Sooooo, at the age of 32, I am 21 days away from having a biopsy on my breast to determine if a lump is cancerous. Add a few days to that for the results to get back and I'm a little less than a month away from finding out if I have cancer at the young age of 32. WTW!?!

So I decided to do what I could in this time of waiting; I started my vegan journey. Many holistic healers believe that keeping the body above 7.2 ph and eating "live" foods can cure people of cancer so what the heck, why not???

Today, I ate primarily raw with juiced kale and carrot juice, raw bell pepper slices, strawberries, mangos, and pineapples in a great morning smoothie. Today wasn't a bad day. I am surprised by how UNhungry I was throughout the day. I added some parsley to my evening juiced drink to reap the benefits of liver cleansing.

I decided that I can't stay in a fog and continue imagining myself in chemo with a bald head; that won't get me sanely through this wait. So here I am; here's my story and stay tuned for day two...

Wishing you the best on your journey....


My favorite raw vegan

Thank you Trive! It is unique, that's for sure!

Well today was actually a pretty good day. My "bad" food cravings were minimal but definitely more than yesterday. I think the excitement of starting something new yesterday kept me buzzing around all day. I'm usually very excited to begin with and then become more and more lack luster so I am praying I can make it through to the 21 days.

I ate pretty clean and mostly raw with the exception of a cooked cabbage stew I made with the bulk from my kale, carrots, and parsley that I had after juicing. I love cabbage so this and some spicy chunky salsa was a great end of day treat for me today. Other than that it was lots of bell peppers and grapes, a banana, strawberries, pineapples, mangos in a smoothie of kale and carrot juice. I also had some little vegan "pellets" that are flax and chia seeds in these cute little puffs about the size of a bb. It was good for the added crunch.

I'm proud of myself today. I resisted ham that my father cooked and pasta that I made for the kids. (pats self on back)

What I did do that was awful was a sea salt flush. Yall, that's the worst thing in the world! I felt so nausous afterwards for at least an hour. It took an hour to get things moving but boy they did and I went at least 5 or 6 times this afternoon. I put a tablespoon of sea salt in about 4 ounces of warm water and drank it in 3 or 4 chugs followed by lots of fresh cold water. I hadn't @#$%& in 6 days so I was ready to get it out but that's about normal for me. That's one of the other things I hope to benefit from with eating raw is a more frequent BM schedule. A week just is too long and I don't want to be stuck with laxatives for the rest of my life.

So enough of that, I'm off to do some sit ups then get in bed.

xoxo

Let's be the change we want to see in this world!

Today has been hard. I want food and I want it BAD! Oh my word! With all the chocolate and candy and meat and cooked food, I want something of great substence and I'm just not feeling the whole raw thing but I have not deviated so I'm glad. I haven't eaten much today which isn't the best thing and my water intake hasn't been great today either.

Ugh, food...I want food!

Apparently I have some sort of infection and it's wearing my body down. Food today was a challenge but I stayed vegan which is important to me although being Valentine's Day I was wanting chocolate but since I don't actually HAVE a Valentine, the chocolates my dad got me can wait until later.

Off to watch Grey's Anatomy and Scandal...

You are doing awesome! The great thing about Raw/Vegan is you don't have to worry about calories, I don't think we eat enough sometimes. If you get really hungry, Nuts.com have some great nut and dried fruit snacks to get you through the rough times. Also Edenfoods.com is good. I order the Spicy Pumpkins by the case.

Arawnut,

Thank you for your support! Interestingly enough, today was kind of my 'getting over the hump' day. I cooked a couple of pork roasts to take to a pot luck and I didn't even nibble, actually trimming the fat made it look really unappealing and considering 'meat and taters (potatos)' are my favorite meal, this was big.

