Yep, thats right! Here I go again, luckily this time I am a little wiser and as much as I am relunctant to admit it, a bit older (just dont tell anyone). I realize things now about myself that should not only help me achieve my goals but keep them for the long haul as well. Before I talk (or type) about my raw foods future let me flash back to my raw foods past.
I suppose it all started when I met my husband (Jerry, or as I call him Schmoopie), he was into powerlifting and the diet that goes along with it. I had always been a dancer and had dappled in weightlifting to some extent but not enough to really know what I was doing but I was very eager to learn.
Now, before I go on any further, I would like to share with you that I am a pear shape. I have always had a very small waist (esp. as a 20 something) and a JLO booty, and unfortunally when I gain weight that booty would be where. Im not complaining, it’s a healthier place to gain and I love curves on women, in moderation lol.
Because I had moved from MI to Ky I had lost my dancing outlet and that was frustrating but I still danced a little on my own and took up some yoga and lifted light weights but being a girl in my early 20’s took up alot of time (which makes for some good stories) but back then that was fine, I wasn’t a horrible eater and had a good metabolism, that is, until I met Schmoopie.
So we met, fell in love, and I really got into powerlifting and lifting weights as a whole. I also got into eating like him, and I do mean exactly like him, porterhouse and loaded baked potato for porterhouse and loaded baked potato. I would like to let you know, he used to get confused for Stone Cold alot and I was a size 5 and 5′3 so I should have known that calories shouldn’t have been matched. I also should have known that since I was a strict vegetarian from the time that I was 14 to 19 and got really sick for a long time when I went back to eating meat that a meat based diet wasnt smart for me, but it was yummy and I was on the quest to build muscle and strength and you need tons of flesh protein and calories, right? Oh so silly!
So now Im in my mid 20’s and all of a sudden jean companies just dont make jeans to fit like they used to and also my dryer is shrinking them all…I mean they are way off…grrrr. It’s just weird cause the company that makes my tops are still on the ball and the dryer is working fine on them. When I say off, I mean off, Im having to jump around like a pogo stick to get into size 8’s and sometimes they are tearing and blowing out (one time at work right below my booty cheek from left seam to right seam, good tips that night though). I would spend an 1 1/2 hours on the treadmill, lift weights til my legs and arms felt like rubber or I’d get sick. I took Xenadrine, hodroxycut, stackers and within a couple weeks of trying each one I’d develop a horrible bronchial cough and be sick for a month but of course it had to be a coincidence. I also did disgusting protein shakes and bars, creatine, and a plethera of other muscle builders that may have made me work out harder but also made me feel like I had a whole in my stomach.
Then one day Jerry/Schmoopie got a book by Stephen Arlin, I believe its called Raw Power, and it was mind blowing how large and strong this man was without an ounce of meat or chemically processed…anything. Something just rang true with both of us. I can’t even remember how we got there but all of a sudden we had read about every raw foodist guru we could track down. We went to see David Wolfe aka. Avocado Noni Cocao and Paul Nison, both a few times. We bought every book and video we could find by Roe Gallo, Doug Graham, Victoras, David Wolfe, Paul Nison, etc. We stocked up on Raw Coconuts whenever we visited family in Virginia Beach, juiced anything and everything, fell in love with our vitamix and invested in a dehydrater (barely used though). I quickly dropped back down to a 5 and it was looser then before. I began to detox regularly, became a devout yogi, and studied every type of natural cure you can imagine. I actually became known as the go to girl whenever anyone wanted to slim down or feel better, even if they didn’t feel they could follow my advice, they wanted it.
Looking back I realize that what caused my backslide was my obsession with raw food perfection. When I’d pms, I’d want a cookie, eat a cookie and then feel like a failure. You see, I’m one of those if I cant do it perfect I dont do it, its a character flaw I know. Part of the problem with that is that raw foodist cant agree on what is the “right or correct way” to be a raw foodist. High fat or low fat, lots of fruit or low fruit, mono meals or gourmet combinations, supplements or no supplements and not only can they not agree but some act as though if you arent following their guru’s way or didn’t do well on it then you are commiting a sin of sorts, plus I was always feeling like I was detoxing. It makes it hard to be perfect or know what to do. So we both failed and although kept some of the ways, still went back to our southern way of eating (not quite the Paula Deen extreme though). We still only use eastern medicine and drink our own distilled water and enjoy salads but we love Fried Chicken and Fried Pickles too.
Recently we moved to Dayton Mountain and started an asian-inspired plant nursery, we are doing what we love to do but dont always feel like doing it. We have been eating way to much southern cuisine and not enough whole foods and Im physically feeling the abuse of it. My weight has started to increase and no matter how much exercise I do, its not decreasing. I’m still a size 4 but yet again, I’m getting a little bit of workout putting them on.
Then an omen happened, Jerry was online and came across G Living and Lori Painter’s bikini challange and her use of 80/10/10, we have that book!! 80/10/10 is the only raw food program I hadn’t used and voila, its the one that I think I could enjoy. I work hard and I love working out but after a day in 90 degree heat, my workouts suffer, but raw icecream is just what a girl needs to rejuvenate and get right back in the game. I mean are you kidding me, ice cream for any meal I want and I’ll feel great, sign me up.
So, here I go again but a little wiser and you know what else. I’m planning on not being perfect or obsessed. I’m planning on occasionly having a piece of fried chicken or fried pickles but for a treat. I’m planning on transitioning slowly and letting my body tell me whats best. I’m not doing this to show off my awesome raw food ways but to stay in it for the long haul and not let my own personality traits sabotage me. I have a life that I want to enjoy with my amazing husband, a slew of awesome animals (dogs, goats, etc.) to love on and a business I want to have fun running. I have workout goals I want to achieve which I’ll get into in another post and an example I want to set for my wonderful step-kids and others that I love and whoever else is reading this. So here’s to being not perfect but enjoying the process that makes you great. Namaste, Bethany
