June 23

Today I ate the same thing for breakfast and dinner: HUGE smoothies with pineapple, mango, and a banana.

Then in between I ate a LOT of watermelon. =)


and thats it.



Tomorrow I am headed to Chicago. leave me comments on GIVE IT TO ME RAW . COM !!!

June 23 - 1 month gone RAW

Yesterday was my one month gone raw. SERIOUSLY!? It only felt like 2 weeks!!!

I have never felt this good in my life!!!



Yesterday I pigged out on watermelon... i kept going back for more!

finally i stopped and before I went climbing i made a Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge smoothie with pineapple and mango and a banana --- TROPICAL, eh!?

it was delicious to say the least!


Then i went climbing, which is always fun... I was at the gym for about 4 hours. I felt pretty strong, and I actually ended up sending a really hard problem at the END of the day! That got me pretty psyched!!!


My friends dad (who is also my friend) came up to me and said, "I had to look through a magnifying glass to see you -- You've gotten so TINY!!!"

...........what? really? I know I have lost 9 or 10 pounds, but I had no idea that it was noticeable. Not to brag or anything, but to update, my stomach hardly has any fat on it, and you can actually start seeing abs! (well, not after I eat... lol) I hope I don't look too skinny. I think I look healthy. But his comment gave me mixed ideas!???


anyways, then for dinner I had a salad -- I'm proud of myself -- I haven't been eating enough veggies... and for the first time in my life, I enjoyed my salad!!! it had no extra dressing or even extra veggies. I did add avocado for two reasons --- 1. so that I could actually eat it and enjoy it and 2. we had one in the house and it was ripe and i didnt want it to go bad.... it was worth it though, because I haven't really eaten anything too fatty in a while. And I had just climbed for 4 hours....

June 22

Today I weighed 105.4


shoot! thats underweight! That always happens when I eat salads or a bunch of veggies for dinner... I actually kind of like it! Later on in the day I gain the weight back, so it's all good!!!


Breakfast / Lunch
For breakfast I ate a banana. I wasn't too hungry. Later on I made a HUGE blueberry/banana smoothie --- it was DELICIOUS! and suuuuper easy! I am beginning to like simple meals more and more. bananas and blueberries, DONE.

CLIMBING
I went climbing today... and man, I really am starting to feel the difference! I feel reallllly powerful lately! and my movements have improved. Since last week, every time I go to the gym I complete a new advance problem (climb). It's great!!!! I can't wait until bouldering season -- hopefully raw foods will really unleash my inner strength!!!

SNACK
I ate a banana before and after I climbed... soooo 2 more bananas!!!

Dinner
Well, I haven't eaten yet but I am just going to make a LOT of green juice. I feel like i need to eat more veggies, and I can really jam a lot of veggies in a juice, ya know?

p.s.

I know I probably didn't eat enough today, but it might partly be because I am trying to increase my water intake to a gallon a day, so it makes me less hungry... I will get used to it in the next few days... =)

yesterday, June 21st

I forgot to post yesterday... whoops.

Man i really need to start using my nutridiary.com account to make sure I am getting enough cals and stuff...

I weighed 106.4 yesterday.

EATING
I forgot what I ate for breakfast... but for lunch I ate watermelon!!!! it was delicious! It was actually the best watermelon that I have ever had!!!

WATER
I have come to the conclusion that I don't drink enough water... which is WEIRD for me. I always used to drink SO MUCH WATER, up until I was raw, and then I accidently quit. I mean, I didn't completely stop, but my water intake is at a minimum. I eat so much fruit that has a high water content that I simply FORGET that I am thirsty!?

Nonetheless, my head is back in the game. My goal is to drink a gallon a day... which is what I used to do.

DINNER
I went over to my friend Josh's house and he made me a pretty good raw vegan dinner! It was basically a bunch of cut up veggies in a lettuce leaf... I enjoyed.

another day

I weighed 106.4 in the morning.



I love my fruit area and wanted to take a picture by it. IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY!


BREAKFAST

I ate watermelon for breakfast. I didn't post a picture because i've posted pics of me eating watermelon a few times already... you could probably imagine -- cut a watermelon it half, use a spoon, and dig in. You know how it goes! =)

LUNCH

For lunch I drank a huge green juice made up of random greens that I needed to use before they went bad... including a BUNCH of spinach, broccoli, celery, lettuce, and 2 apples to sweeten it. It tasted way better than i expected --- it was really sweet because of the apples, but it had a nice twang to it because of the celery. I enjoyed it and look forward to playing around with recipes in the future!!!



