Jan. 3, day 3

Although I see this more as day two because on January 1st I had fried cornbread and blackeyed peas that had been simmered in pork, this is day three of my healthier way of eating. I woke up with the usual sneezing, the back, shoulder and neck pains, slight headache, blah blah blah. I got up at 8:30 because SOMEONE (you know who you are!!) wanted to go shopping early today to try on clothes. This someone had a gastric bypass last October and has lost about 150 lbs. To re-motivate herself, she wants to try on clothes and have me take pictures of the styles she looks good in. This will be more fun for her than for me, one, because standing and walking for hours isn’t comfortable for me at my current weight, two, because I worry about what I’ll eat. Last night I ended up having an additional snack - a mini repeat of dinner- because I was hungry at 12:30 a.m. Today I’ll be away from home! I will take an apple or two with me, I guess. Lastly, reason number three for not having much fun today will be that clothing is no friend of mine. I can’t wear what I want, can’t afford the clothes that would best fit me AND look good, and hate to be reminded of how big I am while watching her celebrate 150 lbs lost. I’m happy for her (which is why I’m going) but sad for me.

Many people have written that when they started a raw food lifestyle they had some immediate, remarkable changes. Well, two days is too soon for anything remarkable, really, however, I can say that it is nice to wake up without the usual morning breath! Not that my breath was beautiful- I’m sure the garlic and onion in the tabboule I had right after midnight is lurking around in aromatic form, but my mouth FEELS better- not full of “ick.” I had almost 8 glasses of water by the time my last snack was completed- maybe being better hydrated helps with how your mouth feels in the morning, too!

BREAKFAST: this time I’ll start with the protein and fat (hummus, avocado) in the hope that it’ll keep me satisified. I’ll also mortar-and-pestle some pomegranate and combine it with the fresh-squeezed orange juice again.

MEALTIME: 2pm- Today was a little stranger than I was prepared for. I sat down to my wonderful breakfast and found after two bites that I simply wasn’t hungry! I was torn- do I eat to avoid hunger while I’m out, or do I follow the message my body is giving me? I decided that since my odyssey is about getting healthy, that I should listen to my body. I drank the juice and took 16 oz. of water with me, of which I drank about half. When I returned home close to 2pm I was hungry. I ate the remainder of my “breakfast” and was satisfied. I also drank 16 oz. of water. I took a 2 hour nap and felt refreshed afterwards- in fact, I was almost in a good mood. Most days I’m lethargic and feel kind of “down.” This is something I hope my new eating habits will change.

SNACK: 5:30 pm I decided to have a banana and 16 oz of water since I was hungry. I am developing a slight headache as of 6pm- could be caffeine withdrawal, although it seems a bit belated if so. I am already bored with tabouleh. I love it, but I have to get some new recipes in my life or I’m not gonna want to get up in the morning! Around 7:00 I had about 3 cups of watermelon (just an estimate).

DINNER (or whatever) 8:40 pm: I was hungry and ate the usual- taboule, a tiny avocado, hummus, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, lettuce. This time I only used 1/2 cup of taboule and hummus each, and I added about 1/8 cup pine nuts. I put a little salt on the side of the plate because I’m trying to wean myself off added sodium. Besides I think the hummus is salty enough!