raw Vegan Kale Ginger Soup was amazing!  I had half of it tonight and found that I was full, but craving more because it was good.  I put the rest in the refrigerator for tomorrow.  I can take it with me since I'll be gone all day.  

Red alert:  I don't have a plan for dinner tomorrow night.  It's time to add some new foods.  Edamame?  Brown rice?  Quinoa?  I'm thinking steamed veggies with edamame and maybe some brown rice for the man.  Not sure if I want to eat rice so soon.  Will try to listen to my body tomorrow, but to get past the taste buds and to my stomach and my wellbeing.

Day 5: Ready for step up!

2100:  Slept a ridiculous amount last night, but felt really good today.  I still got very hungry at times, say 7-8 for a few minutes at a time, but it dissipated when I drank some juice.  Things are going my way, too, generally in my day today.  I'm looking forward to eating tomorrow.  I'm planning on a banana when I wake up, then a vegetable juice before I leave the house.  I'll be out for the whole morning but I plan to bring a nectarine with me, and then maybe have a salad when I get home.  For the evening meal I'm making a raw Vegan Kale Ginger Soup which I found on the Low Fat Vegan Recipes blog:  http://lowfatveganrecipes.com/raw-vegan-kale-ginger-soup/ 


My partner is really excited about having coffee tomorrow.  I thought the coffee should wait at least another couple of days but he's ready for it now.  I'm not sure.  I think I may hold off a little longer.  I'm shocked that he's the one who has missed coffee more.  In fact, the whole time we've been doing this the bag of coffee has been sitting on the counter and I haven't had even the slightest temptation, even when I was considering drinking coffee to get rid of the withdrawal headache.  I'm confused by this as I love coffee and really, really don't want to give it up.  I guess I would love to remake my relationship with coffee so that instead of thinking of it as the best part of my morning, it could be just an occasional friend.  I'm really not sure I can just be friends with coffee though...


Good night!  

Day 4: Wow!

1900:  Woke up feeling just fine today.  My partner made us some juice (pineapple, kiwi and I'm not sure what else) and I went out to pick up some things at the store. I hate shopping and I had to trudge past all that food in order to pick up some more apples and parsley and a few other things.  I realized how much stuff I eat just because it tastes good, with no thought as to whether it fits my body's needs for the day.  Bummer.  I juiced some vegetables when I got home.


Around two o'clock I hit the hunger high - maybe a 6 or 7.  A while later I juiced half a red grapefruit and two apples.  Superzumos says this helps stave off hunger.  It sure seemed to work cuz it's 1900 and I'm just starting to feel a hint of hunger.  It's so much easier today than yesterday, and yesterday was easier than Friday - even though we were still eating some solid food on Friday.


A couple more hours and I'll be asleep and Day 4 will be done.  Tomorrow is the last day of juice-only.  Tuesday we'll break the fast with some fruit and raw vegetables and Wednesday we'll add in some vegetable broth and we'll see what else.  A slow step up.  


 I got a lot of cleaning done in the morning but I've been chilling this afternoon.  One of our cats woke us up earlier than we wanted to get up and I think coming up an hour short on sleep cut into my energy.  Some people say to expect to be tired and low energy during the fast and other people say that doesn't happen.  I don't know if tired is the right word exactly.  I feel like resting.  Seems like it's not the same thing.  One thing is laying low because of being tired and not being able to do a bunch of stuff, and another thing is consciously resting.  I like it.  And I still feel very mentally sharp.  The fog has really cleared over the past few days.  


And I still CANNOT BELIEVE I haven't had coffee since Wednesday.  And no headache today either.