My Raw Vegan Journey Day 49: What to do about set backs

At some point I'm sure I'll stop counting the days. Not sure when that will be, but here we are at day 49.

I started this adventure as a challenge and all contest challenges have a start and an end date. However, I was not long into the journey when I realized this journey was probably not going to end at the scheduled time. I felt that many of the lifestyle changes were actually  going to be for a lifetime So what was a short term contest, changed into something more profound. I was on an adventure and like any adventure  this one has had its fair share of ups and downs (mostly up) and twists and turns. With many revelations along the way.

The last couple of weeks have had some of those typical curve balls that happen in everyone's life. Parties, celebrations, and visiting family. The usual stuff. But so much of family time and celebrations centers around food.

So what if you are the only Raw Vegan? That depends on the Raw Vegan, their motivation to BE a Raw Vegan, and the company they keep. For me, I am the ONLY Raw Vegan I know and most definitely the only one in my family. My motivation was to create more harmony and balance in me. So in order to make things easier on everyone, I compromised a bit, but only a tiny bit and only for a tiny amount of time. But still, it was a series of compromises and each one had a direct impact on me. Some not so pleasant and others insightful.

In some respect, I am glad it happened so early on my journey. Eating has not become automatic and I still need to plan and think about every meal of my day. It's almost as if I am hyper-vigilant about what I eat. On the flip side of that, I have become acutely aware of food and its impact on me, both physically and psychologically. You try fasting and see what happens with your awareness. You're in for a real discovery!  

My Raw Vegan Journey Day 18, Juicing without a Juicer!

It's Day 18 (at least it was when I videotaped this segment). I'm feeling fantastic and bright since I switched my diet to Raw Vegan. When I first set out on this journey I was skeptical and very apprehensive about what was ahead, but I am in a challenge so there is no turning back.

Sometimes you need a little push from an external place to get you going. I'm glad I put my hat in the ring to do Markus' Weight Loss Contest ( http://www.markusrothkranz.com/contest/contest.html ). Now it's not that he knows me at all or that I have any direct interaction with him. In fact, I'm on my own in this and I'm the only Raw Vegan in the house hold so..... You need to find the motivational support from outside of yourself because changing 50 years of a life style is no small feat. But it is possible.

I must say though, once I started to feel more alive and more positive and way more energy, it really isn't hard to find the motivation!

When I first began, I had no idea how to make a juice. Seriously! I thought they were full or fruit and maybe some veggies. The only juices I had seen were orange, pink, red, purple, anything but green. Boy was I wrong! I also thought juices went WITH a meal not REPLACE a meal. Where's the satisfaction? Wouldn't you go hungry? The whole thing seemed very unappealing to me and definitely not something I wanted to do. Juice, Me? Never!

Well, never say never. I now Juice almost everyday and I LOVE it! May favorite juices are green green green! The best one, IMHO, is Celery with Cucumber any deep green leaf (love love love Dandelion and Carrot tops) with a hint of Ginger. My favorite breakfast! Plus I put gobs of water in so I get a double bonus

Now, with my new trick to juicing, it takes me under 2 minutes to make a juice and go. Talk about Fast Food!! I hope you find this tip helpful for you! Tell me what is your favorite juice blend?

My Raw Vegan Journey Day 15

How am I feeling? If I were and better I'd have to be twins!

I know that people are supposed to feel horrible and miserable and sad and even deprived. Heck I've read that your even supposed to look horrible. I must be a late bloomer or something because I have the exact opposite reaction. By Day 4 I felt fantastic and my energy and enthusiasm has only gotten better. I don't feel discouraged, I feel encouraged. I have even had customers mention that my eyes look brighter and lord knows I have gotten way chatty. I was happy and talkative before, but it's gotten worse. I had one of my lovely Très Spa shampoo customers come by for a quick hello and I really chatted her ear off! I was just so happy to learn she was a Vegan that I was like a puppy who found their new best friend.

