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Why am I doing this? Because I believe it's the missing link in my search to live more instinctively. Because I don't want to end up with a degenerative disease in a few years time (not everyone that eats cooked food will end up ill at a young age, but all of my family have serious health problems so I think I'm more genetically predisposed to it). Because I don't really like cooked food that much any more, I prefer a fresh tomato salad to a cooked pizza, a fresh papaya to a dish of pasta. Instinct is telling me this is right, and of course it's right -- it's natural. I turned vegan 13 years ago so that I was as far removed from animal exploitation as possible. Now I want to get rid of cooked food to remove myself from as much Shazzie exploitation as possible. This is the biggest health policy I can give myself. "I wanted to thank you for your wonderfully inspiring website. I have visited it often. I really appreciate your honesty in your journal writings. Your site has been so encouraging and motivating for me." -- Elizabeth, Montana, USA Monday 3rd January 2000 Day 1 I've weighed and measured myself, so I can document the physical progress. Weight: 9 st 1 lb (127lb) Pulse: 55 beats per minute Chest: 34 (pathetic) Waist: 27 Hips: 36.5 Upper leg: 21 All measurements are in inches. I can't cope with metric when measuring my body -- it sounds too much! I got my blood pressure taken the other day, it's really low (108/59), so is my pulse -- I don't know if other vegans have this? Eating on day one was easy -- I had a practise run last week. This week my first day's meal was smoothies, salads, salsas, soups and puddings. I made a 4 course raw meal as an experiment. For starters I made a little avocado and cherry tomato salad, dressed with cold pressed olive oil, fresh basil and black pepper. The next course wasn't so great -- a raw soup made of courgettes, onions and other stuff. I won't do that one again. The main course was OK but could have been better -- I made a mushroom mould (but the mushrooms were a bit off, I think!), of chestnut mushrooms, pumpkin seeds, garlic, onion, almonds, fresh basil, parsley. I'll try it again with better mushrooms. I made a nice salsa with a red pepper some vine ripened tomatoes, cold pressed olive oil, red onion and garlic. It was so sweet and tasty. The salad was simple as I only had a few ingredients with it being New Year -- so it was made of green pepper, mixed lettuce and baby leeks. The pudding was smashing, simply medjool dates mixed with sunflower seeds. I made it into a mould shape and laid thin strips of dried mango on the top. I scattered a few little cubes of papaya around and would have liked to have topped it off with strawberry sauce, but didn't have any strawberries. Stevie loved the pudding and couldn't guess what it was made of. When I told him he said "but I don't like dates". Tuesday 4th January 2000 Day 2 I ate what I had in before I could get to the shops. A kiwi, a papaya half a little melon, a handful of pecans, 3 dried figs. That filled me up til tea time where I made a lovely avocado, tomato, fresh basil, little gem lettuce red onion and garlic salad. I dressed it with cold pressed olive oil and ground pepper. That tasted just like a normal meal to me -- it's the kind of food I like. I made a pudding of sunflower seeds (didn't soak them), strawberries, blueberries and medjool dates. Medjool dates are so scrummy and make a good chocolate substitute when you get sugar cravings, I've been eating them for a few years. Don't seem to have any detox effects yet except I felt a bit lightheaded at midday. Wednesday 5th January 2000 Day 3 Felt fine today, although last night's sleeping patterns were disrupted. I went to sleep at about 12.30, woke at 6.30, went to sleep again at 8.00 until 11.00 (totaled 9 hours). Good job I work flexi time! This morning I made a juice -- a mango, half a lime, 2 carrots, a chunk of ginger, a kiwi all went in the juicer. My friend Bryony is lending me her Champion for a few weeks so I'll see if I get on with it before shelling out on one. My juicer is a centrifugal one, a fraction the price of a Champion, but you get a soggy pulp which isn't economical. My lunch today is another salad (I'm not bored of them yet because I keep varying the ingredients) -- I put some little gem lettuce on a plate, and smothered it with vine ripened tomatoes, grapes, a bit of avocado, red onion rings and topped it with olive oil and black pepper. I had to have a snack at 4pm -- whizzed up banana, pumpkin seeds a medjool date and 2 strawberries. I felt full after that (sign of addiction -- wanting to be full?). For my tea I had a salad with an oyster mushroom pate (made with almonds, macadamias, parsley, pine nuts and some other stuff). I couldn't eat all the pate, and didn't find that I wanted to -- have I got used to the sweetness of fruits already? I was very tired all evening, and just sat slumped in front of the telly. I'll try to get down the gym tomorrow at some point, just do a bit of running or something. Thursday 6th January 2000 Day 4 I slept well last night (about 9 hours), but woke up with clenched teeth and a worried forehead. I'm not hungry at all, but am very thirsty. Made a hot lemon and ginger drink which perhaps isn't strictly raw (dunking lemon in boiling water), but it's all I wanted. I had diarrhea, not a lot, but some. Might be signs of clearing out, but it might be because I've been mixing too many foods together. I'll eat more simply today. I don't want to do any work, I just want to lay in bed and veg out. I'm not sure if that's normal on the 4th day or if I'm just being lazy and am looking for an excuse. But I must work, I suppose. Ate a papaya and a kiwi at 11.30. Don't feel hungry. At 1pm I ate a banana and felt quite satisfied with that. At 2pm I feel like I want to eat something cooked. Can't quite describe this. Kind of like I want toast with loads of margarine or a big bowl of pasta. I ate a handful of pecan nuts and felt better. Apparently if you are trying to quit smoking your cravings come in 3 minute waves, so if you say I'll have one in 5 minutes then your craving is likely to have gone by then. I wonder if that works for cooked food? I'll try it -- if I start to feel really bad I'll eat some nuts and give it 5 minutes. To be honest, though, this isn't half as hard as I though it would be -- I suppose the big choice of fresh stuff in supermarkets helps. At 3pm I had a spurt of energy for about an hour so I tidied up my house a bit. That happened last week as well after my day raw experiment. If I get more spurts I'll be happy -- I might even start to get through the boxes of rubbish in my spare room. I might start to be tidy. Or I might stop caring that I'm messy. Had to drink a bottle of water. Had to drink 2 more bottles of water this evening, but only ate a really small salad (usual stuff). Had a fig at 10pm just before bed. Friday 7th January 2000 Day 5 I slept for 8 and a half hours, which is a slight improvement! Didn't feel hungry or strange but obviously wasn't quite with it as I washed my face with body lotion in the shower this morning! Donkey. I had a smoothie of sprouted sunflower seeds, a banana, 2 kiwis and some apple juice -- that was nice. For lunch I had 3 medjool dates and still felt OK. Dinner time was a treat of raw hummous with carrot sticks -- gorgeous and really garlicky. No real detox signs yet. When will I feel odd? Saturday 8th January 2000 Day 6 I slept for 8 hours. Had another smoothie for breakfast. Lunch was a small salad, but I'm going off the bitter taste that it I get. For dinner, I made a salad with red pepper and tomato salsa and guacamole. The guacamole was lovely but I didn't like the salad of raw asparagus, baby corn and bean sprouts -- too bitter. Sunday 9th January 2000 Day 7 Had a fruit pudding of blended papaya, banana, medjool dates and strawberries for breakfast -- really nice. I love papaya. I had a snack of left over guacamole with celery to dip. Lunch was a small salad. For dinner I just snacked on stuff -- a handful of pecans, a bit of salad, a banana, 3 figs. Monday 10th January 2000 Day 8 Here's my weekly measure-up: Weight: 8 st 12 lb (124lb) (3lb less) Pulse: 48 beats per minute ( I think that's a fluke!) (7 beats less) Chest: 34 (thank God that didn't shrink) Waist: 26.75 (.25 inch less) Hips: 36 (.5 inches smaller) Upper leg: 20.5 (.5 inch less) All measurements are in inches. Had half a pineapple blended and then strained for