Health Love Soul

This is almost a week post-fast and I feel great. I gained a few pounds back, but that was expected. The best thing about not fasting is running. I only missed two or three runs on the fast, but they were REALLY missed. It felt great to get back on the streets. I set a new personal best distance at 6.6 miles. I'm running a 5k in late September and a 10k in late October in Sleepy Hollow. I'm really excited for the 10k because you run along the same path that Ichabod Crane was being chased by the Headless Horseman. Awesome.

I'm taking my training plan for the 10k from Jeff Galloway's book Galloway's 5k/10k Running. The plan is to do two 45-minute runs (about 3.6 miles for me) a week with a long-distance run on the weekend. The long-distance goes from 6 miles and gradually increases over 10 weeks with a few shorter distances sprinkled in. Running a 5k is nothing for me now. It's actually a "light" day. And tonight it felt amazing. I got down to a 13-minute mile and the air was cooler than it has been all summer - and the sky was beautiful:

Everything else is going according to plan. I'm following Gary Gibson's 90-day fitness plan with the resistance band and going to yoga 3 or 4 times a week. And eating lots of yummy vegan food - pictures of which you can see here:

10 Day Fast: The Results

I started this fast at 205 pounds and this morning I weighed in at . . .

196!

So that's 9 pounds lost in 10 days - most of which will probably come back on over the next few days. I broke the fast with the sweetest banana I've ever eaten. And then Chuck and I splurged at Veggie Heaven and I had an avocado roll and a sweet potato roll. I was so excited for rice and soy sauce and sweet potato and avocado that I almost forgot to take a picture. But I got it, and I'll feature it with the rest of my vegan meals at the end of the week. I'm so happy to be eating again. Actually, above anything else - I'm excited to get back to running tomorrow night! Need to feel my feet hitting the pavement. I'm not doing anything over 3 days again for at least a year. I didn't feel like I really needed it. It was preventative. I didn't want to lose my motivation or gratitude - but my body was strong and my food choices were healthy. So it was really hard this time around. Next time, I'll wait for my body to tell me when it's time.

10 Day Fast: Day 10

When I was planning this short, memorial fast - 10 days seemed like nothing. Who knew how long 10 days could really be? It felt like forever. This was hard! Looking back, it took at least 10 days the first time around for me to start feeling like a normal person while fasting.

I'm looking forward to eating. I plan to eat a banana, a luna bar, an avocado, some baby carrots, possibly some hummus, and a bowl of homemade coconut corn chowder tomorrow. Maybe some nuts, too.

Now it REALLY feels like Christmas Eve. I'll post the results in terms of numbers tomorrow. When I'm happy again.

10 Day Fast: Day 9

Yes. So close to the end. It feels like Christmas Eve. Today, Chuck and I went out to for the Animals sanctuary in Blairstown. It was amazing petting the goats, cows, and chickens. The pigs were sleeping. I've been reading "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Saffron Foer so it was perfect timing for our first visit to the sanctuary. It's amazing how the human race dissociates to feel comfortable living with cruelty - not just in animal agriculture, but in many ways. I was dissociating even as a vegetarian - globally, socially, personally. It's what we do to protect ourselves. We think it's helping us to survive. But it's really disconnecting us from ourselves and each other. And one benefit of the juice fast was a reconnection . . .which is still in process. Tomorrow is the last day. I'm passing the time by watching my lovely avocados ripening on the kitchen table. And drooling.

10 Day Fast: Day 8

This morning was rough. I was watching the minutes tick by - wishing the day would just be over already - totally missing the point of this "memorial" fast. The point was to remember what it felt like to feel slow and weak, and then feel the rush of nutrition physically changing my body when I drank a juice. The point was to remember the trips to the Farmer's Market - enjoying all the fresh fruits and vegetables. The point was to remember the release of the addiction to food. This afternoon, it all came together. I heard from many resources that it's not a good idea to train and fast. It's counterproductive. It won't feel good. But I was so afraid of losing the routine I had built, I did it anyway. And I was feeling more tired with every passing day. Finally, this afternoon - a running day - I decided I was just going to take a walk. As I was walking, I started to feel more empowered. Less pushed. I noticed the feeling of loose cotton against my skin, the cool breeze, the strength in my legs as I walked up hills - and this guy:

I stocked up on all the fruits and veggies I'll need for the last few days of the fast and had a good time planning dinner for the transition period. I'm making a coconut corn chowder on Tuesday night. I can't wait. Mmm . . .

10 Day Fast: Day 7

My body really doesn't appreciate being pushed to be so active without the proper amounts of nutrients coming in. I'm aching, aching, aching head to toe. And cranky. I tend to become a hermit when I'm juicing because I don't want to be anywhere without access to juice, don't want to start feeling tired, don't want to be tempted by food. But I decided today I would go out and have fun with Chuck, since the Halloween season is fast approaching, and our days are numbered. We found a cute little juice bar where Chuck was able to get a soy thai "chicken" wrap . . .that looked and smelled freaking amazing - much to my dismay. And I got this:

A wheatgrass shot and a pineapple-ginger juice. Then we decided to play a little indoor-mini golf in honor of the rain. Aside from vertigo from all the black lights, it was a nice afternoon.

I took a break from all things physical - unless you call swinging a minigolf club physical. Tomorrow I'll get back out there and run. Ugh, I'm not doing another entended juice fast for a long, long time. Maybe 3 days at a time - but not another big one for at least a year.

