Results Of My 10 Day Raw Vegan Experiment

A 10 day raw vegan diet - my longest ever. Between Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 7:00am and Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 7:00am, I ate nothing but raw fruit and vegetables. I've done this before but never for this 10-day length of time.

First off, I have to say that people that can adhere to this diet at all times must live an energetic and healthy life! So - why would I stop? Good question. That's one I'm still looking for the answer to.

My goals at the start of the 10 day experiment were pretty simple:

1. Increase my energy level.
2. Lose 10 lbs. fast.
3. Kickstart the running season now that hockey was coming to an end for the year.

I met all these goals. Sort of...

My energy level was increased to an unbelievable level. My night time sleep hours did not diminish like some say will happen. This is because I simply love to sleep! The sleep I got was good quality and I didn't feel the need to fall asleep on the couch after work each day.

I exceeded the weight loss goal by two pounds. This might seem dangerous to lose weight that fast but gone was the bloated feeling at the top of my stomach that sometimes made it difficult to bend over and tie my skates.

I did kickstart the running season. I felt like I was running on air the first few runs of the season. However, I played in one final hockey tournament three days after the raw vegan diet ended and was the victim of an extremely dirty move. I was cross-checked from behind across my lower back and I am still certain that I have a cracked rib (my loathing of doctor's offices has prevented me from finding out just what is wrong back there).

Therefore - my running has come to a complete halt because of the pain in by lower back.

With this 10 day raw vegan experiment, I cut out coffee and green tea as well. This resulted in some pretty serious headaches for the first few days. Headaches are also a symptom of simply going raw. I would suggest killing the caffeine first then killing the cooked food.

Is this a great weight-loss technique? Yes and no. It's a great diet to go on if you have a follow-up plan if and when you return to cooked food. Using it as a kickstart to a fitness plan is great - you lose the weight quick then keep it off, and gradually lose more, with the fitness plan.

What did I eat?

I was heavy on avacados, mushrooms and bananas. These were the 'thickest' items I could find to satisfy my appetite. However I also ate:

• pineapple
• cauliflower
• carrots
• clementines
• apples
• dragon fruit
• cucumbers
• grapes
• onions
• radishes
• sweet peppers of all different colours
• tomatoes
• lemon

About halfway, I discovered that covering everything in the juice of fresh lemon acted as a seasoning to make the raw veggies a little more appetizing.

I stumbled across an interesting quirk of nature. If you soak radish chunks in fresh squeezed lemon juice for a few hours, the strong tastes of each counteract each other and changes both to a mild sweet flavour.

I also noticed that I could smell everyone around me! I assumed that if I could smell them then I must, in turn, have a unique odor. Not so. EVERYONE had garlic breath! I didn't eat any raw garlic throughout the 10 days and my diet usually consists of traces of garlic in pretty much everything I eat. Apparently, most restaurant food and processed food also contains garlic...

The Aftermath

It's been two weeks. I've gained back about five pounds which I mostly attribute to my in-activity. I will be able to start running again in the next few days. I will be trying a modified diet where I eat totally raw Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and see where it takes me.

Unlike Kirstie Alley - I Promise This Diet Will Stick

As mentioned earlier, I have recently proven that a person can gain weight fairly quickly on a vegan diet. I have gained somewhere between 10-15 pounds since November. I don't want to have to change the title of this blog to Being A Fat Vegan - I can't imagine anyone would want to read that. Alec Baldwin had already proved the theory that a chubby vegan can exist, but I had to try it for myself...

Why?

After almost 4 years of continuous 12 month per year hockey, 2-4 times per week, I'd had enough and started shedding nights. Three weeks ago, my Sunday night hockey ended for the season and my Friday night hockey that would normally go all year round, ended until September because we can't get enough people out. This is great because, come September when hockey starts up again, I should be back in love with playing the game.

Working out and running have been severely reduced. I have many excuses, of course! Weather, health (colds), high amounts of time spent on other projects...

