Monday, April 20, 2009

Raw Food, My Story




I have been riding the roller coaster of eating disorders since I was 13. By then I was bigger than any of my sisters or friends. I wanted to be just like all of the them so I started dieting and it went downhill from there. I went from every hair brained diet known to man then eventually ended up both anorexic and bulimic. By 17 I weighed 110 lbs on a 5' 6" body. Mind you people start to bug me about being to thin when I hit 130 lbs. 

Eventually I started to become more interested in good nutrition, the kind where your food feeds you health and vitality. I became a walking nutrition dictionary. If you needed to know anything about any health food you just had to ask me. The funny thing is, I wasn't applying all of this wonderful info into my everyday life. I am an all or nothing kind of person, it has to be 100% perfect! Perfectly planned and perfectly executed. 

My first real stab at becoming more healthy was when I was 20 or so. I started my journey by becoming a vegan and was vegan for two years. As time passed I became what I call, a "french fry" vegan. You know eating food just because it was vegan and not necessarily because it was good for me. This angle was not working so I stumbled back into the "typical" American diet.

Fast forward 10 years, I was miserable, irritable, pudgy, and tired. I was still working out everyday but with no results. This made me feel like a hamster on a wheel, spinning around forever and getting no where fast. I figured it must have something to do with my Hashimoto's disease or my missing gallbladder. Off I went to my doctor and than an endocrinologist hoping they could tell me why I was so miserable. Nothing. The endocrinologist all-knowing advice was to go check out Weight Watchers. Weight Watchers? That was the long awaited answer I had been looking for? I don't think so!

In my desire for an answer I started searching high and low on the internet for answers. The Raw food lifestyle kept coming up in searches but it was not what I wanted to see. With a husband and 3 young boys in tow I knew it wouldn't work. Too much time, too much money and too much structure. I kept searching and searching and Raw just kept popping up. After awhile I started softening to the idea. I wanted to prepare to talk to my husband about it so I sorted all my info and sat down with him. I told him I couldn't live like this anymore, things needed to change. He knew I had been feeling yucky so he promised I could go Raw and he wouldn't hassle me....... too badly:) Now he's not an unreasonable person but he has been with me through many of my eating disorders so I think he was thinking it would be another one of "those".

Here I am at 32 starting week 2 of my Raw Adventure and I'm feeling great! I would have to say that Day 2 sticks out in my mind as being the hardest. I had an awful headache, I was cranky and I was tired. The funny thing is that on that day my mind was whispering, "You need to eat junk food, this Raw thing is crazy". Of course, when I had these little whisperings, I knew that eating crud was NOT the answer but my mind was wrestling with it big time. Would the coffee and Cadbury chocolate eggs have made my headache go away, probably. Would it have made me feel better physically, uhh no!

The hardest part for me is that I am still surrounded by all of this junk food. My husband and kids are not Raw so I still make them their meals but it's getting easier. Granted I don't feed them poorly. They all eat lots of fruits, vegetables, salads and chicken but there are a few indiscretions still lying around from Easter. The good thing is that I can slowly start incorporating healthier foods into their diets so that we can all feel this good together!

Okay, so here is what I have typically been eating:

6:30 a.m.- Water with the juice of one lemon
6:45- Vegetable juice with an apple thrown in for good measure:) see below

9:30- Smoothie made with sub-acid fruits and hemp protein powder.

12:30- Nori rolls with carrots, sprouts, avocado, spinach and Raw ginger dressing, yum!

3:30- Pure Bar

6:30- Kale Salad w/ bell pepper, sprouts, carrots, broccoli and Raw ginger dressing

7:30- sometimes I eat a yummy Snackaroon from The Raw Food World (click on link at right)


I hope you all follow you're own journey to health and well-being, it's a long road but so worth it! Remember, these are my thoughts and conclusions and in no way suggest that anyone else has to come to the same conclusion I have. I hope that in the end we all find our niche' when it comes to living a healthy, happy, full life:)

Nicole 

17 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Thank you for sharing your story, and for your honesty - you're doing fabulously, Nicole!!

TheFitnessFreak said...

Thanks Veggie Girl:)

Lizzie M. said...

You know we're with you! And as always, looking for more great tips on staying healthy and fit!! :-)

Coby said...

Way to go Nicole! Thanks so much for sharing your story. It's really encouraging. You're doing awesome!

TheFitnessFreak said...

Thanks Coby and Liz:) And the journey continues........

Kristen's Raw said...

This is such a great post. You are an amazing woman and I love that you shared your story.

Cheers and love,
Kristen

Heather said...

Hey Nicole!

I found your blog from Facebook and I am enjoying following it! You are inspiring. Keep up the good work! You're gonna be so bikini ready! =)

--Heather Devowe

TheFitnessFreak said...

Thanks Kristen! You help inspire me everyday.

TheFitnessFreak said...

Hey Heather! Glad you found me:) This blog is my outlet so I'm glad you like it!

Anonymous said...

hey nicole!

chica you and i should have a good chat sometime! i started a 'vegan experiment' of my own on monday, with an emphasis on raw food... for many reasons, and i haven't given myself a timeline or absolution. i don't have a blog, but keep regular 'facebook' updates, just add me if you like...

by the way i LOVE san diego... and was just there a month ago!!!

cheers & happy raw-living!
jojo
(joanne lusted, toronto)

Anonymous said...

Hey Nicole,

Your story is really inspiring to me. I can completely relate to it. Sadly I think I am precisely (and I mean word for word) at the point you were when you were 17 (I'm 17 now too, aspiring to be raw, healthy and active).
I just wanted to ask you if you noticed any improvement in your health, specifically regarding your Hashimoto's disease (this is what my mother is suffering from). I would like to know, because then maybe I could convince my mother that going raw would really help her, and I think I have some form of sub-laboratory hypothyroidism, so any information would be welcome.

Good luck on your raw journey!

Tina, the Netherlands

P.S. As a former Cadbury addict, I recognise the sacrifice you've made :P

TheFitnessFreak said...

Hey Tina,

I am so excited that you have decided to make a change when you're young:) Too many of us wait to long and then the bad habits are cemented in.

As for the Hashimoto's I have already noticed a change in my hormones. I have been dealing with the disease for 9 years so I am quite in touch with what's going on with them. Whether the change is for better or worse, I don't know yet. I am going to wait to get my blood drawn for another month.

The overall health benefits of the Raw lifestyle are enough to convince me to stick with it.
I have quite a few Raw links on the right, check them out and soak up all the info you can get. Good luck with your own adventure!!

Nicole

Spring said...

Wow, Nicole this was a great post! I am so glad you are feeling better!

Niki said...

Way to go, Nicole! Thanks for posting this; it's good to read your story, and I'm happy you feel great!

HappilyHerbal said...

Hi Nicole! You are so brave! What an awesome journey! Thanks for sharing your story!

R3 Method Show said...

The act of writing down your daily meals and thoughts will help you tremendously. When your mind tries to justify why you should stop or tweak it, you will be held accountable by your words and stay focused. Keep up the good work!

TheFitnessFreak said...

Thanks Joy!

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