Day 31

Weight: 13 stone 11 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 1 stone 4 lb

Weight holding steady today...I really don't expect to lose a pound every day, it's not realistic, but it would be very nice!

Just took one of the dogs for a walk today as the other one had a fixation on a half-eaten rabbit that was in the garden, courtesy of the cats! Tried to drag my little Yorkie out of the gate, but he just wouldn't come for a walk and kept running towards the rabbit! We left him with his half-eaten rabbit in the end. When I came back from my walk the rabbit was on our terrace with little Frankie standing over it...sometimes dogs can be so disgusting, but it's only natural for them!

Went off the raw rails today as I went out for lunch to a very nice veggie restaurant in Torremolinos and had their 'Menu del dia' - vegan version, with two glasses of red wine... and I had a wonderful time!

I do really enjoy eating raw and it does me a lot of good but now and again you've just got to 'chillax' and eat what you want to eat without doing too much damage.

Started the day with a lovely green smoothie consisting of mixed green leaves, papaya, kiwi and banana. 

Headed off to the coast where a brand new Carrefour hipermarket has opened up on Mijas Costa. Spent about an hour in there, wandering around, picking up a few organic 'healthy' items but on the whole, there's not really much in there for raw foodies...apart from fruit and veg of course! 

Back in the old days I would've filled up a trolley-full of all the goodies they had in there and I still managed to spend 50€ on I don't know what! Afterwards went to the mall to stock up on knickers and socks from Primark...last of the big spenders!

Then it was off for lunch in Torremolinos. Headed to a place called Espiga in the centre, Avda. Joan Miro and had a delicious lunch. Found out that they have been there for 14 years and they are open between 12:30pm and 4:30pm Mon-Sat.

Espiga Restaurant, Torremolinos

Brown rice with mushrooms

Tofu in tomato sauce with sauteed potatoes

Vegetable soup

They do a different menu del dia every day with veggie or vegan options. Of course I chose the vegan option as I didn't want to consume any dairy and it was really nice to have a change of food.

Don't worry everybody I will be on the raw stuff tomorrow, but I don't expect to have lost any weight today! However, I have to say I've enjoyed today, eating good food and drinking good Spanish wine.

Here's their website: www.vegetarianoespiga.es

Hasta pronto

Day 30

Weight: 13 stone 11 lb

Lost: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 1 stone 4 lb

I'm very happy that the weight loss is still continuing. I did expect it to slow down a bit but it's still going strong.

Enjoyed a really good green smoothie this morning with spinach, papaya and banana.

Afterwards I went off to the gym and had a great workout, even managed to do three sets of 15 sit ups (something that I've struggled with before).

Back at the casa I set about to making some energy bars which are very quick and easy to make...and taste delicious:

Coconut Cashew Apricot Energy Bars  (courtesy of healthishappiness.com)

8 medjool dates
1 1/4 cup cashews
1/2 cup dried apricots (about 12)
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut + a little for topping
1/3 cup hemp seeds + a little for topping (or sesame seeds if you can't get hemp)

In a food processor, process the dates and apricots into a paste.
Add the rest of the ingredients and progress until everything is well mixed together.
Line baking tray with foil and put mixture onto foil, spread evenly into a rectangle.
Cover and place in the fridge for a couple of hours to set.
Cut into bars and enjoy...but not all at once!

Coconut Cashew Apricot Energy Bars

A friend of mine came round today with some homemade chocolate cake for the family...it looked and smelt great but I managed to resist temptation...whereas in the past I would've dived straight in and probably eaten 2 slices, so my resolve is getting even stronger. This is all due to my continued weight-loss and feeling really good and positive about the way things are going.

Tomorrow I have plans to put together a new raised bed for my veg...

Hasta pronto

Day 29

Weight: 13 stone 12 lb

Lost: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 1 stone 3 lb

Well it's not just myself noticing the weight loss but other people are now starting to comment. They particularly notice that my face is looking slimmer and I'm looking a bit younger for it!

Nothing exciting happened today...no genets or any other unusual creatures crossing my path, just the usual dogs that follow me around when I take my 2 dogs out for their morning walk. 

