Day Twelve

Well, today was an interesting one.
I went through a lot of emotional ups and downs, faced a lot of insecurities. I'm not really in the head space right now to blog about anything positive...so I thought I'd make this one a picture blog.
These are all photo's I've taken of nature in the last week :)

 I absolutely love watching the sun go down behind the hills at this lookout :)

 I took this picture to capture the beautiful, glowing green of the plants contrasting with the rocks :)

 I swam in this creek on Australia Day. Its really deep, and crystal clear...and at the bottom are turtles!!!

 What a stunning drive! Such a hot, crisp, beautiful day...Australia knows how to put on a show :)

 This is the creek with the turtles. We swam over to that bank and skimmed stones across the water :)

 The little island looking thing on the left is where I go for my runs. It's such an amazing view from the top :)

 This is such a magical place. My boyfriend took me on a date here and we ate dinner while watching the ocean :)

 This picture I took while I was going for a run near where I live. It was just about to rain, and so pretty :)

 This is such a magical place. I go here when I need to put life into perspective...here there is no such thing as a problem :)

 I absolutely love this photo. I would love to venture down there and discover all of the sea life living in the rocks :)

This is the creek with the turtles...again. I love how clean the air is out there. It's so perfect :)


Here  is what else the beautiful earth provided me today:
BREAKFAST: Warm Lemon Water and a Banana Smoothie

LUNCH: Chickpea Maehem

SNACK: Macadamias and An Orange

DINNER: Macadamias

DESSERT: A Choconana Smoothie

EXERCISE: None

Whenever I'm feeling negative, I turn to nature, which is always a positive for me.
Take more time to look around at how amazing nature really is. The natural brilliant-ness ( I think I may have made this word up haha) of flowers, how they blossom with exquisite colours. Or the shapes, shades and ambiance of a cloud, how every single one is different. Or the perfection of a lake, the beach, a waterfall. Breathe in deeply, especially in beautiful places like the ones in my photos...appreciate the clean air, and how lucky you are to witness this beauty :)

Sleep tight, be grateful for nature and breathe deep :)
Love Love Love
xoxoxox

Day Eleven

Today I was really sick. I think I over worked myself yesterday on my run, and I felt it as soon as I woke up this morning. Every single muscle in my body was aching, I had a throbbing headache and I had a bit of a fever. It was even so painful to walk, so I spent most of the day on the couch. I guess it was nice for a change, but it definitely made me miss being able to go for a run. I am so grateful that I know I will be better in the next day or two. My deepest sympathies go out to people with the knowledge that their health will only decline. I feel for you and I'm terribly sorry. Look at all of the positives in your life and do whatever it is that makes you happy :)

I just got a message from an old school friend.
It was such a lovely surprise :) We had such a good friendship in our early high school life, and as we got older, we sadly drifted apart. She shared with me that she went through alot of the self esteem and self confidence issues that I did. Its crazy that such a beautiful, sweet, kind-hearted girl had these issues! It makes me feel like I was so naive to think that I was the only person in the world going through these issues! It makes me think about all of the teenagers all over the world who go through issues like this and don't have anyone to talk to. Even worse, they also think that they're the only person in the world who is going through this! I wonder what my life would have been like had I never changed my eating and exercise habits. I was lucky enough to cross paths with Liana...someone so amazing and inspiring, and was able to learn from everything that she was going through. I can't even imagine how many other people she has inspired, and that they've inspired etc. It excites me so much to think that one persons curiosity and desire to better herself, can spark a global change in diet and knowledge. I highly recommend to anyone who is reading this blog to make a start. The hardest part about change is making a start, especially when you feel like the change is so drastic.
Taking the first step is hard, but it at least gives you some direction. I am here for advice and as a place to vent your frustrations :)

One thing I would like to confess is that tonight I ate soy sauce and soy meat.
I'm not sure if they're Earth Foods or not (Liana, I may need your help on this one).
Because I was sick, I had to rely on someone else to make dinner, it was cooked (I'd said I'd do raw for this week) and I couldn't control exactly what went in it...so I was really confronted with 'not wanting to fail'.

What I have realised tonight is that there really is no such thing as a 'failure'. We tend to set goals with the intention that we will do exactly what we intended to do, and put all of these conditions on what our success will look like...that when we slip up or do something unexpected, we get so disappointed with ourselves and throw it all away. We sabotage ourselves and call it a failure. Then we give up, go into a downward spiral and end up back at sad, depressing square one.
There really is no such thing as a failure, and guilt does more damage to your health than one slip up.
Stay positive and remember that everything happens for a reason. Learn from your mistakes and exercise your will power :)

Here is what our beautiful planet provided me to eat today:


BREAKFAST: Almonds, Macadamias and Blueberries

LUNCH: Basil Pesto and Green Beans, Chocolate Balls and an Orange

SNACK: Blueberries

DINNER: Vegetable Stir Fry with Rice

DESSERT: Macadamia's and Blueberries

EXERCISE: None.


