An Experiment in Going Raw

I've been thinking for a couple weeks now about going "raw". No cooked foods, just raw fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, avocados, etc. The more I think about it, the more excited I become.

I'm already a vegetarian. But I'm one of those "junk-food" vegetarians that even though I don't think it's healthy to eat anything that had a bowel movement in it's lifetime, I still eat processed foods, convenience foods, comfort foods, sweets... Blah! It's no wonder I feel so "blah" most of the time.

From November 2006 to August 2007, I was on the PRISM weight loss program. It did great! I lost 80 pounds, and I was feeling a lot better, just from having that extra weight gone. Things were stressful and I let life get to me, falling off my program and not even half-trying to stick to it. In the past year, I've gained about 70 of my 80 pounds back, and it's all my own fault, so I'm not even going to make any excuses about it.

I haven't felt that I could actually go back on the program and stick to it. And then the raw food lifestyle, which I've known about for quite a while, kind of wormed its way into my thoughts more and more over the past couple of weeks. I know several people who eat this way, or have in the past, and all of them are a lot more healthy than I am. Honestly, I feel like this is the kind of lifestyle I can adapt to and keep going. No calories to count, no counting carbs, fat, proteins... just eating good, healthy fresh foods whenever I feel hungry. And no cooking dinner! Just chopping up some veggies and throwing them on a plate! Or whole fruits!

Breakfast most mornings is going to be a green smoothie. Fresh fruits, such as bananas, strawberries, pears, apples, raspberries, peaches, whatever is fresh and sounds good, and green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, chard, parsley... Throw it all in the vitamix with maybe a little water or ice, a little bit of flax oil, and whizzzzzzz until smooth. Even the kids love it!

If the Mr. gets home at a decent time tonight (he has my car today), I'm headed to Costco to pick up some fresh stuff so I can get started on this first thing in the morning.

I go in six weeks to have blood work done, followed by a visit with my endocrinologist on October 15. I plan to blog about these next few weeks of eating "raw" up until that point, and possibly longer. I hope to have significant changes in my lab results and hopefully in my weight and general feelings of health, as well.

Before: