Monday, March 18, 2013

Wait...I am doing what?!?!

Well I can officially say I've gone slightly mad. Most of you that know me know how when I get something in my head I delve as deeply into as possible with no plans to turn back. So, enter Raw. Raw isn't a fad or a diet, like becoming a vegan it's a lifestyle change and while I never fully intend to become 100% Raw (I love my steaks too much!) I do hope to someday reach about 90% raw lifestyle.

What is Raw? Raw for one has made me more energized than ever before, no longer crave coffee (although gave it up during this progressive lenten journey I'm doing), slimmed me down tremendously and gave me the ability to pretty much eat when I want, as much as I want as long as it's a fruit or vegetable (nuts occasionally).

Truly though Raw is a lifestyle where one does not cook anything over 115-ish degrees. Therefore guaranteeing you aren't destroying any good enzymes, pro-biotics or nutrients found in foods which cooking eliminates. It's a lifestyle where unless one over-indulges on seeds and nuts everyone slims down and does so quite fast...even with eating at times 30 bananas a day (yes, true story and crazy! Look it up!). The true 100%-ers don't touch eggs, meat or dairy of any kind as all those things are not "living" and all those things are proven to be harder on our digestive systems. I never intend on being a 100%-er but I'll admit I got a lot of respect for them as I still intend to eat meat but just at a TREMENDOUSLY lower rate....after all hunting is a spiritual journey for me one which should and does end with the animal nourishing myself and my family. This new lifestyle though will obviously cause me to probably give more of my venison away then before but you can guarantee it'll still be on my menu from time to time.

Here's pretty much some of the lifestyle changes I've made for my day to day eating/drinking habits:

-Smoothies/Blends have become a HUGE part of my life. It's the fastest and easiest way to get nutrients from a lot of stuff into a simple great tasting beverage! As an example one smoothie includes the following:

  • 5 celery stalks
  • half a cucumber
  • 1 or 2 bananas
  • 2 dates (pitted)
  • a mango (with or without skin and pitted)
  • BIG hand full of spinach
  • 3-5 WHOLE kale leaves/stems
  • few dandelion greens
  • alfalfa sprouts
  • handful of grapes
  • maybe some blueberries or blackberries if on hand
  • 5-8 pieces of ice
**Try eating all that without making it into a smoothie first...it'd take too long to do so! And that's just one meal's worth!

-No more dairy. In place of milk I do almond or coconut milk. Same texture and as my pallet adjusted tastes just as good if not better.

-Strive to make 100% of my daily intake be fruits and veggies on days I'm not working out. I'll be honest there have been days where my intake through shakes or salads or just eating by hand has included: 7 bananas, whole bag of baby carrots, whole bag of snap peas, a bell pepper, pound or two of leafy greens (kale, spinach, dandelion), 6 dates, 6 figs, little agava, an asian pear, a mango, some grapes, blackberries, 5 stalks of celery and a whole cucumber. Trust me, I'm eating plenty! :) 

-If hungry, I eat. Seriously, I don't worry about over eating or ruining my appetite anymore. If I am hungry I at minimum will grab a banana, whole bag of snap peas, carrots anything and everything is fair game as long as it's a veggie or a fruit.

-When I do need more protein than the normal amount found in fruit and veggies (plenty for day to day person) I use seeds and nuts or raw protein powder to get it. Pumpkin seeds are my new sensation for this!

-Tacos are no longer done with a tortilla or meat sometimes. Collard greens, kale leaves or romaine lettuce have replaced the tortilla. Which basically means I can gorge myself on more, because the average tortilla shell has over 100-200 calories depending. More food=happier Ty!

-If hungry...I EAT!

-I also at times attempt to do some mono-meals. Mono-meals are the absolute easiest thing on your digestive system. An example of a mono meal I've done is 4-6 bananas blending into a smoothie with just a little pumpkin spice or a couple dates mixed in. Extremely sweet, but entirely (almost) made up of just bananas and ice...digestive system loves me for it!

-I try to limit meat intake to once a week if possible, twice at the most and always followed by a good workout. Red meat is the last meat of choice if meat is used at all. My blood type is supposed to minimize red meat consumption anyways; combine that with the fact red meat is one of the hardest things (and time consuming) for the body to digest makes this one less of a sacrifice than I thought.

Well, that's pretty much it I think...and that's how I've continue to lose weight consistently each week, but more importantly I'm losing inches faster than even the weight lose. I've average another belt loop hole every two weeks it seems for the last 7 weeks...amazing!

While I'm not quite 100% raw, I am sure happy with striving for around 90% and seeing the results I am!!!

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