I would love to hear from the beautiful people that read my blog. I really have no idea who reads my posts, but I would LOVE you to say hello! I am very excited to meet new people who have the same health concerns and love for the earth as I do :)

Sleep tight, be grateful, nourish yourself and Love.
Love Love Love
xoxoxoxo

Day Ten

Supersize vs Superskinny.
I watched a show today called supersize vs superskinny, it takes two people, both with extreme diets (either way too much or not enough) and put them in a house together for a week. During the entirety of the week, they swap diets. As you can imagine it's a massive wake up call for both participants. After their week in the house, they are sent out to learn to regulate their eating patterns with the knowledge they gained in the house. Six weeks later they come back for a weigh in and health check up. It was quite a fascinating concept, and it got my thinking about my own eating habits. I have swayed from eating way too much to not enough numerous times, and I never seem to be able to find a happy medium.
Today was such a ying yang day between craving my old lazy, unhealthy, unmotivated attitude and lifestyle, and being inspired, healthy, active and happy.
My day started with a plan to go for a run...and that didn't happen. I kept making excuses and procrastinating and then I looked at the time and it was 2 o'clock. I kept looking at myself in the mirror and noticing all of the negatives, and thinking 'what is the point of being healthy? I still look fat, and I know how much exercise I will have to do to get the body I want...could I really be bothered?" Previous to the Earth Diet, I would go on health binges and do really well for the first week, sometimes two...only to have one lazy, doubtful, negative morning and write the day off with ridiculous amounts of preservative, sugar filled foods. I would never really enjoy what I was shoving in my mouth, but just ending up zoning out to the television. Then the by the time the evening would come, I'd get a rush of energy from all of the crap I'd consumed during the day, and end up balling my eyes out because yet again, I've failed. I knew that this morning, I could have gone one of two ways.
Option One: Resort to my old ways and sabotage myself, have a night of crying and self pitty and being ashamed as I blog about my big fat failure. Or...Option Two: Re-read my blog from last night, stop procrastinating, go for a run, make someone's day with kindness, dance like no one's watching, sing loudly and just give up the self pitty act and get on with it!!! The easy thing for me to do would be to lay around all day and eat crap...but the hardest choice is usually the best one...so I chose option two, because I really want to change, so I will :)how to open it.

I ended up going to the shops and buying more of a variety of raw delicious foods to keep my excited about eating raw. I bought this delicious baby coconut! It was the first time I'd ever tired one, and I was very impressed! (I had to once again go to my old friend google for help on how to crack it open haha)

I also went for a really strenuous run, and it was such a beautiful day :) I ended it with an incredible swim in the icy cold water :) I am so grateful for this amazing planet we live on. It offers so much Love, Beauty, Nutrition and Fun.

Here is what nutritious, delicious foods it provided me with today:

BREAKFAST: Almonds and Half of a MASSIVE Banana

LUNCH: Carrot Sticks and home made Basil Pesto (Macadamia Nuts, Olive Oil, Basil and Himalayan Salt)

SNACK: Chocolate Balls

DINNER: Chickpea Maehem and Some Green Beans with Basil Pesto

DESSERT: None

EXERCISE: A massive Run, a Beach swim, squats, push ups, dips on the bath :)


Well, I'd better get some sleep :)

Sleep tight, Be grateful and Love Deeply
Love Love Love
xoxoxoxox

Day Nine

After I posted my blog last night, I thought I would sit up and inspire myself by reading through Liana's 365 blog. I was feeling bloated, fat, ugly, worthless and quite simply like a nobody. All day when I would catch my reflection, I would think the most horrible thoughts about myself. Stupid I know...but they were there, and I was thinking them. I needed some inspiration, and after coming across day 110, I absolutely found it!
Here is what Liana wrote on day 110:

"I'm not ok with how I am being today. I am being selfish and self absorbed, I am in my own tiny little world...not present to have much I have to be thankful for, and then making myself wrong for not being grateful when I know I really should, I am being such a jerk.

