what do u eat for breakfast in phase 1 of the gabriel cousens book?it says to stay on phase 1 for quite a while but no fruit...no grains...well-that is sort of hard.it would do well if he had menu's for each phase.to give us idea's of what the heck to eat.has anyone gone thru this phase to give me some idea's?thanks so much...taylor

How about eating 3 8" cucumbers (135 calories)? They are only 66% carbohydrates. Oh wait, cucumber are fruit. Sorry. So how about 2 pounds of lettuce (156 calories)? Not much sugar there. Or how about 2 pounds of spinach (206 calories)? Not much sugar there. Yum.

Me, I ate 8 navel oranges today for breakfast (515 calories, 88% carb). I did 4 hours of shoveling gravel before I ate, thats why my breakfast was so large. Does't work for phase 1, but thats ok. phase 1 doesn't work for me

When I was doing Phase I of Cousens' program (a program that really didn't work at all for me), I remember eating for breakfast the stuff they served at the cafe, which was, for example: macademia nut/coconut porridge with some tart apples or something. Lots of fat, not good food combining, but maybe I didn't notice since I popped about 7 or 8 digestive enzymes (prescribed by Cousens) with each meal.

My experience of me on that program was really stuck in my head, calculating the glycemic indeces of each food i contemplated eating, living in fear of fruit, and not healing.

Nowadays for breakfast I eat whatever fruit I want, like a big glass of fresh OJ, or some dates. Life is so much simpler, and so is food prep!!!

Love,
Uma





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2007 04:52AM by uma.

Dear Uma...thanks for the input.yeah-well like phase 1 has NO Fruit on it...somehow i would think i need fruit for breakfast.i really wanted to do this.so u know what coconut pulp is?is it smashed up coconut meat or just the coconut meat?ok-the first day i got this book-i tried to follow it from the start and read and such. i had a plate full of stuff allowed for dinner.no problem.i had shredded up raw collard greens with grated carrots(i found out later this was a no-no)i had lemon juice over them and an avocado half...i had carrot ,apple ,celery juice.then later i found the list of veggies i should not have on phase 1...so i did not even do it for dinner...but i could cause i have ideas.i wish gabriel had not put a whole section on the jet lag thing...but menus for that dog gone phase one.i still feel great on trying all the other phases but STUMPED ON PHASE ONE FOR BREAKFAST-i don't think i could stomach tomatoes for breakfast or squash.HELP-PLEASE ANYONE.THANKS SO MUCH UMA!TAYLOR

YUK Taylor, that sound gross...I ahve the book, Rainbow Green, I did take a few minutes to look at teh Phases before I turned my attention back on high fruit - with raw you either go FRUIT OR FAT - our calories must come from one or the other...
HIgh fat does not work for me - I gain weight because I crave sugar SO BAD that I added dates and figs..like crazy - I am back into high fruit - if youare an active person Higg fruit is better - sugar = energy!
I see that's lots of people on this site follow a kinda 811 diet - high fruit....
If you can drop by doug graham's site food n sport or something like it..Order his book - I have that one too THe 811 Diet - he just makes TOTAL sense in his theories....
Too restrictive as well though, no spices, no salt, cayenne, no tubers, no supplements...he's a natural hygenist...

I do like the 80 carbs (fruit/greens) 10 protein 10 fat idea though!!

bryan-u can have cukes for breakfast-u can have the veggie fruits like tomatoes and cukes and avocado's.today for breakfast i had 2 bananas and 5 almonds and about 8 raisins and clove tea.so u don't have to go from phase one to phase 1.5 in order?well-he is pretty interesting .this gabriel cousens.i could seehow staying on phase one-gives u discipline.he says i can have legumes-on page 29.that must be a misprint cause it is not on the other page where phase 1 in listed.what is stevia.lets see!i could have coconut pulp-i could have an avocado and be happy with this for breakfast.oh wait-guys!!! i found a clue in his book...ok got it---if the recipe is for phase 1-it is marked with a drawing of broccoli.ok got it!!!OK-THERE IS STUFF I CAN EAT.THERE IS KASHI-2C.BUCKWHEAT,SPROUTED WITH COCONUT BUTTER-OK...THANKS GUYS. I AM GOOD.THANKS SO MUCH -TAYLOR

Phase I sounds like torture to me. I'd be bouncing off the walls.

Uma,

I really like your picture and I really like you! You are very sweet and lovable.

It must be the fruit.



Love,
Julie

FruityJules: Thank you!!! I always love meeting a fellow fruit fanatic! I remember the days where fruit for me was outlawed. What sad days those were! I never imagined raw could be so simple.

Taylor: I would like to ask you, what inspired you to try the Phase I? I was Gabriel's patient and did his FULL program for 2 years, and it wasn't it for me. And I hear people on this thread saying it didn't work for them either.

I don't intend to sound judging of other paths but I am wondering whether you actually personally know people that this approach has worked for, and that is why you are inspired by it? Or if the words just sound impressive in the book (which they did to me too) or you feel reassured because he is an MD (i did too)?

What I experienced in his program, was my life getting more and more complicated. But I cannot ask anyone to give up having their own experience, because I sure did!

Love,
Uma

My favorite breakfast (break fast) routine:

Early in the morning, get up, do an hour of yoga, eat a couple of organic oranges and bananas, go out and run several miles or walk a couple of miles with hand weights, then come home and eat a chopped up cucumber mixed with 1 or less avocado and lemon juice. Then maybe an orange for desert.

