Water

Woman does not live by food alone. She needs water, too. In my case, LOTS of water. I've been listening to my body. Asking questions. Began to wonder if what I thought was hunger was actually thirst. And, eventually, dehydration and lack of thirst. In my listening and searching I came across a book by Dr. Fereydoon Batamanghelidj entitled, "Your Body's Many Cries for Water." In it the author states that water is the ultimate cure. He recommends that folk drink 1 oz. of water for every 2 lbs. of body weight. I've heard this before, but I'd forgotten. Plus, I was eating all this raw food...was so much water really necessary? But the dip in my blood pressure and the accompanying weakness urged me on. I've started to be conscious about my water intake. I'm aiming for 100 oz. a day, which is two 1 and 1/2 liter bottles. Not so hard really. I drink 16 oz. of water with lemon (1 whole lemon in my Vitamix) every morning, fill my 50 oz. bottle and take it with me when I go to walk or to the gym. It's easy to drink most of it by 10 a.m. and refill it. Then comes the hard part, remembering to drink throughout the afternoon. But I must say, I do feel better now that I've increased my water intake. Dr. Batamanghelidj suggests that many degenerative illnesses are actually a sign of a lack of adequate water. Makes sense. I'll keep drinking, reading and learning.

Lettuce, cucumbers, sprouts ... and a pot roast

After losing 12 1/2 pounds (YAY!!) and appearing "bright-eyed and bushy-pony-tailed (according to my daughter, who I trust), on day 20 I hit a wall. I was cold all the time (this in the deep south with the thermometer reading 87 degrees). I was sleepy. What was going on?! Finally, I decided -- I wanted meat. I needed meat. I had to have it! I ate some chicken in a salad my daughter bought me. Hmmm. Felt pretty good. That evening I went to a fund raiser with my husband. Beef was on the menu. I mean a big ol' slab of beef. I ate the table salad. Iceburg with a tomato wedge and 3 croutons. I drank some ice water. Finally, I just ate the meat. All of the meat. It tasted great. It felt great. I felt great! What was that about? So -- the next day, I ate chicken in my salad again. Felt fine. Hey! Maybe this is the way to go! So the NEXT day, I ate an omelet, fried potatos and scones at a brunch. By lunch I felt like crap. Longing for the halcyon days of raw. For the energy pre-hitting-the-wall. What had happened?! Well, my blood pressure took a plunge. I'm not sure why. Perhaps I wasn't drinking enough fluid. For some reason the animal protien brought it back up to a normal level. I generally have a sub-"normal" blood pressure, so I can't handle dips well. This may mean that I have to more carefully monitor my food and fluid intake. After several days on raw I had the tendency to eat and drink less and less, as my appetite adapted. This may have led to my crash on the 20th day. Back on raw again, I plan to eat at scheduled times, regardless of my awareness or lack of awareness of hunger, and to drink more water. I also realize that this isn't a contest between GOOD and EVIL foods. There is no final exam. I'm not BAD when I eat certain foods and GOOD when I eat others. It's just me and this body and this life, moving along and feeling what feels good and works well. I want to feel good. My body let's me know when I'm on the right track. Today it wants all raw. It wants to dance. It wants to work out at the gym. It wants to stretch. I'll trust my body.

Keeping The Course

From S: Yes! I've completed my 21 days of raw. I'm able to exercise (a little), go up and down the stairs (better than before), and although I am weak it isn't like it was. I celebrated my 21 days with a bag of Doritos :-) Obviously it made me extremely ill. My brain is still thinking it's missing out on something by eating the right way. I decided the celebration is to continue eating raw, which for me means eating well which equals loving myself. But it's more than celebrating that victory, it's truly the way to keep me living well. ALSO - Traveled again Labor Day Weekend did much better - all it takes is planning and sticking with the diet. I went to my nephew's wedding but was very careful to eat only those things I should. I didn't sit with people I thought would judge what I put on my plate.

From P: I'm sorry to say that I have to try again with more diligence. This past week was not a good "raw" week for me, but I'm determined to get back on board. Because I really need this for medicinal reasons, I'll have to continue until I get it right. I've found more raw cookbooks also and that should help. Because I juice quite a bit in my diet, it threw me off when I literally burnt out a juicer and had to wait a few days to replace it.

