Friday, March 31, 2006- End of Three Months Eating Raw

(Photo: asparagus)

Another busy day, but not as busy as they have been. Still, I didn't eat as much as I would have, had I had more time to think. I had a hummus sandwich (ezekiel bread, naturally) for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and one of my girlfriend's gourmet raw pizzas for dinner.

Today we played a video game for the X-box: "Pump It Up Exceed." It's one of those dance pad games like you see in the arcades. It was lots of fun, but has a steep learning curve becasue the interface is not very intuitive. Still, I can see where I could get some good exercise from this game. Maybe I'll try a little dancing several times a week as my exercise. It's fun to do as a family, with everybody laughing at each other. Right now I feel big and clunky on the mat. I can't wait until this stage of my weight is over with!

Which brings us to tomorrow: weigh-in day! I need to sum up my three months eating raw. I'm not looking forward to the scale part because I think it's been a few weeks since I've lost any "real" weight. However, I do have other things going on besides weight (if I can just remember that!).

Thursday, March 31, 2006.

(Photo: Raw version of pizza)

I did NOT meet my protein requirement for today, but that's because I spent all day studying and doing classwork. I had a great breakfast, though- my girlfriend made the raw pizza you see pictured. It's got guacamole, the tomatoes from Juliano's marinara recipe, red onions, garlic, hemp nuts, all on living bread. She has always been creative, but she is going crazy with the recipes since going raw. She combines all sorts of flavors and textures and comes up with new concoctions or altered versions of things we've tasted. The dehydrator has worked more this week than it has since she bought it for me!

She's made two more breads from the Uncook book, plus "applesauce" (it's more than applesauce but I can't really describe it- it's like gourmet applesauce) to use as a raw pie filling. I think she'd be the perfect person to open a raw restaurant, especially because she is already the entrepreneurial type. I'm all ready to write up a plan to get her started. I'd be the perfect advertisement for it- every time the customers see me I'll be smaller. :-) (Anybody know how to draw up a business plan?)

One major difference between my girlfriend and me is that she has a sweet tooth and I have more of a "salt" tooth. She's going to be making a lot of desserts. I think I will try to make the corn chip recipe that was suggested earlier this month by a reader (I haven't forgotten!) Chips will be great with guacamole.

Hey- I just realized I've complete THREE months on my Raw Odyssey! What a journey it has been. I believe I have stalled a bit on the weight loss, but a pair of pants that I could barely pull up in January are wearable this week, so I know things are happening size-wise.

That's it for now!

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Photo: Beet burger at Go Raw Cafe (that sucker is HUGE)

Today my girlfriend made all my meals again. I'm feeling soooo spoiled. I find that when she packs my meals, I eat enough. When I rely on myself, I eat very little. I can't even eat all the stuff she packs! Today she made me a salad for breakfast with hemp seeds on top, and gave me hummus and taboule with living bread for lunch, 2 oz of pumpkin seeds, grapes and a banana. I ate everything except the living bread because it was too filling. I checked out my protein content and it tallies to 49 today. Wow! The pumpkin seeds and hemp again saved the day: 24 grams of protein for those alone.

I have to say that eating pumpkin and sunflower seeds is not fun. They don't taste good to me and they're a pain to eat without dropping some down my shirt or on the floor. But I think of them as my medicine right now, and I've eaten worse things in my life.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

(Photo: Kombucha Tea)

Today I was quite busy again with studies so my girlfriend was kind enough to pack me a big lunch: two bananas, a container with some hummus and taboule, a ziploc bag of her living bread, and a container of chopped up mango- even a one oz. bag of sunflower seeds found its way into my lunch bag. Isn't that great? She made me a salad for breakfast onto which she sprinkled 2 tbsp of hemp seed. While at the unversity I managed to eat the sunflower seeds during my second class. I ate the banana during a break. I ate the hummus and bread on the drive home. I had the mango late in the evening, and then a little snack of gouda and pumpkin seeds for my protein (it's therapy!). I couldn't help but be curious about my protein intake so I looked at nutritiondata.com and found that I'd had no less than 45 grams of protein today!! I was so happy. 23 of those came from my hemp and seeds, and 8 from the cheese. Yesterday some guy at the university saw me eating "pepitos" (pumpkin seeds) and went on and on about how healthy they are and how I should make sure any man in my life eats them. You never know how your food will inspire someone. :-)

When I got home today my girlfriend was in the midst of dehydrating something new- some concoction she'd made up with carob, olive oil, dates and ground nuts. It tasted like a carob pie crust- good stuff, but something she'd be more likely to snack on than I would, since I'm not much of a sweets person. However, I suggested to her that we mold her dough into little bowl shapes and dehydrate them, and then make banana "ice cream." You can guess what I'm envisioning, right? If we do it, I'll take pictures!

Monday, March 27, 2006

Today was a very stressful day, with assignments due that I had not completed and very little sleep. I had a nice salad for breakfast, though, put together by my girlfriend who is starting her first raw day officially today. Good for her! She did very well and is already noticing that she doesn't crave raw foods the way she does SAD foods.

Today was the first day of my new plan of not tracking my nutrients and staying off the scale. Not tracking my food was easy, but not weighing myself was harder- I caught myself right before I was about to pull the scale out!

Despite not tracking my nutrients, I know I didn't do well with the protein today. I took to the university 2 oz. of pumpkin and sunflower seeds mixed together with a little sea salt, two bananas, and a small container of taboule, avocado and hummus. I didn't leave the university until extremely late at night, so I didn't have a regular dinner- just a smoothie. My plan for tomorrow is to eat as much protein as I can. I have a very busy day coming up and really don't know how I'll manage, but if I can at least get used to munching on nuts and seeds, that will help in between meals.

Success with Juliano's Real Toast Recipe

Our first successful dehydrated bread:
Juliano's Real Toast from the Uncook book.

I am pleased to report that my girlfriend has made some dehydrated bread that actually tastes good! I just knew having her on the raw team would be fantabulous. She made Juliano's Real Toast recipe (page 62). She used sprouted black eyed peas from Whole Foods rather than trying to sprout them herself. The dough was quite attractive looking and smelled awesome.


The first batch she put on the dehydrating tray she shaped into perfect little "loaves" less than an inch thick. She still had a lot of dough left over for 2 more trays, but decided to do only one, just in case we didn't like it, that way she could adjust the flavors for the last batch.




For the second tray she improvised with baking paper (parchment left over from my bread baking days) since only one tray comes with the American Harvester dehydrator. After spreading the dough she used a knife to create separate pieces right on the tray. (I would recommend spreading a little olive oil on the paper and the tray for easier removal after dehydrating).

