August 4th - Day Fourth

[bowie]

Welcome to day 4!

[Carly]

Karen, I figured you wouldn't see this on the Day 3 thread so I posted it here. You wrote:

"My lifelong food cravings virtually disappeared when I went high raw four months ago. For the first time in my life I felt unchained and set free!! But now that I've committed myself to this challenge a new demon has appeared. He talks to me all day long saying "You don't have to do this. Nobody can tell you what to do. You don't have to be 100%. This challenge isn't the boss of you!! ..... and on and on and on." I haven't succumbed but he's a pain in the ass! I hadn't really been aware of that defiant-independent part of myself. Now that I'm not stuffing my feelings and emotions with all that cooked food, the hidden me emerges!"

I find I go through this too at times. I decided to do the 100 day raw challenge over a week before I actually started it. I was playing around with the idea for a few weeks before, but once I really decided and committed, immediately all these fears came up, all these thoughts like "You don't really think you can do this forever do you?" and "What if you do do it forever, what will your life be like? You'll never have ____ again, and you can't go to your favorite restaurants again, and...." And it was so silly to be having the fears about being raw for life when I hadn't even done one day yet!

I wonder what that's all about? Maybe some part me fears this extreme change, fears the unknown, fears being someone beyond who I ever thought I could be? Maybe some part of me knows that being raw will change me and my life in major ways, and that fearful part of me prefers the status quo, because it's comfortable even if it's not really what I want?

[SunChild]

Vital greens

Water

Garden salad with herbs and sprouts, brazil nut cheeze

Nori rolls

Chia Pudding :p yum

Honey herb tea

I blogged how I made my chia pudding.

[HopSkip&Jump]

I still have left-overs from yesterday's fruit bag.
Also brought a banana-nut-date salad, bananas, apples for the morning.
Lunch will be cucumber pasta with tomato, wild rocket, marinated mushrooms and avo.
Oh yes, and some marinated baby corn.
Yesterday, after eating lunch (a salad), I was very tired. Hope it doesn't happen again today - otherwise I'll be eating all fruit during the day.
Only thing, the evenings seem to be a bit of a problem for me ... visiting friends. :( Oh well, if I stick to raw food for breakfast and lunch (and snacks), it will be worthwhile for me. :)

[kidkid]

Saved by the smell: I went into the kitchen for a midnight snack. And boy...i sure felt like i wanted something NOT vegan and NOT cooked. Let's see what my bro has in his fridge...oooh! coconut bliss icecream. And peanut butter yum. and granola. Let's mix that all up and pour some cow mother's milk on it. And my heart said "no! no!" and my cravings said "Go! Go!"

haha! but the milk was rotten and chunky and smelled terrible! I felt great dumping all that stuff in the compost. I ate a cherry and realized i wasn't really hungry anyway, and i wasn't missing out on anything. I think it will be easier in the future to ignore a silly craving.

[carlye]

all raw :D

2 bananas
1 mandarin
cauliflower korma
cashew and pea salad
watermelon and strawberries

loving it!!!

[hilarya_m]

Kidkid, you nearly lost it there! Good for you, but sad that you had to chuck all that food in the bin. I work in Africa and after my first visit, my heart ached if I threw away any food. I guess sometimes you can't avoid it.

Carly, welcome! I have been raw once before with my Mom in Cali, where I felt amazing but tortured because I wasn't comitted. Check out Alissa on Tyra Banks Show, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCz7zhrWnxg awesome clip. She talks about commitment to this or any other diet, you have to be ready. Now living in the Netherlands and 98% raw, I'm going into my 4th week tomorrow. I had the same feelings and had to yell back at myself, "THIS. IS. A. CHOICE. It is MY choice, for empowerment, health, purity, for beauty, and for euphoric teenage lightheartedness."

Re: the never evers, I just think I will allow myself the option to depart from the lifestyle ocassionally so it doesn't ruin my social life, but reign in and come back. You might also consider the addiction approach of "Take it one day at a time" and re-evaluate your desire and % of raw at certain set points. This helped me. Also, see Andrew Perlot's site re: cravings and your relationship with food while raw, it is excellent support for me. http://www.raw-food-health.net/CravingControl.html

Think, "I love that (cooked, SAD, bad) food, but it doesn't love me back" :D.

B- Banana, nectarine
S- raw food bar
L- monster salad
D- ralafel with avo, raw hummus
D- raw choco with dried mango

PS- For those around since last month, I finally got over all that awful detox feelings, deep emotional, moody, exhaustion and insomnia and I FEEL GREAT!:cool:

[hilarya_m]

PS- I have lost 4 kilos = 8.8lbs in 21 days! I know it would be double if I could get some hardcore workouts in, I'm cycling to work 36k a day, but at medium effort in FLAT lands of the Netherlands.

[Thick]

Hello=)

Today, my Dad is visiting to see my son in a play and my husband is coming home from a business trip (to the bahamas!) tonight. So I'll be going out to lunch with my Dad... Though Ive been shy about doing this before, or maybe lazy, I'm going to make and whip out my homemade salad dressing at the restaurant. I dont usually make salad dressing--unless avacado is a dressing=p--but if you havent had it Alissa's caesar dressing is great.

I find that unless Im at a salad bar there's never enough vegetables in my salad and eating a bowl of lettuce seems like such a ripoff--but I'm there for the company..

B- blueberry green (or brown) smoothie
avacado & tomatoes
L-caesar dressing salad
fruit
honeydew melon, I think (hard to know that far ahead heh)

I hope you smile a lot today=)>

[contessa20]

So far today:
Green smoothie (spinach, OJ, pineapple, banana, frozen strawberries)
spinach dip w/a HUGE Pink Brandywine heirloom tomato, celery & yellow peppers
raw chocolate bar
coconut lara bar
2 nectarines

[tango167]

Thanks for posting that link Hilarya, will go straight to it now!
Ate a citrus breakfast, 5 tangerines and an orange...
As it's winter, citrus is a staple though I am rinsing my mouth carefully each time as a little wary of the acids!
Will probably eat bananas later in the day. Have a stage tango class today which I'm really looking forward to as it always gives me an endorphin rush!

[xPIXIEx]

I haven't really had much today. Haven't been too hungry.

So far:

a peach. Surprise!

Then my husband texts me and says that he wants me to join him during his lunch break. I sliced up peaches, cucumbers and green peppers. I also packed apples, oranges, grapes, flax crackers and onion bread in the basket. My kiddos and I went down to visit him and have a quick picnic. It was nice.

I have fruit salad on the brain for dinner!

[somelikeitraw]

Karen, I figured you wouldn't see this on the Day 3 thread so I posted it here. You wrote:

"My lifelong food cravings virtually disappeared when I went high raw four months ago. For the first time in my life I felt unchained and set free!! But now that I've committed myself to this challenge a new demon has appeared. He talks to me all day long saying "You don't have to do this. Nobody can tell you what to do. You don't have to be 100%. This challenge isn't the boss of you!! ..... and on and on and on." I haven't succumbed but he's a pain in the ass! I hadn't really been aware of that defiant-independent part of myself. Now that I'm not stuffing my feelings and emotions with all that cooked food, the hidden me emerges!"

I find I go through this too at times. I decided to do the 100 day raw challenge over a week before I actually started it. I was playing around with the idea for a few weeks before, but once I really decided and committed, immediately all these fears came up, all these thoughts like "You don't really think you can do this forever do you?" and "What if you do do it forever, what will your life be like? You'll never have ____ again, and you can't go to your favorite restaurants again, and...." And it was so silly to be having the fears about being raw for life when I hadn't even done one day yet!

I wonder what that's all about? Maybe some part me fears this extreme change, fears the unknown, fears being someone beyond who I ever thought I could be? Maybe some part of me knows that being raw will change me and my life in major ways, and that fearful part of me prefers the status quo, because it's comfortable even if it's not really what I want?

These feelings are what I have been afraid of, keeping me from doing a raw challenge. So far, I haven't had any feelings of this type, thankfully!

hilarya - who won? Thanks for the link, very interesting.

So far today - watermelon juice

[sil219]

This evening I'm very very tired, like I've been drained of all my energy. I need to go to bed.
Just a minute to say I had salad both for lunch and for dinner. The first with lettuce, tomatoes, avocado and green bell pepper, the latter with tomatoes, avocado, carrots, red bell pepper, celery, onion, cucumber (horrible!!) and pine nuts.
I think I'm eating too much avocado, but it's so rich and tasty it seems I can't live without.
See you tomorrow.
Good night!

[GoneRaw]

I have not posted since Day 1, but I have been 98% Raw since. Today I had:

Org. Green lemonade
Watermelon
Org. grapes
Org. cherries
Org. Raw kale salad
Live lasagna (spelling)
Raw nuts (1/2 handful)

I intend to fast one day a week during the challenge. I will fast starting tonight at 6:30pm through tomorrow at 6:30pm. I am going to see how this makes me feel to give my digestive system a break 24 hours each week. If I feel better I'll take this beyond the 30 Days.

I went to a five course gourmet Raw food dinner yesterday. It was very interesting. I had a wonderful time. It was in Clarksville, MD at the Great-Sage. This is their second one.

Anyone going to the Raw Spirit Festival in Upper Marlboro, MD the 29th and 30th. I am so looking forward to it.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

[Marna]

Today I am much less tired than I was Monday. yeah! I'm mentally exhausted from grad school, kind of burnt our actually, but I'm in a good mood. My daughter noticed me smiling for no reason, that's not like me usually so I'm glad about that:)
B-smoothie with a banana, 2 apples, water and spinach
s-another apple
L-laura bar
s-ANOTHER lara bar! Yikes!
D-not really hungry yet but when I do it's apples/oranges and grapes for me!
H.W. 182
S.W. 164
C.W. 158
G.W. 130!! (I'm so grateful to already be there, mentally)
other goals, laugh ALL the time, hug everyone a lot, shine....
Marna

[ab_raw]

Really tired today. Could be due to first day at work after a long weekend or maybe I'm detoxing a bit....

B: bowl of fruit topped with chia, flax, tahini, a few soaked seeds and raisins
S: handful kale chips, 3 chocolate chia crackers
L: 3 veggie flax crackers, spread with Bomb cheese sauce, cut up carrots, kolrabi and cukes
D: nori rolls made with Alissa's salmon pate
S: the last piece of peach pie, sigh.....

Anita

[tango167]

Lunch was 4 bananas
Post dance snack 2 bananas and 1lb grapes
Dinner - lettuce and 3 cobs of corn

Feel more energetic than yesterday, felt a little dizzy during the dance class warm up but fine for the rest of it and great now.
Grateful to have the inspiration of reading everyone else's posts - hugs to all!

[somelikeitraw]

B - watermelon juice
L - plain soaked sunflower seeds
S - apple
D - hoping to make that Rawssian Borscht
Dsrt - could be dates or the last chai spice raweo (bought while in the Bay Area, don't know where to find them down here)

Off to the HFS to get in more raw supplies :)

[carolv]

easyrawliving - concerning your post yesterday (see below), I often run into the same dilemma that you have. I try to remember to "keep it simple". As long as I have some fresh fruit and vegetables around I can have smoothies, or just snack on it whole, or have a salad. I do try to plan out specific raw dishes to make from time to time just to add variety. I usually spend one day on the weekend to make a bunch of different dishes but if I don't get around to it then I just try to get a variety of fruit and veggies to keep it interesting. And I LOVE having raw trail mix available to snack on, I find it very satisfying.

"Today was a bit of a challenge... I didn't get to planning out meals for the week yesterday, hadn't shopped other than what I had on hand from my farmer's market (but didn't really have any fresh seeds, nuts, etc)... so today felt a little overwhelmed as I tried to figure out the menu... I was feeling a bit discouraged as I poured through my recipe books but it felt like everything needed to be sprouted or dehydrated... lol

I made it through... it's just to important to me to reclaim myself and be good to ME. I had a smoothie for bfast (apple, kale, cucumber, carrots, chia) and a smoothie for lunch (my favorite blueberry, cherry, banana, acai).... then for dinner I made my favorite cabbage crunch (cabbage, green onions, applecider vinegar, black sesame seeds, pepper)

and eventually I went to the market to pick up some 'necessities'...

I've put some buckwheat out for sprouting... any thoughts as to what else I should consider as a staple? Ideas for how you organize yourself with meal planning, etc?"

