Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post

bwb · 01-02-2008, 01:54 AM

I'd been considering giving a raw/living foods diet a fair trial for some time now, but kept putting it off (I have all the cooked food I need to eat; my friends are going to think I'm even more weird; how am I going to eat out?). I think it's time to break the "someday, when it's the right time" pattern and adopt a new motto: The only perfect time for anything is right now.

I eliminated all animal foods from my diet last January 1, thanks in no small part to one of Steve's posts kicking me out of my old "nobody can thrive on a vegan diet" belief. I developed a curiosity about raw foods, buying a few (gourmet) cookbooks and making a few things, but mostly scratching my head trying to figure out where to source exotic ingredients like Irish Moss and raw cocoa butter. I also discovered that raw foodism is fringe-of-the-fringe. Even many vegans think you're crazy if you talk about going all raw. The other thing that concerned me was that while scientific evidence for the health benefits of a plant-based, whole-foods diet is very well established, there has been very little study of raw food diets, quite probably because there just aren't many people to study, and in constrast to vegetarian and vegan diets, there aren't any known ethnic communities of raw foodists.

Inspired by the stories of several people who went all-raw and realized major benefits, I've decided to take the plunge. I had my last cooked meal last night. Being New Year's, I stayed up way too late and slept in even later. I felt pretty crummy, and my digestive system wasn't too happy about the late meal of quinoa stir-fry I left sitting in it all night. I ate a bowl of blood oranges and a basket of blueberries for breakfast (err, lunch), and about 30 minutes later I felt fantastic! I've stocked my kitchen with lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and now I'm going to enjoy a big salad, more fruit, and celery with cashew hummus.

I plan to keep this up for at least 60 days unless I discover a health-related reason to stop. I don't have a blog, but I will be journaling what I eat and how I feel over the next few months. If this exercise turns up something insightful to add to the raw foods discussion, I'll post a summary.

01-02-2008, 01:54 AM	#110 (permalink)
bwb Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 35	taking the plunge I'd been considering giving a raw/living foods diet a fair trial for some time now, but kept putting it off (I have all the cooked food I need to eat; my friends are going to think I'm even more weird; how am I going to eat out?). I think it's time to break the "someday, when it's the right time" pattern and adopt a new motto: The only perfect time for anything is right now. I eliminated all animal foods from my diet last January 1, thanks in no small part to one of Steve's posts kicking me out of my old "nobody can thrive on a vegan diet" belief. I developed a curiosity about raw foods, buying a few (gourmet) cookbooks and making a few things, but mostly scratching my head trying to figure out where to source exotic ingredients like Irish Moss and raw cocoa butter. I also discovered that raw foodism is fringe-of-the-fringe. Even many vegans think you're crazy if you talk about going all raw. The other thing that concerned me was that while scientific evidence for the health benefits of a plant-based, whole-foods diet is very well established, there has been very little study of raw food diets, quite probably because there just aren't many people to study, and in constrast to vegetarian and vegan diets, there aren't any known ethnic communities of raw foodists. Inspired by the stories of several people who went all-raw and realized major benefits, I've decided to take the plunge. I had my last cooked meal last night. Being New Year's, I stayed up way too late and slept in even later. I felt pretty crummy, and my digestive system wasn't too happy about the late meal of quinoa stir-fry I left sitting in it all night. I ate a bowl of blood oranges and a basket of blueberries for breakfast (err, lunch), and about 30 minutes later I felt fantastic! I've stocked my kitchen with lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and now I'm going to enjoy a big salad, more fruit, and celery with cashew hummus. I plan to keep this up for at least 60 days unless I discover a health-related reason to stop. I don't have a blog, but I will be journaling what I eat and how I feel over the next few months. If this exercise turns up something insightful to add to the raw foods discussion, I'll post a summary.