Art's Raw Journey: 
January 2008

 Email: gastrawnome at gmail dot com
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January 1, 2008

Third Time's A Charm?

When I first made my introduction to this site in January of 2005, I weighed 201 lbs. By May 15 of that year, I was down to 186 pounds. By January 2006, I had skyrocketed up to 226 lbs. That's a 40 lb. gain in less than 8 months!

Fast forward to the present. It could be worse. I could weigh well over 300 lbs. by now if I had continued like I did. So, I honestly have to say "Thank God" that I "only" weigh 241 pounds as of this morning.

Still, not a good place to be. We've all struggled on here. And we're all making progress, in our own ways.

In my last entry, I mentioned I was going back to doing Nutrisystem. Well, I changed my mind (and plans) again.

Tomorrow morning, I'm starting Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. Except, I'm going to eschew the usual animal foods and attempt to do it "vegan style". Well, not completely vegan.. but.. vegan inclined. More vegan than I've been lately.. which is to say... not very much. South Beach emphasizes things like salads, lots of vegetables, and nuts.. things that are easy to do "raw".. so I'm going to try to increase my raw intake as well.

Phase 1 is for 2 weeks.. during which time my wife will be doing Nutrisystem. After that, we'll both do Phase 2 of South Beach.. I figure by then, I'll have it down pat and will pretty much know what I'm doing. Once I lose the weight I want to lose, I'll move to Phase 3, which is the maintenance part. I'm also going "no sugar" again.. and I'm giving up diet soda as well.

So, to keep myself honest and accountable, expect yet another, fatter set of pictures from me. As if the January 2006 pictures weren't awful enough! I just figure.. the better the contrast will be in a few months. Third time's a charm, right?

January 21, 2008

I will begin by saying I lasted on South Beach for one week. I didn't lose any weight... maybe because I overate on nuts, or other reasons.. I'm not sure.. and it doesn't matter, anyway.

The next choice after that was that I was just going to eat "more healthily". That's true, but not the whole truth. And between the end of South Beach and last night, I was pretty much eating crap, anyway.

I am happy to announce that I am starting over today, Monday, Martin Luther King Day, 2008.

It is ONLY and SOLELY by the grace of God that I.. and not just I, but we; as my wife is joining me on the path to rawness. God has made this abundantly clear.

Without getting into a lot of complicated explanations.. let me just say that we know that it's God's desire for us to eat more raw foods. Maybe not 100% from the start, but definitely more. Much more, in fact. Raw is to be the majority of our diets.

We'll both eat raw all day, and then have a cooked, vegan meal at night (with a raw salad). Except for two days of the week, during which we'll have a raw dinner as well.

I figure that's about 75 - 80% raw, which is a really great start. I eat about 5-6 small meals per day. I'll also be including exercise. One really great inspiration has been this blog.

We took pictures of each other this morning. While I did take pictures of myself on January 2 (but just never got around to sending them to Michelle), I will be sending in the new ones shortly.

My weight this morning was 240.5 lbs.

Measurements:

Stomach: 49 inches
Waist: 46 inches
Upper arms: 16 inches
Thigh: 29 inches
Chest: 42 inches

The only time I've really lost weight during this journey was when I was eating raw. I prayerfully expect great things over the next few weeks and months. Additionally, I'm extremely blessed in that my wife is joining me.. and not reluctantly. She knows this is the path for us. It still hasn't quite sunk in yet. Kind of like winning the lottery. Except, this is better. :)

January 25, 2008

 I've decided I'm going to weigh myself twice per week.. and see how that works out. Every day is too frustrating and confusing.. but I find it difficult to wait an entire week as well. :)

I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale Thursday morning.. I was hoping for a half to one pound weight loss.. proof that things were moving in the desired direction. Instead, I lost 3 pounds! I am thrilled!

I've been eating a mix of raw and cooked this week.. raw has consisted of salads, fruits, and nuts.. and some smoothies. Made green lemonade on Wednesday, and it was great. Couldn't do it yesterday because of a couple appointments, but aim to do it again today.

Yesterday we had an adoption meeting.. afterwards we were really hungry, so we went to Houlihan's restaurant (a national chain), and we each had the same thing.. a veggie burger (made from vegetables, not soy), with a side Caesar salad. And a glass of unsweetened iced tea. We're both (re)learning to make healthier choices when dining out.

Current weight: 237.5 lbs. for a loss of 3 lbs. since Jan. 21 (same date photos were taken)

January 28, 2008

We ate out a lot over the weekend. Friday night, we went with Annie's parents to Houlihan's, which is a sorta upscale chain. I split stuffed mushrooms with my FIL. I also had cream of mushroom soup, and fish tacos with fries. Plus, Annie and I split a side of mashed cauliflower. Yeah, way too much food. Took some home, but ate too much. My MIL got buffalo wings and kept offering them to me. It was driving me insane, but I managed to abstain. And now that I remember, I ate Haagen-Dazs ice cream when we got back to their house, as well.

