Friday, May 23, 2008

Stats and History

Age: 27
Height: 5'5"
Ideal Weight: 125-130
Current Weight: 159.5
Background: I have given birth to 3 children, ages 5, 2, and 1 (in June). I started out my first pregnancy at 132, which at the time, was the heaviest I had ever been. I gained 55 pounds during my first pregnancy, and the day I delivered, weighed 190. I only nursed for 3 months. At the end of 3 months, my weight was 164. I joined Weight Watchers, and 9 months after I had given birth, I weighed 135.
Over the next 2 years, my weight crept back up, and when I got pregnant with my 2nd son, my weight was 152. I gained 65 pounds during that pregnancy and on D-Day, weighed 219. Yikes! I nursed my 2nd son for 10 months, and at the end of that time, weighed 164 pounds. That same month, I became preggers with baby #3.
I gained 45 pounds with baby #3. 4 months after he arrived, I was back to 164 pounds. I didn't lose another pound for 6 more months. In fact, I gained back 4 pounds, to end up at 168. 10 weeks ago, I was turned on to raw food by my friend, Sara. I immediately started drinking green smoothies every morning and incorporating a lot of raw foods into my diet.
The changes were remarkable. My skin cleared up. I had more energy on less sleep. My cravings subsided. PMS symptoms disappeared. And I lost 12 pounds! And then I fell off the bandwagon. The end.







...Just kidding. I gained back several pounds. I am currently at 159. And am recommitting myself. I really want to change my lifestyle. I want my family to be healthy. My kids eat pretty well, and their diets have improved a lot since I have started incorporating more raw foods. My husband still eats really poorly. Since I started raw 10 weeks ago, I have become almost entirely vegetarian (with the exception of some occasional seafood). I have also given up most dairy. I still eat a little cheese and butter but no milk or yogurt.
I think it will be easier to go 100% raw now than it was 10 weeks ago, now that I have given up meat and dairy. I am going to really miss these though. Man, they are good. You should try them.

My plan for the next 30 days is this. To eat 100% raw. All raw, all the time. I will probably slip up some. But that is OK. It is a process. I will post here every day, recording what I ate and how I felt. I will be including pictures, recipes, and links. Maybe a video or two. My hope is that by having this site to be accountable, that I will do better than if I just did it on my own. Plus, after the 30 days are over, I will have this documentation to look back and see what worked, what didn't, and to learn from my successes and failures.
What do I hope to get from this? First and foremost, I want to live a healthy life. As the person in our family who provides the food and nourishment, I need to be a good example and prepare foods that will keep my three growing little boys (and one grown hubby) as healthy as possible. Secondly, I want to lose weight. I would like to be at 130 again. I am in the process of weaning my baby, and hope that with that, and eating raw for 30 days, I will be a lot closer to the 130's than I am now. Thirdly, I want to feel my best. I want to have clearer skin and more energy. I have lots to do (like everyone else!). I have 3 small children. I have a house. I have a hubby. I have friends and family. I am homeschooling. I want to have energy and vitality to do it all!

2 comments:

Melissa said...

So very proud of you!! I will be in the cheering section - Go, Laurel, Go!!!! You CAN do this!

JL said...

Try Soy Garden as an alternative to butter. When we discovered my daughter was allergic to dairy I knew I would miss butter most of all, especially in cooking. I tried all of the others but Soy Garden tastes most like butter and is priced pretty reasonably at our local Giant and Trader Joe's.

Good luck on your raw diet.