Raw Food Boot Camp®RFBC Rawk Starz!Jess

Gonna Do It, Do It, Do It!

2012-01-22T10:18:00.000-08:00

I'm not sitting around. I have 5 more lbs to lose. I'm staying focused! My plan is to keep eating all these fruits until the end of the month. I've been eating a lot of watermelon. I've also been eating oranges & tangerines & strawberries & pineapple. The salads & veggies have been very limited. I've never weighed this little in my adult life, so that's something new & exciting! I'm thin, but I still have a lot of work to do- toning up my body, learning how to eat for maintanence, learning about avoiding fat brain behaviors (like emotional eating, eating out of boredom, etc). I'm going to be learning to face my own emotions & habits that lead to me being obese. Before RFBC I did not exercise. Now I've learned to make exercise a daily part of my life. Many times walking is a family activity & we all enjoy it. Before RFBC I would eat snack foods like ice cream for dinner when I really should have been eating salad & fruit. I never got to the point where I would prepare fruits & veggies ahead of time & leave them in the fridge, but it's a great idea. I would like to prepare salads & leave them in the fridge so that my husband has no excuse for not eating healthy. Watch for my new pictures!

100 lbs GONE IN 7 MONTHS!

2012-01-20T08:09:00.000-08:00

Today is my 7 month Raw Food Boot Camp anniversary & I weighed in with 100.0 lbs gone! FreeSpirit is next! What's really great is that other people are getting the same results eating low sodium, low fat raw food & walking. Why RFBC? Because it's super hard to motivate yourself when you don't feel like exercising or you'd rather eat something else. When you know that you have to report back to your group & you are always under Carlene's watchful eye- you don't want to let anyone down. Even last night, I did not want to walk, but a big group of ladies has been really pushing themselves for the last 15 days with me & if they committed, so will I. Tomorrow is my official weigh in. Look for new pictures soon. Thank you everyone!

Almost there!

2012-01-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

Here we are with 8 days & 3 lbs to go to win the 100 lb challenge! 97 lbs GONE!!! All this even after I blew off December with a small 4 lb loss! Now I can really see myself winning this! Some of the ladies at Raw Food Boot Camp are doing a 10 day challenge to be 100% raw & to walk at least two hours a day in their fat burn zone. Sure that's the normal Rock Star program, but right now there are NO EXCUSES! 100% PERFECTION! Many of the ladies at Raw Food Boot Camp have agreed to continue challenging themselves to be perfect & 100% raw with at least two walking of daily walking for another 5 days to get me through January 20th, my RFBC anniversary date.

Stuck! Ahhh!

2012-01-12T08:57:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I was stuck! Still at 4.8 lbs to lose & one less day with nine days remaining! Yesterday I did a long fast hike of 3 hrs 37 minutes. I was hating my hiking partner, but appreciating what he was doing for me. He would take off ahead of me, really pushing me to move & then stop & make sure that I was coming & take off again. That was a long, hard, fast hike & I kept feeling like I was moving like a slug, but look how it paid off! Hot damn! Now I can really see myself winning the challenge!

10 Days Left in the 100 lb Weight Loss Challenge!

2012-01-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

Here we are with 10 days left until January 20th & 4.8 more lbs to lose to win the $500! Talk about down to the wire! I continue to need to lose a 1/2 a lb a day average. Ugh! I can't get ahead. I can't slack off! I am doing lots of walking. I need to lose 11 lbs to get to my goal weight of 140 lbs. I keep pushing forward. Stay tuned!

11 Days to Go!!!

2012-01-09T14:59:00.000-08:00

Well I'm down to the wire! I have to lose 6.2 lbs by January 20th! Got to keep the motivation high! I can't indulge in thoughts of what I'd rather eat or add one spare mg of salt to my food. Gotta do it! Do it! Do it! Move your Booty! Lots of walking for me!

The Challenge Is On!

2012-01-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

I've got until the 20th of January to get to my goal of losing 100 lbs in 7 months to win the $500 weight loss challenge. When I heard Carlene say that in an audio a few days ago it was like reality hit & I realized that this is not an endless diet & I was running out of time. Oh crap! At that point I had 8 lbs to lose in 15 days maybe. The Rock Starz are back to a really solid program kicking butt like we did in November. We all have big goals! FreeSpirit is heading for Onederland! I am trying to lose the 100 lbs to win the 100 lb challenge & to reach my goal weight of 140 lbs. Right now I have 12 days to lose 6.4 lbs. Oh why didn't I try harder in December? In December I only lost 4 lbs! We are currently doing a 10 day challenge. 10 days of perfection. I'm liking it because I am not cutting myself any slack. No salt. No salty things. Period. Every day counts because I have no time to waste. Let's do this!

91 lbs GONE in 6 months

2012-01-02T16:14:00.000-08:00

I know I'm totally behind in my blogging! The first thing that I want to say is that I lost 91 lbs in 6 months! Imagine losing 91 lbs in half a year! Just look at me! I'm not fat anymore! These results are totally achievable! I'm sure you've decided that THIS year you are going to lose the weight. It's January, right? Losing weight is at the top of your resolutions list? If you REALLY mean it then come & join us & if you stay here we will encourage you & support you in not only reaching your goal weight, but maintaining it. I don't know about you, but this my the third time that I have lost 85 lbs. Sure, I've kept the weight off for a few years, but it comes back between processed foods & pregnancy. I am ready to be done with this battle. Are you ready for a new you? A lot of people tell me that they want to lose weight, but as soon as they hear about fruits & vegetables & walking they lose interest. Are you really, seriously ready to leave your fat suit behind? This is lifetime commitment. Not a lifetime of 100% raw, but a lifetime commitment to eat lots of fruits & vegetables, give your body exercise on a regular basis & to let your addiction to food go.

Last Wednesday Raw Food Boot Camp celebrated it's 6th year anniversary! Congratulations to RFBC! I know that I thought about joining RFBC for a few months before I took the plunge. I didn't want to pay, but I couldn't stick to eating raw all by myself. I needed guidance & support. It has been worth every cent. As a bonus Carlene has set up incentives to earn membership credit & free months when you lose your weight. How can you argue with getting paid to lose weight?

I have gotten distracted with eating too many vegetables & maintaining my weight this past month. I am ready to move on & eat lots of juicy fruits & to do lots of walking & to win the 100 lb challenge. I will be posting more as I commit to staying focused & reaching my goal this month. Lately I have struggled wondering when this diet will ever end & if I'll ever be able to eat cooked food again & I have gotten tired of walking. I want you to know that this is not some all consuming hippie craze. You do not have to join a commune because you can not eat socially. There will be "normal" food again occasionally in moderation. First, let's make it to goal weight!

