Raw Objectivism

I am heading to my Alma mater tomorrow to go out with some friends. Thursdays are a big night at Purdue – Cactus night. The Cactus is the closest thing you can find to a night club in West Lafayette, and there is a piano bar. I love piano bars. I am really excited to go and it is probably the last time I will be able to. Most of my friends who are still at Purdue are graduating this year so it is unlikely that I’ll have an occasion to return (or a place to stay for that matter). So the question presents itself – do I drink for my last Cactus hurrah?

The issue with drinking at the Cactus is that the cups that you purchase for your cheap (under 2 bucks) Cactus mixed drinks hold about 20 oz. Even after you account for the ice, that is still a good amount of liquor – at least two shots worth, unless you get a Long Island and then more like four. One of those and I’m at the edge of tipsy – and that’s when I’m not mid-cleanse. The other negative is that drinking is that it is obviously not part of a detoxification.

It’s something I will have to consider. I plan on starting the night with a few waters and see how I feel. If I decide to have alcohol, that’s ok. I will just continue with the cleanse afterward. If I decide not to drink, then I will be done with the 21 days on May 11 (which happens to be the day of the  celebration for my boyfriend graduating from medical school) and I will probably drink then. May 11 is technically the 21st day, but I think your boyfriend graduating from four years of med school allows for a bit of loosening of the reigns.

Today’s Food:

I tried a new raw soup today. I will post the recipe later in the recipe section of this blog, but for now know it was delicious. Carrot juice, avocado, parsley, cilantro, ginger and coriander…delish! I love ginger (to the point that my boyfriend jokingly called me a cannibal – I have red hair), and it makes this soup wonderful.

Feelings to Note:

I felt rather anxious and stressed today. This could be a side effect of the 5-HTP. It is also possible that I was hypoglycemic. Once I made and ate dinner, I felt much better.

Tags: alcohol, Clean Diet, Clean Program, Cleanse, detox, gluten free, purdue, Raw Vegan, Vegan
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Today is day four of my second round of the cleanse. I had one slip up last night when I ate an apple after dinner (one of the principles is to not consume solid food after lunch, allowing the body to digest the food more easily and spend more energy on detoxifying your system). After the disgusting soup attempt I made last night I had to do something to cleanse my palate so I ate an apple. I put way too much onion and garlic in last night’s raw soup and it was a disaster.

Today was a great, success, however. I had my normal morning shake of spinach, almond milk, flax seed and Sunwarrior Vanilla protein powder. I had a lunch of curried rice and beans (pinto beans, onion, long-grain brown rice and curry powder). For a snack I had some carrots and an apple. And then we come to dinner.

For dinner I created a wonderful raw vegan soup: “Cream” of bRAWcoli (the cheesy puns are basically required for raw food, sorry). It was delicious. I love using cashews to make my cheeze, and I love cream of broccoli soup. Since cream is not part of the Clean program diet guidelines (which also suggest that you should have at least 51% of your food come from raw sources during the cleanse), I decided to invent my own version. Unsurprisingly, to those who know me, it included cumin. And it was to die for. Check out the recipe here.

Feelings to Note:

I had a great day today. I was full of energy and even now feel like I’m running on a crap ton (technical term) of caffeine — which I’m not, of course, as caffeine is not allowed on the cleanse. It could be the mood enhancing 5-HTP (more on this later, but feel free to read up) I am taking that is contributing to this energetic feeling, but either way, it is a welcome change to depression. Going to the gym helps too!

Exercise:

1 hour of Body Pump

Tags: Body Pump, Clean Diet, Clean Program, Cleanse, detox, gluten free, Raw Vegan, Vegan, Vegetarian
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Today was the last day of the cleanse. Overall, it went well. I had only one hiccup when I accidentally consumed soybean oil at Ruby Tuesday. Sticking to the diet wasn’t that hard because it had a set duration. I don’t think I could eat liquid meals two times a day for the rest of my life (and luckily I don’t have to), but it wasn’t too hard to do it for 21 days.

Results

Beginning weight: 119.4 lbs
Today’s weight (7:00 AM): 113.6 lbs

Most of this weight loss I am attributing to less water retention. When my body doesn’t have to dilute toxins, it can release more water and become less bloated. I ate enough calories that I doubt that much more than one or two pounds of that was actual fat loss.

Left: Day 0, Right: Today, Day 21!

My face looks skinnier. It will interesting to see what effect reintroducing foods has.

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Tags: Clean Diet, Clean Program, Cleanse, cycling, detox, Diet, Vegan
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Being an engineer, I have to have a test plan to systematically determine my food allergies and intolerances. Foods that will be reintroduced (order subject to change, but here is an outline):

First four foods I plan to reintroduce: cheese, gluten, tomato, soy

Cheese – Obviously, this is not vegan, but it will allow me to determine if I am dairy intolerant (casein protein intolerant). (For Science!)
Gluten
Tomatoes – I really hope these aren’t an issue; I love tomatoes.
Soybeans
Peppers
Strawberries – Same as tomatoes

Milk – Also not vegan, but will allow me to determine if I am lactose intolerant.
Eggs – Also not vegan
Corn
Wine – To determine alcohol’s affect on me and allergy to sulfites
Oranges
Peanuts
Macadamia nuts
Pistachios

A note on cheese and milk: If I have a reaction to cheese it is likely a casein reaction since cheese is low in lactose. This means that there is no reason to try milk as I will react to the casein in milk as well and will not be able to differentiate between the casein and lactose. However, if I do not react to cheese, I will try milk to determine lactose intolerance.

