Vegan Vagabonds

13/02/2022

Level 7
Need I say more?
:)
I would like to thank all the people who helped me get to this rockstar status (hehe)

02/02/2017

January Juice Fast is blessedly over! I made it through the month without a single bite of food - I probably won't do that again. Haha!
I'm taking it easy today on the food intake, but relishing every bite!

I was pleased with an almost 15lb. weight loss (11.5% of my starting weight), but think a month was a bit too long to go without healthy fats for my brain. I'm already pretty ditzy, so I need all the brain food I can get.

I do wonder if shorter, more frequent juicing would be just as helpful and easier to accomplish. For example, one week every 3 months would seem just as effective.

I started with 2 quarts a day and got down to just 1 quart a day. That was probably too little and I had difficulty sleeping and not much energy during the day, which could be related.

If one would eat the same food that I juiced in order to drink a quart, I wonder how that would feel, if one would feel less hungry, and if you'd lose the same amount of weight. In a quart of juice there's about a 1/2 bunch of Romaine, 3 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 apple, 1 orange, 1 tomato, 1/2 a cucumber, and maybe one more item (a pear, a pepper, ?). That would be an interesting experiment.

Anyhoo, I'm pleased with 112 lbs, think there's more fat remaining than I'd expect at that weight, but it's certainly a very welcome improvement.

I expect 3-4 lbs gain immediately when fiber gets back in my colon, but the rest of the decision about my weight is up to me. If I eat well and exercise, things should stay balanced. One cannot binge after juicing anyway because the stomach seizes up and hurts. I've learned that in the past.

Basically, I still believe that juicing is an exceptionally effective way to lose weight quickly with nutrition still provided to the cells of the body. However, a few weeks, 21 days at the most, feels healthiest at a time. Nutrients are somewhat limited as to what does well in a juicer (soft foods don't work).

Hope this info helps someone else on your journey to exceptional health!
Tessa

1 127.2 Start Weight
2 126.0 -1.2
3 124.2 -1.8
4 124.2 0.0
5 123.6 -0.6
6 123.6 0.0
7 124.0 0.4
8 123.2 -0.8
9 122.6 -0.6
10 122.0 -0.6
11 121.8 -0.2
12 ? -
13 ? -
14 ? -
15 ? -
16 119.6 -2.2
17 119.4 -0.2
18 119.2 -0.2
19 118.6 -0.6
20 117.4 -1.2
21 118.0 0.6
22 117.6 -0.4
23 116.8 -0.8
24 116.6 -0.2
25 116.0 -0.6
26 115.6 -0.4
27 115.0 -0.6
28 ? -
28 ? -
29 113.8 -
30 113.8 0.0
31 113.6 -0.2
1 112.6 -1.0

Total Loss 14.6 11.5%

29/01/2017

Do you want whipped cream with that? Of course you do. But you know you shouldn’t.

20/01/2017

Step away from the pre-made mixes and frozen concoctions.

19/01/2017

Hi there! Wanted to give a Juice Fast update! It's going well, day 18, so I'm on the downslide now. I've lost weight, feel pretty good (a little sluggish still), and am avoiding all alcohol and caffeine as well. The point is to become as healthy as I can get and for a limited period of time, I can do my best.

Ned and Lia juiced with me for 8 days, which is very, very difficult. I was so impressed with them! Try it for 8 days and tell me what you think. We talked about the various difficulties in 1. Not getting to enjoy the process of eating, 2. Not getting to do something fun that you enjoy, like go out to eat, 3. Dealing with hunger and lethargy, which are intense the first 3 days, and 4. physically buying all that produce, juicing and cleaning up daily. We would sit around the table and drink our juice, just like we were eating dinner together. I prefer to cook for them, rather than have time juicing with me, honestly. Plus, 3 people juicing leads to a lot of snappy, complainty-pants!

I'm now food-obsessed! My sense of smell is intense and I really get joy from food aromas. I love to cook and feed my family! I know this sounds strange, because I'm not eating any of it, but I've gotten used to that by now... that's just how I become on a juice fast. My family loves it!

My energy levels bas been low, but admittedly, I'm drinking only 2 quarts of juice a day, rather than the 4 quarts, on previous fasts. But my Dad has previously juiced with me in the past and he drank about 2 quarts a day of nearly all fruit juice (!!) nd he won the fat-loss competition! So I decided 4 quarts was more than I need. Hunger pangs are just a part of my fast, but that's also what I think i need for them to be effective. After about 8 days, hunger feelings sort of give up and just become background noise.

Speaking of which, body fat has been visibly coming off, which is highly encouraging. Given that fat is there to grab toxins to protect our organs, it's good to get rid of it. Being thin really is healthier -as stated in so much research. Our chances of hormone-based cancers decrease with increased thinness, for example. People live longer when they are thin. It's not a vanity thing so much as a health issue. So it is a very real goal of mine to use this juicing as an opportunity to get rid of some fat.

In 18 days, I've lost 8 lbs., just over 6%. I'm still not down to the level of that I should be as a plant-eater, based on McDougall's chart based on millions of people. http://greensmoothiegirl.com/articles/excuses-addressed/is-this-my-ideal-weight/ I have been that recommended weight before and felt great, better than I do now. Plus, I'm still 9 pounds above my end weight on a previous juice fast. So I still have opportunity to lose weight, and I'm okay with whatever results I get. The goal is to work the plan, do my best, and see how far I get.

I have noticed how physical activity seems easier as weight comes off. Simple things, like getting up from a chair, climbing stairs, and exercising like yoga and sit-ups, pushups- everything is easier when one's weight is lighter.