December 17th 4.5 Month Program End

2011-12-17T06:19:00.000-08:00

Today is the big day that marks the end of the 4.5 month promotion program at Raw Food Boot Camp. Congradulations to Papaya, FreeSpirit & Vera for sticking it out! Great job Ladies! I started here at RFBC 6 weeks before these ladies & even without the big intial losses because I had already started I lost 63 lbs in the last 4.5 months as of yesterday. That's right! That's an average of 14 lbs a month! On August 1st I weighed 220.4 lbs! Can you imagine what you could lose? In 4.5 months you could lose even more weight than that because you would have that fast intial loss! If you are wondering what the heck to do with yourself, but are no doubt waiting for January consider RFBC! What could be healthier than fruits, veggies & walking? I know before RFBC every morning I would think that I needed to do something about my weight, that I needed to eat raw food & that I needed to exercise, but without accountability it just wasn't a priority. Your health is a priority! I'm determined to keep working on the 100 lb challenge- so keep watching!

Am I There Yet???

2011-12-09T20:51:00.000-08:00

I've been floundering around not losing weight this month. Why? Constipation? Too much salt? What's the cause of this plateau? One thing is that I feel content at this weight. That's not a good thing when you need to lose another 20 lbs. Today I just want to eat. Nervous eating. I'm not craving anything I just feel anxious. I'm not giving in! I'm off to do the walking challenge tomorrow. Gotta find that drive & keep going! How great are my new before & after pictures?

Number Crunching

2011-12-03T08:06:00.000-08:00

As of yesterday I've been at RFBC for 166 days- that's 5.5 months & I had lost 85.8 lbs. That's an average of .52 lbs/day. My goal is to reach 100 lbs gone in 7 months to win the 100 lb challenge making my program free. That's 43 more days to lose 14.2 lbs. That's a deadline of January 15th. I think that Carlene is giving me until January 29th to lose the 100 lbs. With my average of losing .52 lbs/day I should be able to lose 22.4 lbs by January 15th (in theory). My total goal is to lose 20.4 more lbs to reach my goal weight of 140 lbs, which it looks like I could reach by my 7 month anniversary on January 15th. In November I lost 14.4 lbs for the month. Let's shoot for 15 lbs this month. I kept my promise of doing the 300 minute walking challenge every weekend in November. This month the plan is to keep pushing. So of course I'm doing the 300 minute walking challenge today & tomorrow.

Last night I was excited to see a lot of houses decorated with Christmas lights on my evening walk. That was a nice bonus & an added incentive for getting out there in the cold. Look for my new pictures to be posted by Monday. I always expect a lot from myself & even I am quite pleased with myself. I'm rocking my new pair of size 8 Lucky Brand Sofia jeans. My husband has been begging me for a few months to stop wearing saggy jeans, so he's happy too. I'm happy too because the jeans cost $120 + tax in the Lucky store & I found them on Amazon for $39.75! Amazon rocks! When my husband dropped & shattered his day old ipod that I bought him last year for his birthday they exchanged it with no hassle. So here we are & the year is coming to an end & I committ to doing the walking challenge every weekend & trying to get the best losses possible. While other people are packing on the pounds we'll be taking them off this holiday season.

Hello Cyber Monday!

2011-11-27T14:10:00.000-08:00

Well I survived Thanksgiving, but not the RFBC way. I didn't break my program, but I failed to call the host & ask about the food & I failed to bring my own food, so I was left scrounging through the produce bins at my in-laws to make a salad & green beans. Nothing exciting, but I got through it. On the other hand I was looking like one hot mama in my sexy black dress & high heels! On Black Friday I went overboard at Gymboree both online & in the store. I realized that this was nuts & I asked my kids to try on the clothes & my husband to help me narrow down the selections & then I returned about 1/2 of the clothes. I can't believe that I have stayed away from Gymboree since last February for this very reason- I go crazy! I'm actually super good at saving money & using coupons, but when it comes to gymboree- I want to buy it all! I want to dress my kids in adorable outfits, but the truth is that I am at work when they get dressed & no one else cares about putting them in their little outfits. =( I wasn't a crazy eater before, but now I'm nervous that I'm going to want to eat everything when I get to my goal weight. What if it's like gymboree & I want it all? Ugh! HELP! I'm going to return most of what I bought from Gymboree online, too. Maybe I should only buy used Gymboree since my kids keep staining their clothes? I bought one pair of size 8 jeans for myself & a black sweater on BF. I think I'm returning the jeans. I found the Lucky jeans that I like, but couldn't justify spending $120 + tax on Amazon for $39.75. I ordered thejm today! Oh la la! Something just for me! Also I'm not sure how long they will fit for? I still have about 20 lbs to go. So I'll have a happy hubby as he was always telling me to get some pants that fit! Okay then! There are some things that I will be spending money on very soon- putting grass sod & sprinklers in the front yard & tile through out the house. Nice! Nice! Please let me keep my credit cards in my purse during Cyber Monday! I don't have any debt! Yay for me! I always pay off my cards monthly. My son is begging for Ninjago- ninja lego guys for his birthday that just passed. Ugh! I'm sure I'll find some deal some where! Tomorrow he is back to school. My new pics are due in a week & I am kicking butt this November! Sweet! I just finished up the 300 minute weekend walking challenge. As promise I did it every weekend this month.

80+ Pounds Gone in 5 Months!

2011-11-23T10:07:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited about my weight loss that I just have to share my numbers!

So tell me: 164.6

Total Loss with Carlene: 81.6
Total Nov Loss: 11.2 Wow!!!
Loss since last Wednesday: 6.6 Amazing!!!
Loss since Monday: 2.4

Cheating on Thanksgiving is totally not worth screwing up those numbers. 24.6 lbs to go by the end of January. 18.4 lbs to go to win the 100 lb challenge. I want to really kick butt this month & I decided that every weekend in November I would do the 300 minute walking challenge. Last weekend I was the only one that did it. I'm okay with that. At RFBC we support each other, but ultimately each person is responsible for their own journey. Me- I'm on the fast track. The only thing that matters to me is getting the weight off asap. The thing that I need to start doing now is toning my body. So anyone can do this if they decide that they really want it- FreeSpirit, Andrea, & Vera are all on the same track. Once you've decided that you are going to do this that makes it easy because you don't have to struggle with it. I like the food, I enjoy the walks & I just do it. Cravings & emotions are not allowed to get in the way. If you truly want to be thin, you can make it happen. I don't feel that I'm sacrificing anything- I'm taking control of my health.

Thanks & Giving

2011-11-20T08:28:00.000-08:00

Hello! Oops! Sorry that I haven't posted in a week! I have very busy. I personally made 30 Thanksgiving dinner baskets for the poorest families at my son's school. I put a lot of hours into that project. The baskets were very nice & included many foods: olives, cranberries, eggs, butter, green beans, corn, cookies, avocados, tomatoes, apples, stuffing, mashed potatoes, jello, rolls, a whole turkey, oranges & more. I also had many large boxes of extra foods for the families to pick out what they wanted to take. I asked stores for donations & I bought most of the turkeys myself. Honestly I was expecting to get a response from the people to really know that they needed this & feel that I am making a difference, but the people were very reserved & they didn't say anything. Two or three of them said thank you. I did this myself without any help & so I guess I really wanted feedback & an emotional connection with the families. I didn't get that. I realized later that that is because all of these families were from different countries & they are not as outspoken as Americans. After I realized that I'm dealing with different cultures, I felt okay about not getting any feedback.

My weightloss is coming along. Lately I've been more concerned with which store has which food on sale than anything else to put the baskets together. But, now that project is over & I'm doing the 300 min walking challenge this weekend. Yes, I will be eating raw on Thanksgiving. So I'm grateful to be giving back & to be helping others. I'm grateful that the children will have memories of Thanksgiving. The school picked one family from each class to receive a basket. It took three loads in a small pick up truck to take all of the food to the school. Now, the principal would like to do this again for Christmas. If that's the case I need to get started asap. My poor husband had to put up with me running around to a million different stores & my short temper. Being raw has really helped me to be a calmer person. Now, last night when my 20 month old daughter was screaming about booby & I was feeling sick & I wanted to sleep, I was feeling anything but calm. I finally gave in to her so that we could both go to sleep. My daughter is the most beautiful thing, my little mini me, but she is extrememly stubborn & she knows what she wants. Pity the man that will have to cater to her needs! It's going to be great going into the new year fit & healthy, not resolving that this will be the year that I get healthy, but already being healthy. What better gift than the gift of health?

300 Min Walking Challenge-DONE!

2011-11-13T19:07:00.000-08:00

Well it was a very quiet day at RFBC. Only 7 ladies checked in. It was just me & LVJMama doing the 300 min walking challenge. Hopefully she completed it this afternoon. I walked 2 hrs & 45 min today on a paved road & my feet need a break. Tonight I had a warm bath with the toddler. We are having a little girl time. She's a very active, happy singing baby. Right now she's eating a snack bag of Fritos which I would be eating if it weren't for RFBC. Now they seem too salty. Baby girl loves fruits & veggies. Well I got the walking done & I'm hoping for a great weigh in tomorrow. I want to break the 75 lbs gone! It seems so late right now, but it's early. I'm hoping for a very early bedtime, but I don't know if baby girl will go for that. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Oh the Scale! .2 lbs away from 75 lbs gone!

2011-11-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

Today I'm just working & walking when the rain slows down. Today I feel anxious about just wanting to get my walking done. I don't want to be outside getting cold & wet. So I'm .2 lbs away from 75 lbs gone. I'm all over the 300 min weekend walking challenge, so Monday we are going to have a great weigh in. At camp we are preparing for a successful Thanksgiving. The plan is to let the host know that we will be eating raw & bringing our own fruit & also notifying anyone else who will expect us to eat their food. I know that my weight & my food will be a topic at Thanksgiving, but no one is going to expect me to eat anything that I don't want to.
I started this raw food adventure on June 20th, so I need to hurry up & get to 100 lbs gone to win the 100 lb challenge. So let's see I need to lose 25.2 lb asap! There's no wiggle room. Got to stay focused! Some days it seems like the weight will just fall off & other days the scale goes up, usually the day after a good loss. So then I feel like the weight loss is sooo slow. So when thoughts of my favorite sushi restaurant pop into to my head it's obvious that I'm not going to eat sushi when it could cost me $500. I paid in adavance for my program, but if I make my goal of losing 100 lbs in 7 months then I get a visa gift card for the $500 that I paid for the program. Oh yeah! How sweet is that? My eyes are on the dollar bills. Oh sure there are other perks here. My husband says that even if I don't lose weight that fast that I'm still healthy. Hmmm. Yeah. I'll take the money! But, seriously there are other benies here- yesterday I was trying on my sexy little black dresses. Smokin! A little make up drama & some black heels. Too hot. Also I'm feeling a whole lot calmer these days. I'm not sweating the small shit. So my husband is loving the calmer more sexy me & of course watching me try on those sexy dresses. I'm making an effort for him to stop wearing sloppy oversized clothing. I don't want to buy clothes until I reach my weight loss goal, so I need to find my smaller clothes that are mostly packed in the garage.

Late's see 75!! Come on 75 lbs!

2011-11-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

I'm still here still plugging away. Very, very close to reaching 75 lbs gone. Oh yeah! So ready to reach my goal. After that there is the whole other challenge of maintaining my weight. Which I think will be okay since I will continue to exercise & there won't be any big pregnancy gains. Well for now the focus is simple- make November the best month possible. I need to get big losses so that there is not huge pressure on me to reach my goal at the last minute in the end of January. I'm trying to be very intense in my walks & to get over the two hours & as I mentioned I will do the 300 min walking challenge every weekend. Right now is the season for bottled frapucino & pumpkin pie from Costco. Oh so sad! Well, nothing can get in my way including my desire to eat sushi & pumpkin pie. Ah well. Nothing is more satisfying than seeing the scale move down. So we'll see what November brings. There won't be any turkey on my plate. The trick to getting through all the celibrations this season is to have food that I can eat & am excited about eating & of course to take the time to prepare the food for myself. I've started preparing my smoothies the night before- just loading the banana, hemp protien, mango, greens & strawberries into the vitamix & it saves me a lot of time in the morning because it's there & it's no longer frozen so it blends faster.

New Pictures!

2011-11-08T20:59:00.000-08:00

My newest pictures are up- So what do you think? I think damn! I'm looking thin & I'm almost to my goal weight. That's exciting! I am working hard to make November a great month. Every weekend I'm going to be doing the 300 minute walking challenge & everyday I'm going to walk at least two hours. I also need to find the time to add other exercises to start toning & strengthening my body.

My Hero

2011-11-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

My husband says that I have to blog that he says that I'm his hero & that he is so proud of me. Well ladies it really is nice to hear compliments from your husband about how good you look & to have spontaneous encounters with your husband & have your husbands hands all over you. Remember those days when your husband complimented you & you believed it? It feels good to feel comfortable in your skin- to look at a picture of yourself or to catch your reflection in the mirror & not cringe & look away.

