Raw Kick in the Pants
Hey guys! Happy Sunday <3 Hope you’re having a lovely and relaxing day!
My last class of the day yesterday was bootcamp. Mindy Mylrea was the presenter for this one –I took a few of her classes during the workshop- and she is a little fireball of energy. Love her ideas and she has so much great enthusiasm. We were split into teams by using colored bandanas and went around the room doing each drill for one minute, with a group cardio drill in between.
I got a lot of great new station ideas for bootcamp 🙂
Afterwards, it was feast time.
PF Chizzle.
Random trivia: The pilot and I went on our first date at PF Chang’s. (The story of how we met is *here*) I almost didn’t go on the date because the pilot seemed too nice and too good-looking so I was convinced that he must be a creeper and would take me into the desert and cut my fingers off. My friend Jenna told me that if I didn’t go on the date, she would be mad at me, so I went. Our dinner lasted 4 hours and then we went out for coffee 🙂
In the spirit of our first date, we got the vegetarian lettuce wraps:
And I also had a crab wonton.. and then I had another 🙂
+ organic green tea
For my entree, I rolled with the Cantonese shrimp
brown rice
and ate every. single. bite 🙂
The pilot had honey chicken:
Bummer news: The pilot and I are both fighting something wicked. We went to Trader Joe’s for groceries last night and loaded up on Emergen-C (this stuff works WONDERS) but were up all night sniffling and coughing. 🙁
It was a little rough when I had to be at the conference at 7 this morning, but my day started off with such an awesome lecture.
Popular diet trends fascinate me. I always try to research as much as I can about them (if I haven’t tried it before.. I’ve definitely been around the proverbial diet block in my life)—this way, when a client comes up to me with a wonky diet plan they’ve been trying to follow, I already know about it and if needed, we can devise a plan to get them eating healthily again.
We discussed a lot of the popular diet strategies:
–Weight Watchers (which actually got a thumbs up because you can follow it for life.. I don’t particularly love WW because you can use all of your “points” by eating doughnuts for your meals instead of real food, but it really is an easy plan to follow with many success stories)
–South Beach
–Atkin’s (mayjah thumbs down due to the high saturated fat intake and the false claim that carbs promote weight gain- we NEED carbs!)
–The Ab’s Diet
–Eat Right for Your Blood Type
–Hoodie
–Thin for Life
–Sugar Busters (States that sugar stops you from losing weight—if you’re active, your body will process sugar well and in moderation isn’t a big deal)
–The Zone
and guess which diet got a shiny gold star?
The Raw Food Diet.
According to the presenter (who is a Registered Dietician and raw foodist himself), the raw food diet is perfectly adequate in supplying enough carbs, fat and protein—one ounce of broccoli has more protein than an ounce of sirloin (which also has saturated fat- broccoli does not). The enzymes enable superb digestion and blood test results from raw foodists are superior.
The big negative of the raw food diet?
It takes a lot of PLANNING, prep and organization, which is a turn-off for most people. Also, if you live in a small town like I do, fresh organic produce is difficult to find, very expensive and ingredients are scarce.
I’ve gotten a LOT of emails asking why I haven’t been eating as raw for the past few months. Honestly, I just got sick of the work. Making a nut crust to dehydrate, spread with a raw sauce (that I would also have to make) and fresh veggies is a lot more work than taking out a whole wheat tortilla adding some hummus and spinach. Also, when I was eating mostly raw, I was eating a LOT of healthy fats (I like my nuts! Heh) and too much of anything isn’t bueno.
After talking with Scott after his lecture, it was good motivation for me to get back into it. I know how to make the food (I went to raw culinary school for goodness sake), my energy will go back up and the small volcanoes that have been colonizing on my face will disappear.
As I start to get more into the raw things, I’m going to keep it simple.. there’s no need to be whipping out crazy stuff on an everyday basis.
I’ll also be consulting this beautiful book:
and will take it easy on the nuts 🙂
Of course, I’ll still be eating plenty o’ cooked food as well.
