Monday, May 23, 2011

Hopping on the Wagon Again

Slowly but surely bad things crept into my diet: first the raw foods diminished, replaced by relatively healthy vegan food. Then there was the discovery of City O'City vegan desserts here in Denver -- vegan Ho Ho cupcakes, scout cookies, carrot cake, scones. And, what was to become my comfort food, City O' City's BBQ tofu sandwich ("The Sherman"), with the tofu, I think, fried, and sometimes ordered with a side of fries. So fried foods came back into my diet, along with processed sugars and grains. Coffee became an indulgence and an addiction, driving through Starbuck's each morning before work, intoxicated by the wafting scent coming out of the window as I drove up.

At first the changes in my health and well-being were negligible, but gradually as I got further and further away from that wagon, the health effects became more noticeable. Gradual weight gain, so gradual I didn't really noticed it until I crept up near 140 lbs. My skin had almost constant breakouts, usually timed with my menstrual cycle, but something I had not experienced while raw. Mood swings became more severe. Of course there were other factors: the stress of a new job, a divorce, moving to a new state, my mother's death. Enough to throw anyone's equilibrium off, certainly. Still, I couldn't help but feel like my body was craving clean foods again and clean energy.

So, this weekend I hopped back on the wagon. I'll stick to the following rules (very similar to the ones I stuck to during my most dedicated time period) for at least a month to see how I fare:
  • Raw foods at home, lots of green smoothies
  • If I go out to eat, I can eat cooked food, but must avoid processed sugars, processed grains, and fried foods
  • I will try to minimize coffee without sacrificing work productivity. Ie, I'll drink it if I feel I really need the energy boost and will try to switch to green tea over time, perhaps eliminating caffeine altogether if I don't need it
Today is day three of the regimen. Yesterday I had a caffeine withdrawal headache and slept quite a bit. Today I feel alert without having yet had any caffeine. Let's see how productive I can be...