diet – Urban Raw Food

Day 5 of My Raw Restart

Ajima — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 01:00:16 +0000

Day 5 started with a bang. I have finally broke out of the 200s weight wise, and as of the morning I was 199. Yay!

What I ate:

1 Banana
Grapefruit juice
4 nut/date balls
Large spinach salad with apples, oranges, walnuts, kalamata olives, and red onion
2 apples for dinner

For the past few days I haven’t been hungry much in the evenings. That’s actually a great thing for me because in the past nighttime cravings have been my downfall. I continue to work out every night with my boyfriend doing P90X so that’s been great too.

My head hurts

Ajima — Wed, 26 May 2010 18:42:34 +0000

All my recovering sugar addicts out there know what I’m going through. My head hurts. Not with a typical, throb. I wouldn’t call it a headache. It feels more like pressure. It happened the last time I was 90% raw for a few days and it will pass. Sugar is not my master. Sugar is not to blame. If I want to change, I have the power to change and I’m claiming that power now.

Since Monday I’ve been 90-100% raw each day and exercised 30 min each day. I’m down 2 pounds over this period. I feel like this is the place, the moment, the feeling, the place in time where my paradigm shifts. I’m changing.

I made nut meat delight last night with soaked walnuts, red onion, and celery all blended in a blender. Then I seasoned it with cilantro, cummin, Lowery’s, and pepper. I put the blend in romaine leaves and ate it lettuce wrap style. YUMMY!

I’ve been going through cravings. I haven’t had much of an appetite in the evenings. All I want after work is some juice or soda and microwaved butter popcorn. Sigh. I’m eating really well during the day so I’m sure that’s part of the issue. I think it’s more so rebellion. You know how little kids act when you tell them they can’t have something. They pout. They resist. I think that somewhere in my subconscious, there is a lil girl pouting because I’m not giving her any sugar. Well, just like a good parent, I’m training my body in the way that it should go. I’m giving myself discipline and direction. It’s an awesome gift to give, too.

I’ll have to make a green smoothie when I get home. Time to take time and visualize this healthy and happy body that will be birthed out of the changes I’m making in the NOW.

Posting Calories on Menus is a Requirement in the Health Care Bill

Ajima — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:09:23 +0000

Within the Health Care Bill that President Obama signed yesterday there is a requirement about calorie counts. Restaurants will have to include all calorie counts for food sold on their menus. This will include fast food restaurants and dine in restaurants. I am so happy about this. It could really change the way people choose what they eat when they are out and about. I think weight loss will occur due to people better understanding how many calories they are packing in each day.

I was in NYC a few weeks ago and I have to tell you I was shocked at some of the calories counts I saw. You see, they already have this rule in place. When you look up at the board at a McDonalds or glance at the pastries in the case at Starbucks and you see listings of over 1200 calories for one item or for a value meal staring back at you, you have to really think twice. You can’t claim that you are a victim of the fast food industry and that they’ve made you fat when the hard evidence of how many calories you consume is right there in your face.

Also, I think that people who frequently eat in groups may have new incentive to cut down on high calorie foods. If you’re about to order 3000 calories worth of food and your group of friends or your date knows…you might pick a salad.

Repetition is not a bad thing

Ajima — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:05:43 +0000

I’ve been 80-100% Raw Vegan for the last month…give or take a weekend. The thing that most surprises me is that eating the same things all most every day is not that bad. A lil boring at times, but not a bad thing. Most days I eat some combination of the following:

Smoothie: Some combo of Bananas, Strawberries, Mango, Spinach
Grapes
Baby Carrots
Raw Nuts: Sunflower seed, Walnuts, Cashews
Water
Raw Honey
Dates
Huge Salad: Romaine, Spinach, Orange slices, sprouts, etc

There is something very comforting about knowing what I’m going to eat. My mind wanders off less. I’m not pondering french fries. I’m not considering shrimp or McDonald’s double cheeseburgers. Why, because I’ve already made up my mind about what I’m going to eat way ahead of time. It’s really quite good, actually.

Day 10

Ajima — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:47:30 +0000

Yesterday was day 10 on raw food with only 1 day where I wasn’t 90-100% raw!!! Yeah! This is going better than expected. Weight today: 180.5

I’ve basically been eating the same thing every day…morning green smoothie, large salad for lunch, either another large salar for lunch or just fruit (grapes or rasberries) and some dried fruit and raw walnuts in the morning and evening. This is really working well for me.

I’ve been feeling kinda lonely. Food was my friend. I hung out with food after work. Food comforted me. Food was always there for me. I mean I’m still eating food, but I’m talking about soul food, comfort food…sugary food especially. Yesterday after work I went home, but I felt so bored…looking for something to do. I realize that so much of my energy was focused on eating, not eating, what to eat, and buying/not buying food. Sure, I have a life…but with that internal struggle subdued it just leaves a void that I now need to fill with LIFE and actual Living!!! That is exciting. It makes me happy. I just don’t know what all that will be, but it’s good to have to opportunity to really live and not just live as a seudo-victim of my tummy.

It’s going well, but I really want to be 100% raw

Ajima — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:54:49 +0000

My emotional eating continues to be the major revelation I’m having in the process. The reason I’ve eaten to much over the years has nothing to do with hunger or physical need. I eat because I’m lonely, fearful, sad, stressed, confused, bored, lonely, lol. I’m a really happy person, but I wear the mask like everyone else. I’ve been dieting for so long, eating and feeling bad for so long, wishing I was smaller and cuter for so long, envying other people for so long…I’ve wasted a whole lot of time. I realize that I haven’t been happy with my weight since my Junior year of college (at around 160 pounds). That was about 8 years ago. So for eight years I’ve been waisting time. For eight years I’ve been beating myself up. For eight years I’ve been trying various diet plans and getting bigger every year. I could probably teach a college level class on dieting plans…the pros and cons…how to follow them…etc. *Sigh*

It’s time to go 100% raw. It’s time to commit. I’ve been doing well. I’ve been at least 80% raw everyday. I’ve been drinking about 20-24 oz of water per day. I just still have that psychological hurdle to overcome. The cooked food addiction. The addiction that is connected to the cravings. The addiction that makes excuses. I want to stop meeting my emotional needs with food.

Food does not run me. Food does not control me. That is what I want to live…not just strive for, but live. I want to be complete…whole…healed.

So much energy

Ajima — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:40:55 +0000

I was so stressed about my taxes this year and usually that would lead to eating, eating, and more eating. But things are different and I’m so happy. Sunday I stayed in…rested from filing my taxes on Saturday. I ended up just napping, cleaning the house…it was great. I went to the store and just let my body tell me what it wanted. I usually get bananas, but I’m not really feeling them right now. So I got mangoes, kiwi, carrots, salad, sunflower seed, dried pineapple, baby portabello mushrooms and black olives. When I came home made a great salad and felt great. I’d only had apple sauce and carrots earlier in the day. I really felt like I ate and was satisfied. No night time sugar run…no late night eating.

Yesterday, Monday at work I had so much energy. I felt warm…ya know. I only had kiwi in the morning so I was concerned…will that be enough to hold me till lunch. It did. By lunchtime I was ready for my usual salad but not riddiculously hungry. I had lunch with some of my co-workers and no one questioned my eating :). Later that day a friend did my state taxes and I had to wait around for about an hour. Even though is was kinda chilly out and I just had on a light jacket, I felt like walking so I just walked all over her neighborhood…trendy lil neighboorhood with shops in DC…for the whole hour. I was so surprised. I wasn’t tired or rundown after. I could have kept walking. It was great just getting the exercise but not having to feel all stressed in the gym. I took her out to eat afterward and had a bowl of berries at Busboys and Poets and wedge french fries. I know…not raw, but I wanted the starch and I felt ok with eating it. I love my body. I love my journey. It’s my life to live and I’m living it with compassion.

Oh…and my friend who did my taxes says she can see the weight loss in my face. Yay! That was encouraging! It’s great to have people who are supportive of the positive, healthy changes in your life.

Things are going well…it’s a sweet Monday surprise

Ajima — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:27:53 +0000

Sunday:
I got the most sour terrible grapes from Harris Teeter. They were 99 cents per pound so I should have known. TERRIBLE. However, I was proud of myself because I’d walked all over Pentagon City Fashion Mall and hadn’t fell to any of the food court temptations. Oh, I looked, believe me. However, I didn’t get any fast food. I went to Harris Teeter for a bag of salad and all I got was that and the grapes. Maybe it was because after looking at all those clothes I didn’t want to do something that would make me feel fat or make me think “If you eat that you aren’t moving closer to health and wellness!”. I really don’t want this process to be about good or bad food though. I want it to be about health…not weight loss. I have to work on my thoughts about good or bad food so that if I do eat something junk or sugary…I won’t judge myself.

OH…I forgot. When I went to the gym on Saturday I was down 2 pounds (196 to 194). YAY!

Monday: The diarrhea is here. Angela Stokes talks about it in her raw food journey on rawreform.com. It wasn’t horrible, but my stool was very loose. I took and enema so I think that helped. The wildest thing about the day was that I really had no cravings. I was reading that cravings has a lot to do with what is in your colon…food lingering too long in the body. I really really tried to eat really bad…lol. Meaning…I went to CVS thinking I was going to buy some chocolate…at least some salty cashews. But I didn’t. I did end up eating some fried shrimp…social eating. But, they didn’t taste good at all. I’ll have to get some water and Epson salt on the case tonight. I was so surprised. The tasted OK…Alright…so so. I really didn’t want them…I just picked an appetizer with minimal sugar and no chicken or beef. Sigh! But I’m not going to tear myself down or feel bad. In the end, it just reinforced the feeling that I’m looking for. The feeling that food can not improve my mood and that my addiction to food as a mood altering drug is becoming less.

Other things I ate today

Banana and Grapes for breakfast

Large Salad for Lunch – Romaine, Garbonzo beans, Sunflower seed, Black olives, Mushrooms, Olive oil and Vinegar.

NO candy. No chocolate. For that I’m proud!!!