My Experience with Raw Vegan 80/10/10 Challenge Month

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  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
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    I'm not really sure food takes 3 days to get through ya...

    Yeah, I don't think that either. Eat some corn, a nice little bookmark, and see what you find the next day...

    I've seen a reminder of things like corn and red wine as fast as 8-10 hours later. Yes, I have a very healthy system, and an extremely happy colon...

    Yep. Same here. Fiber is amazing!
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
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    I'm not advocating a diet plan. I don't tell people what they should or shouldn't do.

    For those interested I am posting the top 10 likes and dislikes of my one month Raw Vegan Challenge. I'm not sold on any particular diet plan. Last year, I did the Atkins diet. In both cases, I lost body fat and weight (Atkins 15lbs, and Raw Vegan 8lbs). What I can say, is I felt much more energized on the Raw Vegan diet than I did the Atkins diet. Getting to ketosis on Atkins was extremely painful, and it was "way" more challenging for me to cut carbs on Atkins than it was to cut fats and protein on Raw Vegan. Because I push my body to extremes (both racing a bike and body building) I'm still searching for a balanced approach that works for what I do. Again, I'm not pushing a diet plan by posting the results of my trial. Not hating other's plans, just sharing.

    The diet itself was great overall. I actually enjoyed it because I love fruits! One thing I can say, at least for ME, is that I'm no longer afraid of carbs that come from fruits and veggies. I ate them in abundance and lost weight and body fat.

    Top likes:
    1. Love, love fruits and ate plenty of them
    2. Meal preps were easier and took less time
    3. Loads of energy - no spikes. (I was surprised)
    4. Used less toilet paper! yes. I'm sure those of you doing this full time can relate. It's just different. cleaner.
    5. When I was done in the bathroom, I was done. It all comes out regularly and completely. Very nice side effect when you're getting ready to ride 100 miles.
    6. Lost body fat overall. This was an unexpected finding, after all I'd been taught, and read about carbs in the body building world
    7. Maintained my lifts in the gym. Even set new bench press (185lbs 5 rep) and leg press (835lbs 5 rep) PR's.
    8. Maintained riding level on the bike. even when I went to spring training and rode 250+ miles!
    9. Mentally satisfied that I was eating completely "natural". very subjective item I know.
    10. Found a lot of great friends on MFP!


    Top dislikes:
    1. All the reasons our culture now defines as comfort foods! There were times I wanted "my ____" you name it.
    2. Cooked foods. I wanted a hot bowl of chili during the super bowl. I was cold and I craved it.
    3. The amount of food you have to eat to maintain calories
    4. The amount of time it takes to eat food!
    5. When you run out of fruit, you can't just go to the pantry and grab something
    6. Not sure how I get the "supposed" needed nutrients on just fruits and veggies doing this long term B12, etc...
    7. Lost weight from 165 to 157. I don't want to look too skinny. It's vain, yes. But, I'm a bit that. (I'll explain what I think the weight loss was below.
    8. Very inconvenient at times when socially eating!
    9. Finding fruits in season
    10. Cultural aspect, i.e. eating what's put in front of me when visiting friends or family and not appearing rude.

    Possible reasons for weight loss (some of you may know better):

    1. According to sources I've read, standard American diet takes 72 hours once it enters the body and once the by-product (waste) exits the body. Meaning, we always carry +/-3 days’ worth of food in our bodies. Raw Vegans claim, that raw foods exit in 24 hours. Meaning: Once the body is cleansed of all the excess, there's only 1 day of food hanging around in there. That's less weight on the scales if this is really happening. My guess.
    2. Loss of body fat from my bike riding (which has had an uptick) and gym time (which has dropped off a bit because of the riding).
    3. Maybe not drinking enough water but I never do!
    4. Possible muscle loss from lack of protein. I have to consider this as a possible cause since I don't really know. What I do know, is that I didn't lose strength in the gym size in the legs, arms, hips or chest. I only lost size in the waste. But, who knows?


    What I ate:

    1. bananas
    2. oranges
    3. Dates
    4. apples
    5. mangos
    6. papayas
    7. green beans
    8. broccoli
    9. spinach
    10. grapes
    11. Raw pumpkin seeds
    12. morning star vegan sausage patties (ok, this was a cheat)
    13. beans
    14. carrots
    15. blueberries
    16. strawberries
    17. blackberries
    18. red mills muesli with rice dream
    19. pineapple
    20. red wine (not sure if this is a cheat or not)
    21. peanuts
    22. tomatoes
    23. onions
    24. sweet potatoes and sweet potato fries
    25. coconut water
    26. other various fruits and veggies.

    If you have any questions, please message me direct. Thank you.

    Ernie.

    BUMP
  • Mr_Bad_Example
    Mr_Bad_Example Posts: 2,403 Member
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    This thread needs to be toilet papered - I'll use what the OP didn't need.

    2u5ryhh.jpg
  • ernestbecker
    ernestbecker Posts: 232 Member
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    This thread needs to be toilet papered - I'll use what the OP didn't need.

    2u5ryhh.jpg

    freakin hilarious! That actually happened to my house recently.
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
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    In. Why the hell not.
  • ernestbecker
    ernestbecker Posts: 232 Member
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    In. Why the hell not.

