My Weight Loss Goals and Raw Food Plan
Healthy raw food, easy to prepare
Hi, my name is Mary and i'm a 56 year old woman who lives in the Midwest of the USA. I have been overweight most of my life. I don't like fad diets so I haven't really done the yoyo weight thing (weight goes up and down). A couple years ago I did the raw food diet thing. I felt AMAZING.
Unfortunately, it was difficult for me to maintain 100% raw, so eventually I went back to the Standard American Diet (SAD). However, I've always remembered how good I felt and wanted to feel that way again. For the rest of my life.
My First Goal - Add Raw Food to my Diet
A couple months ago, I came across "Eating for Energy". I started dabbling in it, looking at the free stuff Yuri gives out and watching his videos. I was drawn into following Yuri's program because I like his view on raw food. He doesn't push you to be 100% raw, but he does encourage you to add a lot more raw fruits and veggies to your diet. He understands that some people, many people, don't want to go the whole raw route, but want to improve their health and feel so much better. Many of the other raw food programs I read about before were very adamant about being 100% raw. I wanted to be more raw, but also have other options.
One other thing that drew me to Yuri's program is that he doesn't expect you to go "cold turkey" (sorry, maybe a bad reference!). He says, if you are having difficulty getting rid of bad foods, at least start by adding in good fruits and veggies to what you are currently eating. Eventually, you will want to get rid of the bad foods. I liked that he understood this because that is how I feel. I don't like deprivation. And, if you feel deprived, you are more likely to fall off the raw wagon.
In addition to these two main points that drew me in, Eating for Energy is a simple, solid program to follow. I like that. I'm not much of a cook for the SAD diet, so having food that is easy to prepare wins with me.
My Second Goal - Prescription Medicine
I want to get off all the prescription medication that I am taking. I truly believe it is possible if I clean up my diet, get healthier and avoid disease causing foods. My doctor is on board with this.
Right now I take
I used to take medicine for high blood pressure, but I don't any more !!! YAYAY
One down, six to go. SIX?! Really?!
I was frustrated with my then doctor, because it seemed like every time I went to see her, she talked to me for 5 minutes and I got another prescription. I started bringing up alternative therapy ideas, and she wasn't really interested. In frustration, I searched for an alternative kind of doctor.
To my surprise I found one within five miles of my house. What luck! So I have been seeing him for the last two years. He is a homeopathic medical doctor. Meaning, he is a "regular" M.D. who also practices homeopathy. He practiced like a "regular' doctor for 20 ore more years at a big healthcare clinic. Finally, he was frustrated about how medicine is now days - like an assembly line and not open to alternate types of healing. So, he left the big clinic and has opened a small clinic in the suburbs sharing space with an acupuncture doctor from China.
Since seeing my new doctor, I have made progress. I am off of the high blood pressure medicine. I think i was able to stop taking that medication because of a combination of homeopathic treatment and more exercise. I have been off that med for about a year and my blood pressure remains good. Whew.
I believe I could have made faster progress if I wasn't so stubborn. LOL My doctor recommended that I go vegan two years ago. I have adopted some vegan habits, but felt such resistance. My main resistance is about dairy. I have been lactose intolerant for years. I could not drink milk or eat ice cream. If I did, I suffered the stomach and intestinal wrath. Those of you with lactose intolerance know what I am talking about!
Then, three or four years ago, I started to have a LOT more nasal congestion and coughing. In the morning, my lungs are completed plugged up. I have to do all sorts of things in order to get the congestion to loosen up and come out. Some days, if I've had too much dairy the day before, I am not able to clear them and I cough sporadically all day long. When I don't have any dairy, these symptoms are nearly gone. There still remains some pesky asthma, but easier to deal with when there isn't a ton of congestion.
In the last month or so, I have also begun acupuncture treatment with the acupuncture doctor in my doctor's practice. (More about that in another post.) They feel it will help with the allergies and asthma. I have decided that it will help me! Positive attitude and all that. I feel much better since starting the acupuncture. I have also been making better food choices.
Last week, after a friend of mine sent me an article about aspertame, the artificial sweetener in my beloved diet soda, I have quit diet soda cold turkey. I don't even miss it. Luckily, I had already transitioned to caffeine-free soda, so I'm not jonesing for the caffeine.
So, here we are, fully up to date.
My Daily Raw Food and Living Plan
Here's what I am doing every day...so far:
Every day is pretty much like that. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on how busy I am. In between all these easy things that I am doing, I get to live my life doing stuff I like to do.
I understand the importance of incorporating more fruits and veggies, whole grains into my life so that I can be healthy and have a ton of energy.
AND, raw food is going to help me to get rid of those pesky prescription medicines.
Unfortunately, it was difficult for me to maintain 100% raw, so eventually I went back to the Standard American Diet (SAD). However, I've always remembered how good I felt and wanted to feel that way again. For the rest of my life.
