Todd's Raw Journey:
2005
E-mail: tglasco4 at yahoo dot com
(not a clickable link to avoid spammers)
Todd's Raw Journey:
|
|
January 1, 2005
Saturday. Happy New Year to all! I had a really great day today. Our church bought a bunch of health tracts and after service we ate lunch and then went out into the community with them. I walked into this catholic church in the neighborhood and asked if I could do a health seminar for them. I told them it was about natural methods of dealing with cancer and diabetes. The reverend was very interested! He asked me to contact his superior which I plan on doing Monday. Some of the tracts talk about the benefits of Live Foods. It was great to share these things with people. My intake was: Breakfast:
2 cups of alfalfa sprouts, 1 tomato, raw sunflower seeds, olive oil and sea salt.
Lunch:
2 bananas, 1 apple, 4 clementines, raw trail mix, 4 turkish figs.
Dinner:
2 clementines, raw trail mix, 3 turkish figs, 2 medjool dates, 2 bananas.
Exercise:
none.
Peace and a prosperous new year to you.
Sunday. Still getting used to say "2005". Seems sort of strange to be living in a time called "the year 2005". Day 54 at 100%. Had a detox episode today. I have gotten to the point where I just embrace them, because I feel so good when they are over. I usually have 2-3 BM's per day. During a detox episode I have 4-8. I had 7 today. Also, I usually feel a lack of strength physically. I was only able to do one set of pushups and I ran "only" 5 and a half miles. It feels good to say that. Couldn't get up that last hill today. No big deal though. My intake was: Breakfast: 48oz of banana-date-nut shake, 1 pear. Lunch: 2 clementines,2 avocados, Green salad with raw tabouli olive oil and sea salt. Exercise: 5.5 mile run/60 pushups. January 5, 2005
Wednesday.Missed a couple of days as I was traveling. I came home today. Its always good to be home. I am spoiled in that alot of time I can work from home. Especially this time of year. It snowed today, it was a light snow. I had a really great run today in terms of the air quality. New Hampshire just has air of such quality its almost sweet. Its very light and fresh. I weighed in at 183lbs today, which is almost exactly what I weighed on my wedding day 20 years ago. As each day goes by I am more and more firmly convinced that going 100% raw was one of the best decisions I ever made. This is only the 57th day. I wonder at what my level of fitness will be after 6 months at 100%? This is the 9th month since I started my raw journey at the end of last April. My intake was: Breakfast: 3 clementines, 3 bananas, 1 navel orange, some pecans and raisons. Lunch: 3 bananas, 4 clementines, 1 avocado, 1 mango, some raw trail mix. Guess I was into fruit today. Exercise: 6.3 mile run/180 pushups. Peace. January 6, 2005
Thursday. Today was one of those days when I recieved a great blessing showered on me. A blessing that only a raw foodist can really appreciate (smile). Here in my area of New Hampshire there is this discount food store called Stan's. Stan's is a place that buys other stores leftovers and sells them cheap. Sometimes one can get a real bargain there if one searches. Yesterday, I went there and got 50lbs of organic apples for $5! Apparently the local apple orchards sell apples that fell off the trees for cheap. Stan's bought literally a few thousand pounds of them. Then I got a case (about 25lbs) of organic bananas for $5, six organic mangos for 59 cents each, 3 boxes of clementines for 1.99 each (if you know clementines they usually sell for $5 or $6 per box). There was a snow storm yesterday (we got about 8 inches), I happened to be near Stan's when it got bad and there was almost nobody in there. Stan's doesn't always get this type of stuff so I came along to the right place at the right time. I was so happy, the folks that worked there found it very funny because I looked like a guy that just hit lotto. To me though, fresh fruit and the good health it brings are far more valuable to me than any lotto. My intake was: Breakfast: Green salad, sliced mushrooms, 1 large avocado, some raw tabouli, olive oil and sea salt dinner: 4 clementines, 1 mango, 2 bananas, 1 apple, some raw trail mix Exercise: 70 chin ups/100 ab crunches/2x12 dumbell squats. Peace. January 7, 2005
Friday, Day 59 at 100%. We recieved about 8 inches of snow yesterday. The streets were relatively clear today. I had my best run in several years today. I picked up my pace and made the 6 miles a little faster than usual. It had to do with not only running technique but also the raw diet. I feel so fit and full of energy today. Yesterday too. I decided to make this an all-fruit day. I am finding that I am feeling like doing that more and more. I have to schedule my veggies otherwise I wouldn't eat them. I do crave them sometimes but its rare, like after a fast. I am reaching new levels of spiritual awareness also. The Bible seems so full of fresh revelations that I can't get enough of it. I am finding myself talking about diet, health and fitness to people more and more. Its a timely subject since there are literally millions of americans who are sick and on some medication or another. My intake today was: Breakfast: 64oz of banana-date-nut shake, 2 bananas, 3 clementines. Lunch/dinner: 2 bananas, 3 clementines, 1 mango, 1 avocado, 1 apple. Exercise: 6.3 mile run/200 pushups/2 loads of firewood uphill (about 100lbs apiece). Peace. January 8, 2005
Saturday, Day 60 of 100%. Well, today is officially 2 full months at 100% raw. I can truly say that 100% definitely makes a huge difference. The longer I stay at this level, the better my whole being becomes. I honestly didn't think it would make much difference going from 85-95% to 100%, but it really does. I didn't do any workout today. I preached at church today. The subject was "Destiny". We all have one or shall I say, I believe God has one planned for us. If we seek Him He will gladly reveal it. I can say for myself, its a plan I would not have made for myself, yet it is absolutely wonderful. My intake today is:
Breakfast: 1 green pepper, 1 large florida avocado, raw tabouli, olive oil and sea salt. Lunch: 32oz of banana-date-nut shake, 2 clementines, 2 bananas, some leftover tabouli. Exercise:none January 9, 2005
Sunday, Day 61 @ 100%. Detox again. Seems that whenever it comes it comes between Friday and Sunday. Its like my body is on a clock. I like that. I felt weak today. I ran though, its become addictive, something I need to do. I did the 10k trek in a pretty fast time. But it took all my energy. I could not do my usual pushups or other exercises. I did go for about a 3 mile walk with my wife later. That helped. The more fresh air the better. My head felt hot, like I had a fever and yet my body felt cold all day. I love this process, I really do. For I can feel in my own person, the change going on inside me. Change toward higher levels of health. They say that when a woman brings forth a child, right before she delivers, she is close to death. I am finding that is somewhat like the raw journey. Sometimes we must feel sick or weak (detox) in order for the body to become full of life. My intake was: Breakfast: 4 clementines,1 banana, 32oz of banana-nut-date shake (I added some juiced pineapple to freshen it up), raw trail mix. Dinner: 5 clementines, 1 apple, 1 mango, a mix of one shredded apple, 1 small box of organic raisons, some crushed walnut in a bowl. Exercise: 6.3 mile run/3 mile walk. Peace. Monday, Day 62 @ 100%. Fasted today. I needed it, more for my spirit than for my body. It was good. I am in a mode where I am waiting on the Lord. Christians would understand what I mean, He has given me direction and now He wants me to just sit and wait for further instructions. I get great comfort from the Psalms at times like this....here are a few verses that may also help others in my position: Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him [cometh] my salvation. 62:2 He only [is] my rock and my salvation; [he is] my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. 62:5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation [is] from him. 62:6 He only [is] my rock and my salvation: [he is] my defence; I shall not be moved. 62:7 In God [is] my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, [and] my refuge, [is] in God. 62:8 Trust in him at all times; [ye] people, pour out your heart before him: God [is] a refuge for us. Selah. This was from Psalm 62...one of my favorites. My intake today was: 32oz of water. Exercise: 3 mile walk/75 chinups/115 ab crunches/42 dumbell squats. Peace. January 11, 2005
Tuesday, Day63 @ 100%. Sometimes being spontaneous can be so much fun. It can be like a breath of fresh air. I like to do it once in a while. I never plan to, but it just happens. Today, for example, it was about 25 degrees, clear sky, light wind. Cold and crisp, a perfect New England winter day. I was running, the roads were dry and at about the 2 mile point I thought "why not try for a longer run today?". I had mapped out a route of slightly over 8 miles about a week ago. I felt soon I would attempt it. I didn't plan on trying it today. But there I was. At about 6 miles I thought "I must have been temporarily insane to do this" and at about 7 miles, my left knee began to hurt badly. I began to run with alittle more kick hoping it would work itself out. It did, thank the Lord. But because I wanted to make sure I could run again on Thursday (its supposed to be 55 degrees, a regular heat wave here), I stopped at the 7.5 mile point. I felt great!! I know soon I will be running the 8 miles but I am not going to risk injury by pushing myself too hard. I will return to my 6.3 mile route on Thursday and may do this one again one day next week weather permitting. I believe I can officially say I have the running "bug". I am hooked. Needless to say, I had a great run today. My intake was: Breakfast: a mix of, 2 shredded apples, crushed walnut, 3 sliced bananas, raisons. (I flavored the crushed walnut with a little sea salt). It was delicious! Lunch: Romaine lettuce with shredded carrots, raw almond pate and raw tabouli. (normally I would have eaten more fruit at this time but my wife had all this prepared for me). It was also delicious. I may have a mango later....I really have a taste for some fruit. Exercise: 7.5 mile run/300 pushups. Wednesday, day 64 @ 100%. Today