I've been a vegan for about a 18 months (plant-based whole foods diet). I'd like to see the difference 'raw' vegan will have on me.


Starting stats:

Weight: 122lbs
Height: 5'5"
BMI: 20.3
Body Temp: 98.3
Blood Pressure: 114/75
Resting Heart Beat: 50 bpm
Pushups: 48 (chest to group)

Picture: [i157.photobucket.com]

About me:

I live a simple life, and I like to keep things easy, so I won't be eating 'raw gourmet' style. These meals will be ones that can be prepared in less then 2 minutes. My BlendTec will be here in about a month, at which time I can blend. Until then, everything is whole or sliced.

I will continue to exercise to keep track of muscle mass. Stats will be recorded on a daily basis.


My Guidelines

- Whole foods or freshly blended foods only
- Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds only
- No dehydrated foods
- No calorie counting
- Fat intake around 30-60gr/day


Encouragement, comments, and suggestions are welcome and appreciated. I'll likely not follow advice, as I'm going to trust my own instinct most of all.

Thanks

Day 1

Weight: 121.4lbs
BMI: 20.2
Body Temp: 97.8

I had too many figs. Not out of hunger, but just for calories. I felt nausous and had a headache. The apples (4 small) made my stomach sore. Could it have been the apple core that did this?

I'm gonna see if I can get some bananas tomorrow, along with advocados and strawberries. I'm finding my way and the challenges are bound to happen.

The good thing is that I'm NOT hungry! My caloric intake is likely by far less then usual. I'm looking into purchasing Goji Berries. I heard so much about them.


Breakfast: Huge Salad (Kale, onions, tomato, 1 tbsp ground flaxseeds)
Lunch: Figs and apples
Dinner: Huge Salad (Kale, onions, tomato, 8 brazil nuts)
After Dinner: 1 grapefruit


I'm excited as to what tomorrow will bring!

Day 2

Weight: 120.4lbs
BMI: 20.0
Body Temp: 97.7

Breakfast: Salad (Kale, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, 8 brazil nuts)
Lunch: Apples, dates
Snack: Grapefruit
Dinner: Salad (Kale, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, grounded flaxseeds)

Little or no hunger. That's good. I'm still having a nausous feeling which I think is due to a sugar spike likely caused by the dates, so I won't be eating them anymore.

It's gonna take some time to refine this diet. Today was much better then yesterday. I'm running out of food so this isn't going to be easy. I might be pulling a mono-diet for a while due to expense.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/2008 06:05AM by Discover.

Day 3

Weight: 120.8lbs
BMI: 20.1
Body Temp: 98.6

I have a low persistant headache and nausea, Aside from that everythings okay. No food cravings. Infact, I have to force myself to eat! I'm enjoying the food, I'm just not hungry.


Breakfast: Salad (Kale,cabbage, 8 brazil nuts)
Lunch: 6 Apples, 1 grapefruit
Snack: 2 Apples
Dinner: Salad (Kale,cabbage, grounded flaxseeds)


I look forward to shopping tomorrow my supplies are thinned out.

Day 4

Weight 119.8
BMI: 19.9
Body Temp: 97.8

Still have that low persistant headache, but I have much less nausea. I felt a little lathargic, likely to do with the low calories. I quickly did some math and I'm taking in around 1200, so I think ANY diet with that low of calories would have someone feeling this way.

I'm not hungry, and the food is still great. It's amazing how tasty these foods can be once you give them a chance.

Breakfast: (Kale, cabbage, radishes, tomato, avocado)
Snack: Celery stick, apple, orange
Lunch: Celery stick, apple, orange
Snack: 2 apples
Dinner: (Kale, cabbage, radishes, tomato, grounded raw whole hempseed)

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Day 5

Weight 119.8
BMI: 19.9
Body Temp: 98.4
Blood pressure: 111/70
Wide-grip Pushups: 48 (same as usual)

Headache and nausia is almost unnoticeable. Feeling more lathargic. Calories are still low, so I suspect it's because of that. My skin is tighter. I can see that my abs is more flat already.

