DAY TWENTY FOUR

DAY TWENTY FOUR

Tea – fresh lemon and honey

Smoothie – lemon grass, mango, kale, bananas and spinach

Tub of strawberries

1 mango

Large salad – pre packed, pea shoots, chard and spinach, black and green olives, plum tomatoes, cucumber, strawberry, orange and spring union with guacamole

EXERCISE – 30 minutes on stationary bike, burned 150 calories

I could not sleep last night because of the coughing; I ended up at 2 in the morning taking a tablet which I didn’t want to do.  I still don’t know if it is part of detoxing, if something is not agreeing with me or whether I really do have a bad cold.  I have even lost my voice from all the coughing.  After the concern from son I relented and took a trip down to boots to get something for the cough and I was wondering after all that good work with the raw food, am I setting myself back with the medicine?  The cough is no joke so I had to do something.

I phoned Ramsgate gym as they have a sauna and steam room and they are doing a great deal, if I go between 7 and 9 in the evening then I can get in with my membership for £2!  It normally cost 13.50 with membership, not sure if this is a weekly occurrence but if it is I will be doing it every Sunday lol

It’s a really hot muggy day and for some reason I didn’t feel like eating very much and I am also trying to make a conscious effort to cut back on the fat but instead bulk up with fruit instead will have to start making some dressing that don’t require fats like olive oil and nuts.  If I do use fat it will be for reserved for dressings and buying the chocolate was not a good idea as I got all sorts of recipes going around in my head but because its raw chocolate its even more addictive that normal chocolate.

I got my exercise bike out today as although I have this cough I still have loads of energy so got on the bike for half hour sweated buckets and burned off 150 calories which is great. 

The fire alarm went off about 10.30 in the evening so had to go down 8 floors to the safety zone and I impressed myself as I got down the stairs so fast compared to the last false alarm, I struggled with my knee but this time I hardly noticed my knee.

DAY TWENTY THREE

DAY TWENTY THREE

Smoothie – spinach, 2 bananas, frozen blue berries, made 2 large cups

Cucumber spaghetti with basil pesto topped with plum tomatoes and mixed bean sprouts

Dehydrated Crackers with rest of pesto from cucumber spaghetti

Chocolate ice cream – 1 avocado, 2 table spoon raw chocolate powder (cacao), dash of agave nectar and dash of vanilla favouring (optional), blend it and put it in the fridge or if you want it to set harder then put in freezer but it is so thick and creamy already as my avocado was cold to begin with I downed half of it without thinking!

      

             

Chocolate smoothie – Almond Milk, bananas, dash of agave nectar, raw chocolate

          

                          

2 apples

EXERCISE – gym machines and weights, aqua aerobics

I went a little chocolate crazy today as I got my raw chocolate delivery from www.funkyraw.com, also got some crackers and a small bar of raw coconut choc bar which I am saving for my next trip.  I still have a cough that is not going away but funny enough it did not affect me in the gym or when I went aqua aerobics but it was only when I got home and sat down that it started.  I relented and took some headache tablets to see if helped and it did for a while will have to take some before I go to bed or I will have a bad night again?

Talking of sleep last night was lousy because of the coughing, last time I looked at the clock it was 2am so I got up and binged on the last of my cashews after watching a you tube channel about what not to eat when raw, cashews was included on that list, along with not eating under ripe fruit, condiments like, agave nectar, soya sauce, tamari and having too much raw chocolate as it is highly addictive.  So will not be getting anymore cashews but not sure what to do about some of the condiments as they make a good sauce or salad dressing, is it possible to be 100% raw, I guess it is if you do mono eating and stick to just ingredients that are raw.  I will have to wean myself of very slowly and not replace them when they run out I guess?

I spoke to my sister today and she wants to do some sort of trip for her birthday, a couple of days away so this will be another test for me, I did ok the last time as I found a supermarket but what happens when you stay in a hotel either in the uk or abroad, I guess in some respects it can be easier as I can bring a mini blender and portable chopping board and knife in my luggage and go from there

I am finding that my energy levels are high and I can run on not getting a lot of sleep and still be bouncing around, I found walking to the gym I was a lot more energetic and am now able to walk greater distances without pain in my knee and back and am actually enjoying myself challenging myself in the gym.  I think I will have to tire myself out on my exercise bike that is gathering dust in the bedroom!  I just had a thought it could be the fact that I am now making bigger smoothies and that seems to have filled a gap and in turn giving me more energy?

Not sure how long I am going to keep up with this journal but I think it would be a good idea to start cataloguing some of the recipes as it might be useful in the future.