was a day of what I call Mercy Drops. Whenever I am in a financial trial, I always know the Lord will eventually deliver me (He always does, He never fails). But sometimes during the trial I ask for a small token of His presence. This, along with the promises in His Word, reassures me and gives me peace and strength in tough times. Tuesday I was having a real taste for fruit, specifically some fresh squeezed OJ. Under normal conditions I buy 2 cases of organic valencia oranges each week, but they cost about $60 apiece so at this point that was out of the question. I found out Monday that my account was overdrawn by over $100. So now I had no money. We had plenty of stuff to cook for the family but as far as raw, I had the apples and bananas. So its not like we were starving but Monday night I prayed to my Heavenly Father and asked for a small mercy drop as a token of His presence with me and my family. Well, Tuesday morning, I recieved some revelations concerning my future from the Word of God. That was exciting. Then I had what for me was a record run of 7.5 miles. That was great. But that wasn't what I was looking for. So, Tuesday evening I prayed and thanked the Lord for what He did give me that day. When I got up Wednesday morning, something told me to check my account online. I was afraid to look because I knew it was overdrawn. When I finally did look, to my surprise, someone had wired $180 into my account!! I looked to see who it was, as it turns out, it was the company we get our children's homeschool dvd's from. I don't know why they did it, or even how they knew my account because they never did that before. Then I looked to see the date when it was done, it was the day before, on Tuesday! God is so good, but thats not all. I ended up with $40 to do some shopping. I decided to go to Stan's (where I had gotten such a tremendous deal on the apples and bananas). The goal was to get some salad stuff since we where running low. Well, when I got there, I was able to get some organic lettuce and some cucumbers, potatos and onions. I asked someone there who recognized me from last week about clementines. She said they had none, but they did have oranges. The lady called the manager, no this is funny. The manager took me into the cooler. She had some organic navel oranges. She said that was all she had. She said I could have a case for.........$6. Well, now I am getting bold, see there was a closed case next to the open case and I notice that the closed case was valencias, organic valencias. I say to her "How about I give you $10 for 2 cases", now I know she must have thought I was crazy. She says to me "No way, I can't do that" Then I say "OK. How about 2 cases for $11". She laughs hard and says "Ok". I notice under the case of Valencias was another case of valencias. I tell her I want that case. She says to me she has not inspected it yet, she rips open the top and the first orange we see was rotten. She says "OK, you can have both cases for $10" As it turned out, that one orange was the only rotten one in the whole 2 cases!! I got two 40lb cases of organic valencias, that would normally cost me $120, for $10....only my Jesus could do that for me! I had such a warm and confident feeling Wednesday night as I was enjoying my second 32oz glass of fresh squeezed, organic OJ! My intake was: Breakfast: Apple-banana-walnut mix (one bowl). Raw tabouli. Lunch: 2 apples, some raw tabouli, two-32oz glasses of OJ (Delicious). exercise: 125 ab crunches (light day). Peace and blessings to you all. January 14, 2005
Friday, Day 65 @ 100%. The weather was bad. As it turned out I could not run at all. It was very icy out. There was also heavy fog. I have been spoiled having gotten to mid-January in New Hampshire without having to miss a scheduled run. So I couldn't complain too much. But I am getting so addicted to running that I wanted my "fix"..lol. I ended up doing 250 pushups and calling it a day. My intake was: Breakfast: Romaine lettuce, one cucumber, raw tabouli, olive oil and sea salt. Lunch/dinner: 2 bananas, 1 apple, raw trail mix. 32oz of OJ. leftover tabouli. Exercise: 250 pushups. Peace. January 15, 2005 Saturday, Day 66 at 100% raw. Great day today. We had communion at church. One of our members, made the bread from the bible recipe for unleavened bread and I made the juice from the champion juicer of pure grapes. We had a foot washing ceremony. It was so spiritually uplifting! After the service we went out into the community and handed out health literature on Living Foods and the 8 natural laws of health. Later we had a fantastic bible study at the local prison. The men there really appreciate getting into the bible! Just a totally wonderful and satisfying day. My wife dehydrated some bananas and apples, wow, I didn't realize how delicious that stuff is dehydrated. I wasn't the only one who enjoyed it and needless to say, she made a lot of it but it didn't last thru the day. My intake was: Breakfast: 28oz of OJ. 32oz of banana-date-nut shake. Lunch: 3 bananas, 1 apple, 3 valencia oranges, dehydrated bananas and apples, raw trail mix. later: leftover tabouli, raw trail mix, the last of the dehydrated fruit. Exercise: none January 16, 2005 Sunday, Day 67 at 100% raw. For about the last 3 or 4 weekends, my body has been going thru a cleansing process. It always starts on Friday and goes until Monday. I always have more than the usual BMs and I feel a little weaker than normal. I know it has to do with being raw. Its like my body is on a timer and it always starts on Friday. I say this for anyone else who may be experiencing something of this sort. I feel its part of the detox process. So today, because I was feeling a little weak and kept having to eliminate, I kept delaying my run until it was too late to go. I am definitely running on Monday. Oh and one other symptom, my bodyweight always shoots up on Friday and by Monday is back to normal (whatever normal is at the time). For example, these days, "normal" is between 183 and 185lbs. On Friday, my weight was 190lbs, by Sunday night, it was back to 187lbs and I am sure it will be 185 or lower on Monday. Its weird but part of the process. My intake was:
Breakfast: 16oz of OJ, 32oz of banana-date-nut shake, bowl of raw fruit-nut cereal. Lunch: Raw tabouli, alfalfa sprouts, one orange sweet pepper, one cucumber, olive oil and sea salt. later: 32oz of OJ Exercise: 60 chins/63 dumbell squats/125 ab crunches. Peace January 18, 2005
Tuesday, Day 69 at 100%. I was on the road yesterday. Looks like our famine stage is soon to end. Invested a very large amount for some clients yesterday. I should get paid in a few weeks, Happy day!! Then we will do our 30 day juice fast. My wife is now chomping at the bit to do it. She talks about it daily. This is going to be really nice when we do it. It will be me, my wife and my oldest daughter (age 12). Because I was on the road all day and into the night, I didn't get to exercise. I am bumming because I really, really want to run (its like a fix I suppose at this point) and because its been below zero for the last few days, I haven't been able to. I am really determined that if its at least 10 degrees on Wednesday, I will run. My intake was: Breakfast: one yellow sweet pepper, one cucumber, some romaine lettuce, raw tabouli with olive oil and sea salt. Some dehydrated bananas and apples. (I am not going to go into this dehydration thing too hard, although the fruit was absolutely delicious!). Lunch: 32oz of OJ dinner: 2 avocados, 1 mango, 1 apple, 2 bananas, raw trail mix. Exercise: none. January 19, 2005
Wednesday, Day 70 @ 100% raw. I finally ran today. It was 10 degrees out but I didn't care, I was going crazy without my run. Now I know I have this running jones badly. My left knee really started giving me problems again after about 4 miles. I am going to cut back on the distance for at least a month. I feel that I am adding distance at too fast of a rate and not allowing my body to adjust. I really thought my biggest issue would be getting winded. But, with the help of 100% raw diet, its not an issue at all. That is where I think I may be getting caught up in doing too much too soon. So, I am going to cut my distance to between 3 and 4 miles for at least the next month or so and see how it goes. My intake was: Breakfast: one bowl of Raw apple-banana-nut cereal, one mango Lunch: One Large Florida avocado with almond pate on top. One banana. 32oz of OJ Exercise: 5.5 mile run. Peace. January 20, 2005
Thursday, Day 71 @ 100%. Unexpected running around today. When I first started on my raw journey, this may have been difficult. But not now. One of the keys to success early in the journey is to know your schedule and plan ahead of time. That way you are prepared foodwise for whatever comes up. I recieved another great blessing today as well! I ran out of Olive oil yesterday. Now, if you have been following my journals, you know I really use olive oil alot. In fact, I am not sure how often I would actually eat veggies without olive oil and sea salt. But high quality olive oil is very expensive. Well, I saw this coming on Tuesday, and I heard a voice tell me "Call Sister Johnson". Now sister Johnson is a sweet, kind elderly lady that I used to assist with our church community service program when I lived in Connecticut. We used to go collect food items from a program called "Foodshare" and distribute it to those in need. Things like olive oil were rare though. Anyways, I forgot to call her Tuesday (while I was in Connecticut), and didn't remember until I got home. Again I live about 2.5 hours away from her. Well, yesterday I got a call from a friend who had been borrowing my car. He was actually going to purchase his own car, but he had to register the car. Well, if anyone has ever gone thru a registration process (especially here in New England) if you don't have all your paperwork in proper order, be prepared to be waiting in lines and running around. Such was the case with my friend. Since he was tired he asked me to drive him. Well, we ended up going from New Hampshire to the DMV, to Connecticut 2.5 hours away for a copy of his birth certificate. On the way to Connecticut, I think we were in Vermont when I heard the voice say again "Call sister Johnson", I remembered I didn't call her on Tuesday so I picked up my cell phone and called her. After we got my friends birth certificate I met her at the church. When I walked in she had a warm hug, a big smile and a 100oz can of high quality olive oil waiting for me, she asked "Do you like this brand?" I said "Absolutely!" She then reached into the cabinet and gave me another identical can of Olive oil. Two 100oz cans of pure italian olive oil for free!! Not only that, she gave me two large bags of dried cherries, some crushed walnuts and some raisons. I made a banana-nut-cherry shake with them when I got home (delicious!). I ended up getting home around 8pm after leaving the house at about 10am. No exercise today, my knee was still sore although I was very relieved that it did not swell at all. Which means that I didn't damage it. At this point the wise thing to do would be to run again on Sunday and perhaps walk on Friday. I want to be fully ready to do the 4 miles hopefully pain-free. I will probably do a workout on Friday that will be an eclectic combination of my usual workouts (which means I will do both pushups and chins although less sets of each) because I haven't had the workouts I am accustomed to with not being able to run. So, my on-the-run intake yesterday was: Breakfast: 2 small avocados, one cucumber, one head of romaine lettuce, raw almond pate, olive oil and sea salt. lunch: Ground walnuts mixed with dried cherries and raisons. 2 apples. one Banana dinner: 56oz of banana-nut-cherry shake (I am out of dates....for now). Exercise: none January 21, 2005
