Today is my 44th day eating 100% raw food. This is the longest I have gone eating only raw foods. As you can imagine, I am feeling great. It is starting to become second nature, and I don't have to think about it as much as I once did. It is not as hard to find things to eat in a pinch, like it used to be. For some reason, before when I needed a "snack," I felt like it needed to be something like crackers, chips, or something "snacky" like that. However now, eating fresh fruit as a snack is much easier and more satisfying than it once was. Instead of turning to fruit as a last resort for a snack food, I now look in the fruit bowl first, and am disappointed if I have to choose something else.
I have also been doing well with my running schedule. This week marks the official start of my 12 week training towards the half marathon I will be running in June. I will be running 3-4 days a week to start, and also cross training with ballet classes, doing strength training and stretching. I had a really good run today: 4.5 miles in about 50 minutes. A fast pace is not my goal at this point. Running the longest I can without having to walk is my main goal.
On my run today, I was thinking about people's skepticism when it comes to raw food athletes. I have heard people say things like "I could never eat only raw because I am too active. I could never derive enough energy from that kind of food to build strength, endurance, etc." As I was running, and feeling amazing (full of energy, almost like what I was doing was easy) my question was not "How can I do this eating only raw food" but instead I thought to myself, "How can people do this while eating all that processed, cooked, and nutritionally-void food?!"
I have been researching various training programs for running half marathons, as well as running while eating only raw foods. I have found that there are many raw food athletes that are not only surviving, but thriving eating only raw foods. It is such a misconception that eating a raw vegan diet is nutritionally inadequate, especially for an athlete. I do agree that there are many vegans who's diets are poor, and are not getting a well rounded diet that includes all of the necessary components to flourish. But when done properly, and by including lots of leafy greens, fresh fruits and vegetables, sprouted grains, and sparing amounts of nuts and seeds, a raw food diet is arguably the optimum diet for humans.
That being said, I am still not entirely sure about my stance on raw food, and whether 100% raw is the way for me to eat for the rest of my life. However, I am convinced that a high raw diet of at least 80% raw vegan food is definitely the best way to eat. The way that I feel now, after 44 days of 100% raw food, is evidence enough that my body loves this. My skin and eyes are clear, I need less sleep, I have so much more energy, my mood has greatly improved, I am more optimistic, I never feel that overfull feeling like when eating cooked foods, I have more positive relationships with those around me, and the list literally goes on and on. I truly feel better than I have in years. And the reason why is so simple. I'm not taking expensive supplements with extraordinary health claims or anything as misleading as that. Raw food is the simplest, most natural way to heal your body and achieve the vitality your body has the potential to obtain.
Check our www.runningraw.com if you are interested in the subject. I'll post more links to other sites another time.
Thanks for reading. I'll update again soon. :)
xoxo~Stephanie
Monday, March 23, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Running Raw..........
My 100 day raw food challenge is going well. I'm on day 32 of being 100% raw. Overall I'm feeling really good. Today I'm pretty tired, so I won't be giving the full update. I just wanted to check in and say that I'm still here...... and I'm still raw. :)
I started running. I needed some kind of cardio activity, and running seemed appealing to me. I've never been a runner before in my life, but I am now. I've decided I am going to run a half marathon in June. This decision came after wanting to run the Portland marathon on October, but it seemed too far away. I wanted a closer event that would get me training now. The June half marathon is the perfect amount of time away for me to start training for it now. After the half marathon, I will have a month or so break before I start training for the Portland marathon. Never in my life did I think that I would ever or could ever run a marathon or half marathon, or even want to. That's one reason why I want to do it now. I am very committed to this, and I'm excited about it!
I am a beginning runner. I started out not being able to run more than about 5 minutes without stopping. But I keep increasing my time. My pace is slow, but I'm okay with that. At least I'm running. Last week the longest I ran was 34 minutes and about 3 miles. Today I decided that I again would set a goal of 3 miles. I met and surpassed my goal. I ran for 50 minutes without stopping, which ended up being 4.3 miles. That is a personal best. I also ran up this super steep hill that I usually have to walk up. I felt really great after the run, and I'm so glad I went. I was feeling pretty sluggish before hand, so I wasn't sure how I was going to perform.
By the way, if all goes well, I'd like to train and run this half marathon 100% raw. :-)
xoxo~Stephanie
I started running. I needed some kind of cardio activity, and running seemed appealing to me. I've never been a runner before in my life, but I am now. I've decided I am going to run a half marathon in June. This decision came after wanting to run the Portland marathon on October, but it seemed too far away. I wanted a closer event that would get me training now. The June half marathon is the perfect amount of time away for me to start training for it now. After the half marathon, I will have a month or so break before I start training for the Portland marathon. Never in my life did I think that I would ever or could ever run a marathon or half marathon, or even want to. That's one reason why I want to do it now. I am very committed to this, and I'm excited about it!
I am a beginning runner. I started out not being able to run more than about 5 minutes without stopping. But I keep increasing my time. My pace is slow, but I'm okay with that. At least I'm running. Last week the longest I ran was 34 minutes and about 3 miles. Today I decided that I again would set a goal of 3 miles. I met and surpassed my goal. I ran for 50 minutes without stopping, which ended up being 4.3 miles. That is a personal best. I also ran up this super steep hill that I usually have to walk up. I felt really great after the run, and I'm so glad I went. I was feeling pretty sluggish before hand, so I wasn't sure how I was going to perform.
By the way, if all goes well, I'd like to train and run this half marathon 100% raw. :-)
xoxo~Stephanie
Friday, February 13, 2009
Update: I finished the 7 Day Juice Fast!!