She set the dehydrator to 100 degrees instead of the 90 recommended, since it appears to run way below the temperature settings on the dial. The whole house smelled great while the bread dehydrated, thanks to the herbs and garlic. At 3 a.m. the thinner pieces that were baking on the paper were done- since I was up studying, I had the pleasure of tasting it. Very flavorful! I left the thicker ones on for a few more hours. Around 10 a.m. they were done as well.



This is one of the square pieces after dehydration- not too thick,
and moist enough to be bendable without snapping, but dry enough to not leave dough on your fingers.





Here is one of the smaller, triangular pieces from the second tray.





This is a tasty recipe with strong flavoring. Juliano says to use any herbs you want. We chose sage for one of them. The fun thing will be trying different herbs for a completely new taste next time. We'll be using this as a base for pizza, hummus, salsa, and anything else we can think of.

Thanks, Felicia!!!!

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Today I met a friend at the raw food restaurant for lunch. She ordered the beet burger (what an awesome looking thing that is!) with avocado "fries" and I had the mock sushi, which I really enjoy. While I was there I bought hemp seed- a raw and organic product (kosher as well!).

I'm so happy to have a variety of protein choices: raw milk cheese, hemp seed, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. These, in addition to the bread my girlfriend made (a success, people!) and the foods I normally eat, will boost my protein quite a bit. I can't wait to see if that makes a difference with my hair- and with other aspects of my health, for that matter.
----
OK, it is evening as I write this section. Do you believe I still managed to get a low amount of protein today? That's because I didn't consciously add protein until this evening, using the hemp. This product is not a powder, so when I added it to my smoothie I ground it in the blender before adding the fruit. The result was a bit thick and textured, but the taste was not affected. I'll probably add water next time I use powdered hemp. Right now I'm eating a snack of hummus, which adds enough protein to get me to a measly 38 grams. Sparkpeople.com says I should eat between 34 to 149 grams of protein a day. I guess only trial and error will tell me what is enough for this body, but I'm going to aim for no less than 50 to begin with and see how that goes.

TODAY'S MEALS

BRUNCH
Raw food restaurant: mock salmon sushi and carob coconut pie

DINNER
smoothie with hemp powder

SNACKS
hummus

TOTAL POINTS: 33

Summary of Week 11 Eating Raw!

This is a week for new developments. Some of them have been developing for a couple of weeks or longer, but I haven't noted them because it takes a while before I decide that something is actually presenting as a true "change" and not just a transitory event. The developments include the following:

THE NOT SO GOOD STUFF

• My hair is thinning around the crown
• I've had "allergy" symptoms for the past couple of weeks or more
• The dark, rough patches of skin on my face (cheeks) have smoothed and lightened considerably

THE GOOD STUFF

• I got my first unsolicited comment from someone who noticed I've lost weight
• My girlfriend made some great living bread and some good raw meals, restoring my faith in the raw food diet

The hair loss seems to me to be directly related to my diet. According to Sparkpeople my diet is very low in protein - we're talking below 30 grams sometimes. I've decided to add protein in the form of more raw cheese (I just bought some raw milk gouda), raw seeds, and grains. As for my allergy-like symptoms, some people might think that these are signs of detox. I'm open to the idea, but I must say that I've had all these symptoms from time to time before going raw, so I'm still inclined to believe I'm having an allergic reaction to something.

OK- I've made a couple of Big Decisions! I've decided that for the time being, I will no longer track my foods on sparkpeople, and I will try not to way myself for about two weeks. I've made these decisions because I want to start transitioning into a more "normal" way of eating, where I learn to trust my own body for signs of hunger and the need for nutrients. I've learned a lot these past three months and am ready to take the training wheels off! So you won't see me logging points or calories or fat grams any longer, although I will state what I ate. If I start gaining weight then I will put the training wheels back on for a little while. Eventually, I hope to free myself from the scale and food tracking. It's kinda scary for me, considering my history, but if I don't do new things, I'm not on an odyssey, am I?


NUTRIENTS

Calories..................................701 to 1468.81
Weight Watcher's Points:.....Average of 28.57 points per day
Fat..........................................19g to 76g
Carbs......................................49g t0 240g
Protein...................................15g to 45g


WEIGHT LOSS
STARTED WEEK AT: 296
ENDED WEEK AT: 294
TOTAL LOST SINCE JANUARY 1ST 2006: 47 lbs.


COMPARISONS TO PREVIOUS SUMMARIES

Compare to week 1
Compare to week 10 (last week)
Compare to week 2
Compare to week 3
Compare to week 4
Compare to week 5
Compare to week 6
Compare to week 7
Compare to week 8
Compare to week 9

Friday, March 24, 2006

(Photo: raw milk cheese)

Today I followed through on my protein concerns and purchased raw sunflower seeds and raw pumpkin seeds. They have about 7 grams of protein per oz. I will also be looking into grains for protein. Someone suggested in the Comments that I try several types of grains, including sprouted quinoa. I tried quinoa once and didn't like it, but I can always try again. Grains are a good idea for additional protein. Someone else commented that I should use Fitday.com or another resource to find out my nutritional intake. I use Sparkpeople.com, which has really helped me to stay on top of my nutrients these past few months. It works using the same concept as Fitday.

I had my picture taken for an ID card and I was rather pleased with the result. I'm still very overweight, but my face looks healthier than in previous photos. It could be that the lighting was good, for all I know, but I can see that the shape of my face is less puffy than it was when I weighed this much previously. I guess we don't necessarily lose weight the same way every time we lose it.

I went shopping and stocked up on more fruits and veggies. My girlfriend is joining me so she got some produce for herself as well. She likes pears (ick!) and apples (give me a stomach ache) but other than that we will likely be eating the same stuff. She bought some sprouted beans and peas from Whole Foods so she can try another Juliano bread recipe. I'm all for using sprouts when other people sprout 'em! I don't want a repeat of the nasty, cheesy wheatberry experience from last week.
------------------
NOTE: Thanks to all who have been sending me ideas, leaving messages of encouragement, etc. A reader, Mimi, left a comment asking if you can buy nut milk cheeses. I have never seen nut milk itself for sale, but know that equipment for making it is available. Can anyone help her out and let us know if you can buy nut "cheese" anywhere?
------------------


TODAY'S MEALS

BREAKFAST
The rest of my restaurant salad

LUNCH
Another restaurant salad

DINNER
Hummus sandwich

TOTAL POINTS: 34

Thursday, March, 23

(Photo: my yummy restaurant salad)

Today when my girlfriend picked me up from the university she said, "you look radiant! Your skin is glowing." I had no idea what she was talking about, because I certainly didn't feel "radiant." She kept on, so I put my hand to my face and I was shocked- the rough, dark patches I've had on either cheek for years have almost disappeared! I couldn't believe it. I felt my cheeks all the way home. :-) I really have to chalk this up to my raw food diet- I have done nothing different to my skin than I've done for the past 5 or more years. I am really happy about this positive change, especially since it was unexpected.

