Confessions of a Chronic Dieter

We’re back! We apologize for not posting in months! Things have gotten a little busy here. The holidays were insane, as they are for everyone, and I started my last semester of grad school in January. So far it’s been the most stressful one yet (I’ll go further into that soon). April 9th can’t come fast enough!

So, here is today’s confession: I’m a chronic dieter. Borderline disordered eating, actually. Before any family or friends go freaking out - that does not mean that I have an eating disorder! It just means that I’m obsessive about health, calories, exercise, weight loss, etc. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who knows me. I can’t eat a meal like a “normal person”. I constantly think about the calories, fat grams, and protein in the foods that I eat. If I eat something that is “bad” I dwell on it for the remainder of the day and a majority of the next. It’s actually my belief that 99% of American woman are like this. So, I don’t think I’m alone. This entire country has a crazy mentality over food and it’s getting old for me.

I’ve tried many diets. South Beach was the first diet book that I ever read and I actually bought into that crap! Mostly, I’ve just counted calories. I never became vegan for health reasons; it was only for ethical ones. However, I can’t say that I wasn’t excited about the possibility of it helping me to lose a few unwanted lbs. No one told me that there was so much vegan junk food out there! I’d say for about 60-75% of the time, Josiah and I eat very healthily. That doesn’t stop the obsessions, though.

This all brings me back to the stress. I’m physically exhausted from all of the stress in my life right now. It’s hard to even get out of bed. Stress from school, stress from work, stress from diet obsessions, stress that the junk food has imposed on my body. I’ve recently read a lot about fatigued adrenal glands. I honestly think that mine are worn out. I believe that emotional and dietary stress has contributed to this. If you haven’t read Brendan Brazier’s “Thrive” books, I highly recommend it. This is where I’ve been getting the information regarding stress.

So, what’s a girl to do?! Well first off, I’m making a pledge to not count calories for the next 90 days. I’m just going to forget about it. However, this does not mean that I’m going to just eat whatever I want. I simply could not handle that – which is pathetic, I know. I’ve decided that I’m going to eat 75% raw for the next 90 days as well. I’m keeping it at 75% because I’m not going to deprive myself. I’m still going to enjoy meals out with friends without freaking out over whether or not my food is cooked. That would just add more stress. I’ve decided to go raw for many reasons. The largest one of which is that raw food causes the least amount of stress on the body. It doesn’t take as much energy to digest which means that the body, and adrenal glands, can relax. This also means giving up coffee and diet soda. Bring on the headaches!

I actually do welcome the discomfort that I may experience at first, though. My body is tired of the way I have been treating it. Want proof? I’m 5’2.5” and I weigh approximately 121 pounds which is a healthy body weight. I exercise about 4 times a week which includes weight training. My body fat percentage however, is almost 32%! That is considered overweight. I’m “skinny fat” yet I work out regularly and eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains than most people I know. It’s my hypothesis, based on my research, that dietary and emotional stress is what is causing this large amount of fat to stick around.

I can’t say that I’m going to stay raw forever. However, my body needs a reset. We’ll see how I feel for the next 90 days and go from there. Usually, I would not write about something like this. I need to keep myself accountable though, or I’ll give up after a week…. Or the first headache, which will probably happen tomorrow.

I’m also pledging to not weigh myself every day. I can’t guarantee that I won’t do it at all, but only when I feel like it. I am not doing this to lose weight! I’m doing it to get my body back to being healthy and to (hopefully) reduce my body fat percentage as it is not healthy.

For the next 3 months I will

• Eat 75% raw

• Give up caffeine, except for 1 cup of organic green tea a day

• Not count calories or obsess over food – I’m going to try my hardest!

• Attempt to control my emotional stress. Meditation and yoga anyone?

• Not weigh myself daily

• Try plenty of yummy new recipes

• Drink lots of fresh juice and smoothies

• Post regularly on my progress

• Continue to exercise regularly

Josiah and I also ordered a new dehydrator yesterday! I’m so excited about this, I can hardly contain it. We’ve had a dehydrator for a while, but it’s a cheap one that is a total pain in the butt. It’s not even worth getting it out most of the time. So we ordered a Tribest Life’s Sedona Dehydrator after reading plenty of reviews online. It’s supposed to be very quiet and its square shaped so it should be easier to use (ours is donut shaped and very awkward). I can’t wait to make yummy raw crackers, breads, and kale chips!

I’m not going to get into all of the benefits of a raw diet right now, but if you are curious, here are some links to sites that I have found to be informative:

Kristen's Raw: I love her approach and attitude!

Ani Phyo's Webpage: Her “cook”books are amazing and offer a large amount of information as well.

Loving It Raw: Lots of good information!

Choosing Raw: Not 100% raw, but lots of yummy recipes!

Wish my luck on my journey!