Feeling Great and Losing Weight

Well, here I am on day nineteen of my 100% vegan journey.  I am feeling great!  Some of the benefits I have notices are the following: I am sleeping better, I have more energy, I feel better emotionally & physically, I dont feel bloated anymore, my conscience is clear that I am not supporting cruel industries, and my family is eating more produce as a result!

It is really weird to me how I suddenly found a whole new willpower. It took strength to pass up certain things in the beginning.  I struggled with cheese, bacon and eggs the most in the beginning. Now as time has gone I have had a paradigm shift. It is almost like I don't view those things as food or even an option anymore. My feeling better physically and in my conscience combined with the education I have been providing myself through articles online, magazines, books and documentaries have made a huge difference.  I find myself wanting to share with others my newly found and renewed knowledge with others.  I just can't ignore what I knew before this vegan pledge and what I now know in addition to that.

Some of my favorite things to eat are black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, cilantro, bananas, brown rice, muesli, almond milk, figs, apples, carrots, spinach galore, kale, soups, oatmeal.  Below are some pictures of my nummy foods. 

I am finding it like a fun and positive adventure instead of a negative challenge to find ways to eat vegan while out in public and asking questions of my server as well as researching online too.  I look forward to having my own place again so I cqn entertain friends and family and be able to prepare my vegan recipes and shock and awe them with the deliciousness!!! 

Until next time...live aloha.

A Fresh Start

Well, I am back!  2012 has been a tough year for my fitness and health overall.  Physically and mentally.  I plan on blogging more often, although I only have five followers now.  That really does not matter, perhaps someone will read this and it will benefit them.


Anyhoooo, what have I been up to?  Whelp as you know from previous posts I have been struggling with my weight and health.  Since trying to gradually change my lifestyle back to the healthy one I once knew.  I re-joined Weight Watchers in February and did astoundingly well.  I was eating a high raw diet mixed with fish and chicken.  I lost about 15 pounds in 2.5 weeks.  I even lost weight on a cruise!  While on the cruise I had a flair up and both my legs were swollen (mostly towards the last three days).  After much pain, a night in the ER, countless tests the ER doctor was perplexed and he was not a young guy either...Eventually we narrowed it down to my left knee.  I have been faced with a knee injury since the end of February.  


Prior to the knee injury I had a physical with my doctor to which he declared me obese.  Yes, I said it, OBESE.  "OMG!  Seriously?" is what I thought to myself.  Morbidly obese, yup me.  I NEVER in a million years would have ever pictured me in this place.  Because my BMI was so high and due to practice protocol, my doctor had to write me a referral for a Bariatric surgeon. I told my doctor I didn't want it and that is when he told me he had to write it for me.  So I literally that day went straight to Weight Watchers where I weighed in at my all time high.  When I got home I put the referral smack dab on the handle of my fridge door.  How did I get here?  This is not a picture of me, but it is a picture of the typical american.  More than one third of adult Americans are obese 35.7% to be exact; according to the CDC's website.

Sadness will not go away if you eat more

So after the cruise, I had lost weight, but I was sent to physical therapy for two months.  I went through pain that could have been a lot worse I am sure, but it was the worst knee pain I had ever felt, well really it was my whole leg as I had hurt tendons in my calf and ankle too.  I was on modified bed rest for quite some time as they thought that I had blood clots.  I had been through physical therapy in recent years for my other knee, but it was never this bad.  Truth is my body was crying out for help then four years ago.  I didn't listen to the call then, but I sure am now!


All that to say, here I am five months and some change later having gained more weight then where I started.  I have moved to a new city to live with family since I have been on medical leave for so many months and the lease was up on my apartment that I could not pay for on my own.  So, I packed up gave some stuff away, sold some stuff and journeyed to Phoenix to be with family.  I have been here for four and a half days now.  Sadly I caught some sort of stomach bug before leaving and was really nauseous days before leaving for the road trip with my two kitties in the car and my mom.  It seemed to have subsided and then flared back up again.  I am eating really bland food now and on August 1st I started fresh.  Since I cannot eat veggies or fruit right now (besides bananas) I am taking a multi-vitamin, calcium, probiotics and an omega.  I have not missed a dose remarkably!  It has always been really hard for me to remember my vitamins much less twice a day.

There is much controversy over taking supplements versus eating fresh (or raw) fruit and vegetables to gain nutrients instead.  I for now am going to take them until I can incorporate more of the yummies in the pictures below into my daily routine.  The supplements I take are from Melaleuca, The Wellness Company which have Oligofructose Complex for maximum mineral absorbability and antioxidant protection (ask me how to order these!).

Yummy in my tummy!

Each day there are little conscious decisions I make to incorporate vitality and health back into my life.  One of them is choosing products that are safe for me, my family and the environment.  Cruelty free is key too!  Each day is a difference and I know I can do this, I just have to take it one day at a time instead of looking at the overall amount of weight I need to lose.  So reach one, teach one.  Encourage someone today to make a positive change in their life.  One of my favorite scriptures is Philippians 4:13 which says "I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.".  I am going to have to really lean into that this next year as I work hard to take some serious weight off.  So stay tuned for my adventures of fun, fitness cruelty, and plateaus.  Thanks for reading!  Much Aloha!   

Empowering Choices

Well folks, after one week back on the Weight Watchers Points Plus system I lost 5.8 pounds!  I have been finding that I pray when I feel week and I truly was addicted to food.  I ate when I was sad, angry, bored, tired, or whenever.  I was eating healthy choices and much organic items, but then I would blow it by eating crap at work or driving through somewhere.  I think that I was afraid of success and failure all at the same time.  This week I made many healthy choices, including listening to my body when it was tired and going to bed early a few nights.  


I found that while eating healthier made me feel better emotionally by the simple fact that I was choosing the be healthy for myself and that I just had a clearer mind.  I am looking forward to incorporating more healthy choices this week and for my cruise next week and making good choices there too!  


With that I wanted to share a nummy recipe that I dreamed up tonight with y'all.  I call it Quinoa Surprise.  I named it such because I was surprised at how yummy it was!

Quinoa Surprise

1 cup of cooked or soaked whole wheat quinoa

2 cups of raw or steamed butternut squash cubed

3 cups of spinach

Add your favorite salad dressing (2 tbsp) *

***I used Seeds of Change Organic Red Pepper Vinegrette

Place in a giant bowl toss with tongs, grab a fork and a spoon and enjoy!