Transitioning Back to a Raw Food Diet
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!
