Days 22, 23, & 24 - YIKES!! ALREADY????

Hmmmmmm... Why on earth would I skip so many blogging days? Am I that busy? Well... not too busy that I couldn't find the time, but frankly, just exhausted. Seems I can't just jot down a couple of lines. I have to let the thoughts come full-force. *sigh*

Let's see... why don't we just catch up on what has happened.

Sunday... Such a busy day! One thing that most folks don't understand is that when you choose to adopt a nutritional program that differs from the majority of the people around you, it seems to not only make YOU uncomfortable because your food choices are limited, but it makes THEM uncomfortable. Odd... Very odd... I never thought about how other people would treat you. We had a nice gathering on Sunday, at my brother & sister-in-law's church, with Palm Sunday services and my niece's christening. It was lovely. After, we were all invited for a luncheon in the fellowship hall, which of course, had nothing available for me to eat other than a veggie tray. When questioned why it was that I was doing this, ("Is this a diet you're on? Why are you doing this again? How much weight have you lost with this?" Etc.) I didn't know how to explain it in a way that they could quickly comprehend. ("No, this is not a diet... Yes, I'm doing this as an opportunity to test how easy it is to eat completely healthy & fresh...I lost about 7 to 8 lbs overall, but this isn't about losing weight... etc.")

The folks at the luncheon looked at me like I was a freak. I love my immediate family very much. They are a joy to be around... funny, light-hearted, filled with love. And fortunately, they understand me. However, there are moments that hurt. I know they don't do it intentionally. We all laugh, and I laugh with them. But I've been a vegetarian for a very long time, and I know it's not easy to understand when you've grown up with ham and bacon and steaks and pork chops and sausage and burgers and hot dogs. My family loves me very much as well, and they don't know how it hurts when they point out that what I do is weird, or that my daughter is so happy to eat somewhere else rather than I our own house. (which, by the way, is a load of bull... she eats like every other kid at our house... I don't force my habits on her when it comes to food... )

Oddly, it was one of the first times I was ever really aware of how "outside" you can feel. People feel bad because they don't have anything for you to eat... and you feel bad because they feel bad, and trying to assure them that it's no big deal is sometimes a tough thing to do.

After, I came home with one of my nieces. I was starving, so she and I went to an Indian restaurant where I knew the food was made fresh with fresh ingredients. It was a real treat to myself!

Yesterday and today were normal food days... Power shakes in the morning with soy milk, organic yogurt, fresh berries & a banana, and milled flax seed for Omega-3's. Lunches of salads & cheeses & fruits. Dinners have been the hardest. My carb cravings have been heavy, and I've satisfied them with Organic Whole-Wheat angel hair pasta, but my homemade pesto was horrible!!! And so, I resorted to a small jar of sun-dried tomato pesto. And ate far too much of all of it!!! I looked at the calendar, and yes, my hormones are starting to dance. This explains these carb cravings.

I need more greens to finish this out. Only 6 more days and we've reached out 30 day goal!! I'll head to Yoga tomorrow evening for some relaxation... Swing dance on Thursday, and yoga all weekend to finish off. I'll make Saturday and Sunday, the final two days, as detox days, with special recipes for my daily intake.

I realize I've not had any sugar as a sweetener (nor any type of sugar "replacement" other than honey) for 24 days!!! None!!! No foods with sugar, no added sugar, no corn syrup... nothing!!!

I don't miss it at all. Well... maybe just my cereals... :)