Today is the DAY!!

Blood Pressure: 136/84
Blood Sugar: 117 after breakfast which was a hard boiled egg, two tufts of raw broccoli, couple of tablespoons of raw sunflower seeds -- hunger completely satisfied!)
Weight: 340.5 (Loss of 7.5 lbs this week)
Yippee!! All are down!!

Nothing feels as good as success!!

Hi,

I was completely surprised this morning when I got on the scale and found that I had lost 7.5 pounds! As you know I have been getting rid of the dairy products, roasted mixed nuts, peanut butter, and sprouted whole grain bread, (by eating them) but I have also been eating raw almonds and peanuts, raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds, spinach, Romaine, small gala apples, raw dates, cucumbers and tomatoes (all raw and uncooked in any way) as kind of a lead in, or get ready for, today.  I was practicing and seeing what it was like and how I felt about it. I have noticed that I am feeling satisfied with the raw food, also. I'm not having the great cravings or hunger pangs and am happy with very small portions -- but I have a little more veggies if my body wants more. My body seems to be responding very well to this change. Thank God!!

I decided to weigh myself this morning so I have a "starting point" for the raw food adventure upon which I am embarking today. I was completely surprised to have to move the slider on the scale to the left -- meaning less weight. (I bought one of those doctor's scales online a few years ago that weighs up to 400 lbs, so I could know how much I weigh. I think it was only in the neighborhood of $150-200 at the time, and I am glad I have it. My friends often ask if they can weigh themselves on it. I leave the room and let them check that out privately.)

The bread and sliced cheese disappeared early in the week, along with the peanut butter. I find that I like the Ezekial bread with butter, peanut butter, and raw broccoli sprouts -- sometimes I add avocado and Romaine, too. It is very tasty. Since I thought of myself as "in between" diets, I also had about three toasted cheese sandwiches, which I had not had for years. I was still eating dairy products up until yesterday, and still have one half a tube of goat cheese to go -- probably about an ounce, so I am not going to worry with that, I'll just eat it. I am including Feta cheese on my program so I still have some of that. And I lost weight eating all those things. Hmmm. That sounds more like the program on the 30 Day Diabetes Cure. Hmmm.

I had already noticed that I did not have the low back pain, when I got up this morning. What a blessing that was. I had gotten a set of stretching exercises from my doctor and did them for the past few days and this morning I had no back pain. I also changed the angle of the chair at the computer to hold me more upright and started using a back support on the recliner when I am sitting upright to read my Bible. I am trying to pay attention as I type to my posture so I correct it whenever I notice me slumping. I try to sit relaxed but erect and it seems to have helped. I used to kind of hunch over the keyboard but that ends up being very painful after a while, and is not good for the herniated disk in my neck, either.

If what happened today is any indication, I think this may be the final adjustment in WHAT to eat. I shall continue and see what happens next week, too, although it will be more strictly raw veggies, fruit, nuts, and seeds with a little tuna, salmon, sardines (maybe), hard boiled egg, and Feta cheese. My doctor said it would be OK to have some homemade chicken soup from time to time, also. I have started programs and done very well in losing weight the first week, but it will be the second and third week of doing the same thing that really will be the markers for me. I don't think I have anything to worry about, but will still wait and see. And I need to remind me that I have not actually considered this last week to be the "first week" since I was eating at least 50 percent processed (dairy) or cooked food (Ezekial bread). That was just me "practicing!"  Wow.

In the past, any weight loss program has always been successful in the first week and then things settle down to a slow even steady weight loss. That is, if it is working. As I have shared before, in recent years I have ended up gaining weight on some programs. The Six Week Body Makeover was like that for me. And when I started to count calories last month, I went crazy and put weight on, too. But this raw food thing... I am hoping it works for me and so far it seems to be.

As I said in a previous post I have been looking online for raw food information and programs and one of my readers ("C") left a link to this site:
http://www.rawfoodbootcamp.com/
Since I am short on cash (unemployed) I am not joining this group just yet ($49 a month) -- but I may join when I get a little extra.  I think that if someone can afford it, this might be a good thing to try out. There is a PDF available there for about ten dollars called Carlene's "Fat Brain Lies." It is a 132 page workbook to help you change your mindset before you start any kind of a diet program -- and you can read the first 25 pages for free. From what I have read so far (only one or two pages and glanced through it) it makes real good sense to me. Check it out, if you are interested. I have signed up for their e-mail from "ObeseMe" and am looking forward to the first one.

I love you, my readers, and am happy for you today. I hope your program is working for you and please know that you are not alone in the struggle. God will show you the way, if you trust Him. Look what He has done for me!! Thank you Jesus!!

Be back soon

--Marcia

P.S. Pray for the families of the more than 3,000 who lost their lives on this date. They still miss their loved ones. God bless!