This is the diary of my first ever 100 day Raw Food Challenge.
Day 1 – 3
My starting weight is 70.5kgs, which is 154 lbs. My height is 162cm or 5'4", so that's a starting BMI of 26.7, which classifies me as overweight.Oh man – what a shocker first four days. I actually had two good weeks of high raw in preparation before the challenge started. This weekend, I had quite a few challenges – the first day was a poker night at a friend’s house, and the rest of the weekend we were travelling out of town for a football game and hotel stay. NOT A GOOD START!
Here’s what I ate:
Day 1
Breakfast – pineapple and coconut smoothie. (good start)
Snacks – apples
Lunch – Vegetable and noodle soup (from the Chinese restaurant – not so good)
Dinner – crudités with hommous and (this is where I fall OFF) a whole pepperoni and cheese pizza and Pringles with dip.
Day 2 I also had not one, but TWO meals at the Japanese place Wagamama – the first was a salad with grilled veg, and the next was wholegrain noodles with veg and tofu.
Ordinarily, before raw, I would have thought them quite healthy meals. But I woke up on Sunday morning with such a hangover, it was literally like I had downed 10 beers. I haven’t drunk alcohol for about three months and I feel so much better, but obviously now food gives me sickness.
I actually had a good day 3, starting with fruit and nuts for breakfast, a salad with sundried tomatoes and then dinner was salad, coconut and raw chocolate dessert. But the damage was already done. Sunday night I got a huge headache, and it hasn’t gone away.
I'm re-reading David Wolfe's book that I got in New York -The Sunfood Diet Success System
The pictures of Kirlian photography are amazing. It really shows you how vibrant raw food really is for you.
Day 4: Why am I doing this challenge?
My friend Claire told me that she was reconnecting to why she actually wanted to do this challenge, and I thought I’d ask myself the same question.
Why is my intention for the next 100 days? Why am I doing this challenge?
- The raw food diet can be the greenest diet on the planet. How can I think of saving the planet without changing my diet?
- Emotional release. Let’s get rid of all that “baggage”. It doesn’t serve me anymore.
- Transforming possibility. I know that I’m not living up to my full potential. There are so many things I can do with my energy. I can do more, be more and achieve more. I don’t want anything to hold me back.
- Temple of health. I can be bursting with energy every single day
- Weight Loss. All my life I have been consistently “a little bit overweight”. I carry my weight in my butt and thighs, and so I’ve got this little vision of this lithe, toned and sexy little body. I can’t wait to wear my little bikini at the beach
Day 6: new job and no-poo
So, I'm just two days into my new job, and so far it's fabulous.
During the very beginning of my raw food journey, I realised that working in consultancy wasn't really fulfilling enough - I really couldn't be bothered anymore, and I didn't like the feeling of being so apathetic about what I did 9-5. I visited my friend Jen who works in New York at Easter, and I was really inspired by the way she works in the community, and I thought "wow, this is real", and then went back to my job, where it really wasn't, so I decided to pack it in, and look around for something else.
My new company is an East London charity that does tonnes of "good works" in the community. I'll be doing corporate events, so not really grass roots level work, but at least I know that the fruits of my labour actually MEAN something to me.
Interestingly enough, it's been really easy to do the challenge. I just told them at the beginning that I'm on this challenge, and nobody batted an eyelid at all. Also, because it's 10 mins walk from my house (most people commute at least an hour to work in London), then suddenly I have lots more time to make great smoothies for breakfast, do yoga in the morning, and even pop home for lunch! I got the Raw Yoga DVD from Detox your World. Seems pretty good, but it's reaaaallllly long, so I've only managed the first track so far. Has a cool lecture from David Wolfe too, which I found pretty informational.
So - I'm on my second week of no-poo (not using shampoo) and it's going pretty well. I'm wearing my hair up at work, and it seems to look ok, although it feels kinda waxy. Still a while to go until it magically becomes gorgeous, but it's not as bad as I thought. I also haven't dyed my hair since December 07, so my roots are quite long now. They've come in a mousy brown colour, but looking back at blonde photos of me, it looks pretty brassy and trashy, so the au naturelle look might be better. I know there are natural hair dyes, but I want to see what happens with my "real colour", which hasn't been seen for 10 years at least.
I'm doing both of these because of the chemicals, the packaging, the money, but also because I kind of resent the fact that women are expected to do all of this, and huge industries shoot up around preying on our insecurities about our looks and what we SHOULD do as women.
Nothing much to update food wise. Today was easy as I wasn't really focused on the food at all. I was prepared with snacks and a salad for lunch, so no biggie.
