A Journey to Health

Ok I was afraid the hcg diet wouldn’t work for my crazy head. First morning I had a mental breakdown about not being able to eat.
So I turned to another of Jude’s resources: raw and living food. Using some of the techniques I learned in her raw class and some recipes from her cookbook, I created a diet plan for myself that is about 80% raw and 20% cooked vegetarian. I might have lo cal grain bread or tofu. Trying to steer clear of milk but I will eat greek yogurt or soy milk. This morning I had one egg but probably won’t do that again for another few days.
Typical day might be large bowl of fruit for breakfast and spinach smoothie a couple hours later, big salad for lunch with just veggies. Maybe some yogurt or a bite of zucchini and raw hummus for snack. Last night I made raw lasagna for supper!
On Sunday morning I weighed 251. Today I weighed 244! Only 4 days. Oh almost forgot-i am drinking lots of water and I have tons of energy. Yesterday I walked 2 miles in the morning and 3 that evening!

Dr Jude recommended a new diet plan for me. Requires a strict diet and an hcg supplement. I’ll post more later. Today and tomorrow I am eating what I want fat-wise prepping for 21 days of no fat!

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Okay why have I never had a massage before??? I feel like a million dollars right now. Do you know how much it costs to feel like a million dollars? Only 75! That is a good bargain. Imagine being in a quiet room with flute and rain drop sounding music playing softly in the background..the light breezy scent of sweet smelling essential oils in the air…still, calm and refreshing like soft drops of rain on a summer evening.

In this rain drop therapy, Jude dropped essentials oils on my spine and gently feathered them in. She explained the feathering and light touch is done to rejuvenate and re-set my nervous system. After each oil was feathered into my skin along my spinal column, she placed a warm moist towel over the therapy area to drive the healing properties of the oil into my back. I was glad when she told me the oils were anti inflamatory, anti parasitic and anti viral! That sounded very good indeed. They felt almost…well…like that old commercial with the chocolate candy coating the peppermint center..remember the cool sensation they discussed! Like that! I love feeling like a chocolate coated peppermint patty. LOL Ooh ooh..get this, I almost forgot the oils have healing properties that can last up to 7 days! Jude said she can also give this treatment to folks who can’t lay on their stomachs, like the elderly, so people can sit up for the rain drop therapy. Good to know!

After the oils set in Jude made me feel like a pile of limpy spaghetti noodles. I have never had a massage before from a certified massage therapist. Now I know what I have been missing all my life. I mean I am totally and utterly relaxed. She massaged my back–totally awesome. And she took extra care around my burnt shoulders which was nice since I went camping over the weekend and fried myself. Jude is just like that. Very kind and considerate of how YOU feel. After the back massage, she did some kind of calf massage, then I turned and she massaged my neck which was just out of this world. My neck always hurts where I sit and work at my computer all day. Felt like all my stress was just being squeezed out of my head. But she almost put me to sleep when she massaged my hands. She paid extra special attention to me there–I think it’s because Jude knows I am always typing and writing all day long.

I cannot stress enough–get yourself to Dr. Jude asap. GO to the new gift certificate pages I am putting up on the main website and buy yourself a half hour or one hour or the extra special super duper rain drop therapy massage treatment and go. You might get one for a friend, but I give you permission to be good to yourself for a change and get it for yourself. Trust me, you won’t feel a bit selfish after about 5 minutes. You’ll be thinking–why didn’t I do this sooner? What is stopping me from coming back and getting it again? It will be the best 75 you ever spend. Trust me. It’s worth more than a pair of shoes. It’s worth more than a big fancy meal overstuffing yourself in a big fancy restaurant. Your health is invaluable. I spent the weekend camping out and recentering myself, recommitting to eating healthy and working this program with Dr. Jude. I ate lightly the whole weekend–ate mostly fruits, whole grain lo calorie products and salads. Top that off with my massage treatment and I am floating around with a big healthy smile on my face now!

REMEMBER TO GO TO JUDE’S THIS WEEKEND FOR THE RAW FOOD WORKSHOP!! I can’t go because I am already going camping with some friends–but there is still time to get yourself registered! See more details in the following post.

