Week 2 - Day 1.....

 Here I sit at my computer, winding down with a bowl of dried fruit and tea steeping in the cup my dad bought for me so many months ago. (How I do miss him.....)

It was a good day. It is getting really easy for me to throw a couple of snacks in my purse as I head out the door for whatever reason.  I find it is really important to always have something on hand, even if just a honey stick, because 'hungry' hits hard and fast.  There is no, "hmm maybe I might possibly be hungry soon".  I am sure that will change over time.

I have to admit that dinner smelled really good tonight when I served my family their casserole and I set my big salad in front of me.  But I am glad I held out.  The longing didn't last long and I know I would have felt so unsatisfied had I given into the moment.  Once I bit into one of my fresh bell peppers I was very happy.

I am realizing that much of my food habits and tastes stem from emotions and association rather than true hunger and desire. It is the craving of emotional satisfaction rather than a body craving.

I was reading a How To Start Raw Foods manual today and it said to never ever expect yourself to go cold turkey. Instead, give yourself plenty of leeway in transitioning a step at a time.
I had to laugh at myself. It takes me absolutely forever to make a decision to do something. But once I start for real, I charge into the wind with my head down.  I know that the slow approach is smart and healthy; easy on the body with less shock. But I know me. If I did it the slow way I would get bored. I would look for subtle ways to cheat or stretch out the time in between steps.....eventually losing momentum all together and then giving up; consequently feeling the full brunt of a failure.

My dear friend that first got my head to slowly brewing all those years ago with the idea of switching to raw foods sent me an email today that encouraged me.  She said she was proud of me and then agreed with my thoughts on that whole shaking tremor things being a huge with drawl wave because she remembered doing the same thing.  It is good to know that the shakes weren't an odd thing; not that I was worried but it is comforting all the same.

I had a thought today when it hit about 4pm that made me laugh.  I felt that wave of hunger and I figured I had better eat a bowl of grain cereal to g4t my fiber in.  Then I realized that with all the produce I have around here there is no reason at all for me to be concerned that my fiber comes only from grain cereal.  It was another mental shift. I actually have so much produce in the house that there are too many choice things to eat in one day.

Okay, I must get ready for bed.
You have a blessed and wonderful destiny filled day.
Thank You God for enabling me to have another successful day!

Day 7.....

When I was writing last night's post I was feeling a little bit puny but only half paid attention to it. Late into the evening I started feeling really bad. I have had minor headaches here and there this past week but last night was a whole new ball game so to speak. My digestive system was in painful disarray. Every joint in my body ached and I had violent shaking tremors from not being able to get warm.

What was all that about?
Was it because I sampled that cooked chili (all of 2 TBSP maybe) at Costco yesterday after having only raw foods for a week?
I had picked up and snacked on some dehydrated mango. Did I eat too much?
Did I pick up a flu bug somewhere?
Or was that a huge wave of detoxing going through my system?

Today I am better, slow but better. My muscles are sore, probably from all that shaking.
I am going to pack up some foods and head up to my mom's for Sunday dinner. I will write more tonight about the rest of my day and the verdict on what my plans are now that I am at the end of my week long trial.

By the way, I have been glancing over some different web sites on raw foods helps. Some that I have found most interesting and helpful I have linked over on the right side of my blog page as a help to others.

~~~~~

Here I am again and it is 11pm. Dinner at my mom's was wonderful as always. There were lasagna and garlic bread on the table (both some of my favorite yummies) but interestingly I wasn't really attracted to either one. Mom, ever supportive of my decisions, made a huge salad for everyone to dig into and I felt very content with that and the fruit that I brought with me.

So here I am at the pinnacle of decisions. It has been a week since I started this change in eating and I made a big production out of telling myself that it wouldn't be a forever thing but only a week. It was attainable and not overwhelming. So what do I do now?  My head is throbbing pretty bad right now and I am convinced that I am going through a big bout of detox.

The interesting thing is that I don't want to throw it all out the window. I don't know how long my body will feel this way but if I keep drinking water it will help me flush out all this junk. I have lost 5lbs. this week, which wasn't my primary drive. But it sure is a super benefit since I do have a good 60lbs. to lose. Right now, all of the healthy foods really taste good to me and the junk tastes like junk.

So my decision is made. I have my refrigerator stocked with another round of produce and I am ready to press forward.  (I do wonder though if it would be okay for me to take something for my headache. I think a little bit is alright.)

Thank you God for this new adventure!

Day 6.....

 Getting ready for bed but wanted to make note of today's successes.
I did a bit of shopping at Ikea and combated the wonderful smell of those tempting cinnamon rolls by keeping some string cheese in my pocket to snack on. Then afterwards I had to make a run to Costco and I was a bit nervous about all of the wonderful samples they have out for trying in each isle. I ate a travel peach cup in the car before going in and kept telling myself to not even look at the samples. God is so kind though. While they usually sample things like pizza and gooey chocolate cookies; today I was able to pick up samples of Activia yogurt and seaweed salad. I must admit that I did eat a spoon of organic bean chili and 3 rice chips. I think I still did really good though. It is all about choosing and thinking beyond the moment right?

6 days down and one more to go.
 I can't believe I am still happy with this!