Raw Challenge Day 3 January 7, 2014

Today is the first day that I am straight up hungry.  Hungry like I just ran for an hour or two, only I didn't.  So, today I have definately had more water than in the past two days.  And I have made sure to have lots of yummy fruits handy to keep me from straying.  I keep reminding myself how excited and dedicated Solly is to this challenge.  I cannot let that awesome little guy down. 

I've been doing more ready on the raw lifestyle and was a little surprised to learn that being a "raw vegan" doesn't mean you have the same diet restrictions as the next "raw vegan".  Being from the south and spending most of my childhood in Texas, there was a time in my life that vegeterian and vegan were very foreign and unappealing concepts.  So for me to find out that there are more than one raw vegan diet plans out there was pretty mind blowing.  What is even more amazing is how completely different the approach to the raw vegan lifestyle the two books I picked up are.

The 80-10-10 diet is seriously hard core.  Even at the early stage in my research and development with the raw vegan lifestlye, I have major respect for anyone that can fully commit to this lifestyle.  The second book I picked up is a much more appoachable concept.  At least I find it to be.  The book is filled with amazing yummy recipes that give a nod to foods I love, and make the transition to a raw lifestyle easier and less scary.

The best example of the difference I can give is my raw lasagna.  There are five components to this dish, raw zucchini thinly sliced, tomatoes sliced, raw pesto, raw marinara and raw cheese.  The zucchini and tomatoes are simply themselves, nothing added; the pesto is full of walnuts, which are full of fats; the raw cheese is full of pinenuts, which are also full of fat; and the marinara has olive oil in it, again FAT.  Now these are all good, healthy, natural fats.  Which beats the heck out of having something deep fried or wrapped in bacon; I'm not debating that fact.  But when you are thinking about a healthy balance, this meal is heavy on the fats.  Also, these recipes have a LOT of ingredients.  Yes they are raw and yes they are healthy, but some of these recipes require more time and effort that I can give to at least three meals a day.

When it comes to the meal ideas in the 80-10-10 book they read very differently.  Dr. Graham actually encourages what he calls "monomeals".  This means you eat the same fruit for the entire meal.  An example would be 2 pounds of bananas for breakfast.  That's right, you heard me correctly, 2 POUNDS!!  I am a food lover!  I love to play with my food and enjoy the variety in my diet.  My initial thought is there is no way I could ever get to this point.  The incredible volume of food required to get sufficient callories is also pretty intimidating.


My husband let me know he was taking care of dinner tonight for himself and Jonah.  My initial reaction was how wonderful of him.  This quickly changed when I got home.  He had prepared an incredible platter of grilled meats.  This guy is serious when it comes to meat and fire.  Poor Solly kept changing his mind about continuing the challenge but really wanting some of Dad's meat.  It did not help that I had been really hungry all day and usually can't resist meat hot off the grill.

Towards the end of dinner Solly announced that he was done with the challenge.  We had talked about it.  I told him how incredibly proud I was that he had lasted almost three full days.  He went into the kitchen to get a plate for his meat, and by the time he got back to the table he pointed to my salad and asked for me to load up his plate.  This kid amazes me!  I don't know where his strength comes from, but it is truly an inspiration!  He ate his fill of salad and never touched the grilled meats.  My awesome husband treated us to his best melodrama villian impression as his evil plot was foiled by Solly's inner strength.

As I had been starving all day, I tried to make a huge feast.  I've been watching the Fully Raw challenge videos, and based on the volume of food Kristina eats, I don't think I've been eating enough.  Well, I couldn't eat half of what I prepared, so I saved it for lunch tomorrow.  And it is twice the lunch I brought today.  Hopefully this will help.

For the first two days my energy has been really high.  Today was definately different.  I have been pretty tired and am planning to get to bed early.  Hopefully some sleep will help me with my willpower.  I can't believe I made it past day 3!!!!