July 2011 - 30 day challenge - Join at ANYtime of the month!

[MysticTree]

sorry to hear you are having a rough time.

It really does pay to be prepared. I'm lucky in work cos we have a big fridge that doesn't get used all that much so literally fill the bottom salad tray with my various foods that I take with me. Anything I don't eat in the day I bring home and eat in the evening.

When I go to family things which is very rarely to be honest I just go out to a local shop and buy a bunch of carrots, celery, fruit etc and make the best of the situation. people are usually so pleased that I am losing weight that they don't mind if I don't eat their calorie laden cooked foods.

[Nad]

Hey everyone, I'm nearing the end of day 6 and am glad to report it was 100% raw!

B: Green smoothie with frozen kale, spinach, banana and some almonds - deliciously icy!
Snack: Orange and carrot juice
L: Berry smoothie drink from M&S + Large collard wrap with red pepper "hummus", apple slices, celery and red onion +small green side salad
Snack: Berry Nice Nakd bar
D: Zucchini pasta with raw marinara + green salad with marinated mushrooms

Then made my lunch for tomorrow and got a little peckish so had an orange. Feeling better about what I'm eating today, although still worried about curbing fruit intake. But based on today I think I need to increase my portion sizes so I can feel fuller longer and avoid binging late at night.

[Nad]

On a side note i'm going to a family reunion tomorrow for the weekend and i'm worried about the food options i'll have...these are black folks we're talking about(soul food super fattening and cooked of course lol) and i wont be at a hotel and you cant bring food on planes...ugghhhghghgh hopefully my aunt atleast has fruit

Aww sorry to hear you've had a rough day If you think your workout is affecting your apetite I'd say up the protein in your diet, so try to include a good source in every meal. That's what I did when I was working out 6 times a week (pre-raw, but vegan), and found that really sustained me. Try some shelled hemp on your salads/in your smoothies? And of course nuts (perhaps your body was craving them) etc.

And for your reunion, just explain to your aunt/family that you're trying to eat healthier if they ask why you're not indulging and see if she can point you in the direction of the nearest grocery store and stock up on some basic fruit and veg to last you while your there. I'm sure you'll do alright if you just stick to your guns. Hell maybe you'll even be inspired to raw-ify some soul food! Good luck :)

[rawdanig]

Nad- Let me just say you did amazing on your eating today!! Your meals were big but like you said it probably helped you get through the day! They seemed very well balanced also! Lots of veggies!!!!

For the reunion i'm sure i'll be fine but i wont have any transportation to get to a store so i'm really just gonna have to make due. Maybe someone will be kind enough to take me lol. I'm heaving a fruit headache right now cause i just made a fruit salad from the extras at work and now i'm on a sugar high or something

I really think my exercise is getting me out of whack. I agree I probably need more proteins or grains that'll give me energy but keep me fuller longer. I'll definitely be sprouting/soaking my quinoa when i get back!

Positive Notes: Can't wait to make sushi!! I'm gonna use Alissa's trick of using cauliflower as the rice..hehe. Also i'm gonna start making oatmeals!! Finally something warm and yummy! And I got more of Ani's books from the library which will make nice plane reading

[jennyfedei]

OK.. I had my first raw meal tonight at dinner:

1 Peach

A big salad of romaine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, green and red peppers, yellow squash and zucchini strips, grated raw beets, jicama & carrots, two asparagus spears and avocado. I sprinkled it with sesame, sunflower & pumpkin seeds and made a dressing of lemon juice and flax oil. I also sprinkled the salad with nutritional yeast (Red Star). It took me a long time to eat it, but was so good.

How did I do????

[DearWanderlust]

Jenny- that salad made me want to jump through the screen! Yum!

Nad-Your food always sounds so good!

Rawdanig-I completely understand your pain with the smoothie. It's soooo hard to eat away from home because so much food is filled with crap, syrups, chemicals etc. I'm still adjusting to all of the planning required for this lifestyle.

