Raw Food Diet Diary

I’ve been home from vacation since Friday.  On Saturday, Sunday, and today I ate two raw meals and had a sandwich in the evening.  I plan to allow one more day of transition, then I intend to go 100% raw for the next 21 days.

Three weeks from Wednesday, I have my last “road trip” of the summer planned.  I’ll attend a professional conference out of town from July 29 until August 2.  During that time, I haven’t decided whether I’ll continue to eat raw, or whether I’ll go ahead and enjoy dinner with friends.

On Friday, I noticed my old sugar cravings coming back.  Interestingly, they disappeared by Saturday.  My conclusion is that my sugar cravings were a signal that I needed to be eating more fruit all along.  I’m sorry that I stopped for so many years.  I’m thankful that I’m in good enough health to be making this transition out of choice rather than urgency.

I noted in my last post that I had gained seven pounds over a period of three days.  By Sunday, I had lost five of those pounds.  I suspect that by Thursday (my first 24 hours of returning to 100% raw), I will lose the remaining couple of pounds.

My twelve-banana lunches have been an interesting experience.  I’ve blended them with 16 oz. of filtered water.  The mixture takes me about 30-40 minutes to consume.  I’m not quite up to eating a dozen bananas in a sitting just yet . . . but I may try it in the not-too-distant future.

My breakfasts have been juicy fruits like grapes and peaches.  Two to three pounds of either of those isn’t a huge calorie load.  When I return to school, I may need to have the banana smoothies first thing in the morning, and have the juicier fruits at lunch.

Tomatoes were down in price a little today at Randall’s.  I bought several.  I’m going to attempt a “blended salad” either tomorrow or Wednesday with tomato, spinach, and celery.  My thinking is that the combination will be like a thick vegetable juice and will satisfy the desire for salted food.  I’ve never salted the food that I eat, but I do enjoy the salt that is an ingredient in the food I consume.  Years ago, a naturopath told me that he felt the addiction to salt was far stronger than the addiction to sugar.  My experience over the last few weeks makes me inclined to agree.

My elimination is working overtime today.  Even though the Natural Hygienists don’t recommend it, I administered an enema (with water) once before the trip and once after returning.  Back when I was reading Norman Walker’s books and following much of his advice, I did them once daily.  While I’m inclined to believe that our bodies, given the right environment, can purge themselves without the extra help . . . I’d rather not endure the discomfort waiting for Nature to take its course as I’m working on my transition.  So, I got the “wave” rolling.  For me, it was a good decision.

A few weeks ago, the Sweetheart took some “before” pictures of me at 271 pounds (bear in mind that a couple of years ago, I was over 20 pounds heavier than that . . . and at the end of the school year, I was seven pounds heavier).  Last Wednesday, she took my “ten pounds lost” pictures.  They’re still in the camera at this writing.  When I lose the next ten pounds, to 251, I’ll post all three sets here for the world to see.  Warning: They ain’t gonna be purty!

II’m back from vacation at the beach.  The Princess, the Sweetheart, and I all had a good time.  We timed it well, too.  We were leaving as the hordes were arriving from the city to enjoy the Independence Day weekend.

We planned time to do activities that all three of us enjoy.  Vacation for the girls is getting out and getting active whether it’s playing at the beach, skating on the seawall, or shopping for new clothes.

Vacation, for me, has to include some down time to read, nap, or just veg.

My reading this trip was The 80-10-10 Diet by Dr. Douglas N. Graham.  This is the third time I’ve read the book.  Since it’s a familiar read at this point, I’m able to glean a lot more from it than I did the first two readings.

Ironically, I allowed myself to stray very far from the “811″ ideal while on the trip.  I’m really glad I did, too, because I learned a few things that motivate me to stay the course in my transition to a raw food diet.

A few posts ago, I talked about how poor food combinations affected my elimination.  On the trip, I got more experience with how poor combining affects my digestive tract.

The first night of vacation, I was awakened twice by severe abdominal cramping.  The meal that caused it was extremely high in fat and excitotoxins.  I’m convinced, based on my experiences of the last week or so, that my system is adapting to the point that it wants to expel both as quickly as possible.  Unfortunately, “as quickly as possible” still likely amounts to two or three days.