Friday, Day72 at 100%. Decided to rest from running today. The knee was about 95%, but it was below zero all day also. I figure it would be better to wait until Sunday. There was one point today when I nearly started to get dressed for the run, but I caught myself. I really miss it when I can't run. Its terrible this need I have to do it. I really have to be careful so as to not injure myself in my joyful zeal to run. My intake was normal today. Breakfast: one sweet red pepper, one head of romaine lettuce, some raw tabouli, some leftover almond pate. olive oil and sea salt. Lunch: Some dehydrated banana chips, 64oz of banana-cherry-apple-nut shake (delicious). One banana. Exercise: 120 pushups/30 chin-ups/100 squats/125 ab crunches Peace January 22, 2005
Saturday, Day 73 at 100%. Nice quiet day. Had a truly wonderful time at church. It was very cold (below zero most of the day). Got unexpected exercise today. My wife suggested I bring in firewood as she had a sneaking suspicion we may run out of oil this weekend. So I brought in enough wood for the weekend (about 3.5 large garbage cans full- approx 75lb each). My weight jumped up to 191lbs (from 183 2 days ago). I don't know why, except it always seems to happen at this time of the week. I think as my body continues to adapt and clean itself out on the raw diet, this will continue to some degree. I am expecting the whole on and off episodes of detox to last at least the next 2 years. So, whatever comes I will just roll with it. My intake was: Breakfast: 1.5 bowls of Raw Apple-banana-raison-nut cereal. Lunch: 2 mangos,one banana, 64oz of banana-cherry-nut shake. Exercise: 3.5 loads of firewood into the house. Peace. January 23, 2005
Sunday, Day 74 at 100%. Well, my wife was right. At about 2am the oil ran out. Good thing we had plenty of firewood this morning as it was below zero out. While the kids ate hot oatmeal and toast, I feasted on my raw nut trail mix. There is about 20 inches of snow outside. I will be getting some outdoor exercise today, no doubt.... Well, I didnt think the oil guy would be able to make it up our mountian with his truck in 2 feet of snow. But, thank God, he did! We got oil and heat. The hot water was still not working, (I will have to work with the hot water heater, but we should be fine by tommorrow). My intake today was: Breakfast: Raw spinach, one cucumber, mung bean sprouts, raw sunflower seeds, crushed walnut, all with olive oil and sea salt. Some raw trail mix. Lunch: one banana, large bowl of raw tabouli. Exercise: About half and hour of shoveling snow (many hands make light work!), 50 chinups. Peace. January 24, 2005
Monday, Day 75 at 100%. It was 10 degrees out today, sunny and very little wind. Excellent for a run!! I did a 4 miler. What a great time I had. My knee started to be sore just a little after about halfway thru, but I think it was due to not running in more than a week. After the run, I felt great! I was tempted at one point to just go for the 6 miler but again, wisdom over-ruled. Thank the Lord because I probably would have been hurting again. But the 4 miles was just right. I did 2 sets of pushups outside, it was great!! It makes a huge difference when the sun is shining, no matter what the temperature is, both physically and mentally. I am going to stick with this distance until I get some good running shoes, probably another 6 or 7 more runs at this distance. The plan is to do that and then do about 7 runs at 6.3 miles in the new kicks and see where I am at that point. I really want to be doing 10 miles. I want this 4 mile run to be like it feels to a person who does marathons regularly, like a warmup. The raw lifestyle is great!! I ended my usual Monday fast much earlier today, spousal request. Wives have a way of causing a man to change his routine from time to time especially a wife as pretty as mine. So my intake today was: Breakfast: 32oz of water dinner: 32oz of OJ, 2 apples, some raw trail mix, 2 bananas. Exercise: 4 mile run/230pushups/24 dumbell curls Peace. January 27, 2005
Thursday, Day 78 @ 100%. I didn't journal for 2 days. On Monday a pipe burst in our basement. We have not had running water until this morning. Thank the Lord some friends of ours came and fixed it. I didn't even know why the water wasn't running since the damaged pipe was in the crawl space. But they figured it out. I couldn't exercise, because I didnt want to get sweaty since I couldnt take a shower......lol. I was able to bring a hose into the house to flush toilets and clean dishes, but with the temps in the single digits man that water was cold! So this morning it was below zero and as soon as the temp went to 10 degrees I was out there running. There was a wind chill today so even though it said 10 degrees on the thermometer I can guarantee you it was below zero out. I felt a burning sensation in my nose. I tell you I didn't even care. I had a GREAT run. No pain in my knees at all... zero. I am definitely going to stick with this 4 mile distance for a couple of weeks. Although I must admit, I feel like I got more of a workout and more satisfaction at 6 miles, I know I will be back there soon. For the last 2 days, my diet has been what it has been for the last week or so, bananas, apples, nuts and raisins mostly, with some raw tabouli for a treat. My intake today was: Breakfast: 2 bananas, raw trail mix. Dinner: 64oz of banana shake. Bowl of raw tabouli. Exercise: 4 mile run/3x24 dumbell curls January 28, 2005 Friday, Day 79@ 100%. Received an unexpected mercy drop today. I was able to go shopping for some fresh produce! I felt like a mouse in a cheese factory! I bought pineapples, mangos, strawberrie, sweet peppers...I just went off. I was running around all day so I didn't get to work out. But I was rejoicing. Also, I discovered something, I have begun using some cayenne pepper in my salads and/or tabouli. It started when we lost heat this past week. I tell you the truth, it was like eating warm food to me! I really enjoyed. I had not used it since before my juice fast in September. But I really enjoyed it now. My intake for today was: Small bowl of raw tabouli with cayenne pepper. 2 bananas. A little banana-apple-walnut raw cereal. (My wife made it, seems her and the kids have really gone crazy with it now. Its being requested as a regular part of breakfast. LOL). Dinner: Large green salad with sweet peppers, clover sprouts, avocado. Raw almond pate. Olive oil, sea salt and cayenne pepper. Exercise: none Peace. January 29, 2005 Saturday, Day 80. Had a delicious breakfast of veggies with avocado today. I am suspending my use of bulgar wheat (after today) due to questions about its rawness. I do want to be 100% raw, even though I don't want to be 'pharisaic' about it. I am curious as to how my body will react without it. Its interesting that I seemed to just discover the benefits of using cayenne pepper in the cold weather, just when the questions about tabouli arose. The bulgar wheat represented a hearty winter meal. But I can substitute either steel cut oats (I think they are raw..lol) or just sprouts and have cayenne in them with the same affect. My intake today was: Breakfast: Green salad, 2 avocados, one sweet yellow pepper. olive oil and sea salt. Lunch: 2 avocados, bowl of "raw" tabouli, 2 bowl of banana-apple-nut cereal (I used some cashews with the walnuts----DELICIOUS), one mango. exercise: none. January 30, 2005 Sunday, Day 81 @ 100%. Had a really great run today. It was around 40 degrees, really sunny. Perfect New England winter day for a run. It was difficult for me not to run 6 miles today. I wanted to so badly. I felt great, the weather was great, but I resisted the urge and just did 4 miles. I am glad I did, but I look forward to doing 6 miles again and moving on from there. Had a feast today food-wise. My wife mentioned how she can't wait to do the 30 day juice fast, then my daughter said the same thing. But then my son said he wanted to do it and then the biggest surprise, my youngest daughter said "If my family is doing it, then I am too!"....so it looks like the whole Glasco family will be doing a 30 day juice fast starting sometime in the next few weeks! Its exciting! I tell you, there is no power greater than a living witness. My intake today was: Breakfast: half a large cucumber, one head of romaine lettuce, one tomato, one sweet yellow pepper all with olive oil, sea salt and cayenne. (I was totally stuffed). Lunch: 4 clementines, sliced pineapple with crushed cashews (ate a little too much pineapple), 64oz of pineapple-banana-nut shake. exercise: 4 mile run/100 pushups/72 dumbell curls. Peace. January 31, 2005
Monday, Day82 @ 100%. Today was my fast day. The temps reached 50 today. Very surprising, it was a gorgeous day. Went for a nice walk with my wife. Didn't have much water today (I should have). So the intake is simple: Nothing. Exercise: 60 chins/125 ab crunches/ 3 mile walk. Peace.
