Snow!!! Lots of it.

And wind, too.

Woke up to alarm. Didn't feel terribly well rested, as Justin got into town late last night for his auditions so sleep was interrupted, and I had trouble getting back to sleep. Went to the gym anyway, and I'm glad I did, because the workout felt great!

Morning training:
Walked to the gym. This was more challenging than usual, as it was very windy, and the wind had caused a lot of snow drifts, so the "terrain" was uneven.
Treadmill workout (1.0 incline throughout) - 10 minutes jog (4.5 mph, increased a bit towards minutes 8, 9, 10). Followed by 4 10-minute miles alternated with 3 minutes walking in between each mile. 5 minute cooldown, for 65 minutes total. Felt great not to run sprints, hahaha.
Lower body strength work:
3 sets step-ups on bench, to failure (the left leg failed before the right, every time, so I stopped at left-leg failure).
3 sets romanian deadlifts (I hope I did them right!)
3 sets barbell squats.
Stretching in between sets.
Walked home. After the lower body work, the walk home in the wind/snow was definitely challenging.
Stretched a bit at home.

7:30 a.m. - 4 or 5 small fuyu persimmons
9:00 a.m. - 1 large fuyu persimmon. 3 medium bananas.
11:30 a.m. - 4 bananas (Justin is meeting me for lunch at one, but I was ravenous, so I ate a few bananas to hold me over).
1:15 - big bowl of persimmon-date pudding: 5 large fuyu persimmons (frozen and thawed), blended with 10 soaked medjool dates (I coudn't finish it all, but almost). Big bowl chopped romaine lettuce.
4:10 - 1 romaine lettuce heart
Got home really late...
8:10 p.m. - 1 large papaya. 2 pounds campari tomatoes. 1.5 florida avocados. A few fresh mac nuts (maybe 8?) that Dan brought back from Hawaii. 4 valencia oranges.

Bed around 10:30.

Didn't sleep well last night. Had a lot on my mind, with my friend in the hospital, and my upcoming move, among other things. Slept in this morning instead of going to the gym. I'll go tonight (not planning on sleeping well anyway, since I have a friend coming in late tonight, so may as well get in my workout...).

Morning food - 16 apple bananas. 2 romaine hearts. a bit of nappa cabbage. 1 papaya. 8 medjool dates.

Afternoon food - more apple bananas (maybe 8 more). 1 papaya.

Didn't end up training in the evening (thought it was best to catch a few hours sleep before Justin got into town).

What you think about, you bring about. =)

Slept in this morning!

Morning training in the apartment (chest, shoulders, triceps):
Lots of push-ups, in sets, most from the knees, some of the later sets in box position.
Shoulder raises (3 sets each side, front, and rear delts) (used a tote bag with papayas in it for a weight!)
1 set triceps extensions with bands.
Experimented with kicking up into a handstand next to a wall a few times, just to see how it feels. No handstand yet...

10:30 ish - 2 large papayas
11:55 - 13 apple-bananas
3:00 - 8 persimmons. 2 pints cherry tomatoes. 1 haas avocado. 1/2 a florida avocado.
6:00 - 3/4 head nappa cabbage.

Morning training:
Walked to gym.
Back/biceps workout: hanging from the bar and pulling myself up a couple of inches, lots of times. lots of flexed arm hangs/"negative assisted pull-ups". 3 sets dumbell rows (one arm). 3 sets each overhand grip dumbell curls, dumbell curls, and hammer curls.
Indoor cycling class with Austin.
Walked home.

Breakfast - 1 large papaya.
Lunch - 6 large bananas
Snack - 5 cara cara oranges, 1 pound tomatoes
Dinner - 2 papayas, 1 pound tomatoes, 1 head nappa cabbage
Later - 1 avocado (haas), 1 pound tomatoes.

What you think about comes about...

...so I'm thinking about how I'm burning through the excess body fat and building strong, beautiful muscle tissue!

Woke up at 5 a.m. Not very well rested. Haven't been sleeping well (I wake up in the middle of the night).

Morning training:
Walked to gym. Wanted to take indoor cycling class but I got there too late and class was full.
Assisted pull-up training, flexed arm hang/negatives. Just did a little of this.
Treadmill workout: hills!
Warmed up for 10 minutes (1.0 incline). Then alternated 2 minute hills by toggling the incline like this (1-2-1-3-1-4-1-5-1-6-1-7-1-8-1-9). The 9 almost killed me, haha. Then cooled down by jogging for 10 minutes, then walking for 4 minutes.
Spent 10 minutes stretching.
Walked home.

7:30 a.m. - 1 papaya
10:00 a.m. - smoothie made fromm 4 frozen bananas and 3 medjool dates. 6 medjool dates. 3 fuyu persimmons.
11:45 a.m. - 1 small head green leaf lettuce
2:30 p.m. - 2 papayas

Took a nap this afternoon.

5:00 p.m. - 6 temple oranges. some pistachio nuts (.5 - .75 cup?)

Positive day!

Didn't sleep that well last night (was awake from 1:30 until at least 3:30).

Got up at 5:45 though. Was tired, but determined to work out, since I've been sitting around all week.

Morning training:
Walk to gym (in more layers this time).
Lower body/abs workout today:
3 sets squats, alternated with 3 sets deadlifts
plyo - jumping up on a step (with 4 risers) (2 or 3 sets of this, can't remember)
a couple sets calf jumps (straight knee - first time trying this and not good at it, yet. but will get better!)
1 set hamstring curls on a ball.
3 sets reverse curls (holding a swiss ball between heels and butt), alternated with 3 sets bicycle crunches.
3 planks
2 sets swiss ball crunches
Walked home.

7:30 a.m. - 1 large papaya. Mmmm!
10:20 a.m. - 4 large bananas. 6 soft medjool dates. 1 head green leaf lettuce.
1:45 p.m. - Huge plate salad from a meeting (mixed lettuces, tomato). 5 small fuyu persimmons. 6 soft medjool dates.
2:50 - a bit more salad. 1 baby carrot, dipped in avo-orange mix (offered by coworker).
5:45 p.m - 1 large papaya. Yum!

Bed at around 8:45. I discovered something dangerous - you can stream ABC Shows online. So I got to bed later than I should have.

Building another base. One meal at a time.

This morning I didn't train. I also didn't eat until noon, as the thought of eating turned me off.

It's still cold out, but quite sunny. I actually got out a bit before lunch and walked around a bit in the sunshine. I can feel my spirits lifting...

First meal (12:20 p.m.) - 12 RIPE bananas, blended into a smoothie. 3 RIPE fuyu persimmons. 3 soft'n'squishy medjool dates. 1 head green leaf lettuce. No cravings for me this afternoon!

Dinner - 6 temple oranges (Juicy!). the flesh from a few (4?) organic mangoes.

Went to bed around 8:30ish.

Roe Gallo, Marjorie Newlin, Ruth Heidrich

A couple weeks ago, I listened to a very inspiring podcast on raw vegan radio: Roe Gallo. I'd never heard her before, but her story is inspiring.

In this podcast, she talked about a woman named Majorie Newlin. Check her out: http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur28238.cfm. Majorie is an 86-year-old woman who started lifting weights at age 72. Now, at 86, she enters bodybuilding competitions!

When I heard Ruth Heidrich (70+ year old ironman triathlete and vegan) say that she didn't even start running until she was 33 years old...something clicked for me. Marjorie's story helps drive home that point.

If these women accomplished these things after starting so late in life...imagine what I can do! I'm 25! I've got my whole life ahead of me to do amazing things!

This is a tough time.

Too cold to go outside. Been breathing heated, dry air, cooped up indoors.

I'm going to take it one meal at a time, starting NOW. =)

Took a few days off...

...from training, and as it were, from low fat (rolling eyes...).

Trained on Sunday (speed work on treadmill, followed by indoor cycling class), but it was very clear that I still needed more recovery time. I can't keep up training that intensely all the time without recovery. i guess it's like Doug says...it's a delicate balancing act between training more intensely, and recovering from that. You can't get into a routine because there is none!

So I decided to take a week off from the treadmill, and any intense training. May still do cycling later in the week. We'll see how I feel.

It's been FREEZING in Chicago. I've been cooped up, and WAY overdoing it on the nuts (as I always seem to do when I'm lonely and cooped up...). So I don't feel like working out much.

Three weeks until Costa Rica! Hopefully I'll be able to get myself back on track soon.

Oh yeah...Monday was my birthday! Happy birthday to me!

Today is a recovery day.

Today is a recovery day. No morning training. My body needs it.

Breakfast - sucked the juice from 13 AMAZINGLY sweet valencia oranges. 3 large fuyu persimmons.
Lunch - 2 huge bowls of salad (TONS of baby spinach, 2 lbs grape tomatoes, juice from 2 of those amazing valencia oranges). 5 fuyu persimmons.
Dinner - 5 large bananas, blended.

Bed at around 9:30. Wanted to sleep earlier, but I was out.

A quote that applies to many things worthwhile.

"Before you've practiced, the theory is useless. After you've practiced, the theory is obvious."
-David Williams, Ashtanga teacher

I received that quote in an e-mail newsletter from a yoga studio today.

In my experience, it definitely applies to the 80-10-10 lifestyle, so I thought I'd post it here.

Almost the end of the week.

I set my alarm for 7:00 a.m., with the intention of sleeping in this morning. I woke up before my alarm, and got up at 5:30. Went to the gym. Today was an easy day. Didn't really give it "my all", since I need some recovery time.

Walked to gym.
Treadmill warm-up - fast walking/slow jogging for 20 minutes
Abs exercies (sit-ups, oblique crunches, hanging abs (2 sets each).
Spin class w/Austin - 45 minutes (left early to get to work on time).

Unless I feel absolutely phenomenal tomorrow, I think I will take the day off.

Breakfast (8:45 a.m.) - 8 persimmons.
Lunch (11:00 a.m.ish) - About 3/4's of a bunch of celery, and 4 persimmons (there could have been 5 five persimmons, but I can only find "evidence" of 4).
Lunch II - 1 p.m. - Sucked the juice from valencia oranges (a four pound bag, minus 2 oranges).
3:00 - some fruit from a fruit plate (office party) - watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries (not a whole lot of fruit)
4:00 p.m. - 2 pounds grape tomatoes.

Today I gave a persimmon to somebody at work. I make it a practice that if someone comments on what I'm eating, and I have enough to share, I offer them one. Way to spread the fruit love! So I gave a persimmon to someone, who took it back to her desk. A few minutes later, she called me and thanked me, and told me it was really unusual, and that two other people who work near her desk had never tried one either, so they shared it! She said "so, thank you for enlightening our taste buds." Hehehe. So, I'm always glad to quietly spread the "eat more fruit" message. What better way than by being an example and sharing the wealth?

