Life’s been WONDERFUL in Panama!  In the next several days I will tell you more about how great things are in our little piece of paradise here …

Last week I traveled “sola” to Costa Rica (yes Andrew stayed at home with his Papa) for a much needed break and to attend my dear friend, Frederic Patenaude’s wedding.

It was my first time being away from Andrew for more than a few hours (after 9 month’s pregnancy and 3 years after he was born I REALLY needed some time off).

Once I arrived to Cascada Farallas where the wedding was being held in Dominical, Costa Rica, I was led to this beautiful villa which Frederic and his fiancee, Veronica, rented out to have the ceremony.

Bed in villa

Sitting area in villa

View from balcony

There were also beautiful waterfalls as well well as a lovely rainforest jungle!

Fred and Veronica invited me to the waterfalls on the property and we got to spend some time enjoying nature!

Later that afternoon I met Kevin and Annmarie Gianni who also believe in the importance of raw foods in the diet.  We became fast friends!

Everything was perfect at Cascada Faralla except for one thing–there was no internet!  This made it a bit challenging for me to check in on how Andrew was doing without his Mommy.  Also the telephones on the property were not equipped to call Panama so I couldn’t even call my family.

The good news was that there was a restaurant a few minutes away by car and all of us were able to grab dinner as well as use the internet.

While at the restaurant we decided that this would be Frederic’s bachelor party!  I guess it also became Veronica’s bachelorette party!  Whatever you want to call it we ended up having a FABULOUS time!

This was the calm before the storm …

The next morning the rest of the guests came to Cascada Farallas.  I got to meet Frederic’s lovely mother and her husband (they only speak French so I felt stupid because I forgot the French I studied in high school–**sigh** if you don’t use it you lose it). I also got to meet Veronica’s wonderful family.

I also got to meet Paul Dunham of the black labs as well as his lovely wife and adorable son.

I even reunited with my friend Eric Rivkin who catered the reception.

My favorite food served at the reception:  Eric’s raw vegan spring rolls!

Another favorite was the “cake”  One of the owners of Cascada Farallas made this wonderful raw vegan wedding cake with fresh watermelon with a coconut sprout creme icing.  Make sure to watch the video of Fred and Veronica cutting this delightful creation!

So here’s where you can watch the videos I shot of the wedding and the reception:

Wedding ceremony:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PZsk6yCtpw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS04ddp62Zs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK1PGMOqbyQ

Paul performing at Wedding Reception:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE4QFdeLXEo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY1Basv5X8A

Fred and Veronica’s dance at reception:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkYSiBJU99s

Fred and Veronica cut raw vegan watermelon “cake” at reception:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtOFH_UHIUA

More wedding pictures:

Fred and me (or is it Fred and I?) right before the start of the ceremony

Fred et sa Mère (don’t get too excited–I used google to translate ” Fred and his Mother” in French!)

Veronica and Fred during their ceremony

Family and Friends enjoying the ceremony

Annmarie and Kevin Gianni

Low fat raw vegan wedding cake!

Kevin, Annmarie and I enjoying the BEAUTIFUL reception!

Fred and Veronica enjoying the reception with Veronica’s family

Fred’s Mom having a blast with her husband and Grant

Eric, Paul, Kevin and Annmarie enjoy some dessert!

I have more pictures that I’m sending to Fred that he will upload to http://gallery.me.com/fredericpatenaude#100104

Also visit http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/blog/?p=1122 to read what Fred wrote about this awesome wedding!

I hope you enjoy these pictures and videos (I think they make you feel as if you were there )

Love,

Karmyn
http://karmynmalone.com

P.S. Looking for some simple and delicious recipes that keeps me and many others eating a 100% raw diet?  Check out Roger’s Savory Veggie Stews System
http://sn.im/n8ekh

P.P.S.  Wanna join the exclusive support forum where you can learn “How to Go Raw?” Visit
http://sn.im/hpp98

P.P.P.S. To learn more about my old and new friends:

Frederic Patenaude
http://fredericpatenaude.com/

Veronica Grace
http://www.rawveronica.com/

Kevin Gianni
http://renegadehealth.com/blog/

Annmarie Gianni
http://annmariegianni.com/

Eric Rivkin
http://www.vivalaraw.org/

Paul Durham
http://blacklabworld.com/

Yes it’s much harder to do so but it’s not IMPOSSIBLE.