February 1, 2005
Tuesday, Day 83 @ 100%.I can't believe its February already! I ended up being busy today. But I still got in my run!! It has been great weather-wise this week. Lots of sunshine. Had an excellent run and its getting very easy to do now. Another 2 weeks and I will be ready for the 6 miles again. I learned alot about quinoa today. The internet is simply amazing with all the information at one's fingertips. Its like something out of Star Trek (lol). My intake today was: Breakfast: one large florida avocado, one yellow sweet pepper, one half a euro cucumber, one tomato, some romaine & onion, with olive oil, sea salt and cayenne. Dinner: 4 bananas, another large florida avocado, some dehydrated banana chips. Exercise: 4 mile run. Peace February 2, 2005
Wednesday. Day 84 @ 100%. I was chilling today. Then went out later for some food shopping. I love food shopping. My wife hates it which is really cool. Of course, being a raw foodist, I especially love the produce section. I sometimes feel like some sort of connoisseur of fruit and veggies, because certain fruits/veggies look better than others depending on when you arrive. Yesterday for example the clementines looked fantastic. I wasn't intent on buying them before I got there but I just couldn't pass that up. The pineapples looked good in another store, but I had already blown my budget and could not get them this time..But I love the overall experience! I feel like a kid at christmas time getting new toys. My intake today was: Breakfast: Large green salad, with broccoli sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, one yellow sweet pepper, olive oil, sea salt and cayenne. Lunch: 2 bananas, 2 avocados, 4 clementines, couple of handfuls of raw almonds. Exercise: 3 mile walk/80 pushups outside/100 leg presses outside on the steps. Peace. February 6, 2005
Sunday, Day88@100%. I haven't journaled in a couple of days. Its been like a whirlwind. We had a guest evangelist come to our church this weekend. He was great! I was priviledged to have him stay at my house. Things like this stop me from doing my regular routine. So, I didn't get to exercise Friday or today. Today it was in the mid-50s. An absolute perfect day for a run. But alas, I didn't even have time to do it. We had other company besides the evangelist and a board meeting today. Well, :sigh: hopefully, I can run and workout tomorrow. My intake was hard to gauge today but I know it was all raw: Breakfast: 3 bowls of salad with sweet peppers, raw spinach, cucumbers, olive oil,sea salt and cayenne. Lunch: Bowl of raw cereal with crushed almonds and raisins. 2 bananas. dinner: more salad, raw trail mix later: 3 clementines. exercise: none. Peace. February 7, 2005 Monday, Day 89 @ 100%. I am keeping up with the days of 100% raw until I reach day 180 (that would be 6 months). I feel by then I will be a certified 100% raw foodist. Plus I just want to see what overall changes have come to me. Well, today I got some running shoes! I decided on New Balance. Its actually the first pair of actually running shoes I have ever bought. I always get basketball sneakers because before I moved to New Hampshire, that was my game. I guess this signals a change of game...lol. I didn't fast today because my wife and I are starting a 30 day juice fast on this Thursday. I bought alot of fruit. The price of the organic oranges have drastically reduced from the fall. The price is about half what it was in October. I ordered 2 cases. I also bought alot of cucumbers for the fruit juices and other things. I am pretty psyched to be doing this again, especially for my wife. She has allergies and we both feel that this will get rid of them. Officially we are going from Feb 10th to March 11th. Of course I will keep you posted. My intake today was: Lunch: 4 bananas, 1 apple. dinner: 4 haas avocados, 3 clementines. Exercise: 4 mile run Peace February 9, 2005 Wednesday, Day 91@ 100%. Where do the days go? They move by so fast, I missed Tuesday. Yesterday I was on the road all day. I carried my food with me. I had to leave early and could not get my run in. I was hoping to get it in on Thursday, but then there is a huge snow storm expected, oh well, now I have a chance to try something someone suggested; running my stairs in my house. I will try it for 30 minutes and see how I feel. I am hoping to be able to run again by Friday. I am planning on doing 2 more 4 mile runs before increasing the mileage back to 6 miles. I plan on keeping it at 6 miles for 7 runs, maybe 8 before going back to 7.5-8 miles. I am excited to try out my new running shoes.. My intake yesterday was: Breakfast: Green salad with assorted small sweet peppers and avocado, olive oil, sea salt and almond pate. Lunch/dinner: 7 clementines, one haas avocado, one large florida avocado, 2 bananas, raw trail mix (which was predominately raw cashews and raisins), and about 8 turkish figs. (I also brought a mango with me but was too full to eat it). Exercise: 32 chin-ups/120 pushups. Peace. February 10, 2005 Thursday, Day One of the Juice Fast. Easy day. My body was in the midst of a detox today, so starting the juice fast could be either really good or really bad depending on how one looks at it. I think its really good. I wanted to run today but the blizzard kept me inside. Actually I would have run anyways but I didn't want to be in the way of the snow trucks. I ran my stairs instead. It was a really good workout. 100 roundtrips up and down 2 flights. I didn't do the salt flush today, got up late and flirted with my wife until almost noon. Figure I will do it tomorrow. My wife wants us to take "before" pics tomorrow. Its more for her than me but I think it will be interesting to see how we change in the next 30 days. I was with a client last night (actually a family of 3, husband, wife and grown daughter). I told them about the juice fast. They decided to do it for lent! (they are catholic). They asked how to buy a Champion juicer. When I told them they could get it online, they were doing it that very night! Unbelievable. I am going back there next Tuesday to coach them. This is all so very good. My intake was: Lunch: 64oz of fruit juice (delicious combo of orange, clementine, pineapple, cucumber and mango). Dinner: 70oz of veggie juice (another delicious combo of, carrots, apples, cucumber, romaine, tomatoes, 2 sweet peppers,sea salt and cayenne). Exercise: 180 pushups/40 chins/24 dumbell curls/125 ab crunches/100 roundtrips on the stairs. Peace. Friday, Day 2 of the Juice Fast. It was a little humorous today. I am making all the juices (with the help of my 12 yr old daughter who is also doing the fast....she is quite the little trooper). So this morning I am chopping up all the fruit in preparation for the juice, while my daughter is doing the oranges for the base. I have all this fruit out, pineapple, pears, plums, red grapes, clementines. I am thinking "I know I am missing something". I can't remember what it is. Now my wife is letting me know that she is getting hungry so I hustle to get the juice prepared. Well, I finished and we are all enjoying it. It was DELICIOUS by all accounts. But my wife tells me she is beginning to feel sick. Apparently she chug-a-lugged the 64oz of juice. Bad idea, which I had learned from my first 30 day fast. Never drink the pure juice of that quantity quickly. Both the fruit and veggie juices are very powerful. It usually takes me about an hour or so to finish mine. Just then I realized, what I had forgotten, CUCUMBERS! Never do large quantities of fruit juice without cucumbers (not even small quantities if you are diabetic). The sugar will give you a crazy rush and then you will crash hard. The cucumbers take away that affect and you have not only a delicious juice, but no sugar rush at all. This way diabetics can do a juice fast and get all the great benefits (and maybe end the diabetic problem altogether). Well, when I came to this realization, I quickly ran to the kitchen to make some pure cucumber juice from 2 large cukes before everyone started to crash. I was doing it so fast, I felt like some sort of mad scientist trying to create an antidote (LOL). I did the juice and gave each of us about 8oz. I did it in time for myself and my daughter, but my wife not only guzzled down the fruit juice, she then had a major nature call. She took a few sips of the juice and fell asleep. I ended up drinking her juice (she said it could have used some sea salt, she was probably right, but I did find it quite tasty straight). The good thing is she did get up feeling refreshed even after the crash. I think she only napped for about half an hour. Believe me, I won't make that mistake again My intake was: Breakfast: 64oz of fruit juice. Lunch: 56oz of veggie juice Dinner: 16oz of OJ Exercise: none Peace. February 12, 2005 Saturday, Day 3 of the Juice Fast. Busy day this Sabbath. I taught at church today. We had some special guests with us and this was the night of our prison ministry. So, I drank alot of juice today. I also went to the bathroom ALOT. LOL. My wife is doing fantastic! She was literally giddy this morning as she discovered she had already lost 4 pounds. We have been having one particular man visiting us for the last 4 weeks. He asked me to come by his house this coming week and show he and his wife how they can be healthier. I believe he also wants to be baptized (he said when he first visited 4 weeks ago that he had not set foot in a church in 20 years). He has a pace maker and he smokes. I am so happy for this health message we have that is included with the gospel. It is powerful to be able to help heal people in every area of their lives. My intake today was: Breakfast: 64oz of fruit juice Lunch: 64oz of fruit juice dinner: 48oz of veggie juice. later: 32oz of OJ Exercise: none February 13, 2005