breakfast -- not filling but felt good. I snacked the rest of the day at work on a large papaya, a kiwi, 2 bananas. Dinner was a little salad with the usual ingredients, I made some almond milk which tasted nice -- just what I fancied after a draining day. I was going to have a Calvados to wind down, but I'm glad I didn't now. Did treat myself to a date and banana pudding, made with the left over almonds from the almond milk with a strawberry and a couple of grapes thrown in -- that was so sweet. This whole raw thing is so much easier than I thought it could be -- I've got no detox symptoms, I've got enough energy to clean my house, I don't feel drained any more when I wake up. I'm sleeping much better than I used to -- I even got to sleep before midnight last night -- that's so unusual for me. I like this diet. Oh, I'm feeling pretty smug today. Everyone around me is dropping like flies with "the flu" and I don't feel ill -- that's a first! Tuesday 11th January 2000 Day 9 Just realised that I'm not having to blow my nose as much -- I used to blow it about 4 times in the morning before I even got to work! Slept really well again -- woke up before 8am! I never do that. Laid in bed snuggling for an hour though, so still didn't get to work early. Made a vegetable juice for breakfast as I still feel a bit thirsty. Had 2 carrots, 2 sticks of celery, a bit of ginger, a really ripe tomato in it. It was nice and sweet. Throughout the day I ate a banana, a gorgeous ripe juicy mango, a kiwi 2 strawberries and 2 medjool dates. Need to go to Tesco again -- only went on Saturday, this raw food thing makes you get through stuff at an alarming rate. Went to the gym at lunch time -- my lungs hurt when I ran (that's normal for me), but I did an hour of gym stuff -- want to do more strength training than anything else so I think I'll book an assessment and get a programme done. Last time I had an assessment, they said my blood pressure was too low -- probably compared to meaty people. Had a salad of avocado, tomato, pine nuts, olive oil, black pepper, basil. Wednesday 12th January 2000 Day 10 Slept really well again -- but for a bit longer. I think it's because I went to the gym. Wasn't hungry this morning, so I just ate a stick of celery. Throughout the day, I wasn't really hungry either -- had half a tomato and some pecans and almonds. Drank about a pint of water. For Dinner I had a salad with the usual ingredients and alfalfa sprouts, and a pudding of banana, sharon fruit (I'm now a cannibal) dates, pumpkin seeds and kiwi. Drank another pint and half of water. Went to the pub and the smell of smoke was worse than normal -- Started whinging about that so smokers could hear me (aren't I hard?). Thursday 13th January 2000 Day 11 Slept very well, woke up still stinking of smoke -- god it's so gross, smoking. Had a bowl of chopped banana, dates, pumpkin seeds, kiwi and soaked almonds. I was almost out of food again -- apart from 3 lemons, so had to go shopping. I ate a lovely juicy papaya for dinner. Made Stevie his tea again (I just love cooking still!). I had a salad. Really didn't feel like eating much today at all. Friday 14th January 2000 Day 12 Didn't feel very hungry today (only ate a handful of almonds) but felt a bit sad, so Stevie took me out for an evening meal. It was my first cooked meal in 11 days and I enjoyed the taste, but woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I had a brick in my stomach. I've already got used to not feeling bloated and so didn't like this. I had garlic mushrooms, a pancake with cashews, tomatoes and spinach, and mashed potato (all vegan). I had a Calvados and it made me really tiddly, really quickly. Went for a head and back massage as my back's playing up (ouch). That was nice and soothing. Saturday 15th January 2000 Day 13 Was still full from last night. Only ate smoothies and a salad. Drank loads of water. Sunday 16th January 2000 Day 14 Made a pudding of bananas, blueberries, papaya and dates for breakfast. For dinner I made a salad with mung beansprouts and home grown alfalfa sprouts and a nice tahini and lemon dressing. Spoiled myself and had raw hummus and guacamole dips with celery and carrots for tea. I stink of garlic now. Spent two hours gardening today, my first gardening day of the year. Had quite a few weeds. It didn't make me feel tired which was good. Monday 17th January 2000 Day 15 Here's my weekly measure-up: Weight: 8 st 10 lb (122lb) (2lb less) (total 5lb less) Pulse: 60 beats per minute ( it's not been that high in years - I think that's a fluke just like last week's was!) Chest: 34 (again -- thank God that didn't shrink) (total no change) Waist: 26 (.75 inch smaller) (total 1 inch less) Hips: 35.75 (.25 inch smaller) (total .75 inches less) Upper leg: 20.25 (.25 inch smaller) (total .75 inch change) All measurements are in inches. Wasn't hungry this morning so just ate a dried fig at about 11am. For dinner I had leftover hummus with carrots to dip. I stink even more now. For tea I just had a banana. Snacked on 6 almonds and a grape before bed. I want the fat to go from my thighs more than anywhere else but it's going very slowly from there compared to the waist and hips. Tuesday 18th January 2000 Day 16 Made some juice for breakfast -- wanted something light. Had bananas, grapes, carrots and beansprouts in it. Tasted so delicious! For dinner I had a great big salad (bigger than I needed but I kept just adding things). It had basil, tomato, seaweed, carrot, celery, soaked almonds. I wasn't hungry for the rest of the day so just ate 2 dates for tea. I'm still drinking a fair amount of water -- I imagine you would if you're detoxing slowly like this. I had a bit of a cold-type headache yesterday and then was a bit blocked up today, so I'm hoping these are detox signs. I feel so good on this diet (it does suit me), but I'm shocked that I've not had all the horrid symptoms that are so often described -- it makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong somewhere. I've noticed that my skin has turned to satin -- it feels so smooth all over -- mmm. Wednesday 19th January 2000 Day 17 Wasn't hungry this morning, so I ate a quarter of a melon -- nice and light. It was very sweet. For dinner I ate a papaya but it wasn't the best tasting one in the world. Had a handful of pecans in the afternoon. Didn't have much of an appetite when I got home because I'd been grumpy all day, so I ate another quarter of a melon. I fancied a snack at about 10pm, so made a nori roll -- I put avocado, carrot strips, celery strips, red pepper strips and tahini in it -- I was really impressed with myself -- it was my first nori effort and it came out quite well -- it was really tasty, too. Thursday 20th January 2000 Day 18 Didn't fancy breakfast, so I just drank water. At 12.30 I had 2 nori wraps, filled with an avocado, beansprouts, ginger and strips of red pepper, carrot and celery. So tasty and filling. For a 3pm snack I had half a pint of juice, made from carrots, celery and ginger -- I love carrot and celery juice, it's so sweet. Went for a back massage tonight, it's hurt for years and I've had an osteopath and acupuncturist try to sort it -- my last hope is this diet, but a few massages help the pain temporarily and it feels good. Made a small salad for tea -- it just had lettuce, tomatoes, onions, red pepper, beansprouts -- topped with olive oil and mustard dressing. Had a big bunch of grapes. Friday 21st January 2000 Day 19 Wasn't hungry this morning so ate 2 bananas at about 11am -- went to the pub at lunch time and had 2 bottles of water. Had a juicy ripe dripping delicious mango at about 2pm. Tonight was a pub night -- I'd planned to get some fruit from somewhere and just to drink water all night, but I was so hungry by the end of the day that I decided to go out for a cooked meal with Stevie, then meet everyone else down the pub. Then everyone else told me they were going to eat at about 8pm, so I decided that was too late for me so I went home, had 2 nori rolls with avocado, beansprouts, carrots, celery, red pepper and then went out to the restaurant with everyone else and drank 2 pots of Jasmine tea (this may not be strictly raw!). I'm getting to like the nori roll thing -- it's so close to a sandwich that the familiarity makes me feel warm and cozy. I'm happy to report that my saggy jowls seem to have disappeared -- this raw diet is more magic than Paul Daniels! Saturday 22nd January 2000 Day 20 Well, this isn't really going to be day 20 -- because I've been planning a cooked meal