Raw Food 30 Day Challenge -- Completed
I like the model of trying out some new behaviour or success habit for 30 days. I got the idea from Steve Pavlina, who refers to it as the 30 day trial (read it!).
I find that I'm not particularly concerned with whether I keep the new behaviour beyond the 30 days. All that matters to me are the effects of the pattern interrupt -- and the opportunity to strengthen my self-discipline and willpower by saying I am going to do something and then doing it for the allotted time.
30 days is a reasonable span of time. Once it's over it seems like nothing -- you don't particularly miss the time that you could have spent on the old behaviours! But during the 30 days it can seem like it's stretching on forever. ;-)
Knowing that there is an end date is good, it makes the challenge seem more possible and acceptable than an open-ended forever goal. Think of all those people who made open-ended New Year's resolutions to exercise more, eat better, give up smoking and so on.
Most of those will have quit by Jan 13th (apparently this is the day that most people give up on their New Year detox diets and exercise plans!).
If they had set a smaller, end-in-sight goal like giving up smoking for a week, many more people could have achieved that goal. In doing so they would feel like a success and not like a failure. They would have added to their self-belief and sense of willpower, rather than contributing to its erosion.
So what did I eat for the 30 days of RAW?
Breakfast was fresh fruit (apples, orange, kiwi fruit) and nuts.
Lunch was bananas, raisons and brazil nuts.
Dinner was large salad with olive oil/lemon juice dressing ... and, you guessed it, nuts!
Evening snack was repeat of breakfast.
I drank only bottled water, and one cup of detox herbal tea per day.
What benefits did I get from being on a raw food diet?
The primary benefit was an extraordinary level of physical energy. I was surprised by this as I had been on a raw food diet for a couple of years when I was in my late teens, and had often experienced a kind of slump in energy in the afternoons. I think the difference was that I ate more meals this time and included a large handful of nuts (almonds, brazils, cashews, macadamias, pecans or walnuts) with every meal. This boost in energy was really noticeable when exercising -- I just didn't feel worn out by an exercise like I did on cooked foods.
What else?
My skin definitely improved in tone and looks younger, with less wrinkles. My hair is thicker and shinier. I would estimate that I lost about 10lbs, however I wasn't doing it to lose weight so I didn't weigh myself before and after -- I am just going on appearances. My stomach is flat as a teenagers -- which is good as I just turned 38 a few days ago. Muscle tone is great -- again I put this down to the inclusion of nuts in diet... oh and the body-weight work outs, walks and sprints!
Were there strong detox symptoms from being on raw food?
No. I think I had a mild headache the very first day, but I think that was as much to do with the fact I didn't get a chance to drink much water on that day. The odd thing was that my eyes were frequently quite blood shot during this month. This surprised me as my recollection of being on raw food was that it cleaned up the whites of your eyes, and made your eyes clearer and shinier. (Of course, I've been on the PC for hours each day too, and never slept for more than 6 hours a night during the month -- so that could be a big contributor to the red eye!). I'm fairly sure that the nuts and mixtures of foods at one meal sufficed to minimise the stronger detox effects of eating this way. If you want to detox without fasting you need to stick to one type of raw fruit like eating only apples for 3 days, or a week on nothing but celery.
What were the downsides to being on raw food for a month?
I was lucky in that it has been a very mild January here, so I wasn't excessively cold. On the colder days you can feel a bit sorrier for yourself tucking into a salad for dinner when everyone else in the family is eating something hot and delicious smelling! There were also two birthdays to celebrate this month -- my son's and my own -- which meant no sharing in the goodies and treats. A highlight was tucking into the raw birthday cake my wife and son made for me (made from figs, dates, coconut and, yep, nuts!).
The Raw Food Flush
Of course, with all this raw high-fibre food, I found myself going to the toilet several times a day. We're talking number 2s here people! And one very unwelcome side affect of the raw food -- the buggers float! Think multiple flushes! Okay, okay too much information, I'm sorry ;-) Pretend I never mentioned it.
Would I recommend it?
Yes, I think if you've never tried the raw food diet, it's definitely worth giving yourself a 30 day trial or even a 7 day trial to start with. It promotes a mental clarity, weans you off unconscious food addictions, lightens your body, improves your digestion, frees you from hunger and compulsion, raises your energy and vibration, and stirs up your consciousness.
Here are some useful raw food resources:
The Raw Secrets -- The most complete book on living on an optimal Raw Food Diet for better health. Click here.
Nature's First Law -- Fabulous online US raw food shop and home of top raw foodists David Wolfe and Stephen Arlin -- www.rawfood.com
Shazzie.com -- personal site of Shazzie, a lovely raw food lady who also owns and runs top UK raw food supplies site -- www.detoxyourworld.com
The Fresh Network -- this is the largest raw food organisation in Europe headed up by Karen Knowler, editor of Get Fresh! magazine -- www.fresh-network.com
Allissa Cohen -- I like this lady's site, she's author of "Living on Live Food", frequently appears on USA TV shows teaching raw food diet -- www.alissacohen.com
How To Do The Raw Food Diet With Joy -- Health, Energy, And Success For You With A Flexible Living Food Diet. 230 Page Book, With 26 Raw Recipes! Click here!
Wishing you health and willpower,
Wily
