Overview
As a Health Coach, I need to be a nutrition expert, wellness authority, and supportive mentor. I also need to continue to improve my own health, and that's one of the reasons I chose to complete this 30-day raw food challenge with a client of mine. It gives me an insider's view of what it takes to complete the challenge, the ups and downs associated with it, and provides an accountability partner for my client.
After seeing the DVD 'Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days', I knew this would be a great opportunity for a small group to complete a 30-day raw food challenge. After talking to several people, it came down to three people (myself included). Everyone was interested in the outcome, but very few people were ready to commit to changing their diet from predominately cooked foods, even for a short period of time.
Raw foods consist of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and sprouts that are not heated above a temperature of 118 degrees Fahrenheit. It is amazing, once we started researching it, how many recipes are available on the Internet. We had many of the kitchen appliances already (blender, juicer, and food processor), and added a spiraler, dehydrator, salad spinner, nut milk bag, and sprouting lids.
How To Begin
We started the challenge a month in advance by converting to vegetarianism, and adding one raw meal/snack per day into our diet. By week 4, we were up to only one cooked meal per day. Caffeine was a little harder to give up, and was stopped a few days before the challenge; however, I recommend weaning off of it as early as possible.
On weekends, we selected a few new recipes to try varying them between entrees, meals, and desserts. One of the best books I found for overall information and recipes was 'Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People' by Jennifer Cornbleet. She used the basics of kitchen appliances, broke the recipes down into a weekly grocery list, and noted how long food and soaked nuts lasted in the refrigerator. This makes it very easy to prepare several meals at a time on the weekend or mid-week so you're never without meals.
I also took my client on a tour of the local grocery store to be familiar with eating around the edges of the store staying away from most of the processed foods, and where to find some of the items they weren't familiar with (tamari, tahini, flax seeds, etc).
Detox Symptoms
As your body starts healing from eating these nutrient-rich foods, it gets rid of accumulated toxins through several avenues. These can be through the skin, organs, and bowels. Herxheimer detox symptoms range from nausea, fatigue, diarrhea, constipation, flu-like symptoms, congestion, and others. The first week or two are usually the most difficult, and if too much, small quantities of cooked foods can be introduced until the symptoms disappear. Then, they can be weaned down until a 100% raw diet is achieved again.
Personally, the first two days were the worst. I had some nausea and headaches, but since then, have been feeling better and waking up more refreshed and focused. One client had severe nausea, diarrhea, and fatigue for several days, and since then has shown improvements in her fasting blood glucose, blood pressure, and resting heart rate. She has not lost any weight yet; however, this can be expected as the body attempts to stabilize and heal the liver/hormones first. Her video for this week is included as a personal testimonial.
Keeping Up The Schedule
Eating raw takes some forethought and preparation, but no more than what I used to do when preparing meals for the week. Learning new habits seems to be the biggest thing as I still occasionally forget to put some nuts out to soak. I am also enjoying sprouting some broccoli seeds in 3-4 days, and adding them fresh to my salad. I love that!
Next week, I will be learning to use my Excalibur Dehydrator that just came in the mail. My client is using one of the round, lower-priced dehydrators so it is nice to be able to compare the differences. We'll be checking in with you next week to give another update, and I appreciate your feedback and anything you would like to know that I may have missed.
Resources
Some web sites, books, and kitchen items that have been helpful to us are listed below for your convenience. All of these are not needed to start adding more raw foods into your diet. Use what you have, and add or borrow items as you need them. You might also find other raw food groups though Meetup.com.
Web Sites:
http://www.fromsadtoraw.com
http://goneraw.com/recipes
http://www.alissacohen.com/
http://www.learnrawfood.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoaIpZZfcFc
http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/2006/08/sample_raw_food.html
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2008/02/raw-food-diet/
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30360
http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/02/eat-rainbow-colorful-fruits-and-veggies.html
Books, DVD, Kitchen Essentials & Supplements:
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