DINNER

For dinner I blended a HUGE smoothie --- with about 3 peaches and 2 mangos (which is more than i thought).... I also added a cup of ice to make it cold. BUT LOOK WHAT HAPPENED... I cut open one of the mangos and it looked like this:


This is a mango that i JUST bought at Whole Foods. It was fresh and ripe but not rotten. I have no idea what that is on it but it freaked me out. It was only on that side --- the other side was perfect!? Anyone have an idea what it is?







p.s. I LOVE MY DOG BUDDY... more than you could imagine. TALK about a BEST FRIEND who is ALWAYS THERE FOR ME! I LOVE HIM TO DEATH!!!!!!!!!


I ADDED PICS TO MY OLD POSTS - check it out! Especially my birthday post!

juicer

I am loving my new juicer.


My friend from Chattanooga randomly came up to Nashville today and is staying at my house. She works at a health food store called GreenLife and suggested making a carrot-apple juice......... so we did, and it was DAMN GOOD! Everyone needs to try it!!! (sorry no pics...)

weight

Today I weighed 107.4........................ thats a pound underweight, EEK! oh well, it was only because its the morning and i haven't eaten yet. I bet i will weigh 109 later on today. =)

GOLDEN BIRTHDAY!

My golden birthday was yesterday. I turned 17 on the 17th.

It was pretty awesome.

PRESENTS are unexpected and delightful!

I woke up, went to the kitchen, and opened the presents my cousin gave me:

-ice pop holder things (where you put fruit juice or something in them and freeze them! pretty cool!)

-bling bling tattoos (it was a joke)

-a really cool flower pen (LOL) It's kind of an inside joke.

-a pool float dolphin thing (it was to get me to go in the pool more... im a wuss when it comes to cold water, even though i have a beautiful pool in my backyard)

....so that was really nice of her!!! (THANKS HAN!)

Then I opened the present from my parents: A JUICER!!!! It's a really nice one too. I will post a picture later!!! My mom even wrapped it in climbing magazine paper! awwwwwww so sweet!!!

I immediately made apple juice and it was the best apple juice that I have ever drank... drinken? drunk? drinked? ........uhhh, anyways

GROCERY STORE
I went to the grocery store to get some stuff for my day... since I had a few friends coming over. We mostly just got food to make salsa and guac dip.... Mmmm

PHONE TROUBLES
My phone died at bonnaroo, so I was missing all of my b-day calls and texts... It just crapped out on me and wouldnt turn on even hours after charging. SOOOOO I went to the verizon wireless store and ended up getting a new phone (I asked for the cheapest one they had, haha.) It is still pretty cool though, and its better than my old phone!!! BUT the bad part is that I lost all my contacts.......

PARTY
I came home and my friend Brandi was already here! My cousin hannah made the guacamole while I went to get a new phone, and when I came home we all made the salsa, which we named Salsa Sunrise:
and here was the wonderful guacamole:

Then a couple more friends showed up and my mom made them vegetable lasagna (not raw, but at least it was vegetarian!) I didn't eat it (obviously) but I was glad that they liked it.

Not long after I served the triple layer sorbet that I made. It was really good!





At around 10pm my best friend Josh showed up and showed us crazy videos on YouTube.... mainly about aliens. Then he left and four of us were left and really scared!!! it was sad.

Then we eventually went outside and camped in this huge tent/garage thing that we have (we always make it look so comfy!) and after chillin out for a while, we called it a night.

I love my friends!!!


Then when we woke up, I made smoothies for my friends and then we went to Whole Foods. I got a salad to bring home....

and that is pretty much my day so far... man i go too much into my day.... do i? i dont know.

peace!

Struggles

IM STRUGGLING

no no, not with eating, but with people...

NOBODY UNDERSTANDS!

I am pretty much an enthusiast with all my passions, and raw foods is one of them. I try to be an enthusiast... but all it does is create arguments. Maybe I should never tell anyone about my diet. Maybe I should keep it to myself and just deny non-raw foods and make up excuses. I'm really tired of people starting debates about how this diet is bad and how I am not getting enough nutrients. GOSH.

So this morning I was enjoying my amazing smoothie (bananas, mango, strawberries, water) and my grandpa calls....I love my grandpa, he is such an awesome guy!!! He made me potatoes last week and I had to deny (felt TERRRRIBLE) and today he asked if I ever ate them (my dad did, not me) and I said no... so then he went on to tell me that "That diet is gonna KILL you!" and he said it twice. I felt downer than down... Even my grandpa was against me. =(

That made me kind of tear up (i'm sensitive, especially with people I love and one of my passions/biggest interests)

CLIMBING

----edit---- sorry if you aren't a climber - i forget how much i use climbing lingo. If you question what anything means, I put it in parentheses or you can just ask...