tonight for weeks. It's my birthday weekend, you see. I feel that I'm not yet so raw that the odd cooked meal will throw me, so can justify it for my birthday. It's not my birthday till tomorrow but my party's tonight. I'm having a party in the pub, then there's no preparing or clearing up to do. In any case, I just can't have a party at my house -- not with my jute carpets -- no way! It's also a good excuse to make meat-eating friends eat a delicious vegan meal. If we just went out for a meal -- they'd all eat meat and milky cheesy stuff which isn't the best way for a vegan to celebrate her birthday. So I decided to be raw all day and then cooked at night. For breakfast I had a banana, blueberry, date pudding. Then I had a small salad for dinner. At about 6.30 I had a coffee which didn't make me as hyper as I'd expected. Then I started on my wonderful vegan champagne and at 9pm tea was served at the pub. We had chili (made with Vege Mince), salsa, garlic bread (that was more moreish than anything else), tortilla chips and guacamole (that was raw!). John Coleman (the first raw person I'd met) turned up and I was able to scrounge a carrot from the landlady so he could dip into the guacamole. He brought me a lovely pressie -- a box full of fruits -- some of which I'd never seen before. There were mangosteens (didn't like them), tamarinds (loved them), papaya (always love them), sharon fruit (cannibal me again), lychees (got to get over the bogey association thing in my head), oh and some durian (now I've experienced the "smells like the devil, tastes like heaven" thing). Such a good pressie. Sunday 23rd January 2000 Day 21 My birthday! Woke up at 6am (that wasn't intended -- I'd only had 4 hours sleep). Laid in bed for a bit (Stevie had his orders to make me breakfast in bed but he wasn't waking up). At 10am, my parents were hungry, so I made them a vegan fry up. Strangely Stevie woke up about 5 minutes before it was ready and ate some, too. I had a small plateful but really didn't enjoy it. It was flavourless compared to my normal breakfast of banana puddings. Me and Stevie then ate chocolates and champagne most of the day (I could only manage about 5 chocolates, though). That was lovely, and very birthday-like. For tea, Stevie made vegan croissants, with various fillings in. I had alfalfa sprouts in one of my croissants and wanted more sprouts. The croissants were very nice but didn't fill me up as my raw meals did. Had a nori roll some time before bed (that filled me up!). So, with one and a half days of cooked food inside me -- how do I feel? Normal -- no different -- not today, anyway! Monday 24th January 2000 Day 22 Here's my weekly measure-up: Weight: 8 st 12 lb (124lb) (2lb more) (total 3lb less) Pulse: 50 beats per minute (More normal) Chest: 34 (again - thank God that didn't shrink) (total no change) Waist: 26.25 (.25 inch bigger) (total .75 inch less) Hips: 36 (.25 inch bigger) (total .5 inches less) Upper leg: 20.5 (.25 inch bigger) (total .5 inch change) All measurements are in inches. It's amazing that eating cooked food for 1 and a half days can make me put on that much weight and inches -- but I'm not worried about it, I'm not really doing this to lose bits of me, I'm doing it for health -- losing bits of me is just like the cherry on the top. Didn't wake up till Stevie rang me at 10.15. Think I'll be working late tonight! Felt so groggy, tired, couldn't keep my eyes open, wanted to remain laying down. Took me a long time to get to my computer and start working. Glad I'm working at home today. Didn't feel like I wanted anything cooked (I'm beginning to wonder if I had any cooked food addiction at all in me). I made a refreshing juice out of 1 big carrot, 4 kiwis, 1 sharon, bit of ginger, half a lemon, 2 apples. Felt much better after drinking that, but still very tired. Had a nori roll with all the normal ingredients at lunch time -- with extra guacamole as I've got a load left from Saturday and it'll go off if I don't eat it today. Ate my bits of durian at 1.30 -- very tasty and creamy. It's an indescribable flavour. Reminded me a little bit of a sort globe artichoke heart (cooked), and ice cream and egg custard. Very interesting fruit. I don't understand why it smells the way it does, though. Surely