This is the ninth post in a series of posts taken from a blog of mine, written in 2007, two weeks before the birth of my fifth child.
Sugar is From the Devil!- originally posted July 22, 2007
As you may have guessed from my lack of posting, I fell off the raw wagon for a few weeks. Boy, am I sorry, too! Not only did I rapidly gain back almost all the weight I lost, but I started having back pain, fatigue, pubic bone pain, lethargy, and a general bloated feeling. My rings started getting really tight again, and I was not a happy camper.
There are two main reasons I went off the diet. One is, I was getting tired of all the chopping and peeling, and really wanted to do some different type of recipes, which I don't yet have the equipment for (saladacco, Vita Mix). Then, I started having some weird nausea and abdominal pain. I wasn't sure if it could be from the diet, though I didn't think it was. I just started eating anything convenient. The pain didn't go away, though. It progressively got worse, til I ended up in the hospital for a few days for some tests and observations. The tests were all negative--no gallstones, liver problems, ulcers, etc. It wasn't acid reflux, round ligament pain (obstetricians think EVERYTHING is round ligament pain) or morning sickness. [Edit: It was during this hospital visit, a CT scan showed I had a huge aneurysm above my aortic heart valve. However, for some reason no one thought this was important to mention to me. I didn't find this out until a year later. I could have died. Get a copy of and review EVERY test you get done. The actual report in your medical file. If I had, I would have seen what they wrote about the aneurysm.]
The only thing they can figure out is that it's probably adhesions from a previous surgery. It's the only thing that makes sense. They say since I didn't have a problem with adhesion pain before, I should be better after delivering, when I'm no longer all stretched out (I sure hope so). Until then I'm on Percocet, but I'm trying not to take much. I hate taking any kind of drugs, but in this case, it's necessary. After two weeks of this nauseating pain, I can't function without some kind of relief. [Edit: They may have been right, it eventually went away before delivery. I don't think it was a symptom of the aneurysm, since it wasn't an abdominal aneurysm, but who knows.]
Meanwhile, it took me over a week of false starts to get back on the wagon, after two weeks of eating processed cooked junk. The last straw was after three days of eating sugary stuff (mostly ice cream). All of a sudden, my sugar and chocolate cravings came back with a vengeance (they were controllable before that) and my back pain and pubic bone pain were awful...even while on Percocet!! I have no doubt it was the sugar. That just goes to show you how much of a poison refined white sugar is.
Sugar is evil, people! It is an unnatural poison that pollutes our bodies and ruins our emotional and spiritual well-being. Sugar turns you into an addicted, fat glutton. Sugar makes you depressed. God did not make sugar. God made honey and sugar cane, but not refined table sugar. I kid you not, sugar is straight from the Devil! [Edit: I have realized since writing this 3 years ago that many products I assumed were sugar-filled were actually High Fructose Corn Syrup filled. HFCS is worse than sugar! Read your labels. I found HFCS in PICKLES! Sheesh.] (Okay, Evil Sugar rant is over.)
When I finally had enough of the pain, I went back on raw food, last Wednesday. I started by making it easier on myself, and buying pre-cut fruit trays and pre-made salads at the grocery store. They weren't organic, but it would be an easy start. Thursday I went to the raw food restaurant to bring home a couple of meals and goodies. I also stopped at the health food store for some raw trail mix, Larabars, [Edit: Larabar ingredients aren't always raw, and they're not organic, just so you know] and various fruit.
My husband wasn't too thrilled at having to throw out all the organic produce that went bad during my three week "slip". Neither was I--all that money, and good food! But I'm back in the game now, and so excited.
My body is taking a bit longer this time to shake the symptoms...possibly because the toxins I ate were more of a shock to my system this time, after being raw a while. Or because I'm on the pain medicine. The good news is, I started losing weight right away, over a pound a day. I had been back up to 287, but now I am 283.6. My rings are looser already. I'd love to be no more than 280 when I have my c-section, which is in 2 1/2 weeks.
Today the back pain is mostly gone, the pubic pain is almost gone, I think, and I'm a lot less sleepy today...which is big, because this medication makes you sleepy. I'm actually feeling pretty jazzed up right now.
One of the best things about going back on this diet is that I can stuff myself on raw to overcome any temptations, which makes going back on the wagon much easier. Really, the first day was the toughest. Today I've just been eating like crazy. But I don't have to worry about it, or even feel guilty, and that is awesome! I made up a dessert, with cashew butter, crushed macadamia nuts, a mashed banana, some raw agave nectar, and some ground raw cacao nibs. It was pretty good. And I felt great about eating it, because it is GOOD for me!!
I know once I have the baby and shift into weight-loss mode, I may have to watch my intake of nuts, avocados, bananas, etc. But since I'll be nursing I don't think it will be a real issue, unless I go totally crazy.
I am so committed to this way of eating. I really do enjoy it. I can't wait for my taste buds to continue to change, so I can enjoy even more different kinds of healthier foods. When I eat raw, I feel like I am eating the way God designed me to eat, and that my body is functioning the way it was created to. Finally!
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