How do people live like this?

Today's weight: 115 lbs

Total weight lost between May - Sept 2011: 18 lbs
Weight RE-GAINED since Sept 2011: 5 lbs

Thanks so much to Shannon and Hapa Couple for your comments!

Well, I'm finally (FINALLY!) nearing the end of my 40-day raw food diet (it ends on Easter). Although I do appreciate the theory behind & potential health benefits of eating raw, there's no way I could live like this in the long-term.

I'll be honest: For the past five weeks, I've been moody, tired, crabby, and really, really hungry. I'm just not a big fan of a lot of raw vegetables (and I'm not big on fruits, either), which severely limits what I'm able to eat. All I can think about is what I'm going to eat on Easter -- a hotdog? Ribs? Sushi? Pulled pork sandwich? I'm seriously craving meat.

On the positive side, I do think this time has helped me to stop turning to food every time I feel stressed out, anxious, tired, etc. Once I start eating "real" food, though, it remains to be seen whether I slip back into my old, bad patterns of eating (hopefully not) or if I'm able to maintain some self-control.

Four more days left!

Gone Raw

Today's weight: 116 lbs

Total weight lost between May - Sept 2011: 18 lbs
Weight RE-GAINED since Sept 2011: 6 lbs

As part of Lent, I decided to try to give up all the foods that fall into one (or both) of the following categories:

1) Foods that I stuff myself with when I'm stressed out, anxious, bored, tired, etc -- basically, the foods that I crave in the midst of emotional eating

2) Foods that I tend to binge on & that I can't stop eating once I've had a few bites

As it turned out, this led to a very long list of foods to give up -- e.g., chips, fries, ice cream, chocolate, pasta, bread, ribs, etc.

Rather than focusing on what I couldn't eat, I tried to think of what I COULD eat -- and it pretty much boiled down to raw vegetables & fruit.

Thus, I'm now on Day 10 of a 40-day Raw Food diet (will end on Easter), and so far it's been going fairly well. In addition to raw veggies and fruit, I've also been eating raw nuts and seeds, and have tried a few new foods like raw kelp noodles and raw chia seeds. It's definitely been a humbling experience to see how much my mood and behavior are dependent on what I eat.

Thirty more days to go...   :)

Superbowl: The Aftermath

Today's weight: 118 lbs

Total weight lost between May - Sept 2011: 18 lbs
Weight RE-GAINED since Sept 2011: 8 lbs

Breakfast:
Turkey pastrami, bell peppers

Lunch:
Scrambled eggs with ham

Snack:
Roasted spinach

Dinner:
Baked eggs with turkey bacon & cheese

What is it about the Superbowl that makes me want to eat like crazy?

On Sunday we went to a friend's house to watch the game, and there was plenty of food on hand: Chips, salsa, pasta, fried chicken, Italian beef, chocolate cupcakes, ice cream...and I ate it all. Everything. Did I remove the skin & breading from the chicken before I ate it? No.  Did I wipe off the frosting from the cupcakes (like I usually do, since I don't like frosting)? No.  I just ate & ate & ate until I felt sick. And guilty. But strangely enough, I also felt happy (in a I'm-busting-out-of-my-jeans-but-I-don't-care sort of way).

While I know I'll never reach my goal weight if I ate like that everyday, there's just something so...fun? freeing?...about indulging every now and then with good friends. Sure, it set me back a couple pounds -- but it sort of felt like a needed vacation from the rules & disciplined eating of "real life."