I learned this lesson the HARD way.

My companion, Roger Haeske, wrote his thoughts on the topic on his blog:

Getting Fat On Low Fat Raw-Here\’s Why

A woman posted THIS from my blog that contradicted my experiences I was sharing on the particular forum.  She’s right to question it so here is my response:

+++++++++++++++++

I need to write an update to what I wrote back in December on my blog.

Yes eating a low fat raw diet is a great way to melt fat–it does work by eating all the fruit you NEED instead of all the fruit you WANT.

I still eat a mostly fruit diet but I only eat what I need instead of all I WANT.

Notice how Dr Graham in his 80/10/10 Diet book doesn’t say “eat unlimited fruit”

He recommends a moderate approach.

He would sell WAY MORE books if he preached the “eat all the fruit you want” message.

I’ve fallen for the “eat as much as you want of BLANK and you’ll lose weight” message far too many times!

I believed it back when I was 19 when I followed “The Blood Type Diet”

Although it was never mentioned in the book I seriously believed that so long as I “ate right for my type” (which is O) that I wouldn’t gain weight.

WRONG. I had to moderate my eating.

I believed the same back when I followed the low carb diets like “Atkins” or “Protein Power” or “South Beach” etc

WRONG. I still had to moderate my eating.

Even when I ate a low fat cooked diet I still MODERATED my eating!

Recently I kept track what Andrew was eating in a day because Roger was concerned that maybe Andrew was eating too many avocados.

It turned out he was eating EXACTLY what he needed to eat (1400 calories a day and 30-35% of the calories from fat, which mainstream authorities recommend for an active 3 year old boy)

For me based on my size and activity level ( 5′7 and 118 lbs) about 2000 calories is what’s recommended (1950 to be exact, lol).
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598

So imagine if I’m eating double that amount of calories (which some days I was doing so last year). Unless I’m exercising 4 hours or more a day (I’m no Michael Phelps, lol) obviously I’m going to gain weight, which is what happened.

It was just 16lbs–not a big deal especially since I was still in the “normal” range according to the mainstream.

I just wasn’t happy being that size.

So once I eliminated all the “wrong” reasons I was eating (boredom, not wanting the food to go to waste, etc) I found I was able to cut the amount of food I was eating in half without feeling any negative side effects (like cooked food cravings, weakness, etc)

Also I’ve learned that there isn’t anything wrong with eating small amounts of overt fats in the diet–there was no need for me to be fat phobic!

I still eat some overts and I’m back to my optimal weight–cutting them out=unnecessary.

Yes eating too much overt fat is no good but eating too much of ANYTHING is no good (fruit included).

You can die from drinking too much water …
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=strange-but-true-d…

I always found that if I ate bananas I actually feel hungrier so I don’t eat them very often these days. I don’t really have to since I have access to other fruits like mangos (we just bought a bag of 100 of them for $14), oranges, papayas, guanabana, cherimoya, watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple.

Back when I first ate a high fruit diet back in 2008 I ate more water rich fruits and I hardly touched bananas (I remember at one point I had a case of bananas where I ended up giving away most of them away because they were ripe before I could eat them)

So perhaps by eating so many water rich fruits back in 2008 I managed to eat only the calories I needed (without having to counting them) so I was able to lose 16lbs in 10 weeks.

So what have I learned from all these years?

I WISH there was a diet that allowed me to eat unlimited food and not gain weight, but it DOES NOT EXIST.

Well perhaps I could go on a raw vegetable only diet but then I would run into the problem of not getting ENOUGH calories.

Also if I’m eating a total of 25 cups of food a day, then there’s NO WAY I’m under eating:

Breakfast: 8 cups papaya

Lunch: 8 cups sliced mango

Dinner: 1 pint fresh oj

1 large Savory Veggie Stew

1 avocado

(83% carb/5% protein/12% fat)

Now when I gained the 16 lbs I was eating CONSTANTLY. I would have smoothies, I would eat bananas, dates, grapes, and whatever other fruit was in the house.

I would eat pistachios, durian and other fatty foods as well.

Roger was amazed at how much food I was eating. At first he was impressed that I was eating as much or sometimes more than he was.

Then one day I noticed that I had gained a few pounds. (I think it was about 8 or something like that).

First I blamed durian, then I blamed my upcoming period–I was in complete DENIAL.

I REALLY wanted to believe that I could TOTALLY pig out so long as I ate low fat raw.

Roger tried warning me but I didn’t believe him (what am I an IDIOT–I’m living with someone with YEARS more experience than me and I didn’t LISTEN?)

Then I realized that I gained more weight so I thought I needed to cut out eating overts. I tried this for a while but my weight stayed about the same (between 130-133lbs)

Well the scale doesn’t lie and neither did my wardrobe. My clothing started fitting tight. Of course I tried blaming the dryer shrinking the clothes but then I did something that really made me realize that I did in fact gain FAT.

I took my measurements and realized that there were an extra 3 inches on my waist, 2 extra inches on my hips and 2 extra inches on my thighs.

So as much as I’m not a fan of moderating my eating it’s the ONLY thing that seems to work in keeping my body how I want it to look.

Of course I can try the raw vegetable only diet. Maybe if I eat around the clock like I used to I will manage to get enough calories ….

On second thought, maybe not. I don’t think my digestive tract can handle all that vegetable fiber …

My birthday’s tomorrow and I’m happy to report that those extra inches of flab are GONE and they’re NEVER coming back!

Now that’s something to CELEBRATE!

I was aware that SALT caused water retention but I didn’t know about the other condiments.

I decided to try it out for a week, but was convinced to try it for two weeks.

Well last night I rebelled and started eating one of my favorite raw recipe that uses small amounts of condiments–my dear Roger’s World Famous Savory Veggie Stews.

I suppose I couldn’t help myself.  They’re really tasty, mineral rich (thanks to the huge amount of leafy greens they contain) and very satisfying.

It’s always been my goal to eat a very simple raw diet consisting of mono meals of fresh fruit and greens (eating “mono” means eating one type of unproccessed fruit or green until satisfied and waiting until hunger returns before eating another “mono” meal).

Well I realized that I’m not READY yet to do so.  Even though I knew that I could start eating the condiments at the end of my two week experiment that it was still too much of a committment for me–one that I wasn’t ready to do as of yet.

I do eat simply as much as possible but I like to know that I can have a simple raw recipe when I want to.

This got me thinking about the importance of transitioning at the proper speed, which is quite individual.

When I first heard about the raw food diet back in 2005 thanks to Jinjee Talifero’s “The Garden Diet” website (http://thegardendiet.com) I knew that the raw vegan diet was the right one for me so I IMMEDIATELY jumped into it (going from eating the Standard American Diet to eating a MODIFIED version of a raw diet.

I atte plenty of raw greens, vegs and fruit but I also ate a very lightly seared tuna steak once a day because I wasn’t ready yet to give up animal products–this came almost a year later.

I also realized that I jumped into eating a 100% raw diet too quickly and ended up going back too eating cooked food, despite the benefits I was getting from my modified 100% raw diet (which included a small amount of fish).

It took time for me to completely transition to a 100% raw “beegan” diet (these days the correct term for vegans that use honey is “beegan”).  The good news is that I’m eating a diet I have ABSOLUTELY no problem sticking to.

The thing that helps me stick to it is knowing that I can use condiments like herbs, spices and honey in small amounts to make good raw food taste GREAT.

I mean there are worst things I could be eating …

Also compared to how I looked when I first started the raw diet to now is ASTRONOMICAL.

Here’s what I looked like when I first heard of the raw diet back in Sept 2005, thanks to Jinjee Talifero:

And here is what I look like now:

I know many in the raw food world like Nora Lenz (http://www.rawschool.com/) and Dr. Douglas Graham (http://foodnsport.com/) recommend that the best way to transition to a 100% Natural Hygiene style raw diet (eat simply, plenty of fresh fruit, a small amount of greens and an even smaller amount of nuts/seeds/avocado and ZERO condiments) is to do so SLOWLY.

Nora Lenz recommends a gentle transition otherwise you’ll end up backsliding which in her opinion is worse for the body than going back and forth between more optimal and less optimal eating.

Dr. Douglas Graham basically says something along the lines of “direction not speed.”

