Preparation

I'm all set to begin my raw foods journey tomorrow. Just got home from food shopping. Whew. That was quite the journey. (I was shopping with a family member for Thanksgiving as well; my personal produce-aisle splurge was like, maybe 20 minutes total.)

I came home with enough food for Week One's worth of recipes in Detox 4 Women. And a sort of last hurrah bag of trail mix for tonight. (I have not thrown up today, though. Nor have I wanted to. I'm really excited to start my healthy life.)

What I like about Natalia Rose's approach is that it's transitional and allows some cooked foods at first. I have a lot of digestion issues due to years of bulimia and laxative abuse, so being 100% raw is just not an option for me right now. When I've tried it in the past, it's just been super uncomfortable and not sustainable.

Plus, there really aren't any fruits included, at least not in week one. The last time I tried going raw, I OD'd on fruits. Two days later, I had an uncomfortably distended stomach and a weird cyst inside my mouth. I cut the fruit and it disappeared. That told me that too much fruit/fruitarian lifestyle would not be working for me.

It's a very basic greens-based raw food diet. There aren't any nuts/seeds included, really, but there are plenty of avocados, and I can't wait to eat some avocado-based cole slaw.

What I'm a little worried about is that there aren't nuts/seed included (! I love them so much); the volume of greens might make me feel fat and want to purge; and I don't have a super-fancy greens juicing juicer. Only a fruit juicer and a blender. So my green juices will be a bit... chewy.

:-/

I'm diverging ever so slightly from the book by including banana and a little almond milk in my morning smoothies, at least until I get used to the taste. I've tried plain green drinks with water before, and it was not pleasant for me.

So, yeah. My basic goals for physical health are to follow this book, exercise moderately (cardio, strength, lots of yoga), drink lots of water, and meditate/pray a LOT.

Wish me luck!