My Raw Food Experiment

From what you have posted you are eating far less than you need each day. I would again suggest a good multivitamin/mineral complex and also you should include more protein. If you don't want to eat meat and fish then get some soy protein from your local gym of health food store.

Some casein protein may be more suitable as it will keep you full longer.

I've been saving all the pulp in the freezer in case I need it for a recipe or something. Really the only thing that leaves any collectible remains are the carrots, and the lime which I used this morning. Everything else leaves MAYBE a half teaspoon or so.

Sadly I don't have a a blender, but I do agree that some of the good stuff is in the rind or skin that would otherwise be thrown away. I'll get one fairly soon.

Regarding the calories, that thought crossed my mind as well. I don't feel hungry at all though and my energy level is much higher than usual. As I said, I'm paying close attention to what my body is telling me and am intelligent enough to not let things get out of control.

Some of the posters here seem to think I'm approaching this like those in that video posted on the first page. This is absolutely not the case. I'm not a whack-job going on a permanent and unsustainable diet, I'm a curious person experimenting with something for a little while to watch the effects.

Regarding the blood-sugar/detox, I'm not sure what to think. Without a reference from a knowledgeable source it's really your word vs. the word of those who've done this before. Given the scenario I think I'd lean towards the several communities that discuss this; though I'll keep your opinion in mind.

And yes, I do need more protein. I just don't like whole nuts all that much. I'll puree them into a butter when I get my blender.

Edit: The protein suggestions above sound like a good idea. I do have a good quantity of smoke salmon already.

[edit on 18-7-2010 by Brentnauer]

reply to post by Brentnauer


Understand you are listening to an inately biased community who have already suubmitted to the marketting hype of detoxing. My knowledge comes only from scientific papers and none of them support the idea of a detox.

For a very basic break down of detox diets from a respectable source view this.

www.mayoclinic.com...

The Mayo clinic is world renowned. It doesn't mention the headaches but if you research it further you will find that erratic blood sugar levels do cause headaches and furthermore withdrawal from refined sugar also causes headaches as it is basically an addictive substance.

As an added extra here is an article from the BBC quoting vvarious bits of research

news.bbc.co.uk...

[edit on 18-7-2010 by ImaginaryReality1984]

Good luck to you.
I have been on a raw food diet before. I made it 8 months, now I eat raw when I can but I'm no longer stressed about it.

If it hasn't already been said, you MUST get a blender. You can't go raw with a juicer.
Green smoothies are your best friend, research them, load up the nutrients and superfoods and drink them if you must but for gods sake you need the pulp.
A juicer destroys some nutrients that a blender doesn't (through heating) and it's nice but it isn't a lifestyle.

Watch your calories too, it's far too easy to not eat enough you don't want malnutrition on a raw diet but it's easy to do.
You will get gas

Most people who start off will eat more fruit than vegetables because it's nicer - that will change as you go through the process and as you experience the changes that are coming. Eventually you will eat way more vegetables than fruit.
Add superfoods and dairy/fish if you want.
You will not regret it if you push through the first month or two, in fact, from experience this will be a turning point in your life mentally and spiritually.
Just make sure you balance your diet, whether or not you like nuts, you need fat and protein - oh and stay away from the frankensoy...


[edit on 18-7-2010 by trouble_every_day]

reply to post by ImaginaryReality1984


Thanks! I will definitely read up on this tomorrow.

To all: I absolutely do not pretend to know the ins and outs of nutrition... This much is obvious based on my previous diet. My method of experimentation is by no means perfect and I'm bound to make mistakes. When these mistakes are noticed, please don't misconstrue them to the point that the original goal is moot or I become perceived as some kind of crazy person. I've seen that happen on these forums a few times. If I'm screwing something up, point it out and I'll address it.

As mentioned above, I did under-eat for the past two days (although to be fair, I was fortunate enough to be pretty sedentary this weekend). My calorie count for today ended up being a little under 800 which is obviously low. I definitely need to correct this... The addition of nuts and a little more fish should probably help.

I'm not going to starve myself or be so extreme as to make myself sick. The first time you try anything is bound to be a little rough until you figure things out. This is why it's good to have a nice mix of people to point out my errors!

Thanks for all the commentary and input so far, I had no idea this would get such a large reaction!

[edit on 18-7-2010 by Brentnauer]

Bananas are one thing I used to prop up the calories - they are awesome...

reply to post by trouble_every_day


Yeah, that surprised me when I was doing the calorie counting! 72 per banana!

Some advice, dont get too carried away, i been vegan for over 2 years now and the last 2 months i became a raw food vegan, but i ruined my raw diet by tryign to do a water fast, after 5 days on the water fast i started eating again and then went right back into cooked food. major relapse. so be carefull with juice fasts and water fasts

Love the raw food idea. Lots of things in there you can put into your diet as raw. Sprouts, fruits, veggies.

Raw milk has been considered a good thing by many. If the cow is organically fed and healthy, then this would make great nutrition in my eyes. Some people eat everything raw.

For the best results you would want to have true organic foods, which is what we should be eating in the first place. But, obviously budget will play a role in what you can actually get.

