Water Consumption

(The art of mutli-tasking)

My water intake has never been anywhere close to where it should be, so lately I've pushed myself to drink more water than I'm used to. My current goal is to get in around two or three liters a day which I try to break up evenly throughout the morning, noon, and evening.

As a broke college student, I can actually only afford to buy bottled water a couple of times per week. What I normally resort to is getting refills from the nasty water fountain right outside of my door. The water is gross, but it gets the job done...right?

As far as working out goes, I've really been mobilizing and that makes it even more important to keep myself hydrated. My campus job is also pretty labor intensive so it's vital for me to stay hydrated for that reason as well.

I might lose some respect for saying this, but here I go. Sometimes, to make the water go down a bit easier, I add some Emergen-C to give it some flavor. It ultimately makes the water taste like heavily watered down orange juice but hey, it's better than regular water. Each packet has 1,000 mg of vitamin C which is way more than what's needed in a day, but vitamin C is something that, in surplus, goes in through one end and out the other.

I have way more to say on the subject of water, but you'll have to excuse me right now because I'm drawing a big blank on some of the other things I wanted to add. Agh!! Hit me up on a later date...I promise I'll have more for you.

What has college done to my precious brain???

Raw. Love. Y'all.

-Natalie

Morning = Good, Evening = BADDD

(I took full advantage of Free Apple Day a couple weeks ago)

There are only two days during the week that I wake up even remotely early, and those days are Wednesday and Friday. I have class at 9:30 a.m. on those two days, so I try to wake up at around 8 to give myself ample time to get fresh for class. Prior to class on my 'early' days, I usually grab a piece of fruit (such as the apple above), and a calorically heavy beverage. I'll usually take some water with me as well that I try to finish before class is over.

Afterward, I'll still be pretty hungry sometimes, so I grab yet another small meal from the main dining outlet on campus. Today...I was in luck. The dining hall has this pathetic 'vegan bar' stationed in a buffet, so I thought I'd go check it out (something I normally don't do because their options are always atrocious). To my surprise, there were these vegan riblets that looked divine and some collard greens and rice with beans to go along with it. The collard greens looked pretty light (not drenched in oil or flavoring) and I was actually pretty pleased with the clean taste of them. The riblets tasted as good as they looked and the rice was, well...rice.

(Excuse my half-eaten riblet)

As usual with my photos, this one does not do the meal justice. I actually haven't eaten anything this good in awhile. The last time I had anything that tasted decent was when I went to Java Green Cafe a few weeks ago (will talk about that another time). I had their Vegan Burger which was to DIE FOR.

Usually after I knock my first two meals out of the way, both of which are normally within my clean vegan parameters, I start to run into biggg problems.

For some reason, I have a much easier time keeping my diet clean in the morning than in the late afternoon and evening. For example, it's almost 2 p.m. right now and I have huge McDonalds cravings for some reason. Now, I would be a fool to run out and get some, considering the nearest McD's is 10 blocks away, but sometimes my cravings are intense enough to make me do something as stupid as that.

Last night, I was hit with a McD's craving at around 7 and I actually trekked over there and bought some. I won't tell you what I got, for my own protection, but I wasn't proud of myself for giving in.

The ironic thing about my McDonalds run last night? I passed right by Java Green Cafe (a cafe with a vegetarian, vegan, and raw menu) on my way there.

Amazing, huh.

Raw. Love.
-Natalie

It's Been Awhile, Huh....

(Can you believe this thing is 3 blocks from my dorm??)

Clearly, it's been quite a while since I last posted anything. As you can imagine, a lot has been going on for me lately but I think at this point, I'm pretty well settled into my college lifestyle. I really love my studies thus far and I'm very optimistic about what the future holds.

As far as my diet is concerned, things could be MUCH better. On the bright side though, I've started a solid workout program that has me kicking butt in the gym and I can really feel a difference in my body. We all know though, of coarse, a sound fitness program is nothing without a clean diet. My problem lately has been cravings...once again. I'll have a stretch of two weeks or so where my diet will be phenomenal but then all of a sudden, I'll crash and burn without warning. Something's gotta be done about this.

The thing that has been causing me the most problems lately and has had me doing major backflips is SUGAR. No, not sugar as in apples and oranges, but rather sour patch kids, jelly, gummies, chocolate, and every other sugar ridden candy (and sometimes cereal) in the book. I used to do just fine with having tea without sugar or honey, but I have gone back to adding honey into my tea...and I'm starting to get a little too generous with it. When I started my weight loss journey back in January, the first thing I cut out was my morning coffee which was loaded with milk and sugar. Nixing that did wonders for me, and I would hate to have a reverse effect take place.

Just as a side note (and an excuse to add an unnecessary photo), I thought I should inform the general public about the fact that I rid of my kale plant over a month ago. I loved it so, but I could not figure out how to properly care for it and thus, it was dying rapidly. I felt like everyday I looked at it, there was another wilting leaf on it. I still have my one plant left...and here I am apologizing to it about giving up its adopted brother:


Sad, isn't it?

