“And the Day came when the effort it took to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anias Nin

The title of this post was in an email I read when I got up this morning.  I felt it was quite appropriate for this new endeavor I'm undertaking.

So I had my first visit to a nutritionist today.  Considering I've been a vegetarian for over 10 years, it was long overdue.  The woman I went to see has helped people cure all kinds of illness thru dietary change.  She also works with "The Cancer Project", a non-profit whose mission is to advance cancer prevention and survival through nutrition education and research.

To explain how I ended up meeting with her, I have to give you a little background info.  Actually, this will help explain what got me started on this path towards alternative health.

When I first became a vegetarian, my diet consisted mainly of french fries, cheese, pasta, and the occasional green leafy thing.  After gaining about 20 pounds, I realized that even though I was helping Bessie the cow and Lulu the pig, I was not doing myself any favors.

So my diet evolved to be a little healthier, but still heavy on dairy.  Because my family was freaked out about me "not getting enough protein", I went heavy on the milk and cheese to appease them.  Although not having ever met a cheese I didn't like, I was quite happy with this arrangement too.  Then when I turned 30 I started developing some seasonal allergy symptoms.  I went to see an allergist who informed me that I wasn't allergic to anything.

By the time I was 35, the symptoms were not just seasonal, but year round.  This is what led me to start acupuncture, which is a wonderful modality that I will discuss more in another blog.  So the acupuncture led me to Reiki, because my acupuncturist was also a Reiki I practitioner.

Around this time I also started reading books by Dr. Andrew Weil.  I started with "Eight Weeks to Optimal Health", but it was "Spontaneous Healing" that taught me the most.  After reading that and cutting out anything partially hydrogenated, high fructose, or anything with "fake sugar", I was able to lose 30 pounds and fit back into my "pre-baby" jeans.  I would highly recommend "Spontaneous Healing" if you're having trouble cutting the bad stuff out of your diet.  After reading what it does to your body, it might not seem as appetizing anymore.

About a month ago I decided to do a 3 day fruit and vegetable detox.  Since I hadn't eaten wheat for 3 days, which I realized I was eating almost every meal, I decided to see if I could stay off of it and see if I felt any better.  I had already cut out meat, dairy, sugar and alcohol, so after cutting out wheat too I really needed some ideas about what was left to eat.  It's amazing how good a rice cake tastes after you've cut out everything else with flavor.

My weight loss mantra used to be, "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels".  I guess I'll have to change that to, "nothing tastes as good as feeling good feels."  So that's what led me to the nutritionist.  If you're still with me, congratulations for slogging thru.  I know you'll be waiting with baited breath for my update after my second meeting next week.

Well, I'm off to bed to dream about my favorite meal.  A glass of zinfandel, a plate of cheese, followed by coffee and chocolate for dessert.  Those were the days.

www.cancerproject.org
www.drweil.com
www.janetmckee.com