Day 8...

Here's what today looked like:

-1 grapefruit
-2 clementines
-protein shake
-dark chocolate
-chai tea latte w/almond milk
-2 slices of cantaloupe
-stewed squash
-zucchini in coconut oil with barley flour
-sandwich on sourdough with 1 whole tomato, 2 leaves romaine lettuce, onion, 2 slices boar's head turkey, cheese, mayo
-2 romaine lettuce leaves filled with hummus, tomatoes, and onion

Today wasn't so bad, I still didn't drink near enough water. I def. felt better on the inside than I did over the weekend. I totally gave in and had a sandwich for dinner stuffed with veggies and it was AWESOME!!!!! The hummus taco's were very yummy...my hubby had 4 and loved them! :)

Days 6 and 7...

This weekend was a bit of an experiment! My hubs and I decided to eat raw the 5 days during the week and eat some cooked foods on the weekends to give us something a bit different. Here's how the weekend went:

-Sat. bkfst...french toast (spelt bread, org. eggs, vanilla and almond milk) with real maple syrup
-banana
-friend's b-day party early afternoon...turkey pinwheels (3) and veggie straws
-Cristina's with family (early dinner)...chips, salsa, queso :( and flour tortillas, I also had a few mini chicken flauta's and we drank water
-orange juice
-holy tea

I didn't like the full feeling I had after eating at Cristina's at all....and we didn't even eat an actual meal....I felt heavy on the inside. When we got home from church we weren't even hungry and decided to just have a big glass of fresh OJ. I never really feel the effects of my eating til later in the evening and then it's usually too late. I have to remember how I WANT to feel (nice and light on the inside)!!

-Sun. bkfst...org. scrambled eggs (which my son kept eating off my plate, so I don't know how much I actually ate) and fresh french fries in coconut oil and a blend of holy tea and grape/cranberry juice over ice
-lunch at a friends house...1/2 burger with lettuce and tomato and 1/2 chicken breast, pasta salad, fresh strawberries, a little bit of this yummy artichoke/jalapeno dip with these dipper things (garlic toastie things) and sweet tea
-dinner was a few more fresh fries in coconut oil (didn't want to waste the oil...it's not cheap) and water
I know I ate a lot of potatoes today and that truly is b/c I have this huge bag of them from Costco and don't want them to go bad!!!

What I've noticed today was that I actually didn't want to eat fruit while I was eating the bad stuff....weird!! When all I'm eating is raw fruit and veggies that's really all I want. The bad stuff seems to actually make my taste change to want more of it and the same goes for the fruit. So now I have a choice to make...what kind of tastes to I want to crave?? I'm very much looking forward to starting back to mostly raw tomorrow....I say mostly b/c I will keep drinking my healthy protein shakes with almond milk after I work out. I've got a counter full of fresh fruit ready to be eaten. It seems so much worse when I actually right everything I ate down and read over it....thanks for reading and keeping me accountable. Here's to lessons learned and healthy week ahead!! :)

Day 5...

Today wasn't the best day! I learned a very valuable lesson about being prepared. I had an hour and a half wait at the chiropractor and then got stuck in traffic for an hour due to an accident, this left me only 10 minutes to get directions to my next appt., eat and feed my kids and get them to my friends house. I forgot to mention that while I was stuck in traffic I was suppose to be getting groceries b/c we were out, so guess what happened next....we ended up at the Taco Bueno drive through and I ended up eating a bean burrito and a tostada (if you haven't checked...they are not raw or fruit). Lesson learned: BEING PREPARED=BEING SUCCESSFUL!! So anyway, here's what I ate today:

protein shake (was completely out of banana's....not a good start to the day)
chai tea latte
bean burrito and tostada
2 clementines
banana
zucchini noodle stir-fry (w/onions, shallots, green onion, carrots, and a few rice noodles)
2 cookies :(

I learned a valuable lesson today....I need to be prepared for anything b/c hunger will lead to bad decisions if I don't have something healthy on hand. My hubs got to work today and they had training and free pizza again....need I say more! He jumped right back into healthy eating and had zucchini noodle stir fry for dinner. We've decided to cut ourselves a little slack on the weekends and eat some healthier cooked meals and continue with the fruit/raw diet during the week....hoping we will eventually choose to have the raw food on the weekends b/c we want to, not b/c we have to. I think it will definitely make our transition a little easier. I'll keep you posted on our weekend choices and how we feel compared to the raw eating! :)

Day 4....

