ENTRY: 1

Well...as I start my journal, I am on Day 3 of being 100% raw.

I have done raw before (about a year ago) and only got to about 75% for a few weeks.

My husband has kindly agreed to do this with me as our lead up to 11 days on the Gold Coast of Australia.

I have gained about 5 pounds a year for the last 6 years so now have to try and get a handle on things before things get worse.

When I met my husband 6 years ago, I was a tidy 135lbs (5'4". When I weighed this week, I was 166 lbs. OUCH

After 2 days raw, I'm am down to 163 and my goal is to get down to the 135lbs I brought into the marriage. NO MORE! At one pound a day, I think I can reach that goal in 30 days.

I have also done the first 10 days of The Beverly Hills Diet (that was in the lead-up to my wedding) and lost about 7 lbs.

I like the way pineapple works to break down fats so that diet was quite good for me.

Those are the only 2 diets I've done. And I've started them both TWICE.

Yesterday (Day 2 of being 100% raw), I had a splitting headache which eventually made me nauseated. After several hours, I was tempted to take something for my headache and had the pills to my mouth when the still, small voice said, "You're trying to get rid of the toxins, why would you go and put more toxins in there? You'll just have to get rid of them, too."

So I drank another glass of water and laid down until the headache went away (which didn't happen until quite late into the evening).

I am pleased to say that at times, I just don't feel hungry. But at other times (when I let myself get too hungry) it's really hard not to just grab a quick fix.

But I haven't done so and I WON'T! I want to see what it feels like to be raw for one month.

When I go to Australia next month, I have no intention of remaining 100% raw. But I am going to focus on eating lots of raw, as well. I will decide what percentage of raw to remain on once we get back from Oz.

As as side note, I am finding the diet VERY expensive...but!...we are not eating out, or buying beer or coffees out and about, so maybe the cost will work out about the same. We'll see.

Signing off for now,
Peggy in the Raw



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2008 10:02PM by Peggy in the Raw.

Hi everyone!

Your comments and questions are more than welcomed.

I'll be seeing you all around the forums.

Cheers,
Peggy

Hi
Congratulations on your decision to going raw! i myself have also only just started, im 13 days in and doing well.

I just wanted to drop you a note because i'm worried about your expectations of your weight loss being the same as the first few weeks of a change in diet. It is normal for the body to shed weight like crazy the first 2 weeks whenever there is a drastic change in your diet. SO please dont be discouraged if your weight loss evens out after those initial days.

Also, not being hungry is not always a good sign. Eating causes your metabolism to kick in in order to process the food, which in turn makes you hungry beause your body is in high gear, so to speak,busy burning calories and your body is seaking to replenish them. however, if you dont eat then your metabolism will stay low which means you dont feel hungry as quickly but you also dont burn calories. so you have to try and find a balance. THis is my opinion from the research i've done and from speaking to trainers ect , im not a professional or anything

Good luck with your journey, and remember, it took 6 years to put on the weight, dont punish yourself for taking a couple of months to take it off.

Hi Sage

What a lovely and thoughtful post. Thanks for taking the time. WOW! Sixteen days in! Good on ya and a big CONGRATULATIONS.

As for me: I'm sure the weight loss will level off but I'm hoping it will continue for a while longer as I'd really like to be able to put a bathing suit on when we get to the Gold Coast. In fact, my husband says I HAVE to! He doesn't often insist on anything so I know it's important to him that I don't hide in my hotel room or sit on the sand (in shorts and a shirt) while he puts on his swim gear and goes out to play in the surf by himself.

I know I need to keep feeding my body with raw foods in order to get my system back into some semblance of order but I struggle with the balance thing you mentioned sometimes.

We are juicing every morning and afternoon. After a juice, I usually have a fruit and nut smoothie. Then a lettuce wrap with lots of fresh veggies and guacamole for lunch (or similar). I send lots of fresh and dried fruits with my husband for his lunch (or he comes home and eats with me) plus veggies. Yesterday, I sent him some flaxseed crackers and guacamole in his lunch. We could both eat guacamole every day (but I think too much will not help). I have made homemade hummus and will start today on homemade fruit leathers (which I've done before) and sprouting again.

