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Hey all- SO, done with Day 3 of the challenge, and it went better than any other day so far, esp in terms of how I feel. I felt up to exercise, whcih I hadn’t felt up to since last Saturday—did 40 min on elliptical, weights and situps.
I will post on my blog with more detail tonihgt, but here’s the short and dirty
total calories: 1060 Proportions: 80/6/14 I need more calories but don’t know how to get them right now. I am maxed out on bananas. Any suggestions? I tried to find juice oranges around my hood today, but failed, so I have to try harder tomorrow—oj is a good idea.
Thank for doing this—finally picked up the book today, and while I can tell I don’t agree with EVERYTHING, I do find it eye-opening and I love learning new things.
Day three – and my energy has been highly fluctuating. One second I’m bubbly and friendly and enthusiastic and taking stairs two at a time; the next, I feel pretty exhausted and almost feverish. My mood is generally calm and at peace, however. I tasted ketones in my mouth today too – something I’ve only ever experienced with water fasting, so I’m definitely detoxing. Yay!
Mostly fruit again today: 10 bananas, 2 dates, 3 apples, 2 cartons of raspberries, 1 carton of strawberries, and a spinach salad which I could hardly get down. It was almost gag-worthy, even with the red pepper and strawberry dressing. I really can’t stand my greens ever since I stopped putting sea salt and cayenne pepper on them for the challenge. I realized by day two that I had a serious cayenne pepper and spice addiction, and it was a sobering moment. I realized how I’d been relying on salt and spices to fuel an emotional dependency and addiction with food. I was using cayenne and other spices to turn vegetables, which I don’t like naturally, into comfort foods (hot stuff is comforting to me) and yes, I was addicted to it; you should’ve seen me pace restlessly and open and close my fridge and pantry in agitation while I resisted the cayenne urges. Anyway, I resisted my cravings and I am stronger for it. I never thought I’d have such an emotional struggle with something like cayenne or sea salt, but yeah…pretty illuminating and it also shined light on the way I use food as a drug in general “to feel good,” rather then eating for hunger.
Holy crap, it was a revelation, I tell ya.
Glad everyone is doing well. Will probably lift weights, jump rope and do sit ups after my shower in a few moments.
So far, so good. I’ve had a couple of heinously stressful days and I haven’t even thought about hitting the junk. I used to sit and nibble through all of my lunch and rack up lots of calories and then have to really restrict pm to a small snack. This pattern also left me feeling like a zombie until well after 5. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost nodded off driving back to work after lunch…Scary! I gorged on watermelon at lunch and was completely satisfied. I think I feel a little better and hold longer when I eat some greens with every meal. I’m going to really pay attention for the next few days and see how it goes. I’m lovin’ this so far!
el-bo, I know how you feel about bananas. I’ve eatenmore of them the last 2 wks than in the last 5 yrs!
Fruit Child, I had a day where I ate a lot of almonds and I felt pretty good and the next day, I did it again and it took me 2 days to get to feeling better again. One day shouldn’t hurt too much f you can stay on track for the next few days.
el-bo—so today i decided to do 80/10/10 (it was more of an intuitive thing actually, i just REALLY felt like watermelon… maybe because of moth’s forum)
anyway, i wrote a little theory i have on fruit up (and why i wasn’t able to do this sooner)... curious to see if it resonates with anyone else >>click here
just posted about my day for anyone who’s interested:
http://hillaryheidelberg.typepad.com/doing_the_…
also, can anyone shed light on why I might suddenly be somewhat constipated???
Pianissima; I definitely think you have something there with the fat/fruit theory. Thanks for sharing your insights, and I like reading your blog, on raw food and just life in general.
