Day 22 - Fwee

I always loved how the word "fruit" is pronounced in French. It sounds like Elmer Fudd saying FREE. Which leads me to the point of my post today: I'm seeing a direct connection between eating fruit and being free! Okay, so it's a stretch, there, with the Elmer Fudd thing ... but the point I'm making is this: eating mostly fruits in the mornings and afternoons is freeing me from having cravings for foods that really don't serve me at all, things like sugars, breads, meats and cheeses. Amazingly, since I've been eating more fruits each day, I've lost nearly all desire for those four things (I still have parmesian cheese, a few croutons and eggs on my salad here and there). This loss of desire is quite shocking, and the abundance of fruit is all I can attribute it to, as that is the biggest change I've made in my diet these last three weeks.

Early this morning I had half of a cantelope ... and around 10:30 a.m. I had 3 little kiwis (did you know that kiwi is actually classified as a berry?) and a banana. I'll have a mango later in the afternoon and a salad. I'll pick up a green juice on my way to the train after work, and might even get "exotic" tonight and pull out the food processor for some kind of yummy sauce to put over a zuccini "pasta" (made with that gismo that can make summer squash and zuccini look just like angel hair pasta). Ahh, I think I'm getting in the flow of this thang.

It's a wonderful feeling to listen to one's body for what it wants to eat (something I've always wanted to be able to do!) -- rather than being driven by literal physiological imbalances/cravings (these WILL occur in one's body if eating too much cooked food) -- imbalances that cause one to crave foods not at all "good" for us. It seems that if I give my body what it NEEDS, it stops craving what it doesn't need!

Some may have an argument with what I wrote above ... but I know from experience that one can be on every diet in the world and still be unsuccessful IF the body is toxic from years of eating non-nourishing food. Non-nourishing in many instances means cooked. But if one doesn't KNOW this, efforts to become more healthy will be thwarted.

Profound quote of the day: "It is easier to change a man's religion than to change his diet." (Margaret Mead) Ain't it the truth!

Oh ... here's a website that gives away free posters (some are really beautiful). The receiver pays for shipping only. My favorite is "Peace Be With You."

Posters for the Soul

Day 21 - Fancy Raw Food Fest

This morning I had a banana on the train into work and then had an apple mid-morning. Had a large salad for lunch and another banana and pear in the afternoon. Tonight I think I'll have what I brought home in my "doggie bag" from last night.

A buddy of mine and I met up for dinner downtown last night at the premier raw foods restaurant in NYC, a place called

Pure Food & Wine

Been wanting to check out their organic wine, and it was very, very good. I went mainly, though, to sample their delectable, all-live-food concoctions (see menu at website for just how intricate some of these are). It was a real treat, a once-a-year sorta deal for me, a "special occasions" kinda place. The prices were sky-high, but so was the food, i.e., out of this world.

The food was very rich and yet afterward neither of us felt uncomfortably full. And it seemed that I could feel it affecting my body in a good way. I have to say, as we had our "dessert" -- we created quite a scene (think Meg Ryan in the coffee shop with Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally!) Suffice it to say that the two women next to us ordered the very same dessert we had based solely on our response! If I were a food critic, I'd have given this place five stars.

Well, enough FOOD talk for one post ...

Overall, after three weeks, how am I doing? I'm still psyched, still joyful, still confident this is the path to full health for me. It's becoming more "normal" with each passing day.

Day 20 - Feeling like a kid again.

Today was an excellent day. Early morning I had a banana on the train to work; from mid-morning through noon I had a pear and my large green juice (kale, parsley, spinich, celery, cucumber and a smidgen of carrot). Around 2:00 p.m. I had a large salad.

One thing that's happening with this new way of eating is that I'm re-discovering what I think we all knew as kids: that fruit is the best food there possibly could be! (Think hot summer days and peach juice dripping down your chin ... slabs of watermelon at those big family picnics ... bowls of strawberries on the Fourth of July. I spent my summers in the country, and behind my aunt's house was a huge field of blueberry bushes. I have such fond memories of spending hours there -- playing hide and seek, tag, and every other game we could imagine. We'd save the picking for the end of the day and bring home loads of big, plump, purple-y blueberries to my Aunt Evy, who'd oblige us the next morning with her blueberry pancakes.

