Raw Food 30-Day Challenge
Starting tomorrow morning I will be embarking on a 30-Day Raw Food Challenge. I’ve done the raw food thing before, most recently as part of a 3-day fruit feast and also for a few months last year as well.
The issue is, last year I wasn’t 100% raw, I did cooked food meals now and then – usually at dinner time. I also wasn’t nearly as educated in terms of what to eat, and such ended up not eating enough calories or nutrient dense superfoods (like goji berries, cacao, maca root, acai, etc.).
This time I am more educated, more motivated and have experience at my side from past successful and not-so-successful experiments with my diet.
I’ll also note a few of the reasons why I am doing this challenge. At the end of the day, I am a big believer that the motivations for doing something are the true driving force for any positive and lasting change.
So why am I doing this 30-day Raw Food Challenge?
- There are numerous studies and articles that point to raw or mostly raw food diets as a key factor in positively impacting overall human health and longevity.
- I personally know several raw foodists that are not only surviving, but thriving on a raw food diet.
- During my last raw food experiment, while I had some breakthrough and positive experiences – right now I am much more well-informed and better prepared to not fall into some of the traps/issues I ran into last time.
- Primarily raw and water-rich foods are important factors in helping the body naturally cleanse and detoxify.
- My diet right now features a high percentage of raw foods – about 30-50% on most days. Moving to 100% will be a big challenge but is doable – and will help me dislodge some unhealthy eating habits that I have developed lately (eating too late, eating fried foods, eating too large meals, etc.).
- During past experiences with fasting or eating raw foods, I experienced a profound heightened sense of mental performance and a deeper ability to meditate and connect to the present moment. I am interested to see how the 30-Day Raw Food Challenge impacts my meditation practice.
- I am curious to see how my yoga practice is impacted through a Raw Food diet. In past experiences, I’ve noticed increased flexibility and a higher strength-to-weight ratio when eating a raw or mostly raw diet.
For reference, my current body weight is 142.0lbs and body fat is 11% (as measured by a Tanita-brand body fat measurement scale). I’ll be tracking this throughout the challenge.
So there it is. The journey starts tomorrow. If you have walked down this path before and have any tips, please do share in the comments! If you are willing to take this journey with me (even for a few days, a week or the full month) – that would be cool as well!
[...] now and then I do challenges to either learn something new or re-commit myself to something I already do – but not enough. [...]
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April 3, 2010 at 2:19 am
ill be starting a 30ty day fast december 1-30 so if anyone wants to join me and support each other then let me know .
miss-subzero
November 23, 2009 at 10:42 am
[...] reached the final point in my Raw Food 30 Day Challenge. It has been a great adventure. While I experienced some incredible increases in my overall health [...]
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May 29, 2009 at 5:49 am
would love to see a picture of you with shirt off now and after.
I know I got leaner than ever and was never hungry.
darrick
May 15, 2009 at 8:19 am
hmmm….maybe
Ravi Raman
May 16, 2009 at 5:02 am
[...] Ravi is an inspirational guy. He works full time, flat out for one of the worlds largest companies, while at the same time becoming a highly trained yogi, vegan and is currently mid way through a 30-day raw food challenge! [...]
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May 14, 2009 at 2:20 am
[...] is Day 11 of my Raw Food 30 Day Challenge. I really didn’t expect it to be this easy. I feel absolutely fantastic and have absolutely [...]
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May 10, 2009 at 12:09 am
Wow! Thanks everyone for your tips and words of encouragement! I am on Day 2 now of the raw food challenge and feel fantastic. So far so good!
Dan: my breakfasts are typically large fruit smoothies (this morning was a pound of strawberries and a large banana with some hemp seeds and maca root powder. My lunch today was a few bananas, almonds, 6 large leaves of romaine lettuce, a kiwi and some raw flax crackers. I ate a bunch of almonds for a snack and had an avocado and some other fruits for dinner.
I will add that I am super active, in addition to my corporate job, I practice vinyasa yoga every day (about 90 minutes) and also teach yoga (today I taught 2 classes and took one class…in addition to my corporate work day!). As a result of this…I am trying to keep my caloric intake high. I have a Vita-Mix and make good use of it
Ravi Raman
May 1, 2009 at 7:02 am
What are some of the typical meals you will eat throughout the days?
Breakfast, lunch, diner, snacks?
Thanks
Dan
April 30, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Hi Ravi. I too am starting my raw food challenge today. My motive is that it will give me the vehicle (along with many other things) to come out of long standing internal turmoil. I hope that your challenge goes well and if you need some support or would like to give some feel free
Raj Kirpalani
April 30, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Congratulations on beginning a 30-day raw food challenge, Ravi! Dhrumil asked that friends stop by and offer some words of wisdom to help you w/your challenge!
I think you are going to be amazed at how different the 100% is from the way you’ve sampled the diet in the past. Everything is going to be heightened even more on 100%!!!
If you’re not already a memeber of Give It To Me Raw, it might help you to join that community. It’s a wonderful way to gain continued support and encouragement as you are making this positive change for yourself!
If you’re looking for recipes, I have a free ebook on my site, many recipes in my blog, and there is a wonderful recipe section of the AllRawDirectory.com to search through! There’s also a FANTASTIC raw Indian site: http://roshis.com/ that you might love!
Best wishes to you and lots of love!
Wendi Dee
XOXOXO
You mentioned that raw will probably help you with your late night eating habits and overeating. If it was me, I’d hold off on trying to incorporate such a big change (100% raw) while also trying to overcome the overeating and late night eating. I’m just thinking maybe it will be tough to be eating so differently while also restricting yourself as to the time you can eat and/or how much. Just changing to 100% will be an enormous and positive change for your body.
Wendi Dee
April 30, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Yeah Buddy !!!
Now I’ll have more of advantage of places I want to eat in Seattle WA.
Go Ravi Go !!!
Tasha
April 30, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Good luck, Ravi!
I think it’s important to just do the best you can, no matter what % it is, and to be gentle and kind to yourself regardless of that %. However, I personally feel much better after 3-4 days of 100% then I do during the times where other things creep into my diet, and notice the more simpler I eat (less gourmet dishes, more plain fruits, salads & juice) the more intense and amazing it feels. I think you’ll enjoy what it does to you spiritually and how much deeper you end up in your yoga practice. For me it was an amazingly blissful combination. I look forward to reading more about it.
Susan
April 30, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Looking to get in on some enormous ormus huh? Best of luck, hope it goes well!
Brian
April 29, 2009 at 5:04 am
Yeah buddy!
Time to sprinkle ORUMUS on everything….
http://www.sunfood.com/buy/1/35/549/Ormus-Gold–1-oz/1308.aspx
Ravi Raman
April 29, 2009 at 3:17 pm