Picture
This morning, a friend of mine shared an article about actor, Ashton Kutcher landing in the hospital after adopting a "fuitarian" diet for an upcoming film. He suggested that it might be a good blog topic. And I agree. 
If you haven't seen it yet, here is a link to the article: http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/28/all-fruit-diet-lands-ashton-kutcher-in-the-hospital/
First of all, without knowing the specifics of what Kutcher was eating, it's impossible to determine if his hospitalization was due to fruit consumption alone. And I highly suspect it wasn't. Actors have been known to go to extremes for specific roles. We don't know the amount of fruit he was eating, if his fruit was properly ripe, if he was restricting his calories, making bad food combining decisions (such as consuming high amounts of fat via nuts & seeds directly before, after or with a fruit meal) or if he was supplementing his diet with any form of stimulants etc.
Also, he was complaining of pancreatic inflammation, which is not commonly caused by fruit (sugar) intake. Rather, causes of pancreatitis tend toward high levels of triglycerides (fat) in the bloodstream, certain types of drugs including commonly prescribed antibiotics like tetracycline, chronic alcohol abuse, gallstones, hereditary diseases such as cystic fibrosis, prior abdominal surgeries and pancreatic abnormalities like cancer. 
Kutcher also feared his diet was the culprit as he was mimicking Steve Jobs lifestyle, who had not long ago died of a rare form of pancreatic cancer. It's important to remember that Jobs had cancer before adopting a fruitarian diet. The high fruit intake did not cause his cancer and for all we know, it may have added years to his life. Also, Steve Jobs was known to supplement his high fruit lifestyle with soy products and high sugar fruit juices, which is not conducive to achieving optimal results.
Here is a great testimonial video showing true and amazing results of a high fruit (carb), low fat lifestyle, long term. I know some of these people. Oh, and my adorable boyfriend is in there too. Can you spot him? His name is Jeremy Paradis.*shameless plug* And you can see more of him and other fruitarians on his page Ripped Raw Vegans --> https://www.facebook.com/rippedrawvegans?fref=ts

Anatomy of a Fruitarian Diet

I've also been asked to share examples of what & when I eat in a given day as a fruitarian (aka: low fat raw vegan, high carb raw vegan, 80/10/10 - I'll get into the name specifics another time)
On an optimal day, meaning I've gotten adequate rest and have been active through some form of exercise; I will try to consume between 2500 - 3000 calories. Yes, that much! This is a completely non restrictive lifestyle, and will help your body achieve proper weight loss or gain depending on your needs. You can eat as much as you want. And it produces heaps of energy. You'll be astounded by how many circles you can run around your sluggish friends.
I typically start my day with hydration. I like to get in between 3-4 liters of water a day. It's so important to stay hydrated. Bye-bye dry winter skin.  
I begin most days with rebounding (mini-trampoline) between 15-20 minutes. Rebounding is great for moving your lymph. And I'll touch on that in another blog. Then, I consume my first liter of water. Breakfast is usually a 6-8 banana smoothie. Bananas are a great staple because they're high in calories (energy) and bananas are high in potassium (about 600 mg per medium banana), which is an important mineral and electrolyte necessary for muscular function and digestion. Potassium also helps balance the effects of sodium on your body. As other natural plant foods, bananas contain fiber (3 grams in a medium-sized one). Bananas also contain vitamins A, B, E, K and C as well as 6 mcg of folic acid, which is essential for red blood cell formation.  All of this comes in a tasty package that has about 105 calories with 0 grams of fat. 

I generally keep my smoothies relatively simple. 3 ingredients. Bananas, another fruit (usually frozen) such as berries or peaches and a green like spinach or kale. So yummy and easy. 
Lunch is usually either a mono fruit meal (meaning all one fruit) like bananas, oranges, dates or watermelon. And then dinner is a big salad. I keep the dressing simple too and relatively low fat. Sometimes it's just lemon and fresh herbs or something like blended tomato with basil. If I am having overt fats, I have them with dinner as it allows the body time at the end of the day to efficiently metabolize them. Some days I add some avocado to my salad or tahini or walnuts.
Snacks between meals are usually just fruit. And I hydrate throughout the day, but I allow adequate time before or after meals. Liquids can dilute your meal and slow down digestion.
By keeping meals simple, digestion stays simple and regular. No indigestion, gas, heartburn or discomfort.
Although, this is what a bulk of my intake looks like, I do vary it up with interesting recipes. Like raw zucchini pastas or things like chocolate/ blueberry mousse pie. Mmmm. 

I'll start posting food pics and sharing recipes soon.


All in all, I hope this blog helped you appreciate that fruit is not evil. It's nature's perfect food and is here for us to enjoy and thrive on.


Have a fruity day!
 