My eating habits have gotten lazy as well. I can't seem to avoid that extra meal at 10 or 11 at night. I've got into eating a lot of processed food that, even though it's vegan, is simply not good. I haven't been preparing my lunches ahead of time so I'm eating fast food often at lunch. I'm also just beginning to drink more water again. I normally drink a ton of water every day, but with drinking more and more green tea while experiencing reduced physical activity, there were days when I wouldn't drink a single drop of plain cold, fresh agua.

What I've Learned

• Especially over the age of 40, there is no miracle diet (ok, maybe raw veg or fruitarianism...).
• Timing is everything! I know there's some dispute about when and how often you should eat. What works for me is a small breakfast, small lunch, small dinner and nothing whatsoever after dinner. When I go to bed hungry, I'm not starved in the morning, but I find it so much easier to get out of bed and I have so much more energy than if I ate a late snack or meal.
• Green Tea is a prince but water is king! Green tea is full of goodness but it also contains caffeine and is a diuretic. Therefore, if you only drink green tea, you will be in a constant state of dehydration.
• Even 100% whole wheat bread is not for those who want to lose weight! 160 calories for two slices of plain, grocery store whole wheat bread.
• Vegans can get sick, too. I never had a full blown winter cold. Instead, it just seemed to linger and put me at around 80% for what felt like forever.

What I Plan To Do

I promise that I will not be like any of the celebrities that represent Jenny Craig from time to time. Once I have my physical health back on track, I will not fall back! My personal challenge is to lose 10 lbs in 4 weeks. This is ever so slightly above the recommended 2 pounds per week but I'm not concerned. Actually, deep down, I want to shed 15 pounds in that time period but to announce that on this blog would be just plain reckless!

How Am I Going To Do It?

• Run every day. Even if it's only 5km, I must become a real runner again.
• Get up earlier each day to have a proper breakfast.
• Get up earlier each day to go for a walk to get the blood moving and boost the metabolism.
• Start each day with a minimum of 16 ounces of water, then keep drinking it all day long.
• No bread, sugar or processed food.
• Portion control.
• Update my progress here to make myself more accountable to this goal.
• Workout on a regular basis again.

Here's The Details

Current weight as of April 19, 2010: 189 pounds.

Goal weight as of May 17, 2010: 179 pounds (secret goal: 174 pounds!)

Running mileage total: 120 km

Being A Fat Vegan Is Possible!

Before I get into the Fat Vegan part, I would just like add a little info on my last post. The soursop is very similar in texture and taste to the custard apples. The taste is great but the number of seeds is incredibly annoying!


The pickled Vietnamese egg plants are, well... pretty gross. They are a very small type of eggplant that has been pickled with all the innards still in. When you bite into one of these there is an explosion of tiny seeds that fill your mouth and, frankly, feel like bugs. The taste is good but the experience is pretty nasty.


I haven't yet tried the Lotus stems or the rambutan and everything else was just as good this time around as the first time for me.


Being A Vegan Lardass!


I have now put on over 10 pounds since the end of November. I have proved that it is possible for rapid weight gain while on a vegan diet. I attribute this to a drastic reduction in physical activity that is, as we speak, being reversed.


Other than my laziness, I simply blame the Ontario winter. There's not enough snow to do any good workouts like snowshoeing, yet there's enough to make the sidewalks into horrible running tracks.

Anywho, I plan to be sitting 15 pounds lighter as of one month from now. I've started working out and running again and I'm trying to curb the winter hunger and not binge in the evening before bed. It's a tough road when you're on the other side of the 40 mark but I'm determined.

Raw Fruit Fast - Final Update

My raw fruit fast came to a premature end at noon on Monday, less than 24 hours from the original completion time. I was fine Sunday after my 10.4km run but when I got on the ice an hour later for hockey, I just wasn't right.

I had nothing in the tank and my heart was pounding. Not only that, my head was pretty spacy. It reminded me too much of the feeling I get when I donate blood. We only had one sub per side and got a good hour and half of hockey in - dreamlike conditions for me - but I was going off more than my share of the time. By this morning, I was getting light-headed from just standing up and my resting pulse was higher than normal.

I still received very positive results as far as weight loss, dropping four pounds in two days. This has put me in second place for the biggest loser contest at work... Also gone is the stomach bloat that I was living with for the past little while. I forgot to mention yesterday that on my run last night, my pace was the fastest since November despite the fact that I thought I was dogging it.

