The Importance of Satiety
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:
- 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.
- 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!
