PROgress

(Yuck!)

Not only did I get to have a nice (cooked) meal with my family for my 18th birthday, but I also was lucky enough to get a pimple right in the middle of my forehead. My friends called me Unicorn for about a week and I had to go to a teacher to get pimple treatment cream...how embarrassing. I can never seem to keep my hands off of my face, so my pimple eventually turned into an irritated red blotch (pictured above, hard to miss). I'm working on it though. I've gotten better and better and keeping my hands off and only touching my face when I need to wash it. But anyway, the story behind this photo is that it was taken on my birthday, as I mentioned above, and that was my absolute lowest point. I was feeling quite large and unhealthy at 168lbs, and I really just didn't feel good about myself. I was in the middle of basketball season at the time, and I felt highly insecure every time I had to put my sleeveless jersey on. Often times during practice, I would either wear long sleeved shirts or black t-shirts in an effort to hide the extra weight I was carrying. The winter was a tough time for me.

Buying a copy of Skinny Bitch changed everything for me.

This is my post Skinny Bitch photo. That book really changed my life. Everything turned up for me after reading it. It was through that book that I entered the world of Raw Foods and all of the wonderful things it has to offer. Although Skinny Bitch promotes veganism, there is definitely an underlying 'raw' principle that is present.

These two pictures were taken five months apart...a slow transition but well worth the wait. I am aware that I have just started my journey an I have a long way to go, but I am actually excited about what lies ahead. I've made some pretty drastic changes these past few months, but it's only the beginning.

I wish that there was a way that I could thank raw food for all that it has given me. There is no explaining how appreciative I am for all of the benefits it has blessed me with. And to think, this food has been staring me in the face my whole life and I never took advantage of it. Meat, dairy, and processed food only served as nutrient deficient substitutes that were never cutting it for me. Now that I have found the real deal, I am better able to correct the diet mistakes I had made in the past.

Raw. Love.