Breakfast: Salad (Kale, cabbage, radishes, tomato, grounded flaxseeds)
Snack: Celery stick,apple, orange
Snack: Celery stick apple, orange
Snack: Grapes, blueberries
Dinner: Salad (Kale, cabbage, radishes, tomato, brazil nuts)

Let's see what happens tomorrow. I suspect I'll feel more lathargic. I will add calories soon to build up energy.

Day 6

Weight 119
BMI: 19.8
Body Temp: 98.5

No headache. Just feel lathargic. Acne clearing up. It's more clear then it's been in a long time!

The BlendTec just arrived and I used it for the first time. Simply Awesome! I made a smoothie with the ingrediants I was going to have for dinner. I'm still experimenting with flavours. Don't make the one I did, lol.

Breakfast: Salad (Kale, radishes, tomato, grounded hempseeds)
Snack: Celery stick,apple, orange
Snack: Celery stick apple, orange
Dinner: Smoothie (4 cups of Kale, 2 apples, avocado, 1/2 tomato) - Don't make this!

After the smoothy my head felt clogged. I think I added too much. It'll take some adjusting.

Once again I'm not hungry. This is amazing!

I'm excited to give away the microwave, pressure cooker, and steamer - no more cooking for me! Less cleaning too!

sounds like you are doing well, i have persistant headaches as well but they have begun to lesson over time which is a bonus. its great to hear you're getting rid of your microwave, ive heard many bad things about the heat rays it puts into your food.

Day 6

Weight 119
BMI: 19.8
Body Temp: 98.5

Today I've had my second compliment on my eyes; "You have very nice eyes", I was told. I haven't heard this compliment before in years.

The morning smoothie sure felt energizing! And the dinner smoothie tasted the best yet. I call it the 'cooling smoothie' because it has a cool and refreshing taste. The radish seemed to give it the perfect 'spike' to add the the coldness.

Breakfast: Salad (Kale, collards, radish, grapes, orange, grounded flaxseeds)
Snack: Apple, orange
Snack: Apple, orange
Snack: Apple, orange
Dinner: Cooling Smoothie (Collards, celery, cucumber, radish, apple, hempseeds)

Today I bought some ice cube trays for the smoothies. I'm excited to make my first smoothie with ice cubes!

volcomchick,

It will be great to get rid of that microwave. I actually used to get an instant headache while it was running if I was close to it. I'm not sure how it does this, and I don't even wanna know. As long as it's gone, I'm happy.

Discover Wrote:
> Dinner: Smoothie (4 cups of Kale, 2 apples,
> avocado, 1/2 tomato) - Don't make this!

LOL. i've made some smoothies and blended soups that should come with a disclaimer, too! oh and nut pates, forget about it. i should just throw the nuts right into the garbage and skip all the middle steps in between, i'd have more free time that way.

Try your smoothies with fruit, it will taste better. Such as a handful of spinach, I like to use raw almond milk, 1 banana, and or frozen fruit such as a couple of strawberries. The smoothie is green but tastes great. Give it a go and see what you think.

maui_butterfly Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> LOL. i've made some smoothies and blended soups
> that should come with a disclaimer, too! oh and
> nut pates, forget about it. i should just throw
> the nuts right into the garbage and skip all the
> middle steps in between, i'd have more free time
> that way.

I had a nice chuckle over this. Many of my 'creations' are experiments. Some are soooooo delicious, some, well, let's not talk about them. :b


lthierga,

I'll be buying lots of fresh fruit today, and I'll be trying it out. I'll be sure to blog results.

Day 7

Weight 117.8
BMI: 19.6
Body Temp: 97.9

The chest was sore yesturday from exercising, and now it's fine. I'm quite sure I'm getting all the protein I need to heal properly.

I woke up at 10:00am had my breakfast smoothie, then relaxed. I wasn't hungry and I make a point of not eating when I'm not hungry. To me that is just not natural. It was eventually 5:00pm and I was still not hungry. I made myself eat 3 apples. After I had slight nausia and a headache.

