... and not in the way you think I mean.
Last night was not a dream about golden, crunchy chips, or perfectly barbecued steak, or any of the other yummy cooked things I like to eat. No, I kept on dreaming about raw food preparation! It was not fun, it never ended, and there were horror stories on the news about people dying from salad. (I think in one case a girl died because there was bird poop still on her salad, which gave her a "massive heart attack. Wha...?) But you know what? I was ready for the weekend, with heaps of bakkies of salads, bottles of smoothies/soups and teeny bakkies of salad dressing to keep me going.
Which is what I have. Hurrah!
This is probably it til Sunday; no weigh-ins, between now and Sunday morning, either. Let's hope all that frolicking at the beach and healthy eating will see a good loss!
Current weight: 79.6kg (-2.5kg)
Current body-fat percentage: 38.0% (-0.4% — starting to lose that fat!)
Current feeling: Busy, but good
Friday, November 7, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Preparation, big-time
Tomorrow I'm going up the coast with the Wilsons, and so a mammoth preparation task was at hand. I prepared tomorrow's lunch and dinner, Saturday's breakfast, lunch and dinner, and have made a deal with Mum to make my Sunday brekky and lunch and bring it with her to my nephew's birthday party on Saturday. (I was going to make the lunch, but we realised that we didn't have all the ingredients. The reason I didn't want to make the breakfast was that it's a juice, and I'd already used and washed the blender five times and I really didn't want to wash up yet another machine...)
My upper back (around my bra strap) is now hurting, as I have been chopping, blending and so on for the last hour and a half. So I think the time for my daily stretch has come! (As soon as I've packed, dammit...)
Mum said something to me tonight that made me think. She said, "promise you won't break the diet when you're up the coast." And I thought, well, no, why would I? Firstly, although there have been pleasant cooking smells around the place that have made me pause, I have not really been tempted at all, even today when I was starving and walking through Chatswood. Secondly, I named this blog Katy's Raw Food Challenge, not Detox, or Diet, for a reason. Namely, that I see it as precisely that: a Challenge that is not to be backed away from.
I will try to keep blogging, but let's face it, tomorrow's going to be a stretch and Saturday will be nigh on impossible. But we'll see!
Current feeling: Really positive, and hoping that the energy increases soon
My upper back (around my bra strap) is now hurting, as I have been chopping, blending and so on for the last hour and a half. So I think the time for my daily stretch has come! (As soon as I've packed, dammit...)
Mum said something to me tonight that made me think. She said, "promise you won't break the diet when you're up the coast." And I thought, well, no, why would I? Firstly, although there have been pleasant cooking smells around the place that have made me pause, I have not really been tempted at all, even today when I was starving and walking through Chatswood. Secondly, I named this blog Katy's Raw Food Challenge, not Detox, or Diet, for a reason. Namely, that I see it as precisely that: a Challenge that is not to be backed away from.
I will try to keep blogging, but let's face it, tomorrow's going to be a stretch and Saturday will be nigh on impossible. But we'll see!
Current feeling: Really positive, and hoping that the energy increases soon
Day 4: Feeling strong
What a great day, food-wise! The mango & parsley smoothie was a bit OTT for me, but that's because mangoes aren't my super-favourite fruit. I realised, though, that if I bought some of those plastic popsicle-makers it would make an ice-cream to rival a mango Weis bar! That got me thinking about berry smoothies etc that could make great popsicles, and so my ultimate thought was: ICE-CREAM FOR BREAKFAST!! So if it gets super-hot super-soon then a little forward-planning is all it will take...
Lunch was some more of the creamy zucchini soup left over from last night (the soup for today was fairly similar, with sunflower seeds instead of almonds and celery as the greens), and I think next time I'll make it with only half a clove of garlic instead of the full clove. And then dinner was a mixed greens salad with a creamy dill dressing (dill, avo, lime juice and water). What a winner! Dad had it (along with his oh-so-tempting steak) and enjoyed it, too. Poor Mum was stuck with her cold celery soup that not only smelled, but also tasted of glass clippings.
