in one post below you mentioned the 4pm time being the most challenging time for you, raw wise. There's a reason for that. Every gland in the body has a time of day when it is strongest - operates at full throttle. And a time when it is recessive - in neutral at best. The thyroid gland is weakest at about 4pm. For those who may have any kind of weakness there, they will start to bottom out, get weak, get cravings at that time - parituclarly for sweets (sweet is what whips the thyroid up.

In my case, I will start tend to thinking about protein (the animal stuff) at that time. If I don't do something to balance, feed the thyroid in the afternoon, I will then really want serious sweets - dried fruit - dates, raisins. If I eat them, they are not fulfilling and I will crave heavier stuff. This has been THE hard part about raw for me.

I am finding a solution of late, that works. Can't gurantee it for you, of course, but...

...I'm grand on fruit - the mid to lower glycemic's, all morning and earling afternoon - mixed with greens (non-goitregenics). Then about 2 or 2:30 I will have a handfull of nuts. Pumpkin seeds work particularly well. If I wait to long - till the 4:40 time - it doesn't work - it's too late. But early afternoon, I eat the nuts. It balances me for the rest of the afternoon. I may have a piece of fruit or two later afternoon if I need it. But the nuts make it work.

If I, personally, keep doing only fruit and greens till dinner - bad news bears.

Then I have my huge green salad with some fat or oil for dindin. I may have fruit later in the vening as well.

All I know is, It's working.

My best,

PG

Hi!

Saw this post and found it interesting that I have been doing something similar lately.

I have a huge smoothie in the morning, with a salad (no overt oils for me, BTW) or a quart of fresh juice (tomato, cuke, celery, carrot, apple, beet, stuff like that) about 4 hours later, and a mid-snack maybe 2 hours later of pumpkin seeds and one brazil nut.

This really does the trick, and since I'm eating them alone (no other fruits/veggies) it's probably better for me because it takes its time digesting, with no interference from anything else.

Once in a while I'll do like you, and have some fruit maybe 2 more hours after the nuts. That doesn't seem to be the patten, rather the exception for me.

Later I have another huge smoothie, usually 4 hours or so after the nuts, and that's it for me - I'm done for the day!

And you are 100% correct: no cravings at all, it's all good. Do visions of smoothies around 6pm qualify as cravings...?

to be able to say no cravings. So far so good. I DO know that if I bulldoze over a desire for sonething heavier - that small handfull of pepitos - early afternoon - with a concept of, "Oh no! I SHOULD be doing less fat etc.," I end up in deep doo doo. The thyroid seems to need that protein for now. Maybe one day that will change. For now, it's necessary. But I have decreased my fat amount substantially over the last little while - taking a page from Bryan's book.

Nice to hear you're finding a similar thing. Thanks for sharing it!

PG

Dear Piano Gal,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I have learned so much from the wonderful people on this forum! About the post where I mentioned the 4:00 thing, it was really my intention to be referring to water fasting. 4:00 is the time when I'm most tempted to eat something and break a fast (All the little excuse thoughts jump right up). Your information is very interesting about the thyroid gland being weakest at that time (ahah!).

I think my experience has been very much like yours regarding raw (if I'm reading you right) in that if I try too hard to totally deny myself stuff like nuts, even though they're fat, I end up in "deep doo doo bad news bears!" LOL!

These days I always let myself have nuts or seeds when I really feel I want them (which is usually once or twice a day). Otherwise, no matter how much fruit I eat, I'm still hungry. I try to keep the quantity of nuts as small as possible, just enough to take off that edge. Sometimes I eat an orange after the nuts because nuts/seeds make me thirsty and water doesn't seem stop the thirst.

I hate that feeling of being really hungry and really full at the same time! I eat the nuts and it's over.

I'm somewhat sensitive to greens, so I don't eat them everyday. But when I really want them, I eat them. And they have the same effect of satisfying me, when sometimes nuts do not, I think because that's really what my body wanted. More fruit (or nuts, or greens) when I've already eaten plenty of it, just doesn't seem to work for me.

Glad to hear you and Jackie are doing so well! Yay!

Best wishes, -Ally



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2006 09:57PM by Ally.

wonderful post. Yes, I agree....my path has been so suefully marked by others' experiences. I appreciate yours particularly....very affirming and confirming to my own. And, oops, apology for not getting the part about breaking the fast.

PG