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Raw Food Transition Report

Raw Food Lifestyle  the Transition

In my transition from a low animal intake diet to a vegan low fat raw food life style there has been a lot of learning for me. I have had no eureka moments, and a few challenges.

Part of the difficulty is the amount of diversity in what is the accepted form of raw food regime.

  1. You will get
  2. high fat,
  3. low fat,
  4. gourmet
  5. vegan
  6. super foods
  7. non fruit
  8. high greens
  9. no nuts
  10. stay away from the Avos

Unfortunately there is almost a religious fervour that surfaces in the various forums and leaders of the practice.

It is a case now, where  that I will use  the tag Rawfood Barefoot Athlete it is not an issue that I like to spend any time defending.

I am finding that for me it is not only about what you are eating that makes up your overall health.  For me I see a great more harm done with the belief structure that you have to adhere to this and that principle before you can get the raw foodist badge.

I tend to look at other elements of the  Raw food lifestyle that make up more of the holistic side of being able to walk a with caring for all elements of what keeps us alive on this earth

I read other testimonials that glow with instant this and instant that results, I guess it is where you are starting from that is a datum start point for measurement to take place.

I came from a competitive athletic back round so had an awareness of the positive building blocks and the negative foods that impacted on my performance. After a couple months of the 811 regime I had definitely better digestion. This had been a problem for me for a long time.

A serving of fish and chips
Image via Wikipedia

It often that manifested in chronic energy leval dips, to actualy

vomiting after a fish and chip meal which I was fond of.

The first challenge in consuming more fruit I had, was to get through was salicylate allergy.

Salicylates are in a lot of foods, I found that I reacted more to some then others. http://salicylatesensitivity.com/

At 4 months proper food combining and more understanding of a raw food life style as opposed to 811 dogma, I balanced out definite mood swings that always exasperated my ability to control my bouts of depression that spun me of into places that were hard to see out from.

Mum Was Right Eat Your Greens

At six months the difficulty I had was always feeling hungry all the time and never feeling satiated.

Getting information on the quantity of greens and juices needed, enabled me to get a larger volume and variety of water and nutrient dense intake, apart from fruit.

At this time I started getting really severe itching on my back and shoulders, to the degree of causing the skin to bleed with scratching. I also developed a tear drop psoriasis on my scalp.

I persevered through the ‘detoxing’ thinking but the discomfort was to much to bear ( see bed sheets with blood stains all over from bleeding skin)

After reading varying discourses on the amount of fats in a diet I added more fats than the 10% through more nuts, avocados, hemp seed oil, olives, and coconut oil as a skin oil.

A glass jar of Spectrum Naturals brand organic...
Image via Wikipedia

After 12 to 14 days I saw the shift and the the itching subsided and after a month the psoriasis cleared up.

I have my own garden that can provide 40% of my veg, and live in a sub tropical climate with readily available fruits and vegies.

At 10 months I have found an eating regime that has me feeling more satisfied, but I still am adjusting as I go along.

I know that as a lifestyle, a raw food eating plan has seen me gain a lot of ground in reclaiming a quietness of mind and focus, from a demolition site of depression, alcohol dependency,and scattered thoughts.

I continue to learn and respond to the feed back my body gives me. At this time I still working out the way that my body optimally work’s at. It is a journey of conscious eating I am sure is more preferable and long term more beneficial for my soul and the earth I inhabit.

As always love to hear from you guys and tell me what effect a change of diet has had on you.

I have recommended

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Easy Veggie Meal Plans

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By admin – October 4, 2009

Raw Food Blues BareFoot Pain

Just recently the World Championship for age group Triathlon was held a 100k down the road from me and I did not bother to go.

Now I really like my Triathlon and I have been a competitor since 1996 and have enjoyed so much of what is something I still enjoy but the spark has gone
It is not about the need for competition that gets me up for early morning training and so another chapter
is closed on my life

Does this mean I become a couch potato, no of course not I still have an ego that would want to be able to get through a 5k run without barfing up a lung

For me it brings up a separation of an old way of thinking and a new set of goals and aspirations. When you set an Identity of self around being something achieving a thing, it is a vulnerable place as many people
find even if the goal has been achieved there is a place of loss while the next objective is settled on

I have been going through plenty of Raw Food Blues and BareFoot Pain as I progress through my transition I think that like many others who take the time to write to a blog it is a mixture of cathartic writings and love of a subject to be shared with anybody that happens to stumble upon whatever ranting you are involved in.

This can be an awkward place to be at times especially if your position is one of a left field stance as you are positioned for a great deal of negativity if you find your self in a position of reexamining your path or having to adopt a different tack then you had previously taken.

That is I find is to the heart of all dogmatic disposition when the ego refuses to admit a change is in order to be more in line with an emerging truth.

I find this effect in most avenues of expression and the topics I like to write about are of no exception.

Indeed the very topics I like to write on have gone through a metamorphosis what floated my boat 10 years ago is not what winds me up now

Though I would hope the vigor in which I pursue something has not diminished I would hope that my ability to look at what i now consider a barometer of my health both mental and physical be dictated by growth and
understanding as opposed to the fear of change and damage to an ego.

I recently asked interested readers to participate in a survey that asked for responses for what topic material, frequency of contact and form of contact.