Fascinated by the results of my poorly combined dinner on day 1 of vacation, I decided to try the same thing again on day 2.  Again, I was awakened in the middle of the night by intestinal cramping.

By day 3, I was beginning to adapt to poorly combined meals.  I also noticed that, on the third day, I was beginning to feel some of the addictions creep back in.  I ate a ton of poor food yesterday.

This morning, back at home, I weighed in.  The scale showed a gain of seven pounds in three days!

I notice, though, that the veins in my hands and feet are less visible than they have been.  That tells me that I’m retaining a good deal of water.  I suspect that I’ll lose at least five of those seven pounds in the next three to seven days.

Today,  I also notice that my tummy is a little tender.  I suspect that my intestines are working overtime to process the last three days’ meals, and they’ll probably continue to work hard for a couple of days more.

It’s noon, and I haven’t eaten yet today.  I don’t know if I will or not.  I’m not particularly hungry.  I am thirsty, though, and I’m drinking filtered water regularly throughout the morning to help my body get rid of the extra toxins that I’ve ingested.  The salt alone requires an enormous amount of water to get rid of it.

One thing I noticed from my most recent reading of The 80-10-10 Diet, is that it can take several years to get rid of all of the excess salt in tissue.  I also read that we need to be sufficiently hydrated in order for the organs of elimination to process and expel toxins effectively.

Generally, a raw food diet based primarily on unprocessed fruits and vegetables supplies suffcient water for the body to do its job eliminating toxins efficiently.  Raw fruits and vegetables provide the purest, most easily assimilable water one can “drink.”

I’m thinking, though, that while I’m in transition I may want to drink a bit more water to encourage elimination.  My body appears to be striving to heal itself, and I want to make sure that it has the nutrients to make that job as easy as possible.  So, I’m going to make sure that I include at least a liter of water daily in my diet for awhile.  If I start having to make more than a dozen trips to the bathroom daily, I’ll cut back.

Another decision I’ve made is to commit to eating at least 2,000 calories a day.  While raw, my calorie intake was all over the map.  I’m guesstimatng my ideal weight to be at or below 200 pounds, so I’ll eat for that weight right now and make adjustments as I go along.  If it becomes evident that I’m undereating (especially as I increase my activity level), I’ll eat more.

I love banana/strawberry smoothies.  I’m not sure that they love me back, though.  I think, instead, that I’ll try having bananas alone for awhile, or I’ll mix them with some sub-acid fruits like peaches, pears, apples, and the like.

In the book, Dr. Graham suggests a meal pattern of the following:

• Juicy fruit in the morning
• Sweet fruit at lunch (i.e. bananas and other calorie dense fruits)
• Acid fruits and greens for dinner.

I’m going to work with that for the next few days and see what I notice in the way of results.

That’s enough for today.  Time for another glass of water and a nap!

I won’t be updating progress again until Saturday, July 5.

Today’s Raw Food Diet

• 2 Cantaloupe Smoothies (2 large cantaloupes)
• Banana/Strawberry Smoothie (4 bananas/10 oz. strawberries)
• Banana/Peach Smoothie (3 bananas/2 peaches)

I slept about nine hours last night.  When I awakened fully, I noticed that I had greater energy than yesterday.  I also noticed that my mental focus was much improved.

I’ve started easing my way back into an exercise program.  Exercise is kind of a tough nut for me to crack at present.   I used to be very active and in very good shape.  In fact, that’s one of the reasons that my wife was attracted to me.

The biggest mistake that I make when I attempt to begin an exercise program is to do too much too soon.  When that happens, I usually feel so much worse after doing so that I can’t stand thought of exercising again too soon.

Last summer, I had some success with beginnng a new exercise program.  I rode my bike daily.  Each day, I gradually increased the time that I spent in the saddle.  By the end of the summer, I was able to easily ride the distance to work and back . . . about 10 miles.

During daylight savings time, I rode to work 2-3 times weekly plus weekends.  My morning ride was in the dark, but the roads that I needed to take had little traffic at 6 a.m.  My afternoon ride was in daylight with substantially more auto traffic.  Some drivers weren’t happy to see me on “their” road, and they made it clear . . . sometimes by honking loudly as they went past; sometimes by passing me so closely that I could reach out and touch the vehicle without fully extending my arm.

