Well, I have not totalled up this month's stats, but I suspect it will be close; I might eat another donation (no pun intended). The frustrating lesson is that the month started off a bit rocky, but then ironed out into solid 75% plus every day; just because my habits changed for the better, I cannot undo the damage of earlier times, which sort of reflects my overall dilemma. If only I could have understood as a young person what sort of foundation I was laying when, on top of the Standard American Diet my mother fed me , I added years of candy and fast food, with a side helping of vomiting half of it back up for a few years!
But it has now been a quarter of a year of this experiment, and time to reflect on what is going on. Thanks to Mr. Van Orden's lecture, I now start every day with a green smoothie, and a lot of the black circles under my eyes have already disappeared. After truly sleep-deprived nights, I will still indulge in something caffeinated, but only after the REAL food has had a chance to do its thang.
Last night, after an almost 100% raw day and a session of meditation with my sangha, I have no clue what hit me, but I stopped for an O'doul's and potato chips! I then did not sleep well, although I cannot assume it was only the junk food and the lateness of the hour at which I ate it that did all the damage -- at the least, it did not help matters. But I resisted a true sugar glut, which is good. I think I can honestly say that most things I eat, no matter if raw, junk, or some of both, I at least think about what I am doing and if there are even marginally better options that would hit the same craving-button.
Thanks to Dr. Tel-Oren's detox lecture, I now keep my big clunky air purifier running 24/7. Thanks to Mother Nature, I am squeezing in more exercise here and there; I bought a second-hand jump rope and was gifted a lovely soccer ball, so even if I don't have a lot of time and don't want to get sweaty, I can go jump 50 jumps and get a flash-workout (50 jumps -- try it!).
Other things have not particularly improved. My rosacea skin condition has not changed a bit, really. Both my hands and face have even more dry skin, in spite of coconut oil being slathered on multiple times a day, and decreased use of forced-air heat as spring comes on. And I am mortified that I'm still winded after only 50 jumps of a rope!!
But overall, I believe that when I hold steady at around 75% raw, I get benefits well worth the extra cost and time. With gardening season coming on, the financial cost will go down a bit but time cost will increase. I know from past experience and common sense that eating raw in the summer is so much easier than the winter that I anticipate the ride to be smooth sailing for the next quarter -- barring some unforeseen circumstance like a tragedy or a love affair. But then, if it's unforeseeable, I'm not going to worry about it now! Keep up the good work, Skya! : )