do the work

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A while back I wrote a couple of stories for Chicken Soup for the Soul. I submitted them, but never heard back about whether they were rejected or not. Part of the submission asked for my email; so, of course, I’ve received emails from the publishers ever since. Most of the time I don’t open them, but just over a week ago, I got one with a title that caught my attention.

“Eating My Idols”

How on earth could I not click on that? Great article, although the author misquoted the Bible – which I am amazed was never checked. I know it was a misquote because the extra phrase they included was what made me look it up. The line wasn’t there… in any version I tried. However, there was another phrase that would stick in my brain for days to come.

“…do the work…”

The last I checked, I don’t have a “Bewitched” nose that I can wiggle and get whatever I desire. If I want money in my savings account… I have to make a point to put it in the account and leave it there. If I want vegetables to grow in my yard… I have to plant, water, tend to them. If I want to do well in my writing class… I have to read the lessons and follow the directions. Well, the same is true when it comes to this body. It is highly unlikely that I will wake up tomorrow with a brand new body (unless I wake up in heaven that is). If I want to run a half-marathon next month, I must do the work to train for it. If I want to lose a few pounds, I must do the work it takes to track what I eat. I can’t expect God to act like Santa Clause or a genie. He’s God. He knows I (like most people) would learn absolutely nothing by having everything handed to me.

The good thing is, He will help me do the work. When I struggle, and call on Him for strength, He’s there. I’m not alone in it, but I’m also not without responsibility. This morning I did not want to run in freezing high winds. I wanted to stay inside, but I realized I wanted something else more than I wanted to skip the run. I wanted to get another training run checked off. I wanted to burn some calories. I wanted that feeling of accomplishment at the end. So, I told myself to, “do the work.”

On the Raw Side II: Day 6

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This was day six of my raw food challenge :)

The Food

  • Breakfast – Green Smoothie (10.25 oz Bananas, 6 oz Berries, 3/4 cup Apple Juice, 3/4 cup Coconut Water, 2 oz Kale, 2 oz Spinach)
  • Morning Snack – 1 Banana, 1 Clementine
  • Lunch – 1 oz Sprouts, 10.75 oz Bananas, 2.4 oz Clementines, 4 oz Mango, 1.75 oz Strawberries, and 2 Medjool Dates
  • Afternoon Snack – 1 Banana, 1 serving dried pineapple, & 8 oz Apple Juice
  • Dinner -  “Tortilla Soup” – the recipe made about 4 cups but I only ate three of them. (2 roma tomatoes, 1 carrot, 1 avocado, 1 inch slice of red pepper, 2 T onion, cilantro, homemade taco seasoning, salt, & 2 cups of warm water… blend together) – had a banana for “dessert”
  • Evening Snack – 1 Banana, 24 oz orange juice (was craving OJ all day)
  • Water – 30 ounces
  • Calories – 2,134.2 (Carbs 85.8% / Protein 5.4% / Fat 8.9%)
  • Fiber – 52.2 grams!

The Exercise:

  • I did some yard work for about an hour. The Husband and I were both feeling rather lousy though.

The Results:

  • As of last Saturday, I have lost 4.6 pounds. Week 1

The Effects:

  • I’m still having detox symptoms.. Ugh!

On the Raw Side II: Day 5

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This was day five of my raw food challenge :)

The Food

  • Breakfast – Green Smoothie (10.75 oz Bananas, 6 oz Berries, 3/4 cup Apple Juice, 3/4 cup Coconut Water, 2 oz Kale, 2 oz Spinach)
  • Morning Snack – Green Smoothie (10.25 oz Bananas, 6 oz Berries, 3/4 cup Apple Juice, 3/4 cup Coconut Water, 2 oz Kale, 2 oz Spinach)
  • Lunch – 8.25 oz Bananas, 4.25 oz Clementines, 3.75 oz Roma Tomatoes, 2.75 oz Kiwi, and 2 Medjool Dates
  • Afternoon Snack – 1 Banana, 1 Apple, & 8 oz Apple Juice
  • Dinner -  Favorite Salad (2 oz Avocado, 4 oz Mango, 1.5 oz Onion, 2 oz Spinach, 3.75 oz Roma Tomatoes, Cilantro, & Lime)
  • Evening Snack – 1 Serving Organic Dried Pineapple Rings
  • Water – 72 ounces
  • Calories – 2,067 (Carbs 88.6% / Protein 5.2% / Fat 6.1%)
  • Fiber – 58.8 grams!

