Here are some brand new pictures of my nails, which are once again growing very long and strong:

and

In other news, I went to the farmer’s market this morning and got some bell peppers, grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers and salad greens. I’m especially excited about the grapes – I’ve never had any locally grown (sweet) fruit! The only other fruit I saw there was watermelons.

I spent some time on the 811rv websites last night, and they really motivated me (as usual) to go back to that plan. 811rv is 80/10/10 raw vegan – 80% carbs, 10% fat and protein each. Lots of fresh fruit and greens. My fridge is full of fresh produce, so I have no reason not to do it. I love how those websites focus on well-being and health, not dieting and weight loss. Every time I go to 811rv forums and see all the happy glowing beautiful people doing the plan, I want to do it again. So I am!

So, my “I don’t care about dieting” phase didn’t last very long… Now I’m more determined than ever to lose the rest of this darn weight! However, it’s more for health reasons than anything else.

Since yesterday I have been writing down absolutely everything I eat and am doing four 350-calorie meals per day, with the first two meals of the day focusing on healthy fiber-filled whole grains and fruit, and the last two meals protein and veggies. Here’s today’s menu:

Breakfast- Very small bowl of post shredded wheat, 1 can iced coffee – 300
Lunch- 1 serving of organic whole wheat pasta w/cheese sauce, 1 nondairy ice bar – 300
Meal 3- 5 oz grilled chicken breast (235 cals), low sodium organic tomato soup (110), Brussels sprouts (50) – 395
Meal 4 – Large mixed spinach/romaine salad w/ff dressing, 1 ounce of sharp cheddar, omelet w red peppers/mushrooms – 260
Before bed – one serving of handful of raw sunflower seeds- 160

Total: 1415

Some of the calorie totals might seem incorrect, but I made sure to measure everything out precisely!

Also, I walked along the river for about a half hour today… it was so beautiful out this afternoon.

It has occurred to me that the only way I will ever permanently lose weight is to do it gradually, so my goals are to exercise at least 30 minutes for five days a week, plus stick to 1200-1500 calories per day. 1500 calories with exercise will allow me to lose at least one pound per week (if not more), and although that is such a tiny amount, it will add up over time, and that is what’s important. My “drastic” plans never last more than a few days, and my body always overcompensates by making me extremely hungry, therefore, I usually gain the weight back.

Ok so I finally got on the scale this morning and it wasn’t pretty… I am back up a couple of pounds for some reason. Weirdly enough I barely ate a thing at Christmas yesterday! So I have no idea what’s going on, as usual.

Anyway, I’ve discovered through recent culinary adventures that soup, meat and veggies really tend to fill me up. So from now on, those will be the main staples of my diet. I’ve put together a plan that goes something like this:

1st meal: Either brown rice & berries or plain oatmeal & berries
2nd meal: Thick veggies soup – either butternut squash, broccoli or red pepper/tomato, plus a piece of fruit
3rd meal: grilled fish (shrimp, salmon or scallops) & veggies & some salad
4th meal: chicken or egg whites, veggies, piece of cheddar, piece of fruit if I’m hungry
Snacks if needed: small handful of raw sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
Lots and lots of water (to make up for the extra sodium I’ll be ingesting)

The 4th meal and snacks are optional and will only be eaten if I am hungry enough.

Anyway, I’ve begun this plan today already. It’s pretty much a low carb plan with the only real carb meal being the first one of the day. We’ll see how it goes…! Thankfully I enjoy most of the foods on this plan. There will be a little increased sodium from the soup, but I will offset it with extra water.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

In other news I am having major sinus/throat problems again. My boyfriend is too. Taking Claritin helps a bit, so likely it’s some sort of allergy. Who knows? Who cares at this point? I guess it’s just going to be something I am going to have to live with until it decides to go away.

I am going to be honest here and admit that I am currently sticking to a very strict 1000-cal per day diet as of yesterday. Normally I don’t go this low in calories, but I desperately want to jump-start my next bout of weight loss. I have been working out every day for the past 3 days at the highest setting on my elliptical and doing weights, which is probably responsible for my weight staying the same despite dieting.

