Update and Guidelines

One great perk I found while doing this whole Low Fat Raw Vegan (mostly) thing is that when you start buying things in bulk from regular grocery stores no one knows what they are doing and they don't seem to care. About a week ago I ended up getting a 30 lb box of pears for ten dollars. Today, I got a 40lb box of organic apples for thirty dollars. I think I am enjoying this a little too much :)

I wanted to update you a little on how I am doing. So I have been eating as little fats as possible and as many carbs as possible for about three weeks now. The first two weeks I felt awful! I felt sick, but not sick enough to stay home from work. My throat hurt, I was tired, my stomach was sore, and I was achy. I ended last week with the most horrid headache. Saturday I went hiking with friends and enjoyed a fun game night through the headache. On Sunday I watched the Broncos win with my family, ate a few things which were not raw and had more fat and animal products than I would have chosen (there are just some things I will do for those I love), we finished off the day with sushi and I managed to have only veggie sushi with no fried contraband. Then on Monday I started feeling better. My husband and I went on a 30 mile bike ride So with the extra sleep I got on my long weekend I have been feeling wonderful this week and I have been feeling like I have been losing weight. I really hope this feeling continues. I have really been trying to keep up on my exercise though its limited to about 20 minutes a day. I have been trying to go to bed earlier, last week I took quite a few detox baths and I have been keeping my fat content to about 5% (thanks to www.chronometer.com).

There is a lot of different opinions about a low fat raw vegan diet and how many calories a person should eat. One opinion says everyone should strive for about 3,000 calories, one person says don't eat any onions, someone else says its ok to eat a few cooked carbs. Its so confusing I decided to take the principle and try to apply it to what I think is best for me. Because of how little I work out and sleep I decided that I should be eating between 1500 and 2000 calories a day. I don't limit myself, but this seems to be just about perfect. I don't crave food and I eat when I am hungry. So I came up with some goals for my diet and some guidelines to get me started. I will share them with you so you know a little of how I am doing this, I am not as strict as 80/10/10 and others suggest that you should be--I am just doing what works for me right now.

Guidelines

1.            Eat fruit and/or green juices/smoothies throughout the day.
   2.      Try to always eat a large salad/raw soup/or green juice at night.
   3.      Eat between 1500 and 2000 calories a day.
   4.      Can drink warm lemon water or herbal tea in the morning
   5.      May have three cooked meals a week (I still like having date night with my husband and its nice not to have to make food once a week).
   6.      Can eat cheese twice a month.
   7.      May have chocolate if needed (I really haven't needed it at all)

Goals

1. To have more energy
2. To not need as much sleep
3. To be less stressed
4. To have a clear mind
5. Balance my weight and body fat

So this is what I am doing. I will be writing some more update posts as I progress through this diet. I decided the experimental period is three months. If these goals begin to be fulfilled, I will continue with this diet while it feels right for my body. 

Happy Juicing!!!