One Tough journey: I am going raw

I am still on this journey to lose weight and have a healthy life. I know I can do it because I have done it before, but this time I want this to be forever. The last two weeks I have been doing a raw food fast. I have not been 100% raw every day, but I can say I have been raw 90% of the time. The fast is a challenge and there were some day I had a vegetarian quesadilla and some peanut butter. This time I did not beat myself up for not staying on track. I have learned that beating myself up does not help anything. It only adds stress and increase my chances of failing completely. My health journey this time around is more of a learning experience than it was before. Maybe it is because I am older, or maybe because there are different health issues. What every the reason I am embracing it and enjoying it.
 
Health benefits from my raw food fast:

I can say there have been some benefits from the fast. I have lost 7 lbs so far. In a week, I noticed a five lbs weight lost. I was excited the most about another benefit. For the first time in years I did not have to severe cramps. I did not have to take any of my prescription pain medicine for cramps. Everything was lighter. This may not seem like anything to some, but I suffer from polycystic ovaries which causes severe cramps, heavy period, weight gain, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, pre diabetes, etc. I cannot explain how great it was to be almost pain free, lose weight and have a lighter period all in the same month. I noticed the changes after only eating raw for one week. I cannot wait to see what else is in store. I am not sure how long I want to fast and I am not sure if I will remain a raw vegan after the fast. I do know that I will remain a vegetarian.

Unable to exercise:

I am unable to workout because of two budging disk in my back. As of now, I am not allowed to sit and when I do I am required to sit on a pillow. I also go to therapy twice a week for 6 weeks. Hopefully when I complete therapy, I will have the ability to move to the next stage which is riding my stationary bike. I am ready to add exercise to my daily routine. I want this journey to continue to be about more than weight lost. I want the weight lose to become a positive side effect of my healthily living. 


I plan to share some recipes, photos and videos in some of my future blogs.

1st recipe:
is my breakfast smoothie.

 2  grapefruit
 4 oranges
1/2 to 1 pineapples


place in a blender then blend until smooth. You may strain of you like, but I love the pulp from citrus fruit. My recipe made about 64 oz.

The calorie are approximately 490 calories. You can adjust this depending on you calorie intake goals and how many meals and snacks you plan to incorporate into your day. I try to make my breakfast the largest calories of the day.

for me it is hard to get my calorie intake in for the day because fruits and vegetables are so low in calories.

Challenges on the journey

I was doing better with my eating and workout. I was happy with the way things were going. I purchased a heart monitor and yoga pants for my workouts. I was working out at least three days a week and feeling great mentally and physically. Guess what! My back went out. I was in so much pain I could barely walk and standing straight up was impossible for two days. When I was finally able to stand, I could not do so long without being in tears from the pain. I still cannot sit or stand long. I was confused about what happened; I did not do anything during my workout to hurt myself. After three weeks, I finally went to see the doctor and found that I have bone spurs in my back. It is probably an effect of a fall I had 10 years ago.

Now that I have stopped working out until I see the specialist, I have to find a way to continue to lose weight. My focus is on eating mostly fresh fruits and vegetables. I did not buy any type of sugar or bread when grocery shopping. I have also started meal prepping. I hope this will allow me to lose at least two pounds a week until the doctor tell me I can work out again.