Today seems like a very low calorie day. Maybe 1000 cals? I feel completely satiated; no craving, no hunger, no thirst. My stomach is almost completely flat and you can see the weight reduction... One of the things that happens when I fall below 130lbs is that my face begins to hollow out and starts to look anorexic. I have no idea why. It happened when I was an omnivore and vegan. People keep telling me, "You're TOO thin!" I tell them, "But I'm healthy.", and I actually feel more healthy being thin. I've had the whole spectrum of blood tests from calcium, magnesium, b12, iron, blood platelets,... and ALL was normal!

Here are my most up to date cholesterol levels as a vegan:

Total Cholesterol (mg/dl): >100 (LDL + HDL + (Triglycerides/5))
HDL Cholesterol: 46.8
LDL Cholesterol: 43.7
Triglycerides: 47.8

I haven't heard much about cholesterol levels when comparing a vegan to raw vegan. I really don't konw how my cholesterol could get any lower. These numbers are 'off the charts' low. Usually only people taking medication can get their cholesterol this low. Not to mention having more HDL (Good Cholesterol) then LDL (Bad Cholesterol). That's just unheard of. We'll see how things go and eventually I'll ask my doctor to check my cholesterol levels again. I'm thinking she'll want to review them just for the benefit of seeing the difference a raw food diet has.


Breakfast: Smoothie (Collards, celery, cucumber, radish, apple, grounded hempseeds)
Snack: 3 small apples
Dinner: Cooling Smoothie (Collard stems, celery, cucumber, radish, apple, hempseeds)


Tonight I'm going out dancing. I'll be able to clearly feel how much energy I have. It'll be my little test.

So this was my first week being raw!

Day 8

Weight 116.4
BMI: 19.4
Wide-grip pushups: 49 (set 1), 50 (set 2)

I was concerned about some of the comments about diabetes on raw food boards so I purchased a Blood Glucose Monitoring System to check my levels.

Here were the results:

4:00pm - 6 hours after breakfast - 4.7mmol/L
4:20pm - Ate 3 large bananas - 90 grams Carbs
4:50pm - 30 minutes after - 8.7 mmol/L
5:20pm - 60 minutes after - 6.8 mmol/L
5:50pm - 90 minutes after - 5.8 mmol/L
6:20pm - 120 minutes after - 4.7 mmol/L

Normal Fasting Glucose Levels (fast for 8 hours)
USA < 100
CANADA < 6.1

2 hours after eating
USA < 140
CANADA < 7.8

This means that I'm in the clear, for now. I read one the American Diabetes Associations website that these factors will help reduce the risk the most:

- Keeping your weight in control (or losing weight if you are overweight)
- Staying active most days of the week
- Eating low fat meals high in fruits, vegetables and whole grain foods


Breakfast: Smoothie (Collards, raw beet, radish, grapes, grounded hempseeds)
Snack: 3 large bananas
Snack: 4 small apples
Dinner: Cooling Smoothie (Collards, celery, cucumber, radish, apple, flaxseeds)


Last night I did some dancing. Had lots of energy. I jog almost everywhere I go to save time and get a little exercise in. I still feel light. I'm starting to get more vascular. My bicep vein is starting to show.

Still the slight headaches. No nausea.

Hey Discover, well my headache went away this morning. I am not sure what that was yesterday. Maybe you aren't eating enough. I know I couldn't just eat what you are eating. I would be just starving. Try a little more variety as well and see if they go away.

Day 9

Weight 117.8
BMI: 19.6
Fasting Glucose: 5.4 mmol/L (Canada)

Workout:
One Arm Dumbell Row: 20x90
One Arm Dumbell curl: 20x16

Breakfast: Smoothie (Collards - 3 cups, raw beet, 4 strawberries, kiwi, radish, grounded hempseeds)
Snack: Apple
Snack: 2 bananas
Snack: Orange
Dinner: Cooling Smoothie (Collards - 3 cups, celery, cucumber, radish, apple, hempseeds)

I'm likely not eating enough lthierga. I still refuse to eat when I'm simply not hungry. Seems to go against human nature. When I'm hungry I'll eat more. I do still have the headache, and it's usually after eating, and whatever I eat I get it. I added a little salt to my smoothie to see if maybe I wasn't getting enough salt. That didn't work.

My face is still quite clear of acne, more clear then it's been in over 16 years. It's nice to be able to wash my face without pain. For this alone I would stay raw.

