Food for thought, thought for food

Anyone who's has been on the diet roller coaster throughout their lives knows how hard it is to do away with your cravings and bad habits. My experience on this ride has been more akin to riding The Mean Streak versus Millenium Force; (for all of you non-amusement park-goers, these are mean rides at Cedar Point and Geauga Lake in Ohio). From eating like a bear to eating like a bird to I've been from one extreme to the next and everywhere in between. It wasn't until I started to eat like a monkey, though, that I noticed any positive changes. I've come pretty far in terms of my diet, but I have quite a long way to go. It's been a wonderful process of really listening to my body and purifying my diet and environment. Here's some of the changes I've noticed throughout my journey. Most of them are weird, none of them bad. I'd love to hear from others as to what they went through when going raw vegan or about any fears some of you have about making the leap into this lifestyle!

• My nails don't have weird ridges on them anymore & are SUPER strong. 
• I don't get sunburned. It's almost like I can't. 
• I don't like gum anymore. It just tastes way too artificial and makes me uuber gassy.
• Tea makes me nauseous. This is a new thing, so I'll keep an update as to how long this lasts. 
• Just the SIGHT of meat makes me nauseous. I won't even get into the smell. Blyick! 
• As long as I keep my calories high, I'm super alert and creative. 
• Touching mango skin to my lips makes them burn; the reason, I'm guessing, is because mangoes are part of the same family as poison ivy. However, I'm not allergic to poison ivy. Seriously, I could roll around in it all day if I wanted to; and have in the past as a party trick.
• Bugs don't bother me very much anymore. Except fruit flies- but that's usually just when I'm eating. My solution for them? A cup of apple cider vinegar with dish soap set out on the counter lures them to their soapy demise.
• IF (and only IF) I keep my calories high in carbs, my muscles don't fatigue. AND they're not sore the following day, even if I forget to stretch.Which I do, alot. 
• My hair is thicker. I don't know if it's because I've switched to natural conditioners (working on shampoo), or if it's due to my diet.
• I don't use face soap or acne meds anymore. I used to stock up on Noxema and Benzoyl Peroxide/Salylic Acid treatments, and even used to be on meds for it, but now all I use is water and some herbal toner and I'm good to go. If I wear makeup, I take it off with these homemade coconut oil face wipes. If I get a zit, I dab on tea tree oil. I do supplement with 50mg of Zinc- a homeopathic remedy that seems to work wonders especially during THAT time of the month. More on "that" later...
• I used to sweat like a pig. Actually, I don't know if pigs sweat as much as I used to. Gross, yes. And it wasn't reserved to just when I was working out or when it was hot out. No, this was even while I slept. In fact, my boyfriend used to call me "his little sauna". Endearing, no? Now? I don't. Sometimes I'll get moist- especially if there's no air circulation, or I'll get a little bit of salt crystals along my hairline. 

• Poop. Everyone hates to talk about it, and I get it, it's pretty gross. But, like the children's book says, Everybody Poops. And although this may be TMI to the max, I was lucky if I had a movement every 2 days. Now I get one AT LEAST 2x per day. And it's so much easier to keep my stomach flat. 
• The biggest thing I've noticed is that I used to have edema. To the point that I could retain a 1 1/2 inch-deep pock mark in my calf for over 20 minutes. In addition to my acne meds, I used to also take a medication called Spironolactone for this excessive water retention. At first, the doctors blamed it on  my low protein intake (this was back in 2007), so I saw a nutritionist and a Naturopathic doctor and started eating eggs and protein powders= edema continued. Then I saw an endocrinologist and they blamed it on hormones, so I started this Spironolactone, which worked and allowed me to continue on a vegan diet. Then one day in 2009, about two months after I'd started raw veganism, I ran out of my prescription...AND health insurance.  So, I went against everything I'd learned in pre-med and discontinued my prescription. What I discovered was that the edema never returned. 

• Another added benefit of not taking Spironolactone anymore is that I can eat bananas and drink coconut water! Two of my FAVORITE things!! (Spironolactone is a "potassium-saving medication," and the doctors said if I consumed too much potassium that my heart could burst. Now, I eat up to 15 bananas a day-I've never gone on "banana island"-and my heart rate doesn't even increase.)
• I also used to have an extremely puffy face and hands-especially in the morning. Not so much anymore.