Hello everyone. I'm "meow" and I posted regularly on this site while following a raw vegan diet for 6 months, then a break, then about 4-5 months, last summer through winter. I didn't fall off the raw wagon so much as I chose to focus on my running and running a marathon and felt I needed to choose between eating raw and running hard. I chose running hard and incorporated grains and some other non-raw foods into my diet (all vegan, been vegan for a few years). Well, my running went farther than I ever thought it would, but now it's winter here in New England and I am not running 50 miles a week anymore, and I really miss the amazing energy, lightness of being, and connection to the Earth I felt while eating beautiful raw foods. I am 100% sure that raw vegan is the optimal diet for me, and I am once again pulled towards this path. So here I am. It's a new year and the perfect time to get back on the path towards being the best person I can be. I can't reach that goal w/o raw foodism!

To me, raw equals freedom. Freedom from the diseases and unhealthiness that plagues our modern world. Freedom from worrying about calories, fat grams, and body image. Freedom from being just one in the crowd, following everyone else without question. Raw food is a way to get back to the real meaning of existence and feel connected to the universe and in tune with my inner self. I really miss that and can't wait to get that state of mind back!

I have been eating high raw for a few days now. I plan on eating high raw, I'm not sure if I'll be at 100% every day ever...the one food I need is hummus and we don't have any raw tahini around here! I moved from Los Angeles to Vermont this past September and am missing a lot of the great raw food products I used to find so easily, but that's ok, I still have my fresh produce and that's the core of this diet for me. Anyway I will still be eating regular hummus so my diet won't be completely raw unless I find a way to afford to buy raw tahini online.

These past few months have been life-changing in that I moved back east to pursue my dream of working in an animal shelter and helping abandoned and neglected animals every day. It's been very emotionally draining (this past week one of the dogs I was very close to was euthanized due to severe biting I really loved him and am having a hard time dealing with the fact that he was a great dog that just got dealt a crappy hand at life and I was unable to help him). But I love it, I am surrounded by wonderful animals all the time! The only time I'm not around animals is when I'm driving to/from work! I have 4 rescue cats at home, too- one is a recent addition and she's been sick lately but is thankfully doing great now.

I remember a lot of the names on here! I posted on a really fun thread with a couple great girls before I disappeared, I wonder if any of them are still around?

I will be posting food, workouts, and thoughts here. I am still a runner but I get a workout at work most days so I don't run a ton anymore- I am stuck on the treadmill and don't like it, but I see myself running quite a bit more once the weather gets nicer in spring!

I'll post meals later- it's great to be back!

Great post meow! I recognize your name from reading these diaries in the past. I'm glad you decided to come back.

Sorry to hear about your shelter doggie. :/ I would be very upset working at a shelter that had to euthanize animals, but you are doing a great thing helping the animals that can be saved.

I run occasionally but recently have been doing more low-impact activities like yoga and walking. It feels more in-tune with my diet than running, but sometimes I have extra energy and it feels good to run then. I can't wait for nicer weather and outdoor exercise too! (I'm in Minnesota.)

Hi elaa, thanks for the encouragement! I am hoping to get back into yoga, I really loved it when I was taking classes but can no longer afford them. I am going to look into some good yoga DVD's though!

It is difficult dealing with the tough situations at the shelter We don't euthanize animals for space or give them x number of days to get adopted- we only euthanize in extreme situations when the animals have medical or behavioral issues that cannot be resolved. Unfortunately in this case a wonderful dog had some serious behavioral problems resulting in being improperly socialized in the early stages of life (he was a stray). It really sucks and I am having a hard time seeing the good that we do when things like that happen- I feel tremendously guilty. And we have a lot of dogs with problems right now. I feel scared for them, I hope we can work with them to get them over their issues. We are sure trying...

So, as promised, here is what I ate today:

-banana w/ 1 T raw almond butter
-2 bananas, 2 "raw energy bites" which are like bite-sized lara bars
-clif bar (really bad, I would like to think I would have eaten something better if I had any other food in the apartment)
-went to grocery so had carrots/hummus and 2 clementines afterwards
-2 bananas w/ 1 T raw almond butter

It's 6 PM and I am stuffed, I may just have an apple for the rest of the night. I was planning on a big salad w/ romaine, spinach, tomatoes, red peppers, carrots and apple cider vinegar/balsamic vinegar. But I may not be hungry for it.

