- Almost Seven Months Raw- Then and Now by drpr
18 y
3,284 9 Messages Shown
Blog: Raw Odyssey
 (Photo: My blood pressure and pulse reading this week- not bad!)
(Note- I know there's a typo or two in here but I can't find them!)
When I first started this blog, I was a pretty sad person. I was tired
of being overweight, depressed that I hadn't figured out how to keep
the weight off, and was suffering from physical ailments that decreased
the quality of my life. They say that when you start to feel that you
are not making progress in your new healthy habits, it's good to look
back at where you started. Since I'm thinking about having some
decidedly not-raw treats over the next few - and because I've been
frustrated over bouncing within the same weight range for many, many
weeks- I thought this might be a good time to compare where I stand
today to where I was on January 1st, 2006 when I first embarked on my
Raw Odyssey. Below are entries (with some paraphrasing for
succinctness) from my first blog entry, followed by comments about how
things have changed since I went raw.
OVERVIEW
First
of all, I started at 341 lbs. I am 5′6". In 2001 I started to regain
the 190 lbs I'd just lost and eventually reached that weight, size 30.
I couldn't walk from the car to the grocery store door without running
out of breath, nor could I read a passage from a book out loud without
stopping frequently to breathe. I had obstructive sleep apnea and
qualified for gastric bypass surgery. My doctor said it also appeared I
had developed asthma. I couldn't wash the dishes for more than a few
minutes due to the pain in my back. If I went to the mall I had to sit
down frequently because I was tired and in pain. My arms and hip felt
like they were pulling out of their sockets. My knee and leg felt so
week that climbing stairs was scary because I feared collapsing.
Things
sure are different today- despite having over 100 lbs left to lose, I'm
much healthier and happier. Check it out with me:
THEN
-Eyes water for a couple of hours each morning
-Stuffy nose/post-nasal drip
-Sneezing in the morning
-Sides of tongue hurt for days at a time
-Bad gums (probably gum disease)
-Stiff neck and back
NOW
My
eyes still water from time to time and I sneeze once in a while, but
I'm not "suffering" the way I used to, and no stuffy nose these days.
My tongue stopped hurting after my first week eating raw. I've yet to
see a dentist (no insurance) so I can't say much about the dental
issues yet, but the stiff neck and back are largely gone. I only seem
to get them these days from carrying my heavy bookbag or working out.
THEN
-Blotchy complexion, some acne
-Low grade headache in morning, sometimes throughout day
-Severe lower back pain all the time
-Pain in knees
NOW
My
complexion cleared up amazingly after being raw for a few months. It
happened gradually, but the teeny bumps and darker pigmentation on my
cheeks went away. Those of you who have followed this blog for a while
know that I recently added smoked salmon and increased the amount of
cheese I eat so that I could get more protein in my battle aganst hair
loss (which started after eating raw helped me to lose a huge amount of
weight in a short amount of time). Since adding those foods, the
roughness in my complexion has slightly reappeared. Proof positive of
the beneficial effect that a raw diet has on my skin- and I do love
evidence! It is making me reconsider the salmon. I have no more daily
headeaches, but I did develop headaches when I was eating smoked salmon
from Trader Joe's and grocery stores. When I started getting my salmon
from Costco the headaches stopped.
THEN
-Depression
-Low energy, low stamina
-Uneven sleeping patterns
-Often feel hot
-Very noisy digestive system
-chronically dry skin
NOW
I
noticed relatively early on that my depression just kind of melted
away. I still tend towards depressive thinking when I'm stressed out,
but I don't LIVE depressed the way I did before.
I'm not sure that
my energy level has increased, but I definitely sleep better. It used
to take me hours sometimes to fall asleep. Since starting raw I've
fallen asleep within 15 minutes sometimes, and I sleep through the
night soundly.
I still often feel hot. When I was a size 10 I was
always cold. I'd love to feel cold again because it's hot here in the
southwest. Guess I've still got too much insulation!
My digestive
system was embarrasingly noisy in the old days and guess what? Since
adding the fish and increasing the cheese, the noise has started up
again. More proof that my body seems to like my more-purely raw diet
better than the one I've morphed to. I'm definitely reconsidering the
fish.
My skin is still dry, but no more alligator legs! I drink
water all day and really miss it when I don't have any on me. Water
comprises 95% of what I drink; the only other beverage I drink is
kombucha tea from Wild Oats and Whole Foods, usually once a week or so.
THEN
-Resting heartrate = 80s and 90s
-341 pounds (about 200 lbs to lose)
My blood pressure is high
-My cholesterol is over 200.
-I am anemic.