Day 7 – doing ok
So yesterday, day 7 had some successes and a failure. Work lunch was dismal but I coped, bought some bananas and then went out for some veg.
Now this is proper East London so it's not like I can go into a salad bar, but there are quite a lot of random places selling fruit and veg - so I got some mushrooms, tomato, red pepper and some okra. Not bad!
Dinner was out with Mark's work friends. I was doing well at first but caved in. Now, I was going to confess and say "I ate this and that", but you know what - life's too short. I'm back on it - it made no lasting damage other to wake up in the morning and think "hmm, gross cooked food breath", and no big deal, no need to get back on any wagon. No angst. The funniest thing is that the vegetarian stew I had had okra in it. Never had it in my life, now twice in one day!
A picture of okra - just in case you didn't know what it looked like.
Photo from Andrew Gottlieb, posted at Gothamist
Day 11 - I can fit into my "skinny jeans"!
2.5kgs (5.5 pounds) lost so far, which feels wonderful. I actually wore my skinny jeans, that I haven't worn for over a year! I put so much weight on in Thailand last year, and never lost it until now.
I went to Mildreds on the weekend, which isn't raw but it's a lovely vegetarian and vegan restaurant in Soho. The detox salad was awesome. I really noticed my taste buds have changed dramatically. We had some sweet potato fries with soured cream, which normally I would lap up, but it tasted so strange on my taste-buds, kind of heavy and like wall paper paste.
I love this way of eating. We came out full but still feeling light and clean. Afterwards we went to Fresh and Wild to buy nuts and some supplies. When we got to the checkout, the lady said "wow, are you vegans?" and for the first time, I actually said "yes" and OWNED it. Actually I said to her - "well, actually we're raw vegans", and she was so interested, because she said since starting to work at Fresh and Wild, she's exploring the vegan lifestyle and was curious how it worked. HA - me telling someone who works at Fresh & Wild about raw!
Day 14 - head full of lemon
I washed my hair with lemon this morning as part of my no-poo effort. I should have just used the juice, but I cut it in quarters and kind of rubbed it all over my scalp. It felt really great, but I've got little bits of lemon in my hair! It's still really greasy so only wearing it up, but I'm getting used to it. I asked my fiance to tell me honestly, "do I smell like a homeless person?".
Yesterday Day 13, was definitely NOT a raw day.
I went to McDonalds, of all places and had a veggie burger and a side salad. I feel bad for even going in there, and worse I actually liked the burger. Not to worry.
I can tell how much I've changed in the last couple of months. I really would have beat myself up over that. Now, it's not a big deal. I'm strong enough not to go on a week long binge. I live with the consequences (hangover, bad breath, weight gain) and move on. Best of all, I'm not really sabotaging myself. I genuinely feel satisfied and abundance on this way of living. I know it's for me, and I'm being patient and gentle with myself over the journey.
Day 12 I ate:
Breakfast - museli with almond milk and a chopped apple
Snacks - 2 plums
Lunch - carrot spaghetti with basil pesto sauce and some hemp seeds, sesame and pine nuts, smoothie with banana, orange, spinach, mint and some hemp powder
Snacks - plum, plus baby tomatoes
Dinner - banana and mango smoothie - I suspect it had some non raw ingredients, red pepper soup with small garlic bread, and salad with avocado, sprouts and herby dressing. Peppermint tea
Lesson: not to be afraid of asking for dressing on the side - even in London!
Feeling really sniffly today and a bit run down.
Day 18 - smelly durian house
So, bought a durian from my local asian place on Saturday. My fiance freaked out about paying £16 - that's US$30 people. It really does stink up the house - smells a bit like rotting fruit, or garbage. Anyway - it does taste nice, but not quite the amazing experience yet. I've put most of it into containers, as there is tonnes of the edible bit inside. I thought freezing the stuff would make the smell go away, but it doesn't - every time I open the freezer - it STINKS the whole house down! Need to eat it quickly as we are looking for a new flatmate and I don't want them to think I'm a smelly freak!
I've had a couple of really good high raw days lately, but I noticed that when I eat garlic, I really feel it the next day - gross breath and not feeling great. So, good lesson. Also, have been eating a LOT of nuts and seeds and can feel my skinny jeans getting a bit tight again.
No poo - going ok, still have really dirty hair, but it's fine. I'm dealing with it.....
Reading Amazing Grace
Day 24 - rocky times
I've definitely had a rocky couple of days. I've found myself "cheating" a few times, and then on Friday night, we went out and suddenly I was like a monster, I wanting to eat everything in sight - a meatball sub at subway, and then Ben & Jerry's after! I just have to make sure I keep eating enough food, so I don't do that again. It was weird though - I've gotten to really like the empty, light and clean feeling in my stomach, but suddenly I wanted to feel stuffed, like I always was before.