I finished my 7 day cleansing fast. Overall it was successful, and I feel fantastic because of it. I meant to write on the last few days of the fast, but I just got really busy. I'll give a little recap.
The fifth day turned out to be one of the hardest days for me. One of the symptoms of detox that I overlooked when I was originally researching the effects of detox while fasting was the emotional aspect. I pretty much had a huge emotional release, and didn't know how exactly to deal with it. I cried a lot, over really insignificant things, and overreacted to things that didn't need such an emotional response. This led me to look into the emotional components of fasting. I found that it is a very common response to a cleansing fast, and that most people experience some kind of emotional imbalance while fasting, whether it be anger, sadness, or otherwise. It was just something that needed to come out, and I'm glad it did.
I was a little spacey for many days of the fast. That is also to be expected. But at the same time, I felt I had a mental clarity that helped me to see things as they were, and be more mindful about choices that I have to make. It was like I was given a new way to look at things.
One thing I'm not sure if I mentioned before is how much juice I'm actually drinking. At each "meal" of juice, I would consume at least 16 ounces of the juice, and then 8 to 16 ounces of water immediately after I drank the juice. So on average, I was drinking 24-32 ounces of liquid within about 5 minutes. That might sound like a lot to have in one sitting, but keep in mind that my stomach was virtually empty, and I could easily drink these amounts. I always felt full after the juices, and they would keep me going for a few hours until I needed to make more.
Below are the juices I drank on the last few days of the fast. On day five, I wrote how much of each thing I put into the juices just to give an idea of how many nutrients are going into the juices I was drinking:
Day 5 Thursday Feb 12
Watermelon (1/2 of a small watermelon)
Romaine (1 head), Chard (1 bunch), Kale (1 bunch), Celery (4 stalks), Parsley (1/2 bunch)
Beet (1 small), apples (2), lemon (1/2), ginger (small chunk)
Day 6 Friday Feb 13
Watermelon
Celery, romaine, kale, parsley, lemon, ginger
Apple
Beet, carrot, romaine, parsley, kale, lime
Day 7 Saturday Feb 14
Watermelon (whole small)
Romaine (1/2 head), chard (1 bunch), beet (1/2 large), lemon (1/2), ginger (small chunk)
Celery, romaine, lime
Strawberry
Apple
Peppermint tea
The last day of the fast was Valentine's Day, which also happens to be the anniversary of my first date with Dave, and since we're not married, that is the day we choose to celebrate our anniversary. This year marks 8 years. I decided that my valentines dinner juice would be something yummy, and since I was ending the fast the next day, I felt it was close enough to not have such a cleansing beverage, so I chose strawberry juice. Yum! Of course I made a regular valentines meal for my family for valentines day. They had smoked salmon, pasta, corn, fresh strawberries, and sparkling apple cider. I was content drinking my strawberry juice, as it was one of the tastier juices from this fast. That night, Dave played a show so I allowed myself again to indulge in a fruit juice and brought some fresh apple juice with me, as well as some peppermint tea. It's so different being at a bar and not drinking. Especially interacting with intoxicated people while sober. I have felt in the past the need to drink just because I was out at a bar. But I had an even better time not drinking. I liked how aware of everything I was. Ahhh, sobriety. It feels good. Not that I am a heavy drinker. Just the opposite. That's when I do go out and drink, I get intoxicated rather quickly.
So, back to the fast. I broke the fast on Sunday. I did this buy eating 6 ounces of dried prunes that I had soaked overnight so they were very soft. Eating soaked prunes to break the fast is a great way to give my body one last flush, and at the same time get my body ready to eat solid foods again. I found a website that gives a calculation for how many days you should take to break your fast. This particular website is mostly talking about juice "feasting" where people drink only juice for many days, anywhere from 7 to 100 days. The fast breaking period should be broken down into three parts: part one is just the prunes and more juices, part two is adding in juicy fruits, but actually eating them, not just juicing them, and the third part is adding in greens and salads. Since my fast was only 7 days, it was only recommended that I take about 1 and a half days to break the fast, although I will be taking it easy for a few days. So here is what I ate on the first day of breaking the fast:
Cantaloupe juice
The soak water from the soaking prunes
6 ounces soaked dried prunes (which is actually a LOT of prunes)
Green smoothie: purple chard, pear, pineapple, strawberry, fresh coconut water
Grapefruit/Orange juice
That's all I was hungry for yesterday. I would have made a green juice too, but I am out of almost everything and need to go shopping today. There was one interesting thing about eating the prunes yesterday. Every prune I ate I could feel traveling down into my stomach. It was the very weirdest sensation! I had not eaten one bite of solid food for 7 days, so my digestive system was free of any substance except liquids, and I just had not had the sensation of eating food for a while. I just could not get over that feeling of being able to feel the prune going down all the way to my stomach. It was pretty cool, but strange.
Today I made a pudding in my vitamix from frozen blueberries, a banana, and some fresh young coconut meat. It was very good, but very very sweet. I was surprised how sweet it tasted. It seemed like it had agave or some other sweetener in it, but it was just the fruit.
