RESULTS!: Month 1

It's the end of Month 1: Sustenance.

When I started this month, I weighed 179 lbs. Today I am 167. That's a total loss of 12lbs!
My goal weight is 150. 17 more pounds to go.


        Body-Beginning of May                                          Body- End of May

   

 Skin -  Beginning of May                                        Skin -  End of May   

Well if nothing else, I certainly look happier!

Month 1 Wrap-Up

Well, the first month is drawing to an end. So what have I learned thus far? Mainly the lesson from month 1 is: Food matters, just like the aptly titled documentary says!  I'm really glad I started with food for many reason. I've seen results (weight loss at 12 lbs so far), I've felt results (my mind is clearer, my mood is better and more even, I quit my therapist), and I feel so changed by my realizations from this month that changing my lifestyle one month at a time does not seem like a daunting task. In fact, it seems inevitable.  Someone noticed the weight change the other day and it got me to thinking. If someone asks about my new 'diet' I'm going to instead tell them I've changed my lifestyle. Telling people I'm on a diet insinuates that it will come to an end at some point (when I've lost enough weight, or when I get tired of it), but knowing what I know about food and how it effects me, this isn't a diet, this is knowledge which manifests permanent change. Besides, the contemporary definition of diet leads to thoughts of limiting yourself and counting calories, carbs, etc. What I'm doing is eating what we all should be eating in the first place. When we choose to eat garbage, I say that's a "diet". Or maybe more simply put, I've changed my diet (changed it back to natural, whole, pure) instead of "I'm on a diet".

So what has been on my plate this month? Lots of salads, with lots of different things to keep it interesting and to make sure I get all the fiber, protein, healthy fats, and nutrients I need. Lots of color!

I've not completely weened myself off of fish yet. I crave shrimp a lot and I'm working on finding a good protein and Omega-3 replacement that I enjoy. I've been moving towards a juice reboot in a manner suggested by http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com which means also weening myself off of caffeine and dairy products. I've also been discovering lots of new things like mangos, coconut milk, how cranberries are delicious on salad and how avocado is good on almost anything! Walking through the market, there are so many things I can't wait to try, and now that I've read up on some of these super foods, I'm excited to try them.
Basically, at least 50% of what I eat is raw fruits and veggies, then nuts, whole grains and proteins. I keep a lot of fruit and veggies and nuts by me at work so I'm never starving.

The Hard Parts:

• The only "side effect", I guess you could say, of my change in diet is heartburn. I've been reading up on it, trying to eat foods that are supposed to help (like bananas) and I'm definitely avoiding things like beano because of the toxins. 

• Giving up coffee is a hard one for me, and mostly because it is a comfort thing to me. I've moved a lot, but where ever I go, there is always a coffee shop. But I've been switching it out for green tea a lot and hopefully soon I can put that down as well.

• Then there is the social aspect of changing your lifestyle in this way. It is not easy to go out to dinner with friends, especially if they want fast food. And it's very hard to not sound "preachy" when telling people what you are doing. People get angry at those who are doing what they know they should be doing.  My friend made a good point the other day. She said she understood now why people are "food pushers". Those people who want to eat something bad so they convince you to eat it too. She was visiting from out of state and hadn't had In 'n Out for a long time so we went to get her a cheeseburger. But she said she'd rather tell me to eat one too so she wouldn't feel so bad eating it herself. 

•  Vegan does not necessarily mean whole, natural and healthy. I went to such a Raw Vegan place and soon realized, yes it was meat and dairy free, but there were plenty of dishes with tons of added sugar and, I was surprised by this, not a whole lot of actual raw.  My friends and I shared a dessert (I had a few bites), and I also had a hot maca drink because I'd read about it as a super food. However, I believe it was mixed with a lot of sugar, because for the rest of that day and the next I was craving junk food.

• The only time I've missed all the crap (like burgers, pizza, etc) was after I'd had that sugar in my system. And that was the worst time. Once it was out of my system, the food daydreaming stopped and I felt much better. Now when confronted with sugar, I know what it's going to do to me and I don't even want to go there.

• Lastly, I've read about all these amazing super foods I'd love to try...but they are really hard to come by unless you have somewhere to grow them yourself. Luckily I live in a place like LA, and I know if I search hard enough I'll find a little shop in Silverlake or Venice or somewhere that actually sells Goji Berries, but it's too bad this stuff is not more readily available to the public, and a part of the public knowledge. And the stuff that makes it is when it becomes part of a fad, is processed, bottled, sugared and then sold as "health food", like the acai berry.