However, the lesson learned is that this might be a great fast to take on when you know you're going to be fairly inactive for a few days. I do see the benefit of even going just one day raw. In fact, I think it would be a good plan to do this once per week.

I must mention that what I had for lunch today was spectacular. Quiznos pulls off a great veggie sub. Most restaurants think that what will satisfy a veg custumer is sliced veggies on a bun. Quiznos steps it up a notch by putting guacamole on it. They also 'get it' when you ask for 'no cheese'. Those at Subway look at you like you're the strangest being when you exclude the cheese.

So what did I learn out of all this? Going raw is good. However, for me, going raw is not a full-time gig. I remember reading a bit of Tony Robbins' wisdom that you should start your day off with fresh fruit and try and go as long as you can before breaking. Not a bad idea. If you can eat just fruit until lunch, I think the health benefits will kick ass.

One other thing which is certainly worth noting. I wrote yesterday that I kept hydrated for pretty much 36 hours on fruit alone. This came severely to and end this morning. I just couldn't catch up by eating fruit alone and found myself quite dehydrated.

Raw Fruit Fast - Halfway Update

Well, I’m halfway through raw fruit 3-day fast. My weight was down 2 pounds today. I’ve been eating a variety of fruits and don’t really feel any hunger or weakness. What I have noticed, and had read that it would happen, is that have hardly drank any water. I had, in total, one glass of water since yesterday and most of that was before my 10km run tonight.

I still have hockey and will be, obviously, taking a water bottle on the bench. I have shown zero signs of dehydration, so far. The only thing that seems to be negative is a dull headache that seems to be following me around. I read that that would be one of the symptoms of raw fruit fasting, as well.

I do believe on Tuesday, after 10am, I will revert back to a plain old vegan diet with cooked veggies for at least one day. It’s more of an economic situation than anything else. I have a fridge full of veggies that will be past the point of eating raw and will need to be cooked or wasted.

I have a completely new fascination with raw avocado. I love the stuff cooked or raw and mixed with umpteen other veggies. On its own, avocado is just damn delicious.

Raw Fruit Fasting - First Attempt

At 10:00am, Saturday morning, January 16, I ate my final cooked meal for a few days. I ate a hardy mix of beans, rice, potato and tomato sauce. My last drink of green tea went down the hatch as well and by 10:30, my raw fruit fast had begun.

I was originally going to just do it for the day on Sunday. I changed my mind and decided to start today and end Monday morning. After doing some more reading on the subject this morning, I decided to extend the fast until Tuesday morning. Three days is the recommended length of time for someone trying this for the first time.

I woke up this morning weighing 178 pounds. At 4:00pm, that weight had been maintained. What has amounted to a beans, rice and potato diet over the last few weeks has left my stomach feeling like a beach ball and sounding like a bongo. I’m hoping that this is one other thing that will change over the next few days.

I stopped at the grocery store after work and an arena visit. I stocked up on Granny Smith apples, Red Delicious apples, Red pears, Bosc pears, Avocados, Pineapple, Cantaloupe, Coconut and Navel oranges. It only cost $23 including tax and I was pretty much able to fill the fridge. It still amazes me how relatively inexpensive a vegan diet is. Yet, I still get the comment all the time that it must cost so much to have a diet like mine.

Looking ahead to Tuesday, if all goes well (and I know it will) I plan to continue on raw but with veggies added in. I would like to go right around and back to Saturday morning. I’m so curious of what the physical and mental effects will be. There are so many conflicting opinions of a raw diet and I guess you only really know if you try it how it’s going to work for you.

On Tuesday, I do plan on re-starting my green tea habit, so I won’t be totally raw! I will continue to run and play hockey as usual. Actually, I hope to run a lot more than I have been. The running gods have finally blessed Orangeville with a prolonged winter warm spell with temps hovering just above the freezing mark. This has allowed for the roads and sidewalks to rid themselves of most of the snow and ice.

On a totally unrelated note...

Can you believe that a grown woman gave my 13 year old son the finger today at hockey?! This woman does have a history in town of being quite a bitch. It was at the hockey rink and her son’s team was playing against my son’s. Apparently my son looked through the glass along the boards to see this lovely lady giving him the middle finger!

