A Summary of My First Raw Week

NUTRIENTS

Calories…………………….ranged from 1500 to 1800

Water………………………..average= 6 glasses a day.

An average of 42% of my calories came from fat

An average of 46% came from carbs

An average of 12% came from protein

WEIGHT LOSS

STARTED WEEK AT: 341

ENDED WEEK AT: 325

TOTAL POUNDS LOST: 16

SUMMARY OF CHANGES NOTICED THIS WEEK

1) Tongue was coated with some sort of brownish/greenish layer I had to brush off. This lessened during the week but I’m left often with a strange feeling that something is on the back of my tongue- like when the skin from a bean lies flat on your tongue and you can’t get it off easily!

2) The diarrhea that started on day 3 still hasn’t abated totally, but I have had no more stomach pain, just an occasional stitch in my lower right abdomen.

3) I felt queasy one day and couldn’t pinpoint the reason, although I, probably unfairly, associate it with the raw cauliflower I had that day since it was so unpleasant to eat. The second time I felt ill was when I drank that Kombucha gingerade. I still haven’t finished the bottle (nor have I eaten raw cauliflower again).

4) My eyes usually water for a while every morning, as if I’m crying. This has lessened to either: no tearing, much-shortened tearing episodes, absolutely no tearing (a couple of mornings).

5) I’m in a better mood than I have been in a long time. Although not a huge change, it’s a glimmer of hope.

6) I’ve been free of compulsive eating all week- this removes a large amount of stress from my life.

7) My face developed two small patches with lighter pigmentation, one on each side of my mouth. This hasn’t changed in the 24 hours sinced I noticed it.

8) My skin is less alligatory - this is likely due to the huge increase in the amount of water I drink.

FOODS CONSUMED

Goji Berries

Kombucha Gingerade (Never again. Never, ever again).

Black sesame tahini - still don’t know how to use it. I just eat it as-is.

Raw sharp cheddar (Fiscalini)

Raw Trail Mix

Sea Salt

Flaxseed crackers - good for dip and to smear with the black tahini.

Sprouted fenugreek - very bitter. I might not buy this again.

taboule - has become a staple.

banana

cherries

papaya

Hummus - another staple in my diet, although I haven’t tried any raw kinds yet.

alfalfa sprouts

avocados - yet another staple, contributing to my high-fat raw diet!

cabbage- tried it once but didn’t really like it as a wrap because cabbage is bitter.

cilantro- I just love cilantro. I could just bury my face in it and inhale all day.

cucumbers - these went into my taboule, but I also sliced them and piled them with hummus and taboule.

limes - for dressing and also for the guacamole.

parsley - for the taboule

jicama- I didn’t like this. I tried to use it like a cracker. I may buy it again for salad.

extra virgin, first cold pressed olive oil

pine nuts- boring.

red onions

Bob’s Red Mill bulgar- I’ll probably try sprouted quinoa when this bag runs out.

garlic - Another favorite. I love everything about garlic except biting into a raw clove (ouch!!)

1 pomegranate- this is a new favorite of mine. Too bad they are so expensive.

apples - I’m not an apple fan, but they are convenient.

orange- I do not like citrus, but orange juice is bearable.

tomatoes- a staple.

cauliflower- Can you say B I T T E R? Ugh.

tahini - I don’t like it too much, but enough to keep experimenting with it.

FOODS I DIDN’T EAT

red bell pepper - it went bad

a small watermelon- it was in bad shape when I bought it (I’m not good at choosing melons)

a “young” coconut - it went bad and shot coconut water onto my kitchen counter!

sun-dried tomatoes- don’t know what to do with them yet

Mango- not ripe yet

Organic Wild Rice - don’t know what to do it yet

sprouted mixed beans-don’t know what to do them yet

Veganaise- shouldn’t have even listed this- I’m not gonna eat it! My friend will use it.

ROUNDUP

It’s funny; I began the week feeling some trepidation about raw food- can I live on taboule every daggone day? How come raw food has to be so bitter? But my tastes are already adjusting to the bitterness of such things as sprouted seeds and tahini, and I really like taboule. In fact, I think that as long as I make the taboule a bit different each time, I won’t get tired of it. I’ve had new textures and flavors, some good, some not so good. I haven’t gone through “detox”, unless you want to call the skin thing and the diarrhea detox. I don’t. I haven’t had any major cravings (except a short-lived one for salt early on) or desires to binge.

I will need to learn how to buy food when it’s ripe or almost ripe so that I can time when to eat them, rather than wasting money on veggies and fruits gone bad. Some of my uneaten items will need to be incorporated into meals or recipes of some kind and just haven’t found anything I like yet. I’m looking forward to eating that mango!

I think my fat intake is too high, but since I lost 16 lbs this week (a record for me!!) I’m not gonna complain right now. I do need to work on finding ways to bring up my calcium and B12. For now I’m taking Centrum. (That Kombucha tea has some b-12 in it, for those of you who are interested).

Conclusion: This week gets a thumbs up!