Where I am in the campo I'm surrounded by other houses, and all of these houses have dogs. Some of the Spanish owners just let their dogs run free, so during my time here I have gotten to know the other dogs and I feel they see me as a surrogate mum for when their owners aren't there. 

Very often when I'm out with my 2 dogs, I feel like the Pied Piper, going past my neighbours' houses, collecting their dogs on the way so we can all enjoy the morning walk together. Then when I do eventually get back to my front gate, they know that it's time to disappear and they have to return to their various houses.

For my smoothie today I threw in a couple of strawberries with my banana and chard, which gave it a hint of sweet strawberry flavour and very nice too!

I didn't go to the gym today. My body was tired and it needed a break. Instead I went off to a friend's house in the morning to help her out with various things.

Back home for lunch I had flax crackers with tomatoes and I also had some fresh lychees out of their shell. I got the taste for lychees when I lived at my previous house and there was a lychee tree...I would gorge myself on those lucious lychees! 

Lychees on the tree

For dinner I just threw another green smoothie together as I didn't feel like having a salad. This time I was a bit more adventuresome with my smoothie and had pak choi leaves, rocket, mango, lychee and 2 strawberries...what an interesting mixture! 

Now I do have to admit that it wasn't the best smoothie in the world and maybe I should've left out the lychees as it gave a perfumy taste...which doesn't go down well with greens! 

I think I must've gone temporarily mad with that concoction, but hey, you live and you learn...it's good to experiment with food.

Heading back to the gym tomorrow morning and I might actually make something raw tomorrow...watch this space.

Hasta pronto

Day 28

Weight: 13 stone 13 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 1 stone 2 lb

No change on the weight front, staying put for now at 13 stone 13 lb...but I'm sure tomorrow that a pound would have shifted.

Went off to the I.T.V. centre this morning (Spanish M.O.T. centre) and guess what, my car only failed! However, not too much of a disaster as I was picked up on two small details: hand brake needs tightening and centre back seat belt is not as 'smooth' as the other two! 

I will be sorting these issues out at my local garage tomorrow morning so that I can return to the I.T.V. centre again to get my stamp & sticker for another year of safe driving. 

My local mechanic very kindly advised me not to go to the Malaga City I.T.V. centre, but next time drive 50 mins to another ITV centre in San Pedro (past Marbella) where they are more relaxed and so more chance of passing first time! Great!

Came back and had my usual breakfast of chard and banana green smoothie, then went off to the gym. Again I had a lot of energy and an excellent workout.

Red grapefruit for lunch and some flax crackers with sliced tomato and raw hummus and later I had my signature large salad at dinnertime.

Driving back home tonight I saw something very exciting that I haven't seen before...a Genet (related to cats but more closely related to mongooses).  It was trying to cross the road and I saw it in my headlight beam and thought, 'what the heck is that?!' I got home and sent a photo to a friend of mine who is an expert on the flora and fauna of Andalucia. Immediately she told me what it was, so now I have been enlightened.

Apparently the genet was first brought to the Mediterranean region as a domestic animal approximately 1000 to 1500 years ago from Algeria, and from there, spread throughout southwestern Europe. We live near large olive groves and this is one of their favourite habitats. 

Common Genet

So, after all this excitement I'm off to bed knowing I'm a little wiser and hopefully a little lighter tomorrow.

Hasta pronto

Day 27

Weight: 13 stone 13 lb

Lost: 2 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 1 stone 2 lb

Wow, I was really blown away when I got onto the scales to reveal that I am 13 stone 13 lb! It feels so good to be in the '13 stone zone' again...it's been a while!

So I set myself out another goal, that by the end of February I will hit 12 stone 13 lb, so I'm really going to go all out and go for it to hit my target (or get pretty damn close!)

For breakfast I consumed a litre of green smoothie consisting of chard and bananas, which tasted really good. I actually made more than I was supposed to make and I wasn't going to drink the whole litre, but because it tasted so good...I did! And yes, I did feel a bit bloated afterwards, but even with my full feeling I still hauled myself off to the gym.

Had a great workout, and surprisingly with all that green fluid sloshing around in my belly I still managed to do the CV machines without getting a stitch...it actually gave me the energy to push on and I even upped my weights, so no doubt, I'll be stiff tomorrow. Even at the end of my gym session, I still felt I had a lot of energy and just felt great!

