Juicing, Veganism, Raw Food Diet

For about three weeks I have told myself I was going to update my blog. I sit at the computer and enter in all my reports for work, peruse Facebook, play a game or two and shut 'er down...then I remember I was going to blog. Grrrr, I'll do it later. It's amazing how later turns into later and later and later and before I know it three weeks has gone by.  No more procrastinating!

To Juice or Not to Juice
About a month ago I watched this video - Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead - and after watching it I forwarded the video to my mom and stepdad with instructions to watch it.  After they watched it we all discussed the two men in the video and how much we could all relate to them. I am not going to go into detail here about the video (because you can go watch it yourself) but the premise behind it is how the food we eat everyday can do so much harm to our bodies.  If you are at all interested in how food affects your body I suggest you watch the video.

We all agreed to try a 10 day juice fast.  It was hard getting used to some of the concoctions (recipes) we were trying at first but after a few days we started making our own juices up and we all enjoyed those so much better!  Basically you take a bowl like this
and using a juicer

 you turn it into a yummy juice full of nothing but fruits and veggies.

I will say the first 3 days were the toughest. No processed foods, no meat, no dairy, no sugar, no caffeine (I actually kicked my caffeine habit the week before we started) - just fruits and vegetables. We were drinking a rainbow every day!  After the initial shock to my body was gone then around the 4th day I started feeling amazing.  By Saturday of that week (we had started on Monday) I had so much energy and had not suffered from any migraines or fibromyalgia pain all week! I couldn't believe it. 

BUT, the expense of juicing all those fruits and veggies was not something I was prepared for. I realized I couldn't really afford to do just that for another week so I switched to blending smoothies and eating a raw food diet for the next week.  Raw food is just that - instead of juicing my fruits and vegetables I ate them raw or threw them in a blender along with coconut water and ice and made a smoothie.  I still didn't have any meat, processed foods, fast food, dairy, pasta, desserts, etc.  When you juice you have to add a whole bunch of fruits/veggies just to get 8-10 oz of juice. I don't eat as much when the food is whole and raw and I don't require as much when it's blended.

As I have gone through this journey over the last few weeks I have decided to begin eating small meals but I am still not eating any processed foods, meat, or dairy products. I STILL feel amazing and my aches and pains and migraines are gone!  I consciously try to "eat a rainbow" of fruits/veggies every day. I blend my food in the morning for breakfast and in the evening after dinner for a snack (my favorite dessert now is 1 banana, 1 apple, 1 TBS of natural peanut butter - the only ingredient listed is peanuts - 1/2 cup of almond milk and ice...blend it and drink - so delicious!!) 

A lot of people have asked me why I am choosing this path.  I have never been much of a meat eater anyway and lately I have read more and more about vegans and have wanted to try to do this.  I want to #1 Be healthier and #2 lose weight.  I have fibromyalgia, have suffered with migraines for 20 years and I am pre-menopausal...I don't like taking medications and I am always looking for alternative (natural) ways to deal with health issues.  For sleep problems I take melatonin.  For hot flashes I take Black Cohosh Extract.  So after watching this video and seeing how much food affects our bodies I decided why not give it a try?  I am so happy with the results!
Oh yeah on a side note, I have lost weight too!