RAW LOVE!!!

John and Shawna Morris
Mr and Mrs Monarch
Meredith and Dustin
Petals, wood chips and Flowers...a gound display at the raw wedding
Kevin and AnneMarie Gianni

Beginning Raw Vegan Weight: 425

Beginning Blog Weight: 277

FRIDAY, June 26, 2009 WEIGH IN (new weeekly weigh in day): 250 lbs

Total Blog Loss: 27 lbs in 5 weeks!

NEW GOAL: 249 - only 1 lb away!!

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: 175 lbs

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RAW LOVE
Good morning, dear Folks :-)) I felt a little romantic this morning, so here are some beautiful raw couples. Shawna and John Morris from Grants Pass, OR http://gotgreensrevolution.com/, http://www.mydailyrind.com/, the newly wed Mr. and Mrs. Monarch http://www.rawreform.com/, http://www.rawspirit.org/, Dustin and Meredith from Boulder, Colorodo http://www.therawseed.com/, http://hundrethmonkeyeffect.net/, and Kevin and AnneMarie Gianni, an inspiring raw couple who spoke at the festival http://www.renegadehealth.com/.

Yesterday I went shopping with my Cliff to Ikea, shopping around for a throw rug and a new sofa, we had a fun time. As we were passing the area with wardrobes, i spotted myself in a mirrored wardrobe. I said to Cliff, "Come here, hon, look at me in the mirror. I'm looking good. Can you believe it?" I stared at him in our refection, he wholeheartedly agreed and his smiling agreement was accompanied by a big hug and kiss! My face is looking slender, my bod is looking better. I don't look like i gained 10 lbs. And even if i did, he still LOVES ME and thinks i'm the biggest success in the world :-))) We will be sharing our 10th anniversary together in September.

Poopy Update
Last night i had "D" in the middle of the night, and then again this morning. That's all them nuts and raw bread cleanin' out. Only a wacko like me would see "D" as a good thing...meaning possible WEIGHT LOSS!

Secret Weigh In
I know, i know, i know what i said, but under the circumstances, i couldn't resist. I HAD to weigh myself. I set the scale to weigh 10 lbs higher than my last weigh in, and i kept having to push the weight down and down and down... I'm actually VERY excited about my weigh in. Let's just say, 2 days later, i didn't do much damage at all. How the hell can that BE? I'm just happy about it. I only gained 1/2 lb.

Support...and where it will lead!
I have been receiving such amazing letters from women reading the blog, i'd love to share some of them with you and will in the next few blogs. I'm asking for permission. So, if you do write, let me know if i can reprint it, k?

You are all amazingly supportive and it is such a HUGE help to me. We are accomplishing this TOGETHER!!! I could not do this without this blog...and a blog wouldn't be a blog unless there's YOU reading it!!! It would just be a journal and what fun is that?

I did tell you of my plans for a book, didn't i? My dream is to take this blog into a publisher after i've overcome my binge eating, after i've lost my excess weight, and i'll say, "HERE. HERE'S MY BOOK!" So, the more you contribute, the better, the richer, the more encompassing, not only of my experiences, but of yours.

So many women suffer with binge eating issues. So, i'll be asking for permission to reprint your notes!!

BLOG WEEKLY LOSSES
Yesterday i said i wanted to do an overview of what i've been doing here these past weeks and how it affected my weight:

• WEEK ONE: -15 pounds lost. I had come off of a 2 week gourmet bingefest, so this was cleaning out. I had totally forgotten, however, that i ate zero overt fats this week, but did NOT limit my bananas. Eating at work was SO much easier like this!!! Walked daily.
• WEEK TWO: -5.5 pounds lost. Still ate unlimited bananas, ate bananas at work and this made work so enjoyable, must remember that, perhaps to avoid a binge, just drink regular smoothies and have whips!!!, only ate fat, 1 tsp of cashew butter, on last day of week two. Walked daily.
• WEEK THREE: -3 3/4 pounds lost. Began experimenting with limiting bananas this week, and ate overt fats instead. Walked daily.
• WEEK FOUR: -2 3/4 pounds lost. Moderated bananas to 1-1 1/2 daily, some fat, tahini, avocado. Ate a huge gourmet binge at the raw wedding. Walking slowed down.
  

OVERVIEW OF OVERVIEW
This was very enlightening to do. Wow. I had forgotten in the beginning of this blog journey that i ate no fats, and didn't count bananas. This seemed to produce bigger weight losses, but my hair also fell out alot more, and seemed to calm down once i added more fat in. Perhaps to lose 2 lbs a week, i can eat more bananas, yay, and still keep the fat, but keep it low, and i won't go bald in the process.

INSIGHT INTO HOW TO HANDLE EATING BETTER AT WORK
This exercise was particularly instructive in that I know now at work, i am NOT going to limit my bananas. I had such good times previously at work on the days i did not limit my banana intake. And the other day, I was very hungry and needed something MORE. If i would have just had a few more bananas, a big cacao smoothie, so comforting, or a huge whip, i might have averted a binge. I think i felt physcially bad, frustrated and just kinda snapped. I need to do whatever i can to not let these events happen again.

Basically, at work the other day when i binged, i ingested the equivalent of 4 or 5 meals in about 5 hours.

If i ever feel i 'need' something again, i should feel absolutely entitled to eat 1 meal and a dessert should i need it and be absolutely GUILT FREE. I'll need to do some thinking about the best way to handle this. Do i allow a weekly treat? A daily treat?

I'm going to do my BEST to be in touch, in tune, and address my needs in the moment. I know i did not NEED a binge. I was OUT of touch then. But, i did enjoy that whole burger on 2 slices of bread with white sauce. THAT was good. If i ate that once a week, big deal. Even twice a week. If it averts a binge, my progress will be steadier the MORE treats i eat spread out, rather than all at once. And how much did i enjoy that binge? The only thing i really enjoyed was the burger because i was HUNGRY for it. The other stuff 'tasted' good, but i didn't 'enjoy' it. So there. What is life about? Shoveling stuff in out of control to be greedy? Or enjoying raw food and savoring it...and LIFE?

Or if i just want to eat more bananas, i should feel absolutely entitled. And if i need to on those days, i can skip the fat, but eat all the bananas i want. I think that will help the binge eating for sure.

More to figure out about this, but, i'm on the right track.

TOODLE-LOO!
I have a singing rehearsal this morning. :-)) Wish me luck. I have a singing performance on Wednesday!

FOOD

• Breakfast:A thin 'milky' shake of 2 frozen bananas and cacao with water while doing my vocalises
• Snack: handfuls of green grapes, 2 bananas, hungry, while driving to visit Cliff's mom
• Lunch: 2 mangoes
• Dinner: starving. At my moms. Starving for something green. Salad of : 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, 1/2 container cherry tomatoes, 2 tsp olive oil, 1 lime's juice, 3 spritzes balsamic vinegar (not raw), cumin, oregano. 3 Servings of Lydia's green crackers (150 cals per serving)
• Snack: 2 bananas
  
  xoxox michelle joy