Raw Vegan Challenge: Day 21-30 Update.
Monday, March 2, 2009 at 11:25AM February 8, 2009
Day 21. I have now completed 3 weeks of my 30 Day Challenge of eating raw fruits and vegetables. I woke up this morning, had a green smoothie, read a bit (Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book
I weighed 163.0 pounds this morning.
February 9, 2009
Day 22. I was very busy at work last night and barely had time for OJ and a green smoothie. I slept all day today. For dinner, I had a veggie plate with agave/mustard/soy dip and a plate of fruit with raw vegan banana cream pie for dessert. Unfortunately, I fried my blender processing the pie crust. Note to self - don't use the blender as a food processor. I am bringing a bowl of fruit and walnuts for a midnight snack. I hope tonight is easier than last night. My weight this morning was 164.4.
February 10, 2009
Day 23. I had a much better night at work last night. I had a green smoothie for a snack. I came home and had a bowl of fruit for breakfast. After a 3 hour nap, I had a piece of banana cream pie for lunch (yes, banana cream pie is a healthy choice for lunch if it is made the raw vegan way - using only raw walnuts, bananas, dates, cinnamon, lime juice, and agar flakes). A 36 mile bicycle ride with friends in 70 degree weather burned quite a few calories, but I was not really that hungry after the ride. The orange juice on the ride was quite satisfying, although I did have a 40 ounce green smoothie for supper. Normally, I drink at least 60 ounces. I am amazed at how little I need to eat during the day to feel full. I have learned in my research that the reason for this is that live foods contain so much more nutrients and live enzymes help the body to better absorb the nutrients that one actually needs less food. I did not believe it until I tried it. The way I ate in the past, even on cooked vegan food, I felt like a Conehead consuming mass quantities.
Some people have commented that the green smoothies they have tried seem a little bland. The reason that they taste bland is because most people are accustomed to eating highly processed food with lots of sugar or salt. I suggest adding to the smoothie either honey or raw agave nectar (you can purchase this from most health food stores or from Amazon). My weight this morning was 163.4.
February 11, 2009
Day 24. I had a late night snack of a banana and raw walnuts last night. This morning, I drank a green smoothie. Lunch was a green smoothie and a slice of banana cream pie followed by a 41 mile bike ride with orange juice to drink. For dinner, I had a 60 ounce green smoothie that was made in my new Vitamix blender which was delivered this afternoon. I am happy to be using the Vitamix again. It makes a huge difference with a much smoother texture to the smoothies. I may have another slice of raw vegan banana cream pie before bed. Simple, tasty and filling seems to be my theme this week.
For those reading this, I do not recommend going straight from an average diet to a raw vegan diet. It was difficult for me the first week, and I have been eating vegan for more than a year now. I am writing these posts so you will be inspired to improve your own diet. I want you to be able to see that it is possible to make changes in your diet even with a busy schedule and with doubts about whether or not you can succeed. I suggest that you start just by adding greens and other vegetables and fruits to what you are already eating. Eat the healthiest foods first because spinach does not taste as good after chocolate cake, but if you fill up on spinach, you will eventually skip the chocolate cake. Just improve gradually. I started my own journey to improving my health 8 years ago. It has taken me this long to get to the point where I enjoy eating raw vegan food. Although it takes time to succeed, the important point is to get started now.
My weight today was 162.4.
February 12, 2009
Day 25. Only 5 more days to go. Surprisingly, I am not eagerly anticipating the finish of the 30 day challenge. At the beginning, I thought that I would be counting down the days until I could have cooked food again. However, now I am considering making this a permanent change. The results have been so positive that I want to continue. I will decide on day 30.
I was moody today. I think it was because I had two really tough bike rides in a row, and I was tired and did not eat enough in the past 2 days. I did a shorter, easier ride this afternoon, and I ate salad instead of smoothies today. I did have a green smoothie with spinach, banana, blueberries and mango for breakfast, but then I ate a salad with raw walnuts for lunch and for dinner followed by raw banana cream pie for dessert. I also had a late night snack of walnuts and a slice of pie last night after I posted the update. I feel better this evening. "Sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug." I try not to fight days like today. Instead, I just keep going. The easy bike ride followed by a trumpet lesson for my daughter and I ended the day on a positive note which I plan to carry over until tomorrow. She had a tough day at school today, and we decided that tomorrow we will have the best day ever.
I weighed 161.4 this morning. It should go up some tomorrow.
February 13, 2009
Day 26. I was somewhat moody earlier in the day, but some fruit for lunch helped, and I wound up having the best day ever with my family. I think I need more fruit because I feel better when I eat more of it. For breakfast, I had a green smoothie (spinach, banana, flax seed and frozen blueberries). I ate 5 kiwis and 2 handfuls of raw pecans for lunch. I ate 2 bananas for an afternoon snack. I had dinner at my favorite restaurant with the kids tonight. I had a huge mixed greens salad with carrots, celery and mushrooms followed by a platter of all sorts of fruits including nectarines, kiwis, bananas, oranges, blueberries, grapes, pineapple and a mystery fruit that had the texture of a pear but tasted like a cross between a mango and a pineapple. Having that much fruit prepared by someone other than me was quite a treat. Eating this way is an adventure. My weight went up slightly to 161.6.
February 14, 2009
Day 27. Happy Valentine's Day. I woke up to a green smoothie, followed by percussion lessons and a basketball game with my son. For lunch, I ate some raw peanuts, pecans and a mango. I had dinner out on a rare date alone with my wife. Dinner consisted of a salad and veggies dipped in a very tasty raw guacamole dip. I splurged and had pineapple/cranberry juice for a drink. I think it was from a can - not something I usually do. I may or may not have a banana and some nuts for a late night snack, but I am not really hungry now.