Last night we had a nice salad for dinner and for "dessert" we had a fruit smoothie (more like a sorbet) made of freshly frozen strawberries and bananas.

Is this similar to the way you are eating? Or does it sound like way too much?

How are you finding it preparing meals? I spend a great deal of time in the kitchen...and would like to cut back on that time but it's a learning curve so will take some adjustment.

I'm also struggling with getting myself to drink 8 - 10 glasses of water a day. I drink several...but not the amount I should. I wonder if lemon would help?

Are you still losing weight after 16 days? I'm on Day 4 now and have lost 3 or 4 pounds. I'm pleased with that and it gives me a lot of hope. I hope to continue with the losing, even if it's only a few pounds a week. That's better than nothing. I guess I should keep my goals reasonable. (;

Thanks again for writing and please pardon this long post...it's also acting as a journal for myself. Hope I haven't bored you to tears.

Signing off for now,
Peggy in the Raw

P.S. Yesterday I was able to find agave nectar! Woo-Hoo!! That stuff is NICE!

P.S.S. I haven't cheated even once!!! (:

Peggy in the Raw Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We are juicing every morning and afternoon. After
> a juice, I usually have a fruit and nut smoothie.
> Then a lettuce wrap with lots of fresh veggies and
> guacamole for lunch (or similar). I send lots of
> fresh and dried fruits with my husband for his
> lunch (or he comes home and eats with me) plus
> veggies.
> Last night we had a nice salad for dinner and for
> "dessert" we had a fruit smoothie (more like a
> sorbet) made of freshly frozen strawberries and
> bananas.
>
> I'm also struggling with getting myself to drink 8
> - 10 glasses of water a day. I drink
> several...but not the amount I should. I wonder
> if lemon would help?

Congratulations - you're doing wonderfully so far! It's also fantasticthat your husband is not only supporting you but joining in with you as well...

You are not going to be able to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day; there is no need to when you are getting so much water naturally from your juices, fruits (non-dried) and veggies! That water requirement is for people still eating the SAD way, who eat a lot of food depleted of most of it's moisture. Drink as much as your body wants, but no more. Watch your urine...if closer it is to clear, the more hydrated you are. I've been 100% raw for about 2 months, now, and the pretty the only time I drink water is the 2 cups I have first thing in the morning after brushing my teeth.

Just for your information: if you want to maintain (a strict) 100% raw regime(for now or for good!), just be aware that a lot of dried fruit is not raw, having been dried via a high-heat method. Truly raw fruit would be sundried only - I'm only saying this because I was totally unaware of this myself until recently...

I wish you all the best and only success - you're doing a great job!

Hi Soraya

Thanks so much for taking the time to pop in. WOW! Two months raw...how does it feel? Do you have any struggles? Have you found things that work really well? Please feel free to pop in for a chat anytime.

I agree with you about the water but maybe I just needed more when I had the bad headache two days ago and was wanting to flush toxins as quickly as possible. It's my husband who keeps insisting I drink lots and lots of water. Now I have an answer for him! (; Thanks.

I do know about the dried fruit and do look for "sundried" but can't always find it. As it happens, apricots are in season here now so we can get fresh ones for the time being.

I am not looking forward to winter as it's really hard to get nice fruit here in the winter. ):

But...it's SUMMER! So we are going thru about a watermelon a day; a bag of carrots a day, and a few pints of strawberries. (: Plus we can get mangoes! I LOVE mangoes.

Tonight we had company over for dinner (our daughter's boyfriend's family). They enjoyed a nice lamb roast with roast veggies and a huge salad. We ate a raw salad. It was great. I didn't even want the cooked food. I feel so VERY proud of myself for being good to my body. (: The husband was actually really getting into our story about eating raw and was giving his wife the look (which she said, "no way" to). LOL We'll see what happens. My husband juiced a watermelon while they were here and they all enjoyed some with us.