I worry about the calorie counting because conventional 'wisdom' in the food industry tells us that fruit is high in sugar and calories, albeit natural and living sugar and calories. I have been juicing with added a half a bunch of parsley to my kale/carrot/mixed berries concotion. I think I will try blending everything instead of juicing because I don't seem to be getting the regularity that I assumed would come from eating raw. I read that juicing takes the bulk of the fiber out of the item you juice so maybe I need that.

So now I'm going to try to venture out a bit and see what other good things I can eat!

How did your pot luck go?
I've seen some juicing recipies that look really refreshing but I don't want to go out buy a juicer. I just throw the ingredients in the blender and go for it. I also like to throw in some ground flax seed which makes me feel fuller.

The pot luck went good. I didn't eat anything but the roasted potatoes that I brought and that was before I went so I knew I would be full. The roast was a hit apparently so the cooking wasnt in vain. But I can't help but feel I've punished myself because the lingering smell of it is almost nauseating. My sense of smell has been really keen these last few days which may be a result of the primarily raw diet.

So on day 6 I was really frumpy and laid in bed the bulk of the day. No working out just pjs. I wasn't really sleepy but just didn't want to do much but because I didn't get up and eat, I was really weak and the apple and grapes and banana just didn't do it for me and the cabbage soup and beans that I've grown to love this past week has finally lost its appeal. I went and have hibatchi grilled veggies and rice. Not exactly raw and not really vegan I'm sure there was lots of butter and stuff but I only ate half and drank lots of water. I feel VERY full right now so I guess the rice did it's job and ballooned in my belly. I'm kinda hoping the greasiness of it all will make me have a BM. Sorry for the graphics but I am generally a once of week @#$%& so I'm hoping that eating primarily raw will help with that but so far no luck in going.

I've lost 3 pounds which is a great feeling but I'm wondering if I'm losing muscle mass or if it's the wretched water weight. Who knows. My belly is .5 inches smaller so that's always a plus!

Cheers to the weekend!

Today I was vegetarian but not vegan. I had a great smoothie made of kale, carrots, cantalope, and an apple early in the day and felt great while out of a long walk/run but I really didn't have enough fuel in me and by 6 or so tonight I was famished. I got a gluten and wheat free waffle and smothered it with Jif peanut butter. Not organic or natural but at least vegetarian. Around 9 I wanted something warm but couldn't really put my finger on what it was I wanted but I knew I wanted something warm so I made a cup of coffee and while the first few swigs were delish with my unrefined coconut oil mixed in with sugar and creamer, I think the tall cup was too much. Around 1030 I started feeling anxious and nauseous and paranoid. I have been terribly uneasy for the last few hours after drinking the coffee. I ate an apple and that has helped and I think the buzz of the caffine is wearing off so I'm about to take my Ambien and go to sleep.

I suppose being without coffee for a few weeks and then having a cup late at night on a fairly empty stomach was a huge shock on my body and I now know that this feeling is not worth the coffee taste. Next time I will have to heat up some veggie broth or something.

Lesson Learned

3 lbs and .5" is great. I've tried to quit coffee but when I try I feel sluggish and down all day. Then I give in and like you, I'm up and wired. I'm going to try veggie broth, that sounds good.

Well I love the smell of coffee in the morning but the other night I just felt I needed to have one. Boy that was rough lol! I woke up a bit 'off' but I had a hard work out and stayed raw for most of my meals minus a little rance dressing and a bean burrito.

I'm beginning to worry about my protein intake since nuts are notoriously fatty and high in calories. I did pick up some hemp protein powder that I will start putting in my green drinks to help get more in me. Some days I don't even think I'm getting the 40 grams that some raw foodies say we need. Personally as an athelete that's training, I need nearly a gram per pound so that's 150 grams of protein for me daily and I'm not seeing that. I won't lie, I miss egg whites and I miss non fat greek yogurt. Great protein in the best way possible.

I'm going to be sipping unsweetened cranberry juice the next few days because I feel my PMS bloating coming on. The joys of being a beautiful woman...