The bingeing has continued - yesterday we ate kettle chips, home made pizza and baked sweet potato. It all tasted so good, for a moment, I just wanted to quit raw, because it was all so tasty and satisfying. I had dark thoughts - like "I'll never really be thin - I may as well just continue. What's the point?". I've never felt like I was so fat, that it was drastic, but I know I'm not healthy and I do have some health problems.
We're going to France tomorrow and I will do my best to eat the healthy produce that I know is actually good for me. I've also got the 30 day celebration meal with the other people in London who are doing the Raw Fu challenge raw fooders, and I can't help thinking that I want to continue being raw so I can impress them, which I know is silly. I'm sure they have their fair share of challenges. I also want to take a good 30 day picture. This is pretty vain and unnecessary, as it's for me, and not for others to get through this challenge.
Oh another thing - I went to a CODA meeting yesterday. I know I have some issues from my childhood which are some of the causes around my overeating, and feelings of shame and unworthiness. I know these feelings will not help my raw food journey, so I'm determined to do something about them, as part of "cleaning house" inside and out.
We're doing a house spring clean as well. I have the desire to simplify my life, and so I've been donating clothes and books to charity shops and the local library, it feels good and I want to keep going with this.
I'm also going to start my veg garden when I get back from France. This will be really exciting!!
Day 30 - picture time
This is my first "after picture". I can definitely see a change in my belly. My shorts seem to fit better and my face looks a bit calmer. I can see the change that no-poo has made to my hair, it looks smoother.
I still look kinda miserable though, don't I? I also never noticed that my shoulders are lopsided - I hope yoga straightens me out a lot more!
Weight loss in the first 30 days = 1kg or 2.2 lbs.
Current weight= 69.5kgs or 153 lbs.
Current BMI = 26.5, still in the overweight range.
Day 33 - cheese, bread, meat - OH MY!
Got back from a week in France where I ate fresh bread every day - millions of types of cheese and all sorts of meat!
It wasn't all bad - we also had a vegetable garden and ate fresh salads every day, which was lovely.
Well, anyway. I'm back and it wasn't hard at all to go back to raw, altho I'm afraid that week put my weight up again, just a little bit, which is a shame.
Had the London meet up at Vita Organic in Soho, which was LOVELY! Beautiful London people!
Day 39 - wiping the slate clean!!!
I've noticed that my consumption of non raw food has crept in very easily over the last week.
The good news is that only after a week back on raw, the weight I gained in France fell off me for good.
The bad news is that it was my birthday this weekend, and although I hosted a party at Mildreds, I still ate cooked food, drank alcohol, ate doritos and pasta and things all weekend.
So - renewed committment. Here's why I know that raw is the best for me:
1. I feel much more grounded, and don't have that low grade panic/anxiety feeling
2. My sex drive is much better
3. I don't have as much BO, or morning breath
4. I feel positive and not as prone to depression
5. My face looks younger, softer and happier
6. My weight goes down
7. I feel much lighter - emotionally as well as physically
8. It helps my creativity
...and lots more reasons
This is not a confession. I know I haven't done anything "wrong", but I'm really keen to get back into integrity around this challenge and push beyond what I would normally commit to.
Day 41 - still struggling.....
Yesterday I know exactly what went wrong, and for the past couple of days - it seems that an innocent bowl of muesli makes me feel all jittery and kind of depressed. I've been feeling this way for the past week - and it's definitely down to the wine, doritos, pasta, chocolate, bread, fries etc that I've been consuming and pretending I was still on this challenge.
Yesterday I had a carrot and apple juice for breakfast, rather than my usual spinach and fruit smoothie and it just wasn't enough for me. I also didn't have any fruit for that 11am snack, and then my lunch time I was prowling the streets of Canning Town looking for some food. I ended up getting a load of junk - including a MICROWAVABLE PEPPERONI PIZZA, which I ate in secret in the staff kitchen because I didn't want my new colleagues to see me cheating on my challenge. Isn't that sad???
I have to make sure that I am NEVER hungry, because it just spells disaster for me.
You know what they say!
- Prior
- Preparation
- Prevents
- Piss
- Poor
- Performance
I also haven't done any writing for the past week, so my creativity is definitely being affected.
Blah, blah.......
Day 42 - redefining the good life
There's a great article by No Impact Man today called Redefining the good life while saving the planet and it really made me think about what's important.