Y’all pay attention. My next wellness day is June 28, Monday. I haven’t done a thing for myself. As far as weight loss is concerned anyway. Been upset for a month over some guy who as they say must just “not be that into me.” Although he wafts and wanes about that…so what’s a girl to do. I finally decided it was time to quit thinking about him and start thinking about myself again. This coming weekend I will be camping with some friends. Traditionally, I thought of campouts as a time to put meat in a fire. But this particular weekend I will be with some people with a vegetable reverence. And yes, I have longed to “go vegetarian” many times in my life. Many times I have. And each time I have felt better and lost a few pounds without much effort. I know my body works better on such a diet, even if it is carb-high. So, instead of packing firelogs and hotdogs, I am loading up on fresh fruit, yogurt and raw nuts and seeds for my weekend. Will be a lot easier and cooler to eat like that anway.

And I am thinking of it as a jumpstart to my Monday with Dr. Jude. Maybe I can even sweat off a few pounds while I am at it. I will be camping on a hot weekend in little shade in the breeze-less flatlands of North Carolina. I must be crazy!

So after my weekend of mainly fruitarian and raw living, and a day of wellness with Dr. Jude, on Tuesday I am back in the traditional Dr’s office to get my blood pressure checked. Mustn’t forget to pack the pills for the camping trip. And hopefully I will be down a few pounds from last time. Will report back here later next week on the experiences and the weight!

You can see more of me if you can’t get enough here!

Mitone at a Raw Food Workshop

For Release 9 a.m. EST

June 7, 2010 

Wellness Cottage Offers Raw Foods Workshop
Learn How to Incorporate Raw and Living Foods in Your Diet

Stuart–VA — June 7, 2010 —Over the last several years, eating raw and living foods has drawn much attention because of the wonderful benefits of incorporating this healthy life-style into daily life. It has long been known that integrating fresh fruits and vegetables into the diet has amazing benefits, but many people who want to make this healthy choice have no idea how to start.

“Many people really do want all of the benefits of eating raw and living foods,” said  Judith Toscano, Wellness Practitioner, owner of the Wellness Cottage in Stuart, Virginia, “But they just have no idea where to begin. A lot of people think that when you eat raw foods, you are stuck eating nothing but salads, seeds and nuts and celery sticks–but eating raw is so much more than that. It can be a very rewarding, life-changing experience.”

Dr. Jude has been eating raw for over twenty years. She started by growing her own sprouts and by soaking nuts and seeds for their extreme nutritional value and then she began to expand her skills to creating gourmet raw food.

“You wouldn’t believe how wonderful it is to create different pestos out of fresh herbs and serve them over zucchini pasta,” Toscano said. “And it is so easy and economical for people to grow their own lettuce and sprouts these days.”

Anyone Can Learn

Dr. Jude is offering a three-day workshop entitled “Raw and Living Foods Workshop: Three Day Challenge,” beginning on Friday, June 25 through Sunday, June 27. The workshop begins every day at 10:00 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. In the workshop, participants will learn the basics of living food lifestyle, how to grow seedlings and sprouts, the benefits of nuts and seeds, how to culture foods, such as carrots and cabbage, how to create cheese, and milk out of seeds, the importance of detoxification, how to plan menus, and how to prepare gourmet and filling raw food entrees.

“Every day of the workshop has been carefully planned to help participants learn all they can about the benefits of eating raw and how to prepare and incorporate principles of eating raw in their lives. Each day has an instructional component, a hands-on food preparation time and we will enjoy delicious and nutritious raw snacks and lunches,” said Toscano. “The workshop is great for people who are curious about eating raw, those who have been eating raw for years, and everyone in between.”

The workshops are $65 per day, or $175 for all three days, which includes all foods, supplies, meals, snacks and instructional workbooks. Also, participants completing the three-day workshop will be awarded a certificate for recognition as a Raw Food Enthusiast.

The workshop is held at the Chocolate Moose Bed & Breakfast, 117E Blue Ridge Street Stuart, Virginia. Reservations are required and seating is limited. Guests wanting to stay overnight may do so at the rate of $75 per person.

For more information or to make reservations, call 276-694-3650 or visit the website at www.chocolatemoosebb.com.

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For more information, press only:

Dr.Jude cmwellnesscottage@embarqmail.com, 276-694-3650

Sitting here with my feet in the aqua chi bath. Laptop on my lap…talking with Jude about our next plan of attack. I am finishing up turning her healthy cookbook into a pdf. We’ll have that available for sale as a download on her website most likely by the first of next week.

We’re also posting her healthy cooking videos she has been making…we’ll have snippets so you can review them and then decide if you would like to make a purchase. You’ll be able to download and save to your computer. Very cool.

Next on the list, we’re making some tweaks to the website.