I'm so excited. I can't wait to see the difference a month raw makes to my body, my mind, and my emotions. I reckon that if I can eat raw for a month, I might be able to make the jump to even longer periods of time (and that can only be a good thing). We'll see what happens. Either way, I do intend on remaining 75% raw (at least) once we get back from Australia.

Signing off for now,
Peggy in the Raw

P.S. I have some frozen strawberry/banana sorbet freezing for my "dessert" - something I never used to enjoy after cooked food because I was too "full" and "bloated". Now I love having a nice fruit something at the end of the day. (: It's a bit like icing on the cake.

Uhmmnnn...mangoes... I more than love mangoes !

I've been about two months totally raw, and was high raw for the two months previous to that. I feel great, but keep in mind that I've also introduced many changes in my diet over the past two years. I'd never bought completely into the SAD mentality - I'm originally from the tropics - so I always ate healthier than most. However I had to begin eating gluten & casein free diet for health reasons. Then went anything with any additives, preservatives, etc, meaning that all processed food went out the door! Then came veganism (I used to eat a little chicken and fish very occasionally before), and then, to my surprise, came raw!

Congrats for doing so well during your dinner last night! That was awesome! How strong you must be to pass such a challenging test only after such a short time - I take my hat off to you!

My main physical detox issues haven't been too severe, thankfully. I've had some acne trouble but I kind of expected that, and sometimes I have to rest a bit more, but that's about it. I've lost about 12lbs total since going raw but I had been losing weight previous that as well as a result of not eating meat anymore. I'm petite and curvy, so any weight loss is rather noticable, but I definitely don't look emaciated, thank god!

Detox has been more challenging for me in the non-physical arenas; emotionally and mentally. Because you're not eating heavy processed and cooked food you can't use it as a means of hiding from / not facing your true emotions / isuues, so you're faced with taking a good, hard look at yourself in a way that you never thought remotely possible. I've transformed / grown more in the past four months than I have before in the previous four years!!! It can get a bit overwhelming sometimes, but as long as I remain honest with myself and open to how I'm feeling - no running away or vegging in front of the TV! - then I work through it fine. I just wish that more people would talk about this...would've been great to have been forewarned!

What works for me right now? Really paying attention to what my body wants as pertaining to what foods I seem to crave...e.g. for the first three months I was heavily into kale; now that craving's changed to a lot of cucumbers and cauliflower,of all things! I try to eat a wide variety of fruit and veggies,nuts,seeds, beans and legumes, but there are some things I don't like (celery!!!)or want right now, so I don't force the issue. I stay aware of everything I eat and how I feel, and I eat pretty often, but only to the point of satiation - I've been breaking myself of the habit most of us got into on cooked foods of eating until stuffed like turkeys ...

I will be checking in to see how you're doing - great job so far! Have a wonderful day!

Hi again
It sounds like you are doing great! food you are making sounds delicious, can i come live with you? hehe I have to admit although i am trying for the 100% raw, i dont spend a lot of time in the kitchen because i work long hours so i can really afford the time. As a result i make easy things that are high in taste value using alot of garlic and ginger, lemon, spices ect

If there are things that need preparation then i do it the night before and on weekends. Like if i want to make nut butters, dips or pickled foods. THat way i can make juices and "soups" to eat and i can throw in the pre-prepared stuff in here and there when i feel like something more substantial. A good supply of grapes, bananas and soaked nuts gets me through the rest of the time as i am one of those people that eats even when not hungry just because i have nothing else to do or emotional ect

my weight loss had leveled off but im pretty sure its because i am eating a huge amount of food in my effort to stay on this life style. i believe that if i start trying to restrict my intake of food before i am completely over the old life style, i will go right back to it. For now im content that i feel more alive and energetic from living this way and losing some weight all the while still satisfying my need to eat. Eventually i will start cutting back of course, but not yet.

Take care and good luck on your continued efforts

I have completed a full week at 100% - feeling good; lost 5 pounds and going STRONG!!!