So after before the fast I weighed myself and took my measurements, because I knew there would be changes going on in my body. After the seven days I lost 10.5 pounds. Some of that is the absence of food in my digestive system, but only a few pounds most likely. I also lost some inches. Here's how much I lost off of the following body parts, for a total of 9 1/4 inches:
Bust: 1.25 inchs
Waist: 1.5 inches
Abdomen: 2 inches
Hips: 1.5 inches
Right Arm: no change
Left Arm: no change
Right Thigh: 1 inch
Left Thigh: 1 inch
Right Calf: .5 inch
Left Calf: .5 inch
I feel great, and I am looking forward to slowly introducing delicious raw food back into my life. I'm happy to be eating solid food again. I knew that doing this raw juice fast would leave me feeling refreshed and ready to commit to 100 days of raw food. The first day of this fast marked the first day of my 100 day raw food challenge. I'll post updates here periodically. Thanks for reading. I love sharing my experiences. :)
xoxo~Stephanie
The fifth day turned out to be one of the hardest days for me. One of the symptoms of detox that I overlooked when I was originally researching the effects of detox while fasting was the emotional aspect. I pretty much had a huge emotional release, and didn't know how exactly to deal with it. I cried a lot, over really insignificant things, and overreacted to things that didn't need such an emotional response. This led me to look into the emotional components of fasting. I found that it is a very common response to a cleansing fast, and that most people experience some kind of emotional imbalance while fasting, whether it be anger, sadness, or otherwise. It was just something that needed to come out, and I'm glad it did.
I was a little spacey for many days of the fast. That is also to be expected. But at the same time, I felt I had a mental clarity that helped me to see things as they were, and be more mindful about choices that I have to make. It was like I was given a new way to look at things.
One thing I'm not sure if I mentioned before is how much juice I'm actually drinking. At each "meal" of juice, I would consume at least 16 ounces of the juice, and then 8 to 16 ounces of water immediately after I drank the juice. So on average, I was drinking 24-32 ounces of liquid within about 5 minutes. That might sound like a lot to have in one sitting, but keep in mind that my stomach was virtually empty, and I could easily drink these amounts. I always felt full after the juices, and they would keep me going for a few hours until I needed to make more.
Below are the juices I drank on the last few days of the fast. On day five, I wrote how much of each thing I put into the juices just to give an idea of how many nutrients are going into the juices I was drinking:
Day 5 Thursday Feb 12
Watermelon (1/2 of a small watermelon)
Romaine (1 head), Chard (1 bunch), Kale (1 bunch), Celery (4 stalks), Parsley (1/2 bunch)
Beet (1 small), apples (2), lemon (1/2), ginger (small chunk)
Day 6 Friday Feb 13
Watermelon
Celery, romaine, kale, parsley, lemon, ginger
Apple
Beet, carrot, romaine, parsley, kale, lime
Day 7 Saturday Feb 14
Watermelon (whole small)
Romaine (1/2 head), chard (1 bunch), beet (1/2 large), lemon (1/2), ginger (small chunk)
Celery, romaine, lime
Strawberry
Apple
Peppermint tea
The last day of the fast was Valentine's Day, which also happens to be the anniversary of my first date with Dave, and since we're not married, that is the day we choose to celebrate our anniversary. This year marks 8 years. I decided that my valentines dinner juice would be something yummy, and since I was ending the fast the next day, I felt it was close enough to not have such a cleansing beverage, so I chose strawberry juice. Yum! Of course I made a regular valentines meal for my family for valentines day. They had smoked salmon, pasta, corn, fresh strawberries, and sparkling apple cider. I was content drinking my strawberry juice, as it was one of the tastier juices from this fast. That night, Dave played a show so I allowed myself again to indulge in a fruit juice and brought some fresh apple juice with me, as well as some peppermint tea. It's so different being at a bar and not drinking. Especially interacting with intoxicated people while sober. I have felt in the past the need to drink just because I was out at a bar. But I had an even better time not drinking. I liked how aware of everything I was. Ahhh, sobriety. It feels good. Not that I am a heavy drinker. Just the opposite. That's when I do go out and drink, I get intoxicated rather quickly.
So, back to the fast. I broke the fast on Sunday. I did this buy eating 6 ounces of dried prunes that I had soaked overnight so they were very soft. Eating soaked prunes to break the fast is a great way to give my body one last flush, and at the same time get my body ready to eat solid foods again. I found a website that gives a calculation for how many days you should take to break your fast. This particular website is mostly talking about juice "feasting" where people drink only juice for many days, anywhere from 7 to 100 days. The fast breaking period should be broken down into three parts: part one is just the prunes and more juices, part two is adding in juicy fruits, but actually eating them, not just juicing them, and the third part is adding in greens and salads. Since my fast was only 7 days, it was only recommended that I take about 1 and a half days to break the fast, although I will be taking it easy for a few days. So here is what I ate on the first day of breaking the fast:
Cantaloupe juice
The soak water from the soaking prunes
6 ounces soaked dried prunes (which is actually a LOT of prunes)
Green smoothie: purple chard, pear, pineapple, strawberry, fresh coconut water
Grapefruit/Orange juice
That's all I was hungry for yesterday. I would have made a green juice too, but I am out of almost everything and need to go shopping today. There was one interesting thing about eating the prunes yesterday. Every prune I ate I could feel traveling down into my stomach. It was the very weirdest sensation! I had not eaten one bite of solid food for 7 days, so my digestive system was free of any substance except liquids, and I just had not had the sensation of eating food for a while. I just could not get over that feeling of being able to feel the prune going down all the way to my stomach. It was pretty cool, but strange.
Today I made a pudding in my vitamix from frozen blueberries, a banana, and some fresh young coconut meat. It was very good, but very very sweet. I was surprised how sweet it tasted. It seemed like it had agave or some other sweetener in it, but it was just the fruit.