I lifted upper body weights & did ab exercises (about half an hour total) and powerwalked on the treadmill on varying inclines for an hour. This was pretty much a lazy day off for me since I wasn't working and didn't even run, but I needed a day to relax a little!

I feel better already just knowing that I'm on the right path once again

Good morning! I love waking up after a day of eating mainly raw- I feel so energized, happy and excited for a new day. I don't feel that way unless I'm eating raw. I got up today, had a light breakfast and worked out. I ran 3 miles with some speed intervals, then cut the run short in favor of doing some yoga. I miss yoga and I'm going to try to make it more of a priority. It took the backseat to running while I was training for the marathon, but there's no reason I can't find time for it now. I was happy to find that I can still do the more complicated/harder poses, but not for as long as I used to! The cats were happy b/c they love doing yoga with me (which means laying under me every time I do a backbend and trying to burrow under the mat, lol).

Today I'm going on a sort of adventure with my mom and sister, so I'll be bringing food along for the day. This is my tentative plan:

-2 bananas w/ 1-1.5 T raw almond butter
3 mile run, 20ish mins. yoga
-banana, apple, clementines...and/or fruit salad at the cafe my mom & sister want to eat at. I'm not very hungry today so we'll see
-half or whole apricot goji Prana Bar- never had them before but they didn't have Lara Bars at the mainstream grocery, and my health food grocery was closed yesterday! These bars are only 75% raw though.
-carrots & broccoli w/ hummus
-more clementines/apples

I did have a big green salad w/ broccoli sprouts, red pepper, carrots, tomatoes and raw apple cider vinegar/balsamic vinegar last night. That's my staple salad. I find myself wanting more fruits, especially bananas, than veggies, but I know greens are so important! Broccoli counts as a green, right? It gets very expensive eating big salads every day in the winter.

Today I'm aiming to follow hunger signals and stop eating at 8 PM. I'm not really trying to lose weight- I am at a healthy weight, about 115 at 5'3- but I loved being thinner when I was eating raw! So I will just see what happens. I mainly just want to become more in tune with my body and not think or worry about food much.

I'm glad to hear you started out the morning feeling so energized and positive! Sounds like you have a good plan for today also- bringing your food along. I really like the apricot goji Prana bars. How do you like raw almond butter? I have never had that. Do you make it yourself?

Your cats sound like my cat when I try to do yoga. It's pretty impossible to do with him around, so I usually close off the french doors to the den and he watches me through the door and meows. He's pretty cute.

Hope you have a great day with your mom and sister!

Elaa, I know what you mean about it being impossible to do yoga with a cat around! It's definitely not as good as when I was taking classes...but the cats love to annoy me! As for the raw almond butter, I buy it...I forget the brand and I'm not in my apartment right now but I'll let you know tomorrow what brand it is. It's sooooo good. It's mildly sweet and heavier than most raw foods which is nice right now since I'm once again just getting used to not being full after eating. The downside is that now that I don't live near a Trader Joe's, it's very expensive.

I'll post what my actual menu ended up being today...

-2 bananas w/ 1-1.5 T raw almond butter
workout
-banana, clementine
-small fruit salad @ the cafe w/ blueberries, a couple apple slices, a couple banana slices...then an apple & the Prana bar afterwards
-2 bananas
-a couple carrots w/ hummus, and I'm about to have a salad the same as the one I had last night w/ romaine, spinach, broccoli sprouts, red pepper, carrots, tomatoes and raw apple cider vinegar/balsamic vinegar
-planning on either 2 clementines or an apple w/ cinnamon for "dessert"

Not very hungry today...that's not many calories but I'm fine with whatever my body is asking for, and it doesn't want much right now (but who knows, maybe by the time I'm done writing this I'll be ravenous and eat 6 bananas, lol...probably not though!).

Ooooh, I splurged and bought a mango today, my absolute favorite food ever, and I can't wait til it's ripe enough to eat! I paid $1.99 for it and feel terrible that it was shipped from who knows where, but I don't plan on never eating mangoes again just b/c I'm no longer in Cali and closer to mango country!

