Started on 4/22
Start Weight: 207
Weight this morning: 201.5 
My first goal is 20 pounds: 187
Overall goal: 140 

Yesterday, I had half a portion of Fry Bread at the National Museum of the American Indian in DC.  Too good.  I love it.  Took a long walk with my doggie and my future step-daughter from Eastern Market down to the National Mall. Great exercise for all.

On Friday I went to a girls night at one of my best friend’s place in DC.  Had some wine and a few sweets.  Didn’t go overboard.

Breakfast: Green smoothie or 1 banana and nuts (raw almonds or cachews)

Lunch: For the most part I have a salad from Chop’t for lunch.  It’s a God send to have this salad place so close to my job

Dinner:  Nut meat on Romaine or Fruit bowl lately.  There are a lot of options but I haven’t been to hungry lately.  I definitely don’t eat late.   I may have a pickle or fruit leather if I’m hungry.

So far so good.  I don’t beat myself up.  This is a lifestyle change, not a diet.  Raw for Life.  Raw foods for a better life.

My goal for this week is 5 pounds.  I’ll keep you posted.

On Sunday,  I weighed in at 207 pounds.  Disgusted.

This morning I was 203.5.  Much better.  I’m going to keep on going raw.  Feeling very Detox-y today.  Good sign.

Start Weight: 207 pounds
First Goal: 187 pounds
Overall Goal: 140 pounds

As I announced this morning via Twitter (@urbanrawfood), I’m once again re-committing myself to raw food.  Why is this time different?

1. Health reasons: I’ve been feeling the affects of the almost 20 pounds I’ve gained in the last 2 years.  I don’t want diabetes.  I’ve been saying that for a while.  Also, I know that African American women face heart disease and fibroids on a scale that is very significant compared to other groups who eat the same “Standard American Diet”.
2. I don’t feel well.  Just today, I had an issue with pain in my hip.  I felt like someone yelled out, “Warning sign!”.  This change is not a moment too late.
3. I can’t fit into about half of my clothes.  I know many of have the same testimony.  Can I get an amen?  LOL.
4. I don’t feel sexy like I used to.  Not to say you can’t be big and sexy, I’m just talking about how I feel.  (Let me say that lest I get crazy comments).

I love myself, and this love of self is what’s motivating me.

So far today I’ve had fresh apple/carrot juice and 2 green smoothies.  Doing well.

Current Weight: 204, Goal Weight: 160

I’d say I’m 90% raw.  My baby encouraged me to recommit after a long trip off the wagon.  He’s doing the first 14 days with me.  More to come.

Muah!

I’m so tired of myself.  That is the best way I can put it.  As I look back over the past 6 months, I must say that I was depressed after getting back up over 200 pound (203 in April) and I was just eating whatever I felt like.  I guess I gave up.   Just 2 years ago at this time I was really dedicated to my health and wellness.  Now, I can’t even get into most of my size 12 clothes.  Back to the dreaded 14.  Booo!  LOL

I was nearing the end of my P90X experience in late April.  I really like p90x, but the benefit for me was strength and muscle gain…not weight loss.  So, I was helped and discouraged at the same time, because the numbers on the scale barely changed in 90 days.  Sure, diet had something to do with the lack of loss too.  For the 2 weeks that I was raw on p90x, I lost 6 pounds.  But that was just the 2 weeks.  LOL.  I need counseling, right?

Now I’m back to what truly, truly works for me.  RAW FOOD!  It’s a struggle.  I had a run in with some teriyaki chicken that I’m not too proud about as I was working to transition back last week.  Hey, but I still lost weight and my mind is clear.  The biggest change: No candy!  No donuts, brownies, etc.  Kicking the sugar habit!!  This week I’ll be 80% raw.  Taking each day as it comes and not beating myself up.

Oh,  I’m also taking a multivitamin and 100mg of 5-HTp each morning with 16 oz of water.  Gotta start the morning off with water y’all.  A whole apple and a huge class of carrot juice follow most mornings.

We shall see…

I snacked for lunch (2 nut/date balls and a pickle.  I know, weird right).

I ended up eating a couple of bites of my boyfriend’s shrimp/pesto/quinoa/wild rice/sugar peas dish.  It’s a dish I always made for him and it’s one of my favorites.  In keeping with the challenge, I didn’t beat myself up, but I did want to be honest and tell the world.

At the start of day six I was 198 and as of day 7 I’m 197.  Just proves that just by doing 70-80% raw you can still see changes.  Whoo Hoo.

Yesterday as also my rest day on P90X.  Back to exercise today.

What I ate:

• 1 Banana
• Grapefruit juice
• 4 nut/date balls
• Large spinach salad with apples, oranges, walnuts, kalamata olives, and red onion
• 2 apples for dinner

For the past few days I haven’t been hungry much in the evenings.  That’s actually a great thing for me because in the past nighttime cravings have been my downfall.  I continue to work out every night with my boyfriend doing P90X so that’s been great too.

Started the day with grapefruit juice and raw peanuts.  Had some hibiscus and camomile tea (the rest of my tea has not come in the mail    ).  Had some carrots as a snack before a late lunch around 2:30 due to meetings.

At home I had a banana and an apple for dinner.  I was a little more hungry last night than I’ve been the past few nights.

Preview of Day 5 (Since I’m writing this on Day 5)
Woke up this morning with terrible pain in my tummy.  I don’t think it was hunger.  Felt more like dehydration and I know I didn’t drink much water yesterday.  Was much better after a glass of water and a banana.  I’m down to 199 as of this morning.

