Melting Away

Well, I am still going strong.  Adding more exercise and new all vegan recipes this week. It's weird this week all of the sudden inches are melting off. It's great to see my body responding so well!

I have had some temptations this week, but I have remained strong.  I missed eggs this week, but every time I am tempted I think of the poor male chics that are thrown in the garbage or ground alive because they are not valuable to the egg industry and I quickly don't miss eggs. 

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.

Three in the Bucket

Whelp three days in the bucket and I don't feel deprived, hungry nor have headaches.  :D  I have  been about 50% raw though, not fully but I am eating fully vegan and loving it.  I actually slept really hard last night once I finally fell asleep.  I have been struggling with insomnia a lot lately so I was up until 2am last night but I slept really well once I did go to sleep.

So the other day I was on Pintrest and this get well gift idea actually disgusted me.  They are cookies shaped like pills in a mason jar with a pretend rx label.  I get the sentiment and all that and it's a creative idea; however the fact that our society, pharmaceuticals and western medicine have brainwashed us. 

Hippocrates put it best when he said "Let food be thy medicine."  I am trying and testing this theory out myself.  I get a lot of headaches and instead of just popping pain killer I stop to think about it and sometimes document my headaches and migraines. 

Well, thanks for taking the time to read this.  This year is off to a good start for me and I hope the same is for you.  Attitude is everything!

Hugs & Aloha!

Self-Care

I am not one for New Year's Resolutions, but rather goal setting.  This year as of January 1st I took the thirty day vegan pledge at The Vegan Society.  They match you up with am mentor if you like.  Mine has already emailed me and she is fabulous and local too!  Many have asked me to keep track of my journey and post pictures and recipes so here I am.  :)

Today is day three of my vegan journey and I feel great so far.  I am not hungry, nor have I really had any cravings.  I found will power from somewhere and I do not know where!  On New Year's Day I was even able to pass us one of my favorite (old favorites) soups that my mom makes.  It is a fabulous pumpkin soup recipe from Paula Dean, but it has bacon grease inside the soup and is topped with bacon too.  I might try to toy with this recipe and make a vegan version of it.  Anyone reading this that has a substitute for bacon grease please feel free to suggest. I was thinking coconut oil.

I have been on a healthy journey as last year I found myself at my heaviest, with a knee injury that really knocked me down and on seven months of short term disability  medical leave.  I found myself having a pity party, depressed, down, hopeless and feeling trapped in my own body and mind.  With God, prayer, self-realization and a good friend from middle school who works at a gym I have slowly but surely climbed out of the pit of depression that I was in. Don't get me wrong I still struggle with depression almost daily, but I am doing far better.  

Self-care is not a thing that our society, especially in the U.S. supports.  People may act like they do or even say they do, but don't you recall hearing "she is selfish" or "he is selfish".  To me being selfish to a very small degree is healthy.  You must make sure that you love yourself enough to take and in some cases make time to care about yourself and for yourself.  Some examples of what I am referring to are prayer, sleep, spiritual well-being  mental health, journaling, simple things like brushing and flossing, eating right.  There are so many small things that we put off daily for ourselves.  If we take care of our temple we are able to love others more readily and help others when called upon.  If we are unhealthy and unhappy how are we going to be a blessing to anyone?

All that to say, I have never been consistent at blogging, but I have been asked by some friends to document my thirty day vegan journey with pictures, recipes, honesty and encouragements   So here I am writing away for me and for you.  I hope you enjoy my thoughts, tips and realizations.  I will do my best to post something daily be it a picture, thought pattern or realization.  Blessings to you!

Hugs & Aloha!  <3   

God Given Talents

I have been feeling really convicted about my talents the Lord has given me that I am wasting away. I really love my jewelry making and art creations. I have not been truly pursuing them actively. Right now I am rehabilitating my knee and it is a fine time to make more jewelry.

A pair of earrings I made from upcycled zippers

Now I just have to await the arrival of my tools and beads in a few weeks in the moving truck.  Good thing I have blogging, books and one knitting project.  Or else I might go mad. My jewelry website is here and my Facebook page is here.  Check it out and like my page!

Another little ditty I made

What talents do you have or dreams that you have that you have not been pursuing?  Or have you even thought of this?  Are there things that you love to do that you have put aside because they are "too hard" or you don't know where to start?  Let me hear what you have to say!


Thanks for reading!  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!   

Tantalizing Tart Juice

I just had a juice experiment turn out very yummy!
Ingredients:
Ginger root
1 medium to large jicama
2 fiji apples
1 green apple
2 large minneola tangelos
1 lemon

First I juiced the citrus with my citrus juicer, next I juiced the ginger, jicama, then apples. Threw it all in a large bowl to whisk and now I am slurping it down in my mason jars.