Today has been an odd kind of day to be honest, I had intended on getting up earlier and doing my treadmill time then, as it happened I didn't do my cardio until 7pm in the evening. That's ok though, not only should one vary the type of exercise one does, but also the time, this way your body does not get into a routine-rut, where it starts to anticipate and expect the workout and you stop getting the same benefits from it, however, as a creature of habit, I personally prefer routine!

So,  while I was on my treadmill, I was listening to a running meditation from BrainSync which was different than the usual Biggest Loser workout tunes I have or Pink for that matter. ( I love listening to Pink for working out too, she's very cool). I love to speed walk, and I can jog at 4mph for 5 min straight right now, not might seem like much for many people out there, but for me, this is a huge accomplishment considering where I have come from on this journey.

Anyway, I haven't jogged for a couple of months now, and I did not really intend on jogging today. I was just going to do my 3.5mph speed walk for 30 minutes. Well I jogged that speed and also 4mph for the 5 min intervals. I can honestly say, I've missed it, my body has missed it and it feels great! Only thing that is bothering me are two patches on my feet, as I was running barefoot and my feet need to toughen up. I do have to say, I can jog faster and for longer barefoot than I can with shoes on. Have to do more research into that one. 

So it was a good workout, and I was hungry for dinner. So I did some spicy coated pan fried eggplant with goji berries, black sesame seeds and lettuce for dinner. I did have one of my shakes from Arbonne as a late evening snack. Anyway, back to the eggplant. 

Oh and I had a spoon full of my apple ginger chutney for the condiment. It was really good, and only equated to about 465 calories 47 carbs 31 grams of fat (it was fried after all) and 5 grams of protein according to my Sparkpeople tracking numbers. 

Now I have been advised that someone who is eating a raw vegan diet, should be consuming 3000 calories per day as a minimum. I am doing between 1200 and 1500 (approximately) per day. I have to do my digging and checking to see how the calorie intake should be for someone who juices breakfast and has a raw lunch and eats dinner...Intuition tells me to half the calories of my juiced fruits/veggies for tracking purposes. By the end of January I should have it figured out as my body will tell me what I need. 

So this was Day 3. All in all a good day. See what tomorrow brings on, 30 min on the Elliptical is scheduled and another eggplant dish (it needs using obviously). Thanks for reading! 

I have often read about raw living, and juicing. In Dr Max Gerson's treatment for cancer it is all raw foods, and tons of fresh juices - along with coffee enemas - and his results are outstanding. 

Now, being a cancer survivor myself that intrigues me, so it's been in the back of my head since going vegetarian and then naturally for me, vegan, to look at juicing and incorporating more raw foods into my lifestyle and diet. 

I was very fortunate in that I happened to find a Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Express (http://www.powerjuicer.com/power-juicer-express.php) on Kijiji (www.kijiji.com) for $40.00 cash, brand new, still in it's box and original wrappings etc. Amazing deal, I was so over joyed! 

So for the past week  now I have been learning about juicing. Trying different combinations of fruits and veggies and having a lot of fun. The super cool thing about this is how it's been making me feel. 

First I noticed that the energy surge I was getting was better than that of my morning cup of white tea, or any coffee I have had in the past, expresso included. I did notice that I was hungrier faster than normal, which considering I drank breakfast that does not surprise me. I find that a week later of doing this I am not getting an "empty belly" sensation so much, and when I do I just guzzle some water and wait a bit, make sure I am not thirsty first before I reach for more food. 

Now my sparkpeople tracking is now totally off as when you are on a raw food/juice eating plan you have to consume so much more calories, upwards of 3000 or more per day depending on your activity level.  But back to what I have noticed so far after week one. 

The other thing I noticed is that I crave my juice, I want to have it, it makes my body feel freaking awesome, the energy, the glow, the vibrancy, are just amazing, I feel incredible. When I eat cooked food I find I don't get that same sensation, cooked food reacts differently in our bodies than raw does, this is obvious to me now by my own experiences. Even when I do eat a cooked dinner with the family, and I know I am not hungry, I still want to have a juice, so now I wait for dinner to go down and basically have one a little later on as an evening boost! 

My partner in life is noticing the same things, the energy, pep, think clearly, and more, he is now taking juice in a container to work with him in the mornings as well as having it for breakfast (and he's not one to eat first thing in the morning, so juicing works great). 

I think the proof is in the pudding, the pudding that sits around my mid section that is. I broke my plateau this week, courtesy of adding juiced meals to my regime. 

There is something to this raw lifestyle and eating, something that says YES to my body. After all, when you stop and think about it logically, no other living thing on this entire planet cooks their foods... why are we robbing ourselves of amazing nutrients, water, and goodness by cooking our foods, when there are RAWsome ways of making meals without short changing our bodies in the process. 

So, the next trek in my journey is to learn how to "cook" raw, make things like cakes, breads, and more, all raw... and have fun with it. 

So here I am, a new head shot, and I have a JAW line!!! So wild. I haven't seen that in a very long time!!! 

My skin is even better, a young male neighbour was commenting on how every time he sees me I am getting younger, my skin is amazing and that he is very impressed. 

Both my husband and I think so too! 

Love being healthy, love being vegan, and I love this life!