A 30 day experiment: 30 days of a raw food diet

Hi, everyone,


I have heard many claims that a raw food diet can do wonders for you...(detox your body, reduce your weight, improve your health, improve your moods, etc..) and although I've tried it on my own before, I haven't been able to make it past a week on my own.

However, lately, I've seen some very inspiring posts by other members who have basically had health miracles brought about by radically changing their diet, so I thought I'd try it again. I thought maybe if I had some company (albeit virtual company) on my little science experiment, it would be easier for me to stick with it.

So, just like we saw that guy document his 30 day experiment eating McDonalds every day in "Supersize me" I'm going to document my 30 day experiment in eating raw food every day.

Tecnically, a "raw food diet" is raw if you eat at least 75% of your foods uncooked. So, that's what I'm sticking with for my goal: 75% raw foods for a month.

At the end of each day, I'll post my daily weight, pounds lost, food eaten, and general feelings of health. At the end of 30 days, we can all be the judge.

Why? Well, honestly, I need to lose 32 pounds. And sadly, when it comes to doing something for my own good, I'm not so good at following through. But, if I can find a way to help the world with whatever goal I'm trying to achieve, I generally have much better follow through.

So, this is my way of doing what I can to contribute something positive to the world.....a 30 day, documentation of what it's like to "go raw." Does it work? Will I lose weight? Will I feel better? Will my clohtes fit better? Will I feel like a million bucks after 30 days like everyone says I will? We'll see!

(If anyone else wants to join me in my little experiment, please feel free to "latch on" to my thread and join me in this endeavor.)

Day 1 started today.

Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human

Ever since Darwin and The Descent of Man, the existence of humans has been attributed to our intelligence and adaptability. But in Catching Fire, renowned primatologist Richard Wrangham presents a startling alternative: our evolutionary success is the result of cooking. In a groundbreaking theory of our origins, Wrangham shows that the shift from raw to cooked foods was the key factor in human evolution. When our ancestors adapted to using fire, humanity began. Once our hominid ancestors began cooking their food, the human digestive tract shrank and the brain grew. Time once spent chewing tough raw food could be sued instead to hunt and to tend camp. Cooking became the basis for pair bonding and marriage, created the household, and even led to a sexual division of labor. Tracing the contemporary implications of our ancestors' diets, Catching Fire sheds new light on how we came to be the social, intelligent, and sexual species we are today. A pathbreaking new theory of human evolution, Catching Fire will provoke controversy and fascinate anyone interested in our ancient origins--or in our modern eating habits.

Just something to think about while you are on your raw food diet.

[edit on (6/20/09) by gnosis111]

iv'e been wanting to do smoeting similar also. unfortunately i just went grocery shopping. i don't knwo about raw food diet but i'd probably go all vegan for a month or something.

Its going to be rough at first (even if you are accustomed to eating "healthy" you will have moments where you go "Darn it! I can't eat this....") but you will soon see the rewards....

I can't stick with it completely, and I did EVERYTHING raw, but I have carried it with me to my current diet in which most of what I snack on or eat for lunch is raw....incredibly healthy and the energy level it gives you is incredible. I could only compare it to a safe detox.

Good Luck! You're never going to feel better than when you are at the end of your 30 days!

I hope it works out for you, and your post is an inspiration that has me considering trying the same.

Although I hadn't heard of this before, I saw another thread on ATS that linked to a Documentary that stated a Raw Food Diet can naturally reverse Diabetes (it has since been deleted). I'm personally wanting to check it out and am open to trying an entirely Raw Food Diet for 30 days to see if it helps alleviate my Diabetes in any way.

I already know that my personal experience with Diabetes varies from what Western Medicine commonly says. I know my Diabetes came about from advanced Hypoglycemia caused by a diet high in refined sugars (@3500-7500 calories a day! And still I was only 117-128lbs!). A soda and candy everyday as a child is definitely the culprit. As time progressed my body stopped generating insulin and storing glycogen because I always had an ample amount of glucose intake at any given point in time. Even now, if I go for longer than 2 hours without any intake of glucose I go into Diabetic Hypoglycemia, and if not remedied quickly a Glucose Coma. Fructose only acerbates the problem. Oddly, smoking delays the effects of Diabetic Hypoglycemia for 1.5-2 hours, in my personal experience. I can go without any glucose intake indefinitely so long as I can smoke at regular intervals.

