2007 State Championship

Rodney's football team battled for the state championship this weekend. They didn't win, but it was a great game. Those kids played hard. It was a lot of fun and we are very proud of his team. Yeah!!! O'dea Fighting Irish!!!

It's over. I give up.

Okay, so I am a whimp when it comes to wind. I was sitting upstairs and the wind was howling and the rafters shaking. All I could think about was that I would die starving. No, this was not the day to complete a water fast.

I actually think that I would have been more successful at work. There is a lot to keep my busy at the office. I can even work through lunch with nary a thought. So, my next attempt will be at the end of the month.

I don't feel bad about breaking the fast. I was very hungry at lunch, but next time I will be in an environment that doesn't make it easy for me to break the fast. Hey, sometimes a little public pressure is all that I need . . . the coworkers love to watch hunger.

I'm still vegan. : )

Raw Divas Detox - Day 1

It's 10:40 am and I'm doing fine. I dropped my toddler at daycare. It's Veteran's Day, so I am home for the day. I did a little shopping this morning. I stopped at the health food store (Nature's Market) and picked up Senna Leaf to aid with elimination.

The wind is howling like crazy outside. Lucky me. A holiday and mother nature wants to bring my house down. Ugh! Well, it's perfect for staying inside.

Of course, there are several things that I should do: study for SHRM exam, bring summer clothes back upstairs, get a pedicure, make my hair appt, make a waxing appt, bundle cardboard for recycling tomorrow, buy a sprouter and appropriate beans, and finish gathering tax information. The Raw Divas tell you to take it easy. Hmmm . . . what does that look like.

Normally, the 24 hour water fast begins at 6pm and ends at 6pm. I made this decision late last night, so I shouldn't break it until tomorrow morning.

Raw Detox

Okay, the vegan journey continues, but weight loss has not been a real benefit of this change. I have lost some weight, but not as much as I imagined. I keep reading really good things about a raw vegan diet. So, I've decided to take a mini-step in this direction. I am doing this for the following reasons:

• Kick off weight loss
• Retrain palate to desire less sugar
• Reduce the quantity of food consumed

My path to this journey is Raw Divas 7 day Detox, which will only be 5 days for me. In fact, I am not following all of the rules of the 7 Day Detox. First, I am starting early. I am scheduled to leave town on Saturday morning for a Thanksgiving Holiday. I can't be raw vegan in Texas. I can barely be vegan in Texas.

So, instead of waiting to do the detox, I've decided to do 75% and maybe do another round when I return. Day 1 is a water fast. I had a glass of wine this evening, which was probably not the best idea for a pre-fast beverage.

Vegan for 5 weeks and counting

Okay, I've done it for over a month and it's been fairly easy. I am learning NOT to talk about being a vegan. Who really cares? I am smaller. I am slipping into clothes and pulling out things that wouldn't button or close properly. So, I must be down close to one size. During the summer, I bought size 12 shorts. My size 10s are fitting and some size 8s are working for me. I refuse to weigh myself. The last time I did that, I was depressed for a day.

When the size 8s are too loose, I may weigh myself. I am guessing that I will need to start exercising. I think the change of weather is to blame for my lack of enthusiasm. During the summer, I was really into my bike. The cold weather brings out the need to get inside. I should start attending exercises classes, but the gym near my home is really bad. The main aerobics teacher is not qualified to teach (in my humble opinion). So, I need to find a new routine.

In addition, I need to start my running (which won't happen outside) and my swimming lessons. Hubby is heading out of town, so that won't be this week. I hope my next post shows some improvement in my exercise.

I did T-Tapp last week. It felt great. I may try doing that for the week. It's a start.

Still Vegan and not exercising

Photo is from 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia (King Memorial).

I'm not sure what it means, but I have basically stopped exercising since I became vegan. I did a 12 mile bike ride the very next day, but that was it. I have no desire to go to the gym. I want to start jogging, but I can't jog in neighborhoods. I'm terrified of stray dogs. So, I must find a track. Perhaps I will do that this weekend.

Oh well, it doesn't really matter because I have taken the first step towards my first Triathlon. I joined a club, Raise the Bar, in Kent, WA. They start beginner swim lessons in October. They have runs during the week and weekends. So, despite my own lack of desire to hit the gym, I have joined the elite.

The world of eating as a vegan is fine. I have less desire to eat out, as most restaurants are a hassle. It is amazing how little I know about food preparation. Why are eggs and cheese in everything? Life would be easier as a vegetarian, but I wouldn't have lost any weight. I can see why there are fat vegetarians. Most veggie meals in restaurant include a generous helping of cheese. I suppose the chefs are trying to make up for the reduced animal protein. Yuck!

Oh yes, today I purchased a superfood supplement, Barleans Greens. Despite my plant based life, I am not really eating that many green vegetables. So, I'm going to start the day with a green drink.

In addition, today I tried my first meat replacement meal. I purchased BBQ Tempeh at Greenfresh Market in Renton, WA. It was okay. The baby seemed to like it. I wasn't blown away by the taste, but the texture was fine.

