WEEKLY SUMMARY for Week 9 of My Raw Odyssey

A DECENT WEEK

This week I had my first meal at a non-raw/non-salad bar restaurant, and things went really well. I had one of the healthier choices on the menu, made a few adjustments to it, and everything was fine. No cravings, no bingeing, no feelings of guilt or deprivation. That's success!

I've gotten a few pieces of advice on the blogs for how to make my meals more tasty. Ren suggests flavors like chili pepper and wasabi (I love wasabi!) for my sushi. Good idea- I don't know why I've stayed away from wasabi all this time. I was probably concentrating too much on the nama shoyu for all my flavor.

Chubbiegirl, who is gluten free, suggests I do what she does:

"i take half of an avocado (all of this is diced or in it's small natural state), red pepper, carrots, a slice of onion-or chives, corn (i use organic frozen), pistachios, and raisins. then i mix up a dressing of honey, cilantro, jalapeno, salt, apple cider vinegar, lime and olive oil. i just whip it up in the blender or small chopper. it should be sweet and spicey. i dress the veggie mix with this and spoon it into a red cabbage leaf. it's super yummy.you could use any salad veggie you like. i've also used snap peas, cucumber, etc... the dressing can also be varied. try nama shoyu or braggs with sesame oil for flavor".

That sounds great! Thanks a lot for that idea.

THIS WEEK'S WEIGHT LOSS

I lost only 1 pound this week. I'm happy in general, but of course disappointed that the weight that I have made "magical" (299) was not achieved this week. But it's pretty cool that I lost a pound despite the increase in my fat intake and point count- I ate more food this week than I have in a while, and feel great. If I wanted to lose weight more quickly, I could probably go back to eating only fruit for breakfast because I usually end up eating fewer points that day. I've found myself de-emphasizing the fruit breakfast in order to get higher-fat foods in. Despite my desire to lose weight quickly, I prefer to feel satisfied after a good meal; I really don't want this to feel like "dieting," where I deliberately eat less even though I'm hungry. To this end I will strive to:

• Continue to count points instead of calories

Since I'm eating raw, I don't worry about "bad food" and "good food" in my diet the way I did when eating SAD, so I can focus on eating enough to feel satisfied and to be healthy. Points are working better for me than calories in this regard.

• Have fruit for breakfast

This gives me a good start for the day. I'm less hungry first thing in the morning so a light meal like fruit works great before 10 a.m. I can save my fattier meals for when I need them in the afternoon. I just have to make sure I eat enough!

• Consider losing the scale for a while

Ren, who gives me lots of good advice on the blog, mentioned that I should stop looking at the scale. I've tried that in the past, and it is very helpful for people who are obsessed with their weight loss (or with reaching 299 lbs!). I should try it because concentrating too much on the scale turns my raw odyssey into more of an old-style weight-loss diet than a new lifestyle. Of course, I switched to raw primarily to lose weight, so I have a keen interest in my progress. How to deal with these two issues? Well, since an addiction to the scale is counter productive, I will probably ween myself off it. Don't know how yet, but I'll figure something out. SAD habits die hard!

NUTRIENTS

Calories..................................1008 to 1758
Weight Watcher's Points:.....Average of 30 points per day
Fat..........................................52g to 77g
Carbs......................................80g to 177g
Protein...................................24g to 55g


WEIGHT LOSS
STARTED WEEK AT: 301
ENDED WEEK AT: 300
TOTAL LOST SINCE JANUARY 1ST 2006: 42 lbs.


COMPARISONS TO PREVIOUS SUMMARIES

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