Food Eaten: Apples, raw food pizza, choco-gorilla shake
Quality of life: Day of the dead might be better than christmas this year.
Physical Activity: Walked around the seawall. For some reason.
Raw Food Percentage: 100
To deny yourself something takes willpower, to deny yourself something for a set length of time takes patience. So I've definitely practiced my patience, now the question is, have I gained anything else.
I'm now 195 pounds, which is not a lot of weight loss (5 pounds) for 31 days, though I do seem to have reduced my body fat a little bit. I suspect its more of a feeling of being leaner than actually being any leaner. Still, feeling leaner's better than not at all.
I'm not sure if I'd say I have more or less energy at this point. I seem to be equally able to fall asleep or go off and adventure at virtually any given point. Good? Bad?
I've gotta admit I never mastered this diet. A person could definitely argue if I was ever even on a raw food diet, either because of the number of times I screwed up and ate something cooked(In retrospect the pistachios were kind of obvious), or because I never adhered to any planned diet. But, the vast majority of the food I ate was raw, and I've kept myself fed for the most part, though often through trial and error. Part of this was seeing if this diet could be part of my everyday life and trial and error has always been a larger part of my life than planning ever will be. And apparently I'm willing to sacrifice some comfort to keep it that way.
I suppose in the end the hardest part of this whole thing has been a loss of convenience, the loss of flexibility. Nothing to eat in the house, well you're screwed until the grocery opens tomorrow. Tired of walnuts, well you're kind of fucked son its a pretty heavy part of the diet. Food you packed for your shift not filling enough? Then you're spending it hungry lad.
Though mostly I'm just looking forward to being able to go out and get a coffee or a beer with my friends. Or eat out with my girlfriend at a restaurant we can both enjoy. When you stop being able to share food with your friends it can place a very strange and novel strain on the ties of affection.
All in all, I do feel healthier than I did at the beginning, though thats not particularly hard thanks to the upside of the law of diminishing returns. Maybe its just anticipation of the end of this fast, but I feel strangely filled with optimism. Perhaps I will finally swing my habits around to live a balanced lifestyle and not have to do this again in a year or two. At the very least the threat should work to scare me into ordering a salad now and then.
Anyhow, if anyone is still reading this, thank you for your patronage and I hope you found the admittedly repetitive complaining interesting at times. For any of my friends who have had to put up with me in a foul humour as a result of plummeting blood sugar, had to sit there uncomfortably at a bar or restaurant as I stared at them eat and drink, or just in general were inconvenienced by the fact that I couldn't do nothin' but eat salad, I apologize and thank you for your patience.
Now, as I finish this I'm 90 minutes away from the day of the dead, which just to make things a little sweeter, is a 25 hour day.
I'm going to go get drunk, sobre up, and get drunk again.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Day 30 October 30th 5:53 PM
Food Eaten: Coconut, breakfast shake, dates, dulse
Quality of life: Feelin' groovy.
Physical activity: research isn't particularly taxing...
Raw Food Percentage: 100
So, quickie research day has been fairly fruitful. To begin, let's address the major claims of raw food. Or rather, the major claim.
Raw Food is Healthier than Cooked Food. Which would account for the claims of more energy, weight loss without entering starvation mode and putting it all back on as soon as a return to a normal diet occurs, the extension of youth and the slowing of degenerative disease.
Now lets talk about claims as to why raw food is better than cooked food. Once again, this basically just boils down to one claim.
Cooking destroys the nutrients in food and makes it harder to digest, making raw food a more efficient source of nutrients.
a-protein
Okay, so cooking does denature proteins. Fry an egg to see evidence of that. Now is that denaturing a bad thing? Laurie Forti, a fitness and nutrition coach who's website is here argues that as the proteins are broken down from higher stages of complexity, (quaternary, tertiary and primary structures) by cooking they become shaped in such a way that the enzymes specific to their breakdown are unable to work on them properly. As a result the digestive process is less efficient and in general less effective.
Now, as a quick refresher which I had to do because biology class was a whole long time ago, proteins are long chains of amino acids which fold themselves into a variety of shapes and consequent functions. This folding is a result of attraction between the various amino acids on the chain. This process is really neat, and is one of the reasons why cellular biology is so interesting. Its also what is meant by primary(long chain), tertiary, (final form after its folded itself completely), and quaternary (bonding with another protein) structure. Now, what you're body needs is amino acids. That way it can make its own proteins.
So, as I can see, protein denaturization is actually a good thing in general, hence why your stomach is acidic. It breaks down and denatures the protein structure. So cooking would seem to have little negative effect, and possibly a positive affect.
However, cooked proteins don't simply break down when heated, they just get... weird, for lack of a better word. And in some cases, according to this exhaustively researched article, this can reduce the efficiency of their digestion. While there is mention of cross linkage between proteins in a few places I couldn't find an explanation for what that was I could easily understand. It essentially appears to be proteins bonding together in some cases and forming a structure that is resistant to digestion. As a result, they're harder to digest and less efficient. This is only some proteins in some foods, ranging from a negligible to moderate difference.
b-enzymes
I'm going to make this quick, the living enzyme theory that you see now and then on raw food sites, that raw plants contain enzymes that assist in their own digestion, is bullshit. The enzymes in plants do not make a meaningful contribution to the digestion of food in your body. Their contribution is, quite, quite small. And specifically must be made before they're deactivated by the acids in your stomach, and as they are proteins themselves, digested.
Aswell, you cannot exhaust your supply of enzymes, as is occasionally claimed in some quarters, they're proteins like everything else and created by your body as needed for specific jobs. In point of fact, they're recyclable, being used many times for the same reaction.
If you'd like to see a much longer argument against enzyme health look here.
The source of this idea is a book called "Enzyme Nutrition" Written by Edward Howell, a Doctor who experimented with various fruit juices to treat Tuberculosis during the 30s and 40s. It's vitalism people. Vitalism and nothing more. Once again I refer to Forti. There is no life force in organic compounds that makes them special. They're synthesizable chemicals and nothing more. Organic vs. inorganic compounds refers to whether or not they contain carbon and can therefore be used by a carbon-based life form.
c-Vitamins
This one actually does seem to go to raw food. Particularly in the case of boiling, many vitamins are leached from food by cooking. Not all mind you, but it does reduce the amount of vitamins in food. I refer to this set of imposing tables.
The idea seems to be that the process of cooking, usually boiling, leeches vitamins off and into the water. However, its pointed out that steaming retains most of the vitamins lost by other forms of cooking.
So, raw food does contain moderately more vitamins, but not specifically due to being raw per se, rather just for the manner in which they're prepared.
d- Toxicity of Cooked Foods
Alright, I admit I had a lot of trouble with this. But near as I can tell, there are certain reactions that occur between proteins and carbohydrates that generate carcinogenic chemicals.
This, has a lot of information on it, however the final conclusion is that the toxicity of cooked foods is mild at worst.
Conclusion
So, for the most part, raw foods are more nutrient rich than cooked foods. Though, it does not appear that this reduction in nutrients is particularly great. In some cases they are more easily digestible than cooked foods. However, this ease of digestion is arguably outweighed by the fact that your diet is limited too foods that can be digested at all when served raw.
In the end, a raw food diet is probably healthiest for you simply because anything you can eat raw is very good for you. And if you can assemble a completely balanced diet that provides you everything from these foods you will be eating a whole bunch of nutrients without any unnecessary by products that will be found in processed and cooked foods.
However it appears that a raw food vegan diet isn't vastly superior to a vegan diet. To put it simply, if you can keep yourself fed with nothing but vegetables you will be extremely healthy.
But, people with anecdotal evidence about the benefits of raw food abound. So, the best I can say, since I lack training in nutrition, biochemistry or much of anything else is if you feel like eating nothing but vegetables will make you feel better, go for it. If it works, good for you.
If you want to give raw food a shot, go ahead. There doesn't seem to be any reason why it's remarkably better than cooked food, but it seems to make a difference for some people. I would suggest easing into it. In the end, eating more fresh fruits and vegetables is basically always going to do you some good. Eating nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables if you can manage to do it and get everything you need, certainly won't do you any harm, but it doesn't apppear that there's a significant difference between an 80% raw foodist and a 100% raw foodist. Or, a difference between a vegan and a raw food vegan. If you find you're happier and healthier as a raw foodist than as a vegan, go for it. Though it appears that chemically the difference is negligible.
Note: I have omitted some of the more ridiculous raw food claims(cures cancer, reverse aging etc.) because I honestly don't think they're worth looking at and finding trustworthy information on them is a somewhat daunting task. To see an argument for them, check out this pile of douche. I got two minutes in before I shut it off.
Quality of life: Feelin' groovy.
Physical activity: research isn't particularly taxing...
Raw Food Percentage: 100
So, quickie research day has been fairly fruitful. To begin, let's address the major claims of raw food. Or rather, the major claim.
Raw Food is Healthier than Cooked Food. Which would account for the claims of more energy, weight loss without entering starvation mode and putting it all back on as soon as a return to a normal diet occurs, the extension of youth and the slowing of degenerative disease.
Now lets talk about claims as to why raw food is better than cooked food. Once again, this basically just boils down to one claim.
Cooking destroys the nutrients in food and makes it harder to digest, making raw food a more efficient source of nutrients.
a-protein
Okay, so cooking does denature proteins. Fry an egg to see evidence of that. Now is that denaturing a bad thing? Laurie Forti, a fitness and nutrition coach who's website is here argues that as the proteins are broken down from higher stages of complexity, (quaternary, tertiary and primary structures) by cooking they become shaped in such a way that the enzymes specific to their breakdown are unable to work on them properly. As a result the digestive process is less efficient and in general less effective.
Now, as a quick refresher which I had to do because biology class was a whole long time ago, proteins are long chains of amino acids which fold themselves into a variety of shapes and consequent functions. This folding is a result of attraction between the various amino acids on the chain. This process is really neat, and is one of the reasons why cellular biology is so interesting. Its also what is meant by primary(long chain), tertiary, (final form after its folded itself completely), and quaternary (bonding with another protein) structure. Now, what you're body needs is amino acids. That way it can make its own proteins.
So, as I can see, protein denaturization is actually a good thing in general, hence why your stomach is acidic. It breaks down and denatures the protein structure. So cooking would seem to have little negative effect, and possibly a positive affect.
However, cooked proteins don't simply break down when heated, they just get... weird, for lack of a better word. And in some cases, according to this exhaustively researched article, this can reduce the efficiency of their digestion. While there is mention of cross linkage between proteins in a few places I couldn't find an explanation for what that was I could easily understand. It essentially appears to be proteins bonding together in some cases and forming a structure that is resistant to digestion. As a result, they're harder to digest and less efficient. This is only some proteins in some foods, ranging from a negligible to moderate difference.
b-enzymes
I'm going to make this quick, the living enzyme theory that you see now and then on raw food sites, that raw plants contain enzymes that assist in their own digestion, is bullshit. The enzymes in plants do not make a meaningful contribution to the digestion of food in your body. Their contribution is, quite, quite small. And specifically must be made before they're deactivated by the acids in your stomach, and as they are proteins themselves, digested.
Aswell, you cannot exhaust your supply of enzymes, as is occasionally claimed in some quarters, they're proteins like everything else and created by your body as needed for specific jobs. In point of fact, they're recyclable, being used many times for the same reaction.
If you'd like to see a much longer argument against enzyme health look here.
The source of this idea is a book called "Enzyme Nutrition" Written by Edward Howell, a Doctor who experimented with various fruit juices to treat Tuberculosis during the 30s and 40s. It's vitalism people. Vitalism and nothing more. Once again I refer to Forti. There is no life force in organic compounds that makes them special. They're synthesizable chemicals and nothing more. Organic vs. inorganic compounds refers to whether or not they contain carbon and can therefore be used by a carbon-based life form.
c-Vitamins
This one actually does seem to go to raw food. Particularly in the case of boiling, many vitamins are leached from food by cooking. Not all mind you, but it does reduce the amount of vitamins in food. I refer to this set of imposing tables.
The idea seems to be that the process of cooking, usually boiling, leeches vitamins off and into the water. However, its pointed out that steaming retains most of the vitamins lost by other forms of cooking.
So, raw food does contain moderately more vitamins, but not specifically due to being raw per se, rather just for the manner in which they're prepared.
d- Toxicity of Cooked Foods
Alright, I admit I had a lot of trouble with this. But near as I can tell, there are certain reactions that occur between proteins and carbohydrates that generate carcinogenic chemicals.
This, has a lot of information on it, however the final conclusion is that the toxicity of cooked foods is mild at worst.
Conclusion
So, for the most part, raw foods are more nutrient rich than cooked foods. Though, it does not appear that this reduction in nutrients is particularly great. In some cases they are more easily digestible than cooked foods. However, this ease of digestion is arguably outweighed by the fact that your diet is limited too foods that can be digested at all when served raw.
In the end, a raw food diet is probably healthiest for you simply because anything you can eat raw is very good for you. And if you can assemble a completely balanced diet that provides you everything from these foods you will be eating a whole bunch of nutrients without any unnecessary by products that will be found in processed and cooked foods.
However it appears that a raw food vegan diet isn't vastly superior to a vegan diet. To put it simply, if you can keep yourself fed with nothing but vegetables you will be extremely healthy.
But, people with anecdotal evidence about the benefits of raw food abound. So, the best I can say, since I lack training in nutrition, biochemistry or much of anything else is if you feel like eating nothing but vegetables will make you feel better, go for it. If it works, good for you.
If you want to give raw food a shot, go ahead. There doesn't seem to be any reason why it's remarkably better than cooked food, but it seems to make a difference for some people. I would suggest easing into it. In the end, eating more fresh fruits and vegetables is basically always going to do you some good. Eating nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables if you can manage to do it and get everything you need, certainly won't do you any harm, but it doesn't apppear that there's a significant difference between an 80% raw foodist and a 100% raw foodist. Or, a difference between a vegan and a raw food vegan. If you find you're happier and healthier as a raw foodist than as a vegan, go for it. Though it appears that chemically the difference is negligible.
Note: I have omitted some of the more ridiculous raw food claims(cures cancer, reverse aging etc.) because I honestly don't think they're worth looking at and finding trustworthy information on them is a somewhat daunting task. To see an argument for them, check out this pile of douche. I got two minutes in before I shut it off.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Day 29: October 29th 8:19 PM
Food Eaten: Breakfast shake, apples, dulse
Quality of Life: I am an excellent argument for or against mind-body dualism.
Physical Activity Level: Very, very little.
Raw Food Percentage: 100
I've been reading a book on backpacking recently. I just finished the chapters dealing with crime and disease. While the entire book is of course full of reasons why backpacking is fun and reasonably safe, after finishing those chapters I don't think I'll ever set foot outside of my house, much less the country.
Of course, this is just the problem of creating an exhaustive list of dangers, all of which are much, much more concerning to a person than the possibility of delightful sightseeing and french cuisine. The dangers are specific and clearly communicated. The benefits are ephemeral and hard to describe in words alone(There's only so many ways to say, "It was totally awesome!")
It occurs to me this blog might suffer from the same presentation problem, as most of my posts I'll say I feel fine in the first sentence and then catalogue any problem I'm having exhaustively over the next few paragraphs. So, in the interests of balance I would like to say that this past month has not been as hard as I might have made it seem. For the most part I've actually had a steadily increasing feeling of well being. And, while I miss regular food, I know I'll get to eat it again eventually. Its just a matter of a little patience.
Happily, I've also felt particularly good today, so I can present a post of pros for the raw food thing as opposed to only cons.
As I said, I feel quite well today. Much better than the last two days especially. I think I can chalk up my getting sick as a result of eating some strawberries and an avacado that were a bit past their prime.
Still having occasional moments where I just zone out. But they're rarer and I'm ready to conclude that it has less to do with raw food and more to do with the fact that without coffee I find it much harder to pay attention to dull things. As an interesting side note my focus has actually seemed to improve in some cases, I read Atlas Shrugged(Don't worry, I'm not a Randian, its just after you get a degree in philosophy you kind of get the itch to expose yourself to ideas you disagree with now and then) over the course of this month and am now making progress on the Critique of Pure Reason. It has been pointed out to me that it might be easier to focus on my reading and the like now that I don't have a background stimulant level to maintain in the form of regular smoke breaks and a triple espresso.
Body fat percentages appear to be fairly steady. I'm a bit trimmer, but not so much that you'd notice unless you just stared at my belly for a long, long time. And that seems like a fairly unlikely scenario.
Energy levels remain somewhat unpredictable. I felt real sleepy as I finished last nights blog post, and then proceeded to stay awake for three more hours reading. I woke up this morning actually feeling quite energetic and now am starting to go down again. I'm assuming this is a sign that my blood sugar level is still fluctuating somewhat. I haven't had a major meal today and the last snack I had was a few hours ago, so it would make sense for me to start to feel a little sluggish.
I haven't quite felt up to doing anything particulat strenuous for the last couple of days, but I'll try tomorrow if I still feel this good.
I'm not hungry all the time anymore, which is odd and a little unsettling. I hope this is a result of me finally getting everything I need and adapting to the constraints of a raw food diet and not a sign that my body has concluded I'm starving to death and has just shut down.
Anyhow, I don't think I've entirely gotten the hang of this whole thing, but I think I get the idea. So thats good. Hopefully I've also gained some form of long term health benefits. A bit of a cleanse or some sort of recalibration of my body towards more efficient biochemical processes. Maybe just some lung tissue growing back or my liver speaking to me again. I suspect I'm still dietarily unbalanced and undereating in a few things. But its not like my diet was too balanced last month either and I definitely feel better than then. At least now its unbalanced with too much of one kind of vegetable on one side and not enough of some kind of bean on the other. As opposed to too much junk and not enough damn near anything else.
2 days left now, since I haven't had much to talk about on here about my current condition for the last week or so, its safe to assume I'll be fairly steady unless otherwise noted. So, tomorrow's post will deal with a discussion of some of the claims for and against raw foodism and what I can find that refutes or supports them, so I guess I'll finally have to some damn research. Saturday's will be a sobre reflection on my personal experience followed by twenty four hours of whiskey, shisha and cake.
Quality of Life: I am an excellent argument for or against mind-body dualism.
Physical Activity Level: Very, very little.
Raw Food Percentage: 100
I've been reading a book on backpacking recently. I just finished the chapters dealing with crime and disease. While the entire book is of course full of reasons why backpacking is fun and reasonably safe, after finishing those chapters I don't think I'll ever set foot outside of my house, much less the country.
Of course, this is just the problem of creating an exhaustive list of dangers, all of which are much, much more concerning to a person than the possibility of delightful sightseeing and french cuisine. The dangers are specific and clearly communicated. The benefits are ephemeral and hard to describe in words alone(There's only so many ways to say, "It was totally awesome!")
It occurs to me this blog might suffer from the same presentation problem, as most of my posts I'll say I feel fine in the first sentence and then catalogue any problem I'm having exhaustively over the next few paragraphs. So, in the interests of balance I would like to say that this past month has not been as hard as I might have made it seem. For the most part I've actually had a steadily increasing feeling of well being. And, while I miss regular food, I know I'll get to eat it again eventually. Its just a matter of a little patience.
Happily, I've also felt particularly good today, so I can present a post of pros for the raw food thing as opposed to only cons.
As I said, I feel quite well today. Much better than the last two days especially. I think I can chalk up my getting sick as a result of eating some strawberries and an avacado that were a bit past their prime.
Still having occasional moments where I just zone out. But they're rarer and I'm ready to conclude that it has less to do with raw food and more to do with the fact that without coffee I find it much harder to pay attention to dull things. As an interesting side note my focus has actually seemed to improve in some cases, I read Atlas Shrugged(Don't worry, I'm not a Randian, its just after you get a degree in philosophy you kind of get the itch to expose yourself to ideas you disagree with now and then) over the course of this month and am now making progress on the Critique of Pure Reason. It has been pointed out to me that it might be easier to focus on my reading and the like now that I don't have a background stimulant level to maintain in the form of regular smoke breaks and a triple espresso.
Body fat percentages appear to be fairly steady. I'm a bit trimmer, but not so much that you'd notice unless you just stared at my belly for a long, long time. And that seems like a fairly unlikely scenario.
Energy levels remain somewhat unpredictable. I felt real sleepy as I finished last nights blog post, and then proceeded to stay awake for three more hours reading. I woke up this morning actually feeling quite energetic and now am starting to go down again. I'm assuming this is a sign that my blood sugar level is still fluctuating somewhat. I haven't had a major meal today and the last snack I had was a few hours ago, so it would make sense for me to start to feel a little sluggish.
I haven't quite felt up to doing anything particulat strenuous for the last couple of days, but I'll try tomorrow if I still feel this good.
I'm not hungry all the time anymore, which is odd and a little unsettling. I hope this is a result of me finally getting everything I need and adapting to the constraints of a raw food diet and not a sign that my body has concluded I'm starving to death and has just shut down.
Anyhow, I don't think I've entirely gotten the hang of this whole thing, but I think I get the idea. So thats good. Hopefully I've also gained some form of long term health benefits. A bit of a cleanse or some sort of recalibration of my body towards more efficient biochemical processes. Maybe just some lung tissue growing back or my liver speaking to me again. I suspect I'm still dietarily unbalanced and undereating in a few things. But its not like my diet was too balanced last month either and I definitely feel better than then. At least now its unbalanced with too much of one kind of vegetable on one side and not enough of some kind of bean on the other. As opposed to too much junk and not enough damn near anything else.
2 days left now, since I haven't had much to talk about on here about my current condition for the last week or so, its safe to assume I'll be fairly steady unless otherwise noted. So, tomorrow's post will deal with a discussion of some of the claims for and against raw foodism and what I can find that refutes or supports them, so I guess I'll finally have to some damn research. Saturday's will be a sobre reflection on my personal experience followed by twenty four hours of whiskey, shisha and cake.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Day 28: October 28 11:00 PM
Food Eaten: Breakfast shake, complex salad, dates, bananas
Quality of Life: One way or another the end is near.
Physical activity level: Minimal
Raw Food Percentage 100
So, I felt better this morning when I woke up, but that was after sleeping for 10 or so hours. I've only been awake for 12 hours and I'm already starting to feel tired again. My metabolism appears to be keying down.
My body is exhausted. I don't know what happened yesterday, but its becoming obvious my current health is fairly precarious. I miss a few hours sleep and suddenly I appear to have a cold.
After 4 weeks of an unbalanced and limited diet I appear to have come close to the end of my physical tether. Whereas previously I assumed I wasn't getting enough of some specific things I'm beginning to wonder if I'm getting enough of damn near anything.
I don't know if I'm getting sick because of the diet, if I've just caught the cold or if my body's started to flush toxins out of my liver, but in any event, I clearly need to make some sort of change. I suppose all I can really do is eat more and try to get some of those hyper-nutritious foods I keep hearing so much about. Dulse for starters, its supposed to have an uncanny amount of vitamin b12 which I know I'm not getting, it also has plenty of protein and iron which would help with this whole pale thing I've got going on right now. They sell it around the corner, its supposed to be like raw foodist manna. Never got around to trying it, no time like the present. More avacado for more fat. And even more fruit. Yaaaaaay. Tommorrow morning, to the grocers!
Quality of Life: One way or another the end is near.
Physical activity level: Minimal
Raw Food Percentage 100
So, I felt better this morning when I woke up, but that was after sleeping for 10 or so hours. I've only been awake for 12 hours and I'm already starting to feel tired again. My metabolism appears to be keying down.
My body is exhausted. I don't know what happened yesterday, but its becoming obvious my current health is fairly precarious. I miss a few hours sleep and suddenly I appear to have a cold.
After 4 weeks of an unbalanced and limited diet I appear to have come close to the end of my physical tether. Whereas previously I assumed I wasn't getting enough of some specific things I'm beginning to wonder if I'm getting enough of damn near anything.
I don't know if I'm getting sick because of the diet, if I've just caught the cold or if my body's started to flush toxins out of my liver, but in any event, I clearly need to make some sort of change. I suppose all I can really do is eat more and try to get some of those hyper-nutritious foods I keep hearing so much about. Dulse for starters, its supposed to have an uncanny amount of vitamin b12 which I know I'm not getting, it also has plenty of protein and iron which would help with this whole pale thing I've got going on right now. They sell it around the corner, its supposed to be like raw foodist manna. Never got around to trying it, no time like the present. More avacado for more fat. And even more fruit. Yaaaaaay. Tommorrow morning, to the grocers!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Day 27: October 27th 11:39 PM
Food Eaten: Breakfast shake, apples, bananas, dates, beat burrito
Quality of life: Stored toxins flowing through my veins or the common cold?
Physical activity level: There was some walking, some talking.
Raw Food Percentage: 100
Day 26 suffered from internet problems, if you're curious it was like today except I ate a salad instead of a burrito.
Bad day today. Maybe I ate something off or just didn't get enough sleep. Something went wrong, I feel like crap.
Mental confusion, slightly upset stomach, loss of appetite, general feeling of exhaustion, pale and sunken eyes. Its possible the diet is finally catching up to me, but it feels like there should have been some warning signs, I've been feeling pretty alright for the last week or so.
I didn't get a lot of sleep, so thats my best guess as to whats wrong. Alternately my body has just finally run out of whatever the reserves it was using to keep me standing were. Regardless I felt crummy when I woke up and its been all down hill from there.
I think I'm going to turn in. I'll see how I feel tomorrow. If better, expect a longer post. If worse, expect a shorter, more profane post. Possibly followed by me eating a bunch of chicken.
Quality of life: Stored toxins flowing through my veins or the common cold?
Physical activity level: There was some walking, some talking.
Raw Food Percentage: 100
Day 26 suffered from internet problems, if you're curious it was like today except I ate a salad instead of a burrito.
Bad day today. Maybe I ate something off or just didn't get enough sleep. Something went wrong, I feel like crap.
Mental confusion, slightly upset stomach, loss of appetite, general feeling of exhaustion, pale and sunken eyes. Its possible the diet is finally catching up to me, but it feels like there should have been some warning signs, I've been feeling pretty alright for the last week or so.
I didn't get a lot of sleep, so thats my best guess as to whats wrong. Alternately my body has just finally run out of whatever the reserves it was using to keep me standing were. Regardless I felt crummy when I woke up and its been all down hill from there.
I think I'm going to turn in. I'll see how I feel tomorrow. If better, expect a longer post. If worse, expect a shorter, more profane post. Possibly followed by me eating a bunch of chicken.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Day 25 October 25th 11:31 PM
Food Eaten: Apples, bananas, dates, avacado
Quality of life: Work/eat/work/eat/work/eat/work/eat/work/eat/work/eat/work/eat
Physical activity level: Let's talk about it tomorrow
Raw Food Percentage: 100
Continued inability to maintain a consistent energy level. Though even when I'm tired I still feel pretty good. I don't exactly feel exhausted, just tired more often during the day. Usually if I haven't had a snack in a bit. Which is shocking.
I don't really mind constantly grazing, though I am looking forward to my big salad tonight.
Looking forward to a salad thats predominantly spinach is kind of depressing.
Of course when I do have energy I have more than usual, which is pretty alright. I could switch my small snacks for larger meals at once, but I kind of like this.
Other than that, little to report. Looking forward to the end, getting obsessed with baking bread.
Quality of life: Work/eat/work/eat/work/eat/work/eat/work/eat/work/eat/work/eat
Physical activity level: Let's talk about it tomorrow
Raw Food Percentage: 100
Continued inability to maintain a consistent energy level. Though even when I'm tired I still feel pretty good. I don't exactly feel exhausted, just tired more often during the day. Usually if I haven't had a snack in a bit. Which is shocking.
I don't really mind constantly grazing, though I am looking forward to my big salad tonight.
Looking forward to a salad thats predominantly spinach is kind of depressing.
Of course when I do have energy I have more than usual, which is pretty alright. I could switch my small snacks for larger meals at once, but I kind of like this.
Other than that, little to report. Looking forward to the end, getting obsessed with baking bread.
Day 24 October 25 1:40 AM
Food Eaten: Apples, Dates, choco-gorilla shake, raw food pizza
Quality of life: Doing pretty well but ready to go home now.
Physical Activity Level: Got pretty excited listening to surf-rock. That's about it though.
Raw Food Percentage: 100%
Forgot to do this earlier as a result I'm blogging from my girlfriend's bathtub so the light from the computer won't keep her up. There are sometimes sacrifices to be made if you're a night person and you want to date a day person.
Anyhow, its actually pretty comfortable in here, I've got a pillow, I can put my feet up. My computer is resting comfortably on my lap with the screen against my knees and my back is well supported by the wall.
I believe I've found the perfect blogging pose. I'm even in the perfect position for navel gazing.
Very little to report. Still oversleeping, but I think that has more to do with a slightly messed up sleep and professional schedule than my diet. Though I think more avocados will help me maintain a consistent energy level through the day.
I want to try and get more exercise this week, maybe go for a jog or something on Monday morning. See if my pink new lungs have grown in or if I'm still more tar than man.
Interesting side note, I'm not really losing weight. I've lost a little of course, but I'm still the same shape for the most part, and I suspect the same weight as well. This probably has to do with the fact that I'm not getting any exercise for the most part. I'm not adding new weight, but I'm not sucking it up either. I'll do a weighing on November 1st I suppose, though I forgot to do one on September 30th. I was around 200 the week before, so that's good enough for my pseudo-science. I'll have to track down a scale.
Interesting that I didn't lose much weight though. I suppose I kept myself further from starvation than I thought I did, though I suspect I've been running out of something or other on and off for most of this month. I'm definitely a lot paler. But then again, I'm a Vancouverite and we lose the sun somewhere in the middle of October. Its hard to tan under grey skies.
I feel pretty healthy, so that's a plus, as well as a nod to the ability for a person to support themselves on a raw food diet. You will live. Though as I was eating my raw food pizza today and drinking my raw food shake I realized I couldn't do this forever. Or even for much longer than a month. The food is tasty, if well prepared, and has interesting flavours and dense nutrients, but for me personally it could never be a staple. Though most of what I've read has suggested that most raw foodists keep around 80-90% I don't think I could do much more than 50. I miss sandwiches and eggs and coffee and toast and potatoes.
I am looking forward to returning to cooked food. Though hopefully I will at least try and remember my lesson and eat a balanced diet. Suppose we'll see.
Anyhow, 7 days remaining, well 6 now. We're in the homestretch and I can smell the future.
The future smells like bacon.
Quality of life: Doing pretty well but ready to go home now.
Physical Activity Level: Got pretty excited listening to surf-rock. That's about it though.
Raw Food Percentage: 100%
Forgot to do this earlier as a result I'm blogging from my girlfriend's bathtub so the light from the computer won't keep her up. There are sometimes sacrifices to be made if you're a night person and you want to date a day person.
Anyhow, its actually pretty comfortable in here, I've got a pillow, I can put my feet up. My computer is resting comfortably on my lap with the screen against my knees and my back is well supported by the wall.
I believe I've found the perfect blogging pose. I'm even in the perfect position for navel gazing.
Very little to report. Still oversleeping, but I think that has more to do with a slightly messed up sleep and professional schedule than my diet. Though I think more avocados will help me maintain a consistent energy level through the day.
I want to try and get more exercise this week, maybe go for a jog or something on Monday morning. See if my pink new lungs have grown in or if I'm still more tar than man.
Interesting side note, I'm not really losing weight. I've lost a little of course, but I'm still the same shape for the most part, and I suspect the same weight as well. This probably has to do with the fact that I'm not getting any exercise for the most part. I'm not adding new weight, but I'm not sucking it up either. I'll do a weighing on November 1st I suppose, though I forgot to do one on September 30th. I was around 200 the week before, so that's good enough for my pseudo-science. I'll have to track down a scale.
Interesting that I didn't lose much weight though. I suppose I kept myself further from starvation than I thought I did, though I suspect I've been running out of something or other on and off for most of this month. I'm definitely a lot paler. But then again, I'm a Vancouverite and we lose the sun somewhere in the middle of October. Its hard to tan under grey skies.
I feel pretty healthy, so that's a plus, as well as a nod to the ability for a person to support themselves on a raw food diet. You will live. Though as I was eating my raw food pizza today and drinking my raw food shake I realized I couldn't do this forever. Or even for much longer than a month. The food is tasty, if well prepared, and has interesting flavours and dense nutrients, but for me personally it could never be a staple. Though most of what I've read has suggested that most raw foodists keep around 80-90% I don't think I could do much more than 50. I miss sandwiches and eggs and coffee and toast and potatoes.
I am looking forward to returning to cooked food. Though hopefully I will at least try and remember my lesson and eat a balanced diet. Suppose we'll see.
Anyhow, 7 days remaining, well 6 now. We're in the homestretch and I can smell the future.
The future smells like bacon.
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