Mommy, is that raw? Our family's journey to live food.

As my two-year anniversary of discovering raw food approaches, I thought I'd write about how this decision unfolded, the repercussions on our family's eating habits, and where we are now. 

It all started a couple of winters ago when, inspite of being long-time vegan with overall healthy eating habits, I found myself feeling a bit run down and unable to get motivated about life in general, and exercising in particular.

My house in January

I had the idea of trying raw food - not sure why the inspiration struck, but it did - so as with everything else I do, I went cold turkey.  None of that transition to high-raw, raw till dinner, stuff for me.  I've always believed that to change one's habits, it's best to go all the way, right away.  After all, do you know anyone who quit smoking (or drinking) - gradually?  A person doesn't wake up and say " I think I'll only have 11 beers instead of 12 today".

So back to going raw.  I was a bit panicked at first.  Mealtime would come and was having a hard time training my brain to head for the vegetable drawer in the fridge to make a salad, and not the bread box to make a sandwitch.  In the back of my mind, I had this feeling that this was just not sustainable long term.  No way I would eat enough calories, no way I could just "do" vegetables and fruit forever.

A few days into it, Sarah, a vegan friend who was staying with us lent me a raw food recipe book (Ani's Raw Food Essentials by Ani Phyo).  I read it from front to back and learned a lot about various uncooking techniques, from dehydrating to fermenting, to using root vegetables, legumes, and nuts as stand-ins for staples like rice and pasta. So far so good.  I started making some of the recipes, and tried to convince myself that a) - they tasted good, and b) - I was feeling good about what I ate.  Long story short, three months into my foray into raw foods, I felt tired, bloated, and had gained about eight pounds.  All that as the rest of my family happily went about their business of eating their cooked vegan meals (prepared by yours truly, thank you!).

Bottom line, I went to raw foods to shed the winter blues (and a few pounds), and accomplished the opposite.  Damn!

So in May, while surfing the internet, I stumbled upon a website called 30BananasADay. It was a game changer for me. Not only Freelee oozed enthusiasm, she looked phenomenal and had a palpable aura of confidence and poise about her.  I followed her advice and bought Dr. Douglas Graham's book, The 80/10/10 diet.  It blew me away.  More importantly, Dr. Graham's explanation of following a species-specific lifestyle resonated with me on a very deep level, putting into words things about nutrition that I felt I'd always intuitively known. 

There's no going back after reading this book

For the first time, it dawned on me one didn't have to eat substantial, filling foods like cereal, tofu, or beans to feel sustain health and have energy.

It had never occurred to me that fruit and vegetables could be enough.  That's just not something you find in any textbook about nutrition or food pyramid, including the vegan-friendly ones I'd used for years to educate myself.

So it's been almost two years, give or take, that I've seriously leaned toward a 100% raw diet.  I say "leaned" because I've made exceptions along the way, especially at the beginning.  I would stick to low-fat raw vegan for a few days, then something would snap and I'd reach for a cookie, or a piece of cake, or both.  This reaching for unhealthy food forced me to acknowledge that I can be an emotional eater, and that stress and aggravation with life, kids, money, etc... are powerful triggers.  They had always been, but were easy to ignore on a traditional cooked vegan diet.  Since making the switch to raw, I could no longer sweep those patterns of behavior under the rug. So I started reading self-help books about compulsive eating, bingeing, and low self-esteem and have learned a lot about myself.

For a while now, I've been 100% low-fat raw vegan, and have followed Dr. Graham's 80/10/10 fully.  With one exception:  I use sundried tomatoes that I buy at the weekly market - they're sold in bulk so I can't be sure, but I suspect they sprinkle salt on them as they dry so they're strictly not 811, since salt isn't allowed.

I've used nutridiary.com to monitor my calorie intake, as well as the percentage of fat in my diet.  For about a month or so, I opted to avoid all overt fats (nuts, avocadoes, coconut, etc..), averaging 3-4% fat as a percentage of total calorie intake.  Now I've re-introduced small amounts avocado and nuts.

