Once Upon a Yesterday

Kale Smoothie

2008-11-23T17:13:00.003Z

Mmmm... 1 Cup kale 1 Cup strawberries 1 Banana Yummy!

Green Smoothie

2008-11-17T19:39:00.003Z

Today I had my first green smoothie!

1 Cup strawberries
1 Banana
2 Cups Baby Spinach

Green and lovely - I'm oddly surprised!

I'm thinking that I'll try Kale, apple and raspberries next!

Food Diary - Day 4

2008-11-13T19:36:00.001Z

Breakfast
Organix Raspberry and Apple Bar (small)
Cup of Tea

Snacks
2 Chocolate Soya Drinks

Lunch
Fruit Salad

Snack
Chocolate Soya Drink

Dinner
Home made Veg pie

Misc
Soya Hot Chocolate

Food Diary - Day 3

2008-11-12T17:01:00.002Z

Breakfast
Banana
Cup of Tea
Some carob coated raisins

Snacks
2 Chocolate Soya Drinks

Lunch
Chips and Baked Beans
Glass of Coke

Snack
Chocolate Soya Drink

Dinner

Food Diary - Day 2

2008-11-11T14:15:00.002Z

Breakfast
Banana
Cup of Tea

Snack
Two chocolate soya drinks

Lunch
1 Large Cup of Fruit Salad
1 Cup of vegan soya hot chocolate

Dinner
Vegetable and flavoured rice with 1 quorn sausage
Curry Noodles

Food Diary - Day 1

2008-11-10T15:57:00.005Z

I thought it might be a good idea to keep track of what I'm eating - perhaps not daily in case I get a bit obsessed by accident!

Day 1

Breakfast
1 Banana
Cup of decaf tea with soya milk

Morning Snack
Slice of Coffee Cake (Eek, I'll regret that when I get tummy ache later :-( )

Lunch
Cup of mixed fruit
Vegan (soya) hot chocolate

Dinner
Vegetarian/Vegan vegetable pie (home made)
Curry noodles

Snack
1 square of vegan hazlenut chocolate

NOTES:
I've been researching green smoothies, and I'm also on chapter 2 of Brendan Brazier's book "The Thrive Diet". It's all research and minimal action at the moment, but it is definitely a start! It was a plus in my book after succumbing to the cake that I had a decent lunch. To be fair, the cake thing is unusual - I blame it on an office birthday (... and my decision to eat some...).

Tibetan Exercises

2008-07-29T14:14:00.003+01:00

"The Five Tibetan Rites is a yoga routine based on a ritual of exercises discovered in the early 1900s by a British army colonel ... who was living in a Himalayan monastery. They are practiced around the world and are said to prevent ageing."

The whole thing can be done in less than 10 minutes. Each movement should be performed up to 21 times. Start with 3 repetitions each and gradually increase in increments of 2.

An important part is conscious breathing while doing the rites. Before beginning, practice the basic 4 -stage breathing technique ( inhale, hold, exhale, hold empty lungs).

It should not make you feel exhausted. If you become short of breath your body is low on oxygen and you should slow down. Emphasis should be on breath synchronization and fluency, rather than on speed and number of repetitions.

"Five Tibetan Exercises For Rejuvenation And Longevity

Rite 1
Stand erect with arms outstretched, horizontal to the floor. Spin around clockwise, until you become slightly dizzy.
...
Rite 2
First, lie flat on the floor, face up. Fully extended your arms along your sides, and place the palms of your hands against the floor, keeping the fingers close together. Then, raise your head off the floor, tucking the chin against the chest. As you do this, lift your legs, knees straight, into a vertical position. If possible, let the legs extend back over the body, toward the head; but do not let the knees bend. Then slowly lower both the head and the legs, knees straight, to the floor. Allow all the muscles to relax, continue breathing in the same rhythm. Breathe in deeply as you lift your legs and breathe out, as you lower your legs.

Rite 3
Kneel on the floor, with the body erect. The hands should be placed against the thigh muscles. Incline the head and neck forward, tucking the chin against the chest. Then, throw the head and neck backward, arching the spine. As you arch, you will brace your arms and hands against the thighs for support. After the arching, return to the original position, and start the rite all over again. Breathe in deeply as you arch the spine, breathe out as you return to an erect position.

Rite 4
Sit down on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you and your feet about 12 inches apart. With the trunk of the body erect, place the palms of your hands on the floor alongside the buttocks. Then, tuck the chin forward against the chest. Now, drop the head backward as far as it will go. At the same time, raise your body so that the knees bend while the arms remain straight.

The trunk of the body will be in a straight line with the upper legs, horizontal to the floor.

Then, tense every muscle in the body. Finally, relax your muscles as you return to the original sitting position, and rest before repeating the procedure. Breathe in as you raise up, hold your breath as you tense the muscles, breathe out completely as you come down.

