After going on vacation with a very good friend of mine and splurging just a little too much, we decided to try out a detox week when we got home. I had recently read a book about the energy you get from raw food and decided it was worth a shot. My friend, who's a vegetarian [1], making the raw food diet a bit easier for her, also jumped on board. We agreed to share daily notes on our meal plan, weight loss [2], and overall mood. The raw diet may not be for everyone, but my results were pretty incredible!
How I Got Started
Creating a grocery list was incredibly important, and it was my first step in figuring out how I was going to get through a whole week of raw food. I knew I needed to stock up on plenty of fruit, veggies [3], and nuts, but I also wanted some food variety.
After a quick Google search and walking the aisles of Whole Foods, I also tacked on balsamic vinegar, avocados, honey, raw bars, some dried fruit, and sashimi for the week. I planned out two to three servings of fruit for each day; veggies, avocado, and nuts to consume at lunch; spinach salads loaded with veggies for dinner; and snack bags of dried fruit and raw bars to carry with me throughout the day. I felt pretty good about my plan and how much fresh food and nutrients [4] I would be taking in on a daily basis.
How My Body and Mood Changed
When I started the raw food diet, I was ready to eat healthy, but it was a lot harder than I expected it to be. The first few days, I felt moody and had a slight headache as I detoxed from caffeine [5] and processed food. By day three, I was feeling a lot better and felt my energy levels begin to rise! Days four through seven were a lot easier, and I felt more in control of what I was eating and how I was feeling.
I began each day with some fresh berries, apples, bananas, honey, and almonds. Within hours, I was hungry and continued snacking [6] on cucumbers, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, and avocado. I consumed two or three raw snack bars a day, as I found myself to be continuously hungry while I followed this plan. I needed to make sure I had food around me constantly, and I felt as if I was eating all day long. However, when I added up the calories, I found the total was much lower than what I was eating previously, and everything I ate contained a lot less sodium. I made sure to get some sashimi or protein in the evening along with the nuts, as I felt this was the nutrient I was lacking the most [7].
I wasn't sure what to expect for weight loss, but I certainly was not prepared for the seven pounds that came off my body. I was on the phone every day with my friend, comparing our weight-loss notes, and we both were experiencing about a pound-a-day loss. This was probably the most surprising thing about the diet altogether. Even after completing the diet and going back to cooked food [8], the weight didn't come back on right away for myself or my friend. I think some of the weight was water weight that we were hanging onto post-vacation, but the rest was truly from flushing out our bodies with all the raw goodness.
Would I Do It Again?
As a detox, yes, but as a lifestyle, I did not find the raw food diet sustainable. I am a fan of eggs and chicken, and it would be very difficult for me to give up those kinds of foods long-term. And although I enjoy salads [10], cooking my vegetables and having a variety of recipes is something that I need. For example, one of my favorite recipes and staples is a healthy chicken noodle soup, and there's no way I could go for very long without it.
I will say that after the detox, I made an effort to eat more raw fruit and veggies, and I felt my taste buds were slightly reset, causing me to crave healthier, fresh food [11]. I do think raw food should have a strong place in everyone's diet, and I encourage all my friends to eat as much natural unprocessed food as they can!