Photo by johntrainor
I lost an entire pound since yesterday which is on the high side for me. That time of month. So, that puts me at 99.8 pounds lost. It’s pretty certain that tomorrow I’ll hit or pass the 100 pound mark. I feel like I’ve been creeping up on it forever. Soon it will be behind me and I’ll be focused on the next big number.
So I’ve had a rough couple of days. Very emotional. Lots of crying. My hormones are out of whack. I am considering, for the first time, the possibility of medical intervention. I dislike and distrust the medical industry but this crud has been so disruptive to my life. I’m not one to move quickly on these things. I’m going to start researching on line in coming weeks. I’m also going to investigate natural products. If I take action it will likely be several months down the road but at this moment I’m thinking it’s time.
I worked some more on my vision book yesterday. That was fun. It feels kind of childish to be cutting out photos of rooms and furniture and putting together a book. I’m also going to add photos of places I’d like to visit and activities I’d like to do in the future. Perhaps even some clothes I’d like to wear when I reach my goal weight. The idea is to create an image of what I want and hold it in my mind as a way of creating the life I want.
Until tomorrow, I’ll leave you with the usual.
Yesterday’s 3 quart Green Smoothie Recipe:
377 grams Earthbound Farms Mixed Baby Greens [Organic baby lettuces (red & green romaine, red & green oak leaf, lollo rosa, tango), organic red & green chard, organic mizuna, organic arugula, organic frisée, organic radicchio.]
120 grams Raw Onion
26 grams Raw Garlic
20 grams Fresh Lemon Juice
880 grams Frozen Mango
17 grams Organic Whole Flax Seeds
32 ounces filtered tap water
I had an additional 48+ ounces of water and 2 Rolaids. No other food, beverages, supplements, or medications.
Nutritional Breakdown utilizing Nutridiary:
Calories: 816
Fiber: 32 grams
Fat: 8 grams, 8% of total calories
Carbohydrates: 196 grams, 84% of total calories
Protein: 20 grams, 8% of total calories
Elimination: 1BM, normal
Menses: Most recent: 7/4/07, Prior 6/3/07, Prior: 5/3/07, Prior: 4/5/07, Prior: 03/10/07, Prior: 2/11/07
Exercise for yesterday:
10 minutes neck stretches
Statistics:
Height: 5 foot, 11 inches. (180 centimeters)
Weight loss since March 1 2007: 99.8 pounds (45.27 kilograms)
Weight today: 428.4 pounds (194.32 kilograms)
Weight yesterday: 429.4 pounds (194.77 kilograms)
Weight March 5th 2007: 515.6 pounds (233.87 kilograms)
Weight March 1st 2007: 528.2 pounds. (239.59 kilograms)
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Creeping Up On 100 Pounds
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14 comments:
Valerie, I really applaud your commitment to seeking out options to better your health. I'm very distrustful of the mainstream medical establishment as well, but I think we are all unique and sometimes there are times when our body needs extra help. I really struggle with this a lot myself--wanting so badly to live as naturally as possible, but trying to accept that there are times when I simply must turn to medicine for my own wellbeing (physical and mental).
I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding antidepressants, but I can say definitively that Wellbutrin saved my life a few years ago. I've been fortunate to be able to go off it now, but I am always aware of the possibility that I might need it (or something else) again in the future. And I have worked really hard to be ok with that. Like you, it isn't something I'll just dive into thoughtlessly, but if it comes down to it, I think I owe it to myself to take that step.
Though there are many in the raw community who say that natural food should be the only medicine we need, I think the fact that we don't live in a natural world sometimes gets a bit lost in that argument. Many of us are contending with lifetimes spent eating food laden with hormones and toxins, not to mention air and water pollution and just the stresses of modern life. I think a balanced vegan diet can do absolutely amazing things for health, but there are times when some of us need a little more. Regardless of what path you choose to take, I hope you find exactly what you need.
Can't wait to congratulate you on your upcoming milestone!
I can't believe you're almost at 100 lbs!! Unreal!! THAT is dedication!
Before you go get medicine - please investigate vitamins and minerals. I've gotten quite a bit of PMS relief from supplements -- WITHOUT ANY side effects that ALL medications seem to bring in some shape or form.
I realize you're eating healthy, but there may be some minerals you're missing out on - or vitamins even. That book I referenced a while back has all this stuff in it and lists natural ways to help combat PMS and hormonally induced "moments".
Glad all is going well, and I see nothing childish with a vision book. It's a great tool!
Valerie, I went through major depression before I went raw and even during slip-ups that I've had over the last two years. My family always encouraged me to seek medical treatment but it never felt right to me. I was seeing a therapist who understood the raw foods thing and I found it helpful. She had the feeling that I'm actually bipolar, which makes sense to me. It helped me to remember that it's totally normal and natural to be depressed and upset sometimes. Especially when you're eating raw, because emotions we suppressed tend to have room to crop up. Even if it seems like a long period, in the grand scheme of things, it is relative and things will change again, like the seasons.
Hi Valerie,
I have a few thoughts to share. You must be familiar and know this by now but when you go raw you detox not only physically but emotionally ..and the emotional part is what keeps some people from staying raw. Cooked foods really do block emotions and when you are eating raw they flow right through you.. & I believe that they are actually stored in your cells throughout your life they have been suppressed and stored along with the toxins in the fat cells of our bodies. If you are strong enough to ride it through its a very beautiful other side.