So food-wise, this is all going really well for me so far. The only problem is that I seem to need even more sleep than usual, and I still don't have the promised energy. I was yawning my way through work this afternoon, and it's not as though I had a super-busy day. I hope that improves by next week!
Current weight: 79.7kg (-2.4kg — I think this smaller loss overnight is partly due to the relatively high-fat dinner)
Current body-fat percentage: 38.4% (~0.0% — now I'm starting to lose the fat, as my kgs keep falling and now so is the body-fat percentage!)
Current feeling: Food is tasty!
Lunch was some more of the creamy zucchini soup left over from last night (the soup for today was fairly similar, with sunflower seeds instead of almonds and celery as the greens), and I think next time I'll make it with only half a clove of garlic instead of the full clove. And then dinner was a mixed greens salad with a creamy dill dressing (dill, avo, lime juice and water). What a winner! Dad had it (along with his oh-so-tempting steak) and enjoyed it, too. Poor Mum was stuck with her cold celery soup that not only smelled, but also tasted of glass clippings.
So food-wise, this is all going really well for me so far. The only problem is that I seem to need even more sleep than usual, and I still don't have the promised energy. I was yawning my way through work this afternoon, and it's not as though I had a super-busy day. I hope that improves by next week!
Current weight: 79.7kg (-2.4kg — I think this smaller loss overnight is partly due to the relatively high-fat dinner)
Current body-fat percentage: 38.4% (~0.0% — now I'm starting to lose the fat, as my kgs keep falling and now so is the body-fat percentage!)
Current feeling: Food is tasty!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Day 3: Some great recipes
Well, after the difficulty I had with breakfast this morning, I was very glad to see how tasty lunch and dinner were today. Lunch was a salad of mixed greens, a couple of olives, some salted baby capers and a "dressing" of the juice of a lime and a splash of olive oil. Yumm! Dinner was a creamy soup of blended almonds and zucchini with some lime juice, water, garlic, cumin and shallots. It was super-tasty, but my recent diet has meant that my liver panicked and I could only have a very tiny bit, cos it was so rich! With a tad less water it would make an outstanding dip, and with a tad more it'd be an awesome salad dressing. So we've bottled it, and will keep it for such applications, as well as for side orders on otherwise "skimpy" meals.
Today I was hardly hungry at all, except for a couple of hours after I finished my juice, which simply meant I had a fairly early lunch. That then lasted me (along with a handful of raw almonds just before work) for more than seven hours til dinner. So my stomach is obviously shrinking. Mum and I were talking about it, and it rather made us think: the way we were eating before (quantities, types, calories), it's actually a wonder we weren't massively obese...
The Raw Divas said that Day 3 would be the hardest of all; I've actually found it to be the easiest so far. I had no cravings for other foods and, with the exception of the juice this morning, had easy and tasty meals. I must say my energy wasn't super-high, and I wonder about having the "heaviness" of the meals increase throughout the day rather than decrease. But overall, it was a good day.
Current feeling: Like this could be a winner!
Today I was hardly hungry at all, except for a couple of hours after I finished my juice, which simply meant I had a fairly early lunch. That then lasted me (along with a handful of raw almonds just before work) for more than seven hours til dinner. So my stomach is obviously shrinking. Mum and I were talking about it, and it rather made us think: the way we were eating before (quantities, types, calories), it's actually a wonder we weren't massively obese...
The Raw Divas said that Day 3 would be the hardest of all; I've actually found it to be the easiest so far. I had no cravings for other foods and, with the exception of the juice this morning, had easy and tasty meals. I must say my energy wasn't super-high, and I wonder about having the "heaviness" of the meals increase throughout the day rather than decrease. But overall, it was a good day.
Current feeling: Like this could be a winner!
Day 3: Breakfast of... champions?