Back at the casa I ate some flax seed crackers with sliced avocado for lunch...it's all I needed as I was still full from my litre of smoothie. 

I decided that since I had a load of kale in my fridge I would whiz up a sauce to pour over the kale leaves and dehydrate to make lovely kale chips. 

My magic sauce goes like this (Courtesy of my raw food friend Jane Gudge):

4 tomatoes
1 medium red pepper
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chilli powder
a good sprinkling of garlic powder
pinch of sea salt

All whizzed together in my Blendtec (blender). De-stemmed the kale leaves, tore up into a big bowl and lovingly poured the mixture from the blender over the kale then gave it a nice massage with my hands. Popped the leaves into the dehydrator using 3 trays to dehydrate overnight at 105º.

Kale leaves in tomato & pepper sauce ready to be dehydrated and will turn into crunchy kale chips.

As per usual for dinner I made a big salad combining my lovely organic lettuce that I bought at the market (and yes it does taste different to the lettuce from the supermarket.); cucumber; tomato; carrot; spring onion; green olives; capers; raisins and sunflower seeds...oh and I threw in some diced apple. Top salad, if I do say so myself!

Well back to the gym in the morning and hopefully a pound lighter.

Hasta pronto

Day 26

Weight: 14 stone 1 lb

Added: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 1 stone

Well for some reason I put on a pound! So, today I've been 100% raw and no sneaking any veggie sushi! I've also cut down on my green smoothie and had half a litre today because it was making me feel quite bloated and I need to build up the intake more slowly...but I do feel great on the smoothies as I still feel full of energy.

Today I was feeling stiff from the workout at the gym on Friday, so it must be doing me some good and I'll be back in the gym tomorrow...I will try to go 4 times this week.

Today for lunch I made myself some chopped tomatoes and sliced avocado, exquisitely decorated on the dehydrated aubergine and tamari that I made.

With closer inspection of the photo, it does look like the outer edges of the aubergine are burnt, but the aubergine skin just gives that 'illusion of cooked-ness'...they are raw and I still receive the nutrients within. By the way, they were yummy!

During the afternoon I busied myself making some flax seed crackers and raw zucchini hummus, which I have both made in the past. However, this time I left out the sesame seeds in the hummus and it tastes so much better for it. I could actually use it as a salad dressing, which I did with the huge salad that I made this evening.

Since going raw and losing so much weight, it has made a huge difference to my energy levels, my mood has been brighter, I'm more positive and just happier in myself. I'm very determined to keep this going as I know that I have a long way to go and, even on the days where I have put on a pound, I just think positive and I know that it will come off the next day, or the day after that...well, eventually anyway!

Just gotta keep going...and I will.

Hasta pronto

Day 25

Weight: 14 stone

Total weight loss since day 1: 1 stone 1 lb

Jumped on the scales again and still 14 stone but I know 13 stone 13 lb can't escape me forever!

When I woke up this morning I headed straight for the dehydrator to check on my aubergines in tamari...the outcome was surprisingly tasty. The aubergines had a consistency of toast and the tamari gave them a marmite flavour...so it was like eating marmite on toast, yum!

After my 'gallon' of green smoothie (banana, papaya, pear and chard) I took myself off to the organic market in Malaga, where I bought a good variety of greens, consisting of: kale, chard, pak choi, spinach, lettuce and leafy beets. So now I have plenty of greens for my smoothies and salads. Also bought loads of bananas, a bag of avocadoes and a big box of tomatoes.

Where I got all my greens from: 'Familia Hevilla' (they are based in Coin).

The owner of the stall told me that if I bought a lot of items he will give me a good price, which I will do in the future as I found out that his farm is based in the next town to mine...super local, excellent!

After I exhausted myself shopping, I then headed into the centre of Malaga for a bite to eat.

Now I did go slightly off the raw track because I ordered vegetarian sushi, which is mostly raw apart from the rice the vegetables are wrapped in. All washed down with a cup of peppermint tea and a sparkling water (no beer or wine in sight...I was being very good!)

Sat outside in the Malaga sunshine. Please note the herbal tea!

Afterwards headed off to the hardware store to buy some wood to make a new raised bed for my garden, where I have already planted the seeds for 2 varieties of lettuce, spinach and chard. I'm looking forward to growing my own stuff.

