Raw Food Potluck

Hello!! The Raw Food Potluck was amazing! For those that were there, Thank You!! For those that couldn't make it, let me catch you up!

At about 5:45pm I was setting up and concerned that people may not show up. Then Jerry Aiello walked in the room and I immediately was ok if it was just us because our conversation was so very engaging. When Derrick Nichols entered the room I felt relief that more people were coming and slowly but surely the room filled. Not as many people showed up as I expected, as many more had committed than showed up, but it was perfect the way it was. Everyone there had a common connection and that was our desire to be healthy and connect with like minded people. There were no sour apples and we all had a great time. I learned a lot and was able to share what I have learned as well. The food was absolutely amazing and the company couldn't have been better. There was multiple requests to have this as an ongoing thing and how unique it is to be in Pasco as most similar potlucks are located down in Tampa or even further south. I requested assistance from the members to find a location we can use that won't cost us anything. A few have taken that on and can't wait to see what they find.

I was finally able to share my results and people were amazed and excited to share it themselves. I lost 15lbs and my Total Cholesterol went from 226 to 176. My Triglycerides went from 192 to 86 and my VLDL went from the 38 down to 17 and my LDL went from 148 to 120. These results were in a month, I was told that this wasn't even possible with medication. I would like to encourage people to look at their diet when having health issues or even for preventative care. We can heal ourselves through nutrition and avoid all the nasty prescriptions that typically fix one thing just to mess up another area. I'm sure I will update this blog on occasion but this will be my last post for a bit as this completes... Eat It Raw!!!

Still Eating a Plant Based Diet!!

Sunday was the last day of my Raw Food diet. Since then I've had bread twice and cheese once. I enjoy the way I feel enough to overcome the cravings I have for the stuff that was killing me.
After having cheese on Tuesday I noticed I have been craving cheese. I also was aware that I had no cravings like this at all during my Raw Food diet other than the first week. It shows me the addiction to cheese is more than a flavor craving and it is something that is stronger. This actually makes perfect sense to me with what I have been reading about insulin levels dropping and our body craving the things that are worst for us so that we can get a spike of insulin for a comfort food feeling high. For anyone trying to cut back on the junk I highly recommend the natural supplement 5-HTP. It assists the body in keeping the insulin levels even keel so that you don't experience the crash and cravings for junk. Ask away if you have questions about this stuff. My experience with it has been amazing. Thanks for tuning in. See ya Sunday!!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

30 days up on my Raw Food Challenge!!

Sunday night I finished my 30 days on the Raw Food Diet!!!

I am happy to report that I fit into a size 32 for the first time in a long time and my weight is down 15lbs according to the same scale I used to get my weight at the first doctor visit. Yup, that's right I also got my blood work done to share the results of the 30 days. I am going to hold off on sharing these until my potluck to keep the anticipation up!!

I have added exercise in the last week and look forward to working through the rest of my fat and building some muscles to replace the fat I've lost. I have been sharing the Potluck like crazy and looking forward to a large turnout. I spent some time at A to Zinc Nutirtion Shop in Hudson today for some items in preparation of the meals I have planned for Sunday. This stuff is gonna be delicious!!!

In case you didn't get the memo the Raw Food Potluck is on Sunday July 29th at 6pm at the Days Inn in Port Richey on US19.
Chow For Now!!

Come to the Potluck!!

I have been very busy trying to work out the last details of my Potluck I will be hosting at the end of the 30 days. I am working with multiple people to secure a location. The Potluck will have anywhere from the 20 people, already commited, to 45 people max, I would think. I will be sharing things I've learned about how much nutrition is tied to health as well as the evidence based on my pre-blood work and then post. I will share how much my high cholesterol has dropped and how much weight I have lost.

I am working with Grassroots, in Tampa to figure out a way to get some of their raw meals catered in. I gotta say if someone wants to take a look at this type of lifestyle change or for a 30 day diet this is a place that can definitely assist you. Shannon and I got the Buddy Plan last week for the first time and are continuing our orders this week because they were that good.


This was a great example of a meal that comes from Grassroots. The meal was awesome
and that pink, spicy, sweet and sour sauce was one of the best sauces I have ever tasted.



 

I am really looking forward to seeing the eyes of friends, family and even the people I haven't yet met light up when they see how delicious healthy food can be and why the bad stuff isn't good for them. For years I have heard I shouldn't eat this or I should eat that but until learning why and what these unhealthy meals are actually doing to me I haven't been inspired to change my diet. I find with knowledge comes power and I am committed to empowering the people at my event. I have 4 or 5 friends that have been inspired by this lifestyle change and have also taken it on and many more that are very inspired and curious about what this Ex-Meat and Potatoes guy has taken on. My meetup group link is below. Please go ahead and register if you can attend on July 29th. The location will be updated very shortly.

http://www.meetup.com/The-Tampa-Bay-Area-Raw-Food-Group

Have I lost any weight?

I've been talking to my buddy, who has taken on a raw diet of his own, and he is disappointed that he has some how gained weight after sticking to a raw diet for two weeks. We are both perplexed at how this is possible and I wasn't able to give him much tips other than to measure his waist line and keep track of that over the pounds lost. I am, however, continually furthering my education around nutrition and have learned it's physically impossible to burn more than 1 pound of fat a day and typically if you are losing more than that, like previous diets we've been on, it is mostly water weight and/or muscle. Muscle loss is very common with any kind of diet because when your body gets hungry it is easier to break down muscle than the fat. The secret is adding exercise to your diet so that your muscles are force to expand and feeding yourself whenever you are hungry. The more muscle you have the quicker and more efficient your metabolism is and if you let your self get to hungry your body goes into storage mode and everything you eat, including healthy stuff, is turned to fat for storage because your body doesn't know when it will be fed again.

Are you saying theoretically I could actually lose more fat by eating more? Yes, I am! The types of foods I am eating, vegetables especially, can be eaten as often as you would like and you will still feel better, look better and lose inches off your waist line. I have numerous compliments about my weight loss and how great my skin is looking. I've never really had problems with pimples but they do pop up on occasion and I have noticed that I haven't had one pimple since starting this diet. I also started to get sick one day with a sore throat and I was better the same day and felt normal. I feel amazing and don't get tired until the evening, I no longer have mid afternoon crashes after lunch. I also have noticed and increase in my sex drive.hehe These are just a few of the benefits of my raw food diet.

Shannon and I getting ready to enjoy our meal from Grassroots

I know the title of the post is "Have I lost any weight?" and the answer is yes, almost 10 pounds so far and I am approaching the last hole on my belt so my waist is definitely thinning out. I never thought I could get rid of these love handles without a ton of exercise but I have noticed they are almost a thing of the past as I looked in the mirror this morning. Over half way there and super stoked!! I will be having a Raw Food Potluck to share my results and the location is almost confirmed so look for that update and join me in enjoying the delicious raw meals we have planned for it!!

Raw Cashew Cheese!!! Success!!

I made a Raw Cashew Cheese today and it was a success. This morning before work I put a cup and a half of Cashews in water to soak during the day. I'm finding it takes some planning to execute this raw thing smoothly and without constant duplication. My next few posts will be adventurous!!

When I got home from work I drained the nuts and put them into the food processor and chopped them into smaller pieces. Next I added a 1/4 cup of water, 2 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, two diced garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt with a dash of pepper. Okay and before processing all that you need to also add two tablespoons of Nutritional Yeast(I don't care if you never heard of it. You need this!!) Now Puree!!! You can taste it at this point and add anything you feel is missing, mine was perfect and I left it alone. For the next 24 hours let it rest somewhere cool in a covered bowl. Now it should be placed in the fridge and it will be ready to serve upon it getting cool. It will keep for 5 days.
Bammmm Delicious Cheese for the whole family!! You're welcome. :)

Another thing I can't wait to share is Grassroots. It's a Raw and Living delivery service that specializes in taste good meals with health and well being as it's focus. I am finding it to be a very caring company. Spencer, an owner of Grassroots, was very quick to reach by email and very helpful in pinpointing what will work best for Shannon and I for a week of their Raw Living Meal Plan. I surprised Shannon with this at dinner last night and we enjoyed the first meal tonight. I will tell you it was a treat. I will tell you more about our first meal and the second that we get tomorrow on the next post. Tonight I really wanted to focus on the Cheese recipe because I know it will give my friends a healthy alternative to cheese.

