My diet & detox journal

Yes, that’s me, sitting on a rock, high in the Front Range mountains, most specifically by the FlatIrons of Boulder, Colorado. Do I look happy? I warn you, looks can be deceiving, but I am at least healthy in this pic, the weather still being warm and toasty. But that was taken the first week of November, and it is now January, in the 20s, and we’ve had historical snow fall here, and in fact, it has snowed every weekend for the last 5 weeks…More that I bargained for when I agreed to this work transfer back in October!

Once again, long break from blogging…what can I say? I have been busy, lots of changes. An additional promotion at work, (4th in 1.5 years) a relocation to Boulder, Colorado, and as always focusing on my health and wellbeing. At this moment I am having a personal revelation, which involves my choice of work, faith, family, eating habits, exercise, and more. I feel like I am being guided in the right direction, but I think that the outcome may be a shock to some, in particular my employers who are depending on me here in Colorado. But as always, Cassandra knows the future, so long as she listens with a righteous, rather than self-righteous heart.

I am still eating pretty High-Raw, which means fruits & veggies, a large salad of some sort at lunch, but I do tend to add a bit of lean protein at at least one meal, if not a dietary supplement shake, like my rice protein shake from Metagenics or Renew Life’s Whole Food Multi-Nutrient. No wheat, and virtually no cooked grains except for the occasional spelt muffin if I get a craving. I’ve regressed on the caffiene front, chai being an old friend during cold weather, but it doesn’t agree with my belly, so I try to keep it down to a few times a week. Seemingly I am ok, but a recent set of tests has uncovered some things which may explain some of my irregular moods, health swings, etc. My TCM doc has also uncovered a thyroid concern, which may explain why I have felt so cold since moving here to CO. I don’t know if my body can take it here, but I think that my inability to acclimate has other factors, which I won’t go into here in such a public forum…

On the work front, I thought I would mention that the fearless leader of my company had tremendous success with her PBS special last year, and has since filmed a second one, which goes along with her new project, “The Fiber 35 Diet”. She has written a new book, this time extoling the benefits of high fiber in the diet. I can’t say enough about how this book and its message will help people in my industry. It’s information that many of us raw fooders have been saying, experiencing, and teaching for AGES. The book is due out in a few months, and will be sold in mass market, which is also a change for our company. Our supplements will still only be available in Health Food Stores, but the book will be available everywhere. This will be a boon for the consumer, who will be able to learn of the benefits of fresh fruits, vegetables, and healthy grains. Among other things she does address the benefits of RAW FOOD, which is always nice to see in the mass market.

I still pop around and lurk on the leading raw food sites, such as rawfoodtalk, and shazzie. My writing project is still in the works, but has been put on hold since the fall as another side business plan and a major personal growth opportunity has kept me more than busy. Hopefully, 2007 will see Cassy putting herself out there in a greater way for the Natural Products industry!

So, I will end this blog today by including a few pictures of where I am living…Catch ya on the flip side. –Caz

Me and my boss Jill in the office

Me on the walking paths above Boulder

Me in the mountains - Estes Park, Colorado

I was surfing the web, and happened upon a website I used to frequent back in the 1990s. It was started by three women who wanted a way to help others, and inspire one another as they managed thier own weight & medical issues. The website, http://www.3fatchicks.com was one of the first web forums I ever frequented, and I used to hang out on the ‘ladies who lift’ board. (a forum where women would chat about weight lifting, strength training, and basically how to manage one’s weight through those things. Weight lifting had always been a hobby, and really it was something that my mom inspired me to do. Not like huge weights, or bulky muscles. Just enough to keep the metabolism boosted, and keep the bones strong.

I have always been told to strength train anyway, with my PCO (Polycystic Ovaries) lots of muscle is important to help keep insulin functioning right in my body. And I like to do it anyway, especially lots of weighted crunches, squats and curls. (Did I really say that? But it is true!) Mom still works out several times a week with weights, and she is in her 60s, so that keeps me inspired.

Today I was drawn back to the 3FC site, as I have been working on getting into a routine again of weight training along with my cardio. I have to change it up pretty often, or I get bored and then stop. Again, with my PCO I can’t stop exercising, or I will pack on weight due to poor insulin function. To me, blood sugar issues are facinating. With PCO, it is like my body is seemingly fooled into thinking that it is about to go on a starvation jag, kind of like how a camel will store water in it’s hump…At least I am prepared for the next famine, right? Lol…

So, as I was saying, I happened upon that old website, and realized they are still going strong! It has been three or so years since I last dropped in, and there were lots of changes, but it still has the same supportive environment. I admit, the name scared me when I first saw it, as the term chick has a rather foul sound of slang, but honestly, the site is not at all what one would assume by just hearing the name. I encourage you to check it out.

WEll, I found this cute little program on thier site where you create a little ticker bar for a weight loss program. And, since I was there, I figured I would play with it, and included it here:

If you are interested in creating one yourself, check out this link. You get to choose from all different types of backgrounds and sliders, if running cats aren’t your thing. I wouldn’t say that my goal is to lose 15 lbs, but it would be nice. I am a bit over what I typically carry on my body, mostly due to eating all the cooked starches. But since that type of food has been needful over the past few months now as I heal, well, that’s something I can forgive myself for! It is my new years resolution however, to find a way back into balance. The herbs I am taking, and the reduction in raw fruits really is helping. Now if I can only get my body to tolerate things like Dal and lentils again. (a favorite dish I haven’t been able to eat in a LONG time without belly aches.)

WEll, till next year….

Cassy