On the other hand, my hair has thinned considerably around the crown of my head. I don't want to blame the raw foods totally because I've worn locs for years and have had a terrible habit of basically ripping my hair apart when I was stressed and wanted to undo them. However, I never noticed any obvious thinning over the years I did this, so I am, unfortunately, inclined to believe my raw diet is to blame. So, what to do? I did a little internet investigation.
I can't be sure what exactly in (or missing from) my diet would be causing the hair loss, but some raw food sites suggest I try the following:

• Adding protein- brewer's yeast, almonds, and seeds: sesame, pumpkin, sunflower.
• Eating dulse or sea kelp, quinoa and spirulina.
• Drinking vegetable juice at least once a day.
• Taking vitamin A, B and E.
• Taking biotin and niacin.
• Eating greens

Since my protein intake has been low, I will work on this from that angle first, maybe trading some of my avocado for the seeds, and sprinkling brewer's yeast on my sandwiches and salads. Adding greens can't be bad, either. In the meantime, I've become good friends with hats!

BREAKFAST
Smoothie

LUNCH
Hummus sandwich

DINNER
Big restaurant salad (could only eat about 1/3 of it)

TOTAL POINTS: 28

Thursday, March 23, 2006

(Photo: my yummy restaurant salad)

Today when my girlfriend picked me up from the university she said, "you look radiant! Your skin is glowing." I had no idea what she was talking about, because I certainly didn't feel "radiant." She kept on, so I put my hand to my face and I was shocked- the rough, dark patches I've had on either cheek for years have almost disappeared! I couldn't believe it. I felt my cheeks all the way home. :-) I really have to chalk this up to my raw food diet- I have done nothing different to my skin than I've done for the past 5 or more years. I am really happy about this positive change, especially since it was unexpected.

On the other hand, my hair has thinned considerably around the crown of my head. I don't want to blame the raw foods totally because I've worn locs for years and have had a terrible habit of basically ripping my hair apart when I was stressed and wanted to undo them. However, I never noticed any obvious thinning over the years I did this, so I am, unfortunately, inclined to believe my raw diet is to blame. So, what to do? I did a little internet investigation.
I can't be sure what exactly in (or missing from) my diet would be causing the hair loss, but some raw food sites suggest I try the following:

• Adding protein- brewer's yeast, almonds, and seeds: sesame, pumpkin, sunflower.
• Eating dulse or sea kelp, quinoa and spirulina.
• Drinking vegetable juice at least once a day.
• Taking vitamin A, B and E.
• Taking biotin and niacin.
• Eating greens

Since my protein intake has been low, I will work on this from that angle first, maybe trading some of my avocado for the seeds, and sprinkling brewer's yeast on my sandwiches and salads. Adding greens can't be bad, either. In the meantime, I've become good friends with hats!

BREAKFAST
Smoothie

LUNCH
Hummus sandwich

DINNER
Big restaurant salad (could only eat about 1/3 of it)

TOTAL POINTS: 28

Thursday, March, 23

(Photo: my yummy restaurant salad)

Today when my girlfriend picked me up from the university she said, "you look radiant! Your skin is glowing." I had no idea what she was talking about, because I certainly didn't feel "radiant." She kept on, so I put my hand to my face and I was shocked- the rough, dark patches I've had on either cheek for years have almost disappeared! I couldn't believe it. I felt my cheeks all the way home. :-) I really have to chalk this up to my raw food diet- I have done nothing different to my skin than I've done for the past 5 or more years. I am really happy about this positive change, especially since it was unexpected.

On the other hand, my hair has thinned considerably around the crown of my head. I don't want to blame the raw foods totally because I've worn locs for years and have had a terrible habit of basically ripping my hair apart when I was stressed and wanted to undo them. However, I never noticed any obvious thinning over the years I did this, so I am, unfortunately, inclined to believe my raw diet is to blame. So, what to do? I did a little internet investigation.
I can't be sure what exactly in (or missing from) my diet would be causing the hair loss, but some raw food sites suggest I try the following:

• Adding protein- brewer's yeast, almonds, and seeds: sesame, pumpkin, sunflower.
• Eating dulse or sea kelp, quinoa and spirulina.
• Drinking vegetable juice at least once a day.
• Taking vitamin A, B and E.
• Taking biotin and niacin.
• Eating greens

Since my protein intake has been low, I will work on this from that angle first, maybe trading some of my avocado for the seeds, and sprinkling brewer's yeast on my sandwiches and salads. Adding greens can't be bad, either. In the meantime, I've become good friends with hats!

BREAKFAST
Smoothie

LUNCH
Hummus sandwich

DINNER
Big restaurant salad (could only eat about 1/3 of it)

TOTAL POINTS: 28

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Not much to report today. Unless you want to count the comment someone in my class made to me today: "you look like you've lost weight!" :-D

I studied at the internet cafe today and decided to order the smoothie again, without all the non-raw extras. This time I actually said, "I only eat raw foods". And guess what the woman behind the counter said? "Really? Me too!" That was pretty cool. I knew my smoothie was in good hands this evening. We chatted a bit about what it's like as a new person eating raw, about the local raw restaurant which she had just visited, and about how she's going to make sushi for the first time tonight. I gave her my enoki mushrooms idea but I think she's gonna try the carrot pulp first, like I did. That raw restaurant really inspires people!

BREAKFAST
1/2 salad

LUNCH (Hummus Sandwich)
Spinach
Hummus
Tomato
taboule
avocado
Ezekiel bread

DINNER
Other half of my salad

SNACKS
Smoothie
Banana

TOTAL POINTS: 31

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

(Photo: Felicia's adaptation of several Juliano Uncook Book recipes)

Today my girlfriend surprised me with Ezekiel bread and taboule. Yaaay- I made a quick hummus and taboule sandwich and then ran off to school with a banana in my book bag. She later surprised me with a dinner that was worthy of a raw restaurant by combining ideas from Juliano's Uncook book: the Exquisite Raw Marinara sauce and the Pesto Pasta. She even made garlic bread by rubbing garlic on a slice of Ezekiel bread. The herbs and spices really came through, making the sauce filling and very satisfying.

She marinated some red onion using Juliano's recipe for Marinated Onion Ringlets and added those to the marinara/pesto sauce. Thank you! My faith in the possibilities of raw food are again renewed. Those recipes are awesome. I could have eaten that sauce alone, like gazpacho.

My girlfriend is thinking of joining me for a couple weeks of raw eating to see if it might help her lose some of her remaining post-gastric-bypass-weight. It would be great if she did this with me not only because it would be great for her, but because I'll benefit from some tasty meals. Wish me luck. (I mean, wish her luck!!!)


BREAKFAST
Salad

LUNCH
hummus

DINNER







SNACKS
banana

TOTAL POINTS: 27

Another Raw Podcast- I love this one!

Today I listened to a new raw podcast that I really enjoyed. The host, Shelley Abegg, produces the podcast with writer Jane Nelson. Shelley found out several years ago that she had breast cancer, and learned from a friend about possibility of a cure through a raw food diet. She began to experiment with recipes and eventually amassed a collection of them, which she has since combined into a raw food recipe book. Her podcasts introduce us to Shelley and Jane, and give some background information about her journey. What I like about the two podcasts is that they are down-to-earth, use plain English, and don't include what I think of as "rah-rah hype." She is certainly enthusiastic, but I felt that she was speaking from her heart and with sincerity about her experience and her desire to share what she has learned. I liked how she explains, albeit briefly, the concept of acidity and alkalinity. I hope that a future podcast will go into depth about these concepts and how she incorporated them into her health routine.

• The first podcast can be found here: Divine Raw Podcast #1
• The website is DivineRaw.com.

Happy listening!

Monday, March 20th 2006

(Photo: the living bread before dehydrating)

I got some pain pills when I went to the E.R. last Fall for a flare-up of my ovarian cyst pain. Since the pains have been back recently, I broke down and took one last night. Boy, the side effects got me all day! I felt very nauseated and a little dizzy, so my appetite was pretty much killed. This is quite a contrast from my SAD days when I would still stuff myself when I felt ill (making me feel like a crazy sick person).

Today I watched the DVD "Breakthrough" put out by Storm and Jinjee. For those who don't know, the DVD is a documentary about the benefits of a raw food lifestyle, with Storm and Jinjee's family serving as role models. Everyone in the family looks very fit and healthy, and Storm appears to be a jack of all trades- craftsmen, athlete, musician, etc. etc. Jinjee looks fabulous after having children- congratulations to both of these talented, creative people. Their house looks fabulous and perfectly suited to their goal of living close to nature. I would love to live as they do. I especially liked the DVD's segments about family members who lost weight and became fit eat raw. I hope that Storm and Jinjee produce another DVD that focuses on topics they couldn't get to on this one, such as their food routine- what they eat, how much they eat, how long it takes to prepare meals, what they spend, etc. Overall, for a homemade project by people who are not cinematographers, Storm and Jinjee have done a pretty good job bringing the raw food lifestyle to the general public.

Next, I watched The Raw Vegan DVD, also available by Storm and Jinjee. I liked that one even more than Breakthrough- it is a "video magazine" (a format that really intrigues me) that goes into great detail about several topics, such as exercise, a raw food rereat, and a few other matters. I would be interested in future Raw Vegan DVDs, as well. A big thanks to Ren for lending me her DVDs! Anyone interested in these DVDs can visit TheGardenDiet.com.

And now I come to the story of the living bread. When I woke up this morning the bread was dehydrating away, crisp on the top and sides, but still pasty and thick on the insides. Nowhere close to being done. I think my dehydrator must heat to a much lower temperature than indicated by the dial. Now, if that were my only problem turning up the heat would have been the solution -but that smell! It was so awful, and because I was already queasy I truly couldn't take it. I did a little internet research and found that the cheesy smell might indicate spoilage so I ended up tossing the whole thing down the garbage disposal. Now I'm looking for a different way to sprout the wheatberries.

TODAY'S MEALS (Too queasy to eat much)

BREAKFAST
Smoothie

LUNCH
Salad

DINNER
Smoothie

SNACKS
banana

TOTAL POINTS: 19

Beginning My 11th Week Raw, 45 lbs Down!!

(Photo: soaked wheatberries on a colander)

Today was one of those days where I sat in front of the computer for hours straight, so of course I didn't drag myself away to make sure I ate. However, since I had an entire avocado, I managed to almost make my point requirements (31 now, y'all!).

I did make the living bread today, though. Right now it is dehydrating, and should be ready by 7 a.m. tomorrow. There is no exact timing when it comes to dehydrating foods. I adapted Juliano's rye bread recipe on page 61 of his book. I didn't have caraway seeds so I used cardamon, since the bread has carob powder in it. I figured they'd complement one another. Can you tell I'm not a "real" cook? But that's all right- no one learns anything without being willing to experiment. I will document what I did in a separate upcoming post, but for now I'll say that making the bread wasn't difficult at all.

The main problem I had was the unexpected tinyness of the loaf. It is soooo small- the size of a beefy hand, really. All those days of waiting for this tiny serving? The recipe calls for the "dough" to be 1 and 1/2 inches high- well, my dehydrator barely accomodates that height! I had to squish it down a tad, and instead of putting the lid directly over it, I decided I'd better put one of the mesh trays over it and then the lid, that way the warm air can circulate around and over it. If you have read my earlier posts, you may recall that I have the American Harvester dehydrator that has several trays. I only stack the trays I use, so the dehydrator can be very short when I dehydrate only one thing. (In the picture below you can see I am using two trays). Juliano calls for the bread to dehydrate at 90 degrees F, but I can only go down to 95 degrees.

OK- on to today's meals!


BREAKFAST
(None)

LUNCH (Salad)
Spinach
Avocado
corn
hummus
taboule
pecans
olive oil

DINNER (Salad)
Spinach
hummus
avocado
salsa

TOTAL POINTS: 28

Weekly Summary for Week 10 on Raw (YEEEEHAAAW!!!!!)

Yaaaayyyyyy!!!!!!

I'm sorry my scale is so old and cruddy looking but I had to show it again because it says 296! I have reached my first goal of the weight loss part of my raw lifestyle: Getting below 300. I reached my first goal earlier: attaining normal blood pressure during week 7. My next weight goal is to lose 5 lbs more for a total of 50 lbs lost.

Today I will make the living bread. I realized what that aroma is (it's been stronger the past two days): it smells like cheese! Not a pleasant smell emanating from those wheatberries. They don't appear to be bad- in fact, they are very pretty-looking, just stinky. I'll post the breadmaking exercise later.

WEEKLY SUMMARY
My calorie range was smaller this week than last, despite the fact that I still averaged 30 points a day. My carb range was much wider because I ate more carbs. It appears that I'm truly settling into a 2 or 3 lbs per week rate of weight loss that is more irregular than the previous weeks. I'm considering weighing weekly until I reach my 50 lb goal and then only weighing once every two weeks or so. That way I can slowly "train" myself to not rely on the scale as much and learn to trust in what I'm eating and how much I'm eating. It would be pretty amazing for me to lose weight eating raw without using the scale every week. The most amazing thing, however, will be to lose weight without counting points, calories OR watching the scale. That's an experiment for another month, but I definitely want to try it way before I get close to my final goal weight because it's something I'll have to practice for a long time before I feel comfortable. By the time I reach my goal weight I would like to have completely weaned myself off the scale and systematic food counting of any sort.

Now, for the weekly totals.

NUTRIENTS

Calories..................................1221 to 1609
Weight Watcher's Points:.....Average of 30 points per day
Fat..........................................37g to 71g
Carbs......................................70g t0 326g
Protein...................................26g to 42g


WEIGHT LOSS
STARTED WEEK AT: 300
ENDED WEEK AT: 295
TOTAL LOST SINCE JANUARY 1ST 2006: 45 lbs.


COMPARISONS TO PREVIOUS SUMMARIES

Compare to week 1
Compare to week 9 (last week)
Compare to week 2
Compare to week 3
Compare to week 4
Compare to week 5
Compare to week 6
Compare to week 7
Compare to week 8

Saturday, March 18, 2006

I didn't make the living bread today. The wheatberries had no sprouts on them, although I can see where the sprouts will come from. I don't know if I'm going to even wait for them to sprout if I don't see sprouts tomorrow- I'm gonna be too busy with school to worry about making bread during the week. So I guess I'll be making living bread tomorrow with barely-sprouted wheatberries.

Today I went to a party. The hostess is a vegetarian, and most of the people there (maybe all) are into health- some work out, and most work at a place that makes nutritional supplements, so there was healthy stuff for me to eat. Naturally, I was the biggest person there. :-( The vegetable platter, a bunch of grapes, homemade salsa and guacamole, and even some restaurant hummus were my food friends tonight. I did a great job not eating much or focusing on what I was "missing"- like the banana pudding, artichoke dip, tortilla chips and a chocolate "mud" pie. I didn't eat much there at all, but I developed a bloated stomach. (I know, I know- possibly the hummus, but I'm not going there!).

BREAKFAST
Smoothie

LUNCH
Salad

DINNER
(none- saved up for the party)

SNACKS
Carrots, celery, broccoli
Salsa
avocado
hummus
grapes

TOTAL POINTS: 37

Friday, March 17th 2006

Well, tomorrow is supposed to be the big day- making the living bread. When I rinsed the wheatberries I noticed they didn't look as disgusting as they did yesterday. (Hopefully yesterday was just an ugly phase they were going through). They have the same aroma I noticed yesterday, but not as strong. No sign of sprouting yet.

Today I got a big container of hummus, 6 avocados, and a huge bag of fresh spinach. Even though I'll still be eating the same ol' salads next week that I've been eating for weeks, adding hummus seems to give them new life. I'm hopelessly in love with hummus!

TODAY'S MEALS

BREAKFAST
Homemade smoothie. Nothing beats homemade!!
Mango
Banana
Peaches
Orange Juice
Blackberries
10 points

LUNCH
Salad
10 points

DINNER
Salad
12 points

TOTAL POINTS: 32

Thursday, March 16, 2006

(Photo: Raw Honey- boy is that stuff expensive!!)

Wow- miracle of miracles, I managed to eat 32 points exactly! My first meal was outside of the house; I had a salad at the university cafeteria. I have to say it was AWFUL. We are on Spring break so they severely curtailed the choices, and what was left was not in great shape. We're talking carrot slices that were dried out to the point that they were turning white and curling up. Cherry tomatoes that wrinkled when you stuck a fork in 'em. Eeew!
When I got home I made myself a decent salad to make up for the tragedy. Later I went to the internet café and yes, I had a smoothie. But this time I told them I wanted it with nothing other than fruit. The guy recognized me, so that made things easier. The smoothie had a noticeably different taste without the fake sweetness. I could taste actual fruit, much of it being orange juice. I'm still fuming about their false advertising of serving organic, fresh smoothies and not acknowledging the mystery powder they pour into each one. Shame on you, internet café! My girlfriend wants me to go activist on them. I'll probably say something if I can get to the right person.

I'm happy to report that I remembered to rinsed the wheatberries three times today. (Hmmm- maybe only two times! I'll do it again when I get home). They look a little different today- some kind of slimy/sticky stuff appears to be oozing out of a few of them. Very icky- I'm not one for slime. The foam had reformed on top, but to a much lesser extent. There is a strong aroma of something, but I couldn't say what it is. It's not awful, but I wouldn't stick my nose in it! There are a smattering of green wheatberries here and there - I don't know why a few are green and the rest brown.

Before I go on to list today's meals I wanted to direct you to the Altavist translation icon in the sidebar. Although the translations won't be perfect (especially idioms like "miracle of all miracles"), they should be helpful if English is a challenge. I couldn't help but translate "miracle of all miracles" into Italian and then translate the Italian translation into English. Here's what I got: "miracle of distortion of speed of the miracles." Ha!!

TODAY'S MEALS

BREAKFAST
Salad bar

LUNCH
Homemade salad

DINNER
Smoothie

TOTAL POINTS : 32 (shhh- I had 72 grams of fat today!)

Wednesday, March 15th, 2006

Of course I forgot to rinse out the soaking wheatberries. Not a big deal- They've only soaked 24 hours without their first rinse. Someone mentioned how great growing your own wheatgrass is. I am not actually planning to grow grass from it, I'm just sprouting it for use in a dehydrated bread recipe. I'm not sure I'll ever grow my own wheatgrass after reading about how easy it is for mold to grow on it. Maybe if I had the right equipment and space for it, I would, but since I don't have a juicer it's a moot point for the moment.

I spent the day on campus so I could do some lab work, so I took easy-to-transport foods with me: bananas. My lunch plan was to get a salad at the cafeteria, so I had an avocado that I was going to slice up for it. Unfortunately, I missed the dining hours so I ate the avocado all by itself. I was hungry, so it was extra delicious- just a bit strange as a lunch. I picked up some hummus and taboule on the way home and made a nice salad with that- very filling.

I'm finding it necessary to cut back on my favorite substance: garlic! My girlfriend reports that its aroma is starting to take hold of me. If it's not one thing it's another, I tell you.

BREAKFAST
banana

LUNCH
avocado

DINNER
salad with hummus and taboule

SNACKS
banana

TOTAL POINTS: 28

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

I don't know what kind of Spring Break this is- all I did was study again! I didn't bother going to the café since I'm still annoyed with them. I just stayed home and ate my salads and fruit. Unfortunately, I must admit that I didn't eat much. That is partly because I'm running out of food. Time to go shopping!