2 weeks into my vegan journey

Okay, so it's been two weeks and I'm still going strong. Actually, this has become much easier. I've discovered two restaurants in my neighborhood with vegan options. One is a vietnamese restaurant which was pretty good. This was my first attempt at eating vietnamese food and I enjoyed it. The restaurant is Cafe Hue in the pioneer square neighborhood.

As I learn more about veganism, I keep running into raw foodist. This seems very interesting, but it is something to ponder and to incorporate more raw food or green smoothies/juice into my diet. I doubt that I will be going high raw in the near future. : )

I have lost some weight, but not enough to put on smaller sizes. One pair of pants that did not fit several weeks ago did fit this week.

Our Labor Day Video

This is a short compilation of a few good pictures. We enjoyed an extended weekend in Seaside Oregon, which is great for children. We rented electric cars and explored sections of Seaside that were knew to us. We enjoyed watching the surfers on the south end of the beach.

1 week into my vegan journey

It's been a week and I feel great. I was able to adhere to a full vegan diet for all of my meals. I went to the Puyallup Fair this weekend and I was very worried. I smelled hot dogs and saw a sign for BBQ and I had a momentary craving.

What I've learned in the last week is that I go crazy worrying about about how food is prepared or I can make the best choices in the situation that I am in. For example, I enjoyed curly fries. I can't be sure that they weren't cooked in the same hot oil as an animal product, but I made the best choice for me. In addition, my anxiety was reduced because several of the vendors had
veggie burgers. I held the cheese and mayo and added grilled onion. It was great.

I am not sure if I've lost weight, but my evacuation system seems to be very regular. I didn't weigh myself before last week, but I'll know in another week or two by the fit of my clothes. I will say that one pair of jeans seems looser, but it could be wishful thinking.

My weight loss plan will be guided, I hope, by this book I ordered McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss
In addition, I noted on another site that raw food diets were a great way to shed a few pounds. I will save that for another month, as I am still learning about eating as a vegan. I have found quite a few products that are vegan, so I am learning that it is easy to eat processed foods as a vegan, which is not the route to a fast weight loss.

Becoming a Vegan . . .

Wow, a lot has changed in the last couple of weeks. I've been preparing for a new fitness mode. New running shoes from The Balanced Athlete in Kent, WA. The owner is great. He watched me walk on a treadmill and I noted that I walk like a duck. My feet are flat and pronate. Fun! I also learned that I have been buying my workout shoes a size too small, which apparently accounts for my feet feeling like sleeping bricks on the elliptical machine.

I purchased a polar heart rate monitor and really realized just how out of shape I really am. It's okay . . . I'm on the path to real changes.

BUT the super huge change in my life occurred this week on Sunday - September 2nd. I adopted a vegan lifestyle for the next 30 days. I am guessing that it was the ridiculous book, Skinny Bitch, that did me in. I read Fast Food Nation a few months ago. I saw Super Size Me years ago. So, I imagine that it all just caught up with me.

In addition, I am lactose intolerant and I have Crohn's Disease, which has been causing me a little trouble recently. This was another reason to adopt a better diet.


4th DAY COMPLETED. I am very happy that it has been four days and I've made very few mistakes. I had a bite of mashed potatoes today. As I placed it on my plate, I realized that it is prepared with milk and butter. I had a bite and it was really bad. Yeah!

I've headaches (off and on) for the last two days. I'm guessing that this is my body's send-off to the missing animal products from my diet. I've read that it can take up to two weeks to get beyond the diet aspects of this lifestyle.

I ordered Becoming Vegan to help me with the transition. More to come.

The picture is from Seaside, Oregon during labor day weekend. Fun.

Danskin Triathalon - Seattle

What a great weekend. I went to the Danskin Triathalon on Sunday. It was raining so hard. The baby had a great time. Wow, what an event. The women were so cool. They were all sizes, but everyone ran across that finish line like superstars. A special akn to the Soul Sistas. It was really cool to see black women in the event. http://www.soulsistas.net/index.html

I am so doing this next year.

In fact, it inspired me to go to the gym. I'm going to take adult swimming lessons to strengthen my swimming.

In addition to the Danskin event, I would like to do the STP (Seattle to Portland bike ride). It's a little over 200 miles. My husband is really excited about that event.

T-Tapp in my life

So, I have news. I've discovered T-Tapp. Www.t-tapp.com This is an amazing workout. So, let me tell you about my journey. I did the free single exercises for a couple of weeks. My waist went down about 1/2 size. I was really excited about this. So, I purchased the book to get the 30% off coupon. I receieved the DVDs at the end of March. I did a 7 day boot camp. I'm not measuring until the challenge, but I was able to wear a pair of pants that are a size smaller. They are a true size 8. I will say that the waist is tight. It's still my problem area, but they closed. SO, I am making progress.

So, I will do the workout every other day for the next 3-4 weeks. I am hopeful that at the end of that period, I will slide into my skinny 8s and fit some size 6 pants. Also, that should be close to the beginning of the challenge, so my motivation should remain high.

I love this workout, because you must think. It's not exactly easy, but it's way better than the cardio equipment for 45 minutes.