Back to Cooking or Uncooking That Is

The ants are gone...for now. It's been two weeks since I've seen a live one and while I don't think we're completely free from the their return, I'm at least happy that they're not crawling everywhere for now. The benefits are a super-clean kitchen and family room :) No one likes ants so we're all pitching in to keep our place as spic and span as possible. 

With the elimination of these little pests, I've brought back the fruit, veggies and other groceries into the mix. My body has been craving a high raw low fat vegan diet. Here are this week's eats in pictures.

I visited my favourite local grocery store, Henry's, although the sign has now officially changed to Sprouts.

The pineapple was a good pick and made for a great breakfast Wednesday morning! 

I spent a lot of time in the Los Angeles area last week attending meetings so I made sure I had snacks ahead of time. The best part of following a low fat raw vegan diet is the ease of food prep. I need to get a better lunch bag - the grocery bags just aren't cutting it. Fortunately I have already picked up a couple of the re-usable variety at the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, i.e. the annual RD conference. 

I digress. Here are my eats for the rest of the week.

Mango Avocado Salad on Wednesday

Surprised at the selection of fruits and veggies at one of my conference last Friday. This  was plate 1 of 2 :)

Giant zooks from a co-workers garden. I chose to start with the biggest one.

I used half to make this delicious Zook Salad Friday evening.

The other half was used in my first 'oven-as-dehydrator' experiment.

The results: over-dehydrated zook chips but they were still very tasty as a Saturday treat. I'll be trying again with one of the remaining zooks.

Another mango salad on Saturday afternoon.

Cucumber Radish Salad for FNCE today.

Mango Ginger Salad for FNCE. Yes, I love mangoes!

On the weight loss front, I am happy to report that my weight has remained stable! Well, I've actually lost 0.6 lbs which is good considering my diet has not been on point the past couple of weeks. Getting back on track feels so good!

Hope you enjoyed a fun and healthy weekend!

- Kareen, RD

New Pants . . .

. . . well, new to me anyway :)

Last summer I purchased a pair of beautiful white linen pants from Dillards at a super-great price. While living in Arizona, I discovered Dillards and their amazing sales. I wore the pants two or three times before my weight began creeping up. You can imagine my dismay when on the fourth time I chose to wear the pants, they were too tight. Like, way too tight.

This gorgeous pair of pants was ready to be given away in this post on donating clothes, but when it came down to it, I couldn't. I did donate most of the suitcase contents recently (I couldn't part with three of the items yet!). With this recent move, I've made five trips to my local Goodwill's Donation Center so I felt okay with keeping some items.

And I'm glad I did!

If I had given them away, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to feel the sweet success of slipping comfortably back into them. I shouted in glee startling my husband and I thanked the Lord. This weight loss journey is difficult so I enjoyed the moment thoroughly!

There's more to lose and I'm motivated to keep moving in the right direction.

- Kareen, RD

One Month of Crossfit

I wasn't sure I was going to make it but I did. One month down and I even signed up for ANOTHER month! It doesn't hurt that one of my co-workers now friend also took the challenge with me. She gets us there and then I keep us going once we get there. It's a perfect mix! Fortunately she's signed up for the next month, too.

Earlier this week I was discouraged. No weight loss, my cardiovascular system sucks, and every WOD is kicking my butt. I'll admit, I thought about quitting and heading back to the traditional gym. Fortunately my husband had some words of encouragement that got me back on track.

I remembered that while weight loss is important to me, so is mastering the Crossfit skills! I have some ways to go but.  .  .

1. I'm a strong woman! (I talk about that here)
2. My burpees are better! I did them on the pavement without one scratch!
3. I graduated from the 16" box to the 20" one for box jumps!
4. I did 20 assisted ring dips! The first time I did these, it was a workout just to get on the rings with the band and I was only able to muster one dip.
5. I graduated from jumping pull-ups to pull-ups with a band. I did three!
6. I graduated from the 8 lb medicine ball to the 14 lb'er!
7. I did 100 back extensions and 100 sit-ups in between a 2 mile run!
8. And even though I'm a slow runner, I am running and I finished 2.5 miles in between swinging an 18 lb kettlebell.
9. I didn't gain weight!
10. I didn't give up!

I know there's more; I just wanted to take a minute to acknowledge progress. Sometimes while looking at the bigger picture, I lose the trees. Looking at the list above, I'm motivated!

For July, my goal is to continue to work on my running speed, graduate to the 36 lb kettlebell and to increase the band resistance I use for pull-ups.

What progress did you make in June? What are your goals for July?

- Kareen, RD

Heard it all before

Even though I've heard it before, I was intrigued by this article when perusing Google News yesterday morning. As I read through it, I thought I would share it with you.


