Hungry for Change

I'm hungry for change.  I haven't always thought that, but my body has always been telling me that.  It's been ignored.  Have you been listening to the true message that your body has been sending you?

Here's an update:  I had my gallbladder removed.  For 9+ months I was having these random episodes with severe breast pains.  It would take me to my knees for 20 minutes at a time.  It was like lightening bolts shooting through my body.  The first time I went to the E.R. and I literally thought I wasn't going to make it.  They couldn't give me an answer to this craziness either.


After months of tests and doctor appointments, and way too much money, they said I had gallstones.  However, they couldn't guarantee that if I had my gallbladder removed that it would solve the problem.

We took the chance.

(left) This is me just after surgery.  I was so dehydrated I felt like my mouth was more dry than a desert, but I also felt like throwing up, but my stomach didn't have the strength to lodge anything up.

Post-surgery bandage with cottons swab.

On September 4, 2013 I had my gallbladder removed.  It was miserable.  Miserable because I get nausea with any type of Vicodin medication and with anastesia.  So post-surgery I was never on medication for pain, always throwing up, and extremely weak.  My wonderful husband, Austin, and my mom flew in from California to help me through the recovery process.

During that time my mother and I got to spend a lot of time together.  A LOT.  We watched extremely motivational and educational movies that I would suggest to everyone.

Food Inc:  (Buy on Amazon)  It was extremely informative about what's going on behind the scenes on American farms.  However, it is extremely graphic and could turn anyone into a vegetarian.  Watch with caution.

Hungry for Change:  (Buy on Amazon) INCREDIBLE!  LIVE CHANGING!  I highly suggest you watch this movie.  It's a culmination of doctors, cancer survivors, people that have changed their lives and authors that all speak candidly about how Americans are over fed and under nourished.  This is where it all "clicked" for me.

Here's a link to the "Hungry for Change" PDF of their cookbook for FREE:  Click here to download.  Below is the movie trailer.

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead: (Buy on Amazon) It's a great documentary about one man and how he changed his life through juicing, and inspired others along the way.  You can watch this on Hulu with limited commercial if you don't want to purchase.

I keep these movies on hand for added inspiration when I need it.

I watched Hungry for Change for the second time before I went to bed one night.  You know how they say that you go to bed with the last thing that was in your mind?  It's true!  All night long was scheming and planning based on the information I remembered from the movie.  Some of the important notes are:

• Don't tell yourself you can't have it (food) because you'll feel deprived.  Tell yourself "I can have that, but I don't want it."
• Diets are built to fail.  It's all about a lifestyle change.
• Americans are over fed and malnourished.
• It's all about what you eat, drink and think.
• You are the only person that can control what goes into your mouth.
• Where did you food come from?  How was it prepared?  What is it's purpose?
• We only get so many nutrients in 1 day, why not fill ourselves with the best possible stuff?
• If you start adding the "good" and "natural" stuff, then the other processes stuff will slowly fade away.
• We are voting every time we purchase food at the grocery store.  (Buy organic.)
• Tell yourself "I love myself completely right now." every day.

With that I came up with this....

Every morning I can make a smoothie with yogurts, fresh fruits, etc.  Also, I can pair it with another breakfast item.  And in the evening with dinner, I can juice.  Then I'll get all the fruits, but mostly vegetables, that I've been missing.

I felt empowered and lifted all day.  Then the devil tried to strike me down with all the negative thoughts: "you're not good enough", "you'll never juice", "you're too lazy to clean the juicer", and "you don't like that stuff."

So I had to fight it.  This morning I made my first full glass of juices AND cleaned the juicer. 

Recipe:  2 apples, 1/2 cucumber, 2 handfuls of baby spinach, 2 celery stalks, 1 lemon (peeled).  It look horrible, but it tastes pretty good.  The celery & lemon over power the tastes of anything else.

I WON ... against the devil.

Today, my husband and I went to HEB and purchased a lot fruits and vegetables.  My plan was to research all the smoothies and juicing that I wanted to try this week.  I wrote out my breakfast, lunch & dinner meal plans for the entire week and then made a list of everything I needed to purchase.  We went to HEB, checked off everything one by one, and purchased almost all our fruits and veggies organically.  This will be a great week!  

To view some of the recipes I'll be trying this week follow me on Pinterest.