Winter in the RAW

Today is Day 10 of my raw food journey. Here are my updates:

• I feel healthier than ever. My body is energized, revitalized, and I feel light, uplifted.
• I feel harmony between my body, mind, and spirit. I feel so much more connected to my body, and I have garnered a newfound appreciation between this trifecta connection, and how essential it is.
• I require less sleep. I wake up early in the morning basically pouncing! I have so much energy, and I am filled with so much joy.
• I am eating for nourishment as opposed to pleasure and comfort. I have had a few situations where I have eaten out with family or friends, but have not felt too tempted to indulge. I more readily listen to my body and respond to my body's energetic needs.
• I honor myself for the changes I am creating in my body. 10 days warrants self-appreciation - it is no small feat! The changes have been quite apparent - and quite immediate. My body appears healthier, my skin is indeed glowing, and my spirit is totally reinvigorated.
• I CRAVE fruits and vegetables! I especially crave these delicious morning smoothies. My favorite is definitely the strawberry-banana-almond milk-almond butter-spinach leaves combo. And I seriously go through 2-3 bags of apples a week - they are my go-to snack when I feel like munching. I still am combatting the habit of munching for boredom or for, really, any emotion that surfaces - and so in those times, I eat a handful of nuts, an apple, or carrots - and then I usually realize that I'm not even hungry.
• My appetite has definitely decreased. I am notorious for having a big appetite, as I used to have a notoriously high metabolism which as I've edged closer to 25, has slowed down. But now, because I am eating for nourishment, I finally have reached a point where I require smaller portions and less food - something I honestly thought would NEVER happen for me! And it's only been 10 days!
• I have so much more energy AND desire to practice yoga, meditation, and even work out! I feel happier!
• The first week was difficult at times, but not nearly as difficult as any other "diet" I've attempted (mostly in my mind) for 1-2 days (hahaha). Because you're not calorie counting or necessarily restricting yourself (I am NOT - I eat when I'm hungry!), it doesn't feel limiting, and you don't necessarily feel a lack. The times I've felt challenged: going home to be with my family, with endless snacks and the usual comforts of home, taunting me; going out to a business-related lunch with a friend and his coworkers and being "that girl" who orders a salad (trying to escape caring about perception!), going to a bar with my parents and wanting to order beer and wings! Also, the first few days I felt exhausted, as my body detoxed - but now I am refreshed. All in all, I am not going to restrict what my body desires. I am going to allow myself to indulge if I feel so obliged, and if I want to stray from the diet sometime, I will. I am going to follow my body's needs and wants. Most raw-foodies stick to a 75% raw diet - that seems feasible. I will aim for as high as I can go - but allow myself to follow my body's intuition.

I hope this account inspires others to try a raw food lifestyle - even a trial week! It is so surprisingly delicious, and it helps to curb your usual cravings, and alter your tastebuds. Imagine craving fruits as opposed to chocolate and other sweets. If it can happen for me, it can definitely happen for you - because I have sadly never had self-discipline in this realm! :)

Also, the winter is obviously the most difficult time to have ventured to go raw. I found this really great blog to inspire winter raw food pursuers! Karen Knowler coaches on the lifestyle, and I find her words to be greatly encouraging. She urges you to follow your body's intuition, as earlier stated, and to understand that in the winter, there will likely be hills and valleys to overcome - we are so used to cooked food, especially when it is cold and snowing! Hot food is so comforting (or that's what we've conditioned ourselves to believe!) Knowler takes the reader through her own several year journey of wintering in the raw, and explains that it is indeed a journey, and that you have to allow yourself so-called "mis-steps" along the way. And they are not necessarily missteps, either, all a part of your perfect path!