In the evening, I stopped by the produce shop. The last few times I went there, one of the cashiers kept noticing how I buy so many persimmons, and she kept saying she's been meaning to try them. Last time I was there, she said "I'm going to try one today!" So today, I asked her if she tried one, and she said she hadn't, but she meant to. So I gave her one, and she said, "I'm going to try it right now." She did, and she was like "oh my god! This is amazing! This is so good! I can see why you buy so many of them!"

So today was a fruit sharing day.

Went to bed at 7:30 p.m.

An article from an e-zine I read today

Here's an article from an e-zine I read today. Maybe this will be useful to some people?

The Top 5 Best Exercises
Secret Weapons to Get Stunningly Fit
by Frederic Patenaude

What if I told you that you could get in the best shape of your life even if you didn't have time to exercise, even if you were busy, and even if you didn't know where to start?

I'm talking about developing an enviable physique, whether it means increased endurance and heart function, tight and sexy thighs, butt and legs, or muscular arms.

There are tons of exercises that can give you results, but if you want those results fast, why not focus on the very best exercises - the "secret weapons"? Although these exercises are well-known, you might not have realized their importance or how to incorporate them into your routine - until today.

#1 Squats: The squat is one of the most basic all-around fitness exercises that you can do, and it is one of the best. It works several body parts at once, including your core, quads, hamstrings and calves. There are many different types of squat. For an intense workout in 5 minutes a day, I suggest trying the squat-based Lightning Speed Fitness Program, from Roger Haeske, click here for a free report.
No matter what you do, you should incorporate squats into your routine. If you train for strength, squat using a barbell or holding dumbells in your hands. If you want to train for endurance or cardio, use body-weight squats such as in Roger's Lightning Speed Fitness Program.

#2 Pushups: This exercise is no secret, but not enough people take advantage of it. Many women and even men still have weak, flabby arms and chests. The best way to develop them is by starting to incorporate daily pushups into your routine. They work the chest, shoulders, triceps, back and abs (core).

The key with pushups is to incorporate different kinds of pushups into one routine. If you cannot do a standard “man” pushup, start with the “girl” version on your knees. Then work your way toward doing regular pushups.

EVOLUTION OF THE PUSHUP:

#1 Wall pushup: Stand facing a wall. The farther your feet are from the wall, the harder it will be. Lean in toward the wall.
#2 Counter Pushup: Pushup leaning from the edge of a counter.
#3 Knee Pushup: the standard “girl” pushup on your knees
#4 Feet Elevated: you've now reached the regular pushup level, congratulations!

Other pushups that rule:

Wide Hands - place hands on the floor at a greater distance apart (past the shoulders). This works even more back muscles.

Close Hands - Place hands on the floor closer to each other (maybe a foot apart or less). Very difficult. Feet Elevated - Place your feet on a chair or other object and push up from the ground. More difficult.

Handstand Pushup - This is my favorite pushup EVER and the ultimate exercise to build strong shoulders. If you're a man, you need to be able to do this one.
Go to a handstand, your feet against the wall, then lower your head to the floor and push up. If you can do a few of those, you're good. To help you succeed in mastering this pushup, you can first use your toes to help you “crawl” the wall, or have a friend hold your feet and help you through it. At first, your goal should be to simply stay in a handstand with your feet facing the wall.

#3 Walking or Running Hills: You want extreme health, a fit body and a healthy heart? Try walking or running up hills. This is one of the best exercises for overall fitness. So go find hills in your area, and dare to walk the hell out of them!

#4 Pullups & Chinups: Many women lack upper body strength. Unfortunately, this can lead to injuries and lack of ability, as many common movements such as lifting a box (or a child!) require strong upper body muscles.
It's wise for all women to strengthen these muscles by working on the two best exercises for them: pushups and pullups. Just because pullups and chinups are hard, it doesn't mean women can't do them! In fact, you *should* be able to lift your own body with your arms. In nature, this sort of movement is very basic and in fact a matter of survival.

And for men, the benefits of pullups and chinups cannot be emphasized enough: you will build a strong back and enviably muscular arms.

For women, I would set a goal to do at least 1 complete pullup and 2 complete chinups, with a future “ultimate” goal to do at least 3 pullups and 5 chinups.

To get started, use the assisted pullup machines at the gym, or follow the following routine:

1. Hang for 30 seconds or as long as possible in the position of having pulled your body up all the way from a bar. You can use a chair to get in that position. When you feel you can't hold yourself any longer, lower gently in a slow and controlled manner. Do this 5 times.
2. Get on a chair and check out what kind of a bend you need in your arms before you can successfully pull yourself up. Then do it five times from there. Improve from there.
3. Hang from a bar and see how far you can pull yourself up 5 times in a row.

Do these three exercises 2-3 times a week and make sure to warm up properly beforehand (by doing some jumping jacks for a few minutes, for example).

For men, a good benchmark for strength would be to be able to do a few series of 5 pullups with 10% of your weight attached to your body (as extra weight).

#5 The Plank: This is a powerful isolation move used in "Pilates and Yoga and it works the abs, back, arms and legs as well as your internal abdominal muscles, which is your core strength!
To do it, lie face down on mat with your elbows resting on the floor next to your chest. Go to a pushup position while resting on your elbows or hands. Then squeeze the abs and keep your body in a straight line. Hold on in there for 30-60 seconds and repeat as many times as you can. Start by doing the plank on your knees and gradually work your way up.

So there you have it, 5 powerful exercises that *everyone*, man or woman, should include in their routine for functional fitness and strength. Now, get started and tell me about it!

Frederic Patenaude, is the author of the best-selling e-book "The Raw Secrets". He is currently giving away free access to his private library of over 100 exclusive articles along with a subscription to his newsletter Pure Health & Nutrition. Visit http://www.fredericpatenaude.com while charter subscriptions last.

COLD.

It is COLD today! Brrr!

Got an ok-night's sleep last night. Woke up around 11:30 and I think I was up for a while...mind thinking about all kinds of things. Woke up this morning before the alarm (4:45 ish). Legs didn't feel ready for training today at all, so they got a recovery day while I trained upper body. =)

Morning training:
Walked to gym. Holy cow, was it cold!
Warm-up - 20 minutes easy elliptical trainer. For the last 10 minutes of it, I waved my arms around like an idiot (aerobic-like arm movements) to get my upper body warmed up, too.
Then did 70 minutes of some serious upper-bodybuilding.
Workout was structured into 5 groups of supersets (or giant sets or whatever you call them...). Did 4 or 5 sets of each exercise. Each set to failure. Most sets to failure within 3-5 reps. An odd set here or there may have been to failure in 8, if the weight was too light. Some rest in between sets, but didn't time the rest.

Group 1: One-arm dumbell rows (30 lbs). Flat bench dumbell presses (25 lbs each arm)
Group 2: Assisted pull-ups (70 lbs assistance), push-ups
Group 3: Assisted chin-ups (70 lbs assistance), push-ups
Group 4: Front lateral raises (10 lbs each, dropped to 8 lbs each after a couple of sets), upright rows (15 lbs each), posterior delt raises (on incline bench - some sets 5 and some sets 8 lbs each)
Group 5: Concentration curls (15 lbs), triceps dips on bench (bodyweight)
Walked home.

Breakfast (8:30 a.m.)- 5.5 large bananas. 3 fuyu persimmons. 10 oz. baby spinach.
Lunch (12:45 p.m.) - 9 fuyu persimmons
Dinner (around 3:00 p.m.) - 2 lbs. grape tomatoes. 1 stalk celery. 1 haas avocado.

My body is doing some housecleaning - I'm breaking out all over my neck and chest.

Didn't get to bed until 9 p.m. or so - did laundry and talked to a friend.

Lip balm makes a good anti-chafing agent...

...ah, the things you learn when you just moved into a new apartment and can't find the bodyglide. ;)

Woke up early, around 4 a.m. Lay in bed until 4:45 or so. Realized that I didn't know where the bodyglide was, and I wanted to run today. Got up and spent a little too much time looking for it.

Ever notice how you get used to how you look in one mirror, but when you look in a different mirror, you are surprised by what you see? I've noticed that in my new apartment, I look like I'm getting some results! My upper body is definitely more built up than it was! My chest, shoulders, back, arms, and hips definitely look sexier ;). Very cool. Especially since the scale still remains stuck =P.

Morning training:
Walked to gym.
Speed day on the treadmill (1.0 incline, of course)!:
10 minutes warm up (jog 5.0 mph).
Ran 6 one-minute sprints (7.8 mph) with 3 minutes jogging in between.
Jogged/walked 10 minutes to recover.
Ran 4 more sprints, with longer periods of jogging/walking to recover in between.
That made for 60 minutes, total. Walked to cool down for five minutes.
Then, hit the hardwood floors for some yoga stretches. Stretched for 15 or 20 minutes. That felt REALLY good.
Walked home.

I'm definitely beat =).

Breakfast (8:40 a.m.)- 5 HUGE bananas. Perfectly ripe. Yum.
Lunch (11:00 a.m.) - 6 fuyu persimmons.
Lunch II (1:00 p.m.) - 15 oz. baby spinach, 2.5 lbs grape tomatoes.
Lunch III 3:45 p.m. - 5 fuyu persimmons

Bed around 6:15.

I saw this today and found it really encouraging.

http://health.msn.com/healthnews/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100154198&GT1=8971

Sunshine may be vindicated sometime in the future!

In Response to "Where Can I Read Testimonies of Long Term 80/10/10 Eaters?"

From: harley (proxy7-14.adl2.internode.on.net)
Subject: not many out there..
Date: January 29, 2007 at 8:37 pm PST
In Reply to: Where can I read testimonies of long term 80/10/10 eaters? posted by Daiva on January 29, 2007 at 7:17 pm:

eating low fat raw is hard and possible. like anything worthwhile, initially it aint easy. but over time we learn the skills, believe in them and put em to practise and reap what we sow..

how many people have done sculptures like rushmore?

how many people have raced the tour de france drug free?

how many people have lived in a tree for a year or more to protest logging..

how many people live a life worth living and eat a diet that supports full human potential, whilst serving the animals and planet in a profoundly positive and responsible way..

not many people fit any of the above criteria. just cos its a minority does not make it not possible.

ive had 3 people last year have heart attacks. one a fellow racing cylist. one a vegetarian high fat advocate and one a classic meat eater.only the vego is still alive and mending his ways. the other 2 had fatal ones. the cyclist was 32. he sent me an email the morning of his last ride. he wanted to talk about eating better cos of knowing me for a few years and seeing how healthier i was getting. but it was too late.

no time like now. if not now when?

im sure we all have examples of skeptics whom missed the boat to the tropical island. and are stuck in the grind of a coffee fueled life long tail chase.

i just showed a friend where to get organic durians from. on the way i spotted a peach tree and we grabbed 10 pounds of tree ripened goodness.we passed many stuck in the hot dog mindset, complete with cigarette and sweat beading over the face that needs air conditioning.

glad you are looking for examples. like free,organic, tree ripened, squirel selected, water god durians in the malay jungle..they are rare but so totally life changing when you meet them..

dr doug is one of them.
any of us can be one too.

