4th week of going RAW, observations

[Miramonti]

Mostly raw that is...

I got a deal on a vitamix on New Years day, so we began our raw diet, inspired by this documentary, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. The vitamix and blendtec are basically the kings of smoothie blenders, they even pulverize small seeds with their 37k/28k rpm speeds (respectively, no load), and can turn grains to flour, etc. You've probably seen one of them demoed in a costco at some point.

My wife's goal is to loose weight and feel better, while mine is to simply feel better and get into better active shape, stick with a commitment to a weightlifting program, and to support my wife as well. Lifting has been 2-3 times a week (sometimes only 1-2 times) so I've continued whey protein shakes and eat a fair amount of rice, grits, and some grains for calories. I have lots of mild food allergies, so eating mostly raw will be a first time experience eating almost no allergens.

Example, here's last nights dinner smoothie [aka sludgie 😛]:

kale
mustard greens
collard greens
parsley
beet
carrot
tomato
tomatillo
slice of pineapple
apple
thick slice of lime
couple slices of jalepeno
slice ginger
tumeric (tastes bleh but it's very good for you)
cinammon
blended in a homemade rice milk base

and a whey protein/rice milk shake for me.

I've lost 7 pounds, which is fine but not a goal to lose weight. My wife has lost 9.


Observations, comments:

1) Feel better than ever, atleast on a consistent basis

2) Haven't had coffee/tea since started, yet more alert, clearer thinking, even first thing in the morning

3) First week, week and 1/2, physically was exhausting...body was struggling with transition, had almost no endurance, could barely play with dog for long.

4) Feel stronger than pre-start now, endurance is back, yay

5) Skin is dry, need more oils

6) My wife makes better tasting smoothies, but I simply try to make the healthiest ones with a some of most things. Even when they taste disgusting, our bodies still crave them. We've become so dependent on them, our bodies are seemingly appreciative every time we have one, lol. It feels great to have drank one.

7) RLS (restless leg syndrome) has been hellish lately, worse than ever, had to resort to OTC sleep aid pills this past week.

8) Washing the produce (to minimize pesticides, bacteria) in water/vinegar takes about 2 hours after each shopping trip. I'm not sure if this is the best washing solution but some recommend it.

9) We take b-12 vitamins, something warned that we would not be getting and would need an additional source of.


As a treat/reward, we recently went out for some Pho, thinking it would be a good healthy reward for our sacrifices, and to have something hot again. However it wasn't until we had a smoothie that night until we actually felt like we ate something nutritional. Pho suddenly felt like filler. Strange how this goes because pho previously was one of the healthiest things we ate.

We shop once every 10-12 days or so and diligently get the best produce for the best prices, going to 5 different markets. If we didn't, this could be very expensive, but right now we spend about $65 total each shopping day, averaging ~$225/mo for both of us for the produce. Estimates I heard previously was that this would cost us ~$14/day...each person...probably would if we just went to Whole Paycheck.

Anyone else try raw or considered it?

Overall, so far, it's been a very positive experience.

 

[Ns1]

It sounded very interesting until I got to this part:

6) My wife makes better tasting smoothies, but I simply try to make the healthiest ones with a some of most things. Even when they taste disgusting, our bodies still crave them

nope, not for me!

 

[Pantlegz]

6) My wife makes better tasting smoothies, but I simply try to make the healthiest ones with a some of most things. Even when they taste disgusting, our bodies still crave them. We've become so dependent on them, our bodies are seemingly appreciative every time we have one, lol. It feels great to have drank one.

They've got electrolytes? 😀

 

[Miramonti]

It sounded very interesting until I got to this part:



nope, not for me!

It took a good 4 days for me to take a breath in the middle of drinking one of these, usually 24 ounces...before that, it was 'just down the d@mn thing!' 😛. At first, with the combination of color and texture, I wanted to vomit.

It's more complicated than that tho. Doing a diet like this retrains the palate and the cravings. I never would have imagined craving one of these drinks, but over time, that's been the case. Its all that much better if it tastes great.

We've also learned things in the process that make it more palatable, such as:

1) use spices to enhance flavor. For the most part, we've settled on ginger, cinnamon, jalapenos, and cayenne pepper. But it's something to experiment with until finding something one is content with.

