Alison’s Day 4 Raw Food Challenge Update

So, I have survived three full days I eating raw within the guidelines I set for myself. I am diverting from 80/10/10 in a couple ways: I toasted the pumpkin seeds for my salads and I’ve also had one sugarless cup of coffee every day (using soy milk). Since these are things I intentionally decided to compromise, I feel really great about how I am doing.

I am using cronometer.com to keep track of everything I eat and my exercise. My goal, from experience and everything I’ve read, is to eat a minimum of 2000 calories a day. The main reason people fail on this lifestyle is because they are not used to having to eat so much. If I don’t eat enough fruit, I have intense cravings for cooked food of any kind. I I don’t eat enough greens, I get intense cravings for salt. This awareness has helped guide me.

Day One

Day one was an experiment. I didn’t officially decide to start until the end of the day when I realized I had eaten raw all day. Chris had a BikeHouston board meeting, so I picked up my produce from Rawfully Organic, my produce co-op (the largest in North America), came home and made a huge salad.

Here is what I ate on Day One

Breakfast- 4 Bananas, 2 peaches, 3 strawberries, 760 calories
Lunch- 4 Bananas, 2 peaches, 3 strawberries, 760 calories
Dinner- 8 deglet noor dates, 160 calories
Huge salad – romaine, cucumber, tomatoes, zucchini, green bell pepper, non GMO corn, lime juice. After this salad, I had a few cooked brussels sprouts
Ratio: 91/4.5/4.5
Water: 45oz
Calories: 2100
Sleep: 6 hours
Exercise: None
Feelings: Nervous and fearful I will quit this challenge early , but grateful for my boyfriend’s support in helping me follow my intuition. I had extremely severe stomach pain after eating the brussels sprouts. I think putting the cooked food on top of the raw food was a bad idea, but it also could have been detox upsetting my IBS. Either way, I had no stomach pain the next day, so I felt grateful.

Day Two

Day two was challenging at work. There was leftover food from a luncheon and it took all my willpower not to munch on it. Dinner was easy. Chris and I were both tired from busy weeks and decided not to bike that evening. We LOVE making huge, delicious salads together. It was nice to eat and relax at home.

Breakfast- 4 Bananas, 2.5 nectarines, 8 tiny dates. 740 calories
Lunch- 5 bananas, 2.5 nectarines, 10 small dates. 860 calories
Dinner- 2 cups of pulpy orange juice
Huge salad – romaine, cucumber, zucchini, green bell pepper, apple, raisins, celery, green onion, lemon juice, sunflower seeds. 670 calories
Ratio: 84/6/10
Water: 45oz
Calories: 2270
Sleep: 6 hours
Exercise: None
Feelings: really craving cooked food today at work. Maybe I need to eat bigger breakfast/lunch? Stomach felt good today though.

Day Three

Day three was better. IO was extremely relieved to sleep for so long!

I ate more than I thought I needed to yesterday, but I was still starving in the afternoon. Maybe a bit less for breakfast and adding an afternoon snack would work better. What I love about this lifestyle is that there is no need to restrict calories. For dinner, I was at the Museum of Natural Science. I made sure to check the menu ahead of time so I had a thought-out plan. I got the veggie salad without the cheese and croutons, and an appetizer of guacamole. Chris ate the chips and salsa from the appetizer, and I used the guacamole to “beef-up” my salad. Together, this was a very satisfying meal.

I felt more relaxed and hopeful about the challenge on day three. Part of the reason I feel I am ready for this trial is that I’ve been making small adjustments over time. One reason I still drink coffee is because…I want to! I like it, and I am not ready to go through caffeine withdrawal.  I only make changes when I feel enough pain to motivate me; if I make changes because I feel pressure, obligation or a need to lose weight, I have less confidence in my ability to commit to the decision. I am doing this because I want to, not because I have to. I am doing it because I want to feel good, not because I want to lose weight.

I  started feeling some grief yesterday. I usually feel some grief when making changes, and I think I have an emotional attachment to food. By the end of this trial, I hope to be comforted by healthy, light food that nourishes my body; rather than heavy, salty food that doesn’t digest well.

I also have some fear about dealing with social situations revolving around food. Since I don’t drink, I am used to exercising self control, boundaries and ways of taking care of myself in tempting situations. Today, I am remembering that cooked food will be there when I am done with this trial. If I want to go back to it, then I can! Additionally, just because I am not eating or drinking what others are, doesn’t mean I am not welcome or included in the group. People don’t care about what I eat, they care about me. I also remember that I have other friends who have restrictions in their diets. I am not the first person to ever do things a little differently.

The important thing is for me to be prepared by eating enough, or bringing food/drink with me.

Breakfast- 6 bananas, 8 figs, 3 dates. 1130 calories
Lunch- 5 bananas, 3 nectarines, 2 peaches. 930 calories
Dinner- salad: romain, pecans, avocado, tomato, onions, jicama. 500 calories
Ratio: 81/5/15
Water: 45oz
Calories: 2500
Sleep: 8 hours
Exercise: 30 flights of stairs. 100 squats
Feelings: fine. Happy I slept well