This morning I set my alarm clock a little earlier than usual. It buzzed me to consciousness even earlier than I had intended. I used the extra time to access my host panel statistics. I wanted to see who some of the main visitors on this site were. So far I’ve had 312 unique visitors this month and it turns out that around 1/4 of them are from Canada. I met a lady (from Canada) just a few days ago who told me how popular the raw food diet is in Vancouver.
I just wanted to welcome you, my Canadian readers, and also to let you know that your presence here is appreciated. As is the presence of all my readers. If you are enjoying the blog or have some suggestions, don’t be afraid to leave me some comments letting me know your thoughts. Also, if you enjoy this blog, help spread the word! The info here is free and that’s a price everyone can afford.
Breakfast
I ate the fruits pictured below as though they were my last meal. For some reason I was really hungry this morning. This is unusual because on the raw food diet I don’t feel hungry that often. Most people think you will feel like you are starving, but I noticed it’s just the opposite. If my friends and I eat our respective meals (they:cooked food and me: raw food) at the same time, my friends will complain about being hungry hours before I’m ready to eat again. Most of the time I only feel a sense of hunger after I’ve used up massive amounts of energy, for example, after an intense workout. Keep in mind that hunger and cravings are two different beasts. Hunger is like a little Chiwawa, while cravings are like monstrous Pitt-Bulls that try to sink their teeth into you. In the above paragraph, I’m speaking about the Chiwawa.
- organic mangoes (471g)
- organic oranges (448g)
- organic pears (709g)
After consuming all the fruit, I felt bloated again. I don’t like feeling like I’m stuffed, but on the other hand I don’t want to have to prepare more meals. Staying on this diet is challenging enough, but having to measure, take pictures, eat, re-measure, document, and then blog about the experience is even harder. To add to that, I also have a 40-45 hour job, a gym I need to frequent 3-4 times a week, an active social life, and family to keep in touch with. Enough moaning though, time to go to look at what I ate for lunch.
Lunch
I was still felt satisfied form having breakfast and when lunch came around I did not feel like eating too much. I prepared a meal consisting of honeydew, tomatoes, avocados, and a green chocolate smoothie.
- honeydew (628g)
- organic avocado (173g)
- organic tomatoes (443g)
- green chocolate smoothie: organic ripe bananas (356g), green kale (48g), organic baby spinach (47g), organic raw cocoa powder with maca (28g), 3 cups water
The honeydew was sweet and delicious. I really should eat it more often because it really hit the spot. The organic avocado and tomatoes were good too. As for the green chocolate smoothie, I think I overdid it on the cocoa powder with maca. I feel I added too much, therefore the smoothie had a chalky taste. If you’re experimenting with this particular recipe I suggest you hold back on the raw cocoa. I don’t have a problem eating any of my recipes, but there have been times when I’ve had to push through a couple of sub-par ones, like the soup from Day 2. Although I’ll though it out, I don’t expect you to, that’s why I’ll usually give you a heads up on the not so tasty recipies.
Dinner
For dinner I felt the need for something sweet. I prepared a smorgasbord of fruits for myself.
- organic blueberries (284g)
- organic mango (249g)
- organic avocado (87g)
- organic pears (561g)
- organic tomatoes (447g)
- green chocolate smoothie: organic bananas (242g), organic baby spinach (68g), organic hemp (15g), organic raw cocoa with maca (14g), 3 cups water
I felt this smoothie tasted better than the lunch smoothie. As you can tell, I’m starting to like the cocoa. When I told some of my friends that I’m mixing in organic raw cocoa into my smoothies, a few seemed concerned about the amounts of caffeine that I’ll be exposed to. To set things straight, we have to make an important differentiation between the cocoa you buy at your local supermarket and organic raw cocoa. The cocoa you buy at the store is usually processed into some type of product (chocolate bar, ice cream, etc). It has caffeine added to it while it is being produced in the factories. This is currently being done by some chocolate producing companies. The companies add caffeine to some products to make consumers associate the pep in their step to those particular products. Even when this is done, the overall caffeine content is still about 1/4 that of a cup of coffee.
Unlike most consumers, I am using raw cocoa. Pure and unprocessed. I might be exposing myself to some caffeine, but the amount is so infinitesimal that I’m surprised it even registered as a blip on my friends’ radars. I’ve had caffeine before, when I was drinking various energy drinks, but the feelings I experienced from drinking the raw cocoa are completely different. When I drink raw cocoa in my smoothies, I feel a clean smooth energy - not the jittery energy that comes from drinking coffee or energy drinks.
Vitals
Weight: Down another .7 lbs. This puts me at 175.8 lbs.
Body Temperature: My temperature came in at 97. 7 °F.
pH levels: The average pH level today was 7.50 pH. I’m happy with this.
Blood Pressure: Systolic blood pressure was at 124. The lowest to date. I’m glad I’m seeing some progress here. The diastolic was at 67. I’m down 1 point on the systolic so I can’t complain.
Endurance: I did not go to the gym today.
Strength: I feel fully recovered.
Cognitive Capacity: Not much has changed on this front. I feel sharp and can make connections between different thoughts easily. Like I said, I feel like I’ve gotten an upgrade.
You have some visitors from India as well