Finding the raw food community has been a spiritual experience. It has brought new life to my body, mind, and spirit. When you are sick you pray for a miracle or just give up and die. I was not about to give up.After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1985; and also pregnant the same year. I decided to control my diet with lots of green salads. I had read somewhere that green salads were brain food. At the time I knew nothing about enzymes and raw food. A healthy baby was my goal.When my son was born healthy I went right back to my fried and greasy foods (SAD- Standard American Diet). I was a good cook and I loved to display my culinary skills; I was my own best customer. After all, there is always a reason to fry chicken. Coupled with an array of starches (sweet potatoes, macaroni & cheese, peas & rice) and very few vegetables, my blood sugar levels and weight soared out of control. Poor food combinations were the problem. Proteins and starches clog your system; they do not digest well together. The digestive system has to work longer and harder to break food down and pass it through the system.

Don’t ask me how but one day I awoke unable to breathe. There I was in the intensive care unit of the hospital; asthma was the culprit. The situation was serious; the medicines did not work well together. The prednisone worked against the insulin. This went on for 3 weeks. I was released from the hospital with bags of medicine. My body was so depleted that I could hardly get out of bed. I knew I needed a way back.

Throughout the years I had read a lot and had taken herb classes. While buying some fried fish in a Brooklyn market I saw ginseng. After all ginseng is supposed to give energy, and can be beneficial for diabetes and asthma. It worked for me; in a few weeks I was back to work feeling stronger but not my best. However, my weight was climbing. I made the usual attempts to lose weight. I tried it all, Bahamian diet, hypnotism, you name it. Still no real nutrition.

My family and friends were concerned about my weight. A good friend recommended a fasting group. Dr. Valentine explained how a 30-day juice fast with fresh carrot juice and fruit juices would drastically improve my health. He was right. I lost 30 lbs. and my need for medication. Detoxification was the process; the elimination of toxins through diet and colon cleansing. The repair of the body with live juices (freshly squeezed) and herbs was the healing remedy. Shortly after the fast I learned about food combining. I had never felt better.

One problem – I did not make this my way of life. Back to the old foods and to disease. This time I tipped the scales at 310. I needed help. I began water aerobics religiously. This was good, but I needed more. I secretly knew the hazards of diabetes; my grandmother had both of her legs amputated. Now after several years of being a diabetic my body was deteriorating, I was feeling the side effects of numbness in my fingers and toes, plus blurred vision. It was really getting scary. I knew I was in trouble.

I had heard of several naturopathic doctors in New York, but I was not sure if they could help me. So I prayed for a miracle. A few months later a friend told me about an herb doctor who was coming to Petersburg. I went to see him and started my journey back to health. The idea of eating an all raw foods diet was new to me. I made the transition, however, with the help of a lifelong friend who had studied with Viktoras Kulvinskas (the grandfather of the raw food movement). The doctor put me on raw foods for 30 days. Avocados were my passion, coconuts were my bread. I became energized and I felt 10 years younger. How could this happen? Food in its natural state; raw fruits, nuts, and vegetables have live enzymes. Enzymes replenish the cells. The live foods bring about an accelerated reaction in the digestion of foods. Since the body is no longer struggling to digest dead foods; the enzymes are able to work to regenerate the body.

As with any new program, there were ups and downs. I read more and learned more. I then became familiar with the raw food community. Todd Ewen and David Shore taught me to prepare the foods. Todd gave me my first raw food preparation class where I learned to prepare foods that are delicious and all raw. I can still taste my first raw tomato soup and raw bread. I then started on a quest for more information. I have driven and flown almost everywhere to gain more raw knowledge. I received a Raw Food Chef Certification from The Raw Family of Oregon. This family gave me so much and took me to a whole new level. I am a state certified nurse, but I did not want to push medicine, so I took classes to become a certified Nutritional Counselor, as I wanted to spread the word about raw food and natural methods of healing. Currently I am studying to become a Naturopathic Doctor.

After taking insulin twice a day for several years, I no longer suffer from diabetes and do not take any insulin or pills. Now I’m free from medication and vibrantly alive on raw.

Lynda is a Certified Nutritional Consultant in Petersburg, VA and offers 2-Day Workshops and Raw Food Preparation Classes.

You can reach Lynda at NAMASKA7@aol.com and at www.aliveandraw.com.

I needed some time to really immerse myself in the real reasons why I’m making this change. I needed to really understand what I was eating. I needed to revisit how so much of my favorite food really isn’t food and what that means to my health down the line. I don’t want to be sick, have diabetes, cancer, etc. Of course, I’m not saying that absolutely can’t happen to someone on a raw food path…but if you take care of your body and feed it “REAL” food, you have a better chance of living without disease.

So, since I was going to be off for 2 days I basically stayed in the house and ate raw for 2 days. On Nov 26 I was 181 pounds. Today 6 days later I’m 173. It clicked for me. Real food, natural food vs. Processed, sugar enriched food with no real nutritional value. It has really clicked for me. And the best thing…I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. I’m am fully aware of how I’m making a positive change and not a change fueled by vanity and wanting to be thin.

In this state I believe I will be able to carry on and be healthy. I’m not desiring the faux foods I used to love. I’m not 100% raw. I’ve had some salmon in these 6 days…with a very simple preparation. I think I’ll eventually be 100%, but my daily goal right now is 80-90% and I’ve been hitting that consistently.