Weekly Beginnings 4 and 5, and planning.
Beginnings 2 and 3 were kind of a bust. I didn’t managed to do them every day. I’m not quite sure why, but I think it’s because I didn’t fit them into my overall plan of being fit and healthy. The diet was simpler than the exercise, it was something I had to stop doing rather than something I had to actually do. I need a better system.
Aside from that though, this week I’ve going to work on one item that’s critical and one that’s not.
WB 4: Find a better job. I don’t mind working at KFC, but it’s out of alignment with me and what I want to achieve in the future. I’m going to have to get a better job elsewhere. It’s as simple as that. It’s going to be my main focus this week.
WB 5: Write a novel. This is a much more long term goal, and starting today, I’m starting work on it. I had the first chapter of a book finished, but it got lost many formats ago. Today I restart the novel and continue on from there. This inspires me.
WB 2 and 3 are still on the table, and adding 4 and 5 means I need to find a way to definately do them every day. Once I figure that out, I’ll post it.
Until next time, have fun and grow. 
Going Raw Postmortem
Going raw is one of the best and hardest things I’ve done. It was the cravings mainly, because your body/brain tries to trick you all the time, whispering things like “Noone will know.” and “Just one bit won’t hurt.” It didn’t take so much willpower as much as dedication. I really wanted to be healthy far more than I wanted junk food.
The main benefits though were the increased energy and the overall feeling of health. The energy wasn’t bursting out of me like a sugar rush, it was much like a vast background pool of tapable energy. It could be used at all times and keep you going no matter what. I didn’t have problems getting to sleep either, the energy wasn’t a problem at night, it was still there, but I could turn off the access to it.
The health feeling was just an overall well being, but at the same time I was in detox. I had the same aches I get after eating junk food, but it would come and go throughout the day. It started on day 2 and lasted until day 11, but considering that I went straight from a high junk food diet into nothing but fresh ingredients, it’s not suprising.
The food was great, but all the ways to prepare it was overwhelming. I need to find better places to shop, more types of food to eat, and not worry about recipes. I prefer just eating the food like it arrives, raw and yummy. Also, having fruit and vegetables and nuts sequentially in a meal is a great way to eat, you feel like you’ve had three meals at once.
With the two week trial over on Friday night I had cooked food again, a takeaway burger. I really wanted it I thought, but after having I felt ill. Eating the burger I could taste all the grease, the meat, the breading and the spices seperately. It felt like my taste buds were on supercharge. I guess even your tastebuds go numb when you eat crap, because I couldn’t taste it before. I’m still eating cooked food until the end of monday night, but right now I feel like crap. All the energy has been switched off and I feel permanently sleepy. The trial was a success, so much so that I think I will go back on a raw food diet starting Wednesday again. After two short weeks I’m starting to wonder how we could live like this for so long, in a permanent food coma.
I do have to get a new job though. It feels karmically wrong to serve food that I know is bad.
Weekly Beginnings 2 and 3
I actually started number 2 on Sunday, and I start number 3 today.
Number 2: Perform Cardio exercise for at least 15 minutes a day. This will probably be easy as I have a stationary bike to do it on, plus I can listen to music/podcasts while I’m working out.
Number 3: Follow the 100 pushups challenge. I started this one already, but I need to restart again. My body wasn’t ready the first time, but it is now. Day 1 of Week 1 is scheduled for tonight after work.
Weekly Beginnings
So I was thinking about what challenge I wanted to take on next, from my list of 43 things. The raw diet has been going so well so far that I thought I’d bring something else in. Then I realised that it’s exactly a week since I started the raw diet and committing to my new life of growth and change, so all of a sudden I realised that this could be a weekly thing. I’m calling it Weekly Beginnings for now, a way to bring good habits into your life on a regular basis without overwhelming you.
Every week, pick an item that you’ve always wanted to conquer/work on, then commit to working on it for 4weeks/30days or longer.If you do a weekly plan, it’s a perfect time to set aside time to work on this new goal/habit.
This has me all inspired now, I’m looking forward to a lifetime of weekly 30 day trials.
Going Raw Day 6-7.
Yesterday was much like day 5, tired, but with a background of energy.
Today was different though, as soon as I woke up I felt pumped. I hadn’t even had anything to eat yet and I still had all this energy. Mental clarity was very high as well, far above normal. I also tried out a couple of recipes I got from a raw cookbook, a chilli cashew dip and a banana and brazil nut milk. The dip was okay, except not quite to my taste but the brazil nut milk was just plain sour. I think I’ll be inventing my own recipes once I discover what I like and what I don’t like.
Just for the energy boost and mental clarity I would suggest everyone try this diet just for a week.
This will probably be my last daily update; will be switching to updating only when something important happens. I’m going to continue going raw for at least the whole of October, then after that give a full report on the pros, cons and personal experience.