Ok, so it’s nearing the end of my 14 day raw challenge and though it was tough at first, I have to say it got easier and easier. I feel so much better. No more bloating, my inflammation is down, I have more joint mobility…

The first week I ate all 3 meals raw (with one hot meal cheat night lol). That was tough, but once I figured that I did better with smoothies, I kept with that. Once the second week came I went to 1-2 raw meals a day. The key to this whole thing is to find balance and don’t be so hard on yourself if you mess up. It’s all in how you recover and regain control. Besides, if you don’t find that balance it will be hard to keep up with maintaining a healthy diet regimen. I wanted this to jumpstart a lifestyle change and not just a temporary diet adjustment. Don’t compare yourself or copy anyone’s diet. Construct your own (with other advice and tips combined) to make it unique to you and what you think you can stick with. My customization was smoothies. They aren’t just liquid teasers either. They are packed with nutrition and protein (if not more than a solid meal). It was easy for me to drink a smoothie for breakfast and lunch. Then by dinner time, I fixed a hot meal. I definitely feel like I can stick to replacing 1-2 meals a day with a nutritious smoothie. I used a lot of almond/peanut butter, bananas (and other fruit), dates, veggies, almond milk, etc…

You can experiment with different recipes like I did and come up with some you really like. I have to say I have so much energy now. I feel so much more mobile because a lot of the fluid retention problems I had is much better. Not to mention, my appetite is much smaller and not out of control like it was! Holla!!

Your first week of this you will notice you losing weight immediately, but keep in mind it will probably be a lot of water weight. Once I ate a hot meal again I gained numbers back on the scale, but once I kept vegan and minimized carbs, I lost it again. Yay! The weight will fluctuate at first, but keep with it and it will balance out and you can start to lose again! Here are my results after 12 days…

(7lbs gone and inches)