10 Day Fast: Day 6

I'm starting to remember the joy of making juice. It took a while to get back into the groove - but while cleaning the juicer this afternoon, I felt the rhythm. I'm starting Gary's 90-day fitness plan on Tuesday after the end of the fast. Going through the excersises with him today, I was sweating like crazy. I'm looking forward to it. But my muscles are definitely weaker on the fast. I think I'm going to run tomorrow night instead of going to the level 2/3 yoga. Running actually takes less effort, less muscle, less endurance than 90 minutes on the yoga mat. Even during tonight's restorative yoga I felt light-headed moving from lying down to hands and knees. Taking it easy tomorrow!

10 Day Fast: Day 5

Yay! Today marks the halfway point! It's all downhill from here. I did another run tonight - no problems. Definitely more tired than normal, but still strong. Debating whether to go to Level 2/3 yoga on Friday. I don't know if my fasting muscles can handle it! I'm craving salt and fat. Nuts and avocado. Mmmm . . .I'm having an avocado first thing on Tuesday morning.

10 Day Fast: Day 4

Everything is going well on Day 4. Getting past the hunger phase - just a couple moments of "need to eat right now!" When the goal is longer, the shorter distances seem easier. When running 5 miles, 3 miles seems like nothing. When hiking for 3 days, day 1 is a breeze. And apparently the same goes for fasting. When I was doing 60 days, 10 days seemed like nothing. Now that I'm only doing 10, it feels like forever! Added an extra apple to tonight's vegetable juice and that made it nice and sweet. Halfway point tomorrow!

10 Day Fast: Day 3

Day 3 is usually the shifting day. After today, things start to get easier. I did my run - 5.5 miles. I put on some Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band and Omed along in my head while easing into comfort. My mantra was, "Do I feel comfortable?" I had to really pay attention to my body because I didn't want to overdo it. And I felt great! I predict I'll feel really sore in the morning, though. I have to remember to drink enough water. Drink. more. water.

10 Day Fast: Day 2

It never ceases to amaze me how much you can feel your body on a juice fast. About 7:00pm I started to feel really tired, had a little bit of a headache, and I was starving! I got to work making my evening juice - carrots, celery, red and green lettuce, tomatoes, apples, a slice of lemon, and a slice of lime. As soon as I was finished the juice - about 16 ounces - I felt refreshed, energized, powerful.

I noticed that yoga was hard this morning. My muscles were sore. I'm going to attempt to run tomorrow - but no attachment to speed or distance!

10 Day Fast: Day 1

I'm starting the fast at 205 pounds. Started the day with my regular routine and actually increased my mileage a little bit to 5.4, due to a dog I didn't want to run past. I had a delicious mango-blueberry juice for breakfast, which I don't recommend because it's way too expensive. I did it because I didn't end up making a blueberry-mango salad I had planned for last week and needed to use the fruit.

The intention for this fast is only to remember the feelings that transformed my relationship with food, body, self. Remember the appreciation for whole fruits and vegetables. Remember the sensation of nutrition entering the body. Remember the gratitude for food that heals. No attachment to weight loss or anything else. Just honoring the experience that changed my life!

I had to take a nap in the afternoon, but was really productive the rest of the day. Picked up lots of great items from yard sales for the classroom - including some mega-blocks and a LeapFrog! And some nice wooden puzzles. And a great book find - Make Way for Ducklings in perfect condition, only 50 cents.

So far, so good. I'm feeling first day hunger pains for sure, so I'm going to go have a juice and read a book before bed. Yoga in the morning!

Yoga

So first, to get the numbers out of the way: I lost one pound this week, bringing my grand total to 55 pounds lost in a little less than five months. I weigh 205 now and predict that I'll be under 200 by the end of July with the help of my 10-day fast.

Second, I had to get a physical for employment with the Newark Public School District and when the doctor took my blood pressure - it was completely normal. Now, I never had seriously high blood pressure - at least not high enough that I was ever put on medication to regulate it. But every single time I would go to the doctor, they would mention that it was a "little" high. I'm talking about since the age of 8. 20 years of, "It's a little high . . .let's keep an eye on it." And today - not even a little high. Perfect. Thank you, veganism, running, and yoga!

Third, my 10 day fast is starting next week and I opened a group on Facebook for anyone who wants to try this with me. Just e-mail me or message me on Facebook and I'll invite you to the group if you're interested.

So finally, I have to share a profound experience I had on Friday. On Thursday, I was stuck at the CVS Minute Clinic waiting for the results of my mandatory TB test when I realized that one minute actually means 60 at CVS . . .and I would miss yoga. I was so frustrated because I have been on a religious schedule of yoga and running since the end of the fast. I needed to get into another class before the weekend, but the only classes open were level 2/3 classes. I decided to go - but with the intention that I would push when I could and rest when I couldn't. The class was amazing. I felt strength in my body I didn't know I had. I could feel the muscles really pushing, really working - and it felt incredible. I had such gratitude for my body, such gratitude for the hot room and the people in it, such gratitude for missing my regular yoga class, and such gratitude for the years of hating my body - so that in this moment, loving it was such a profound sensation that I was close to crying. This is the power of the juice fast for me - moments like this. This new relationship I have with food and my body. I wish I could give this feeling to everyone who struggles with emotional eating, or body image issues, or even people who feel like they need to be on a diet. I'll never diet again. I'll never take this body for granted again.

Summer Sandwiches Part One

It's been rough running in this heat! I'm up to just over 5 miles three times a week. I'm going to hold fast at 5 miles until the end of the summer and then start increasing again when it cools down.

It's sandwich week in the Vegan Kitchen! Lots of new, tasty recipes. I had an amazing sandwich made from pizza crust, vegan cheese, balsamic vinegar, arugala, and tomatoes.

July 14 will mark the beginning of my 10-day July juice fast. Looking forward to the simplicity of juice. I need to find a really good book to read during my fast.

And finally, I'm down to 206 pounds. So steadily dropping. Hoping to be under 200 by the end of the fast. And that is all I have to report. Nice and quick this week.