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Tags: Clean Diet, Clean Program, Cleanse, detox, Diet, reintroduction, Vegetarian
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Total Calories Consumed: 1349
Fat: 19 g
Carbs: 230 g
Sugar: 50 g
Protein: 81 g

I had a really bad headache this morning when I woke up. It subsided after drinking a bunch of water, so it was probably the result of dehydration. I didn’t drink as much water as normal yesterday.

Breakfast (10:00 AM to 10:30 AM)

Raspberry and Spinach Smoothie
2 c. organic spinach
1 c. organic arugula
1 c. raspberries, frozen
2 Scoops SunWarrior Vanilla Vegan Protein
1.5 c. Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 c. filtered water
Blended until smooth

So I’m out of flaxseed, but since tomorrow is my last day on the cleanse, I’m not too concerned about it.

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Tags: Clean Diet, Clean Program, Cleanse, detox, Diet, Vegan
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Total Calories Consumed: 1461
Fat: 79 g
Carbs: 121 g
Sugar: 25 g
Protein: 104 g

Raspberry and Kale Smoothie

My parents came to visit today so I did a liquid meal for breakfast and lunch and a solid meal for dinner so I could go out to dinner with my parents.

Breakfast (10:30 AM to 11:00 AM)

Raspberry and Kale Smoothie
2 c. organic kale
1 c. organic arugula
1 c. raspberries, frozen
1/4 c. organic flaxseed
2 Scoops SunWarrior Vanilla Vegan Protein
1.5 c. Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 c. filtered water
Blended until smooth

Also good with raspberries.

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Tags: Clean Diet, Clean Program, Cleanse, detox, Vegan
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Total Calories Consumed: 1514
Fat: 32 g
Carbs: 247 g
Sugar: 66 g
Protein: 84 g

It was an emotionally taxing day. I was irritable this afternoon and now I’m feeling really low. I’m heading out to see a movie later with some friends, so that should help my mood.

Breakfast (8:20 AM to 8:40 AM)

Blueberry and Kale Smoothie
2 c. organic kale
1 c. organic arugula
1 c. blueberries, frozen
1/4 c. organic flaxseed
2 Scoops SunWarrior Vanilla Vegan Protein
1.5 c. Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 c. filtered water
Blended until smooth

This was even better with the flaxseed. New favorite smoothie!

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Tags: Clean Diet, Clean Program, Cleanse, detox, Diet, Vegan
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Total Calories Consumed: 1553
Fat: 42 g
Carbs: 221 g
Sugar: 38 g
Protein: 105 g

Breakfast (8:00 AM to 8:20 AM)

Green Pear Smoothie
2 c. organic kale
1 c. organic arugula
1 pear from the farmer’s market
1/4 c. organic flaxseed
2 Scoops SunWarrior Vanilla Vegan Protein
1.5 c. Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 c. filtered water
Blended until smooth

So I tried this with pear instead since I was out of peaches. The pear is a milder taste than the peach. The flavor of the protein powder shown through the most. It was good, but not as good as the peach.

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Tags: Body Pump, Clean Diet, Clean Program, Cleanse, Cxworx, detox, Diet, Vegan
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Total Calories Consumed: 1449
Fat: 41 g
Carbs: 209 g
Sugar: 45 g
Protein: 80 g

Breakfast (8:20 AM to 8:40 AM)

Green Peach Smoothie
2 c. organic kale
1 c. organic arugula
1 peach from the farmer’s market
1/4 c. organic flaxseed
2 Scoops SunWarrior Vanilla Vegan Protein
1.5 c. Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tsp organic cinnamon
1 c. filtered water
Blended until smooth

Lunch: Curried Pinto Beans and Rice

Lunch (11:00 AM to 11:30 AM)

Pinto Beans and Rice
1 can Meijer organic pinto beans
1 c. organic short-grain brown rice (yields 3 c. cooked)
Cumin
Curry powder
Coriander
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Cook rice. Mix ingredients. Makes two servings.

Pinto beans also seem ok (i.e. better than black beans). I was bloated again today, but no cramping.

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Tags: Clean Diet, Clean Program, Cleanse, detox, Vegan
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Total Calories Consumed: 1544
Fat: 49 g
Carbs: 197 g
Sugar: 42 g
Protein: 105 g

I had a dentist appointment today to get some cavities filled. I usually don’t mind the dentist, but I hate shots. And to fill my cavities, I had to have both sides of my mouth numbed with a lidocaine/epinephrine combination. The epinephrine immediately made my heart start racing, and I felt light-headed. While, I have fainted after shots before, I’ve never had this strong of a reaction to an anesthetic. I don’t do well with medications in general, and I had also never been given a shot with the epinephrine in the mix. It was kind of frightening.

I’m also concerned about the non-Clean nature of the anesthetic. During the detoxification you aren’t supposed to take any medicines aside from those prescribed by your doctor. I suppose this fits under that category.

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Tags: Body Pump, Clean Diet, Clean Program, Cleanse, Cxworx, detox, Diet, Vegan
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