Day 28...

Progress has Definitely Been Made!

Today it Friday, the 29th of May. I have completed 27 days 100% raw, and today is my 28thday. I can't even begin to tell you happy it makes me that I have made it this far and I see no need to give up my new raw lifestyle.

This week was not all sunshine though! I had a tough week. Everyone around me tempted me with food that I couldnt eat, and I was about to break. I thought that preparing some dishes would help me.... yeah not so much because everything I tried to make come out tasting terrible. I guess what they say is true... your emotions go into your cooking (uncooking in this case). But I made it through the week, and I even tried to make a Date Nut Torte from Alissa Cohen's book. It turned out AMAZING! So Yummy! And it was just what I needed to get me back into motivtation. Now all I need to do is make everything else just as well. lol. I tried making hummus, not good at all. I don't know what I did wrong, and I love hummus. Oh well. I will need to work on that.

So here is my progress:

Current weight: 211.0 pounds

Weight loss for the week: 3.3 pounds

Total Weight loss: 20 pounds.

Ailments now gone: Restless sleep, poor circulation, painful numbness in my arms and legs, painful gas, swollen feet and hands.

On another note... I usually have very weak nails that i can't keep long... they are growing and are strong as ever. I am taking care of them and am very please with how pretty they are.

So here are my progress photos. I will post from my 1st day and from today only.

Day 1 Day 28

Day 1 Day 28

Day 1 Day 28

Day 1 Day 28

I think you can definitely see Progress! I can't wait to see day 1 compared to Day 60!

Day 21 Weigh-In and Progress Photos!

Today is my 21st day of being raw.

I can't believe I have made it almost a whole month. One more week to do. I am totally psyched about that.

I am doing well, though the past couple of days I have had major cravings. I want a bacon cheeseburge or japanese hibachi. Random! But I am not going to give in.

This weekend I am going with my sister and brother-in-law to his sister's house. I will bring my own food and I am going to make a date nut torte to bring with me for everyone. If they like it great, if not, then it is more for me. lol.

So on with the progress. I am currently 214.3 pounds. That is about 3.4 pounds down this week and about 16.7 pounds for the 3 weeks I have been 100% Raw. (I say 'about' because who knows for sure with the scale).

Progress photos now: (I dont know if you will be able to see progress as I switched from my tshirt to a tank top cause you couldn't tell anything body wise with the tshirt. Hopefully the tank top will help to track progress a little better)

Day 1, Day 14, Day 21

Day 1, Day 14, Day 21

Day 1, Day 14, Day 21

19 days and Counting

Today is my 19th day of being raw!

I am feeling great. Though I think that my weight loss has slowed down significantly. Though I can't tell from looking in the mirror, so I wont know anything for sure until Friday morning weigh-in. I have taken on exercising to help with my whole getting healthy kick! I am so freakin! sore. lol. Yesterday I went for a walk, I don't even know how far I walked. At some point I looked at my clock and was like... wow... you need to turn around and go back to your car. But I walked down on our riverwalk and over our pedestrian bridge. It was a very nice outing. I am going to have to have to buy a pedometer so that I know how far I am going. What I think was such a long walk might have only been like two miles. LOL. I have no idea. I will need to fix that. I have also started doing Cardio kickboxing tape. Jillian Michaels makes it. It is awesome. It really kicked my butt, but I am going to try to stick with it. With that, walking, and Yoga, I think I am doing pretty good with the exercising.

I had an awesome salad. I marinated cucumbers in apple cider vinegar and olive oil. Cut up romaine lettuce, red cabbage, roma tomatoes, raw peanuts, and then in the middle I put a tablespoon of raw hummus and sprinkled a little sea salt over the entire thing to taste. It was amazing. I didn't think I would like a salad that much, especially with so little dressing on it. But I think I am hooked to how good it tastes. I looks really pretty too with all of the colors.

On a knitting note:

My shrug is coming along very nicely. I am now working on my left sleeve. I am very proud that I am still going with it, especially since I have a terrible habit of scrapping projects cause they take too long. But I am still going and like my diet, I am determined to see this all the way through. I can't wait until I can post pictures of me wearing it. Now all I have to do is have enough energy after I kick my butt working out to really sit down and knit for the rest of the night so that I can get it done.

