If I could do an all fruits n veggies diet right now, I would because I know it would be optimum. However, coming from a life of pasta, bread, fish, chinese, indian, etc. etc. etc. it makes so much sense to do Raw Til 4. I've mentioned that there is a great group on Facebook of the same name and it has a guidelines document, but this is essentially it:
Fruit until 4pm - A LOT of it, preferably calorie dense like bananas, dates, etc. "Monomeals" - one kind of fruit at a time - are the best for smooth, effecient digestion.
Carb up for dinner! AT LEAST 500 calories of rice, potatoes, corn pasta, veggies, and low sodium sauce. (no overt fats like oil)
I remember a Raw Group event that I attended in NYC at least 4-5 years ago. It was held at Bonobo's, actually, and I do still love their food though I always thought their presentation/eating space was bland. I had worked a long day at work and was quite hungry. I used to get the little salads at Hale and Hearty (place where they toss a custom salad) but always the cheapest ones with the "basics" (onion, cucumber, and one more veggie I can't remember, and sometimes croutons when I was "treating myself") so I'm sure I'd had one of those at least 5 hours previous to this. So I wait around and everyone's just sitting there, not really talking. So I'm like "well, I guess I'll order real quick" and I ordered the largest salad with some veggies, maybe some of the nut pates (yummy) but not much.
I went back to the table and only one or two others had any food and everyone stared at me. Gawked. And I'm like okayyyy, I'll just nibble. Slowly, the latecomers showed up and people finally got food. Little salads that they poked their forks in and played with. Overall, there were nice people and one very large woman who was doing a juice fast (I thought how brave she was and what a warrior). No one got dessert - amazing fruit sorbets and honey ball thingys - so I didn't (mostly due to my wallet).
Later, I mentioned something online on the forum about "nice to meet you" and I must have had a question and the "leader" responded: "Oh, you're the one with the huge salad". -I was salad shamed! It seems funny now, but really, what kind of bull$hit is that?
The other Raw Group event I attended, not the same group, mind you, was at some kind of holistic meeting center with a bunch of small spaces for rent. The "leader/speaker" talked for a while and made us repeat "cooked food is poison". He went on to say a lot of good things, as I recall, about raw fruits and veggies, etc....and then his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell over. I hope I didn't scream but I might have. After they revived him, he said he was sorry and that he hadn't eaten for a few days. *Now, I am not necessarily condemning fasting for spiritual growth because who am I to question the ways of people who have done it for thousands of years?* BUT it perturbed me. A LOT. Some of the group somewhat angrily rebuffed canceling the rest of the workshop just because he had collapsed. I did not and I left.
I am recounting these stories because I (thank god!!!) do not have an eating disorder. I have wonderful self-esteem (I try), am loved, and am a staunch feminist in a society where women kowtow in mind, body, and spirit on a consistent basis. I want to eat and I want to be healthy. PERIOD.
Yes, I hope to be much more fruit n veggie based but this lifestyle (Raw Til 4) is so awesome right now that I am just trying to focus on staying with it! I fell off the wagon this weekend and my body is very unhappy. But I am back and forging forward.
Also, for example, eating a bowl of corn pasta (WAY better than the whole wheat or brown rice stuff in my opinion) just makes me happy. Granted, it took me 33 years to realize it's not the PASTA I adore, but the fat. Okay, so I like the pasta a lot, but I ADORE the fat. I never put that together, if you can believe it. Even now, my s.o. is having problems eating a large bowl of pasta with low sodium sauce. This is a man who, before meeting me, in his singledom, ate entire Stouffer's (Hungry Man?) lasagnas. Yes, the big frozen ones. It's the fat and salt, hello???! It makes so much sense now. Salt is so goddamned addicting. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I can't have any. The actuality is much harder, but we'll see.
So far today for breakfast I've had 10 bananas. (split into 2 smoothies, one with some frozen blueberries) Lots of water (sorry, not sure how much)
I'm having the very practical problem of not having large enough containers. The other day my husband's container exploded out of the fridge when his coworker opened the fridge door [too packed --> 80 employees one fridge (sounds like 2 girls one cup = DISGUSTING! Lol)]. One container down! I'm looking for mason jars and big glass jugs that can measure my water effectively.
Love to my mother on her birthday. I miss you so much <3
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