Well, that didn't last long

I was (more or less) successfully raw for a grand total of 4 days. And when it ended it ended big time. Did I slip up with a dish of steamed veggies? A salad with a little chicken breast added? No, it was nothing so virtuous as any of that. I slipped up on amaretto sours and potato skins with bacon and cheese and a side of buffalo wings with ranch dressing at T.G.I. Fridays. I am still drinking a huge green smoothie for breakfast. And trying to make good choices, but damn it's hard. I think I will try again when the farmers markets open this spring. I did have good energy while eating this way, but damn those cravings. If anyone reading this has any insight to making it past those nasty cravings please share your secret (and don't say will power, as it's obvious I'm severly lacking in that area of self development). I think that's it for now. I'll revisit when the weather is warmer.

Day 3

Damn those carmel rice cake snacks. I think I had another 4 or 5 today. But Owen finished off the bag and I won't be opening a new one for a few days so hopefully that will help. I've been drinking a lot of water with lemon, and I have to pee all the time. Still working on those flax crackers. This batch may be a flop. I think I'll get better results once I get my hands on an actual dehydrator

Morning weigh-in: 143.2 lbs
Total lost: 2.8 lbs

Breakfast: Green Smoothie with banana, pear, grapes, dandelion greens and spinach; 304 calories

Lunch: Young Coconut meat and water, romaine salad with homemade sesame ginger dressing, tall glass of raw milk 1/2 of a personal watermelon; 727 calories

Snack: bite of cheese that was supposed to be the boys lunch. a few tiny milky way bars (the really little ones) that attacked me as I walked past the freezer. Neither of these things got logged, and I'm trying to pretend that they didn't happen.

Dinner: Green smoothie with spinach, dandelion greens, banana, pear, and blueberries; 327 calories

Totals:
Calories: 1359 kC (this is a little low due to un-logged cheese bites, candy pieces, and rice cake snacks. Wow, I'm really weak.)
Carbs: 259 g
Fat: 37 g
Protein: 38 g
Fiber: 35 g

Carbs = 68.1%, Fat = 22.1%, Protein = 9.9%

I really need to be careful while preparing lunches and snacks for the boys. They eat pretty healthy compared to grater society, but I do tend to rely on quick easy and kid friendly snack and lunch options. Things I'm trying not to eat right now. I'm going to try to be stronger, and I'm moving the milky ways to the downstairs freezer. I'll also try to guestamate an amount if I do slip up and log it anyway, since I really do want a clear picture of what is going into my body.

Day 2

Almost successful. Man the afternoons have always been my downfall. Something about the hours between 2 and 5 leave me wanting something crunchy and salty and snacky. I had a couple of rice cake snacks (the little bite sized ones) while the boys were snacking. I also find myself wanting to grab a bite off of their plates as I'm making their lunch as I usually do. I stopped myself twice today with a bite half way to my mouth and reminded myself that it's not allowed today. But overall today went well. I'll try to be out of the house more tomorrow, and that should help. I don't get the munchies the same way when I'm not home. I did feel pretty good today, plenty of energy, and only a few minutes of sleepyness right after I had a snack. I tried my first batch of flax crackers today in the oven. That is really difficult to keep at the right temp. The warm setting is about 150, so I found myself constantly turning the oven on and off and opening the door to let it cool down and shutting the door to get it to warm back up. Also my crackers are sticking to the wax paper. I just found a great deal on a really nice dehydrator on Craigslist, so I should be able to pick it up tomorrow and I'll maybe try another batch of crackers. I think they might help with the afternoon munchies. I also want to try making some raw energy type bars for on the go.

Morning weigh-in: 145 lbs. Down 1 lb from yesterday. Yay! Total lost = 1 lb.

Breakfast: Green Smoothie with banana, clementines, grapes, dandelion greens and spinach; 373 calories

Lunch: Young Coconut meat and water, romaine salad with homemade sesame ginger dressing, glass of raw milk; 491 calories

Snack: Small apple, pecans, two dates, bite of Dagoba dark chocolate; 329 calories

Dinner: Romaine salad with sesame ginger dressing, Green smoothie with spinach, banana, and clementines; 344 calories

Girls Night Out: 1 glass of organic Pino Noir, I have no idea on the calorie count for this, but I've read that wine does count as raw, but distilled spirits do not.