November Goals

2011-11-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

Here we are in a new month & my goal is to lose 12-15 lbs this month. I'm working with closely with RawTriGal. I finished off October with a 12 lb loss & a total of 70 lbs for 4.5 months. So fabulous! The thing is that anyone can do it! Maybe you don't believe it, but three of the ladies hit 30 lbs gone the same day that I hit 70 lbs gone & if they keep going they will keep getting bigger numbers very soon. It's really that simple- eat raw & walk. My plan for November is to do a lot of walking & to start toning up. My new pictures are due on Sunday so you'll be seeing those very soon. You may think that eating all raw is difficult, but actually it is harder to eat some cooked food & to continue to battle cravings for sugar, fat & salt. I never realized until I went low sodium how much I like salt & how difficult it is to stop eating foods with salt in them. I am 35 lbs away from my goal weight of 140 lbs! Let's rawk it!

Queen of Raw Food Boot Camp loses 70 lbs in 4.5 mths

2011-11-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I hit 70 lbs gone! Yippee! We all celebrated yesterday in the Rock Starz Butt Kickers by asking me loads of questions. Here's some of the questions:

Questions for Jess: What do you think makes the most difference in losing weight fast on this program? What do you have in your mind and focus that keeps you going - the end result? the interim goals?? What is your mindset when you are struggling - what holds you into the plan? Any specific advise you want to offer that you think would be helpful?

To get fast weight loss you need to follow the program strictly, drink enough water & get enough fiber & do extra walking. I have my 100 lb challenge goal in my mind, but every time I think oh I should go out & eat what I want- I'm like No, because there is always some minigoal that I'm being held accountable for like a weigh in, pictures, end of the month etc, so I don't want to screw up my numbers I want to see how good I can do. So, I guess I pressure myself more than not wanting to explain what I did to everyone or to Carlene. I haven't worried about monthly goals, but now that I'm running out of time I want to do everything I can to make every month productive. My big push now is going to be walking. I see that when someone gets sidetracked they just keep going that way. If you ate something that you shouldn't let it go & move on, don't blow the whole day or the next few days. I want to win the challenge!!! (Win a $500 visa gift card by losing 100 lbs in 7 months) My husband says that I still did well & that my health is more important, but I want to win!!!

So, did you know or trust before hand that this process would work, or did you just see how it was going in the first week, and then your enthusiasm caught fire?
You must have days where you just feel tired, and want to sit more than you want to walk, or have things around the house that other family members eat, that you do not eat. How do you talk to yourself about staying the course when there are the old temptations around you? Are you a very focused person in general, or did you just make up your mind to be really focused about this eating and exercise?

I had done raw before for 6 weeks as a detox before doing the hcg diet to lose weight from my first pregnancy. I knew about the raw diet because I had seen two coworkers lose weight really fast on it. Those guys did the raw diet on their own as a part of a weight loss contest at work. During those two competitions everyone at work was on different diets, but the raw eaters were the fastest losers.
Sometimes I feel tired like right now & I've done my walking, but my kids want to go, so we're going. Sometimes I get busy & it gets late, but I still have to walk. There are lots of things around the house that other people eat that aren't part of our diet & it doesn't bother me. Now I can cook for the family. I avoided cooking for months. I've been avoiding going with the family to my favorite restaurants. Now I think that I could go to my favorite restaurant & order something that I can eat. At work we ate out a few times & I ordered a salad. Lindy had a brillant idea about writing up a little card explaining what we can eat & the types of veggies that we would like on our salad to use when ordering in a restaurant. I've come to the point where I can appreciate the smells of other foods & ask family members if they are good & I don't feel tempted to eat them. I feel that I want to have a good weigh in in the morning & I don't want the foods to make me feel sick.
I'm a very determined, very stubborn person, very goal orientated person. I always expect better from myself regardless of how well I do. My husband tells me- Relax & be happy!

What hemp do you use?

I use Nutiva hemp protein with fiber & I eat Costco prunes.

Holding Steady @ 178 lbs...

2011-10-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

This is the 5th day at 178 lbs! Well the good news is that I'm not gaining weight. Happy Halloween! Here at RFBC we all committed to not eating any candy. No big deal to me. I challenged my group the Rock Starz to be perfect in November. No lapses. Just follow the program & see what happens. We are going to do everything in our power to have the best month possible. I'm still patiently waiting to get down 1.8 lbs to reach 70 lbs gone. I guess for me the best way to lose the most weight would be to do as much walking as possible. This last weekend I particpated in the 300 min walking challenge. So, I'm hoping that tomorrow's weigh in is awesome. It's cooling off at night, but still warm during the day here & I've been enjoying my walks. I'm looking forward to taking my critters out trick-or-treating tonight. Have a safe & Happy Halloween! Think twice about eating the candy! Just enjoy the festivities. I just realized that I have 38 lbs to lose & three months to do it in to reach my goal of 140 lbs by the end of January. Doable, but work. I'd better get moving!

Eye Candy

2011-10-28T12:53:00.000-07:00

Halloween is only a few days away! Yikes! Another month gone! Before Raw Food Boot Camp I liked to eat sweets like cakes & breads & ice cream & spicy mexican candy. Being eye candy for myself is so much better than eating candy! I used to be shocked when I saw myself in the mirror or saw a picture of myself because in my mind I wasn't fat. Now I'm surprised because I'm like Wow! Hey! I AM looking good! It's nice to feel good about how I look.

On eating 100% vegan raw....
I honestly don't feel like I am sacrificing by not eating other foods. Not feeling exhausted & pissed off makes the diet well worth it. I feel content. The food is tasty. I like making things like salads or soups in my vitamix. A few days ago I found a very low sodium hot sauce. I like to add chili peppers & spices to my food for kick & flavor.

On the 100 lb in 7 month challenge...
We are still on target!0

Come on BIG 7-0!!!

2011-10-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

Well I'm VERY close to getting to 70 lbs GONE! Good bye lbs! Hasta nunca! Never again want to see those extra lbs! Well it's been a kick ass week at Butt Kicking Boot Camp & I'm feeling good! I'm feeling confident that I'm going to reach the 10 lb a month minimum despite some s...l..o..w losses. New pictures are due out for me in a week & a half & I want to show you all the power of raw! Lately I'm really enjoying the food & not thinking about what's not on the menu. I find the food satisfying & delicious & I even like the walks. Someone asked me today if I feel better because they hadn't seen me since right before I started eating raw & I realized that despite getting up at 4:30 a.m. most days I feel good & I used to feel tired. I also feel a lot less irritated. I did have a very short fuse. I would get mad instantly & then I'd feel better right away & now I feel much calmer.