(Note: Texas law allows bicycles on just about all roads . . . unless specifically prohibited by local ordinance.  Bicyclists are allowed to occupy a lane of traffic two abreast, and they are subject to the same rules of the road as automobile drivers and motorcyclists.  It was a rare day that I didn’t pass a police officer, constable’s officer, or sheriff’s deputy . . . and I was never stopped for riding on a road that didn’t have bike lanes.)

During the five months that I rode, I dropped about 5 pounds from 278 to 273.  I gained that weight back when I stopped . . . but it didn’t happen until the month of May.

Since June 3, I’ve lost 14.5 pounds.  The only “regular” exercise I’ve engaged in even close to regularly is mowing the lawn, moving the lawn sprinkler, and walking the aisles of the grocery store.

The other night, I watched an Oprah episode (with my wife) featuring a number of people that lost substantial amounts of weight.  One young man, who lost something like a couple of hundred pounds, showed post-weightloss pictures showing folds of loose skin hanging down.  He’s had several surgeries, and was preparing for another, to remove the excess skin.  I have a good friend who also lost a lot of weight that had the same problem; she had surgery done to remove the excess skin from her arms.

Yikes!  I think I’d rather be fat than deal with that.  Plastic surgery does not sound like an acceptable option to me.

I also don’t understand the whole loose skin thing.  Some people seem to get it after enormous weight loss; some people seem to have skin that covers them tightly (without surgical assistance).  Why is that?

According to Ron Brown, author of The Body Fat Guide, loose skin is a sign that one has lost too much muscle weight and still is overfat (even though that person is at “normal” body weight).  He says that if one loses that excess fat without sacrificing muscle, one’s skin will snap back.

All of the reading I’ve done says that if I want to maintain muscle, I have to exercise my muscles.

So, I’m starting off simple.  A few days ago, I tested myself on push ups and bodyweight squats.  My numbers weren’t impressive, but I now have a starting point.

My initial strategy is to do about 50% of the number of pushups and squats I’m capable of several times a day.  That way, I’m increasing the volume of exercise I need to maintain muscle while doing so at a pace that won’t overtire me or make me so sore that I don’t want to continue.

I’m also “playing” with my kettlebell.  I pick it up and do a clean or a snatch to relearn the form.  I intend to get more vigorous with it once I can do so with good form and minimal soreness.

Finally, I plan on incorporating a training program called PACE.  I’ll tell you more about that as I get into it.

Today’s Raw Food Diet

• Banana/Strawberry Smoothie (4 bananas/10 oz. strawberries)
• Cantaloupe Smoothie (1 large cantaloupe)
• Grapes (16 oz.)

My stomach has been cramping quite a bit today. I’m lucky that I haven’t had to stray much from home today, because I’ve been using the porcelain throne a little more than usual today.

Elimination has been a little sluggish for the past several days.  I’m kind of surprised that’s been happening given the prodigious amounts of fiber I’ve been consuming.

I’m thinking that it may be due to the incorrect consumption of avocados.

Fatty foods, according to a number of sources, are the slowest to leave the stomach.  Fruits are the fastest.  Wedging an avocado meal in between fruit meals may be creating a “bottleneck” in my digestive tract.  If that’s the case, then it’s understandable why I’ve been feeling a little stopped up.

The stomach cramping has also put a major damper on my appetite today.  I’ve had very little in the way of calories.

The best thing that happened today was my cantaloupe smoothie.  Years ago, I remember enjoying the taste of fresh cantaloupe juice whenever my sweet tooth was getting the best of me.  Today, I looked in the fridge and noticed that there were three cantaloupes sitting there.  I didn’t feel like sitting for an hour eating spoonful-by-spoonful, so I split it, scooped the flesh into the blender, and made the best drink that I’ve had all summer!

The Cantaloupe smoothie reminded me (in texture) of a milk shake . . . much more so than the banana-based smoothies that are my dietary staple.  At 285 calories for an entire melon, it’s a no-brainer when I crave a smooth, refreshing drink.

Speaking of sugar cravings, I’m pleasantly surprised to note that I haven’t had cravings for sweets in the last three weeks.  That’s a big deal for me.  That craving has been the most frequent cause for any diet of mine derailing.  I suppose that the amount of fruit sugar I’m consuming is keeping me sufficiently satisfied so that I’m not blowing half my paycheck at Starbucks or Dairy Queen.  Plus, given that the Sweetheart and the Princess both have sweet treats (that I previously enjoyed) in the house, and I haven’t been tempted by them once!

