arcticstripes

To kick off my annual raw till 4 week I thought I would share the guidelines (I do this one week per year for a detox and to gauge how well I’m listening to my body. N.B.: I also enjoy that it resets my palate. Tastes seem much more complex afterwards.)

💧Start off the day with a detox water/drink. eg. lukewarm lemon water, fruit infused water, apple cider vinegar shots, ginger shots, etc. Continue to drink water throughout the day. (Check here to see how much water you need) 🍶Eat a breakfast with a smoothie/pressed juice and fruits. 🍌Eat a lunch of more fruits (here is when I might have a mono meal) 🍅Have a two course dinner (starting at around 4 pm) beginning with a salad and ending with a cooked meal (eg. Rice/quinoa and vegetables, mac and cheeze, potato fries and guac, etc) 😀Eat in abundance. Get to know when you are full. Eating such unprocessed foods of nutritional value, there is no need to restrict any kind of food. IT IS ALL PURE ENERGY. Just beware: it can be very different eating this much fruits and vegetables; you may feel a bit heavier from their water content. 🙅Abstain from using oil, salt, and sugar. It can be hard but those don’t serve as much benefits as consequences when eating this way (and most other ways). 🍴Try to eat in a ratio of about 80:10:10 of whole carbs to protein to fats. Also, every meal should be around 800 calories (more if you’re more active). But don’t stress about the exact numbers! Just be cognizant of how full/content that YOU feel. 💆Don’t stress about much at all. Enjoy life at this time and focus on yourself. Do the things you love (eg. Reading, yoga, running, singing, etc) and eat to supply enough energy for those activities (yes, even reading requires calories. Just breathing does.) 😅Know your nearest bathrooms. Because of the simplicity of these foods, the digestion process is a lot more consistent (and probably more frequent). Just a caution on that. It isn’t anything too excessive but it’s best not to hold anything too long. 💤Sleep at least 7 hrs a day. You will allow your body enough time and conserve the energy for overnight digestion. Besides, the longer you’re awake the more you will want to eat.

© Christopher Testani

T. rex from AMNH. I have been informed her name is Petunia. 

Josh Homme, Q Magazine 2017