Here is what I wrote to Cheryl. I'm going to put it in here rather than send you all individual emails if thats ok. You can email me back at techgirl321@yahoo.com if you have questions:
Well I had some definate food issues. I was overweight (still am but its melting off me now) and couldnt seem to get back on the weight loss bandwagon. I kept sabatoging myself. I just had no will to stick to anything. Then I did a master-cleanse 10 day fasting detox. That turned out to be more than I bargained for. It benefitted me in many ways. Here are a few:
1: it taught me that we can survive with much less food then we are culturally used to eating
2: it detoxed me and cleansed me of all my food addictions including wheat, sugar, caffeine and processed foods. By killing my addictions, it also killed ALL my food cravings.
Once I was detoxed I had no desire to put **** back into my body at all. So I started eating mostly ( I stress mostly here) vegan. I make chickenless chicken soup which is carrots, celery, long grain brown rice, white beans, white potatoes and spinach with salt and pepper. I do use a fat free chicken stock as well but no actual meat. I'm kind of a strange person because I'll make a big pot of this and eat it breakfast, lunch and dinner. At dinner I add a spinach salad with black olives, sun dried tomatoes, pumkin seeds, pecans, olive oil and vinigar. I make another version of that soup where I add squash, zucchini, green beans and crushed tomatoes. Again I'll eat that for my three meals and add a salad. I eat tilapia filets occasionally to get some additional protein in. I pan fry them in olive oil with black pepper and dill weed. I switched to sea salt too. I really love vegetables and can eat them in all kinds of ways. I will saute cooked cauliflower in a pan with Olive oil, spinach, a ton of garlic and some white beans and just eat that. I'm not sure everyone could eat like I do , but if there are vegetables that you like and certain ways you enjoy them, do it.
I find now that I have about 1/4 of the appitite that I had before the cleanse. I have no issues pushing food away when I'm full anymore and when I get really hungry it doesn't stress me out like it used to. Other foods do not tempt me anymore. I was not even tempted by Halloween candy this year. Not one piece passed my lips. I'm not even drinking alcohol anymore...its just not worth it.
I started running again about 3 weeks ago. I feel so incredible that I'm running 3 - 4 miles 5 days a week. I think thats really quick to have regained that level of fitness. No fatigue. Such a better experience than it was before. I'm consuming about 800-1000 calories a day eating 3 meals and not feeling hungry. I feel healthy and strong. I dont experience any shakiness or dizziness at all.
A few more rules. I only drink water and I try to drink about 90 oz per day.
I dont eat after 6:30 pm
Heres the list of what I eat:
any fruit (fresh, though I dont eat fruit much)
any vegetable (this constitutes the bulk of my diet and fresh whenever possible)
beans
long grain brown rice
(I always make sure my long grain rice is eaten with lentils or beans to complete a protien)
unsalted nuts or seeds
olive oil
spices
fish (but only 1 - 3 times per week and only 3 - 4 oz per serving
What I dont eat:
Sugar
honey
syrup
dairy
meat
wheat or wheat products
anything processed
anything with caffeine
alchohol
(I am not a dietitian and don't make any claims on this way of eating except what it is doing and has done for me. I dont eat "nearly vegan" for animal rights or moral issues and wont be critisized for eating fish occasionally to make sure I am getting enough protien.)
To me the word diet means What you eat, not a short term change of eating habits to lose weight. My reference to the word diet in my original post refers to what I eat.
Hope that answers your questions,
Jess