Day 8 - I started with fresh juiced watermelon (a GREAT BIG glass), followed by a large glass of water and a bowl of red grapes (seeds and all) for breakfast. I'm going to try and eat only fruit for the first half of the day (not mixing types) and then move on to veggies later in the day...with proteins in the evening. Conscious food combining. (:

Am also considering a month of Colonix - an herbal cleanse I've done a few times now. I try to do one annually...and it's that time.

Sounds like you're doing great; congrats on making it through your first week! I remember how huge that was for me as well. I think you'll find that the food combining will help you a lot; I also eat fruits eary during the day and afternoon (not mixing) and veggies / protein in the evenings.

I just want to say one thing...going raw is incredibly cleansing in and of itself, and do add something extra into the mix may be a little much for your body to handle at this early stage; you may want to consider doing the cleanse at a later date if you still feel the need to, but keep in mind that you need to always do what you feel is right for you (regardless of other opinions). That's just my two cents, given in love!

I wish you continued success!

Peggy -- sounds like you are doing great! What types of raw protein do you eat? I have been doing raw (sometimes 100% and sometimes not) since October. However, I am very concerned about protein, so I started to add some eggs and some fish.

The only raw protein I can think of is sprouted beans and nuts. Do you have other sources of raw protein to suggest?

Thanks!

look up www.rawfoodexplained, you will find some information on protien. The book called China study explains a lot about protien. When I started eating raw last year and people would ask me where I get my protien I was at a loss because I was eating so little in comparison to my previous sad diet. I soon became a bit fearful about protien and calcium intake. Fear is a very strong emotion. You need to be well informed and soon it will sink in and you will realize that we really don't need all that protien. Take a look at the non flesh eating animals. The horse, cow, gorilla and deer. They are much larger than us and eat greens and vegitables. They are healthy.

Hi Soraya

Thanks for popping in to say hello and give some good advise on the cleanse. I have thought the very same thing so it's great to hear it from you. I think I will give it a while longer before I try the cleanse. But I'm pretty sure I need to do the cleanse because of the pork I used to eat. And I know that parasites are common in pork. That's one of the main reasons I would do Colonix for a month again. It's an herbal cleanse that takes care of any critters. (;

Thanks again for saying hi and giving some good advise.

Cheers,
Peggy

Soraya Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sounds like you're doing great; congrats on making
> it through your first week! I remember how huge
> that was for me as well. I think you'll find that
> the food combining will help you a lot; I also eat
> fruits eary during the day and afternoon (not
> mixing) and veggies / protein in the evenings.
>
> I just want to say one thing...going raw is
> incredibly cleansing in and of itself, and do add
> something extra into the mix may be a little much
> for your body to handle at this early stage; you
> may want to consider doing the cleanse at a later
> date if you still feel the need to, but keep in
> mind that you need to always do what you feel is
> right for you (regardless of other opinions).
> That's just my two cents, given in love!
>
> I wish you continued success!

Hi Optimist

Thanks for stopping by. (:

I haven't started spouting yet (but have done so before) so I've been pretty limited to soaked nuts and seeds mostly. I also eat some which have not been soaked but that's rare.

I was under the impression that avocados have protein and we eat quite a few of those as well. I really do want to get into the sprouting...they are so sweet and crunchy!

But because I haven't started the sprouting this time, we have had raw fish a few times. We enjoy a bit of chopped raw salmon over a big salad and also I make the white fish marinaded in lemon juice and serve it over a salad. Both are very good and loaded with Omega oils and protein.

I never said I was going to be vegan so I don't have an issue with the raw fish. In fact, we love it. I have not had any cooked eggs for protein but have added a raw egg yolk when I made homemade mayonnaise. That's not much protein but it's a little.

My husband works out in the gym a few times a week and also does several long runs so I really need to keep some protein going for him especially. He's noticing a decline in his ability to lift weights after 10 or 11 days raw and if I don't come up with something quick, he's going back to powdered protein shakes with milk in them.

It's really a huge learning curve to find out what our bodies really need and when you totally change your diet overnight, you need to be careful to keep the research up so you don't inadvertently make matters worse. So...onwards and upwards.

