Raw Vegan 30 Day Challenge: Day 11-20 update
Friday, February 13, 2009 at 08:14AM I have posted below an update of my 30 day raw vegan challenge. Day 1-10 were very difficult, but the last 10 days have become more routine.
January 29, 2009
Day 11 - I think I have found Nutrition Nirvana. My cravings are gone. I feel great. I have tons of energy, and I enjoy eating simply. I had a green smoothie for breakfast and lunch. I rode 26 miles with Jorg (one of my cycling buddies) and had 20 oz of orange juice on the ride. I think I will just stick with water next time. It seemed like too much sugar. I came home, looked in the fridge and found some broccoli - my first thought was "Yummmm." I ate the remaining half of a small bag of the broccoli with the mustard dip that is my new favorite dressing. After trumpet lessons, I had a bowl of the amazing raw applesauce that I described in a previous post. While watching the movie Juno with Julie, I thought that I probably should eat a few more calories after a bike ride, so I had 2 bananas even though I was not really hungry. This all feels so weird compared to how I have felt on a cooked vegan diet. I did not expect such a profound difference in how I feel. I am beginning to think that this needs to be a permanent change.
The weight was unchanged at 167.0.
January 30, 2009
Day 12. The raw diet is becoming easier each day. It is beginning to be a habit. I had a green smoothie for breakfast, a small salad for lunch at Ruby Tuesday, and 2 bananas for a mid afternoon snack. I went to my favorite sushi restaurant Narita Express and had a large mixed greens salad and a plate of fruit and veggies the size of a spartan shield. I thought they were going to have to carry me out of the restaurant on the shield as I gorged myself to death on asian pears, strawberries, kiwis, red grapefruit, shitaki mushrooms, carrots and an assortment of other fruits and veggies. It was heavenly. I ordered it off the menu. I called the owner this morning and asked if he could prepare a salad and fruit/veggie tray. My family and I eat there almost every Friday. I have found that most restaurants are very accommodating when you order off the menu. If you think you might want something they do not typically serve, call ahead to the manager and make a request. I have never had anyone say no if they had the ingredients to make what I request.
My weight went down to 165.8. I did not eat many calories and had a long bike ride yesterday, which accounts for the amount of weight that I lost. I am not concerned about the weight loss. I expected it, especially the first 2 weeks. I plan to continue losing weight until I get less than 160 and possibly lower depending on how I feel. Your body is very smart; it will tell you what you need to know to care for it. You just need to learn what the signals mean. And no, growling stomachs do not mean, "stuff me with junk food."
January 31, 2009
Day 13. My appetite has decreased tremendously. I only have vague cravings when I smell food cooking, but it is more like a distant memory than a feeling I want to eat. I had a green smoothie with flax seed for breakfast, a few cherries for lunch, and a green smoothie for an afternoon snack/early dinner. I had 2 slices of banana cream pie that were very good. The crust was superb. You can find the recipe at Vegan Chef. I weighed 164.8 today.
I ordered a book called Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life
February 1, 2009
Day 14. Superbowl Sunday. I had a green smoothie for breakfast and an orange and banana cream pie for lunch followed by a 36 mile bike ride. I had a mango green smoothie for supper followed by banana cream pie for dessert. I am getting lots of support and encouragement from family and friends which is really helping.
My weight was stable at 164.8. I go to work tomorrow. Now, back to the Superbowl.
February 2, 2009
Day 15. I had a green smoothie made with a mango, apple, flax seed and spinach for breakfast and lunch with an apple for mid morning snack. I was tired and a little moody most of the day. In retrospect, I think it was because I did not get enough calories early in the day. Normally, I put 4 bananas in the smoothies. I think the smoothies I had today were about half the normal calorie count. I came home from work and had a huge plate of fruit and another plate of veggies with mustard dip and orange juice. I feel much better this evening.
I weighed 163.2 this morning. I probably ate enough today to gain some of the weight back from yesterday's bike ride and low calorie day.
February 3, 2009
Day 16. I had a busy day at work today. I drank a green smoothie with flax seed for breakfast and had a huge salad with pineapple, strawberries and 2 bananas for lunch. I had orange juice for a midafternoon snack. Dinner consisted of a large salad with walnuts and some fruit. I feel like I ate too much today. Some of this was stress eating from being so busy. I weighed 165.2 pounds this morning. I hope the weather will improve enough for me to commute to work on my bike this week, but it is supposed to snow tomorrow morning.
February 4, 2009
Day 17. I ate basically the same thing today that I ate yesterday. I feel much better emotionally over the last few days since I increased my calories. I added a small amount of fat by eating flax seed and raw walnuts. I don't want to eat too much fat. It is easy to consume 60% or more calories from fat as a raw vegan. This is probably not healthy, although most of the medical studies with fat involve cooked fats, especially those from meat and dairy. Dr. Colin Campbell discusses in his book, The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health
After only 2 weeks on the diet, my blood pressure was 110/84. It has never been this low - not even in high school. This way of eating is amazing. I have read and researched nutrition for a long time, and I know to expect such dramatic health improvements, but it is much more impressive to me when I am experiencing the changes first hand.
My weight was 165.0 this morning. I want to continue losing weight on this diet. It is very easy to regulate how much I eat because I do not have cravings, and I don't get ravenously hungry like I have in the past when I cut my calories. This means that my body is getting all of the nutrients it needs through the right amounts of the right foods.
February 5, 2009
Day 18. Good day for healthy food. I had a green spinach smoothie with flax seed for breakfast, 2 huge plates of salad with sesame seeds (not technically raw, but a small amount) for lunch at Ruby Tuesday, orange juice for afternoon snack and a kale and flax seed green smoothie for dinner. I was pleasantly full all day. Eating this way is definitely a habit now. I do not really have to think about eating raw. I have read that it usually takes 21 days of doing something daily for it to become a habit.
My weight was 164.6 this morning.
February 6, 2009
Day 19. I rode my bicycle to work this morning. It was 17 degrees when I left. You may not believe it, but I was not cold, and I enjoyed the ride. Dressing appropriately really helps. The ski goggles made a huge difference. I ate 1.5 pounds of fruit for breakfast at the hospital. For lunch, I had a huge salad and fruit, a banana and OJ for afternoon snack and a huge kale/spinach/banana/flax seed smoothie for dinner. I am full, physically and emotionally. I feel pleasantly content on this diet. I feel like I would feel on vacation even though I have been busy at work this week.
I weighed 164.6 this morning. I expect I may have lost some today with the bike commute. An average person can only lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week over a long period of time, so I am glad the weight loss is stabilizing. I do not want to lose muscle. For those who are wondering where I get all of my protein, consider that greens have more protein per calorie than steak. People on the standard Western diet consume over 160 grams of protein daily and only need around 60 grams daily. The amount is much less if you are eating healthy sources of protein.
February 7, 2009
Day 20. I commuted to work on my bicycle today. I had 1.5 pounds of fruit for breakfast, 2 plates of salad from Ruby Tuesday for lunch and OJ for an afternoon snack before my commute home. For dinner, I had a 60 ounce green smoothie. I weighed 164.0 this morning. No new insights today. This is just how I eat now.
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