I'm still lethargic at work. I can feel a little bit of an energy drain. With this little calories, I can understand. I also had a little chest pain after eating. Something isn't right here. I think it might be my eletrolyte balance. My potassium is very high and I get very little sodium in my diet. That is known to cause chest pain.

Anyways, I have no idea. The best I can do is to keep experimenting.

Day 10

Weight 117.8
BMI: 19.6
Fasting Glucose: 5.0 mmol/L


Breakfast: Smoothie (Kale/collard roots, beet, strawberries (cup), 3 kiwi, hempseeds)
Snack: 2 apples
Snack: 2 apples
Dinner: Cooling Smoothie (Celery, cucumber, 4 radish, apple, 1/2 avocado)

Day 11

Weight 118.2
BMI: 19.7
Fasting Glucose: 4.5 mmol/L

My fasting glucose seems to be jumping around. My weight seems to be raising as well. I think my body is adapting to the changes and so my water levels are back to normal. Just a guess anyways... I noticed that my nail cuticles weren't peeling today, which is great. I've been taking in less then 15% fat. It's been a challenge not to take in more fat and still maintain 10% protein.

I have more energy, almost no headache, NO nausea, and overall feelin good. So far I'm really liking this diet. A little bit of acne has came back, not much be be concerned about.

Breakfast: Smoothie (Kale, beet, pear, 3 kiwi, 1/2 avocado)
Snack: 2 peaches
Snack: Apples
Snack: Pear
Dinner: Cooling Smoothie (Bok choy, celery, cucumber, 3 radish, apple, hempseeds)

The days are flying by!

No headache, that is great. Your body is probably adjusting now and I did read that headaches are a sign of detoxing like my stuffiness I am experiencing.

Day 12

Weight 118.2
BMI: 19.7
Fasting Glucose: 5.2 mmol/L

I went to my doctor and told her about my going raw vegan. She was surprisingly accepting of it. She asked me the standard questions and gave me a laboratory requisition for a blood test which I am to get in one month.

The following will be tested (in a month):

- Glucose
- Creatine
- Sodium
- Potassium
- AST
- Cholesterol (HDL, LDL, Triglycerides)
- Hemoglobin
- Ferritin
- B12
- Calcuim
- Magnesium

What's great is that I've already had this done about 6 months ago as a vegan, and not it'll be as a raw vegan. We can then see the difference.

I asked my doctor about diabetes and eating fruit and she said to go ahead and eat as much as I want. It's the junk food and fatty foods that cause it. I feel quite relieved.

Breakfast: Smoothie (Kale, beet, 2 oranges, 1 orange peel, hempseeds)
Snack: Pear
Snack: 2 peaches
Snack: peach
Dinner: 1/2 ripe coconut, red and yellow pepper, bean sprouts, 2 apples

That dinner was very filling - I'm still stuffed and it's 2 hours later!

I'm thinking of maybe doing a liver cleanse soon. What scares me is that the last time I did it, the olive oil and garlic tasted disgusting. You cannot imagine the taste until you actually try it. I felt like throwing up, but kept it in. I fell asleep and woke up 4 hours later with the spins, and then threw up. Horrible experience, but maybe this time.

lthierga,

I didn't log it in because I didn't think it was important, but during the first week after meals my vision would sometimes blur. Now my vision is not blurring and my eyes are a brighter shade of blue then they've ever been! And today in the morning my eyes felt like they were open wider. It felt like they were actually being pryed open. Made me feel more awake and vibrant, though I'm not totally there yet.

I am also relieved about the fruit thing. Type 2 is in my family. My mother just got diagnosed with it this year, my Uncle has it already and I am next in line. I do not want to go through that. I have everything in my family that you can possible imagine. I do not want any of that.

I am glad to hear how wide eyed you are. That is great. I know it takes me forever to fall asleep and I am up about 5 in the morning now. I do not eat until mid to late morning now where I use to eat the first thing when I woke up. I am learning to eat to live not live to eat.

