This isn't Shawshank. You don't chalk off the days when you're making a lifestyle change. I've heard it's not even a good idea when you're breaking an addiction, because it only draws your attention to the precarious temporary situation you obviously think it is. Am I saying I'll be raw for the rest of my life? No. Am I setting a time period, like a year? I've done this in the past, so I'd have to say no. It just is what it is and right now, it's now. Mad as a hatter, I know. That being said, we can get busy living or get busy dying.
Today has gone superbly. I always eat a bunch of junk before I go raw in anticipation of everything tasting like shoes for the first few weeks. Ironically, everything's been pretty tasty so far. By the way, this is something no one ever talks about. I no more want greens when I first start out than I want to go down to the lobby and lick the banister. In fact, they taste about the same in the beginning, especially if you've been eating a lot of crap. My logical brain knows this is not because raw food tastes like grimy banisters, but because my tastebuds have been brainwashed, so to speak. They've definitely been desensitized by chemicals and sugar, but they're making a big comeback. Best raw stuff I've tasted my first two days back on the wagon? Nori (seaweed), carrot-raisin muffins and apple-cinnamon chia meal (see below).
I doubt I'll post what I eat everyday, because it's just too OCD (a condition exacerbated by sugar FYI). But it may be nice to have this to look back on and watch just how quickly my tastes change.
2 raisin-walnut-pumpkin spice raw cookies
1 carrot with organic peanut butter
1 bowl of apple-cinnamon chia meal (1/4 C chia, hot water, 1 apple, cinnamon & raisins - yum!)
* chia meal is so awesome when you need warm, creamy, comfort food on a blustery day
For dinner tonight I've packed:
1/2 romaine 1/2 dinosaur kale salad with red onion, sunflower seeds, raisins & tomato
vinaigrette: cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil with lemon pepper, sea salt & garlic powder (nxt time a clove)
1 red bell pepper for a snack
1 avocado for a snack
This is more fat than I need and I tend to use a lot of raisins in the beginning, but hey, they're raisins, not donuts. Mr. Hyde loves his donuts.
I can already tell you I seriously doubt I'll eat the pepper & avocado. I'll be lucky to finish the salad, but I've learned it's better to have too much raw food with me than not enough. I prefer to be armed and dangerous. Here at the office overnight by myself, I'm basically working mere feet from someone else's pantry, which is always more enticing than your own. For the record, it's filled with chips, cookies, candy, pastries and other unmentionables on any given day. I have to pass through there everytime I let my dog out of the accounting office where she does payroll (no, not really) while the drivers park their limos in the garage. Otherwise, she likes to chew on one or two of them every now and then, or at least strongly suggest that she'd like to. Anyway, I call said pantry the gauntlet. I'm currently sporting about forty pounds of battle scars from the gauntlet. It's become personal. I used to tell myself if I wanted a mediocre life I could go ahead and eat the mediocre food. So I did. That didn't work out too well.
There's another hurdle I'd better address as it's going to rear its ugly head in the days to come. It's a weird one. You've been warned. One of my biggest problems when I go raw is lack of interest in food. At first, it's a huge relief, but it can quickly become a problem. My appetite falls off after a week or so. I get busy with all that extra energy and I forget to eat, or I just don't feel like bothering with it. Eating becomes a hassle. Of course that only lasts so long and just when I think I could care less about food, I find myself chewing on cupboard handles and plumbing fixtures. If there's anything edible within a five-mile radius, I'll have inhaled it before I even know what's happened. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but I spotted some stray Mike & Ikes at the bottom of my backpack earlier tonight, and this will be their fate if I don't launch them into space now. Don't know why I didn't do it then. Well, there might be some kind of natural disaster and then I would really wish I had those five Mike & Ikes. Yes, that really did faintly breeze through my subconscious.
I'm back... turns out there were twenty-three of the little buggars hiding in there. That's an accident waiting to happen. If you think I won't check for any I missed some day down the road when I've blown off eating too long and my blood sugar has taken a nose dive... guess again. Welcome to my world. Emergency exits are located here and here. What? You're staying? Okay, I warned you. There will be lunacy, but sweet clarity does lie ahead. Hang in there.
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