What's on My Plate

I thought since it is Day 20 of my Boot Camp, an update would be appropriate. Above is a photo of my dinner tonight. Let me tell you, that is a HUGE honkin' salad on a dinner-sized plate. I can not believe the sheer quantity of food I am able to consume eating like this. In addition, I ate a baked sweet potato, totally plain. I am really thriving on this whole mostly vegan, mostly raw eating style. I occasionally indulge in some brown rice, or steamed kale, or a baked sweet potato, but the vast majority of what I am eating is raw.

Here's how I'm doing after 20 days of October:

--30 Day Shred Workouts? Yep, 20/20 days. Today was day 10 of Level 2. Level 3, here I come! I've also walked almost every day.

--Gluten free? I had one piece of my homemade bread early in the month. and 2 bites of a pizza that smelled amazing. That's all.

--Dairy free? I've had precious little in just a few things. I would guess a total of 2-3 ounces of dairy in 20 days.

--Vegan? I ate a little homemade tuna salad one night, but did not like how it made me feel. I also ate a few pieces of chicken in some stir-fry I made. Other than that and the small amount of dairy mentioned above, I've managed okay.

--Mostly raw? I would say I am eating 80-90% of my foods raw.

--Caffeine? Zero. Zip. Nada!

All-in-all, this month's Boot Camp is going well. I'm hoping to continue with the plan and finish strong.

Coming soon: knitting update! (I know you are all on the edge of your seats!)

Operation October Boot Camp

If you follow me on Twitter, then you may already know that I have proclaimed this month as "Operation October Boot Camp." Corny, I know, but I'll do go to extreme measures of goofiness if it will help me keep motivated.

Although weight loss will hopefully be a pleasant side benefit, that is not my main purpose in this. I am hoping to improve my health and relieve some unpleasant symptoms I have suffered from. I spent the end of September doing a cleansing fast. The goal of that was to break some bad habits and adjust my perspective towards food. It is amazing how abstaining from food for a while can help cut the cravings for junk. I quit caffeine and have not had a cup of coffee for 16 days now. I have also avoided sugar, wheat, meat, cheese and processed foods. This month in my personal boot camp I am trying to establish some good habits by making myself do them every single day. One of those habits is plain, old fashioned exercise. I have spent a half hour every morning for the last 8 days with my good friend Jillian Michaels.


This work out kicks my tail every time!

I am also working on drinking lots of water and eating really, really healthy. For me that means mostly vegan and mostly raw. Not to bore you with too many details, but here is what a typical day is like for me right now:

--fresh carrot juice first thing in the morning
--workout
--green monster smoothie (juice, fruits and LOTS of spinach)
--raw fruit, raw almonds, veggies for snacks
--maybe some homemade hummus for dipping
--HUGE salad
--homemade veggie soup, or brown rice with black beans and salsa, or more veggies
--walk with hubby

I have lost some weight, but more importantly, I am feeling much better! I am sleeping better, have more energy, feeling less muddled in the head, and some of my joint and muscle pains have abated. Eventually, I will probably experiment with reintroducing certain foods in isolation (like wheat) to see if they trigger any symptoms.

My long term goal is to try to continue in this way of eating for a good six months to see how my body will respond. That is a little overwhelming to think about, so I am taking it one day at a time. But who knows, maybe with the clean food and plenty of hard work...