Thanks Ned – as you can tell, I haven’t posted anything in more than a week. I just got back from my trips to Pennsylvania and Virginia. I’ve been on the new 30 day raw food/living food “diet” for almost two weeks so I have some catching up to do.

Thanks for your continuing interest and curiosity.

You reminded me that I need to wrap up my own 30 day trial. I like the idea of focusing on one issue for a short period of time. It helps me focus and motivates me to take action. I think I will be choosing something a little more tangible.

I look forward to the next thirty days, Stephen.

I see – very interesting. All of us varying degrees of success but it seems like an optimal loss would be somewhere around those numbers, I’d say. I guess it’d be reasonable, like you said before, to shoot for a 10 lb. loss in a month or two, considering “across the board averages.”

Glad you sounded a warning for those who might be interested in the Keto dieting. I don’t have worry about that because I wasn’t even aware what it was!

Everything you said here is pretty much what this author of a book I’m reading said. It’s a gradual process. I love chicken and so that will probably stay around for a little while although I have already begun to eat less of it. I’m still getting adjusted with this new lifestyle, still learning, experimenting, etc.

I think initially I’ll be something like 75% – 80% raw and the rest cooked meals. I just went shopping at a health food store (Whole Foods Market) and was surprised to find non-pasteurized cheese, raw honey, etc. I even learned what ginger looked like! I even asked the cheese lady for a taste of raw cheese and you know what? It was delicious! I’m a HUGE cheese lover.

Will write more later. Thanks for this lively discussion. It’s fun, fun, fun.

Being vegetarian is an individual choice. I didn’t do it for religious reasons. I did it because I have always preferred vegetables and meat just didn’t taste good anymore. Hamburgers were the first things to go. Chicken and turkey were the last to go. I ate chicken and turkey for two years after I gave up beef. Then they started to not taste good any more. For me, it was a gradual process. I can’t tell you the exact day that I gave up me.

I’m learning that too much protein is too hard for the body to break down. It’s amazing how much misinformation floating around out there – we’re all told that we need lots of protein to build and repair muscles. I’m no doctor or scientist but I do see some truth to that but not to the point where you overload the body with too much.

In fact, this kind of reminds me of what I read in this raw diet detox book I’m reading where the author says it’s not good for most people to go 100 percent raw at once. Why? Because when the fruits and vegetables are cleaning up the cells and taking away waste, if there’s too much waste being cleaned away at once, it’s like the toliet plugging up. Make sense? The whole point of detoxing the body is to clean away the waste but little at a time because otherwise where will the excess waste go?

I’m finding this to be a very interesting journey.

At any rate, I have no idea if kids are maturing quickly because of growth hormones in the meat supply. I haven’t really given that much thought. Hmm..interesting question.

I know exactly what you mean and I thank you for your kind consideration. I would have done the same thing had I been in your position. You’re right, once someone sets down a determined path, there’s no sense in being difficult about it. After all, that person will learn on his own – like I did! And it turned out to be a great experience.

As I mentioned, I learned a lot and I even see it as a precursor to the raw/living foods lifestyle – it was preparing me for the next phase. And like I’ve told some people here already, I’ve already had incredible results after just a few days. Unbelievable. More on that later.

Thanks for enlightening me on the ketogenic dieting. Patricia, another commentator here, said that kind of dieting made her sick and weak. Interesting that you stopped before arriving at that point. Hmmm..I wonder why it made her sick and you wary of going further with it?

BTW, how much weight did you lose with that one? I’m curious.

Oh really? I didn’t know you were a vegetarian. How cool. It’s interesting how you mention that you still cook meat for your husband, son and visiting family members. I’m doing a lot of research about raw/living eating lifestyles. There’s this book that I will be talking about in a near-future post that points out the element of “reality,” meaning not everyone is going to embrace your new eating habits – some may not understand it, some may want to try it and so forth. The key is not to push our newly selected lifestyle on anyone but ourselves. Basically we adapt as best as we can.

For instance, say you’re with a bunch of people from out of town and everyone wants to go to McDonald’s. What can you do? Surely, you can go with them and not order anything or you could order one of their garden salads, which is the “next best thing.” That can and will happen down the road.

For instance, next week I’m going to my brother’s house and they are big meat and potato eaters. Will I have any? Sure – a small portion – I’m not going 100 percent raw. I am “transitioning.” Some people end up being 80% raw and 20% cooked meals. You know, that’s okay. Whatever works for you. Know what I mean?

I’ll let you know if and when I get to the point of “sprouting” in my “backyard.” Thanks.