Thanks to all those who replied if you missed out and still want to add your thoughts

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=RAoD9UBdL_2fAanifxIbNZig_3d_3d

So to that end I will still ramble on about my involvement in triathlon,and multi sport participation,but will be commenting more on the role diet and conscious habits have in our involvement of sport and achievements as we set out to be active participants of a life well lived

be an active participant by stepping up to the start line.

As always leave a comment and tell me how you are doing let me know what challenge you are going to give yourself to see growth in your life

Posted in BareFoot Running, Motivation and Goals, RawFood BareFoot Athlete.

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By admin – September 25, 2009

ITU world Titles age grouper chat

ITU World Titles

My Mate Dale has been in training for the world titles, we have had a few training sets and  spoken about what is needed to get him to the line in good shape.

Part of the training was to apply the running principle of the Pose technique and shifting his diet to a more plant based regime in an attempt to loose some weight and not making to much of a radical shift in the run up to the worlds.

Dale took a couple of minutes to have a chat with me about his 4hour a day training schedule

Posted in Random Stories, Triathlon, Video.

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By admin – September 3, 2009

Running is For Lifestyle and not for the Moment

Running and Lifestyle

I have had a few setbacks of late in a couple of areas of my life, but it is those events that shape the who that we are and our course.

As we set our goal the impediments to our success can be seen as the measure of our intent if the goal is not matched with your belief you will struggle to make the connection that will get you out of bed for the training run and the first excuse you get presented to you is taken and your intention is waylaid.

If you are following the goal for a reason that does not support your intention, the result will be a non fulfillment of that goal, which is what happens when you start something with just a whim more so than an intention.

Hey, you may start with what is in your mind a real intention, but the need for the intent to be carried through is only strengthened if the goal is part of the bigger picture you carry.

To see yourself as an athlete is part of a bigger picture then loosing weight or trying to impress somebody.

Taking a stimulus to get of the couch is one thing, but if you can connect to the true  intention you will be able to view the setbacks as part of the journey and not be inclined to use it as an excuse to bail out.

So what is my intention

What each individual uses for that true intent is their own, but the fundamental of the action is to see the picture and fill it with all the emotion that goes with your need.

I know for me the thought of being able to win was part of a reason for me to get out and train and be competitive . When I got injured and was unable to run I realized that I had attached a self worth to being a winning athlete and when I could not compete I suffered from not only the sense of fulfillment of participation but also a loss of self worth I had attached to it.

Fortunately I was able to work through that that reason was not part of my true intent for me to be a runner active /biker/ sailor you fill in the blank for your sport or activity.

I love my running and being active, because my intention is to have my older years as a mobile alert senior, not suffering infirmity and dependent on medical intervention.

So any way I took a run along the foreshore where I live and I thought I would share it with you

As always I would love to hear from you where is your best run? what is your intention ? leave me a comment and share.

Posted in BareFoot Running, Motivation and Goals, RawFood BareFoot Athlete, Video.

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By admin – August 29, 2009

Triathlon Training To Spin or not to Spin

Triathlon Bicycle to spin or not to spin

The video below is not so much about spin but this is one of the better transition videos by coach  Eric Sorresen  and is done well transition is definitely the 4th leg in a triathlon discipline, you can gain a lot of time if done well and Hey you only have to be in front to win so every second counts

You will obviously complete a distance faster on a specialized triathlon bicycle than you would on a store discount, non-specific racing bike. A triathlon specific bike will make any triathlete, regardless of their level, faster. Money wise however, you will need to invest more on your triathlon bike.

Flawless Triathlon Transitions

Ultimately your speed on the bike comes down to just two basic components Fitness and strength are the main factors that you can control…your cadence and the gear you are using.  I hope that you can understand how training your body to use a higher cadence will help you go faster on the bike leg of your training.

Cadence

It depends on your personal physiology, newer cyclists, or cyclists who are just getting interested in racing have a cadence on the lower side anywhere from 60 to 75 rpm, while more experienced cyclists tend to have a cadence anywhere from 75 to 95rpm. your training background and your performance goals will give you a naturally selected cadence.

Frequently people have the mistaken notion that they should be “working hard” on the bike which forces them to use a harder gear than necessary and slows down their cadence.

The amount of force or energy required to push down the pedal is slightly less,by shifting to an easier gear, and pedal slightly faster.
For most people, this slight energy savings adds up over time and allows them to ride further and faster with less energy,.
It’s not so much the faster cadence that is helpful, but the fact that you don’t have to push quite as hard with each pedal stroke.

I also helps with being fresher to have a great run leg that is not affected more then is necessary by the bike.

It takes energy to move the pedals in circles

There is the trade off   Use the easiest gear available on your bike using the smallest gear in front and the largest gear in the back. Pedal as fast as you can for a minute or more.  Are your legs tired? They should be….

If you now do this in the hardest gear, it takes more forces to push the pedals in a harder gear.

Choosing a higher cadence uses requires less strength from the muscles and shifts the work effort to the cardiovascular system, both extremes make you tired, why is one better than the other?

Less forces used on the pedals, less force is transmitted to your joints.  Higher cadences are easier on your knees and hips which can make the difference between enjoying the bike leg and dreading it.

Posted in Cycling, Triathlon.

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By admin – August 28, 2009

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