Nutritionist Day Again

I figured out a way to explain my way of eating to the nutritionist. I told her that at the end of the day, I want to have met my nutritional goals - particularly calories, fiber, saturated fat, carbs, protein, vitamins and water intake. The easiest way for me to meet most of these goals is to eat a largely raw, unprocessed diet. Because most of my food is raw, the less-healthy items don't destroy my day nutritionally. I told her that I don't want to deal with the Raw Police! She gets it, and can see that my daily intake is nutritionally sound- except on those days that I am low on calories or protein (still issues for me when I eat a high-raw diet).

One thing I really have to work on is making each meal nutritionally sound. I may meet my nutritional goals by the end of the day but I don't do it as healthfully as I could. If I get frazzled and don't set time aside to put a balanced meal together, I find myself eating anything that best fits my nutritional requirements thus far. Lacking protein and there are nuts available? I'll have two ounces of nuts, or a protein shake.My nutritionist hates that! She told me that each of my meals should be balanced rather than overly representative of any particular nutrient. I will have to work harder to create balanced meals and to spread those calories throughout the day.

Anyway, I managed to lose another 2 lbs, so now I'm down 22 since June 10th. My pants are definitely looser but not a soul has noticed that I look any slimmer. Oh well- it'll be that much more fun when someone does see a difference.

Back to Trader Joe's

Today I took my protein-enhanced grocery list to Trader Joe's to see what they carry. The only spirulina I found came in pill form. When I saw that the bottle gives the protein content for a 9-pill serving I said FORGET IT! I'm just not into pills. Vitamins are hard enough for me to remember, and I like vitamins right now! I thought I'd find some other form of spirulina there but I didn't.

I picked up some Greek style yogurt, whey powder, raw almonds, snow peas, berries, several packaged salads (yes, I'm lazy), spinach and mangoes. My processed/non-raw protein sources for the week will be yogurt, Eggbeaters, cottage cheese, tofu, garbanzo beans and whey powder. The rest of the protein will come from hemp, nuts, greens and the protein in the veggies I use in my salads.

Oh-I did decide to try a couple of protein drinks from the refrigerated section. I'll save those for when I find my protein to be lower than I'd like at the end of the day. I considered protein bars but they really are too processed for my taste right now. The other thing about the protein bars is that they look too much like candy, are sweet, and will probably trigger cravings for stuff I want to stay far away from. I don't think it's good for me to keep any on hand. They sure are convenient, though!

When I shop, I look closely at labels to see how much nutritional bang I'm getting for the buck. I don't worry about fat content too much if the fat is not saturated, but if a food is high-calorie, I prefer that it has a good amount of protein rather than a lot of fat. I will tend to avoid foods high in carbs if they aren't also high in fiber (veggies I'll eat regardless, though). I generally choose foods that are lower in sodium and sugar. As far as processed foods, my most basic "rule" is that the closer the food looks to its natural state, the more likely it is to make it into my diet. Again, exceptions are those foods that give me the boost of protein I'm looking for.

Raw Food Community

I've been slowly reconnecting with members of the raw food community not only through this blog, but through MySpace groups and other raw food blogs and sites. That saying that you don't know what you've got until it's gone is really true when it comes to the raw food community. Although I'm not spiritual or political about raw food (and therefore tend to relate less easily to raw foodists who are motivated primarily by those ideas), the raw foodists I've met tend to be kind, decent, down-to-earth folks who want to make their lives and the lives of others better. It's generally a nice community to belong to and I've missed you all!

The closer I get in my mindset to returning to the kind of thinking that made aspects of my raw plan successful last year, the more excited I get about experiencing that sense of community again. I'm more optimistic this time that I'll avoid the hair-loss problem because I'll be seeing the nutritionist, and because I've learned from my past experience. Last year, having no personal knowledge to draw from, I had to rely on other people's personal experiences and beliefs about eating raw. This year I've got a lot of reading under my belt about nutrition, and I think getting a nutritionist was a smart thing to do. My raw odyssey this time around will be better informed by what I've learned about my own needs, likes/dislikes and lifestyle.

If any of you raw foodists have MySpace pages, feel free to look me up at http://www.myspace.com/rawodyssey. It's always reassuring to see so many of us in one spot, even if it is "virtual!" Although I'm better informed these days, I still turn to other raw foodists for motivation, inspiration and different kinds of information. See you there!