Mushroom Soup

2011-10-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

Why is it that all of the raw recipes on the Internet involve nuts & salt? Lately I've been experimenting with making mushroom soup in my vitamix using mushrooms, warm water & avocado, white onion, 1/2 clove of garlic, chili pepper, different seasonings like black pepper, no salt seasoning, tortilla soup seasoning, & paprika & fresh basil & cilantro. I tried adding lime & I advise against it. I make it spicy, but maybe it would be best with less spices & no chili & just the creamy mushroom taste. Mushrooms are low in calories & high in protien. I think I'm going to try a simpler recipe of 2 1/2 cups of regular mushrooms, 3/4 cup warm water, 1/2 clove of garlic, 1/4 cup of white sweet onion & black pepper. Then I'll taste it before possibly adding no salt seasoning.

Although my feet didn't look swollen they grew a size during my last pregnancy. They have shrank again! I'm wearing a size 10 now. I haven't bought any new clothes. For some reason I have clothes in my dresser that I outgrew & now I'm putting them on again. At a 160 lbs I'll be a size 8 & hopefully a size 6 at 140 lbs.

My Favorite Salad

2011-10-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

My favorite salad- just chop, mix & eat immediately

1/2 a ripe avocado
some chopped white sweet onion
chopped cilantro
chopped organic tomato
chopped cucumber
chopped serrano chili pepper
ground black pepper
garlic powder
costco organic no salt seasoning
fresh squeezed lime juice

Just Keep Going...

2011-10-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

I made the change back to hemp protein powder with fiber & this past week I lost 2.8 lbs. Last week I lost 2.2 lbs & the week before I lose 1.4 lbs. So I'm losting faster, but not as fast as I would like or fast fast as I was before. I'm just feeling like I need to do better because I want to meet my goal of losing 42 more lbs by the end of January. If I keep losing 2.8 lbs/week I would reach my goal. Why does 42 lbs seem like so little weight to lose & yet I feel like it's taking forever? I just want everyone to know that although I don't struggle with cheating, I do struggle to acknowledge how far I've come & to have faith that the losses will speed up again.

The Benefits of Fiber!

2011-10-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

REDBOOK November Lazy Fitness Tips- What to eat for a flatter belly- Have some popcorn & anything else high in soluable fiber including FRUITS, VEGGIES, oats & beans. A recent study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that people who upped their fiber intake by 10 grams a day (the amount in a big bowl of oatmeal with two tablespoons of ground FLAXSEED and a cup of BERRIES) didn't add as much deep, visceral fat to their middles over five years as those who didn't step up the fiber. DOWNING CLOSE TO 30 GRAMS A DAY WAS OPTIMAL FOR FLAT-TUMMY MAINTENANCE. Anyone else craving hummus?

Wow! So fiber makes you have a flatter stomach because you eliminate better & because it keeps that dangerous belly fat away!Hemp protein wit fiber has 14 g of fiber in it!

Back to the Basics!

2011-10-15T08:05:00.000-07:00

I'm going back to the basics! I'm going to do what I know works for me. That means that I'm going to start taking my hemp powder + fiber in smoothies starting today! Lack of fiber could very well be the reason that I have had slow losses since I traded hemp protein in for crushed shelled hemp seeds. Before I was losing 4-5 lbs a week, now I lost just over 2 lbs this week. So since I'm going to be eating raw anyway & exercising I've got to make it work for me. Let's get this weight off! We've got a 100 lb challenge to win. I need to lose 100 lbs by the end of January.

44 lbs to go...

2011-10-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

I now need to lose 44 lbs to reach my goal weight of 140 lbs. That seems totally do able! I've been feeling good & enjoying cantaloupes. I know you are wondering why I keep talking about new pictures that clearly aren't posted. Carlene wants me to retake them because my clothes were too baggy! Wow! Isn't that a great thing?! So this afternoon I will send her new pictures.

New Pics! Back to Butt Kicking Mode!

2011-10-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

Today my lastest pictures should be posted showing 60 lbs gone. Not bad 60 lbs lost in 3.5 months. I've come to realize that after I stopped taking the hemp powder in the smoothies & started eating crushed hemp that I'm running 300 calories low some days which means no weight loss. :( So I'm going to be carefully monitoring that I eat enough & walk. Afterall that is all there is to the program
- eating & walking! I'm in full butt kicking mode & I'm going to see those big losses again.

60 lbs Gone in 16 weeks!!

2011-10-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to report that today I weighed in @ 60.8 lbs gone in 16 weeks! It feels really good! I've got 45 lbs to go! I can't wait to get to 75 lbs gone! Lately I've been feeling like my losses are really slow, so it's great to be moving down again. I'm starting to feel good about how I look. That's the power of raw food. I feel really good energy wise too. I'm loving the crushed shelled hemp seeds. Today the whole family went walking together & I just love it when my husband joins us. I did get another flat tire on the way home. =( How can I still get flat tires with the gel inner tubes that aren't supposed to go flat?

New Pics Coming Soon, 60 lbs Gone!!!

2011-10-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

Well my pictures are due on the 9th of October. I've been doing a lot of walking, so despite these slow losses I expect to see improvement. I'm still not up to my usual 1/2 a pound a day.
I've avoided eating at restaurants because I didn't want to be tempted to eat something else. Yesterday I ate out with some coworkers because we are planning an Italian heritage event celebration for later this month. I ordered a salad with lots of fresh veggies & I was happy with it. I had mineral water with lemon to drink & I used lemon & ground pepper on my salad. Costco sells an organic blend of spices with no salt that I use on my salads at home. I finally got the shelled crushed hemp seeds from Amazon & I like it! I've put the crushed hemp on my salad, but the taste is mild & I tried them straight out of the bag & it's even better.
In case you haven't read all of the blogs, I'll tell you the basics of the Butt Kickers Program. 100% raw fruits & veggies, 1200 calories a day, 2 hrs walking daily in the fat burn zone. Bananas are limited to one a day or better yet none. Avoid grapes, papaya, mango, squash, radish, pumpkin, turnip, jicama & corn because they stall weight loss. No nuts. You can eat avocado for fat & hemp protien or seeds for protein. Non vinegar. No salty foods. Keep your diet low sodium & 10-15% daily fat & protein. You can keep track of all that in fitday.com for free. With this diet you can lose weight faster than surgery.

The Cat is in the Bag!!!

2011-10-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

Hello! I'm very excited because TOM started yesterday. I know- you're thinking WHAT?!?; well TOM is a good thing. It means that my body stops retaining water & the scale starts moving down. Lately I've had a frustrating time- losing only 5.6 lbs since September 15 until October 1st. I've had a nasty bladder infection. I try not to worry about the scale, but no one on a diet likes to see stalled weight loss. I just kept following the diet & doing my walking. I'm really hoping that those losses do catch up. I haven't been getting my 1/2 lb a day losses! =(

On the upside- I just realized that the cat is in the bag! I need to lose 41.6 lbs by the end of January to complete the 100 lbs in 7 months challenge. How could I not do it? Even with a slow month like this one I would make it. I'm hoping to make my goal weight of 140 by then. I may even decide I should weigh 135 lbs. So that's just awesome! I need to lose less than 50 lbs to reach my goal weight. Right now 50 lbs seems totally achievable. I just keep doing what I'm doing. No thought required! Once you know what you can eat (Fitday makes it so easy!)& you know you need to get out & do your walks (Just make it happen!), there's really nothing else to it! Just do it!

