Monday, February 2, 2009
Really Raw Day 33 - Getting back on track!
This month, I am reaffirming my commitment to Raw. The last two weeks in January I was lax, even extremely cooked at times...but I just can't give up on this. I know that in going high raw, I will continue to learn new recipes and eating habits that will stay with me for a long time, which is hopefully a LONG TIME:)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Really Raw - Day 30...Is Raw Food really right for me?
I'm so excited that it is the end of January (almost). Upon reflection of my "rawness" this month I can tell you that I was off to a really great start for the first two weeks...and then I had that little bit of cooked food that sent me searching for other sources of cooked comfort. The last two weeks have been a struggle to keep myself at even 60% some days.
I think a big part of my struggle is not being totally convinced that 100% raw is necessary, or even optimal for health. I came across an article the other day that listed the top 20 antioxidant foods, and it listed different kinds of beans in the top 4-5 spots, even before berries! So beans, this uber vegan/wallet friendly super food is excluded based on the premise that I have to cook them? I know I can sprout them, and I love sprouted lentils, but I have to admit that I am just not organized enough yet to know my sprouts will be ready when I need them. Trust me, I'm working on it:)
I also don't agree with the primate comparison. Pardon me for not believing that we evolved from monkeys...! Yes, there are some incredible similarities, but lobsters and moths share up to 99% of DNA and differ vastly in their needs! (I recall that from a Carl Sagan book, I can't remember which).
I also read an interesting article, referred to in a reply on giveittomeraw.com:
http://chetday.com/rawfooddietnazariah.htm
A few years ago, a book that had a significant impact on the way I thought about what and how I ate was "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Even his dietary recommendations seemed extreme to me years ago, but now it makes a lot of sense...he suggests that our diet should be a whole food, vegan diet with no oils or other 'refined' foods. He states that a salad should be the main course, and emphasizes raw food preparation as a key to a healthy body.
I'm pretty convinced that cooked foods are not going to kill me, though certain ones may contribute heavily! It is vital to avoid foods like breads and baked potatoes (in excess) because of the acrylamide factor (carcinogenic compound produced when grains and high starch vegetables are exposed to high heat). But having a dinner of lightly steamed veggies and beans can be very beneficial. He also recommends restricting whole grains and starchy vegetables to no more than 1 cup a day. Dr. Fuhrman considers this way of eating "nutritarian". Clever!
If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Fuhrman's recommendations, you can pick up his book(s) or check out his website:
http://www.drfuhrman.com/
As for me and raw, I'm not giving up, and I am very keen on reaping the cleansing benefits of a 100% raw diet. In a recent post on rawfu.com, member Kiwi suggested that since February is the shortest month (lol) it was a good time for a 100% challenge. I agree, and so I plan on being 100% raw vegan for the month of february. I am seeing this as an opportunity to cleanse, and will probably incorporate a couple of days of green juice fasting if I can be so organized!
After that, Really Raw will become more of a "Really Healthy" or "Real Food" challenge for me. I am fairly convinced that I can create a style of eating and living that is economical, 90-100% plant-based, and most important of all, liveable!
Namaste
I think a big part of my struggle is not being totally convinced that 100% raw is necessary, or even optimal for health. I came across an article the other day that listed the top 20 antioxidant foods, and it listed different kinds of beans in the top 4-5 spots, even before berries! So beans, this uber vegan/wallet friendly super food is excluded based on the premise that I have to cook them? I know I can sprout them, and I love sprouted lentils, but I have to admit that I am just not organized enough yet to know my sprouts will be ready when I need them. Trust me, I'm working on it:)
I also don't agree with the primate comparison. Pardon me for not believing that we evolved from monkeys...! Yes, there are some incredible similarities, but lobsters and moths share up to 99% of DNA and differ vastly in their needs! (I recall that from a Carl Sagan book, I can't remember which).
I also read an interesting article, referred to in a reply on giveittomeraw.com:
http://chetday.com/rawfooddietnazariah.htm
A few years ago, a book that had a significant impact on the way I thought about what and how I ate was "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Even his dietary recommendations seemed extreme to me years ago, but now it makes a lot of sense...he suggests that our diet should be a whole food, vegan diet with no oils or other 'refined' foods. He states that a salad should be the main course, and emphasizes raw food preparation as a key to a healthy body.