Pianissima, interesting post for sure. I wonder if I have jumped ahead too quick…
Well, I will say my day 3 is going okay not great, not terrible, but I am getting by. My breakdowns for the day were 81/6/13. I ate a lot of different things as well, I just can’t sit down and monomeal. I seem to want to put a lot of different things together… So I ate lots of different fruits: grapefruit; plums; blackberries; pineapple; banana; apples; dates; zuccini; tomato. I really made fruit the center of my day, and had a big salad with pineapple, romaine and spinich. I had a tomato and cucumber in the salad I think I could have done without. So I might try to simplify a bit, I feel like even if I am eating all fruits, they are not combining right… Last night for ‘dessert’ i had chopped up banana with date sauce (dates + water) drizzled over, that was amazing and inspired me to have a big dinner salad tonight with 4 apples, yellow squash (jullinated) with the date sauce over it as a dressing. Very delicious. Yet still, eating all the fruit makes me feel like I am on a binge for some reason. So much sweetness, I guess I still feel like someone is saying “this will make you gain weight” and I notice I feel more heavy than energized. I will try to run tomorrow. Total calories were 1400, but I had a fairly sedentary day.
Hello all you 811’ers!I am so excited to find this thread. i am lurking! i have been so happy with the 811 way for a month or so myself. Have elevated my energy, my endurance, lots of positives.Some welcome weight loss too. I am really Hoping you will have this thread next month when i can join in. I am traveling to China and not sure if 811 is going to last through my travels. However,really hope to see you all here in July.meanwhile i’ll be lurking and wishing you all well from Asia.
I ate so much fruit today. It seems like when I would have eaten nuts before, I am reaching for fruit. I am not on a strict 811 diet but I am moving towards more fruit and less other stuff.
I haven’t been cataloging my calories this week, but I will today. I’ve just mostly been eating fruit myself…but last night I discovered something wonderful and simple that pushed me in the face with flavor! (key for a spice addict) I had grape tomatoes rolled up in a romaine leaf and eaten. OMG…so yummy!
I am thinking the constipation is due to eating not fully ripe bananas. Will play closer attention to this over the next few days and hopefully this will resolve itself.
That’s wonderful bitt! moth: I am going to try that today!!!!
well, i’ve decided to join you guys, albeit a little late.
thanks moth and chicagomama.
nycgrrl- the only thing i can think of it that you are your cells are cleansing so quickly that it is building up. do you start each day with water? i find that really helps. i drink 1-3 glasses every morning with lemon juice. (if you heat the water slightly and then put lemon juice in it… wait to go to the bathroom before you start eating if possible… or have a little fruit, sometimes that helps)
p.s. perhaps someone who knows more can clarify. i was under the impression that graham didn’t include dates because they weren’t fresh. true or false?
thank you pianissima—I am going to def try that, and also be sure my bananas are really ripe.
Pianissima- I think you are right. When I was a kid, really until my late twenties I HATED fruit. When I ate it I became bloated and felt off. These days its all I want. Graham does include dates in many recipes in his book. But I have noticed that like Natalia Rose he combines them with bananas alone and not with other fresh fruit.
Day four on for me and I am feeling GREAT. I am eating a lot. A LOT. And am shedding lots of excess everything. Most importantly ‘attachment’ to food. My energy is really improving too.
Something I read in the book yesterday struck a chord with me. He said if you had a choice between a high fat raw meal and a low fat cooked vegan meal, he said choose the low fat cooked every time (although of course, hopefully one would never have to make that choice!) He regards lowfat as THAT critical. This was interesting to me. Thoughts?
I’m in! I ordered the 80/10/10 book this morning because I find gourmet raw food is too heavy for me to handle now, plus I tend to over-eat avocados. Today I started the morning with a 30 minute workout, followed by a cantaloupe. Around noon I did a 20 minute workout followed by a large bowl of strawberries.
hi
day 4, then….what an experience :o)
nycgrrl
....if you think your bananas aint ripe enough, they probably AINT ripe enough….very spotty and smell very fragrant….it may be the cause
MOTH
...stick with the no salt/cayenne if ya can…..apparently it takes 21 days for habits and tastes to change (we’ll see)...anyways, from what i’ve heard, once this happens people discover much flavour in eating greens without any form of dressing
shazz
...welcome…a july challenge…why not ???...hopefully i’ll have made it through june….i’m sure july will be just as ‘challenging’....if there is continued interest and we don’t annoy everyone else on goneraw, i’m sure it’ll continue
pianissima
...welcome… with regards to your theory….i’m not gonna comment on any of the other ideas about diet…i have no experience…i haven’t even read the authors, so i’m not gonna argue aither way
let me just tell you from my experience…..i started this on sunday as a very toxic 275 pound guy..when i fall from the raw path, i fall all the way back and have extended periods of re-toxing..i’m exactly the kind of subject that fall into the category that these other theories discuss…..