Sunday, Day 4 of the Juice Fast. Great day today. It was in the 30s and very sunny out. This is the first day I ran with my new balance running shoes. I really did feel a difference! My feet were much lighter, yet I had more cushioning. Plus there was great traction (which is important when running thru slush and snow). My wife and daughter are doing great. Its becoming routine now, by the end of the week it will be routine for sure. Thats one of the little hurdles of a juice fast. You want to get to the point were drinking juices instead of eating meals is routine, like no big deal. Then the juices are like meals (well they really are anyways so full of nutrients and live enzymes). We decided to add bananas to my daughter's juices in the morning. That way she definitely feels full. She would never tell us even if she was hungry so we have to guess with her and make sure. Little trooper she is.. My intake was: Breakfast: 64oz of fruit juice Lunch: 64oz of veggie juice dinner: 32oz of fruit juice Exercise: 4 mile run/3x24 dumbell curls. Peace. February 15, 2005
Tuesday, Day 6 of the Juice Fast. I was traveling today. I drank my fruit juice in the morning, was going to the bathroom (different ones) all day. I carried my 64oz thermos with me for my veggie juice dinner. Tried something new today, I added a little onion powder and basil to my juice for flavor. It wasn't bad (wasn't that great either). My intake today was: Breakfast: 64oz of fruit juice Lunch/dinner: 64oz of veggie juice snack: 32oz of OJ. Exercise: none Peace. Wednesday, Day 7 of the Juice fast. I ran today. I am finding that the new running shoes I bought are too big. They are chaffing my big toes coming down hills. I am going to have to either exchange them or just get new ones. I like the brand though (New Balance) and will probably get the same ones in a smaller size. I had an easy run today. No other exercise though. Myself and a raw foodist who is a brother in my church went to visit a couple who asked us to come and share health tips today. It was a nice visit. The husband has a pace maker and the wife has a badly twisted leg from a 30 foot fall 2 yrs ago. She is in constant pain and taking many meds. They agreed to start a supervised program of raw for 7 days. After that we will play it by ear. The husband has been visiting our church for about a month and already has purchased a juicer. I know they will both benefit greatly from the health program we are helping them with. Please pray for them (Bob and Deb). My intake today was: Breakfast: 64oz of fruit juice. lunch/dinner: 64oz of veggie juice. Exercise: 4 mile run. Peace. February 17, 2005
Thursday, Day 8 of the Juice Fast. I ran again today. It was good except both my big toes got blisters on them. My running shoes were definitely too big. I called the store I bought them from and they were more than happy to exchange them. That was cool. I had size 10s but I need size 9s that are wide. They had them and they fit perfectly. Sunday will be my first 6 miler in a long while, having my running shoes be comfortable will make it alot better. I caught myself today, not following my own advice. I pray every day, at least 2 or 3 times each day, but I realized that for the last couple of days I had not been asking for strength to do this juice fast. Let me tell you I have been having cravings for steaks, hamburgers, fried chicken and other things. I wondered why the cravings were so strong, then I realized that I had begun to take for granted the Grace I need for this fast. Today was really tough, until I prayed. Then strength seemed to come. My mind was focused on so many other things, that the fast became secondary, that may be good for awhile.....until temptation comes without warning. My intake was: Breakfast: 64oz of fruit juice Lunch: 64oz of veggie juice Dinner: 32oz of OJ with kiwi. Exercise: 4 mile run/50 chins/125 ab crunches/80 squats (60 with dumbells). Peace. February 18, 2005 Friday, Day 9 of the Juice Fast. Busy running around today. That's normal for a Friday in the Glasco house. I have begun to incorporate bananas in the juices. I am finding that they one, fill you up pretty well and two, have a similar effect as the cucumbers as far as stopping the sugar rush. Plus, we have 2 cases of bananas (not including what is in the freezer already) and I don't want to waste them. My intake today was: Breakfast: 64oz of fruit juice. Lunch: 64oz of fruit juice Snack: 16oz of fruit juice All juice day today I guess Peace February 19, 2005 Saturday, Day 10 of the Juice Fast. My wife and daughter are really going great. My wife told me today that I could stop if I wanted to because she was going all the way and no longer needed me as a crutch. I said "no way, I am too far into it to stop now". I made it another all fruit day. It was not planned though. I got up late for church and made juices for the 3 of us, but did not have time to really drink it. I mean, I could have drunk it but I was preaching today and can you imagine me trying to preach and squirming in the pulpit because I have to go to the bathroom?...LOL. So I took about a 6oz sip and saved the rest until I got back home. It was a really good day today spiritually also. My intake was: Breakfast: 6oz of fruit juice. Lunch: 58oz of fruit juice Dinner: 64oz of fruit juice. Exercise: none Peace February 20, 2005
Sunday, Day 11 of the Juice Fast. Busier today than I would like to be on a sunday, but I had a church business meeting today. I slightly pulled a groin muscle overdoing it last Thursday and although its much better today (and much faster than it would have been if I wasn't raw), I didn't want to take a chance of making it worse so I didn't run today. I did do some pushups so I got a nice upper body pump. The Juice Fast is cruising right along now. Its like going on a plane, the runway takeoff is a little rough but once you are airborn, its smoother. Thats why I say to people, if you can pray, fight and push to get past 10 days, it really does get easier. My weight initially increased from 185lbs to between 189 and 191lbs during the first week of the fast. That is just my body preparing to flush stuff out. Sure enough, today I weigh 183lbs. The body is an amazing machine. My intake was: Breakfast: 64oz of fruit juice Lunch/dinner: 64oz of fruit juice snack: 12oz of veggie juice. Exercise: 240 pushups. Peace. February 21, 2005 Monday, Day 12. Snow storm today. Did not exercise, but thats ok. My wife and daughter are cruising along. My daughter has decided to go for 8 more days on the Juice Fast and today was my son's first day. He wants to do 5 days and then play it by ear. I mentioned to both my wife and daughter about the possibility of them doing a 30 day raw challenge on the heels of this Juice Fast. My daughter is all for it while my wife wants to pray about that one. I think she will be more amenable to the idea once we are done with the Juice Fast and she has a chance to eat. We'll see, one day at a time. My intake today was: Breakfast: 64oz of fruit juice. lunch/dinner: 96oz of veggie juice (mine and my wife's leftovers) snack: 32oz of OJ Exercise: none. Peace February 22, 2005
Tuesday, Day 13 of the Juice Fast. Today was literally a pain in the..........foot.. I ran in my new shoes today, the ones I thought were the right size, turns out they are too small. So, size 10 was too big, size 9 is too small, either 9.5 is perfect or I will have to switch to another shoe. My big toenail was dark red from the pounding my feet took, not to mention my knee pain came back (today was the 6 mile run). But it was my feet that really got me, it was so back that I had to run backwards down nearly every downhill. Uphills were a joy because the pain was much less (perhaps that was a hidden blessing). So I had planned on running tomorrow, but I will rest my nagging injuries and go back to the sporting goods store for new shoes. Ah, the development of patience is sometimes a painful process indeed. My intake was: Breakfast: 64oz of fruit juice Dinner: 64oz of fruit juice. Exercise: 6.2 mile run Peace February 23, 2005