If you eat, the task doesn't magically get done.

I pretty much spent Sunday eating nutty things to avoid moving to the first floor. It wasn't a great idea, but it's what I did. Also ate lots of tangerines, and some lettuce and dates that day. I didn't train.

I felt really alone, moving out of my apartment, and really displaced.

I gave away my nuts/nut butter =P. I figure I have an emotional few weeks coming up, and it doesn't help me to be eating those things instead of dealing with issues.

Today I slept in (no training). Food today:

Breakfast - persimmons
Lunch - persimmons
Mid-afternoon - lots of baby spinach, grape tomatoes, persimmons.
After I got home (around 6:00 p.m.) - sucked juice from 10 valencia oranges.

Went to bed around 7:30 p.m.

When you've EARNED your food...

...NOTHING tastes as good, or is as appealing, as a mono meal of fruit. NOTHING.

Got up this morning at 7:25 a.m. Felt sort of low and down - I'm feeling kind of emotional about moving out of my apartment (I've lived here for 2 and a half years).

Morning training:
This morning's workout was probably the most dripping-wet, drenched-with-sweat workout of the month (or even of the past 2 months, or...).
Walked to the gym.
Treadmill (1.0 incline) - 10 minutes jog (worked up to 5 mph). Then did 6 one-minute sprints (7.7 mph, increasing to 8 mph), with 3 minutes jogging (5mph) in between. The whole treadmill workout was about 33 minutes.
Then I went to a 1-hour indoor cycling class. While I was adjusting my bike, I asked somebody if he knew who was teaching today. When he said "Austin," I said, "umm...maybe I shouldn't have run sprints before class, haha." Needless to say, it was an INTENSE workout. Sprints, 2 TOUGH hill climbs, speed work while climbing hills, etc, etc, etc. I was DRIPPING when we were only 15 minutes in. But I was able to push and stick it out for the workout, especially since he played some really good tunes. I'm really glad I did. (And I'm even glad I ran the sprints before class, haha).
Walked home.

Then I hit the persimmons. Had 7 fuyu persimmons for breakfast around 10:15 a.m., as soon as I got home from the workout. Tasted like the best meal I had ever had. Nothing more satisfying than a mono meal after a tough workout.

12:15 - 8 more fuyu persimmons

Took a nap in the afternoon, then did some moving stuff.

5:00 p.m. - 1 pineapple, some tangerines (12ish?), 10 oz. baby spinach, 18 oz. tomatoes, 1 haas avocado.

I really enjoyed all my food today. It tastes good when you've worked hard. =)

Ate more in the evening, not because I was hungry, but in order to procrastinate...didn't want to be moving. ate tomatoes, tangerines, mac nut butter, tahini.

Back to it!

FINALLY got a much needed good night's sleep last night. 6:00 p.m. last night until 4:30 this morning. It feels really good to consistently go to bed early enough that I don't need an alarm clock in the morning. Feels great to wake up naturally and not to an unnatural noise.

Morning training:
Walk to gym.
Warm up on Treadmill - 23 minutes (2 miles). (Yesterday, I read that, in order to make up for the fact that there is no wind resistance indoors, you should set the incline on the treadmill to 1 if you want to make the speeds comparable to similar speeds outdoors. So, previously, I had been using 0 for the incline. Today I used 1.) Took a few minutes to "get going." Maybe it's because of the artic temps outside that it takes longer to limber up.
45 minute indoor cycling class with Tony. The first half was all speed work, which I'm not used to, so it was a good workout! I definitely had lactic acid collecting around my knees, ankles, shins. The second half was mostly climbing. I was pretty sweaty by the end of class.
15 minutes pull-up practice - 3 sets each (to failure) assisted chin-ups and assisted pull-ups, with rest/stretching in between each set.
Walked home.

Today at the gym, I was talking to someone I knew but hadn't seen in a while. It took her a few minutes to realize who I was! She said I looked so good, she didn't recognize me! Again, these types of interactions are reassuring, since I've actually gained some weight and not lost. Makes me feel more reassured that I'm still having visible results.

And besides, even though I may be no lighter than I was when I started doing this in July, I'm definitely fitter by leaps and bounds. I can push much harder, cardio-wise, and run faster, and cycle harder, and lift more, and hang from a bar, etc, etc, etc.

It is a happy morning!

Food:
7:30 - 5 small bananas (that's all I was hungry for at the time)
9:00 a.m. - 13 apple bananas (finally got hungry!)
later in the morning - more apple bananas
noon - sucked the juice out of some tangerines (8? 10?)
2:15 p.m. - some small sunburst tangerines (12? 14?). 2 lbs. grape tomatoes. 1 large orange bell pepper. 10 oz. baby spinach. more tangerines.
Around 5:30 p.m. - some macadamia nut butter (about 2 or 2.5 oz), a few more tangerines.
Later - 36 oz. tomatoes.

Went to bed a bit late (9:30 or 10 p.m.), since I worked a bit on moving down the the first floor.

Hate the treadmill?

Me too.

But I just found this article today. I'll plan on trying these workouts, to spice things up!

http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100153587&GT1=8921

A happy recovery day

Today was a recovery day. Got up at 6:45 a.m. Feel really good and happy and exuberant and light.

9:45 - lots and lots of sunburst tangerines. (didn't count them...just ate 'em until I didn't want anymore).
11:30 - 1 pound grape tomatoes
12:15 - some small apple bananas (8, 9, 10?)
Afternoon - lots of leftover salad from meetings (iceberg, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes. the rest of the sunburst tangerines.

Bed by 6:00 p.m.!

Need a recovery day

Got up this morning and felt a bit stiff. Was torn between taking a recovery day, and burning off the adrenaline (I'm nervous about something that will happen at the end of this week...to be shared later). Chose to burn off the adrenaline by working out.

Morning training:
Walk to gym.
Warm-up - easy 1 mile on treadmill (13 minutes)
1 hour cycling class with Kim. It was the exact same class as Saturday and Sunday, which irked me just a little, but it was good because I wasn't feeling able to push it too hard this morning. Just kept moving. It was good in that it seems to have loosened my legs up a bit.
Walked home.

I will definitely need to get to bed early tonight. I'm dragging and need the rest/sleep.

7:30 a.m. - 6 fuyu persimmons.
11:00 a.m. - 6.5 small-medium bananas
2:00 p.m. - huge bowl of salad that was leftover from a meeting (lettuce, mixed greens, tomato, cuke, carrots) w/tangerine juice on top. 1 small tangerine.
3:30- 16 oz. tomatoes
4:30 - 1.5 oz. pistachio nuts

Definitely felt less draggy in the afternoon. Got the stress off my chest a bit early... I ended up giving my notice at work this week. My last day at my job will be February 16. I think they are pretty upset, but I know I am doing the right thing. I'll be moving out of Chicago at the end of February, then spending March in Costa Rica with Doug and friends, then doing an organic farm internship for the summer. Then, who knows?

Tried to go to bed early but felt really wound up. Ended up getting back up to call friends, do some dishes.

Ate a whole lot in the evening - oranges, tangerines, dried apricots, dates, mac nut butter. Too much of everything. I was bummed out that I didn't reach more people to talk. Should have just gone back to bed.

Ended up going to bed around 10:30.

You said it, Jinjee.

Beauty secret of the day: Enjoying your work! You spend a major chunk of your life working. If your work is fulfilling you’ll be happier and so healthier and more beautiful! If you don't know yet what it is that you love to do, then just love whatever you are doing! If you put your heart and soul into whatever it is you are doing now, that love will lead you to doing and refining the work that is the passion of your soul.

In Joy,
Jinjee

http://www.TheGardenDiet.com

Look at all I did this morning!

Went to bed around 6:20 last night. Got up around 4:30 this morning. Slept pretty well. Hamstrings are sore and tight this morning.

8th day in a row of training in the morning!

Morning training:
Walk to gym.
25 minutes on elliptical trainer. Not pushing it too hard, just warming up.
70 minutes serious upper body strength workout! 3 sets each (some to failure in less than 5 reps, others in less than 8):
-pull-ups (assisted negatives)
-chest dips (assisted)
-chin-ups (assisted negatives)
-push-ups (box position, diamond hand position)
-lat pullovers (w/lat pull-down machine)
-dumbbell shoulder presses
-incline dumbbell flyes
-dumbbell biceps curls, extended by raising arms to shoulder height
-bent-over rows
-flat bench dumbbell flyes
-lateral raises
-posterior delt flyes (on an incline bench)
-hammer curls
-tricep extensions (on a flat bench)
-leg raises on a flat bench (one set only)
-decline bench crunches (one set only)
-3 sets sit ups (2 with twists)

Wow, that was really a lot of work! It didn't feel like I had done much when I left the gym, but when I list it all...wow!

At the gym this morning, somebody told me "I've been watching you, and your weight loss looks good on you." That was really nice to hear, especially since I feel sort of puffy and don't see it myself. In fact, I'm about 8 pounds heavier than I was at the end of October (marathon time). I'm willing to believe that 3 or 4 pounds of that is muscle, since my upper body is definitely bigger and stronger, but the rest... Anyway, even after that compliment, I still didn't see it, and I still feel a bit puffy when I look in the mirror. Anyway, it felt good to know that someone else thinks I look smaller, not bigger. He's wrong, though...

Wasn't that hungry for breakfast.

Breakfast (7:30 a.m.)- 4 medium bananas. 2 hachiya persimmons.
10:00 a.m. - 20 fairchild tangerines
12 noon - 6 valencia oranges (cut up, sucked the juice out), 1 large head green leaf lettuce
3:00 p.m. - 48 oz. tomatoes

Have I mentioned that I feel puffy today?

6:00 p.m. - 2 cups blood orange juice

Evening bellydance class. was a bit grumbly about going, because I wanted to go to bed, but I ended up really enjoying it.

Bed by 8:15.

Today is the seventh day in a row that I've trained in the morning. Hooray for me. =)

Woke up at 4:25 this morning. Didn't sleep well last night...was anxious about things and had trouble falling asleep. So I didn't get out of bed until just before 5 this morning. Didn't feel particularly great, but I knew I'd feel better if I worked out (and that I'd sleep better tonight!) Still a little sore from yesterday.