Of course, smoking has other health risks, so it is not the preferable method of treatment, although insulin injections are not either. I have changed my diet to decrease my caloric intake to a regular (acceptable) amount (2400-3000 calories a day...which has oddly caused me to gain significant weight after doing such). However, it has done little to remedy Diabetes or Diabetic Hypoglycemia.

I've considered trying a Stevia based diet but Stevia isn't the easiest thing to incorporate in one's daily diet (as it still isn't accepted by the FDA for use as a dietary additive or supplement, even though it has been used for centuries safely and tons of medical research shows the medical benefits of using it).

Raw Foods, however, seems to be a more practical and viable alternative, and in my experience so far, seems sound enough in premise to actually work.

So, like you...I'm going to give a Raw Food Diet a try for 30 days, even if for achieving a different end-goal.

reply to post by UFOTECH


Thanks for the input. However, seeing as how I don't hunt, I don't cook, and I'm not in a relationship to even be able to divide the labor, I don't think I have anything to lose here.

Besides, that book you refer to...his theory is only a theory. It sounds like an interesting read, but nobody was there to document when, where, why or how "people" started to first cook.. so it's only a theory.

However, if I can document that after 30 days of eating mostly raw food, that my health improves and my BMI improves and my feelings of general well being improve then, I on the other hand, can write/postulate my own theory on how nutrition and cooking affects humans.



[edit on 20-6-2009 by nikiano]

reply to post by fraterormus


Awesome! Thanks for joining me!

I actually read a raw food book that documented one family with diabetes type 2, and how they were able to reverse the diabetes in at least one of their family members by going all raw. I can't remember the name of the book, but if I come across it again, I'll let you know.

But yes, generally, it is known that a change diet can reverse diabetes, which is why most physicians are supposed to recommend that a person first change their diet and increase their exercise when they first get diagnosed....before they go on medication.



[edit on 20-6-2009 by nikiano]

reply to post by awake_awoke


Thanks for the support! I'm looking forward to having more energy, as I've been a total sloth as of late...

I realize that our society, where we've created machines to do everything for us...even roll down our windows...has made us nothing but fat and lazy. Who could have ever imagined what America has turned into??

I've actually been thinking of quitting my current career and starting to do something radically different with my life, such as organic farming. Seriously! I know farming is hard, hard work, but I truly, truly need to do something radically different with my life, for many reasons.

While I have to say that I'm always a little suspicious of any diet that has miracle claims and cuts major parts of the foods I like out, I do wish you luck and look forward to your future posts.

I've lost 5 lbs in a month by just cutting soda (Coke) out of my diet, I was upto 3-4 cans a day (somedays 6-10 cans worth). I'm now over 30 days with only 2 cans, I miss it but I find I'm not getting dehydrated as much and I sleep better. I've replaced it with water, juice and lemonade (powdered).

Update: so far, I have done very well today. The only thing that I have had "non-raw" was peanut butter on my celery, because God knows you cannot eat celery by itself. (Or at least, I can't.) But it was organic peanut butter at least. So, so far I am well above my minimum of 75% raw.

I even cancelled out on a group dinner party tonight, too, because I dind't want to tempt myself (and I am just feeling way too chubby to attend, anyway, so I've decided I'm going to go jogging around the park, instead of to the dinner party.

Weigh in: 143.6 pounds (ugh...not good!)

Breakfast:
1 apple (Granny Smith)

Lunch:
V8-juice (technically, maybe v8 is not "Raw" because it was juiced in a factory)
15 dried plums (prunes)

dinner:
1 avocado (with sea salt sprinkled on top)
celery (4-5 long pieces, cut up)
organic, unsalted peanut butter (on the celery)

Amazingly, I'm not really hungry. I tried to eat as much fiber as possible so I wouldn't get too hungry, so, we'll see if that holds. I might indulge in a raw food snack tonight before bed, though, if I do get hungry.