Later on I went to the climbing gym. It was SO MUCH FUN! My motivation is back. (since they have all new climbs put up from the competition) So I worked on a lot of cool problems (climbs) today, and it was a lot of fun. I ended up sending (finishing) 2 new advance problems, which I was psyched about!!!

But then............

My friend was talking to my mom the other day and he was trying to talk me out of raw foods.... said it was "killing my mom." so that put me kinda down...

Then a few more people got into it and they were like "OHH YEAH YEAH you shouldnt be a vegan till you are an adult" and they were saying that I don't get all my nutrients.

After debating for a little bit, nobody still understood me or raw foods.

Being the sensitive ME, I put my head down and had to leave the gym.

On the way out, one of them said, "EAT MEATTTTTT!"

They probably have no idea how much they hurt my feelings. It wasn't just themmmmm, but simply the idea that NOBODY IS ON MY SIDE! Nobody will open up their minds wide enough to understand why raw foods are GOOD FOR YOU and that I can survive, live, and THRIVE on this diet....

What makes me more mad is that I don't ever force my opinions on people - I don't even tell people that they should be vegetarian or vegan... I don't get mad when people eat meat or dairy... I keep to myself unless the topic arises or unless questions are asked. BUT they get all RILED UP about how MY diet is unhealthy when i NEVER get riled up about how unhealthy theirs is!!! I have no idea if that just made sense but it makes sense in my head. ha...

NUTRIENTS

I am almost positive I have researched it before, but do raw foodists get all their nutrients?! SO MANY people tell me that I am not getting it all... (Standard American Dieters, that is)


Im trying to stay positive but man...... i just need to shut the hell up and not tell anyone Im a raw vegan! GEEEEEEEZ

BONNAROOOOO

HELL YEAH.

This weekend was amazing.

I don't even know where to start.

This year Bonnaroo was more about chillin at the campsite and avoiding the heat during the day, and going out later to see the good bands jam well into the morning... so our sleeping patterns were turned around!!! We usually woke up around 11am, chilled and people-watched until 4ish (unless there was someone who we REALLY had to see play) and then went to the venue until 4 or so in the morning... then back to sleep and the cycle repeats. =)

This is me taking a power nap:

THURSDAY:

I painted our flag VERY last minute.. it turned out okay:



My dad and I headed out at midnight... down to the farm in Manchester, TN.

Normally when you first arrive, you have to step out of your car for a quick "search" for illegal stuff and glass bottles and weapons and things, but they did nothing of the sort when we came. They were just like "Hey do you have any glass bottles? okay move along!"

So we were driving to a campsite and then I saw my uncles Wisconsin flag in the RV section and we pulled in next to him and set up camp. It was a pretty sweet set-up! We were right along one of the walkways/roads and so we did TONS of people watching throughout the weekend. We were "out in the 'burbs" as we liked to say.


The music area (Centeroo) wasn't too far either -- we got it figured out by the 2nd day... it was about a 10-15 minute walk, which is not too bad!

We chilled at the campsite the rest of the night on thursday --- since my dad and I didnt arrive until like 1 or 2. We could hear Lez Zeppelin playing all the way from our campsite, which was pretty amazing. They sounded EXACTLY like the real Led Zeppelin!!!

We ended up staying up until maybe 3-4 this night, then we hit it.

FRIDAY
watermelon in the morning... yummy:

Well, I was going to see Stephen Marley and Umphrey's McGee and Tegan and Sara...... but we were too lazy to move at those times in the morning. We were just chillin at base camp.

I'm pretty sure it was raining too...

On our way to the music, we stopped here and added to the yarn art:

and while we are at it, here is another art setup where anyone can add to it... i thought the guitar was cool. Props to whoever did it!


Later on we finally headed out of camp and caught the last song of the Bluegrass Allstars (Luke Bulla, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, Edgar Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Bryan Sutton.)

Then at around 5pm we headed to the main stage to see the Raconteurs..... with Jack White.... and damnnnn they were amazing! The sound was superb, the vibe was awesome, and Jack White's voice was music in itself. Definitely worth a Bonnaroo ticket right there!


Then we walked by Willie Nelson... and Rilo Kiley... and we were going to stay for Chris Rock but it was still drizzling so we just went back to camp to eat dinner.