This morning's breakfast is (still, three hours later) a juice of carrot, celery, ginger (so far so good), spinach, cabbage and beetroot. Oh. Well, it's not terrible, but it's not great, either. I'd say that's mostly because I'm not the world's greatest fan of beetroot, rather than an inherent failing in the recipe. It does bother me a little, though, that so much of the fibre and goodness is lost when you make a juice rather than a smoothie. (I guess it's the only way you're going to get raw beetroot into your diet, though. I can't imagine blending a raw beetroot in the absence of using a Blendtec.)
Current weight: 79.9kg (-2.2kg)
Current body-fat percentage: 38.7% (+0.3% — hurrah, starting to lose some fat!)
Current feeling: pretty good so far, but hoping for some tastier recipes!
Current weight: 79.9kg (-2.2kg)
Current body-fat percentage: 38.7% (+0.3% — hurrah, starting to lose some fat!)
Current feeling: pretty good so far, but hoping for some tastier recipes!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Day 2: Lots of spinach!
After complaining last night that there was too much fruit, today there was rather too much spinach.
The breakfast smoothie (mango, berries, blood oranges and celery) was really good, although it took me more than three hours to get through all 800mL or so of it. I was actually still finishing it as I prepared lunch (a "cold soup" of spinach, cabbage, coriander, avocado, lime juice and water). It was actually surprisingly tasty, although I only got through about a third of it... This was partly because my timetable today didn't allow me to wait until I was really hungry before I ate, and also because, to be honest, it smelled like fresh grass clippings. Seriously, it tasted good, but the smell was just a little too hard to get over. So when I got home between students I put the remainder in the fridge and had a small handful of natural almonds. (This is not a "good" snack for "releasing" weight, but it is a healthy snack, and I figure since I didn't get the fats from the avocado in the soup then I'll be okay.) Finally, dinner was a green salad (mixed greens, a cucumber and two celery stalks) with a "dressing" made of blended spinach, avocado, lemon juice and a few other things. It was really not that great. The dressing began to get bitter as I ate, and it just wasn't nearly as appetising as I was truly expecting it to be.
Despite having had two massive boxes of organic vegies delivered, Mum is now thinking of switching to the "fruit" menu planner, as opposed to the "green" one we chose last week. I am now committed to following the green menu for at least this week in order to use and not waste all those vegies we've bought. Overall, I think it will suit me better—I've spoken before about not having a sweet tooth and not being a huge fan of fruit because of that—but the prospect of getting through mounds of spinach over the next few days is a little daunting.
This all makes me sound really negative. In a way, I am. Mum is tired today and so is feeling defeatist about the amount of washing up (one blender, two raw vegans, three meals a day), and this is getting passed on to me. Also, the attitude of my Gran is not helping, as she sneers at the idea of celery in a fruit smoothie and says things like "it's all a bit extreme". Of course it's extreme, it's a freakin' health intervention! And you can't taste the celery (or any other greens, for that matter) in the fruit smoothies at all. Which I know, but it's getting a little hard to constantly defend. And this is only Day 2! Imagine how much harder a weekend away with the Wilsons could be...
There are positives, however. I don't feel hungry (if anything, it feels like there's a little too much food for me), I don't feel light-headed from lack of calories and (so far) I haven't had any more headaches. Also, although I have been bombarded with smells, images and ideas of fantastic cooked foods, and have been somewhat tempted, I have refrained from breaking out of the Challenge.
I'm hoping that in the morning, having both had a good night's sleep, things will seem more positive.