Wednesday, Day 14 of the Juice Fast. My wife was rejoicing today, she has lost 9lbs thus far and she is really happy. She looks exceptional as well. We have been telling each other what raw things we will be eating in 16 days...lol. I exchanged my sneaks for the second time. this time I bought 2 pairs. Hopefully one of them will work out. One is a running shoe by reebok and the other is a cross-training shoe by new balance. I decided to use the cross-training shoe first. My daughter is doing great as well. Only 6 more days for her. She is going to stay raw for 30 days following her fast. I will be glad for the reason that I can make her all the raw dishes coming to my mind now that I can't eat(smile). My intake today was: Breakfast: 64oz of fruit juice Dinner: 64oz of fruit juice Exercise: 45 chin-ups/125 ab crunches/3x24 dumbell curls. Peace. February 27, 2005 Sunday, Day 18 of the Juice Fast. Doing real well. Made a "juice" that I will also use for spaghetti sauce....LOL. What I did was juice some carrots and tomatos, then put the juice in a blender with 2 haas avocados. Added some sea salt and cayenne and it felt like I was drinking a salad! It was thick at first so I had to add water, but in its original thick form I believe it would be excellent with zucchini spaghetti. Can't wait to try it.......only 12 more days. Had a really good run today. The cross-training shoes I bought were perfect (finally). I did 6 miles and felt great after. I may run again tomorrow since we are supposed to get a snow storm Monday night. My intake was: Breakfast: 64oz of fruit juice Dinner: 64oz of veggie juice (delicious) Exercise: 6 mile run. Peace. February 28, 2005
Monday, Day 19 of the Juice Fast. 11 more days to go. Feeling great. Missing food but that is to be expected. My wife is going wonderfully as is my daughter. She was sneezing like crazy last night. I think all of those allergies are coming to the surface. She looks great! My daughter's skin is glowing. This has been a wonderful experience. Now we are in the home stretch. I was so very busy in my home office yesterday, just had time to do some pushups which I did thru out the day. Every once in awhile I would drop down and knock out 60. By the time it was evening I had done 240. My intake was: Breakfast: 64oz of fruit juice. Dinner: 64oz of fruit juice. (I also had a couple of spoonfuls of wheat berries, testing a new tabouli. It was ok. Steel cut oats are next to test). Exercise: 240 pushups. Peace. March 1, 2005
Tuesday, Day 20 of the Juice Fast. My daughter finished her fast today. She did great! My wife and myself are really doing good as well. I cheated alittle today because I was making my daughter some eggplant pate and I tasted it while I was seasoning it. Just those few tastes killed my appetite! So I didn't feel like drinking anymore for the evening. My wife is down to 126lbs and I weighed in at 175lbs today. I feel very fit and my body feels tight. There was a blizzard here today so I didn't run, but I did get in a good resistance workout. My intake was: Breakfast: 64oz of juice Exercise: 125 ab crunches/80 chins/100 dumbell squats. Peace. March 2, 2005
Wednesday, Day 21 of the Juice Fast. Only 9 more days. This one seemed longer than the last one. I believe its because now its the dead of winter and I have been couped up inside more. That makes the days longer. Had a really great run today. My bone structure is definitely getting used to the 6 mile trek now. I am finding the key is running for 60 minutes. I seem to get the greatest benefit then. Today I was running thru the remains of yesterday's blizzard which left us with about a foot of new snow. I felt like I was running thru sand. These new shoes feel great. My intake today was: Breakfast: 32 oz of fruit juice Lunch: 32oz of fruit juice Dinner: 56oz of fruit juice Exercise: 6 mile run. Peace. March 5, 2005
Friday. I ended the Juice Fast Wednesday night after 21 days. My daughter ended hers the day before. My wife is still going strong!! That's why I felt good about ending mine. My daughter was feeling bad about being the first to end hers, when I ended mine she got this bounce in her step and felt better. My wife is into it now so she doesn't need me to do it with her. Only 8 more days for her! My weight went down to 175lbs, this made my wife a little nervous. I felt great though. Now my weight seems to settle between the high 170's to low 180's. That is a good 30lbs from where I was went I started eating high raw last year in May. I am consistently running the 6 miles now. I was in CT on business for 2 days and I ran in CT this morning. I am not sure but I think it was longer than 6 miles but CT is much flatter terrain than where I am in New Hampshire so it was a much easier run for me. All fruit and nuts for me today, although I probably should not have eaten the nuts (or at least the quantity of nuts I ate). My intake was: Breakfast: 2 avocados, 1 apple, 4 clementines, 2 bananas. Lunch: Raw trail mix with cashews, almonds, raisins and dried cherries. Exercise: 7 mile run. Peace. March 6, 2005 Sunday. A little bit of a bummer today. I bought a new scale and I found out my old scale was about 3 or 4lbs off! My weight was about 3 or 4lbs heavier than it was reading. So, when the scale was reading my weight as 185lbs my weight was actually 188 or 189lbs. I tested both scales by putting my two 25lbs dumbells on them and sure enough, the new one was right. So yesterday my weight was 187lbs. Now as I look back I think I am pretty much the same weight I was when I started the Juice Fast. Maybe 2lbs lighter. That shows me that I really don't have much weight to lose because the juice fast seems to drop excess weight only. My wife is down about 14lbs. She has 5 more days to go and she is going thru a very tough detox period now. She had been taking sinus meds for years and they are coming out of her now. She is really hanging tough though. She will make it to Friday by God's grace. I calculate her total weight loss will be around 20lbs. She was not severely overweight to begin with so she didn't have that much to lose. She started at around 143lbs (adjusted for the bad scale) and she will probably end up at somewhere around 123lbs. Its something though, I saw a friend on Thursday that I had not seen since early December. She told me with a worried look on her face that I looked "sickly and anorexic". She said I needed to leave this diet alone. Now she is pregnant and her husband is about 40 or 50 lbs overweight, but I am anorexic....I almost laughed, but I was able to keep composed (by God's Grace) and calmly tell her that I felt great and the "diet" is fantastic. I told her I was getting up early to run and she just shook her head. LOL. I was thinking of that as I got on the new scale. At 5' 11" its good to be called "anorexic" at 187lbs on a all-raw diet. I realized though that if people have not seen me in a few months or more, my appearance will look alot different as my body is much more toned and I have lost weight. Some of you who are reading this and going raw, I just want to prepare you for what people will say. Don't concern yourself with it, stay the course!! My intake was: Breakfast: 1 avocado, 1 apple, 1 cantelope (yummy), 2 bananas. Some raw cereal (about 2 tblspoons on the cantelope). Dinner: RAW TABOULI (YES!! The steel cut oats are DELICIOUS we have it tasting just like fried rice).....1 avocado, some green grapes, 1 apple, 2 bananas, some raw almonds, cashews and dried cherries. Exercise: 6mile run/120 pushups.
Peace. Monday, March 14, 2005
I have been sooooo busy this past week! We had a Prophecy series in a local hotel here last week and I was coordinating it. I didn't have time to journal at all it was so crazy. But it was worth it as the seminar went extremely well. A young man came down from Maine and was baptized. My wife finished her 30 days last Friday! She is looking very sweet........very sweet........ahem.....oh yes, back to the journal; She lost about 15lbs, she feels wonderful and as I mentioned she looks great too. I am in Atlanta for the next few days doing a training class for a securities license I need. I got in after midnight last night so I had to eat the hotel fruit this morning. I can tell it was either from a can or precut some other way. After one has been eating live raw foods, dead stuff, even fruit tastes way different and much less satisfying. I went to a couple of local stores after the class was done this afternoon and got some delicious fruit. I mapped out a 5.5 mile route around my hotel last night before I checked in. I ran it this morning....it was great to run in 45 degree weather as opposed to 10 degrees. Felt balmy. I have been to Atlanta many times and every time I am so impressed. The people are warm, the climate is warm and it seems like opportunity abounds. But I am completely sure that the Lord wants us in New Hampshire, otherwise I would be down here in a heartbeat. Staying raw has not even been an issue. It seems very easy when one plans ahead. My intake was:
Breakfast:
some hotel fruit (yuck!) Lunch:
Large green salad with walnuts, cut apple and celery. dinner:
2 avocado with half a cucumber, 3 tangerines, one cantalope, handful of raw trailmix (brought a ziplock bagful from home). Exercise:
5.5 mile run, 180 pushups, 100 ab crunches. Peace.
Sunday, March 20, 2005 First day of spring today! A very sunny and beautiful day today. Had a fantastic run. I am probably going to do this distance about 3 more times before I go to 7.5-8 miles. Feeling great and looking forward to warmer weather. My wife has decided to do the 30 day raw challenge, this is the 10th day. She has so much energy!! She was able to run half a mile on Friday, that was huge for her. Normally, she would feel pain in her neck whenever she jogged even alittle, now the pain is gone! She is so excited about the possibility of running again and her joy makes me very happy. My intake today was: Breakfast:
4 clementines
Dinner:
bowl of raw spaghetti (zucchini) with raw spaghetti sauce. Bowl of green salad with almond pate and alfalfa sprouts.
Exercise:
6 mile run, 200 pushups, 125 ab crunches.
