Lab Results Are In : I'm Now a Die-Hard Flexitarian :D !!

 I just received my blood test results in the mail, and I am ECSTATIC to report that after only a 12-Day Juice Fast my health stats are remarkable !!  I expected to see some improvement overall, but these results are over the top.... great. (Note:  to read my daily blog with tips and insights during my juice fast from Day 1, click here: Karen's Juice Fast Reboot )

          Tested 6 months ago at:         Now:                            Comments:
Cholesterol...........220.......................114 (optimal is <180)....220 was with Meds
Triglycerides........180.......................121 (optimal is 30-150)...with Niacin regimen
LDL.....................98...........................57 (optimal is <100)..this is the BAD cholesterol
HDL.......................36................................38 (Optimal is > 40)...this is the GOOD cholesterol 
VLDL.................................................24 (Optimal is 4-40)
Chol/HDL..........................................3.5 (Optimal is <4.4)
Non-HDL Chol...................................81 (optimal is <130)

My Thyroid Results are:
TSH, 3rd Gen. ..........1.30 (optimal is 0.3-5.0) 
FREE T4...................1.24 (optimal is 0.71-1.76) 

I am in the optimal range of every single category, except my HDL!!! But, my HDL did go up (a good thing), and I didn't exercise as hard as I usually do during the fast (and I know exercise raises HDL).... so I'm ok with that result.  

Basically, I am in optimal health in these areas after only 12 days on the Juice Fast....amazing.  I'm so happy.  I just KNEW that the way I felt had to be measurable and scientifically/physiologically supportable, and here it is: undisputed lab result truth. The juice fast WORKS! I plan to cut my cholesterol meds in half and retest in about 4 months to see if I've maintained these great levels.  I am waiting to hear back from the doctor about my thyroid meds...I know that the results above are great, but I don't know exactly what the numbers mean by way of being able to reduce my medication or not. You don't want to play around with your thyroid.

Now, I simply have to maintain this healthy lifestyle and way of eating: include 24-32 oz of juice every day (and going on a once-a-month 2-5 day juice fast to reboot)...and eat mostly plant based, organic, clean foods, with occasional meat, fish (high quality without hormones, etc.), and even a treat once in a while (like holiday meals, etc.) !

Easy...since I'm already doing that:  it's habit now, and I actually prefer this to "the old" way of eating.

 PRASAD Health bar in Portland

Jake and I went to Powell's bookstore in Portland on our little trip last weekend, and I perused the Healthy Eating section while he was wandering around the Welding/Blacksmithing aisle :). 

I found several guides and cookbooks on a whole new genre of people that embrace a lifestyle of eating exactly the way that I eat now:  FLEXITARIANS.  Maybe this isn't a new term (I guess it was coined about 15 years ago!), but I've never heard it before. 

Anyway, I'm a flexitarian by definition! I think of it simply as "the way we were created to eat"...but hey, it's fun having a categorical name for it so when people ask.....
Here are some things I gleaned from the internet to define and explain the term. 

Flexitarian Defined

Being a vegetarian can now have many names. According to vegetarian information site Veggie Visitors, true vegans do not eat animal products whatsoever, while lacto-ovo vegetarians eat eggs and dairy, and pesce-vegetarians eat fish. Flexitarian is a term for those who eat vegetarian food most of the time but occasionally add meat to their diets. Flexitarians are considered semi-vegetarians (or, part time vegetarians! :D)

Benefits

The main benefit of following a flexitarian plan instead of eating only vegetarian is that you have more options. You won't get bored from eating only beans or tofu as your main source of protein and you won't have to give up your favorite meat dishes. According to green-living website The Daily Green, focusing your diet on fruits and vegetables can help you ward off stroke, heart disease and prostate cancer. Being a vegetarian is also kinder to the environment since it reduces greenhouse gas emissions created in the production of meat products.

I Like This Point The Best:

It's a guideline, not a religion: Your friends are in town, and want to meet at Texas Jack's House of Steak for lunch. Go for it, but just eat just a reasonable amount—about the size of a deck of cards, and switch to vegetarian fare for dinner. Eat as realistically vegetarian as you can at least 2 meals a day, eat small amounts of (really good, organic!) meat at night or only 2-3 times a week, and you'll eventually adapt to eating smaller portions. You could eat nothing but Snickers bars all day and technically be eating vegetarian, but that's not the point—use your meatless meals to inspire your eating lifestyle, not constrain it.

Expert Insight

According to Medical News Today, becoming a flexitarian and reducing your meat intake will in turn increase your lifespan. In fact, vegetarians live an average of 3.6 years longer than meat eaters. A flexitarian diet will also help reduce your cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure. Medical News Today points out that vegetarians tend to weigh less than meat eaters, which keeps them healthier and stronger.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/214136-what-is-the-flexatarian-diet-plan/#ixzz1XUP1pX8t

I wish you rich blessings as you move forward with your quest for good health and well being for yourself and your family...