At the moment it's 7.30 p.m. and I'm still not hungry so I won't bother with a salad tonight as there's no point eating for the sake of it...which I used to do out of boredom, especially if I was going to watch a movie. I'd sit there with a bag of crisps, chocolate or worse still, a pizza...and of course a bottle of wine. But, then I'd feel like crap in the morning instead of feeling great like I did today! 

So I'm very happy with the way things are going.

Hasta pronto

Day 24

Weight: 14 stone

Lost: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 1 stone 1 lb

Woke up at 7 a.m. bright and early, raring to go...no stomach aches or headaches, just felt great!

Walked the dogs for an hour, on a bright sunny blue sky day, came in and made myself a 1 litre green smoothie consisting of banana and spinach...delish! Though I did feel extremely full afterwards. 

Even so, I dragged my carcass off to the gym for an hour and a half workout and I felt really buzzy on the way back home.

Lunch consisted of 3 oranges, some olives and macadamia nuts... I wished I hadn't had this combo as I had a stomach ache afterwards, but it only lasted half hour...won't make that mistake again (well, I probably will!)

Dinner consisted of a large salad but this time I threw in some sun-dried tomatoes and capers. Woo hoo!

Earlier in the afternoon I sliced some aubergine and drenched them (d’oh!) in tamari, then placed them in the dehydrator to hopefully turn into something gorgeous overnight...but this is a bit of an experiment so I will see how it goes...I think I may have overdone the drenching part, but I'll taste them tomorrow and let you know if they are a hit or miss!

 I took a photo of my aubergine and tamari experiment in the dehydrator ready to go.

The only time I really used to eat aubergines was when I was in a Spanish restaurant. They are called berenjenas con miel de caña, which is sliced aubergine dipped in flour and then fried, served with molasses (sweet sugar cane honey)

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I actually hit the 13 stone 13 lb mark when I weigh myself tomorrow, because I’ve been in the 14 stone ballpark for about a year now, so it’ll be good to see 13 come up on the scales and I will go out and celebrate with pizza and a bottle of wine (I wish!)

Hasta pronto

Day 23

Weight: 14 stone 1 lb

Lost: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 1 stone

Yay! I've reached the '1 stone' mark and I'm really happy to get that stone off...it's made such a difference to my life. I look better, I feel so much healthier and my jeans are that much looser (and that's always a good sign!)

Well, started off the morning waking up with the headache from last night...so does this mean while I slept that I had a headache throughout the night? Because I remember having a non-nonsensical dream, but in my dream I didn't have a headache! So did the headache go and return when I awoke?

You know when you're asleep and you want to pee...you want to have a pee in your dreams as well...well, I do anyway! So, if you have a headache in this 'reality', then why wouldn't you have a headache in your dream? Answers on a postcard please!

Right, back to my eating habits...started off with a litre of green smoothie, which had a delicious taste of bananas, strawberries, kiwi and spinach...and I chugged this down in one go, as I've been told that a green smoothie can oxygenate within 20 mins and it's best to drink them straight away. That kept me full until lunchtime, then I decided to go 'mono' and just ate 6 apricots. 

I went right round until dinner without eating anything else and decided to make myself a large salad of lettuce, green pepper, celery, carrot, avocado raisins and sunflower seeds, with tomatoes in olive oil chopped up in a separate bowl.

Defo going to the gym tomorrow, as I haven't been this week (yes I know I've been lazy...but I'm being gentle on myself). 

Saturday I plan on going to the organic market in Malaga City to stock up on my greens and fruits. I want to try and source a wholesale organic fruit and veg place, local to me as I do know a place but it is an hour's drive from me and I hope to find somewhere closer.

Hasta pronto

Day 22

Weight: 14 stone 2 lb

Lost: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 13 lb

Woke up feeling better today but had a slight background headache, you know the ones that just sit in your brain like a dull heavy ache that you just can't shake...but the rest of me felt great.

Made a big mistake by skipping breakfast (I wasn't hungry) and went straight round to a friends house after walking the dogs. I didn't get back home till 2 pm and I was starving, so I made myself 1.5 litres of green smoothie consisting of 3 bananas, strawberries and spinach which I drank through the afternoon. 