The Exercise:

The Results:

  • I lost 4.6 pounds this week.

The Effects:

  • I’m having detox symptoms… yucky taste in my mouth, fatigue, and aches. Just feel yuck.

Freedom in Tracking: Week 1

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Just over a week ago I contemplated rejoining Weight Watchers. If for no other reason, I would have to weigh in front of someone each week. I talked to the Husband about this. He said he would support me if that’s what I wanted to do but he suggested that perhaps we could accomplish something similar without having to pay $40 a month (or whatever the rate is now). He said that I could weigh in to him. Then the topic of tracking my food came up. Tracking is one of those practices that helps me, not necessarily because I overeat all the time. No, the opposite is generally the case. I typically under-eat… and then binge because I’m so hungry. However, when I know how much food I’ve had, I am better able to  give myself permission to eat… which always preempts the binge.

So, I have tracked my food intake for the last week. I began eating RAW on day four. I forgot that the Husband and I weighed ourselves last Saturday. You see, I have worked with God these last few years to bring me to the point that I don’t think about the scale number again after I write it down. For years prior, I would tattoo the number on my mind all day… and then all week long. Now, I write it and forget it. Anyway, the point is, I didn’t realize I had numbers to share until today. According to this morning’s weight, I lost 4.6 pounds last week. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any body measurements, but I do have some other numbers to share:

Week 1 Averages per Day:
Calories:  2,137.8
Carbs:  86.0%
Protein:  6.1%
Fat:  7.9%
Fiber:  52.5 grams
Exercise Calories Burned:  544.8

On the Raw Side II: Day 4

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This was day four of my raw food challenge :)

The Food

  • Breakfast – Green Smoothie (14.75 oz Bananas, 6 oz Berries, 3/4 cup Apple Juice, 3/4 cup Coconut Water, 2 oz Kale, 2 oz Spinach)
  • Morning Snack – Didn’t have one.
  • Lunch – Green Smoothie (11.5 oz Bananas, 6 oz Berries, 3/4 cup Apple Juice, 3/4 cup Coconut Water, 2 oz Kale, 2 oz Spinach)
  • Afternoon Snack – 1 Banana, 1 small Apple, & 2 dried pineapple rings
  • Dinner -  I ate what was left of the 8 year old’s salad from last night (very little left after the other kids got a hold of it), plus 7 oz Bananas, 3 oz Kiwi, 3.25 oz Clementines, 2 Medjool & 1 oz Sprouts
  • Evening Snack – 1 serving dried Pineapple, 8 oz Apple Juice
  • Water – 50 ounces
  • Calories – 1,960.1 (Carbs 92.3% / Protein 4.9% / Fat 2.8%)
  • Fiber – 52.5 grams!

The Exercise:

The Results:

  • I don’t have any “results” to report at the moment. I won’t weigh until Saturday and then it will still be a week from then before I have something to compare.

The Effects:

  • I woke up rested again this morning.
  • Calories are a little low right now but the night is still young :) It’s date night so I’ll have to post updated counts tomorrow. – UPDATED above
  • The Girl (8) completed her raw challenge at 2pm today. That was 72 hours. I asked her why she wanted to end it today. She said it was really hard to eat differently from the other kids. I knew that was going to be an issue. Yesterday she made the comment that she “can’t” have something. I stopped her and explained that she can have cooked food, she’s just choosing not to. So, today she comes to me and says that she’s choosing to stop eating raw :) These socks accurately capture her sense of style and bright little personality.

On The Raw Side II: Day 3

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Three days down. Woohoo!

