Going Raw – Day 5

The Final Day

Delivery arrives: 7:50am

Today’s delivery includes : Breakfast Juice – Berry Smoothie with Goji Berries (Ginger and Purple Corn), Mid Morning Juice – Green Juice (Cucumber, Broccoli, Apple, Celery, Courgette and Lime), Mock Tuna Salad with Cashew Mayo for Lunch, Mid Afternoon Juice (Carrot, Apple, Beetroot, Celery, Lime and Ginger), Beetroot and Carrot Cakes with Red Pepper Dill Sauce plus Oriental Mushroom, Wakame, Red Cabbage and Mung Bean Sprout Salad with Brown Rice Vinegar Dressing.

I thought at the beginning of this detox I would be thankful for the final day but I have to be honest I am kind of sad and worried. I am sad that it is over, I’ve really enjoyed the whole experience. It’s been a great week. I haven’t felt this good about myself for ages. People are commenting on how good I look and that I am glowing and I can fit into a pair of my skinny jeans that I haven’t worn for over a year. I am also worried. I know this seems like a strange emotion to be having after such a successful detox but I am. I am worried that I am going to finish the detox and pile all the weight back on.

Apparently this is a normal concern so the team at Raw Fairies do give you advice on how to slowly transfer from the detox back to eating normally.

Although, after doing this raw food diet I am seriously considering this as a lifestyle.

The benefits are great and if this is how I feel after just a week think how I will be feeling after a month or two.

I finally decided to weight myself and the result……a loss of 3kg. I was amazed!

The over all results were great. My skin was glowing, I had lost some weight, my whole body felt firmer and more toned, my energy levels were higher and I didn’t have that slightly bloated feeling around my middle.

RAW FAIRIES DETOX…..you have to try it to believe it!

www.rawfairies.com

Going Raw – Day 4

Still going strong but what about the protein?

 

Delivery arrives: 7:45am

Today’s delivery includes : 2 Lemonades (lemon, water and cayenne pepper – one for today, the second for tomorrow, as usual), Breakfast Juice – Chocolate Orange Smoothie (plus Green Smoothie with Chlorella and Spirulina), Mid Morning Juice – Green Juice (Cucumber, Broccoli, Apple, Celery, Courgette and Lime), Parsnip ‘Rice” with Tomato, Sugar Snaps, Courgette and Capers with Balsamic Dressing, Mid Afternoon Juice (Carrot, Orange and Ginger), Raw Stir Fry with Ginger Shoyu Sauce and Late Evening Juice (Celery, Apple, Cucumber and Lemon)

Finally, some food!

I could have done one more day on the juice fast but I was looking forward to chewing something.

I woke feeling pretty amazing. I had tons of energy, my skin was looking great and that slightly bloated feeling around my middle was completely gone. I was certainly feeling slimmer.

The Chocolate Orange Smoothie was a wonderful treat to start the day, super yummy. I will definitely be trying to make that at home.

The one thing I am starting to find hard about this Raw Food Detox is the lack of protein. I hadn’t really noticed it until today that there was little protein in the diet. Beans and seeds are the best source of protein on a Raw Food Diet but is that enough? How much protein do we really need?

The WHO (World Health Organization) says humans need about 5% of their daily calories to come from protein to be healthy. The USDA puts this figure at 6.5%. On average, fruits have about 5% of their calories from protein. Vegetables have from 20-50% of their calories from protein. Sprouted seeds, beans, and grains contain from 10-25% of their calories from protein. If you are eating any variety of living plant foods, you are getting more than adequate protein. Numerous scientific studies have shown the daily need for protein to be about 25-35 grams per day.

So if you ate 2,000 calories per day, and ate raw plant foods that had an average of 10% of their calories from protein, you would get 200 calories worth of protein, or 50 grams. This is more than adequate to support optimal well-being. Other studies have shown that heat treating a protein (such as with cooking) makes about half of it unusable to the human body. Raw plant food protein is even a better source than cooked plant foods or animal foods.

There is still a huge, foolish, misguided idea that plant protein is not “complete”. This is based on studies done on rats in the 1940′s. This false conclusion was drawn before we discovered the bodies protein recycling mechanism and its ability to “complete” any amino acid mix from our bodies amino acid pool, no matter what the amino acid composition of a meal consumed. This false idea is still perpetuated by the meat and dairy industries, in an attempt to influence people to continue consuming their truly health destroying products.

I have never been a big meat eater but I do find it hard to live without fish. But, so far this week, I have not had too much of a problem without my fish and meat.