Today I started soaking some wheat berries. According to the package, they should sprout in 2 to 3 days. My plan is to use them to make one of the living bread recipes in the Juliano's "Uncook Book" Tomorrow I'm supposed to start rinsing them 3 times a day. Hope I don't forget!

TODAY'S MEALS

BREAKFAST (Salad)
Spinach
Blue cheese
olive oil
tomato
scallions
8 points

LUNCH
banana
2 points

DINNER (Salad)
Spinach
hummus
Olive oil
scallions
garlic
tomato
cucumbers
10 points

TOTAL POINTS: 20

Monday, March 13th 2006

I hung out at my new favorite spot and had two smoothies over the hours that I was there. I decided I'd better find out what is in those things- assuming they are only fruit just because that's what the menu says can get me in trouble. Sure enough, it turns out they add some kind of powder to it, whose ingredients are unknown (at least to the staff). What a disappointment. I asked if they can make it without the milk or the powder and the guy said that would be no problem. That really shows me that I have to ask the right questions before I eat or drink anything I don't make myself! I can't say for certain what my point intake is now because who knows what was in that powder? Let's say it had 2 tablespoons of sugar- that would only add 2 points, so my estimate of a total of 35 points today is probably not far off. I'll just chalk the past two days up to an unexpected treat, I guess!

TODAY'S MEALS

BREAKFAST (Homemade smoothie)
pineapple
Strawberries
2 kiwi
4 oz OJ
banana

LUNCH (Homemade salad)
Spinach
Garlic
avocado
tomato
rawblue cheese

DINNER
Smoothie from internet cafe

SNACK
Another smoothie from the cafe

TOTAL POINTS: 35 (estimated)

Sunday, March 12: Beginning of Week 10 Eating Raw

(NOTE: Unfortunately blogspot was down last night so I could not post March 12th until today)

Today I visited a new café so that I could study away from the house. I was thrilled to find out they are into fresh and organic foods. It's amazing how many raw-friendly places might be around me that I have not yet discovered. At the café I had a smoothie for lunch that they made from banana, mango, peaches and orange juice (I asked them to leave out the skim milk). Later in the day I had an "elixir" made from juiced carrot, beet, apple and ginger. It really made me miss my L'Equp juicer. This place just might become my new hangout. They sell plenty of things I won't eat, like bakery items and sandwiches, but they carry salads and a wide variety of smoothies and juices. They even sell packages of goji berries and raw cacao.

I feel very full right now- that large juice really filled me up! Even though my budget doesn't really support it, it is nice to get out of the house and have someone else make my meals for me. My raw food experience is a little easier on the days I get to buy a restaurant salad or even make my own from a salad bar. No chopping, grating or cleanup involved!

My estimated total of points today is 28.

BREAKFAST Salad
Spinach
Raw blue cheese
garlic
tomato
Bean sprouts
1/2 oz pecans
8 points

LUNCH smoothie
Mango
Banana
peach
orange juice
10 points (estimate)

DINNER Salad
Taboule
Lettuce
2 oz raw blue cheese
zucchini slices
10 points

SNACKS

WEEKLY SUMMARY for Week 9 of My Raw Odyssey

A DECENT WEEK

This week I had my first meal at a non-raw/non-salad bar restaurant, and things went really well. I had one of the healthier choices on the menu, made a few adjustments to it, and everything was fine. No cravings, no bingeing, no feelings of guilt or deprivation. That's success!

I've gotten a few pieces of advice on the blogs for how to make my meals more tasty. Ren suggests flavors like chili pepper and wasabi (I love wasabi!) for my sushi. Good idea- I don't know why I've stayed away from wasabi all this time. I was probably concentrating too much on the nama shoyu for all my flavor.

Chubbiegirl, who is gluten free, suggests I do what she does:

"i take half of an avocado (all of this is diced or in it's small natural state), red pepper, carrots, a slice of onion-or chives, corn (i use organic frozen), pistachios, and raisins. then i mix up a dressing of honey, cilantro, jalapeno, salt, apple cider vinegar, lime and olive oil. i just whip it up in the blender or small chopper. it should be sweet and spicey. i dress the veggie mix with this and spoon it into a red cabbage leaf. it's super yummy.you could use any salad veggie you like. i've also used snap peas, cucumber, etc... the dressing can also be varied. try nama shoyu or braggs with sesame oil for flavor".

That sounds great! Thanks a lot for that idea.

THIS WEEK'S WEIGHT LOSS

I lost only 1 pound this week. I'm happy in general, but of course disappointed that the weight that I have made "magical" (299) was not achieved this week. But it's pretty cool that I lost a pound despite the increase in my fat intake and point count- I ate more food this week than I have in a while, and feel great. If I wanted to lose weight more quickly, I could probably go back to eating only fruit for breakfast because I usually end up eating fewer points that day. I've found myself de-emphasizing the fruit breakfast in order to get higher-fat foods in. Despite my desire to lose weight quickly, I prefer to feel satisfied after a good meal; I really don't want this to feel like "dieting," where I deliberately eat less even though I'm hungry. To this end I will strive to:

• Continue to count points instead of calories

Since I'm eating raw, I don't worry about "bad food" and "good food" in my diet the way I did when eating SAD, so I can focus on eating enough to feel satisfied and to be healthy. Points are working better for me than calories in this regard.

• Have fruit for breakfast

This gives me a good start for the day. I'm less hungry first thing in the morning so a light meal like fruit works great before 10 a.m. I can save my fattier meals for when I need them in the afternoon. I just have to make sure I eat enough!

• Consider losing the scale for a while

Ren, who gives me lots of good advice on the blog, mentioned that I should stop looking at the scale. I've tried that in the past, and it is very helpful for people who are obsessed with their weight loss (or with reaching 299 lbs!). I should try it because concentrating too much on the scale turns my raw odyssey into more of an old-style weight-loss diet than a new lifestyle. Of course, I switched to raw primarily to lose weight, so I have a keen interest in my progress. How to deal with these two issues? Well, since an addiction to the scale is counter productive, I will probably ween myself off it. Don't know how yet, but I'll figure something out. SAD habits die hard!

NUTRIENTS

Calories..................................1008 to 1758
Weight Watcher's Points:.....Average of 30 points per day
Fat..........................................52g to 77g
Carbs......................................80g to 177g
Protein...................................24g to 55g


WEIGHT LOSS
STARTED WEEK AT: 301
ENDED WEEK AT: 300
TOTAL LOST SINCE JANUARY 1ST 2006: 42 lbs.


