Adios, Salt & Fat!

Hello there, folks!

Here are a few picture of me when i weighed in to the high 390's, preceeded by one of me more recently (sorry to make you crook your head!).

After we took the two 'before' pictures, i actually gained 30+ more lbs. I'm smiling in both pictures, but don't let that fool you. I'm really good at self-denial. I was miserable and hopeless!

I weighed in this morning at 277. It's not where i was 2 weeks ago at 254, but heck, it's a LONG way from where i was at my highest weight of 425lbs. I keep having to remind myself of how far i've come...and just keep fixating on WHERE I WANT TO GO ala the SECRET! I want to be back to 254...and i will REJOICE on the day that i reach 249...and NEVER see 250 again!!!

I am so grateful for this blog! Thank you Meredith and Rebecca for inspiring me to create one! It was exactly the focus that i needed to propel me forward!

I am thrilled to report that i am on my way back into balance, yay!!!, and have followed through on my 'cleansing' plan so far.

Cleansing for me is a no salt, no fat raw vegan plan to allow my body to let go of all of the salt-abuse/water retention, and to help the dehydrated and heavy foods clogging up my system, move through. After a few days of eating like this, i will not be surprised at all if i lose 10 lbs really easily.

You see, I really ABUSE food, so for the average raw fooder, there is NOTHING wrong with salt and fat and dehydrated foods in moderation. Unfortunately, I am NOT the average raw fooder! I am prone to ABUSING ANYTHING that tastes good! The average long term raw fooder eats 1/2 avocado a day. On a bad day, I eat like 8-10! I downed 2 cups of guacamole every day for 3 days last week. An average meal at Arnolds Way is 2 slices of raw bread with veggies and sauces on it (Pizza). I can eat 20 slices of raw bread in one sitting - no problem! That's a LOT of sodium. And that was just a 'snack'! Think of me as the 'Robert Downey Jr. of raw food'!

My plan is to cleanse out for the next few weeks, return to my lowest weight of 254lbs and then re-assess and create a new raw food plan that includes gourmet treats in moderation. My hope is that by working Fairburn's book "Overcoming Binge Eating," which promotes moderation to overcome binge eating, that i will create a diet that will stop the insane yo-yoing and embarrassing weight gain.

Oh, I took a 15 minute walk today.

I'm off to a good start on my cleansing phase!

Breakfast: 1/2 large organic watermelon

Sn: 1 container strawberries

Lunch: "Tomatoes Ranchero" - 3 tomatoes sprinkled with fresh chopped cilantro and fresh lemon juice

Sn: 6 bananas

Sn: 2 bananas

Filtered Water 1 quart

Dinner: zucchini spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce, fat and salt free.
I'll post the recipe tomorrow

Contemplating lunch was challenging as i really CRAVED something fatty and salty, but knew what i had to do instead! I was pleasantly surprised just how yummy simple plain sliced roma tomatoes dressed in flavorful chopped cilantro and lemonjuice really could be. Shocking! It's actually quite nice to return to a place of appreciating the simple foods and how they taste in their pristine salt-free, dressing-free raw state!

I know i'm on the right track with my 80-10-10ing!!! After assualting my body with an overwhelming amount of ultra fatty and salty food, my body needs a rest. I know that if my ankles and fingers are THIS bloated, i must have gone really nuts with the salt. I mean, i did eat an entire jar of olives in less than two minutes the other day. There is a LOT of water stuck inside of me, I'd venture to say at least 10 lbs worth.

For the next two weeks at least, SALT is NOT going to be my friend!!! BYE BYE SALT!!!! I'd better drink alot of fresh water as well, to help flush my system! Now would be a good time to start taking BARLEY LIFE again, too. It will help me detox and flush my system.

I really don't think it's going to take very long to get back to where i was. I will be surprised if it takes longer than 2 weeks. After that....THAT'S when the hard work will begin!!!! Learning how to LIVE with gourmet raw! Wish me luck!!

xoxo michelle
LaSoprana@aol.com