INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

I have decided to go raw again after having a terrible night of horrible stomach and back pain together probably caused by IBS, extra strong probiotics and junk food and absolutely no fruit or veg of any kind lol.  I was going to call an ambulance if the pain did not stop as I was up all night walking around the flat in pain wondering why I did this to myself as I knew better but thankfully it did.  I am fat, bloated and tired all the time sleeping on and off through the day every day usually after eating some kind of junk usually oven chips, meat pies and anything easy that I could throw in the oven that I could put on the oven timer.   Had cut out wheat and dairy but had cravings for them so would often go on binges, usually breakfast crumpets with a filling of fried eggs, bacon, cheese and ketchup and often having takeaways usually Chinese, pizza and kebabs and ice cream being the favourite.

I can see myself getting older by the second even though people used to say I looked younger than my years and now my 80-year-old mum is eating and looking healthier than me and my skin is going to pot.  I went natural about 5 years ago (my hair) and although my hair is growing I have fine hair and it’s not getting thicker although it’s the only thing in my life that I really look after!

My skin has gone to hell and I even had a growth that looked like tentacles removed from my face.  Also getting really forgetful.

I want my health, energy, youth and life back because at this point if I don’t do something I will have no life as I also have arthritis in my left knee and because of my weight have terrible backache and cannot walk long distances as I used to love to do. At the moment I am a size 24 and over 19 stone but want to be a size 14 – 16 but who knows I might do better as I am making an effort to document my journey this time.

I have tried raw before and I never felt better and lost tons of weight, had loads of energy and had a life but then celebrations of all sorts got in the way and went back to my olds ways.

The good news is I have woken up on the 4^th day of going raw to find I have a lot more energy and the feeling that I should be exercising as the energy is there, also most aches and pains gone ie no tummy ache and arthritis pain is less going to number 2 a lot more in fact every time I go for a wee end up with number 2 too, pee is clearer and poo is now green which is a good thing and less smelly (I know TMI but all part of going raw and detoxing).

Please note I went extreme and am doing 100% raw because of my severe problems, I don’t recommend everyone do this if you are not suffering like me, I think you should do it gradually as it can be a lot if you are not used to it, start with raw breakfast and or a salad with everything for lunch ie soup and salad, sandwich with salad, jacket with salad on the side, try juicing as simple as cucumber, carrot, celery and apple to start, smoothie with banana and or almond milk as a base with frozen fruit available from any supermarket.  Also I found eating fruit in the morning is better gradually building up to salad veg later on in the day, I found It suits my digestion better unless I get hungry then I might have a piece of fruit or something I have dehydrated to keep going.  AND REMEMBER never go hungry is the key to this if you feel hungry eat and that is the great thing about going raw you can stuff your face but as long as its fruit veg nuts and seeds and sprouts then you are good to go all uncooked of course!  Exception (well not really) dehydrated food which should not be done more than approx. 45 cents., any higher it kills the goodness out of the food to put it simply and as long as you soak most of your nuts especially almonds then all’s good and the possibilities are endless.

They say that organic is best but unfortunately I can’t afford it at the moment but in the beginning just taking in just raw food will make a Hugh difference and as time goes on you will eat less and can afford more organic stuff in my previous experience.  I have started with super market stuff and gone organic on key items such as tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and courgettes as they are cheaper organic but plan on going to farmer’s markets and buying organic boxes on line when I am though my first 2 weeks or so.

You will probably find that you won’t have to drink water so much as most of what you are eating raw is full of water anyway, I have found that it is best not to drink water with a meal but to wait a while as it helps the digestion and drinking water room temp is better than cold in my experience when eating raw the cold water tended to cramp my stomach and drinking water with meal although made you feel fuller but tended to make me want to eat more after if that makes sense, think it has something to do with diluting the goodness in the food (nutrients) so the body is telling you to eat more to make up for it.

It’s also worth noting that I am not working at the moment which I guess helps with going almost 100% raw, I can rest when I want to put my meals together when I want to and I can judge a lot better what is working and what is not. I have gone raw while working and it can be hard work so prep is the key, I used to do all the dehydrating and all the stuff that takes a while to prepare over the weekend, i.e. making granola for the week, dehydrating crackers, dried fruit, savoury items, salad dressings, sauces and then blend and juice on the go and a lot of pre packed salads and veg sticks really helped M&S was my friend of a lunch time.  Made the more complicated stuff in the evening and when eating out would go for the raw items on the menu.  What I also did if I knew in advance where I was going I would check the menus on line so I would know what to order. Example:

Nandos – olives or their nuts for starters, and they have a great variety of salads

Macdonalds – salad bowl

Pizza hut – salad counter

You get the picture, if all else failed I would on the rare occasion go for cooked vegan if there was no other option or eat beforehand (not good as seen as unsociable but needs must)

DETOX SYMPTOMS SO FAR

Tiredness

Feeling foggy

Headaches

Weeing and Pooing all the time

Dizziness

Diarrhoea

Cold and flu like symptoms

Will report back after 2 weeks on how I am doing and will record what I am eating each day.  Also will start taking pictures of what I am eating and making as I plan to get creative to keep myself motivated and have lots of recipes from web sites as well as free kindle raw books to refer to.  I am also going from my previous experience of going raw.

TOOLS I ALREADY HAD

Dehydrator

Blender

Juicer

Spiralizer

Food processor

Filtered water jug

Coffee grinder

It is now 2018 and I am no longer raw but I am still vegan at the moment, I have been vegan on and off for years but as I get older I am finding that I can no longer tolerate certain foods so I am currently a cooked vegan as I find that is more sustainable than raw especially in the winter time as it dam cold in England lol.

In case you have not realized I am on YouTube video my weight loss journey so why not subscribe to ValeriesNatrual40 on YouTube and follow my journey!  For those that don't want to then I have most of the videos in my blog anyway.

                                                                                                     ValeriesNatural40