So despite my wanting to do a two week experiment free of condiments, I’m not ready as of now but maybe things will change.

My birthday is coming up Tuesday so who knows maybe turning 31 will make me ready or perhaps I’m better off waiting a little while longer.

I mean I could be eating worse things than small amount of condiments in my raw food …

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love,

Karmyn

P.S. Wanna learn more about my se cret recipe system that keeps me and many others eating a 100% raw diet?  Check out Roger’s Savory Veggie Stews System
http://sn.im/n8ekh

P.P.S.  Wanna join the exclusive support forum where you can ask questions from Roger who’s been eating a 100% raw diet for almost 9 years?  Learn “How to Go Raw” here:
http://sn.im/hpp98

Normally I just do them wherever I find space (I just did a set in our living room a few minutes ago)

But YESTERDAY I decided to do a set in front of a MIRROR (Andrew has a full length mirror in his bedroom).

As I was doing the LSEs in the mirror I could SEE with my own eyes the muscles being exercised.

By WATCHING my muscles work I SWEAR I could FEEL them work harder as well.

I could see my calves working as well as my thighs, butt and even my abs and arms.

Not bad for one exercise.

I did 30 reps in that set and I felt GREAT once I finished.

The best part about it is that it only took about a minute to do.

In the past I’ve hired personal trainers to get me into shape and they made EVERYTHING so friggin’ COMPLICATED.  They had me train one muscle at a time and it took me half an hour to train everything and then I had to turn around and do 30 minutes of “cardio” on some other piece of equipment like an exercise bike.

So here I was paying $75/hour for a personal trainer to train me to basically waste my time.

With the Lightning Speed Fitness Program I get a BETTER workout with less time.

Instead of doing boring cardio in a smelly gym for half an hour I get to do Lightning AEROBICS in 15 minutes outside in nature breathing FRESH air.

With Lightning aerobics I’m getting a much more EFFECTIVE workout in half the time–it’s truly the better and SMARTER alternative to boring cardio gym workouts.

This is why for the average busy person (who ISN’T BUSY?) it’s so important to work out SMART and efficiently instead of working out for a long period of time.

If you can reach your goals in half the time, doesn’t it make more sense to do so rather than doing long, boring, drawn out workouts.

I mean who’s going to STICK to boring?

I know I didn’t–I ALWAYS ended up “firing” my personal trainers after a few weeks of effort.

I’m so HAPPY I stumbled upon something that’s inexpensive and effective …

Love,

Karmyn

P.S. Wanna really learn the se cret as to why 1 to 5 minute mini workouts melt fat better than hour long workouts?  Find out by visiting http://sn.im/icllo

P.P.S. The Lightning Speed Fitness Program really is the only exercise program you’ll need.  For less than the cost of hiring a personal trainer for an hour you’ll own a system that will give you a COMPLETE workout and allow you to reach your fitness goals.  Summer’s around the corner, isn’t NOW the time to get started?
http://sn.im/icllo

If eating a plant based diet is so healthy then why are so many vegans still overweight?

It’s a GREAT question and it’s something I’ve noticed as well.

The reason why this happens is because most vegans substitute the VEGAN versions of the junk foods they used to eat on the Standard Diet.

For instance:

*  Instead of eating french fries fried in LARD vegans eat french fries fried in VEGETABLE OIL.

*  Instead of eating cake made with butter and eggs, vegans eat cake made with vegan margarine and a vegan egg substitute

*  Instead of using mayonnaise made with egg they use “veganaise”

*  Chocolate made with milk is substituted with vegan chocolate

*  Instead of eating beef hamburgers vegans eat “veggie burgers”

I’ve BARELY scratched the surface!  Here are a few examples from list of SNACK foods from PETA’s (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)website:
PETA Snacks

Wanna hear something FUNNY?  This is only the SNACKS list!  They have OTHER categories like beverages, condiments, baked goods, refrigerated & frozen foods and “staples”.

Funny thing about the “staples” category is that they neglect to mention two important staples in a vegan diet (can YOU guess what they are?)
PETA \”staple foods\”

If you guessed fresh fruits and vegetables, you’re ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.  Now in PETA’s defense they probably figured that a person becoming a vegan would already KNOW that fresh fruits and vegetables ARE vegan so I suppose I can’t fault them for that!

Looking at these lists of “foods” it doesn’t suprise me that there are so many overweight vegans.

Something that vegans need to understand is that they CAN’T live primarily on vegan JUNK FOOD and expect to be healthy.

Unfortunately being VEGAN isn’t enough to get healthy. In order to experience OPTIMAL HEALTH it’s important to eat a primarily RAW diet (as close to 100% as possible).

And not JUST any raw diet (there are junk food RAW diets out there), but a high fruit, low fat raw diet–the OPTIMAL RAW DIET.

The good news is that there’s an AWESOME support forum for those who want to transition to the OPTIMAL RAW DIET, Roger Haeske’s “How To Go Raw” forum.
http://sn.im/hpp98

There you can ask questions and get the proper guidance in order to transition away from a diet full of junk (come on I’m sure you realize that eating foods that come out of a box or a can can’t be healthy even if it’s “VEGAN”).

Here are some key topics in the forum:

*  Frequently Asked RAW Questions

*  Raw Food and Radiant Health (here’s where you can learn the seccrets to successfully eating a healthy 100% raw diet)

*  Raw Recipes (Learn to make recipes that are healthy, delicious and low in fat)

*  Raw Resources (where to get your raw supplies)

*  Weight Loss Tips (get new ideas and learn what’s worked for others)

*  And MORE!

Why not join in–isn’t it time for you to improve your health?  Don’t you DESERVE IT?  (Say YES!)

See you there–I’m a member too!

Love,

Karmyn

P.S.  Now that it’s springtime in the Northern Hemi-sphere, don’t you OWE it to yourself to get healthy and in shape by the start of summer?  Isn’t NOW the time to implement healthy habits that will last you for LIFE?
http://sn.im/hpp98

This is the story of Echo, a woman who, due to an accident, must eat via a stomach tube.

She’s also unable to leave her house.

Despite this she eats a raw diet thanks to blending her food and putting it into her stomach tube.

Here’s her story (in her own words):

++++++++++++++++++++++++

About Me: I live off a stomach tube since I can’t take anything by mouth due to nerve damage in my face. The damaged nerves are so sensitive to temperature, moving air, and sunlight that I’m completely housebound. But that’s not going to prevent me from getting in the best shape of my life and becoming superbly healthy!

I’m transitioning off canned hospital formula to raw vegan with the use of a Vitamix 5200, and I’ll be starting round one of P90X in the near future. I will keep you all posted on my journey to raw and ripped!

peace,

Echo

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Her computer recently died and she’s unable to get the support she needs in order to stay on the raw path.

Her friend, Esmee, decided to start this thread on 30BananasaDay in an effort to get an old computer donated to her.

You can read the thread here: our-friend-jakkrabbit

Well the participants in the discussion decided to raise the money so that her brother can buy her a computer that she can use to surf the internet as well as get an education in order to support herself (she wants to study web design)

I also want to mention this to you and hope that you can make a donation as well.

As a thank you for your donation I will send you a bonus recipe guide, “10 Simply Yummy Raw Recipes”

You can send the donation via paypal to: theautodesigner (at) yahoo (dot) com

Thank you for your support–your small donation can make a HUGE difference in the life of an inspiring woman.

Have a great weekend!

Love,

Karmyn

P.S. Here’s an e-mail that Esmee sent to members of “30 Bananas a Day” that also explains Echo’s situation:

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hi Everyone,

For those of you who are interested in donating money towards a new computer for Jakkrabbit, you can do so through the PayPal account that has been set up under her brother’s email address: theautodesigner (at) yahoo (dot) com

If you know other people who are not members of this forum who may also be interested in donating, please let them know about the fundraising campaign.

If we over shoot and give her more money than she needs for a computer, then she might be able to buy a juicer which would be a very big help to her also. She has to keep the temperature in her home above 85 degrees at all times in order to keep her face from hurting too much. This causes her to sweat a lot and thus lose a lot of electrolytes, causing muscle cramping. If she was able to add some celery and perhaps other veggie juices to her program, I think she could eliminate this problem.

Thank you so much for your donation.