DAY TWENTY TWO

DAY TWENTY TWO

Tea – fresh lemon juice and fresh ginger

Large smoothie – spinach, 2 bananas and frozen, pineapple, papaya and mango, chia seeds

Tub of grapes

Salad – pre packed salad of baby kale, baby spinach, Pak choi and red chard, one orange sliced, hand full of grapes, red union, cucumber, plum tomatoes, avocado with a homemade guacamole dressing

Dehydrated crackers and cucumber with hummus

Half of melon blended

EXERCISE - walking

        

           

Today I woke up still with that cough but it is not at bad as yesterday.  I thought about the fact that I might not be eating as much as I should so I made a hugh smoothie first off and it made 2 large cups and I drank one after the other!  I believe it worked out to be over a litre in one sitting.

 I got to thinking about how I could make a difference to my body also and I thought about the fact that my skin is the biggest organ of the body and what I am using to clean my skin and oil my skin with on a daily basis could be seeping into my skin so decided to start doing something about it.  I did my mixology thing, I mixed sheabutter, coconut oil, olive oil and vitamin E by melting it first, mixing together, putting in freezer for half hour and then blending so that it looked almost whipped cream!  Although it seems greasy when first putting it on your skin it quickly seeps in and its not oily at all in fact it feels really good and I can use it on my hair too!

      

I don’t want to get bored eating my salads so I thought I would try something different with my salad and that was adding fruit and to my surprise it was yummy and I really didn’t need a dressing but it was even better with the guacamole.

The one thing that I have not done is take pictures of my full body it is always of my face so I decided that 3 weeks into my life style change I will suck it up and take pictures and I am truly disgusted with myself, that I let myself get this bad but the next set of pictures I hope will show an improvement!                                 

 I am really excited about my sprouts I started them 4 days ago and look at them now!  My alfalfa is nearly ready and the wheatgrass is beginning to shot out, cant wait to blend some wheatgrass lol. 

Last but not least I went out for  walk since I didn’t go to the gym today and it was lovely will be doing a late night walk more often because the sunset was fantastic.

                      

DAY TWENTY ONE

DAY TWENTY ONE

Green tea with lemon and honey

Large smoothie – kale, parsley, bananas, frozen black cherries and chia seeds

Smoothie – almond milk left over from yesterday, banana and agave nectar

Tub of flat peaches

Half of dew melon

5 crackers with red pepper hummus

Large salad – organic romaine lettuce, alfalfa sprouts and mix bean sprouts, plum tomatoes, chopped cucumber, spring union

Sampled the dehydrated aubergine

EXERCISE – gym machines, weights

I made it to day 21!  Wow it has gone by so fast.  Today though the cough has got worse and my throat is really sore, in the middle of summer I am guessing this is not a summer cold, never had one in my life, I think its detox.  Oh well, what can I do but plod on lol.

I woke up really hungry and I am getting the feeling I am not eating enough so I am going to make larger smoothies and bulk up on more fruit so that  means another shopping haul.

Went to the gym and although tired when I got to working out I found the energy, I think it was down to the smoothies and fruit I had this morning, no water work out today but I really pushed myself in the gym.

After the gym I went to Aldi’s and only intended to buy a few things but I found some great stuff as wonderful prices and I could not resist.  I spent £30 but I got so much it will last me until I get my organic boxes on Monday!

 Side note I was minding my own business in Aldi looking at tomatoes and this elderly lady came up to me from nowhere and says “you have a very petty face”!  Now I used to get that all the time but I have not heard someone say that to me in about 5 years.  I guess looking at myself every day I don’t see much of a difference besides the swelling and weight loss but my skin must be improving and I must be losing the double chin lol that cheered me up no end.  It makes up for all the coughing and sneezing and blowing of the nose I am experiencing this week.

             

Aldi have also started doing frozen fruit and smoothie mixes and they look fantastic and a fraction of the cost of Tesco frozen fruit where I usually buy it!

         

DAY TWENTY

DAY TWENTY

Tea – lemon in hot water left to cool

Juice – carrots, apples, cucumber and ginger

Smoothie = kale, banana, frozen strawberries and chia seeds

Four organic plums, 1 flat peach

Salad – organic mixed salad leaves, alfalfa sprouts, flat leaf parsley, tomato, black and green olives, avocado, homemade salad dressing from yesterday.

Smoothie – almond milk, frozen bananas and agave nectar

Green tea with lemon and honey

2 bananas

Dehydrated tray 1, flax cracker mixed with veg pulp, tray 2, almond crackers, tray 3, almond cookies, tray 4 marinated mushrooms, tray 5, marinated aubergine

               

EXERCISE – walked down to town center and back

This morning I woke up even more congested, runny nose and now I have developed a cough which is not good.  I bummed around all morning and did some research on raw food and watched YouTube videos.  I have run out of flax seed and wanted some coconut for my almond pulp cookies and dates as I almost rang out so I walked it down to the town center I have not done in a long time as it was too hard for me!  I am improving even though I now have a cough.  I am wondering if it has something to do with adding more organic food and the sprouts as they have more nutrients and the sprouts are live food which means I am getting more live food which is cleansing me, and taking the detox to the next level?