Carpe Diem!

8 Pounds in 7 days, and I Feel Amazing! Day 8 of 12

I have to admit..I'm anxious to keep this post short (thank goodness for you, right? :D) because this is shopping day and I want to get out the door!  I actually look forward to buying all my produce for the week on Mondays, it's so fun now.  Maybe that's just because it feels so good buying stuff that I'm proud to buy and have no ethical conflict at all about?  I used to pick up a bag or box of something in the store and have an inner dialog that went something like this:
"Ok, this is cheaper...and fast. The boys can make this if I'm not home without destroying the kitchen, and they'll like it at least.  Wow, look at these ingredients...I can't even understand half of these words on the list, well, except SUGAR- Trans Fat- and 'added as a preservative...  hmmm.....oh well, it's cheap and they'll eat it...it will be fine..."

Now i just pick up an Organic apple that was grown in the next county and think, "Man, this is going to taste GREAT!".  Period.

So....another Pro of juicing:  Less mind static  :D .  We all could use that!

My Juice Fast shopping list for today (remember, this is all I'm consuming, plus sharing with my husband... on Saturday when I break my fast, the list will be cut by about 50% since I will only be adding 32 oz of juice to my regular, newly-improved diet after that):

    Found at Farmer's Market (our local fresh produce store...not all organic, but a large part is), and Fred Meyer in their Organic section ...

• Chard -1 bunch (I got my 2 bunches of Kale at the growers market on Saturday already)
• 14 Apples (any variety that's organic and on sale)
• Beets- 2 bunches since they are on sale and store well
• 7 lemons
• Stevia (I'm out)
• Peaches!!  The organic ones on sale at Fred Meyers this week are amazing!
• Grape tomatoes (on sale at Freddy's)
• 5-7 cucumbers (depending on how big each is)
• 2 bunches celery
• any other organic veggies or fruit on sale that looks good today

I still have my 25# bag of organic carrots that I'm using every day, and a ton of Ginger I bought last week ..plus I have tomatoes and squash from my garden, so this is pretty much the list.

I'm also going to buy the healthy stuff my son and husband like, since they are not fasting ;)...but no more crap.  Oh, and I'm going to get a few things to have on hand for when I break the fast (wild caught Alaskan Salmon is on sale at Freddy's today too.. ;)...and I will still stay within my old grocery budget without spending $$ on all the crap I used to buy for sure.

Now....off to the store, with reusable grocery bags in hand (just keepin it green). Does this mean I'm going to have to buy a Prius too?  Nah....

Carpe Diem!

Day 3 of 12

What a great day it is...I awoke with the sunshine, and then enjoyed the little drizzling of rain we had a bit later on.
I don't remember the last time I felt so rested in all my life.  This juicing thing is amazing.

I weighed myself first thing this morning and I lost 4 pounds in the first 2 days.  That is just an added bonus to the way I feel, though.  I would take health and well being over weight loss any day....but, woohoo, it looks like I don't have to choose since I'm reaping both!

Yesterday, I didn't make enough juice.  On Day 1 I made about 96 oz....which was almost too much.  Then, yesterday I cut back to about 72oz, and that wasn't enough.  At about 8pm last night  I wished I'd had one more 8 oz glass of fruit juice for a "nite cap" to hold me over until breakfast...that would have been just perfect.  So I went to bed with a little hunger thinking I would surely be starved at the crack of dawn....but I wasn't:  I woke up, rested, and astonishingly, not really hungry.  Hmmmm, that was unexpected.

So, this morning I made my juice (back up to 96 oz), and drank about 20 oz.  Yum.  Then I worked out for 30 minutes (dance workout), and felt great.  I think adding the organic vegetable protein powder to the juice is really helping me not feel a slump mid-day, even with the calories I burn working out.

It hit me last night just how long I have known about "juicing" in general, but never embraced it fully until now.  I've also known how important it is to eat tons of fruits and veggies every day, but it's hard to fit all of them in, and I always got discouraged or tired of trying to squeeze them all in each day.   With juice, you just drink a glass a day, and you've got your servings covered! It's so easy...I don't know why it took me so long to "get it".

  My new life motto:  "Once you know better, you've got to DO better" if you want to create a life of personal integrity and health in all areas :spiritually, physically and emotionally.  I've finally made the conscious decision to stop "knowing" and start "doing".

My son and granddaughter

chard

My son came by after work last night and "borrowed" some of my Chard and organic apples to juice at home...that makes me smile :)  I just want everyone I love to benefit from this journey in health with me!  

This is going well.  And, I am so glad.