Almost to the half way point and I'm glad. I miss eggs and greek yogurt and I'm really starting to worry about the amount of protein I'm getting. I got some hemp protein that's raw. Wow, grass saw dust and at 4 tbsp a serving just to get 15 grams of protein, I'd rather have some eggs.

Hard workout at the gym today but lack luster because of PMS. Pretty good rugby practice tonight but now I'm just ready for bed.

Hi Rayshak,
Raw Spirulina powder will provide you with protien and I also use Hemp seeds. Check out nutritiondata.self.com. It gives you a cool breakdown of carbs,fat and protien makeup of foods. Also, when I first started the raw lifestyle, I had aweful cravings for protien and I read Raw Food SOS online. I think you can punch that in and find it. Anyway, they suggested putting a raw egg in your smoothie. I know, it's not vegan, but it may save you from cooking the eggs and losing the nutrition. One more thing, nuts, you being an athlete, you won't store the fat because the fat in nuts is different and your body will actually use it. Take coconut oil, it is actually considered a thermogenic

I LOVE unrefined coconut oil and I use to put it in my coffee in the mornings with my sugar and creamer. I still pop my popcorn with it but it's kinda hard to sautee things in it because you don't want everything tasting like coconuts!

I will look into that. Raw eggs make me nervous but I need to do something because the hemp is just blah. Not awful but not pleasant at all and as much as I have to put in the mix to get the 15g, I'd rather find another method. I would rather put a cup of nonfat greek yogurt and get 23g of protein verses the egg in all honesty. I actually did that today. I will look the spirulina up because lord knows I have NO idea what it is lol!

Thx boo

So day 10 was....well book club night. And book club is once a month with a group of 8 ladies. The oldest is 84 and I'm the youngest at 32. It's an interesting group of females and I wouldn't change it for the world. But...with book club comes good food and lots of wine and a little chatting about the book of the month. I ate appetizers that had italian sausage in it. I hated it but I hate italian sausage. I also had these pastry puffs. They were good but kind of bland tasting as if I was waiting for the flavor to kick in from the artifical ingredients. Well after a few glasses of wine, I came home a bit tipsy and ate a few ounces of baked chicken that I made for the little ones. Can't say I wanted any of it but it was there so I ate it...oh and some chocolate candies from Valentines. Boy I pigged out!

Day 11 was kind of a blah day. We had ice and freezing rain all day so I stayed in. I slept and tried to catch up on water since I had a pretty big binge the night before. It wasn't as if I had a hangover but I just felt blah to match the yucky weather. I think I've pretty much tossed the raw/vegan thing out the window. What's the point.

Tonight I made a wonderful vegetarian lasgana for me and my parents. I felt like cooking and I did. I made it with lots of beefy mushrooms and I also made a creamy mushroom soup. I just miss warm food! But I did have a smoothie earlier today of berries and greek yogurt. I have a rugby match tomorrow so I know I need to get on the raw/vegan bandwagon because I want to feel my best so I will be starting my day with a very green smoothie with parsley for sure and sipping it until about 30 minutes prior to my game so I won't have to eat a meal but get all the energy I need in. 80 minutes of brute strength, speed, and aggression takes it out of you for sure!

Last year I found Yuri Elkeim who was a professional soccor player and now a fitness and nurition coach. I subscribed to his free e-course. Then for Christmas my husband bought me his Eating for Energy book. Great read! But Yuri goes into the protien needs of athletes that I think would help you. Just his free e-course 101 classes helped me.

Well day 13 was pretty uneventful. I broke my finger playing rugby and have bruises the size of foot prints on my thighs. Luckily nothing hurts but I slept pretty much all day and then had a lovely meal at the Olive Garden. I wanted their salad dressing and the pasta really hit the spot. I know people are getting aggrevated with me and my SAD posts but it's an honest account, considering it's my diary I can say what I want to

2 weeks into this journey and I stayed true for 9 days. Interesting the lack of interest or will power I possess but I must honestly say, I hate the heavy feeling that comes with processed foods so today was a really good attempt to get back in the raw game.