So today there was another temptation....birthday cupcakes and cookies at my ladies group!! I was strong and ate my apple and grapes and felt better for it. Here's what I ate today:

banana....pre-workout
banana
apple
1 1/2 cups of grapes
1/2 large salad from Baker Bros (with ladies group)
a few crackers with my favorite sun-dried tomato spread from BB
rest of salad later (what G didn't eat anyway..she loves eating my salads)
clementine
stir-fried zucchini noodles with red pepper, shallot and green onions (in coconut oil)
1/2 apple with org. pb

I felt pretty good, should have eaten more calories though. My hubs fell off the wagon at work and ate 4 slices of pizza, but hopped right back and finished the day off healthy. Today wasn't perfect, I shouldn't have eaten the crackers or spread....but I'm not perfect either. I am doing my best and hope each day gets easier. :)

Day 3 of fruit....

I'm writing this a day late, so I'm trying to remember exactly how I felt. It was a pretty good day energy-wise! Here's what I ate:

banana...pre-workout
2 clememtines
1 date
protein shake
1 clementine
1 apple with org. pb
mini chai tea latte (almond milk)
banana
zucchini pasta with raw sauce (didn't eat very much, it wasn't my favorite)
2 boiled eggs
bowl of coconut milk ice cream with my hubs

My hubs liked the zucchini pasta with raw sauce.....it wasn't my favorite. He has continued to feel good and had plenty of energy. I still feel good. I have been having a few headaches here and there and am not very fond of them (hoping it's just detox symptoms and they will go away soon). Sorry this was posted late, will be sure to post today's menu later tonight. :)

Day 2 of fruit....

Today was one of my busier days, so I was curious if this way of eating would give me enough energy. Well, it actually did and I still didn't eat enough calories...still working on that! Here's what I ate today:

banana....pre-workout
protein shake....post workout (almond milk and whey protein powder)
banana
1 1/2 cups watermelon
1 1/2 cups grapes
1 cup of strawberries (with a little fruit dip a friend made)
2 bananas
6 leaves of romaine lettuce
1/2 red pepper with a little hummus
about 10 grape tomatoes
1/2 protein shake

(i totally cheated at my ladies group and had that dip with the strawberries and a few....gasp...pigs in a blanket....the mini ones. i know it's awful and i regret it, but i am proud that i didn't give in to any of the wonderful smelling cinnamon rolls and other baked goods. there is a small victory in there somewhere.)

I had a softball game last night and had plenty of energy for that, which was great (and we won....still undefeated). My husband felt good yesterday with the exception of a headache when he woke up, but it was gone by mid-day. His only complaint is that he has to chew his food more b/c it's not the processed junk that melts in you mouth, but he's enjoying this way of eating so far. I'm already into day 3 and will post on it tonight. :)

Day 1 of fruit...

So, you really have to eat a lot of fruit to get enough calories for the day. Here is what I ate today:

1/2 personal watermelon
3 bananas
1 date
14 grape tomatoes
3 clementines
about 15 olives
1/2 cantaloupe
1 -1 1/2 cups of grapes
8 grape tomatoes with drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of parm. cheese
8 oz almond milk with 3/4 scoop whey protein powder

That's a lot of food....and it still isn't enough calories! I'll have to try harder tomorrow. My energy was still ok, had a bit of a headache though (annoying)...wondering if it's part of detox....hope it goes away by tomorrow. I have my first temptation tomorrow....going to my ladies group and we are having a potluck brunch, I will be bringing my own food. My husband said he felt good today, just full and he can't imagine shoving in any more food. He's such a trooper for doing this with me. It feels good to have day 1 finished. I'm going to try and eat more fruit meals tomorrow and not graze so much. All in all though, I think today went well!!

60 Days of Fruit!!

Today's the day! I'm finally starting on my journey back to me! I'm going to try the 80/10/10 raw vegan lifestyle for 60 days and see what kind of transformation takes place with my weight and my overall health. I'm hoping for the best. This type of lifestyle is 80% fruit, 10% fats, and 10% greens. I will be consuming a crazy amount of fruit, which I hear gets easier each day. The fats will be coming from avocado, olive or coconut oil, or raw nuts. The greens for me will probably be in the form of a green drink, romaine lettuce, spinach, or some other green veggie. My hubs is being so supportive and trying it with me...it's always easier when someone else is doing it with you. I will be posting what I'm eating every day and how I'm feeling along the way. Welp, here's to getting healthy.........look for my first food post tonight!

Daily I..

