Update 3-23-09

I'm still doing "mostly" raw. With the economic situation it gets tough...but been trying to be creative.

I just discovered my local swap meet actually sells fruits, vegetables, and nuts at pretty good prices. They even claim it's organic. That would be kewl...but not sure if they just stick the stickers on regular produce haha. I got some stuff, even a few bags of acorns I plan to make some acorn flour with to use for mushes.

I have some friends who get fruits and veggies from this guy and they give me their extras. He doesn't really share where he gets the stuff from...but I highly suspect some of it may be dumpster dived. LOL. There's lots of stuff, even avocados. One time I got an entire box of avocados. The outsides were a little wrinkly looking, but when I cut them open they were green with no black spots whatsoever. I also get bags and bags of bagged greens and greens in sealed containers. Just about everything is labeled organic. I never know what I'm going to get, could be all squash for a week or all cauliflower.

It's actually pretty sad if this is dumpster diving stuff - because some days we get tons (like up to 8 big boxes)....we couldn't possibly eat it before it goes bad and we have to throw most of it away. So sad to think of how much stuff like this goes to the dump. My neighbors won't take any because I told them it could be from a dumpster haha. Well, one will but they are just a young couple and don't eat much. My sister and her hubby also gladly take some.

I've also picked up an exercise pal...one of my cousins who decided to put his money where his mouth is and try to get fit. He's been walking around the park with me and trying to get familiar with the exercise equipment they have there. It's been a lot of fun spending time with him.

I've been faithful pretty much with the daily jogs, doing at least a mile a day. Partway through the course I do some situps (up to 3 sets of 20 now - up from one set of 1 a couple weeks ago). I also do 3 sets of 10 of push-ups (on an elevated bar) and 10 pull-ups on a chin-high bar that I hang from with my legs extended out at a slant and on my heels. I also have gone from not being able to hang from the pull-up bar at all to hanging for about 5 seconds and even getting in a couple swings. My achy right shoulder has been the main obstacle. It really hurts. I think I need to start some special exercises to break up the scar tissue in my arm.

My sister has been wanting to come...and tried to tonight but she has some dental problems..an infection going on, that is making it hard for her. Hopefully she'll be able to get that worked on (expensive though!) and come out with me and our cousin.

I hope to put up a video soon of my starting workouts at the equipment - kind of to show where I began. It's really amazing to see how much progress you can make in a couple weeks.

As far as the CrossFit beginner plan - I have still been working with a weight bar with no weights on it as I'm not all that confident with my form. Not sure whether to remain at week 1 - I think I may and maybe next week put a little bit of weight on the bar if I feel I've got the form right.

That's pretty amazing too. I used to hate deadlifts. HATE THEM. My back and neck would hurt after doing them. But I've been pretty good watching videos and reading the instructions on the CrossFit site before I do a session and now they are actually enjoyable. Doing it with the correct form makes a huge difference.

I'm also really enjoying jogging with the new method. I bend at the knees and try to have my whole body slightly lean forward. I try to have my foot hit the ground underneath me and because my knees are bent, it's easier to be "springy." I don't strike with my heel, but try to have the mid and forefoot strike more...pretty much running on the balls of my feet. When I lean, my body is kind of in a "fall" and my legs act more like vaulting poles or like the wheels on a car instead of being pounded on or acting like a motor. I let gravity propell me forward.

I jog with very little steps and I'm not very fast, but I can go a whole lot farther with more comfort and enjoy the sunshine, the birds, the plants, the mountains.

In the past when I've tried to run regularly I've gotten shin splints, foot pain, head and neck pain. My spine is not formed right and is not naturally springy. I have no curve in my neck - so before my skull literally pounded on my rigid spine. I also don't have the curve in the back like I should...meaning a curve you would see from the side. Instead, my spine is curved sideways and I have a big extra vertebra at the bottom - kind of like a deformity. So it wouldn't "spring" like it should. That would give me a lot of problems.

This time, no problems. Again, what a great difference good form makes. It's amazing.

Oh yea, one more weird thing. I've actually GAINED at least 4 pounds. Which is odd because finally I have tons of people telling me I look like I've lost weight - at least a couple times a day now. Also, my clothes are looser. My shorts used to be really tight and now kind of hang. My doctor gave me an article on body composition, to illustrate how that can happen - because muscle can displace fat and muscle weighs more than the fat did.

Also, this weekend I was browsing a store with mirrored walls. Once in a while I would look up and catch a glimpse of myself and be surprised because I would expect more pudginess...but there's a lot less now and almost seems like looking at another person.

Anyway...that's my update. Sorry haven't done more - been busy exercising and planning a birthday party! :)

Exercising my butt off...literally!

Sorry I fell behind a couple days on blogging. I've been very busy starting up my new exercise program. I started the beginner Crossfit program - which in itself is very easy but I've decided to do some walking or jogging every day in an attempt to get off Glucophage. Yesterday I refilled less than a month's supply of Glucophage and got some new strips for my meter...$60!!!! WITH insurance. Ya, that's gotta go. It's much better than the $250 per month I was spending before when I was doing insulin and syringes - but I'm determined to get it down to just the testing strips. Send me good vibes!

I've also become very determined to re-learn how to jump rope so I've been doing that quite often as well.

I've been scouting new walking/hiking/jogging locations as you can see in this video on my YouTube channel: Scouting Exercise Locations

As many of you know, I was inspired by Gayle Jordan's story here. I mentioned her in one of my videos. Imagine my excitement and happiness when she responded! Here is her response:



Of course I had to respond to her. Here is my response:



And you can bet, I've been working on my pull-ups!

Diabetes - I am going to beat you!

I am very happy with my diet. I can live with "mostly" raw food. It makes me feel good and I allow myself leniency.

My problem is that 1) I want to eat fruit, 2) I want to eat "regular" food occasionally, 3) I don't want to take the metformin anymore. How to do that? Exercise? So that's what I'm trying.

I was inspired by Gayle and Graham who I've talked about in previous posts.

Gayle is an awesome inspiration - someone who kept trying and trying until she found something that worked for her - CrossFit. CrossFit stresses functional exercise - exercise that benefits you daily and makes you able to climb, jump, etc. She looks like a whole different person now.

Graham is incredible and funny. He has made tremendous strides in improving his fitness. He went from barely able to stand up to jogging - in about 22 days! He realized if an alien were to come from outer space and try to abduct him - he was too unfit to get away!

So that got me to thinking. What kind of emergency situations am I fit enough to get out of? In my previous video I mention what if a building were on fire and I had to climb down...or what if a bear came after me and I had to climb a tree - would I be able to climb? No!

Also, recently a man fell down a large mine shaft around here. He happened to catch a beam on the way down, and kept himself on the beam for a couple hours until he could get rescued. Good thing...because it was another 150 feet to the bottom I hear. What if that was me? Splat!

So, I am attempting CrossFit at home. I started the 12-week beginner program on Monday. I've been running everyday and adding in the program exercises.

My first goals are to be able to do a push-up and pull-up with good form. I can do neither. I would like to eventually be able to do 10 push-ups, 10 pull-ups, and 100 sit-ups.

Today I went to the track and it was being used for a track meet. I had been running around my neighborhood, but there are a couple of dogs that are almost escaping their yards wanting to come after me. So I have been looking around at other alternatives.

Yesterday I went to a park not to far from my home and found some nice outdoor equipment. I also attempted a pull-up. Not pretty!

Here's a video of the visit to the park:

Update - "mostly" raw food diet, weight loss, and crossfit

Here is my latest Vlog, battling diabetes, pcos and weight with a "mostly" raw food diet and crossfit.