Raw Day Two

Hi!

It's the evening of Raw Day Two, and I'm pretty happy with today.  I wasn't as raw as I would have liked, but that's OK--it's only Day Two.  The raw things I did have today were a lovely green smoothie (in a pint glass no less!), an apple with raw almond butter, and a surprisingly good "stir fried" vegetable medley.

As I mentioned in my first post, the reason for my going mostly raw for 30 days is to enjoy all the bounty of the season, and learn to incorporate more raw foods into my diet.  I must be completely honest, though--I'm also hoping to improve my overall health.  Not to say that I'm unhealthy--far from it actually--but I feel that I can still improve. 

A few years ago I began to learn about nutrition and how big of a role it plays in our overall health.  I'd always grown up hearing, "eat your greens", but it was always just an annoyance, and I was never taught the importance of nutrition, or how to go about eating a healthy diet and a healthy life.  I was very unhealthy--at 33 I weighed about 80 pounds more than I should, I couldn't cross my legs, I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without gasping for breath. 

I began to realize that what we put into our bodies affects everything.  When I started eating better, I couldn't believe how much better I felt.  I didn't realize how bad I was feeling, until I had something to compare it to.  I literally was walking around telling everyone how fabulous I felt!!

Then, in the summer of 2010, after a series of nudges from...Fate?  The Universe?  The Almighty?  Who knows, but I was definitely being herded toward learning about eating clean with the help of this magazine.  I was hooked!  I re-learned to cook, using healthy foods to nourish my body.  I started to look different--my body was changing, my skin was glowing!  It was (and is) great!

Then, a friend of mine went 100% Raw.  Raw?  Really?  Like raw raw??  She said she felt amazing, and recommended including more raw foods into my diet.  I agreed, and started slow a month ago, learning about getting all the nutrients in, and gathering raw recipes.  I was always interested in getting in more vegetables, which I've always had trouble with, so it seemed like a good time to try it out.

Then she suggested going raw for June.  I was like, "Whoa whoa whoa crazy girl!  Not gonna happen!" but I agreed to go mostly raw for the month of June.  Mostly can be as little (technically!) as 51%, though so far it's been a lot more.  I was tempted to say yes to 100%, but I have no idea what this month is going to bring, and I don't want to feel bad if something comes up, you know?  So I agreed to mostly raw, knowing that I would make an effort to eat as much raw food as is possible/reasonable.

What this also means is no sugar, aka "White Death" or "El Diablo Blanco".  I grew up on a LOT of sugar, and still, at almost 38 years old, find it hard to say no.  I DID say no for 6 weeks earlier this year, then slid back into my love/hate affair with it. 

And, by virtue of what I'm to be eating when eating cleanly and mostly raw(ly), there will be no junky "food".  Nothing deep-fried, nothing with questionable ingredients, nothing processed.  That's fine with me, since that stuff makes me feel pretty ill, when I do eat it (which is too often if I'm being honest). 

Consistency will be the key this month, I think.  Eating properly and mostly raw, getting in my exercise, getting enough sleep, all will help me take my health a step further.

So!  What an experiment this will be!  Isn't it wonderful?!

Raw Day One

Raw Day One went pretty well.  I ate 80% raw, which was pretty good, especially considering it was my very first day!

I found myself very hungry in the afternoon, and couldn't figure it out--after all, I'd been eating ALL DAY!!--but when I tallied the calories (just to make sure--I don't actually count calories), I found that it was very low, despite eating an entire avocado.  More food needed apparently.  Live and learn.  That's what this experiment is for, right?

I'm also still having my morning cup of tea with milk.  The milk is pasteurized, but not having my tea would leave such a huge space in my day!  It's not because of the caffeine, I just love my tea.  Any tea-lovers out there will know what I mean.

I have two things at the library waiting for me after work today.  One is a documentary, "Raw for 30 Days" about a group of people with both type-one and type-two diabetes going raw for 30 days.  I hear it's amazing, so I thought I'd watch it.  The other is a raw cookbook.  I'm hoping I can gather some good recipes over the month, since I hope to incorporate raw foods into my regular diet (that's diet like this is my healthy diet, not diet like I'm on a diet) once the 30 days are done.  I'm also the kind of person who can't eat the same thing over and over (which isn't very nutritionally-balanced anyway), so I need to gather recipes to try.

So, so far so good.  I need to figure out how much food is enough, since so much of what is eaten in the raw food diet is fruits and veggies, but I'll get there.  I want to make sure I do this month properly!