The cool thing about eating is that it isn’t one size fits all and it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Also, it’s always evolving. Our eats can change according to seasons, how we feel and what we’re craving. Sometimes I’m a vegan, sometimes I eat seafood and egg whites all day, sometimes I eat a lot of veggies, always, I eat a lot of almond butter 😀 You have to do what works best for you, mmmm k?
I’m off to step, then a yoga lecture and then back to Valdizzy!
I can’t wait to see these little faces….
See ya from HOME 🙂
xoxo,
Gina
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I think the stats on broccoli v. sirloin might be wrong. It should be approx. 13 g. protein for sirloin and 9.92 g. of protein for broccoli(when eaten raw)and thats not taking into account that the volume of broccoli would be far greater for 100 calories than sirloin*.
Btw- not trying to diss your post- I love your blog and I’ve even tried a couple of your workouts, just confused about how the presenter reached his conclusion.
*source: http://www.nourishdc.com/?p=612
plant protein is used a little differently by the body than animal protein– heating the meat breaks down some of the protein molecules
steak has more actual protein grams per serving, but when you look at grams of protein per 100 calories, broccoli is pretty darn close. when you look at the actual amino acids, broccoli trumps steak in quite a few of them http://www.veganrepresent.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91
thank you for encouraging me to use my brain this morning 🙂 i’ve been moving a little slowly!
I am a FIRM believer and preacher in no one size fits all diet! Also, the high animal protein diet myth is just a myth. We totally get enough protein from plant foods, once deemed “incomplete” protein. A 100% raw diet may not work for everyone, and like you said, takes a lot of time a preparation…but high raw, foods as close to their natural state as possible, no processed foods, and limited added sugars are ideal!
i go by the 90/10 rule…90% I try to eat clean, foods close to their natural state…other 10% I treat myself, we eat out, enjoy deserts, and it’s all guilt-free 🙂
Great post today! Love the story about you and pilot how you almost didn’t go…see how funny life is, and how something so small, a friend convincing you, changed your life!
Hey lady,
I’m a little confused about the broccoli vs. steak fact.
I just checked it out on Nutrition Data.com (for what it’s worth), and it seems like broccoli has 1g protein vs. 7g protein in the sirloin.
Can you help me understand, pwease? Does it matter how each is prepared?
Thanks in advance!
that’s per serving, not considering calorie and protein density (ie 100 calories of steak vs 100 calories of broccoli) or actual breakdown of amino acids 🙂
I would love to incorporate a little more raw into my eating habits. So it will be interesting to learn some tips from you as you get back into it.
Also…I am 100% with you on our diets should change with the seasons!I tell people that all the time..in the summer, more cool foods, raw foods…in the winter, warmer foods, roasted root veggies, etc. When our bodies change, pregnancy, age, etc, we will have different needs!
As far as the broccoli vs sirloin….did the presenter mean that in a sense of how meat depletes our bodies of enzymes, and broccoli has enzymes our body needs …so we absorb and utilize the protein more? In response to the two comments above?
You’re so rght about nutrition…it’s not one size-fits-all. It’s the “hardest part” (at least for me) to master when it comes to fitness. My goal at this point is to be more conscious of what I feed my body and in doing that, I try to keep it clean, healthy and free of artificial ad-ons. Moderation is definitely the key.
I have to disagree with you regarding the donut statement and Weight Watchers. If you follow WW correctly you would not be able to do that. The plan requires that you have a certain number of servings of fruit and vegetables, healthy oils, lean protein, dairy and whole grains. If you used all of your points on donuts you would not be able to fulfill the good health guidelines. You could use your weekly allotted flex points for donuts but again only doing that if you have already fulfilled the good health guidelines. I am sure everyone does not follow the plan this way but that is the goal of the program.
i totally agree. i know how the program *should* work but have known quite a few people to use their points solely for junk food. if it’s done well, it really is a great program
Hey,
but one also has to see that behind the WW program there is a different mentality than the one you have. Obviously you want to live a healthy live..not a whole lot of peoplehave that as a major concern when they start doing WW. They usually want to lose weight while still enjoying the foods they love and that’s what the program targets. Only once the participants want to get further into the subject of healthy eating and livestyle then WW helps you get a head start with the Health Guidelinces (I think that’s what they are called in the US here in Germany they are calles Fit formulas) and also with the weekly topics that are discussed in the group.
