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Raw Odyssey Has a New Domain! 16 y
I have consolidated two sites into one
I have moved my site to my own domain after deciding that maintaining
this site and a mirror Blogger site was a little too much work for
2008. http://blog.rawodyssey.com will be the blog location.
As time goes on, I’ll develop other areas of rawodyssey.com. Of the
two sites, I have gotten the most support and advice from those of you
who visit this one, so I hope to see you all at the new location!
-Allison
visit the page I'm So Excited! 16 y
I'm buying a Vitamix in a few weeks!
I found out that one of the Costcos around here is selling the Vita-Mix in February! I’m so ready to buy one. I see on their website
that they have a new one called the 5200. So many choices! I’m going
to buy that one, I think, as I do not intend to grind any grains into
flour. I can’t wait to watch the demonstration at the store. I love
watching them put those recipes together- guess I’m easily entertained.
These past couple of weeks I find myself having less and less desire
for junk foods. It’s not a conscious effort. In fact, though my fridge
is full of holiday food, I ... read more Preparing for Raw in 2008 17 y
I'm very excited about taking what I've learned in 2006 and 2007 from both my raw diet and my doctor visits, and applying it to my 2008 version of raw.
Recently I have been hanging out
at Give It To Me Raw, a new social network that all of you who are
interested in raw health should check out. It’s chock full of positive
energy and wisdom, and it has been an uplifting experience for me to
post there. I’ve had a lot of fun there sharing my experiences, getting
to know people, and reading responses to my posts and questions. I
recently posted about my plans for 2008: It’s been so
wonderful reading all of the stories and comments people have been
posting at GITMR. This community is very open-minded and welcoming,
which is a blessing ... read more Oh This BLAH Feeling. It Sucks! 17 y
This happens whenever I fall off the raw wagon. DUH!
I’ve been feeling very blah over the past month. I think it has much to do with my crappy diet and not so much to do with stopping the thyroid medication, even though I did feel a little mood uplift when I was taking it for that short amount of time. When I feel this way, I just want to stay in bed all day. I find it hard to concentrate on anything, and cannot motivate myself to start projects. The longer I feel this way, the more anxious I get because I can see myself wasting all sorts of time and not living my life. Through some kind of force of will I will get myself back to a mos ... read more Already Making Changes with the Medicine 17 y
I'm getting even more frustrated!
I had a fantastic week vacationing with a friend in Sacramento. I got to visit San Francisco for the first time as well. I love that place! I can’t wait to go back and truly explore. It seems like a great place to be a raw foodist and a fit person, what with the fresh produce, mild weather, and multitude of hills to climb for exercise. Before leaving for my vacation I talked to my doctor about my hair loss, which seems to be accelerating. I find myself staring at my hairline with both fascination and trepidation. The doctor said that the thyroid medicine, despite being a ... read more A Week Since Starting Armour Thyroid 17 y
Does Armour lift your mood?
It’s been a bit over a week since I started taking my thyroid medication. It’s too soon to notice any real effects, although I do feel that my mood has lifted a bit. That might just be a coincidence, but it’s fine with me. What I’m really paying attention to is whether I continue to lose more hair. Because it is dry and brittle it still breaks, but I don’t know for sure whether it is still falling out at the same rate. I’m going to wait a couple of more weeks before saying for sure whether the situation has changed.
Since starting the medication I must admit I have not ... read more Got the Blood Test Results 17 y
Time for some changes in the Raw Odyssey!
I saw the doctor today for the results of the blood tests for PCOS and hypothyroidism. The PCOS tests came back in the normal range, but the thyroid test wasn’t so great. He prescribed Armour thyroid medication
for me - 30 mg daily. I got the prescription filled this morning and
have taken my first teeny tiny pill (so tiny I can’t be sure it isn’t
stuck in a tooth somewhere). I’m not sure how I feel about the
diagnosis. I’m thrilled that my thyroid might be responsible for the
hair loss rather than my raw diet being responsible for it, but I’m not
thrilled to ha ... read more Another Round of Bloodwork 17 y
I'm not sure what I want the results to be!