I'm pretty convinced that cooked foods are not going to kill me, though certain ones may contribute heavily! It is vital to avoid foods like breads and baked potatoes (in excess) because of the acrylamide factor (carcinogenic compound produced when grains and high starch vegetables are exposed to high heat). But having a dinner of lightly steamed veggies and beans can be very beneficial. He also recommends restricting whole grains and starchy vegetables to no more than 1 cup a day. Dr. Fuhrman considers this way of eating "nutritarian". Clever!
If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Fuhrman's recommendations, you can pick up his book(s) or check out his website:
http://www.drfuhrman.com/
As for me and raw, I'm not giving up, and I am very keen on reaping the cleansing benefits of a 100% raw diet. In a recent post on rawfu.com, member Kiwi suggested that since February is the shortest month (lol) it was a good time for a 100% challenge. I agree, and so I plan on being 100% raw vegan for the month of february. I am seeing this as an opportunity to cleanse, and will probably incorporate a couple of days of green juice fasting if I can be so organized!
After that, Really Raw will become more of a "Really Healthy" or "Real Food" challenge for me. I am fairly convinced that I can create a style of eating and living that is economical, 90-100% plant-based, and most important of all, liveable!
Namaste
Monday, January 26, 2009
Really Raw Day 26 - Keepin' it real!
I've been snowshoeing a lot this week, and it's such a blast. I go out with my dogs in the 'back forty' or out to the trails with my friend. It helps me to gain insight into just how I want to live my life. No really!
I'm 28, 29 this may, and I've lived a relatively overweight/underactive existence. I was raised that way, I'm really not going to dwell on it:) But I've always longed, as all fat folk do I assume, to be the skinny girl. It's depressing how much I've thought about that goal in my lifetime. I have lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off (which is the most important part!) but I know I could stand to lose more. About 50 lbs in fact! On friday, after dropping the raw ball for a few days, I was up to a weight that I haven't been in awhile, and feeling pretty bad about it. I took some full body pics of myself that I am hoping one day will be 'before' pics. I'm too mortified to post them now.
Because of friday's events, I had a pretty miserable weekend, where I was really down on myself. I wouldn't let my boyfriend touch me, and I made it a point to change in the bathroom. I'm somewhat modest usually, but this was a bit extreme. As always, with each passing day, my mood lifted and I realized that I had gotten myself caught in the miserable diet trap again. Oh dear. I've lived so long in the dirty cycle of self-hate and dieting, that it really seems normal. I'm getting better, but I often have to remind myself that I am doing this to be healthy first and foremost. You don't seem obese people in nursing homes, and I have a lot of living to do!
I've come to realize that if I'm on a diet, where something is forbidden, I will inevitably end up diving into a bucket of that very thing! I'm trying to train myself to focus on other factors that lead to trouble, such as eating too much, and eating because of stress, or boredom, or anger, or joy...you get the idea. Emotional eating is a tricky problem to deal with.
So, nothing is off-limits. My mission is to always make the healthiest choice that I can in any given moment, and to be more active. I won't be renewing my gym membership anytime soon though. I need to do this in a way that I can incorporate into my life and enjoy doing. My dogs are definitely a great buddy system when it comes to that. All it will take is a few hours a week walking with them, some yoga and pilates (both of which I really enjoy) and a focus on sensible eating. To borrow a phrase from Doug Graham (80/10/10 diet author): I want to eat foods that I love that love me back! Naturally, high raw is the way to go. I've been researching nutrition for a very long time, and every road points me back to nature, pure and simple. The less processing involved in the food I eat, the better. Reading Michael Pollan's book "In Defense of Food" really helped to drive that point home. If my great great great-grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, than why should I bother to eat it? She might not have recognized things like persimmons or pineapple, but I think she'd get the basic idea that it is edible:)
The industrialization of our food (and everything) is threatening the existence of our species. I'm not going to go into that in great detail here...maybe later, maybe never, but regardless, I really think I'm onto something! I plan on avoiding the feeling of deprivation however. If I really want a piece of cake at a party or something, I'm not going to tell myself no. Hopefully, it's going to be a raw cake:)
I'm not interested in wasting time and energy torturing myself. I can hear Morgan Freeman's voice (Shawshank Redemption) in my head saying: Get busy living or get busy dying. I think you know what I'm going to do.
