Winter is coming soon, and I’m extremely eager to see the effect that the 80/10/10 raw food diet is going to have on my health. Seldom does a winter pass without some type of major cold, bronchitis, or a mild case of pneumonia (if there is such a thing). Now that I’m on the raw food diet, I’m looking forward to good health this winter. Of course, if I do get majorly sick, I’ll report it here, along with my very unscientific analysis of why it happened.
And speaking of reporting it here… Well, Wife somehow convinced me that I was too thin and needed to gain some weight and asked me to start eating one regular cooked meal a day. So I agreed to do so and actually did for a couple of weeks.
That period is now over. Why did I quit?
- The weight I gained (and yes, I did gain weight — and quite rapidly — about 20 pounds) is not proportional to the calories I consumed. I can only assume that it was due to retained “gunk” in my body and excess water.
- I don’t like having all that fat on my body.
- I started losing energy.
- My mental clarity and focus decreased.
- Quite simply, I didn’t like what was happening.
So as of this week, I politely told Wife that I’m going back to 100% raw. Already my body is settling back into its old routine. I’m sleeping less, have more energy, and actually feel like working — which means I’m once again making progress on my goals.
And that, I think, was the most startling realization from this little “backsliding” experiment. I really couldn’t concentrate and didn’t have the energy to work (I’ve recently decided to focus on copywriting for my online business activities). And just a few days after switching back, I’m already back to where I was insofar as energy and focus go.
Yes, I do have a few pounds to lose still, but they will come off shortly.
One other observation: I discovered that I no longer know how to eat cooked food. My stomach is used to being full — VERY full — and cooked food simply can’t fill it like raw fruits and vegetables. As a result, I ate way too much for my cooked meals — much more than I did before I made the switch back in March.
Now that I’m back on the raw food, I know what I want to eat and I know when to eat it. Even if I’m hungry, I can’t eat just anything; it has to be the “right” food, the one my stomach and body want. That may sound strange to somebody who has never tried the raw food diet (and even to those raw foodists who never went back to cooked), but that was my experience.
So I’m glad to be back.
One final word: If I were going to go back to a cooked diet, I’d probably check out Dr. John McDougall’s website. I’ve actually ordered two of his books (used, from Amazon, for one cent each!) because I want to be prepared with knowledge in case the need arises.
From what I’ve been able to glean from his website, he seems to agree with the 80/10/10 balance of calories (carbs, protein, fat) and also advocates a strict vegan diet (no meat or dairy). So if you’re going to eat cooked, you might want to check out his system.
I personally want to know more about it for an upcoming trip to the States. I’ll be in a resort area (as in “no grocery stores within walking distance”), plus I’ll be speaking at the event — and suspect that I’ll be stuck eating in restaurants the whole time (I say “stuck” in a nice way; these business events, including meals, are a great way to meet other like-minded people and build your business). If that is the case — and if the restaurant doesn’t have enough in the way of raw foods — I want to be ready.
I also find the social aspects of this diet to be somewhat limiting, especially in situations like the one I’ll find myself in. I want to have options available for times like this. This is definitely in keeping with my 99% philosophy (but the recent string of cooked meals was not!). In other words, I want the ability to socialize somewhat normally without regressing to high fat food.
Enough for today… More to come (now that I feel like writing again!).
Smacznego,
Tom
