Saw this section and thought : This is a great way to keep track of my progress, after I've made the switch to the Raw Diet. I've tried the Raw Diet before and lost a little weight (a couple of years ago) but not only did I have no support at home, but she (my wife) was constantly pushing her east Indian cooking on me.
And while it's extremely delicious (borderline addictive), it's also very high in calories. There's one dish she makes (biryani) and that meal is my Everest. If I can fight the urge to eat that when she makes it for herself (and our kids), then I know I can do this.

I'm not assigning blame here (honest). If it's anybodys fault it's mine. This time I've promised to be stronger. She made biryani just three nights ago and I was strong enough to deal with it.


A bit about myself...

- I'm 40 years old
- Male
- 235 Lbs. (before I started the raw diet)
- Am suffering from poor health (IBS, lethargy and general malaise)

My weight has always fluctuated by approximately 5 pounds (up or down). On Nov. 30/2015 weighed myself at 225 Lbs. with a BMI of 33.1 (obese)

My next weight reading will be on December 21st! I have been 99% raw but have cheated with commercial salad dressing. I have already Googled a raw friendly salad dressing & raw friendly condiments (like mustard).

I will record my weight and post it online on December 21st. Look forward to tracking my progress online.

So!

As promised, here is my December 21st follow up report.

WEIGHT :

- My weight, as of December 21/2015 : 217 Lbs. I've lost a total of 18 Lbs.

CHEATS :

- In the beginning, I occasionally used commercial salad dressing to top my salads. Today I forced myself to ignore the commercial salad dressing in the fridge. Instead, I sprinkled some pink salt on my broccoli (just a pinch) and squeezed some lemon juice (from an actual lemon; not the commercial ready-made lemon juice in a bottle) and that was my dressing. I am confident that there are much better raw salad dressing recipe's out there, but this was just my first step in eliminating chemical laden dressings. When I feel up to it I'll research a recipe and try it out. For now, I just wanted to have something to top my broccoli and it not be commercial with a bunch of preservatives and whatnot.

- Last night I wasn't feeling so good and I went to bed at like 6 pm (for a nap). I woke up around 10 pm (LOL). When I came downstairs, wifey looked at me and said "Here, have some biryani!" Turns out, while I was napping, she was cooking.
Biryani is my cryptonite! I can admit it. She had a plate in her hand, and even though everybody knows I'm doing the raw diet, she coaxed me into eating three spoons of rice and one little piece of cooked chicken. To be honest, I don't have a problem with that little cheat, which is why when she offered it I didn't argue with her. I mean, it was literally just three spoons of rice (not much in my opinion). My only regret was that I didn't warm it up; it was cold. I don't think I want to go 100% raw either. I do have some concerns about any possible nutrient/mineral deficiencies from being 100% raw. I'm really aiming for something like a 90% raw rate. So....no regrets on the biryani.

NOTES :

- Every week we (my wife, kids & myself) visit my parents for dinner. My mom will cook calorie rich foods like lasagna, pizza, butter chicken, fried chicken, etc.
Since I started the raw diet (again) I have visited my parents on two occasions for our weekly dinner and mom was sweet enough to make me a plain salad (with no commercial dressing; just apple cider vinegar to sprinkle on the salad) and instead of my customary Coke Classic, I just had water. Maybe I'll ask for plain old orange juice, with no other ingredient but "freshly squeezed oranges" for when I want a little sweet taste.


So now I'll stick with this and report back on January 4/2016. So to anybody reading my sad little report, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Love from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. - Yousaf



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/21/2015 11:02PM by YMS_1975.

Good morning!

This is a vegan forum so people here are not all 100% raw but at least promote an animal-free diet.

It sounds like you need to sit with yourself and get very organized mentally on what exactly your objectives are so that you know precisely what to do regarding substitutes for dressing, what to do when offered cooked food that is not part of your eating options and how raw you want to be. Did you research it? Do you have books with recipes? Otherwise you will not be focused and organized and more susceptible to grabbing something at the last moment that doesn't go along with your new eating style.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/23/2015 05:12PM by banana who.

Remember that you can be 100% raw vegan, but only if you really want this. Think about the amazing benefits you will feel and that your body will thank you for it, you will lose all the excess weight easily while eating raw fruits and veggies.

Also, read a lot about the animal abuse and cruelty in slaughterhouses and I'm sure you will never eat chicken (or any other animal products) again. Once you realize the violence and horrors, and where the animal products actually come from, and with what price of innocent lives, you'll surely become an ethical vegan first of all. Then a raw vegan for your health.

Just be consistent and trust this diet and make it your lifestyle, like Banana Who said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Alrighty!!!!