Great job yesterday! I have been eying up the mangoes at the co-op as well but they are so pricey and I don't know how they would taste this time of year.

To answer your question on my thread- Today is my last day of the Raw Divas program and I really enjoyed it. It helped keep me at a high % raw, low fat diet for 7 days so it was definitely a success. There are a lot of great people on the forums that helped me tremendously as well. I highly recommend it, especially since you are just recently transitioning back to raw like I am.

GREAT TO SEE YOU BACK!!!

I've always wondered how you were doing. I kept the thread going for a while after you and the others left, and had two other wonderful ladies join me for a while. Good to hear what you've been up to in the meantime; congratulations!

I'm around from time to time - I'll be sure to pop in occasionally to say hello! Doing well, eating high raw, mostly, and have really transformed in the past few months, in all aspects...raw RAWKS!!! ;}

HIIII Soraya!!!!! Huggsss!!!! ))))))

Soraya!!!! So happy to "see" you and so happy that you are doing amazingly well on your raw journey! That makes me smile. I'm glad to be back, I feel so peaceful and content now that I am back on the right path for me! Please do stop by from time to time and give me updates on how you're doing!

I am feeling so great even though it's just been a few days. I can tell that my body is happy. I had a lot of energy last night and got a bunch of stuff done. I slept amazingly well (I love that deep raw sleep). Today I've been 100% raw so far but I am going to eat some hummus w/ dinner. I got a terrible headache all afternoon, possibly from going 6.5 hours w/o food between breakfast and lunch, but after a short run I feel fine. I can't snack at work but I didn't feel overly hungry...I was definitely happy when I could finally eat though!

I'm still waiting impatiently for my mango to ripen. Hopefully tomorrow! Ah, mangoes are heaven.

Today's eats:

-4 bananas, 1.5ish T raw almond butter
-Lara Bar (apple pie flavor, yum), 2 bananas, 2 clementines
-banana w/ about half T raw almond butter
*ran 2 miles, all I felt like doing due to the headache*
-planning on carrots & cauliflower w/ hummus, yum
-probably an apple, maybe w/ some cinnamon, for "dessert"

I am going to look online for raw tahini I can have shipped to me. I didn't realize how quickly I'd be ready to go 100% again, but I really do want to. I don't know what else to eat for dinner though besides salads & veggies w/ hummus...dinner is when I get my veggies in and I never really have time to make anything. I have also never been a fan of raw gourmet foods w/ lots of nuts & oils.

I need to get more bananas already, as well as an avocado and some of those raw cacao-goji energy bites that my local health food store makes. I have aspirations of making a green smoothie tomorrow, too, but I'm just not sure I'll like it...any suggestions on how to make it not taste like greens??

The cats are hungry so that's all for now. Tomorrow is going to be especially crazy at work so I'm using it as a test to see how my energy levels are now compared to eating cooked vegan food!

I had a looong day today and am so looking forward to just crashing in bed with my furbabies! I'm very cold all the time, that to-the-bone cold that I remember well from when I was raw before, and all I want to do is huddle under blankets and hibernate!

Todays' food:

-4 bananas, 2 T raw almond butter
-Lara Bar, 2 bananas, apple, clementine
-carrots/cauliflower w/ hummus, 2 raw energy bites (inhaled this- was starving to death after work!)
-mango, apple, clementine

I think that was it...I didn't eat as many times as usual today, but that's actually a little more food than usual. The reason for that is b/c I worked my butt off today. My job is physical, but some days it's much more strenuous/active than others and today was one of them. I was soooo hungry when I finally got home! The extra fruit after dinner really filled me up though.

I didn't work out today, didn't feel the need to. And now I'm off to relax for a bit!

Today was rough. I was just starving and dizzy almost all day long. I didn't have enough food in the house for breakfast and was about to keel over by 10 AM at work. Then I had a huge lunch but still felt like I might pass out by 4 PM. I can't eat snacks at work, sometimes I can grab half a banana or something, but usually not, so when I'm starving I have to wait til lunch or til I get home.