As far as PMS, a few years ago before I went raw I used to get it bad. I had this herb - chaste tree berry- recommended to me and it was amazing..within hours I didn't even notice those overwhelming feelings any more. Chaste tree is very well known in Europe I have heard for PMS, as well as menopause and is very effective.
Best wishes & Love!
& Congratulations!!!
I am soo happy for you & think the vision book is such a great idea. Keep up the great work , you are such an inspiration!
Valerie,
Ditto on the chaste berry! At 50, can attest to its merit as I'm finally past a rollercoaster of 13 peri/menopausal years!
No stranger to depression and I'm certainly not formally educated to diagnose or prescribe a remedy. Personally, I found such comfort in eating - up until it backfired and began to exhbit the symptons of my pain, or what was actually "eating me." (smile)
My choice would be to go with what gives relief. My recent flare-up was diminished greatly after imbibing green smoothies. That glorious Emerald Nectar (predominantly kale), along with a doubling up on the time given to move my body.
After that, speaking my sadness to a good friend was a turning point in helping to ease the trigger on my crying jags. Pema Chodron has suggested these "passing memories" be observed and labeled as "thinking."
Ah, Passing memories! Valerie, you have released 1/4 of your body physical! Transformation indeed and more changes on the horizon. Thankfully, we have been taught the true power is within the present moment.
Your vision books are so on track. How many ways you inspire and delight us! Ask for/Do whatever necessary to soothe your journey.
Hugs,
Jean
Valerie,
I read your blogs regularly. First, congratulations on being almost at and beyond the 100lbs mark...I wish to be there myself someday.
Second, I wanted to mention something that you may want to consider as a factor contributing to your depression as well as to the lack of energy you have spoken of.
Remember that you are on a VERY low calorie diet, and this is naturally going to affect how your brain functions and the amount of energy you have. I could see that this may just be part of the journey as long as you are consuming low calories...it will be interesting to see how you feel once you move on to eating more calories.
Please don't think that I am saying you are causing this by doing a low cal diet...I think you are doing what you need to do to get well, and doing it in a very healthy way - green smoothies an all...I just understand that the brain changes with not only the type but also the quantity of calories it has to work with.
I could be off base, but thought I would mention it nonetheless.
Take care and keep up the smoothies...you are an inspiration to many out in cyber space.
Hi Valerie,
You are amazing and you are doing great. Don't feel overwhelmed by the intensity of your experience. Just allow it.
(Now, if *I* could follow my own advice. LOL!)
Take care,
Marjorie
Valerie, trust yourself. You are doing great 100 lbs! Hot diggity.
Still feel the tingle? Thats me still thinking youre cool. Way Cool
-alla
I am genuinely moved by the concern and compassion expressed in these lovely comments that I am reading this morning. I have been repeatedly treated with medication for depression in my life, although it’s been a few years since I’ve been on antidepressants. This really doesn’t feel like depression, which generally makes me lethargic and withdrawn. This feels more like a combination of nicotine withdrawals and PMS. Agitated, irritable, and weepy, and it seems to be tied to my monthly cycle although it’s lasting about ½ the month so it’s not your typical PMS. I’m going to write some more about it today in my blog. Thanks again for all of the suggestions and thoughts that you shared with me.
VW
lol well the *cycle* is actually about 21 days a month technically .. wwe spend 1 week preparing for it .. 1 week going through it and 1 week recovering from it
lol no wonder woman are exhausted, weepy and emotional =)
as you get more mobile id suggest something like some tai chi which has helped me immensely with cramping over the years ...its like an internal massage
Have you ever read Christine Northrup's Women's Bodies Women's Wisdom (or something like that)? I read it from cover to cover a few years ago - and I didn't even have the issues she wrote about! It's such a good book and very insightful. She discusses the mind-body link and how it affects pms, menapause, fibroids, etc. Check it out.
Congrats on the milestone to come. I'm rootin' for ya:)
April
Val,
Just want you to keep on rawkin'... I try to look out for your posts on RFT from time to time. Your energy is inspiring. The raw vegan journey is amazing...I'm getting close to the one year and one hundred pound weight loss mark. Go Val Go!
lavenderfreed.blogspot.com
Hi Valerie!
Your jouney is amazing! You're the Green Smoothie Shero! I linked to your blog from Gaian Tarot. As I've been reading your posts, I realized that you can't embark on this type of internal restructuring and NOT have massive emotional purging b/c so much is being released from your cells, tissue, muscles and psyche. You may want to try Bach Flower Essences or Flower Essence Society Essences to help you work through and stabilize your emotions. Your blog has taken me one step closer to trying the smoothie challenge. Love, Light and Blessings
Hi Valerie
I am a daily reader of your blog and want to give you encouragement.
I know you have received much advice and comments but I wanted to say that I too was once well over 200 pounds and lost 80 pounds in a relatively short time.
I was peri-menopausal and suffering hyperplasia, mood swings and even physical shaking. I went to the hospital and was given a bottle of valium. I threw that in the trash as soon as I could.
I found that exercise and periods of exposure to sunshine helped me immensely. Try to increase your exercise a little each week, as suggested above.
I do know that the fat cells do store hormones and when your body expels the fat cells or uses them, the hormones are released in a larger quantity than normal.
I guess I wanted to encourage you to stay the course and to realize that like your 100 pound mark, the mood swings will pass also. I am fully past menopause and have suffered no hot flashes or mood swings and I credit it to the healthy live diet and exercise and sunshine.
Keep up your journal - you are helping many people
Karen Bennett
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