I've turned over a new leaf in life! Well, I wouldn't
exactly say "turned over" more like I've squished and wrung out...
To catch you up...
During the months that followed summer, I started this
really strange routine. I was doing the same amount of nothingness day in and
day out. My day would consist of; getting up early to get the kids off to
school, after that I would go on safari and graze my way through the fridge.
Then I'd start watching TV for a few hours, and I then finished up my afternoon
with a nap until the kids came back home. When they got home, I did the
"motherly thing" until the youngest went to bed at 7:30. 7:30 became
my bedtime as well.
Day after day this went on. I didn't do it because of any
form of "depression", I did it purely out of "boredom". I
didn't know what else to do with myself, or my time. Summer was over, both kids
were in school,the weather was cold and dark, and all of my friends worked
during the day. It was just me, myself, and I every day and that got old very
quick. Eating and napping were a very satisfying way of killing large amounts
of time.
November is when my new "lifestyle" really had
started to show. I don't own a people scale, (I could care less how much my
bones, blood, and hair weigh!) but I knew something was a wry just by the way
my clothes were fitting on my body. Before I knew it I couldn't fit the clothes
I had just wore during the peak of summer. I had sky rocketed up 2 pant sizes
and 2 shirt sizes.
Along with my instant weight gain, I had absolutely no
energy to do anything at all. Even walking across the house became tiring for
me. If I didn't do something, and do it quick, my health would perish.
In December, I kicked around the idea of taking some
exercise classes at the local YMCA. This was tough for me because I had never
taken an exercise class before, and didn't even know what to do in the class or
how to go about joining. I was comfortable doing farm work, and I couldn't
imagine myself in a snobby suburbia Yoga class! In the end, I ended up selecting
5 classes; Cycling, Aqua Yoga, Pilate's, (land) Yoga, and Tai-Chi. All were due
to start the week of January 9th.
While waiting for time to tick by, and my classes to start I
started watching some documentaries on food and it's relation to the body. I
watched the documentary "Fat, sick and nearly dead". Boy was that an
eye opener! It really had me thinking of my own self and how I could apply my
newly learned knowledge.
For those not familiar with that documentary, it is about a
middle aged gentleman who was grossly overweight and had some minor health
issues going on. He learned that by feeding the body the nutrition it needed
-by extracting it from plant matter (aka: Using a juicer) he was able to
significantly reduce his weight, and cure his ailments.
Next came the documentary titled "Forks over
knives". That documentary taught me the same principle in diet as the
first. With those two under my belt I went on a mission to learn more about
this way of thinking. Both follow a whole foods, raw food, vegan type of
approach.
I knew I wanted to take on this challenge. Even if I
wouldn't be on a 100% raw foods diet- "close" would be better than
nothing at all! Now... I needed a juicer...
After many hours of reading product reviews, and watching
informational videos I decided the juicer that would suit me best was called
the Omega Vert HD juicer. Let's just say you have to be REALLY committed to
this because they sure don't just give these juicers away! $400.00 later
*cough!*, juicer in hand...
It arrived one afternoon upon returning from a lunch outing
(go figure, isn't that Murphy's Law? It comes after I just pigged out) But I
was so eager to juice something!
My very first juice was apple juice. I was mortified with my
first sip! What an unexpected texture! Did I mention I HATE pulp in orange
juice?? The juice was so full of pulp that I didn't know if I should chew it or
drink it. I chalked it up to having old apples, and that fresher apples would
be less pulpy.
My second juice was an apple / carrot mixture. I learned
right away that carrots have a very strong flavor and can easily over power the
sweet taste of apple, but I got through it.
Even though it was fun to juice everything in sight I had
realized that I needed a plan... Like a recipe book!
2 books on raw food/smoothies, and $60.00 on produce at the
grocery store later- I was on my way!
My first real green juice was called "Power
Greens" and consisted of: 2 apples, 3 stalks celery, 2 handfuls of
spinach, 1/2 fennel bulb, 3 romaine lettuce leaves, 2 kale leaves, 1" of
ginger, and 1/2 a lemon.
Words do not describe how awful this looked, smelled, and
tasted. Not to mention it was thick like V8 juice! It was SO bad it took
everything I had not to throw up while drinking it! But I plugged my nose and
chugged. Vowing not to do THAT again.
After that experience, I stepped back and made juice that
was more fruit based with a minor amount of green plants. These were much
better tasting!
My biggest "thrill" has been taking a picture of
each of my masterpieces and posting them to my facebook wall. Each one nastier
looking then the last! Blueberries,apples, banana, and spinach make a really
disgusting looking drink! I've laughed at the multitude of "what the Hell
is that?" comments I have received!
All in all, I'm not 100% veggie. I'm trying, but let's not
forget that I do have freezer upon freezer of frozen meat that we have raised
here on the farm. I've been trying to juice 2x's a day and eat one small meal.
Not to mention, juicing is expensive! I've blown through more fruits/veggies in
3 days than I have in an entire month. Being Winter doesn't help either. It's
not like I can walk outside and pick my meal.