Maybe I will experience some down side somewhere down the road, but for now I gotta' tell you I feel absolutely fantastic. I have more than enough energy to get me through the day and beyond. I greet every day with a series of Sun Salutations (if you have done Yoga you know what that is), get my 30 minutes in the sun, and swim almost every day (after all I don't need a lunch break anymore).

While I am making a pretty good go of things, I'm not perfect and I continue to struggle with things like water. I was never a water drinker before. In fact, I don't like the taste of water. I still don't. But, I am supposed to be drinking a gallon of water a day. A gallon! Do you have any idea how hard that is? Especially when you cannot stand the taste of it. But it is an important part to good health so  there is no getting around it, you need to figure it out. While a gallon might be too much for you, you need to get at least a half gallon down.  

Personally, I like flavor. So I think I found a happy compromise. I make a weak tea and when I say weak tea, I mean you only get a hint of tea. But, it is enough to give a hint of flavor to the water and it makes it so much easier to drink.  I also find it easier to deal with 2 half gallon jugs for a couple of reasons 1) I like to feel the sense of accomplishment when I finish one and 2) I get two different flavors to drink for the day. While I do have my favorite organic herbal blend, I try to mix it up and get a variety of herbal infusions into my water.

Send me your e-mail and I will send you the Detox Tea with instructions in pdf. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/b5rI1

My Raw Vegan Journey Day 11

So far, so good! By day 11 I was getting a grasp of the Juicing and how to build a smoothie phase of the process. Again, the process I am trying to follow is in Heal Yourself 101, by Markus Rothkranz. I must say, I am particularly fascinated with Juices and Smoothies. Having never done them before, it's nice to have some general rules to follow and Markus' guidance has been extremely valuable.

For me, once you show me how to do a thing the first time, I get it. Explain the basic principles and the major groupings, and I get that too. Then turn me lose to figure out what works for me and I am in my glory!

I realized one day, as I was pulling together the raw ingredients for a juice, how close this resembles Très Spa.  In both situations I begin with raw natural ingredients and formulate for an end product that is nourishing and soothing. By combining plants you end up with a symphony blend where each one ingredients melds with the other to deliver the maximum benefit for your body. See, no difference from making skin care to prepping my juices and smoothies.

So back to my Raw Vegan experience. Taste! This is an important thing to mention. Your taste or perception of what tastes yummy will change. I will tell you, a good deal of the juices and smoothies that I make taste bitter and I still haven't gotten the hang of how much ginger to use. But, stick with it and your taste buds will change. This happens pretty fast and I find I now crave green with a hint of bitter. Now I can taste every layer of a smoothie or juice (as long as I control the amount of Ginger). It's really been very interesting, like formulating essential oil synergy blends.

I should also warn you, your sense of smell will sharpen. I've always had a pretty good nose, but for better or worse, it has gotten even more keen now.

I'm still in my infancy as a Raw Vegan and I like to tell my close friends that I am still a bottle feed toddler in that I am drinking juices and smoothies with a very rare slip of a solid veggie, fruit, and a nut or two. I have even been spotted nibbling on lettuce leaves. But for the most part, I am happily living on juices and smoothies.

My travel season is right around the corner so it will be interesting to see how I resolve those challenges. Stay tuned! 

My Raw Vegan Journey Day 6

I made it through to Day 6 (and beyond) and like a shot, I suddenly got tremendously busy so I am writing this in retrospect.

I am one of those "in the moment" people. What I mean by that is that I tend to live very close to the present and not dwell on things to far into the future or too long ago. Good thing I did make the recording on my 6th day so I can recall what I was going threw at the time.

By Day 6 I was well into the swing of things. I was wobbly legged in the beginning trying to imagine what life would be like for the rest of my life if I could not have the "comfort" foods of my past. But any part of learning has a natural evolution so I reminded myself not to panic. I'm just in the bottle phase of my infancy as I learn how to nourish my body and take care of it. Not how to eat. It really isn't about How to Eat or What to eat. It is how to nourish the body and for me I want to know how to nourish my body and care for it while maintaining a balance in Harmony with nature. 

