7 Day Raw Food Rejuvenation Cleanse

As spring is approaching us and having recently removed all the mercury fillings from my mouth, I decided to embark upon a seven day raw food cleanse. If you know me or if you have read some of my previous posts, I often "flirt" with the raw food lifestyle and love to do cleanses as they are so balancing and they often give you a reality check on the importance of eating a high raw diet.

Some may be unfamiliar with a raw food diet.... 

 What is a raw or living foods diet? 

A raw or living foods diet is typically a lifestyle diet in which one eats a plant based diet consisting of foods that are not processed or heated above 118 degrees. It is said that food heated above this temperature have lost their enzymes and some of its nutritional value. Food that is not processed or heated retains its live enzymes and all the nutrients are in tact in its purest form. Food is prepared by blending, soaking, sprouting, dehydrating, freezing and chilling.  

I began my cleanse on March 1. I was able to enjoy, actually indulge in some fantastic foods that are easy to prepare. Some of the dishes are avocado soup, thai soup, thai pineapple salad, killer summer celery soup, mushroom Alfredo linguine, raw pasta with sundried tomato pesto, carrot cake and some very delicious smoothies, herbal teas, some fantastic energizing elixirs and fresh juices On days 1 and 2, I felt tired and irritable. However, on day 3 I awoke with energy and vibrancy but also with a sense of calmness and focus. This feeling remained with me throughout the duration of the cleanse. Yesterday the cleanse finished off but I don't really feel a need to start eating all sorts of cooked foods. One might think that I am dying to get my hands on something warm but I'm not. During the cleanse I discovered that I was naturally eating less because the food that I was consuming was so dense in nutrients that my body told me when it was time to shut off. Even though I have been vegetarian/vegan for some time now, I have never experienced this in the way I do with raw foods. I'm not sure if I'll ever be 100% raw, but doing these cleansing brings back those reminders to stay in the high raw zone. We often forget as we find ourselves consumed in day to day activities of busy schedules, eat and go as well as the social aspect of enjoying foods with others.  

From this cleanse, I have experienced a weight loss of 3 1/2 pounds, improved skin, reduction in skin candida (that's a whole new post), renewed energy and clarity. My weight dropped quickly the first few days and I dropped about 6 lbs. But, what I found the most interesting is that as I ate food naturally, that is in its natural state, my body confirmed for me what I thought my natural weight is. When I was heavy and began losing weight, I originally lost about 60 lbs. Because I had been overweight for most of my adult life, I had to experiment with weight and what worked best for me and my lifestyle. At my lightest weight, I was 123 lbs but I don't feel this is my natural weight. I conclude this from the way I felt, the effort it took to maintain this weight, the way I looked and my susceptibility to illness. After over 3 years of fitness that includes strength training, lots of yoga and cardiovascular training, I am still at it and enjoying it immensely. I have a lot of dense muscle. As we all know muscle weighs more than fat. I believe that if I didn't strength train, my body may naturally gravitate towards that 125-127 lb weight range but since I do train my body loves and like a magnet moves towards 135-137. Ideally, my body LOVES 137. I could not weigh myself for weeks and I will step on the scale: 137. During the cleanse, I was down to 134 and then my weight naturally stabilized and I finished the cleanse at 136.4. My body fat percentage is at around 18% which places me in an athletic category and I'm happy with that. With my lowest weight, I was at 12% which is lower than what I am comfortable with. 

All in all, I am so happy I chose to embark on this cleanse once again. Overall, I feel balanced and content. Here is some of the food I enjoyed over the past week....don't get jealous. These pics were taken with a phone so don't judge.

Fiesta Salad with Lime Cilantro Dressing and Avocado Soup

Summer Salad and Killer Summer Celery Soup

Thai Pineapple Salad and Thai Soup

Mushroom Alfredo Linguine

Questions? Recipes? I'm here to help. email: thepowertodogroupfitness@hotmail.com

Here's to rejuvenation.

Namaste.