Some people would want to sell you on the idea that food alone can provide you with enough nutrition. That has yet to be proven, so I think supplementation is important.

Someone mentioned getting too much vitamin C. Not hardly from food sources. I take pretty much a minimum of 3 grams a day of C. Some people take over 10 times this amount daily. You should boost your B vitamins too with mega doses of C. Very important vitamin.

Troy

Wouldn't work well if you needed an antihistamic diet.

I take vit c every day to help clear out the histamines that my crazy body produces. My doc tells me not to go over 1000mg a day or I could get kidney stones.

I have heard there is a film coming out about a guy that's really overweight that has chronic urticaria (not the autoimmune type though)...that goes on a raw food diet, loses weight, and cures his chronic hives. I wanna see it when it comes out.

My immune system is so strong, it seems I actually do better eating crap. I can't stand to though. I did try to start having a drink or two every night. (of alcohol) Well, I am just not a drker. I tried. I made it 3 nights and quit. I drink water & sometimes weak cherry juice or lemonade- nothing else tastes right.

reply to post by Brentnauer


way to go! I started three weeks ago coincidentally. I feel more energized and the smell of meet is starting to disgust me.

I hope your smoked salmon is wild caught and not farmed because that would defeat the entire purpose of eating clean.

You don't have to eat raw but what you have to take out of your current diet is processed and refined sugars, oils, and grains.

You also have to eat non-GMO, whole foods, with limited to no pesticides/chemicals, etc..etc...

After much research, I've found that RAW is a great step ahead from where you are, but it isn't the final answer/solution to what your body really needs to be truly nourished.

Congrats for being able to confront what you eat though, this is something many Americans are unwilling to do.

reply to post by eLPresidente


Yep, the label says wild-caught!

reply to post by Brentnauer


Congratulations on your quest to a healthier you Brentnauer. Since you are testing the waters going raw, superfoods, wholefood, I'm suggesting uptake of Chlorella and Spirulina 50/50 Mix for your diet. Chlorella and spirulina taken together produce incredibly powerful health benefits including cleansing and for heavy metals detoxification.

You can learn more about these two superfoods in a free book online by Mike Adams, the Consumer Wellness Research Center.

Chlorella is a green single-celled algae cultivated in fresh water ponds. Chlorella is one of the healthiest, most potent foods in existence. Spirulina is a blue-green algae It is one of the strongest nutraceuticals available and is well known for joint support. It is a powerful antioxidant and an extremely high energy food.

Spirulina is a natural, easily assimilated complete protein. It's nature's highest source of chlorophyll pigment, rich in such chelated minerals as iron, calcium, zinc, potassium, and magnesium, a fine source of vitamin A and B-complex vitamins, and it contains phenylalanine, which acts on the brain's appetite center to decrease hunger pangs—while also keeping your blood sugar at the proper level.

Enjoy your journey and stay healthy.

As far as proteins. I put top grade almonds at the top of my list. It's possible to find them unprocessed. They do have some fat. But you will need that just juicing like you are.... Oh, and Edgar Casey says a few a day will keep anyone from cancer GL

Good luck on your healthy diet experiment!!
Here are my 2 cent suggestions:

1) Avoid all sparkling drinks, and drink at least 1'5 liters of water per day.
2) Avoid white orders (no rice, no pasta, no pizza, no cheese, no bread, no fries, no potatos in anyways)
3) Exclude white meats (chicken, turkey and rabbit) from point 2, because these are very good friends of the man-in-diet.
4) Begin your day with the most powerful foods and go decreasing, being dinner the powerless.
5) No sugar, no ice-creams.

Depending on your height, weight and job obligations dont be extremely hard on yourself and remember you can always at least once per week grace yourself with whatever you body is asking for.

Good luck! Im on something similar now too

reply to post by Dracan6


Almonds are good, i don't much like them as a nut but there is another better use for them, almond milk. I use it to cook porridge instead of cows milk as other alternatives are associated with a number of problems.

reply to post by Brentnauer
Well I guess you'll be taking your eggs sunnyside-up now.

I always thought that turnips and sweet potatoes are better eaten raw.

Now I will cheer you on....

RAW, RAW, EAT IT RAW!

Brentnauer, I just want you to know that although I don't plan on participating in this thread too much, I do plan on reading it every now and then to see how you're doing. I'll be one of your cheerleaders for sure. Keep up the good fight brother. I'm proud of you for trying it out, and I'm sure that this experiment will migrate from a momentary change to a lifestyle one.

reply to post by Brentnauer


CONGRATULATIONS!!! And, good luck!! It IS difficult, making a MAJOR change, in your eating style. But- "you ARE, what you eat"- so, EAT WELL!! Do NOT eat their ship!!
I personally, stopped eating "fast food", almost 20 years ago. Likewise, I gave-up commercial "soda's", also. I make my own root-beer, and mix natural juices, with PURE water!! MUCH better, than the "off the shelf" crap!!
Stay with it- you will FEEL better, and "Live Long and Prosper"!!!