Hemp seed milk and blueberry pomegranate juice
Melon
Jumble berry upside down cake
Cucumber and red onion salad
1 clementine orange
Raw brownie
Watermelon
60 oz water total

[katchmoleen]

Hi everyone, it seems we have a lot of people struggling with fatigue. I was exhausted the first week of going raw.....had a migraine every single day. I went to work, came home, and went to bed, and tried to get a little food into my mouth in between. The second week I was still tired but not as bad, and no migraines. The third week, less so. It really hasn't been till week five that I could say that I have MORE energy than before I went raw. But it is great now....I am getting my house decluttered for the first time in six years.

So hang in there. NO matter how long it takes, it will be SO worth it. But if I had not totally committed to 100% raw for 30 days, I doubt I would have hung in there based on how I felt. Drink lots of water, get plenty of rest, and try to get a gentle walk in every day. Hot baths in epsom salts feel wonderful too.

B: Green smoothie...my daughter made it so not sure what all was in it, but it did have kale and nectarines, that much I know.
L: Nectarine
Snack: Chocolate Coconut Lara Bar. Big mistake to go to work and then errand running with only a nectarine on my stomach. I became RAVENOUS and then had to buy a lara bar. :o
Supper: So far, a nectarine. I bought two cases of organic nectarines from the food co-op and they are a real treat! As soon as I finish resting a bit, I plan to try the cucumber rice and cheese dish posted recently.

[mmaynard]

Katchmoleen - I am in week 5 as well and was noticing today that I have so much more energy and my mind is really clear. It was a rough few weeks at first but I'm starting to feel amazing!

I found a place nearby that sells some pre-made raw food, including a pizza crust, so I think I will be going there more often to pick up dehydrated stuff that I sometimes don't have time to make. We have family here this week and friends here next week, so I thought it would be good to have some things on hand so I don't need to worry about what I'm going to eat.

Here's what I had today:

- Smoothie with banana, cherries, coconut oil, Vitamineral mix
- Banana
- chocolate hazelnut cup
- 2 cinnamon flax crackers
- Grapes
- Raisins

My stomach is growling so I think I will eat something light before going to bed. I have been really light on the greens lately but will try to step this up over the next week.

Have a good night! I loved reading the posts today - very inspirational!

[kidkid]

Kidkid, you nearly lost it there! Good for you, but sad that you had to chuck all that food in the bin. I work in Africa and after my first visit, my heart ached if I threw away any food. I guess sometimes you can't avoid it.

I certainly felt pretty bad about throwing all the good stuff away, especially as it wasn't mine to begin with. At least it went into the compost and will end up nourishing my brother's vegetable garden.


Today was:
B -- A LOT of almond butter and raspberries
L -- cabbage wraps with kale chips and cilantro and olives -- pretty weird, but pretty good.

Haven't had dinner yet, but I want to make a really big salad with the nasturtium flowers i picked on my walk home, and probably some lettuce and kale. I'm also soaking some almonds for almond milk, and I know that they are actually raw, which is exciting.

I love how much people are writing this month! It's so interesting and informative to read about everyone's journey!

p.s. isn't it cool that we can eat flowers?!

[Carly]

I love reading all of these posts! I've lost 3 lbs in the last 3 days! And my mom's hand tremors, which she's had on and off since 2007 and pretty bad since May, stopped for the 1st time since May 90 min after juicing for the 1st time today. They have come back a bit but she figures if the juicing will make them go away for a little while, maybe they will be permanently healed eventually.

Today I had:

B - 1/4 watermelon - this was so good; usually I'm not into watermelon because I used to think it seemed kind of tasteless, but this was my first organic one and it was so sweet and almost rich! I had to eat it in 2 intervals.

L - Green Smoothie of kale, dandelion, 2 bananas, and a pear

S - a banana

S - Juice of beets, celery, dandelion, carrots, broccoli sprouts, cucumber, kale, and spinach.

D - A romaine wrap with nacho cheese sauce and taco nut meat that I made, guacamole, sprouts, mushrooms, olives, and cherry tomatoes. I also had some of my cheese crackers and some salsa I made on the side.

And I'll probably eat some chocolate covered fruit later!

:)