New Year's Resolution

Dear Reader,

Three years ago, I made two New Year's resolutions: Not to buy anything made in China and to balance my checkbook every month. Surprisingly, I kept both of those resolutions even though it was nearly impossible to not buy anything made in China. When I make a New Year's resolution, I take it very seriously. So when I was asked about my 2011 resolution, I said I wanted to lose weight. That comment was naturally proceeded by laughter, mine and the people present. It seems cliche, but I'm taking it seriously.

Since I was married in August 2008, I gained 10 lbs. Petty, I know, but hear me out. At a hover rate* of 147 lbs I was content. But at a hover rate of 157 lbs, I noticed significant differences. At 27 years old, I was starting to see some health issues that worried me (beyond my slight hypochondriac tendencies):

• Right and left knee aches and pains
• Worsening eye sight (my left eye prescription is -13.0!) and retinal pinholes
• Constant low circulation (icy hands and feet)
• Occasional binge eating
• Sluggish and lazy behavior

For the last six years, I have been a full vegetarian (no meat, but I eat eggs and dairy). I rarely take medication, I consume very little caffeine and use the hormone-free Fertility Awareness Method. To many, I seem healthy. So, while thinking about losing weight, I wanted to continue the healthy trend. One fateful day at work, my friend Gail suggested I look at the website for Hallelujah Acres. The Hallelujah Diet is a diet that has helped cure cancer, facilitated dramatic weight loss, prevented amputation and reversed eye sight problems. It's a raw food diet.

Wait, a raw food diet?! I thought. Isn't that for crusty hippies who live in California, beat on their bongo drums and use patchouli oil? Or those huge muscle-builders who juice their entire kitchen every day? Needless to say, I was intrigued.

I spent significant time on the website and, for lack of a better term, it started to haunt me. Twelve days later, I can't stop thinking about it! I started to make all these connections in my head that have lead me here. This has to be my resolution! I want to lose weight and change my lifestyle this year.

So, in this digital age, I decided to blog about my experiences during the next year. I have set concrete goals (50%-50%** or higher by the end of the year) and have identified friends who are also interested in a raw food diet. I'm anticipating a difficult transition (i.e. negative reaction from family and friends, breaking bad eating habits, creating new forms of self-discipline) but an exciting result.

Thanks for reading and I encourage any questions that you may have.

~Sara

*Hover rate is my term for the average I weigh throughout the week. Sometimes I would be 1-3lbs over or under any given day depending on what time I weighed myself, what day in my cycle it was and what I ate the day before.

**The Hallelujah Diet recommends eating a diet that is 85% raw and 15% cooked. I'm starting with a 50% raw and 50% cooked diet.