COMPARISONS TO PREVIOUS SUMMARIES

Compare to week 1
Compare to last week
Compare to week 2
Compare to week 3
Compare to week 4
Compare to week 5
Compare to week 6
Compare to week 7

Dear Readers: What has been the most challenging aspect of eating raw?

A RAW FOOD COMMUNITY SURVEY

It would be very helpful for me to know how other people have dealt with challenges as raw foodists. Perhaps you had nutritional issues or family opposition. Maybe food costs have been a concern. Maybe you just keep forgetting you're supposed to eat raw -like in the old days when I used to forget that I'd just re-joined Weight Watchers for the umpteenth time, and wouldn't remember until after I'd eaten that King-size Snickers bar. But I digress...

I invite everyone to post comments on two things:

1) What has been the most challenging for you as a person who strives to eat all/mostly raw foods?
2) If you resolved that problem, how did you do it?

You don't have to list only one thing- I'm sure I have about 5 items I could list myself right off the bat. The idea is to share not only the challenges but your resolution to that challenge so that we can all learn from your experience. However, if you haven't solved the problem yet, list it anyway! Maybe someone else has a suggestion for you.

MUCHAS GRACIAS, EVERYONE!

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Today was my first visit to a "regular" restaurant since I went raw: Mimi's Café. The place was styled as a French bistro but serves mostly American food. The first thing I did was peruse the menu for the least-cooked foods I could find. I liked their "Bleu Cheese and Walnut Salad" - it seemed to be the easiest to adapt to my needs. It comes with a mix of spring lettuce, walnuts, blue cheese, dried cranberries, strawberries, bacon, and a vinaigrette dressing. My conversation with the server went something like this:

ME: "I'd like the Bleu Cheese and Walnut Salad" but with a few changes
SERVER: Sure, what would you like?
ME: I'd like to substitute avocado for the bacon
SERVER: all right
ME: And one more thing- could I have olive oil and vinegar instead of the vinaigrette?
SERVER: OK. Would you like a muffin?
ME: No, thank you.
SERVER: Do you want the bread and butter?
ME: Oh, no- I'm fine.
SERVER (with a knowing smirk): On a diet, huh?
ME (short pause): Yep.

I really wanted to tell her I just eat raw, but it's easier to just go along with the diet comment sometimes. I wonder if servers will ask me if I'm on a diet after I've lost all my excess weight and am still eating this way.

Anyway, the salad was great, but it had a lot less cheese than I would normally use at home. Probably a good thing, since it wasn't raw. In fact, nothing that was non-raw was present in an amount large enough to make me feel any concern. There were only a few dried cranberries and maybe 1/2 oz of walnuts. There was more lettuce than anything and I ended up not finishing that- I just made sure I ate up all the flavor! So my first non-raw restaurant experience wasn't a bad one, and I didn't make myself crazy over not being 100% raw. I think that for me, this is the best way to go. If I get dogmatic over being raw over everything else, I won't have any leeway for social situations and I'll be feeling either deprived or guilty.

By the way, the restaurant's menu is online, so you can take a look at what they offer if you're curious. If you are somewhere in the southwest, maybe you can pay them a visit, too!

TODAY'S MEALS

BREAKFAST smoothie
banana
papaya
mango
oj
4 strawberries
6 points


LUNCH (restaurant salad)
15 points (I'm estimated that I might have overdone the olive oil a bit)

DINNER (homemade salad)
Spinach leaves
Raw blue cheese
garlic
avocados
tomato
Centrum vitamin
7 points

SNACKS
none - yet!

TOTAL POINTS: 28

March 10, 2006

(Photo: Enoki mushrooms)

ENOKI: these mushrooms have a mild flavor, and fresh ones have a bit of a snap when you bite into them. Before using, you should cut the base off the bunch and discard it, then rinse the mushrooms. According to Wikipedia, stores usually sell enokis that have been cultivated in bottles, so you can often see the bottle imprint around the bottom of them. I've used enoki in sushi because they are mild-tasting and very attractive, but I think I will try chopping them up so that they mimic rice.

Life is cruel. I got on the scale this morning and I was at 299.5! I ran and got my camera so I could record this magic moment. When I got back on the scale: 300.5. ??? Got off and got back on. 300.5. Picked up the scale and turned it in the other direction. 300.5. Adjusted the little dial to ensure it was exactly on 0. 300.5. Used the telephoto on the camera so I could really see the number- maybe it's my eyes. 300.5. I gave up.

But hey- I'm on Spring break! That makes everything better. I ate a nice huge brunch (details below) and enjoyed each of the 46 grams of fat it contained. Yum! I had 2 delicious cups of fresh orange juice along with it. I used "juice oranges" I bought at Whole Foods last night but was disappointed in the amount of juice they actually yielded. Juice oranges indeed! Generally I can get close to 4 oz. of juice from a medium sized orange, but not frome these little misers. Luckily, I bought a variety of oranges and tangerines. The biggest orange I got netted me a full 8 - I was very impressed.

For dinner I made sushi and used chopped enoki mushrooms for rice. It worked really well! A bag of these mushrooms costs 99 cents and I used two bags for three rolls. Now, if I could only think of some tasty ingredients to go in there besides scallions and avocados... my bordom with my homemade sushi is the bland taste.

TODAY'S MEALS

BREAKFAST (big salad)
2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
Salad:
Spinach leaves
taboule
garlic
scallions
tomato
cucumber
pecans
avocado
olive oil
19 points

LUNCH
(none)

DINNER
Sushi
7 points

SNACKS
Mango
2 points

TOTAL POINTS 28

March 9, 2006

Yesterday I read an article that was mentioned on welikeitraw.com that I found interesting. A raw food chef talked about how eating non-raw foods on occasion has been challenging. I have noticed that there are raw foodists who don't like it when prominent raw foodists openly discuss mixing cooked foods into their diet. I feel that my raw odyssey is more for my health than anything. I want to remain as raw as possible so that I can continue quickly towards my weight loss goal, but after I reach it I'm not sure that I'll strive to eat the same high percentage of raw foods I eat now. For example, I really love sushi and miss it. The way I plan to make my food decisions won't be on "what a raw foodist should eat" but on "what Allison should eat". Any way of eating that feels restrictive can lead a person to "cheat," (and I've been there before!) so it's important to me to know that I'm eating a certain way for me rather than to fit into someone else's conception of what I should eat.

I snuck a peek at the scale and I've lost only about 1/2 lb. It's like my body knows I have this huge milestone coming up and is going to delay it as long as possible! Just a two pound loss this week would be enough to reach that mileston. If it doesn't happen, though, I'll get over it. It's gonna happen eventually, so I'm not very worried!