The Food

  • Breakfast – Green Smoothie (13 oz Bananas, 6 oz Berries, 3/4 cup Apple Juice, 3/4 cup Coconut Water, 2 oz Kale, 2 oz Spinach)
  • Morning Snack – Didn’t have one.
  • Lunch – 4.75 oz Strawberries, 9 oz Bananas, 2 Medjool Dates, 2 oz Spinach.
  • Afternoon Snack – 1 Banana & 8 oz Apple Juice
  • Dinner -  Favorite Salad (2 oz Spinach, 4 oz Roma Tomato, 1.5 oz Onion, 5 oz Mango, 1.5 oz Avocado, Cilantro, Lime) & 1 small Apple
  • Evening Snack – 1 Banana, 1 serving Dried Pineapple, 2 Medjool Dates, 8 oz Apple Juice
  • Water – 50 ounces
  • Calories – 1,922.6 (Carbs 90.2% / Protein 4.7% / Fat 5.1%)
  • Fiber – 50 grams!

The Exercise:

The Results:

  • I don’t have any “results” to report at the moment. I won’t weigh until Saturday and then it will still be a week from then before I have something to compare.

The Effects:

  • I woke up rested again this morning but was in a bit of a bad mood for some reason.
  • I spent some time on the sofa this afternoon resting my knee/foot (and chatting on the phone with Mandy B.).
  • Calories are still a little low today, but both calories and water were better than yesterday.
  • The Girl (8) struggled with eating raw. She didn’t like my “favorite salad” very much at first. She said later that it started tasting better but she was full. I don’t think she ate enough today. She’s still sticking with me, but it’s really difficult to eat this way with all of your siblings eating “Po-tacos” tonight (baked potatoes coated with vegan “taco chili”).

On the Raw Side II: Day 2

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This was actually my second consecutive day RAW. I ate raw yesterday as well (and may post that information later). So, I guess that will make this challenge 54 days instead of 53 if I go all the way to the half-marathon.

The Food

  • Breakfast – Green Smoothie (15.5 oz Bananas, 6 oz Berries, 3/4 cup Apple Juice, 3/4 cup Coconut Water, 2 oz Kale, 2 oz Spinach)
  • Morning Snack – Didn’t have one.
  • Lunch – 2 oz Mango, 4.5 oz Strawberries, 2 Bananas, 2 Medjool Dates, about a cup of Sprouts.
  • Afternoon Snack – 1 Banana & 1 Navel Orange
  • Dinner -  1lb 4oz Watermelon, 2 Navel Oranges
  • Evening Snack – 1 serving dried pineapple, 16 oz apple juice
  • Water – 46 ounces
  • Calories – 1,989.8 (Carbs 92.2% / Protein 5.1% / Fat 2.7%)
  • Fiber – 49.2 grams!

The Exercise:

  • 4 miles run/walk on the trail with the kids, calorie burn of approximately 400 calories.

The Results:

  • I don’t have any “results” to report at the moment. I won’t weigh until Saturday and then it will still be a week from then before I have something to compare.

The Effects:

  • I woke up this morning bright-eyed. I slept very well.
  • My calories were too low. If I had eaten a morning snack I think they would have been on target. As you can see, I didn’t photograph everything we ate. I will do that from time to time but I’m not committing to doing it daily.
  • The eight year old seemed OK most of the day. She did cry a couple of times, which is unusual for her. She’s normally quite cheerful and lets things bounce off her. She cried during the run this afternoon and over something very minor in the van this morning. She wanted “dessert” after our dinner of watermelon, so I offered her a date. Apparently she doesn’t like dates as half of it is sitting on the counter as I type. She’s made it a day and a half, we’ll see how far she goes.
  • It seems we have a couple of people joining in the challenge. The Husband has committed to tracking everything he eats and weighing in with me on Saturdays. Tracking is a big deal for him. He has very little weight to lose (if any) but his tracking helps me too. Also, my friend, Mandy, is stepping up. She’s thinking about her challenge focus.