Wow, it has been so very long since I've written here. In the time since I have written, Wade and I have tried several things in our health -- vegetarian, vegan, juicing. We have juiced some for better health. We enjoy the juice, but it's not a lifestyle we can maintain. We are eating more raw and real foods. We love that!

But then basketball season and the holidays hit. We couldn't seem to recover and we found ourselves back to some of our old habits. Not all of them, but some.

So now that we are done with basketball and our schedules have slowed down, we are ready to begin again and go to the next level. We both need to lose weight and need some motivation.

We are back to working out, but need to commit to 4-5 days/week. Working out helps keep me motivated about what I put into my mouth.

We will be keeping food journals just to stay accountable.

I also am working on some motivation boards for us to see every single day. This will probably hang in our closets/dressing area so we can see it each day as we get dressed.

All or nothing. This is how we will have to do this. We talked about putting it all on the table. Getting everyone on board in the family. I need to build my self-denial muscle, my self-discipline.

We want to get off of sugar and white foods.......white flour, white sugar, white pasta, etc.

We enjoy eating vegan plus fish. I do deal with low iron most of the time so when I cut my meat out, I struggle. But I have some prescription iron to take and I am trying to get more protein through greens and beans.

I hope to update this blog more often, keeping track of how we are doing with food, exercise and overall health.

Another day up early to sit on the back porch with a good cup of coffee, some time in prayer and the Word. Then a jog and protein shake. My weight was down by 2 pounds this morning, but weight fluctuates from day to day.

Good start to my 9 week challenge!

I'm headed up to college to take some forgotten things to my daughter. We are taking her out to lunch. Not sure what lunch will be, but I will not stress. I will try to be healthy, but since I am letting her choose I will let it be about my kids, not food. It's just one meal.

Then we are heading to a movie. I usually go to the movies FOR the popcorn. So what will we do tonight? Not sure. Wade might not want to spend the money. I know that movie theater popcorn is my ultimate weakness. I love it! If we have it, we have it. I am eating healthy most of the time.

Enjoyed jogging today more than yesterday. I could jog longer, even on the hills. I walked very little. However, my body is so sore. Especially my back. Not fun. But I would much rather be out in God's creation exercising than at the gym. It's fun and refreshing, but I will be back in the gym next week.

Challenge is on! Making progress. We decided yesterday that Thursdays will be our weigh in days. Can't wait till Thursday. That might be what keeps me from eating popcorn tonight.........

9 Week Challenge

I have a friend. We are taking a 9-week financial class together that has really helped us in the area of discipline. This discipline has spilled over into other areas of our lives, but now we want to make the most of this 9 week time period. We both want to lose weight.

So we have challenged each other to see what we can do to lose weight and, mostly, get healthier in our choices. After much reading, I am tending to go more vegetarian and vegan although I am not bound to these. I am not a huge animal lover, so my motivation is not to save the animals. The books I have read just have convinced me that animal by-products have a negative affect on our health. For this reason, I am going to greatly lessen animal products in my diet.

But I will also every once in a while have a big, juicy burger! That's why I will never label myself or put myself in a box. My goal is greater health from the inside out. As I read and as technology changes, I am willing to change with it. That may mean that I need to change my eating again.

I want to make healthy eating as my lifestyle, but not so rigid that I can't have a juicy steak or decadent dessert every once in a while. If my body is used to healthy stuff going in, an occasional indulgence won't be damaging. The key is every once in a while.

The class started last Thursday, but I am just now getting around to posting about it. I have done well with the eating part, but haven't exercised until today. As a matter of fact, after working out 4-5 times a week, I haven't set foot in the gym for four weeks. Yes, four weeks. And my joints are feeling it.

This week I still can't get to the gym because I have no one out here to keep Grantmeister since three of my kiddos are gone. So I am going back to my old ways -- jogging down the road. It went just fine and my body did better than I anticipated.

Breakfast was a protein shake (after the jog) with blueberries, vanilla protein shake (I need to find a vegan option for this), banana and ice. It was okay. Very filling and little taste. I will have to tweak this recipe.

Lunch was a great salad with greens, iceberg lettuce, red leaf lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, avocado, broccoli, a little bit of feta and used salsa for dressing. Yummy!

Now I am watching Great Expectations since I recently read the book and while I watch, I had a cup of coffee with a touch of almond milk with a small square of dark chocolate.

Dinner is in the crockpot. For the family, salsa chicken with beans over rice. I will have all but the chicken. And only a small amount of rice. Even though it's brown rice, I'm limiting grains for the time being. Salad will be served alongside. Yes!

New Shoes

Tried out new shoes today on a short jog. I have been wondering how they would do because I bought a cheaper shoe this time. My daughter needed shoes, too, so we did a "buy one get one half off" and I bought NIKE and I never buy NIKE.

They were great! Better than my body since I haven't seen the inside of the gym in four weeks. Yes, shame on me. And my body is feeling it. My joints hurt when I don't work out.

This week I can't go because I have no one here to be with Grantmeister when I leave. So I'm going to just do it the old fashioned way: jog around out here in the woods. Works well.

Not feeling well today. Was up a lot last night because of sore throat, yucky eyes, and an earache.

I think I can attribute it all to really UNHEALTHY food for 3 days after eating so well for a while. It always lowers my immune system.

So today, one word: JUICE.

Kale, spinach, carrots, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, apples and oranges.

And lots and lots of reading on eating healthy. It always "reboots" my motivation.

Dr. Axe, Dr. Ornish, Christine Bailey, Rip Esselstyn, Dr. Fuhrman -- just to name a few.

What's on My Nightstand?

There are two books right now laying beside my bed ready to be devoured. After finishing the Engine 2 Diet Rescue book, I am going to move right into these next two.

"Forks Over Knives" we watched several months ago, so I bought the book last week. I can't wait to see what else is in the book that might not be in the documentary!

This book just looked like where we are headed. I browsed the "raw" section of books for over an hour and settled on this one. Praying it was a good choice after putting 4 others back on the shelves.

Review coming soon!

Juicing

Wade and I are juicing. We drink our nutrients for at least breakfast, but usually for breakfast and lunch each day. Wade doesn't love veggies and fruit, so he is getting so many different nutrients! We are drinking kale, spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, lemon, celery, peaches, apples, grapes, blueberries, oranges -- whatever is in the fridge.

And we are loving it!

Okay, I'm loving it. He is hungry and needs to find the perfect snacks for him. I am thinking nuts, fruit, and then a healthy dinner. He has lost 10 pounds in just over 2 weeks!

Guys. They always lose so much faster! Of course, he is way more disciplined than I am, too. :) He's not tempted by chocolate.

It does take so much fruit and so many veggies to juice. But it is so yummy. I've always struggled that juicing wastes so much of the fruit or veggie. I still struggle some with it, but I am buying my produce differently.

In bulk. No, I haven't started buying from Azure yet. But buying bags in the grocery store.

No, it's not organic. I can't buy all organic until we are in a different place financially. So I am buying what I can and scrubbing.

And juicing.

I feel great! My seasonal allergy struggle from last month is gone. Such a better answer than meds.

Want to see motivation on the screen? Google "Raw Rebecca." She has highly motivated and inspired me lately. Her blue jeans picture on Facebook has been saved on my phone for daily motivation.

The greatest part: We are getting healthier and healthier. After all of the reading I have been doing, I am so intrigued and interested in eating a vegetarian or even vegan diet. No decisions being made yet. Still researching.