it is the fundamental belief i now share with others that no food is cleansing…the body cleanses…absense of food brings about detox…..this belief gave me courage to just step straight to high fruit, in spite of others writing that it will be too strong
i think there is increased confusion because the word detox has been associated with negativity…detox will give headaches, dizziness, this or that…..i also have detox SYMPTOMS…i like to think of them as healing symptoms….i wake up daily feeling a bit of detox fog…i usually wait 2 or more hours before i eat, just drinking water….i believe that my body needs the extra time to heal…...any fogginess stops after my (7 banana) smoothie….mmmmm
in the last 3 days , some of my detox/healing symptoms
11 pounds of water weight lost (less toxins to dilute)
great energy levels
athletes foot almost cleared
allergic skin problem on right hand almost cleared
effortless breathing
better posture
stable and good mood (yesterday a bit down, but dealt with and recoverd quickly)
no cravings
wheeze in lungs almost gone
sleeping like a log
100% change in outlook and thoughts of/for the future…good thought in general
higher self esteem
more present in the moment
the last few occasions that i’ve been 811 were completely different…i didn’t eat enough calories (i’m now eating between 2000 and 2500 daily, effortlessly and enjoyably) , and it followed that my body had more of a chance to clean….then i experienced increased healing/detox, as my body had less to digest…it gave me horrible cravings and i just ate handfuls of nuts in the evening to deaden them…this would in turn keep me clogged up for the following day….it couldn’t last
SO
in conclusion…is my detox too fast ?? not for me….i’m glad to just cut straight to the point
nycgrrl
...that point always resonated with me….if you believe that fat is fat (good or bad), and that the body deals with it the same either way…..and if you believe that too much fat causes problems for the body (raw or cooked) then i can easily see why he would recommend the cooked vegan meal over the high-fat raw on the balance sheet, he choses leucosytosis over the damage caused by excess fat in the bloodstream (a testament to how much he believes in the negative aspects of too much fat)
i’ve never had much faith in science… because the results get so much ‘spin’ depending on who pays for the research…the fact is that , regardless of diet ideology, the same conclusion has been reached by nutritionists all over….fat, in the diet should be kept low….they can see specifically what happens to the body when fat is consumed….whether avocado or lard, the body will run into problems when too much of it is circulating through the bloodstream, especially when trying to eat fruit (diametrically opposed in terms of ease of digestion)
i do believe that this way may not be for everyone initially….but as many people are finding, they naturally gravitate towards this or they really feel, after being SRD for a while, that there are further benefits to be had…what i’ve always maintained is that doug grahams book is worth reading even if you don’t believe in its efficacy….it just allows you to better incorporate fruit into your raw life, to avoid any problems…..in just the same way, i recommend ‘fit for life’ by harvey and marilyn diamond, cos even if you are a die-hard ‘meat and potatoes’ SAD eater, you will at least experience the benefit from eating your meat and potatoes at 2 seperate meals
pianissima
...re: dates (i’m a bit busy this month, but….)...nah, only joking…..i think dates are what doug may consider transition food…. not optimal, due to the high concentration of sugar (don’t know about the freshness)...guess we just need to get’em as fresh as possible and make sure we are well hydrated when consuming foodstuffs like these…i know he recommends them for marathons (blended datewater)....i am probably overdoing them at the mo, and will gradually cut them down…..they are my ‘going out/emergency’ food…..my bananas are way too ripe and soft to carry around, so a good handful of dates in the rucksack will keep me going if i run into hunger or craving problems before i get home or find some decent fruit to eat
peace everyone
hasta la (courgette) pasta
welcome karmyngirl
just one word…calories…....it’s very important especially as you seem to be very active….don’t wamt you to come unstuck
thanks awesome el-bo! congrats!
