eat to live.

one thing i really like that i've noticed with raw is that i'm eating to live instead of living to eat. don't get me wrong, i still very much enjoy food! however, i find myself not mindlessly snacking as i would in the past. i eat until i'm satisfied, not until i'm overly full.

i had another hump day the other day. we were given the awesome gift of a free hotel room and all you can eat buffet. not having much of a selection, i decided not to get the buffet. when i tried the many other places to eat in the hotel, however, it proved impossible to find anything without meat, let alone raw. even every single salad had meat. finally, dave was able to find a raw cafe in nearby chicago, and to our surprise...it was an all-you-can-eat buffet as well! we had a delicious meal (raw pizza, tacos, faken bacon poppers...) followed by a kiwi non-cheese cheesecake drizzled with raw chocolate sauce. SO YUM! i got a green smoothie to have for breakfast and some hummus and flax crackers for later on the next day. so, thank you chicago, for delicious raw food.

yum

CLEARLY i haven't been disciplined and blogging like i said i would.
i have been disciplined and sticking to about a 99% raw diet, though.
i had a coffee last week and some random things like that here or there, but mostly raw.
yesterday, the girls all went to a raw/organic cafe in toronto called 'live'.
it was AMAZING.
i was having a hump day the night before and it totally brought me through.
as far as effects, i'm still detoxing, so it's hard to tell.
i do feel stronger and more energetic than normal.
i seem to require less sleep.
i'm enjoying way more fruits and veggies that i wouldn't normally eat.

so far, so good.

i'm going to do it. after talking to another personal friend who's a raw vegan, i'm convinced. it's definitely worth a trail. if nothing else, it will be a good exercise in discipline. after my flight home, i'll start with eating at least 50% raw. that should be a decent amount of time to detox and get it done before tour-hopefully. then, with tour, i'll begin at least attempting 80%, hopefully 100%. that's the goal. i need a blender. ha.

i'll try to document things well and do different mental/memory and physical tests to document and process. i don't have a scale, so i won't be able to track my weight daily. i'll try to at somewhat regular intervals, though. i'll post what i'm eating; and if there's something that's not common knowledge, i'll explain. i'll post recipes for any smoothies, dips, dressings, etc. i may occasionally post pictures, but no promises. i'll need to keep track of calories as well to make sure that i'm getting enough, but also how many i'm getting from fat. i've decided to go with the 80-10-10 method at first. that means 80% of calories will come from carbs, 10% from protein, and 10% from fat. it's lots of fruit!

i'll take calcium supplements during this trial, but no other medicines or supplements unless noted. i'm excited. this is going to be a good record...and exercise.

so two days of "normal" food whenever i want it left. man, if i chose to keep this habit, thanksgivings going to suck.

1/2 year resolution

seeing as the year is nearly 1/2 over, i'm reassessing my goals for the year and have been doing lots of thinking. not to mention, i've felt sick and down in the dumps for the past couple weeks (at least).

i feel like jesce walz when i say this, but i've been doing a lot of research and am considering at least doing a trial (say 30 or 90 days...we'll see) of the raw vegan diet to see if it lives up to its promises. i'll start slowly with only eating raw, say, before 2pm each day, but slowly build up to 100%. i'm not too excited about detoxing, but am at the same time. it'll be real hard on tour, i think, and it pretty bourgeois (at the same time not?) but i think i'm up to it.

if i do decide on it, i think i'll blog daily reports as a way to keep me motivated. who knows, maybe i can even convince the boys, gem, and lena to do it along with me. we'll see. it would definitely be cheaper that way (maybe?)

anyway, i'll don't think it'd be smart to start right away full on as mixing jet lag next week (returning to the states from new zealand) and detoxing would probably be more than i could handle. ha. or maybe the diet would help shorten jet lag? hmmmm....

i'll keep you posted.

update!

life is so funny.
i move with the wind.
a new place every month.
i got married.
and i'm coming back to the good ole usa.
TOUR.
going on tour.
my baby sister is graduating high school.
one of my old roommates is coming to new zealand.
i probably won't see him, cause he's too busy.
i'm not very surprised.

i'm quickly realizing how anal i am about organization.
very, very anal.

i think i want to be a river guide.
that's how i want to make money at least sometimes.
thinking about starting training this summer.

i am alive.
and i am free.
praise be to jesus.

ch ch changes!

i guess i'll need to go into more detail later...
but i quit my job.
and even had to make an ESCAPE!
i've moved down to hamilton.
which i love.
i'm going to start volunteering at the sustainable garden.
and i'm going to melbourne next week.

that's my update for the last 7 days.

trees and rocks and beaches.

trees and rocks and beaches made my morning!

i went out for my morning "jog" this morning and decided to go down to howick beach. for the first time, i noticed how good the trees that line it are for climbing. i spend a good amount of time climbing and climbing then just staring out at the water from my new perspective. beautiful!

howick beach kind of stinks, cause it's so little. but then, i realized all along the water on one edge is just piles and piles of massive rocks. i figured, why not try to go all along the water line by way of the rocks. i had to do some climbing, but SUCCESS! so much fun, and so beautiful! the farthest i could get was this big, flat rock...so i took that as an open invitation to lay down and rest. i looked up at the sky and thanked God. i told him i knew he loved me if nothing else than the existence of those trees and rocks just at the end of my road. i laid for a bit longer. then, as i put my hand down to stand up, i saw right next to my hand "i <3 u"

good morning, new zealand!

by the way, did i mention that new zealand is beautiful?