I have vivid memories of my best-friend's backyard (in my home town of Mount Vernon, New York, the city that abuts the Bronx, only two square miles in area but with 90,000 people in it!) -- a backyard that made you feel you were in the opening scene of The Sound of Music ... with its amazing variety of flowers and fruit trees. The "star" of the yard was the giant cherry tree. We'd lay in the grass after gorging on handfulls of the most outrageous tasting cherries -- shiny, deep burgandy little balls of pure heaven. And we never gained weight!

Yup, I'm amazed at how delicious I'm finding fruit to be. It's like my taste buds are being re-invigorated or something. Also noticing a natural thankfulness coming up in me each time I have a piece of fruit, more aware of the "luxury" of having such delicious food to eat each day. I thought this would be hard, but instead it's becoming an unexpected blessing. All this no-frills food is having a positive effect on my psyche. Seems I'm more peaceful ... and playful.

Just like I remember in that blueberry field over 40 years ago!

Days 15-19: "When you are thankful you are never disappointed. " Rev. Run

Well four days have flown by and each was distinct in the lessons being learned along the way, as I attempt to get more in touch with my own body, and what it needs in order to be more healthy. It's why the "thankful" comment as a "theme" for this entry. I'm thankful for the learning coming my way as I read Dr. Graham's book -- he's been living on mainly uncooked food now for 27 years. Amazing, when one thinks of it. But, like I said in my very first post, I'm not doing this to become a "food fascist" (my friend's turn of phrase), but merely to incorporate more and more living foods into my day.

Been thinking some simple stuff lately ... like food in its natural state is easy to eat. And it's also delicious. Today over the course of the morning I had a large green juice, and then from about 10:30 a.m. into early afternoon, I had two bananas, a small orange, and two small kiwis. At 5:30 I had a nice big salad with very little dressing ... and will have another when I get home from work.

Friday through Saturday I had mainly fruit during the day, and in the evening I had my favorite "angel hair pasta" (made of yellow squash and zuccini with a spiral slicer) and a delicious raw marinara sauce.

Yesterday, Easter Sunday, I was invited to a huge family gathering (only it was my good friend's family, not mine) and I sampled a bit of the cooked goods ... some quiche, a salmon mousse too inviting to pass up, and some potato salad and other finger foods. I tried to eat based solely on hunger and not my taste buds, and overall I'd give myself a B-plus in that regard. For Easter, that's a victory for moi. Holidays spent with good friends/family have always been times I've overindulged, so it was a reversal in trend, and I'm proud of myself.

Two important things have come to the fore: (1) I've changed my views on FATS and it's a good thing ... had I not learned what I did in the last week, I'd probably have continued to ingest nearly 40% more fat than is good for me. I've been eating entirely TOO much fat ... in the form of nuts and seeds, avecados and olive oil in my salads. Been munching on raw, dehydrated "crackers" made out of seeds, and too many nuts, thinking that since they're "natural" it doesn't much matter how many I eat! The problem is that they are nearly 100% fat! So I've got that arrested, and just in time, imo. The raw food fans -- many of whose works I've read and re-read -- have that aspect way out of balance, as they make many spreads and pates, etc. out of ground nuts. I'm glad I realized it, as I stumbled on it reading The 80/10/10 Diet. Would've been better had I read it three weeks ago, but I'm glad I know it now.

And Number 2: Activity. I have a terribly sedentary job that keeps me indoors and seated for nearly the entire DAY! Someone like me has to do TWICE as much exercise as I've been doing to offset the effects of lack of movement during the day.

They're both challenges for me at present. But that will turn around. The more I simply reach for fruits when hungry, rather than supposed "healthy" raw "crackers" and nut pates (eek, loaded with high-calorie fats regardless if they are "natural" or not) -- the healthier I'll become.

These two things feel like major course corrections for me at present, things I'll have to give extra attention to. Just shy of three weeks, and I've had my first "ah ha" moments. I knew there would be a learning curve to this, so I'm not disappointed. Feeling thankful, actually.

Learning the hard way, but nevertheless, learning!