I have this voice saying "I am fat and ugly and my legs are so gross and so wobbly and I hate them and they will never bee good enough, and I will never be skinny enough or pretty enough, or I will never have the body I want because I really can't have the body I want, that would be crazy, and no matter how hard I work out and how healthy I eat, because lets face It I eat immaculate, how can I even look like this when I eat so immaculate? Its so frustrating and annoying and I am so jealous of fit and skinny people because I just dont understand how they do it and why I cant have it, like I know my body is ok but its just not good enough or toned enough or hott enough. I had a great hott body once but now I can never have it again because Im just too old, im 22 and its too late i ruined my body now and i even eat raw foods and noting happens i dont tone up i still hold onto the fat around my butt and my legs and my stomach and its just such waste of time like i have been working out flat out for like 6 weeks and i reckon i look worse than before, i must have been doing something wrong, this is so crap. I'ts so unfair. like i believe i create everything in my life but i just cant see how i create this because i really really dont like the body im in i hate it. Im uncomfortable. I feel like everything I eat makes me fat and bloated and bla bla bla"...I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS READING!!! HOW COULD SOMEONE SO BEAUTIFUL HONESTLY EVER HAVE THESE FEELINGS TOWARDS HERSELF?
That's when I had my, as Oprah likes to call it, 'Aha moment'.
So many times I have been down on myself and in a really soppy, angry, bad mood all day because I've felt like I was hideously ugly, and fat, and had too many pimples, and wasn't pretty enough etc, only to get comment from the people around me telling me that I'm crazy and seeing things. People have been telling me for so long that I am beautiful and talented, and I shrug it off taking them as pitty comments.

It wasn't until my boyfriend  sat me down and put it to me straight, that I started to get it.
He asked me if when I went grocery shopping today, do I remember anyone specific?
I didn't. He asked if anyone impacted my day because of how they presented themselves? Again, no they didn't. He asked if I could remember what any of the people I passed even looked like? Yet again, I couldn't. He asked if I thought that I impacted anyones day because of how fat or skinny I was, how much makeup I put on, how neat my hair looked or how nice my clothes were? I thought about it for a bit, and honestly, my answer was no. He explained "No one cares if you're having an 'ugly' day, or a bad hair day, or feeling a bit bloated! They don't even notice! Why? Because they're all too busy thinking about how they look and feel, or how they have to get home to hang out the washing, or what they're going to say in their job interview, or what they forgot to put on their grocery list! Everyone is too pre occupied with their own lives to notice that you have a new pimple on your chin! The only person who cares about that is YOU! If you loved yourself as much as I love you, you would have so much more time to spare that wasn't spent on worrying about shallow crap like that, and all worry does is cause disease. Open your eyes. The only impact you can make on someone else's day/life is through love and kindness. Work on your making your spirit beautiful, that's when people will notice you." (Yes, I know I have struck gold with him...he has such a kind heart, generous spirit and is such a beautiful human being)

So after all of that, I went to sleep with the intention to work on waking up and working on making my spirit beautiful, nourishing and exercising my body and hopefully making a positive impact on someone elses's day.

I was such a great day, an as opposed to yesterday, it was so effortless to exercise and to eat Earth Foods. Better still, I ate 100% raw vegan foods today! Woohoo! I feel so ALIVE! I  got a chance to experiment with some new recipes.

I made some pesto using basil from the herb garden, and I made the yummiest chocolate balls I have made to date!!! (Even my boyfriend liked them! And he doesn't even like chocolate!)

Here is what delicious, raw, vegan foods nourished my beautiful body today:

BREAKFAST: Some Almonds and An Apple

LUNCH: Basil Pesto (Basil, mixed nuts, olive oil and Himalayan salt) with carrot sticks :) SCRUMMY!

SNACK: No snack

DINNER: Chickpea Maehem...AGAIN! It is so delicious!!!

DESSERT: Chocolate Balls! (Cacao powder, Agarve Syrup, Mixed Nuts, Organic Peanut Butter, Oats, Water and Olive Oil)

EXERCISE: Firstly I danced with my ipod, Then I used my muscles to lift 3kg weights (they're vintage weights from the 80's!!! So cool!) Then I went for a run/walk, and finished with some lunges, squats, dips against the bath ad push ups :)


I am very motivated after today. I also started to write a new song that came to me while I was running. I would LOVE to reach people and help Liana to get word out about this amazing way to live! I believe that music is a universal language, and that I was given a talent with music for a reason...I'm realising that this may be the very reason :)

I would like to dedicate this blog to my amazing boyfriend Will :) He is so supportive of anything that makes me happy, and I feel so blessed to have such an incredible human being to share my life with at such a young age. I'm learning alot and I love you :)

Sleep tight, be grateful for your talents, make someones day, and LOVE EVERYTHING!
Love Love Love
xoxoxoxox

Day Eight

Okay, so...where do I start?
I promised in my first blog that I would blog about EVERYTHING that comes with this challenge. Not only will I blog about my success's and triumphs, but I will be 100% honest and upfront about my failures.
The reason I started this blog was to better myself, stick to my word, have a daily goal and commitment, and most importantly supply my body with foods naturally provided from the earth.
In saying that, I have to confess that last night, I chose to have alcohol.
I know that alcohol is alcohol, not earth foods, and after being on earth foods for the past week I actually didn't really feel like it...I guess I just put unnecessary pressure to drink in the company of my mates.
(Pre Earth foods, I was drinking nearly every weekend and feeling horrible when I would wake up.
I wouldn't just drink straight alcohol, which is the healthiest way (not saying drinking is healthy) to drink. I would mix it with juices filled with sugar, or soft drinks, also loaded with sugar and preservatives. I would then have a late night binge before I went to bed (usually toasties with loads of cheese and mayo))