Well by the time 5 pm came around my head was throbbing so much it made me feel sick. So I made myself a cup of manzanilla (Chamomile) tea and retired to the bedroom. By the time the evening had drawn in my headache had gotten a lot worse, so I put myself to bed at 9 pm with 2 ibuprofen in my stomach and Tiger Balm on my forehead.

I know exactly what's brought this headache on as I make this same mistake EVERY time, like a fecking idiot by drinking decaf coffee, which I had quite a few cups of over the weekend. 
For some reason my body is very sensitive to caffeine and even a decaf coffee (which still has a small amount of caffeine in it...plus the awful chemicals they have to use to draw the majority of the caffeine out of the coffee beans) really messes me up when I stop drinking it and every time this happens, I get the headache from Hell. 

However, this is the last time as this doesn't fit in with my new raw lifestyle.

I really must make sure that I have breakfast in the morning for 2 reasons:

1) To get enough green smoothie into my body as, if I'm going to live off only green smoothies all day, I need the time to consume enough of them and not just in the afternoon.

2) I need to keep my energy up, otherwise my body will go into fasting mode...and I don't want to fast at the moment as I don't feel I'm ready for any major detox. This is something I will do further down the line.

Lesson learnt!

Hasta pronto

Day 21

Weight: 14 stone 3 lb

Lost: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 12 lb

Way-hay back on track again with another pound of weight loss. 

It's only taken me two days to get over my weekend...must be a sign of old age!

Been sticking to my green smoothies, and my morning smoothie consisted of strawberries, chard and mango...I made a whole 1.5 litres of this and drank this through the morning.

My second smoothie of the day consisted of 2 bananas, chard, 3 kiwis and a splodge of agave syrup. I made about 1 litre of this. I also ate 2 whole oranges, 2 dates, handful of olives and 6 macadamia nuts. This was my whole intake of food for the day.

I'm gradually going to increase my intake of green smoothies, as a friend who's been a raw foodie for many years has advised me that I should be drinking about 4.5 litres daily, as she does. This is the only way that I'm going to keep my energy up as we need to ingest a larger quantity of food on a raw food diet in order to get the calorie intake for your body to use.

As you can see in this photo I had my lovely cat, Polo, who kindly took the time out of his busy schedule (lying on the dining room table, sleeping) to appear alongside the green smoothie, just to make it appear more interesting.

Polo joined the Tribe about 10 months ago, where I found him in the chicken pen emaciated and eating stale bread. I managed to put him in a cat box and take him to the vet to be checked over and castrated. I looked after him, fed him up and brought him back to good health. 

10 months later, he's become the 2nd biggest cat out of the 6 that live in and around the house...he really landed on his feet when he appeared on my land and now he totally takes the pee and occupies my bed, the couch, the coffee table, the dining room table...he even beats up Tilly the dog, but she enjoys it!

I've been feeling much better as the day's gone on and my stomach is back to normal now, though, with the green smoothies...how can I put this...there's more trips to the toilet than usual as I appear to be digesting the smoothies very quickly and easily.

So there's no bloatedness or heavy feeling...my head is becoming clear, I'm beginning to feel more energised...I feel 'normal' again, and it feels good!

I intend to make a variety of smoothies to keep it interesting and I will share my favourites with you.

Hasta pronto

Day 20

Weight: 14 stone 4 lb

Added: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 11 lb

After my weekend of cooked food I added another pound. I'm not too disheartened because I know tomorrow that pound would've slipped off the scales.

It's amazing how raw food can make you feel emotionally, mentally, as well as physically of course...and talking of physically, I had terrible indigestion during the night and had to consume 2 Rennie pills to remove the discomfort. 
Since my first day on raw, there's been no sign of indigestion, which I used to suffer a lot from, but it had now seemed a thing of the past since removing cooked food from my diet.

So now I have another reason to stay raw.

Today I've been feeling tired, lethargic, lazy...not wanting to do anything with my day...mentally, I've been feeling depressed and fed-up, but for no particular reason and I can only put it down to the food and alcohol I consumed over the weekend.

But now I must bounce back, so I've been consuming green smoothies all day. My smoothies consisted of: spinach, bananas and strawberries...they were very delicious and made me feel better straight away.

