April 2012 - 30 Day Raw Food Challenge - Join ANY day of the month!!!

[Aleesha Sattva]

Welcome welcome welcome!!!

Welcome to the 30 day challenge and welcome to our new monthly format.

This is our monthly challenge thread. We are choosing to do one (or perhaps split into two) continual threads so we can create a community of support within this challenge. You can join this thread at any time during the month. Don't be shy... we love new posters!!! So if you want to join us... please do!

I welcome people who are already 100% raw to join in the conversation - supporting our challengers in their quest!

This thread is specifically for those of you who are eager to commit to 30 consecutive days of eating 100% raw foods and seeing miraculous results!

I will start a new challenge thread on the first of every month. If I forget... send me a quick email and remind me... I'll get the challenge thread online for you quickly.

The focus of the monthly challenge is on staying raw and accountability. Therefore, if you have eaten all raw and then slip up and have something cooked, don't beat yourself up over it or dwell on it - but this is not space to discuss it. You are more than welcome to document it in your journal/blog or ask for help in the discussion area, but it is not necessary (and not allowed) to discuss your slip-up here in the challenge threads, just get right back on track and keep going! This thread is about celebrating what you are eating that IS raw!

I welcome you all to share pics of your dishes, ask questions, share what you are consuming (as long as it's raw). We are here to listen to your emotional and physical challenges. So share share share!!!

OH and the best part of this (not only the support but...) you can subscribe to this thread and get notified every time someone posts to it. This way you will be connected!

So let's get this party started!!!

[Aleesha Sattva]

Please do not post in this thread until the first of April 2012.

thanks,
Aleesha
Admin

[Mayaya]

Seems I'm the first to post here, but it's not an April fool's joke. I'm starting tomorrow (actually, that is today) morning 100% raw. Along with my best friend we are going to fix our eating habits. Even though our reasons, goals and way of doing it is going to be the different, the motivation and support will be the same from both sides. I'm excited!!! So, yep count me in!!!
You can also say a good word for my decision Just saying :P

[qwerty988]

Seems I'm the first to post here, but it's not an April fool's joke. I'm starting tomorrow (actually, that is today) morning 100% raw. Along with my best friend we are going to fix our eating habits. Even though our reasons, goals and way of doing it is going to be the different, the motivation and support will be the same from both sides. I'm excited!!! So, yep count me in!!!
You can also say a good word for my decision Just saying :P

Welcome, Mayaya!

How great you have your bestr friend for support! Feel free to share your reasons and goals here with us, too.

I'm starting April with a renewed commitment to stay raw without slips and to continue my current daily exercise routine. I have a big weight loss goal in mind for this month. I also have a goal to heal my recessed gums with raw food and oil-pulling. I saw big progress last month on both fronts and I intend for it to continue this month.

Happy April my Fellow Challengers!

[PansyLo]

Welcome Mayaya

It's great that you have a friend to join in too! You can keep each other accountable, share recipes and meet up for cook-ins!

I'm in again for April. I was not 100% for all of March so with April I'm doubling my commitment to stick to it this month without slip ups.


Also have the huge challenge of quitting smoking. I've cut down but I haven't gotten there yet. New plan, for every pack of cigarettes I don't buy I'm going to buy a book on amazon worth the same price.
I'm addicted to books and wanting to build a small library in my new house so the though of a new book over a pack of cigarettes is a no brainer.

[GoodCat]

I'm going to be doing a few day juice fast and then its all raw for me. I've been trying out a few new raw recipes that I think will be great for this month (and the following months:)

Raw enchiladas ... amazing...
Raw chocolate brownie with chocolate frosting .. again.. amazing..

So for today it will be juices... but they're all raw anyways, so I'm good :)

mayaya... qwerty.. and pansyLo.. it will be great being raw with you all !!!

Cathy

[Mayaya]

Thank you qwerty988! Oh what an easy nick to type!! lol
It's good that you exercise, well done! I haven't got the courage to do it.

Right now I'm 66.6 kilos (double it and it's more or less the equal pounds) and I don't know ecxactly my goals, but my first big goal is under 60 kilos and my final goal will be around 50 kilos. I'll see how I'll feel and if I like my appearance and stop when I'm sutisfied. My height is 1.56m (sorry, I don't know how to transition it) so it's not like I'm going to dissapear if I reach 50 kilos lol!
Other than that, I've got psoriasis both in body and head, breathing problems in almost anything (like inhaling dust, chigarette smoke, some kind of perfumes or just when there is not enough air) and being overweight helps it appear, energy around zero (so that's why I don't exercise), thyroid and other hormonic problems, easily gaining back pain or other pains that god knows what caused them -when a problem dissapears some other comes to bother me and that's a constant think & the list hasn't ended yet. Oh and my immune system barely excists so I'm the first to catch all winter colds. If you are in a full bus and sb caughs, that's me.
I've got not much money to spend and it's a tricky bet to hold, but I believe raw is an investment and if you don't spent all you've got in your health then where will you? What I don't do is eat organic and I've also given up the thought of gourmet dishes, perhaps one per week, just to keep motivated that "I have to stick to it so in Sunday I can try a new raw recipe as a reward". But I'm happy with that cause I do the best I can and that's what will keep me going.

