Thursday, May 28, 2009

Personal Diet & Exercise Routine - Day 1

I have been receiving many requests that I should record and post what my daily diet and exercise routine is like. Today will be the first day of that log. Please feel free to email or comment if you have questions.

Keep in mind that I experiment frequently with my diet and exercise routine so that I may discover the most ideal ways of doing things and therefore recommend them to others as a good practice. Hopefully this log will provide some insight to my experimentation and conclusions.


MY DIETARY HISTORY
Up until four months ago, I was 100% raw and 100% vegan for 7 years. I was fruitarian for a long period during that time. Three years ago I practiced breathariansim (no food or water) for 4 months. Two years ago I lived exclusively on unheated, unfiltered (raw) honey for 8 months. I have also strictly followed mono-eating and the Essene dietary protocol.

For the past four months I have been experimenting outside the 100% raw/vegan parameters to see what is a truly optimum, nutrient-rich diet.

Currently I am 80-90% raw and vegetarian. I follow an eclectic mix of low-fat, high-carb, medium-protein coupled with caloric restriction and some key Essene principles of eating.


IMPORTANT NOTE
It is important to realize that I am not experimenting with meat, fast foods, mashed potatoes and gravy, and things of that nature. Like most people, I grew up on that diet as a kid and teenager, and I already know how that went! I have already reached the conclusion that these foods are a poor source of fuel and an even poorer source of nutrients. Their production and consumption contributes greatly to a waste of our resources and is largely responsible for the large percentage of people that are overweight and obese (over 63% are over 30 lbs. overweight in the USA alone).


MAY 28 2009 - THURSDAY
MORNING
Cardio 30 min. (running outside)
Water

NOON
3 hours after running, I made 1/2 cup cooked Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free oats. Waited until it cooled to warm, added about 2 or 3 Tbsp. raw honey, organic cinnamon, and 1/4 cup organic frozen blueberries. This is my third day eating oatmeal and have found it agreeable to my digestion and provides a substantial amount of energy. I have been recommending that people do not consume grains, and while oats are a grain and they are currently working out all right, I still insist that grains (i.e. rice, wheat, corn, millet, quinoa, et al.) are not meant to be eaten year-round or even at all if we have fruits and other natural foods available. I will be rotating oats out of my diet in a short period of time to mimic the way I would eat them in a natural or rural setting.

1 Tbsp. bee pollen. I eat it straight out of the jar.

EVENING
Smoothie consisting of water, ice, 1 scoop NOW brand 100% pea protein, stevia leaf powder, 1/4 tsp. citric acid powder from lemon, handful organic frozen blueberries. I felt like having a bit of tart flavor, hence the citric acid, but I noticed that it settles at the bottom (not very soluble) and is too sour for me, so I won't be making a smoothie that way again.

DAILY NUTRIENT TOTALS
CALORIES: 374
FAT: 4g
CARBOHYDRATES: 99g
PROTEIN: 33g (plus the numerous unaccounted-for free-form amino acids and enzymes in honey and bee pollen)

6 comments:

  1. Do you ever take Asian oral liquids? They are small 10ml bottles. Right now I like the Ginseng Royal Jelly kind which is honey, distilled water, royal jelly, and ginseng extract. Its like a natural energy drink.

    I too have look at my diet over many years and find a 80% raw is best with calorie restriction at 15% i.e. my normal calories a day should be 1998, but I stay at 1400-1700 a day.

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  2. Thanks for sharing Matt! Cool to see someone living on so little food by conventional wisdom. How long did it take you to get to that level?

    Also, do you find that if you are more active that you need more food (i.e. - long distance cycling/running/swimming/etc.)?

    Thanks for the info and keep up the good work!

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  3. @rubyspirit
    I have seen those little bottles, though instead of purchasing them like that I make mine fresh, often as a pre-workout drink. It's excellent that you're following calorie restriction - how do you like it?

    @DG
    I didn't start caloric restriction until 4 or 5 years ago. The stomach shrinks rapidly, so it took maybe 2-3 weeks for me to get to this point. Raw, unfiltered honey is one of those things that will keep the stomach small while providing many necessary nutrients, which is why it's such an important part in my diet.

    When I am more active or have less sleep than I am accustomed to, then yes, I tend to eat more. On those days, my intake increases to a total of 900 to 1300 calories.

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  4. I've been doing CRON for 5 months. It feels natural. I like it.

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  5. I'm finding your calorie stats a little hard to follow. 1 gram of carbs and 1 gram of protein each has 4 calories, while 1 gram of fat has 9 calories. By your count, you consumed 396 calories from carbs, 132 from protein, and 39 from fat, totalling 567. There may be something wrong with whatever calorie counting program you are using...

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  6. Hi Rawdiculous,

    I use the program Calorie King and "Lose It!" iPhone app for this log. Otherwise, I do not count my calories or fat/protein/carb percentages.

    Take care,
    RawMatt

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