It's really ironic that although I "fell off the wagon for a few days," several people that knew what we were trying to do have begun juicing and eating more raw foods. I was amazed and inspired to do better and continue sharing. I've also had people brought into my path that have health issues and would benefit much from raw foods. I'm already working with many of them.

As you said, guilt is destructive and definitely not productive on this journey. If you deviate, just come back and continue the efforts. One thing I can say - I felt great when I was totally raw, so I'm anxious to start the cycle over. Congrats to San!

(PMS) Persistant Munching Syndrome

That's what I feel like. Pac-man. Munching anything in my path. Typical PMS behavior. The good thing is, other than the desire to eat all day, I don't have the typical PMS symptoms. No headaches, no cramping. No chocolate urges. I am more tired than I have been, but even this tiredness is a few steps up from my pre-raw days. So that's good. I am dancing around the edges of raw, though. Okay. Over the edge. The night before last I ate a serving of black beans and rice. Within seconds, my throat was itchy and tight and I kept coughing and trying to clear my throat. Felt kind of yucky, but it didn't stop me from eating one more spoonful. Today, I bought hummus from Publix which I ate like peanut butter, at least it was on romaine lettuce leaves. And I ate carrot salad with raisins, pineapple and pecans. So that was okay. Then I spotted my husband's trail mix. Gulp. That's gone, too. No, I don't feel better now that I've eaten almost everything within reach. Not sure I have the fortitude to cook food for the family and forego eating it. The upside is that this isn't a competition, it's a lifestyle change. And, hey, at least it wasn't my typical binge of Hardees or Wendy's cheeseburgers, fries and a coke, followed by a chocolate shake! A pat on the back is in order! This was day 18.

About S -- S has been informed by her physician that her kidneys are continuing to fail and she should consider a transplant. While she is feeling better since her 21 days of raw eating, she is still quite weak and not where she wants to be. A decision must be made. My only advice is, don't make a decision from a place of fear. Be still. Be sure. You are loved.

Initially I planned to be raw for 21 days. PMS notwithstanding, I feel so much better these past few days and I look so much better that I think I will continue for a while. I want to feel good. I want to look good. I want vibrant health and energy. I didn't feel this way on my former diet. I feel good now. I can only believe that by the next time my menstrual cycle comes around I'll be feeling even better. The only way to find out is to keep on going!

Green, Green, Green!

There's a whole Green movement out there that I didn't really know much about despite my occasional dips into the raw lifestyle. As I've been searching the internet I've come across all kinds of great information. I'm including the links in today's posts: recipes, personal experiences, whole NETWORKS, for goodness sakes! There is a lot of conflicting info as well, so I'm just going to post the sites that I most enjoyed. S, P and I are doing well. My energy level has been PHENOMANAL these past 3 days! I keep thinking, "Do healthy people feel like this all the time and I just didn't know?" It's like getting your first pair of glasses and finally seeing what other folk have been seeing all along. I'm on Day 12 and in love with my body, in love with my energy, in love with myself. Pretty excellent! Today folk kept asking if I've lost weight. And last night as I ate dinner with my daughter she said, "Mom, you look great. Your face doesn't look tired at all!" Seeing that I was normally fighting to stay conscious after 4:00 p.m. and that folk were always asking me if I was tired, this was pretty amazing.

Here are some of my favorite links:
http://gliving.tv/ (This is a whole online network dedicated to all things green and raw!)
www.rawreform.com is a personal website. Interesting though.
http://www.beautifulonraw.com/html/transformation.html Hey, everybody loves a before and after picture. Gotta love this website.
http://www.thegardendiet.com This guy is just too vain, but, hey, he's been raw for 30 years so he knows something....
http://www.rawsoul.com/index.htm This site isn't information heavy, but I just love seeing healthy, glowing brown people!

I said I'd do this 21 days. But lately I've been asking myself, "If I feel this good, why would I do something different?" I LIKE feeling good. We'll see what happens. And as I learn, I'll share.