Sunday, Another Faire Weekend Passes

I SURVIVED RAW for the WEEKEND!
Preparation payed off big time!!!

I packed more food than I needed, including 32 ounces of "Goatsblood Smoothie" ( beets lol) multiple bananas, apples. Today was especially sucessful in the not hungry, not craving anything department thanks to a lot of late night prep last night. In addition to the Smoothie, I packed RAW TOSTADAS!!!

Yes, I dehydrated corn tortillas and nut/mushroom "meat"... I made "sour cream" from cashews and limes OMG sooo good I could eat the whole bowl...oops, I did ;P ...and I'm paying for the total fat today, but soooo good!!! Oh yeah, I said that already... and Pico de Gallo. This was a super yummy raw-lifestyle-saver! Whew!!!

Onward!
The best part is that I FEEL GOOD. Yes, I'm on the Simponi now and it has made a huge difference in my life, but honestly...it works for 3 weeks out of 4 and that fourth week has been brutal. I've dreaded this week (forth week) ever since I got my last injection...and it hasn't been horrible. I actually went to the RA doc on Thursday for a pre-planned steroid shot to get me through the "bad days" and I don't think I would have needed it. Next month I'm testing the theory and not getting the preventative. Why would I do that? Taking a chance I might not be able to do faire at all on the fourth weekend? Because I think I'm on the right track. That's how much better I feel RAW compared to Not-Raw. Do I plan to stop the biologic? Not a chance... ask me in a year after I've been 100% raw. I'm smart enough to know that this damaging disease didn't take a few weeks to set in motion...cell regeneration takes time and my body has a whole lotta damage to correct. But just taking fewer NSAIDS and fewer Steroids will be an awesome benefit, hopefully dropping down to no NSAID's and No Steroids!! And even though I'm still very aware I have a degenerative joint disease...the IBF/undiagnosed** Crohn's Disease symptoms are gone. GONE! It has happened every single time I' attempted raw in the past, so I expected the same results this time...and since September 1st I've had no gut issues whatsoever. Nothing. That's amazing. I also haven't needed to take a single Tums (antacid) and I had a 2-4 habit a night going. I'm definitely on the right track!! Here's the Raw Caesar Salad that I am telling everyone about. Even hubby agrees its one of the best Caesar Salads he's ever had ... we're having it again tomorrow!

**Having lived with what I considered IBF all my life, and many RA patients also have Crohn's, my RA doctor suggested a lot of tests to prove I have Crohn's Disease...and I refused all of them. I really don't try to be difficult. I just don't think that barium enema's, colonoscopy's, endoscopy's or MRI's are necessary. Something is wrong with my guts. Period. I don't need tests or an exploratory look around when I know that seven full days of RAW fixes me...

Rewind: DAY ONE!

So, after completely blowing my Raw diet Sunday and Monday after only three days success. I sat and thought for a few days, toyed with my food, keeping at about 80% raw, and basically feeling like a complete and utter failure.

I didn't fail.
I learned my limitations.

I know staying RAW during Ohio's extreme's in weather is going to be difficult. I wasn't prepared for just how difficult. I think warm liquids are the answer and so have spent my time searching for raw drinks and soups to warm my body and soul. I am fairly anxious to try some of them...

But that will have to wait until I finish eating all of the mangoes, tomatoes, and melons, I bought for the next week or so...

Today I am going RAW...AGAIN! I am Meditating, Visualizing Success, and still watching Motivational YouTube Videos. I love Dan the Man...he struck a cord with me...he may or may not move you. Here is one of his videos:

How To Start A Raw Food Diet Today



I like Dan's simplistic approach.

In other news, HUBBY is now COMPLETELY ON BOARD!!!!!!
He isn't promising 100% raw, but he is willing to eat all-raw meals with me, and after sitting and holding my hand while I cried for two days over being such a pathetic loser (I know I'm not really...now) I think he's relieved I'm giving it one more go-around. I also asked him to be my raw-police in addition to being my MSG-police, since he does such an awesome job protecting me from MSG. Now he's being entrusted to protect me all forms of cooked food. Wish Me/Us Luck!!!

Today's Food Breakdown:


Breakfast: 150 Cal, 5.0 fat
Banana
8 Almonds
Hot Tea - an English Breakfast blend (I'll limit this one because it does have caffeine, but as far as warming the soul goes...this one is nice:)
24 ounces water - after, not during the meal


Lunch: 45 Cal, 0.8 fat
Heirloom Tomatoes
3 Ginger Carrot Crackers
24 ounces water - after, not during the meal


Snack: 115 cal, 0.1 fat
Orange Juice


Dinner: 250 Cal, 16.8 fat
Stuffed and Dehydrated Spicy Portabella Mushrooms and Mimi Kirk's Raw Caesar Salad  
24 ounces water - after, not during the meal


Total: 560 cal, 22.7 fat or 39% 

Food Summary:
The fat intake today is a disaster. Even when I was eating meat and cheese I never topped 28%. So this is bad. How am I ever going to maintain a less than 10% fat diet if every raw recipe calls for a bazillion nuts?
Time to do some nut research and see if the types of fat in nuts will make my RA go as crazy as the fat in meat and cheese...