My Inspirations

I am writing this post to introduce you to the people (bloggers) that continue to inspire me as I go through my journey to healthy living at the same time prepare my body for pregnancy. I have gained weight (approx 30lbs) after I stopped going to the gym, after I lost interest in running and all sorts of exercising and after eating anything I want to eat and giving in to every craving that knocks. My eureka moment was when I'd feel all sorts of aches in my body already especially my back (not to mention the belly fat that I always try to hide by wearing dresses). 

I guess I have come to the point of taking charge of my own body for my own good. Are you with me here? Yes, I needed to make sure that I watch what I eat and exercise regularly (at least 30 minutes) in order for me to be in proper fighting form when my husband comes home from his time out at sea. LOL! Yeah, that's my biggest motivation of all. I want my husband to come home to a wife that he can be proud of. I want my husband to come home to a wife that is fit, strong and healthy. I didn't even make an effort to lose weight before our wedding so now I think is the perfect time for me to devote some time and change my lifestyle before I become a mom. 

At this point, I am preparing myself for a slow and steady process of losing weight. I am not a fan of crash diets, water and lemon only diets among other things. I want to still be able to enjoy food (but not so much). I still want my chocolates at some point but the end goal is that I consume more raw food than processed. I have incorporated a mix of fruit and vegetable juice and smoothies in my daily food intake since January 31 and aside from the flu that I experienced for the first week, I think I am all set now. I am very happy with the result so far as I feel clean inside and out. I think I am ready for a little challenge.

My goal from 2/11 - 2/15 is to consume only fruit and vegetable juice feast everyday for 5 days. If ever I allow myself to eat, I would only eat fruits or vegetables. I think this is doable. I am also going to sneak in a little bit of running or brisk walking for at least 30 minutes everyday. Of course, I will continue reading through the blogs of my inspirations to check out some weight loss recipes, tips, and best practices. 

1. Linda Wagner - is an experienced and skilled Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach who utilizes a holistic methodology to invigorate the mind, body, and spirit. It is her passion to assist others in achieving their true, unlimited potential. You can visit Linda's blog to be inspired too or you may reach her through her email address linda@lindawagner.net

2. Sonnet - is a certified holistic health coach, food educator, blogger, and writer with a passion for helping people lead fuller, healthier lives. Her blog, For The Love Of Food, features seasonal, plant-based cooking that is filled with recipes to help her readers live a healthy and sustainable life. She is based in Seattle, Washington. Her cooking philosophy revolves around simple, whole foods cooked from scratch always taste the best. I emailed Sonnet and she graciously responded. If you have questions for her, you may email her through fortheloveoffoodblog@gmail.com

3. Megan Elizabeth - is a low-fat, high fruit program follower. She's had a few health challenges before converting to the program and she is stoked that she has successfully got over the situation. The low-fat raw vegan lifestyle keeps her happy, healthy and with so much energy. You can visit her blog by following this link. If you plan to get in touch with her, you may email her through requests@meganelizabeth.com

4. Candice Kumai - Candice is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu California. Ah, I could only dream that one day I could be schooled in a prestigious culinary arts school too. She's a former model turned chef and is an author of a couple cookbooks and she also writes for Men's and Women's Health. Candice's mission is to help all of us "get real with our foods again". Her cookbooks are entitled "Cook Yourself Sexy" and "Pretty Delicious". Aren't the titles so enticing?

Getting Into The Groove

I talked about trying the raw food diet in my last post and I am happy to say that I have slowly included raw food in my diet for the past week. My detox symptom came in too early. I am now experiencing flu-like symptoms and my weekend was spent making my smoothie, lying in bed and watching TV. I am not 100% sure if my flu was caused by my switch to raw diet or because it is the flu season again. I guess I will just ride this out. I have taken cold meds but it doesn't seem to help at all. I seriously feel miserable now. 

Progress Report: I have limited my rice and meat or egg intake (just for breakfast). The rest of my meals are either fruit or green smoothie. I am happy about that to say the least. I am just a bit irked that my detox symptoms came knocking even if I am not yet a 100% raw foodie. Aside from the flu-like symptoms, I have also noticed that I have a couple of zits on my chin and forehead. I hope this isn't going to be a bad breakout. 

Oh and yes, while watching Food Channel, I cringe at the sight of overly processed food and I glow when I see salads and fruit juices and simple recipes. I wish I can have this motivation going until I reach my goal. I hope no amount of detox symptoms can deter me. 

In my next post, I will be sharing to you my smoothie recipes. 

How To Start A Raw Food Diet?

I am back and you can kinda guess that I have been on a slump for the past 2 years of my life. I have just been concentrating on my job (I've been in 2 for this length of time), travelling in the Philippines and in Asia, planning my wedding among other things. I have exercised quite a bit but not like 2009 which I think was my healthiest year since I started this blog. Oh you cannot imagine how much pounds I have gained through these two years as well. I have practically gained a good 30 pounds more than what I weighed before. Que horror! 

I've talked to my husband about my plan of losing weight and I have his support. I am on the planning phase now and I am starting to watch what I eat and introducing more fruits and vegetables to my diet. I am also trying to eat more raw foods as inspired by this video that I am going to share to you. So for the remaining days of January my goal is to psyche my body to be able to eat healthier as well as putting in more sleep time so I would be in full swing of exercising and weight loss in February. 

It has been 3 days since I started watching what I eat and hopefully I will keep my motivation and get this route to healthy living going. Plus I need to really loss the pounds that I gained back so I can be more prepared to conceive a baby.