Even less related...

If anyone out there is interested in OHL hockey or hockey in general, I’ve launched a new blog that follows graduates of the world’s greatest junior league as they make their way through the professional ranks around the world. It’s long been an obsession of mine and partly due to my horoscope in a cheesy movie magazine, the site was born January 11. OHL Alumni Central will hopefully be a hit but hopefully will never take me away from writing on this lovely blog. After all, what would the 3 or so readers do???

You may want to check out these earlier posts:

August 2009 Personal Challenges
Follow My Running At RunningAhead.com
Associated Content Article – Weight Loss Strategy That Works

Water Intoxication - Yikes!

In the midst of the winter blahs and with 5-10 pounds of holiday weight to get rid of, I had a crazy scheme of drinking nothing but water this coming Sunday – and a lot of it. I thought that I would try and see just how many litres of water I could ingest over an 8 hour period while fasting from food. It would purely be in the name of science to see how much I could take in and what would be the effects on my overall mental and physical self.

I started looking around at what sort of achievements had been reached when it came to power water drinking. Hell, I might even be looking at a world record!

Thankfully, I did do some research. It seems that people die from drinking too much water. A little known condition called water intoxication can result in death if too much water is ingested too fast. Now, that is strange indeed.

It turns out that the kidneys can only process about 1 litre of fluid per hour. Consuming too much water too fast can force your blood to become more dilute with low sodium concentrations. The sodium concentration in your blood becomes lower than the concentration in your cells. The water moves from the blood to the cells causing them to swell.

The killer is that your brain swells with the resulting pressure causing headaches and loss of functions such as breathing. Without breathing, we are quite challenged to survive! Thus, possibly resulting in death.

This is more apt to affect the elderly, babies, those having an operation and those participating in extreme physical challenges (marathon running on a hot day). Apparently, water intoxication is a risk for those on the drug ecstasy. The drug makes the user incredibly thirsty and they literally drink themselves to death.

Andy Warhol is perhaps the most famous person to die of apparent water intoxication. He was in for a routine procedure and was fed too much water intravenously.

After putting the fear into everyone, it is quite unlikely that this will ever be a problem for you. It is said that the fear of water intoxication will probably kill more people by driving them to dehydration!

The plan now for Saturday evening until Monday morning is a fruit only fast. I still do not see myself joining the Fruitarians, but I have a huge curiosity about what the short term effects of a fruit only diet will be. I’m even going to give up my coveted green tea for the duration. Supposedly, I won’t even need to drink any water because I will get sufficient amounts from all the raw fruit I’ll be eating. However, I will have a water bottle on the bench when I play hockey on Sunday night.

I’ve been feeling the winter blahs pretty bad this year and I need to get out of the funk I’m in and take off a few of the X-mas pounds. My goal is to do something drastic to kick start a change and bring back the energy. I’ll let you know how it goes in as much detail as possible.

Other posts you may enjoy:

Fruitarians, Canadian Communists and the Biggest Loser
24-Hour Fasting

Fruitarians, Canadian Communists and the Biggest Loser

A little bit of an odds and ends post, here. First off, I’ve found something a little more extreme than even a raw-foodist (which, I am not). The Fruitarians are people that only eat fruit and nuts and only raw. Obviously, no meat either but no vegetables or roots, neither. Those fruits that we sometimes consider to be vegetables, like tomatoes and cukes are included in their diet.

Bravo, if they feel this is the diet and lifestyle for them. I think it would work. I think the nutrition would be there. Living in a cold weather climate, I just don’t think it would be the diet for me. I need cooked food on a cold winter’s night. I don’t think this makes me weak – it’s just the way I am.

However, I get a sense that the Fruitarians are a little militant towards the rest of us savage vegans. They feel that eating vegetables is a form of killing because you kill the plant to harvest it and need to re-plant from seed to see the next harvest. Whereas, a fruit tree just keeps on giving – despite the fact that it is their ‘unborn fetus’ that’s being eaten. In some parts, this is also considered murder...

Next...