So after last night, it's obvious that another part of myself that I need to work on is my will power :)
A wise lady told me today that the most permanent change is one made over time; learning first hand what works and doesn't work for you. I look at myself how I am now, as a 19 year old. I asked myself a question at the beginning of this challenge..."Who do I want to be?" I plan on answering this question throughout my  Earth Diet journey :)

After last night, I really struggled with my challenge today. I was unmotivated, tired and craving crappy food.
What I should have done was go for a run at some point to get some motivation back. Every time I caught my reflection in the mirror, I was disappointed with what I saw which HAS to change.
No more giving in to my cravings. I'm trying not be too hard on myself, and admitting this in my blog today is helping me.
I did have a completely different blog planned for today, but I wanted to get all of this out, not only for myself, but in the hopes that maybe someone who keeps giving up on themselves because of little slip ups will read this, and maybe realise that every second is a new chance to start again :)

So there we go.
I am happy to say that as hard as it was to stick to Earth Foods today, I did it and it feels good.
Here is what delicious foods the Earth provided me with today :)

BREAKFAST:  A Banana Smoothie

LUNCH: Sweet Potato Peanut Satay with Basmati Rice

SNACK: Grapes

DINNER: Chickpea Maehem

DESSERT: A Banana Smoothie


Tomorrow is a new day :)
I am promising myself right now, that I will wake up and start my day with a run :)
There it's said...no turning back! I will have photo evidence in tomorrows blog!
For now, sleep tight, be grateful for everything you have, give love and receive love.
Love Love Love
xoxoxoxox

Day Seven

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY EVERYONE!!!!!!
Hope you've had an amazing day celebrating this amazing country :)

I only have 5 minutes to write today's blog, sorry!

I had such a great day spending most of it appreciating the beautiful landscapes Australia has to offer. It was the perfect day :)

Here is what I ate:

BREAKFAST: Mixed Nuts and an Orange

SNACK: Grapes

LUNCH: Organic Corn chips (Corn, Olive Oil, Salt)

DINNER: A Banana Smoothie

DESSERT: Grapes

EXERCISE: A morning jog, backyard cricket and lots of running around :)

Sorry for the short blog, I have a good one in store for tomorrow
But for now, Gives your mates a hug/pat on the back and enjoy the aussie company :)
Love Love Love
xoxoxoxox

Day 'Sixercise'

Woooha! Today it was soooo hot! A gorgeous blue sky, a hint of a breeze and wow, the sun put on quite a show :) I am so grateful for living in such an amazing country and being able to experience such beautiful weather!

In yesterdays blog, I claimed that today would be Day 'Sixercise', the day that I start to incorporate exercise into my Earth Diet Lifestyle :)
About a week ago I bought a new pair of runners to help get me motivated. They look like space shoes and are called Tonewalkers :)
They claim to tone your thighs, calves and your bum, to stimulate muscle activity and improve focus on your posture. I am very intrigued to keep a photo log of my process and reveal the results in a later blog :)
Stay tuned!
So today is Day One of my exercise adventure, although the word 'exercise' doesn't really motivate me...therefore, I have instead decided to change the word to 'SEXYCISE' Wooooha! That's more like it!
The exercises that I would like to incorporate into my lifestyle are running, pilates, yoga, cycling and a bit of swimming here and there. As I look into each one, I will blog about every little detail from benefits, health concerns, styles, origins etc.
I decided to ease into things today, so I started with a half hour walk. I know it's nothing extreme, but it seemed like a mission on this humid 35 degree day haha.

Exercise One: WALKING

The origin of aerobic exercise:
Both the term and the specific exercise method were developed by Kenneth H. Cooper, M.D., an exercise physiologist, and Col. Pauline Potts, a physical therapist, both in the United States Air Force. Dr. Cooper, an avowed exercise enthusiast, was personally and professionally puzzled about why some people with excellent muscular strength were still prone to poor performance at tasks such as long-distance running, swimming, and bicycling. He began measuring systematic human performance using a bicycle ergometer, and began measuring sustained performance in terms of a person's ability to use oxygen. His groundbreaking book, Aerobics, was published in 1968, and included scientific exercise programs using running, walking, swimming and bicycling. The book came at a fortuitous historical moment, when increasing weakness and inactivity in the general population was causing a perceived need for increased exercise.

Health Benefits of walking:

Walkers have less incidence of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other killer diseases. They live longer and get mental health and spiritual benefits. Find out about the many health benefits of walking.