We’re heading to the coast in a couple of days for a couple of days of family vacation.  That will be six or seven meals on the road.  I know that there are a couple of restaurants that the girls will want to go to.  One of them will be a challenge to eat raw in.  So, I may have my 10% cooked quota while on the road.  We’ll see what happens . . .

Today’s Raw Food Diet

• Peach/Spinach Smoothie (6 peaches/1 bunch spinach)
• Banana/Strawberry Smoothie (4 bananas/10 oz. strawberries)
• Grapes (7 oz.)
• Peach/Romaine/Strawberry Smoothie (4 peaches/.5 head of lettuce/5 oz. strawberries)
• Radishes (8 oz.)
• Avocado

One area I’ve been neglecting in my diet is consuming a sufficient amount of green, leafy vegetables.  Greens are a good source of minerals, protein, and essential fatty acids.  They’re also low in calories!

Roger Haeske recommends that one eat 5 - 7 % of daily calories from greens.  That would be the equivalent of two bunches of spinach at my current calorie intake.  Right now, I’m only eating about half that on a regular basis.  Today was a little better in that department.

The good news with greens: Lots of food, few calories.

The bad news: Imagine spending that much time and effort every day chewing through that much greenery.

Without dressing.

Enter the green smoothie.

The green smoothie has most recently been popularized by raw food author Victoria Boutenko.  She claims that it helped her family (who was already eating a raw food diet) overcome a number of chronic illnesses that had reappeared after several years of a raw food diet.

Like me, Victoria didn’t care much for green vegetables.  She learned about the green smoothies from another author, Ann Wigmore, who claimed that green smoothies increased her already prodigious energy levels almost immediately after consuming them.  Victoria found that the green smoothie combination worked well for her, too, and she enjoyed the taste far more.

A Google search for “green smoothie” will yield a number of websites . . . many of which have published a variety of recipes.

You’ll have to experiment with the ratio of fruit/greens that you use.  More greens will have a stronger taste.  Fewer greens may mean that you have to drink more smoothies in order to meet a daily goal of 5-7% of calories.  I suggest using juicier fruits (like peach or mango) to make them more palatable.  When those fruits go out of season, I suspect that I’ll mimic what Steve Pavlina did last winter and use bananas as the base and cut the smoothie with a bit of water.  Steve also used berries in his smoothies a lot.  I’m not sure that I’m willing to pay premium prices to do that when they’re out of season.

One thing I’m curious about: As I develop what Roger calls my “gourmet taste buds,” will I enjoy eating straight greens more?

On another note: My energy levels were up first thing this morning.  This could be due to any number of things:

• Six consecutive days of eating raw.
• The Princess awakening me a little earlier than usual this morning (I’ve read that oversleeping can cause daytime lethargy, and I’ve been averaging about 9-9.5 hours per night since the beginning of June).
• Four weeks of not being on a work schedule.
• Incorporating a little more movement into my day.

I did take a nap in the early afternoon, but once I woke up my head felt clear and I felt good to get on with the rest of the day!

The scale says that I gained a pound between yesterday and today.  I knew why immediately.  Then, when I logged into the How to Go Raw website this morning, Roger also mentioned what I had done incorrectly yesterday.  Finally, I’ve been feeling a little “stopped up” this morning.

Do you know what I did incorrectly?

I’ll tell you tomorrow.  Better, I’ll tell you how making a small change worked out for me.

Today’s Raw Food Diet

• Banana/Peach Smoothie (3 Bananas/3 Peaches)
• Banana/Strawberry Smoothie (2 Bananas/8 oz. Strawberries)
• Banana/Peach/Strawberry Smoothie (3 Bananas/2 Peaches/7 oz. Strawberries)
• Baby Carrots (3.5 oz.)
• Radishes (8 oz.)
• Avocado

Today, I made a quick trip to H.E.B. to pick up some more bananas.  Imagine my surprise and delight when I was greeted at the door with a humongous bin of strawberries for .99/lb. sitting beside a humongous bin of peaches for the same price!  H.E.B. isn’t my favorite place to shop, because of the crowds (they’re the lowest priced supermarket in the area), but I can’t beat those prices with a stick (which makes up for my distaste for crowds).