Motivation!

I have been shopping on etsy for things to get once I reach my goals. It is a great motivator, and there are so many great shops! I found a vintage style bathing suit that i am so in love with. I have been wanting one like it since High school. So that is on my life. There is also a pair of ballet flats that I have my eye on... and to make that even better my sister said that she would sew me a skirt to go with them (she totally rocks). So now I need to find so nice fabric for my skirt. There is also a store on etsy that makes really pretty panties. And I am just going to have to buy a couple a pairs when my butt is not so big. lol.

I am very excited that I am shedding this old skin and getting a new one very slowly. I am becoming a confident and beautiful individual. I can't wait to see the end transformation. I am already impressed with just the 18 completed days thus far.

I am still going strong...

Day 14 Progress Photos

Time For Weigh-In and Progress Photos!

Today is my 14th day of being 100% raw. And as each day passes I am more and more addicted to it. I love how I am feeling and how I am looking.

I will keep this post short today and just post my progress.

I am currently 217.7 pounds. That is 4.7 pounds for the week and a total of 13.3 pounds for the two weeks I have been raw. That is pretty amazing!

Day1

Day 14

Day 11 Feeling Great

Still feeling great!

I am feeling great. I am still totally psyched about my new way of life.

I decided that I might blog about something non "diet" related today!

I saw a great movie... that was also kind of sad. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I know a lot of people didn't want to see it, and Brad Pitt got a bad rap, or maybe the movie got a bad rap because of Brad Pitt. lol. Either way it was very good and totally worth seeing. Some of you might know that the movie is based on the Short story buy F. Scott Fitzgerald. I thought it was well done, and a touching love story. And for everyone who says... It looked weird.... Well Yeah. How can it not be weird, it is about a baby that is born old and then spends his life aging in reverse. LOL. Nothing normal about that!

I am going to try to finish up a painting that I have been working on. It is halfway done, I just lost my focus on it a while back, but now I am feeling motivated to finish it. Once it is done and I am happy with it I will post the picture of it.

I am also going to work on finishing my shrug. Tonight has been deemed Knit night. So I am going to get to it.

Day 11 is done, and I couldn't be more motivated to keep going!

Raw Day 10

Day 10!

Woowhoo! Ten Days Raw. That is so exciting... I am in double digits! And the best part is that I am still going strong!

Today I was able to wear a skirt and shirt to work that I have not been able to fit into for MONTHS! "OMG IT FITS!!!!" was yelled this morning, I was so excited. I even wore heels to work to celebrate, and my legs and feet didn't get one cramp in them. When I got to work everyone was like, "Wow, you look really nice today." Considering I work with all men, that really says something.

Joel, one of the guys I work with told me today, "I have noticed a change in you...I am kind of proud!" That made me laugh. Joel is all about me being raw. He thinks that it is great that I am getting healthy and that I am so pumped about it. Every day he tells me to stick with it and keep going. He really does help to keep me motivated. He rocks!

All in all I am feeling great today! I am retaining water which really sucks but that is ok. I was told that I needed to drink more water to flush it all out... So I did... I have had like 92oz of water today.. I have been running back and forth to the bathroom all day. I think that might mean that it is working.

I got a dehydrator over the weekend. I am not impressed with it. It actually sucks. It has no temperature gage or dial, so I am going to be returning. It was a major disappointment.

On the food front, my grandmother sent me a recipe for a Tangy Tomato and Mango Salad. I gave it a shot substituting some things and it was excellent. I can't believe how good tomato and mango tasted together with green onions, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar. AMAZING. I am definitely going to make that a habit. It was very satisfying. I sprinkled a little sea salt over it too. Yum! For my night snack I stuffed dates with almond butter and then I drizzled them with honey. So good, and addicting. I am going to have to be careful with these cause I could eat them like candy! I think I am going to try to make fudge balls this weekend... we shall see.

I went to the gym today after work. YAY me. I found a community gym that only charges $1 a visit. So I was like... what the heck! The regular gyms around here charge $60-$80 a month with a 2 year contract... so I figured with $1 a day whenever I go and then $14 yoga class once a week, with no contract or start up fees, I am doing pretty good! I hate paying for a gym membership and then you going like maybe 5 times in the month. Such a waste. I think this will suit very nicely. It is a very decent gym too.

