Cindy_Seattle

My goodness, I looked at the date of the last time I posted and has it really been that long? I have to admit I obviously have discovered I am not any good at keeping a daily, weekly or even monthly diary of my efforts! Between lots of work on the job, lots of volunteer projects and keeping the home fires burning, my 'spare' time has been spent getting used to and maintaining my raw food lifestyle. I unfortunately have been remiss at sharing my efforts with everyone and I apologize!

You, as well as Alissa, will be happy to know I completed her 30-day challenge and was successful to stay (for the vast majority if the time) completely raw vegan. The only time I have gone off the raw vegan trail was during a week's vacation in January, when I was vegetarian for 3 meals. What helped immensly was getting right back on the raw food after the cooked vegetarian meal. Luckily I was travelling in an area that had places to shop for organic produce and some raw foods at the beginning and near the end of our journey.

Yes, it's been 4 months and I'm still 100% raw. I lost 40 lbs. in the first six weeks! The additional weight loss tapered off to about 8 lbs. a month and the last 2-3 weeks I've been stagnant. Time for a colonic and fasting!

All in all, I have lost 60 lbs. so far in 4 months. I have been sprouting in jars (to save space in my small house and fridge), dehydrating, blending and food processing my butt off! I also have been to a few raw food 'meetups' or 'potlucks' to encourage and share with other local raw foodists for support. To top it off, I'm beginning to prepare for a small organic vegetable garden!

Since my last blog entry, the first few weeks took a concerted effort to keep going. I still have some difficulting planning ahead, but am getting better at it. I noticed some small changes in my energy level, aches and pains after about two weeks. Three weeks brought a little more improvement, and after the 30-day challenge others were beginning to notice the difference. I still have some aches and pains, but they are dramatically reduced at this point.

I didn't have to be an 'evangelist' for the raw food lifestyle, I was living it and they were watching. There were several folks at work who were beginning to feel a bit guilty and admitted I had sparked their desire to start eating healthier again. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean raw vegan, but any move towards a more healthy lifestyle is a good one.

If you look at my beginning picture in my album, you'll see I had already broken my left ankle and was in a boot, walking with crutches, plenty of aches and pains and feeling quite defeated. I could barely stand for more than 3-5 minutes without my back aching badly enough to have to sit down. Prior to the broken ankle, I couldn't walk further than down the hall to the restroom with a cane at work. I was stiff, sore, hypoglycemic, tired, short of breath, had high blood pressure . . . you name it I had it! Oh how much difference 4 months and a raw vegan lifestyle can make!

Don't get me wrong, I am by no means out of the woods yet. I have quite a ways to go to lose 145 more lbs. I've had several ups and downs along the way, candida has been a recurring problem, but somehow the good Lord has seen fit to help me through to where I am today. I admit the shock factor at work helps too!

I attribute Alissa's book and approach to my transition from the Standard American Diet to 100% raw vegan. Thank you Alissa for writing a book and recording a DVD that best suited my desired approach to switch to a raw vegan lifestyle. That being said, my learning experiences so far have not been exclusive to Alissa's book or methods. I find myself exploring other recipes, books, raw food approaches, etc. Most of them are not for me, but some others have also inspired me. I won't mention all of them here as a courtesy to Alissa, but if you decide to check me out on Facebook, you'll find out.

I am happy to say that today, I can stand for a much longer period of time before feeling the need to sit down. I can walk without a cane. I no longer get easily winded by just walking into work from the parking lot. I have lost the congestion and feeling like I was beginning to get asthma. I am down from a size 4X to 2X on top and 3X on the bottom. My endurance is gradually increasing and I'm even rinsing and washing dishes at the sink again while standing up! I no longer experience hypoglycemic symptoms. I no longer take naturopathic supplements and am down to one medication. My blood pressure has gone from 150+/90+ to 132/80. I don't have to use shoe horns to squeeze my feet into my shoes anymore! I've had to suffer through buying new clothes that are SMALLER (what a shame) :-)

As you can probably tell, I'm ecstatically happy right now! I know my journey is still just beginning, but I now know I am on the right path for me, in spite of any apprehension anyone else has about what I am doing (doctors included)!