Tomorrow is my last day on the detox. I am slightly excited to finish as this has been a good week and I can really feel the results, physically, mentally and emotionally. I am feeling positive. But I am also a little worried about coming off the detox. I am not sure I want to stop this Raw Food Diet…..maybe this is going to become a lifestyle choice for me. Hummmm? We will see.

 

Going Raw – Day 3

It’s JUST Juice Today

 

Delivery arrives: 7:55am

Today’s delivery includes : 2 Lemonades (lemon, water and cayenne pepper – one for today, the second for tomorrow, as usual), Early Morning Juice (Melon, Mint, Apple, Cucumber and Lime), Mid Morning Juice (Carrot, Apple, Beetroot, Celery, Lime and Ginger), Midday Juice Green Juice (Cucumber, Broccoli, Apple, Celery, Courgette and Lime), Mid Afternoon Juice (Pineapple, Apple, Cucumber, Lime and Carrot), Evening Juice (Carrot, Orange and Ginger) and Late Evening Juice (Celery, Apple, Cucumber and Lemon)

That’s a lot of juice!

I wasn’t looking forward to the ‘Only Juice Day’. I have never done a juice fast before, so this was going to be interesting.

Although I was only consuming juices I was still getting all the nutrients my body needed just juiced! By juicing fruit and vegetables you are still retaining 95% of their nutrients. The daily inspiration page for the day encouraged me to think of this day as more of a juice ”feast’ than a juice ‘fast’.

The Benefits of Fasting

There are many health benefits to fasting and they include improved immune system, increased energy, and an overall sense of well-being. The physiological benefits of fasting have been known to lower systolic blood pressure, body temperature, and cholesterol, in addition to lowering glucose levels in the blood. The body’s metabolic rate also slows during a fast, allowing it to conserve energy, thereby contributing to the healing process.

Read more: Benefits of Fasting | eHow.com

Fasting will:

1. rest the digestive system
2. allow for cleansing and detoxification of the body
3. create a break in eating patterns, while shining a spotlight on them
4. promote greater mental clarity
5. cleanse and heal “stuck” emotional patterns
6. lead to a feeling of physical lightness, increasing energy level
7. promote an inner stillness, enhancing spiritual connection

Fresh juices help to ‘push’ the toxins out of the cells. This type of fasting helps the body to divert the energy it normally uses for digestion to focus on healing. This is one of the great benefits of fasting and detox’s, the free energy in the body can be used to repair, heal and renew the body and plays a central role in detoxification and rejuvenation. Hence, why many peoples skin and natural glow improves on a fast.

And for me this was just the case. My energy levels where up and my skin was glowing. I was getting numerous comments on how well I was looking (might have also been the daily Vita Liberata tinted moisturiser I was using). But I was looking and feeling great.

By the end of the day I wasn’t hungry but I definitely wanted something to chew. After all the juice you do miss the sensation of chomping into something satisfactory. And furry teeth, I found that I wanted to brush my teeth all the time as the juices made my teeth feel slightly furry.

The last juice of the day was hard to get down as my body was feeling totally juiced out. But I made it to the end of my first ever juice fast day!

Going Raw – Day 2

Day 2 of my Raw Food Detox with Raw Fairies and I’ll be consuming less solid food and more liquids today….breaking me in slowly for the day of just liquids! This cleanse aims at striking the right balance between giving your digestive system a rest from the constant strain that it is normally under but making sure your body is still supplied with all the nutrients it needs. And this is what the juices do. They keep your digestive system going but don’t overload it. Like Raw Fairies says, ‘most people are overfed but undernourished.’

Delivery arrives: 7:25am

Today’s delivery includes : 2 Lemonades (lemon, water and cayenne pepper – one for today, the second for tomorrow, as usual), a Super Berry and Orange Smoothie (with Goji Berries plus Green Smoothie with Chorella and Spiruline -breakfast), another Green Juice (Cucumber, Broccoli, Apple, Celery, Courgette, Lime and Spinach – mid morning), a Yellow Juice (pineapple, apple, cucumber, lime and carrot - mid afternoon), another big box of Salad (red cabbage, fennel, beetroot, pecans and pomogranate with Nut Mayo Sauce – Lunch),  a Butternut Squash Ribbons and Red Pepper Salad (with Pumpkin Crunch and Apricot Dressing – dinner) and an Evening Juice (celery, apple, cucumber and lemon).

I woke up feeling full of energy and an hour before my alarm was scheduled! As I was in such good spirits I decided this was a good excuse to fit in an early morning Pilates class before work.

I downed my lemonade before Pilates and feeling full of energy power through the class pushing myself quite. Well, as hard as you can push yourself in a Pilates map class!

In the information pack for the 5-day detox it does say that you should refrain from doing too much exercise as you will be consuming less calories then normal and very little solids and carbohydrates. But I have to say after my sweaty Pilates class I felt great.