I'm 28, 29 this may, and I've lived a relatively overweight/underactive existence. I was raised that way, I'm really not going to dwell on it:) But I've always longed, as all fat folk do I assume, to be the skinny girl. It's depressing how much I've thought about that goal in my lifetime. I have lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off (which is the most important part!) but I know I could stand to lose more. About 50 lbs in fact! On friday, after dropping the raw ball for a few days, I was up to a weight that I haven't been in awhile, and feeling pretty bad about it. I took some full body pics of myself that I am hoping one day will be 'before' pics. I'm too mortified to post them now.
Because of friday's events, I had a pretty miserable weekend, where I was really down on myself. I wouldn't let my boyfriend touch me, and I made it a point to change in the bathroom. I'm somewhat modest usually, but this was a bit extreme. As always, with each passing day, my mood lifted and I realized that I had gotten myself caught in the miserable diet trap again. Oh dear. I've lived so long in the dirty cycle of self-hate and dieting, that it really seems normal. I'm getting better, but I often have to remind myself that I am doing this to be healthy first and foremost. You don't seem obese people in nursing homes, and I have a lot of living to do!
I've come to realize that if I'm on a diet, where something is forbidden, I will inevitably end up diving into a bucket of that very thing! I'm trying to train myself to focus on other factors that lead to trouble, such as eating too much, and eating because of stress, or boredom, or anger, or joy...you get the idea. Emotional eating is a tricky problem to deal with.
So, nothing is off-limits. My mission is to always make the healthiest choice that I can in any given moment, and to be more active. I won't be renewing my gym membership anytime soon though. I need to do this in a way that I can incorporate into my life and enjoy doing. My dogs are definitely a great buddy system when it comes to that. All it will take is a few hours a week walking with them, some yoga and pilates (both of which I really enjoy) and a focus on sensible eating. To borrow a phrase from Doug Graham (80/10/10 diet author): I want to eat foods that I love that love me back! Naturally, high raw is the way to go. I've been researching nutrition for a very long time, and every road points me back to nature, pure and simple. The less processing involved in the food I eat, the better. Reading Michael Pollan's book "In Defense of Food" really helped to drive that point home. If my great great great-grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, than why should I bother to eat it? She might not have recognized things like persimmons or pineapple, but I think she'd get the basic idea that it is edible:)
The industrialization of our food (and everything) is threatening the existence of our species. I'm not going to go into that in great detail here...maybe later, maybe never, but regardless, I really think I'm onto something! I plan on avoiding the feeling of deprivation however. If I really want a piece of cake at a party or something, I'm not going to tell myself no. Hopefully, it's going to be a raw cake:)
I'm not interested in wasting time and energy torturing myself. I can hear Morgan Freeman's voice (Shawshank Redemption) in my head saying: Get busy living or get busy dying. I think you know what I'm going to do.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Really Raw 2009 Day 19 - I ate dog food last night...
LOL! I've been cooking rice and lentils with veggie scraps for my dogs, and last night my boyfriend and I ate some of their dinner. It was good, but a little more bland than I usually care for. I've been maintaining high raw, whole foods, though I think I feel better the more raw it is, so I try to lean as heavily on raw as possible. The only cooked foods I've been eating has been rice, soup, and the odd beer...overall, I'm managing quite well...though I did have a chocolate chip cookie! I paid for that dearly with a little bit of misery in the form of a headache, which in turn made me grumpy. So, the plan becomes, making raw desserts (like brownies!) to help me transition guilt free from now on.
I want to take this opportunity to give a cyber high five to all y'all out there doin' this with me. Knowing that I'm not doing this alone gives me great strength and inspiration. Much love to all you raw-fuers out there!
Namaste!
I want to take this opportunity to give a cyber high five to all y'all out there doin' this with me. Knowing that I'm not doing this alone gives me great strength and inspiration. Much love to all you raw-fuers out there!
Namaste!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Really Raw - Day 15 - Could it be that I feel more alive??
I'm still recovering from the cooked food incident - I bought some digestive enzymes yesterday and they are definitely helping. I think it was perhaps the cooked fat in the chinese-style cooked veggies that did it to me...I swear my digestion had just stopped, and my gall bladder didn't know what hit him! I'm sure my liver is still dealing with the aftermath. Thank god it wasn't as bad as it could have been, and I am all the wiser for the experience! Now that I am feeling better, I feel somehow more aware, more alive...my senses are stronger, and my mind-body connection is stronger I think! This experience has helped me to cross a threshold of some kind. I am more sensitive to the life force energy - my own at least anyway...
And now for something completely random: I had a honeydew melon this morning that tasted like bubblegum ice cream...I swear! It was 10x more enjoyable than I can remember that ice cream being though...I recall the rock-hard bubblegum chunks being less than appealing!