This is me chillin at camp:

I think I went to sleep before the late night shows (I slept at camp during Metallica).....

then at midnight we headed back out to see MY MORNING JACKET! THEY WERE AMAZING, as always! I thought the sound was great! Good set for sure!

Then we saw the famous DJ TIESTO... it was rockin. It was also raining, so we were getting pretty wet. People were going crazy in this tent... a lot of ectasy and acid at this show among the people. ha. This is DJ Tiesto's show:

and then............. my all-time favorite............... THE DISCO BISCUITS!!!!!!! oh my gosh they were so damn good!!!!! They played from 2-4 but they went overtime. It was non-stop JAMMING!!!! Definitely incredible!!! They were telling a funny story about how they got pulled over on the way to bonnaroo right after they lit up a joint of sour diesel (type of herb) and when the cops were going through their tour bus, they came out and said something like "I'm buzzed just from walking in there!" Long story short, they all got tickets for possession but they let them play the "best show of their lives" at the big ROO. Good stuff.

After that we went back to camp and slept. (check out our setup)

SATURDAY

Another day of chillin at the campsite to avoid the heat...


I think this was the day that we started selling "Melted Ice".....

Since we lived right next to a road, we constantly saw people walking back to their camp with ice... half melted just from the walk back.... so my dad and I started yelling "MELTED ICE, 50 CENTS! GET YOUR MELTED ICE HERE!!!" --- cold water, ya knowwww? i dont know why we thought it was funny.

I dont think i mentioned this before, but we had a crazy flagpole... with a lot of decorations and stuff... and some guys thought we were selling acid. HAHA. This is just the top of it... there were many decorations at the bottom...

I got carried away and missed the major show of Mason Jennings, but caught a few songs of his other show at another stage... it was kinda a bummer that I missed most of it, but at least i saw my favorite song by him: Be Here Now.

Then we saw Cat Power..... we didn't really like the show i don't think.

We just walked around.... i heard Ben Folds playing somewhere I think... and I don't know why, but we were pretty tired so we headed back to camp to sleep and eat before the late night shows... (we skipped Jack Johnson)...

This is the mushroom fountain -- where people escape from the heat of the day...

So we hung out, and then left again a little before 10 to see PEARL JAM! Man I forgot that I used to like this band. They were great! They really rocked it! I am pretty sure Eddie was slightly intoxicated though. haha. I really enjoyed this show though -- more than I thought I would! They went a little overtime, which was fine with me!!

After that we headed over to wait for Sigur Ros -- one of the major bands I wanted to see. They were really peaceful and calming, but I think the sound messed up a few times??? If I remember correctly. Still very mellow though.

KANYE WEST HAS AN EGO......

Then we did something I regret --- wait for Kanye West's ass. I don't even listen to him, but we heard there was going to be a cool laser light show or something, so we headed over.

He was supposed to be playing at 2:45 (after he changed his original set) so everyone was waiting.... but he made us wait over an hour and a half! He didn't come on until 4:30!!! Everyone was pissed off, chanting, "ASS - HOLE! ASS -HOLE!" and "BOOOOO!!!!" and "FUCK KANYE!!!" and "KANYE SUCKS, KANYE SUCKS!!"

He changed his set so that it would definitely be dark for his "light show" but halfway through his set, it was MORNING! and it was LIGHT outside! He only played for an hour! bullllllshit.

The next morning the graffiti on the bonnaroo walls proved that bonnaroo people were not very happy with him. (pictures on my myspace)

Read this http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/06/16/kanye-west-rankles-bonnaroo-with-tardy-pre-dawn-set/ --- and any other article about it. They are all over the internet. KANYE ISN'T WELCOME TO BONNAROO ANYMORE!!!
things like this were written alllllll over the place:

anyways

then we headed back since it was already getting light outside.... and since he sucks...

SUNDAY

Another chill day. While we were at our campsite, a random guy had this HUGE blow up monkey (like, the size of me) and he just came up to us, set it in the chair facing us, and kept walking. HAHA. He totally gave it to us! (we asked) so that was pretty cool.

Then not too long after someone was saying "FRUIT! WHO WANTS FRUIT!" so of course that got my attention, and I turned around and I was like I DO!!! So he came over and he said that he is heading back home and thought the fruit would go bad, so he just GAVE it to me! It was a whole bag of fruit! SCORE!!! =)

Finally we headed out to see Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (I was still hoping Led Zeppelin would show up) but that never happened (wishful thinking)... anyways THIS SHOW WAS AMAZING! Alison has the voice of an angel, and Robert Plant is just FULL of good talent. Definitely another show that is worth the whole b-roo ticket!!!

