I’ve recently started subscribing to a weekly email from Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach. Her most recent email contained an article I found intriguing. Instead of thinking about how you nourish your body on a daily basis, think about each day as a series of 3 cycles. Each cycle serves a different purpose.

• Stage 1, which occurs between 4 am and noon is Elimination. This is when your body is at its peak hours for eliminating. During these hours, it’s best to help aid your body with elimination or “housecleaning”, not prevent it. You can do this by eating fruits, veggies, and drinking green drinks because they require the least amount of digestion. These items help continue the elimination process. Once you start eating other foods your elimination will halt.
• Stage 2, which occurs between noon and 8pm is called Appropriation. This is the peak time to eat because your digestion capability is at an all time high. We are also burning food up faster because we are awake and active (ideally). But don’t eat if you’re not hungry. Listen to your body and eat when you feel the need. Learn to get in tune with your natural hunger signals.
• Stage 3, which occurs between 8pm and 4am is Assimilation.This is the time when you make use of the food you’ve eaten. Much of this time you’ll likely be asleep (ideally) and your body can run it’s course, absorb the nutrients, heal and rebuild your body. Once that’s done, the body is ready to start cleansing and eliminating which leads back to Stage 1.

For anyone who is trying to lose weight, listening to this cycle is supposed to be a great help. This was taken from a raw foods article but I think it can be applied to any diet. One of my favorite things to make in the morning is a shot of wheatgrass. Maybe eat a banana, orange or some other fruit. It’s a great way to jump start your day. And I can tell my body is in peak cleansing mode in the morning. But I was unaware of these cycles until today, so with this knowledge I think I can go even further with maximizing my health.

Update: I’ve been raw for… 32 days now. Wow! I do feel much better (though I definitely miss cooked meals, miss the taste of coffee, beer…). I think I’ve lost weight but I don’t own a scale so I can’t say how much. I don’t think it’s anything dramatic. As far as the energy level goes