Drumroll Please...Week 1 Weight Loss...

So, I know I told you guys that this really wasn't about weight loss for me...and it isn't.  But I couldn't WAIT to get home and find out how much weight (if any) I lost in the 1st week.  Are you ready?  10.2 pounds!  Wow.  Take that Atkins, Weight Watchers (sorry Lynn), South Beach, low fat, low calorie, the Zone, etc, etc, etc!  See you next Saturday for an update.

Stacy’s Raw Diet will resume tomorrow at it’s regularly scheduled time...

Okay, so today and yesterday were not raw days for me.  What was I thinking to do this at Christmas time when I was traveling and didn’t have time to prepare my own food?  But it’s okay because I have learned from this experience.

Christmas Eve we went to my mom’s mouse.  I had a huge salad and decided to eat a small bowl of chicken and sausage gumbo (but I didn’t have any sausage).  It was literally like a cup of gumbo.  And it was soooooooooooo good. I LOVE gumbo.  Within 10 minutes I was sick in the bathroom and ended up missing half of present opening time.  I also started getting tired and feeling like I was going to fall asleep on my drive home.  This hasn’t happened since I started eating raw.  I don’t regret eating the gumbo at all.  But I couldn’t believe how my body reacted.  Especially since I had a huge salad.  I mean I think probably 75-80% of my food was raw.  There is DEFINITELY a difference in how my body feels between eating raw and eating even just a little cooked food.

Fast forward to today (Christmas Day).  I finally was able to use my VitaMix and had a really nice green smoothie for breakfast.  I managed to avoid eating anything at my mother in law’s house for Christmas Dinner.  It was hard.  I kept thinking about how much easier this would have been if I would have had time to prepare my own food.  When I got home Christmas Eve, there wasn’t even anywhere that I could go to buy a salad or fruit.  I completely didn’t think about that or I would have brought some stuff home with me.  Anyway, I told myself that I would make myself a small plate of food to bring home and if I still wanted it later, then I could eat it.  

Then I started thinking about all of my food issues and about it being Christmas and most of this food being things that I only eat once a year.  All of my previous diets have been ones of deprivation.  Strict rules about what I can’t eat.  I don’t want this to be that way.  If I want to have a few bites of cornbread dressing, then I want to be able to eat it without guilt.  Denying myself of the things that I want is what has led me to fail in the past, and I want this to be a long term life style change for myself.  I am also really re-thinking this 100% raw thing.  Maybe I should do 90% or something like that where I eat a small amount of cooked food every day so that if I DO splurge on something one day, it won’t make me sick.  Most people are NOT 100% raw.  I need to do some more research on this but I’m leaning towards 80-90%.  I am starting the Resolve to Evolve program through Raw Food Rehab on January 1, and I think that will give me more direction.

I know for sure that I will wake up in the morning and be back on track.  I know for sure that this is really the lifestyle that I want for myself.  I know for sure that I am evolving and food is not holding so much guilt and emotional baggage for me.  I know for sure that my plate of food from Christmas Dinner was yummy, and I’m glad that I ate it.  I’ll see you tomorrow, for Day 6 take 3.

Quit Stressing Stacy!!!!!!!!!!

Well...Day 5 was kind of tough for me.  I was very irritated and aggravated all day.  I’ve read that this is common...going through emotional ups and downs while detoxing your body from all the toxins that have been stored in it from eating processed foods.  I think that I’m really worried about going home and dealing with the stress of every day life and continuing to eat like this.  I told you that I’ve been in Tennessee.  Well, last night we drove half way home, and had to stop somewhere to eat.  The whole process of trying to pick a good restaurant that would be good but have a salad bar or good salads had me about to throw my beloved iPhone out of the window.  We ended up at Ruby Tuesday’s because they have a salad bar.  And I did add some salsa, which I’m sure came out of a jar, to my salad.  Only two tablespoons, and it actually tasted so salty and “fake” that I wished I had left it off.  I don’t feel guilty about it...but I realize that I need to plan better.  I keep thinking if I can just get home to my VitaMix, everything will be better.

Then we stopped at a BEAUTIFUL bed and breakfast called Century House in Meridian Mississippi.  On a side note, if you’re ever passing through this way, you should stop here.  It is beautiful and the owners are fabulous!  Anyway, I immediately started worrying about the breakfast when I got here.  The owner told me she was making stuffed french toast (my favorite), grits, eggs, and sausage for breakfast.  I told her about my diet, and she immediately starting trying to figure out how to accommodate me.  I told her I had my own fruit, it was no big deal.

This is really about today, day 6, but when I got up this morning I just decided that I wasn’t even going to go down to breakfast.  My daughter was really sad, but I tried to explain it to her.  Anyway, after a little while I decided to go down anyway.  The owner, Mamie, had gone out of her way to fix me a small yogurt parfait.  So, I ate it.  She was really worried about me having something to eat.  I don’t feel guilty about that either.  Now I have two Christmas dinners to face, but I think I’ll be okay there, and if not....well, it is Christmas.

I’ve been wondering whether or not this 100% raw thing is feasible for me.  I think I need to think in more flexible terms.  Being unbending is what has sabotaged me in the past.  Do people who eat 100% raw NEVER eat anything cooked?  And if you eat something cooked are you still 100% raw if you eat raw most days?  Like if I eat some broiled fish once or twice a week, but eat 100% raw the rest of the week, can I still consider myself raw?  I think these are personal decisions that I have to make.  I don’t think there’s any set rules.  I realize that this is an evolution, and I have to figure it out as I go along.  My goal for today is to quit stressing and enjoy Christmas...no matter what I end up eating.

Merry Christmas!

P.S.  I just realized that I didn't even miss the french toast, etc when I was eating the parfait...it was about the atmosphere and conversation much more than the food.  A great lesson to learn today.