I rewarded myself with the yummy breakfast smoothie and headed off to work. I can see that these smoothies are going to become my sugar fix!

The day flies by and before I knew it I was on my way home. Lunch was delicious and I was looking forward to my dinner. As this is going to be the last solid food meal I have for a day or so I decided to really appreciate every mouthful.

It’s funny how suddenly I am taking time to enjoy my food and eat it properly. After all this raw food my jaw is having to work hard and I am having to really chew my mouthfuls.

An hour or so after dinner I started to feel a little perkish. Thankfully there is an Evening Juice to be had. I sipped it slowly hoping I could make it last a little longer.

Again, it was an early night. Maybe the best thing to do, a great way to stop myself thinking about food!

I went to bed feeling good about myself and my body. Psychologically this programe is great because you can feel your body feeling better and better.

[longquote] ‘Make life a ‘get to’ not a ‘have to’ – Jason Vale, a.k.a The Juice Master [/longquote]

RAW FAIRIES : www.rawfairies.com

 

Going Raw – Day 1

With a million diets out there claiming to make you lose weight fast, feel beautiful and look amazing it is hard to find the one that fits you and your life. Everyday thousands of people start a ‘diet’ but how many are successful? Not many. Most people have failed by the end of day one. It’s not always about crash dieting but discovering a eating plan that is right for you and sustainable.

Dare2′s Editor, Shirley Leigh-Wood Oakes decided she wanted to go back to basics and start a Raw Food Diet. After reading about the benefits of Raw Food and a Raw Food Lifestyle it seemed like a good, sensible diet to start. With the help of Raw Fairies Food Delivery she began a week long detox that resulted in her considering a Raw Food lifestyle. Here’s her Raw Food Detox Diary.

Day One

 Delivery arrives: 7:27 am

Today’s delivery includes : 2 Lemonades (lemon, water and cayenne pepper – one for today, the second for tomorrow), a Forest Fruit Smoothie with Spirulina (forest fruits, seasnal berries and spirulina -breakfast), another Green Juice (Cucumber, Broccoli, Apple, Celery, Courgette, Lime and Spinach – mid morning), an Orange Juice (orange, carrot and ginger- mid afternoon), a big box of Italian Salad with Balsamic Dressing (lunch),  a Raw Hawaiian Pizza with Pineapple (flax seed, sunflower seed, red onion, carrot, pimapple, red pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, Himalayan pink salt, – dinner) and another small Salad (dinner). A bag of supplements (Purify and Cleanse).

The Supplements

Purify – Bentonite Clay 150mg, Psyllium Husk Powder 450mg, Linseed 150mg

Cleanse – Ginger Root 20mg, Raspberry Leaf 20mg, Cascara Sagrada Bark 60mg, Fennel Seed 120mg, Cayenne 30mg, Lobelia 20mg, Rhubarb Root 40mg, Golden Seal Root 20mg, Berberis 80mg

Instructions for the day:

8.00am Start the day with warm water and lemon or ginger or herbal tea if you wish
8.30am Drink One Lemonade.
9.00am Have breakfast drink
10.00am Take 2 x Purify with a large glass of water
11.00am Drink mid morning juice, take 1 x Cleanse
12.30pm Take 2 x Purify with a large glass of water
1.30pm Lunch, take 2 x Cleanse
4.30pm Drink mid afternoon juice
6.30pm Take 2 x Purify with a large glass of water
7.30pm Dinner, take 1 x Cleanse
8.00pm onwards Drink water or soothing herbal tea such as peppermint

I read through the information pack. It all seemed simple enough. I was encouraged to begin my day with a mug of hot water and lemon which instantly reminded me of my grandmother. Maybe that’s why she lived so long. After showering and dressing I had my first Lemonade and headed off to work with my Breakfast Juice in hand and the rest of the days juices and food in my bag.

My morning went by quickly and I nearly forget all about my mid morning juice. At around 2pm I started to feel a little hungry and dug into the huge Italian Salad. To be completely honest it was absolutely delicious, although a lot of lettuce leaves which I found hard to finish.

The afternoon breezed by but I did remember to have my mid afternoon juice and managed to resist any temptations in the office and remain focused on my raw diet.

By the time I got home I was fairly hungry and as tempting as my Raw Pizza with Pineapple looked I really wanted something a bit more substantial. Normally this is my time to eat as I have a terrible habit of forgetting to eat during the day as I get so caught up in everything. But, I refused to let myself fail on the first day and I tucked into my raw pizza for dinner while watching some good old Monday night television.

Made myself a cup of peppermint tea and headed to bed feeling surprisingly good.

RAW FAIRIES : www.rawfairies.com