BeFree2009

Well to be honest I stumbled into an actual GS feast these past 2 weeks.

I'll start at the beginning as I have yet to document how I have even gotten to this juncture.

I've been battling weight issues my entire life.
When I stepped on the scale to go into the USNavy back in 1994, I was horrified to see it reading 170#'s! For my frame of 5ft 5inches, definitely NOT healthy or attractive. Typical SAD diet, sprinkled with loads of alcohol, fast food and mass quantities of coffee not to mention chain smoker.

I'll give the condensed version of the next 15 years = Navy kicked my a$$, but didn't teach me how to eat, just exercise.
Got out in 1998, around 145#'s, became addicted to working out, but again clueless about diet. I was in the mindset of working out = to free pass to indulge in evil foods.
In 2001 hired a trainer, she gave me the first bit of insight to the fact that I could EAT MORE GOOD/clean foods vs. non. This was the first light bulb, but I still continued to have cheat meals and look at such foods as a REWARD of sorts. Shortly after in 2004 I found a mentor who was teaching a 4 week womens bootcamp style program. Food journaling, 3x week bootcamp workouts, etc., Learned so much, and was empowered to become a personal trainer/boot camp coach for her. So, I began teaching group fitness bootcamp style classes before working my real job. Though never really being a full on advocate on being healthy I'm still smoking at this stage of my life.

I didn't get the wake up call until 2004 when my Father diagnosed with cancer. I frantically began researching holistic methods for cancer treatment, coming to understand PH balances in foods, in our bodies, and to understand that cancer is merely ACID running rampant in ones body. Another lightbulb went off for me. Within 3 months of his death in July 2005 I tossed the 20 year habit and turned to God and my spirituality to get me over the hurdle.

I wouldn't wish the cigarette addiction on anyone in this world, as the withdrawl symptoms I experienced were a living hell. It felt like someone had me hooked up to an electrical shock machine. My cravings were so off the charts that it literally felt like my body, my mind, my life was going haywire full on for a months time. One minute I'd feel such rage that I'd want to drive my car off the bridge, the next I'd be sobbing. What a rollercoaster ride it was as my body was releasing the addiction.

Fast forward, over the course of the next 2 years my weight ballooned up to 155#'s. My metabolism was trying to figure out what happened to the chemicals in the cigarettes, as well as, me requiring a surgery that left me on bedrest for 3 months and unactive for nearly 8 months. By the time I got my strength back it was a years' time of being pretty inactive. I had done a few fasts/detoxs, began getting informed on PH balance in the body, but couldn't release the stubborn 20#'s that I wanted to.

Even as I began teaching again late spring last year, the scale wasn't budging, I was back to trying desperate 2 week fat blast diets: eliminating dairy, bread, carbs in general, from my diet and though my body responded really quickly & I would lose fat/weight, I still had the cravings for FOODS. I was devastated even up to last October 2008.

Upon living with with my fiance last November, who is a vegan (now raw foodie) I naturally just fell into the diet he was on (fruits veggies, no dairy, etc.,) I began feeling so light, such clarity, my moods were even keeled. I hadn't really noticed not having my other standard diet "staples" wasn't even missing them. Then we did a 3 day cleanse/detox over Christmas, bought a Vitamixer and began the addiction of green smoothies and raw foods! I still continued to eat cooked foods, but not dairy, meat, or breads up until January 5th.

Around the first week of this month (Jan 09) I began having more cravings for GS and veggies than any cooked foods at all. I started my day with a full Vitamix of GS, take 20oz to work to consume later in the day, ate tofu or tempeh for an actual meal, or salads. Within a few days time I realized I didn't want FOOD, I only wanted my GS!

Within a week or so people began commenting on my appearance "something is different, you're glowing, have you lost weight? your skin is amazing..what are you doing? you look so toned & lean?!~" To my surprise just in this short amount of time my pants are falling down, my clothes are baggy on me, and yes, all the compliments on my skin, even i have to take a double take! I cannot believe such amazing results are happening when it wasn't my intention to pursue this way of living for anything more than because I FEEL amazing! This is definitely a different mindset than other times I've embarked on a diet revision just for the sake of hating how my body looked and coming from a place of resentment or frustration. This time I was coming from a place of "WOW, I like how this is FEELING for my BODY, my BODY is loving this ENERGY I now have!" I really want this because I want my HEALTH AND VITALITY to be restored.

So, here I am accidentally getting the best results of my life and feeling so free, so light, so blissed out! I have so much energy that I now only require 6 hours of sleep at best, and I no longer lay in bed hitting the snooze button for the alarm, I am UP before my alarm and I hit the ground running! No more 3 lattes from Starbucks to get thru my day! No more mental fog or mood swings...even my monthly cycle was a breeze! :)

I'm going to continue to journal/blog daily as I really want to document all these lovely transformations.

Blessings & light to all who've read this novel. :)