Raw Banana Walnut Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting

 

My Raw Experience: Pros and Cons 

Today was a rest day for me as far as exercise goes.  I plan to join my triathlon training group tomorrow and I'm slightly scared.  While I've been goofing off for 3 months, they've been training hard.  I could barely keep up with them when I was still in shape.  Their three months of moving forward in their fitness and my three months moving backwards will all blow up in my face tomorrow.  So, I'm doing the only thing I can do, resting up for tomorrow's punishment so I have enough energy to survive. I've certainly reaped the benefits of yummy food and nice restaurants and relaxing days by the beach; now it's time to pay up.

Unfortunately, it really wasn't a rest day as far as cooking, house cleaning, taking the dog to the vet, and going shopping at five different grocery stores would dictate.  We don't have a Wal-Mart over here where everything is all under one roof.  I think I would have preferred the workout!  The running around was worth it though. I'm very excited because I just finished my first batch of raw banana walnut cupcakes with cinnamon frosting.  Super yummy for my sweet tooth!

Since I have no exercise update tonight, I thought I would hit on the topic of "why raw food?" I wanted to give you a real analysis, as I have nothing to gain if you decide to try this or not.  Food choice is extremely personal to most people. But, after giving it 7 months and change, I feel I have a beginner's grasp of what to expect. Here's my honest evaluation of the vegan raw food diet.

Pros:

1. Weight Loss: I lost weight from areas I have never been able to lose before, no matter how much exercise I had done.
2. Energy: I feel like I can get anything done! 
3. Sleep: I sleep very well when I used to have nights where sleep alluded me. Unfortunately, I also seem to get up much earlier - around 5:30 a.m.
4. Improved Athletic Edge: My running times dropped from 9 min miles to 7-8 min miles in sustained running. 
5. Faster Recovery: Post workout, I recover faster and am less sore. 
6. No Sickness: I don't even get a slight sniffle. 
7. Clear Throat: I have always had mucus all my life that causes me to have to clear my throat all the time. Very annoying for everyone! It took a few months on raw, but it went away for the first time in my life. 
8. Clear skin:  Without going into too much detail, among the many health issues I had before changing my priorities on health was hormonal imbalances.  This caused acne. After about month six on the raw diet, I noticed my skin cleared up.  I didn't have to wear make up anymore!
9. Clearer thinking: I feel like I can handle more stress and think my way through things much better.  I also feel like my memory has improved.
10. Better emotional health:  I've had a lot of changes and issues hit me during the last year.  While I didn't handle everything perfectly, I feel I did better emotionally when I switched to the raw diet. I just felt a better overall sense of well being.

 Cons: 

1. Vitamin Deficiency: If you aren't careful, you can have a deficiency of Vitamin B12, as well as Vitamin D. Taking a good multivitamin alleviates this issue, but you need to make sure to do this. I'm terrible about taking pills.  But, I've had to get more strict about this. 
2. Weight Loss:  Some people seem to have too much weight loss on this diet.  I never had this issue, as I always ate a lot of calories in nuts, oils, avocados, and raw honey. Even when training hard with lots of cardio, my weight leveled out at 125lbs, which is a very healthy running weight for me.
3. Binge Eating: I have also heard that when people get off raw diets they can over eat. This may have happened to me if I'm honest with myself.  I didn't eat more quantity per say, but I also didn't eat healthy foods as the fats in the bad stuff were so addicting.  After 7 months without pizza, you are in heaven when you eat it again.  And, you want it more often.  This is something I will watch out for if I get off again. 
4. Detox: When you start a raw diet, you're body needs some time to adjust.  Also, since the digestive system doesn't have to work as hard,  it has extra energy to clean house and dumps the toxins into your bloodstream to eliminate them.  I felt slight fatigue, increased thirst, and a bit sick to my stomach around day five to day ten.  It wasn't bad enough to even keep me from training, but I could tell I wasn't my normal self.  However, I have heard others who were eating a worse diet than I was before their switch to raw having a much rougher detox.
5. Raw Food Religion: Some raw food proponents almost treat this diet like a religion.  Most people I have found who eat this way are amazing individuals.  But, there are always the few who seem to think that those who eat raw are somehow more enlightened or superior to those who eat the SAD (Standard American Diet) way.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  I chose to eat this way simply for my own health.  If I stop feeling better and start feeling worse on this diet, I will try something else.  I plan to listen to my body and make changes as needed, and I won't feel guilty about getting off raw if I find it no longer benefits me.  
6. It is almost impossible to eat out.  You either have to find a raw food restaurant, like overpriced salads containing iceberg lettuce and two cherry tomatoes, or be willing to cheat when out with friends. 
7. Getting off raw and going back to cooked food can give you tough side effects.  When I started eating cooked food during my cheating period in December, I spent the first two days with my head in a trash can unable to keep anything down.  My body really rejected the cooked food. Keep in mind, I had been doing raw for seven months, so it isn't as bad if you go for a shorter time period before going back to cooked food.  But, transition slowly back, don't just jump in like I did.  I won't do that again!

 So, there you have it.  My two cents on the subject.  I hope you found it helpful.

I also wanted to step aside for a minute and thank all of my readers.  Since I started this blog yesterday, I've already had a few people tell me privately that they were inspired to take actions in their health or relationships for the better.  Sometimes, you really wonder if anyone is out there or if you are simply writing for therapy's sake - which I admit to needing a good dose of anyway.  But, thank you for telling me you were encouraged.  It means so much.  I think I would write this blog whether anyone cared or not, once a journalist always a journalist, but knowing people are actually finding it helpful warms my heart.

So, until tomorrow, good night!