Morning training:
Walk to gym
Treadmill - 2 miles total. Started really pushing it right from the beginning (6 mph, increased to 7 mph by end of first mile, and up until 7.3 or something). After 13 minutes, took a walk break, followed by another minute or so of running, followed by another walk break, followed by a one-minute sprint (7.7 mph!), followed by walking. 20 minutes total.
45 minute indoor cycling class with Tony. It was a really good class today! lots of sprints/speed work, as well as hill climbs. I was definitely challenged and sweating bullets. I've noticed I feel better and get a better workout in cycling class if I hit the treadmill first - I guess I'm just more warmed up!
After cycling class, I hit the treadmill again and did one mile (took about 11 minutes). This mile was really hard, as my legs were pretty well spent. But I figure this is good practice for when I eventually start doing triathlons or something...
Walked home.

Breakfast around 8:40 a.m. - 17 apple bananas.
11 a.m. - 12 apple bananas
1:00 p.m. - 20 oz. romaine lettuce. 24 oz. grape tomatoes. 15 valencia oranges.

Some photos

That was my breakfast this morning.

That's me and my friend Kay, at a restaurant last night.

A snowy Sunday

Got up about 7:30 this morning. Didn't sleep well, due to having eaten so close to bedtime.

Spent all morning at the gym:

Walked to the gym.
35 minutes hills on elliptical trainer
1 hour cycling class with Kim (same class as yesterday)
1 hour powerflex class with Joyce. This was good muscular endurance training (more endurance-oriented than most of my resistance training).

Walked home.

Breakfast - 21 honey tangerines
Afternoon - apple bananas (maybe 16?), fuyu persimmons (maybe 7?), lots of baby spinach.

Feeling lazy. Should be cleaning my apartment, doing laundry, but it's hard to make myself get up.

6:30 p.m. - 1 orange, 2 tangerines. Wasn't hungry, just "munchy"

"Do you ever get bored...?"

Wanted to share this discussion that occured the other day on the Vegsource board. I found it very valuable and inspiring!


From: Christy
Subject: Dr D, Q re: variety in the diet
Date: January 17, 2007 at 2:18 pm PST

Hey Doug, hope you are all having a fantastic time in CR! Think of you guys every day! :)

Q: I've heard you say several times you eat a lot of variety each year, though each days menu is kept simple. I cant remember the exact number of different foods you said you tend to eat each year, but I think it was over 100? Anyway, I looked at my diet over the last year and added up everything I could think of that I consumed, and came out about 35-40 different fruits and vegetables. For those of us who live in a Northern climate year round, is consuming what is seasonally available here sufficient year after year? I am guessing it is fine, but just thought I'd ask since you consume so much more variety than I do. Is this a case where 'more' is better? :) Should I work towards adding more variety into my yearly diet?
I can hardly wait to get to Costa Rica this year to try some new fruits!



From: Dr. Doug Graham (DrGraham.vegsource.com)
Subject: Re: Dr D, Q re: variety in the diet
Date: January 17, 2007 at 6:51 pm PST
In Reply to: Dr D, Q re: variety in the diet posted by Christy on January 17, 2007 at 2:18 pm:

Christy,
Variety in the diet is not an essential in the way you presented it, or the way you heard what I was saying, no. I was presenting essentially two concepts in one.The first is that there is plenty of variety available in the raw diet.The second is that I do not recommend eating a long-term mono diet of just one food, whatever that food is.

I think if you actually re-assessed your diet, you would likely find that you ate far more variety that that which you mention.For instance, most raw fooders eat at least 6 or 8 different types of grapes, 8 varieties or more of apples, 10 or more different types of citrus, and maybe 6 different types of melons in the course of a year. Heck, that is 32 different fruits right there. Add in 6 or more types of tomatoes and a dozen types of lettuce and you are already up to fifty. Are you really only getting 35-40 different foods in the course of the year? Some years I might taste that many different types of dates, and I hardly ever even eat dates.

Get back to me, I will respond to this one. :)

Meanwhile, if you are eating about 6 or more different foods per year, you are likely covering all your nutritional bases.

A diet that revolved around bananas, citrus, lettuce, celery, tomatoes, and mangoes would probably get you just about everything you need. I haven't done the math, and am not recommending such a diet, but I wouldn't be surprised that it did the job.
Dr D


From: Christy
Subject: A thorough answer and I'm thoroughly convinced
Date: January 18, 2007 at 10:06 am PST
In Reply to: Re: Dr D, Q re: variety in the diet posted by Dr. Doug Graham on January 17, 2007 at 6:51 pm:

Yep, you are right Dr D. I really underestimated the variety I ate this year. I grouped together oranges and melons and grapes, and lettuces, etc instead of listing the varieties consumed within each food.
I know it makes for a lengthy email, but I had to add up the numbers a little more closely, just to see. A guesstimate of what I've consumed in the last year:

Acid Fruits
Tomatoes-7 Varieties
Oranges-3
Mandarins
Tangerine
Lemon/Lime
Grapefruit-2
Kiwi
Pineapple
Strawberry
Blackberry
Raspberry

Sub Acid Fruits
Apple-5
Grape-3
Blueberry
Mango-2
Cherry
Nectarine
Peach-2
Pear
Plum

Sweet Fruits
Bananas-2
Carob
Cherimoya-only once, wish it was more!
Date-4
Fig-2
Raisins-2

Melons
Watermelon-3
Casaba
Honeydew
Crenshaw
Cantaloupe

Nuts/Seeds, and Fats
Almond
Pine Nuts
Sesame Seed
Walnut
Pecan
Pumpkin Seed
Avocado
Young Coconut
Olives

Legumes
Edible Pea Pods
Garden Peas

Vegetables
Sugar Snap Peas
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Cabbage-3
Cauliflower
Corn-2
Cucumber-2
Spinach
Sweet Pepper-3
Zucchini-2

Lettuce/Celery
Butter
Green Leaf
Iceburg
Red Leaf
Romaine
Mixed Leafy Greens-6
Celery

Mild Herbs-6(includes dill, cilantro, basil, arugula, parsley, mint)

Wow!! Wow, wow! :) That made me very hungry. So, I've definitely WAY underestimated the variety I've eaten this year. Oh, writing this list made me miss the summer and long for it again!!!!! So thats 60 items I've eaten this year(that I can even remember, there may be more), and a nice 118 foods when you include the different varieties for each item. Several of these foods I have only eaten once this year, but I suppose that is fine.

I recalled also seeing fruits that were available that I didn't eat, that I could have. I passed them up because the expense at that time seemed too much. But now I am thinking-why didn't I make a least one meal of that fruit-surely it would have been well worth the expense. A mono meal of any of the summer fruits sounds AMAZING right now.

So the variety available is a real perk to eating 811-if you get bored, you actually have no excuse to do so, as there are hundreds and hundreds of new fruits to try!

Of course, what I run into is the cost of ordering tropical fruit, but it is so nice to treat myself to some cherimoya or paw paw here and there when it is available.
There are many that I haven't even tried yet that you have Dr D: Sapodilla, mammea, jakfruit, lychee, jaboticada, durian, fuongtong carambola, mamones (some folks know them as kanips), dragon fruit, niezeburra. I havent even heard of many of these, and have no idea what most of them look like.

I had to make a list of what I have eaten in the last month, approx 25 items:
Butter Lettuce
Mixed Leafy Greens
Zucchini
Tomatoes-2
Spinach
Celery
Corn
Sesame Seeds
Avocado
Oranges-2
Mandarins
Lemon/Lime
Kiwi
Blackberry
Raspberry (frozen)
Apple
Blueberry (frozen)
Mango(frozen)
Bananas
Dates
Carob (powdered)

I have felt limited this last month, and bored even-but this is a lot more than I thought it would be. I suppose it is because I am tired of bananas, as they are an everyday item and the bulk of my calories. What I wouldn't do for a fig! But i am thoroughly convinced I get enough variety in my diet. ;)
Yay for 811! ;)anything you want to add Dr D?


From: Dr. Doug Graham (DrGraham.vegsource.com)
Subject: Compare your diet to SAD
Date: January 19, 2007 at 6:38 am PST

In Reply to: A thorough answer and I'm thoroughly convinced posted by Christy on January 18, 2007 at 10:06 am:

A typical SAD eater has an EXTREMELY limited diet. It is becoming more limited as the years progress.

Breakfast is typically cereal and milk, or some fast food item that they eat almost every morning of the year. Usually, if they enjoy their breakfast, they want it to be reliably THE SAME, every time.Compare that to a breakfast of fresh fruit. Each week of the year, watermelon tastes a bit different. Almost every tomato I have ever eaten tasted different from all others. Fresh squeezed citrus juice is never the same from one day to the next, but citrus juice in a carton is guaranteed to taste the same, always, forever, as if that was a selling point rather than a drawback.

People typically slip into patterns for lunch, and raw eaters are not that much different. The difference for us lies in the fact that Nature and the seasons brings us different fresh fruit every month of the year. Compare that to someone eating a hamburger for lunch daily, or pizza, or some other fast food. Those foods are reliably the same, month after month after year after year. Heck, even if you ate bananas for lunch every day of the year you would notice that the same variety tasted differently at different times of year.

The world of food opens up to raw fooders at dinner time. The varietions available are HUGE. Compared to those on SAD, who have their "Tuesday night is spaghetti night, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are pizza nights, it's beef on Tues and Sat, and Sunday night is always chicken," regimen. I feel sorry for them.

The idea of suggesting that ketchup is a vegetable is absurd. Ketchup always tastes the same. The beauty of raw recipes is that you can almost never make them come out the same because each ingredient tastes a bit different depending upon the time of year, the growing conditions, ripeness, and a wide variety of other factors.
Dr D


From: Christy
Subject: Re: Compare your diet to SAD
Date: January 19, 2007 at 7:55 am PST
In Reply to: Compare your diet to SAD posted by Dr. Doug Graham on January 19, 2007 at 6:38 am:

You're right. I've been seeing peoples SAD diets in a new light lately. Its the excitotoxins that add the flavor and variation for them, not the actual foods for the most part. I think children these days have a horrible diet. Some kids I know for instance, will have cereal with milk for breakfast most days, and some variation of white flour and cheese for lunch and dinner, with chicken or some type of meat. They get an apple or banana here and there, a few pieces of lettuce or veggie here and there too. But they imagine they are eating something different when they have quasadillas one day and grilled cheese the next and mac and cheese the next-its all the same thing basically. Then for dinner its noodles with parmesan. :) Its all just dairy and grains.

I love it that fresh food always tastes different. The most amazing experience is to eat out of a garden. I had the best tomatoes in my life last summer out of our garden-some were indescribably sweet, some smoky. It was so good.
Thanks for sharing Dr D. :)

Christy's list inspired me, so I decided to post my own:


From: Bethany
Subject: Cool! My turn!
Date: January 18, 2007 at 10:22 am PST

In Reply to: A thorough answer and I'm thoroughly convinced posted by Christy on January 18, 2007 at 10:06 am:

Cool, Christy! This is fun! Here's what I've eaten in the last month (not counting a couple times eating "gourmet" raw at potlucks or restaurants):

Bananas (cavendish, apple, and red)
Oranges (navel, cara cara, valencia, moro)
Dates (medjool)
Tangerines (fairchild)
mandarins (satsuma)
tangelos (orlando and minneola)
Lettuce (romaine, red leaf, green leaf)
Mixed baby greens
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Celery
Tomatoes (beefsteak, grape, cherry, campari)
Avocado (haas)
Persimmon (fuyu and hachiya)
Cucumber
Bell Pepper (red and orange)
Papaya (gosa? or maridol?)
Baby bok choy
Bok choy
Carrots
Purple Cabbage
Pumpkinseeds
Macadamia nuts
Tahini
Kiwi
Red grapefruit
Blackberries
Mango
Strawberries
Pineapple
Honeydew
Cantaloupe
Basil
Grapes
Dried figs

Look at that! Who would get bored with all of that variety? So cool that even in the winter time, over the course of a month, we can really mix it up if we want.

If you made it to the end of this very long post, hopefully you are looking at your diet in a new light (no matter what your diet is! ) =)

Human beings miss the point

http://www.newstarget.com/021448.html

The above links to an article on how scientists are attempting to genetically modify animals to become more complacent to their surroundings, thereby reducing the pain and stress of factory farming.

Does anyone else find this appalling? I mean, on one level, I suppose this can be called a good thing, since it means that people aren't blind to the fact that factory farming causes animals considerable pain and stress. But...investigating this action as a solution shows the short-sightedness of looking at the issue from only one perspective (animal welfare). I mean, come on! Should we waste money, time, energy, resources, etc. just to get around the ethical concerns of eating whatever the hell people want to eat? If it takes this much effort/time/money/resources, why not consider that we weren't meant to eat it in the first place? Please tell me that there aren't better things to spend our money on...like energy efficiency and other climate change/environmental issues, education, or maybe even subsidizing fruits and veggies at least as much as we subsidize animal products and grains, so people can actually afford to be healthy and not run up such big health care bills???? I dunno, I just can't imagine that this is what God had in mind for how humans should treat their fellow creatures, the planet, and their own bodies. But, what do I know? I'm just a bad Jew who doesn't even go to synagogue on high holidays, so how the f*ck would I know what God wants? Bring on the animal zombie meat! (That's sarcasm.)

I am SO blissed out.

That's right. a week and a half ago, I just couldn't seem to get a grip. Now, everything is happy and good. Or rather, I made it that way by taking care of myself. When you love your body, it loves you back.

Last night I went to bed around 6:40ish (again!). Got up this morning at 6:20, so almost a full 12 hours of sleep!

This morning, even though it is a beautiful sunny day, it was too cold to even think about enjoying exercising outdoors.

Morning training:
Walk to gym
35 minutes treadmill hill course (!). The incline intervals were definitely challenging. Covered about 3.3 miles. Tough.
1 hour indoor cycling class w/Kim. There were a lot of sprints, and a lot of standing...I don't know whether it was being fully rested or what, but even after kicking my butt on treadmill hills, I was INCREDIBLY high energy in that class. Everything felt so easy (even the sprinting, which isn't my strong suit) - at one point, the instructor told us to take it down four full turns and I was like, "THAT was supposed to be hard???" So I didn't take it down at all, hahaha! I just kept going with the workout at that resistance level, and I didn't really feel like it was too hard until the very end (and even then, it was still doable. I even thought about getting back on the treadmill after class. Then, I came to my senses).

Then I walked to the produce shop, and it was bright and sunny, and I actually got to SEE the sun, instead of being cooped up in the office, since its Saturday.

Breakfast (around 10:50 a.m.) - 16 apple bananas (some were pretty small, some were almost as big as a small cavendish) and 1 hachiya persimmon.

Lunch (around 1:00 p.m.) - 10 fuyu persimmons

Dinner (around 4:30 ish, at a raw restaurant with friends) - salad made w/mixed greens, chopped apples, walnuts, and avocado. Then ate about 15 honey tangerines that I had brought with me.

Later at home - 2 pints grape tomatoes, 1 avocado, a lot of spinach, six more tangerines.

I'm really happy that I didn't have salt or spices at the restaurant. Today was a higher fat day, and I craved fruit afterwards, but I won't feel nearly as badly tomorrow as I would have if I ate the more complex food at the restaurant.

"Miles first, smiles later!"

Very well rested this morning!

Morning training:

Walked to gym.
Treadmill: 2 mile run (first mile started at 5.5 mph and worked up to 6.4 mph. Second mile started at 6.5 mph and worked up to 7.0 mph). Very sweaty and challenging, lung-wise, towards, the end.
Indoor cycling class w/Tony. Very good class today! Good mix of climbing/sprinting. Some cardio, some strength climbs. Definitely sweated bullets this morning!
A few sets of core work - hanging abs (2 sets), roman chair (2 sets, holding a 10 lb. weight), sit ups on bench (2 sets), sit-up with twists.
Walked home.

Wow! I should do this more often - go to sleep EARLY and wake up and kick ass in the gym! I felt absolutely awesome walking from the bus to my office. Harley once said to me "miles first, smiles later." I see what he means =P.

Bouncing off the walls at work - in a great mood!

Breakfast (around 9 a.m.)- 7 large bananas. 5 hachiya persimmons.
Dinner (around 3p.m.) - 12 small honey tangerines. 3 large sunburst tangerines. 2 BIG bowls salad (filled 2 huge bowls with mixed lettuces, 24 oz. grape tomatoes, juice of two sunburst tangerines).

Up early (not "bright" though...won't be light out for a while!)

Last night I went straight to bed after I got home from work/shopping for more tangerines (hooray for me!), so that mid-afternoon meal of spinach and tangerines was the last meal of the day. Bedtime was about 6:30 p.m.

Got up this morning at about 4:15 a.m. - just ready to get up, I guess. =) Early bedtimes are good. Perhaps I need to stop wasting time in the evening and doing this more often.

I can't afford NOT to train hard...

...because when I train hard, I actually enjoy eating bananas very much!

When I don't train hard, and don't work up an appetite, bananas don't appeal to me at all, and I choose more expensive fruits over bananas.

Given that money will be a bit tight soon...being satisfied with bananas will save me a lot of money on food, so training hard will help save me some money =P.

Not sunny anymore

My alarm went off this morning at 5 a.m. I wasn't ready to get up, so I reset it for 5:45. Wasn't quite ready to get up then, but I did anyway.

Morning training:

Walked to gym.
Treadmill run - 32 minutes:
First 5 minutes - between 5 and 6 mph
Then increased the speed to 6.5 minutes. Meant to only do one mile at this pace, then walk, then repeat, but decided to keep going. After 1/2 mile, increased the speed to 6.6 mph. Kept increasing the speed for 2 miles. On the third mile, I increased the speed every .2 miles (got up to 7.2 mph by the end). My heart/lungs were really pushing it for the last 1/2 mile. Legs felt fine. I was happy that I was able to sustain that run for that long, though, without walking in between.

Walked a few minutes to cool down, then walked home. Stretched a bit at home.

A training revelation in terms of my building speed/endurance: As a slow marathoner, my legs can certainly handle it...it's my heart/lungs that need to get used to sustaining a higher intensity level. My marathon pace wasn't pushing it at all in terms of heart/lungs.

Breakfast at work - 7 medium-large bananas. wasn't that hungry for it, but by the third banana, I was like "wow, bananas are SOOO good." (Kinda like Doug says that exercise can dull your apetite, which often then returns once you start eating).

Lunch - 6 medium bananas. I'm amazed by how if I push myself cardio-wise, I just LOVE bananas =P. 1 plate salad leftover from a meeting (mixed greens, with a bit of shredded carrots and purple cabbage).

Mid-afternoon - more leftover salad from a meeting (this one was mixed lettuce, tomato). LOTS of baby spinach. Honey tangerines (10-15? Most were really small, like clementines or smaller). Holy sh*t, were they amazing! I'll have to go buy some more!!!!

It's still sunny!

Woke up at 5:00 a.m. to go to cycling class, and actually felt rested!

Jogged to the gym (it was so cold!)
Did some pull-up practice, and pushups, and incline chest flyes, and shoulder presses, and dumbell curls.
Indoor cycling class - focused more on climbing than sprinting today.
Walked home.

Didn't have much of an appetite for breakfast.

Breakfast - 1 papaya
Mid morning - satsuma mandarins and medjool dates
Early afternoon - bananas, fuyu persimmons, and 2 huge plates of lettuce (romaine and salad greens, leftover from a meeting).
Dinner - 16 oz. blood orange juice. 32 oz. valencia orange juice. a few (six?) medium tomatoes. 1 avocado.

Went to bed at 9:30. Should have just let the phone go into voicemail...I was tired. Ah well.

FINALLY! It's sunny in Chicago!

Went to bed last night just after 9 p.m. Got up this morning just before the alarm went of at 6:45 a.m. Hit the building stairwell for a short morning workout:

Stair workout -
Started at the top, walked down 8 flights.
Walked back up, taking the stairs two at a time.
Down.
Jumped up all 8 flights (one step at a time)
Down.
Walked up, 2 at a time.
Down.
Jumped up, one at a time.
Took about 20 minutes, total.
Stretched.

Breakfast - 2 maridol papayas (they were on the smaller side for maridols, but still pretty big, since that's the nature of the beast). Delicious!
Lunch - fruit kabobs at a lunch meeting (melon, pineapple, strawberries, grapes), followed by 6 fuyu persimmons (those ones that are imported from Israel...)
Mid-afternoon - 1 head greenleaf lettuce
Before leaving work - 2 small mandarins

Went to a bellydance class

Dinner - 2 papayas, 1 persimmon

Went to bed by 9 p.m.

A strategy note: sometimes logic works wonders (i.e., reasoning with myself). For example, last night I told myself that even if I don't feel like going to the gym for a class after work, it was definitely a better use of my time than staying home, since all I'd be doing at home was surfing the internet, eating too much, and stressing out over everything. Sometimes when I don't really feel like pushing hard, I tell myself that it's only for a few minutes, and after that, I can sit down and be lazy the rest of the day. So, talking to myself sometimes works when I'm not feeling up to things.

Duh...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6248975.stm

From gasping for air to treading water

Last week was a rough, stressful week. Sad to say I didn't get enough sleep or do much training, which didn't help. I also ate a lot during the week in an attempt to cope. Didn't help - fruits and veggies don't exactly numb you out like rich, heavy comfort foods do.

Had a chance to catch my breath over the weekend. Did some bodyweight exercises on Saturday, but not a ton. Also did some bodyweight exercises in my apartment this morning, but not a whole lot there either. Also ate on a more regular meal schedule, which helped a lot.

Harley's post (see below - my family thinks I'm crazy) couldn't have come at a more timely moment for me. =)

Breakfast today - sucked the juice out of lots of tangelos, valencia oranges.
Lunch - minneolas and mandarins (raw vegan m&m's , ha!), medjool dates, and celery
Midafternoon - more dates and celery, 1 head green leaf lettuce

After work training- 10 minutes treadmill. some pull-up practice on the assistance machine, interspersed with dips and push-ups. Kwando class (cardio kickboxing?) at the gym.

Dinner - 1 quart fresh OJ. 3 large tomatoes. 2 bell peppers. 1/2 stalk broccoli. 1 avocado.

Feel much better after that intense workout! Hope to sleep well tonight...

Timely Advice

Some more timely advice. This is from Jinjee Talifero's Daily Raw Inspiration. I know I can definitely use this right now:

If you are feeling low then just allot the next hour to exercise, the most exerting exercise you can do, even if that just means jogging or walking in place, in one spot, for an hour. You will feel better afterwards, guaranteed!

To Your Wellbeing,
Jinjee

A very timely post from Harley, titled "Oh my family things I'm crazy"

"a lot of people choose to fall victim to sincere but sincerely wrong peers whom think eating organic plant foods in their natural state is insane.

we live in a society where its considered cruel to stab one animal. but if you stab, drug, cage, bash, rape..millions of animals you are considered a fierce businesman. such is the maddness! lol!

your not alone if your friends family, kids etc are giving you a hard time.
when the couch potatoes, 400$ silk tie wearing pharmacutical puppets or drug addict athletes want to start a debate with me...i challenge these people in a friendly way to cycle accross australia with me and without drug assistance..or i just say 'lets go run a marathon tonight, just for kicks..' i dont get any takers, and cos im known for my endurance efforts people know im serious. this always drives my point home that animal products are uneccessary and infact very damaging to us , the animals and the planet.

i used to get outraged by remarks. now i just get amused and inspired. inspired to be so freaken healthy, happy and fit that my living example is absolutely undeniable. then its up to the individual to take responsibility in their own lifestyle choices.

here is a statement i read somewhere in thailand on durian safari last year...
"the majority of people permit relatives, friends and the public at large to so influence them that they cannot live their own lives because they fear criticism. huge numbers of people make mistakes in marriage, stand by the bargain and go through life miserable and unhappy, because they fear the critiscism which may follow if they correct the mistake. this lifestyle is a great way to disolve one's ambition and desire to acheive..."

my take of that is follow your own path. doing all day what you truly want to do, lets you be your true self.
do what you love, love what you do.
i find it increasingly impossible to do anything i dont want to do. no matter what the repurcussions.

mother nature never broke the heart that loved her.i live for her system rather than this freakshow option that surrounds us sometimes when we are focusing on less than the best.

all the family members that make fun of my lack of annual income,or lack of material wealth, i just send em photos of me from around the world on beaches with tropical fruit or bike shots on highways with amazing sunsets... always with a massive smile on my dial! lol!

fun is always the best revenge! "

Having a rough week

It's a rough week. Almost no training.
Foodwise, I've been doing no overt fats, to give my system a rest. Still eating too much...but nothing else that will slow things down.

Going through the motions...

I miss the sunshine. Yesterday it hit me all of a sudden that I'm feeling a bit down because I miss the sun (I mean, I knew I had been feeling a bit down...but the reason hit me). The prospect of going a couple more months before seeing a lot of daylight depressed me.

But, going to bed early last night did seem to help some. I woke up today at 5:45. Didn't feel quite ready to jump into intense training, but went to the gym anyway. Did 31 minutes on the treadmill, really pushing the pace towards the end. I'm glad I did it. I still feel a little slow/not exactly euphoric today...but at least I can go through the motions until I feel like myself again. I like what Bernadine says: "Keep going, keep going, until something inside you says 'keep going.'"

Breakfast - 8 or 9 valencia oranges, cut into sixths, sucked the juice out.
Mid-morning - 5 more oranges, just like breakfast
Lunch - 8 small bananas, sliced, mixed with date sauce (10 medjool dates, blended with water). a lot of baby bok choy.
Late afternoon - 1 bunch celery. A lot of minneolas (I love these!), eaten just like the breakfast oranges

Weekend report

It was a lazy, munchy weekend.

Was sleep deprived, lazy, and munched a lot! Mostly fruits, veggies, avocado.

Glad to be getting back into a routine today.

Woke up at 6:30. Went downtown early, and walked to work for a half hour (still feeling a bit tired/not 100% up to training hard). Hopefully that will come as I get my food back in order.

Breakfast - some red bananas
Lunch - more red bananas (which I've decided I don't like...), some oranges, some dates, some salad
Dinner - dates, oranges, red leaf lettuce, broccoli

Went to bed early.

Back to happy!

By the time I was walking to work, I realized that I'm back to my ever-increasingly-happy self! Exuberance abounds! Happy Friday!

Went to bed last last night (just before 11 p.m.).

Woke up around 6:00 a.m., didn't feel like intense training (still digesting bell peppers, nut butter...they tend to slow everything down).

I started by playing some music and practicing some bellydance moves from class last night. I interspersed the dancing with one set each sit-ups, twist-sit-ups, pushups, and lunges. Didn't do this for very long...maybe 20 minutes or so?

Got off the bus early and walked to work (35 minutes). Felt full of joy and exuberance. =) Really happy, even though it was gray outside.

Lunch - big bowl orange salad (cara cara, navel, blood, valencia). hachiya persimmons
Dinner - big papaya. hachiya persimmons. followed later by lots of salad - green leaf lettuce (3 heads!) with some pumpkin seed/orange/tahini dressing. 1 spoonful mac nut butter.

Resolutions in Action!

Today I put my new years goal of exercising before the first meal of the day into action! I went to bed last night at 9 pm. Should have gone to bed earlier, as I really wasn't doing anything important. Woke up this morning tired, went back to bed until 6:00 a.m., then got up. Did yoga from 6:30 - 7:25 a.m. - sort of an abbreviated ashtanga half-primary series (skipped some of the jump through/vinyasas). Felt very nice.

Breakfast - 5 cara cara oranges. it was my first time trying these. Wow, are they good!

Walked to grocery store before lunch (about 25 minutes), and back (about 25 minutes, with about 30 pounds groceries - organic valencia oranges are on sale!)

Lunch - 12 small bananas, blended into a smoothie. 5 medjool dates.

Felt sleepy in the afternoon.

Tried a bellydance class this evening. This was hard, coordination-wise. I'm not used to moving this way!

Dinner - lots of valencia oranges. 3 large tomatoes.

Later - 5 bell peppers. a few bites celery. 1 spoonful tahini, 2 spoonfuls mac nut butter

Last night I went to bed at 8:20 p.m. Woke up today (with alarm) at 5:00 a.m.

Morning training:
Walk to gym.
Before cycling class: balance practice with stability ball, interspersed with some core work (plank using stability ball - tough!, sit-ups, bicycle abs) and lateral raises with dumbells.
Cycling class - tough today!!!
Walked home.
Strerched.

Breakfast - a citrus salad! Very good, and pretty! See recipe below.
Lunch - 10 kinda smallish bananas.
After lunch - walked to grocery store (about a 1.25 miles) and walked back, with groceries
Lunch II (guess I needed to eat more for lunch!) - made another citrus salad, just like the one at breakfast.
Walked to run some errands before dinner (about 1.5-2 miles total, some carrying groceries).
Dinner - 1 large maridol papaya. veggies (some blended, some not): 4 large tomatoes. 1 head romaine lettuce. 2 bell peppers (1 red, 1 orange). 1 oz. tahini.

I'm happy with my new years goals. Everything works better when I sleep well, train before breakfast, etc. So I'm pleased to be working on the goal of exercising every day (even if I need a recovery day and I"m only up to "maintaining", not "training"). If I'm only up to light activity, I can walk, or dance, or do some gentle yoga...but I'll feel so much better than if I had done NOTHING. When I work out first thing in the morning, other aspects of my health program seem to just fall into place: my eating habits are better (less emotional eating, more "meals" and less snacking, more fruit), and I fall asleep more easily at night. When I sleep more easily at night, it's easier to get up in the morning and train! When I eat more fruit and less fat, it's easier to train more intensely, which makes it easier to sleep and eat well....etc etc and round and round and round in a healthful cycle! So cool. So, I'm happy with my new years goals...I feel like it will be easy, pleasant, and rewarding to work towards these, and not a chore at all, but a reward.

Plus, when I exercise intensely in the morning, I enjoy my food infinitely more than when I don't =).

Beautiful Citrus Salad!

Wanted to share with you what I ate for a very festive breakfast today - a citrus salad:

4 satsuma mandarins
3 blood oranges, sectioned and chopped
2 navel oranges, sectioned and chopped

Mix all in big blue bowl! Beautiful!

Here we go...

Here we go...jumping right into the new year.
Woke up at around 2 a.m. and could not fall back asleep. Felt kind of sick from what I ate over the weekend...
Finally got up around 5 p.m.

Here's the goal: lose 10 pounds before Costa Rica!

Morning training - start with a bang. =);
Walk to gym
Ran on treadmill for ariound 30 minutes. I had meant to do a 90 minute continuous run, but I got a stitch in my side. So I stopped then, walked for 5 minutes, and hit my favorite machine, the assited pull-up/dip machine. Did supersets of pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, push-ups (3 or 4 of these), and planks. Then did a few sit ups. I'm getting better at these - last week I could only do 4 full sit-ups in a set. This week I got to 8 or 9 in the first set!!!! Did a few of these, then went back to the treadmill to try again. This time I did speed intervals - slow jogging interspersed with speed intervals (7 mph) for one minute (or a little more) each - about 4 "sprints" total. Then I got a stitch in my side again, so I stopped, walked a bit to cool down, did one more set of sit-ups, and walked home. Stretched at home.

A good long workout!

Breakfast - some apple bananas (around 6?)
Before lunch, walked to millenium park and enjoyed some sunshine! Finally!
Lunch - really ripe fuyu persimmons
Mid afternoon - some citrus fruit salad at an office party (grapefruit, orange, kiwi) - 2 small bowls
Dinner - mangoes, followed by soup made from blended tomatoes, yellow pepper, and romaine lettuce. Mmmm!

I've been feeling sort of bummed out. It's been an emotional holiday time this weekend, and I definitely engaged in some emotional overeating of things I wouldn't usually eat. I'm finally starting to feel like a normal person again, physically. Hopefully the emotional aspect will follow suit shortly.

New Years Goals

Ah, the first of the year! What better time to take stock and figure out things that will take you to the next level and overcome challenges. Here are my thoughts.

-Love myself MORE.
-Continue to cultivate relationships with others.
-Exercise before the first meal of the day. Even if not feeling up to intense training, some walking or dancing or yoga will do. I want to get in the habit of being active every day. =)
-If it's daylight, I eat fruit
-Begin dinner meal with fruit
-Don't buy tomatoes during the day.
-In bed by 9 p.m., unless I truly (!) have something better to do.
-TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN! =)

I started today - 20 minutes dancing before breakfast.
Had a crappy day in general.

