Adult Onset Asthma

There are many reasons I am drawn back to raw.  One of them being I have been dealing with Adult Onset Asthma... I did alot of research and know it's from massive amounts of inflammation in my body... this is more than likely caused by some food I am consuming.. and also the fact that I am so overweight.
 There are many natural ways to cool inflammation in your body.  I chose to focus on a couple plus work on eating high raw.  I believe tumeric and ginger will help.

 I am taking carrot and turmeric juice in the morning and also juicing ginger and adding it to tea a couple of times a day.

I have also for the last week given up all dairy, gluten and processed sugar and eaten lots of raw (approx 70% raw).

AND WOW! I noticed yesterday I didn't have any asthma.. just a tiny bit of tightness feeling in my breathing last night.  It's going away.

I want to be 100% Raw.. what Raw food enthusiast doesn't? But as you can see looking back at how long I've been posting in my blog, I've never been successful for too long. .. I have gone 6 or so months at a time very high raw.. but I always fucked that up. It's because I let the desire for perfection be the enemy of my good.

So I'm working on that...

YESTERDAY I did great.. I had lots of fruit till after 4 and then had an Any's GF/DF burrito and for dinner the same.

Fruit all day today and I will have my DH pick up a salad for us in the way home.  I think I am going to order a veggie salad from Panera...

Back to High Raw

This time I am dealing with some health issues and it's not just about weight.
I'm starting off slowly.. transitioning as I have in the past.

I am having fruit for breakfast and although I am NOT deciding to give up coffee, right now I am having my ginger/lime tea instead of coffee in the AM.

I started back yesterday but ate lots of OTHER crap in with the raw.  I'm not pressuring myself because I get crazy.

I am having major issues with my back.  I pulled a muscle (I hope it's only a muscle) pulling a half dead azalea bush out of the ground.. it didn't come easily and I didn't give up and I hurt myself really pretty seriously.  For the last week I have had to stay pretty much down in bed most of the day.. I am slowly back walking but the pain flares up after 5 minutes..  it's been 10 DAYS!!!!

I know I'm dealing with major inflammation in my body and last year my CRP was really high so I am chronically inflamed..

I've done some research and I am NOT using OTC pain killers.. although I know it would help me FEEL BETTER quicker I know it only slows the actual healing so I am using natural anti inflammatory things like ginger, green juices and turmeric.

I am making a carrot, cucumber fresh turmeric juice in a few minutes.

I am aiming for high raw.  It's only February here so I know by Spring I will get higher percentage in my raw.

It's a journey.. I love how I am always drawn back to this lifestyle.  I need to figure out a way to keep myself focused on Raw and stop being pulled back into the crap food in our actual National food supply.. it's actually very scary what is in our food.. but that's another post.

Some Of My Juices So Far

Yummy Ruby Grapefruit, Orange & Lemon: 

 A Huge Batch of Lou Corona's Lemon Ginger Blast: 

A Beautiful, Vibrant Purple Cabbage & Red Grape Juice:

My Puggie Had to Have a Sniff of My Ginger Lime Tea:

Fresh Squeezed Orange and Lemon Juice:

Spinach, Kale, Carrot, Cucumber, Celery, Green Apple, Parsley and Lemon:

I have been drinking a lot of hot herbal tea at night because I have detox sinus pressure:

Juice Fast Days 3 & 4

I'm doing well..  day two was a REAL struggle when evening came in.  I was fighting myself about the juice at dinner.  I told myself I was tired of juice and nothing sounded good and I threw a little temper tantrum.

I have binge eating issues... and well disordered eating in general.  I'm obsessive about food and have an over exaggerated love of it.  The juice fasts I'm doing for many reasons one of which is to hopefully release my desire for crap food.

 I know its been my experience that during the juice fasts after I get a few days on and thru my food tantrums and detox I tend to start to feel like more healthy food is what I want and need.  I always have no proplem wanting healthy foods although after my last juice fast I ate too much of even the healthy stuff and had pain fromovereatong too soon.  I will definately watch the transition better this time.

THE JUICES.. well I've had several bottled Suja and Evolution juices for the first time on my fasts.  I like the convenience of them but will have to watch it with them.  there is no reason to have them every day as I work from home and just need to make sure to MAKE MY JUICES instead of traipsing to the kitchen and grabbing a bottled one.  I had two bottled ones yesterday.

DETOX SYMPTOMS:  One my last juice fast last month I started having lots of itching.  I bought a great body brush withlottle rubber massage bumps.  I really look forward to using it.  I'm itching again already and need to do it everyday really!  I'm also having the occasional sinus ache.  its been my very first detox symptom since day 1.

WEIGHTLOSS:  Today is early on the beginning of day 5 and I'm down 8 pounds.

I'VE LEARNED:  I really take lots of mental prep work in the beginning of the fasts.  the first few days are self imposed torture to me.  The very first day I tend to write all kinds of motivational stuff to read when I know the inevidable struggle comes up..usually days 2-3-4 and It helps. 
Last night I just pretty much told myself to shut up with the mental bitching and constant chatter (I do great until early evening and then its 6 hours of struggle)
 Stop the foolishness and just deal with the fact I'm doing this.  (I feel like saying "deal with the fact we're doing this because OMG I swear I have a spoiled, entitled temper tantrum throwing teenage foodie stuck in my brain with me!)!!!!!!