Continue breathing in the same rhythm as long as you rest between repetitions.

Rite 5
When you perform the fifth rite, your body will be face-down to the floor. It will be supported by the hands, palms down against the floor, and the toes in a flexed position. Throughout this rite, the hands and feet should be kept straight. Start with your arms perpendicular to the floor, and the spine arched, so that the body is in a sagging position. Now, throw the head back as far as possible. Then, bending at the hips, bring the body up into an inverted 'V'. At the same time, bring the chin forward, tucking it against the chest. Breathe in deeply as you raise the body, breathe out fully as you lower it.

Rite 6
Deep Breathing. Stand comfortably and exhale as you bend from the waist, placing your hands on your knees. Expel the last bit of air from your lungs and without taking in new breath, return to an erect position. Place your hands on your hips, with fingers to the front and press as hard as you can while sucking in the abdomen. This will raise your shoulders and chest. While holding in the abdomen, also squeeze the pubococcygeal muscle up to emphasize the upward thrust. Hold this position and bring your closed eyeballs to the point between the eyebrows so that all this lower chakric energy will rise up to the highest centers. When you must take a breath, breathe in through your nose and then exhale through the mouth as you drop your arms down to your sides to relax. Take in several normal breaths through the nose and mouth before beginning again."

More here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/249007/TibetanExercises

Tibetan exercises can promote health and aid in balancing hormonal activity. When done daily, they help eliminate double chins and middle age spread.

The five Tibetans exercises get your heart pumping, although not long enough for full cardio benefits. They strengthen your muscles and improve your flexibility. Even better, they give you a great lift, like you had a cup of coffee without the coffee.

Doing the Tibetans
Tibetans Exercise 1 (Whirling)
Tibetans Exercise 2 (Leg Raises)
Tibetans Exercise 3 (Camel)
Tibetans Exercise 4 (Crab Lifts)
Tibetans Exercise 5 (Up and Down Dog)

To view the VIDEO of five Tibetan simple exercises please log on to the below web site.

http://www.weightlosstopic.com/exercises/5_tibetan_exercises_rites.html

Oops

2008-07-26T16:52:00.004+01:00

Okay, so I realise I haven't blogged in a very, VERY long time. I have a reason though! I have had a jaw operation, which I am pleased to say (5 weeks on) that I have recovered from.

WHERE I AM AT
My vegan journey is going well: I'm all vegan apart from the occasional slice of bread, and the evil demon milk chocolate. I realised this afternoon, after baking my vegan apple pie (yummy!), that I am using bread and chocolate as a crutch. I can't do it anymore - I shouldn't, and I won't. Simple as that.

All of my health and beauty products are vegan, and in my heart I am vegan, but I have these two stupid vices. At least now I have recognised them I will be able to take action.

WHERE I WANT TO BE
I dearly want to go raw. I would love to be a raw vegan! I have experienced such a wealth of physical and mental improvements since my vegetarian, then vegan, journey began. I want to be the best me I can, and going raw will help me to achieve that.

WHAT I AM GOING TO DO
I would love to say that after writing thsi post I am going to go raw, just like like that. I don't think it works like that! However, I have just bought a variety of books on raw and sprouting. It's much more complicated than it sounds! This is simply because so much of our everyday 'natural' food is still either partially cooked or pasturised. It's no wonder we 'modern' folk have such health problems that we have accepted as 'normal'.

I am 23 years old. Normal doesn't cut it anymore!

Vegan Virgin

2007-09-27T18:55:00.000+01:00

Ok, so the idea is to move towards being vegan.

STEP 1:
Order "Veg1" supplement, Animal Free Shopper book and Plant based health book from the Vegan Society. CHECK! Completed today, with the addition of a lovely looking Jasmine and Honeysuckle soap!STEP 2:
STEP 2:
haven't eaten meat for over a week now, so I'm going to take part in "hug a vegetarian day" tomorrow. Watch out Ray!
STEP 3:
Start phasing out non-vegan foods. Of course, this will be easier with the Animal Free Shopper book!

I've been fully vegetarian for a week now, and my skin has already started to clear up, but you know what? My ear, which has been constantly in "I-THINK-I'M-INFECTED-BUT-I'M-NOT-REALLY" mode for the last year has cleared up! No more icky-ear syndrome! Long may it continue!

Must look at more vegan websites. I'm still so new to this!

IN OTHER NEWS:

I was supposed to get my pay rise today, but it didn't appear on my payslip :-(
I still haven't been given my £100 honorarium for being qualified :-(

FOOD DIARY:

Muesli and goats milk (yeah, working on the Soya!)
2 slices of wholemeal bread and baked beans
Potatoes, carrots, green beans and vegetable gravy
Chocolate
Coca-Cola

Could be worse me thinks? Baby steps. Baby steps!