I promise to be a bit more consistent in the future. Watch out for more posts coming soon.

Raw. Love.
-Natalie

Recession Depression

This next comment may sound really obnoxious to some, but I have to say that I am very happy to be in college during a tough economic time such as this.

I know that I'll be hit with an economic crisis cycle at least 3 times or so during my lifetime, but I think that watching how our current crisis plays out will prove to be very helpful with the way that I deal with future economic woes.

The situation at hand does worry me, and I have close friends and family members who are struggling at the present time. It bothers me to see them going through this and being so uncertain of what their next moves are going to be. I wish there was a way that I could help, of coarse, but there is realistically not much that I can do.

When I am not on school time (such as when I go home for a weekend), I can somewhat feel the repercussions of what's going on. It is at these times that I think being a vegan largely helps keep my spending costs at a low level. 'Trendy' vegan foods can certainly cost you a pretty penny, but if you keep things simple, you'd be surprised at how much money you can save.

Here's an example:


When I went home last weekend, I did a little bit of shopping since my stay was more than just a couple of days. It had been so long since I last made myself some quality juices, so I took my time at home as an opportunity to catch up on some lost nutrition.

One of the first things I did when I got home was make a grocery store run. I bought some essentials, such as Almond Milk - $1.49 per box, and then I put most of my focus on juice ingredients.

Once again, I kept it simple. Carrots, cucumbers, peaches and apples...that was about it. It's amazing how far this stuff can last you and how creative you can get with it.


The bag of organic carrots that I bought form my local health food store ran me about $5.50. This bag was 5lbs and was more than enough for me. I left the carrots that I didn't eat at home so that my parents could have them if they wanted to juice also...I can only hope that they didn't go to waste.

I decided not to bring my juicer back to school with me. It was too much to carry on the subway and I was told that it would apparently cause 'noise pollution' in the dorm (whatever...not like the people on my hall aren't loud ALL the time).

As far as food quality goes, my diet has not seen much freshness in the last 3 or 4 weeks. I took a trip to Whole Foods this week and got some fresh items, but they only lasted me a few days. I really have to buckle down and figure out a solution. I can't keep living off of three smoothies a day and expect to be healthy.

I'm open to suggestions. Don't be afraid to comment.

Raw. Love.
-Natalie

Skinny Bitch and Going Home

On Wednesday morning (September 24th) I left school and caught a bus home to New York. I received news on Tuesday evening that a friend of mine had passed away, so I hopped on a bus as soon as I could.

Emotional eating has not been going so well. I was not close friends with the girl who passed but when something so tragic happens to someone so young (21), it can really take a toll on you. Over the past couple days, I've been doing quite a bit of reevaluating of my life and what my purpose is. I doubt I'll figure that out anytime soon, but I can make an effort daily to figure out what's important to me and how I'd like to be remembered when my time comes.

Back to the eating part; at any given time, I'm going through 1 of 2 phases. Phase 1 is not eating at all. Sometimes I feel so emotionally distressed that eating is secondary to most other things, even things that don't matter much. Phase 2 involves eating, but making bad choices. I've had somewhat of a 'what's the point' attitude since hearing the news, but I'm dealing with it a lot better now.

The reason why I have Skinny Bitch in the title of this post is because when I was on the train yesterday, I saw a woman reading it. That was the first time I had ever seen anyone reading the book outside of a bookstore (kind of ironic because it's a New York Times Best Seller). I was so tempted to say 'hey, I read that book, went vegan right away, and lost 25lbs' but instead, I refrained from saying anything and let her keep reading peacefully.

To anyone who hasn't read the book and has any type of interest in veganism, I would say that this is a must-read. I let my vegetarian friend flip through it a bit and she was very frustrated by what the authors were saying. I think that reaction was derived from the fact that as a vegetarian, she believed she was doing her part in the Animal Rights movement and it was not necessary to go and further. Everyone is going to give different feedback about the book, but if anything, read it and form your own opinion, whether it be positive or negative.


This morning, I had the oh-so-wonderful luxury of making my OWN juice in my OWN juicer. Getting smoothies and juices from on-campus spots is cool, but nothing beats making your own carrot juice at home...which is what I did today.

I have to try to find a way to take my juicer back to school with me. I'm not sure how much longer I can survive without it. I made it a point not to pack too heavily so that I can carry a few items back with me (juicer, jackets, etc) so hopefully, I alotted myself enough space.

I'll let y'all know if it makes the journey with me.

Raw. Love.
-Natalie

Intense Cravings

(America runs on Dunkin?)

Basically, the last four or five days have gone something a little like this: I finish class, hunt down the fattiest restaurant in the area that I can find, and order the most disgusting item on the menu.

I'm quite ashamed of my behavior in recent days, so much so that when I order these foods, I either walk far away from campus to eat them (as not to be seen) or I lock myself in my room and inhale whatever it is I just bought. Something's gotta be done.