I did have some cooked food cravings today, but the little voice in my head that tells me to do unhealthy things was quickly overcome by shouts of praise for the results I am experiencing on the raw diet. The voice sung, "You are losing the last bit of weight that you did not lose 8 years ago, you are feeling supercharged with energy, and you are kicking butt on the bike so why stop now?" At this point, it will take a conscious decision to eat cooked food again at the end of the 30 day challenge because this is the way I eat now, and I do not want to lose the gains of the last 4 weeks. I did lose weight again, and I am now down to 160.4 pounds. I have not weighed this little since college.
February 15, 2009
Day 28. I had a spinach/banana/blueberry/flax seed smoothie before church. For lunch, I made different smoothie with mixed frozen berries, bananas and bok choy. It was a refreshing change. I did a 40 mile, cold bike ride with the last 11 miles at a very fast pace. I was ravenously hungry when I came home, and I ate way too many raw walnuts and orange juice for snack/dinner. I am not used to eating so many fats and so many calories at one time. I feel sluggish and stuffed. I will have to avoid this in the future.
Chuck, one of my bike buddies, made a good point that I have been considering about the 30 day challenge. If I really want to determine the personal health benefits of the raw vegan diet, I need to go longer than 30 days. We were thinking it would take between 3 and 6 months to get the full benefits. The 30 day challenge is perfect for establishing the habit of eating raw vegan, but it is not a long enough time period to judge accurately the physical, emotional and spiritual effects, especially considering that I am still losing weight and experiencing other changes. I will plan to extend the challenge another 60 days and perhaps even until May, when I participate in my first half-ironman, or 70.1 as it is known in triathlon jargon. The 70.1 comes from the total distance of swimming 1 mile, biking 56 miles and running 13.1 miles. Yikes! I had better start my swimming and running training.
My weight was up to 161.4 pounds today. I think it will probably be up again tomorrow because of all of the fat calories from the walnuts tonight. Yes, it is possible to gain weight after a 40 mile bike ride.
February 16, 2009
Day 29. Tomorrow is the last day of the challenge, which also happens to be my birthday. I did not realize that I would be finishing the challenge on my birthday when I started it. I had green smoothies for breakfast, lunch and supper. After a 52 mild bike ride into a cold, strong headwind, I was really hungry when I got home, so I had raw walnuts in addition to the smoothie. I had orange juice on the ride and with the walnuts. In the past, I never felt so energetic after such a tough ride. I think this diet is amazing. The best recovery drink is definitely a green smoothie.
I weighed 160.8 pounds this morning, so I did lose weight after the bike ride yesterday. I have been worried about losing muscle with the overall 14+ pound weight loss in 4 weeks and with all of the exercise I have been doing, but it appears that I am gaining muscle in my legs. I have read about vegan bodybuilders having no problem gaining muscle mass as long as they are eating enough calories. Check out the muscles on Kenneth Williams, a professional bodybuilder, who is raw vegan.
February 17, 2009
Day 30. I made it. I thought it would be much more difficult to complete the challenge. I remember that the first 10 days were tough, but now eating raw vegan is a habit. I recommend that you try a 30 day challenge for any goal you want to achieve. The key is not to focus on the goal but to focus on the things you have to do each day to be successful. The goal completes itself if you can develop the daily habits. It usually takes at least 3 weeks of daily activity to learn a new habit.
I did celebrate my birthday today with a bit of a splurge. I had 5 oranges for breakfast before traveling to New Bern, NC for an interview by Mike Stuart on the Be Well Radio Show on WRNS 95.1. After the interview, my wife and I went out to lunch at Pia's, a Greek style restaurant. I have learned in my years of being vegetarian, vegan and now raw vegan that you usually have to be creative when dining out. I look at the menu to see what they serve. By looking at the menu items, I can determine what type of fruits and vegetables that might have in the kitchen. If it is not clear, I usually ask the wait staff what they have fresh in the kitchen. I then order a plate of raw veggies with some type of dip and a plate of fruit. I can go to a chain steakhouse and find something healthy to eat. The staff are always accommodating. Today, I ordered a plate of fruit (there were at least 5 different kinds). I saw that they had a grape leaf, pita and hummus dip for an appetizer, so I asked them to make a plate of raw veggies (asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash and carrots) with grape leaves and hummus. The hummus is not technically raw, but as I said, I splurged today. The grape leaves were actually miniature wraps with herb seasoned rice, which was also cooked. Dinner consisted of a big bowl of fruit complete with candles followed by presents from my wonderful family. For an evening snack, I will have raw walnuts and orange juice.
The purists reading this will notice that I did not eat 100% raw during the trial, but 95% of my meals were raw during the trial. I have been as honest about my diet as possible because honest reporting is the only way that you and I both benefit. One thing I have learned about being healthy in particular and about goal achieving in general is that you do not have to be perfect. In fact, trying to be perfect is a recipe for failure. Just don't let 95% become 65%. I aim for 100%, knowing that I will achieve 95%. Acclaimed speaker Les Brown said, "If you shoot for the moon and miss, at least you wind up among the stars."
I have heard from many of you that my raw vegan blog has inspired you to improve your own diet, and I am very happy to hear that. My purpose in life is to inspire people to be healthy. If any of you have suggestions for topics that you would like for me to cover in future blogs, please let me know.
My final weight for the trial is 161.0 pounds, for a total of 14 pounds lost.
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