Current weight: 80.3kg (-1.8kg)
Current body-fat percentage: 39.3% (+0.9% — I've realised this keeps increasing because it's mostly water I'm losing so far and so the fat is a higher proportion of my weight)
Current feeling: A little down, but physically feeling pretty good
The breakfast smoothie (mango, berries, blood oranges and celery) was really good, although it took me more than three hours to get through all 800mL or so of it. I was actually still finishing it as I prepared lunch (a "cold soup" of spinach, cabbage, coriander, avocado, lime juice and water). It was actually surprisingly tasty, although I only got through about a third of it... This was partly because my timetable today didn't allow me to wait until I was really hungry before I ate, and also because, to be honest, it smelled like fresh grass clippings. Seriously, it tasted good, but the smell was just a little too hard to get over. So when I got home between students I put the remainder in the fridge and had a small handful of natural almonds. (This is not a "good" snack for "releasing" weight, but it is a healthy snack, and I figure since I didn't get the fats from the avocado in the soup then I'll be okay.) Finally, dinner was a green salad (mixed greens, a cucumber and two celery stalks) with a "dressing" made of blended spinach, avocado, lemon juice and a few other things. It was really not that great. The dressing began to get bitter as I ate, and it just wasn't nearly as appetising as I was truly expecting it to be.
Despite having had two massive boxes of organic vegies delivered, Mum is now thinking of switching to the "fruit" menu planner, as opposed to the "green" one we chose last week. I am now committed to following the green menu for at least this week in order to use and not waste all those vegies we've bought. Overall, I think it will suit me better—I've spoken before about not having a sweet tooth and not being a huge fan of fruit because of that—but the prospect of getting through mounds of spinach over the next few days is a little daunting.
This all makes me sound really negative. In a way, I am. Mum is tired today and so is feeling defeatist about the amount of washing up (one blender, two raw vegans, three meals a day), and this is getting passed on to me. Also, the attitude of my Gran is not helping, as she sneers at the idea of celery in a fruit smoothie and says things like "it's all a bit extreme". Of course it's extreme, it's a freakin' health intervention! And you can't taste the celery (or any other greens, for that matter) in the fruit smoothies at all. Which I know, but it's getting a little hard to constantly defend. And this is only Day 2! Imagine how much harder a weekend away with the Wilsons could be...
There are positives, however. I don't feel hungry (if anything, it feels like there's a little too much food for me), I don't feel light-headed from lack of calories and (so far) I haven't had any more headaches. Also, although I have been bombarded with smells, images and ideas of fantastic cooked foods, and have been somewhat tempted, I have refrained from breaking out of the Challenge.
I'm hoping that in the morning, having both had a good night's sleep, things will seem more positive.
Current weight: 80.3kg (-1.8kg)
Current body-fat percentage: 39.3% (+0.9% — I've realised this keeps increasing because it's mostly water I'm losing so far and so the fat is a higher proportion of my weight)
Current feeling: A little down, but physically feeling pretty good
Monday, November 3, 2008
Day 1: Fast
Well, I made it through. 24 hours with nothing but water (oh so much water!), and I didn't succumb to any temptations. Which, surprisingly, was actually relatively easy, I thought. I was hungriest around lunchtime, and then after that my tummy just realised that it wasn't getting anything for a while and quit whinging. Work was fine, as I never have the lollies/chocolate there anyway. The walk home from work was a lot less energetic than normal (my energy is usually much greater after about 5pm and I find myself really gunning it on the way home), but I didn't feel light-headed or anything. And I wasn't even cranky and low-blood-sugary! I did get a headache at around 5, but it seems to be gone now.
For dinner I had a smoothie made of a mango, a banana and a few sticks of celery. I'm still working through it now, almost an hour later, actually. Part of the reason is that I'm really not a sweet tooth, and this much fruit all in one go is a bit of a shock to my system. There was a blended salad option for this meal, but Mum preferred the look of the smoothie (and definitely enjoyed it more than me), and there was no way I was going to get her to make two separate meals.
So far, though, this is doable. This is a good thing.
I need to start using the Daily Worksheets, though, I forgot mine this morning. Oops. :(
Current weight: 81.8kg (-0.3kg)
Current body-fat percentage: 39.0% (+0.6% - wtf??)