 I have done some serious dehydrating today as I have run out of everything and I think what I will do is dehydrate once a week for savory and crackers and once a week for sweet and snacks as I plan on making some energy bars for the road.  I am trying to cut down on the nuts and seeds as really all that protein is not necessary, in fact according to research, 80% fruit and veg, 10% fats and 10% nuts and seeds(protein), so I am guessing in a normal day, handful of nuts, an avocado, or hand full of olives for fats and the rest should be fruit and veg?  Will have to look into that more as just once cracker could be a day’s allowance of nuts?  I am a big girl at the moment so am thinking that I should keep doing what I am doing until I get a specific weight and see if my body will guide me!

DAY NINETEEN

DAY NINETEEN

Organic shopping haul from Able and Cole and easy sprouter from Amazon

       

                                            

Smoothie – kale, banana and blackberries

Smoothie – almond milk, banana and dates

Mixed salad – organic salad leaves, tomato, avocado, alfalfa sprouts and grated carrots

Home made salad dressing, tamari, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, balsamic, garlic, lemon and fresh chilli pepper

                          

Dehydrated crackers with pesto made before weekend away

Home made lemonade – 1 fresh lemon, small piece of ginger, blended then add small amount of agave nectar

EXERCISE- gym machines, weights and aqua aerobics

Today I woke up with a runny nose and I was really stuffed up and didn’t feel that good.  But I got on with my day anyway. I am thinking it’s the next level of detoxing, who knows but I have not had a cold or flu in about 2 years. I did however give up smoking not too long ago and after doing some research it could be my body clearing that tar from my lungs as from what I can understand it lingers.

I got my organic delivery and immediacy I tried some fruit and you can taste the difference it tastes sweeter and juicier than inorganic if that makes sense.  I couldn’t wait to make my salad as most of it would be organic, the leafs and the sprouts were fantastic and I can’t wait to see what I get in the next box.  I also bought a sprouter from amazon and started straight away by sprouting alfalfa.  I also went to the gym today and had a good old session on the gym machines and the weights and then did aqua aerobics and it felt great.  When I got home I had my salad and after that the sniffing started up again and I didn’t feel all there so I went and laid down for a while feel asleep around 10am and woke up about 5am in the morning.

DAY EIGHTEEN

DAY EIGHTEEN

Smoothie – almond milk, dates and banana

Tub of strawberries

Salad – pre packed salad from Morrison’s with chilli olives plum tomatoes and small tub of hummus

Mixed nuts from Sainsbury’s

Naked juice from Sainsbury

Two mangoes

Today was another very difficult day being away from home and being raw.  It was my sons partner dad birthday and it was a real west Indian knees up, where they kept offering me rice and peas and chicken and even though I kept saying no they kept offering, and I must admit I was staving but kept my resolve only problem is I had no idea what I fancied to eat so I wandered around Victoria Sainsbury before getting on the coach and picked up the mixed unsalted nuts and naked juice which turned out to be not so naked.

While I was on the coach I did some research and it turns out that the Naked drink was pasteurized which means that it was sweeter that it should be and it has been robbed of most of its goodness, but I waited till I got home and drank it anyway along with two large mangoes and it must be my tummy is shrinking cos I felt full to bursting after that.  Tomorrow will be exciting as I get my first batch of organic goodies and my easy sprouted too.

DAY SEVENTEEN

DAY SEVENTEEN

Tea – lemon and honey

Tub of grapes

Smoothie, banana, couple of almonds, blueberries

Smoothie – almond milk, two bananas, dates

Salad – pre packed salad from Morrison’s with chilli olives plum tomatoes and small tub of hummus

Mixed spiced nuts from Nandos

Salad from Nandos – Mediterranean salad with sun dried tomatoes olives, avocado, one pineapple ring

It was even more difficult surviving on raw as it was my granddaughter’s birthday and you know what that means, eating out, cake and alcohol.  I tried my best though and only slipped up with the drink I had at Nandos and it was a mango concoction.  I even resisted the cake which was a first for me.  To my surprise though one of my sons was eating a salad with his chicken and his partner had a Caesar salad so I didn’t feel like the odd one out.  Its difficult Travelling when you are raw and next time I will plan better and have a kit ready and set up to go. 

                                        

I think it would have been easier staying a hotel with a fridge as I would not have got the twenty questions and with my family looking at me strange for my food choices.  I also had a chat with my sons partner about addictions and again with my niece and that there is all sorts of addictions and food I guess is less known one, and I am hoping I have broken the cycle for myself.