There are a ton of Diets out there and a plethora of people to tell you their way is the best way and you should be doing this or that. But the truth is, as a responsible adult, only you can answer that for you. The most important thing to do is to tune into your body and check in. Ask yourself if you feel well. Are you rested? Do you really feel hungry or are you craving? Do you feel alert and energized? Are you glad or sad? Is it a struggle or does it fit naturally? Or in short, are you in harmony?

For me, I feel very harmonious. I am also very pleased with not having to cook and clean so many dishes! I also like the fact I don't need to figure out what's for dinner for me or anyone else! You have no idea how much time and energy I got back from just cutting that lose. In fact, I rarely have anything after 4pm. I'm just not feeling hungry or in need of nourishment.

So, back to the program. I went into the Juice phase with great joy. Water fasting is difficult for more than 24 hours. The part I love the best about the juice phase is the variety and selection process. I start with all of the raw ingredients and pick the combo I am in the mood for at the moment and that is what I pull together. I just need to keep a couple of basics in mind when I formulate my juice, but other than that I can do what I want. Perfect!

Basic rules

1. Always mix greens with fruit. Don't do just fruit
2. Treat Roots and Fruits the same
3. Mixed Greens mean mixed green.  Avoid using the same green over and over again, feel free to branch out. Oh and those carrot tops and beet leaves are green, count them in.
4. Spice is nice! Add a powerhouse herb or spice to zap the flavor and the power up. Garlic and Ginger are house staples now, but how about adding a bit of cinnamon, cayenne pepper, sage leaves from the garden, basil, thyme, the list goes on. Just don't make it too complicated.
5. Enjoy! If you aren't enjoying it, then what's the point of doing it? Nourishment should bring you joy! It should make your body come to life.

 I follow Markus Rothkranz's preferences in juices in his book Heal Yourself 101. You can find it here http://www.markusrothkranz.com/online-store/heal-yourself-101-book/index.html and for my Amazon fans you can get it here: http://www.amazon.com/Heal-Yourself-101-Markus-Rothkranz-ebook/dp/B0057OATQY Thank goodness he has an eBook version!!

So here is the video from Day 6 and I am finally getting this posted on day 12! LOL Look for Day 11 to be posted on day......... Such is life!

My Raw Vegan Journey: Day 4

It's always helpful to have a plan to follow and I've been trying to follow Markus' plan. It begins with a water fast for at least two days. TWO days notin' but water! Well almost true, you do get bits of lemon juice, Apple Cider Vinegar, and Green tea. Being the competitive person I am, I decided to challenge myself to do the three days instead. After all, what's one more day right?!

Have you ever fasted? I mean really fasted? I've done the light version of going without something or the other. Like giving up chocolate or giving up pasta or bread or soda or any number of things. Other than that, I can't say that I have ever had the experience before so I really had no concept of what to expect. In a way this is good since it caused me to be almost hyper vigilant and I paid close attention to all of the experience mind and body.I think this is a key point to pay attention to here. I was paying attention to my body and trying to make sure I was distinguishing between what I desired and what I needed. What I truly needed. 

The first 24 hours was not that bad, mostly filled with arguments with myself about the fact I really was not hungry so stop drifting into the kitchen. My home office is the dining room so setting up right next to the kitchen when you are first learning to eat again posses a bit of a challenge. One funny thing to note was a conversation I was having on the phone with a very dear friend. She had no idea about my fast and the Raw Vegan journey since we hadn't had the chance to get to that point of our conversation. It was her turn to fill me in on her life  Somehow or other I managed to steer the conversation to me describing this cake my Mother used to make. It's a Texas Sheet cake and if you have never had one, let me tell you it is the gooiest chocolate cake you can ever have. With massive chunks of nuts and all topped with a mountain of creamy chocolate icing. After describing it, there was silence on the phone. My friend finally broke the silence "Janice, are you okay? You sound like you are drooling!".