So seeing it from the diet standpoint it is one of the best choices available. Seeing it from a live healthy standpoint it’s different.
I think that’s a point one should keep in mind when talking about WW.
And yes if you haven’t figured out by now: I am a member of WW and so far have lost 18kg in 1 1/2 years but still have a little more to go.
that’s very true and an excellent point- thank you! so awesome that WW has been successful for you so far 🙂 xoxo
I used WW to lose some weight, and although they want you to get proper food groups, you don’t have to. There are plenty of people I went to meetings with who would talk about what they ate — and it certainly wasn’t the healthy guidelines.
Gina I totally agree with you about not being one-size-fits-all when it comes to a diet. I would love to learn more about the raw diet, but the time needed kind of scares me away. I’m glad you are getting backn into it more, it will be nice to see more recipes/ideas for raw meals. Have a safe trip home!
Hi Gina!
Sorry to hear you’re fighting a cold! I usually make sure I get plenty of rest, vitamin C, and drink as much water and tea as I can to stay hydrated. I have a question about the Raw Food diet – I don’t eat a lot of raw food, but I do eat a ton of fruit and veggies. Do you really find that eating raw improves the state of your skin? If so, do you know what it is about the diet that does this?
Thanks! 🙂
YES. my skin looks totally different when i eat more raw, fresh food. it’s from all of the enzymes
I have myself been on way too many of the “popular diets” throughout the years. I absolutely believe in raw food diets – for me, it’s a little too much effort. But I have so much respect for those who do it! I think nothing but amazing things about it!
I have heard of Mindy… sounds like it was an awesome time!
I always, always, always get the cantonese shrimp at PF Chang’s! SO GOOD!!!
Hope you feel better… never fun being sick!
I love that you are totally comfortable with constantly adapting and adjusting with what you are eating…I’m the same way! I also have thought about revisiting some of my high raw eats and dusting off that old juicer. Hopefully you will inspire me!
I LOVE PF Changs. The honey chicken is so good!! I’ll have to try the lettuce wraps next time I go. I usually roll with the chicken but the veggie ones look good! Best part, though? The desserts. I love how they are bite sized with those little spoons 😀
You’re sick too?? Ugh, so am I. Hope you feel better soon!
Since I’m in college (living in a sorority house) it is SO hard to eat raw. I wish I could, but for now I think I just have to stick with eating a lot of raw veggies.
Sorry to hear you and the pilot are under the weather. When I feel like I’m coming down with something I load up on the Emergen-C and echinacea. Since I’ve started that regimen I haven’t had a full-blown cold! Echinacea is an herb that stimulates the T cells of the immune system. It works well for short-term use. Hope you guys are feeling better soon!
ohh I love PF Changs! I’m in Honolulu for the summer and they have one in Waikiki and I am obsessed with the lettuce wraps. If you go during happy hour they’re half off!
PF Changs looks sooo good!
Hope you and the hubby feel better!
I just started a one month raw challenge myself! I’m really excited about it!
That sounds like a very interesting lecture! I’m totally jealous of all the info you’ve learned this weekend! Makes me want to go to a fitness conference 😀
I love raw food! I eat it most of the time, but would never be 100% because you would never want to miss out on an experience like eating where you and the pilot had your first date!
amen to that. you don’t have be all raw to get the benefits.. and life isn’t life without some pf changs 🙂
Gina, I hope you and the pilot feel better soon. My hubby & I have been sick for over a week with the WORST cold we’ve ever had ! We’ve been taking Emergen-C, drinking green tea, and when we couldn’t stop coughing or breathe any other way, we’ve been loading up on cold medicine and cough syrup. ugh I just hope you are NOT getting the same thing.
On another note, I HEART PF Chang !!!
Becky
thanks girl, me too! hope you feel better soon!!