Because of the communist government of Ontario/Canada, I am no longer able to drink my green tea from an open mug while in the workplace. I must have a covered cup at all times just in case a flying drop of automotive chemical comes flying from the garage and into the parts department and drops right in my mug and then I drink it and die. As you can tell, the company I work for was audited by the Ministry of Labour this week.

I must also drag out the steel toe shoes – tolerable. They will be removing the vending machines that are located in the garage area. Apparently, despite the fact that all products in the machines are sealed and the machines themselves are sealed, there is still a possibility that the products could become contaminated – possibly by cancer-causing brake dust that could infiltrate the tightly secured machine. Brake dust that we’re breathing in every minute of the day anyway.

I understand the government’s intentions and for the most part they are good intentions. However, I don’t know if a world where we all live to be 120 years old is that great if we have so many regulations that we can’t truly live. Besides, is a government that makes most of its money through selling alcohol, tobacco and gambling products back to its own people, really that concerned with health and safety??

Every day, Fidel and Cuba look more and more like the ideal society. Don’t back down, Cuba.

And then...

I was sort of duped into signing up for a ‘Biggest Loser’ contest at work. I thought it was a one-time shot over a short period of time. That would have been perfect for me as I’ve got a few X-mas pounds I need to shed in addition to the extra 10 or so pounds I’d like to get rid of before the running season is full swing.

Turns out, it’s $20 per month to enter over the next 6 months with only one grand prize winner in the end. There are a few other participants with a lot more available potential than myself. However, there aren’t many with an equal diet and will power. It turns out to be $1200 if everyone keeps playing. Man, I could use $1200! I’d definitely be going to visit Fidel in Cuba on that kind of coin – that’s $1199.99 more than I make writing this blog...

Coming up very soon is my halfway NHL prediction report. I don’t think I’m doing that great but I haven’t really been following the standings much. The NHL is just about to go into a hiatus as the Winter Olympics begin. On that note, I’d like to piss off my fellow countrymen by saying that it will be Russia – Sweden – Canada getting the gold, silver and bronze in Men’s Ice Hockey. Sorry Canada, you’ve picked a questionable team and will not win. However, the women will win gold...

Check out these previous posts:

The Nine Benefits Of Green Tea
Kensington Market – The Vegan Mecca
Bravo, Georges Laraque!

Associated Content Article - Weight Loss Stategy That Works

Just a quick note that I have another article on Associated Content. This article details the 10 basic principles I use to lose weight and to keep that weight off.

Check out my recently published content on AC:

Weight Loss Strategy that Works

Challenge Updates

I must say that I didn't take the easy road to achieving my 3 current personal challenges. I'm almost halfway through the month of August and I have tough but achievable expectations of myself in regards to the two challenges that are due at the end of the month. As for the one that's due September 13, that's a different story.



Run 180 km in August



I am at 59.3 km for the month to date, not including tonight's planned 9km run. This leaves me with a necessary average of around 6.4km per day for the remaining days of the month, assuming I run every day. Interestingly enough, I missed several days due to strained left hamstring and calf muscles from - get this - weeding the vegetable garden!

Don't forget, though, that 30km of the remaining 120 will all be run at one time on the 22nd of August as I run the Midsummer Night's Run in Toronto.



Weigh 169 lbs. by the end of August



I'm currently hovering around 172, making the goal very achievable. I'm continuing with my strategy that I outlined at the start of the month and am certain of success.



Run virtual 615 km from Orangeville, ON to Montreal, PQ



I may have severely overestimated my potential mileage on this one. I currently sit at 279.6 km with a month to go. I have my doubts about putting in over 300 km in 30 days. However, I will achieve the goal, it just won't be on time. On September 13, I will give myself an appropriate extension, if necessary.



That's the early-mid month report card. Barring injury and with great focus, I very much plan to knock off the first two challenges. As for the third, we'll play it by ear...

August 2009 Personal Challenges

I have two challenges to focus on for the month of August. I'm finding that posting challenges/goals on this blog gives me the motivational boost I need to complete those challenges. This months challenges are a) drop weight to 169 lbs. from 175, the weight I have been maintaining since my last weight loss challenge ended successfully on July 9 and b) run 180 km.





