A New Year, a New Me

I have decided to get back to blogging after several months off. As some of you know I was having difficulties staying raw due to personal difficulties (stressful relationship, stressful academic requirements, abject poverty- you know, the usual). Since jumping off the raw wagon I regained almost all of the weight I'd lost, along with the health problems - the bad skin, the "allergies," the severe back pain, etc. The hair loss I experienced from losing 25 lbs in one month (January 2006) has not totally been rectified so I'm still wearing a wig to deal with that.

This year I am in a new set of circumstances and felt that it was time for me to start getting back to health. For one thing, I am now single and living on my own. Although it's lonely, it's not like I've never been in this position before- it just takes time to get used to. I've also found a great job as a sociologist, working with a wonderful group of people. I love going to work everyday, even when I feel overwhelmed with full-time work and full-time school. So stressors still exist in my life- they'll never go away- but they are different and are not causing me to turn to food.

Rather than jumping full on into raw, I have gone to my old standby: Weight Watchers. I weighed in at 325 lbs, and I did not cry. I am using their "Flex" plan, which gives a point-value to foods based on their fiber, calorie and fat count. This means I can eat anything I want, as long as I don't go over a certain number of points (37 for me at first, due to my weight, gender, and sedentariness). I chose the Flex because I didn't want to feel that I was suddenly switching to a "diet;" I wanted to first get used to tracking what I eat.

I drank 20 oz of Pepsi, ate full-fat frozen meals, had nuts and lots of brie that first week and lost 9.6 lbs anyway. At the WW meeting when they give everyone the opportunity to celebrate their losses, I almost didn't say anything because I really don't care about the pounds as much as I care about getting the junk out of my system and getting the good stuff in. My celebration is about weaning myself off of fat, sugar and salt. And after week one, I've begun to do that.

I know I said I am lonely and alone, but I actually have a roommate. She's barely around because we have different schedules, but she's a health nut, which is great for me. She went to Whole Foods and brought a lot of good salad stuff, so I did the same this weekend and now the fridge is stocked with great salad ingredients. I might be returning to raw sooner than I'd planned! I even went to the raw restaurant for the first time in ages and got the raw pizza, and couldn't eat all of it. (In one sitting, of course, I can eat a ton of food that's bad for me. Hello, irony). My week's menu consists of low- or no-fat cottage cheese, smoked salmon, fresh fruits and vegetables, skim milk, Kombucha teas (the Synergy brand), low-fat/high fiber frozen meals, caprese salad (because I love cheese), whole wheat bread, diet Snapple, and nigiri sushi. Over time I'll eat fewer prepared foods, more whole foods, and more raw foods. But I believe I'm one of those people who needs a higher percentage of protein, therefore I will probably never give up the cottage cheese or the fish. I'll simply eat less of them because I'll be getting plant proteins as well.

Thank you to everyone who has been supportive during my absence. I was happy to receive encouraging words, support and understanding. I didn't think my blog still existed since it's been neglected for so long, but here it is, patiently waiting.

I'll update the blog probably on a weekly basis rather than daily, as I am busy with my new awesome job, and my full time academic load. Since I weigh in once a week, that day will be a good day to also update the blog.

Happy (belated) New Year! :-)