I got hiccups for the first time in years and it freaked me out, thankfully when I drank some water it went but I am wondering if it was the chilli on the olives that started it off.

DAY SIXTEEN

DAY SIXTEEN

Juice – celery, cucumber, carrot, apple, ginger, lime.

Smoothie – spinach, frozen bananas, frozen mango

Banana

Tub of grapes

Rainbow salad, with plum tomatoes, olives with chilli pepper and honey and mustard dressing from Morrison’s

Pineapple chunks

Dehydrated mixed nuts

Dehydrated almond crackers with hummus

Tea – lemon and honey

My eating habits are strange today as I was Travelling, I had my juice before I left and had my smoothie while on the coach.  After that it was a long while before I could eat, when I got to Campbell before I went to get my nails done I stopped at the MacDonald to try get a salad but all their salads had chicken everything in them so I decided to get nails done and then go to the supermarket as I will be staying with my son until Sunday.  My sons family think I am strange with what I am eating but I am highly motivated and determined to keep going and not to give into temptation, I can feel myself getting smaller and smaller and I can’t wait to get home to get back in the gym.  I didn’t meet my friend after all I was so hungry that I decided to go back to my sons where I promptly downed a whole tub of grapes followed by a Hugh salad and then I felt better.  We are going to try again on Sunday but what with me needing to be on the coach by 6.30 it will be a tight thing.  It has really brought it home to me how hard it is to eat raw when you are around people that don’t understand.  Think when I get back I def. got to find some raw friends!

I also found out today that the father of my boys has a heart condition bought on by addiction to drugs, I got to thinking maybe I had/have an addiction to food especially the wrong kind

DAY FIFTEEN

DAY FIFTEEN

Tea – lemon squeezed in water

Juice – carrot, celery, cucumber, Beetroot, apples, ginger and half of lime

Large smoothie – spinach, bananas, Blackberries and chia seeds

Four kiwifruit

Large salad – three little gem lettuces, plum tomatoes, two pieces of spring onion, green and black olives, topped with pesto dressing made with large handful of basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, squeeze of lemon and salt

Large smoothie – almond milk, two frozen bananas, dates

Today I am preparing for my weekend away, its my granddaughter’s birthday so am going to stay with my son.  The plan is, Friday I get on the coach and get off at Eltham, take a bus to Woolwich, get my eyebrows done, then take a bus to Campbell to get a pedicure and manicure and from there will go to my sons house.  My friend says he is going to call me to out for a drink not sure if that is going to happen.  Saturday I will be working remotely from my sons house until 3.30 then go to dinner, that is going to be fun lol.

I am going to cut up some pineapple for tomorrow I am packing some crackers, chia seeds, mixed nuts from the dehydrator, I am also bringing a blender with me and will do a juice and smoothie for the road.  I know that we are doing nandos on Saturday so already picked what I am going to have but my Friend wants to meet up Friday night so that will be interesting.

I am not sure if I am eating enough, when I go to long without eating I get slightly dizzy but I am full especially after the smoothie but I have seen on videos that some people are eating sometimes ten bananas in one sitting with dates and extra fruit, I can’t see myself doing that at the moment.

DAY FOURTEEN

DAY FOURTEEN

Weight = 18st 11lbs, loss 10lbs

Tea – half a lemon

Juice – oranges, grapefruit, lemon and lime

 

Smoothie – almond milk, two

Bananas and dates

Four peaches

Crackers with guacamole

Large salad -  mixed lettuce leaves, red onion, black and green olives, marinated nuts, plum tomatoes

                           

Juice – half melon blended with a dash of agave nectar

I have made it two weeks raw! And further more I have lost 10lbs, that can’t be right can it, I do feel lighter the tummy is going down and I am more active lets see what the next two weeks weight loss will be.  I thought I would make an almond milk smoothie as almonds are pure protein and would help with working out and boy did it give me energy, I spent an hour and half on the exercise machines and pumping weights and that shit felt good i don’t know why I gave it up, could have done more but didn’t want to overdo it lol.

2 week report – I don’t know why I gave up raw as I feel wonderful, I am stronger, the inflammation around my knee has gone, I now have uninterrupted sleep and best of all I am not craving anything.  I have no detox symptoms and the only thing that is the arthritis which seems to be improving everyday.  I am especially enjoying the smoothies and creating stuff for the dehydrator.  I think I am going to take it to the next level and look in to sprouting and fermenting as I am missing out on some food groups.  With raw there is four, 1 – fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, 2 – dehydrated goods, 3 – sprouts for living food and 4 – fermenting for digestive health.  Have bought a sprouter on line and have fun playing with that also got some alfalfa seeds and wheat grass too.  Have you seen the price of wheat grass in the shops, the seeds are costing me £1.50 and with  little time I can step my juicing game up and boost my health no end.