Today I ended up almost backsliding because my work cafeteria had practically NOTHING for me to eat today except for some wilted neglected salad remnants that looked just pitiful. I didn't eat perfectly today but I know I'm still on track.

For dinner I FINALLY tried zucchini pasta and surprisingly I REALLY liked it. The "noodles" were crunchier than regular pasta but it was still really tasty with the marinara and really filling. I only bought one zucchini because I just wanted to try it out but I'm buying more so I can really indulge! :-)

[MeredithLee]

Jenny, I could have written your post a few weeks ago. It seems like there is no info, no meal plan. Then once you've been trying for a while, it just clicks and you get what people mean when they instruct you to just eat what you want. When I started I "needed" a lot of nuts and seeds. Now I don't do many.

I keep it simple. Smoothies are my lazy ways to do so. Limited chopping, tons of combinations, and delicious. Even my non-healthy friends like them. I use about half leafy greens, 40% fruits like watermelon, pear, apple, banana, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, anything I have on hand. Any combination. Then I throw in celery or cucumber. For supplements, I make my smoothies with coconut water and add in some coconut oil. I have spirulina and just bought some super green powder that I will start using tomorrow. In the morning I make 4-5 cups worth and my boyfriend takes a big to go cup of it. I sip on the rest until noon. Salads like the one you made are my go to lunch. And when I bartend at night I take a smoothie with me to resist temptation and when I'm at home I experiment. Tonight was raw pizza. Sometimes it is just a bunch of pico and avocado on top of spinach or mixed in brocco-slaw while I make mac and cheese for the kids. Most of the time we all feel adventurous though so I do the whole family's meal raw.

Stick with it, don't worry if you have a crappy day. 50% raw is still fantastic. On other diets a bad day would derail me big time. Here it feels natural to make minor errors. You just pick up and start over again.

rawdanig- I feel your pain about preparedness and whatnot. I am freaking over a road trip next month to Wisconsin. I'm meeting my boyfriend's family and I don't want to insult. But I don't want to eat steak and potatoes either. We are going to the state fair and I sure don't want to get stuck eating fair food! My plan of attack there is to pick up a bunch of bananas and apples and take a few bars. That way I can grab a side salad at least and supplement the rest of the meal with good food. And if I get stuck trying a cream puff or a funnel cake, I know I can undo the damage and not feel horrible because the rest of my day will be the food my body loves.

[jennyfedei]

Thanks so much.. that's very helpful!

[EscapeArtist]

Wanderlust, Good for you!! That sure sounds difficult (cafeteria situation) and you got through it :) You must have been so happy to get home and eat lol

Jenny-that salad sounds like a big bowl of yummy variety First recipes are so special!

Hi everybody. I'm on day 5 today, didn't want to post until I reached the very end of day 5 and made the decision!

Day 5 is when the detoxing-mind either scares me away or I make the commitment.
Of course the cravings are bad, but I feel this time I really am doing this. I'm really going through to the end of detox. I have to, because a few weeks ago I used the law of attraction to get off work so I can detox, and I lost my job (against the will of the employer, government cancelled contract) 2 days after sending the 'vibe' out to the universe, but now there is a 90% chance I will regain it in 1-2 weeks through an employment program. How weird is that?

When I go back to my job I'm working more hours, nearly full time, and it's physically demanding work (farm). No way can I go back there as fatigued and depressed as I am all the time, it's torture. So I really can't back out this time knowing that this is the perfect opportunity. I feel like I can't get out of this one haha.

