I am writing this post 2 days later, and gees, heck if I remember what I ate “today” All I do know is that my raw food shipment from High Vibe in the US came on day 35, and that the packages of nuts and the like that I’d ordered were a fair bit smaller than what I’d imagined. Didn’t try anything. It was a busy day, and I munched on fruit and seeds for the most part- no “meal” except when I got home from work. Picked up some pre-assembled salades and added extras to make a tasty meal.

Spent the day frantically preparing for Tuesday classes. I think I’m up to date, but I’ll be buggared tomorrow, as it’s already near midnight. Very hungry now- should have eaten more today. It was a grazer of a day again.

Today I ate:

green smoothie (apples and spinach. Didn’t taste good this time… too much green foam)
banana-date walnut ice cream (awesome!!! Will be making that again, despite bad food combining)
pistachios
2 salads, both with honey mustard dressing

That’s it? No wonder I am hungry…Too late to eat now. Will have a bigger breakie if time.

I grazed all day on veggies and fruit, knowing that I was going to splurge tonight when 3 lovely men (playing for the other team, unfortunately) came over to visit. And splurge it was- How many bottles of Moet did we go through?! A great evening. One poor guest fell asleep on the train home and ended up on other side of town, however, but this does tend to happen in Tokyo.

I ate:

green smoothie
mangos, kiwis,
different mixed salads
banana cocoa ice cream
pistachios
fresh veggies and humus

Well, the PMS of yesterday was justified. I am in a bit of monthly pain at the moment. My raw life does not seem to have amended that issue for me. I also went off the wagon today, without remorse or dire consequence - indulging in cooked rice, although it was home-fermented, pre-germinated brown rice - not exactly unhealthy. I made one of my favorite salads and made “ice cream” too,  all of which satisfied my emotional needs. Wasn’t a bad day all in all.

I ate:

a green smoothie (greens- dunno what they were, kiwis, mango, honey, wheat grass powder)
berry mix smoothie with mango
Asian Slaw (cabbage, carrots, peppers, soy sauce, honey, pepper, lemon, ginger, apple cider vinegar, sesame seeds (roasted-can’t be helped))
banana frozen “ice cream” with crushed pecans and cocoa powder
red wine (organic with no preservative , as usual. Am really loving this!)

As this BBC Horizon documentary shows, it’s more than how we eat that determines our longevity. Also of concern are our environment, our genes, our stress levels, our sense of purpose, human relations, attitude, sense of humour, and even religion.

How to live a long, healthy life (1)

How to live a long, healthy life (2)

How to live a long, healthy life (3)

How to live a long, healthy life (4)

How to live a long, healthy life (5)

It was a busy work day, and I only grazed on bananas and nuts during the day, so I was famished by the time I got home. Blame it on PMS or whatever, I ended up pigging out while watching movies until late. Overeating is not a good this, but S&#% happens!

Today I hate:

bananas
almonds
pistachios
big green salad with avocado, tomatos, greens, olive oil, ginger and lemon
chocolate mouse (avocado, cocoa powder, honey, almond extract)
carrots and humus (beans not raw)
nori (salted!)
red wine

This is the final day and final blog of my 30-day trial of my raw food diet. Here’s a summation of my experience:

The initial detox period seemed to last about one week for me, primarily including headaches, some mental fogginess, and fatigue. But it was nowhere near what I had experienced on my fasts. By the end of the first week I was feeling good pretty good all the time, until after a big day cycling when I felt the symptoms of a cold coming on, but it never manifested.

I found this trial less challenging than I had thought. Perhaps this was because I was already a vegetarian, and not having to cook freed a lot of time for me. I definitely ate way more than usual, never over ate, and always felt satiated (bar the first few days). Or maybe it was because I was not as raw as I could/should have been? (Cooked foods and processed condiments did find their way into my stomach at times!)