Vegan Pizza Birthday!!

Yesterday was Shannon's Birthday. With all the support she has given me over the last two weeks, also taking on the diet, I wanted to take her out to dinner at a restaurant I found online, Ozona Pizza of Palm Harbor. I initially was going to take her to a raw restaurant but when I stumbled upon this place I had to take her here. They have a very unique pizza that is Vegan and 100% gluten free(Yes, it is cooked). We had it with tomatoes, black olives, onions and eggplant. It was out of this world delicious!! I never thought I could have a pizza that was actually good for me and I would actually like it just as much. After we finished dinner we were introduced to an Ice Cream that is soy based and it rocked! I made friends with the owner. Thank you again Amanda for what you do and the amazing experience we had!!!!

Update: I wanted to share Ozona Pizza's website address. ozonapizza.com

Carrots with Peanut Butter?

Hey All, It's been almost a week since my last update. To say I have been busy would be an understatement between making 1,000 insurance packets for work next week and a lot of other commitments I have been working on. I am going to catch everyone up on what I have been eating on my raw diet.

I have never been big on Breakfast and usually skip it but I find in the world of health and nutrition it is not good for my body as it creates a starving mode every morning and my body begins to store everything as fat when I do eat even if it is healthy food. I usually start the day off with a piece of fruit or a carrot dipped in peanut butter. Yes, I will repeat carrot dipped in peanut butter. :) I make my own peanut butter with my juicer using raw peanuts and a few drops of peanut oil to make sure I can control what is going into my body, you can also purchase it this way, and then I put it in a container that I can use to dip from for a few days. I got tired of the celery and peanut butter after a couple of days and started dipping other vegetable in the peanut butter to see what I can come up with and holy cow I have discovered a new healthy snack. If you are taken back by this I encourage you to try it. I've mentioned Shannon, my girlfriend, doing this challenge with me and I gotta tell you she has requested carrots and peanut butter more than once and she is someone who would never pick up a carrot and eat it. Delicious!!!

For Lunch I usually have a Smoothy or my famous Hummus Wraps I've mentioned in other posts. The Smoothies are awesome and can also replace the dessert cravings for those who are accustomed to a daily dessert at the end of the day, like Shannon and her Milkshakes. For one serving combine a handful of frozen Strawberry's, a Banana, a heaping spoon full of Peanut Butter and half a cup of Almond milk. I also add a tiny tiny bit of raw Honey for flavor and it's amazing health benefits. Once this combination runs through your blender you will never stop making them. I enjoy it just as much as a normal ice cream Milkshake and will probably never make a Milkshake again having this available. The best part is this a complete meal with plenty of healthy protein and a ton of fresh nutrients for your body. Awesome!!!

My Hummus wraps are a staple for me on my Raw Food Challenge. What do you need and what is Hummus? Hummus is one of the most popular Middle Eastern dips with lots of good protein and nutritinal value. It has fat but it is the good fat that your body needs. Hummus can be used to dip raw vegetables and/or as a base for my Wraps. Prior to this Raw Challenge I would use a Pita bread and found my first day on the Challenge that I can substitute the Pita with a Romaine lettuce leaf. First, I put the leaf down and use Hummus to butter the inside. Next I add tomatoes, onions and some spinach. I then top it off with some oil and vinegar although this doesn't have to be used and often isn't.

This will give you an idea of what I have been eating. Next post I will be sharing my raw bread that can be used as a Pita with my Wraps. Stay tuned and thank for reading!!

Edit 7/7/12: Try Avocado slices spread on the Hummus wraps. Adds an additional flavor and provides a huge amount of nutritional value.