Dangnabbit I can't get enough calories! When left to my own devices I seem to eat close to or even below 1000 calories. All my life I've been told and have read that a woman should not eat fewer than 1,200 calories or else bad things would happen- her metabolism would slow down, she'd feel weak and tired, etc. On the other hand, a raw food forum I visit tells me to stop counting calories altogether and just eat what satisfies me, even if it's only 900 calories a day. This whole experience is starting to bring back the bad food memories I've always had! So I've made a decision based on the following: Everything single thing I eat is nutritious. I don't drink anything but freshly-made fruit juices and water. I take in no refined sugar or flour. I'm not eating any of those unpronounceable chemicals they put in processed foods (although I'm getting pesticides whenever I don't eat organic fruits and vegetables). My salt intake is WAY lower than its ever been before. I drink at least 6 oz of water a day. I take a vitamin almost daily.
Therefore: If I eat below 1000 calories and I'm satisfied, then that's what it's going to be for that day. If I'm full at 900 calories, maybe I just don't need anything else. This odyssey is all about me learning for myself what I need, so I'm gonna stop listening to all the "experts" and be my own expert. If I get weak and tired then I'll tweak things. If I stop losing weight then I'll tweak things again. If I get hungry or my blood pressure goes up or I faint, I'll tweak some more! In fact, I'll go one better and see a doctor for blood tests so I can have official blood pressure and cholesterol measurements (and whatever else I can afford!) and then I'll test things again in a few months. This will be a good project for me. I'm always waiting for experts to tell me what to do and then I feel bad when I fail or I don't understand things. But there is so much conflicting information regarding raw foods that I might as well learn to trust myself. My own body will tell me what works and what doesn't.
The smoothie that's mentioned below was very tasty, but I only made it to bring myself over 1000 calories. I won't be doing that anymore.
BREAKFAST Sandwich
Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread, 2 serving
Hummus, 0.25 cup
Spinach leaves
Avocados 2 oz
Fresh OJ 1 cup
One 'n' Only Pure Essense Labs Superior Tonic Multiple Vitamin 1
Nature Made Calcium Citrate, 1
LUNCH Salad
1 oz raw blue cheese
Fresh Spinach leaves
1 plum tomato
Sweet Corn, Fresh, 1 ear, medium
Avocados, California 1 oz
DINNER
Flax Seed Crisps, (My approximation of Living Bread)
Hummus, 28 grams
Taboule Salad, 2 tbsp
SNACKS (Smoothie)
Raspberries, 1/4 cup
1/4 Mango
Banana, fresh, 1 medium
Raw Cacao Nibs 1/2 oz (Really didn't do much for the smoothie because I simply ground them into smaller pieces (niblets!)
Water
CALORIES 1,298 CARBS 170 FAT 56 PROTEIN 44
2 comments:
i can't get enough spinach. another great salad in addition to the one you have listed is spinach, gorgonzola cheese and slices of fresh pear. De-licious! I think it would be fine plain, but I usually top it with a fruity vinaigrette. Congratulations on your weightloss; I am inspired.
I think you're right to follow your body's signs and feelings. They have done studies on rats showing that those eating less than an "optimal" amount of calories a day live longer and with less disease. Many people think this holds true in humans as well. Just remember, the experts say you need to eat whole grains too. I don't think the experts know as much as they like to think! If your health begins declining at all, you can look at what your doing and reassess. In the meantime, it sounds like you're doing great!
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