Sorry...I don't know much about getting raw protein so if you come up with anything, please feel free to post again. (:

Cheers,
Peggy

optimist4life Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Peggy -- sounds like you are doing great! What
> types of raw protein do you eat? I have been doing
> raw (sometimes 100% and sometimes not) since
> October. However, I am very concerned about
> protein, so I started to add some eggs and some
> fish.
>
> The only raw protein I can think of is sprouted
> beans and nuts. Do you have other sources of raw
> protein to suggest?
>
> Thanks!

Hi pampam

Thanks for the website. I'll go have a look. (;

Cheers,
Peggy

pampam Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> look up www.rawfoodexplained, you will find some
> information on protien. The book called China
> study explains a lot about protien. When I
> started eating raw last year and people would ask
> me where I get my protien I was at a loss because
> I was eating so little in comparison to my
> previous sad diet. I soon became a bit fearful
> about protien and calcium intake. Fear is a very
> strong emotion. You need to be well informed and
> soon it will sink in and you will realize that we
> really don't need all that protien. Take a look
> at the non flesh eating animals. The horse, cow,
> gorilla and deer. They are much larger than us
> and eat greens and vegitables. They are healthy.

Hi Peggy,
sounds like you're going great! I hope you enjoy the Gold Coast - have you been before? Where are you from? The Gold Coast is a lovely spot. Good luck with your goals.
Grayzie

For an added raw protein boost for your husband you could try using hemp protein powder if you haven't already done so; I use it in my smoothies. Keep in mind that a little weakness in the beginning of eating raw is pretty normal - your body is deep in the throes of sucking in the new, pure energy and casting off all of the old, toxic stuff - but I can tell you that I am stronger now that I've ever been (and I've always been extremely strong for my petite size, even placing gym-rat guys to shame) and I'm lovin' it!

Hope this helps!

Hi Grayzie

Well...I'm mostly raw but I have come off of the 100% raw regime I was doing. I got bored with the food and found that I was experiencing flops with things I made in the dehydrator. I'm still about 85% raw and that's better than my long-term goal of 75% raw. I guess I can't complain too much.

I started calorie counting today...we'll see how that goes.

I have been to the Gold Coast before but it was only for 5 days and we are going for 12 this time so I think we'll manage to get good and relaxed before we have to come home.

I originally from New Orleans but have lived in New Zealand for 6 years now. We are in Auckland.

Where are you from?

Thanks for taking the time to post and I wish you well on your journey.

How are things going for you?

Cheers,
Peggy

Grayzie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Peggy,
> sounds like you're going great! I hope you enjoy
> the Gold Coast - have you been before? Where are
> you from? The Gold Coast is a lovely spot. Good
> luck with your goals.
> Grayzie

Hi Soraya

Thanks for the idea of the hemp protein powder...unfortunately, we can not get that in New Zealand. Crazy, huh? Only hemp oil and a few other products.

My hubby is looking really good. We have lost about the same amount of weight since going raw. I've lost 8 lbs in 2 weeks. I feel good about that but it was certainly not the loss I was hoping for. I think I set my goals too high.

I'll try to keep the raw intake at 75% to 85% but I'm finding it difficult after 2 weeks. Our grocery bill has gone sky high as fruits and vegetables are the most expensive thing on the market just about. And forget affording organic. Once our daughter and her partner move out (in a few months), I'll be able to shop for more organic foods. In the meantime...I am working to fight my boredom.

Anyhow...I got off topic.

All the best to you in your journey. (:

Cheers,
Peggy

Soraya Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For an added raw protein boost for your husband
> you could try using hemp protein powder if you
> haven't already done so; I use it in my smoothies.
> Keep in mind that a little weakness in the
> beginning of eating raw is pretty normal - your
> body is deep in the throes of sucking in the new,
> pure energy and casting off all of the old, toxic
> stuff - but I can tell you that I am stronger now
> that I've ever been (and I've always been
> extremely strong for my petite size, even placing
> gym-rat guys to shame) and I'm lovin' it!
>
> Hope this helps!

Hey, Peggy! Just wondering how you are doing!