the whole point of fruit is to get the seeds spread by the animal that eats the fruit -- so the tree should make the fruit appealing. Smell is the main factor in what we'd instinctively eat, and if I smelled this, I'm not sure I'd try it. Played badminton (was quite good considering I've not played for about 3 months) I thought the exercise would do me good. Went to the pub afterwards and had a mineral water. Saw they had leftover vegan chili on the menu and secretly hoped they'd offer me some for free in which case I couldn't turn it down. They didn't. For tea I just blended a load of soaked almonds, pumpkin seeds and cashews with a banana and some water to make a big pudding. Felt sick after eating it -- there was too much. Laid in bed all night, and did some work but I was so tired. Tuesday 25th January 2000 Day 23 Slept a marathon 10 and a half hours last night. Woke up still feeling groggy -- need some fresh air. Didn't eat in the morning -- just drank a bit of water and worked. I had a stuffy head yesterday, in my sinuses and temples -- but it's gone now -- I can hold my head up again. Ate dinner at about 1.30pm. Tucked into my pressie from John -- had 3 tamarinds (delicious), 3 mangosteens (worked out that you eat the tiny white middle bit, not the dark flesh!), a sharon and half a papaya, got myself all messy and dribbly down my arms. Imagined I was a monkey on the floor of a jungle. Hmm. I think I'm getting a bit carried away. All that fruit satisfied me, and I was able to work all afternoon without feeling lightheaded or tired. Had an apple at 5pm. Had the other half of my papaya at about 6.30 and a nori roll with the usual stuff in it at 9pm, then had a few pecans as I was in a munchy mood. Need to go back to the wholefood shop to get some more nori as I've just had my last one. It's quite expensive at about 3 pounds fifty pence for 10 sheets -- I think I'll investigate some specialist mail order food web sites. Wednesday 26th January 2000 Day 24 Made Stevie wake me up at 8am so that I didn't sleep in. I found it so hard to wake up -- but then I always have. I wonder when I'll only need 6 or 4 hours sleep. I desperately want to sleep less. Made a nice smoothie for us both with bananas, grapes, strawberries and dates which filled me up. Ate half a melon for dinner, then went out and sat in a park for half an hour, munching pecans. I feel so depressed today, but maybe it's not the food, as my job's getting me down -- yes I think it's my job. For tea I had 2 nori rolls and half an apple, then a few pecans later on. Pecan day, today. Thursday 27th January 2000 Day 25 Got up at 8.30 -- 2 early days in a row. My head feels a bit stuffy still in the sinuses. I think I'm still suffering from my cooked weekend. I was going to make some kale and carrot juice for breakfast -- I keep reading that I should eat kale, especially in the early days of raw food eating, but I couldn't be bothered and made a smoothie with cherries, grapes, strawberries, a banana and dates instead -- very tasty. For dinner, I made a massive salad out of lettuce, fennel, onion, garlic, red pepper, tomatoes, beansprouts and celery, which I ate throughout the rest of the day, along with some pecans. Felt OK this evening -- not too tired considering my early mornings. Think I'm just getting over my cooked birthday weekend! Friday 28th January 2000 Day 26 I'm going out tonight for Karen's (A) leaving do. I'm planning on eating salad, more salad and a fruit salad but I'll have to see what's on the menu. For breakfast I made a juice out of carrots, kiwi, apple and ginger. That was nice. I had a papaya for dinner and a mineral water at the pub. At Karen's leaving do I ordered a freshly squeezed orange juice at the cocktail bar (there's no way it was "freshly squeezed" because I saw them pour it from a plastic bottle, so it will have at least been pasteurised which means it was cooked). For my starter I had really exciting lettuce leaves (I asked for an olive oil dressing, but got a vinaigrette dressing -- probably not fresh!). I then had another salad but there was so little on the menu I asked for baby (globe) artichokes and roast red pepper salad. There was very little of the cooked stuff amongst loads of lettuce, so it was like having an eighth