Day two was a bit rougher. This is when the headaches came on in full force. I broke down and took a couple of aspirin. The headaches were so strong that they came in waves and I ended up retaking aspirin in the evening. Interesting to think about the violent reaction the body has when you deprive it of something as simple as caffeine and carbs. I suppose this should really make us pay attention since the only things I know of that can cause withdrawal are drugs.....what does that tell you? Needless to say, day two was truly brutal. I was glad I did not have to go anywhere or talk with anyone that day. A little isolation is a good thing now and then.

By Day three, my plan for doing a water diet for three days was set aside for a bell pepper a tiny bit of left over hummus and a quarter of an apple. Sorry, I gave in to the desire to chew. In retrospect, I really could have waited but the child in me won and I gave in. I think fasting, and water fasts in particular, are a good exercise to do on a regular basis and for a 24 hour period. I would recommend doing them when you can have time to reflect and be a bit introspective, so probably best for your days off of work. It's incredible how many times you say you are hungry when you really aren't.

On the plus side of water fasting, no need to worry about what you are going to cook and all the ancillary concerns that go with it. Like; Do I have enough ingredients in the pantry? Do I need to run to the market? Clean up? Oh, what's that??..... NO dishes to clean!!! NO counters to scrub down!!! NO trash to take out!!! NO waist by products!!! Hmm. Maybe we should start a campaign to save the planet and have everyone fast for 24 hours. Can you just imagine the effect of zero global waist for one whole day?!

I digress, So now I am into the juicing phase where we get a bit more nourishment from juicing greens and a wee bit of tart fruit. Check back with me in a few days to see how things went with Juicing. 

My Raw Vegan Journey: So it begins

I decided to make a personal journey public. Why? Because it may help others and it adds accountability for me. If I tell you I will do something, then you know I will and, on the flip side, once I tell you something I feel a sense of duty to follow through since I would not want to disappoint you. Yes, that makes me a people pleaser. OK I will own that. But I know me and if I were just dabbling and dipping my toe, I would be missing out on the full experience.

For those of you who know me, you know that I have had a long abiding admiration and fascination with the Raw Foodies out there. In fact, all of the products I make for Très Spa are Vegan friendly. However, I have never been a vegan and my forays into he world of the Vegetarian/Vegan lifestyle has been brief. But each time I dabble, I know that I feel better and have more energy.

So why do I flip flop? Good question! Probably ease and comfort. Although saying that is really silly since I felt more comfortable as a Vegan/Vegetarian and I don't think there is anything easier than prepping food for a Raw Vegan. Honestly! When it comes to fast food, there is nothing faster than grazing through the garden. Done! So the answer must be lazy. Learning something new takes a good deal of effort and commitment and in my busy world it is so much easier to not have to think about food. So then I end up down a slippery slope of mindlessly eating whatever pops into mind. And what is on my mind is not different than what is on many others; it's what we were raised with and what media screams at us all the time.

Why now? Well it just so happens that one of the people I follow in the Raw Vegan community threw down a challenge and I took the bait! You can too if you want to, here is the link: http://www.markusweightlosscontest.com/ I love a good challenge that is posted in good fun. It's probably why I liked marathon running so much. Challenging, demanding, self-competitive, yet very supportive and encouraging from the community.

But why the fascination with Raw Vegan lifestyle? A year ago I spent a month in a fast of sorts to prepare for the annual Buffalo Dance. The goal was to "Walk Softly" for the month before the dance. It just seemed to me that the "softest walkers" were the Raw Vegans. So I dipped my toe in the waters and dabbled a bit but fully Raw all the time was indeed a bit of a challenge. The experience and the feelings were something that stayed with me even years later. With almost melancholy I would reminisce about how healthy I felt and how much lighter and more energy I had.  I has been a goal of mine for some time, to return to that clean healthy feeling. So recently I had been sampling Markus' products for smoothies. Then all the cosmic bodies aligned and Markus sent out the challenge invitation at just the right time. So why not?!

So I started my journey on August 10th and I will be posting Vlogs and Blogs as I venture down the road over the next few months. I am a little excited and a little nervous about what the future will be like.

If you subscribe to the Très Spa Youtube channel, you will get a notice when new postings go up.