Hoorah! 46 days as a raw foodist! Done! Though I must admit there were a few moments of weakness when I broke the 100% raw thing and had a cooked meal, or a bite of a cooked meal. Towards the end my stomach was having a rough time with the raw food so I cheated a little to keep my stomach from collapsing altogether. But I’d say I had at least 35 days of being 100% raw and the cheat days I was about 80% raw or more. Overall, I’m really glad I did it. It was a relief to do an extreme detox. It was a nice break from my usual caffeine, artificial sweeteners, processed food and alcohol that I consumed on a regular basis. The hardest part was on cold days when I couldn’t have a nice hot drink to warm me up. If I wanted anything hot, I drank hot water. And there were definitely times where I was so sick of raw food, slaved over a raw meal and ended up hating it, and became desperate for something new and tasty. But it was all a learning process, and I still have plenty to learn.

Since going back to cooked food I’m trying to be gradual. My body is no longer used to cooked food so I’m really putting my stomach through the ringer right now. Raw food is too rough and cooked food is unfamiliar. I had a big bean burrito for lunch yesterday, and though it tasted amazing, I was in agony afterwards. My stomach hurt so bad and my acid reflux was in full effect. Oy!

But I guess that’s good in a way. I don’t want to go crazy and start packing on the pounds by eating too much processed food. My body won’t let me. So I’m going to continue making my green drink in the morning, and probably eat mostly raw food during the day and maybe a cook up a nice dinner. I want to continue the raw thing but I’m not ready to be 100%. From what I’ve heard, many raw foodists say it took them a couple of years before going all raw. I can see why. Diving into it is not very realistic. It takes a lot of research and planning, learning how to make plenty of delicious raw meals so you don’t get bored or malnourished, etc. and it’s easier on your body if you gradually adjust your diet.

Here are some of the best things that I’ve gotten out of this whole ordeal: I really listen to my body now. I eat to fuel myself. I can sense when my body is craving leafy greens or a banana. And in the last couple of months, pretty much everyone I work with has gotten sick except for me. My immune system is stronger than ever. My stomach has gotten smaller and I get full much faster. I eat more slowly and really appreciate what I eat. I don’t need as much sleep, I am more efficient with getting work done, and I have more endurance when I excersize. And overall, I’ve just been a happier person. I’ve been more confident, have had less anxiety (even though it’s my busiest time of the year at work), and more ambition. I signed up for a pole-dancing class with some friends just for the hell of it. I have a more positive outlook on life. Not that I was a very depressed person, but I just feel like a weight has been lifted off of me and I’m more excited about life. It’s really amazing what a healthy, clean diet can do for your outlook on life.

I didn’t have any dramatic weight loss like I hear happens to many people when they go raw. I was all ready to be a sexy skinny size 2 with radiant blemish free skin and rock-hard abs. Ah well. Maybe if I go to one of those raw resorts for a month and get tons of colonics and wheatgrass enemas and fast on green juices I’ll have better luck. But until I am able to take that much time off of work (taking a whole week off is hard enough!) I guess my transformation to perfection will have to be more gradual.

I challenge you all to add more raw food into your diets. Give yourself a good cleansing. You’ll understand why raw foodists are so devoted to this lifestyle. It really is magical.