You are what you eat....

                                                         
A little background.....

You may know I have been on quite a journey with my weight and health over the past 10 years or so.  When I gradutaed from Vanderbilt in 2002 I probably weighed 170-180 lbs.  I continued to gain over the next 1-2 years and topped out in the 190s.  I am 5'2".  I never felt 190.  It happened so gradually that I truly did not realize what had happened.  It literally snuck up on me.  I wore a size 14.  My diet was typical, I suppose.  I didn't think much of it really.  I mostly ate for taste and my tastebuds seemed to like all the wrong things!

Shortly after graduating I was diagnosed with high cholesterol and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).  At age 25, my cholesterol was worse than the worst of most of my patients.  My total cholesterol was 280 (should be less than 200)  my LDL was 190 (should be less that 130) and my HDL was ok at around 40.  Did I say I was 25?!?  On paper I looked like a 400 lb truck driver.  I started a cholesterol medicine at 25 and faithfully took my pill daily.  PCOS is an endocrine and hormone disorder that causes a multitude of symptoms including facial hair, hair loss, increased risk for diabetes and fertility issues.  I will never forget having a nightmare that I looked like my dad.  Now you know how much I adore that man, but bald and bearded was not the look I was after.  PCOS is associated with obesity.  The more I studied, the more I learned that the number one treatment for  PCOS is weight loss, not pills, not surgery, weight loss.  With weight loss, all symptoms would resolve or improve.  This was the catalyst for me taking control of my weight and health.  It has been a journey and continues to evolve to this day. 

Around 2004, I began exercising and dieting and lost a total of 65 pounds.  I started by making changes to my diet (no matter how small).  I still have the size 4 jeans that I wore at 127lbs (my all time low).  I did not stay at 127 long.  I crept up a bit and have leveled off staying within 3-4 lbs over the past 5 years.  My mantra was always make a better choice than I would have before.  This meant if I were at McDonalds and typically would have ordered a double cheeseburger and large fries then maybe I would get a single and small fries instead.  Rather than order a large coke, I would get diet coke.  Now, a single burger, small fries and diet coke is a horrible meal choice all the way around, but at that time it was an improvement, a step in the right direction.  I knew that small changes built on small changes would eventually yeild into something much larger, and boy has it ever!  I have continued to build on that principle and slowly but surely my diet has evolved into something I am rather proud of.  I have not eaten a meal at McDonalds in 4-5 years nor at any fast food restaurant for more than a year. 

During this evolution, I have become incredibly interested in diet and health.  My profession dictates that I see and treat people with a multitude of medical conditions.  I write prescriptions all day, everyday.  There truly is a pill for most everything.  Not only that, people expect to get a pill for everything.  We have lost the notion that so much of our health lies in our own hands.  We choose what we eat.  We choose whether we exercise.  We choose what chemicals we put on or in our bodies.  I am totally convinvced that to a large degree we choose the future of our health.  I began reading every book I could get my hands on about diet as illness prevention and learned (what seems so basic) that fruits and vegetables provide micronutrients and are essential in health and in reducing our risk for obesity, heart disease, diabetes... There is also a library of data suggesting that diets high in animal protein increase our risk for these diseases.  (organic grassfed meat is tremendously better for health than conventional if you must ; )

So, starting last year, we began making a dramatic shift towards less animal products and more fruits and vegetables.  I am not a vegetarian.  I am not an animal rights activist.  I do love a good greasy cheeseburger just as much as the next gal, but I limit my intake because I know that the health benefits for me far outweight the flavor of that burger.  Currently we buy no meat in our home.  No meat, no milk, no eggs.  Cheese, well, maybe for special occasions ; )  When we are out, we are a little more flexible.  I often order fish in restaurants and go with the flow if something is cooked with meat.  I had a burger for my birthday in May and BBQ for the 4th of July.  Overall, reducing meat has been easy.  I am quite satisfied.  My cholesterol is much better.  But, I have not lost any more weight??? 

I am by no means perfect.  The meat was easy, but...the desserts!  We get desserts and snacks at work on a daily basis.  Yesterday it was eggs, bacon, muffins, cookies and chocolate cake.  There are times I cannot resist.  I am a strong girl.  I have achieved most everything I have ever set out to do.  I have a good husband, a good job, a good house, a good car, I can run 13 miles, run a business etc, BUT this relationship with food is tricky.  It is the one thing that I deam most important that is the hardest to conquer.  I believe with all of my heart that I am what I eat, yet still, there is that rare occasion that I find myself with my hand in a potato chip bag.  I am talking about plain old Lays potato chips, laden with chemicals and grease and yellow #6 and disdium inosinate????  What is that?  I am pretty good most of the time.  I know the importance and make it my goal to eat a REAL diet, not processed, a diet with ingredients I can recognize, without chemicals, without additives.   BUT, I still struggle because there is no doubt that bad food tastes good. 