But on a happy note, my skin is very happy to be eating raw again! It looks better than it has in months, that nice radiant silky glow came back.

I was way too hungry & exhausted to work out today, which was fine b/c the light in the basement in my workout area burned out and it's so hard to replace those lightbulbls! I would have been bummed if I actually wanted to work out and then discovered the lightbulb was dead.

Food today:

-2 bananas, 1.5ish T raw almond butter, 2 raw energy bites
-lara bar, 4 bananas, 2 clementines, apple. Unbelievably, this didn't really fill me up and I was hungry again 2 hours later.
-tons of carrots and a couple pieces of cauliflower w/ hummus, about half of a small red pepper, another raw energy bite

Ran around literally all afternoon at work taking dogs out and letting them back in, so let's call that my workout for the day ;-)

Hey, Meow --
I'm wondering if you're getting enough iron. I noticed that you don't eat very many greens. That will make you feel weak and unsatisfied. You might want to check your diet with nutridiary or one of those sites.

Thanks Sundancer! I actually do take a supplement b/c I have been anemic since childhood. I think it was just "one of those days.." LOL. Today was completely normal. My job takes more energy/calories than I realize sometimes, and it caught up w/ me yesterday.

Oh and thanks for reminding me about eating greens! It's weird, I had a huge salad every day last week (sometimes twice a day) and I just haven't wanted any greens til today. I just got done w/ a big delicious salad. I need to eat them at least every other day!

I'm feeling good today. Work was great, so many animals got adopted today! It's amazing! We have a lot of dogs right now that require a special owner with training experience or who is willing to work with a dog with behavioral problems...and for a long time no one showed the least bit of interest in them. Then suddenly last week they have been getting adopted like crazy! The cats are getting adopted quickly, too. It's awesome talking with the new potential owners and feeling like they are going to love that animal with all their heart. The dogs and cats really deserve it.

I found this blog that I literally can't stop reading: [rawtoddleralex.blogspot.com]

I don't even like kids (haha) but I think it's the coolest thing ever that this little boy has always been raw! He is so lucky, and he's got awesome parents. He is going to grow up to live life on a completely different level than the average person, and his parents are really giving him a huge advantage and head start in life. Things like that make me hopeful for the future of the world, in a time when everything seems negative and full of doom.

My daily menu:

-3 bananas, chocolate coconut lara bar, apple
-carrots w/ hummus, banana, clementine
-banana (snuck it in at work- need to try to do this daily)
-huge and amazing salad w/ romaine, carrots, tomato, red pepper, broccoli sprouts, half an avocado and balsamic vinegar
-more fruit of some kind- banana and/or apple & clementines- we'll see

One more day of work til my "weekend" (two days off in a row). I am going to make a raw dip so I don't have to eat cooked hummus anymore. I am more than ready to go 100% raw again. I am completely certain that this is THE way for me to eat and live!

That raw blog is really great. Thanks for sharing! I thought it was interesting how restless and irritable the little boy became after his grandma gave him ice cream.

And that is excellent news about all of the animal adoptions!

Hi elaa, I hope everything is going well with you!

It is my weekend!!! Today I was literally walking/running around all day. I did not stop once, I must have walked at least 6 miles by the end of the day. I definitely do not feel the need to workout tonight, but I am looking forward to a run tomorrow. I literally run around at work b/c there's so much to do and not enough time to do it, and when I was sprinting around today I didn't want to stop! So I think tomorrow's run will be a good one.

My cats are all over the computer so I'll make this quick. Food today was very similar to yesterday since yesterday worked so well for me:

-3 bananas, lara bar, apple
-carrots/hummus, banana, 2 clementines
-banana
-couple pieces of cauliflower and some snap peas w/ hummus when I got home...then a big salad w/ all of last night's veggies, but w/o avocado b/c I wasn't feeling the avo tonight
-banana, raw energy bite, maybe more fruit later?

Tomorrow starts my green smoothie experiment...by that I just mean that I am going to try to figure out how to make a good tasting green smoothie! I need to incorporate these regularly. I'm going to buy kale and spinach tomorrow and see what happens...

You are being brave with the kale green smoothies. Those are not my favorite. I love spinach ones though. I almost always use bananas and greens for green smoothies because they are very sweet and I don't taste the greens at all.