Basic changes in diet and exercise can lead to a dramatic drop in a person's risk for chronic illnesses in as little as six weeks. Although the notion that proper nutrition and exercise is good for you is not revolutionary, it’s important that people know that major health benefits can come quickly.

Burn Babay Burn!
Let's talk about burning fat vs. burning carbohydrates. Many people are confused about this and are making some erroneous exercise choices based on their goals (weight loss, building muscle, etc.).
When you burn fat, your body reacts to the sudden loss of fat by replenishing the fat that has been lost, so that you still have those reserves to pull from. You are training your body to replace the fat that you are burning.
When you burn carbohydrates, the body first burns the carbohydrates stored in muscle tissue before it starts burning fat. Therefore, your body doesn't tell itself to replenish the fat, but to replenish the carbs.
What does this mean?
Walking - a low-intensity workout - will allow your body to burn carbohydrates first, and then fat. If you are looking to lose weight and build muscle, walking is a much better option that jogging or aerobic activity.
30 Minutes of Walking a Day Adds 1.3 Healthy Years :)

So there we are...combine a healthy diet plus half an hour of walking a day and you will live to be 101.3 years old as opposed to just 100 haha. I'm in!!!

This is how foods naturally provided me with a delicious day:


BREAKFAST: Warm Lemon Water, Half an Avocado and Dates

LUNCH: A Ginger Tea and a Banana Smoothie

SNACK: A Chickpea Maehem Salad

DINNER: Mixed Nuts and Blueberries

DESSERT: An Orange :)


So, to everyone reading this blog...if I can do it, trust me, I'm sure you can too :)
Strap on those sexy runners, make sure you've got some sun protection, and get up off of that thing, and walk it you'll feel better :)

Keep hydrated, ease into things, be grateful for a healthy body and Love.
Love Love Love
xoxoxxoxo

Day Five

If you had of told me one year ago that there is a fruit that has so many health benefits, is naturally provided by the earth and is absolutely DELICIOUS, I would have laughed and asked you to pass me the chocolate.

Today I was having my sweet tooth day. I get them every now and then and I absolutely crave sweets :)
As I am committed to eating only foods naturally provided by the earth, I have been forced to (in the last 5 days) find a quick, easy, sweet and delicious snack that satisfies my cravings.
My answer...DATES :) I could go on and on about dates at the moment, they are so scrummy! I must admit, I probably have been over indulging in the date department but for now I am not too phased.
Although I'm happy to indulge, I am also quite interested to know if this snack actually is too good to be true.

So, I went to my wisest friend Google and asked a couple of questions :) Here's what I asked and here's what I learnt:

Where do dates originate?
Dates come from the Date palm tree. These trees are primarily found in Persia, Palestine, Arabia and northern Africa. The date palm is currently being introduced into California.

Nutritional Profile for Dates?
Energy value (calories per serving): High
Protein: Low
Fat: Low
Saturated fat: Low
Cholesterol: None
Carbohydrates: High
Fiber: Very high
Sodium: Low (fresh or dried fruit); High (dried fruit treated with sodium sulfur compounds)
Major vitamin contribution: B vitamins
Major mineral contribution: Iron, potassium

Nutrients in Dates?
Dates are a high-carbohydrate food, rich in fiber and packed with sugar (as much as 70 percent of the total weight of the fruit). Dates are also a good source of non-heme iron, the inorganic iron found in plant foods, plus potassium, niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin, but they are an unusual fruit because they have no vitamin C at all. A serving of 10 whole pitted dates has 7 g dietary fiber, and 0.95 mg iron (6 percent of the RDA for a woman of childbearing age).

Health Benefits of Dates?
Health benefits of dates are uncountable, as this fruit is affluent in natural fibres. Dates are even rich in several vitamins and minerals. These natural products contain oil, calcium, sulphur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper and magnesium which are advantageous for health. It is said that consumption of one date daily is necessary for a balanced and healthy diet. Dates help in fighting constipation, intestinal disorders, weight gain, heart problems, sexual weakness, diarrhoea and abdominal cancer.
Health benefits of dates have made them the best nourishment for muscles development. People consume dates in several ways, like mixing the paste of the dates with milk, yoghurt or with bread or butter to make the food tasty and healthy. This paste is beneficial for both adults and children, especially during the time of recovery. According to the modern medicine survey, it is known that dates are useful in preventing abdominal cancer. It is also seen that many Muslims break their fast by eating dates and water according to their traditions. Breaking fast with eating dates helps us to avoid overeating of the food after the fast. When the body absorbs the nutritional value of the dates, the feeling of hunger gets pacified.

Adverse Health Effects Associated with Dates?
Sulfite sensitivity. Dates contain polyphenoloxidase, an enzyme that oxidizes phenols in the fruit to brown compounds that turn its flesh dark in the presence of air. To keep dates from darkening when they are dried, they may be treated with sulfur compounds called sulfites (sulfur dioxide, sodium bisulfite, or sodium metabisulfite). Treated dates may trigger serious allergic reactions, including potentially fatal anaphylactic shock, in people sensitive to sulfites.

