The Wellness Warrior

 Jess Ainscough

Check out this amazing woman who is eating and treating herself healthy! Jess at The Wellness Warrior has a great story to share and an upbeat way of looking at life and providing insight and inspiration with her journey.

If you're interested in cleanses and eating and living well - check out her bargain new ebook.

I've admired her from afar for a while and hope to connect some time in the near future.


Make it as healthy as you wish SSSs!
Arienne
xo

Raw Food Challenge Day #19: Challenges

Well, the last few days have been quite challenging. Being out and about a lot has been quite hard in respect to the Raw Food challenge. There are not many raw options available when you're out. Unless you are supremely organised and have a whole bunch of food with you. Raw in Sydney is not very good for spontaneity.

Last weekend we went for a lovely brunch with some friends at a cafe nursery with beautiful balinese decor. I pretty much could only have a fruit salad, then a fruit juice. Man I was totally fruited out. Then we decided to meet another couple and went to a cafe near the city. Unfortunately there was nothing available on the menu and I didn't want to uproot everyone and search for a more suitable location.

So I tried to survive on a peppermint tea and the nuts I had in my bag. I really didn't feel very great with the lack of energy and nourishment. This diet, to be feasible for the next 10 days with a busy schedule, I've decided to expand my options to include raw fish. This means I can at least dine out a little easier with friends and a hen's evening I'm joining (thank god raw is over for the wedding!).

And okay, I have to fess up...My soul just needed a bit of something. Some nurturing that only warm food can bring. So I had a vegetarian noodle dish last night on Date Night with The Man. I know, I know...But I've been 100% raw for 18 days. I didn't even eat the whole dish! I had about half and was supremely filled up. So I listened to my body and I have to say I don't feel guilty because I know I needed it. And it wasn't chips or a fatty dessert!

And I soooooooooo enjoyed it :) I was full of appreciation for the warmth and the flavours. A plate of noodles never tasted soooooooo good.

The major thing I am missing is coffee. I went shopping with some girlfriends this morning looking for shoes for her bridesmaids who live out of town. I had never noticed how many coffee shops there were at that shopping centre! I had a fresh juice instead.

I have to say being without meat is not too bad. I'm craving things like rice and pasta more than I am meat... I feel like I'm making this big list in my head of all the things I want to have when it's over. Naughty! I don't want to have a week of eating all the more unhealthy meals just because I haven't been able to go near them the last month!

What I have found is being this strict with the diet is quite unsustainable. At least for me. I would recommend doing it 80/20. 80% raw food and juices etc 20% healthy cooked options. Moving forward I would like to have a strong foundation in eating a large portion of raw, but having other foods in moderation.

Otherwise I am still feeling good and seeing the benefits in my skin and body in general. My energy is much more consistent and my mental clarity is quite high.

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

Raw Food Challenge Days #7-11: Can you feel it?

I sure can! 

After 11 days on Raw Food, I really am starting to feel great :) On the most part it has been a lot easier than I expected and I am soooooo proud of myself to have cut out caffeine, dairy, meat, processed foods etc. But I am kind of craving some things (hmmmm steak...) with another 20 days to go, I really feel I can do it and even afterwards, while I may not stick to 100% raw, I am going to be carrying over many of these fabulous habits and ways of eating.

I'm perhaps not seeing as big an impact as I have heard from some people. There could be a few reasons for this:

• I'm still going through changes and it is only day 11 after all. There may be even better improvements ahead!
• My starting point wasn't too bad
• My body is pretty hard working and efficient at what it does already

It is hard to describe the positive changes I am feeling but they are there!

• Clearer eyes - who knew they could be this white (the pic above is not my eye though)
• I can breath easier, it just seems that things are flowing well. Goodness is flowing all around me
• I've got more energy. I've had some pretty early starts and am getting through the day really well
• More confidence in me. I mean 11 days in a row without without a coffee? Or a glass of wine? Or milk and meat? Pretty cool.
• I'm slimmer and stronger from both the diet and bootycamp :)

I'm discovering some great food combos and flavours that I haven't tried before and may not have made the effort to try if I was sticking to my normal routine.

