Here we are at Week One and we are super thrilled to begin, not knowing what to expect. Contrary to popular belief, there are a variety of dishes you can have
being raw vegan, however our journey would include consuming fruits and vegetables only. We wanted to eat the cleanest way possible to jumpstart the healing and reverse my husband's diagnosis of Type II Diabetes. This journey would be difficult, so we decided to make this a fast to grow spiritually and tap into the Power of God to push through. To prepare we went to the grocery store to stock up on fruits and vegetables that we would enjoy eating. We were also looking for an oil free dressing to use with our vegetables. Let's just say, I am still on the hunt for a good one. This is because 99% of the salad dressings on the market have oil. I did see a fig oil-free dressing I wanted to try but decided to use salsa fresca, guacamole, and avocado salsa as our dressing. If I go back to get that fig dressing, I will be sure to write about it.
Our fluid intake would only include water, dandelion tea, soursop tea, and green tea. As for water, the daily goal would be 1/2 gallon to 1 gallon a day to keep us hydrated. Dandelion tea has so many health benefits including being anti-inflammatory, reducing water weight, detoxifies the liver, and even helps with digestive health. Our goal was to aim for at least one cup a day. Soursop tea has a significant amount of benefits as well, including destroying cancer cells, anti-inflammatory, promotes digestive health, and the list goes on. Green tea is also a powerhouse as it regulates blood sugar, highly concentrated with polyphenols (Antioxidants & anti-inflammatory), and even boosts brain function. We plan to have at least 1/2 to one cup of the teas each day. To be honest, I was not able to have all of the teas in one day. There were some days that I would have two or three cups of tea and then my water. I would honestly find myself trying to catch up on the water intake after drinking so much fluid.
I knew just starting out, we would have to have an eating schedule that would keep us satiated, so we are eating between 8 am and 8 pm. My husband breaks his fast at 12 pm, which is a schedule he has followed for a few years now with intermittent fasting. Day 1 looked a little like this:
8 am : Acai bowl
11 am : 1 apple and dandelion tea
1 pm : Tomato and cucumber salad tossed in avocado salsa
4 pm : blackberries and blueberries
6 pm : Rainbow veggie wraps with guacamole and salsa fresca
This eating schedule gave us a chance to get full and feel satiated so we wouldn't feel hungry in between the larger meals. Around day 4, I noticed I started to eat less and didn't have to snack on fruit in between meals. I also noticed that I wasn't as thirsty and hardly ever made it past 1/2 gallon of water daily.
As far as the spiritual journey, I am in the prayer closet every morning for about an hour and always talking to God throughout the day. My mind is clear and I don't hear the noise. I immediately felt the mental clarity once we started eating this way. I have found a newfound energy this week and it is more energy than I have ever had, like EVER. I was able to do all of my household duties, homeschool the kids, cook for the kids, do laundry, workout, blog, take the kids outside and still have the energy to play with them. I can truly say when you eat alive foods, you become alive and vibrant. You simply cannot eat foods that are dead and expect to feel alive. You will likely feel bloated and tired while your body starts to break the lifeless food down. When you eat alive foods, there is a vitality that is renewed in you and I look forward to our energy levels as we continue.
Every day this week wasn't all pretty. Around day 4, I got a headache after my last meal and then the brain fog hit me. I started to feel some withdrawal from the foods my body was accustomed to having and I had to sit down for this to pass. To get through it, I had to have an apple and just sit there until the symptoms went away. After about 15 minutes, I started to feel better. I expect to feel withdrawal as we push through this fast. I am realistic and know that my body is pushing the toxins out to make room for the healing. A lot of times, people want the healing but won't make room for it. You may have to detox and go through some withdrawal to get some toxins out of the body. And that's ok. We definitely have to start normalizing the healing process instead of normalizing "treating the process" so we can deal with withdrawal, face it, and ultimately make room for empowerment. As a society, we have become reactive instead of proactive. We react to make changes in our life when problems arise or when we get confronted by unfortunate circumstances or diagnoses. We are not ultimately prepared. When in fact, being proactive about our health would save us from a host of ailments and chronic diseases.
One question I did get asked was "Where do you get your protein?". To be honest I get this question quite a bit and its a reflection of what we are being taught in society and a lack of knowledge for protein based plant foods. Plant foods have a nutritious profile of all vitamins and minerals including a large amount of protein. The amount of protein in plants is sufficient enough to meet our dietary needs. Plants are the primary source of protein. Animals for human consumption, when given their normal diet, eat plants. The animals then become the secondary source of protein after they are killed and eaten. Some of the largest animals in the world consume plants . For example, elephants, gorillas, giraffes, cows, and the list goes on. These animals show that there is a significant amount of protein in plants. We are taught to depend on the animals for protein when in fact we get it second hand from them. Consuming animal protein increases your protein levels by a huge margin as this is a more concentrated source of protein by eating the flesh. This large amount of protein is what is causing the many health problems we have today. Our bodies can only absorb around 20 to 25 grams of protein. The rest has to be broken down, processed, and excreted out in the urine. When you have too much protein, you will have high protein levels in your urine, which ultimately has a damaging effect on the kidneys. Excess animal protein does take longer to digest, so anything more than what your body can absorb will just sit in your gut until processed and now you are exposed to whatever the animal has been through.
It is also important to point out that most of us do not know the diet of the animals we are eating and just assume they are eating the best plants. Most of us also do not know the health conditions of the animals we are eating and just assume they were healthy when slaughtered. It is also fair to say that most of us don't know the mental state of an animal , yes they have feelings too, when they are slaughtered and how that even affects us. The body has to go through a lot when consuming animal protein, just to get some protein, when God has placed the exact amount of protein we need in the plants from the Earth. We just have to learn how to use them and add them to our daily diet. I can honestly say that I am still learning on this plant based journey and will share with you all what I learn along the way.
The likelihood of encountering someone with a chronic disease far outweighs an encounter with someone with a protein deficiency. It is very rare to encounter anyone with a protein deficiency as there is protein in almost everything. Our protein requirement declines rapidly after you are an adult, as the rate of growth and development declines. Note that protein is a billion dollar industry and it is not clearly explained how large amounts of protein fit as a requirement for adult health. Protein is indeed required for us to consume, however, the quantity in which it is consumed and needed can be found directly from plants. God did not create us to be dependent on any other species for life. God gave us everything that we need. It is already inside us and it is already around us. I am learning more and more of this as I spend time with our Creator.
We had a blast this week and our energy is through the roof. Looking forward to Week 2, where we will add some light exercise. So far, I am down 8 pounds this week and my blood pressure is doing amazing. My husband lost a staggering 17 pounds this first week and is so motivated to continue. His blood pressure readings have been quite good and lower than he would usually have, around 115/70. His fasting blood sugar levels have stayed in the 90's this week. We are looking forward to getting him off of blood pressure medications and reversing his Type II Diabetes diagnosis. Stay tuned for Week 2 update as the healing continues.