Day 13

Weight: 117
BMI: 19.5
Fasting Glucose: 4.8 mmol/L
Wide-grip pushups: 48 (set 1), 41 (set 2) had a headache before/during workout

Today I read about the benefits of calorie restriction (25-40% lower calories):

- Lower blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, cholesterol, fasting glucose... all that lead to a longer life
- Reduced risk diabetes, stroke, cancer, many diseases...

I don't think my menu would go over 1200-1500 calories, so I think I would be included with these benefits. Everyday I'm enjoying raw more and more. I'm getting used to the idea that this might continue for more then 30 days (the amount of time I'd give raw a chance).

Breakfast: Smoothie (Kale, beet, blueberries, whole lemon w/peel, 2 oranges, hempseeds)
Snack: 2 mangos, orange
Dinner: Yellow, red pepper, orange, apple, 1/2 coconut, bean sprouts

I like that saying, "Eat to live, not live to eat." I'm eating according to my tummy too. I planned to have another apple for dinner, but didn't have the space for it, so I skipped it. I figure if my bodies needs it I'll be reminded before I go to sleep or tomorrow morning.

I'm going to be making raw as simple as possible. No suppliments. Just a variety of farmers market and grocery store foods. I'm hoping I can get by on about $6.00/day. That would be nice. Usually my groceries would be half that, but not nearly as healthy.

I tried mangos for the first time in a many years. They were sooooooo good!

Day 14

Weight: 118.2
BMI: 19.7
Fasting Glucose: 5.6 mmol/L
Body Temp: 98.0
Blood Pressure: 104/64

My acne is almost gone - Woohoo! My skin hasn't look this good since I was 13. I'm 29 now. My face is no longer itching after eating food, which it does usually after consuming fruit.

I'm thinking about possibly going on a one-day water fast tomorrow, but I'll make my mind up then. I'm taking things as they come.


Breakfast: Smoothie (kale, bok choy, beet, blueberries, strawberries, whole lemon w/peel, hempseeds)
Snack: Pinapple
Dinner: Cooling Smoothie (bok choy, celery, bean sprouts, 1/2 avocado w/pitt*, 3 radishes, 2 apples)


* I put 1.5 cups of water in the BlendTec, cut the avocado pit into 4 sections, and blended for 10 seconds. That's all it takes. I've heard that avocado pits have more soluable fibre then oatmeal, and are good for arthritus... The smoothie was so smooth that the fibre melted off my tonge when I tasted it. Simply amazing!

I like the fact that my weight is maintaining. This tells me I don't require as much food keep the same weight. Less food = less freeradicals, bodily processing, and money spent on food. With that money saved I could even choose organic.

Today I bought 8 cups worth of strawberries at the farmers market for only $2.00. I'm storing them in the freezer to use to make smoothies when needed.

Two weeks raw!

Day 15

Weight: 117.0
BMI: 19.5
Fasting Glucose: 4.7 mmol/L
Fasting Glucose Weekly Average: 5.02 mmol/L (Days 8-14)
Body Temp: 98.3

I did a water fast today. It's just a 24 hr fast. I've had a headache for most of the day including now. I've surprisingly felt quite satiated dispite not eating.


Fasted: Water


I cleaned my fridge of all beans and grains and stored them for my parents to pick up. I'll be giving my microwave, pressure cooker, steamer... away soon as well. The house seems so simple right now.

Day 16

Weight: 115.4
BMI: 19.2
Fasting Glucose: 3.1 mmol/L

I felt like I was going to throw up in the morning. Acne flared up abit today.

Breakfast: Smoothie (kale, beet, grapes, flaxseed)
Snack: Apple
Snack: 2 oranges
Snack: Banana
Snack: 2 Mangoes
Dinner: Kale, beansprouts, radish, 2 oranges, apple, 1/2 coconut

Day 17

Weight: 117.0
BMI: 19.5
Fasting Glucose: 5.3 mmol/L

Today I had acne on my forehead. Nowhere else. Last night I ate about 3 cups of frozen grapes and 3 bananas after dinner. Today I was quite lathergic. I wasn't thinking as clearly as usual.


