Preparation failings

Although I haven't read all of the prep material (we printed and bound it today; that'll be my new bedtime reading), I am fairly certain that you are not supposed to freak out about all the things you suddenly won't be able to eat and then proceed to procure and eat them all, "one last time".

Which is what, to an extent, I've been doing.

Foods which I have happily eschewed this year have suddenly become must-have items. I have been buying more takeaways (which I can't afford) and then finishing these larger, more calorie-laden portions beyond the point of fullness. Honestly. How dumb can you get?

And I've been feeling the effects, too. My output at the gym today was embarrassing, I've been headachey on and off for the past few days and I don't have as much energy as I did a week ago (and heaven knows that it wasn't that huge to begin with). I know that there are probably aspects of the fact that I'm looking for a job and so on that are impacting upon my mood, energy and food choices, but I think the real culprit is my own fear of never eating "tasty" foods again. Never mind the fact that, really, they are only tasty because of their high fat and salt content.

I really think I will be quickly feeling better during and after this detox. (Although I understand that the early stages can induce headaches as the toxins leave your system. I have a feeling that next week is going to be as close as I get to migraines...)

Current feeling: headachey and wishing that I could just start already

Conflicting messages

Yesterday the Good Living supplement in the SMH ran a cover story about animal fat. Talk about conflicting messages all in one day! Raw vegan on the one hand, and full-on animal products on the other... Aside from ethical concerns that I know people have to do with the eating of animal products, I do think that a balanced diet that includes animal products as well as vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, fruit and oils is better than one that limits food intake in terms of type. Having said that, I also think that the way that I eat is still too high in processed food and, probably, too high in animal products. And this is how I've been eating for too long.

And so this is why, for 30 days, I will be a Raw Vegan. I am treating this as a detox more than anything else, however I hope that the benefits are wide-ranging. I also plan to see how well I can stick to something like this long-term. My mum plans—at this stage—to stick to a diet of around 75% Raw once we have completed the detox. I'm not so sure. To put it another way, I don't know enough (and haven't experienced the process and its effects) yet, and so I don't feel that I'm informed enough to plan that far ahead. However, I do want to dramatically reduce the amount of processed foods in my diet ("low fat" etc or otherwise), and this is certainly one way to achieve that!

Current feeling: chuffed that I've lost almost 10kg this year

Testing, 1-2-3

Good evening, all. In the spirit of NaNoWriMo (no, not this year), I am going to chronicle my progress through the Raw Divas' 30-day Body Enlightenment System. You can check out the link for more info, but basically I'm along for the ride to see if I really can achieve the following goals:
(a) to have more energy;
(b) to lose weight; and
(c) to feel better inside and out.

What will happen? Who knows! But this blog will hopefully help me along the path. Please feel free to comment, I'd love to hear from anybody who's reading this blog!

Current weight: 82.0kg
Current body-fat percentage: 38.3%
Current feeling: lethargic in general, but excited about this