Leaving Day Twenty-One, into Days Twenty-Two and Three

It's past midnight and I can't sleep tonight. Is it the maca I put in my smoothie this morning? Is it adrenaline leftover from performing this afternoon? Is it neither, or a combination of both? Who knows. All I know is that I can't sleep, so I may as well blog.

I'm definitely experiencing more energy of late -- tasks are getting done ahead of schedule, and my mood isn't high so much as it is clean and even, which I actually like better.

I am struggling with a couple of cravings today: Trader Joe's Dal Makahni and Garlic Naan, salted roasted peanuts. Both are vegan cravings, so I could give into them (and may) but I've been feeling so good when I eat raw I thought I'd try to keep raw except when I go out to eat. I'll try to muddle through the cravings for a couple days to see if they pass completely. So many other cravings for food I used to eat have been replaced by a greater desire for raw foods so it seems possible this will too.

I've been reading more about raw food recommendations for diabetics. Gabriel Cousens, the doctor featured in the Raw for 30 Days documentary that inspired me to take on this regimen in the first place, recommends eliminating "fruit for three to six months until the fasting blood sugar (FBS) stabilizes at between 70 and 85, and then only have low-glycemic fruit such as berries, cherries, citrus, goji berries, cranberries, and an occasional apple" (see the article).

That's definitely not the diet I've been following: I eat a lot of fruit. I decided I should start monitoring my blood sugar again just in case I'm doing the opposite of what I set out to do. Yesterday I tested in the morning before eating, immediately after eating, and two hours after eating.

This article says that FBS for a normal individual is 70-100 and that it would never rise above 135-140. By two hours after eating, blood sugar should return to normal. My FBS was 92 (it had been 85 the two days prior), then I was at 128 immediately after the smoothie, and 86 two hours after finishing it. So I guess if that 75-85 number is ideal, I'm a bit higher than that, but I seem to be well within normal range even immediately after eating sweeter raw foods. I tested just now in fact immediately after eating a raw cinnamon roll and was only at 96.

Maybe because I am pre-diabetic my diet can be a bit less severe in terms of fruit and still experience the positive effects of going raw. I seem to remember when reading Raw Family that Sergei Boutenko ate fruit and reversed his diabetes simply by going raw. Still, I will continue to monitor my blood sugar to make sure I am getting the results I want and if I notice any adverse trends I will alter my diet accordingly.

Here's what I've been eating:

Day Twenty-One:

• 8:45 pm: Raw Granola, almond milk, 1/2 banana

Day Twenty-Two:

• 10:40 am: Green smoothie (6 oz. bag organic spinach, banana, juice 1 homegrown lemon and tangerine, 2 Tbsp. hemp powder, 1 tsp. spirulina, wheatgrass, water)
  
• 3:45 pm: Raw Vegan Macaroni and Cheese
  
• 6 pm: Green smoothie (1/2 bag organic spinach, 1/2 homegrown orange, organic pear, wheatgrass, 4 Tbsp. Hemp, slice of mango, organic kiwi, water)

Day Twenty-Three:

• 10 am: Green smoothie (1 tsp maca and spirulina, banana, organic pear, juice of 2 homegrown tangerines, water, 1/3 16 oz. box organic spinach)
  
• 12:15 pm: 2 slices of raw pizza
  
• 1:30 pm: Raw Organic Food Bar, cinnamon raisin -- Yummy.
  
• 4 pm: a few bites of banana, raw vegan cheddar cheese spread and crackers, salted raw pumpkin seeds
  
• 6 pm: Mango and organic pear
  
• 12:30 am: raw cinnamon roll