Also, I noticed that weight first comes off NOT in the places I want it to. The fat removal team starts in my face and moves slowly down my body over time- very odd. Even my wrists are smaller and I had to tighten my FitBit strap! But my derrière could still provide me with plenty of provisions in an emergency! When I can get back into a certain pair of jeans, I will be very pleased. The neat thing is that you can see a daily improvement.

One more thing that I have been thinking about is: How did I gain about 10 more pounds than I should weigh, while eating a whole-foods, plant-based diet? And what can I do to avoid that in the future? Because all that extra is just fat and really not needed.

I realized that I love to go out to eat, and then I eat too much food. Also, I know it makes others uncomfortable if I ask for a to-go box as my meal is delivered, but I invariably eat more than I should, even if I divide it initially on my plate.

So a plan I have now to carry my own collapsible tupperware container in my purse, with a little ziplock bag and a plastic grocery bag inside. That way, I can quietly remove half my food from my plate when I first get it, bag it up, and set it aside without have to disturb anyone or call attention to it. Then I can eat everything on my plate without guilt!

Another idea is to eat a salad or green smoothie BEFORE going out to eat or eating carry-out food like Chinese food. Also, I believe I should probably measure my serving size at home of my problem foods since my servings tend to grow larger, both as I eat and over time.

A juice fast is cleansing, difficult, and basically not fun at all, but it IS are a very highly effective, controlled means of reaching a weight goal in a healthy, rapid manner.

This ideal weight chart might surprise you. Might even make you angry and write me and tell me I'm smoking dope and you're unsubscribing. Don't kill the me

05/01/2017

Cookbook recommendation #4:

4. Happy Herbivore

This book will save you money by using "everyday" inexpensive ingredients, save you time with easy, no fuss recipes and improve your health with each nutritional bite.Vegan chef of one of the top 50 food blogs on the Web, HappyHerbivore.com, Lindsay S. Nixon, creates recipes that show e...

05/01/2017

Cookbook recommendation #3:
3. Engine 2 Diet:

Lose weight, lower cholesterol, significantly reduce the risk of disease, and become physically fit--in just 4 weeks. Professional athlete-turned-firefighter Rip Esselstyn is used to responding to emergencies. So, when he learned that some of his fellow Engine 2 firefighters in Austin, TX, were i...

05/01/2017

Cookbook Recommendation #2:
2. Plant Pure Nation:

A revolution has begun...From a creative team that includes the producer and writer of Forks Over Knives, the documentary film PlantPure Nation captures the inspiring story of plant-based nutrition’s impact on a small town in the rural South and the effort to bring about historic political ...

05/01/2017

I’m going to post my 4 favorite cookbooks to get you started: Any of these would provide you with tasty, simple recipes! If you like lots of pictures, choose the first 2. Try one book and see what you think, then add to your collection.

1. The China Study Cookbook:

The China Study, with 850,000 copies sold, has been hailed as one of the most important health and nutrition books ever published. It revealed that the traditional Western diet has led to our modern health crisis and the widespread growth of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Based on ...

02/01/2017

Our January Juice-Fest has commenced for a Healthy New Year! Ned, Lia and I are all doing it for now. Yesterday, Lia picked up some produce for us at Kroger, and Ned and I went again today to Sprouts. I think the prices on organic produce are somewhat better at Sprouts and they have better availability.

With 3 people juicing, it takes a tremendous amount of veggies and fruits! It is expensive, but so is poor health!

Much of the difficulty of juicing is due to the effort required in advance of "eating." It takes planning ahead to get all the produce, wash, prep, and finally juice.

So last night we prepared by juicing for our morning breakfast, then we made our lunch juice at about 10am so that it'd be ready for after church, and then we made both of the dinner juice and tomorrow's breakfast juice this evening at about 5pm. It is not wise, I've found, to wait until one is hungry to juice. It takes too long to make and clean up when hunger strikes. Each of our meals is a full quart jar size. It is also fine, I think, to have a 4th juice during a day as needed.

Another difficulty with juicing is that one can feel a little physically fragile for a few days. As the stomach shrinks, hunger pangs can happen, the body detoxes with some lethargy, and there can be a psychological fear that one is just not going to survive a fast. It must be a survival instinct OR we are so addicted to food that we worry, even when there is clearly plenty of blubber to keep us alive for awhile.

I have done month-long juice fasts on three or four separate occasions, so I know I can do it, one day at a time, but I still felt a sense of dread and doom making the first juice that I've admittedly made in many months. I do think that juicing some in advance would help my irrational fear of failure, but I did not do so. Instead, I lived it up thru the very last meal! Some of my best friends are the owners of several PTC Asian restaurants. I am detoxing from Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai food. Just typing it makes me crave it! :)

In addition, to only fruit and vegetable juice this month (and perhaps some warm veggie broth and some plant-based protein powder), I'll avoid all alcohol during this month because I'm aiming for super-healthy. And juicing is super-healthy!

My goals for this juice fast:
1. Blubber reduction
2. Resetting my relationship with food
3. Body cleansing and strengthening at a cellular level

Wonder what juicing is? Curious about why? I did a blog post here that answers many of those questions: http://veganvagabonds.blogspot.com/2013/05/tessas-30-day-juice-fast.html

Tessa’s 30-Day Juice Fast Ended 5/27/13 Index : What is a juice fast? Why might you want to do a Juice Fast? Why I d...

03/12/2016

1 Bowl Giant Molasses Cookies. Vegan Ginger molasses cookies. Huge, chewy and Crinkles! Easy Holiday Christmas Cookie Recipe. Vegan Whole Grain No Palm oil