Who eats one ounce of meat? Caloric density aside, it seems incredibly irresponsible of the speaker to suggest that the average American could be healthy eating a raw food diet. I am not condemning you, I find what you do amazing. You constantly educate yourself in mindful raw / vegetarian eating, and are presumably apt in maintaining a healthy balance between caloric and nutritional density. However in the hands of the average American individual, an attempt at uneducated raw (or even vegetarian) eating could be easily as dangerous as running or weightlifting with no concern for training or planning. Any healthy change requires education, responsibility and dullifence
Who eats one ounce of meat? Caloric density aside, it seems incredibly irresponsible of the speaker to suggest that the average American could be healthy eating a raw food diet. I am not condemning you, I find what you do amazing. You constantly educate yourself in mindful raw / vegetarian eating, and are presumably apt in maintaining a healthy balance between caloric and nutritional density. However in the hands of the average American individual, an attempt at uneducated raw (or even vegetarian) eating could be easily as dangerous as running or weightlifting with no concern for training or planning. Any healthy change
e requires education, responsibility and dilligence no matter how many times someone says “just eat broccoli”.
i don’t think he was saying that the average american could be healthy eating a raw diet– maybe he meant that when followed correctly it’s a very healthy lifestyle?
i couldn’t agree more about being educated about fitness and eating– it can be a epic fail on both counts if you don’t know what you’re doing. that’s why it’s so important for people educate themselves and figure out what works best for them… it’s definitely way more than just eating broccoli 🙂
thanks for the awesome comment <3
You’re completely right–everyone should eat what is right for their bodies, and not follow trends that are only right for others. 🙂 We’re all unique individuals!
I can’t wait to see some raw meals from you. It’s inspiring. 🙂
I like eating raw in the summertime when I am naturally craving less food. As soon as the temps drop I find that I don’t stay as full.
me too- i’m so much hungrier (and want HOT food) in the winter
I love how you mention it is not one size fits all and doesn’t have to be all or nothing. We each need to follow the eating path that suits our bodies and our needs. And that we can enjoy.
Aww, you and the Pilot are just the cutest! And wow…if YOU say something’s a lot of work, it really must be because you always impress me with how efficient you seem to be with your time. You’re always on the go! That’s very true about WW too…it’s kind of like vegetarians who live on pizza and PB&J sandwiches. It’s like, what’s the point?!
I love PF Changs – its one of my favorite restaurants! I think last time I went there I got the Cantonese Shrimp…or maybe Garlic Shrimp? Haha.
Not surprised that the Raw Food Diet got a shiny gold star! I feel so much healthier when I eat a high-raw diet, and my skin DEFINITELY looks a million times better from all the enzymes!
I totally agree about the “one-diet-doesn’t-fit-all idea”– I used to drive myself CRAZY trying to eat ALL raw or ALL vegan. That just doesn’t work for me. I enjoy eating raw food a lot of the time (especially in the summer), but I’ll never label myself as a “vegetarian” or “raw foodist” again, because I don’t want to feel restricted!
And I almost ALWAYS over-do it on the nuts when I jump back into raw foods… but then it usually balances out as I get used to it again. 😉
Thanks for the convention recaps. I was excited about it before, now I am pumped. I “play” around with food too. It makes it interesting. I have been wanting that book. Will you do a recap?
yes, definitely!
wow, good to know that out of all those diets, raw seems like the way to go!
Are those Livin’ Spoonful crackers in that picture? I’ve been wanting to try them but can’t swallow the hefty price tag. 🙁
Girl, go find some elderberry syrup! It’s a natural cure that I’ve been using for a while and I swear- whenever I feel a cold coming on I start taking the syrup (1 teaspoon 4x a day) and NEVER get sick!
no they’re homemade raw onion crackers 🙂
good to know- i’ll be on the lookout
I actually was in an aerobics competition along side Mindy years ago! how very cool that she is still in the business.
the best diet – the one that works for you!!
take good care of yourself. be well!
what?! that is so awesome! was she just as hyper back then? i loved learning from her this weekend 🙂
YES! very hyper. how old is she now? so cool that she has been able to maintain that level of energy. she is my new hero!!
she said “almost fifty”. um.. she looks maybe 30? it’s amazing, really. and yes, her energy was ridiculous- she’s beyond awesome
haha wow that kind of looks like bootcamp too!
speaking of bootcamp, thats kind of how the raw food diet felt like for me. i never enjoyed it because i was always anal about hot tea and the ‘little things’ … if i were to have just let myself enjoy steamed greens and sweet potatoes i would have been able to appreciate the health benefits of eating raw.
