Week 1 Update

Ok, so here we go. Here's a brief snapshot of what Ive been eating on a daily basis since I started. This one is taken for Sunday which is a pretty average day, although I usually drink a lot more water and try to eat more fruit, but I just received a new blender so I made 2 smoothies instead :o)

Sun:
1 x Smoothie: 2 Bananas, 2 Mankaki, 1 Kiwi
Few Raisins & Few Almonds
1 x Smoothie: As above
Few Raisins and Almond
Huge Salad: Lettuce, Tomato, Carrot, Capsicum, Red Cabbage, Avocado
Another Salad: as above


My exercise program for Saturday looked like this:

- 1 Hour Yoga
- 1/2 Hour Walk/Run
- Light Weights

Usually I would only do the yoga or another type of exercise but I felt really good on Saturday so I decided to do a bit more. Having more energy Ive been trying to add more activities to each day, by including a walk or some other light exercise in addition to the heavier workouts or cardio exercises.

After just over a week of eating only raw (with an occasional steamed vegetable) and exercising most days I am noticing my body feeling much lighter and my muscles feeling much tighter and harder. I can see some fat loss from all areas of my body especially in my face and around the belly, and Im noticing more definition in the muscles in my arms and stomach. Im far from being ripped, but I definitely feel much better, lighter, faster, stronger and with increased stamina which is providing my with additional inspiration and motivation to continue and to step it up another level.

I cant say that I feel like Ive been struggling at all on this diet... Although there have been a few times that I would have liked to have made a warm soup to counter this cold weather, I just went about making a salad or a smoothie instead.

Also, Ive been to a few social events with family friends and found it interesting to look at the food being served and the body shapes, skin types and the health conditions of those who were eating/serving it and see if I could make any correlation between the two. I had my suspicions but kept them to myself, using the situation for my own inspiration and as extra motivation to avoid the copious amounts of meat, alcohol and deserts being consumed.

A few things that I need to watch:

* Over-eating of nuts and dried fruit.. The combination of fats and sugars is so addictive, Ive been eating a bunch of walnuts with dried figs (such a tasty combination!) and I know that Ive been eating way too many.. Once I get started its hard to stop, so Im learning to limit myself to a handful of each or less per day.

* Ive had some steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower on a couple of occasions mixed in my salad when eating with the extended family. This I dont feel so bad about, but it is not purely raw - so Im just letting you know!

*Exercise feels much better first thing in the morning, it starts the day off in a great way and keeps the positive vibes going all day long. When I do exercise in the morning I feel strong and feel like doing more throughout the day. However if I don't exercise first thing in the morning, I tend to avoid it and put it off and off until late in the evening and carry the feeling of not doing something that I know I should be and want to be doing with me throughout the day.

My little assessment of the past week leads me to believe that at this moment in time, the best way for me to eat each day would look something like this:

*Drink water upon rising.
*Green Smoothie after exercising
*Fruit throughout day
*Small amount of nuts/seeds
*Drink water throughout day
*Green Salad (around lunch)
*Fruit
*Smoothie or Salad (around dinner)
*Drink water before bed


And for exercising I think best to alternate each day between: Yoga, Cardio (run, swim, cycle), Weight Training, Super-Sets, and also to include some walking and light stretching each day.

All things considered, everything is going amazingly well, now its probably time to step up the exercise program and fine tune the diet a little more. So perhaps a little more active food and exercise planning & logging will help the process unfold...

Josh :o)