I'm feeling a bit low and depressed at the moment, because I go through this every now and then - "what's my purpose?".
I really don't want to go from job to job, worrying about paying the bills and not really being passionate about what I do.
No Impact Man talks about a world where we work a lot less, do what's important and stress less - the by product of which we'll all tread lighter on the planet.
So, what is the good life for me?
- dancing, eating good food, chilling with friends, music, cats, yoga, nature.... hmm - nothing in there about work....!
Something to ponder on......
Day 46 - keeping me honest
No words - just my food diary for the past week. I've been averaging about 30% raw, which is to say - just my old normal diet of SAD (Standard Australian/American Diet) plus a little bit of fruit and veg.
My excuses are that my new colleagues like to go out to eat, but that's just an excuse
I have dinner with my friends regulary - but that's just an excuse
that it's getting colder - but that's just an excuse
that I don't deserve to be thin - very big excuse
that I can't be bothered and it's not that important to me anyway - EXCUSE!!!
14th Sept - 30% raw
Breakfast - green smoothie
Snack - watermelon
Lunch - crackers with vegan cheese, and vegemite
Snack - watermelon
Dinner - vegetable risotto
13th Sept - 30% raw
Breakfast - green smoothie
Snack - banana
Lunch - salad, baked mushroom with vegan cheese
Snack - watermelon
Dinner - lamb and salmon, potato bake, tapas meats, bread, rose wine and cheese for dessert
12th Sept - 30% still struggling - can this please end soon???
Breakfast - veggie juice with cucumber, avocado, mint,
Snack - banana and 1 orange
Lunch - indian - bread, fried stuff, potatoes, chickpeas etc etc
Snack - half an orange, 1 banana
Dinner - mushrooms, tomatoes, hommous and tztiki, sugar snaps, carrots, bread roll
Exercise - tap class
11th Sept - 20% still not doing really well
Breakfast - smoothie with apple, cucumber, mango and spinach with hemp powder and seeds and maca
Snack - banana
Lunch - veggie burger and side salad, honey and sesame seed bar
Snack - banana, plum, some dried fruit and nuts
Dinner - brushetta, vegetable and pepperoni pizza and decafe latte
9th Sept - had a week long blip, so let's get back on it! 20% raw
Breakfast - apple and carrot juice (too much sugar, I'm feeling high and then depressed)
Snack - water (hmmm, no wonder I got so hungry over lunch)
Lunch - small pepperoni pizza, kettle chips, carrot sticks and hommous (what can I say?????)
Snack - banana
Dinner - salad, vegan cheese and crackers
Day 60 - picture!
Well, first of all, I'm browner, so that always makes me look skinner, but I can definitely see an improvement, and I look happier somehow.
Weight Loss to date: 2.7 kgs or 5.9 lbs
Current weight: 67.8kgs, or 149 lbs
Current BMI: 25.8, still just into the overweight range.
If you are interested, check out this chart from the BBC Healthy Living website. You can't always rely on charts like this to give you the best information. I prefer the photo method, and the "are you comfortable in your skin" method.
Day 62 - getting COLD but I'm starting a garden
Yikes -it's getting cold in London!
I got my cute little garden delivered last week from Rocket Gardens and I'm a bit scared because I've never grown anything before and I'm worried I'll kill them.
Here's what I got in my garden:
- Peppers
- Winter lettuce
- Spinach
- Green frills mustard
- Red frills mustard
- Beetroot
- Spring onions
- Rainbow chard
- Giant red mustard
- Texel greens
- Chinese leaf, Tatsoi
I've never even heard of some of these - apparently they are all fine to grow in the winter. How cool to make juice and smoothies from my own garden - in a concrete courtyard in London - how cool?!
It's so great, they come in little biodegradable pots so you just put them straight into soil.
They are sooooo cute.
Follow my gardening thread: Growing Green here if you want to see more photos of the garden and see how I'm going with self sufficiency in London!
Day 74 - it's becoming a habit
Quick check in - all is going well. It's definitely becoming more of a habit to eat raw - with just a few glitches in between. I've lost a little bit more weight and I feel pretty good.... YAY
I'm trying lots of recipes from Kate Magic's book, Raw Living,it really rocks. I only wish I had a dehyrator to make some of the more complicated ones. The Excalibur 9 tray one is on my wish list, but it's quite expensive.
I wonder if there are any wedding registries out there for raw foodists?
I've noticed a few weird things......
1. First of all, the day after the cooked food, my arm-pits smell gross - like burnt sweat. (sorry if it's TMI). This is blantantly the toxins from the cooked food coming out. Whereas since eating more and more raw stuff, I've noticed that I don't really smell at all. I used to always get a sweaty, burning and itchy sensation when I was stressed at work - and that doesn't really happen much either.
