Flirting with 811 LFRV

The second week of the Initiative at Raw Food Rehab is almost over and I am feeling great! (If you haven't checked out the 'hab, run by Penni Shelton, you really owe it to yourself. It is awesome, very supportive, just like my beloved GeekedFu.) I expect to see nice things from the scale tomorrow. I worked out a lot this week--pretty much every day except Sunday. Yay me. My awesome 17 yr old daughter supports me by getting up with me at 5 o'dark o'clock and hitting the gym with me before I go to work and she goes to school. I have also ramped up my raw intake which I think was responsible for my epic weight release last week.


Now that the weather is nice, I am really enjoying walking around the park that is across the street from my work at lunch. I don't try to "feel the burn," it is just a meditative, joyful time for me to celebrate being outdoors, the beauty of Spring, the fresh air and whatever sunshine we get in April in Oregon. Sometimes I listen to praise music on my iphone, sometimes I don't and just think and talk to God. It really makes the second half of the work day go well, with less stress.


I have been flirting with 811 "low fat raw vegan." It's called 811 or 80-10-10 because you eat 80% of your calories from carbs, 10% protein, and 10% fat. I've trolled around Dr. Doug Graham's website and gone on message boads like this one. It's interesting. I'm skeptical but intrigued. What appeals: everyone looks super healthy, seems very happy and active. Like, uber active, doing marathons and triathalons and whatnot. Obviously they feel good and have lots of energy. I also like the laziness of the diet: Eat fruit! All day long! Eat a salad for dinner. The end. So little food prep! So easy! Even I can manage to make a kick-butt salad once a day. What doesn't appeal: Eat fruit. Only fruit. All day long. And for a big fun suprise, eat a salad! Woo! Seems a wee bit monotonous and I don't know that I could stick with it. There is no onion, garlic, spice, or even salt on this diet. No honey or other natural sweeteners. Also: the people on these forums are true believers. Like, scarily so. 811 is their Rawligion. They won't even let you post a picture of a food that is not a fruit or a salad, seriously. They won't let anyone who does not agree 100% with them even post on their forums, and treat Dr. Graham like a messiah. Now, I'm sure Dr. Graham is a heckuva guy, but I don't need a savior. I've got one, thanks! And yes, I worry about nutritional deficiencies over time. I think legumes, nuts, avocados are nutrient dense and besides, I wouldn't want to live my life without them. (I do think that some gourmet raw fooders get carried away with the nuts though--I believe we ought to eat mostly fruits and veggies with just a few overt fats like nuts and avos.)


So for now, I'm not an 811 girl. I may be a flirt, but I'm not ready for a commitment. I will eat fruit all day if that's all I want and need an easy day. I love fruit! I love salad! I may even eat like that most of the time. But I won't climb into someone's box. I'm going to eat what I feel like my body and my heart is telling me to eat.


It does make me feel better, on my uber busy days or days when I can't be bothered to do anything else, that somebody thinks I should be eating like that anyway, hee. <3 Mal