    In for what??
  • ernestbecker
    ernestbecker Posts: 232 Member
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    had blood drawn today for before/after Vegan month challenge. Blood tests results will be provided in a new thread.
  • weightliftingdiva
    weightliftingdiva Posts: 522 Member
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    How did your grocery bill compare to your normal diet?
  • ernestbecker
    ernestbecker Posts: 232 Member
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    How did your grocery bill compare to your normal diet?

    Lower. I shop at Costo mostly. Bananas are cheap! haha. Tonight, I enjoyed a couple of salmon steaks. missed that. Anyway, I think I could have raised my bill if I went after some high end fruit, which I did sometimes. All in all, my shopping bill was lower for the month.
  • weightliftingdiva
    weightliftingdiva Posts: 522 Member
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    How did your grocery bill compare to your normal diet?

    Lower. I shop at Costo mostly. Bananas are cheap! haha. Tonight, I enjoyed a couple of salmon steaks. missed that. Anyway, I think I could have raised my bill if I went after some high end fruit, which I did sometimes. All in all, my shopping bill was lower for the month.

    Cool. I've literally never been into a Costco before but in my imagination there's bins and bins of lovely cheap bulk foods.
  • ernestbecker
    ernestbecker Posts: 232 Member
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    How did your grocery bill compare to your normal diet?

    Lower. I shop at Costo mostly. Bananas are cheap! haha. Tonight, I enjoyed a couple of salmon steaks. missed that. Anyway, I think I could have raised my bill if I went after some high end fruit, which I did sometimes. All in all, my shopping bill was lower for the month.

    Cool. I've literally never been into a Costco before but in my imagination there's bins and bins of lovely cheap bulk foods.

    Kinda. It's great.
  • BenSalazar
    BenSalazar Posts: 10
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    Did I read you were going to share your blood work after doing one month of Vegan challenge? Also, are you still doing Vegan in March?
  • ernestbecker
    ernestbecker Posts: 232 Member
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    Did I read you were going to share your blood work after doing one month of Vegan challenge? Also, are you still doing Vegan in March?

    Yes. Blood was drawn on Tuesday. Waiting for results and will post before/after.
  • abrahamsitososa
    abrahamsitososa Posts: 716 Member
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    How did your grocery bill compare to your normal diet?

    Lower. I shop at Costo mostly. Bananas are cheap! haha. Tonight, I enjoyed a couple of salmon steaks. missed that. Anyway, I think I could have raised my bill if I went after some high end fruit, which I did sometimes. All in all, my shopping bill was lower for the month.

    I gotta have my mangos, strawberries and kiwis. No matter what price.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
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    You are awesome for giving it an honest try!!! I have also tried both Atkins and 80/10/10 raw vegan, and ultimately decided to stay vegan, but i eat both cooked and raw foods. If i start eating more cooked, and less raw, there is a very noticeable drop in energy, cognition and good feelings, but potatoes, rice, beans and veggie soups are easier to come by in the winter.
  • ernestbecker
    ernestbecker Posts: 232 Member
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    You are awesome for giving it an honest try!!! I have also tried both Atkins and 80/10/10 raw vegan, and ultimately decided to stay vegan, but i eat both cooked and raw foods. If i start eating more cooked, and less raw, there is a very noticeable drop in energy, cognition and good feelings, but potatoes, rice, beans and veggie soups are easier to come by in the winter.

    Thank you for the input. I can see doing raw vegan in the Texas summers. Very hard to do in the winter. I've notice a drop in weight, even though I'm back to eating meats, some. No loss in performance on the bike or in the gym. Infact, there are a few racers wanting to know what I'm on. haha. It's all those carbs baby. I'd say my split is more like 60/20/20 right now.
  • abrahamsitososa
    abrahamsitososa Posts: 716 Member
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    You are awesome for giving it an honest try!!! I have also tried both Atkins and 80/10/10 raw vegan, and ultimately decided to stay vegan, but i eat both cooked and raw foods. If i start eating more cooked, and less raw, there is a very noticeable drop in energy, cognition and good feelings, but potatoes, rice, beans and veggie soups are easier to come by in the winter.

    Thank you for the input. I can see doing raw vegan in the Texas summers. Very hard to do in the winter. I've notice a drop in weight, even though I'm back to eating meats, some. No loss in performance on the bike or in the gym. Infact, there are a few racers wanting to know what I'm on. haha. It's all those carbs baby. I'd say my split is more like 60/20/20 right now.

    I bet if you add nuts, seeds and avocado you won't lose weight.
  • thatpixichick
    thatpixichick Posts: 77 Member
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    Really interesting info, thanks for sharing! I've been thinking about going raw vegan in the Summer just to try it as I know on my "cleaner" days I do feel much better than days where it's pasta and pre-packaged food left right and centre. I barely fancy anything cooked when it's hot anyway so I'm definitely keen to try it for a while :smile:
  • sarahmoo12
    sarahmoo12 Posts: 756 Member
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    interesting read!
  • Happy4Fitness
    Happy4Fitness Posts: 7
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    I have started my Raw Vegan diet back in September 2013, now I am about 70-80% raw.
    Cost compare: higher when you are all raw, lower when partly raw (all the grains and starchy vegetables cost you nothing). I have a family of 4 (me, husband and 2 small kids) and save about 60 dollars each week eating vegan.
    Waistline compare: no need to compare:) It is obvious:tongue:
    Sport results: increased training from 3 times a week doing yoga to 9 times a week (4 times a week weight lifting and 3 times cardio, 2 times yoga). Energy is BOOSTING!!

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