Juice Fast Day 2

First thing this AM I made ginger lime tea to enjoy as the hubs drank his coffee. Thin slice ginger. Juice half lime. Add boiling water and steep 5 min. Strain and add a few drops stevia. Delish I tell you!

I've lost two pounds since yesterday. Yesterday we ran around for several hours and I really felt fine all day until nighttime when my normal sinus detox started to come on. Thats always my very first detox sign. I use a neti pot and it really helps.

 This is my 4th Juice Fast. #1 was 3 days, #2 was 7 days, #3 was 12 days and this one will be 10 days only as I am visiting family at the end of the month and I need enough time to transition back onto solid food. I want to do another in July.

Yesterday I had LOTS more energy than I thought I would... it's amazing how much of our vital energy we use in digestion of food.

Made Lou Corona's Lemon Ginger Blast for breaky and hubs said he wanted one too! WIN! On our way to farmer's market soon!

Re: The Lou Corona Lemon Ginger Blast. I made a huge batch this morning. I had heard this juice was fab and OMG it is!!! I was at first a little thrown by the long list of ingredients but it's a nice synergy and obviously a well thought out juice recipe.

This will be on the menu often rather I'm juice fasting or not.

Another Juice Feast... Day One~

Last month I did a 12 day juice fast. I'm starting another one today.

I am shooting for 10 days this time as I have family i will be visiting at the end of the month. I am excited and encouraged.

I had raw fruit and nuts only yesterday so I sort of got a little jump on my detox. I am really looking forward to this. I feel like I'm giving myself such a loving thing..

Last night when I ate the nuts I had originally only planned on raw fruit all day but my hunger got the best of me. When I was eating them I told myself to honor the fact it was the last time for a couple weeks..

 I told myself yes it would be hard but when it gets hard remind myself how amazing I feel every morning on my juice fast... And to remember how that happens.. it's hard at night but my hunger resets each AM, it's like a switch is flipped and I feel amazing and very proud.

 The mornings and thru most of the day is fairly easy and I need to just push thru at night.

Remembering that I am renewed with motivation every single morning makes a huge difference and my last juice fast was really not difficult after day four... until day 12 when my hunger came back in a big way.

 I am doing a group of smaller fasts going for as many days in total that I can through September. The heat here (Orlando) really makes juicing and eating raw foods very doable.

 JUICES TODAY: Fresh squeezed ruby grapefruit, lemon and orange.. lots for breakfast Evolution Juices* Organic V and Green Devotion.


*I believe fresh juice I made myself is the very best way to go but I was out running errands half the day and the Evolution juices I believe are very good in a pinch because they are supposed to still maintain the majority of their enzymes as they are pressure "pasturized" instead of heat pasturized. I have read that Suja uses this process as well. I still want to do research on this process. Tonight I'm having tart cherry juice in lime Perrier. YUM! If I still feel like I need something I will have a hot herbal tea.

I just feel so damn good!

Since transitioning from my juice fast and getting through the mishap of not believing I HAD to transition carefully (didn't really last time but this fast was TWICE as long so going by my past experience was not the best idea.. I became VERY SICK with fever and chills and body aches and the worst headache).  Since then I've stayed high raw and am eating a higher percentage every day.

Lately something is transitioning in me. I think the Juice Feast cleaned my cells enough that I'm actually craving real hralthy food.

I went to the grocery store today and I didn't even think about cupcakes or buying crap. Whis is AMAZING because as long as I can remember walking past the pastry shop would set me off and it would take great feats of strength to not buy a half dozen cupcakes and binge on them in the car.

The days I was actually successful were hard fought but today cupcakes didn't even cross my mind... in fact I wrote this on my instagram when I got home: 

    "Raw Foods are SO HEALING! Something incredible happened to me today. I had this amazing feeling of happiness and contentment flood over me. I was just grocery shopping so doing nothing exhilarating or anything! This feeling of ease just came over me. For the first time I can remember I was totally HAPPY WITH MYSELF RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW. It was a beautiful thing and I know it's Raw that is doing it. This is megga huge for me! I don't believe I've ever just been totally OK with MYSELF! I even felt love for my body.. I felt ok with how I am right now. I know I'm giving myself such an amazing gift and I know my body will repay it by shedding the weight..I'm ok with however long it takes cuz I don't have that sad desperate feeling I used to...its just GONE!!"

Today was totally 100% raw. I had fruit and nuts (soaked to release the enzymes and dehydrated) at breakfast.

Lunch was a salad at Ruby Tuesday with lemon juice as dressing.

 Dinner is a salad I made up. Red and white cabbage, oranges, pineapple, chopped almonds, green onion, red bell and a dressing with orange juice soy sauce lime juice and honey.. I have a couple more raw meals in the works. I'm making Raw sharp cheddar for taco lettuce wraps and raw vegan cashew mayo and eggplant bacon for BLT wraps soon... ;