I've tweaked my raw commitment today to include some cooked food today: my commitment being to high raw whole food for life! This is the natural next step for me. I plan to make the most of this gift of a body, and to treat it like the proverbial temple that it is! That is me being highly idyllic of course, but I truly feel as though I've learned some harsh realities here...some foods just aren't fit for human consumption!
We are the creators of our health and our illnesses. We all have weaknesses that are like rocks along the shore line, with the ocean tide being like health; we only see the rocks when the tide is out! I know that I have inherited some less than desirable rocks from my ancestors. But I know that I have control to some extent over how much they are allowed to express themselves in my physicality. If I didn't believe that in healing, anything is possible, there would be no point, nothing to strive for!
I am so grateful that everyday my consciousness expands and unfolds.
And now for something completely random: I had a honeydew melon this morning that tasted like bubblegum ice cream...I swear! It was 10x more enjoyable than I can remember that ice cream being though...I recall the rock-hard bubblegum chunks being less than appealing!
I've tweaked my raw commitment today to include some cooked food today: my commitment being to high raw whole food for life! This is the natural next step for me. I plan to make the most of this gift of a body, and to treat it like the proverbial temple that it is! That is me being highly idyllic of course, but I truly feel as though I've learned some harsh realities here...some foods just aren't fit for human consumption!
We are the creators of our health and our illnesses. We all have weaknesses that are like rocks along the shore line, with the ocean tide being like health; we only see the rocks when the tide is out! I know that I have inherited some less than desirable rocks from my ancestors. But I know that I have control to some extent over how much they are allowed to express themselves in my physicality. If I didn't believe that in healing, anything is possible, there would be no point, nothing to strive for!
I am so grateful that everyday my consciousness expands and unfolds.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Really Raw 2009 Day 12 - DERAILED!
OMG it's Day 12!
I have to confess, I ate cooked food today. My boyfriend took me out for lunch, and we went to the chinese buffet. I thought they would have a decent salad bar, but it was just iceberg lettuce and pickled beets. Not even tomato slices, cucumber...it was pretty pathetic. So I ate some chow mein (the mung sprout one), stir fry vegetables and mushrooms.
I'm not going to worry about it - I'm just going to keep on truckin' with the raw living and give myself some 'get outta jail free' coupons. Seriously, I am learning a lifestyle. A couple of fuck-ups along the way are to be expected! I'm also not a raw food purist. I do think that high raw is important, but I don't think cooked foods are the devil...a lot of them are, but a lot are perfectly healthy in small doses too...I get this line of thinking from Dr. Joel Fuhrman. His book: 'Eat to Live' is very educational:)
I'm not abandoning my commitment. Far from it really, because I actually feel pretty crappy and have learned a great lesson today! I have come such a long way in my journey to healthy living. I'm going to choose to celebrate that and give myself a pat on the back for my efforts.
Namaste!
I have to confess, I ate cooked food today. My boyfriend took me out for lunch, and we went to the chinese buffet. I thought they would have a decent salad bar, but it was just iceberg lettuce and pickled beets. Not even tomato slices, cucumber...it was pretty pathetic. So I ate some chow mein (the mung sprout one), stir fry vegetables and mushrooms.
I'm not going to worry about it - I'm just going to keep on truckin' with the raw living and give myself some 'get outta jail free' coupons. Seriously, I am learning a lifestyle. A couple of fuck-ups along the way are to be expected! I'm also not a raw food purist. I do think that high raw is important, but I don't think cooked foods are the devil...a lot of them are, but a lot are perfectly healthy in small doses too...I get this line of thinking from Dr. Joel Fuhrman. His book: 'Eat to Live' is very educational:)
I'm not abandoning my commitment. Far from it really, because I actually feel pretty crappy and have learned a great lesson today! I have come such a long way in my journey to healthy living. I'm going to choose to celebrate that and give myself a pat on the back for my efforts.
Namaste!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Really Raw Day 11
I have decided to ditch the raw food grocery tally. I am simply not inspired to document it that way, and I really don't care if it's expensive, comparable, or cheaper than eating like your average joe. I feel so much lighter, vibrant, healthy and inspired being raw, that I will do what I have to to continue to live and feel this way:)
Seriously, if you want to know what REALLY GOOD feels like...it's raw baby!
Seriously, if you want to know what REALLY GOOD feels like...it's raw baby!
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