Tonight was family night at the movies.  The Sweetheart, the Princess, and I went to see Kung Fu Panda at the Studio Movie Grill.  I heartily recommend the movie.  A good time was had by all!

One of the things I used to like about the Studio Movie Grill was its menu.  My favorite was a Chicken Barbeque Wrap with Sweet Potato French Fries washed down with a Shiner Bock.  Yum!

Honestly, I haven’t made the decision to completely forgo those kinds of food completely, yet.  I also haven’t told myself that I have to have them every time they’re available, either.

So, what to do?

Nutritionists often advise clients to practice prophylactic eating when going to social events where less than optimal foods will be the main fare.  In other words, I need to fill myself full of optimal foods before going out so that I’m not tempted to indulge in sub-optimal foods.

Dr. Douglas Graham suggests in The 80-10-10 Diet that cravings are an indication that one hasn’t reached satiety yet.  He goes on to say that carbohydrates are the main thing that provide satiety.  Roger Haeske says something similar in his work.  Based on my experiences following their advice, I’m inclined to agree.

So, about an hour before leaving, I ate my daily avocado (no stomachache today).  Even though Roger suggested (a couple of posts down) that I wait until the end of the day, I figured it might be more useful to eat it earlier . . . around 4 p.m.

Then, when we left the house shortly after 5 p.m., I took my smoothie (in an extremely large, insulated mug) and drank it during the 15 mile ride to the theater.  By the time we arrived, I was stuffed . . . almost to the point of discomfort.

When I looked at the menu inside the theater, nothing sounded good.  So, I sipped on a large glass of water while the Sweetheart enjoyed a black bean burger and the Princess munched on chips and salsa (she had actually eaten her dinner before leaving, so that she could get her mother’s consent to have the chips at the theater).  At no point did I feel badly about my inability to eat “regular” food.

Like I said, I haven’t made a decision to completely forgo those foods.  However, I’ve been (by my calculations) over 90% raw for the last three weeks.  Out of approximately 57 meals, exactly five have contained cooked food.  My goal, for now, is to maintain that one in ten ratio overall.  Over time, I suspect that amount of cooked food that I consume will decrease further for two reasons:

1. Cooking, or waiting for an order to be cooked, is much more hassle and more time-consuming than peeling and eating my meal, or tossing it into a blender.
2. My body is probably going to start sending me unkind messages about sub-optimal food as it grows more accustomed to optimal food, and I’m not a big fan of either pain or illness.

I also have quite a few eyes on me right now watching me to see what I do, and how it works for me.  Fortunately, all of them are completely supportive of my efforts (even if some of them don’t see themselves doing the same thing for themselves).  If I stray too far, I know at the very least that the Sweetheart and the folks over at How to Go Raw are gonna let me know about it!

My calorie count is a little low for the day, but I’m done eating.  That’s another beautiful thing about the raw food diet: It’s training my body to eat based on need more than want.  That’s empowering!

An envelope, with my name on it, was waiting beside my chair this morning.  Inside it was a “congratulations” greeting card (complete with a recording of the Looney Tunes theme).  Inside, my wife had written:

Ron,

Yea you!  I’m so proud of you!  You’re doing great with your raw food & weight loss!  I know it’s hard!  Hang in there!!  You’re on the way!

Love, (My wife, my daughter)

First, understand that my gaining a lot of weight over the last eleven years (the length of our marriage so far) has been a BIG HAIRY DEAL for my wife (who makes her living running a corporate wellness and fitness center).  That whole issue alone is fodder for a blog post in the future about how poor wellness habits can strain a relationship.

Second, know that my wife does not follow a raw food diet plan.  In fact, she’s amazed that I can.  Right now, it’s beyond her to imagine living on a diet where most of one’s calories come from bananas.  Plus, she knows they aren’t my favorite food in the world.

Don’t be fooled, though.  I’m not doing this for her.

I’m doing this for me!

I miss being active and doing all of the recreational things we used to do.  I miss being slim and able to look good either dressed or undressed.  I am tired of being tired.  I want to enjoy living where I do instead of dreading going out in the heat.  I want to be comfortable in airplane and theater seats.  I want to be able to shop for clothes in normal catalogs and clothing stores.