I think my problem is that I do not plan well enough for situations such as these. Being a vegan is something that is so important to me, but yet, I find myself sitting here and admitting to my recent slip ups. I'm happy that I'm experiencing all of this guilt because that means (to me at least) that I'm still passionate about veganism.

Just to give you an idea of what has gone into my body over these last few days, I'll list a few items for you:

Turkey Breast and Bacon Sandwich with Swiss Cheese and mayo (Potbelly's)
Crispy Chicken Sandwich (Wendy's)
Turkey, Cheddar, Bacon Flatbread Sandwich (Dunkin' Donuts)
Beef Chili (Cafeteria - 3x)
French Toast (Cafeteria)

The cravings have been too intense for me to handle properly. I think that I've passed the hardest part and now I just need to focus on getting healthy again...because I feel TERRIBLE.

The amount of school work I have isn't helping matters much either. I had a paper due this morning and I didn't get to bed until around 2:30am. I bought a 16oz cup of coffee to keep my engine running but by 1am, I was already running on empty.

In an attempt to do a bit of damage control, I decided that I'd eat as clean as I could today. Here's what my meals have been like so far:

Had class at 8am. Took about 10oz of Gogi Berry tea with me to go.


The class lasted about 2 hours, so I ate a Cliff Bar slowly throughout.


Went back to my room and had a cup of Emergen-C in between classes. Stopped off at Robeks (smoothie place) before my second class and bought a 10oz cup of fresh squeezed orange juice with one banana blended in.


After class, I ran over to the post office and then grabbed lunch at about 1:30. Lunch was a salad from the buffet in the cafeteria.

(About half eaten already in this picture)

Post lunch, which is what I'm about to eat, is going to be an apple with almond butter.


Just one little side note about the almond butter...you know I paid $10 for it at Safeway?!?!?!
Unbelievable.

Hopefully I'm not graced with the unwanted presence of my intensive cravings anytime soon. I can't afford to go through another bout like the one I just went through.

Learn from my mistakes....JUST SAY NO!!!

Raw. Love.
-Natalie

Confessions of a Teenage Blood Donor

I enjoy donating blood. Not only because I am sharing something of mine with someone else in need, but I feel incredibly cleansed afterward.

I was leaving my writing class yesterday and saw a sign outside of the door that said 'Emergency Blood Drive Taking Place on Campus Today' (or something of that nature). I tracked down the location of the drive and signed up as a walk-in. It was about 12:30 when I signed up and I was scheduled to donate at 4:30. The gentleman who helped me register told me to make sure that when I return, I am well hydrated and not hungry.

Now, I'm no pro when it comes to donating blood, but I have done it twice before. Here's how it went my first time:

Incredibly nervous and scared out of my mind, I passed out when my bag was about 95% full. The red cross volunteers were not too happy with me.

I was successful the second time because I knew what to expect. I was still nervous, but I was determined to finish what I had started.

So this time, my nerves really didn't play much of a role and I was confident that I'd make it through just fine. There was one little thing that I was concerned about that I thought would prevent me from donating: hemoglobin level.

Some vegans are known to have low iron levels because a large source of the average Americans iron comes from animals/animal products. Unfortunately, I am not one of those vegans who pays special attention to my deficiencies...which is subject to change in the near future. The last time I went to donate blood, my hemoglobin level came out below normal for blood donation (the requirement is at least 12.5 gm/dL and I was around 11.7 gm/dL). The nurse told me that the levels can vary based off of which hand/finger is used when drawing blood (the nurse pricks your finger and then runs your blood through a machine to check hemoglobin). She proceeded test blood from my other hand and the reading was 12.7...so I was good to go.

I did a bad thing this time though...

For some reason, I was convinced that the only way I'd be able to reach my 'hemoglobin quota' in enough time was to eat MEAT.

Stupid and illogical, I know, but I was so afraid of under performing that I was willing to do anything. Maybe this is all just an excuse and I was really craving some beef?? I certainly hope not, but whatever the reason was, I hope that it does not come back to haunt me again.

I had approximately 8oz of chili with some wild rice mixed in. My reading was 12.5.

When it was actually time for me to pump, I was moving very sssslllloooowlllyyyy. It took me about 30 minutes to fill the bag; not something I am very proud of. There were about 5 or 6 people who filtered in and out while I was pumping and each of them only took about 5 minutes each. The red cross volunteer asked me about my water intake and I said that it wasn't so great. Another one of the volunteers proceeded to lecture me about the importance of drinking 144 ounces of water a day (what??). I definitely need to drink more water, no doubt, but when I increase my intake, I don't know if it'll ever reach 144 ounces a day...getting up during class to use the bathroom is not my favorite pastime.

The imprtant thing is...I filled my bag. Yea, I had meat beforehand and yea, I took a hell of a lot of time to do it, but I did it...right?

For all of the non-squeemish people out there, I would most certainly recommend donating blood at least twice a year. According to the red cross, two donations can save six lives.

Don't you think it's worth trying?

Raw. Love.
-Natalie