 So there we go. To all of you sweet lovers who like usually like to munch on preservative filled lollies and chocolate, I highly recommend giving dates a try. As you can see, they are very good for you...maybe not by the kilo like I have been having them haha, but for a quick, sweet pick me up energy snack, dates are your answer :)

Here is what my date filled day looked like today:

BREAKFAST: Warm Lemon Water and a Banana Smootie (Banana, Ice, Rice Milk, Almonds, Agarve)

LUNCH: Mixed Nuts, Blueberries and DATES

SNACK: DATES

DINNER: Chickpea Maehem (Chickpeas, Lemon, Coriander, Mint, Parsley, Agarve, Himalayan Salt, Coconut Oil)

DESSERT: Some Chocolate Balls (Cacao Powder, Agarve, Mixed Nuts, Oats and Water)and...DATES :)


A Date filled day it was :)
Tomorrow I am planning on inventing a scrummy Salad with lots of herbs, and I think I may start to have ginger tea...YUMMY :)
Also, I haven't done any exercise so far on my earth diet, so tomorrow I think it's time to put on my new runners and make Day Six...Day Sixercise :)

Sleep well, Sleep deep, Visualize every possibility of what you want in life, Be grateful for what you already have, and Love :)
Love Love Love
xoxoxoxo

Day Four

                                                        
Hello :)
Today I did a bit of research on water bottles. I like to drink 2 to 3 Litres of water per day, especially when I'm exercising, and I usually buy water when I'm out, or reuse a previous plastic bottle. I have known for quite some time that plastic bottles are not only bad for you, but bad for the environment.
Here is some interesting information on where they come from, how we get them, and all of the other things you probably didn't know presented in a cute little videoWatch here.

After I watched this video, I decided to look into other ways to carry water around with me which are better for myself and the environment. I discovered an Australian company called Cheeki. They make Stainless Steel water bottles :) They come in various sizes, and have a range of different colours and patterns to choose from. They are also very switched on to the damaging health and environmental affects that plastic bottles bring. Here is a little snippet of info from their website:

"About BPA: Bisphenol A is extremely widespread among many household plastics such as baby bottles and food storage containers. BPA is a chemical used in the manufacture of plastics and epoxy resins and is a known carcinogen that has been linked to brain synapse, reproductive and developmental impairments. Canada announced in 2008 it’s intent to ban the sale of baby bottles containing BPA’s.

Furthermore, repeated use of common disposable bottles (PET) can cause the plastic to break down and carcinogens to leach into your drinking water. Try leaving a full plastic bottle (re-used) and a full Cheeki bottle overnight and next morning take a sip from each – the difference in taste is incredible. Cheeki Lids are made from BPA-free non-leaching polypropylene."

It is so scary to think that so many people are unaware of this!!!
Furthermore:

"Environmental Concerns - Unless disposable plastic bottles are incinerated, they will be around in landfills, oceans and parks for hundreds of years. Most of us nowadays like to think that we are environmentally conscious, yet take a look at how many people are buying, carrying around and throwing out plastic bottles on a daily basis! Its mind-boggling. (not to mention the health risk, the taste or the expense). Millions of plastic bottles are thrown out – it’s really one of modern life ’s most ludicrous “developments” (not to mention the energy consumed in transportation and refrigeration)"
On top of all of this, can you imagine how much money you would save by purchasing one of these babies!?!?! Well Cheeki can, and they lay it out for you on there website: Cheeki Stainless Steel Bottles.

Here is my 750ml bottle featuring a beautiful little peacock feather :)

Please send this blog to everyone you know, and hopefully we can all keep making a positive difference to our Beautiful World :)

Here is what the Earth naturally provided for me today (with the help of some cooking utensils)

BREAKFAST: A Choconana Smoothie

SNACK: Leftover Choconana Smoothie, Blueberries and Dates

LUNCH: Chickpea Maehem (Chickpeas, Lemon, Ginger, Parsley, Mint, Coriander, Coconut Oil, Himalayan Salt, Honey and Love)

SNACK: Dates, Blueberries and Mixed Nuts

DINNER: Another Sweet Potato Peanut Satay with Rice :) YUMM!

DESSERT: Dates :)

EXERCISE: None

Please help me to share this message however you can :)

Love and be Loveable :)

Love Love Love

xoxoxoxo

Day Three

Day Three. 11:40pm. Just got home from a night out.

I'm proud to say that I stuck to my Earth Food Diet  :)

I was the designated driver, and drank water.

I'm sorry that I can't make this blog a long one.

I'm incredibly tired.

