811rv and the weight loss equation

It seems that we are many who are perplexed or perhaps intimidated by the giant calorie intake/ weight loss equation.

Well, I have just returned from a short vacation to St. Louis which was bookended by an intense stairclimb race (good) and gooey butter cake (bad). I know we each have our reasons for turning to the 811 way of life but I wanted to give you all my personal philosophy. I strongly believe that life is for living and that deprivation leads to temptation. If I lived in Hawaii or some other beautiful island where I would never leave the beach and had access to a variety of fresh gorgeous fruit I would be 100% raw vegan -- without a doubt. But I am single mother/ middle manager at a Fortune 500 company who works 100 hour weeks...the only thing I look forward to is escaping on vacation. The few occasions I get to escape I want to experience the full array of what that city has to offer -- that ranges from attractions and of course local food. I feel like by living 811 for the lion's share of the time with small episodes of gourmet cooked food limited to vacations -- I will feel neither deprived therefore tempted to cheat or missing out on life.

So after a few days of huge salads punctuated with a few slingers and gooey butter cake, I can honestly say that I am looking forward to my green smoothies and bananas. I could not find a single ripe banana in St. Louis. They were all green and crunchy because "they look nicer on the shelf". Ridiculous.

I am trying to get back into things and will be taking it one day at a time. I plan on water fasting once a week and sticking to 811 with no overts for the rest of the week. One meal, one day, one week at a time. I refuse to let the scale dictate my mood for the day and plan on not focusing on the number but rather how I feel and being a good food role model to my daughter.

Jillian and I have a great support thing going on -- we email our days to each other and offer each other words of wisdom and general support when we are down or thinking about chugging a bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup. I would be more than happy to include you in my emails. Because of the nature of some of our emails I would like to limit the group to those who are struggling with weight loss or have gone through the experience. There is nothing worse than a skinny person who has never been fat commenting on my day. We keep it simple. Weekly measurements -- daily food and exercise update -- things that made us feel great/bad and cool tips/recipes that we've discovered in our research and community sharing.

Take care everyone!

Tags: 811rv, athlete, bananas, green, loss, smoothie, weight

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dani Ani on April 4, 2010 at 5:32pm

I think this is a great idea! I think I would benefit from having a LFRV weight loss buddy, someone to compare notes with and a kind of accountability partner! I know that in the past, I was more successful with raw food when I had a raw friend also transitioning with me. So, if anyone is interested, I am just getting started and have a lot of weight to lose and health to gain! :)

Permalink Reply by Anne on March 14, 2011 at 4:21am

I would love to know how you are doing daily, I think it would really help motivate me to be 100%. My weight has fluctuated by 43 pounds thru out my life.

Permalink Reply by Melissa on August 3, 2011 at 1:44am

I'll be a weight loss buddy! I am transitioning, doing a mini water fast in the morning, drinking smoothies for breakfast and trying to resist temptations from the food my family eats. If you want to exchange emails and stuff, email me! melissaschrank@gmail.com

Permalink Reply by camille on August 27, 2011 at 6:16pm

Great post, very well spoken!

I need some advice on dealing with social occasions and appreciate much if you could shed some light on it.

I'm currently working for the China rep office of a big American law firm. Sometimes I have to dine out with clients or visiting partners (mostly native Americans) which poses a big challenge sticking to my dietary pattern. If it's a lunch meeting with Chinese, I normally eat a few bites of most dishes on the table (unfortunately there's slight hope you could find anything uncooked in a Chinese restaurant except the fruit plate as dessert after meal ) bcz even being vegetarian is likely to upset your guests.

In terms of cultural background, I wonder if this is the case dining with Americans. If you tell your guests about your dietary pattern and only sip juice throughout the meal, will that make them uncomfortable? Or could you give me some advice on the alternatives in western restaurant (maybe salad without dressing)? I love my health but I also love my job. I hope you could generously share some experience on balancing on both in a not-so-raw-friendly environment. Thanks alot!

camille

Permalink Reply by Traci on September 27, 2011 at 1:10am

Great post! I just got back from vacation this past week. It was really hard to stick to lfrv! I brought fruit with me and ordered salads at restaurants, but there were too many other temptations along the way...like cookies delivered to our room every night. The good news is while I did gain a few pounds during the trip, 3 days later I'm back to where I was before the trip. Anyway, I know I'll be able to stick to lfrv while I'm home and in my comfortable environment. But while on vacations or certain holidays like Thanksgiving, I know there will be temptations. So a few days out of the year I'm going to allow myself to splurge a bit. But who knows, maybe the longer I'm doing this, then the less I will want to splurge? - It would be great to have a weight loss buddy as well. My husband is supportive of me, but he's not on plan with it. Although I am getting him to eat more salads and fruit lately so that is good. I don't see him giving up meat or kicking his Coke habit anytime soon though...or ever. Anyway, I'm 37 and have about 40 more pounds to lose (lost 10 already) and if anyone would like to be buddies, just let me know! Thanks!

Permalink Reply by Helena Santos Marinho on September 27, 2011 at 11:02pm

Hey! I'd love to be in your mailing list! ^^

I assure you I've never been skinny, I'm struggling with my weight and have some great ideas and experiences to share hehe

How do I get in? :)

♥♥♥

Permalink Reply by Lois Harrison on October 29, 2011 at 9:36am

Hello ladies,

I too would benefit from the support of a 'buddy'. I have @40 pounds to lose. Feel free to email me at g.will.self@gmail.com. ;0).

Permalink Reply by RAW 'n Green on December 1, 2011 at 9:39am

I'd love to participate as well.

I am just starting the lfrv 811. I live in Alberta Canada and deal with the cold, long, dark winters.

My husband is supportive, and is moving in a healthier direction, but is still a Corpse Cruncher (as Freelee would say).

It would be great to team up with someone for support specific to this lifestyle.

BTW ... I am 5' 5" tall. and have weighed 225 lbs for the vast majority of my adult life. I've shed a lot of that excess fat but am still working on shedding the last forty pounds ;)

Cheers

~Judy

Permalink Reply by Chelsey Lace Leon on December 14, 2011 at 7:45pm

I need to be part of this for sure claceleon@gmail.com

Permalink Reply by Brittany Johnson on March 14, 2012 at 6:06am

i would also love to have someone to be a weight loss buddy i currently weigh 165 and my goal weight is 115 so i need to lose 50 pounds when i started i was 170 and ive been on and off the diet for about a month and a half now. i also have some recipes that i have come up with now that i am finally learning the proper way to make green smoothies. lol. my email is bnjohnson1991@gmail.com

Permalink Reply by Ralf Saettele on June 22, 2012 at 8:10am

Dates or other dried fruit are your friend. In case there are no bananas available, always have some dates with you. Focus on fruit that is already ripe when you buy it - for example oranges, apples, melons.

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