Good to see people well on their 30+ day challenge-way

[MyRedPanda]

rawdanig - I know what you mean about being starving and about the soul food - I am from the south and fried chicken, collards, black eyed peas, and cornbread is considered a "hearty/healthy meal" ugh Is there a way you can go with your aunt grocery shopping and get some stuff for yourself? I am going to give myself a fresh start tomorrow because I had epic fail yesterday - I came home starving and caved. We had a cat death and I was feeling sad and my husband asked me to cook for him and I just caved. I am so ashamed, lol! I think my problem has been too much fruit sugar - seriously yesterday my blood sugar was so out of whack, and when that happens I get a major headache. I am currently nursing a baby too, so I am trying to give myself some slack. I still had a 90% raw day yesterday and today, but I really need to make more of an effort. Working out will make you ravenous too - perhaps add a raw protein shake after your workout. I hope you enjoy your family reunion and try not to stress about it too much :)

[rawdanig]

Hey everyone! Thanks for the support. I had a green smoothie early this morning before my flight got pistachios from the store sadly they were salted but I shared with my mom. Then as I've been at my uncles/aunts they got me some bagged salad and my aunt is gonna take me to the grocery store with her. I've only been eating salads and more nuts...they Hav peanuts. As you might expect im craving fruit really bad. cant wait to go shopping. I'm gonna make them some raw cheesecake and oatmeal cookies and buy lots of larabars LOL. Sadly my food won't b organic or fully raw but at least it'll be as whole and uncooked as much as possible. In positive news I'm only running on 5 hrs of sleep and I'm not burnt out just hungry lol

[EscapeArtist]

I feel very strange mentally today. Maybe it's because of the nightmares last night, but everything feels cold unfamiliar pointless and void. I came on here to see if I could regain a feeling of warmth, must be detox...

[Nad]

Rawdanig - sounds like things are going better than expected! And don't worry about not being 100% raw, any efforts you can make will be fine I'm sure :) and let us know how they like the raw cheescake - curious!

I've had an okay-ish day today, but feeling a little bit stressed and out of whack mainly because I got off track and have been feeling horrible about it ever since.
B: Same green smoothie as yesterday
S: Apple Sherbet Juice that I made this morning
L: Salad topped with raw guacamole + raisins and chopped walnuts but was still really hungry afterwards so bought an orange.

Then in the afternoon someone brought in treats at work (not going to say what seeing as were not supposed to discuss non-raw on here) and I was forced into having one, lots of comments/jokes on my recent weight loss + the fact that I "only eat salads" made me feel like I had to but it just made me feel really gross afterwards. And then for some reason I binged and had my afternoon snack (raw nakd bar) right afterwards anyways!? Not sure why.
Wasn't hungry till much later than usual as a result, but dinner was romaine wraps with the leftover guac and some red pepper hummus with carrot sticks. Had a lot of almonds and raisins afterwards as well as some grapes and some pineapple. I kind of just felt like I couldn't stop eating and I really didn't like it Think I'm going to keep it light and alkaline tomorrow to balance/flush today out. Only problem is it's my last day of work and I'm going out with my team for dinner and drinks so this will be tricky. Wish me luck all! Sorry for the mega long post just had to rant (emotional detox lol).

[speltrong]

Hi folks, haven't been posting a lot this month because of recovery from surgery on both feet, which has been particularly rough since having a bad allergic reaction to the surgical tape, and then needing to take extra painkillers to compensate for that, ugh. But, i am happy to report that both hubby and i have stayed raw through this whole ordeal (except for the painkillers, which obviously are not raw, heh). Something about this experience has really made me feel like i am on board with being raw for life. It has become much less like "just this thing we're trying", and much more like it's melded into our everyday routine, and is just an enjoyable part of our lives. :-)

[rawdanig]

Sooo finally got some nom nom in my tum tum. I got stuff to make collard wraps, corn soup, and smoothies and I made the oatmeal cookies.....delicious!!!!! My fam liked them. They tasted like Quakers oatmeal raisin cereal bars but more rich. I didnt get to do the cheesecake since my aunt was buying for me and the ingredients were expensive. I also bought some spicy Kimchi can't wait to give it a taste : ) tomorrow night there will b a fish fry so I'm gonna save my last two cookies for that along with some fruit and nuts since those cookies are filling I might make more since it was so quick. I wanna try making raw no bake cookies this way!! I love pb and chocolate flavors. Kind if sad that I can't do organic this weekend but at least im doing 95% raw(used quick oats for cookies and my dates weren't whole but packed with sugar that I rinsed) Well I'm done rambling have a great weekend!