The Great Parts:

• You know that feeling when you need to eat and you know if you don't in the next 15 minutes, you'll probably rip someone's arm off? Yeah, I had the worse case of that... Not anymore. Sure I get hungry. But not, "holy crap I'm going to hurt someone if I don't eat something right this minute" hungry. I guess not having all the crap in my system has gotten rid of "The Food Crabbies" as I like to call it. 

• As I said above, I've lost 12 lbs in a month. That's a third of the way to my total weight goal, and that's without really exercising or counting calories or watching carbs. 

• I'm more present and alert.

• Kicked my depression and quit counseling.

• Found a new love and appreciation for great food.

• Restored vitality in my body and skin.

• Confidence. 

• I feel prepared to tackle my next 11 months!

Why This Year Thing?

An important part of this whole process is also understanding why I'm doing it. What brought me to the decision to dedicate an entire year of my life to bettering myself.  Well, I'll do my best to sum up.

In January 2010, my mother died of brain, bone, everywhere cancer. She had survived two boughts of breast cancer through my youth, the first time when I was 11. She had a minor heart attack when I was in college because of the chemo weakening her heart.  She died at age 65, when I was 27. We were very close.

At the end of 2010, my longest, most serious relationship came to an end after almost 2 years. Already in a fog of depression from my mother's passing, this was enough to push me further down and the depression clung on for 2 years, up until May 2012,  Month 1 of my Year.

Earlier this year, the depression had become so immobilizing, so paralyzing, that I sought therapy.

Recently, I was having a rough time communicating with a loved one about how I was feeling and why I was acting the way I was, when I suddenly came up with the idea. There were so many things I wanted to learn to better myself and be a more happy adult, and if I were to take them one at a time, I could probably manage it. I had waited around for years for someone to come and take me by the hand and guide me through these discoveries. I guess I finally realized that no one was coming and it was on me to figure it out for myself.

So I plotted out the plan, and even though friends warned me to make sure I had everything meticulously planned before I started, I wanted to get going right away. No more waiting around. No more worrying. Just do it. So May started, and ready or not, I began. I started off slow, trying to eat healthier, as best as I knew how. I read some articles online. Then one day I decided to watch some documentaries on food that I'd heard of. When the first one started I was thinking "oh no, this isn't one of those weird films about people pushing crazy veganism is it?"  It was Food Matters and it was discussing the Gerson Therapy for healing cancer and other diseases. And by the end, my whole way of thinking had changed. No longer was there a "crazy veganism". Then I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, and I was moved to tears.  And since that day I've been doing what I can to eat raw fruits and veggies as my main staple, and supplementing with whole grains and small portions of fish as I ween myself towards a juice reboot. I've continued learning and honing since then, but even from that first day when I decided to make my main diet raw veggies and fruit, I've felt a total change. My mood has been even keel and controllable. I haven't felt that paralyzing depression creep back in. A week and half later, I quit my therapist and she made no arguments. She even seemed to be inspired by my plan and by the changes she saw in me.

I've realized that because of all that my mother went through, I've lived with "fact" that I'll most likely get cancer one day, too. What I've learned through these documentaries and my reading is that that doesn't have to be the case. I can give my body what it needs now so those sicknesses have a harder time getting to me.

The funny thing is that we all know what will make us live healthier, longer lives. We know that we need lots of fruits and vegetables, fiber and nutrients, to keep us running smoothly, but there are so many lies and veils in food marketing that actually eating healthier takes paying a little more attention and seeing through all of that. It also takes us going from "knowing" to knowing.

Staying Healthy in Farm Country

Doesn't sound so difficult, does it? I've just returned from a visit with my father in South Dakota. His small town boasts one restaurant (which is actually just food served in one of the two bars), a senior center, a post office and a bank, with a population of around 200.

Now, many may think that going to farm country would be good for my newly developed whole foods diet. With nothing but farms as far as the eye can see, they must be up to their necks in fresh fruits and veggies. But not so, not by a looooong shot. The restaurant/bar has a mini grocery store attached. But most food there is boxed and canned and packaged.

 Borrowed from ecosalon.com 'cause it's hilarious (and spot-on)

 
They may have a few heads of old lettuce, but nothing straight off the farms. You see, this is beef and corn country. My father, and the other 200 inhabitants have to drive 20 miles to the next town over where there is a larger supermarket, but even here, the fruit and veggies are not that fresh or organic. They've been shipped in from long distances and most likely grown with processes that help keep them looking "fresh" longer. I ate a strawberry from my dad's fridge and it had practically no taste. It was not a strawberry, it was a zomberry. No wonder I grew up hating fruits and veggies! They were so far from the real thing!