I came up with a new recipe today...See below:

                                                          Sweet Potato Peanut Satay


BREAKFAST: Warm Lemon Water and a Choconana Smoothie

LUNCH:  'Chickpea Maehem' (Chickpeas, Lemon, Coconut Oil, Ginger, Coriander, Parsley, Basil, Agarve and Cabbage.) Grapes.

SNACK: Choconana Smoothie

DINNER: Sweet Potato Peanut Satay with Rice.
               (Sweet Potato, Spinach, Garlic, Ginger, Organic Peanut Butter, Chilli, Satay Powder{100% Natural Ingredients}, Coconut Oil, Rice)

DESSERT: None

EXERCISE: None

Another successful, chemical free day.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to put up my interview with Liana :)

Until then, goodnight and sweet dreams.

Be grateful.

Love Love Love

xoxoxox

Day Two

Wow, what a rollercoaster of emotions Day Two of my Earth Diet turned out to be!

I was expecting some detoxing symptoms like sweating, feeling a bit off and being a little more tired than normal. I definitely was not expecting to detox negative emotions. (no boyfriends were harmed in the making of this blog)

Apparently, when bringing out the best in yourself you must first experience the worst qualities you have to offer.

The day started fine enough...up bright and early, did some washing, sang a little, spent some time on the computer, and then...a tsunami of negative emotions flooded every single part of my being.

I was so angry, resentful and just pissed off. The hilarious part (not at the time) is that I didn't even know why.

Usually when I would get this negative I would go and find something high in sugar/preservatives/chemicals, go and find a comfy place to sit (preferably in front of a television) and absolutely BINGE OUT!

So today, I had to actually sit down, look my emotions right in the eye and say "Look, I understand you feel this way...tell me whats going on. Everything's okay, no matter what it is. I'm here for you, and I love you."

It made SUCH a difference! I still don't know what my problem even was...but tonight I go to bed feeling very happy and content. I faced my problems and I stuck to my word :)

Here's what that looked like today:

BREAKFAST: A glass of warm water with half a lemon and
                        A Banana Smoothie :)

LUNCH:     Mixed Nuts and Dates

SNACK:     Dates

DINNER:   A Zesty, High Protein, High Fibre Taste Sensation...introducing 'Chickpea Maehem'
          Chichkpeas, Coconut Oil, Parsley, Basil, Mint, Ginger, Coriander, Lemon, Agarve, Himalayan Salt,
          Spinach and A Cabbage leaf.
          Mash the Chickpeas, Coconut Oil, Parsley, Basil, Mint, Ginger, Coriander, Lemon, Agarve
          and salt together.
          Finely chop up some spinach and add it to the mash. Finally, pour all of your ingredients into
          a cabbage leaf, and there you go!
          A delicious, nutritious, completely raw, vegan, vegetarian dish...VERY FILLING :)

DESSERT:  An Apple, Choconana Smoothie (Banana, cacao powder, agarve, ice, rice milk), Mixed Nuts.

For now I'm looking forward to a good sleep, and a new day :)

Love Love Love

xoxoxox

D Day...Day One

Day One:

It's coming to the end of day one, and I'm laying on my bed with a glass of water.

Wow, what a very sweet (pun intended) first day of my Earth Diet Challenge :)

When I woke up this morning, everything that I had planned to do/feel the night before...was completely the opposite of what I expected.

Firstly, I had planned to start today with a run...and then the rain came...it poured. I spent some time laying in bed listening to that magical sound and made a decision...I am going to slowly ease into this...one step at a time.

STEP ONE: Eliminate chemical/preservative/suagr ridden foods.

STEP TWO: Eat my 2 fruit 5 veg servings every day.

STEP THREE: Start incorporating cardio and strength exercises.

As decided, I faced day one by using step one :)

Here is how it looked in food terms:

(I had planned to start the day with a glass of warm lemon water...WE WERE OUT OF LEMONS!)

BREAKFAST: A Banana Smoothie

                       (Rice Milk, Banana, Ice, Agarve Syrup, Mixed Nuts)

LUNCH:         Mixed Nuts, Dates and an Apple

SNACK:        Carrot sticks with 100% Organic Peanut Butter (100% Peanuts!)

DINNER:      Snow Peas, Ginger, Garlic, Green Beans, Shallots, Mushrooms, Spinch and Onion (Cooked)

DESSERT:    Lychees and Chocolate Balls

                     (Cacao Powder, Agarve Syrup, Dates, Mixed Nuts, Organic Peanut Butter) Yummy! :)

EXCERISE: None :(

It was all about satisfying my sweet tooth today.

I noticed that I felt tired and around lunch time I got a bit of a headache...I knew that these detoxing symptoms would show up...and I am expecting them for another day or two.

I could have drank more water than I did, so I will add that to the checklist for tomorrow.

One thing that I noticed today after a visit to my local Woolies, is how much food is processed, full of chemicals, full of preservatives, full of sugar and so incredibly bad for you!

