Tonight I started adding cooked vegetables to my diet in preparation for a return to meat eating on Tuesday. I’ve decided that my first meal “back” will be Pho. And the cooked veg I added in tonight? Palak Paneer from Banjara that I froze when this juice journey began a month ago. Deeeeelish!
So how am I doing? In a word: Amazing! I feel better than I’ve felt in years. I’ve lost a bunch of weight and can’t pass a mirror without smiling at myself. I finally fit into the wardrobe I’ve had hanging in the closet in my other room. I refused to get rid of those duds and now I’ve starting hanging my fat clothes in that closet.
The funny thing is that my self-imagine is not as a fat person but I can see now that I really let myself go. That shouldn’t sound as self-indulgent as it did. The last 4.5 years have been spent focussed squarely on building a business. I’ve worked harder at this than anything else in my life. I’ve sacrificed whatever I had to in order to keep this business going and part of that sacrifice turned out to be my own physical (and mental) health.
Aside: people often ask me how or why I got into the restaurant business. “Mental illness,” I respond. We all laugh but it’s true. I wish I loved something easier, something less stressful and precarious. But I don’t. I love hospitality. I love feeding and caring for people. I love making the food I love for the city I love even though it sometimes drives me crazy. Like former Blue Jay pitching ace Dave Stieb, I seek perfection but unlike him I don’t scratch my balls while I work.
I hope this juice cleanse has been a kick-start for me to get back to good health. It’s not a long-term solution but it’s proven that I can do this. No booze, no bread, no meat, no cheese, no rice, no pasta, no pizza, no noodles, nothing but a mostly juice and all vegan all raw diet for 30 days. Me? Yes, Me! I’m proud that I care enough about my self to make it happen.
While I’m obviously pretty out there about my weight and my juice cleanse I am still a little sensitive about discussing it. Again, my self image is not fat. Oh, the lies we tell ourselves, right? Anyway, I’m in no rush. However long it takes, I will reach my goal and once there I’ll work hard to stay healthy. Once again I’ve proven to myself that if I set my mind to something, nothing can stop me. Guess what? Nothing will.
The coming weeks will be full of exciting news that I look forward to sharing with you in due time. I know that sounds cryptic and it is. Trust that if you don’t hear from me for a few weeks that all is well. But when the time is right for me to start announcing stuff, folks, you won’t believe your ears.