I don't have a high power blender, so I usually cover the blades with water and chop/liquefy about 2 cups of greens. Then I blend in 2-3 bananas. I've also tried greens with apple and pear but it wasn't as good as with bananas.

Hopefully you find a combination you like!

Thanks for the smoothie suggestions, elaa!

Well guess what I am currently eating...a really delicious smoothie...with KALE!!! I don't know what I did wrong in the past, b/c this doesn't taste green at all. It's great! I'm so happy, I am going to have one of these every day from now on. I put in 2 bananas, 3 large kale leaves and the rest of my frozen fruit mix I had in the freezer- a couple strawberries and maybe a piece each of mango & papaya, not much was left. I need to get more frozen fruit but it's pretty expensive right now. Tomorrow I'll probably just use some clementines instead. I'm so excited that I don't have to choke it down, b/c I think this is what my raw food diet was missing in the past- enough greens! I've also heard that the greens have to be broken down into very very small pieces to release all the nutrients, and just chewing doesn't break them down small enough, so smoothies give you even more benefits than eating salads or lettuce wraps.

I got so much great stuff at the grocery- I had a gift card that covered most of it, so I was able to buy almost all the things I needed w/o worrying about money too much. I should have just gotten that frozen mango- oh well! Next time. I did find RAW unhulled sesame seeds! So I have everything I need to make my delicious raw zucchini hummus (I prefer to use zucchini in place of garbanzo beans, not a fan of raw beans/lentils and it's a good way to get another type of veggie in). I'll be able to eat completely raw from now on- no more cooked hummus for this girl. I'm pretty excited about that.

Here's my day so far and what I plan to have later:

-3 bananas, 2 clementines
-banana & apple
-Lara Bar & green smoothie w/ 2 bananas, some frozen fruit & kale
-probably a couple carrots w/ raw zucchini hummus and a salad w/ mixed baby greens, romaine, red pepper, carrots and vinegar- maybe 1/3 of an avocado if I want it
-another apple b/c I finally got MacIntosh, which is what I've been craving!

Exercise today was yoga in the morning which felt great, and I'll run 3-4 miles with sprint intervals later. Might also lift upper body weights, I'll see how I'm feeling.

Well the raw hummus did not turn out well! The sesame seeds didn't actually grind up in my food processor, so it was more of a zucchini-garlic mush. I still ate some of it b/c I was hungry, but I don't think this stuff would be for me even if it had ground up perfectly. The garlic made my nose run and now I'm super thirsty. I am thinking of just making some good raw guacamole for a dip for my veggies. Veggies & dip seems to work really well for me to take to work for lunch- paired with fruit, it gets me through the marathon afternoons w/o feeling like I'm going to pass out! Anyway I'll get some more avocadoes and just add tomatoes, red pepper and onion and test that out. I have to admit, I will terribly miss the awesome hummus I've been buying here. It's made in the health food store I shop at and it's just amazing. For some reason that is harder to stop eating than bread and vegan cookies! Carrots & hummus are my favorite. But I don't have to say it's forever...just one day at a time.

Well that's all for now...I'm already looking forward to another green smoothie tomorrow!

hehe Meow i cant tell you how many raw experiments turned out bad over the years

the good news is .. if ya cant eat it .. plaster it on your face, skin an hair .. at least it comes to some good use

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Jodi that is a good idea! It's sitting in my fridge right now...I bet the sesame seeds would be a good exfoliant ;-)

I have decided to make a raw guacamole dip to replace the cooked hummus I'd been eating, so I'm off to the grocery again (ugh) to get the ingredients I am lacking. I know I like guac and have made it many times before so it should be a good substitute. I do need something with a little fat in the middle of the workday since the afternoons are non-stop moving and just fruit/veg would be burned off too quickly.