So for the next 6 days, I am sticking to a very strict 1000 calorie diet and exercising every single day between 20-45 minutes. I know some people will tell me “OMG you are going to become anorexic” and “omg that is so unhealthy” and “omg you are staving yourself”. Well let me assure you all up front that: 1, I am 31 years old and not in any danger of becoming anorexic! 2, It’s more unhealthy to remain at this weight, as far as I’m concerned. My blood pressure is just too high and the only way to lower it without meds is to lose the extra weight. Period. Plus I am taking vitamins every single day now, and 3, 1000 calories is not starvation by any means, especially when done with vitamin therapy, plenty of rest and light exercise and ONLY for 7 days.

I will not be getting on the scale until Sunday morning to see what I have lost.

Basically I am still sticking to mini-meals – five tiny meals. One reason for this is to keep my blood sugar stable and to shrink my stomach a bit. Next week I will move into a semi low-carb mini-meal plan.

My blood pressure is just too high right now… and it’s time I took matters into my own hands and make a SERIOUS effort to lower it before I am forced to go on meds.

So, day 2… I’m supposed to go out to eat tonight with this new guy I’m dating, but I will be sticking to salad and lean protein!

I am still on my health kick… even more so now than ever. I am determined to get my amazing figure back once and for all. I recently found some old pictures of me from my early 20’s, and man… I miss my fabulous figure from those days! I have some pictures of me in a bikini at Venice beach with an old boyfriend, and damn did I look good (and I’m not afraid to say it). I’d even be comfortable posting them here if I can figure out a way to get them scanned in.

Yesterday my cousin’s wife and I went to lunch at an Italian restaurant (where I had less than half of a pasta dish) then we hit Whole Foods. I went to town and stocked up on more fresh fruit, organic soups, organic juice, organic cereal and organic salad. I have a menu prepared for my meals today. Estimated calorie counts are in parenthesis.

Breakfast – plenty of fresh cut up mango (140) & scrambled egg whites (90), coffee w/vanilla cream (60): 290
Snack - 1 large organic white peach (60), 1 serving of nuts (170): 230
Lunch - Organic roasted red pepper soup (mmmmmm) (220), half of a turkey/cheese sandwich(110), organic spinach salad w/2 tsps of organic dressing (100): 430
Snack - 1 Baby Bel Laughing cow cheese (70), 1 serving black olives (25), 1 pear (80): 175
Dinner - Roasted skinless boneless chicken(125), Steamed veggies (50), Cottage Cheese (90): 265

Miscellaneous - 1 orange sorbet ice-cream bar (60), 1 EmergenC drink (25), Iced Green Tea (0), Vitamin B Complex (0), 1 Omega 3 chew (10), 1 glass lemon water (15): 110

Total calories: 1500

In case anyone was wondering, my psychiatrist told me to go on a B vitamin and Omega 3 because it’s supposed to help with the physical damage my drinking caused. The EmergenC drink has all my daily electrolytes and several other vitamins.

Today’s exercise will be the elliptical, stretching and weights. It’s too hot outside to go for a walk!

^^^ If you think that is bad, today it might hit 105 with a heat index of 112! Yikes.

On a final note, I am feeling so much better physically these days! Almost back to normal… almost.

I am making an effort to include even more fruit in my day’s eating plan. When I eat it, it gives me so much energy, completely curbs my appetite and makes me happy knowing I am filling my body with nutrients.

And for anyone who complains about how much sugar is in fruit… relax. Natural sugar is so much healthier for us than all that processed crap. One of my main goals is to cut out processed foods from my diet (except cheese, which I simply cannot give up. ).

So this was my first meal today:

(1 organic peach and 1 organic nectarine, which is technically 2 peaches since nectarines ARE peaches with smoother skin).

And my second meal:

1 cup blueberries and 4 cut up medium strawberries. Oh, and a cup of coffee.

I went and bought tons of organic fruit and veggies yesterday. Since I don’t really like most raw vegetables (plus they cause lots of stomach upset), I got some organic frozen veggies to heat up on the stove with my lean protein dinners.

Anyway, my weekend trip was cut short for reasons I won’t get into. Suffice it is to say that I am home now and doing OK.

I’ll update later on with what I have for lunch and dinner, if anyone is interested!