Overall I liked the raw food on this diet and didn’t have too much trouble with variety. I’d like to try a bigger variety of fruit, but costs in Japan are prohibitive, and I don’t mind continuing with what I’ve been eating. Bananas are definitely a staple for me, though I know I should go out of my way more to eat organic. I enjoyed the simple green smoothies made from fruit, spinach, and water. I expect to continue enjoying these smoothies for a long time to come.

The cravings for cooked or “substantial” food on this diet were strong at the beginning and strangely, on days 28 and 29. At other times cravings were surprisingly nonexistent. Maybe this was because I never allowed myself to get too hungry, and indulged in raw cacao when I felt emotionally needy.
I didn’t consume any supplements during this diet at all, except some powered wheatgrass one time. I genuinely felt healthy and didn’t feel they were necessary.

I did not weigh myself either before or after this trial- don’t own a scale- and to be honest I do not think I lost a lot of weight, but I definitely did lose some, as my tight pants are now comfortable. I notice that I have far less cellulite and much firmer skin tone. I should have restricted my fat intake more to see bigger results in this area. Restricting fat to less than 10% of calories was desirably, but it was not my goal on this trial.

During the 30 days I experienced perceived increases in energy and endurance, even though I did not train much. I did a lot of walking over the month (as usual) and noticed that I required less effort to go up stairs. I expected to experience muscle soreness after my bike ride along the Shonan coast, as my travel mate did, but I guess my body was efficient in cleaning out the lactic acid.

I would have loved to test my pH to see if my body had actually alkalized over the month- it had to have! Until my day cycling, I noticed my skin gradually getting clearer and clearer. The sunburn from cycling dried me out a bit though, and the sore on my nose still lingers, and I had some tiny skin eruptions a few days ago. I expected skin problems earlier rather than later with this diet.

Although returning to cooked food was my expectation after the 30 days, I find myself with no desire to do so. I simply feel too good to stop this diet. I’m sure that if I cut down on the fats, I’ll lose weight at a faster pace, and the rawer I become, surely the healthier I’ll feel! I am also a tad scared to go back to cooked, anyway. Every time I’ve gone back to eating after fasting I’ve felt terrible, but one does have to eat! When you are raw, you are eating, so there is no need to change. I’ve read that many people feel like crap after returning to cooked after a raw diet, so I’ll put off the decision.

I imagine I will eat raw in the future, especially when dining out and/or there are no raw choices, but for now, I’ll stick to this rawsome way of eating as much as I can. From Steve Pavlina: “Real-life growth experiments don’t often produce black and white results, but that’s no reason not to undertake them. Personal growth is a lifelong journey, not a destination.”

I plan to keep writing on this site, and writing daily logs will keep me focused on solidifying and improving my new dietary habits, and I still have the seemingly overwhelming goal of losing 25 kg. One day at a time I guess.

Today I had:

MonaVie
melon
frozen sherbert (papaya, strawberries, mangos, pineapple, wheatgrass powder, green mix powder)
chestnuts (cooked)
sliced daikon and humus (with pecans)
miso and wakame
raw peanuts
banana
red organic wine

Enjoyed another Golden Week day hanging around at home- still raining outside so haven’t really been motivated to get out. Spent the day watching movies and reading. I really should have gotten some work done in preparation for next week, but I was not so motivated.

Today I had:

melon
apple spinach smoothie
salad (avocado, tomato and greens)
sliced daikon, snow peas, raw tomato sause
banana Monavie cocoa powder smoothie
pecans and dates
red organic wine

Been researching a lot on chocolate recently. If raw chocolate really is a superfood, this is something I’d like to get into. As do many, I ador the stuff, and if I can enjoy it minus the guilt and plus help benefits, I’ll be converted. I ordered some basics, but international orders take time, I guess. Here are a few YouYube videos regarding the topic:

Shazzie talks on chocolate:

David Wolfe of “Naked Chocolate” talks on chocolate (26min., so make sure you have time!):

KaliLilla and little Samantha making chocolate: