Starting January 1, 2011, we are going RAW! We begin our journey through the living food movement.
We (Donna & Mike) have committed to changing our lifestyle. For the better, of course. We will not just experience the living food movement but embrace it fully. The goal is to be mindful about what we put in our bodies and reap the health benefits of eating and living clean.
This blog will showcase our trials and tribulations of the raw food diet and lifestyle. We hope to share knowledge, recipes, random food bits, and our success of a healthy life.
Become a fan and join us in our journey.
December 30, 2010
December 29, 2010
The Final Countdown
"What?!?!? Why?!?!?"
This is my expected reaction from most people, when I tell them about what my girlfriend and I have decided to do. Especially folks back home in Mizzoruh. I mean Misery. I mean Missouri...
I am sure the whole concept will seem pretty silly to most people in middle-America.
We have both committed ourselves to living the next year, completely "in the raw"!
This is going to be a serious life change for both of us, as we have slowly declined into pattern of take-out and microwave meals. We eat out WAY too often. Treating ourselves to fancy restaurants and gourmet food is a monthly, if not WEEKLY occurrence! We feast on appetizers. Gorge on main courses of red meats and heavy pastas. Then we pack in a final decadent dessert. Usually chocolate. Usually delicious. ALWAYS too much!! All the while, drinking cocktails, beers and wine, never questioning how much we've just put in our bodies, or what it might be doing to our insides. Every night ends the same way... the uncomfortable feeling of being stuffed with WAY too much food... and the unavoidable need for sleep. Then we head straight to bed, filled with who knows how many different ingredients, and we leave our bodies to sort out the mess.
Over the long term, this sort of indulgence has taken a serious toll on our bodies. We have both gained a ton of weight, lost a ton of muscle, and we are CONSTANTLY tired. My skin looks awful. My hair is dry and brittle. Huge bags under my eyes. Granted, this is due to more than just what we've been eating. It says more about how poorly we have been taking care of ourselves overall. Lack of exercise. Lack of sleep. Lack of sun. Lack of fresh air. Lack of vitamins and minerals. Just lacking... period.
So why the raw food thing?
We chose New Year's Day as the beginning to our journey into the realm of the raw. It seemed like the best day to turn over a new leaf. In addition to eating raw, we will both quit smoking, and begin working out. We both got gym memberships, and we're already coming up with as many ways as possible to stay off the couch, and away from the TV. There's no cable TV at our house, but we are notorious for wasting entire evenings with Netflix and Hulu. This will all come to an end on the 1st. There are SO many interesting things to do around our city, that we are REALLY wasting our time when we veg out on the couch. There are trapeze and trampoline classes, bike trails, hiking trails, kayaking, swimming, rock climbing, surfing, pilates, yoga, and about a million others. Plenty to keep us busy.
As we head down this road, we will be documenting it via this blog, posting updates on our progress and/or regress, and overall feelings along the way. We will post the day to day happenings, but also, recipes, links, menus, nutritional info, and other pertinent information that comes up on our journey. Our hope is that this lifestyle will have a significant change on our health, and our experience will inspire others to make the same necessary improvements to their own lives.
There are 2 days left before our new beginning. So, I have of course been gorging on anything and everything that I won't be allowed to have. Probably not the best way to ease into something new, but easing has never been my style. I'm a "cold turkey" kind of guy. But if I know I'm about to be without something, I indulge in as much of it as possible until the very last second. I've been chain-smoking, and eating junkfood. Definitely NOT proud of myself. But in a couple days.....
I hope you check back frequently to see how we've progressed. I have a feeling once we start to see changes, they will be pretty dramatic. Until then, here are some websites to check out if you yourself are interested in the raw food movement, and how it might benefit you:
This is my expected reaction from most people, when I tell them about what my girlfriend and I have decided to do. Especially folks back home in Mizzoruh. I mean Misery. I mean Missouri...
I am sure the whole concept will seem pretty silly to most people in middle-America.
We have both committed ourselves to living the next year, completely "in the raw"!