I am in love with green smoothies. I had one for brunch and will make another later after I get some frozen fruit! My plan for the day is:

-banana
-green smoothie w/ 2 bananas, kale, pineapple and a clementine; lara bar
-green smoothie w/ 2 bananas, kale, frozen mango, blueberries & strawberries
-2 apples
-salad w/ mixed baby greens, romaine, carrots, red pepper, tomato, sprouts, fresh guacamole and vinegar (if needed- the guac may be enough)
-banana and apple or clementines

I also ordered the raw cacao powder I used to get in Los Angeles to dip my bananas in. It's sooooo good and always gives me a nice buzz- I used to eat it before long trail runs in the mountains and it did the trick! It should be here in 3-7 days :-) I love raw, the possibilities are endless even with a more simple diet free of many gourmet recipes.

As for exercise I will probably run a bit later, maybe just 4 easy miles. So...day 2 100% raw, here I go!

Glad to see the green smoothies on your menu!

Have you seen the show Underdog to Wonderdog on Animal Planet? I taped it the other day and it was a really cute show. They basically take dogs that are not adoptable and work with them intensively to get them adopted faster. I thought of you when I watched it.

ps. I'm not sure what kind of vinegar you use, but I recently learned that most vinegar, aside from raw apple cider vinegar is acidic and not good for us to eat.

Here is what I found on Dr. Graham's website:

"Vinegar is diluted acetic acid, commonly known to be a poison in its pure form. Acetic acid stimulates the thyroid gland to pull phosphorous from the adrenal glands to negate the effects of acetic acid in the system. Depleted phosphorous results in impaired function of the adrenal glands and thus the entire endocrine system. The outcome of all this can include body odor, pains in the heart, rapid pulse, increased mucous production, and headaches. Repetitive use will also result in hardening of the liver."

Just thought I'd pass that along. Have a great day!

Thanks elaa! I haven't seen that show but I'll check it out! We have a trainer that works with our dogs, too, but unfortunately not all of them end up being adoptable :-( Oh and I use Bragg's Raw ACV! Love that stuff. I had to mix it w/ balsamic vinegar while I got used to it but now it's great, and if my face breaks out I use it as toner on my face, too! Wow, I didn't know all that about vinegar. I'm assuming raw ACV is ok?? I hope so!

I just had to post again b/c I feel so great right now! I am just so excited to be raw for one month, 2 months, 6 months...I can't wait for all the changes it will inevitably bring about in my life.

I am definitely experiencing some minor detox- slight headaches, nausea and my face is breaking out a little (well, for me at least- usually my skin is clear!). I'm hoping that since I was raw for a while in the past, then went back to a pretty clean vegan diet with very little soy or refined flour, it won't be as bad as it was last time. Even though I'd been eating vegetarian/vegan for a couple years the detox still seemed tough at times! I'm not looking forward to that...but it's something that has to happen in order to feel my best. So, que sera sera!

Oh the raw guac is great, and so chunky from all the veggies I added that I want to eat it w/ a spoon! I'll try not to though

I had so much energy today! I can't remember the last time I felt so awake in the morning and actually got out of bed when the alarm went off...well, yes I can- It was the last time I was eating completely raw ;-) Anyway I just felt really good and happy all day. I love the incredible sense of well-being and lightness that I feel when I'm eating raw. Still detoxing mildly, but nothing too bad right now.

Today:

-green smoothie w/ 2 bananas, a couple frozen strawberries/mango chunks, blueberries, kale, water. 2 more bananas, 2 raw energy bites
-lara bar, 2 bananas, apple
-1.5 bananas
-big salad w/ the same stuff from last night- baby greens, romaine, carrots, red pepper, red onion, broccoli sprouts, tomato, fresh guac and raw ACV
-2 clementines

Everything I've eaten today has been delicious. I haven't gotten too hungry, either- my body seems to be stabilizing and getting used to eating raw again. I'm off to make dinner now

Oops, forgot to add my workout: I ran 1 mile to warm up, then lifted upper body weights. Work was a workout today, too!

I am freezing today! All day long. I had to shovel/scrape my car off this morning b/c we had a big storm overnight, and being out in the cold for too long made it impossible to warm up! I am going to cuddle up to the cats soon and hibernate under lots of blankets.

Today was pretty uneventful...lots of work, lots of fruit, my coworkers are expressing interest in my "diet" rather than saying stupid things like, "You're going to kill yourself," or "don't you want a nice bloody steak?" Haha, I guess that's one plus to working in an animal shelter! A couple of them have been vegan for 20+ years, back when it was taboo to be vegan. So they understand me! My old coworkers just told me I was insane.