Current feeling: like this is really doable
For dinner I had a smoothie made of a mango, a banana and a few sticks of celery. I'm still working through it now, almost an hour later, actually. Part of the reason is that I'm really not a sweet tooth, and this much fruit all in one go is a bit of a shock to my system. There was a blended salad option for this meal, but Mum preferred the look of the smoothie (and definitely enjoyed it more than me), and there was no way I was going to get her to make two separate meals.
So far, though, this is doable. This is a good thing.
I need to start using the Daily Worksheets, though, I forgot mine this morning. Oops. :(
Current weight: 81.8kg (-0.3kg)
Current body-fat percentage: 39.0% (+0.6% - wtf??)
Current feeling: like this is really doable
Sunday, November 2, 2008
And so it begins!
I last ate at 7:20pm this evening (a large salad, some roast pumpkin and a small, ever-so-tempting slice of my Dad's slooooooow roasted lamb). The next time I will eat is tomorrow evening after I get home from work, at around 7:30. I'm sure I will love it no matter what it is!
Current feeling: raring to go
Current feeling: raring to go
Getting prepared
The Body Enlightenment System gives out a huge amount of support as part of its programme, and one of the things they ask you to do before you begin (at 6pm tonight!) is to go through their Advanced Workbook and Daily Success Planner. So, on Friday morning I curled up on the sofa and began.
Their philosophy behind the Workbook is that it allows you to write down (and therefore articulate) your goals and commitments regarding this Challenge. I think it's a great way to begin, because crystallising your goals and hopes for the challenge away from the fuzzy "I want things to improve" really helps to get in the right mindset for the Challenge. Or for any other major undertaking, really.
The first thing I had to write was "My binding commitment". This is what I wrote:I commit to making a go of this. I will do this by: adhering to the programme, feeling positive about my commitment to it, and paying attention to what my body is telling me throughout this process.
The next thing I had to do was to write down, in detail, aspects of my fantasy for my "ideal body—health, physique, shape, energy, clothes, confidence, etc." I was to complete the following sentence in the present tense: "This is my fantasy; I'm so happy now that I..."
» ZING! with energy
» Feel more confident to face the day
» Can push myself further when I exercise
» Can wear the clothes I want to and look great wearing them!
» Have the awesome legs (that go up to here) I've been promising myself
» Have taken control over my food intake
» Have clear and readiant skin
Building on that, I was asked to evaluate my current "levels" as regards ten key areas of life: Personal appearance, fitness/exercise, social life, personal development, sleep, work/employment, attitude, time management, eating habits, and home environment. Having evaluated them, I was asked to choose 2-3 changes (not goals) that I will make in each area. Here they are:
» Personal appearance
i. Take better care of my skin
ii. Put more effort into how I do my hair
» Fitness/exercise
i. Do at least one core exercise every day
ii. Stretch every day
iii. Push myself further when I exercise
» Social life
i. Accept all reasonable invitations
ii. Intitiate contact with important friends
» Personal development
i. Blog this journey every day
ii. Be open to all questions
» Sleep
i. stop using the computer/watching TV at least one hour before bed
ii. make time for at least eight hours sleep each night
» Work/employment
i. reflect and learn from each session
ii. be open to other job/career opportunities
» Attitude
i. be positive to/with the people around me
ii. be a "happy pylon"
» Time management
i. make a "timetable" for work and play
ii. no internet (except for research) while applying for jobs
» Eating habits
i. listen to my body re: hunger
ii. focus on how healthy foods make my body feel
» Home environment
i. de-clutter my living space
ii. organise my work/study space
I will then go back and rate myself again, and see if I feel I have improved.
The second booklet was the Daily Success Planner, which has a lot of (customisable) routines, affirmation phrases and so on, but also has a set of 30 daily worksheets (to keep track of things) and a page entitled "Your Enlightened Body". I was to "jot, sketch, and draw to solidify [my] IDEAL body image." Because I can't draw, mine was entirely made up of small phrases and ideas written in language. And this is what they were (in no particular order):
» clear skin
» strong core
» active mindset
» boundless energy
» feel like an empowered professional
» funky hair and clothes look good!