Picture
Anyone remember that show? In the 90's? On TGIF? With Suzanne Somers? Well anyway, this isn't about that. It's about keepin' on keepin' on.
Some days are just not easy. And sometimes we slip up. And that's okay.
If you fall off your wagon, you get back on. You don't give up. Just like if you're hiking a mountain, and you trip on a rock, you don't go to the bottom and start over. You keep ascending. 
This past week has been a prime example for me. I goofed. And I ate some things I shouldn't have. This was my own fault, because I wasn't properly stocked up on enough high carb fruit. And when there aren't enough carbs, that's when the cravings start. For salty things and fatty things. And I had a few things I shouldn't have. No big whoop. I had a little too much overt fat and a little too much sodium. And for a few days I was gassy and I had some new breakouts. The good news is, I learned my lesson. I'm listening to my body and I'm back on the high carb fruit train. No more cutting corners.
It's funny how much our bodies can endure and yet how delicate they really are. With a cleaner engine, I become much more aware of how well I'm "working". If I eat too much of the wrong thing, I can immediately sense my body protecting itself. Phlegm for example, is a good indication that something isn't right. As soon as I eat a high fat meal, I get phlegmy. And all phlegm really is is a mass of white blood cells rushing in to protect the body from an irritant. Namely, fatty food... or a virus. Another example is, waking up in the morning and finding "sleepy seeds" in the corners of my eyes. A sign of too much sodium. When I used to eat high fat, high sodium foods in the past, I wasn't in tune with these signals. Because my body was so used to coping with what I was putting into it, it adapted. But now, when my body is clean and free of pollution, the slightest alteration puts my senses on high alert. The beauty of this, is how amazing I am capable of feeling. How being so in tune can allow me to really feel vibrant, supple, energetic. If I'm eating well, my body lets me know and rewards me in kind. 
Regardless of my slip-ups over the week, I am down 5 pounds and no more muffin top. The belly is pretty flat too. Oh happy day! Time for a smoothie.

I wish you a beautiful, bountiful week.
Love & blessings,

 
Picture
As I write this, drinking my green smoothie and enjoying the view of the winter-wonderland outside, I am reflecting on the past week. Today is day 7 on my "journey" and already I'm witnessing some miraculous things. Since reverting back to 100% raw foods: 
-My belly bloat has reduced significantly. On the morning of day 4, I looked in the mirror and saw that the gut I'd been carrying around for the better part of 6 months was about 50% smaller than it had been. I felt so much lighter. And while hugging Jeremy the next day, he whispered in my ear that he didn't feel as much "belly" touching him. That, in and of itself made me feel good. Now, on day 7, it's even smaller. And this is without increasing my workouts yet. 
-The inflammation in my skin is almost nonexistent now. I still have redness and scars, but no new breakouts. Where, a week ago, I was breaking out every day. Finally, my skin is getting a chance to heal. Hallehloo!
-Gas? Gone. No discomfort after a meal. And at the sake of being a little gross here, no smelly poo. Well... it does smell a little, like fruit. No joke. Y'know that saying about thinking your s**t don't stink? Well, mine doesn't. So there.

Another thing I've noticed this week is that, as I've been detoxing my body, I've been releasing some really negative energy. I try to be very aware of my thoughts and do my best to keep my frame of mind in check. However, over the past few days, I've opened some sort of floodgate. So many tears, full of fear, anger and despair flowed from me. I didn't even know I'd been holding onto it. I felt worthless and was getting angry at the smallest things. And today, I woke up and felt free of the despondency. Just like anything toxic, it needed to be purged. And I am grateful.
Now I'm ready to take on another week, feeling lighter and more joyful than I have in a long while. 
What negative things have you been holding onto? And what can you do to release them?


Blessings,
 
Ooh, first official post! I'm actually doing this blog thing. Scary... exciting.
Let me start by saying that I feel incredibly grateful today for this fresh start. I feel thankful that I have this opportunity to take control of my health. And I hope many of you realize how privileged a great deal of us are to have choices regarding what we eat and what we do with our bodies. I also hope you're all making good, healthy choices for yourselves. We only get one bod after all. <3

Okay, tools of the trade. First off, http://cronometer.com/. This is probably my most essential tool for the start of my journey. Cron-o-meter, for those of you who have never used it, is a very helpful nutrition monitor. Simply enter what you're eating in a day, and it will track and break down your caloric intake as well as separate the amounts of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins you are consuming. This tool is especially helpful for us raw vegans, to ensure we are getting a proper nutritional balance. But I recommend it to anyone who wants a breakdown of what they're actually putting into their bodies. You might be startled at what you're getting too much of, or lacking.  It's also great for weight management. It even allows you to track your daily exercise and it estimates the calories you burn. Whatever your monitoring need, Cron-o-meter will help you get on the right track. 

The second tool I am using to track my progress is *gulp* a camera. Tonight, Jeremy is being kind enough to take some very unflattering pictures of me. Though I cringe at the thought now, I know it will be gratifying to see my results by comparison. And no, you don't get to see them yet. Not for 3 months. Patience. :)

And thirdly, a good ole' fashioned journal. I'm going to try to keep up with my routine most days. As well as report on how my skin is doing on any given day and my digestion too. I want to be able to look back and say, on such and such a day, my skin was completely inflammation free. Or on blah/blah/2013 I no longer felt bloated. Don't worry, I'll report here too. Journaling is just a way for me to keep closer track of my day to day changes.

Thanks for reading. If you have any other helpful, monitoring tips or any questions, please share your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you.

Love & blessings,
  Vicky