So after before the fast I weighed myself and took my measurements, because I knew there would be changes going on in my body. After the seven days I lost 10.5 pounds. Some of that is the absence of food in my digestive system, but only a few pounds most likely. I also lost some inches. Here's how much I lost off of the following body parts, for a total of 9 1/4 inches:
Bust: 1.25 inchs
Waist: 1.5 inches
Abdomen: 2 inches
Hips: 1.5 inches
Right Arm: no change
Left Arm: no change
Right Thigh: 1 inch
Left Thigh: 1 inch
Right Calf: .5 inch
Left Calf: .5 inch
I feel great, and I am looking forward to slowly introducing delicious raw food back into my life. I'm happy to be eating solid food again. I knew that doing this raw juice fast would leave me feeling refreshed and ready to commit to 100 days of raw food. The first day of this fast marked the first day of my 100 day raw food challenge. I'll post updates here periodically. Thanks for reading. I love sharing my experiences. :)
xoxo~Stephanie
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Watermelon!!!!
Hey! So today is day four of my raw juice fast. I'm thinking about extending it one more day so that I will fast for 7 days total. But we'll see.
So last time I commented on how I found it surprising that I did not feel hungry as much as I thought I would. When researching detox symptoms, I found the following info by Ron Langerquist. I love this:
I also mentioned last time that I would write about the healing benefits of watermelon. I below are some directs excerpts from a couple websites. I did not do the research on this topic, the folks who wrote these things did, and I'm just going to go ahead and believe them for now. :) The first three paragraphs below were written by on person, and the last two were by another person.
"Watermelon contains a chemical called cucurbocitrin. Cucurbocitrin increases permeability of the capillaries (the small blood vessels in the kidneys). This allows more water to get into the urine. So people who retain water find that eating watermelon has a tendency to heal them of body edema from excess fluid.
"What else is watermelon good for? It is a natural diuretic. It can wash a lot of poisons and toxic debris out of the bladder. It has been suggested that watermelon be eaten between meals and not with meals when using it to heal in this manner.
"The Agricultural Research Service tested 13 varieties of watermelon. They found that watermelon contains more lycopene than tomatoes. The red seedless watermelons were highest in lycopene." by Bobby Tall Horse
"Specifically, pink watermelon is a rich source of the potent carotenoid antioxidant, lycopene, which, according to the USDA research, protects against cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer (most notably prostate with some studies showing protective properties against breast, endometrium and lung cancers as well). Studies have shown that a cup and a half of watermelon contains about 9 to 13 milligrams of lycopene.
"High intakes of vitamin C and beta-carotene have been shown in a number of scientific studies to reduce the risk of heart disease, reduce the airway spasm that occurs in asthma, reduce the risk of colon cancer, and alleviate some of the symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. A cup of watermelon provides 24.3% of the daily value for vitamin C, and, through its beta-carotene, 11.1% of the DV for vitamin A.
Watermelon is an excellent source of vitamin C and a very good source of vitamin A. It is also rich in the B vitamins necessary for energy production such as B6 B1, magnesium, thiamin and potassium." Posted by Jessica Silver, MAOM, L.Ac.
So I have a few main reasons for starting my day off with watermelon juice while on this fast. One is how it is said to wash toxins out of the bladder. While on a cleansing fast, toxins are being released by the body, and I'm assuming this may build up while I'm sleeping (but I'm not positive), so it makes sense to drink a flushing drink in the morning. I also like the idea if watermelon being "rich in the B vitamins necessary for energy production.." Since all I'm having is juice, I feel like I can use all the energy I can get. Oh, and there's one more reason: it's just so yummy in the morning!
One thing I noticed is that today is actually the first day I've shown any signs of detox. Some people experience headaches, backaches, skin irritation, bad breath, weakness, muscle tightness, nausea, and a whole list of different things. Today I was very, very sleepy. I was also having a weird muscle spasm, as well as some low back ache. And I've been very irritable. Another thing I've noticed is that since starting the fast, I am cold much more often than usual. People often eat a lot more than usual during the winter I think to help warm themselves. This might be why I'm cold a lot on this fast. I've been loving our wood stove the past few days! I sat so close to it last night and for so long that my face was rosy red. :)
After all that talk about watermelon, I did not have any today. :( But I bought some more, so I'll have it tomorrow. Here is the list of juices I had today:
Grapefruit/Orange
Spinach, romaine lettuce, carrot
Green lemonade: romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, celery, apple, lemon, ginger
I ended up making bigger batches of juice, so I only had three different juices today. The plan was to have the water from a fresh coconut, but the day is coming to an end, and I just don't feel I need that. I will have it tomorrow.
The spinach, romaine, and carrot juice was one I had to try because a well known raw food expert said it tastes just like chocolate milk. I was thinking, there is no way this will taste like chocolate milk. And I wish I could tell you it did, but it did not. I'm sure this woman has long forgotten what chocolate milk actually tastes like, but hey, if she's getting that taste from these veggies, more power mama! I do know that the more raw foods you eat, the more you start to appreciate and crave them. Eventually raw foodists get to the point where they honestly feel that nothing tastes better than fresh, raw, organic fruits and vegetable. At my stage in the game, I can't see myself ever getting there, but as much raw food experience I have, I can definitely understand how people can get to this point.
And on and on I go again. Are these posts getting longer? Anyway, if you made it this far, I thank you. The fire is calling me......
xoxo~Stephanie
So last time I commented on how I found it surprising that I did not feel hungry as much as I thought I would. When researching detox symptoms, I found the following info by Ron Langerquist. I love this:
"Most are surprised by the disappearance of hunger once the border is crossed into fasting’s land of silence. After a day or two, hunger’s voice will be rare indeed. Craving can continue on for some days longer, and then at last stillness, leaving the deep groans of the soul. Once the body quiets, the richer connection with our spiritual hunger can be felt. There is nothing like it! Wonderful freedom comes when flesh is forced into silence, sharpening perception of the greatest sound of all; God’s still small voice."
