Two Weeks Down!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Two Weeks Down!

I really can't believe how well this raw challenge is going for me. It really helps to have the support network and inspiration of the folks at http://www.rawfu.com/ I'm having so much fun creating raw food goodness and I'm noticing some really big changes in a really short time.

The first week was full of raw emotions - my definition of this is when you eat raw food something different happens with the mind/body connection. Suddenly food is no longer a comfort (even though it's really friggin good) but instead becomes what it was meant to be: nourishment. The result is raw emotions. Stuff that can't be masked or comforted by the old familiar cooked food creeps up and doesn't go away until you deal with it. It's wild, and not very pleasant to be perfectly honest. But how beneficial! I think this will continue as the challenge goes on but hopefully with less intensity!

Second week also full of raw emotions but leveling out, or maybe it's just that I'm learning how to deal with stuff rather than just coping (prayer has been a huge help for me over the past couple of weeks - not about the food or staying on the "diet" but working through the emotional stuff).

So here's what I'm noticing:

I feel clean, fresh and vibrant
I'm losing weight but that's not my motivation (and that feels good)
My clothes fit me better
I have more energy - really, I know everyone says that but it's totally true
I don't need naps anymore (even though I still want them - see raw emotions ;)
I don't need as much sleep - I can't go to sleep early even if I want to because my body isn't tired. It's weird.
I'm almost ready for intentional exercise (exercise is a dirty word in my book ;D )

I'm not hungry. Seriously, I just don't have much of an appetite anymore. I'm perfectly happy eating Ants on a Log for dinner.

I don't think about food. How can that be? I have to plan all of this food I'm making, right? Well, yeah. But I don't think about food between meals. Cam always asks me, "what's for lunch" and my answer is always, "Dunno, I haven't thought about it".

All of these things are amazing. I'm really impressed with this whole process. I highly recommend eating more raw in the summer, it makes all the difference in the world. I'll have to adjust to more warming foods like ginger and cayenne when the weather cools off but for now cold food is just what the alternative medicine practitioner ordered.

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Why Eat Raw Foods?

I've been asked this question over and over again, and to be honest, there are so many reasons. But when I go online to try and find a more scientific explanation that I could post here I am too often met with statements such as, "cooking food changes that molecular structure rendering it toxic" which feels like a fear based statement that isn't very encouraging. I personally don't believe that cooked food is poison as many raw foodies do.

Ultimately, eating foods that are not heated above 115 degrees means that all of the enzymes in that food are intact. What does that mean to you and me? Well, just think of enzymes as the "life force" of food. Foods that have their "life force" intact are going to make you feel different when you eat them than foods that do not. It's kind of like eating energy.

So I guess I like to eat the majority of food while it still contains most of it's energy so I can get some :) Who doesn't need more energy? Not to mention that choosing to eat mostly raw foods automatically eliminates a lot of foods that were never meant to be eaten on a regular basis in the first place (chips, soda, etc.) and believe it or not, this whole lifestyle has helped reveal my emotional eating patterns and actually change them.

I just want to be healthy. Health is wealth, no?