But, the cool thing is that she happens to want all of those things, too.  Plus, she wants to be free from the fear that I’m going to drop dead from a massive heart attack or stroke (like both of our fathers did).  And, she wants to be more physically attracted to me.

I’ve lost about ten pounds per year for the last couple of years.  That’s good, but not as good as she’d like to see.

It’s not as good as I’d like to see, either.

Check this out:

My weight on June, 9, 2008 (when I started eating this way) was 276.5 pounds.

My weight this morning, 19 days later, is 263 pounds.

That’s a 13.5 pound weight loss in just about three weeks.  Average weight loss per week: 4.5 pounds!  And that was even with a three-day “break” in the middle of it all (something I don’t recommend, by the way).

While I don’t believe I’ll be able to sustain this kind of weight loss indefinitely (especially without exercise), I do know that it’s possible for a guy my age (50) to have outstanding results eating this way.

My model, right now, is Tom Brownsword.  Tom has lost sixty pounds since January following a raw food diet of mainly fruits and green vegetables.  Today, June 28, he’s scheduled to post his before and after pictures on his blog.  I’m looking forward to the additional inspiration.  Thanks, Tom!

Tom and I have chatted some on the message board at Roger Haeske’s membership site, How to Go Raw.  I can give Roger’s site my heartiest recommendation.  Roger’s support, as well as the support of fellow members like Tom, has been invaluable.  What I really appreciate is that when I, or anyone else, stumbles on the path, a virtual helping hand is extended to get back on track (rather than criticism and judgment).  Thanks for creating such a supportive and helpful community, Roger!

Mostly, though: Thank you, Honey, for your encouragement and support as I make this transition.  I know it’s not the path you would have chosen, but it’s getting me to the same destination that we both want, and I love you for understanding and supporting my unique journey!

Today’s Raw Food Diet

• Three banana/peach smoothies (made up of three bananas/three peaches each)
• One green smoothie (three bananas/one pound of strawberries/one bunch of spinach)
• One avocado

My stomach hurt a few minutes after eating the avocado at around noon.  I don’t remember if that happened yesterday, but I distinctly remember it happening on Monday (except then I suspected it was due to the cooked food I indulged in over the weekend).  A daily avocado is the one indulgence I’m allowing myself right now.  It looks like that’s going to have to change.  After all, if it hurts to eat it, it can’t be good for me . . . right?

This afternoon, I was a little short with my daughter.  I’m not sure what was going on.  I suspect that it has to do with caffeine withdrawal.  My last caffeinated beverage was on Sunday, June 8.  Giving up caffeine has reminded me somewhat of discontinuing Adderall use a couple of years back.

I was mildly dysphoric for about a year after discontinuing the drug.  Making the switch to an all raw diet doesn’t make me feel quite as “blah,” but I have days where I’m not motivated to do a whole lot.

So, if I don’t feel so peppy, why bother with this particular eating plan?

I’ve tried a number of different eating plans over the last several years in an effort to find one that would help me feel better and lose weight.  On all of them, I’ve really struggled with cravings for “forbidden foods.”  Even if the particular diet allowed me to eat whatever I wanted, it required me to eat far less those foods than I would have chosen.

This is the only diet where I’ve had minimal cravings.  If I crave something, it’s usually a signal to eat more fruit and/or greens.

It’s a darned good thing, too!  Tonight is Mexican food night at our house.  The Sweetheart and the Princess are having black bean burritos from Taco Cabana . . . one of my favorite fast food treats.

I did some freehand squats and pushups yesterday.  Five years ago, I trained at the gym regularly.  Then I stopped.  Now, a few squats with no weight have made me a hurtin’ unit.  How lame is that?

Still, I did something to begin the long road back to physical fitness . . .

I’m humbled that you’ve chosen to come to my little blog.  Thank you.

My foray into raw foods actually started Monday, June 2, 2008.  I ate an all-raw diet for eleven (almost twelve) consecutive days.  At some point, I’ll talk about those eleven days and what I experienced.

Today marks the fifth consecutive day (of my second round) of eating nothing but raw fruits and vegetables.  I might talk about those missing four days at some point, too.

Hopefully, this chronicle will be useful to you as you come to read it.  If nothing more, it serves to keep me accountable to all with whom I choose to share my journey.