OK... per request of a great friend I've decided to do my first informative post about a few things I do daily to keep myself and my little ones healthy. From the day Gracey was born I have given her daily probiotics. I believe that most all sickness and disease starts in the gut and one great way to combat this is to take probiotics. Probiotics will help with the following:

1. Immunity: Probiotics aid the body in breaking down nutrients to the right molecular size so that the immune system doesn't become over-reactive.
2. Improving mood: You have a "second brain" in your gastrointestinal tract. You have more nerve endings in your GI tract than in your brain. So when there's ineffective digestion, you can experience emotional and mental problems. With proper digestion, you can improve your mood and mental health.
3. Digestion: Probiotics help the efficient absorption of nutrients and help keep you from suppressing digestion during heavy exercise.
4. Elimination: Probiotics aid movement of food through your body.

I prefer the probiotics made by a company called Natren. I think they are the best and they are what I've used for my kids for years (it's called Lifestart). I have always noticed a difference in my kids when I have been faithful to give it to them everyday. They very few times they have gotten sick I have looked back and realized that I hadn't been giving it to them for a while (i had just fallen out of the habit or was out and waiting to order it....it's not cheap). It's definitely something I recommend for every child. It's a great immune booster and who doesn't want their kids to better fight off all the stuff they come in contact with everyday....face it, we can't protect them from every germ (I know, cause I've tried).

The second thing I do everyday is give them vitamin C and I know you are all saying "of course, we all do that". Well, try reading the label and see how many artificial colors or preservatives are in it. Also, check to see if there are any artificial sweeteners (sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame potassium/ace-K) in them. There are a few good brands out there. Natural Factors is one and it comes in different flavors, but I highly recommend Source Naturals brand. The bottle contains 250 chewable with 500mg vitamin c each. I give my oldest at least 4 a day and I give little man 2. Sometimes in trying to give our kids good things we overlook the unhealthy ingredients that are doing a detriment to their health. There are a few more things I do everyday that I will share on another post, as my friend Megan would stop me now in a conversation so she could ponder! Ponder away Megan!!

info: www.Natren.com - probiotics
you can order Source Naturals vitamin C the cheapest at www.vitacost.com

What this blog is for...

Graceybug is what I call my little girl and is the title of my blog b/c my story and journey all began with her! The moment I met G I wanted the absolute best for her, which is what spurred my interest in health. Since it was just me and her at home all day I had a lot of time to do my own research and decide how I wanted to feed her. Something in me just knew that what mainstream doctors and most other moms were telling me wasn't right....it just didn't make sense to me. Every decision I've made hasn't been perfect, but I've always been at peace with them. I've asked a lot of questions and done a lot of research and reading during this journey I've been on. I truly feel like I have a responsibility to share what I know with other moms. Face it, moms are busy and never really get any time to themselves....when are they going to find the time to research every single thing they are eating or feeding their kids (it is really overwhelming and can get very frustrating). I really think most people just don't know the truth about what they are eating or feeding their kids. So, that is why I decided to do this blog....I want it to be a place moms can come to with questions and hopefully get answers. I promise that if I don't know an answer I will do my best to get it! I truly have a passion for health and I want to know what I'm eating and what I'm giving my kids and I want other moms to benefit from my research as well. We are raising the next generation and I want to do my part to make sure they are a healthy one!! So, HERE WE GO!!!

My Weight Battle...

I was only 22 and newly married when I found out I was pregnant with G. I had been a college athlete and was coaching middle school at the time and was in very good shape. I was the epitome of active. However, I knew very little about real health. I continued to eat how I always had eaten and ended up gaining 70 lbs by the time G was born. I was so ready to get back to working out, it was one of the first questions I asked the doctor. A few weeks later I got mastitis (I won't go into what it is, let's just say it is very painful) and I battled it for 14 very long months. Every attempt to get back in shape led to another case of mastitis.....I was very frustrated! I continued to nurse G till she was 27 months old and am so glad I pushed through those very trying times....the last year was amazing! Finally, I had been working out for a few months regularly and after my body realized it wasn't feeding another human being anymore, it finally started to drop the weight...yay!! I finally only had about 30 lbs left to lose and I found out I was pregnant again. I was so excited, but a little upset that I hadn't lost all of my baby weight yet. I actually continued to lose a little bit of weight the first few months due to nauseousness. I was determined to do this pregnancy right and not gain 70 lbs again. Well, I didn't gain 70 lbs, but I did gain 40, which put me at the exact weight I was when G was born. Talk about deja vu!! When my little man was born I was again so ready to work out. Little did I know how much less time I would have to myself this time around. G was 4 (almost 5) and I was homeschooling her and my little man wouldn't sleep for anything.....I was so tired and...nursing again! Well, now G is 6 1/2 and little man is almost 2 and I still have 45 lbs to lose. I am still nursing, but will be done in a few more months and looking forward to the weight coming off again. I'm hoping to journal the 45 lb weight loss on here as well!! So there you have it....it's been the biggest struggle for me and I hope to figure out how to beat it and share with you how I did it! Wish me luck!