Saturday, October 29, 2011

Vegan MoFo Day 29: Snow Day and Some Changes


Hello Chickadees <3 First of all, I just want to thank you all so much for your support and well wishes for me. Unfortunately the journey to figuring out what is going on with my should hasn't even begun because I'm still looking for a primary care physician. I doubt I'll have any tests done for at least a month. It is really upsetting and really frustrating but I just have to make sure I stay diligent in my search for doctors and for answers. This has been going on for years and I doubt it'll ever really get better. For now, I think it is a matter of learning how to live with it and how to maintain the most comfort possible while still participating in activities that I love. 

My body has been rebelling against me. I've been feeling crappy, never completely getting over my illnesses, my shoulder is flaring up and I am just tired and in bad spirits. I don't like feeling this way. I've decided that for the month of November, I'm going to do a 30 day cleanse. It will be a repeat of the cleanse I did when I decided to go gluten free. For the first two weeks to completely clean my system I completely took all grains, starchy veggies and added sugars from my diet. I ate mostly fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, seeds, and a little tofu. It was clean clean clean. After two weeks I felt phenomenal, I had energy and just felt so much better. I added back some grains (obviously gf grains only) mostly in the form of oats and brown rice and tried to limit it. This was for another two weeks. Then I started to use a little more of the added sugars such as maple syrup, etc. Recently with all of the baking I've been doing and because of my schedule I've eaten more processed food, gluten and sugar than I like so starting on Tuesday I'm ridding my body of the crap and getting back on track.

I found these two photos and they are truly inspiring...they are so beautiful and vibrant and they make me crave fresh produce!!



   


I've got a major hunch that my shoulder issues have stemmed from a pinched nerve somewhere. I'm not sure where but I just really believe that's what it is. I've read that posture is key in maintaining comfort with pinched nerves and I know that yoga helps with posture so much. I'm going to try and practice for at least an hour every other day and hopefully the combination of stretching and proper posture will help alleviate it. In addition, over the next two weeks I won't be hitting anything, just working on core and lower body. I'll probably only cut down to 2 sessions a week while I have to limit my workouts and then use the other days to focus on yoga and cardio.

It is a really yucky day here in NY. Heavy wet snow is coming down and it is just ugly. I went to the studio to do some work for a few hours and then I just came home to relax. I'm in warm pjs relaxing in bed with tea watching old UFC fights in a UFC Unleashed marathon on Spike. It is an ugly day, but it is a perfect day to rest enjoy a day inside. Now, lets check out the food!


For a snow day treat I enjoyed this slice of GF Carrot Spice Oat Bread and a mug of spearmint tea. It was the perfect treat! I warmed up the bread and the warmth of the spices were really lovely on this chilly day.


To continue the theme of warming from the inside out, I had a bowl of hot and sour soup. Check out all of the chili flakes! Super spicy and delicious :)

Just as a reminder, you can vote in the second round of the Holiday Baking Bracket until midnight tomorrow - Sunday, October 30! Get those votes in! The final round is approaching!

Stay warm and dry everyone and travel safe!

9 comments:

  1. Would it be cruel to mention that it's 80 degrees here in SF today? :) I feel bad about your shoulder pain, but I'm glad you're taking care of yourself. PJs and tea sounds really good.

    Those fruit photos look very yummy. I'm interested to read about your cleanse. I think my diet could stand to be cleaned up too.

    Have a good weekend and Happy Halloween!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hope you start feeling better real soon. I know how frustrating it is to go through doctor after doctor, yet get no answers. It took me years before one of them figured out I had thyroid issues. Bummer about the snow. That alone would make me cry!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The clean eats idea sounds great. I'm probably going to do a cleanse of some sort in November too, after eating all this (delicious) food that I don't usually. I hope your problems clear up. It really is frustrating and demoralizing to have to deal with recurring health problems.
    And, worth a mention - the rainbowy food photos are nice...but who would put red pepper next to blueberries?? That reminds me of the time I used the same knife to cut garlic and then a slice of cake!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sage - 80 degrees?! SO jealous right now :) Thanks, yeah I've been on the woe is me train for 2 days it's time to stop and just take care of myself! As if MoFo wasn't enough I'm going to hop right into a 30 day cleanse and I'll probably be posting most days in November too but I'll be posting plenty of clean meal ideas. I can always send you an email detailing it but I pretty much said it all haha.

    Molly - Thanks! I know I'm so sorry that you've had so much trouble too but it seems like you are doing amazing now! I wish I was going from Dr. to Dr. but I can't even get an appointment. That is crazy! I know, the snow was nutty but now it is just gross rain and there is sleet and whatnot. Waaay to early for this!

    FF - Thanks! I agree that it is frustrating to deal with it and that is why I decided to just take it upon myself to do what I can do to sort it out because the Drs are making it very difficult for me to get help otherwise. Haha I know that was my thought too when I saw that pic! I would have put blackberries there or something the red onion is ridiculous! I actually really love the fruit platter on top, I want to dive in and swim in it ;) Ack, I can't imagine how not so delicious the garlicky cake was!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Working backwards - I love the Hot and Sour soup you have pictured, it looks so good! I'm pleased to see the Mazel mug again, and the yummy bread.
    I heard about the massive snow storm, it reminds me not to complain about our weather - as comparatively, the east coast always has it worse!
    The cleanse sounds amazing! I should definitely think about doing something similar. I'm going to pull back on the gluten till Thanksgiving (where I must have a roll. Or two.)
    I'm hoping to read a post tomorrow that includes a doctor's appointment! I'm sending a lot of positive thoughts to you, hope you're having a great day. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks Ingrid! The soup was so good and warmed me right up! We didn't get a lot of accumulation but it was such an ugly day. Today it is bright and sunny and gorgeous. Go figure. I'm looking forward to the cleanse and it comes at the perfect time because no exercise for a week. You must be psychic because I will be discussing a dr. visit today :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's surreal to me that you guys are having bad weather. It was chilly out this morning - but I had on short sleeves. I saw pictures of the NE online, and I couldn't believe there was snow already. The fruit pics are definitely inspirational. I've been eating too much junk lately, too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I sound like a broken record, but you may want to be checked for Lyme Disease. Anyway, looking forward to seeing how you do your cleanse.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jenny - The snow was crazy. It was just disgusting, wet, heavy snow and it was such a gross ugly day. I didn't have it nearly as bad as Shen though! I feel bad for everyone that got hit harder and lost power! I'm always inspired by beautiful, colorful food.

    Shen - I don't remember you mentioning Lyme Disease before but I'll definitely ask to be tested when I go to my new Dr. next week. I'm a total hypochondriac so I always read things and diagnose myself so now I'm convinced I have it :X

    ReplyDelete