As promised, here is my January 4th follow up report.

WEIGHT :

- My weight, as of January 4/2016 : 212 Lbs. I've lost a total of 23 Lbs. That may seem like a progressive loss, but what you don't know is that I actually went down to 209 Lbs (that was as of Dec.30th), but my kids came back from my moms house (they were sleeping over at Grandma & Grandpa's house for about a week) and when they came, they brought treats my mom bought for them (Gummies, candies, etc). I'd be lying if I said I didn't indulge (I totally did). Plus there was the biryani, and all the other seasonal traditional foods like turkey, stuffing, etc. As I said, I don't think I'll ever go 100% raw but....who knows? Maybe one day.

CHEATS :

- Previously I was still using commercial salad dressing. Now I just squeeze half a lemon onto whatever I'm eating (I.E: salad), and sprinkle on some ground pepper and some Himalayan Pink Salt.

For now, I'm back on the wagon and eating as much raw as I can. I'm currently watching YouTube videos on a raw cheese substitute. Not sure if I want to go with Almonds or Cashews.

Meh...after I figure it out for myself, I'll keep you posted.

Almost forgot!!!!

I'll post another update on January 18/2016. See you then!

OK...

So as of today, Jan. 18/2016, I weigh......<Drum Roll Please>....206 Lbs.
I'm still fighting cravings, but I must be doing something right. But it's not just about the weight loss. It's about the Raw lifestyle.

I'll keep ypu posted on February 1/2016.

Good night guys!!!

Don't you feel like you're talking into a canyon if you don't engage anyone? I am curious what your aim is, if you are not exchanging ideas with others on here.

Talking into a canyon? No, I can't say that I feel that way at all. I find the journal/log an excellent way for me to track my progress and to see if I can detect any patterns should I encounter any road blocks in my diet, which I have.

Plus the web site allows me an opportunity to read up on other peoples ideas & recipes.

You can journal privately instead of on a forum. The point I was making is that you seem to be simply documenting your situation and not exchanging ideas with others and I was curious why that was. Yes, I agree that it is interesting to read what others are going through but I feel like you ignored a prior comment I made as well as that of another poster. Just pointing out that the whole idea of journaling online versus in the privacy of your own home would seem to be to riff off others.

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You can journal privately instead of on a forum.
> The point I was making is that you seem to be
> simply documenting your situation and not
> exchanging ideas with others and I was curious why
> that was. Yes, I agree that it is interesting to
> read what others are going through but I feel like
> you ignored a prior comment I made as well as that
> of another poster. Just pointing out that the
> whole idea of journaling online versus in the
> privacy of your own home would seem to be to riff
> off others.

I hear what you're saying. I guess I'm using this forum incorrectly.
I'm probably better off just doing this on my own PC instead of using the site, as I'm not at all concerned about interacting with others (regarding my journal).

Thanks for the feedback. It was nice chatting with you. Next stop....diet journal software.

YMS_1975, I'm sorry one person made you feel as though you are not welcome. I have been a member on this board since 2012 I think. I just read. I don't interact. You were fine doing what you were doing. Keep going if you want and I will keep reading. I'll be your canyon. LOL

vanessam888 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> YMS_1975, I'm sorry one person made you feel as
> though you are not welcome. I have been a member
> on this board since 2012 I think. I just read. I
> don't interact. You were fine doing what you were
> doing. Keep going if you want and I will keep
> reading. I'll be your canyon. LOL


If someone asked you a direct question, you wouldn't respond? I can see just reading posts but this was a different situation. By the way, another regular also commented to him.

I didn't "make him feel" anything. I could say that "he made me feel" like I wasn't worth the time to respond to, also. This is a SOCIAL site. If you post on here, you cannot expect other people not to comment upon or question certain things. If you are the type just to read posts, that is a totally different story. This guy wanted to create a public log of his experiences and yet not interact with others. It's his choice to do so, but then don't be so quick to pick up your ball and go home when someone questions the point of it all.

He mentioned caving and eating chicken and other foods. Others on this site have gotten chastised for even mentioning such a thing. Also, some people troll this site and start writing about how much they crave meat, etc. I assume it's to pull others off their diets, as well.

The bottom line is that we are all in this together. If you are a lurker and just read posts, fine. But if you venture out and post things, it is reasonable to expect feedback and questions. And I feel that it is in the spirit of the group to interact with other people, if only in a limited way. Completely ignoring others' inquiries and comments seems like the person is disinterested in anything beyond themselves. And I don't think that is what this is all about. I would like to continue to read this man's posts and I hope he does stay and share his journey. I would just like to be able to bounce ideas and the like off of him.



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2016 03:24PM by banana who.