UTI Stalls Weight Loss

2011-09-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

Well since the bladder infection that I got on September 20th the weight loss has stalled. On Monday's weigh in I had lost ONE lb in the past week! Ugh! This is down from my normal 4-5 lbs a week. I'm still doing the walking & following the diet, but nothing is happening! Last night I went to see my acupuncturist & I started taking herbs. This is my fourth day drinking parsley tea. I never knew that parsley tea will clear a UTI so thanks Carlene for that tip. So I'd really like to start losing weight again as I have goals to meet. Apparently my body is busy fighting this infection. So busy apparently that my digestion is sluggish. I'm not sure what I can do besides keep plugging along & wait for my body to heal.
Amazingly my one & half year old has been sleeping all night the last few days except last night which was a nightmare. She woke up four times demanding teta (boobie) & would not go back to sleep. I remember telling her to go to sleep because I have to work, I can't work at sleep. Oh. I'm so confused! My Dear Girl. Of course when I had to get up at 4:40 am she was sound asleep. I don't know why I can't breastfeed & sleep, but it keeps me awake. I let her breastfeed a few times hoping that she'd fall asleep, but she was wide awake & got quite mad at me because I wanted to roll onto my stomach & go back to sleep.

Obesity Be Gone!!!

2011-09-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

Hello! I just want to let everyone know that I'm on the brink of moving from a BMI of OBESE to Overweight. Even losing one pound will do it! Doesn't "Overweight" sound so much better than MORBIDLY OBESE!?! Morbidly Obese makes it sound like you are about to drop dead any minute!
Even after I bought those gel inner tubes for my Bob Stroller I've had to exchange the inner tubes twice because although they are guaranteed not to go flat they do not always work if the hole is too big! I've had a few flats where the tire went flat & I put air in the tire & the tire held the air. Oh why must I fight this battle? I just want to put my babies in the stroller & go!
Yesterday I had a bladder infection. That was crappy. I was afraid that it would get worse & worse, but I drank a lot of water & today I feel good.
I've still been struggling with the scale that goes up & down. What's with all the ups? This is not Target brand Up & Up! Ugh! I want to be thin already! At least I'm starting look & feel good.

1/2 Way to My Goal!!!

2011-09-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Nothing exciting has been happening with my weight. I went over the 50 lbs gone with 51.2 lbs lost & then had two days of gains & two days of losses leaving me at .2 lower than when I started with a total loss of 51.4 & now, today- nothing! So all in all that's not good. I don't know what is going on! Carlene says that I need to not get discouraged by the scale & get my walking done. On last Friday I did not do my walk because I felt that a gain was inevitable after the big loss that I had from the day before. I know that it is silly to get upset about the scale & to let the scale influence you to not try your hardest!
On the up side I have a good average loss of over .5 lb/day & I need to just keep working the program. I make two hours my minmum exercise time for my walk. I like to get a nice walk done in the morning before it gets hot.
The great news is that I was looking at my weight loss ticker & I realized that I'm about 1/2 way to my weight loss goal. Losing just over 50 lbs seems easy & much less daunting than the 100+ lbs that I needed to lose before I started at Raw Food Boot Camp. You may be wondering what is easy about losing 50 lbs? Well, if I do my two hours of daily walking & eat my fruits & veggies, my body takes care of the rest. It really can be that simple- walk & eat. There is no need to analyze or stress about the diet. I just eat 1200 calories of fruits & veggies & get my walk on.

50 lbs Gone in under 12 weeks!

2011-09-09T10:06:00.000-07:00

Yes! I'm finally under the 50 lb gone mark today! 51.2 lbs lost! Rawesome! This morning my husband asked why I was standing there naked? I told him of course I'm naked! I lost 50 lbs! Now I'm going to shake my booty! Hip Hip Hooray! Shake what your Mama gave ya! Wow! This feels really great! On Monday I should have my new before & after pictures posted on my blog. If you are thinking of joining us, but have just been watching- in less than three months you too could lose over 50 lbs! There's never going to be a perfect time when life is not stressful to start your diet. Get started now & learn to take care of yourself & eat right & exercise in spite of what life gives you. If I can do it, you can too! Thank you for all of your support!

Come on scale! Show me 50 lbs gone!

2011-09-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

I'm still here following the 100% raw, low fat, low sodium diet of 1200 calories & walking in the fat burn zone. I'm just patiently waiting to get to 50 lbs gone. I've lost 48.8 lbs to date. This is tedious as some days I gain weight even though I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. I don't get upset about the minor gains because I know that the losses will catch up to me & that I will keep up my average of over 1/2 lb/day. Unfortunately these temporary gains can be quite upsetting sometimes, especially when you are newer on the diet & not accustomed to your body's weight fluctuations. Earlier in my diet program, I got upset that my eating small amounts of salt lead to me retaining 2.5 lbs of water & I decided that if I wasn't going to be losing weight that I should at least be eating whatever I wanted! This thinking lead to me going to a buffet & although I didn't eat tons of food, it made me feel sick. Unfortunately, we lost a much loved member of our group-RoadRunner when she got upset about retaining water from flying. RR we all miss you! Remember that there will be times when you lose weight, gain weight & even maintain your weight due to other factors besides your diet & exercise. If you just keep following the program you will still get the same average weightloss.
On Monday my twelve week photos are due. It will be really great to show everyone my new before & after photos.

ONEderland!! ONEderland!!! ONEderland!!

2011-09-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah! Guess who weighs under 200 lbs? Hmmm? Any ideas? Oh yeah! Let's never go back to 200 + lbs again! It's a great feeling to be under 200 lbs! I'm almost down 50 lbs. I'm very close to being 1/2 way to my goal of 140 lbs. You go girl! Soon I'll be wearing skinny clothes! All this in two months & 19 days! I'm averaging just over .5 lbs a day. What other diet gives you fast weight loss & is totally healthy?