Stay with me, this is going somewhere...

I write this with a little apprehension.  Telling you commits me to this crazy plan I have layed out for myself.  This all started about a week ago when Cary watched a documentary on juice fasting called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  He came home talking about the health benefits of juicing.  We had some discussion with friends about the matter over the weekend and all left deciding we would buy juicers and give it a whirl.  I planned to start after Labor Day but upon further thought decided there is no time like the present!  I borrowed my sisters juicer on Thursday and yesterday I started a 7 day "juice"  in hopes to capitalize on the excitement of this idea while it is still fresh and maybe to lose 5 lbs for the boat next weekend too ; )  I have been known to be a bit radical.  You may think I am a lunatic.  I cannot entirely disagree.  BUT, juicing is good for you.  Raw fruits and vegetables are exponentially more nutrient dense than are cooked, especially when juiced.  You get the nutrients of a whole plate of raw fruits and vegetables in 1 glass.  This week, I may be going without chewing, but I will not be going without.  No doubt, I will consume more nutrients this week than I likely have in the past month!

I needed some ground rules and since it is my "juice", the rules were conveniently at my discretion : )

First and foremost...coffee is ok
2.  I can juice or eat raw fruits or vegetables, as many as I can stomach
3.  I can eat nuts
4.  I can drink unsweet tea
5.  Considering we already have a brewing party scheduled for tonight, beer is ok, at least for 1 night
6.  I will document daily weights and intake
7.  I will blog about the experience

So, here goes...

Day 1, Friday August 26th:  143.6lbs, BMI 26.2 (overweight by health/medical standards)
Total cholesterol 236, LDL 140 HDL 71, Triglycerides 124 (better, but still bad)

fruit smoothie: strawberries, banana, peach, mango, blueberries, organic OJ, coconut milk, ground flax, ice- DELICIOUS!!  This is what we always have for breakfast, so reality has not really set in...


breakfast, lunch and snack, day 1



I arrived at work to a smorgasbord of food (as seen above).  The chocolate cake was a killer, but a good test for day 1.  I passed.  I was worried about getting hungry so I snacked on nuts through the morning and sipped on my vegetable juice: tomatoes, carrots, celery, bell pepper, broccoli, lime, spinach and sprouts.  The first drink was pretty good, kind of like V8.  I was a little over zealous and juiced 20 oz for my intake at work (again, worried about hunger).  About 8 oz in, I thought it was going to start coming back up.  I will not lie, it was rough!  I took a break at lunch and ordered a salad that had lettuce, oranges and sugar snap peas, that's it!  No dressing, no cheese, no nothing!  I had a banana for dessert and then snacked on an orange and ~ 4oz more of the juice through the afternoon.  I fully expected to be hungry, grouchy, tired, shaky, but none of that was the case.  I did not get hungry.  In fact I felt full all day.  I did feel like I was having to force it in at times, but never felt hungry.  I took a break until Cary got home at 7 and then we juiced again for "dinner".  This time: romaine, 2 apples, 1 carrot, 1 lemon and a good piece of pineapple.  This was GOOD!  I am pleasantly surprised after day 1.  It was not amazing, but easier than I expected.  I can do this! 

I finished off the evening by watching Cary's documentary, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  It was a good way to inspire my journey ( I may have to watch it again come day 3 or 4...).  It is an incredible documentary that follows a couple of men on there journey for better health through juicing. I highly recommend it.  It is truly an inspiration.

My goals are to increase my nutrients, have 1 week completely free of processed food, saturated fat or cholesterol, lose a few pounds, prove to myself that I can do this and not embarass myself on the lake next weekend (probably should have started earlier).  I will have to get to 136 lbs to be in the "normal weight category" per the BMI chart.  That is a stretch for 1 week, but I can certainly get started!   I had to get 1 day under my belt to prove to myself that I can really do this. I cannot wait to share my daily weights, "meals" and my cholesterol levels at the end of this week.  Day 1 was easier than I expected.  I did not cheat once. I feel good.  I feel ready. 

Stay tuned for daily updates.  I am using you as my accountability.  I hope you might be inspired to start making changes to your diet (no matter how small).  We truly are what we eat and I, for one, don't want to be yellow #6 or disodium inosinate....