Breakfast: Cooling Smoothie (Bok Choy, Celery, bean sprouts, 2 radish, 2 apples, hempseeds)
Snack: 3 plums
Snack: Pear
Snack: Orange
Dinner: Mixed Salad (Bok Choy, kale, tomato, bean sprouts, celery, radish, red pepper, orange pepper, apple, 1/2 avocado)


Looking forward to tomorrow.

Day 18

Weight: 116.4
BMI: 19.4
Fasting Glucose: 5.3 mmol/L

Acne going away again. Only one big pimple near nose. Felt very lethargic today. Not thinking clearly. My hands feel a little dry, but no cracks at the cuticles or evidence of dry skin.


Breakfast: Smoothie (Bok Choy, beet, strawberries, flaxseeds)
Snack: Pear
Snack: 2 apples
Snack: 3 orange things?
Dinner: Huge Salad (Leafy greens, orange pepper, red pepper, bean sprouts, 6 brazil nuts, 1/2 pinapple, tomato)
Snack: 3 apples


I've been looking for a low cost solution to getting my protein. Sprouting seems like the way to go. I'm going to try sprouting lentils in a jar with a screen.

Just like this:
[www.youtube.com]

Day 19

Weight: 116.4
BMI: 19.4
Fasting Glucose: 4.9 mmol/L

The breakfast smoothie was awesome. It was so smooth it was amazing. I kept the stems on the strawberries; they're filled with Chlorophyll. Here are some of the benefits of Chlorophyll as well as good sources:

[www.awomansviews.com]

Breakfast: Smoothie (Leafy Green, beet, beansprouts, avocado + pit, strawberries)
Snack: 2 pears
Snack: 2 necterines
Snack: 2 necterines
Dinner: Cooling Smoothie (Leafy Green, celery, cucumber, beansprouts, fresh pineapple, hempseeds)


I'm experimenting with sprouting. I'm sprouting lentils at the moment. This will by my low fat, low cost, alternative to protein. I'm going to try to purchase alfalfa seeds in bulk.

Day 20

Weight: 115.4
Fasting Glucose: 5.2 mmol/L
Resting Heart Beat: 47 bpm
Pushups: 45

It's been almost a week and I haven't had an sleep in my eyes. By 'sleep', I mean that crusty stuff that's in your eyes when you wake up. I've had this condition of wiping my eyes several time a day to get it out. Now, whenever I go to wipe my eyes there's nothing there. My eyes also look bigger, more white and more blue.

I haven't been having those headaches as much either. This is really starting to work for me. Today blueberries and blackberries were on sale for $1.00 per item. I picked up 12 of each and froze them. Antioxidants

I found this link explaining a system called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) which according to wiki, "is a method of measuring antioxidant capacities of different foods.":

[wolfberryjuice.com]

It appears that berries, kale, and red delicious apples are easily available and excellent sources of antioxidants.


Breakfast: Smoothie (Dark leafy green, small beet, 1 cup blueberries, 1/2 papaya, hempseeds)
Snack: Peach, 1/2 papaya, 2 small oranges
Snack: 6 small oranges, pear
Dinner: Huge Salad (Leafy green, tomato, 1/2 pineapple, 3 radish, 1/2 coconut)


My face felt a little tingly after dinner. This may be an allergic reaction to something I ate. Wow that pineapple burns the tounge!

Day 21

Weight: 117.2
BMI: 19.5
Fasting Glucose: 4.9 mmol/L
Weekly Glucose: 4.77 (Days 15-21)

My skin is the best it's been so far. I can see my forhead is getting more and more smooth. I'm very impressed with this. Also, I'm not having headaches like before. Usually I'd have a headache after a meal.

I've been eating more by intuition. There is no planning. I simply eat what I feel like eating. For example, at night, I felt like grapes and purple foods. I didn't feel like apples as usual.

No peeling on the nail beds. I made sure to extra add fat to my diet to help with this. The coconut and avocado seemed to linked with better skin health.

Breakfast: Smoothie (Leafy green, beet, 1/2 avocado + pit, strawberries)
Snack: 1/2 papaya
Snack: 1/2 papaya
Snack: 6 large oranges
Dinner: Purple Heaven Smoothie (Collards, purple grapes, blackberries, beet, hempseeds)

This is my third week. It's went by so quickly!