Peace.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Back to somewhat "normal" today as I was back to my water fast. I learned something. One does indeed have to be careful not to consume too much in the way of nuts. Don't get me wrong, they are very healthy and excellent for the body. But I have found that eating too large a quantity will clog the system. I brought a large zip lock back of raw cashews and raw almonds with some turkish figs to Atlanta with me last week. I knew I wouldn't (or shouldn't) be eating anywhere near the whole bag, but I wanted to be sure I had enough. I overate on it though. By Friday of last week my weight was up to about 190lbs (up from 187lbs). I felt like my system was clogged. So what I decided to do was to not eat nuts at all for a week to see how my body reacts. Well, by yesterday morning I was down to 184lbs and that was only 3 days. I realize that I love nuts so much that I tend to overdo it. Also, I am now used to eating them without salt (which is way more healthier), but by adding the salt it makes me eat more of them. I wonder if that's why the companies that sell nuts like Planter's usually sell them salted? Anyways, living and learning is part of the journey. My intake today was: 50oz of spring water Exercise: 6 mile run. Peace. Wednesday, March 23, 2005 Busy today, as its been over the last couple of weeks. My wife has started running again and we are just giving praise to God because there is no longer pain in her neck. I went with her today. We ran a little over a mile and walked about 3 miles. She is really doing great and says she is feeling more energy now than she can ever remember. I can't get over how sweet she is looking. The raw lifestyle is amazing and one truly gets out of it what one puts into it. But I know that God gives the increase and I will always be thankful. I ate alot today, not because I was hungry, its nervous energy with this big test coming up and some major happenings at my church recently. My intake was: Breakfast: BIG salad. (Romaine, one big euro cuke, 2 tomatos, 3 apples), olive oil and sea salt. Lunch: lots of turkish figs (they are addictive....lol), 5 clementines, 3 bananas, 20oz of water. Dinner: Another huge salad just like the one I had this morning. Exercise: 1.3 mile run, 3 mile walk, 50 chins. Peace Friday, March 25, 2005 Exciting day today. I had a great run, it was sunny out and we had some really close brethren coming to spend the weekend with us. We started a new church its called Lighthouse for Truth of Seventh Day Adventists. We got our new sign today and its beautiful! Things that lift up your spirits are wonderfully full of healing power. I made arrangements with my children to start jogging with them. We are planning on starting out on Sunday. They are more excited about it than me! Like I said, it was a great day. My intake was: Breakfast: Large salad (romaine, tomato(2), 3 apples, 1.5 large cukes, alfalfa sprouts, a couple of stalks of celery). olive oil and sea salt. small bowl of raw tabouli with alfalfa sprouts, avocado and chopped celery. Dinner: 3 bananas, raw tabouli with chopped avocado and chopped apple. 3 or 4 turkish figs. Exercise: 6 mile run, 250 pushups. Peace. Friday, April 1, 2005
Its really spring!! I love it when the weather is beautiful like this. I passed my exam (whew!), glad thats over. The Lord blessed me greatly to pass it. I ran 8 miles today!! The really neat thing about that is, I felt just as fresh at the end of the run as I did when I started it. I sprinted the last 100 yards very strongly and did 100 pushups after! Raw is great!! My wife is now 100% raw for 51 days. She is feeling and looking fantastic. She says her energy level is higher now then even when she was a teenager. My intake today was: Breakfast: Large green salad with 2 apples and raw tabouli. dinner: 2 Large bowls of chopped cantelope, strawberries, pineapple, bananas and raisons. Exercise: 8 mile run/100 pushups. Peace. Today was interesting. My whole family went food shopping today. It is great that we spend almost all of our time in the produce section with few exceptions (we got a loaf of bread for the kids and some canned olives). While we where there we decided to examine the meat section. We started with the turkeys, I explained how they are killed and feathered, then a few days later sold in the supermarket. That was about as pleasant as it got. We next saw lamb and chicken and finally beef. We noticed the blood showing on each one, especially on the lamb and beef. The blood not being drained properly, the animals not being killed properly made my children see not only is it nasty to ingest, but totally unclean according to our own christian beliefs (Acts 15:20). We believe these so-called "foods" clog both the digestive system and the mind. Thus making spiritual understanding darkened and spiritual deception easier. Its good to reinforce health principles in such a visual way. I felt more secure afterwards, knowing my children are learning to make healthy choices. My intake today was: Breakfast: Raw quiche (my wife made it......delicious), 50oz of OJ Lunch: 4 bananas, 1 cantelope, all chopped and topped with raisins. Some turkish figs. Exercise: 8 mile run. Peace. Wednesday, April 6, 2005 Trying to catch up. I am in Philadelphia today on business. Its interesting how all the hotels now have little gyms with them. I really don't like working out around other people, so I have learned to make my room a workout facility. I do regular floor pushups, then use the couch and do pushups with my upper body higher than my lower body at about 45 degrees, then put my feet on a chair and do the pushups with my feet higher. I take one of the many hotel towels they provide, put it across the top of the door and do chins. These are more difficult than the normal chins because my knees are rubbing against the door, causing added resistence. Then I do sets of 50 squats with no weights. I may use a door and do some sissy squats, but I didn't do that this time. I don't know why, but usually I eat more on the road. Being raw is not even an issue. I am past the point of wishing it was a lifestyle, now, it IS a lifestyle for me. I really don't ever want cooked again. I still may reserve Thanksgiving for zwieback bread, but that possibility is shrinking as each month goes by. I am thanking my Lord and Saviour for the grace He has given me to reach this point. Interesting thing happened. When I got to the hotel, my room was not ready, so I had some time to kill. I decided to go to the hotel restaurant and have a salad. I spoke with 3 different people there, none of them knew how to prepare a salad without meat in it. The waitress brought out something she thought was a salad, it was a bowl of baby spinach, thats it. I kindly asked her if she had anyt avocado, she said yes. Then I asked her to take it back and add an avocado, tomato and a cucumber. She did. But for $15 (tip included), I wasn't satisfied. So then I went to my meeting and afterwards hit a local supermarket. They had a salad bar. For $11 I got a REAL salad. It had romaine, cukes,tomatoes,peppers, onions, mushrooms and I added olive oil and salt (it was probably not sea salt, but what can ya do). Then I bought some fruit for the next mornings breakfast and some avocado to add to the salad. I ate like a raw king in my hotel suite. Then had my workout. It was great. Hopefully soon, I will be posting updated photos of me and my wife. She has been 100% for over 2 months now and her allergies are gone. Stay Raw!!! My intake was: Breakfast: 4 bananas, some turkish figs (10 maybe), 3 oranges. Lunch: Medium size salad at the hotel. Dinner: Large green salad with 2 haas avocados. Exercise: 200 pushups/24 chins/105 squats. Peace. Thursday, April 7, 2005 Travel day today. Flying into Boston from Philly. Then had a meeting when I got back to New Hampshire. Very busy, didn't workout today. But I ate good (lol). My intake was: Breakfast: 3 navel oranges, 2 mineola oranges, 2 apples late morning: 3 bananas Lunch: Large green salad, 2 avocados. Dinner: 10-12 turkish figs (I am hooked on these little things!). Exercise: None. Peace. Sunday April 10, 2005
Nice day today, beautiful in fact. It was about 70 here today. I ran my 8 miles in the afternoon. Its a little tougher then as opposed to doing it in the morning, but satisfying nevertheless. It was great to run in just a tee shirt as I have been running with all kinds of layers on all winter. I had what I am calling my "waldorf supreme" both for breakfast and lunch. Basically its fruit that most people call vegetables along with apples. I put a couple of tomatos, a sweet pepper, a large cuke, 2 or 3 apples, and some chopped celery in a bowl with some alfalfa sprouts. I season it with olive oil, sea salt and either onion powder or cayenne depending on how I feel. Its delicious. Also, a raw friend of mine introduced me to raw "re-fried" beans. Absolutely fabulous. I need to get the recipe although I know it has garbanzo beans (soaked) and crushed walnuts, I am not sure what else it has. So my intake today was: Breakfast: Waldorf supreme with raw tabouli. Lunch: 2 bananas, bowl of waldorf supreme with raw tabouli. exercise: 8 mile run. Peace. April 15, 2005
Friday. We are in Minneasota seeing my son and grandson. We are doing his baby blessing tomorrow. Its been a great trip. I have never been a grandpa before, it feels strange. But I tell you, that child is so precious to me! We ate both last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast at this really great raw restaurant. Its called Ecopolitan. Tremendous. My wife bought 3 raw food recipe books from them also. Its in Minneapolis. They have a website (which includes their menu), www.ecopolitan.com for those of you in Minny, its a must do. I had the raw marinara pizza last night, unbelievable. As was the guacomole. They sell these nori sticks that taste just like beef jerky. I sort of went nuts on those. This morning I had the smoothie which they call Sunshine. Its very similar to my banana-nut smoothie except they add OJ.....again, unbelievable. Breakfast:
16oz banana-nut smoothie and a fruit salad, 2 rawma bars. 2 mexican nori sticks, 3 bananas, 1 apple with almond butter.
Dinner:
Large green salad.
Exercise:
8 mile run and 100 pushups.
Peace.
