Labor Day

What could be more ironic than being induced on Labor Day at 20 weeks?

How about going through natural childbirth to deliver a dead baby?

Well this pregnancy I was not anywhere near 100% raw vegan. I was merely a vegetarian. Thankfully I now feel certain that there isn't anything I did or could have done to prevent my now three miscarriages. Talking to other moms of miscarriages has also helped me feel like I'm still "normal".

I delivered Quinn Jubilee Owen while on vacation at Myrtle Beach on September 7, 2010 at 3:15 am.


Here is a poem I wrote about this experience:

THE MORNING AFTER LABOR DAY by Debbie Owen



In the morn I wash my eyes with tears of dreams turned nightmares.

What have I done?

I killed my baby.



No, no, no,

gum drops and sugar plum fairies ripped him from my womb last night

as I screamed in pain.

Why did I let them take him?



His little feet couldn’t kick,

his tiny hands couldn’t reach for me,

his eyes were closed to this world

and his heart was not mine anymore.



So I pushed and pushed him out

of my life

in hopes to one day see him in the next.



And now I lay here empty.

White bread, rice, and other carbs boost heart disease risk in women

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/12/glycemic.diet.heart/index.html?hpt=T2

Very interesting.

Any thoughts on this out there?

Calorie Restriction Diet

Interesting Article from an opposing point of view, but explains Calorie Restriction Diet very well.

http://www.blogher.com/dr-oz-oprah-calorie-restriction-diet-extreme-life-extension

I first heard about this from Tonya Zavasta, www.beautifulonraw.com. And when I think about how to lose weight, I tell myself I just had Gastric Bypass Surgery. After GPS, you cannot eat a lot at once. You take vitamins and are only supposed to eat healthy food, because you don't want to fill up on junk. Isn't this what we all should do anyway? GPS has risks, as any surgery, but the biggest risk is that the patient will not eat healthy, become malnourished, and eventually re-stretch her stomach. It's certainly better to figure out how to be disciplined without having to go through surgery.

Vitamin D Deficiency

http://www.webmd.com/diet/vitamin-d-deficiency

It turns out that I'm deficient in Vitamin D.

Mushrooms and Egg Yolks are the best vegetarian options, besides supplements and sun light.

http://www.womentowomen.com/healthynutrition/vitamind.aspx

http://www.rxpgnews.com/obstetrics/Vitamin-D-intake-inadequate-during-pregnancy_17445.shtml

http://www.babycenter.com/204_vitamin-supplements-may-reduce-miscarriage-risk_10314971.bc

I'm not a fan of taking Vitamins instead of just eating healthy foods, but Vitamin D does seems like a good thing to include, especially in the winter months.

Celiac and Pregnancy

http://www.celiac.com/articles/21907/1/Early-Pregnancy-Loss-in-Celiac-Women-The-Role-of-Genetic-Markers-of-Thrombophilia/Page1.html

Teens: What Makes Them Tick?

I just watched a very interesting show with John Stossel, Teens: What Makes Them Tick? (1999) (TV)

Raging hormones. Exploding sexual passion. Rebellion punctuated by tattoos, pierced lips, and unfathomable music. What happens during the teen years to make kids so different? In this fascinating ABC News special, John Stossel talks to a variety of teens and their parents and visits the Harvard Medical School’s Brain Imaging Center to reveal some surprising physiological reasons for teen behavior. He also discovers a social hierarchy among teens (the influencers, the conformers, the passives, and the edge kids) that is responsible for most fads, and talks with a psychologist and therapist about the secrets to successful parental nurturing: have rules but make them few, allow room for mistakes, and lecture less and listen more.

http://ffh.films.com/id/11167/Teens_What_Makes_Them_Tick.htm

One of my biggest goals in life, is that my Kids will grow up and still love me. I see them as adults already, and don't want them to be adults that hate their parents. I understand that they are their own people and need freedom. They need to express their feelings, and I need to listen. I hated being lectured when I was a teen...and not able to speak my mind, out of fear of punishment.

This show brought tears to my eyes as they talked about how Teens are the most creative and successful people in history. How their brain uses the amigdela; the creative, emotional and impulsive part of the brain. And how adults use the frontal lobe, responsible for rational thought.