Saturday, we ate at a Kosher deli called Jesse and David's Kosher Experience. We both had the salad bar. We each had a knish. I had broiled salmon with mashed sweet potatoes. We split a small slice of cake for dessert. Again, too much food. I don't know.. I see a menu and I go nuts.

Then we went out and bought a new van, which pretty much killed the rest of the day.

Saturday night, we ate the lunch leftovers.

Sunday, after church, we went to a place called "Fresh City".. I had a Caesar salad with salmon, a root beer, and a bowl of carrot and broccoli soup. Very tasty. Oh, and a blondie brownie. I ended up so full, I didn't eat dinner.

I must adhere to portion control. I do FINE at home. Tonight I'm having dinner with a friend at a Southern BBQ buffet. That should be interesting. I'll probably eat a lot of salads.

Anyway, I expected and was prepared for the worse when stepping on the scale Monday morning. To my surprise and delight, I still weighed 237.5, so I had neither gained nor lost!

What I ate yesterday: 12 oz. of Green Lemonade for breakfast, from Natalia Rose's book The Raw Food Detox Diet. Lunch was 5 Clementines juiced, with a bit of vanilla extract (6 oz. of juice).. tasted like an orange creamsicle! Afternoon snack was an organic apple and a lemon Larabar. Dinner was a bowl of homemade vegetable soup, two slices of Ezekiel bread with Earth Balance spread, and a salad.

I want to stick with this. Yesterday, I felt really good, and not deprived. My goal is to look.. um.. less bad by March 22.. which is our cruise. :) My goal weight is reasonable: 220 lbs. Less than 3 lbs. a week!

Weight: 237.5 lbs. Net loss of 3 lbs. Next weigh-in: Thursday, Jan. 31

January 31, 2008

Well, I weighed in this morning.. I've dropped another 2 pounds! I have a pair of old pants I use as a gauge. When I started, I couldn't get them buttoned.. now I can, although they're REALLY tight. Still, that's progress!

My wife and I almost went to Charlie Brown's tonight (it's a chain of steakhouses in NJ) because, they have a decent salad bar. It was a pretty crappy day for both of us, we needed a break.

But.. we didn't go.. because we knew if we did, we'd both eat crap. Sure, we'd have some salad, but I was eyeing the baked macaroni and cheese, I must admit.. I'm sure my wife would have had the fish and chips. You know.. comfort food.

My mind wants that kind of stuff.. my body doesn't. (Actually, it's probably more like.. my mind THINKS it wants that kind of stuff).

So, we stayed home.. I made a vegan stir fry with broccoli, snow peas, brown rice and tofu. No, it wasn't raw, but it was far better than what we would have eaten. And later, my wife thanked me.. for being strong.. for the both of us.

Last week, we had blood drawn, so yesterday, I went and picked up our test results (and I walked there.. it's about a half mile from our house). We both have elevated cholesterol levels.. not super high.. but high enough that it's noticeable.. oh, and I also have high glucose.. so I was advised to go on a low cholesterol, low fat, low carb diet.

This actually works out pretty well for me. I don't like pasta that much, so giving it up is not a problem. In fact, now I've got an excuse to NOT eat it. I eat brown rice instead of white. The only bread I'll eat is Ezekiel sprouted bread, which isn't the same as your average loaf of wheat or white. And I don't keep sugary desserts in the house. I've also kicked soda to the curb (both regular and diet).. again, it's reserved as a "special treat" for when we go out.. occasionally I'll have a root beer.. yeah, that's my drug of choice.

I asked them if fruit was okay, they said sure.. just lay off the bread and pasta. Simple carbs.

And I think by "low fat", they probably mean "low animal fat". Because nobody ever got a heart attack from eating too many avocados.

Yesterday I waaaayyyy underate. I basically skipped breakfast and had the juice of 6 clementines for lunch. In the afternoon, I had a handful of cashews. Then I had dinner late.. around 7:30.

Usually I'll have "Green Lemonade" in the morning, then some fresh orange juice (run through the juicer), then a salad for lunch.. maybe some nuts in the afternoon, or a Larabar, or a piece of fruit.. and then dinner.. usually but not always with a salad.. and maybe a slice or two of toasted Ezekiel bread with Earth Balance (vegan buttery spread).

That's pretty good, right? Oughta be able to knock down the cholesterol if I continue to eat like this for a few months.

A BIG congratulations to Michelle on her new job and future move! Welcome to the east coast! Just think, you and Todd will be in the same state. :)

Weight: 235.5 lbs. (A loss of 5 pounds since January 21, 2008)


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