Tonight we made a delicious smoothie with watermelon, banana, coconut water along with chia seeds, LSA and physillium husks. Delicious!

We've been totally juicing it up. Got some spinach? In! Zucchini? Why not...Chard, beetroot, carrots, brocolli stems, apples, cucumbers, kale it makes a wonderful juice.

I have to say that I am really interested in the reactions people are having to the Raw Food Challenge. I have had several different people really anti the idea. And quite vocally too! They don't understand enough about it or the reasoning as to why I'm doing it. They are thinking Fad Diet, stupid and ridiculous etc. Not seeing that I'm doing it to see how I feel, for my overall health. Gosh, it's not like I'm living on lemon water for a month. I'm having the largest range of fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds as possible, in versatile and delicious ways, that is giving me pretty much all the vitamins and minerals I need (I've been taking B12 supplements as you can't find it in this diet).

I'm not doing this as a drastic way to lose weight (because that is definitely not the way it is working for me - though I'm losing a little and feeling slimmer and building a little more muscle).

Anyway, I know the big picture and it is not a fad diet. It is a health challenge. Though I guess it does sound pretty fad-dy - Organic Vegan Raw Diet...

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

Raw Food Challenge Day #4, 5 & 6: Onwards and...upwards?

Well I've been a little slow in the updates, but here are three days rolled into one post. Why not?

Friday there wasn't too much to talk about health wise. My arms were super sore from boxing, but I guess that is expected. Lucky for me The Man is good at rubbing Tiger Balm into my back for tingly soothing. Total hightlight of my day.

Saturday saw me venture to the Organic & Farmers Market at the Orange Grove School grounds. There are some great stalls there and if you hunt around a little you can find some bargains. The other great thing is shopping for seasonal fruit and veg and enjoying what is meant to be eaten now (though I really did want cucumbers and nobody had them...).

Sunday started with a lovely juice. I weighed myself and pH'd myself. Oooh, is it possible after all this to go backwards in acidity?? I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that the scales and the pH levels hadn't moved too well in the right direction. Though I'm not beating myself up about it. It is only day #6 and maybe I had one too many gazpachos for the acidity? And this is really for better overall health, and I am noticing some things changing. I'm feeling a little more energetic and something in my body is feeling pretty good. Though it hasn't been leaps and bounds.

I bought Kris Carr's book Crazy Sexy Diet on Kindle to read on my iPhone as it is not available in Australia until April or something this year! I've just read a few chapters and the way she writes is inspirational and motivating, so I am reading it at the right time.

It is opening my eyes to different perspectives on food. Better health in general is really quite straight forward. Even if we don't practice it, we all know that it is about healthy eating and exercise. When you really look in depth at food it is quite fascinating. and learning and understanding where your food comes from should be a necessity for everyone. I think we are often so unconscious about what we put in our mouths that a little bit of focus and attention on these areas is important. Just so we can create informed choices, and perhaps if we choose meats and eggs, choose the ones that are better for us, for the animals and for the environment. I think The Man might think I'm becoming this crazy food activist from all the discussion I was having with him in the car, but rest assured I don't think I am. At least not yet...I would still like to have a juicy steak and some cheese...but perhaps I would now want it as organic beef and goat cheese.

Anyway Sunday then progressed to having brunch with a lovely friend of mine Miss S. About Life is a great place to go for Raw Food and healthy options. They are probably one of the only places in Sydney that I've found that are offering Raw options on their menu. Poor BFF C went to get some take out from Raw place she'd found online last night and was very disappointed with the food and the pricing :( I had a wonderful Bircher museli made from nuts with fruit salad and a big green juice.

I'd been warned that weekends can be a bit trying as you're not always as busy as you are during the week. It wasn't too bad, though today has been a little bit harder as I've given myself some time to relax and read, but my mind keeps wandering to the fridge (and I've just been given a bowl of rockmelon and some kiwi/banana 'ice cream' - who am I to say no?!).

So it's almost been a week, only three to go...But I am feeling better than I was a week ago! How much better will I be after another week? Heaps? yeah, bring it on :)

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

Raw Food Challenge Day #2: Gazpacho!

