As some of you who would have read
My Story know, before I went Raw, I was quite unwell.
Since going Raw, I don't think I even realized how perfect the function of my body had become. My digestion had become superb, and once I started to take B vitamin supplements, everything started working in perfect order, and my stress levels were normal and I was feeling fantastic.
Unfortunately, I am frustratingly back to square one! D:
Why?
As many of you will have twigged it is Christmas, and here in New Zealand, Christmas time is a big thing, not so much because of presents or religion, but because it is the end of the school and University year and exams, and it is the summer holidays. Nearly everything closes down through January.
So me and my mum decided to go out for a pre-Christmas dinner at the only Greek restaurant in Christchurch. We wanted to go because we are both learning Greek, Greece is one of the most stunning countries in the world, and because I wanted to try some of the food, as I'd heard from my friend Chantal's
blog that when she was in Greece she found eating vegan to be quite easy.
Sure enough there was a vegan option on the menu. I hadn't actually eaten a proper meal of cooked food in 6 months (only eating it once previously, though it was tiny, vegan, and the rest of the plate was salad), but I figured I would be all right, I thought "How bad could it be?"
Big big BIG mistake.
First of all, we told the waitress who was serving us that we were vegan, and she became really really confused as to what vegan meant. She kept asking us, "Do you eat carrots? Do you eat feta? What about olives?" So we had to tell her what we did and did not eat, but that was fine.
Secondly the meal was diabolically priced, at NZ$29 for a main, per person. In New Zealand, that is A LOT of money. In the 'old' days, when me and my mother went to restaurants, it was commonly understood that any restaurant with a 'main' over $25 was expected to be good quality. I seriously could have re-created this meal at home. I'm not trying to put the restaurant down or anything, (I'm not even going to say what they were called), but after robbing us blind, they could have really tried a bit harder... I think the cost was because they played live music for a couple of hours every night, but for reasons that I will explain soon, we left early and never got to hear it ):
The meal was comprised of rice (that we wondered afterwards if it was cooked with butter, yes, butter, even though it was supposed to be vegan, I don't think they understood that being a vegan is very important for some people), some cooked hummus (which looked a little slimy), a few shreds of iceberg lettuce, 1/4 of tomato, some cooked vegetables (that were the type that you get out of the freezer and put in the microwave, which looked very grey), and some boiled cauliflower in a spicy red sauce. Like I said, I am not putting the food down, I'm sure that as far as meat meals go they are very good. But considering the fact that I can buy a raw drink, a raw taco, and a raw dessert from my favorite raw restaurant for exactly the same price, if not less than the main, I find pretty appalling.
So we set about eating our huge plates of completely foreign (and I'm not just meaning the fact that it was Greek) and lifeless food. The weather was sweltering, and so was I. As I ate, I had to drink water to cool myself down, which didn't work, and my dress got tighter and tighter. After eating all that food, all I really wanted to do was lie on the floor and wait till the food had digested, but I could hardly do that in public.
Instead me and my mum opted for walking around the town for a bit, and then we went home. When we got home I looked at my stomach in the mirror I was shocked; I looked just like a friend of ours who had just had a baby (and I mean while she was pregnant). It was horrifying.
It has been 2 days since I ate that cooked meal. And I have to say, I am feeling absolutely terrible. My stomach has been swollen for 2 days, and I have sunk back into the depression that I experienced while being sick. My stomach is not digesting my food anymore, I know because I can usually hear it gurgling (sorry if that grosses you out) and I can feel my food moving, but now it is making no sounds and not moving. It has been difficult for me to deal with the fact that I now have to spend my time getting well, especially after I progressed so far.
What makes me feel worse is that I disrespected myself and my body. I should have known that it would be too much of a shock for my body to deal with that much cooked food, and have coped with it. After adjusting and thriving on such a pure and natural diet for so long, I may as well have poured petrol down my throat. Yes, cars can run on it, but I can't.
My plans for getting well include eating a lot of fibre, drinking lemon drinks, and eating 100% raw, of course. I want the level of health back! If anyone has any detoxification secrets, plz let me know!
And I can tell you one thing, I am not going to be eating cooked food again, for a long long time.