After this my dad was pretty beat and since it was father's day, wanted to head home. We got in the car to leave and waited in a fully stopped line for like... 2 hours. Just sitting there... they wouldnt open the interstate from bonnaroo for some reason. It was annoying. But finally they opened it and we were off... FAREWELL BONNAROO. I miss it already.

Pictures and edits will come this week.. I cant even believed I remembered this all... (granted a lot of info is missing in my brain - its hard to remember 4 full days! Also the schedule helped me jog my memory)

Overall, the disco biscuits was my favorite show. =)

off to bonnaroo.... after the climbing comp

BONNAROO-BOUND

I am competing in a climbing comp tonight since i have to wait for my dad to get off of work in order to go to bonnaroo.

It's nothing big - just a local climbing comp.

It kinda sucks because there is no girl division, so i have to compete with all the advance guys. Oh well, i need to let my ego rest. ;)

anyways, IM OFF TO THE BIG 'ROOOOOO!!!!

have a good week everyone! I will be back Sunday night!!!

nothing day

This was the probably the first day of summer that I didn't even get in my car to drive anywhere. Gas prices SUCK!

I just kinda chilled out at home ALL FREAKIN DAY!

BREAKFAST

I ate the other half of a watermelon for breakfast. It was delicious. I sat outside and enjoyed the sun.

LUNCH

A couple hours later I ate a banana (i think!? haha my memory is pretty terrible) and then not long after that I ate a BERRY SMOOTHIE. It included rasberries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries..... oh my gosh! so freakin berriful!!!!!! I drank it but man.... too much....

DINNER?

I really had the urge to eat something fattening (weird i know) so i ate some cashews... well, i can never eat just a little. I keep going back for more. So i ate a lot of cashews... Now I feel all fat and crap, but I definitely won't be eating them for a while, which is good! Sometimes it takes an overdose of something to make me back away from eating something bad. Don't get me wrong, cashews are good in SMALL doses, but I did not eat a small dose by any means. I think i had 3 or 4 servings... let's see.... 12 grams of fat per serving - i dont even want to know.

PLANTING THE WATERMELON

I planted the watermelon seeds - i hope it wasn't too late. We'll see.

METAPHYSICS

I have recently been really interested in metaphysics --- especially ontology. Just felt like sharing. If anyone is educated in these areas, talk to me about it!!!

Ode to nothing-days

I didn't do much at all today... it was definitely a lazy day.

I made a banana pineapple smoothie for breakfast. It was DELICIOUS!

My cousin Hannah spent the night, but I don't know if I should even mention that because she spends the night every night, haha. But seriously, she is more like a sister than a cousin. I like it that way. =)


GROCERY STORE:

Later on I went to the grocery store and bought food for BONNAROO! For anyone who doesn't know, Bonnaroo is a 4-day music festival... you know... sex, drugs, and rockNroll. It is 4 days of camping, partying, and ongoing fun. You will never see so many hippies at one time in your life. ITS THE SHIT! It starts on Thursday - I AM PSYCHED!

I bought:

-strawberries (ON SALE!)

-blueberries (ON SALE!)

-peaches

-apples (i know i know, they aren't in season but i got them in case my other fruit goes bad in the heat at bonnaroo)

-watermelon

-cherries

-red grapes

-pineapple



There was SO much fruit in my basket! (A lot of it will last a while though. I washed and froze many of the strawberries for smoothies in the future.) My dad bought a meaty pizza and some cheese, and when we purchased our food, he was like, "ASH! Why did you have to get pizza when we bought all of this healthy fruit!!!?" He was trying to embarrass me, but he should know I don't get embarrassed. HAHA.


Then I came home, cut a watermelon and ate HALF of it! I sat outside with a spoon in hand and dug away. It was SO GOOOOD! I love doing this!!!