Here's the why and the how of my two challenges:





a) Drop Weight to 169 lbs.





Why:

• I'm close to my ideal weight, but not quite there. Ultimately, I want to reach 160 and maintain at that, but I also don't want to do it too rapidly.



• Why 169 and not 170 - it just feels better! I've broken the 170 barrier and am now in the 160's. It's the equivalent of pricing a product at 4.99 instead of 5.00...



• To help my running speed.



• To reduce the chance of lower body injury.



• My fiance just bought me shorts with a 32" waist and I'm at around a 33. Not bad, considering I was 38 not so long ago...



• Vanity!


• To increase chances of living longer and healthier.

How (pretty much a repeat of my last weight loss challenge - stick with what works!):

• No food after dinner.


• No sugar drinks.


• No packaged junk food (chocolate bars, chips, etc.)


• Exercise each and every day.


• Keep water consumption at at least 64 ounces per day (I include my green tea addiction in those numbers)


• Give regular updates on this blog.


• Review the reasons 'why' given above on a daily basis.


• Continuing my vegan lifestyle.

I'm pretty confident that I will be successful in this challenge. In maintaining my weight since July 9, I have dropped as low as 172 and at no point did I feel I was starving myself.

b) Run 180 km.

Why:

• To be able to go longer, faster.


• To push myself eventually toward ultra-marathons.


• I simply love to run.


• The health benefits are too numerous to mention.


• To be a positive influence on my family.

How:

• Make running a priority over other activities.


• Run 6 days per week.


• Put in longer, long runs.


• Stay in tune with body to ensure going injury-free.

I would like it known that these short term challenges/goals are not just randomly picked from a hat. They are meant to bring focus and accelerate my larger goals. I also do not become reckless in the pursuit of success. I know my body's needs and capabilities and I learn more about those needs and capabilities every day. And, I share my bed with a nurse who would never let me do something careless with my physical health!

Watch for updates coming soon!

Challenge Update - Weight Loss Goal Achieved!

On July 7, 2009, I tipped the scales at 175 pounds. As I stated in my post on June 7, 2009, I would drop 10 lbs. from 185. As a result of not only losing the 10 lbs, but also as a result of consistently doing the things I needed to do to achieve this goal, I feel great physically, I feel great mentally and I look fantastic!

In my original post, I stated 10 things that would help me to achieve this goal. I utilized all these ten 'tools', however some carried much more value than others.

• I refrained from sugar drinks. I believe this is one of the biggest problems with society today. Carbonated drinks are nothing but poison (just read the label! You need a degree in chemistry to understand what you're drinking.) and one of the major causes of obesity, cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
• No eating between dinner and bedtime. This one is huge for me because if I decide to have a 'deserved' salad after working out, running and playing hockey - it awakens a monster within that cannot be controlled without several trips to the kitchen! Besides, I'm able to stay awake longer without the full stomach and it is much easier to get up in the morning when you have something immediate to look forward to (breakfast!).
• EXERCISE!!! Running, working out and 3 weekly nights of hockey - It's gotta help! Throw in a bit of cycling and a new focus on the abs for good measure.
• Commitment. By putting my goals on this blog and pretending that a huge crowd is reading it actually got me through some days where I felt like breaking down and sitting in front of the TV all night with a bag of chips and a jar of salsa.
• Portion control. Yes, being a vegan means being able to eat a little more than a omnivore, but it still does you no good to stuff yourself. It makes you feel like shit and takes away from the time you could be exercising. Instead of two plate loads of food, I reduced my intake down to one moderate plate or bowl.

That's it. That's all it takes. It can be argued day and night whether my addiction to green tea helped as well, but the above five items were what powered me through. It wasn't too long ago that I was hopelessly stuck at 207 lbs. I almost believed that that was just the way it went when you aged and I would have to live with it and start getting my collection of daily pills from my doctor. So, if I can do it, anyone can do it. I'm now 32 lbs. lighter than I was in 2005. I could still stand to lose maybe 5 more pounds, but I'm pretty much where I want to be and believe me, I'm going to keep it that way.