Its crazy to think that majority of our diet consists of this kind of food! I am kind of disgusted to think that I have been so disconnected to where my food comes from and what is actually in it. I am guilty of ducking down to Woolies and getting a quick frozen meal to microwave, or getting a vege burger at Hungry Jacks, or ordering pizza and having it delivered...completely unaware of where all of the ingredients came from, who transported them to where they were prepared, how they were prepared etc.
I will for sure be looking further into these issues. I know after being a regular reader of Liana's posts, that she has some extremely informative articles, so you can be sure to see some re-appearing on here :)



My final thought before I head off to sleep is that, I usually go to bed feeling full, bloated and irritable...however tonight I feel none of those things, which is nice for a change :)

Anyway, sleep tight, list 3 things you are grateful for and have a wonderful tomorrow :)

Love Love Love
xoxoxox

My Earth Diet Challenge...Preparation Day

Okay, I guess before I go too in depth I should introduce myself...
My name is Sarah. I'm 19. I am a singer/songwriter. I am a vegetarian, AND I am also a serial binge eater!!!!!
As I grew up, I always envied those girls who seemed to have it all...the figure, the clear skin, the perfect life etc. Once I hit the age of 14, my weight started to creep up and up and up until I was in my final year at high school, completely unhappy, 75kg , prone to acne and struggling with binge eating. Couple this with the stresses of being a high school student (exams, pressure to look good, pressure to fit in etc), suffice it to say, my acne blew way out of control.
Now I'm assuming that some people reading this blog will think that 75kg is not alot of weight...I would like to clarify that I was always known as the little stick figure girl growing up, so going from 54kg's to 75kg's was a big change...pardon the pun haha)

It wasn't until I graduated that I started to assess my health, and start to look into health eating, exercise and natural medicine. I then found out that I had PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) which is basically cysts on the ovaries. This essentially was the cause of my acne.

Since then, investigating health has been a big interest of mine...which lead me to The Earth Diet.
I was fortunate enough to meet Liana Werner - Gray in 2009. It wasn't until that we contacted each other online I started reading her Earth Diet Blog.
The articles, facts and recipes posted on her blogs were so interesting to me, and after becoming a regular reader, I decided to give it a go. I would always fail, and then resort back to binge eating on chemically ridden foods.
Each time I would be 'on' Earth Foods, my health would improve, my mood would improve, my skin would glow and all in all would feel amazing. I couldn't understand why I would keep resorting back to my old ways...so I asked the original Earth Dieter herself, and this is what she had to say....

"Wow well Sarah i can absolutely say you are on the path to health. Your experience sounds very similar to mine - battling with an act or sabotaging personality. I totally get how you declare one thing for your health and then do another and binge eat. This may help you as it did me - how long have you been binge eating? Or eating to self sabotage? This can be like a fast spinning wheel in action and eventually with the light of your presence and fulfilling of your word, the wheel will slow down and eventually stop. One of the IL said 'you create a habit that took years and then expect it to be gone tomorrow!' It sounds like yours has slowed down, and is even freaking out and threatened and so it convinced you to identify with it and indulge in it all over the holidays. I know it is easier said then done but don't be hard on yourself - this is years of thought processes and cemented personality you are up against. If you steer off track to what you want you can always recommit at any moment and jump back on. I NEVER thought i could change or stop over eating and eventually it happened and i am still challenged by it! :) so keep the end in mind Sarah Mae - visualize you and your dream health :) there may be more bumps along the way - all the better to look at it, and recreate who we are. I believe it is absolutely who we are in the face of it that matters :) and the more opportunities we get to reinvent ourselves the more depth we have as a human :) also a thought that really moved things for me was 'i could die any moment and i really don't want to go being unfulfilled and bloated' Hehe :)"

So...there you go.
I am determined to push forward and stick to my word :) From tomorrow (January 20th 2011), I will endeavour to only eat foods that are naturally provided from the earth and look into using natural alternatives for the everyday chemical products that I currently use.

Unlike Liana, I have not set a goal of 365 days, instead I will aim for one month at a time, and document all of my thoughts, feelings, failures and success :)
Should be one interesting blog!!!


I declared today as my last day of chemicals, preservatives and anything 'unearthy'.
I thought I would send the day day off with a bang so here is what that looked like:

BREAKFAST: Banana Smoothie
LUNCH: An Indian dish with paneer cheese, two pieces of toast with hummus
SNACK: Chocolate Ice cream
DINNER: A vege sub from Subway
DESSERT: More Chocolate Ice Cream
EXERCISE: NONE... 


So that's that.
I have prepared a busy day tomorrow to keep me distracted from food cravings and have purchased a new pair of runners to get me back into exercise.

Sleep tight for an early start with lemon water and a run.

Love Love Love
Sarah.
xoxoxox