And So It Begins

All right. I'm doing it. It's official. I have to do something, and I've known for a long time that this is the healthy way to get done what I want to get done. I just haven't done it. But now I'm going to. Do it, that is.

If you followed that, you're awesome. I'm not even reading back over it to make sure it's possible to follow it. So good luck.

Anyway, here's what I'm doing. Dr. Fuhrman's 6-week plan, as outlined on this blog.

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UNLIMITED (eat as much as you want):

• all raw vegetables, including raw carrots (goal: 1 lb. daily)
• cooked green vegetables (goal 1 lb. daily)
• beans, legumes, bean sprouts, or *tofu (minimum 1 cup daily in total of these)
• fresh fruit (at least 4 daily).
• eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomato and other non-starchy vegetables, cooked and raw (unlimited)

*Beans should be eaten daily; tofu should be eaten less frequently.

LIMITED (not more than one serving):

• cooked starchy vegetables OR whole grains–Maximum 1 cup per day (butternut or acorn squash, corn, sweet potato, brown rice, cooked carrots, whole grain breads*, whole grain cereals*)
• raw nuts and seeds (1 oz. or 28.5 grams a day) or 2 ounces avocado
• ground flaxseed (1 tablespoon a day)
• soymilk, low-sugar preferred–Maximum 1 cup a day

*avoid breads and cereals as much as possible

OFF-LIMITS:

• dairy products
• animal products
• between meal snacks
• fruit juice, dried fruits
• salt, sugar

NUTS and RAW SEEDS, but not ground flax, are optional for obese or overweight persons while they follow this weight loss plan. People who have difficulty losing weight may also eliminate the starchy vegetable/grain.

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I'm glad they typed it all up because I really didn't want to.

Anyway, I'm doing it. If you read this book, you'll see how compelling the evidence is and how much healthier a more natural and raw foods diet is for you. I've tried it before, with great success. My sister and brother-in-law have been following it pretty religiously for the last while and have had amazing results as seen here.

So now I'm in. I'm all in. I wasn't going to mention it on here, but I feel like I need to put it out there in order to be more invested. The more people that know, the better. Feel free to check up on me. I'll need all the support/help/reminders I can get. Especially at the beginning.

My Walk Tonight - Sunset

I love catching pictures like this.

Houston, Day 1

I left for Houston this morning and arrived in the early afternoon. I had a brief layover in Denver. Just enough time to get from one gate to the other and basically walk onto the plane. That airport is huge!

I came out to spend time with a friend and her four kids while her husband is out of town. I've been wanting to come out for a while, and this worked perfectly.

After landing in Houston I started talking to my seatmate. I asked him about his book 'Service' when I saw it was written by the same guy who wrote 'Lone Survivor,' a book about this military mission in... Iraq(?) where they get attacked and this guy is... the lone survivor. My friend from the plane mentioned that he was out serving when the attack happened and he heard about it. No details or names, but he remembers when it happened. I asked him about his military service and he said he served three tours in the space of five years and he thinks that's the reason his wife divorced him. When they got divorced he got custody of the children and left the army at that time.

As a side note - he said that his current wife went to high school with the line survivor and his brother.

I thanked him for his service and he responded with a 'yes ma'am.' (Speaking of which, this guy is a Texan and military... I just about got yes ma'am'ed to death) But my conversation with him made me realize even more that I don't understand most of what a great sacrifice it is for these men and women to serve our country. And I just want to say again how grateful I am for them. And I'm so proud of my granddad and brother-in-law and many others for being a part of them.

Well, there may be more updates while I'm here, but I didn't bring my laptop so I'll be posting by phone. Which isn't quite as easy and convenient.

My New Hobby (Addiction?)

To sum up in a picture -

And if we're friends on facebook, then you may have been subject to my latest ravings about this hobby.

I'm a trail runner now! (after four days in a row, am I officially a trail runner? or not yet?)

I love it.

And I'm pretty sure I look just like that person in the picture.

Except that I wear pants because I'm afraid that bugs and poison ivy will get me.

And I don't heel strike. (that was for you)

And my legs aren't that toned. Yet.

But other than that, I'm pretty sure I look just like that. (:

And it's sooooo much fun!

And I can say that the day after I came home like this -

that bump in the front shouldn't be there...

There's a pretty nice chunk of skin that rubbed off my left palm too.

But it's still fun!

I got right back up and kept running down. I figured that running down a mountain has certain risks, and falling down the mountain is one of them.

As a consequence of the fall... I took medicine for the first time in... a long time. I've never been a huge user of medication, and my job has made me even less inclined to be so, but I was grateful to pop four (yes, four!) advil last night. My body was aching and my knee and palm were throbbing. No tears, but I came close a couple of times. Especially when I had to clean it off. And then again in the shower. Ouch.

But again - still fun! Promise.

Oh, and an explanation for the fall - I've taken my dog, Max, with me each time I've gone up there. Yesterday I had him running in the heel position, and he moved just a little too close to me. I tripped on his leg and felt myself going down. I thought I caught myself, I worried that I didn't, I thought I caught myself and then, *BAM* I was sliding down the mountain flat on my stomach with my hands out-stretched also sliding flat on the ground. What always amazes me is that your clothing can be completely untouched and you'll have scrapes on your skin. My pants had nothing but dirt on them when I got back up, but both my knees were scratched. How does that happen?!

In other news... here are some videos - and other things - I've come across from facebook or blogs or otherwise lately that I really like.

This little boy has cerebral palsy and doctors said he would probably never walk. His dad comes home from overseas and is greeted with this...

I cried a little bit.


This next one is just cool.

I also came across this article on obesity that I thought was kind of interesting.

There are a few other things that have been mulling around in my brain but I'm afraid they each deserve their own post. Which means it might take a while before I actually post them...

Until then, Happy Friday!

Color Me Rad & Wogging

I've had this post pending for over a week. I was going to say more about the pictures, fix the one that didn't get rotated in iphoto, and explain 'wogging.'

But I don't feel like it.

I'm too tired.

And the dogs are anxious for a walk.

So I'm going on a walk.

Enjoy the pictures.