Well Day #2 wasn't too bad. I'm thinking that some of my headaches are coming from my glasses that are a bit tight at the sides of my head. I guess that is one of the downfalls of having a super round face - it is very wide (thanks mum and dad) and can be quite difficult to find glasses that suit and fit! I should start using my sleep-in contacts again (I think there is an official name for them, but you pretty much insert the hard discs in like normal contacts just before you go to bed and then take them out first thing in the morning and you can see during the day without glasses or contacts!).

I'm really surprised that it is going quite easily for me. I admit that my will power is not the best, though I'm aware that it is a muscle that can be exercised and strengthened. Sure there are hard moments. There was about 5 minutes today when I could have killed for a bowl of some meat infused broth. It is a little tricky when The Man is eating normally and the smell of toast and meat come wafting over (and then the show My Kitchen Rules was on TV showcasing yummy food...I found the remote control very quickly).

There is something awesome going on that I can't even find the words to describe. I feel smoothe and light. Like things are flowing easier. It's only the end of Day #2 so can it be the food already?

Today I Had:
Juice: beetroot, carrot, celery and apple
Breakfast: Muesli, almond milk and strawberries
Lunch: leftovers from yesterday! Zucchini, Carrot, tomato, basil pesto
Dinner: Gazpacho - cold tomato/capsicum/cucumber/garlic soup - think Virgin Mary (Bloody Mary without the vodka!)
Snacks: raw nuts (brazil, walnut, hazelnut, peanut and almond), cherry tomatoes, blueberries, apple, plum
Drinks: water, peppermint tea


I love Gazpacho. Dad has made it throughout our lives, but it didn't click to me that it is Raw Food! This realisation dawned on me as I was running some errands and contemplating what was for dinner that evening. I didn't think I could stomach something similar to Lunch and BFF C hadn't let me know yet. So I made an executive decision, stopped off at the health food store and picked up the ingredients along with a few prepped raw food snacks. It totally hit the spot and I can't wait to make it again.

I'll start taking some photos of the meals we're eating if you're interested.

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

Raw Food Day #1: Minor Hiccups

I didn't sleep very well last night...I think the idea of getting up at 5am to do a whole lot of things disturbed my sleep. But it is also exciting, today, Tuesday February 15th 2011 (strategically the day after Valentine's Day) is the first day with of the Raw Food Challenge!

So, we were supposed to test our pH levels today to see our level of acidity/alkalinity. BFF C described the process yesterday that we had to spit out a few times and then spit the third 'spit set' in a spoon and dip the testing paper in (lovely!). And she stressed that we had to do it before put anything into our mouths, no water, no anything.

So I woke up nice and bright and early this morning for bootycamp and brushed my teeth and came downstairs. Whoops, so much for not putting anything in my mouth – toothpaste counts! But it was okay because BFF C couldn't find the pH test papers anyway. So tomorrow it is.

Breakfast was raw muesli with almond milk, raw honey and strawberries. YUM!

I was feeling a little tired, at 10am but I'd been up for 5 hours. Where is this energy that was promised? I had to close my eyes for about 10 minutes and it made a difference.

I had a little bit of a headache today, probably from caffeine withdrawals because I was definitely hydrating myself well. Then again, I have 1-2 cups of coffee a day and then maybe a cup of tea and while that's probably not a high cafeine intake

I surprisingly haven’t been very hungry, I managed to eat only half my lunch (zucchini, carrot and tomatoes with a basil pesto) and dinner (I had a steering committee at home and BFF C made us all a bunch of Raw Food stuffs – red peppers stuffed with a yummy raw mixture. I tried not to look at the chips provided for the normal gals). Being okay with eating these small portions is very strange for me as one of my downfalls is the quick eating of large portions.

Day #1 was all in all fine. A little groggy and uncomfortable but nothing I couldn’t handle!

I think I am starting an obsession with cherry tomatoes!

I will set up more of a structured post about the diet and all the things related to it.

Have you ever tried to change your diet? How did you go?

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne

Photo Credit

Oooh Organic!