of a cooked meal. There was no fruit salad on the sweet menu, but the waiter must have read my mind because he offered to make me one. The apples in it were nice, but there were loads of oranges and I really don't like them. The whole thing was smothered in mint which was really refreshing. I used to love globe artichokes but I really didn't like the taste of them tonight. And the roast red peppers seemed so limp and lifeless compared to the juicy raw ones I've been eating. I felt quite sorry for them and didn't appreciate how they tasted. Saturday 29th January 2000 Day 27 We've decided to decorate our lounge. We chose a pale mushroom colour, fiery orange and dark chocolate brown for the walls. We spent 7 hours painting and only got half way there by 5pm (which was Brookside time). Didn't have any inclination to juice or make a smoothie today, so lived off 4 nori rolls with the usual ingredients in, plus fennel. We were knackered by the time we'd finished but didn't want to stay in so we went to the pictures. Stevie had a Burger King veggie whopper, but I'd made a nori roll which I ate in the car. Sunday 30th January 2000 Day 28 Another 7 hours decorating. God my legs hurt: I've been up and down that ladder like a bride's nightie. For breakfast I made a smoothie of a bag of cherries (wore myself out stoning them), a lovely juicy papaya, 2 medjool dates, 3 strawberries and some sprouted sunflower seeds. It was very tasty and big and filling. Breakfast kept me going for a long time -- I didn't need to eat again until about 4pm, and had a nori roll. Even with all that physical work all weekend, I didn't feel hungry. I was ready for my bed at about 4, but had about another hour to go with the lounge. For tea I just nibbled on pecans and dried mango strips while I laid in bed tired and aching from all the decorating. It looks lovely though. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... Monday 31st January 2000 Day 28 Here's my weekly measure-up: Weight: 8 st 9 lb (121lb) (3lb less) (total 6lb less) Pulse: 60 beats per minute (higher than normal) Chest: 33.75 (oh no!) (total .25 less) Waist: 26 (.25 inch smaller) (total 1 inch less) Hips: 35.25 (.75 inch smaller) (total 1.25 inches less) Upper leg: 20 (.5 inch smaller) (total .75 inch change) All measurements are in inches. Oh, I ached so much today, I was glad it was Monday -- back to work for a break! Had a banana for breakfast at around 10am at work. Ate a big salad with alfalfa sprouts, mixed lettuce, plum tomatoes, fennel, celery, sunflower sprouts, olive oil and black pepper. Ate 3 dried figs at about 2pm, and then an apple at about 4pm. Played badminton at 5pm for an hour (I don't know how my legs managed it). Went back to work for a bit. We had to go shopping for food and it was 7.45 by the time we got home. I was so hungry -- I made a massive salad (about 3 times the normal size), it had 1 avocado, 6 midi plum tomatoes, mixed lettuce, a handful of beansprouts, some sunflower sprouts, sweetcorn, olive oil, balsamic vinegar (is this raw?*) and 2 nori sheets. I ate all of it. I've been trying to sprout some wild rice over the past few days but it doesn't look like it's sprouting to me. I'll give it a few more days and then give up.* "I just wanted to let you know what an inspiration your Journal has been to me. After discovering it one day, I immediately went 100% RAW" -- Tracey, Portland, Oregon, USA How do I feel after my first month? I've got more energy. I'm still sleeping too much, but considerably less than I was. I still can't get up in the morning My skin feels really soft, and I've not had a spot on my face since starting the diet I don't have to blow my nose a hundred times a day any more When I come home from work, I'm not exhausted My belly isn't bloated, and my thighs feel more muscly and smoother I can concentrate a lot more, and don't feel so depressed about things I've lost my jowls (hurray!) I had hardly any detox symptoms or cravings Although I've eaten a few cooked things in my first month, I've seen a dramatic all round improvement in myself. Why would I want to stop now? *Balsamic vinegar isn't raw. **Wild rice isn't raw. It's very heavily cooked before being dried and stored. next

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