In the Raw

I was on Facebook just a few moments ago and saw a post from a friend where she talked about changing her diet and her successes that followed. Someone asked her what she did and she responded that she cut out all animal products, no meat, eggs or dairy. She has become 80% vegan as she puts it.  I am not sure if she knows it, but she is following the raw food movement, a diet the includes only foods that haven’t been heated about 115 degrees Fahrenheit- hence the name RAW - they are not cooked. Though, I also call it the NAKED diet because these veggies are also being consumed without "dressing" them. (Get it?! "Dressing" them... no SALAD dressing!!! Genius.) The basic belief behind the movement is that when you are not heating the food up past the 115 degrees you are preserving t naturally occurring nutrients – especially water-soluble vitamins (like Vitamin C)- which may be lost when heating the food.  On the raw food diet your daily intake of fruits and veggies sky rocket, as they become your main staple, whole grains are essential as well and your protein becomes mostly plant based (soy - though you can have some fish which is prepared "raw"). To me this is a yuck but to some it is a yum, take your pick!  For someone like me, who weight trains and wants lean muscle gain, a strict raw diet will not work. You need a certain amount of protein in your diet to build muscle and I know I won't be happy doing it only on soy and fish.... however, some do. I am however very intrigued by the raw movement. A raw diet is much like an eating cleanse. A detox or cleanse is often liquid based and should have a time limit, but raw foods can do the same basic flush. On a raw foods diet you are banning processed junk and incorporating whole foods, ones that are not processed.  If you are thinking about doing any type of detox I recommend getting your diet as raw and whole as you can first, then doing the detox and then moving back into the raw stuff and then finally adding animal proteins if you want them. So what do you think? Are you up for life in the raw? I recently found a blog on Wholeliving.com where a woman (Lindsay Funston) went raw for 14 days. She was successful in her endeavors but does admit in a following blog to an all out meatfest at a gathering called, no other than "Meatopia"- AWESOME! What I like about this is it shows us that some of us do need animal based meats and it is okay to incorporate them. I am not sure about "Meatopia-ing" it up frequently, but finding balance in your diet is key to whole healthy living.  Fans of the raw diet rave about it's blessings (glowing skin and abundant energy!) so much so that I am keen to giving it a try. So after this move, I too will give the fourteen day challenge a go. Though I will not officially begin the two weeks until the fifteenth of Aug. I plan on weaning myself off of the meats and cheeses starting sometime during the first week of Aug. (as I am sure it is not wise to commit one's self to a major diet change when you are living out of moving boxes- I will give myself some wiggle room!) As I get closer to the start of the fourteen days I will be posting tips and recipes in hopes of  successful navigation through  the streets of rawtown.  Aside from a raw diet, the five principles to healthy eating are as such: 1. Drink water first 2. Eat every 2-3 hours 3. Eat Veggies at every meal 4. Eat Protein at every meal 5. Only Whole Grains (no processed foods!) - so even if you are not going raw,  following those principles will help one stay on track. If you would like to interlope at the raw party with me, I encourage you to come along!

"Respect your body. Eat well. Dance forever."  -Eliza Gaynor Minden