HYGIENE:

Okay so recently I have been wanting to "be more natural." I never wear makeup or use lotions, but there are some things that I use that certainly aren't natural. I try to think about people living thousands of years ago.... I try to think of living simple.. pure... without chemicals, toxins, and preservatives. I quit using deodorant in late May, and I never really smell bad... (but i did bring it along camping and i used it once... no idea why...) I certainly do not think shampoo is natural.. so I stopped using it. I heard that it takes like 6-8 weeks of not using it for your hair to not look so greasy... and I simply couldn't wait that long so I gave in today and used it. But hey, at least I use Whole Foods brand shampoo! As far as shaving goes, my opinion stays the same but I do not always go with it. I firmly believe that it is SOCIETY'S DAMN FAULT that makes it seem that women have to shave. It is socially accepted and if you don't shave, people look at you funny. I hate it. BUT i totally give in everytime. I don't really shave very much in the winter (no need to... pants... long sleeves... its a waste of time!) ...But in the summer I feel weird if I don't -- too many weird looks (since its bathing suit season)

So even though my opinion of "we shouldnt give a shit - its only society saying we need to shave," I still give in every summer because of damn narcissism i guess. ;)


WHOLE FOODS:

After I waited for rush hour to end, I went to Whole Foods because they have the BEST MANGOS EVER and its TOTALLY WORTH THE DRIVE! They are like... perfect! I also got some electrolyte enhanced water... because my dad was about to force me to bring gatorade to Bo0nnaroo so "I wont pass out," but I refused. He continued to say, "BUT YOU NEED THE ELECTROLYTES!," So I said, "I CAN GET ELECTROLYTE WATER AT WHOLE FOODS!" And so I did. =)

Man, everytime I walk into Whole Foods I feel so happy!

Get this --- they had a sale on their peaches -- and I had already bought some earlier that day. SHUCKS! OH and their watermelon was a whole dollar cheaper than Publix. Oh well.


WATERMELON SEEDS

I bought some watermelon seeds at Publix and I am SO EXCITED. I already planned my area to plant them and I am going to do so tomorrow. YAY! That means I will save money on watermelon!!!

CHEAP FRUIT

If anyone has ideas of how I could get ahold of cheap fruit, let me know. This lifestyle has a reputation of getting expensive, but I won't let it. It is too perfect of a lifestyle to be like that. SO these are my ideas: (tell me what you think!)

-ask local flourists for bruised/dented fruit for their fruit baskets!?

-find a local wholesale fruit market in nashville and see if they can deliver to my house

-farmers market (does anyone know if this is cheaper?)

-only eat / eat mostly ON SALE fruit at the grocery stores

-look at ADS online and in the paper for fruit sales and deals (thanks Cora!)

-if you know any other ways, let me know. Maybe I should work at a grocery store!!!!?

HOT training

Yesterday I forgot to post.

I ate 2 strawberry banana smoothies - one for breakfast, one for lunch.

Then I went swimming in my pool...

Then I went to the climbing gym and trained. IT WAS SO HOT! Thee AC at the gym didn't work... it was pretty bad!

Tim, my coach, KILLED me on abs for the first part. First I did pushups on one of those huge bouncy balls. Then i did intervals of doing the pushups on the ball and doing intense sets of bicycles (abs)... it burned.

Then I did sets to work on my crosses (for non-climbers, thats where you cross one arm over the other to grab on to another climbing hold)

Then I did off-set pull-ups and then bumps... it was pretty intense.

Then I finished off the workout with abs --- front levers and side levers.

whew...

Then I came home, ate some bananas...


and then I found a Lara bar that my friend bought me a while ago -- it was the Ginger Snap kind... and OMG, it was so good!!!!!!

Later on I got hungry again so I ate a handful of raw cashews... (not the best choice, as its really hard to only eat one handful - i had to eat 2 handfulls) Mannnnnnn cashews are so fattening.

Oh well, I just wont eat fatty stuff for a day or two.






i really want to go on a juice fast sometime this summer. I guess if I get a juicer for my birthday then I will definitely do it.

RAW CAMPING AND CLIMBING

I returned from my camping/climbing trip today. It was a blast.

We went to the Obed in Crossville, TN.

I AM SO SORE! The hiking was getting to me!!!

I am proud though - I stayed 100% raw during this time, and I actually brought more fruit than I needed! I only ate fruit the whole time, and it was delicious and I felt great.

There was a huge wedding at the campsite we were at, and there were a couple huge parties the nights we were there. It was pretty fun!!! =)

I didn't take many pics... I will post a few later when I get them uploaded.


by the way, I weighed in at 109.6 today!!!

about to go climbing and camping

Today was nice -- unfortunately I don't have any pics to share with you, since I didn't try anything new.

I went yard saling in the morning. Then I chilled out, ate a handfull of raw cashews which filled me up until now, and then went to a greenway to ride my bike and meet up with my friend.



I am in a rush though --- I am going on a 3 day camping/climbing trip, and I am leaving in an hour. This will be the first camping/climbing trip I will go on since going raw... I am packing up my food and planning my meals.

I will post on Sunday night or Monday morning.

Take care everyone.

climbing and mango strawberries

WEIGHT UPDATE:

TODAY I WEIGHED 110.4 !!!!! So I was super psyched about that!!!

CLIMBING:

I went to the gym and CRUSHED! I FELT SO STRONG!!!!!!! I was locking off my moves better than EVER!!! I felt super solid!!! It's weird --- I am not very MOTIVATED to climb these days (I think this has to do with the heat) but I feel strong!!! This might also have something to do with my weight loss - even though it was only a few pounds, it really makes a difference!!!

BY the way, I kinda got hungry at the gym so the manager gave me an orange that was in the fridge. I had never eaten a cold orange, but it was really really really good!!! =)

MANGO STRAWBERRY MADNESS:

I seem to try something new everyday now that I am raw. THIS WAS DELICIOUS! ...And for the record, I could not find two of the same glasses to put it in, so I picked two totally different ones --- check it out:

mangos are soooooooooooooo gooooooooooood!

What a day!

WEIGHT EXCITEMENT


GUESS WHAT!

This morning I stepped on my scale and I was 110.8 !

That might not be exciting to you, but it was exciting to me!!! Before I became raw, my average weight was around 117. In the morning, I would always be around 115, and then at night I would be somewhere around 117-118. (My weight changes a lot!!!)

Now that I am a raw vegan, my normal weight is around 112! In the morning it is usually 111, and at night after I eat its around 113. I think that it is really cool to think that I'd freak out if I saw 114 on the scale, yet only a few weeks ago I would be rejoicing if I saw 114!

I swear I don't have a eating disorder, guys -- I am at a really healthy weight right now! I am not at the lowest possible for my height, but then again I don't think that is possible because I have more muscle than the average girl since I am a climber. I am however EXTREMELY excited about my weight --- the lighter I am, the easier climbing seems to be... the more pull-ups I seem to do... the happier I am.

Let's just say that if you want to lose weight, raw veganism is the way to go! I didn't even think I would lose that much weight since I was already a vegan, but no, i TOTALLY did, and I feel SO GOOD with my body. I'm working on my core muscles for training right now too, and I am totally psyched!

Breakfast - SPINACH AND BANANA SMOOOOTHIE

Whenever I drink this smoothie, it makes me feel so good! I feel like POPEYE!!!

RAW CHOCOLATE














I made my first batch of raw chocolate today. I am super psyched. I am not sure if it is totally raw though, beacuse it asked for 1/4 cup of maple syrup. I have 100% maple syrup that I used, but I don't think ANY maple syrup is totally raw unless you peal it off a tree, and that would be kind of gross. But all in all, its as close to raw as I could get..... and OH MY GOSH, its SOOOOO GOOD!

PICNIC
















I met up with one of my best friends, Brandi, at the park today and we had a picnic with my cousin, Hannah, and Brandi's boyfriend, Alex. It was really fun and I really enjoyed the company. I brought my fair share--- a huge bowl of watermelon. =) It was deeeelish! Brandi brought all sorts of things, from raw pico de gallo to strawberries and oranges. She also brought smart water for all of us, and of course bread (to feed the ducks). Alex brought sandwiches for Brandi and himself. It was really fun!

(oops, i forgot to take pics of the food! ha ha)
















dinner - LETTUCE WRAPS!

These were pretty good... I think I added too much cilantro, but overall they were okay. I blended a bunch of ingredients in a food processor, then put spoonfulls inside lettuce, and wrapped it up and tied it with a string of cilantro. Check it out:


leave comments - I wonder if anyone reads this!?!?!?!

smoothies and watermelons

I LOVE SMOOTHIES.


They are a great way to get a lot of calories in for a raw-foodist.


Since fruit and vegetables don't have very many calories, sometimes its hard to eat enough calories --- that would be a LOT of chewing.


So you can pack in A LOT of fruit and/or veggies in a blender and its just like drinking a drink!


This morning I had huge strawberry banana smoothie. It was just a bunch of frozen strawberries (I no longer count) and about 2 frozen bananas... and a cup of water... MMMMmmm goodness!!!


WATERMELON MADNESS:

I ate so much watermelon today! I felt like I was going to explode!


I ate it for lunch and then a few pieces of it for dinner, and I am still stuffed hours later.... But it was sooooo good! There is still A LOT left, so I am excited for the future! =)

I probably won't be hungry for breakfast though --- we'll see.

I am excited --- I am going on a picnic in the park tomorrow with my good old friend Brandi. We went to school together my first two years of highschool and instantly became best friends. Sadly, we never see each other anymore since I changed schools. So tomorrow will be a blast. Also, while on topic, she told me today that she is trying to be a vegetarian now!!! I am so happy! She said she saw a raw video on my myspace (www.myspace.com/badashclimber) and it made her want to be raw. Each step is a good step! Vegetarians totally get my respect and love! =)


P.S. DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO SOMEONE ON HERE? There are many blogs that I enjoy going to, but I forget the links all the time and I wish I could just subscribe to them so that I don't have to try to find them again. If you know, leave a comment!!!

RAW [CLIMBING] TRAINING

Hey nobody,


Today was the first time I have trained on the 100% raw food diet. All in all, it was a success.

When I was fresh, I felt like I could lock off my moves really well, and I felt strong.

Of course, as every workout goes, my moves became more and more desperate as the minutes went by.... but that happens no matter what, since the workouts are so intense.

But overall, climbing + raw foods = success. I will post more as climbing and training continues.

As far as new foods go, I made mango icecream today! I simply cut and froze a mango, and took it out and blended it in a processer with a small squirt of raw agave nectar (optional) and a tiny bit of water for consistency. It was delicious - I wish I took a picture.

Raw Food

Okay, so I totally forgot that I had a blogger.

I deleted all my old posts (I felt the need to start fresh.)

I am not sure if anyone is going to read this, but I thought since my life is changing radically that I might as well keep track of it in blog form.

Let's see...

MY VEGAN VENTURE

Three months ago I became a vegan. (A vegan does not eat any meat or anything derived from an animal.) I did this for many reasons, including animal rights AND health. I simply thought that I was only half-supporting the cause of animal rights by being a vegetarian. Also, I didn't see the need to drink milk or eat eggs. Humans simply don't need these things. (Not to mention, they are quite fatty!) My veganism started as a 30 day trial, but after researching it extensively, I could not go back. So here I am, still a vegan!

MY RAW FOOD JOURNEY so far

When I first became a vegan, someone told me about the raw food diet. A raw food diet, for those of you who don't know, is exactly what it sounds like. A raw foodist only eats raw foods. A raw foodists does not eat anything cooked or processed. This is for many reasons, but mostly because of the enzymes of the food. Apparently, when a food is cooked over 116 degrees, the enzymes in the food are destroyed, which in turn kills the nutrition of the food. Raw foodists refer to cook food as "dead food." So basically, when we eat raw foods, we get FULL nutrition from the food. It totally makes sense to me. Not to mention, being raw simply cuts out SO much unhealthy food. The more I learn about it the more I get grossed out by processed foods.

I went raw for a few days when I first became a vegan, but I was not educated enough about it and I was not getting an adequate amount of calories or nutrition. I always felt weak, tired, and hungry. Now that I am educated, I realize that I was simply going through the "detox" phase. I quit eating a raw food diet, but continued to eat about 75% raw for a while. Then I totally fell off and didn't pay attention to the percentage.

KNOWLEDGE IS KEY

I have been reading a book called Eat to Live. It is a fantastic book and it has really made me aware of what I am eating. I am about a third way through, and already extremely aware of food. Because of what the book talks about, my interest in raw foods has returned, and this time it is intense.

I have seriously researched for days-on-end. I have been to DOZENS of raw food sites, joined a few raw food communities, talked to other raw foodists, went to bookstores and read books about it, went to Whole Body and read books about it, watched videos online, and even listened to podcasts. I am so ready for this lifestyle!

I have been 100% raw for one week. I will be completely honest. For the first few days, I was craving foods like crazy. I felt sluggish and I simply was not motivated. Americans are truly addicted to cooked and processed foods! You don't really realize it until you go raw. But those few days went by fast, and they were simply my detox days -- the day my body was getting used to raw foods and getting rid of the processed and cooked stuff.

Now, I can't lie, I have never felt this good in my life. It has only been about 7 days but I can already feel the difference. I lost 3 pounds of uneeded fat/weight. I feel light, THIN, happy, ENERGETIC, and strong! I have an ongoing "natural high" and I can't stop laughing and smiling at everything... for days on end! The good vibes and positive energy is flowing like crazy, including in my food! I feel so good; it is indescribible! LIFE IS AMAZING!

If you wonder what I eat, leave comments and I might post my menu for a day or two sometime.

Well, that's all I have to say. KEEP SMILING, everyone!