I met with a doctor that I found on the hypothyroidism website. A very
nice and patient doctor who told me that based on my medical history,
symptoms, and family history, I may havePCOS or hypothyroidism. Here’s what I was told (in my own words, ok?) While my TSH score is in the low-normal range, my bloodwork did not show my T3, which could be outside the normal range and cause my symptoms. As for the PCOS, insulin resistance is often related to that condition, and carbohydrates would aggravate it. Of course I eat a lot of carbs on a vegetarian or vega ... read more What about hypothyroidism? 17 y
I've been reading about the symptoms of "subclinical hypothyroidism" and they sound similar to my own
I’ve gotten some comments from readers of this blog and from other
people about my hair loss symptoms, and I have found them all very
interesting and helpful in one way or another. One thing that I’ve
started to look at more seriously is hypothyroidism. A close friend
who has it told me that my symptoms sound similar to hers. I figured
that since my TSH
level of .692 was within the .3 to 3.0 range, I have nothing to worry
about. However, I’ve since learned that there is such a thing as " subclinical hypothyroidism" which involves symptoms of hypoth ... read more Good Things 17 y
Good things that keep me motivated
At work on Friday one of my coworkers looked me up and down and said,
"you’re losing weight, aren’t you?" That was great- my first
unsolicited weight loss comment! I had gotten a comment from another
coworker a week or so earlier, but she is seeing the same nutritionist
I am and was expecting to see me lose weight, so I didn’t count her
comment as purely unsolicited (hey, I have strict standards about what
counts as unsolicited.) I am starting to fit into previously-tight
clothing. I don’t feel totally comfortable in them yet because I tend
to wear loose clothing, but I h ... read more Getting those B's for Hair, Skin and Mental Health 17 y
B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9 and B12- now I know what they do.
This past week I’ve had a harder time keeping to my chosen food list than usual. Stress from adjusting to my academic and work schedule still has me turning to food more than I’d like. Still, I am being careful and although I gained a pound one week, I’m now down 32 lbs total since early June. In 18 more pounds I’ll have lost my goal of 50 for the year. I believe it is doable, and I’m looking forward to reaching that first milestone. I asked my nutritionist about the B-Complex vitamins she is giving me. She is so confident that they will help me regrow my ... read more Gym Therapy 17 y
Exercise is supposed to be good for depression
This wasn’t the best weekend for me- I felt pretty blue and found it almost impossible to concentrate on my studies. Finally I decided to take myself to the gym- supposedly that helps with depression, especially when you go regularly. I decided to just do what I felt capable of doing. I ended up doing 3 miles on the treadmill in about an hour. I will be very sore tomorrow but it was worth it. If I can get myself to do 30 minutes a day, I’ll be happy. I’ve already been lifting a 10 lb weight every other day for a few weeks now, so I know I’ve built up a little muscle by now in my arms and ... read more Adjusting the Diet Again 17 y
I'm sure I'll be all right. I'm just sad right now!
Since I realized my hair has been falling out again, I’ve gone to
Trader Joe’s and stocked up on fat free cottage cheese, fat free Greek
style yogurt, and some low-calorie salads that include some cheese
(goat cheese, feta cheese). I’ve now taken two days’ of the B-Complex
vitamins my nutritionist gave me. Today I made some vegetable
soup. I had made some last week as well, using vegetable broth as a
base, but today I used fat free, low-sodium chicken broth because it
added 24 grams of protein to the recipe. I also put in 1 cup of
(uncooked) barley, 1 can of grea ... read more Flashback 17 y
It's not my imagination- my hair is falling out again.
This week I’ve finally had to acknowledge that my hair is falling out
again. I thought it was my imagination at first but no, it’s falling
out and I feel horrible. What makes it worse is that I’m not even 100
percent raw- I’ve just been easing into it gradually. I can’t figure
out what it is I am missing in my diet that would cause my hair to fall
out. I’m not losing weight too quickly. My blood tests were all normal
except for the high cholesterol. My protein levels are certainly lower
than when I was eating meat, but could I really need that muc ... read more Still Going Strong! 17 y
My McDougall-like plan has gotten me off dairy- one more step towards all raw!
Despite not being 100% raw yet, I’m continuing to lose weight and so
far I am feeling quite healthy. I have become more accustomed to
grains and beans and now I combine quinoa with lentils and vegetables
for one meal daily. Breakfast is usually fruit. I often have an ounce
of almonds as a snack or even with my breakfast, but I’m reconsidering
continuing that since they add a lot of calories but only a few grams
of protein. I can honestly say I don’t miss dairy as much as I thought
I would.
Speaking of protein, I’ve been getting between only 40 and 60 gra ... read more New Recipes 17 y
Still working on the protein issue
Today
I tried to get 60 gms of protein, minimum, without resorting to protein
powder. I started with a smoothie with 4 tablespoons of the shelled
hemp seed for breakfast. It was better this time because I knew to
blend it more thoroughly with my immersion blender, but there was still
some texture.
For lunch I had half of a Trader Joe’s couscous salad into which I
added 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds for additional protein. As a snack I
had an ounce of almonds.
Dinner was a raw salad I made based on
Israeli Salad (photo above): diced cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, and
green onions ... read more |