Diet soda is probably my arch nemesis as a Registered Dietitian. Clients and patients alike cling to it like it's their last redemption and give me the side eye if they sense I am evening thinking of  talking about their beloved diet soda. I can certainly see the benefit of using diet soda to help wean off of the full sugar version but not a long-term replacement. I feel the same about artificial sweeteners in general.


The University of Texas, San Antonio presented the findings of their San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging (SALSA) at the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) Scientific Sessions. What are those findings? Diet sodas may contribute to weight gain! The study included 474 older adults. When compared to non-diet soda drinkiers, participants who sipped the artifically sweetened syrup had a 70% growth in girth. Those who were drinking two or more diet sodas daily had a 500% increase in their waistlines.


Unfortunately, the exact mechanism by which weight is gained is unknown but there are theories. When sweet tasting foods are consumed, the brain expects a large amount of calories to follow. In diet foods, the sweetness is there but the calories aren't, i.e. empty calories. You've heard that term before, right? This difference may actually prompt you to eat more than you would have and therefore consume unneeded calories. 


So, what to do?


If you're expecting me to say "only drink water" ... you're right! Just kidding ... sorta :) I am definitely an advocate of greater water intake. Many of us are likely in a dehydrated state and could stand to drink more H2O. However, I'm a realist. If you are a regular diet soda drinker (especially more than one a day), make a plan to decrease your intake slowly. Even decreasing intake to two or three sodas a week will probably help decrease the likelihood of your waistline expanding. Try replacing diet soda with herbal tea; or spice up your water with lemon, orange or lime; and I'll even recommend juice but instead of a full glass try diluting it with plain or carbonated water. I love mixing 1/4 glass of cranberry juice with 3/4 glass Perrier water. Hits the spot!  


Simply eliminating diet soda intake will not end obesity but reducing our intake is just one more weapon in our arsenal as we fight this good fight towards better health.


How do you quench your thirst?


- Kareen, RD

Where do I go from here?

So much and so little has happened since my last update post. Professionally, the hospital has opened and is humming along! There's a mountain of work that needs to be done but we're feeding patients, staff members and guests. That's a daily victory for me.

Personally, not much has happened on the weight loss front. I'm happy to report that I haven't gained weight but I'm nowhere near accomplishing my Push Goal. The 100+ hours a week have reduced to about 70 to 80 which, truthfully, is like heaven to me! I am continuing to work on reducing my hours and focusing on me. I have to become a priority and can no longer sacrifice my well-being. What's the point of having a successful career only to be too tired and sluggish to enjoy the benefits?!?

During a walk-through the hospital, I stumbled across a staff lounge that has two treadmills and an elliptical! My plan is to make use of this equipment before heading home in the evening. My goal is 3x/week for 30 to 45 minutes. In the move from AZ back to CA, I am no longer able to freely jump around while working out at home. This second floor living is for the birds! In an effort to 'make it work', I am considering bringing my laptop to work and firing up Turbo Fire in a staff lounge. I will likely be embarrassed if someone walks in on me but I have to get over that. As I said above, right now it's all about me!

On the eating front, I am going to bring back raw. While eating a high raw diet, I felt energized, was losing weight consistently and the IBS was controlled. Why would I not want to head down that road again? My Facebook pics were a motivating factor in helping me decide to return to raw. My meals looked delicious :) Being back in Cali is motivating as well. So much more access to fresh and organic produce! Here are some pics of my most recent food haul (I've already eaten some of it):

Romaine and Radish

Red Leaf, Cherries, Green Onion

Fruit Stash

Thanks to everyone for your patience with my infrequent blog posts. I appreciate your support.

- Kareen, RD

Week 8 Weigh-in

Yikers! Several good-bye parties this week and I made healthy choices in the beginning but I will admit by the third meal out, I caved. My weight gain doesn't entirely reflect an intake of an extra 10,500 calories this week. I ate more than usual but I didn't go buck wild. Part of the issue was the increased sodium and decreased water intake. I expect that I'll be back to 160 this coming week. Yep, that's a bold prediction!

Packing. Moving. New job Monday. Gotta make a plan then work that plan.

The GOAL and PROGRESS

Height: 5'1-1/2"

Starting Weight: 168 (11/2010 - weight before beginning my high raw diet journey; lost 6lbs then regained 2+lbs over the holidays)
Goal Weight: A STRONG 110

W1: 164.6 (01/01/11)
W2: 163.4 (01/08/11) -1.2
W3: 164.0 (01/15/11) +0.6
W4: 160.0 (01/21/11) -4 WAAAAHOOOOOO!!
W5:  battery died (01/29/11)
W6: 162.0 (02/05/11) +2
W7: 160.4 (02/12/11) -1.6
W8: 163.2 (02/19/11) +3.2

- Kareen, RD