My heart is moved for the people who live in these areas, who've become so accustomed to eating packaged and processed foods because they just don't have whole foods available to them, unless they grow them in their back yards. And it seemed the nutritional value of fresh foods has been forgotten as I tried to find something whole to order from the countless restaurants my father and I ate at when visiting a bigger "city".  My saving grace was restaurants with salad bars. If not for them, I would have been eating a lot of iceberg lettuce salads with tomato and no dressing.

 Blech!

In one such place, the only menu option for me was whole wheat toast. All the fruit was in a sugary glaze, all the vegetables were smothered in butter. When I ordered toast and told the waitress I'd wait the 20 minutes for the salad bar to open, I got the "you're not from around here" look. 

It's very eye-opening, the way people react. Especially because I completely know where they are coming from. Two weeks ago, I rolled my eyes at raw food diets and thought the people on them were snobby rich astrologists and pet yoga instructors.  Holistic was a term I ran from. I thought, "that's fine for them, whatever, but it's weird, they're weird." But now it all makes sense. Now I get it and I wish I could make the rest of the world get it too. But I find it very hard to share what I now understand without sounding crazy. Because I don't think I would have listened to me two weeks ago. I guess I feel like it's something people have to come to on their own.

I don't know how to spread this knowledge and make it stick, but that is my goal. I go to these small towns, the kinds of places where I grew up, where my mother fell ill and passed away, where so many are affected by cancer, and I feel obligated to share what I've learned. In one convenience store we went in to, I could not find a single thing that I could consume. Not a fresh banana, apple, not even a Naked or Odwalla juice.  People are living on garbage. I was living on garbage. It is a struggle to live on healthy foods out there, because they are not readily available.

But not just in small towns, everywhere. Our bodies are not getting what they need.

 I hope we can change that.

Eating

After watching a few documentaries touting the advantages of the Gerson Diet, I've decided this is the direction I want to go in with my food choices. In fact, it seems crazy to go in any other direction, now that my eyes have been opened about food and what our bodies require.
Basically, Dr. Gerson pointed out that a lot of illnesses and problems that we have are related to deficiencies and toxicities in our bodies from not eating correctly. If our meals consisted of %50 raw vegetables and fruits and the rest comprised of whole grains and healthy fats and proteins, we could fight off a lot of the diseases and problems our current generations are suffering from. By the way, Dr. Gerson's book on this subject was published in 1958.
So as of today, I'm making it my goal to do this. And after watching the life-saving changes that happened to the people in the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, I've decided to also give the Juice Reboot a try. With a name like that is sounds like a fad, but literally you are drinking raw juiced vegetables and fruits. They aren't selling some magical compound that swears to make you lose weight. They aren't selling anything. They are giving us knowledge back which our ancestors would think we were crazy for having forgotten; that vegetables and fruits are good for us and they make our bodies complete.

Documentaries mentioned: Food Matters, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, The Beautiful Truth

MY YEAR

Hello, my name is Bethany and I'm a 30 year old adult-child.

                                                          This was my Facebook photo for a good long while.


Like many in my generation, I eat what I feel like, I have a short attention span and a short memory, and I quote Hyperbole and a Half

                                                                   Borrowed from hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com
                                                                                                     And mean it.

Worse than most in my generation, I dress like holes and deodorant stains are high fashion, I've been a temp for the same company for 4 years, and I can't remember the last time I actually combed my hair. No, really.
So, I guess it's probably about time I grew up. I've decided to take each month this year and focus on one aspect in my process. Here is the schedule:

May - Food and drink
"But if I feel like a candy bar, obviously that is my body telling me I need one, right?"

June- Exercise 
"Getting on an elliptical once a week to have a place to read my book totally counts."

July- Skin and Makeup
"Wait, I should be washing my face everyday? "

August- Hair 
"But my hair is curly. You can hardly see all the split ends. "

September- Health
"Hey, my job doesn't pay for health insurance. Checkups are over-rated!"

October- Style
"So, no on the deodorant stains then?"

November- Teeth and Speech
"I could save for invisalign but that daily Americano is so tasty!"

December- Career/Finance
"So you're saying it's not a good thing...to be a temp for 4 years...that's what your saying?"

January- Posture and Body Language
"Surely people will see past my hunched shoulders and no eye contact to see the truly awesome person I am inside, right?"

February- Relationships and Community
"Hey, but I tried that whole online dating thing, which worked great for me! (If you can't read the sarcasm, check out my other blog, Drunk and Dateless)"

March- Literature and Hobbies
"Yay! More things to distract me from my workout!"

April-  World
"I learn everything I need to know from Yahoo News."