Todays' food was:

-3 bananas, half a banana cookie lara bar but I wasn't a big fan of it, so I decided to have half a chocolate coconut one but ended up eating the whole thing...oops! Should have stuck w/ my green smoothie, they fill me up much better & stay w/ me longer
-4 bananas, apple, 2 clementines
-baby carrots, then a big huge salad w/ romaine, red leaf lettuce, baby greens, carrots, red pepper, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, sprouts & vinegar. YUM.
-2 clementines I think...and a raw energy bite

I did yoga after work- not a "workout" really but it felt nice. I'd like to get a couple yoga DVD's to get back into the swing of things with it.

Hooray for yoga! I went to yoga this morning and feel really great...except the dragon-breather guy I told you about was there, haha.

That guy sounds like such a weirdo! I wonder what his deal is?

My alarm never went off this morning so my day was really thrown off! I didn't get to make a green smoothie, I just grabbed some bananas for the drive to work. I ended up getting there only 40 mins. late, which is amazing since I woke up over 1.5 hours late! I ended up eating very very little fat today, which is good b/c I want to move towards following 811. I was surprised at how steady my blood sugar levels felt all day...it seemed to work really well. I've done 811 before but I don't think I ate enough in each meal b/c I was almost always hungry. I also wasn't eating enough greens. Maybe this time around will be different, but I'm not going to rush it, just try to eat overt fats only once/day.

Food today:

-4 bananas
-4 bananas, apple, 2 clementines
-apple & banana in car on drive home from work, some baby carrots at home
-I am really craving a big salad like last night's w/ romaine lettuce, baby greens, kale, snap peas, carrots, red pepper, tomatoes, sprouts, red onion & vinegar
-some kind of fruit, either an apple or 2 clementines...probably clementines

I got a buttload of perfectly ripe bananas today...yuummmmm. I love them when they're overly ripe and spotty. I will be spoiled with perfect bananas for the next couple of days!

Tomorrow I WILL have a green smoothie for breakfast, and probably dinner too. I don't know what was up w/ my alarm this morning!

Yes, the goji cacao chunks I bought are so good! I'm glad I only bought 6 pieces because I ate them all in one day. oops!

I'm off to make a breakfast green smoothie right now! That sounds excellent.

Elaa, I do the same thing most of the time when I buy them! They are addictive!

Today was my "Thursday," meaning the second to last day of my 5-day work week. Usually by this time I'm physically exhausted, falling asleep on the couch at 9 PM, dragging in the morning. Today I felt great. I ran around all afternoon at work, as usual, but I wasn't dragging at all. I have been in such a good mood for the past couple of days, too! I love this raw energy thing! I've been going to bed later and waking up much more easily than usual. And thankfully the semi-detox has subsided for now and my skin is back to normal All my pants are looser too! I can't believe it's only been a week or less of 100% raw...the benefits are pretty much immediate and they only get better as time goes on.

I do have a late holiday party on Friday evening at a bar and I'll probably do what I did when eating raw in the past- stick to a glass of red wine. I found that I can't stomach hard liquor on a raw diet- I get SO sick, and I have no desire for it anyway. I have always hated beer. I'm not a big drinker at all, I haven't had a drink since August (wow...lame I know!). So I guess if I just don't feel like it, I'll have water. But I do like wine every once in a blue moon!

Anyway, today was also very close to 811...here's the menu:

-green smoothie w/ 2 bananas, frozen mango/strawberries/blueberries, and kale. Also had 2 bananas and an apple on the side. Mmmm, fruit.
-Lara bar, 2 bananas, 2 clementines
-banana, handful of carrots
-biiiig salad w/ romaine, baby greens, carrots, tomatoes, red peppers, sprouts, red onion & vinegar
-I have A MANGO!!!! to eat later. Very excited about this!

No real workout today b/c I worked late. Maybe I'll run tomorrow, if I have time. I don't feel like I "have to" work out right now though...I enjoy running and love to run on my days off or on shorter work days, but when I get home around 7:00 after a long day I don't feel like I need to workout to burn calories anymore. It's very liberating!