Day 14 - Two Weeks Down, Easy-Peas-y

Well, I'm proud of myself ... I've gone two whole weeks eating mostly "live" food and haven't even had a slice of bread, the staple "comfort food" of my life. I'm stunned. I don't miss it as much as I thought. Haven't had a piece of chicken in two weeks either, amazing in itself because I had chicken in some form or other (either in a salad or baked or roasted) just about every day! What is comforting, though, is that I've skipped two weeks of poisoning myself with drug-injected, often diseased birds, as chicken farming, in general, is appallingly gross!

According to the linked site below, "There are no Federal laws regulating poultry raising, transport, or slaughter in the United States or Canada." That seems almost impossible, but I wouldn't doubt it. If we don't care a fig that our government is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqi families, why would we care that they're letting millions of chickens be tortured from birth to slaughter?

Those with a sqeamish disposition may want to skip this link.

Chickens

I continue to have glassy eyes, and the whites are a bit greyish still. Seeing some scaley dry patches popping out on my arms and legs, but I chalk that up to what's going on internally as I shift from mainly cooked foods to uncooked. What's inside must come out, as they say.

The nicest surprise I've had is a stronger sense of calm and peace. I feel as if I'm moving in slow motion sometime, it's that noticeable. Another interesting thing is that my "judgments" of people seem to be less, and my patience level has increased. I feel a bit "spacey" at times still, and can only assume it's my body adjusting to the added nourishment.

Tomorrow I took a "personal day" off from work (if we don't use them we lose them). Good Friday is always a good reason as they're designed to be used for personal religious reasons, family emergencies, etc. I have a ton of chores and cleaning to do -- my apartment has been sorely neglected as I've been mucho tired in the evenings and don't want to do a thing but relax! I'm breaking out the bicycle too ... hope the rain lifts.

Just finished the book, "Blatent Raw Foodist Propaganda" and it was excellent. I'm now reading "The 80/10/10 Diet" which came highly recommended by the owner of High Vibe, a raw/vegan shop in NYC.

Blatent Raw Foodist Propaganda

The 80/10/10 Diet

Day 13 - Greenwich Village in the Rain

Today was low-key and mellow for me ... felt the bluesy blahs occasionally again. Had two bananas in the morning, large salad for lunch of mainly raw veggies on a bed of mixed mesclun greens, along with some slightly cooked broccoli, chick peas, and some cold bow-tie pasta salad with black olives. Glad I have a terrific cafeteria right at work to get fresh salad every day. (I'm going to start bringing my own from home next week, though, to save some money.)

For dinner (at 10:30 p.m. ... ugh) I had some lentil/walnut pate on flax crackers, a few baked wheat crackers, and satisfied a sweet tooth with some date/nut balls and a raw granola crunch bar. (This pate wasn't all raw ... but my goal is not 100% raw at this time. It is to eat more and more raw foods, and as my body gets more accustomed to that, I think the percentage will just slowly go up.)

Tonight I attended a book signing of my former therapist (now friend), Carol Schaefer, in Greenwich Village and listened to a special guest speaker, one of the women featured in Carol's book,

Grandmothers Counsel the World

The Village is lost in time -- so many middle-aged hippies there! There was a smattering of GenX "hippies" too, and some tweedy university types as well. Afterwards, I asked the 'indigenous grandmother,' who was the guest speaker, to autograph my book ... and found myself saying an odd prayer as she was about to write: that God might speak through her to me. (Like I said, it was an odd prayer.) At any rate, she wrote: "Walk in beauty, Naomi. Help us to make good medicine for our world."

Who knows? Maybe telling the story of my on-going physical transformation through living food is 'good medicine for our world.' It was worth the trip downtown -- despite the pouring rain.

Day 12 - Keepin' On

Had a treat this morning of amazingly juicy strawberries, two small bananas and a pear (this was up until 2:00 p.m.). The berries were organic and they tasted divine, I have to say. (Tidbit: strawberries are the most pesticide-laden of all berries. If you can get organic, get 'em.)

Big salad for the afternoon, and fig/date/almond desert-y things in the evening. Skipped a green drink today, and I really missed it. Felt very tired a few times during the day ... but also very mellow, disposition-wise. Had a smooth sense of calm. I've read that one's disposition changes for the better on a raw diet. I'm having glimpses of that here and there.

I think I'll just keep on keepin' on.