NOW
Check
out the photo up top- that was my blood pressure and resting heart rate
this weekend at a pharmacy. My recent blood tests show my cholesterol
to be in the 170s with the good and bad cholesterols both at healthy
levels. I'm at 272 lbs these days and I'm not anemic any longer. I'm a
size 22W.
EATING HABITS
THEN
-Salt, caffiene and sugar make up a large part of what I eat.
-Pepsi, some days, is the only thing I drink. Other days I drink very little of anything.
-High saturated fat and trans-fat
NOW
I
consume no caffeine at all. My sodium levels were fine until- you
guessed it: I added the fish and increased the cheese. (I am really
reconsidering that fish....) I've had no Pepsi since December 31st
2005. I'm conscientious about drinking enough water and although I'm
not perfect, I do have an average of 7 eight-oz. servings of water a
day, I'd say. My diet consists of no trans-fats. The only saturated
fats I get are the healthy, plant-based kind.
FITNESS LEVEL
THEN
-Fitness?
What fitness? I can’t climb one short set of stairs without huffing and
puffing. If I have to hurry down the street even a little, I’m
breathing heavily for a ridiculous amount of time.
NOW
Today,
even at over 100 lbs overweight, I can run up a flight of stairs (I
know this because I've been doing it at work since last week!) My knee
and leg are FINE- so fine I forgot I ever had a problem with them (or
with my shoulders, for that matter, until re-reading my first blog
entry). When I visited the gym last week, I actually ran a little on
the treadmill, too- so there!
CONCLUSIONS
All
I can say is WOW- I'm so glad I re-read my first post! I've come a long
way. I've learned a lot, too. The biggest lessons I've learned are that
1) junk foods have strong psychological and physical effects on me, and
2) My raw odyssey must be tailored to my lifestyle and body and no one
else's 3) It's a good thing to experiment and to try new things. If
something doesn't work for me, it doesn't work. There's nothing bad or
good about that; I just have to adjust and find what does work. The
fish and cheese thing, for example. I'll probably end up cutting out
the fish and keeping low-fat cheese on my menu (cottage cheese comes to
mind).
Now, does all of this mean I'm not going to have a
few junky treats over the next few days? Truthfully, I don't know if I
will or won't, but I'll be keeping in mind where I used to be. To those
who wrote to me warning me not to overdo it, thank you very much. I'll
be careful! I'm kinda hoping any treat I have makes me queasy so that
it'll be easy to cross it off my list. I'm not doing anything until
Friday, at the earliest.
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drpr
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- Super .... by kerminator
18 y
1,198
| Congrads... Sounds like you are on the right trail... Keep it up!! You are an inspiration to many others!! Kermit
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kerminator
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- amazing! by #38782
18 y
1,305
WOW - you´re progress is just amazing.... Congratulations. keep it up... slowly and steadily you´re reaching your goal! Your truthfullness, and every step of the journey on your odyssey is very inspiring to read. THANK YOU. God bless.
Best wishes.
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- Great job!!!! by bootzey
18 y
1,823
Don't get depressed. I'm addicted to this blog. I keep getting on and off the raw wagon. If I eat raw consistently for over a week, I get all these weird aches and pains. People call it detox, but for the life of me I can't figure out what I'd be detoxing from! I've been a vegetarian for 6 years, don't drink soda, caffiene or eat fast food. I drink the water and fast regularly, but when I do the raw thing it's like my body is imploding from the inside. I like your blog because a) that taboule was really a good idea, and b) more importantly, you don't seem all preachy and weird like a lot of sites out there.
You are doing a very good thing for your body, and a very good thing for the rest of us. Don't hurt yourself with your "vacation treats".
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bootzey
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- Re: Great job!!!! by drpr
18 y
1,316
| Thanks for the kind words, bootzey. And yes, I'll try very hard not to hurt myself with my vacation treats!! :-D
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drpr
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- awesome by ren
18 y
1,349
| You did a great job. Don't forget the exercise!
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ren
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- Re: awesome by drpr
18 y
1,444
| Hey, Ren! What do you mean, don't forget the exercise? How'd you know I haven't been to the gym in a week? ;-) How's married life treating you? -Allison
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drpr
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- Re: awesome by ren
18 y
1,257
| LOL! Married life is great. Everyone reaches a plateau. Keep up the good work! You're my raw-spiration!
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ren
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- Beautiful! by rawgirl
18 y
1,837
Beautiful blog ..... I'm inspired by your perserverance, but then again, it sounds like you arrived at the same conclusion as I did: Either get in harmony with Nature or suffer.
Many blessings to you on your journey to fantastic, radiant health!
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rawgirl
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