Positive changes..... In the last 10 days my mood has drastically improved. I am happier than I have ever been. Things aren't bothering me like the used to. I wake up with a smile and I can't wait to start my day. I am also sleeping better. The weight is coming off, though I am trying not to obsess over what the scale says. My acne is clearing up. All of my pimples are gone now, and the dark spots and scars on my face are starting to fade. Being raw is like a body miracle! I am loving everything about it.

I can't wait to post my first set of progress photos so I can actually SEE how I am doing.

Week two is going to be a piece of cake! I am totally ready!

100% Raw for 1 Week!!!!

I have been 100% Raw for 1 Week!

7 days! I am totally psyched. I can't believe the difference in how I feel in just one week.

Last night I came home and decided that I was going to prepare a dinner that took a little bit of prep work. So I decided to make Pesto Pasta. I have to admit that I was nervous if I would like it. I just couldn't see how, when you are used to eating regular pasta, zucchini would fit the bill. But I made it anyhow and OMG How delicious was that! It was so good. I can't get over it. It was a perfect way to complete my Raw Week 1. I garnished the top of my pesto with diced tomatoe and sea salt. I will definitly be making that again. I got the recipe from a raw magazine called Purely Delicious, and you can actually view their recipes online at http://www.purelydelicious.net/. They Have thier magazines for sale on there too for $6.25 and issue and there is no shipping charge.

Last night I also took a night for just me. To pamper myself. I did my hair and unwound! Painted my toe nails, plucked my eyebrows (NOT VERY RELAXING)!!!, and read a book. It was so nice. It made all of this seem just that much better. I feel like I am glowing!

To Celebrate 1 one week raw I went to Yoga Class this morning. I was so nervous going in, but it was an awesome experience. I love the class. I had a male instructor which I was not expecting, and there were 4 other students in the class, 2 male and 2 female. It was a nice mix. Everyone was friendly, and since it was a beginners class there was no pressure to impress anyone. I worked my hardest but at the end of it all I had a huge smile on my face because I felt like I had accomplished something and started my weekend off right. It is a wonderful feeling. I will be going back to class next Saturday as well. What a great workout. I sweat more than I do when I am out walking. I was so surpised. Totally worth it. My body is a little sore from everything, but that is a small price to pay.

Week two is going to go just as famously as Week 1 did. I just know it!

Day 6 Completed. Weigh In Time

6 days completed. YAY! Almost a full week. I am feeling great besides very crampy this morning, but that is more of a natural issue than a diet issue, and it would figure that I would get this issue just in time for weigh in! lol. Oh well.

Mary and I decided that we would Weigh In today so that we can keep track of our progress with one another. When I started on Saturday Morning I weighed in at 231.0 pounds. This morning I weighed in at 222.4 pounds. So that is almost 9 whole pounds down in the 6 days. I am totally psyched about that. It is a lot more than I was expected, and I am a little nervous that that much came off so soon. But no matter what it is definitely motivation me to keep going to see what week 2 is going to bring for me. For the first time in my life, I really feel like this is a change that I am going to succeed in making.

Yesterday I made a green smoothie for breakfast. It was so much better than I thought it was going to be! I used Kale, cucumber, banana, and pineapple. So Yummy! I think I used too much water though cause it was not very filling and a little too think for my liking, but it tasted fantastic. I am going to try to make one for breakfast every morning. That way i can insure that I am getting enough greens in my diet. Last night I went to the greenlife grocery and treated myself to their salad bar there. It was so yummy! I packed it in a to go container and went over to my friend April's house, where we knit and watched a movie. It was a nice evening.

My sister totally surprised me again! She told me to set a goal, and once I reach that goal (yes she said ONCE I reach the goal, and not IF I reach the goal) she will buy me any tshirt that I want. See I don't look very good in tshirts right now. My belly has been too big lately. But I LOVE tshirts. There is a webiste http://www.threadless.com/ that has the best ones ever! So I picked one out, emailed her the link, and so it is set..... When I get under 200 pounds she will get me that tshirt. I couldn't ask my sister to be more supportive, and I can't even express how much her support in this really means to me. I am going to make her proud of me, and I am going to take care of myself like I should.