xoxo <3
Wow glad to see you are going to be eating more raw! I love to Andes times a week so it will be good to see what recipes you come up with 😉
I totally agree with you as to there not being a “One Size Fits All” approach to diet or to exercise. When I finally embraced that recently, I started to LIVE my life again AND boom! Got better results with my workouts too. I tried to do 100% Raw before and just couldn’t deal with the prep like you said. I’ll be tuning in to see what you are eating going forward! 😉
Thanks for this post! I’ve been doing Weight Watchers for almost a year now, and sometimes I feel stifled by the rules of the program. I tend to forget that I can incorporate other things I have read into my life. I don’t just have to count points. And I definitely want to look a little more closely at the raw diet.
I definitely feel you when you say it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I’m way more happy now just eating what I feel like (which ends up mostly raw) than when I was 100% raw. If I eat all cooked for one day, that’s okay and I will crave more raw the next. It’s all about balance!! I was Ani’s cookbook from Averie and am so excited to try some recipes!
I definitely feel you when you say it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I’m way more happy now just eating what I feel like (which ends up mostly raw) than when I was 100% raw. If I eat all cooked for one day, that’s okay and I will crave more raw the next. It’s all about balance!! I won Ani’s cookbook from Averie and am so excited to try some recipes!
Eating raw really interests me, but as a student, I definitely don’t have the time or money (for a dehydrator, etc) to commit to it. It’d be cool to check out a raw food restaurant though. And now that you’re gonna try out some raw foods again, maybe I’ll get some easy recipe ideas from you. 😀
very interesting post! and is that a shiba inu?
I’ve never been to PF Changes, I hear it’s sooo good. I’m a sodium feign, but sodium hates me, though. 🙁
I just did a semi high raw diet (left in dairy) for 7 days two weeks ago. It was an interesting diet to try. I lost 10 lbs doing it (raw food has a very high thermal effect) and learned that a raw lifestyle definitely isn’t for me, but I think some raw days and/or raw meals incorporated into an otherwise cooked diet is a great idea and very refreshing.
Jenn
Hope you guys feel better VERY soon!
Wow! When I read that you and the pilot were “both fighting something wicked” I got scared, thinking you were having domestic squabbles. 🙁 Phew! Feel better soon!
hahah definitely not 😀
So glad you got to take some sessions from Mindy – shes AMAZING isnt she? I got to work with her on the last BOSU explode series – check it out if you havent already! 🙂
i love how you guys met, its the cutest thing ever! When I first met my guy, i couldn’t stand him, but now we’re madly in love! things work out in weird ways!
Damn girl, comment bonanza! See what you do…you make people come out of their Sunday Shell and comment! And you got some good ones too that I’ve just skimmed over 🙂
You know my path is high raw vegan BUT i am not dogmatic,I dont care if i eat cooked food, I dont stress about preserving true raw status; rather I care about eating as close to natural as possible and ease of preparation so some things may be “no bake” not raw, i.e. oats or nut flours, they are not raw, but I can do no-bake stuff with them.
It’s all about finding your groove…for me, cooking something is FAR more work and complicated than raw cooking/uncooking b/c to me, it’s easy. However, I am not whipping up dehyd’ed crusts and soak/dehyding things for days on end. I am eating lots of fresh raw produce, some fats and protein, and calling it a day. I leave the “masterpiece meals” for special occassions and daily eats are just simple, plain, fresh produce as much of the time as possible.
Love this post and Im excited for your journey back into some more raw eats….if that’s what you end up doing. As a woman, as a human, it’s totally our right to change our minds and path…daily 🙂
Feel better!!!!!!! Lots of garlic if you can take it..so antiviral (i hate garlic though LOL)
I hope you guys feel better!
You know, I have always wondered about the WORK that comes with raw food. I am so intrigued by raw desserts yet I am too frazzled to think ahead far enough to make a dehydrated crust 48 hours in advance. I just don’t know how it’s done!
I love me some pf changs. MMMM! Hope you two feel better!
We went to P.F. Chang’s for dinner last night, too!!