I also mentioned last time that I would write about the healing benefits of watermelon. I below are some directs excerpts from a couple websites. I did not do the research on this topic, the folks who wrote these things did, and I'm just going to go ahead and believe them for now. :) The first three paragraphs below were written by on person, and the last two were by another person.
"Watermelon contains a chemical called cucurbocitrin. Cucurbocitrin increases permeability of the capillaries (the small blood vessels in the kidneys). This allows more water to get into the urine. So people who retain water find that eating watermelon has a tendency to heal them of body edema from excess fluid.
"What else is watermelon good for? It is a natural diuretic. It can wash a lot of poisons and toxic debris out of the bladder. It has been suggested that watermelon be eaten between meals and not with meals when using it to heal in this manner.
"The Agricultural Research Service tested 13 varieties of watermelon. They found that watermelon contains more lycopene than tomatoes. The red seedless watermelons were highest in lycopene." by Bobby Tall Horse
"Specifically, pink watermelon is a rich source of the potent carotenoid antioxidant, lycopene, which, according to the USDA research, protects against cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer (most notably prostate with some studies showing protective properties against breast, endometrium and lung cancers as well). Studies have shown that a cup and a half of watermelon contains about 9 to 13 milligrams of lycopene.
"High intakes of vitamin C and beta-carotene have been shown in a number of scientific studies to reduce the risk of heart disease, reduce the airway spasm that occurs in asthma, reduce the risk of colon cancer, and alleviate some of the symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. A cup of watermelon provides 24.3% of the daily value for vitamin C, and, through its beta-carotene, 11.1% of the DV for vitamin A.
Watermelon is an excellent source of vitamin C and a very good source of vitamin A. It is also rich in the B vitamins necessary for energy production such as B6 B1, magnesium, thiamin and potassium." Posted by Jessica Silver, MAOM, L.Ac.
So I have a few main reasons for starting my day off with watermelon juice while on this fast. One is how it is said to wash toxins out of the bladder. While on a cleansing fast, toxins are being released by the body, and I'm assuming this may build up while I'm sleeping (but I'm not positive), so it makes sense to drink a flushing drink in the morning. I also like the idea if watermelon being "rich in the B vitamins necessary for energy production.." Since all I'm having is juice, I feel like I can use all the energy I can get. Oh, and there's one more reason: it's just so yummy in the morning!
One thing I noticed is that today is actually the first day I've shown any signs of detox. Some people experience headaches, backaches, skin irritation, bad breath, weakness, muscle tightness, nausea, and a whole list of different things. Today I was very, very sleepy. I was also having a weird muscle spasm, as well as some low back ache. And I've been very irritable. Another thing I've noticed is that since starting the fast, I am cold much more often than usual. People often eat a lot more than usual during the winter I think to help warm themselves. This might be why I'm cold a lot on this fast. I've been loving our wood stove the past few days! I sat so close to it last night and for so long that my face was rosy red. :)
After all that talk about watermelon, I did not have any today. :( But I bought some more, so I'll have it tomorrow. Here is the list of juices I had today:
Grapefruit/Orange
Spinach, romaine lettuce, carrot
Green lemonade: romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, celery, apple, lemon, ginger
I ended up making bigger batches of juice, so I only had three different juices today. The plan was to have the water from a fresh coconut, but the day is coming to an end, and I just don't feel I need that. I will have it tomorrow.
The spinach, romaine, and carrot juice was one I had to try because a well known raw food expert said it tastes just like chocolate milk. I was thinking, there is no way this will taste like chocolate milk. And I wish I could tell you it did, but it did not. I'm sure this woman has long forgotten what chocolate milk actually tastes like, but hey, if she's getting that taste from these veggies, more power mama! I do know that the more raw foods you eat, the more you start to appreciate and crave them. Eventually raw foodists get to the point where they honestly feel that nothing tastes better than fresh, raw, organic fruits and vegetable. At my stage in the game, I can't see myself ever getting there, but as much raw food experience I have, I can definitely understand how people can get to this point.
And on and on I go again. Are these posts getting longer? Anyway, if you made it this far, I thank you. The fire is calling me......
xoxo~Stephanie
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Juicy Journey continues....
I'm almost done with my third day of raw juicing. I wanted to share some of my observations.
First I would like to say that I am feeling really good, and actually have more energy than I do when I'm eating cooked foods, and all I'm having is raw juice. I have not done many fasts before, and I'm not accustomed to how it feels to be fasting, so I have found myself surprised how well juice alone keeps me satisfied throughout the day. That is, unless I go too long without preparing juice, then I get very hungry.
Yesterday I had a lot of work to do. I'm in school now, and I'm still maintaining my business, so I have a lot on my plate...... or in my glass.... sorry. Anyway, I was overdue for some juice when I left the house to run some errands. When I was finished, I knew I had no time to cook dinner, so I thought I'd just stop by this little Mexican restaurant and pick something up for the kids. By this time I was very hungry. Mexican food has been one of my weaknesses when I trying to eat all raw, so it was a challenge for me not to grab one of the kids nachos, or snag a bite of a taco. Have you ever seen scrubs? If so, you'll know what I'm tallking about when I mention the 3 second scenes they do to indicate how someone is thinking. Like if someone is talking to a really annoying person, they will all of a sudden punch that person in the face. But then it cuts back to the two people just talking, because that never really happened. It's just what's going on inside that person's head. Anyway, I had those scenes flashing through my head: me devouring the left over taco, or just grabbing a few chips real quick.