Other general notes:
I got a headache this morning, probably from lack of caffeine. Oh, yes, I'm giving up soda, tea, coffee, etc... but so far, the headaches aren't too bad.

reply to post by nikiano


People will always try and deter you from such things, but I say go for it. Life is a constant experiment and if it improves your health, great, but if it doesn't, than just try something else. Right now I eat 70% cooked, 30% raw and 100% vegan. I'm working on growing my own food, collecting my own drinking water and other crazy hippy stuff I never thought I'd be doing.

Raw is difficult, but it's just like anything else. "Cooking" raw takes some getting used to, though there's a bunch of awesome books out there now as it's becoming more and more trendy.

Good luck! Have fun with it!

I seem to remember reading that some vegetables are healthier when uncooked, because the cooking process leeches some of the vitamins out of them. I have no idea if it's true or not, but I just thought I'd mention that.

I have no idea if a 'raw diet' is good for you or not, and in fact have never heard of it before. I suppose that's what the experiment is all about, though! Good luck.

reply to post by DragonsDemesne


Anything over 115 degrees kills the nutrients in any living organism, even meat. The Raw food theory is about taking full advantage of those nutrients available in the fruits, nuts, seeds, and vegetables. It's really awesome, I just didn't have the discipline to grow with it and learn how to prepare tasteful food.

reply to post by UFOTECH


There's a million theories for any one thing. We're in the infancy of intellecutal human thought. Because it sounds nice doesn't make it true or untrue, it just makes it another theory on top of the never ending pile of theories.

reply to post by nikiano


My nephew and his wife began a raw diet 2 weeks ago, he has already lost 12 lbs, and she has lost 9, both of them are suprised at their energy level, they are out walking now and that is great!

Favoriting and Subscribing...

Can't wait to see how this goes...

YOU'D BETTER HANG IN THERE!

We're all rooting for you!

If this goes well you can post it up somewhere else, on a journal or article for example, for MORE people beyond ATS to learn from your experiences.

Originally posted by nikiano
Update: so far, I have done very well today. The only thing that I have had "non-raw" was peanut butter on my celery, because God knows you cannot eat celery by itself. (Or at least, I can't.) But it was organic peanut butter at least.

So, so far I am well above my minimum of 75% raw.

I even cancelled out on a group dinner party tonight, too, because I dind't want to tempt myself (and I am just feeling way too chubby to attend, anyway, so I've decided I'm going to go jogging around the park, instead of to the dinner party.

Weigh in: 143.6 pounds (ugh...not good!)

Breakfast:
1 apple (Granny Smith)

Lunch:
V8-juice (technically, maybe v8 is not "Raw" because it was juiced in a factory)
15 dried plums (prunes)

dinner:
1 avocado (with sea salt sprinkled on top)
celery (4-5 long pieces, cut up)
organic, unsalted peanut butter (on the celery)

Amazingly, I'm not really hungry. I tried to eat as much fiber as possible so I wouldn't get too hungry, so, we'll see if that holds. I might indulge in a raw food snack tonight before bed, though, if I do get hungry.

Other general notes:
I got a headache this morning, probably from lack of caffeine. Oh, yes, I'm giving up soda, tea, coffee, etc... but so far, the headaches aren't too bad.

Anyone can lose weight eating like that. In fact that diet is not very healthy and over time will not build health and vitality. I'm a raw foodist ala Ajanous Vonderplanitz protocol i.e. mostly raw meat, raw fats, and raw dairy. V-8 is highly processed and pasteurized. There is nothing healthy about it. Peanut butter as well, although organic is a highly processed food. The key to eating raw is actually eating raw, enzymatic rich and bacteria rich food i.e. fermented dairy products and things like Kombucha and kefir. Raw eggs and raw milk are two of the most potent and health building raw foods you can put into your body. If you are interested in truly eating raw and healthy drop me an U2U and I can give you some advice. Vegetarian raw food eating is i.e. veggies etc. is not truly health and vitality building way to eat "raw".

Very, very interesting idea. I only skimmed your post, so don't bite my head off if you already said something about this, but, you should keep a log on here in this thread. I'd be interesting to read about this over time. Hopefully it works well.

A raw food diet for 30 days isn't that hard to handle as some might think . Just eat sushi for a month and You will have your raw food diet

I read the OP but only skimmed through the replies so if this was already mentioned then I apologize .

[edit on 21-6-2009 by Thill]