Week Nine. It feels good to be starting the New Year with this new diet. I'm also pleased the changes to my diet so far have been minimal.
It's taken some time and effort to get set up anew here on the west coast. Fortunately, I did order some items ahead of time, one of which was a book on salad dressings. Salad Dressings for Life (available from Hallelujah Acres) http://ecommerce.hacres.com/Educational/Recipes-Books has proven to be quite helpful. I also went out and bought a wide assortment of spices and herbs which has made it possible for me to make a number of tasty dressings.
These dressings, Orange-Tahini, Lemon, Russian, Avocado Tomato, Tangy Mango etc. have gone a long way toward creating a sense of variety in the salads I've been having. This is particularly important when raw vegetables are pretty much the only things one has to work with.
I'm not much of a cook, so having a few recipes, some of them quite simple, has boosted my confidence and encouraged me to be more intentional and adventuresome around my "cooking."
The stats for this past week show an interesting change of direction:
12/27/09 01/03/10 Change
Weight 133.7 lbs. 134.9 +1.2 lbs.
Interesting how the introduction of cooked food quickly changes one's weight.
A few years ago I spent about a month in a health spa in Mexico. I lost about 25 pounds and arrived back in Canada weighing about 140 pounds. Once home, I continued to eat well but, unlike Mexico, cooked food was a bigger part of my diet. I put on one or two pounds a week. Within six months, I was back to my old weight of about 165 pounds.
I'm no doctor, but this anecdotal evidence (along with the resumption of weight loss in the coming weeks once I return to raw food) strongly suggests that a raw food diet goes a long ways in assisting a person lose any unnecessary weight.
A few years ago I spent about a month in a health spa in Mexico. I lost about 25 pounds and arrived back in Canada weighing about 140 pounds. Once home, I continued to eat well but, unlike Mexico, cooked food was a bigger part of my diet. I put on one or two pounds a week. Within six months, I was back to my old weight of about 165 pounds.
I'm no doctor, but this anecdotal evidence (along with the resumption of weight loss in the coming weeks once I return to raw food) strongly suggests that a raw food diet goes a long ways in assisting a person lose any unnecessary weight.
Body Fat 20.3 lbs. 20.9 +0.6 lbs.
Half the increase is fat. Not totally surprising as I've indulged in delicious Brie cheese and hummous this past week.
BMI 21.0 21.2 +0.2
A slight increase due to a slight weight gain.
Body Fat 15.0% 15.5 +0.5
Same as above but as a percentage.
Water 62.0% 61.7 -0.3%
For the first time, a very small downward change. Not sure if it's a reflection of the weight gain, or the diet.
Bone Mass 6.4% 6.4 No change.
The bone mass seems to be holding its own.