I know tomorrow my mood is going to be so much better and my day more productive. I have decided for one week to only drink green and fruit smoothies as this is what I'm gravitating to...it feels the right thing to do, so I'm just going to go with it.

I've received kind words of wisdom from a family member saying, "Diets are a journey, some people take the scenic route but get there in the end." 

Well I know I may be going around the houses but I'm determined to reach my goal, even though I may get distracted now and again...focus is the key.

Hasta pronto

Day 19

Weight: 14 stone 3 lb

Added: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 12 lb

Well over the past couple of days I'm not surprised that I've added a pound, but at least it's only a pound in weight (but I still have to weigh myself tomorrow morning!). However, saying, that, I'm very confident I can take it off straight away when I go back onto raw and back into the gym.

Started off with strawberries for breakfast, then we went out for lunch and that was the end of my raw day. Lunch consisted of garlic bread, leek and potato soup, vegetable moussaka and panna cotta for dessert...all washed down with half a bottle of local wine...oh, and it gets worse...and a Baileys coffee for the final nail in the coffin!

All this cooked food and alcohol is playing havoc with my stomach...the likes I haven't felt since around Christmas time! It's like my body's rebelling and punishing me for my indiscretions.

Though I have had a lovely time with the family...food-wise it's been a disaster for me as I haven't built up a resistance towards peer pressure (though some of this pressure is self-inflicted) and as one of my friends pointed out... I am human after all!

I've always got a lot of pleasure from eating good food and drinking alcohol...and anything else that involves pressing the self-destruct button...but I fully realise after the past few days that if I REALLY care about my health, this cooked food lifestyle has to be terminated.

So tomorrow my family head back to the UK and my life returns to a more healthier way of being. 

Hasta pronto

Day 18

Weight: 14 stone 2 lb

Lost: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 13 lb

Isn't it amazing. I can eat two handfuls of gorgeous tasty chips, eat more salad than I normally eat, and STILL lose a pound in weight! 

So I'm now changing my raw food diet to a 'chip diet'...only kidding.

Well this is 'Day 2' of my confessions, so forgive me Raw Food Father, for I have sinned! I started off breakfast with a banana and some strawberries, so that started the day off brightly...but then it went downhill from there.

I took the family to a large shopping mall in Marbella, where we stopped off in one of the cafes for coffee and pastries. I didn't order a pastry for myself, but got talked into having a few bites of the pastries sitting on the table, which were absolutely delicious and 'to die for'...and you probably would if you ate too many!

After walking around the shops for a bit longer, the 'away day party' wanted to stop for an ice-cream...this time I didn't cave in one inch.

We then set off for Puerto Banus for lunch and this is where things went from 'not-so-good' to a little worse. Started off with a glass of wine to celebrate my uncle's birthday. Starter was a bowl of vegetable soup and my main was a caramelised goats cheese salad...which was very, very delicious and I didn't feel guilty eating it at all). Then it was dessert time...my auntie talked me into sharing a Knickerbocker Glory with her (Large ice cream Sundae), so I complied!

I ate a lot of the fresh fruit out of the Sundae, and only a few spoonfuls of the ice cream and whipped cream, but, as I was balancing it out with the fruit, I believe one was cancelling out the other (that's my excuse).

We then went for a stroll around the port to look at the luxury yachts, so I got a bit of exercise that way!

Back home, the carnage continued with another glass of wine, some crisps and Twiglets to nibble on. Later on in the evening my stomach felt very dodgy and I sloped off to bed feeling a bit queasy.

It's really hit home to me now how good my whole body feels being on a raw food diet, without the dodgy stomach and the lack of energy that cooked food inflicts upon you, so I will be making a hasty retreat and jumping back on the raw food wagon, trying not to fall off again...saying that, I may slightly slip tomorrow, (but still cling on) as my folks leave on Monday.

I feel I have let myself down a bit, but I also feel that it's been a good experiment to switch between the two foods and I realise now, there may actually be a 'no going back' attitude to eating cooked foods, for good...which, in a way is a relief, because if I did thrive on cooked foods, I'd have no incentive to stay raw!

Well, let's see how I get on tomorrow (Sunday lunch).

Hasta pronto

Day 17

Weight: 14 stone 3 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 12 lb

Jumped on the scales today and weighed exactly 14 stone 3 lb, so I think I've lost a couple of ounces since yesterday but I was hoping to reach 14 stone 2 lb...I will have to be more patient. 

Have family over from the UK staying with me and was doing great raw-wise...until dinner-time, when everybody wanted to have a fish 'n' chips take away! Now, have you ever sat at a dinner table with everybody eating fish 'n' chips and you have just got a salad, that you are so bored with... it's very hard I can tell you, and my resolve broke and I had two big handfuls of gorgeous-tasting, hot chips. 

I also have to confess that I indulged in a small beer while waiting in the fish 'n' chip shop with my uncle and earlier one glass of white wine before dinner, as everyone else was drinking Baileys and beer...I felt a bit left out! 
(Though I do believe that wine is actually raw: Is wine raw? Click here for more info)

I have to say I do feel guilty but I'm not going to torture myself over it as I can use this blog as my confession board.

I have to mention that over the past week I have been struggling to eat salads, and usually just have one small plate of salad and then I'm done. However, with adding the chips, I had two platefuls of salad and I really enjoyed eating both the chips and the salad together and I actually discovered my appetite again for food. So, in a sense, the cooked food stimulated my appetite to eat more raw food....and now I feel really stuffed and won't be eating (or drinking) anything else tonight!

I would rather be eating chips!

I have felt really good all day and I've been feeling generally lighter in myself...and it will be interesting to see how my body reacts from my indiscretions today. 
Like they say... tomorrow is another day and the new day gives us all a chance to start anew. (Which I will do).

Oh, BTW it rained all of yesterday, it rained all day today...and it's going to rain all day tomorrow, so the sun doesn't always shine over southern Spain! (It's difficult to stay raw when it's peeing down outside as well, as you just want comfort food and no matter how much I try to convince myself, there's no comfort in salad!)

Confessions over for now...

Hasta pronto

Day 16

Weight: 14 stone 3 lb

Lost: 1 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 12 lb

Well only 2 more pounds to go until I would have lost a whole stone in weight since January 1st...which I think is an amazing achievement for someone who is very short in the discipline department but has found determination to change.

Happy to see that I lost another pound this morning and it will be interesting to weigh myself tomorrow morning to see if I will be the same or will have shifted another pound.

Been thinking more about what I'm eating and even though I'm relatively new to the raw vegan lifestyle, I have read various books on it going back 15 years when I used to read my raw food books on the train, travelling from Brighton to London to my office job in Edgeware Road.

I definitely need to look at my fat content as I know I'm eating too many nuts and using too much olive oil, but new raw foodies tend to gravitate towards high fatty foods whilst weaning themselves off cooked food as it acts as a replacement for the cooked food they are no longer eating, giving a fuller feeling in the stomach after eating...which you shouldn't really get on a raw food diet as you're over-working your digestive system instead of being kind to it.

I have to say I'm totally, totally, totally bored with salads and I'm finding myself eating a lot of fruit (which I'm enjoying very much), so at least I'm eating something. Still drinking my green smoothies for lunch and I'm really enjoying the banana, pineapple and baby spinach leaf one.

I have a really good book called, Green Smoothie Revolution by Victoria Boutenko and it has some great recipes for various green smoothies, which I will be making over the next few weeks and sharing with you guys. 

Tomorrow I have some family coming over from the UK for the weekend and they will be staying with me in the house. This will be my first test of staying raw, as no doubt we will be going out for lunch and dinner when they are here. I'm not going to stress too much about it and if I can't eat 100% raw when I'm out, then it's no biggie. Stress can be just as damaging as being overweight, and I've got enough to deal with diet-wise at the moment, without heaping more pressure on myself to stay totally raw in restaurants.

Tune in tomorrow to see how things pan out.

Hasta pronto

Day 15

Weight: 14 stone 4 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 11 lb

Well I seem to have stalled at 14 stone 4 lb and my target of 14 stone by the weekend doesn't seem achievable now, not unless I put some duct tape over my mouth for the next 2 days which may please some people in the household but a girl will only go to certain lengths to diet!

I came across a book I bought a few years ago called The 80/10/10 Diet by Dr. Douglas N Graham,who has been into raw food for many years and has written this unique book on the raw food diet and what exactly we should be eating, which is 80% carbohydrates, 10% protein, and 10% fat derived from whole, fresh, ripe, raw, organic plants. He also discusses weight loss when embarking on a raw food diet:

"The first dramatic change that people frequently notice (when going raw) is a rapid and dramatic loss of weight. After they lose the initial water weight in the first week or two on the raw diet, many people find that they continue to lose weight, though much more slowly. It is likely that this subsequent weight loss represents a  loss of fat." 

He goes on to say, "As a rule, rapid weight changes always represent water weight losses or gain. Under no circumstances can anybody lose a pound of fat per day on any diet."

What I understand from this is due to the toxicity in cooked food, your body has to retain water to dilute toxins and when we switch to a raw food diet, your body can release the excess water and this accounts for rapid weight loss. Now the hard part starts for me where my weight loss will slow right down, but I will start to lose the fat. 

So I'm not getting disheartened that I haven't lost any weight for 2 days as I realise this rapid weight loss just simply couldn't continue and I'm quite relieved it has slowed. Now I'm looking at losing 2-3 lb per week which is realistic and will still keep me nicely on target for my ultimate goal of losing 4 stone in 6 months.

Ok, today I made a creamy and silky Ajoblanco (I know the photo looks like I've made a dessert and I promise you that the blue streak is on the glass not in it.) I just thought I'd be creative and photograph my soup in a Sundae glass instead of a dull bowl!

Not only does this make a tasty soup...but an incredible salad dressing as well! 

Ajoblanco is a popular Spanish cold soup from Malaga and Granada provinces...it normally has bread in it, which I have omitted for this raw version. It came about during the time of Moorish (Arab) rule in Spain.

Ajoblanco (Almond Gazpacho):

200g almonds 

7 tbsp olive oil

2 and 1/4 cups cold water

2 large garlic cloves

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

 

As I was busy this morning I didn't actually get to eat anything until about 3 p.m. whereupon I had a green smoothie (banana and spinach), a handful of olives and flax seed crackers. For dinner I drank half a glass of Ajoblanco and poured the rest over my green salad...lovely!

A member of the household had hot vegetable soup tonight and I will source a recipe for the raw equivalent as I'm missing my vegetable soups.

Hasta pronto

Day 14

Weight: 14 stone 4 lb

Total weight loss since day 1: 11 lb

I approached the scales this morning not feeling much lighter than yesterday, so had the feeling that my weight would be the same today, even though I was visualising 14 stone 3 lb...but I will drag this into my reality tomorrow!

Hauled ass off to the gym for a really good workout on the upper body and doing my usual total of 45 mins cardiovascular and I distinctly noticed that my thighs aren't as flabby compared to the start of the year. I've also noticed that I've started to develop a waist again and the t-shirt that I wore today is feeling a lot looser than before.

Popped over to see a friend today and took some of my scrummy almond cookies along which we had over a cup of peppermint tea. My friend thought they were delicious and this has encouraged her to keep her dehydrator...which she was going to sell.

It's been a cold day here today...I hate it when we have grey skies, reminds me of the UK, but back in the UK One has nice thick carpets, insulation, double-glazing and central-heating...so when you do come back in from the outside you can quickly warm up! In my house I have a wood burner in the lounge which I have to keep topped up and burning 24/7 if I'm to keep the house warm. 

We do have radiators in the house (which is a rarity in Andalucia) but they run off gas bottles which are stored outside and you could get through a gas bottle in a week  (17.50€) so it's cheaper to buy olive wood, which is slower-burning than other wood, in tonnes to last over the winter (November-end of March normally).

Of course, it's not as cold as it gets in the UK and we don't get the amount of rain but after living in Spain for 6 years now I think my blood has thinned and I have become a wimp to 'cold' weather! But saying that I don't need to wear a big winter coat and just go out in a 'hoody'!!

Very unimaginative on the food front today with a banana for breakfast, a green smoothie for lunch consisting of: pineapple, banana and baby leaf spinach, with ice thrown in. Dinner was a green salad with avocado and my Dijon mustard dressing.

I think I will make raw Ajoblanco soup tomorrow...I will divulge the recipe with a photo in tomorrow's blog.

Hasta pronto