The Curse of the 200 lb Woman

2011-09-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

I'm still here plugging along on the diet waiting to get below 200 lbs & waiting to get to 50 lbs gone. I thought for sure I'd be under 200 lbs by today, but no. Here I am at 200.2 lbs. Now I'm nervous that tomorrow I could even see a gain because of the up & down cycle of my weight. Today I went down 1.6 lbs which means that tomorrow I might see a small gain. Ugh! Now I feel like I'm analyzing the stock market, which I also find baffling. Well, let's all cross our fingers & hope for getting to ONEderland!
Today is the long awaited first month before & after photos of my fellow Butt Kickers, so be sure & check that out. Today is also my mom's birthday, so Happy Birthday Mom!
August is gone. =( So I lost 20.2 lbs in August. Even I with my endless self criticism have to admit that that is really great.

New Pictures Coming Soon

2011-08-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

Most of my team mates- Free Spirit, Vera, Papaya, Roadrunner, & SanDee will be finishing up their first four weeks on this Monday. They all started the program on August 1st. The exciting part is that they are all still here following this Butt Kicking Plan despite sometimes just not feeling like doing the program. In a few days they will have their before & after pictures posted on their blogs. I want people to know that although I just follow the program & that's it, some people struggle through the program & as long as they keep working the program they will find success.
It is common to be tempted by cooked food, or become tired of the fruit or to feel that you have no time to walk, but you must stay strong & work through these things. Sometimes you follow the program & the scale still goes up. This is another common situation that must not lead to resentment or breaking the program. Sometimes you gain weight & there is no apparent reason, but the losses will catch up with you. If you look at my weigh ins you can see that I sometimes have a large loss followed by a small gain. Sometimes these minor gains are caused by humidity, water retention, lack of sleep, constipation or TOM. The important thing is to remember not get upset about the scale & maintain the program of 100% raw, low fat, low sodium 1200 calories & two daily one hour walks in the fat burning heart rate zone. If you can stay focused and move forward you will be rewarded with 1/2 lb a day average losses. With weight loss like this why would anyone consider weight loss surgery?

ONEderland - here I come!!!

2011-08-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here at raw food boot camp we refer to below 200 lbs as ONEderland. I am getting very excited. I've decided to step up my walking to make it happen asap. I'm even more excited about reaching 50 lbs gone. I love that are people asking me about my weight loss. I don't feel shy about sharing my losses & weight even with the obvious implication that I used to be really over weight.
I am enjoying the food except for the hemp protein powder. I look forward to my daily salad. Who would have thought that I could get excited about a salad that has no salt & no salad dressing? It even has loads of walla walla sweet onions & I was big on professing my dislike of raw onions! Now, I put lime juice on my salad & it's delicious. I like having avocado in my salad too. I belong to a local CSA farm share. www.bewiseranch.com They deliver all over San Diego County. It's awesome! Everything is grown locally & organically. Yesterday I picked my box & I got extra avocados, extra tomatoes & extra pluots. What could possibly taste better than a garden fresh tomato? I'm not a fan of the cardboard tomatoes that they sell in grocery stores. To keep track of all my daily food intake I use www.fitday.com. It's free & it helps me to maintain my 100% raw, low sodium, low fat diet.
Today to follow through on my big push to get down asap I walked 3 hrs 16 mins straight up & down a mountain. Oh yeah! You go girl! That was no easy feat. When I got home I walked another 46 minutes to pick up my son from school. I've really been taking advantage of my new Bob Revolution Duallie stroller.
I realized that Carlene is right (like always). She said that she really enjoyed losing her weight. I never thought about enjoying the process because I just want the weight gone- like yesterday. I've realized that I enjoy the food, I like walking & damn do I feel good! Yes, the baby makes me tired, but I feel energetic a lot more & I feel way more positive about myself & my life.

Walk, Walk & more Walking

2011-08-22T21:48:00.000-07:00

Today Carlene was advising us on some fruits that tend to stall weight loss & should be avoided- kiwi, grapes in the summer/fall, bananas (limit 1/day), papaya, & mango. We have also been warned against eating hard starchy veggies- corn, squash, radish, jicama, turnip. We do not eat seeds other than chia or hemp. The only dehydrated food that I eat are prunes from Costco. We have also been warned about Costco. I love Costco & I still go there, but not as often as I did. Costco can be dangerous to dieters because they have so many yummy free samples. These samples don't bother me. I take the samples & hand them to the other people that I am shopping with.
Today we were also talking about our walking. The goal is to walk twice a day for an hour each time in the fat burning heart rate zone. The fat burning zone is usually 135-150. My fat burning zone is 145-169. My resting heart rate is low. I usually walk once or twice a day for 1 1/2- 2 hours.
There is a woman in our Butt Kicker group named Lyzzie. Lyzzie is not obese, she weighs in the 160's. She is here to lose weight for her wedding. I remember weighing 160 lbs & I felt so good about myself & my body. Lyzzie has really inspired me because she is so driven. Lyzzie has also shown me that just because you don't have a lot of weight to lose does not mean that your weight loss slows down. Lyzzie is now walking twice a day for a total of 2 1/2 hours in her fat burning zone. I'm very excited because I was nervous about how I was going to get below 160 lbs. In the past when I weighed 160 lbs I used to work out three hours a day & eat healthy & I still did not go below 160 lbs. Now I know that if I just keep following the program- eat 1200 calories of raw food and walk 1 1/2-2 hours a day in my fat burn zone I will lose weight. Thank you Lyzzie for your positive attitude & your leading by example. All of the ladies in the group have been very supportive & I am happy to be a part of the group.

Tired!

2011-08-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

I've been so tired lately. I don't know if I've been tired partially because after I blended my tamper I've been avoiding my hemp smoothies? The last two days I've been having them again. My brother-in-law has cancer & has been on a strict organic vegan diet. He has become very thin and very weak & now that the cancer continues to spread he has decided to try chemotherapy. Before he can do chemotherapy he needs to become stronger. His doctor has told him to eat salmon & tuna for the protein, so I thought that maybe eating my hemp protein powder will give me more energy. It was also TOM that just ended. The baby has been going to bed too late. I have to wake up at 4:40 a.m. & every night she wants to stay up & get teta (booby) & she wakes up several times a night. She's almost a year and a half years old. Tomorrow is the first day of kindergarten for my five year old. He is in a bilingual program and will be taking reading and writing in Spanish which means that we need to work on his reading & writing at home.
Today, I went up a little bit in my weight (.4 lb) & I think that's due to not enough sleep. I found a solution to my flat tire. I bought thick inner tubes with gel in them at Big 5 for my stroller that are self-sealing & guaranteed not to get flats. I'm hoping that the kids will go to bed right away & we can all be rested for tomorrow. I'm back on plan with a smoothie for breakfast, fruit for lunch & big salsa fresca style salad for dinner. Here's what I ate today.