I had raw cranberry juice, 1/2 cup of carrots, 1 banana, 2 cups of kale, 2 cups of spinach, and 1 apple this morning in a smoothie. It was wonderfully filling yet light on my stomach. I walked/ran 4 miles to get some of my stiffness out from rugby this weekend and nearly @#$%& on myself! Yeah I said it. I hadn't pooed in a week so I took a laxative and 4 stool softeners last night. I had a BM this morning and thought I was done but after my smoothie and that run, I had to sprint 1/2 mile to get back to my car then drive 4 miles to get to my house. Yeah, that was a close call but I'm glad I'm getting my weekend binge out of my system!

I had 2 eggs and wheat toast after my run today for protein and carbs and snacked on fruit and a few veggies later in the day. Today was a pretty good day. 7 days til my biopsy!!!

Arawnut, I appreciate your insight. I will have to check him out because you know my concern about my protein intake. Thanks boo

Day 15 was pretty good. I had a great green smoothie with spinach, kale, carrots, and blueberries. I also had Taco Bell so I can't say it was a great vegan day. I just don't know how folks do this...really, it's amazing to me!

Well today was another pretty decent day. I had a couple of eggs and wheat toast but I also had a smoothie with spinach, kale, cucumbers, parsley, and apples. I also did another 4 miles today so it felt good to get some of my sluggishness out. I made some homemade toothpaste a little while ago so I'm headed to try this new concoction. My girls had a dentist appointment and one had perfect teeth and the younger one had 2 cavities so I began my quest to find an alternative to store bought toothpaste and I came up with a very simple solution: coconut oil, baking soda, xylitol, and tea tree oil. Here's to a noncommercial mouth!

How do you like your homemade toothpaste? Do have a recipe I'd like to try it if it's working for you. Here's to those Taco Bell days. I had a BK mishap yesterday and am regretting it today because I don't feel so hot. I just needed something quick, hot and I was really craving it! I really miss cheesburgers sometimes and it was at a moments weakness. Ugh!

I added you as a buddy.

Girl, we must be on the same 'womanly' cycle because I swear I was craving a crunchy Taco. Glad to know you are HUMAN, Arawnut!

My homemade toothpaste is almost kid approved. The baking soda they said is still present but that's just gonna have to work for now. It's super simple:

CAVITY PREVENTING HOMEMADE TOOTHPASTE:

3 parts aluminum free baking soda (arm & hammer is)
4 parts xylotil (found by raw sugar products)
5 parts unrefined coconut oil
6 drops tea tree oil or peppermint oil or clove extract

I used tablespoons for each of the parts and got 5 oz of toothpaste that I put in 2 travel size lotion containers that has the flip top lid so it squeezes out easily, I can store it on it's "head", and it's small. Super simple!

I'm going to try it, can you imagine how much money we will be saving too. Just printed it. Thanks.

So tonight is my last night of raw/vegan. It has been an interesting journey but not one I plan on quiting. It's good to know that even 50% raw can add health benefits and that's where I will likely end up. Maybe a less processed diet and at least 50% raw (breakfast and lunch perhaps) will be right up my alley. I was pleasantly surprised how the first week went by and I lost those pounds so easily even though it felt like I was eating a ton of fruit. But I will continue to buy the fresh produce that my local Kroger puts on the reduced sale section. I scored a pound of organic baby spinach for $1.99 last week so I iwll continue to use it and kale as a good base for my green smoothies.

Tomorrow is my biopsy for the lump in my breast. Hopefully it was a gas bubble hanging out in my boobies but if not, I'm a warrior. Serving in Iraq while on active duty was a troublesome time but I came out stronger and a more wise individual. If cancer is my cup then I will kick its ass like every other contender that challenges me in life.

I'm ready

You go girl! You are in my thoughts!!!!