Yum.

Not exactly Cousens, but it works for me.

Sets me up till dinner.

Dearest Uma,i know nothing about any of this stuff. I am trying to learn.I went by some people on this site who told me that was a good book.Since i don't know anything,i went and got the book.The reason i wanted to try Phase 1 was because I thought it was what i was suppose to do to get my body alright and cleanse.I really love fruit alot.If i had a fruit for breakfast like a banana,i could be happy. I also did not know i could choose any phase i wanted.but the one reason or two reasons i wanted to is I felt maybe it would clear up my ears as they always itch and it drives me nuts. the other reason is i want to loose weight.I thne read there is a way to customize my diet for me...in Gabriel Cousens book. I did not know it is all so complicated.anyway-thanks.taylor

taylor,

There is a raw diet that is very simple. No complicated recipes. No fussing in the kitchen. No worries about all the "special" raw food ingredients that are expensive and hard to find. No complicated concept to learn. No worries about mycotoxins or what kind of metabolizer you are. No complicated phases to learn and worry about. No buying tons of supplements to feel better. No need to learn about special digestive enzymes you can buy, or learn about having wheatgrass enemas with a probiotic chaser.

This raw diet revolves around eating fruit as the main source of calories rather than overt fats. Overt fats are things like oils, nuts, seeds, avocados, mature coconuts, etc.

When people say they are eating a low fruit and high greens diet, while the volume of greens may be enormous, a mountainful of green is going to only have a few calories in it. So if people are eating raw and not getting calories from fruit, where are the calories coming from?

As you may have guessed, they are coming from fat. Most new raw foodists, if they are not careful and they don't monitor their fats, have a raw diet that is composed of 60% fat. When I first started, I would make a raw salad with a ton of kale and lettuce and spinach, but when I looked that the fat content of that salad, it was 90% fat (!) because I was adding 1/4 cup of olive oil, 2 avocados, and a bunch of seeds. It didn't matter how much kale or lettuce or tomatoes or cucumbers I was adding, as they were peanuts compared to the concentrated fat calories.

I highly recommend reading "The 80/10/10 Diet" and having an exploration of that diet. It is very simple to follow, requires no special equipment or tools, and is very satisfying.

The one difficulty I had with 80/10/10 (or some call it 811) is that it took me a few years to get used to eating under 20% fat. For me 20% fat was easy, but my body didn't want to go lower. So I didn't force it. But over time, my fat content went down, and it was effortless.

Dear Bryan-thank u so much for simplyfing things for me. MY head has been spining with hemp protein powder and what the heck is TREE OF LIFE MESQUITE POD MEAL? and 10% this and 60% of that.I really thank u so much.I can do this the way u describe this.I got all these cookbooks cause i was going to do this change in my life.I,as u know am very serious and committed to weight loss and being more healthy.well-truthfully I see these recipes and they scare me. I see exactly what you are telling me...so much is olive oil and also lots of nuts. i am trying to loose weight here. i was scared to put it to the test.So that makes it simple.now i can just make something from my cookbooks when iam haivng company or just want to not cause i have to,to get proper nourishment. ok...thanks so much everyone.taylor

Taylor, thanks for your positive feedback! I appreciate you being so open about what you're exploring.

Love,
Uma

ok-this morning i had beet,carrot,apple and kale juice for my breakfast.then went out for my fast pace walk of a few miles. i can tell u something i love.i swear this is true.my insides felt delitefully tingly.it was that juice going down and settling in and going the the pipes.i feel so good.oh i had a few almonds too.now i will be fine for a while.we will be out and about shopping and i am gonna have a couple of banana's.then for dinner-probably a big fresh salad with lettuce and kale and carrots and tomatoes-and a squirt of lemon jucie and a half a handful of sunflower seed tossed on top.is this say a fair amount of the things i need to do this raw eating?thanks so much for your input on all of this.taylor

Taylor - it sounds like you're doing great! Just keep it up. And yes - our heads DO spin with all the new info and ideas.

Go easy on yourself and don't make the mistake of demanding too much from yourself too fast. Like Bryan said - it took him years to get to where he is right now.

Many who try to change too much too quickly start to feel like it's just too hard and they tend to fall by the wayside. Above all else - listen to your self. Read all you can - take what you can use right now and leave the rest.

Like Bryan said - his body did not want to go below 20% and he didn't FORCE it to happen. He just kept on at 20% (or what he was comfortable with) and gradually he went down below the 20% mark. As he said - it was effortless!

That's what I'm finding amazing on raw foods. My diet is still miles away from a SAD, but nowhere close to 80/10/10 either. But it seems like simply knowing what the goal (not so much the final goal but the short term goal) is about all I have to know. And then I simply start to move toward it ever so slowly. I know I need to reduce the fats in my diet. I have some days that are better than others, but I find that I am reducing it without a major feeling of being deprived. Baby steps will do it. And it does feel effortless!

Life Is Good!

alive!

thank u so very much eveyone...for your advice and for taking the time to answer my questions.tonite we went to SWEET TOMATOES.I had 2 plates of raw salad with lemon juice on top.thats it.it was alot.it was so good.i feel way better.thanks again.Taylor