The results of all this?  I've lost 9 pounds, which feels great.  I was never too overweight - about 130lbs in college, 120lbs as a vegan (before as well as after having two children), and now I hover around 110lbs. 

Unlike previous stints with weight-loss and calorie restricting, I've made exercising a priority, working out 4-5 times a week, and mountain-biking with the kids twice a week.  My muscle tone is better than ever (and I'm pushing 40 - he! he!), so my self-esteem is back.  I also discovered BodyRock (recently renamed The DailyHiit), a fantastic exercise blog that anyone can follow at home, with no or little equipment. I highly recommend it for busy people who don't have access to a gym and hours to devote to working out each day.

Me - still a work in progress, but heading in the right direction!

Other benefits from the 80/10/10 diet that cannot go unmentioned:

- painless menstural periods!  It's unbelievable really, and most people (and doctors) are skeptical, but I can vouch that my periods have been absolutely cramp-free since starting on a low-fat raw diet.  No ovulation pains either.  Even if nothing else good had happened, this would be reason enough to stay raw!

- I now breathe through my nose!  I'd been told by my dentist that I have very large sinuses, and that mucus would just gather in those cavities and not be evacuated, causing me to have to breathe through my mouth, night and day.  Since going 811, no more mucus, my passages are clear, and I can finally smell the roses. Literally!

- Clear skin!  My first few months as a gourmet, high-fat, raw foodie had wreaked havoc on my complexion.  I had more pimples than ever, and fat was just oozing out of my pores. Blech!  Now, no pimples whatsoever.  Hoping old blemishes will also disappear in time.

- Fewer mood-swings!  I've felt more patient with the kids, more relaxed and grounded than ever before.  I used to have negative feelings about life in general, and myself in particular, but now I notice my perspective has changed.  I'm more hopeful, enthusiastic and laid-back. 

My husband is mostly raw.  He follows 80/10/10 more loosely than I do, but stays raw most days.  His health and appearance have changed. His mucus is gone too, and so is his beer belly!  He's always been skinny, but could never shed the pouch no matter how many situps he did.  After two months of a diet consisting mostly of fruit and vegetables (okay, he eats popcorn a couple of times a week, and soup occasionally!), he's very trim around the waist, and has seen improvement on a host of other minor age-related conditions. 

I was very surprised by my children's reaction.  As soon as I changed my diet, Nina, who was six at the time, said that she too wanted to be raw.  Unlike us adults, who've been conditioned into certain eating habits from years of brain washing by our parents and society, Nina just latched on to raw foods as the natural way to eat.  I intentionally didn't set out to convert her.  I actually wasn't so sure about this diet myself in the beginning, and didn't feel comfortable dragging either of my kids into thi experiment, but she was constantly asking to eat out of my plate, pushing aside her own food. 

So now, a couple of years later, she's pretty much high raw at meal time.  She drinks smoothies, eats lots of fruits and veggies, and has the occasional bite of cooked vegan food when it appeals to her.  She is growing very fast and has lots of energy.  She is the tallest in her class, inspite of being the youngest, and is the only girl (and the yongest) in her mountain bike club group, regularly participating in very challenging bike rides in the nearby hills. 

Noah, who is now almost ten, hasn't changed his diet much.  He's eaten a fairly healthy vegan diet since birth, and has had days where he wanted to try to "be raw", but so far he's shown a preference for cooked food.  He's not a big vegetable lover in general, which causes some tension at the dinner table.  He'll eat veggies when we insist, which is always, but tries to avoid them given the opportunity.  While Nina is lean and trim, he tends to be rounder around the waist.  Luckily, he's an avid mountain biker, so he burns lots of calories doing that.  Having been plagued by a difficult relationship to food most of my life, I decided not to impose a raw diet on him, fearing that banning certain foods would only make him crave it more and hoping that his body will eventually send him a stronger signal.