Food Cals
1,211
hemp protein 130
Strawberries 45
Orange 86
Orange 185
prunes 100
Apple 110
Avocado 138
Carrots 30
Cilantro 4
Cucumber 21
Lettuce 5
Lime juice 6
Peppers,hot 18
garlic powder 28
Tomatoes 49
Pear 81
black pepper 5
Basil 1
Mango 107
Honeydew melon 61

Stroller Flats & Garden Tomatoes

2011-08-17T15:37:00.000-07:00

Hello! I have two great strollers- the Bugaboo Frog and the Bob Duallie Revolution, but they both have flat tires. If you have to do you walking with kids a good stroller is a necessity. I have a five year old and a one and a half year old. The five year old will sometimes ride his scooter while I walk, but that will only last for twenty minutes. So, I bought the Bob because both kids would end up inside the Bugaboo which is a heavy duty single stroller. A few times I would get someone to walk with me and take two umbrella strollers. That really wasn't fun. Umbrella strollers are those small folding strollers. They are light weight and easy to carry, but the handles are not tall enough for taller people. I'm 5'7 and pushing the umbrella stroller is not comfortable for my lower back. So today, my plan to go to a bike shop to see what my options are to end the battle with flat tires. Air tires on strollers make for a more comfortable ride and a lighter weight stroller, but I've had it with the flats. For what I've heard, my options are to fill the inner tubes with slime or to put slime tape inside the tires.
Next week my five year old starts first grade. Here we are back to school again. I can't believe that the summer is almost over! The diet and the walking are going well. I'm enjoying all the fresh fruits and my big daily salad. I just love real tomatoes. I don't like those green cardboard things that they sell at the grocery stores. My kids are really loving all of the fresh fruits, too.

36 Pounds Down in 8 weeks!!

2011-08-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

Well the new pictures are in! I'm very excited to show off my before and after pictures. What a huge difference those last 14 pounds has made. Until I saw the pictures I didn't realize what a big transformation I have made. I'm moving forward in the 100 pound challenge.

New Pictures

2011-08-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm very excited because today I'm taking my 8 week pictures. They will be up on the blog this evening. Yesterday, I was tired and I pushed the tamper of my vitamix right into the blades and then smoothie splattered all over the kitchen. I had to throw the smoothie out because it got bits of plastic in it. Thanks to Amazon, we'll be back in business on Tuesday with a new tamper. Yesterday, I assembled my new Bob Duallie Revolution. It is well worth the money.

I'm getting there!!!

2011-08-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

The last few days I feel like I can finally notice a difference in myself. I can't wait to show you all my two month pictures in a few days. Also, I'm excited because I'm about 1/3 of the way to losing the 100 lbs! I am doing the 100 lbs in seven months challenge and I think I'm right on track. My work clothes are baggy and face is looking thin. This is what excites me, when there is an obvious loss. No one can look at me and say, "Yeah, I guess that you look a little bit thinner". On my walk tonight I was thinking how good I'm going to look in a few months in a sports bra and running shorts and running shoes- like a sexy little athlete. I've been enjoying my walks.

What do you eat?

2011-08-03T23:10:00.000-07:00

As promised, I'd like to tell you what I eat. So, here is a copy of what I ate today as recorded in fitday.com. Also, these last few days I've been walking two hours a day. Last weekend, I decided to give in to the cravings that have been nagging at me and you wouldn't believe how sick all the food made me feel! So not worth it!

Avocado, raw	111	10.1	5.9	1.4
Carrots, raw	30	0.2	6.9	0.7
Cilantro, raw	1	0.0	0.1	0.1
costco 3 berry mix	70	0.0	17.0	0.0
Cucumber, raw	14	0.2	2.6	0.7
dried prunes	100	0.0	26.0	1.0
Lettuce, green leaf, raw	22	0.2	4.0	2.0
Lime juice	6	0.1	2.1	0.1
Onions, mature, raw	16	0.0	3.7	0.4
Orange, raw	86	0.2	21.6	1.7
Peach, raw	115	0.7	28.0	2.7
Peppers, hot chili, green, raw	18	0.1	4.3	0.9
Spices, garlic powder	28	0.1	6.1	1.4
Spinach, raw	14	0.2	2.2	1.7
Strawberries, raw	121	1.1	29.0	2.5
Tomatoes, raw	15	0.2	3.3	0.7
hemp protein	130	3.0	14.0	11.0
Blueberries, raw	83	0.5	21.0	1.1
Cherries, sweet, raw (Queen Anne, Bing)	111	0.4	28.3	1.9
Nectarine, raw	120	0.9	28.7	2.9

Introduction to Raw Food Boot Camp

2011-07-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

Hello! I am excited because the Butt Kickers kicks off on Monday, August 1st. I have been doing the fast weight loss 100% raw, low fat and low sodium diet since the middle of June (And I have lost about 29 pounds in this six week period). This diet also includes a minimum of 1 hour of daily walking. I aim to do an hour and a half of walking everyday.

I am doing this diet because I want the weight gone like yesterday and I am willing to make sacrifices to achieve my weight loss goal quickly. I am happy to be doing this blog in the hope that someone else will be inspired to adopt a healthier lifestyle. I know that for months I wanted to start a raw food diet, but I didn't want to do it alone. I am here to let you know that you are not alone. We can take this journey together of losing the weight, breaking the bad habits and keeping the weight off.

I love that the Butt Kicker program is easy and I don't have to undergo any surgical procedures, or buy any meal replacements or pills. I love that there are no health risks. I love that this program does not require any recipes, dehydrating, or sprouting. This diet is easy- you just buy fruits and vegetables and eat them. Everyday I drink a smoothie for breakfast and eat fruit for lunch and sometimes a salad or more fruit for dinner.

This program works for me because I don't have to think about it. I know what types of foods I can and can't eat and I just enter the foods online to ensure that I have eaten enough. I strive to eat 1200 calories a day and that is a lot of fruit.

I am part of the 100 pounds in seven months challenge and I expect to get this weight off fast. In the past I have not been able to get below 160 pounds, so I am nervous about the difficulty of losing the last twenty pounds, but my diet coach Carlene says that if I keep following the plan, I will keep losing the weight. I am curious to see if I keep following the diet; What is the ideal weight for me?

This diet may sound very strict, but so far I have found it to be very easy to follow. I am never hungry. I still have a long way to go on my weight loss journey, but I am off to a great start. People are noticing my weight loss and my clothes fit better, I stand up straighter and I feel more comfortable with myself. As a fat person, I have dissociated this fat body with the real me, and I want to love "love the skin I'm in" as they say. I don't want to be shocked when I catch glimpses of a reflection of a fat frumpy woman anymore. In my next entry, I will tell you more about what I eat, so that you can see how simple and flexible this diet really is- munching on carrot sticks and celery are optional.