They showed this girl that's an amazing, successful artist. She will paint all day. So much joy and energy! And I thought how Jesus said we must come to him like a child; joyful, unashamedly enthusiastic, impulsively. Matthew 18:3 "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."

That teen girl artist said that she thinks "Kids Love Life" and adults don't know how to. That's so true! We don't know how to enjoy life, love God and the life that he gave us. Instead we operate in fear and what we have to lose; not what we have to gain. And those Teen years are all about what you have to gain. That's when your whole life is before you and the sky's the limit!

I pray that I can me more like a child again. Amen.

Fasting

Today's my birthday and I'm enjoying a Wonderful Water Fast!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, any of you already feel like a stuffed turkey?

I have friends that are Orthodox. They have so many fasts throughout the year that it adds up to about half the year is vegan. This is similar to how Catholics don't eat meat on Fridays and "give up something" for Lent, but is much more in number of days and complexity. Fish, meat, dairy, oil, wine, etc., are excluded at different times throughout the year. Leaving, by elmination, the remaining days for feasting, like Easter and Christmas.

I have heard a few raw foodist talk about fasting before, but always thought they were crazy. "Why, when you're already raw?", I thought. But I realize now that there are several reasons to fast. Many books out there on fasting contain those reasons.

Today I put together this fasting plan. It's 40 days long but can be cut short at anytime. It's a 10 day progessive fast that can be repeated to the 21st day or till the full 40 days. My plan is to break the fast every 40 days and on major holidays. Feasts are usually on weekends, so I suggest starting Day 1 on a Monday. Never eating after 2 pm, only water after 2 pm, and introducing something new everyday. Everything is 100% raw vegan.

DAY

1. Water Fast
2. Green juice/wheat grass fast
3. Vegetable juice fast
4. Green smoothie fast
5. Vegetable soup fast (add salt and oil)
6. add sprouts, blended
7. add solid food: fruits, vegetables, salads, fermented foods
8. add seeds
9. add nuts (avocado, coconut)
10. add dehydrated foods
REPEAT
11. Water Fast
12. Green juice/wheat grass fast
13. Vegetable juice fast
14. Green smoothie fast
15. Vegetable soup fast (add salt and oil)
16. add sprouts, blended
17. add solid food: fruits, vegetables, salads, fermented foods
18. add seeds
19. add nuts (avocado, coconut)
20. add dehydrated foods
21. add dehydrated foods
REPEAT
22. Water Fast
23. Green juice/wheat grass fast
24. Vegetable juice fast
25. Green smoothie fast
26. Vegetable soup fast (add salt and oil)
27. add sprouts, blended
28. add solid food: fruits, vegetables, salads, fermented foods
29. add seeds
30. add nuts (avocado, coconut)
31. add dehydrated foods
REPEAT
32. Water Fast
33. Green juice/wheat grass fast
34. Vegetable juice fast
35. Green smoothie fast
36. Vegetable soup fast (add salt and oil)
37. add sprouts, blended
38. add solid food: fruits, vegetables, salads, fermented foods
39. add seeds
40. add nuts (avocado, coconut)
41. Cooked Food Feast
42. Cooked Food Feast

Monday, start Day 1 again.

There are 31 days till Thanksgiving. So I'll break the fast from Thursday - Sunday, and start again on Monday with Day 1.

Then there are 25 days till Christmas. So I'll break the fast from Friday - Sunday, and start again on Monday with Day 1.

And then there are 3 days till New Years Eve. So I'll break the fast from Thursday -Sunday, starting again on Monday, January 4, as Day 1.

I should be able to get in a 40 day fast for Lent, next year, breaking the fast on Easter Sunday.

For the Orthodox, there are about 30 days of Feasting/Holidays a year. Fasting is always voluntary. Fasting should never become an obligation. So you should break a fast if you feel like you are missing out on something.

So for my birthday, I've given myself the gift of health and discipline.

Don't wait until New Year's Day to start a resolution, if you aren't happy with yourself now. Make a change today!

Please post a comment if you have fasted before or want to start fasting again.