But of course I didn't. I reminded myself of the progress I had made so far, and that if I did eat something like Mexican food during a juice fast, I would feel REALLY crappy afterwards, in more ways than one. But here's my important observation: once I made myself some juice and drank it, I had absolutely no desire for the Mexican food. So it wasn't the Mexican food I was craving, it was the nutrition my body needed to keep functioning. There was a lot of left over food, and after my juice I wasn't even tempted. Realizing that I have cravings for certain foods, but can be more satisfied by healthier foods, is a big realization for me. This will help me when I start eating solid foods again. It will help me stay raw.
Another thing that I noticed was how long I went without any juice. My last "meal" of juice was at about 6:15pm yesterday. I stayed up pretty late, until about midnight, but did not feel hungry. I woke up at 6:45 and got the kids ready for school, etc. I didn't drink any juice today until 9:15am. That's 15 hours without any kind of substance in my body. That might be normal for some, but that is not normal for me. Before I started this fast, I sometimes would eat up until the hour or so before I go to bed, and then eat within an hour of waking up. I wonder if I was able to go so long without any juice because my body is getting used to not having as much substance.
So I would like to be juicing more greens, and maybe tomorrow I will be able to do that. I've just wanted to make it through this, and if that means throwing in some apples to make my juice taste better, that's what I've done. It was also suggested to me that I dilute all my juices 50% with water. That can be done in the same glass, or just by drinking the same amount in ounces as the glass of juice was, but right before of after the juice. Here's my juice from yesterday:
Watermelon
Green Lemonade: romain lettuce, spinach, celery, apples(but less than the day before yesterday), lemon, ginger
Cucumber, parsley, tomato (I know some people advise against tomatoes while on a fast, but I felt like it), lemon, celery
Grapefruit (2), orange (1)
Here's my juice from today:
Watermelon
Green Lemonade: romain lettuce, kale, celery, apples, lemon, ginger
Beet, Cucumber, Carrot
I will be making one more juice today, but I haven't decided what it will be. I'll let you know.
The next time I post, I will also list the reasons why I have been starting my day out with watermelon juice. I ran out, so I'll have to have an alternative tomorrow, but I'll get some again for the last few days of the fast.
I was describing my juice fast Zoe (my 12-year-old stepdaughter), and she said, "Sounds.......juicy." And she is very right. Thanks for reading about my juicy journey. :)
xoxo~Stephanie
First I would like to say that I am feeling really good, and actually have more energy than I do when I'm eating cooked foods, and all I'm having is raw juice. I have not done many fasts before, and I'm not accustomed to how it feels to be fasting, so I have found myself surprised how well juice alone keeps me satisfied throughout the day. That is, unless I go too long without preparing juice, then I get very hungry.
Yesterday I had a lot of work to do. I'm in school now, and I'm still maintaining my business, so I have a lot on my plate...... or in my glass.... sorry. Anyway, I was overdue for some juice when I left the house to run some errands. When I was finished, I knew I had no time to cook dinner, so I thought I'd just stop by this little Mexican restaurant and pick something up for the kids. By this time I was very hungry. Mexican food has been one of my weaknesses when I trying to eat all raw, so it was a challenge for me not to grab one of the kids nachos, or snag a bite of a taco. Have you ever seen scrubs? If so, you'll know what I'm tallking about when I mention the 3 second scenes they do to indicate how someone is thinking. Like if someone is talking to a really annoying person, they will all of a sudden punch that person in the face. But then it cuts back to the two people just talking, because that never really happened. It's just what's going on inside that person's head. Anyway, I had those scenes flashing through my head: me devouring the left over taco, or just grabbing a few chips real quick.
But of course I didn't. I reminded myself of the progress I had made so far, and that if I did eat something like Mexican food during a juice fast, I would feel REALLY crappy afterwards, in more ways than one. But here's my important observation: once I made myself some juice and drank it, I had absolutely no desire for the Mexican food. So it wasn't the Mexican food I was craving, it was the nutrition my body needed to keep functioning. There was a lot of left over food, and after my juice I wasn't even tempted. Realizing that I have cravings for certain foods, but can be more satisfied by healthier foods, is a big realization for me. This will help me when I start eating solid foods again. It will help me stay raw.
Another thing that I noticed was how long I went without any juice. My last "meal" of juice was at about 6:15pm yesterday. I stayed up pretty late, until about midnight, but did not feel hungry. I woke up at 6:45 and got the kids ready for school, etc. I didn't drink any juice today until 9:15am. That's 15 hours without any kind of substance in my body. That might be normal for some, but that is not normal for me. Before I started this fast, I sometimes would eat up until the hour or so before I go to bed, and then eat within an hour of waking up. I wonder if I was able to go so long without any juice because my body is getting used to not having as much substance.
So I would like to be juicing more greens, and maybe tomorrow I will be able to do that. I've just wanted to make it through this, and if that means throwing in some apples to make my juice taste better, that's what I've done. It was also suggested to me that I dilute all my juices 50% with water. That can be done in the same glass, or just by drinking the same amount in ounces as the glass of juice was, but right before of after the juice. Here's my juice from yesterday:
Watermelon
Green Lemonade: romain lettuce, spinach, celery, apples(but less than the day before yesterday), lemon, ginger
Cucumber, parsley, tomato (I know some people advise against tomatoes while on a fast, but I felt like it), lemon, celery
Grapefruit (2), orange (1)
Here's my juice from today:
Watermelon
Green Lemonade: romain lettuce, kale, celery, apples, lemon, ginger
Beet, Cucumber, Carrot
I will be making one more juice today, but I haven't decided what it will be. I'll let you know.
