Day 2 hanging out with Julie and Protective Diet education. To be honest I don’t believe I have joined any of her live, online sessions, but it’s never too late to start. Last night I kicked out her Mix & Mac recipe in my Instapot, which was so quick and easy. I added in about a pound of spinach and chopped fresh tomatoes to add flavor and color. It was absolutely fantastic! While I am well off the path I want to walk when it comes to my healthy living this was a perfect recipe to start with.

While it might sound odd, I’ve gone back and read what I wrote years ago when I decided to “go extreme” (my doctor’s words) and change my lifestyle to take control of my health. While nothing happens overnight, it’s been very challenging the last few years attempting to restart a lifestyle that doesn’t include sugar, oils, dairy and meat products. While dairy and meat haven’t been in my diet, but I’ll admit there have been more times than I want to admit I’ve used sugar and oil in my cooking knowing it was going to drop me deeper into that unhealthy hole I’d been struggling to get out of. The key for me, restarting (again!) is that first 30 days and commit to the simple changes using simple recipes. Believe me, the recipes I originally started with were so damn simple, even easier than what Julie provides for her free recipes. Many of the recipes, which you can read in my 12 Day Journal came from a Dr. McDougall book.

As I sit listening to Julie I am reminded of the work and effort I put in to run and finish two, 50 mile races called the American River 50. You can relive the 2016 adventure. Why do I bring this up? This race was more than than just 50 miles of grueling pain, it was a test of just how far I could push my body. A demonstration of just how far I had come in taking control of my health. How I kept going, I will never know but at some point after mile 29, I found myself alone. My running partner had dropped out due to heat exhaustion and our pacer fell back to get him to an aid station. From this point on, the race was a mental battlefield. Thankfully, nothing was going to keep me from that finish line and while I was struggling physically, as you can see in some of the images, I stayed mentally strong, knowing I had I time on my side and I would complete this race.

It is that sort of mindset I approach PD with, knowing “I’ve done it before and I damn well know, I can do it again.” It’s very motivating to see the physical accomplishments since changing to a plant based lifestyle. Running, strength, health and a clear mindset were all beneficial in my life. Now, I know I am not where I want to be, but rest assured, it’s like running past mile 29 in 2016. I need that strong mental state in order to complete this race. I do appreciate all the support I’ve received the past few days from the Protective Diet Lifestyle Group on Facebook. As I stated in there, “you are all rock stars!” Now let’s win that race!