Today I needed sleap so I woke up at 12. Since then what I've consumed is aloe, royal jelly (I don't know if it's raw) a banana and a salad with some fats in, that is a spoon of olive oil and some nuts. It was delicious with all the colours of the rainbow in lol. For the dressing I added a spoon of honey, no sugar, no salt (I don't know if honey is raw either). I'm full and happy right now and it's been over 3 hours. Maybe in a while I'll have some snack and I know this first day is going to be ok ;) I even prepared my tomorrows dishes for work.

[Mayaya]

Thank you Cathy, this time I'm going to stick to it, even if I slip, I'm going to be here for support.

PansyLo, I wish this friend that diets with me wanted to quit smoking too. I never pushed her cause I know that if sb doesn't want to, he'll never do it. That's a taugh but good decision, and you want it, so well done!

Congrats for your new home and coming library. I am moving to my own home in one or two months and it is going to have libraries in two rooms. Also, after everything is set and we are comfortable (and of course find the money) I am going to order an exculiber and a vitamix. And when my energy levels go up, I'm going to start moving a bit, at first dancing and some things from tapes and then I'm dying to buy inline skates and start rooooooooling! If I don't brake anything on the process of learning to stand on lol!

[PansyLo]

@Mayaya: it can be difficult to tell what's raw and what's not at first. I'm still not totally sure with one or two things, it's a learning process.
With honey, if it doesn't say raw it's not raw. I've found raw honey very easy to get though, you can get it in any supermarket here. If you can't find it there health stores are your friends.

I'm terrible when it comes to exercise too. I don't even really know where to start with it. I think the trick is to find something you actually enjoy and something that's progressive so you want to go back and work towards something.

I tried running but found it way to embarrassing running in public even though it was at like 6am so I'd avoid people. I also was the clumsiest runner, my keys jingled the whole time, I was trying to time periods of running and walking and was a total fluster as I didn't have a stop watch. I still like the idea as it's something I could build on but I need to organise it better.

When I move into the new house I'm going to sign up for ballet lessons and an intense yoga class.



I'm going to take it easy this month with the raw food. I'm planning on fasting for a good deal of it. I still have salad ingredients to use up but after that I might just stick to a juice fast. I want to keep things simple, I don't want to concentrate too much on food this month as I want to work on other areas of my life.
I don't know, a month is a long time I may change my mind.
When I want to concentrate on food again I have a few challenges for myself which include sprouting new things, buying new ingredients such a hemp/chia seeds, trying a few more adventurous recipes.

[Mayaya]

LOL for your keys!!
I also love yoga. Hope I can keep on a yoga program some day. And those last days I'm concidering zumba too, cause the only way you can move me is by nice music.

[PansyLo]

I want to do ballet again for the movement.

I used to be pretty hardcore with it. I started at some ridiculously young age before I was even two. Once you get out of it though it's so easy to just forget it all. And I couldn't physically do it even if I wanted to! I'm so unfit and inflexible!
It's a good emotional type of dancing though it's good for putting your feelings into. And it's so beautiful.

Off to do more grocery shopping already. Tesco employees must thing I'm totally bonkers coming in to buy MASS amounts of fruit and veg, especially when juicing as you need so much!

[breathless]

Hello, I'm in for the challenge for April. I made a promise to myself that if I can maintain 100% raw for 30 days, I will allow myself to purchase a Vitamix. So far, so good. LOL. Today for brunch, I had a strawberry smoothie and spinach salad with tomatoes and a dressing made of olive oil, lemon juice, and Italian herbs. Then I had cashew cheeze (I can never get my cheeze to come out tasting great, but it was okay, so I ate it anyway) on flax seed crackers bought from the health food store (the crackers are called "Flackers") and a bunch of red seedless grapes.

@Pansy: I do think ballet would be good for you. Excellent choice! I wonder if your desire to begin dancing again could be a side effect from raw foods. It is so natural for us to want to move our bodies, and eating dead food buries our natural desires. I am feeling inspired to start working out again myself.

@Mayaya: I'm so glad you have someone to do this with, but don't forget this is a great place for support as well!

@Qwerty: It's so good to see you here again. I am looking to lose a lot of weight too!

@GoodCat: Raw enchiladas sound wonderful! The thought of enchiladas makes me wish I had a dehydrator.

[PansyLo]

Today:

Super green juice: carrot, apple, kale, spirulina, broccoli stalk (figured it would be a good way to use it rather than binning), ginger, orange.
Salad: water cress, broccoli, tomatoes, avocado, pumpkin seeds, vinaigrette dressing.
More of the green juice, very watered down this time to save some for morning.

Not really all that hungry. Went out to buy more groceries and just haven't felt like eating much more really!

[foxyflowerchild]

Hello everyone!

Although technically i started yesterday, today will be day one of my 30-day raw challenge!

I am really excited/nervous about it! It will for sure be a challenge to stick to it 100%, but I'm in!

Hell yah April people! We got this!

[PansyLo]

^ Love the enthusiasm!!

It's a tad contagious.

@breathless: you know I think you could be onto something. I always loved ballet and had thought about going back before but never really did it. Since starting raw though I have had this real urge to use my body in a more challenging way.

Since starting raw even though I haven't been 100% the whole time and noticed really radical changes I have just had a lot more urges to do things. It may partly be that I've reached a point in my life where I need to turn things round but I've been planning and wanting to do a lot more.

I think there's a few of us who are not brand new starters but really want to stick to 100% this month. I really want to do it this time since I couldn't last month.