Tomorrow is Yoga day. I am totally excited! I am so out of shape but hopefully I can do it. It is a beginners yoga class.... I better be able to make it through the whole thing.

Other than that, Friday is off to a good start and it is the end of my Work week. It is going to be a great day!

Day 5 Completed

I can NOT believe that I have made it 5 days! 5 complete days! I am so proud of myself. I am feeling great. I actually feel like I am looking better, but I don't know if that is actually the case or if I imagining it.lol. Weigh-In is tomorrow, so we will soon see.

It is amazing that when you are feeling better with yourself, you take the things that come at you a lot differently. Work has become busy and stressful but I am not stressing out. That is so freaking strange! I am calm and I get to one thing at a time as quickly as possible. (Now hopefully this is working for me, and I don't get fired for slacking. lol). But I am enjoying work so much more now too. People who I thought were annoying and who I fought with constantly, are now wonderful people whose conversation I enjoy. AND the BEST thing about this whole thing is, that for the first time I am more concerned about my health and my body, than I am about anything else. I am not stressing about boys not being in my life or not calling. I am not waiting around for something grand to come and find me. I am actively going out and doing my own thing. I am loving every moment of this.

Last night I took my sister out on a date. She is married with three kids, so she doesn't get to get out very often for personal time. So last night was $1 movie night at the theater (i know I am cheap) and they were playing He's Just Not That Into You. It was so great! We both laughed so hard and when we left the movie we were both like...."That movie was awesome!" It is funny, while i was sitting through that movie, I was wondering.... "Do I do that?" LOL God I hope not!
SO it was nice to get out and spend time with my sis.

I got everything I needed to make green smoothies. And Day 6 is being kicked off with one.
2 more days and I will have gone 1 week being 100% raw.

Do you know how amazing that feels???!!!

Day 4 and Knitting!!!

Day 4 is complete and I am feeling great. My alarm is going off at 5am and I am waking up ready to go. I honestly can't believe it. I have not noticed any bodily changes in my appearance, but, and we discussed this on a ravelry posting last night, seeing changes in your own body is always harder. We are our worst critics. So as long as I am feeling this good I am going to keep going strong. I am excited for Friday! Mary and I are going to have weigh in. I can't wait to see my progress. (Lets just hope that there is some. lol)

I am going to the grocery store today to pick up some things for green smoothies. I am going to give it a try for the rest of the week. If I can make that the main part of my day and that make something yummy for dinner, I will be all set. I am also going to pick up a dehydrator this week. All of this makes me so excited! Hopefully I will have some yummy recipes to take pictures of soon. We shall see.

I am full of energy and what is more, I am knitting with vigor! Usually I knit for like 30 minutes to an hour and I am slow and I get tired. My eyes start to hurt, my arms start to ache, so I just put it down... NOT LAST NIGHT! I watched The Changling (Clint Eastwood Film with Angelina Jolie) and I was shocked when I noticed first, how much I had done, and second that I wasn't having to look down and not concentrate on my movie just to knit a single row. I LOVE IT. So I am working on a shrug. It is my first garment project and I am excited to get it finished. I am knitting it in a Dream in Color yarn my sister gave me. The color is a purplish one. I love it. It is going to look so good when I am done. I honestly feel like i have enough energy in me to see that I get is done in a relatively timely manner... given leeway for mistakes of course.lol. I tend to make quite a few as I go along.

Also, I plan on going to a Beginners Yoga class on Saturday morning. The class is at our North Shore Yoga studio close to my house and a drop-in session is only $14. I figured that it would be worth going to see if I like it. It might just be the thing for me! Plus if it works out it would be a great way to make a few friends in the area. I am nervous to go because of how big I am. There is always a phobia of going to workout or something where there are all of these healthy skinny people, and feeling like they are just going to stare and make judgements...but I have to get over that and know that that is probably not the case at all. Just my own insecurities coming into play....So Saturday morning at 8:30am I will be going. I can't wait.

I am over halfway finished with 1 week of being 100% raw.... I am so proud of myself. I know honestly that it is all of the support I have been getting this week that is keeping me going. Even my sister told me that she has high hopes for me with this, and that really meant a lot to me. I feel determined to succeed in this.