2. If I eat too much processed sugar and then do nothing, I'll fall asleep really quickly. On Saturday, Mark and I had a supermarket apple pie each on the way to a picnic, and both completely zonked out on the train.
3. When I ate my pepperoni pizza the other day, it gave me mega stomach cramps
4. I don't feel like McDonalds anymore. Wow - this is a big one. I used to sneak a Happy Meal on the way home if Mark wasn't going to be home. A few times lately, I've thought "hmm, I could quickly grab a Happy Meal", and my body has just responded with "hmm, that's not food. Get something else". YAY!
So - I'm noticing these facts, and I really feel like I'm finally waking up and observing these things unemotionally, and feeling like I have some control over it, instead of it just happening TO me. It hasn't stopped my cooked habits completely, but the message is definitely getting through! I mean, how many times can you get stomach cramps and stinky sweat before you just don't want that anymore?
Day 91 - emotional meltdown
Have been eating a lot of cooked food, and even the odd amount of alcohol the past two weeks. It's definitely sent me into a bit of an emotional tailspin. On Friday night, I was thinking to myself what a failure I was and feeling overwhelming sadness and hopelessness......
So today (gulp about sharing this), I wrote a letter to myself......
To my best friend,
How are you my dear? I hope you are well and healthy, because I know you deserve it.
I'm exceptionally proud of you, in so many ways.
First of all, you had a confusing, often-upsetting and distressing childhood. You have come through this, with a character of self reliance, independence and high personal values. I know that sometimes you struggle with this legacy, but you have to know that you are doing the very best you can.
You are a very talented person.
You have a natural leadership ability that many people would envy, and particularly the way you are so easy going and a delight to be around. You exude a love of achievement and helping others.
You have creative talents - as a dancer and as a writer. You can sell anything. You are bright, well-read and inspire confidence in others.
People like to be around you. You give compliments freely and you are always willing to lend a hand to others. You have proved to have an incredible work ethic. You are not only hardworking, but you have a high standard of doing things impeccibly. You are a winner in so many ways.
You can and deserve to have, not just a normal life - but an exceptional life. You can be financially successful, ambitious, a vision of health and vitality, a good friend, wife, lover, mother, employee or business owner if you want. All of that is your birthright.
Remember -
that girl who rode around the neighbourhood on her bike selling bracelets
the winner of the MS Read-A-Thon
the winner of the dance school chocolate drive
the girl who was on the debate team, yearbook committee, SRC and organiser of the school formals
the very talented dancer and dance teacher
the girl who won many awards for excellence and leadership
Coming in the top 9% of the state in business studies and english
the first person in her family to go to university, away from home
the young woman who worked 3-4 jobs at any one time to get through university
the talented performer who was selected to perform at the olympic ceremony
the leader who ran her university branch of aiesec
moving fearlessly to London
the wonderful job she did on the 50th anniversary, tesco, annual reception, MCP elections
the writer, the dancer, the leader?
When you feel sad, demotivated, beaten down and afraid - remember that girl, that young woman and the woman you are today.
Don't be afraid to step into your wonderful future.
I'm always here for you. Remember who you are.
love Me
I felt so much better having addressed some of this stuff. I know this year has been a massive rollercoaster for me, and some ugly stuff is coming to the surface. I'm so happy I found raw food, this challenge has really opened my eyes to what is possible around food and how I feel.
I actually didn't take a day 90 picture. My weight remained the same and so I chickened out. Ha! What a loser. I promised to share my failures with you too, but I was too chicken to admit defeat!
Day 100 – what have I learnt?
Well, the challenge is over, and what exactly have I learnt here?
First of all - you definitely ARE what you eat. So many times during this challenge, I was reminded that my mood definitely matched my food.
Secondly, there is so much more potential in myself once I get out of my own way.
UPDATE:
Because I was too chicken to post a 100 days photo, I've got a 7 months raw photo. There's not a huge amount of difference. Although I lost weight quickly at the start, it all slowed down a lot after that.
Total challenge weight loss: 3.7kgs or 8.1lbs
Current weight (as at 4th Jan): 66.8kgs, or 147lbs
Current BMI: 25.5 in the overweight zone.
I also did a 30 day that turned into an 80 Day Raw Food Challenge, over at my Raw Brides website as preparation for my wedding. Read that here.
Get your free copy of my ebook- The Raw Detox Diet, and learn how I lost almost 10kgs (so far) with raw food, cleansing and detoxing.
