Wednesday, May 18, 2011

[Blog] No Time Like The Present To Wake Up!

Sometimes there isn't much point in saying it when someone else already said it:



The above video is of a man who I saw speak in person shortly before I went 100% raw vegan in September 2010. After hearing him speak in front of you it's hard not to get your act together.

Still working up to a thirty-day juice feast with only three exceptions to the all juice and smoothie rule: grapefruits, melons and durians. I expect to do something along the lines of the following (as this is what I'm moving towards in baby steps at the moment):

Example of a day's menu #1:

Breakfast: Smoothie made up of: bananas, frozen berries, water, seasonings

Brunch: Half a grapefruit

Lunch: Juice made up of oranges, water, grapefruit, lemon and some vegetable and/or other citrus

Snack: Smoothie made up of: bananas, mango, water, seasonings

Dinner: Juice made up of carrots, oranges and/or apples, celery and/or spinach

Example of a day's menu #2:

Breakfast: A large portion of a watermelon

Brunch: A smoothie with bananas, raw cocoa, mango and water

Lunch: Juice made up of watermelon and a small portion of vegetable

Snack: Smoothie made up of: bananas, plum, frozen berries and water

Dinner: Juice made up of carrots, oranges and/or pineapple, cucumber and some added vegetable

Full "exceptions" to the fluid-rule list: cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, grapefruit, durian, pummelo (like a grapefruit) and at one point during the month I expect to eat a quarter of an avocado to ensure I get a small amount of healthy fats that isn't just from happenstance-juiced-seeds or durian (a fatty tropical fruit).

Expected start date: Monday, May 23rd 2011

What I hope to accomplish:

  • More muscle mass.
  • Loss of a thin layer of fat off of my hips, stomach and arms.
  • Increased energy.
  • Less temptation to spend days at a time preparing food and eating it (obsessively).
  • More control over my "cravings" and food-desires overall.
  • Shorter recovery time after shoveling a lot in the yard. (Already shorter than average, but hey, I love improvement.)
  • Two-day menstrual periods. (Already down to averaging three days of bleeding; why not aim for two days? I've heard of women on rawvegan diets who barely trickle any blood out because their systems are so clean there is no need to detox through bleeding!)
  • Longer endurance. (Up to being able to walk a couple miles and run a roughly two city blocks. I want to be able to run half a mile by Christmas.) (I was hardly able to walk as far as I can now run when I was a small child without being incredibly tired, cranky and uncomfortable.)
  • Learn what the juice-feasting buzz is all about!

*smiles and warm hugs for all*

~ Raederle Phoenix

4 comments:

  1. Sounds good, so long as you constantly monitor how you're feeling and rest as much as you need to. Any kind of cleanse/fast can increase the need for rest, as I'm sure you know.

    I'll try to watch that vid--thanks for sharing it.

    Getting to the point where you lose your period altogether may not be healthy, btw (I know that's not what you're aiming at, but some people in the raw world claim that it's a good thing). I didn't have my period throughout my 20's (first anorexic, then didn't get it back on raw) and am having some issues now probably as a result.
    love
    Ela

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ela,

    Very interesting. I'd really like to learn more about why the period goes away for some women on raw. As I understand, it is a result of no longer needing to shed all that blood because the blood isn't toxic and thereby doesn't need shedding. But I have not read a scientific explanation for it. It just seems to make sense, especially since I have read a scientific explanation (years and years ago) for why nutrients, such as calcium, will decrease blood flow and cramps.

    :D

    I just made watermelon-celery-spinach-orange juice. It was really delicious. :D

    ~ Raederle

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, that guy has a lot of energy, but not everything he says is even true. Wild animals _do_ go gray, for example. And the calorie restriction hypothesis is very controversial, to say the least: I think it's dangerous and irresponsible to put it out there in a raw food context. Eating raw means automatic calorie reduction because fewer raw calories are absorbed than cooked.

    Still the broad thrust of his message needs to get out there...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ela --

    True, some animals do go grey or get cancer, but usually this is when the animals are exposed to chemicals/contamination that humans created. I'm sure on occasion it still may happen in the wild, but it's certainly a valid point that overall animals don't generally "get old" the way humans do. The majority of Americans have serious health conditions, whereas the majority of animals (not including pets), do not have health problems. It's definitely not a 100% thing.

    As for fasting; it's controversial even for me. I have noticed that I seem to desire less food (less calories) since I got the juicer and began making juice at least once a day. It makes me feel more full and satisfied from less calories.

    *hugs*

    ~ Raederle

    ReplyDelete

What brings you here? What are you thoughts? Do you consider yourself a raw foodist? Approximately how much of your diet is raw? Do you consider yourself healthy? What would you like to see more of on this blog? Will you be back? Is this too many questions?