My First Goal - Add Raw Food to my Diet
A couple months ago, I came across "Eating for Energy". I started dabbling in it, looking at the free stuff Yuri gives out and watching his videos. I was drawn into following Yuri's program because I like his view on raw food. He doesn't push you to be 100% raw, but he does encourage you to add a lot more raw fruits and veggies to your diet. He understands that some people, many people, don't want to go the whole raw route, but want to improve their health and feel so much better. Many of the other raw food programs I read about before were very adamant about being 100% raw. I wanted to be more raw, but also have other options.
One other thing that drew me to Yuri's program is that he doesn't expect you to go "cold turkey" (sorry, maybe a bad reference!). He says, if you are having difficulty getting rid of bad foods, at least start by adding in good fruits and veggies to what you are currently eating. Eventually, you will want to get rid of the bad foods. I liked that he understood this because that is how I feel. I don't like deprivation. And, if you feel deprived, you are more likely to fall off the raw wagon.
In addition to these two main points that drew me in, Eating for Energy is a simple, solid program to follow. I like that. I'm not much of a cook for the SAD diet, so having food that is easy to prepare wins with me.
My Second Goal - Prescription Medicine
I want to get off all the prescription medication that I am taking. I truly believe it is possible if I clean up my diet, get healthier and avoid disease causing foods. My doctor is on board with this.
Right now I take
- Advair for asthma
- Albuterol for asthma, when needed
- Levothyroxine for hypothyroidism
- Triamtereine/HCTZ, a water pill
- Fluticasone propionate nasal spray
- Fexofenadine (Allegra) for allergies
I used to take medicine for high blood pressure, but I don't any more !!! YAYAY
One down, six to go. SIX?! Really?!
I was frustrated with my then doctor, because it seemed like every time I went to see her, she talked to me for 5 minutes and I got another prescription. I started bringing up alternative therapy ideas, and she wasn't really interested. In frustration, I searched for an alternative kind of doctor.
To my surprise I found one within five miles of my house. What luck! So I have been seeing him for the last two years. He is a homeopathic medical doctor. Meaning, he is a "regular" M.D. who also practices homeopathy. He practiced like a "regular' doctor for 20 ore more years at a big healthcare clinic. Finally, he was frustrated about how medicine is now days - like an assembly line and not open to alternate types of healing. So, he left the big clinic and has opened a small clinic in the suburbs sharing space with an acupuncture doctor from China.
Since seeing my new doctor, I have made progress. I am off of the high blood pressure medicine. I think i was able to stop taking that medication because of a combination of homeopathic treatment and more exercise. I have been off that med for about a year and my blood pressure remains good. Whew.
I believe I could have made faster progress if I wasn't so stubborn. LOL My doctor recommended that I go vegan two years ago. I have adopted some vegan habits, but felt such resistance. My main resistance is about dairy. I have been lactose intolerant for years. I could not drink milk or eat ice cream. If I did, I suffered the stomach and intestinal wrath. Those of you with lactose intolerance know what I am talking about!
Then, three or four years ago, I started to have a LOT more nasal congestion and coughing. In the morning, my lungs are completed plugged up. I have to do all sorts of things in order to get the congestion to loosen up and come out. Some days, if I've had too much dairy the day before, I am not able to clear them and I cough sporadically all day long. When I don't have any dairy, these symptoms are nearly gone. There still remains some pesky asthma, but easier to deal with when there isn't a ton of congestion.
In the last month or so, I have also begun acupuncture treatment with the acupuncture doctor in my doctor's practice. (More about that in another post.) They feel it will help with the allergies and asthma. I have decided that it will help me! Positive attitude and all that. I feel much better since starting the acupuncture. I have also been making better food choices.
Last week, after a friend of mine sent me an article about aspertame, the artificial sweetener in my beloved diet soda, I have quit diet soda cold turkey. I don't even miss it. Luckily, I had already transitioned to caffeine-free soda, so I'm not jonesing for the caffeine.
So, here we are, fully up to date.
My Daily Raw Food and Living Plan
Here's what I am doing every day...so far:
- Take the dog for a 20-30 minute walk
- Start preparing raw food breakfast
- Pack some good raw food and other stuff for lunch
- Do a few minutes on the rowing machine
- Do 10 minutes of stretching
- Go to work, work work work, walk walk walk
- Get home after work, walk the dog for 20-30 minutes
- Eat dinner - increasingly using more healthy food
- Read a bit of Eating for Energy or watch one of Yuri's videos
- Walk the dog again, 20-30 minutes
Every day is pretty much like that. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on how busy I am. In between all these easy things that I am doing, I get to live my life doing stuff I like to do.
I understand the importance of incorporating more fruits and veggies, whole grains into my life so that I can be healthy and have a ton of energy.
AND, raw food is going to help me to get rid of those pesky prescription medicines.