(Before - January 6th, 2008)I'm dedicating this post to my progress. I wrote about the strides I've made in a post that I wrote last month, but I was too ashamed to put up shirtless photos. Although the picture that I put up last month displays my 'pimple plague' (which was pretty awful), I think that the one above is a lot worse.
This picture was taken on January 6th...the day before I started the Body-for-Life program. Not only does my facial expression scream misery, but my insides were very much screaming it as well. I was in a really unhappy place at that time. Not only was the freezing New England weather keeping me down, but I was also pressed to meet college application deadlines, keep up a decent GPA, and play Varsity Basketball. On top of all of that, I was away from family, which meant that I wasn't receiving all of the support I needed.
At that point, I decided that it was time I support myself.
My first attempt to do this was by borrowing my sister's copy of Bill Phillip's Body-for-Life and reading it cover to cover. As my brain matured on the issue of health, I took the next step and purchased a copy of Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin...and read it cover to cover. Reading those two books eventually snowballed into what eventually became my raw food obsession.
No, I'm not 100% raw (yet), but I make an effort daily to include plenty of raw foods into my diet. As a result of making simple changes such as substituting cucumber apple juice :-) for processed orange juice, or subbing a large, hearty salad for a turkey burger with fries (okay, maybe that's not such a simple swap)...I now look like this:
(Now - August 6th, 2008)
This picture was taken on January 6th...the day before I started the Body-for-Life program. Not only does my facial expression scream misery, but my insides were very much screaming it as well. I was in a really unhappy place at that time. Not only was the freezing New England weather keeping me down, but I was also pressed to meet college application deadlines, keep up a decent GPA, and play Varsity Basketball. On top of all of that, I was away from family, which meant that I wasn't receiving all of the support I needed.
At that point, I decided that it was time I support myself.
My first attempt to do this was by borrowing my sister's copy of Bill Phillip's Body-for-Life and reading it cover to cover. As my brain matured on the issue of health, I took the next step and purchased a copy of Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin...and read it cover to cover. Reading those two books eventually snowballed into what eventually became my raw food obsession.
No, I'm not 100% raw (yet), but I make an effort daily to include plenty of raw foods into my diet. As a result of making simple changes such as substituting cucumber apple juice :-) for processed orange juice, or subbing a large, hearty salad for a turkey burger with fries (okay, maybe that's not such a simple swap)...I now look like this:
(Now - August 6th, 2008)I still have lots of work to do in order to get to where I would like to be, but for now, I'm pretty content with the progress I've made. It's been a long, SLOW process, but there's not much that I would change about the way I approached my transition.
I used to think that protein shakes and loading up on creatine would be my best bets for dropping pounds, but nothing has given me greater results than a vegan diet with a large emphasis on raw foods.
Since my ankle still hasn't completely healed, I haven't started a workout regimen as of yet. I can do things such as powerwalk and upperbody weight training without being in much pain so I need to jump on that right away in order to add some shape and definition to my body.
Although, I find it amazing that I've gotten this far just by changing my diet. Imagine when I start throwing in workouts!
All I can do is stay determined and strive for the best.
Raw. Love.
-Nat
I used to think that protein shakes and loading up on creatine would be my best bets for dropping pounds, but nothing has given me greater results than a vegan diet with a large emphasis on raw foods.
Since my ankle still hasn't completely healed, I haven't started a workout regimen as of yet. I can do things such as powerwalk and upperbody weight training without being in much pain so I need to jump on that right away in order to add some shape and definition to my body.
Although, I find it amazing that I've gotten this far just by changing my diet. Imagine when I start throwing in workouts!
All I can do is stay determined and strive for the best.
Raw. Love.
-Nat
1 comment:
you look great!
Post a Comment