2) use fruits, including lemons and limes for a nice tang.

3) use ice to make it colder. Nothing worse than a room temperature vegetable smoothie!

4) use beets. I much rather drink a red smoothie than a green one! (even if it turns my pee reddish 😀)

5) use rice milk or water etc. to thin it out a little. Real thick is a bit gross unless it tastes great, so blend it to a finer consistency to lessen any 'gross' factor.

6) green beans and broccoli taste the worst. I eat the green beans by hand instead and steamed the broccoli we bought...not putting those in ever again.

 

[Wyndru]

I'm not sure specifically what raw means, but we have coworkers that mix a bunch of veggies, fruits and I think even peanuts in their blendtec here at work. I've had a couple of them, they don't taste horrible. There are usually pieces of apple skins that get stuck in my teeth, but other than that they taste ok to me.

 

[McWatt]

Why blend so many perfectly tasty things together into a disgusting sludge?

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

I'm not sure specifically what raw means, but we have coworkers that mix a bunch of veggies, fruits and I think even peanuts in their blendtec here at work. I've had a couple of them, they don't taste horrible. There are usually pieces of apple skins that get stuck in my teeth, but other than that they taste ok to me.

Eating raw=fruits, veggies, and some pseudograins generally, but nothing is cooked (technically I think it's nothing heated over like 125 degrees or something) as the heat kills the natural enzymes and such in the food, meaning our bodies have to create them which requires energy and is an inefficient way for our metabolism to work.

Personally, I'm torn on it. I think there is a benefit to a whole foods approach, where you eat veggies, fruits, pseudo grains, and remove all processed foods. However, I personally question if the raw part is actually beneficial or not. I am going to try Brandon Braziers Thrive diet myself over the summer (full time work/school currently doesn't leave time to cook, nor can I afford to lose a week+ during the transitional period).

EDIT: forgot to say thanks OP for this post. I would enjoy reading updates every so often on things you tried that worked and didn't work.

PS, how much was the Vitamix? I want to get a Blendtec/Vitamix, but can't justify spending $500 on one currently.

 

[Miramonti]

Why blend so many perfectly tasty things together into a disgusting sludge?

It would take a lot of time and effort to eat the amount of produce we're consuming without blending. Not all that appetizing eating many of the things individually without dressing as well. By blending with these high speed blenders, you also break down all the seeds to get the nutrients from them.

 

[Miramonti]

Eating raw=fruits, veggies, and some pseudograins generally, but nothing is cooked (technically I think it's nothing heated over like 125 degrees or something) as the heat kills the natural enzymes and such in the food, meaning our bodies have to create them which requires energy and is an inefficient way for our metabolism to work.

Personally, I'm torn on it. I think there is a benefit to a whole foods approach, where you eat veggies, fruits, pseudo grains, and remove all processed foods. However, I personally question if the raw part is actually beneficial or not. I am going to try Brandon Braziers Thrive diet myself over the summer (full time work/school currently doesn't leave time to cook, nor can I afford to lose a week+ during the transitional period).

EDIT: forgot to say thanks OP for this post. I would enjoy reading updates every so often on things you tried that worked and didn't work.

PS, how much was the Vitamix? I want to get a Blendtec/Vitamix, but can't justify spending $500 on one currently.

That's a good summary. Some believe that cooking the foods also destroys some of the vitamin content as well as the enzymes.

I got the vitamix linked above at macys.com for $294. Still very expensive for a blender, but there are only a couple brands that will do this type of processing without burning out, and that's the vitamix and blendtec, both solid products.

I'm not familiar with the thrive diet, but would be great to hear about how it goes for you.

 

[blinky8225]

How is pho and whey raw? Or is this more of a 90% raw thing?

I'd be interested in how a raw diet affects your weightlifting. Seems pretty low in protein.

 

[gscone]

OP- Great thread. Are you using Organic produce?

I tried this diet months ago and found it was tough. My lifestyle and traveling really killed it for me.

I have friends whom had had great success with this.

GL!!

 

[Miramonti]

OP- Great thread. Are you using Organic produce?