How beautiful does all this fresh food look? I heard somewhere once that the more colourful the food is on your plate, the better it is for you...I don't know the validity of the statement, but it makes some sense and it looks gorgeous

So going raw also means going organic. Which is quite pricey...But the benefits seem to be worth it. BFF C did say that the food may be a little more expensive. But this is our health, so I am definitely willing to invest in it. Plus we're not going to be doing a lot of eating out so ultimately this may turn out cheaper.

I took a stroll around the local health food supermarket called About Life and snapped the picture above. I've been in there before, but this time I was really paying attention to raw ingredients and the organic fruit and vegetables.

What is organic? There are many different definitions complicated and thorough, but basically, my understanding is that organic food is generally grown without the use of synthetic or artificial methods. No pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, well, no -cides in general really. It is food grown traditionally only using natural methods. That way you are only putting natural food stuff into your body without the arguably harmful extras. Just good natural fresh fruit and vegetable. There is also a movement that this farming is done ecologically with as little damage to the natural environment as possible. I'm sure it emcompasses much more than that but I'm sure you get the gist.

What is raw? Eating raw basically means food that hasnt been heated to over 46 degrees celcius. This is supposedly the temperature that enzymes that are good for your body start breaking down and less useful. So things that are heat treated or roasted or taosted are not in this category.

From my readings there are many different versions of the raw food diet. If you want to know more in-depth official information, Google it and you will find all you need to know! I'm easing in to this and finding out the information that I need to know and that is relevant to me as it becomes important. There truly is masses of information out there.

Our version is pretty much only raw fruit, vegetables, nuts and legumes. No meat, no seafood or coffee or bread or pasta and no alcohol (though we did discover that it is okay to have organic wine...if push comes to shove, but we are definitely aiming no alcohol.

I've heard some great things about this book called Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr. I've tried to see if it's available in Sydney and the bookshop said that it would be in on the 15th of Feburary (exactly the date we start on the challenge). From what I've read it is written in a very upbeat, positive and accessible way. Plus I love her tone and style of writing. So hopefully it should be in my hands shortly.

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

Fit for 30! Fit for Life!

Okay I have a secret to share, I am not the youthful person I have conned you into thinking I am. I am turning (shhhh) 30 this year. Yes, the big 3-0. Dirty 30. Yes.

I have to say I don't have a problem with it. I don't freak out with the thought that I should be further along, or I should have this and that with a cherry on the top. I think my 30s are going to be super exciting and I'm looking forward to the adventures to come.

But back to now. I turn 30 in May and I aim to be feeling like all of the fit and healthy ladies above.
Well, my major goal for the year is to master my health. And health to me means both body and mind. Then physical and the emotional/mental.

My new mantra is "Thank you, I am strong, fit, healthy, happy and confident!".
I have written on the shower wall and on the mirror my related goals.

A few things that I still need to do is:
Write in my journal and really focus on what I am going to feel like
Work out my exercise routine consisting of a bootcamp, swimming, walking and yoga.

Now, for the diet side...
I am normally a person that believes in moderation. I think you can eat anything as long as you only have it sometimes and generally eat well.

But BFF C (that's her and I and our toothy grins above) has developed a major interest in raw food and in keeping with my health goal and growing her skills she suggested we raw food it up for a month.

So I'm being a guinea pig and will be keeping a record of body measurements, pH balance, mood and the experience in general. I've not really decided whether I should publish bowel movements. Please feel free to comment with a yay or nay ;) I've decided to share the journey here (I think I've just realised that 'Journey' is my word for 2011) and give BFF C some feedback.

I've got some concerns about my ability not eat meat, bread, rice, pasta, coffee or alcohol (well, drink the last two). But I know the challenge will make me stronger and build my confidence. Plus the health benefits just seem so great.

I admit I'm being a bit passive here. She is doing all the research and the meal planning, but I've been googling away to discover people's experiences with it and it all is looking positive (including Steve Pavlina). But I trust her and I think you can do almost anything for 30 days. I'll let you know more as I go and I appreciate your support (can I hear you cheering us on?).

So if you'd like to join us, BFF C just told me she's going to start a blog too, check in and see how this journey unfolds... Who knows what will happen after 30 days, but I'm 100% sure I'll be better for it.

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo