Day 15

Daily 0 / Total <7.2>

I had a completely off day. I had to get fasting blood work done. All of Kaiser's computers were down at the hospital - an hour from my house - so I had to go to another clinic. The epic effort that started at 8a was finally concluded at 12p. I was super hungry and got into the Clif Bars in my trunk I store in my emergency kit. After that, I just kept eating all oy vey foods.

- 2 Clif bars
- 1/4 cup pecan pieces
- 1 date
- 2 tablespoons tahini (Tahini, I wish I knew how to quit you.)
- herbal mint tea
- 2 cups of coffee (super oy vey)
- slice chocolate chip banana bread

Day 13 - Finished Firewood Rack

Daily 0.3 / Total <7.5>

I ate so much cooked veggies yesterday I knew I'd gain about 0.3 pounds, so it didn't come as a surprise. It was the first time I ate normally since my hayfever attack nearly a week ago.

- 1 pound soup (other half from yesterday)
- smoothie (protein mix, blueberries, mango, grape)
- coffee
- 1/4 cup pecan pieces

Day 12 - Stained Firewood Rack

Daily <0.3> / Total <7.5>

veggie soup (1 pound veggies)
smoothie (1 banana, 1/3 cup blueberries)
1/2 small watermelon
1 pomegranate
1 peach
1 pita with a light spread of tahini
2 dates

Day 11 - Hayfever Haven

Daily <1.4> / Total <7.4>

I think my hayfever is lifting. I expect to be famished tomorrow and put some weight on after not having eaten much for days. If my throat's better and my stomach feels empty, I'm going to eat a huge bean burrito (my go-to food on cavernous days). I may also have a frap to stay awake while driving. I almost ate some veggies today, but the pita hurt going down so I wussed out.

- banana
- protein shake
- 1/2 pita with light spread of tahini
- coffee
-12 chocolate chips, 6 pecan pieces, 5 sweetened dried cranberries

Day 10 - Third Day of the Yucks

Daily <1> / Total <5.8>

I neti'd three times yesterday and one time this morning. I can breath, which beats congestion, but I'm still quite runny. (PM edit - I neti'd this evening and am still congested.) I brought a salad with me to work, but the thought of chewing and swallowing it is unappealing. I tried to eat more than I felt like eating just to keep my metabolism going.

All-I-Can-Eat Category
- 1 small apple
- banana
- nectarine
- sprig grapes

Limited Category
- protein shake (protein mix, unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
- 1/2 pita with light spread of tahini

Oy Vey Category
- lozenge
- tahini (on pita)

Day 9 - Neti

Daily <0.8> / Total <4.8>

I have major sinus pressure and my throat is raw. I ate some fruit again today, but that was it. My big news is that I finally bought a neti pot (well, I got the syringe version). Hopefully my symptoms will calm down and I can get back to eating and firing up my digestive system.

All-I Can-Eat Category
- 2 peaches
- 1 sprig grapes

Limited Category

Oy Vey Category

* Day 8 :-|

Daily 0 / Total <4>

I wasn't feeling good today, so it because a carb and comfort food day.

All-I-Can-Eat Category
- nectarine
- 2 bananas (1 in smoothie)
- blueberry smoothie (frozen blueberries, banana, unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

Limited Category
- pita with a light spread of tahini
- barley "coffee" with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and pumpkin pie spices (limited or oy vey?)

Oy Vey Category
- tahini (in pita)
- date

Day 7 - Building (a Wood Shed) Day

Daily 0 / Total <4>

I all but finished my firewood shed project while listening to a scifi audiobook, David Weber's By Schism Rent Asunder, and periodically taking a break to eat. I had more adventurous food plans, but it became a toss together and go sort of day.

All-I-Can-Eat Category
- green smoothie (spinach, romaine, and Southern greens with grapes & banana)
- warm frozen chopped spinach with nutritional yeast
- veggie lasagna (jarred pasta sauce, fresh zucchini, frozen chopped spinach, frozen broccoli, canned white beans, canned black beans, canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
- 3 sprigs black seedless grapes (1 in green smoothie)
- banana (in green smoothie)
- kiwi

Limited Category
- 1 teaspoon tahini

Oy Vey Category
- dried date

Day 6 - Famished, Then Not

Daily <1.2> / Total <4.0>

I didn't record it because calories weren't involved, but I had two cups of coffee yesterday. What a mistake. It killed my appetite and made me jittery. I bet because I ate so little yesterday that I don't lose weight tomorrow morning. I'd rather have consistent little losses than a lot and then nothing.

I discovered beans are in the "all you can eat" category. I usually eat more than a cup of beans a day, so I was trying to cut back. Nice discovery on my part.

All I Can Eat
- green smoothie (Southern greens & romaine blended with water & banana)
- mayo (white beans, celery, bell pepper, lemon juice, onion, tomato, and garlic)
- "tuna" sandwich (mashed garbanzo beans, mayo,diced celery, and dill relish in 1/2 whole wheat pita)
- 2 bananas (1 in smoothie)
- 1/2 mini watermelon
- peach
- grapes

Limited Category
- protein shake (rice & pea protein powders with unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
- pita for "tuna" sandwich
- a few pecans (I'm unendingly hungry today, so I wanted to add a bit of fat)
- 1 teaspoon tahini (same reason as pecans)

Oy Vey Category

Day 5 - On the Road Again

Daily <0.8> / Total <2.8>

I really need to read the whole book. I've only read the page or two about the food guidelines. I'm not sure about the sodium rules and if jarred pasta sauce is allowed. I'm going rebel and eating it anyway. I like Classico's Tomato & Basil because it's chunky and not oily like other pasta sauces.

Vegetables
- lasagna (I cut zucchini lengthwise to use as the pasta and made layers of jarred pasta sauce, fresh zucchini, canned black beans, fresh mushroom slices, frozen chopped spinach, frozen broccoli, and more sauce. I'm at work, so I nuked it and then sprinkled nutritional yeast on the whole shebang.)

Fruit
- banana
- nectarine

Limited Category

- black beans in the lasagna
- protein shake (protein mix and unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

Oy Vey Category
- nada (that's hopeful)

Day 4 - It's Snoresday!

Daily <1> / Total <2>

I finally had one small poop last night. I guess that's where part of the <1> came from.

After three hours of sleep, I did fieldwork for about nine hours today in 97 F degree heat <- that informed my lazy food choices

Vegetables - My raw salad was probably near a pound, but I didn't get hardly any cooked veggies.
- salad: the huge salad I didn't eat yesterday (same fixin's)
- pita: frozen chopped spinach heated with powdered vegetable broth and nutritional yeast in a pita (even though I already had a beans in a tortilla)

Fruit
- banana
- peach
- grapes
- pomegranate seeds on my salad

Limited Category - it was a heavy flour product day
- beans in my bean burrito
- flour (whole wheat pita and white flour tortilla)

Oy Vey Category
- Starbucks venti lite frap with soymilk

Day 3 - Nearing Nervana

Daily 0 / Total <1>

I'm not worried about no weight loss. I think my eating cooked veggies has shocked my system because I haven't pooped since I started. I'm vegan, pooping is what we do best.

I'm getting there. Today I went to a co-worker's birthday lunch and had four tortilla chips. Other than that, I stuck to the plan. It wasn't a good day for vegetables, I wasn't in the mood.

Vegetables
- soup: 12 ounces (onion, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, broccoli)
- salad: 3 ounces? it was small (dark leafy greens, bell pepper, tomato, cucumber, fresh sage, apple, and pomegranate seeds with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar)

Fruit
- in my salad (1/2 medium apple, 1/2 small pomegranate)
- 1 banana
- 1 peach
- 10 grapes

Limited Quantity Category
- 2 half pitas filled with mashed garbanzo
- protein shake made with unsweetened plain almond milk

Oy Vey Category
- 4 tortilla chips

Day 2 - Happy Oy Vey Day

Daily <1> / Total <1>

I bought the Tofurkey sausages yesterday when doing fieldwork. There are four to a pack and I didn't want to waste the last one, so I ate it this morning. I made protein shake which I'm counting as part of my "limited quantity" group.

Veggies
- soup: 1 pound (I measured!) frozen spinach, broccoli, green beans, and artichoke heated on the stove with water, spices, and a dollop of white miso
- green veggie smoothie: My bananas are a few days from being properly ripe, otherwise I would have used one in my smoothie. Instead, I found a bottle of stevia in my cupboard. NOTICE: Southern greens *need* a nanner. The stevia didn't cut it. I'm goal oriented so I drank it, but it was so gross. I ate a teaspoon of tahini to coat my taste buds.

Fruit
- 1 banana
- 1 sprig(?) of red grapes
- peach

Limited Quantities Category
- 1 protein shake made with unsweetened plain almond milk
- pita: garbanzo beans mashed with water, apple cider vinegar, and garlic powder in a pita with greens 'n tomatoes

Oy Vey Category
- 1 Tofurkey sausage
- about 9 chocolate chips (in and down before I realized I was eating them)

Day 1 - *mwar* Said the Kitten

My mighty first day started with a mwar instead of a RAWR. Having no produce greatly hindered eating produce. Who would have thunk it.

Instead, I ate junk. I had postponed grocery shopping until payday, so my cupboard had been bare for days and I was especially hungry. My whole foods produce-centric day devolved to eating three Tofurkey Italian sausages (270 each), three trick-or-treat sized bags of pretzels (100 each?), two Laffy Taffy (40 each), and a few of my co-worker's fries (200?). That's about 1,500 calories of junk. I burned about 400 calories at the gym, so the net total is 1,100 of junk. Meh.

I just counted calories, but what I like about Eat to Live is that I'm not going to count calories. I'm going to eat a pound of raw and a pound of steamed veggies a day and at least four pieces of fruit.

I stocked up on groceries on my way home. I have enough groceries to feed Laura Ingalls' family for an entire winter, so I have no excuses for the rest of the week. Wayward ho!

Day 0 - October 31

I am going to Ireland. I've gained weight, lost quite a bit, and gained some back. I am. not. going to spend my time in Ireland cringing if my picture is taken. So, what to do?

I have a copy of Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live. I've decided to follow it. Starting tomorrow, November 1, Joel will become my muse.

Starting Point:
I have nearly 20 weeks to work with, so I should be able to see an agreeable amount of change in that time. I'm not looking for miracles, I just don't want to stand out as the "fat American".

The Upside:
I'm already vegan and already prefer salads and whole foods.

The Pitfall:
I eat healthy food, but I'll binge on something densely caloric. It'll be in and down before I knew I ate it.