Don't do what I did...

I am actually seeing some results from all my hard work!...but they aren't exactly the ones I was hoping for. I was so gung ho for exercising about 3 weeks ago that I seriously was doing my aerobic dvd and yoga almost every day! I felt really good, until my ankles started to get sore. I figured it was just sore muscles, and that they'd feel better once I exercised more, but the pain kept getting worse, until the point where I couldn't walk without pain. So I figured, I better stop. I went to the doctor, but since I don't have insurance I wasn't about to pay for x-rays, and he told me that I either strained the ligaments in my inner ankles, or I might have stress fractures. Joy! Apparently my feet are slightly pronated, and flat (I never knew), and since I was working out without shoes (in my carpeted room), and jumping around and twisting, it was a recipe for disaster. So please, don't be stupid like me, and wear good shoes that are supportive for your unique feet! Better yet, get a medical examination before working out, especially if you've been sedentary for awhile. I know that everyone recommends that, but hardly anyone actually does it! Also, the scale at the doctor's office said that I was actually heavier than what I started out as, whereas my Wii Fit said that I had lost 10 lbs. So I am at a loss as to how much I really weigh, but I guess that's sort of a good thing because I don't want to be preoccupied about weight, just muscle tone.

It was so hard the first few days when I had to just sit around and be lazy. I felt so dejected and frustrated, and I just wanted to cry. I felt like there was no use in trying to be healthy if I wasn't seeing dramatic results, except for those of the injury kind! But of course these were just old, plaguing emotions that need to be conquered just as much as the food emotions, and I'd only been working out for 3 weeks, so what can I expect, really? My body will start to heal itself and release it's extra fat (energy!) when it's ready, I know it. I am wearing 2 foot/ankle braces, just soft velcro things, and they seem to be helping. If the pain doesn't go way in 2 weeks I have to go back and get x-rays, and I'm praying I won't have to! I can still do yoga as long as I don't put too much weight on my ankles, so I don't feel like too much of a lazy bum. It's such a shame because my aerobic dvd (Jillian Michael's 30 day shred) was kicking my butt in a good way, and it's so effective (apparently a little too much so in my case)! I am going to start it up again, but with good shoes next time! Haha. I also can't wait until it gets warmer so that I can start biking more, and playing tennis. So the moral of this story: To get healthy requires perseverance, and not getting discouraged to the point of giving up whenever life throws a stone in your path. Keep doing whatever you can, and work around it! I am still trying to learn this! Good nutrition is also going to be more important than ever now!

My Conquest

My goodness, it's been so hard for me to keep up to date on this blog lately! But I think I have the antidote. See, I'm starting to run out of things to say about raw food, but there are still plenty of amazing raw recipes out there to share, as well as "mostly raw" ones that are very healthy! There is a lot going on at my house too (well, a lot for me, which still isn't that much!), things that keep me preoccupied and away from the computer. So, I think I'd like to take this blog into a more expansive direction. I still want to write about raw food and recipes, but I want to also share other healthy recipes or ideas that I come across that might not be totally raw. I am going to extend it also to include exercise, home improvement stuff, pretty much anything interesting that promotes well-being and health. But mostly it will still be about food!

So this whole new outlook on food has really, truly helped me. I made myself accountable to God, which for me, is really the only thing that works every time. I went to Chuck-a-rama the other day, which was very risky for me since buffets + me = gluttony. But surprisingly you can even eat mostly raw at a buffet like Chuck-a-rama if you have the willpower! I had a giant salad with lots of veggies, and some beans, some fresh fruit, and some mashed potatoes for my "treat". It might seem like a waste of $11 for eating only that, but to me it was worth it, just because I can now say that I once conquered a buffet for probably the first time in my life. Sugar is usually my weakness, but strangely I didn't even crave the cakes or brownies or anything. It's easy to lose your taste for refined sugar when you train your tongue to be satisfied with natural sugar (like fruit)!

My flimsy little fruit bowl is a trooper.