Went for a 2 hour walk in the evening.

Thought for the New Year

How much should I (we) love myself (ourselves)?

MORE.

Happy New Year.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday log

No morning training on Friday. I found out on Thursday that my friend had to have her gall bladder removed on Friday, and I was a little preoccupied about that, among other things, so I did not sleep well at all.

Friday food -
Breakfast - persimmons
lunch -oranges, persimmons
dinner - lettuce, persimmons

Saturday food
Breakfast - 8 lbs. valencia oranges
Lunch - apple bananas (after a run with Scott - 50 some minutes and some pull-up demos)
Dinner at Chicago Diner. Salty =P.

Study on hand-holding/human touch

Check out this article on women and hand-holding:
http://health.msn.com/womenshealth/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100150881&GT1=8816

Sadly, no morning training today. I stayed up late last night talking to friends, so I felt more like "rolling over" than "rolling out" this morning.

Breakfast - 1 bunch bananas, blended
Lunch - 1 bunch bananas, blended, seven or so fuyu persimmons
Dinner - persimmons, celery, mango, raisins, oranges

Tee hee hee...

Someone stole $50,000 worth of broccoli: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16383005/

Wednesday's Log

After overdoing it last night, I slept in this morning. Was pretty stiff and sore (both legs and arms!).

In the afternoon, ate some navel oranges
In the evening, ate some fuyu persimmons

Navel Orange Smoothie

Peel 4 navel oranges. Blend them. Delicious!

Back to work...

Went to bed early last night, but had trouble falling asleep...feeling some uncomfortable emotions. Nonetheless, I felt rested when I got up at 6:17 a.m.

Morning training - Strength work at the gym - all exercises no more than 5 reps to failure. By the end, some of them were only 2 or 3 reps to failure!

Alternated 2 sets assisted pull-ups (assistance set so that I could only do negatives, not full pull-ups) with 2 sets assisted dips, then 2 sets assisted chin-ups (negatives) with 2 sets assisted dips.

Then giant sets with a set of 15 pound weights - alternated flat bench flys with shoulder presses with biceps curls. 4 times.

Then some sit-ups on the sit up bench. First set 7 reps. Subsequent sets much fewer. Did 3 sets total.

Breakfast - 4 navel oranges (about 30 oz.), blended into a smoothie
Midmorning at work - 8 ripe fuyu persimmons
Lunch - 8 ripe fuyu persimmons
Afternoon - 10 oz. blackberries
Dinner - 5 large tomatoes, 3 heads baby bok choy, 1 avocado
After dinner, craved sweets. Ate some mandarins.

Gotta listen to my body and eat fruit BEFORE dinner.

Also, late at night I ate more navel oranges, LOTS of brazil nuts (in the shell, but still ate about 3/4 pound worth - the krakanut makes it too easy!), and 3 oz. sundried tomatoes. I was not hungry for these things at all, but I ate them to "deal with" uncomfortable emotions that had been weighing on me all day. I'm a bit annoyed with myself, because I know from experience that this may screw up my digestion/elimination for days.

Went to bed really late (after midnight)...

Dave Klein on Raw Vegan Radio

Dave Klein talks about healing from ulcerative colitis: www.rawveganradio.com.

My own personal half marathon

Today I celebrated my day off from work by running 15 miles on the lakefront (including the warm-up/cooldown, it was probably about 16 miles total).

Lap 1 (probably about a mile, jogging to starting point to warm up) - 12.39.57
Mile 1 - 11.47.78
Mile 2 - 11.36.73
Mile 3 - 11.19.98
Mile 4 - 11.27.08
Mile 5 - 11.36.64
Mile 6 - 11.24.18
Mile 7 - 11.46.80
Mile 8 - 11.32.71
Mile 9 - 11.59.59
Mile 10 - 11.43.56
Mile 11 - 11.44.68
Mile 12 - 11.46.16
Mile 13 - 13.16.57
Mile 14 - 12.32.80
Then walked/jogged home (probably about a mile). It was a real struggle getting home, since my legs were too sore to run anymore, but I was too cold to walk!

Before running, ate 2 ripe fuyu persimmons
During run, had some date sports drink, and a few dates during the last couple of miles.
After run, ate a bunch of ripe persimmons
A couple of hours later, ate lots of banana-date smoothie.
Dinner - some mangoes (5? maybe 6, but I think 5)

One of my motivations for going for a long run was to work up the appetite to make a dent in some of that ripe, sweet fruit I have in my kitchen. It worked. =)

I behaved like a couch potato for the rest of the day. =P

What a Beautiful Morning!

What a great morning! Slept in a bit (until 8 a.m.!)...probably because I went to bed close to 11:00 a.m. last night. I stayed up watching the rest of the Organic Athlete conference DVD.

No training this morning (and my legs were still stiff when I got up), but I did a lot of walking/moving things. To enjoy some of the sunshine, I walked to the co-op and bought more of those persimmons that were on sale for 2 for $1.00 (too bad Dan G. is out of town...Dan, if you're reading this, we should arrange to have a persimmon dinner when you get back!). Also bought some mangoes. Then walked to Hyde Park Produce for lettuce. Carried everything home! =)

Took a car today to donate some old clothing to the ARK thrift store. Also bought running shoes, and stopped at Stanley's, where they were selling 4-pound bags of organic valencia oranges for 98 cents! Bought 10 of them!

While driving home from my errands, I just felt so happy and exuberant! A sunny day, great music, and breakfast/lunch awaiting me when I got home.

1st meal (around 1:15 p.m.) - 1 bag valencia oranges (13 oranges, cut into wedges and sucked the juice out of them). 7 perfectly ripe fuyu persimmons.

Later in the afternoon - more persimmons, 2 bunches baby bok choy, 2 large tomatoes

Dinner - 2 heads green leaf lettuce, 2 small orange bell peppers, dressing made from 1 navel orange, 2 tbsp. tahini. Then had some cauliflower (1 head), blended with 2 stalks celery, a bit of basil, and 2-3 tbsp cashew butter. Later, 1 satsuma mandarin orange.

I like the taste of that cauliflower mush....but it doesn't satiate me like fruit does! I'll try eating more fruit at the beginning of the meal.

Look what's in my kitchen! I may need a little help eating some of this...

The United Nations Says..

Livestock is more damaging to the environment that CO2 emissions from our cars:

http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/global_warm_c02.htm.

Got a lot done today

No training, but got a lot done...filing and laundry. Very good. It was a cloudy, dreary day. Didn't train. My calves are very sore from yesterday's training - it hurts to stand on my tip-toes.

Food-

Late morning - persimmons (8) and bananas (6)
Late afternoon - lots of tomatoes (2 pints cherry tomatoes, 1 large tomato), 6 persimmons
Dinner - big salad - 2 heads green leaf lettuce, 1 large tomato, 2 oranges, 2.5 oz. tahini
Later - 2 large tomatoes

I'm ready to train again...frustrating that calves are sore. Frustrated that I'm still not fit enough to train like a serious athlete...but I'm getting closer. It just seems like a long way away.

As I cleaned today, I've been watching the Organic Athlete 2005 Conference DVD. So very, very inspiring...and shows me that I have such a long way to go!

Ruth Heidrich is amazing...and what is really encouraging to me is that she didn't start running until age 33, and she does Ironmans! Gives me hope. =)

I want to be able to train intensely every day! Then I'll probably lose the rest of this weight...right now, I can eat like an athlete, but I can't train that hard yet.

Fitness is free!

Went to bed around 8 p.m. last night. Woke up at 5:45 this morning. It was raining, and I didn't feel like going out to the gym, so...

Morning training:
Warmed up by dancing around to music for 25 minutes. Then hit the hallway for some training! Did lots of sideways shuffles down the hall, interspersed with stair jumping (started with 1 flight at a time, worked up to 3) for about 12 minutes. Took a water break, and then did it again for about 15 minutes, this time including skips down the hall and jumping 3 flights at a time. It really got my heart rate up, and my legs felt like jello from the jumping.
Did some stretching to cool down.

Gym-free fitness!

Breakfast - lots of persimmons (fuyu and hachiya!)
Lunch - 6 red bananas. most of a bunch of celery. 1 bag red grapes. some leftover melon from a meeting.
Dinner - persimmons (fuyu and hachiya) and lots of tomatoes (5 pints grape tomatoes). A bit later, had 2 or 3 navel oranges, and a salad (one pint grape tomatoes, 1 head of green leaf lettuce, dressing made from 1 navel oranges and 2-3 tbsp tahini. That's one of my favorite salads in the world!!!) So delicious!!!

Almost Friday

Went to bed a bit later than usual last night (10 p.m.! Wow!), and woke up today just after 7 a.m., so no morning training. Probably needed the extra sleep because I ate so much yesterday. The dried food doesn't really agree with me. The extra before-bed snack probably didn't help. =P

Breakfast smoothie - 3 mangoes, 4 navel oranges, 1 fuji apple
Sort of grazed throughout the work day - 1 bunch celery (I'm eating that stuff like it's going out of style!), 3 plates salad and some melon at a meeting, some medjool dates, some frozen apple bananas. As soon as I had the bananas, I felt better...

No dinner at home...felt like I had eaten enough and wanted to give my system a rest. I went out and bought lots of bananas.

Strategy note: must buy bananas twice a week, at least! Must keep bananas on hand! I think that's why I ate too much yesterday...not enough sweet fruit. The grapes aren't very sweet this time of year.

The good news...

...is that tomorrow is the shortest day of the year! Pretty soon, the days will be getting longer. Maybe I'll get to see the sunshine soon!

I still wasn't caught up on sleep yesterday, so I went to bed very early last night (before 7 p.m.). Probably fell asleep around 7:30. Got up around 4:45 this morning.

Before morning training: 2 medjool dates.

Morning training: indoor cycling class at the gym. We did some sprints today.

Breakfast - An excellent sunshine smoothie: tangerine juice, mango, navel orange. Yum!!!!!!!! =)
Later in the morning - big bag grapes, some medjool dates

I'm noticing that I feel good physically, but mentally, I'm not feeling very patient with people today.

Afternoon - lots of dried figs, sundried tomatoes, celery....was feeling really cranky!
Evening - soup made from dried tomatoes, fresh tomato, navel orange, bell pepper, boston lettuce, a small bit of fresh basil, and a bit of cashew butter (about 3 tablespoons).
Later in the evening - 1 pineapple, 1 pound grape tomatoes.

The dried food really bothered my teeth. Always better to stick to fresh...

Building today

Went to bed by 7 p.m. last night. Woke up at 3:15 this morning...still a bit tired, but couldn't get back to sleep. Got up just before 4 a.m., caught up on a bit of e-mail, did some dishes, and then off for morning training.

