Today we begin our 4th day on this VegiCarni eating thang.

Curious about how its been going so far? Here is the low down…

Cheats: I’ve sneaked chocochips. Guilty. Got rid of those last night though, and consequently (I think) have suffered from a nasty headache a few hours after the 2 times I cheated. So either the chocolate is triggering a nasty headache, OR I am having withdrawal symptoms. It will be interesting to see if I get a headache at the end of the day today, having not cheated.

Eats: We had dinner guests over last night and served Vegan Lasangna, and a huge green salad. Guests brought watermelon and lemonade. I watered down the lemonade considerably for myself, but technically I should not have any.

Eats Part 2: I am definitely not getting the entire amount of veggies, raw and cooked, that Dr. Fuhrman recommends. 1 lb raw + 1 lb cooked! That is a lot!  That is hard. One tip I’ve learned : TAKE BIG BITES!  Especially when trying to pound a gigantic green salad. Another tip I’ve learned? BUY A GOOD BLENDER! Our Cuisinart works just fine, but when you blend liquids they tend to leak out of the container and into the motor. A few years ago I made that mistake and the Cuisinart just quit working–we had to pay to have it repaired. Lame.

Eats Part 3: Fruit is good! I am surprised by how sweet it is. Everytime I eat some, I feel caught off guard by how sweet it tastes. Already my tastebuds are becoming more sensitive.

Eats Part 4: Tonight I’m going to go for some Mexican style dinner. Whole wheat tortillas, sauteed onions, bell peppers, garlic, zuccini, green beans? You get the idea. Assemble it like a fajita or enchilada, and serve a humongous green salad as the main dish, the “fajitas” as a side dish.

Eats Part 5: I have to force myself to eat vegetables all day long today. Today is the day that I want to have a perfect eating day! I want to do the full 1 lb raw + 1 lb cooked, no cheats, make salad the main dish at lunch and dinner, and other dishes the side dish. That is my goal.

Sleeps: Wow, I have been sleeping good!  It is wonderful!  It’s a different kind of hard sleeping than before, it feels more restful, more peaceful. Also, my body has been waking up earlier bit by bit each day, about ten minutes earlier each time. I feel rested and alert when I wake up. Don’t get my wrong, I don’t jump out of bed full of energy and pep, but I do feel ready to get up and go. It is really nice to wake up alert, and with my headache completely gone. I’d like to go to bed even earlier (we’ve been going to bed a midnight–summer evenings always go later than I expect for both us and our kids).

Sleeps Part 2: I’ve always felt best if I get around 9 hours of sleep each night for several nights in a row. It is rare that I ever actually get to sleep like that, so I always just kind of feel tired and sleepy during parts of the day. One of my great hopes is that by eliminating sugars, and an excess of salt and fats from my diet, and instead replacing them with super-nutrient-dense foods, that I will have less of those tired moments during the day, and higher quality sleep (thus requiring fewer hours of sleep).

Withdrawal: The last 2 days I have begun to get a headache behind my eyes around 2pm in the afternoon. 2pm is my hardest time of day. I want chocolate, ice cream, brownies, cookies, the leftover graham crackers (for our kids) and granola bars (for our kids) even look tempting to me. And I want to nap. This has been the time of day I caved and had a small amount of chocolate chips (about 1/4 cup I’d guess…okay, maybe more…). By evening I have a full-blown headache. Lame.

Other: I have patches of eczema on my skin around my hands. It has flared up something awful in the last 3 months, I think because of allergy season (pollen), and stress of final exams/papers for school. In the summer heat it has only gotten worse. I am hoping (and curious to see) it get significantly better. I hope it does! I have tried lots of remedies already. But this is the first time I’ve tried modifying my diet so significantly.

Lovey-Dovey: Joe is so handsome and sweet. He’s right along beside me as we do this thing together. He is so encouraging, and man, he can pound those vegetables! Much more handsome than a gorilla though, no offense gorillas. Also, he’s voluntarily been giving me shoulder rubs both nights with my headache, and it helps so much. I don’t think I would even attempt this change without him.

In all, I’d say the first 3 days have been quite good, but there is room for improvement. Here’s to shooting for the perfect healthy eating day today! Cheers!

P.S. Anyone want to contribute to our Vitamix fund?