Monday, April 18, 2005
We got back late from Minneapolis so we sort just lounged today. My wife gave the kids a day off from school to recuperate. I didn't work out today, although it was a tremendously beautiful day here in New Hampshire. I had my wife take a picture today and posted it. Unfortunately, my wife did not like her new pictures and is pretty adamant about not letting me post them.....oh well....one day she will hopefully. My intake today was: Breakfast: Waldorf supreme (2 cubed apples, 2 tomatoes, 2 haas avocados, one orange sweet pepper, half a sweet onion, alfalfa sprouts, olive oil, sea salt, dash of cayenne and onion powder). Dinner: 2 bananas, 2 oranges, some turkish figs, some calamyrna figs Exercise: none. Peace.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 Time seems to be flying by so fast these days. Even faster than normal for some reason. Its probably because I have traveled more than usual recently. Well, unofficially I am one year raw now. The first 6 months I was high raw (about 90% or so I would say), the only cooked stuff I would eat was well toasted bread (zwieback) and the bulghar wheat (which I actually thought was raw). I have been 100% raw for about the last 6 months. My weight started out at about 215lbs (my scale was saying 210-211lbs but I found out later it was 4 or 5lbs off). I now weigh 188lbs most of the time (I go up to 191 at night sometimes and down to 186 after I run). So thats about a 27lb weight loss. I am feeling like my body is leveling off, although I can't rule out another sudden drop in weight since I have only been 100% for 6 months. My energy level is unbelievable. I usually wake up with a buzzing feeling in my body. Best of all, my spiritual perceptions are much, much deeper now. When I study the Bible I am seeing things in a light that I didn't see before. My mind seems to be more opened and I can actually hear the Holy Spirit's voice directing me sometimes and revealing things about my future. Its tremendous and exciting, but honestly its a little scary also. I have learned not to worry but to Trust. I have a much deeper appreciation of the Grace of Christ from both eating raw and the juice fasts I have done. There is absolutely no way I could have done it in my strength.......NO WAY! I am the guy that could not walk into a gas station convenience store without coming out with something made from hostess or drakes or nabisco. I can say with pure joy that I have not had anything with sugar in it for the past year. Anything I have eaten that has been sweetened has usually been sweetened with dates. That in itself is a miracle. When I started, my church brethren, my friends and even my wife and family all thought it was crazy and "unbalanced" to go raw. Now, my wife is over 2 months at 100%. My church has a table at every church lunch marked "Raw" and its usually has more food on it than the "Cooked" table. Its also always cleaned out first. There are 4 others who are raw now besides my wife, my daughter and myself and my entire church (now about 25 souls) is vegan. Veganism is a part of our belief system. I am so happy that the gospel is truly about healing in every area of life and we can see it happening among us! I am excited about my future health-wise and for my family. Well, I think thats a long enough report (lol). My intake today was: Breakfast: Waldorf supreme (one day I will get tired of it, but not right now.....LOL) Lunch: 3 bananas, 3 mineola oranges, 2 avocados, some calimyrna figs, some of my wifes "meat loaf" wraps (juliano's recipe with some modifications)....Delicious. (I ate like a pig today......a raw pig.......LOL) Exercise: 6 mile run/ 100 pushups. Peace. Thursday, April 21, 2005 Sort of strange day today. I got up early and got dressed and ready to run. Then I felt very tired. I put off the run all day. I took a nap. It was a gorgeous day today. Well, I never did run. But at about 5pm I asked my oldest son and daughter if they wanted to do some off-road biking when they were done with their school/chores. My son said yes, while my daughter had things to do. I really didn't FEEL like going, but I had been promising them we would go since I just got myself an off-road bike (the kids already have them). So at about 6pm or so me and my son went on a 3 mile jaunt off-road thru the woods. It was great!! We went down some steep hills over rocks and fallen tree branches and mud. What a workout!! When we got back I was so energized I did some chins and squats before I showered. Sometimes we need to just get out in the open air and all lethargy vanishes. My intake today was: Breakfast: 2 bananas, some almond butter banana-cashew mix. Lunch: 48oz of banana-date-nut shake (I guess it was a banana day.lol) Dinner: 64oz of Strawberry-orange-cantelope juice (Delicious!). Exercise: 3 mile off-road bike ride, 42 chin-ups, 3x40 dumbell squats. Peace. Friday April 22, 2005 Beautiful day today. The forecast is for like 8 straight days of rain after today so I figured I better enjoy it while its nice. I had a really great run today. The 8 miles was not about a challenge, but it was very enjoyable. I still can't believe I am doing this distance. Now I am going to wait about 2 more weeks and increase to 10 miles. I am pretty much were I wanted to be. I have found that my body weight has really settled in around 188-191lbs. But my body is much more fit than I was even 3 months ago. We have a ministry, its called THE RAW REMNANT. I am going to be having my dear friend and sister Rawkinlocs do the website for me. We have a seminar in the Boston area next weekend. I am so excited about it! My intake today was: Breakfast: 64oz of banana-nut shake Lunch: Large green salad with my wife's raw cheese topping (non-dairy of course). Exercise: 8 mile run/100 pushups. Peace. Monday, April 25, 2005 What strange weather we have had. I was in a detox episode for the last 3 days. I must have eliminated at least 6 times today, probably 4 or 5 yesterday. I was feeling a lack of energy. My weight went from 188lbs up to nearly 197lbs. Then yesterday it was back to 191lbs. I put all this out here for you who are going 100% raw. Expect these things, but don't worry about them. Trust the process. I ran 8 miles yesterday, it was a little harder than usual because of the detox, but I am glad I did. My intake was: Breakfast: 64oz of banana-papaya-date-nut shake (really good). Lunch: 2 large bowls of salad with avocado and raw cashew dressing. 16oz of water. Exercise: 8 mile run. Peace Saturday, April 30, 2005 We arrived in Boston on Friday afternoon and checked in the hotel. We did part I of our seminar. We had about 60 people there. It went great! Word must have got out, because today, there was at least 200 people there to hear my RAW REMNANT sermon! Many of them were not of my faith which is what got me really excited. I thought that would be it but I was asked to stay and do another presentation Saturday evening. There were about 80 people there. I can't even say how many people were inviting us to come to there churches and how many people want to go raw. It was so wonderful. Now I know that God has called me to this ministry. Next weekend I will be doing the program at my own church (per request). We have our first in home client. A nice 65 year old lady with cancer. She will be staying with us for 10 days. This thing is happening much faster than I anticipated. We carried much raw dishes with us to the hotel. A really funny thing happened at the hotel. My 2 daughters and myself came downstairs early for the free continental breakfast the hotel offered. I was looking for some more pineapple that was already cut to go with the fruit we brought from home. But when we got there, first we saw the fruit, we saw some pears. My eldest daughter (who has now been 100% raw for over 2 months), said "Daddy, those pears are cooked"....she was right, you could tell by looking at the pears that they came out of a can. But as we were looking at them, I noticed they had decorated the fruit area with whole Pineapples. Well, I just took two of them from the decorations. Well one of the hotel staff went to the food manager about it. I looked at the manager and said "I am taking the pineapple and slicing them upstairs bro"...he said "Whatever you want sir"....and off we went. By the way, the pineapple was delicious! Speaking of that.......my intake was: Breakfast: Fresh cut pineapple, cantelope, apple and some raw cashews and dried figs. Lunch: small green salad, with alittle raw re-fried beans and some dehydrated eggplant with some raw meat balls. Dinner: Bowl of green salad. Exercise: 100 pushups. Peace. Tuesday, May 3, 2005
Its been very hectic lately. Honestly, I don't like it at all. I am so spoiled by quiet days and my own easy schedule. But now we just finished a big weekend in Boston, I had a long meeting on Sunday along with prep for my first Raw Remnant client. Then today I had to not only do her juices but also go to my office and put out "fires". Well, its been busy. I have been drinking more juice the last two days since I have been preparing it for my client. She is a real trooper and a very sweet lady. The juices are really cleaning her out. I am praying that by the end of the week her tumor will begin to shrink. Time will tell. She is feeling great though and at least I know she is getting plenty of enzymes and being alkalined. My intake today was: Breakfast: 56oz of pineapple-cantelope-orange juice. Lunch: 8 oz of veggie juice ( I was sampling the clients to make sure it was tasty....it was)....Large salad. Dinner: 64oz of banana-date-nut shake Exercise: 8 mile run/200 pushups. Peace. Friday, May 6, 2005. End of a busy week. The client returned home today. The plan is for her to continue juicing at home. She has a very supportive husband so there is a good chance she will be successful. She feels great, but it was only 5 days. I don't think that is enough time to really see a difference. I am learning that it appears to take at least 7 days just to alkaline a system that is acidic. I have no scientific proof of this, but lets say its a strong hunch. The Raw Remnant has been invited to another church on May 21st.....this thing seems to be picking up steam. Its scary and exciting at the same time. I only had time to run twice this week. I really hate it when I don't run at least 3 times in a week. Its confirmed..... I definitely have the running bug. My weight has actually increased since I stopped water fasting once per week. I still look the same. I think this is my natural weight (about 192lbs). The raw diet really is a God-send...literally..LOL. My intake was: Breakfast: 16oz of cantalope-grape juice, 2 bananas, some cut up cantelope, 3 raw oatmeal cookies (my wife made a modification of Juliano's recipe......DELICIOUS!!). Eating those things made me thing I wasn't eating raw......they weren't even dehydrated!! Lunch: Large Green salad, topped |