Walk to gym/warm-up on cardio machines.
Strength building (several sets of 2-5 reps each, to failure):
assisted pull-ups/negatives
assisted chin-ups/negatives
walking lunges
assisted dips
deadlifts
pushups
sit-ups
biceps curls
triceps extensions
lateral raises
rear delt raises
oblique roman chair extensions

Whew!

Breakfast - 3 large cavendish bananas, 6 small apple bananas, 4 or 5 medjool dates, blended into a smoothie.

There was a yoga class this morning at work, so I participated. It was REALLLLYYY gentle...just stretching, no exertion involved. But nice.

Lunch - lots of apple bananas
Dinner - 1 bag red seedless grapes. 1 plate leftover salad from a meeting at work. 1 pound grape tomatoes.

Smart Kids Go Veg...

Kids With High IQs Grow Up to Be Vegetarians
The smarter they are, the more likely they'll shun meat as adults, British researchers contend
By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter

http://health.msn.com/pregnancykids/kidshealth/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100150383&wa=wsignin1.0

Busy weekend...

It was a busy weekend, without much training:

Friday - Run (including one sub-9 minute mile, but I was too tired to crank out another one. The rest was just running and walkng). Some pull-up practice at the playground. I can pull myself up an inch or two or three! Before, I couldn't pull myself up at all!

Sunday - a bit of "casual" ashtanga yoga...

Monday - Needed sleep....got some sleep...

Back to training on Tuesday...

Ate tons and tons of veggies this weekend, it seems...
Still had no desire for overt fats...

The rest of yesterday...

Yesterday I ate some bananas around 12:00 noon...not so much out of hunger, but to abate the detox symtoms while at work. Had some more bananas. Also ate 1 bunch celery, 1 pound grape tomatoes.

For dinner, had 1 bag grapes, 2 pounds grape tomatoes, and a few dates.

Downtime needed?

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like vomiting. I didn't, and the wave of nausea passed, and I went back to bed.

This morning my stomach feels a little funny, so I didn't train or eat. Just drinking water. I figure I'll wait until I feel better to eat.

Still exuberant...

Wow, the week just keeps getting better and better!

Slept until just before 7 a.m. this morning, so no morning training.

Breakfast - large maridol papaya
Lunch - 22 small fresh figs
Mid afternoon - apple bananas
Dinner - romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, persimmons

Got some sunshine this afternoon! Went to a sunny park bench and read at lunchtime. Lovely!

Probably should have skipped dinner... I was really sleepy, and not hungry, and would have fallen asleep more easily on an empty stomach.

Exuberance!

I've been following this program for 5 and a half months now - and I've noticed that more and more of the time, I feel what can only be described as exuberant! Yes, exuberant, just like a healthy child. =)

Funny that children are exuberant, but exuberance is not normally associated with adults! I guess most adults don't get enough sleep, sunshine, biologically appropriate food, physical activity, etc, etc, etc to feel anything close to exuberant.

I feel so lucky to be able to feel exuberant. =)

Germs - from Bob Farrell

Germs, per se, in and of and by themselves, don't "cause" dis-ease - they just take advantage of environments they find to their likings.
Just as flies don't cause garbage, germs don't cause colds. A cold is nothing more than the body moving some "substances" out of the body.

Life is sweet!

Morning training -
Walked the stairs a couple times, since I forgot things on the way to the gym. Walked/jogged to gym.
Strength training: assisted pull-ups, assisted chin-ups, assisted dips, walking lunges, donkey calf raises, step-ups, dead lifts, biceps curls, lateral raises, rear delt flies on bench, alphabet abs (didn't get very far!), roll-out on ball, crunches, roman chair extensions, roman chair oblique extensions.
Walked home. Took stairs.

I feel phenomenal!

Food - bananas all day. Figs and persimmons in the evening.

Yesterday I ate:
Apple bananas
Figs

I went to sleep by 6:30 p.m. Got up this morning at 5:52, and felt excellent.

Morning training:
Jog to gym
A treadmill 8K (5 miles), continuous running (no walking!). Took about 49 minutes, so averaged just under 10 minutes per mile. It was challenging, but I feel great!
Walked/jogged home.
Stretched a bit.

Food today:
40 some-odd fluid ounces banana smoothie.
9 or 10 small apple bananas
Friend over for dinner - persimmons, figs, tangerines, celery

Everything feels so good today! Fruit is high-octane, high-energy, feel-good fuel! Fat slows us down...

Look what's in my kitchen!

Yesterday I went to a potluck. It was great to see friends! But I definitely overate on things I hadn't planned on eating.

So I'm taking it easy today, as far as food goes. Also, I'm starting to be honest with myself and see that I'm starting to gain weight back. Everyone does this in the winter, I know. But I need to be honest with myself about things I'm doing that are not in my best interests.

I have tons of ripe fruit though...so I'm planning on making this week a no-overt-fat week, to get back on track! Should be absolutely delicious!

This is me

Sort of an unflattering photo, but hey, I took it myself. This is what I look like, having followed Doug Graham's program for 5 months.

That was me...

That was me in March 2006.

Friday Friday Friday!!!

Woke up around 4:30. Glad I went to bed early last night!

Morning training: Indoor cycling class at the gym. Wasn't the toughest class, but my legs weren't the freshest (still recovering from being blindsided by strength training the other day!), so it was all good. We did some sprints and some strength climbs. After class, I did a few flexed arm hangs (pull-up position - assisted, chin-up position - unassisted!!!) and sit ups (2 sets on the decline bench - didn't quite make it up), and a couple reps on the flat bench. That was all I could squeeze out.

Food today:
Breakfast - banana smoothie right after workout. then lots more bananas at the office.
Lunch - one head romaine lettuce. 5 bananas. lots of dried figs. 5 stalks celery
Dinner - lots of tangerines. 3 tbsp. cashew butter. 1 spoonful pumpkinseed butter. a few spoonfuls tahini. yeah....too much nut butter probably won't sit well tomorrow...

A recovery day!

(Overload and) recovery is a great thing! Got to bed last night around 8:30 p.m., and it sure felt good. Woke up this morning at 6:47 a.m. No morning training, just recovery. I've got sore quads, hamstrings, glutes from yesterday. Why didn't I do leg strength training sooner? My legs are going to be so hot. ;)

Food today:
Breakfast - bananas (5? 6? 7? 8? I don't know...)
Midmorning - 1 head romaine lettuce, 2 orange bell peppers
Lunch - grapes, iceberg lettuce (from a meeting), bananas
Dinner - 1 persimmon, persimmon-date ice cream, bahri dates, 1 head green leaf lettuce, a few tangerines.

Weak in the legs...

Didn't wake up in time for cycling class, so I trained at home this morning: 20 or so minutes bouncing around the living room to music, followed by push-ups, chair dips, leg raises, stair jumps, and walking lunges down the hallway, each repeated once or twice. And a couple of failed handstand attempts. Didn't feel like much...but my legs have been a bit jello-like ever since. =)

Food:

Breakfast - a third of a pineapple. about 3/4 of a papaya
Mid morning at work - some medjool and bahri dates
Lunch - 9 bananas, blended into a smoothie
Dinner - 6 lbs tomatoes, 2 orange bell peppers, 1 florida avocado

I couldn't believe how great I felt today - how energetic and happy and light and clearheaded. The program really works if you follow it ;).

Monday and Tuesday's Log

On Monday morning, I woke up before 4 a.m., still sleepy, but couldn't get back to sleep. Also felt a lot of tension in the front of my head. So, I didn't go to spin class as planned; rather, I stayed in bed until about 6:30. ("If you'd rather roll over than roll out..."). Once I realized the futility of trying to fall back asleep, I got up and started streaming some dance music on my computer, just to move a little bit. So, my morning "training" was nice and easy, but great fun! I enjoyed myself as soon as I started, just bouncing around my living room to music. I also did some ab work (crunches, oblique slides, leg raises). Total workout time: about 42 minutes. And all that fun from skipping spinning.

Still felt tired all day at work. And my hamstrings were still sore from Saturday's ashtanga class, but I did take a walk over lunch.

Food on Monday:
Breakfast - 1 pineapple
Lunch - 6 small-medium bananas.
Late Lunch - 48 oz. tomatoes. 2 oranges. a few stalks celery. 1 florida avocado.
That's it. Didn't want to eat after I got home. Went to bed early instead.

On Tuesday, I woke up just before 5 a.m., feeling excellent and well rested! I haven't woken up feeling that good in at least a week! I was thrilled. =) I walked to the gym to train (too cold for outdoors):

Treadmill workout:
12 minutes warm-up jog/walk (10-12 minute miles), followed by 2.6ish FAST miles, with walking in between (the first was around 9 minutes per mile. for the second mile, I got a little ambitious and started at least that fast, and couldn't make myself finish, hence the ".6ish". took a few minutes walk, then talked myself into doing one more 10-minute mile. And boy, was that hard!) Total was probably around 4.2 miles? It was HARD today. Just getting back into it, I guess.

Pull-up training:
Used the assist machine for this. Did "negative" pull-ups (assisted), followed by "hold in the up position as long as possible, then negative" (assisted), followed by assisted chin-ups, and "hold in the up position". Don't know how many of each. Then 2 sets of biceps curls. Then 2 sets of posterior delt raises on the bench.

I'm excited though!!!!! I can hold chin-ups in the "up-position" for a few seconds!!!!!! I need some help getting "up", but once I'm up, I was able to take my legs off the pad and just hold myself in that position!!!!!! Even after doing all the "pull-up" work, I was still able to hold myself at the top of a chin-up!!!!!!!! This is a milestone!!!! =)

Was in a great mood all through the day...

Food:
Breakfast - 2 hachiya persimmons. 1 HUGE papaya
Lunch - 9 bananas, blended into a smoothie. a lot of celery
Dinner - Persimmon/date ice cream! Holy cow! so good!
Snack - 1 head green leaf leffuce. about 1/2 a pineapple

Weekend of catch-up

This is a weekend of my body catching up on all the junk I gave it to deal with over the past few weeks.

Felt really tired and had achy joints and slept a lot this weekend. Fruits only to eat - no overt fats. Went to an ashtanga class on Saturday, but didn't make it all the way through.

Finally starting to feel better on Sunday morning. By the afternoon, felt fabulous. Still a little tired, but fabulous in mood and clarity.

Breakfast - 1 pineapple, a few persimmons
Lunch - lots of banana smoothie
Dinner - 1 large papaya, 1 head romaine lettuce, 4 pints grape tomatoes.

Hope to be back up and running tomorrow! =)

Friday - Start all over again...

Didn't get to bed early enough last night, so I didn't wake up early enough to train this morning, and I'm still tired.

Breakfast - persimmons, dates, celery
Lunch - bananas, dates, celery
Snack - more dates

Went to bed at 6 p.m. and slept all night!