I tried this diet months ago and found it was tough. My lifestyle and traveling really killed it for me.

I have friends whom had had great success with this.

GL!!

Thanks. We're not using organic for 2 reasons, 1 - the cost, and 2 - the availability near us. Whole Paycheck is well on the other side of town and the grocers near us that carry organic don't carry many organic choices. Pesticides is a concern and I would prefer organic, but have settled for a good washing of everything before eating.

 

[XZeroII]

They've got electrolytes? 😀

It's what plants crave

 

[gscone]

Thanks. We're not using organic for 2 reasons, 1 - the cost, and 2 - the availability near us. Whole Paycheck is well on the other side of town and the grocers near us that carry organic don't carry many organic choices. Pesticides is a concern and I would prefer organic, but have settled for a good washing of everything before eating.

Can you advise starting weight and current weight?

7-9 lbs lost does not seem impressive for 4 weeks into this diet

Are you working out also?

 

[Jeffg010]

Can you advise starting weight and current weight?

7-9 lbs lost does not seem impressive for 4 weeks into this diet

Are you working out also?

I think 2 lbs a week is the sweet spot. The reason I would not go any more is you might end up with flabby skin. I would not want to lose tons of weight and then pull up my shirt and still look disgusting from all the flabby skin and stretch marks. You got to give your skin a chance to adjust too.

 

[Miramonti]

Can you advise starting weight and current weight?

7-9 lbs lost does not seem impressive for 4 weeks into this diet

Are you working out also?

I started at 184, now 177, but actually prefer to not lose weight. I started this diet already working out and having a goal of trying to gain weight thru a weight lifting program, this made it harder. Because of the exercise, I have had to supplement the smoothies with calories from rice, grits, some grains, and protein supplement (trying to avoid most nuts/grains, are allergens for me).

The weight loss is good tho. I haven't worked out for a long time and could even lose another 5-7 pounds of body fat, but would be pretty lean and not really a goal.

My wife's goal is to lose weight, but mine is primarily to experience a very nutritional and [mostly] allergen-free diet, while at the same time supporting her commitment to it by doing it with her.

Regarding allergens, I had a very thorough blood analysis done years ago for food allergens, and beef, nuts, and dairy tested pretty high on the list. While I don't have strong reactions to these foods, I experience a lot of fatigue when eaten regularly and a few other minor symptoms.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

so you didn't want to lose weight so you decided to cut out all protein and fats. Makes sense.

 

[surfsatwerk]

None of this seems like a good idea.

 

[Pantlegz]

None of this seems like a good idea.

I watched about 5 min of the documentary he mentioned and shut it off. Any diet that involves me not eating real food is just a waste of time. Different people have different goals tho and a juice meal from time to time or to get nutrients isn't a bad idea but that being your main source of calories, no.

 

[Miramonti]

I watched about 5 min of the documentary he mentioned and shut it off. Any diet that involves me not eating real food is just a waste of time. Different people have different goals tho and a juice meal from time to time or to get nutrients isn't a bad idea but that being your main source of calories, no.

Focusing on two men whose bodies have been trashed by steroids, obesity and illness, this documentary chronicles the rigorous healing path -- including a two-month diet of fruits and vegetables -- that both attempt in a bid to rescue their health.

And you were expecting...?

It's actually a pretty remarkable story, not so much a film that was made to pitch a product or fad diet. What's most remarkable is how their bodies didn't suffer restricting their diet to just fruits and vegetables, but actually thrived big time. They were also exercising every day, even tho in the beginning it wasn't much because their health was so poor, and the combination really turned their lives around.

I'm not recommending this diet or promoting it, and personally I'm not adapting it as a traditional 'diet', which generally refers to one's newly adapted intake habits in order to lose weight. I simply want to be healthier and feel better, and this is one measure that I am trying for a while.

One thing that is clear this early on, is that even when we begin to eat more regular cooked food (because we both enjoy cooking, muchless eating cooked food, lol), we won't be eating the same way again, and these smoothies will be a regular part of our days/lives. Not just because it makes so much sense and we might be healthier for it, but because so far we've felt so much better throughout the day.