nycgrrl—that’s interesting. that’s how natalia rose and the whole fred bisci etc crew think. (remember lyt in nyc?). they don’t do transition diets with heavy raw food, they recommend light cooked food for dinner. that’s actually what i did, and when i became 100% raw i needed not very much fat. interesting…
thanks, pianissima…good to see there is no ‘bad blood’ between us….i had been left with the overall impression that we had definatley got off on the wrong foot in our previous discussions
anyway…i must add
though i’m extremely interested in the ongoing developements over the next few weeks regarding my 811 experiment….the results of the others in our group are more important…..i wouldn’t have to make many changes to my diet at this stage to find improvements (though i’m happy to take them as quickly as they are coming)
far more telling are the results from everyone else here, who are adopting 811rv as a refinement of an already raw lifestyle….the ‘gourmet’ guys
peace, love and good happiness stuff
and there’s definately a lot of ‘lurkers’ interested in our little experiment….for a thread that’s only 6 days old, we seem to be getting a lot of views
actually scrub that….50 % of them are probably just me, checking for any update form my co-experimentees
call me sad if you want…i’ve been called worse :o)
peace
elbow
not at all. i live to debate and experiment and grow. =)
I made something yummy. A recipe that tasted gourmet, but was still in accordance with 811.
Sweet tacos!
Grape tomatoes Cucumber Red pepper
Chopped up and spread on a large romaine leaf
Then drizzled with date syrup and lemon juice.
I ate about five romaine-leaves with that on it.
YUMMMY!
I was having those darn spice cravings again, nostalgically thinking back to my super-spicy tacos from a few weeks ago, and wanting them, so I just decided to add some non-sweet fruits in a leaf and eat like a taco. Then I made it extra-sweet.
DID THE TRICK! And crazily enough, the tomato and the date syrup with the red pepper made the darn thing taste almost SPICY!
So I got what I wanted anyway.
Oh, and I use fresh dates; they’re soft and gooey.
I’ll do it. I just started reading 80/10/10 and it’s so full of common sense that it would be foolish not to try to eat that way. I love the idea of not being self-destructive. I just made some raw burgers and onion bread though, like a few days worth, so I want to go through some of the food I have now before I start. I’ll definitely watch this topic! Good luck to everyone! =)
welcome….join us when you’re ready
a link to some more raw info….scroll down to ‘R’ for many interviews….doug’s there, as is roger haeske (another 811 guy
http://tropicwaveradio.net/archives/tropicwaver…
and a link to my table for today
http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/7408/june4id…
calories 2110 86/5/9
peace
oh, and moth, you’re recipe sounds cool….i’ll try tomorrow…..i really need a blender….my hand blender isn’t doing the greens very well
Everyone:
I’m kinda nervous about this weekend. A girl I know who is interested in raw is going out to eat with me, at a raw vegan restaurant, her idea. She doesn’t know how simple my diet really is; she is interested in gourmet raw. Looking over the menu, it seems like it’ll be difficult to stay 100% 811 there. I’m not sure what to do, honestly. Most of the stuff has fats in it, and much of it is dehydrated. I guess I could just get a salad maybe. I haven’t eaten any overt fat in 7 days now, and I’m just getting a bit of anxiety about this outing. I just am excited about sharing the experience of raw with someone new and I hope I can find a way to keep myself on the challenge when I go eat there. Any advice or suggestions appreciated.
1710 kcal for today
Exercise: weight-lifting, squats, crunches, sun salutations and jump roping.
okay…you’ve conviced me! I’ve been high raw for about 8 months eating whatever I wanted as long as it was raw. I realized after a meal at Alissa Cohen’s Grezzo on Sunday (which was freakin delicious by the way) that I just can’t do the gourmet stuff anymore. Pianissima, I definitely agree with you…811 seems like a natural next step for me. I started on Monday and feel great so far. The only problem is that I just can’t get in enough calories…I’ve been lucky if I reached 1000. Must eat more bananas!! Maybe if I start going shopping more often I won’t feel like such a weirdo with 50 bananas in my cart…