Free Provincial Park Passes / Challenge Updates

I have, at my disposal, several free day passes for Ontario Provincial Parks that are valid until September 7, 2009. Although, I will use several this summer, I will have many left over. The passes are valid at any Ontario Provincial Park location (including Wasaga Beach!) and are sponsored by Honda Canada.


E-mail me or comment on the post and I'll mail out a pass (or 2) to you absolutely free!


Challenge updates: I'm at 104.5km on my virtual run to Montreal which puts me just past Port Perry, Ontario. It was a bit of a low mileage week because of a combination of reasons: back to playing hockey 3 nights a week, double header of ultimate frisbee on Wednesday night on the hottest night of the year so far, catching a cold from my youngest son...


My weight loss challenge is going quite well. I've already had a morning where my weight has touched to goal of 175 but I want to sustain that (or less) from now until the July 7 deadline. The above reasons for not putting much mileage on most likely helped to accelerate this challenge! Mostly, though, my success is through portion control, not eating after dinner and regular exercise.

Personal Challenge: Lose 10 Pound in 1 Month

Since becoming Vegan, my weight dropped significantly in the first few weeks, from 195 to 185, then like clockwork has stayed at exactly 185 since. I would be happy staying at 185 but would be even happier at 175. It is an arbitrary number, I know, but back in the days when I last weighed around 175, my athletic performance was much, much better.

So here's the challenge: Today is Sunday, June 7, 2009. I weighed in this morning at 183 but I was fairly dehydrated due to weekend celebrating so we'll call it 185. By July 7, 2009, I will tip the scales at 175. The weight I will go by, and have always gone by, is the measurement first thing in the morning, after my bathroom break but before any fluids or food intake (I've always called it the GMW or gross morning weight - not really sure why, but it's catchy...). This is the most consistent time of day to take the measurement.

I've given the when, now I will get into the why and how of my challenge.

Why:

• to help achieve lower heart rate and blood pressure
• to look good and feel more self-confident (face it, that's one of the big reasons we all do it!)
• to run faster and longer
• to skate faster with less effort
• to reduce stress on my knees, hamstrings, calf muscles, etc. (aka. injury reduction)
• to live longer
• to prove to others that it can be done
• to be a positive influence on those around me

How:

• No sugar drinks
• No junk (chocolate bars, chips, fast food - not that I partake in that poison much anyway)
• Drink more than the recommended 64 ounces of water per day. I use a 26 ounce water bottle which means I only need to drink 2.5 of those. I drink a full one and some at breakfast, one full one while I work out and close to a full one before bed. Added to that are about 5-8 mugs of green tea per day.
• NO SNACKING BETWEEN DINNER AND BEDTIME! This is my nemesis and always has been. I believe, somewhere deep in my brain, there is this very small voice that says I will not survive the night unless I eat before bed. Whenever I've been successful at weight loss in the past, not eating after dinner has been the single biggest key to my success.
• Eat breakfast. I most always have my seeds, nuts, fruit and veggies that I constantly snack on from the word 'go' while at work - I call this breakfast!
• Daily exercise (duh!). Weights and running every day sure helps to keep the metabolism fired up.
• Deep-breathing - Tony Robbins style! For the full scoop on this, read Tony's book, Unlimited Power (you don't need to buy it - I'm not getting paid to advertise for Tony! - this book is available in all libraries to borrow for free).
• Portion control!!! One of my other issues - I believe the same little voice controls this one. I'm certain that I'll run out of fuel or have low blood sugar problems, so I often reach for the second plate of stir-fried curried veggies. It doesn't help that I'm such a damn good cook!
• Keep busy. Idle time is hungry time. We eat out of boredom. I'm sure we've all experienced those days where there's nothing going on at work and by 9am your stomach and brain are already wishing it was noon. This makes for the most excruciating 3 hours and often leads to a 11am lunch! We've also all experienced the days when your lineup is full and when you finally get a break around 2pm, you're not ravaged by hunger at all.
• Share your challenge! By posting this challenge on this blog, I have fortified my commitment.

I'll keep you updated on my progress. Of course, I could be making all this up for all you know! You will have to trust my honesty and sincerity. Either way, whether the challenge is a success or just a partial success, the results I post will be the honest truth (give or take a pound!).