TODAY'S MEALS

BREAKFAST
Sushi- homemade, of course!
5 points

LUNCH
Hummus sandwich
7 points

DINNER
Salad
7 points

SNACKS
Nuts
9 points

Total 28 points

March 8th 2006

Wow- by Weight Watcher's standards I've really overdone it today. 10 points over my daily allotment. What really did it was the red wine I had this evening. I didn't need the wine, of course, but I decided to splurge. We'll see what effect my high-point days have on my weight loss this week! I have to say that it's nice to feel "full". Not overly full, just pleasantly full. When I eat only two meals a day, I think I end up with less of an energetic feeling. It's something I only notice when I compare those days with a day like today where I had plenty to eat. It's bed time and I feel great- not at all hungry, not stuffed or uncomfortable. I feel like I ate heartily. I think avocados and hummus are what give me that kind of feeling. Having hummus again has allayed some of the boredom I was feeling with my menu. I'll probably get bored all over again in a week or so, but it's nice to not be sick of my meals this week.


TODAY'S FOODS

BREAKFAST
Hummus Sandwich
OJ
13 points

LUNCH
Hummus sandwich
9 points

DINNER
Salad
Red Wine
20 points

TOTAL POINTS: 42 points

March 7th, 2006

Today I made hummus using sprouted garbanzo beans. It was pretty easy. Since I didn't sprout the beans myself, I wasn't worried about them tasting bitter from not having been sprouted for the proper length of time. I did soak them in water for the day just in case that might make them softer. When I returned home, the beans has increased in size a bit, and had soaked up a lot of the water.

I threw them (16 oz) into the food processor and pureed them, then added some tahini, olive oil , 3 cloves of garlic, salt and lime juice. It took a lot of trial and error before getting a taste that wasn't strongly "raw bean". The garlic and salt helped, but I added some of my berebere African spice mix and really liked that effect. The texture isn't too bad. The olive oil really helped to make it creamier by taking away some of the grainy texture. I didn't measure anything- just did it by taste. To make sure I hadn't forgotten anything, I tasted my hummus from Whole Foods and decided I liked mine even better! So now I've finally made mostly-raw hummus. I say mostly-raw because I can't ensure that the tahini I put in it wasn't cooked in some way. It's always something, isn't it?

BREAKFAST
Humus sandwich

LUNCH
Salad

DINNER
Sushi

SNACKS
None!

TOTAL POINTS: 30

March 6th 2006

Another busy day for a student/teaching assistant. But I made sure to have a good breakfast and lunch. I had a hummus sandwich before leaving, and took a salad to school with me. I bought a 32 oz. bottle of water on campus. When I came home I had another hummus sandwich. It is now closing in on midnight and since I'm below points, I'm eating nuts and a mango, though I'm not hungry. That'll bring me up to 34 points. That'll help event things out over the week!

BREAKFAST (Hummus sandwich)
2 slices Ezekiel bread
Hummus
Taboule
Avocado
bean sprouts
8 points

LUNCH
Salad
8 points

DINNER
Hummus sandwich (same as breakfast)
8 points

SNACKS
Mango
Nuts
10 points

March 5th, 2006

Today was another one of those stressful days. I really didn't feel like eating much, so I didn't. I'm sure I'll make up for it this week, though. Sparkpeople seems to be down tonight, so I couldn't record my meals. Guess I'll be playing catch-up tomorrow!

I took a walk this evening for a little peace and quiet. I didn't bother timing myself; I just took it nice and slow. I'll probably do that more often, as it's a nice way to clear your head. As far as the exercise quality, they say it doesn't matter how quickly you walk, just how long you do it. You could run a mile or walk a mile and still get the same benefits.

TODAY'S MEALS

BREAKFAST
Salad
12 points

LUNCH
Hummus sandwich
6 points

DINNER
zilch!

SNACKS
Banana
2 points

TOTAL POINTS: 20 (what can I say? I don't feel like I'm starving!)

Summary of my 8th Week Raw

PROGRESS FOR WEEK 8

• This week was very experimental for me. I switched to counting points late last week, which had a greater impact on my eating than I thought it would. I found myself striving to eat more in order to make my point count. This backfired a couple of times when I simply ate too much and felt uncomfortable. I had trouble making the 32 point minimum at first, but I've exceeded it at least twice this week. This is because my fat intake went up, leading me to have a couple of days where my calories were higher than even sparkpeople recommends. Yet, I've lost FOUR (count 'em) FOUR pounds this week, bringing me to 40 lbs lost in 8 weeks. That's 5 lbs a week, average.
• I visited the gym once- but only once! I haven't figured out how to work that into my busy student's schedule. I didn't have a wonderful time, but I can definitely see the benefits I would reap if I could spend time on physical fitness. Perhaps I'll start walking around my block between study sessions.
  

Here are my conclusions:
1) Even with the higher fat intake I lost 4 lbs. I'm not planning to continue with high fat, but if it happens, I'll be monitoring to see if it inhibits weight loss as many people believe

2) I need to start scouting around for new recipes so that boredom doesn't lead me away from raw.

3) There are definitely some negatives for me in eating raw: the work involved in preparing vegetables and fruit, the monotony of resorting to the same easily-prepared meals for two weeks or more, and the challenges of finding foods in non-raw restaurants. It really makes me wonder how hard it'll be to stay 99% raw for the remainder of my weight loss, let alone the rest of my life! (I normally don't care for the percentage label but I want acknowledge that I the bulgur I put in my taboule isn't "raw", even though I buy it uncooked from Whole Foods and only soak it. Also, the chickpeas in the store-bought hummus isn't raw. I haven't yet found raw hummus that I can afford.)

4) My motivation to stay raw stems mainly from my weight loss - I'm now only 2 pounds away from the 200s - and from obvious health gains, like my blood pressure improvement.

5) My next weight goal is 299 lbs. The goal following that is a total weight loss of 50 lbs.

6) I am making two new efforts: I will strive to drink more water and to add exercise, somehow, into my schedule.


WEEK 8 FOOD SUMMARY

NUTRIENTS

Calories.......................949 to 1522
Fat...............................19g to 84g
Carbs...........................124g to 290g
Protein.........................10g to 49g


WEIGHT LOSS 4 lbs
STARTED WEEK AT: 305
ENDED WEEK AT: 301
TOTAL POUNDS LOST SINCE JANUARY 1ST 2006: 40 lbs!!


COMPARISONS

Compare to week 1
Compare to last week
Compare to week 2
Compare to week 3
Compare to week 4
Compare to week 5
Compare to week 6