» strong physical stamina
» look and feel healthy inside and out
» flat tummy, slim legs
» look hot in a bikini
» toned limbs
» feel sexy
» flexible limbs
» unashamed at the beach
It is amazing how powerful writing these things down has been for me. I feel as though there's a lot less nervous energy going into this Challenge, but rather that I am embarking upon a new experience with serenity, calmness and confidence. It sounds woo-woo, but I really do feel much more content about the whole thing and, as a result, much more likely to succeed.
Tonight we begin our 24 hour fast after dinner.
Current weight: 82.1kg
Current body-fat percentage: 38.4%
Current feeling: ready to go!
Their philosophy behind the Workbook is that it allows you to write down (and therefore articulate) your goals and commitments regarding this Challenge. I think it's a great way to begin, because crystallising your goals and hopes for the challenge away from the fuzzy "I want things to improve" really helps to get in the right mindset for the Challenge. Or for any other major undertaking, really.
The first thing I had to write was "My binding commitment". This is what I wrote:
The next thing I had to do was to write down, in detail, aspects of my fantasy for my "ideal body—health, physique, shape, energy, clothes, confidence, etc." I was to complete the following sentence in the present tense: "This is my fantasy; I'm so happy now that I..."
» ZING! with energy
» Feel more confident to face the day
» Can push myself further when I exercise
» Can wear the clothes I want to and look great wearing them!
» Have the awesome legs (that go up to here) I've been promising myself
» Have taken control over my food intake
» Have clear and readiant skin
Building on that, I was asked to evaluate my current "levels" as regards ten key areas of life: Personal appearance, fitness/exercise, social life, personal development, sleep, work/employment, attitude, time management, eating habits, and home environment. Having evaluated them, I was asked to choose 2-3 changes (not goals) that I will make in each area. Here they are:
» Personal appearance
i. Take better care of my skin
ii. Put more effort into how I do my hair
» Fitness/exercise
i. Do at least one core exercise every day
ii. Stretch every day
iii. Push myself further when I exercise
» Social life
i. Accept all reasonable invitations
ii. Intitiate contact with important friends
» Personal development
i. Blog this journey every day
ii. Be open to all questions
» Sleep
i. stop using the computer/watching TV at least one hour before bed
ii. make time for at least eight hours sleep each night
» Work/employment
i. reflect and learn from each session
ii. be open to other job/career opportunities
» Attitude
i. be positive to/with the people around me
ii. be a "happy pylon"
» Time management
i. make a "timetable" for work and play
ii. no internet (except for research) while applying for jobs
» Eating habits
i. listen to my body re: hunger
ii. focus on how healthy foods make my body feel
» Home environment
i. de-clutter my living space
ii. organise my work/study space
I will then go back and rate myself again, and see if I feel I have improved.
The second booklet was the Daily Success Planner, which has a lot of (customisable) routines, affirmation phrases and so on, but also has a set of 30 daily worksheets (to keep track of things) and a page entitled "Your Enlightened Body". I was to "jot, sketch, and draw to solidify [my] IDEAL body image." Because I can't draw, mine was entirely made up of small phrases and ideas written in language. And this is what they were (in no particular order):
» clear skin
» strong core
» active mindset
» boundless energy
» feel like an empowered professional
» funky hair and clothes look good!
» strong physical stamina
» look and feel healthy inside and out
» flat tummy, slim legs
» look hot in a bikini
» toned limbs
» feel sexy
» flexible limbs
» unashamed at the beach
It is amazing how powerful writing these things down has been for me. I feel as though there's a lot less nervous energy going into this Challenge, but rather that I am embarking upon a new experience with serenity, calmness and confidence. It sounds woo-woo, but I really do feel much more content about the whole thing and, as a result, much more likely to succeed.
Tonight we begin our 24 hour fast after dinner.
Current weight: 82.1kg
Current body-fat percentage: 38.4%
Current feeling: ready to go!
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