Bring it on Day 5!

Day 3 Completed!!!

I completed my third day! I am so stoked about this. I woke up yesterday (the start of day 3) and I could tell that I was already feeling better. The cold that I had was significantly less severe, and I was in a better mood than a lot of days.
It was first day of eating raw at work. That was interesting. It made it more and more clear that I am going to have to learn how to make some of those gorgeous dishes that I have seen floating around in books and on people's blogs. It will make the bringing lunch and snacks to work a lot easier. So I think that is going to be my goal for this weekend. Wow, this weekend, I can't believe it is only Tuesday this morning. I feel like the week should be almost over, but I guess that is because of my starting my Raw Journey on a Saturday. Who knows. I also went for a walk on my lunch break yesterday day. It was only for 30 minutes, but I figure that at least I got out there and broke a sweat!
So last night I found myself full of energy. I decided I was going to go to bed early. Yeah, that didn't happen. I ended up watching a movie and knitting. That is another thing I am finding, where while knitting before I would grow tired and my eyes would start to hurt after only knitting a row or two, last night I zipped through the rows like they were nothing. It was awesome. If this keeps up I will actually start to finish my knitting projects. That would rock!
I also found my self looking through raw blogs last night. I found a lot of recipes that I want to try. I am thinking about purchasing a dehydrator this weekend. I think in the long run, if I am to stay on this diet....no this way of life... I need to stop calling this a diet! This is not a temporary way of being, This is a permanent change that I am making for myself. Anyway, I think getting a dehydrator would be good investment. Most of the recipes I am finding that I want to make call for you to stick part of it in the dehydrator for some length of time.
The website The Raw Test Kitchen looks awesome, and she (the owner) has it set up to where you try to make one of the recipes on her site and then you email her a picture of what you made and tell her how it worked or didn't work. I think that would be a fun weekly project and it would get me trying different things. So I am going to give that a shot. There is a work of food out there for Raw consumption if I can get myself away from salads and whole pieces of fruit. So here we go!
Also I really want to try making Green Smoothies. I don't have a juicer... is that a problem with this? Can I just use my blender? What does everyone recommend? Any good sites for recipes? I really think that the Green Smoothie might be the way for me to go to make sure I intake all of the greens that I should in the day. Let me know what you think!

Oh yeah! I just started an email and MSN messenger account for anyone who wants to leave me a message. It is rawbeautifulme@live.com.

Day 2 Complete

So I have completed my second day of being Raw. I am very happy that I made it through it, but I am going to admit that it was not easy at all. My body has started to get rid of all of the mucus that is has in it, and though you think it wouldn't be that much, My nose has been a constant drip since I woke up yesterday, and my head feels like someone hit is with a hammer. I have been sweating up a storm as well. But through it all I have to admit that when I woke up this morning I was even more determined to make it through this detox faze than ever.
I think a lot of that has to due with my new raw buddy Mary. I met Mary through this online crafting site that we both belong to... http://www.ravelry.com/ We both are starting going raw relatively at the same time, she is one day ahead of me. She emailed me a couple of times yesterday and that really helped to keep me focused. I was ready to throw the towel in yesterday and say this was not worth it what so ever. But Mary and I have decided to be accountable to each other so that we keep going, so I am not going to Punk out on her.
Day three has started. My head still hurts, but this too shall pass.

In the goal section of my side bar to the left I have Get a rib tattoo as one of my goals. Of course to do this I will have to lose all of the extra weight I am carrying, but I know that I can do it. I found one that I really like, and I am going to use it as a reminder that I need to keep going if I want to achieve all of the goals I listed. So I picked this tattoo as a guide for the one I want to get because I love flowers. They are so delicate and beautiful, and I myself want to be those things. So I am going to push through this sucky part of detoxing and know that when it is all over I am going to feel better and I will be just one step closer to achieving my goals.
Day Three Here we GO!

Day 1 Complete

As you can see I am very excited that I successfully completed my frist day of being raw. I did famously, even though I have to say that I started feeling sluggish with a headache and all I wanted was to order a pizza...and I talked MYSELF out of it on my own. Yay Me! lol.

