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!

Day 5 of 12...Seven Pounds in 4 Days: I Love My Juice!

I've lost 7 pounds in 4 days...I'm starting my 5th day on the fast today!  I continue to be amazed at how easy this is.  I thought I would be obsessed with eating throughout this time, but, other than the triggers and urges to chew in the first 1-3 days, I have had no issues what so ever.  Now, I've read at the "F,S & ND" website on the forum that some people struggle a bit more in the first 3 days....but virtually no one has had any problems after day three.  I mean, seriously, if you make it to day 4, it is a piece of cake.  Your palate has completely changed (meaning you actually start to crave your green juice), and it's so easy to just grab your container of juice when you feel hungry that there is no heartache in not being able to chew on something.

On evening 3, I admit, I looked at my husband's grilled salmon and wanted a bite...but hey, I get to have that the rest of my life after the fast, so it was not a problem suppressing the urge.   I've been around other family members eating ice cream, french fries, etc. and I don't feel deprived at all; instead I don't even find the other food appealing and I'm just happy that my health is improving by leaps and bounds instead.

I wish someone would do a study on why juicing not only makes you feel physically healthy, but also emotionally stellar.  I mean, I guess it's obvious why since your cells (including neurons) are all singing inside of you once they get the nutrients they finally need through the juice..but the physiology would be really interesting.  I can't remember a time in my life feeling happier or with such a sense of over riding contentment and  positive outlook.  It's kind of uncanny...but not unusual I guess, since many juicers report the same thing.  Hmmm.

I have to admit something: last night I was slicing a peach for my husband, and completely out of habit, slipped a piece in my mouth and ate it!  I know that it's not the end of the world, and I put peaches in my juice all the time, so it's something you are encouraged to consume on the fast....but for the fast-purists out there, I messed up.  And here's the best part: that peach tasted like the most incredible organic peach I had ever dreamed of.  My taste buds were so sensitive to the flavor of raw, healthy produce that I believe my sense of taste is cleaned out too now.  I mean, it was crazy incredible. So incredibly good that I actually ate 3 more slices ! :D  Jake said, "Are you supposed to eat that?".

"No, but hey, it's on my list of foods to juice and I just can't believe how amazing it tastes!  Besides, one or two ( okay, 4) little slices of peach is not going to break my fasting efforts."

So be it.  I am not a purist, and never will be, and that's fine.

I have been proclaiming the wonderful benefits of Juicing for 5 days now, and I thought it would be important to think through the "cons" just so this blog and my opinion can be balanced.  Here is the list I came up with:

The Cons of Juicing:

• It's messy...no matter how you juice, or what machine you use, it's messy.  Pulp and juice find their way onto your clothes (and beet juice really stains), the counter, the floor at times.
• Everyone else you live with will want you to make juice for them (or share YOUR juice) once they try it...so there is a bit more hassle and work that might take place once you start; and it's frustrating when you share your juice "gold" with them, and then they chase it with a chocolate chip cookie!! Seems like a waste.
• Your clothes will fit looser, so you may have to buy new ones. Even on just a 5-day fast, you are going to lose weight; so if you don't want to, you'd have to add in extra foods or maybe high quality fats (like olive oil to your green juice? I have no idea)
• You have to visit the bathroom a lot more...very inconvenient when you are traveling or in the middle of town on errands, etc.
• You may have to put up with friends or family that think you are just going through some health-craze phase, and that this too shall pass.  Naysayers are not fun...neither are people that say, "That's great for you, but I'd never do it."  It's kinda sad, and that's a con.
• You have to take a juicer with you if you plan to leave town in order to truly remain on the fast (this is why I'm doing 12 days...because on day 13, Jake and I are going on a trip to the Portland Art on the Pearl Festival and I didn't want to be juicing then).  For those planning longer fasts, buying 2 juicers (a travel and home juicer) could be spendy.

And, I think that's about it.  For me, the pros outweigh the cons by a landslide...but for others, they may not.

All I know is that this juicing works and is hands-down the best, most delicious, easiest journey for health and weight loss that I have ever experienced.

Little tips I've learned about juicing that are cool:

1. Broccoli Stems (the long trunks under the fluffy part at top) contain a LOT of juice and is sweeter than the florets.  Juicing broccoli is awesome, and in your green juice, it doesn't taste "broccoli-ish"
2. Always juice your cucumber last ... it "washes" out the other produce and pulp left in the juicer.
3. Celestial Seasonings Tiger Spice Cinnamon-y herb tea (with the tiger on the front) is amazing iced with a little stevia in it.
4. "Naked" Juice or other brands that are in the grocery store are NOT a good buy and shouldn't be used for your fast.  It is all pasteurized (which means heated to boiling for a certain amount of time) and all of the live enzymes that are the healthy component in fresh juice are killed.
5.  Freezing your juice to defrost and drink later kills the enzymes too..so don't freeze it.  It will "keep" for 24-48 hours; but always try to drink it as soon as possible since storing diminishes the nutrient quality a little each hour. Conversely, it is totally ok to use frozen fruits in your juice to augment it...the site suggests defrosting it first...but I have tossed in handfuls of frozen blueberries and they come through the juicer with a great creamy texture and make it all cold and yummy.
6. Wrapping celery in foil makes in stay fresh longer.
7. Taking your carrots out of their plastic bag so they can "breathe" in your frig keeps them from going bad
8. Organic produce is hands-down more flavorful and worth every extra cent it costs to purchase up front.  I don't even stress on the prices now...I buy what's on sale, and save a ton on not buying the junk I used to: so, it evens out. Always look for the number "9" as the first number on your produce label..."9" means it is certified Organic.
9. I make it a point to tell my favorite organic farmer at the Grower's Market that I LOVE his produce, and I commend him for working hard to do the right thing for all of us who buy his veggies and fruits.  Usually, others are standing around when I say that, and hopefully they will be encouraged to buy his stuff and not the guy's next to him who uses chemicals to augment growth or kill pests :(.   **I was buying produce from one local farm that has a booth every week that swarms with customers at the Grower's Market...I asked the guy that took the money if they used any pesticides on the farm , and he said "no, but they use fertilizers".  He didn't sound too sure, so I found their farm's website online and sent them an email.  The owner said, "yes, we do use pesticides and herbicides, but ALL according to the directions of the chemical company...so there is not much residue on the produce when it gets to market."  Ummmmmm, no...not going to buy there again.  If you want to know the name of the farm, facebook or email me.
10. So, in response to #8 above, always ask if you don't see the "organic" label on produce....nine times out of ten, even at the Grower's Market, it will have chemicals on it if not labeled or on their Farm Sign, etc.

Have an amazing day!