This is going to be a serious life change for both of us, as we have slowly declined into pattern of take-out and microwave meals. We eat out WAY too often. Treating ourselves to fancy restaurants and gourmet food is a monthly, if not WEEKLY occurrence! We feast on appetizers. Gorge on main courses of red meats and heavy pastas. Then we pack in a final decadent dessert. Usually chocolate. Usually delicious. ALWAYS too much!! All the while, drinking cocktails, beers and wine, never questioning how much we've just put in our bodies, or what it might be doing to our insides. Every night ends the same way... the uncomfortable feeling of being stuffed with WAY too much food... and the unavoidable need for sleep. Then we head straight to bed, filled with who knows how many different ingredients, and we leave our bodies to sort out the mess.
Over the long term, this sort of indulgence has taken a serious toll on our bodies. We have both gained a ton of weight, lost a ton of muscle, and we are CONSTANTLY tired. My skin looks awful. My hair is dry and brittle. Huge bags under my eyes. Granted, this is due to more than just what we've been eating. It says more about how poorly we have been taking care of ourselves overall. Lack of exercise. Lack of sleep. Lack of sun. Lack of fresh air. Lack of vitamins and minerals. Just lacking... period.
So why the raw food thing?
- Raw foods are better nutritionally, so you eat less to satisfy your nutritional needs.
- The heat from cooking depletes vitamins, damages proteins and fats, and destroys enzymes which the body needs for digestion.
- The more raw food you eat, the more you feel satisfied, and have more energy on smaller meals.
- Raw food has the best balance of water, nutrients, and fiber to meet your body’s needs.
- Raw foods have more intense flavor than cooked foods, so there is no need to add salt, sugar, spices, or other irritants to your digestive system or over stimulate other organs.
- Raw foods take little to no preparation, so you spend less time in the kitchen.
- Easy Clean up!! The kitchen will finally stay clean!
- Eating a diet of raw foods is scientifically proven to reverse or stop the advance of many chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer. Cooking, creates free radicals, which are the major cause of cancer. When you lower the number of free radicals your cells are bombarded with, you lower your risk of cancer.
- A raw food diet can protect you from the small stuff too,like colds, flu, and other viruses.Raw foods help maintain a healthy body, and a healthy body is far more resilient.
- As long as you combine raw food properly, you will soon reach a point where you no longer suffer from heartburn, gas, or indigestion. Things like antacids will be a thing of the past.
- Eating raw saves you money!
We chose New Year's Day as the beginning to our journey into the realm of the raw. It seemed like the best day to turn over a new leaf. In addition to eating raw, we will both quit smoking, and begin working out. We both got gym memberships, and we're already coming up with as many ways as possible to stay off the couch, and away from the TV. There's no cable TV at our house, but we are notorious for wasting entire evenings with Netflix and Hulu. This will all come to an end on the 1st. There are SO many interesting things to do around our city, that we are REALLY wasting our time when we veg out on the couch. There are trapeze and trampoline classes, bike trails, hiking trails, kayaking, swimming, rock climbing, surfing, pilates, yoga, and about a million others. Plenty to keep us busy.
As we head down this road, we will be documenting it via this blog, posting updates on our progress and/or regress, and overall feelings along the way. We will post the day to day happenings, but also, recipes, links, menus, nutritional info, and other pertinent information that comes up on our journey. Our hope is that this lifestyle will have a significant change on our health, and our experience will inspire others to make the same necessary improvements to their own lives.
There are 2 days left before our new beginning. So, I have of course been gorging on anything and everything that I won't be allowed to have. Probably not the best way to ease into something new, but easing has never been my style. I'm a "cold turkey" kind of guy. But if I know I'm about to be without something, I indulge in as much of it as possible until the very last second. I've been chain-smoking, and eating junkfood. Definitely NOT proud of myself. But in a couple days.....
I hope you check back frequently to see how we've progressed. I have a feeling once we start to see changes, they will be pretty dramatic. Until then, here are some websites to check out if you yourself are interested in the raw food movement, and how it might benefit you:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_foodism - Wikipedia article explaining the raw food movement
- http://www.rawguru.com/
- http://www.rawfoodlife.com/
- http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/
- http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/
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