So my raw journey actually started yesterday at 12:00am. Weird I know... but I was leaving my sister's house after babysitting m beautiful nieces, and I was like... well let me stop at the store on my way home and pick up a food processor, (Which has become my new favorite toy). While I was there I also decided to pick up some fruits and veggies just to get me started. I was going to wait until Payday, but I figured that NOW was as good a time as any. So I loaded up. Here is a picture of what my counter looked like after I unloaded all of my grocery bags. I was so excited.

You will also see a book there, which has become my bible. Alissa Cohen's Living On Live Food. I borrowed this book from a friend and will be very sad when I have to give it back, but then again I probably should just get my own copy or see what other raw books are out there to purchase. I have become obsessed with raw blog searching also. I have found some really great ones, and the links to them can be found on the left side bar of my blog. (If anyone knows some others that I would like, leave me a comment).

So my first meal was of course breakfast and it was delicious. I just cut up 2 bananas, 7 strawberries, and put them in a bowl with a few blackberries, and then I drizzled the entire thing in raw honey to add a little taste to it. Yum! I was amazed at how pretty it looked too. There is something so satisfying about all the different colors. Next I made lettuce wraps and I put cucumbers, avacado, tomatoes, and carrots wrapped in boston lettuce leave. It was very good, but I think I am going to need to buy some sea salt for tasting. I also made a papaya and banana pudding, but I have to admit that it was not my favorite thing. I don't think that my papaya was ripe enough. I will have to be more careful next time when I buy one.

So overall I am feeling good! I think I might have caught a cold, so I am a little goffy, but I am still excited that I completed my first day of bing 100% raw. Hopefully day 2 goes just as well! So Far So Good!!!

My Story

I'm a Fat Girl....There really is not a nicer way to put it... I can say that I am chubby, I am carrying a few extra pounds, curvaceous, what have you... but the simple truth is that I am fat... and much bigger than I should be.
I don't look into the mirror everyday and say how ugly I am, there are certain qualities about myself that I like such as my eyes, lips and even the overall shape of my face.... but my stomach is not something that I cherish.
I have always been a big girl, but since graduating college, I have steadily gotten bigger.So this is where I am at... I am 25 years old and I am tired of looking down in the shower and seeing my belly. I am tired of having to shop at the big girls’ stores and then getting frustrated because I can still see my love handles when I look in the mirror. I am tired of seeing skinny clothes in the mall and wishing that I could fit one leg into them. Most of all, I am tired of squeezing my fast ass into body shapers so that I can look semi-decent in the clothes that I am trying to wear.
I am tired of feeling my hips brush the arms of chairs as I sit down, I am tired of turning around in a store and having my butt knock something or even someone over (yes that has happened). I am tired of the looking at the healthy and fit people walking downtown and thinking… I wish I had the motivation to get out and do that!
Damn it! I can do it!!!
I have decided that it is time to do something. It is time to take my life and my health back into my own hands. There is no more being ashamed of me…. This is what I am, it is not great and that is why I am fixing it. It is a goal I have made for me, and I have no shame is sharing it with everyone who wants to know.

My heaviest weight.... 238.3 pounds
My current weight.... 231.0 (as of this morning)
My overall goal for weight... around 150 pounds.
My short term weight goal... under 200 pounds by Christmas.
Major issues I have experienced from being over weight... Shortness of breath, high blood pressure, chest pains, pre-diabetes, poor circulation in my arms and legs, restless sleep, and chronic snoring, swollen feet and hands, poor eyesight, Dark circles under my eyes, arms and legs go painfully numb, terrible heart burn, painful gas, and my face constantly breaks out and has dark marks all over it.

How I plan to make this happen!
By changing my overall lifestyle.Right now I eat a little breakfast, and decent lunch, and dinner until I feel like I am going to explode... Not to mention all of the snacks I have at work during the day. I have no actual exercise in my day besides playing with my nieces about twice a week.I plan on throwing all of my old bad habits out the window and switching to a Raw lifestyle. I have read and read on the subject and I am convinced that this is worth trying. I have Alissa Cohen's book Living on Live Food, and I super impressed with it. I have read numerous blogs, and I have decided to give it at least a 30 day trial period... while recording the results.So hopefully I make progress.
Before (Angela Cooked)