I am happy to say that after three months things have started moving in the right direction again! After playing a juggling game with the scale - up and down, up and down for three months I decided that my arms were getting tired. I'm not 100% sure why my body stopped responding to what I considered a healthy diet, but I do know that a lot of change has taken place in the last year and a half...see exhibit A:
Desperate times call for desperate measures! (didn't Jafar say that on Aladdin?) And by desperate measures I mean...change! Daggonit if I just didn't want to jump up and down and throw a tantrum, dig my heels in deep, and pout! I mean...look at all the skinny people who eat junk all of the time!!! UGH! But instead, I prayed (and cried) - a lot. I kept pleading that God would show me the next step. I didn't really question WHY I was going through a lull...I just wanted to know what my next move was. Three months later (God's timing is much slower than mine!) my friend and I showed up at WW and decided that we were going to restart our system by going (mostly) raw!
So what is "raw" you might say? There are a lot of books and websites and such that go into further detail than I will BUT for me this is what it means: eating foods that are LIVING - not processed. The raw food movement is a super-BIG deal and I am only scratching the surface with this post so I will list some great sites at the end if you want to research it any further. Basically I have recommitted to not put any sugar/preservatives/chemicals/crud in my body. I committed to eating fruits and veggies in their natural state - uncooked- as much as possible. Note: Uncooked? Why? Because cooking food destroys a lot of the important nutrients and enzymes
I have to say up until the last couple of weeks, I had gotten pretty comfortable with sugar again - not going on sugar binges but eating it here and there and I could tell a difference in the way I tasted food. Everything started tasting bland again and I found myself reaching for more "sweet" (maple syrup, stevia, etc.) or salt to add to it. I had also grown accustomed to grabbing easy (packaged) snacks...even though most were healthier options...they were still "junk" foods.
The biggest bonus for me has been the renewed excitement of the process. Things had become mundane and were no longer fun or exciting. Now I am back to making new recipes and experimenting with new flavors and textures. I am back in the saddle and ready to ride into the sunset! On top of eating (mostly) raw I have also been experimenting with juicing at least once every day which has been fun! I feel better now than I have my whole life. I feel alive and energetic and my mind is clearer. (Speaking of juicing...have you seen, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" yet? If not...you need to!)
So what have I learned over the past 3 months? I guess the biggest thing I have learned is that we can't keep doing the same things and expect different results. After watching the scale remain steady for several weeks I should have wised up and made a change, but I didn't. I am pretty stubborn like that. I have also learned that my body is different now than when I started this journey. I have a lot of healing to do emotionally and physically. In order to get that healing ball rolling I need to feed my body the best fuel I can find so that it can start repairing the damage of 29 years of excess. The last thing I learned is that I have to be OK with where I am RIGHT NOW. I can't always be looking for the next big thing, the next big goal, the next clothing size. I have to be grateful for what I have been given and prayerful that God will continue to mold me and use me for His glory!
Since I started this new chapter I am happy to say I have lost 6.4 pounds! Yay! My total weight loss is 106.6! :-) Here's to more celebrating in the future!
***If you'd like more information about eating raw or about juicing, check out a few great sites:
and a great Raw Food resource from my school!
For more recipes and such be sure to "friend" The Incredible Shrinking Mama on Facebook!