The next time I post, I will also list the reasons why I have been starting my day out with watermelon juice. I ran out, so I'll have to have an alternative tomorrow, but I'll get some again for the last few days of the fast.
I was describing my juice fast Zoe (my 12-year-old stepdaughter), and she said, "Sounds.......juicy." And she is very right. Thanks for reading about my juicy journey. :)
xoxo~Stephanie
Monday, February 9, 2009
Raw Juice Fast
Yesterday I started a juice fast. I came to the decision to do so because I was having a hard time committing to eating raw. A couple weeks ago, I decided I would try to eat 100% raw for 100 days. This idea was inspired by Bunny Berry's 100 day raw food challenge. I kept trying to start, but I couldn't seem to stay 100% raw. Probably because I was trying to jump into it from a very cooked food diet. I have gone back and forth from cooked food to raw food a lot in the past year. I may have already mentioned this, but the longest time I have been 100% raw is 21 days. I felt amazing during that time, so I can only imagine what 100 days would feel like. This makes me think of people like Angela Stokes and all the others that have been raw for years!
So, back to the fast. I have this idea that if I start with a raw juice fast, that eating raw when I start eating again will be easier than going from cooked food to raw food. Plus, I need the cleansing benefits of the fast. So I have officially started my 100% raw 100 day challenge!
I'm not following any one person's suggestion for the fast. I'm mostly concerned with the quality of the juice I'm drinking, and that I can in fact finish this fast. My plan is to do this for at least six days. I have heard that the first two to three days of a fast, your body is still processing existing food in your digestive system, and then for the next couple days your body is using up particular fat stores (or something like that), and so the cleansing and healing benefits of the fast don't really start until day five. So that's why I decided that I must fast for at least six days. I'm on day two right now, and I feel great. I have already lost 3.5 pounds according to the scale, but I'm sure that is just the food in my digestive system leaving my body. However much I may lose while on this fast, I do expect to gain back a few pounds when I start eating again. I wonder how many pounds of food we carry around in our digestive systems.
So one concern I had about being able to do this fast is whether or not my juicer would hold up. I have an inexpensive juicer: the Juiceman Jr. Juicer. I've had it for almost a year, but have only used it for a few weeks at a time, when I get on juice kicks. I am relatively pleased with how it has held up, however yesterday I noticed a chip in the plastic piece that guides the fruit/veggie to the blade. This piece sits very close to the blade, and I think that it may have been broken off with the blade. Sometimes when I juice a whole lemon or something else hard the machine shakes like crazy like it is going to break. I guess it did. Anyway, I hope I didn't drink plastic juice one day. :/ This machine is also a pain to clean. I hear that most juicers are, but the Breville is a powerful juicer and easier to clean, but at this time I don't have the money to buy one.
All this led me to a different way to juice. I actually found the idea from a few different youtube videos. This method requires a high speed blender, and fortunately I have a vitamix. It also requires a nut milk bag, which is a mesh bag usually used to strain the nut pulp when making nut milks (like almond milk for example). The only thing about this juicing method that might not be desirable to some is that you have to get your hands messy. And your hands touch the juice that you will be drinking, so you have to thoroughly wash your hands before doing this. Or, you could get some food handling gloves and just wear a glove, which is actually what I had to do to prevent the acidic pineapple from hurting a tiny cut I had on my hand.
So anyway, I just put all of my ingredients for the juice into the vitamix, blend at the highest speed until uniformly liquid. Then I pour it into the nut milk bag, which is placed over a bowl to catch the juice. Then I squeeze all the juice out from the bag. The first time I did this, I could not believe how much juice I got! Way more than with my juicer. And the pulp left over was so dry, not at all as moist as the pulp my juicer produces. And in the end, cleanup is easy. All I have to do is rinse the vitamix and the nut milk bag and I'm done. No scrubbing multiple machine parts. So this way of juicing is faster, produces more juice, and is easier to clean up. Yay! The only down side is that for some reason it does gross me out a little to squeeze the juice out of the bag, but I'll get over it.
Here's yesterday's juices in the order I drank them:
Watermelon
Green Lemonade: romaine lettuce, spinach, celery, apple, lemon, ginger
Grapefruit/Orange diluted 50% with water
Peppermint Tea (obviously not raw)
Chard, cucumber, pear
Pineapple diluted 50% with water
I am actually quite surprised at how much this juice fills me up, and how when I feel hungry, I just drink juice, and my hunger goes away. Part of this is because since the juice is raw, I'm getting so many vitamins, nutrients and enzymes from the juice that my body can easily turn it into fuel/energy. About 14 years ago, I did a juice fast in which more than half of the juice I drank was store bought, which means it was pasteurized (heated) and therefore void of enzymes. Dead juice. So most likely I was just pumping myself with sugar, and not much vitamins and nutrients. This is why when doing a juice fast, it must be fresh, raw juice.
Okay, I will just write and write unless I stop myself, so I will stop. Thanks for reading. I love discussing the topic of raw food, and currently fasting, so please contact me if you have any comments or questions. :)
xoxo
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The Real Deal
Writing every day.......HaHaHahahahaha!! Anyway. I didn't even start when I said I was going to. It took me a while for me to be ready. I started watching youtube videos posted by other raw foodies. I watched other people's journeys, learned new recipes, and found much inspiration.
Today is my 4th day raw, almost 100%. I'd say more like 98%. That's due to me trying the veggie chips I bought for my kids.