I tell you I have been so stressed lately. And coming here to The Wellness Cottage is like taking a weekend long getaway by yourself except without spending the whole weekend trying to do it! I am a single mom and it is very difficult to take whole weekends to work on my inner self. If you have never taken a few hours to spend on your own wellness, Dr. Jude is the woman who can help you change that. I’m not just saying that because she is my friend either.

Call her today. Get the consult. Even if you think you’re perfectly healthy, there are any number of services she offers at The Wellness Cottage that can just tweak your level of wellness and make you feel even better.

I have lost a few pounds now. Admittedly this last week I fell off the wagon a bit. Yep, it’s man-related. Started worrying over one too much. Now I am just dropping that and focusing on me–I have to get myself better and my head and heart and spirit in the right place before there’s ever going to be room for a man.

My aqua chi water is looking pretty rusty….so my foot soak time must be coming to a close….

Now I love to soak my big ol’ size 11′s. Kick back. Close your eyes…ahh…and then don’t look down! Groossss. What is that in the water?? Well that, my dear is all the crap you have floating around in your blood. Jude has more info about all the details on her site here, but the jist is:

“The Aqua- Chi Machine generates a magnetic bio-field – similar to that of a living organism. This is a complex process, requiring a base that already contains its own unique frequencies. The only naturally occurring substance with this property is water. When the Aqua- Chi Machine is placed in water, the water and the Aqua- Chi Machine uniquely interact with an electric current to produce a bio-charge. Passing electrical current between specially designed plates in water creates the needed magnetic field to complete the process.  When we immerse ourselves into water, our frequencies are added to the water as a “memory.” The Aqua- Chi Machine instantly adjusts to the given frequency – ours, allowing energy (chi) to flow unobstructed. ”

I thought the pictures she has on that page looked kind of like you were soaking in dirty water…but my water turned quite red with black flecks. I think it must have been pulling out those toxins I had from my forays into tobacco use I sometimes tried when I was a wee bit younger. That and some other junk….

Here’s my feet:

I must be one toxic girl....

Definitely makes me want to forget about Big Macs, walk 2 miles a day, eat raw salads twice a day, take all my vitamins, breathe fresh air and never touch toxic things again. How dirty am I inside? Is that why I am finding it so hard for the weight to get off me this time trying? Last year this time when I was trying to lose weight it was quite easy. The pounds were coming off about 2-4 a week. Now my body just won’t let it go. Just wondering of it is because I am so toxic now. Crossing my fingers the aqua chi foot therapy will help me rid myself of the gunk inside me. That with everything else Jude is helping me do!

The last weekend in February, 2010, I spent a Friday night at Dr. Jude’s Chocolate Moose Bed and Breakfast. Every month at the end of the month, Jude hosts a raw and living foods workshop. I have been researching raw foods (i.e. veggies! not meat!) for some time as a possible solution to my weight problem. Yes, I have a weight problem. Not that I am not gorgeous. LOL. But I do need to lose a good 75 pounds…and dare I dream…but to lose 100 pounds would be a fantastic feat. So anyway, I planned on spending the weekend with Jude, learning some raw food prep techniques in person, and starting my weight loss journey. Flash forward two weeks later, and Jude and I decided I would be her Voice of Experience! I have been Jude’s web developer for a few years now. So, we decided to create this blog in which I would go through her wellness treatments and learn how to lose my weight and make better choices for myself. I am so psyched about this opportunity! And I don’t mind sharing my story with any of you who happen to stumble upon this page.

My name is Mitone and I am unhealthy and overweight. There I said it. I am a single mom to a beautiful four year old daughter. And I want her to love her veggies and not spend her life sneaking through fast food drive thrus like me. I want her to live without high blood pressure like I do. I don’t want her to suffer a cerebral aneurism like I did at the age of 36. Yes, almost died, but that is a story for another day. Bottom line, when I had my aneurism, I weighed 285 pounds and was in an unhappy marriage. I lost 15 pounds in the hospital. I was there for a few weeks recouperating from brain surgery. And shortly after the aneurism, my ex asked me for a divorce, so I lost another 20 pounds when I moved back home with mom. I was walking every day and eating a vegetarian diet. Then I started dating again. And I got back off track. So…that’s where we are now, dear reader! I am single…I am free to make healthy decisions. And that is just what I am doing.

And I pray that Dr. Jude has some wellness services that will help me accomplish my goals! I had a blast at the raw food class. It was a great jump start. I will be posting some photos here shortly. Yesterday was my first day on my program…I experienced an aqua chi foot soak..I’ll be back shortly to let you know about that. For now, I wish you peace and wellness. Thanks for stopping by!