Returning to raw...

I have finally decided to return to a raw food, plant based diet.It has been almost five years since I have been 100% raw and have struggled with wanting to go back for the longest time.I managed to always stay in the raw mindset. I know it is the best diet for "me" and believe it is the best diet for the entire planet! I love the idea of eating a raw only diet and all that goes along with it such as the environmental impact, the simplicity, the way it made me look and most of all the way it made me feel. So why did I stay away for so long?
The truth is that food and our diets are very emotional, cultural and social. I decided to go raw about 7 years ago and did so from one day to the next.My son decided to join me and it was only the two of us so there was no other influence in our home. We lived in Manhattan so it was easy as there were raw restaurants popping up to help with the transition. I quickly met friends and then began dating someone also on the raw diet. This support system made it all very easy and I eventually became the sous chef at NYC's Pure Food and Wine and then began teaching classes at the Natural Gourmet Institute. It was all so perfect until....I began to travel too much,moved to NJ, ended the relationship with the boyfriend and my son went to high school and lost all interest in raw foods when he was faced with Pizza!
My support system was gone.
I tried to go back but once I started slipping more and more it becomes very hard to get the initial desire I once had back. I continued to teach in NYC and would always tell my students that I was planning to return to my 100% raw diet but that would never happen. I then started to add vegan classes to my teaching schedule to have more opportunity to teach and then started a raw and vegan personal catering company which sealed my fate.Although I did do a lot of raw, vegan clients were always easier to come by. I began making raw granola and treats to sell at the local farmers market but then decided to add vegan baked goods as well and they sold very quickly.I was also in a new relationship with someone who never even heard of vegan non the less a raw food diet. I slowly stopped making salads and smoothies and replaced them with more "fun" dinners that I could share with this new man in my life. With the addition of old favorites like bread and pasta I started to really pack on the pounds and started to feel some of my old health issues returning.
In 2008 I got pregnant. That was it, I was going to go back to raw because I wanted my baby to be raw and have the healthiest life ever.....no such luck! I started eating more and more bread and bagels and strange baked goods that I never even ate normally. I did try to eat lots of fruits but the thought of a salad just made me gag. I managed not to gain too much weight during the pregnancy but after is when things just got crazy. Between the stress of the bad relationship I was in that finally ended when my daughter was a few months old and problems with my son I used food to comfort myself and now sit here writing this in the most physically out of shape state of my life.
Then it happened.I ran into a friend of mine in the farmers market and told her I was really ready to get back into raw and felt it was what I had to do to really get my health back and mentioned that we should do a tour to Ecuador together, a retreat. We are both chefs and we are both very strong believers in the raw food diet and in our own ways know so much about it. Well the suggestion was taken very serious and we began to plan the trip right away. I have been to Ecuador around 30 times and know it like the back of my hand and she has recently been working on tours in Hawaii and had her own juice bar/cafe so we thought we would be a perfect team along with a friend of mine who was visiting from Ecuador who is a guide.
We had two business meetings and everything is a go....and then I looked in the mirror! I realized I had to lose a serious amount of weight before I would feel comfortable bringing other people on a retreat. I want to be a good representation of what it is I am preaching about.Makes sense doesn't it?
So this is it! When I wake up tomorrow I will start my transition back to the healthiest diet I know and back into the healthy body I once knew. I will reveal my weight and measurements after I get a little loss behind me along with pictures for anyone who may stumble upon this blog and decide to follow my transformation.
Well good night world.....tomorrow is a new beginning and I just can't wait!