The Journey Begins

This is the year—the year great things will happen. The year dreams will come true and goals will be fulfilled. I have made attempts before with much success, but this is different. The intentions have been written down—I am committed to creating the healthy and happy life we all deserve.

Let me start with a little reminiscing... I've been on a health kick for almost 10 years now. I've been researching natural lifestyles and gained many new friends, insights, and lessons along the way. The most dramatic though, was trying raw foods fall of 2007. I was 30 pounds overweight when my now husband and I (Brent) got comfortable and settled into our life together. I knew I had to do something that would make me stick to the diet and exercise I once had no problem following. So we got strict and lost weight, but I had a little more to go. Those last 10 pounds are evil...

In my search for a photographer for our wedding, I found Darice Michelle. Not only did I pick her to shoot our wedding, but we became instant friends when we met—a connection that is so rare and since the spark, has only grown stronger. She mentioned raw foods at our consultation and shortly after invited me to a raw food party she hosted. I had just recently read a little of this diet so I was eager to learn more.

I did my research—staying up late on the computer after work for hours and decided to take a raw pecan pie. Oh my! I had no idea how great the food would be. I was in love! I was hooked! Thank you Darice! Not only did I get a prize for getting the most correct answers on her quiz, but I found out that her daughter voted my pie for her favorite recipe! What a great start, and that was just the beginning. One of the most amazing parts of the night was how I felt after I stuffed myself with all that rawsome goodness—I felt so light and satisfied. I wasn't bloated or tired at all. The next 2 weeks were spent with experimenting in the kitchen and enjoying everything I was discovering. I lost those 10 pounds and I felt terrific—full of energy and optimism.

So life goes on and here I am now, ready to do this again. A trip to Europe (my place of birth with all my favorite indulgences) and the holidays broke down my will power and I've become addicted to cooked, bad-for-you food. I feel tired, not my usual happy self, and just all around blah!

With this new year, I decided to devote myself to getting back into the raw food lifestyle (because it's way more than a diet), working out again, and starting a blog to help me be accountable in hopes of teaching other people how great you can feel and look by doing likewise. Not only do you benefit, but the earth does too—there is no greener way to eat that I know of.

Since I feel so loaded with toxins and bloated with "dead" food, why not begin by trying something totally new for me—a detox! I found this free 7-day detox and I will begin tomorrow with a 24-hour fast. Kinda scary for me, I'm a food lover, I'm hungry the second I wake up, and I think I've only skipped breakfast a couple times my entire life! So stay tuned as I post each days' results, you just might want to try it yourself.