Totals:
Calories - 1538 kC
Carbs - 269 g
Fat - 55 g
Protein - 31 g
Fiber - 38 g

Carbs = 63.3%, Fat = 29.4%, Protein = 7.3%

I'm not trying to 80/10/10 this diet, although I've read some good things about that ratio. I am trying not to over do the nuts and avocados though, as those add a lot of fat and calories really quickly. I also didn't count the calories from my snack time slip up today, as those were eaten before I knew what I was doing and I don't even remember exactly how many I had. I think it was four. Maybe Five. And one of them was only a half. So there.

I'm encouraged. Hopefully my flax crackers will come out well, except that I have no idea how to log those on Sparkpeople. I may have to sit down with a calculator and do some figureing. A glass of water and then to bed with me.

Day 1: Successfully Raw!

Day one has been a success, at least so far. Now I just need to go to bed before I get the munchies. I am definatly not hungry right now, but I can see myself being drawn to the allure of something crunchy and salty if I'm not careful, and no, I'm not talking about celery. I had a great deal of digestive upset this morning, which supprised me as I am not new to green smoothies or large amounts of fiber. I've been doing that for months and it hasn't bothered me since the first few days of green smoothie madness. I owe part of my success to the fact that we were out of the house for much of today, thus limiting my ability to snack on the no-no's. We went to Costco and Whole Foods to pick up some staples, and I got some Clif bars for the kids and a Raw Revolution bar for myself for lunch. It was actually pretty good, although I'm sure I can make something similar at home for a lot less than $1.99. It was only as I was entering the nutrition information that I came across the information that the bar was only 90% raw. Well, you win some and you loose some, I'm still counting today as a success.

This morning's weigh-in: 146.0

Breakfast: Green smoothie consisting of Swiss Chard, Banana, pear, and grapes - 295 calories

Lunch: Raw Revolution bar and a young coconut meat and water - 466 calories

Snack: Green Smoothie with Spinach, Banana, Pear, and Grapes - 296 calories

Dinner: Salad of Romaine with homemade sesame-ginger dressing - 173 calories

Totals:
Calories - 1230 kC
Carbs - 253 g
Fat - 38 g
Protein - 28 g
Fiber - 34 g

Carbs = 69.1%, Fat = 23.3%, Protein = 7.6%

This is a lot less protein than I'm used to getting. I wonder if that has something to do with the headache I had this afternoon. The calorie count is right where I'm supposed to be for the weight loss I want. I understand that I should be able to eat more calories and still lose weight if I'm eating raw, but if I feel full on this number, I'll stick with it. I am now sipping a cup of tea with raw milk and raw honey. That probably adds a few more calories, but I'm not going to count them ;) After this cup of tea I'm switching to water for the rest of the night.

Welcome!

Welcome to my 30 day raw challenge. I've been trying to eat more raw foods for a while now, but without a firm commitment I find myself slipping up in the afternoons, and then calling the day a waste and eating what ever I want for dinner. I find old habits and vices sneaking back in easily (soda, candy, chips). I want to feel good and have energy for my kids. I want to get my weight back down and prepare my body for another pregnancy. I believe all of the good things about a raw diet, and it's time I fully experienced them for myself. For the next 30 days, I intend to eat 100% raw foods. I will include some raw dairy, as I don't have trouble with dairy and believe in the health benifits of raw milk from an organic grass fed cow. I also don't plan to be a stickler when it comes to condiments like soy sauce. I will also make good use of raw honey and pure maple syrup. Ok so maybe that comes out to more like 99% raw. Good enough for me. I'll track my daily weigh-ins, meals, calories, and nutrients on SparkPeople.com, and record them here. This log is mostly for myself, but feel free to follow along, draw some encourgement, and encourage me along the way.