Below is my food journal from yesterday. But first, a couple things about it. I started my morning out with a green lemonade. I have made many green juices in the past, but I don't really enjoy them. I'm talking about green juice made with just greens in a juicer, not greens thrown into a fruit smoothie in the blender. The green juices just don't taste good to me. Then I saw someone's blog that talked about green lemonade. I looked up some recipes, and it's basically a green juice with some extra ingredients: one lemon, an apple, and a chunk of ginger. I tried it, and I love it! Sure, just green juice may be better than adding the apple, but not drinking the green drink because I can't tolerate it doesn't do me any good at all.
You will also see that I had a dessert for lunch. If you're not familiar with raw food, you might think that sounds a little weird. But the thing about raw food recipes is that most of the time they are so good for you and nutritionally dense that just because it tastes like a dessert doesn't mean that it isn't good for you. I've heard that it is best to eat the largest and most protein dense food at lunch time because that is when our digestive juices are firing the most, and my raw desserts usually have nuts in them, so I thought lunch time would be a better time to have them than at night, like most people do. If you look at the ingredients list below, the dessert I had is very nutritious....and so delicious!
Breakfast
1. green lemonade (all thrown in the juicer): 2 handfuls of spinach, 1/2 head romaine lettuce, celery, 3 small apples, 1 lemon, piece of ginger
2. satsuma tangerine
Lunch
1. large piece of raw cacao tart (all ingredients): pecans, cacao nibs, dates, cashews, coconut oil, cacao powder, agave nectar, vanilla bean, sea salt
Snack
1. large handful of veggie chips (not raw!)
2. huge green smoothie: handful mixed salad greens, whole bunch collards, 16 oz frozen strawberries, 8 oz frozen peaches, 16 oz coconut water, 1 TB agave nectar
Dinner
1. raw tacos: red and yellow bell peppers, avocado, cherry tomatoes, Parma, all wrapped in two romaine lettuce leaves
I'm quite embarrassed to admit this, but over the holiday months (November and December), I gained about 16 pounds! That's pretty much everything that I lost last time I went raw. But that is to be expected, as I was eating anything and everything: meat, cookies, candy, processed, processed, and more processed foods! Why do people gift so much food around the holidays?! Anyway, since eating raw, I have lost 2.5 pounds in three days. I have a long way to go to be at my goal for weight and overall health, but I'm ready for the challenge. I noticed I just took a huge breath in and out when I wrote that last sentence. :) I have about 38 pounds to lose from this point on. The good thing is that I feel so unbelievably good while eating raw that there's much more incentive to eat this way than just losing weight. And just like last time I went raw, there will be a time when the other benefits of eating raw outweigh my desire to lose weight. That will be nice.
But... when I was 16 pounds lighter, a couple months ago, I was able to fit into some really great jeans and other pieces in my wardrobe that I love. Of course they don't fit anymore, but I can't wait to fit into them again. Those days are coming soon.
Oh, I have exercise goals too, but those still have to be worked out. (No pun intended.) It's a scheduling dilemma. I need about 1.5 hours without the kids, so I can workout and then shower. I do have the time when my mom comes over, but that time should be used to work. Dave is working a lot more now (which I am grateful for), so he's not around as much to help out with the kids. So I'll have to do some figuring. I was able to go running two out of the last three days, but it was because I took time away from my work when my mom was here to watch the kids.
Anyway, I'm totally rambling. I'll write again soon. Thanks for reading!!
xoxo~Stephanie
Sunday, January 4, 2009
New Beginnings
I have been highly interested in my personal health since about the age of 15. Earlier than that actually, but it was about then that I started questioning whether the mainstream definition of "healthy" was in fact, healthy.
Through many, many different diets (food lifestyles, not a short term diet to lose weight), I have finally been led to a raw food diet. I believe that for me, this is the absolute best way that I can eat for optimum health.
Eating primarily raw, or all raw foods has been a rather new concept for me, having just introduced this way of eating within the last year or so. However, as good as I know it is for me, the longest that I have fed myself a 100% raw diet is just 17 days.
Within the last six months, I had gone through a major transformation in regards to the way I looked and felt. I lost a lot of the extra weight that I put on during my pregnancies, and I was feeling better than I have in years. Unfortunately, during the last two months, those dreaded holiday months, I have not been eating raw, or anything close to raw. I let myself indulge in all of the festive foods of the season (meats, cookies, pies, etc.) And as to be expected, I have gained back all of the weight that I was so proud that I had lost.
Yes, I am back to square one. I will begin my journey to health again. I will be blogging about it here. I would love to update daily, but that may be too optimistic. I will write when I can.
I begin my journey tomorrow, January 5, 2009, three weeks before my 31st birthday.
Through many, many different diets (food lifestyles, not a short term diet to lose weight), I have finally been led to a raw food diet. I believe that for me, this is the absolute best way that I can eat for optimum health.
Eating primarily raw, or all raw foods has been a rather new concept for me, having just introduced this way of eating within the last year or so. However, as good as I know it is for me, the longest that I have fed myself a 100% raw diet is just 17 days.
Within the last six months, I had gone through a major transformation in regards to the way I looked and felt. I lost a lot of the extra weight that I put on during my pregnancies, and I was feeling better than I have in years. Unfortunately, during the last two months, those dreaded holiday months, I have not been eating raw, or anything close to raw. I let myself indulge in all of the festive foods of the season (meats, cookies, pies, etc.) And as to be expected, I have gained back all of the weight that I was so proud that I had lost.
Yes, I am back to square one. I will begin my journey to health again. I will be blogging about it here. I would love to update daily, but that may be too optimistic. I will write when I can.
I begin my journey tomorrow, January 5, 2009, three weeks before my 31st birthday.
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