There was an energetic, youthful, and healthy woman. The ravages of time, and a typical American diet took their toll. Until that young woman found herself Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Yes, this is me - look just to the right, and there I am. It aint pretty. My name is Rachel. I live in Rhode Island. I want you to know that it was VERY difficult for me to post the "before" images you see on the right. I wasn't always so hard on the eyes. I have a great deal of shame about my appearance, but underneath the poor health and fat is a good, kindhearted and generally all around decent person.
I run from cameras. Its difficult to find family photos of me since I have put on the weight. If you are struggling with a weight problem, I'm sure you can relate! I built up the courage to put myself out there and bare all in the hopes that my struggles can help others.
The title of this blog is an allusion to the recently released documentary movie "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" by Joe Cross. In this movie, Joe, a wealthy Aussie with health issues of his own, leaves the Land Down Under and comes to New York to embark on a 60-day fresh juice fast to reboot his body and taste buds. Why did he choose New York City to take on such an ascetic, albeit temporary, lifestyle? My opinion is that the man has a masochistic streak! Surrounded by hot dog stands, big greasy New York style pizza, food trucks, and gourmet food of every kind wafting through the air, Joe starts his juice fast. At one point in the beginning of his juice fast he even walks into a pizza place - just to look! Yep... masochistic tendencies!
I've read piles of books on food and its consumption. The psychology of food, the sociology of food, the politics of food, the science of food, and the diets. Atkins, South Beach, Ornish. All have thier merits. But there has always been one big issue. My own ability to make the change. As you know, changing habits is hard. Very hard. I have been having starts and stops towards my weight struggles now for about two decades. I wasn't always overweight. It started in my mid 20s when I started soothing negative emotions, ANY negative emotions - with "comfort food". A diet heavy on carbs and processed foods and practically devoid of fruits and vegetables, started to kick in, despite my active lifestyle.
So here I am now - 42, and my life is a complete disaster. I am on disability due to depression, I have the start of Type II diabetes and neuropathy (my toes are numb), I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high triglycerides. I have a compromised immune system due to my overall poor health. This compromised immune system allows bacteria that is common and all around us to wreak havoc with my skin (slow healing lesions on my face, arms, and back), and has also caused me to be on an intravenous line for two months to fight off an infection that was eating away my shoulder joint last summer. An infection my immune system should have been able to fight off.
Well, enough is enough. In my early 30s I tried to add a bit of fresh juice in my diet with a high speed juicer popular at the time. It was loud, and very wasteful. It ejected too much "juicy" pulp. But the juice was delicious, and I did notice improvements fairly quickly. My health wasn't as bad as now, and I gave up the juicer due to the noise (I had housemates) and the wastefulness. There are new juicers today - they are very quiet. They are called slow-juicers. They do not heat up the juice, and the pulp that is extracted is very dry - like play-doh.
The juicers used in Sick Fat and Nearly Dead are fast juicers. There are better juicers on the market for a comparable price. I am hoping to get my hands on a Hurom slow juicer to start my 60 day juice fast. I cannot afford to buy this juicer (retails at appx. $360.00 on Amazon.com) because I have very little money and am unemployed and on disability (to be discussed in future posts). I live on $700 a month, and an additional $200.00 a month in food assistance. This is why I have put up a donation link. Please, dear reader, any small donation would be greatly appreciated to get me towards my goal. Once I have earned the money to purchase the juicer, I can start my journey and blog about what it is like living on juice for 60 days, post neat juice recipes, and post updated photos of my body as it changes. I do hope you can help, and I hope I can inspire you! Until I have raised the money I need to purchase the juicer, I will post about my food battles.. about how I came to be here and where I have been. Thank you for reading, and stay with me. I hope I can help you in some way to regain YOUR health! Your friend, -Rachel
Why not start with a less expensive juicer? I don't know many people who can afford a nearly-400 dollar piece of equipment for their kitchen. I have the Breville, and love it. There are cheaper ones that work just fine, too. Starting with something is better than nothing, and if you can raise the money, then you can get the more expensive one later...Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristin & Gary - thank you for the input! Yes, I have thought about the Breville juicer, but it is very wasteful, and heats up the juice. In all honesty, all juicers are out of my reach right now, and I would rather invest in one with the least amount of waste given my income. The additional cost upfront of a slow juicer (and the Hurom is one of the least expensive out there) will save more money in the cost (and quality) of the juice over time. Also, I would use the pulp from the Hurom to make veggie crackers!
ReplyDeleteNice blog Rachel, not amateurish at all.
ReplyDeleteLove your honesty and desires.
I too am short, heavy with cholesterol concerns.
How are you doing?
I bought a Breville juicer and love it.
You said the juice heats up but I find no evidence of that. Juicer parts and the juice remain cool with plenty of ground up pulp good for recipes and composting.
Totally understand you wanting another model but buying what you can afford and working up leads to positive steps up the ladder of success and self discovery.
Don't wait...start where you are. :o)