Blessings, Esmee

++++++++++++++++++++++++

P.P.S. Just a quick reminder–when you make a donation just send a copy of your paypal receipt to Karmyn (at) superbeing (dot) com and I will personally send you a copy of a bonus recipe guide, “10 Simply Yummy Raw Recipes”

First send your donation to theautodesigner (at) yahoo (dot) com

Once you get a confirmation e-mail from paypal simply forward to receipt to me

I will HAPPILY send you the “10 Simply Yummy Raw Recipes” within a day or two.

I was so impressed at how beautiful his lunch looked–it got me thinking of the lunches I ate when I was his age.

I was born in 1979 and so was the “Happy Meal.” Mickey Dees decided that the perfect way to market to children was by creating their “Happy Meal” which consisted of a hamburger (or cheeseburger), french fries and a soda.

Oh and you got a cheap toy along with it and sometimes those weird cookies.

I ate many of these “Happy Meals” as a child.  It looked something like this:

Andrew is fortunate to instead of eating what I like to now call “Caca Happy Meals,” he gets to eat an even better tasting “Happy Meal” that is also healthy.

So here is Andrew’s “Happy Meal” which I like to call “Ono Happy Meal” (“ono” means “delicious” in Hawaiian):

The best thing about the “Ono Happy Meal” is that it costs about the same or, in most cases, less as the “Caca Happy Meal”

In David, Panama the “Caca Happy Meal” costs $4.04, tax included.

In NYC the cost of the “Caca Happy Meal” is close to $5.00.

In Lillehamer, Norway the cost is 39 NOK ($6.77 USD)

In Amsterdam it costs 3.75 EURO

The cost of Andrew’s raw “Ono Happy Meal”?

$1.55.

You see the avocado was 75 cents, the mango 20 cents, the tomato I guess was about 30 cents (I paid 60 cents/lb for them) and the papaya was 30 cents.

Add a fresh coconut water as the beverage (25 cents and once the coconut water’s finished the coconut meat can be eaten as well) and the total price is $1.80.

Buy a cheesy toy from one of those quarter machines for the toy and the cost of the “Ono Happy Meal” is $2.05, HALF the price of the cost of the “Caca Happy Meal” from Mickey Dees (Panama prices).

The fruit costs a little more in the states but the price would cost similar in the states for the “Ono” version as the “Caca” version, at least in New Jersey.

You can get a mango for $1, an avocado for $1.50, a large tomato for $1, a small papaya for $1 and a coconut for $1 for a total price of $5.50, just a few cents more than the “Caca” meal.

Since the only thing on that list that grows in New Jersey is tomatoes (remember everything in Andrew’s “Ono Happy Meal” is locally grown here in Panama), you can also SAVE MO$NEY simply by substituting some locally grown produce when in season.

For instance instead of mangos, use peaches.  Instead of papaya use sugar plums.

Just use whatever’s local and in season in your neck of the woods.  You’ll save mo-ney while feeding your and your loved ones healthy food that actually tastes GOOD.

Just feed the junk food to the people you hate (KIDDING)

Have a great weekend!

Love,

Karmyn

P.S.  Do you REALLY want to learn how to eat healthy, save mo-ney?  You gotta own Roger’s Savory Veggie Stews system.
http://snipr.com/n8ekh

With this you can learn how to prepare quick, easy, healthy raw meals using stuff that you can find in most supermarkets.

Isn’t it time to make your own Happy Meals?  I’m sure you’ve eaten enough “Caca Meals” to last you for a lifetime.
http://snipr.com/n8ekh

P.P.S. Please send your regards to my friend, Taylor Snipes.  He broke BOTH of his arms last week.  The best way to do this is to befriend him on facebook and write on his wall.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/TaylorsTropicals?ref=ts

For those interested in ordering fruit from Taylor’s Tropicals they now deliver every other week instead of weekly (this is temporary until Taylor recovers).  Contact Taylor’s business partner, Robby Barbaro to get the delivery schedule
robby (at) robbybarbaro (dot) org

I woke up at 4:15 this morning because I had to use the bathroom–perhaps this is a sign that I need to finish eating by 2pm, lol.

Oh well, despite this I still feel well rested and I lost another 1/4 inch off my waist!

Andrew woke up an hour later (at least he didn’t act as my “alarm clock”).

I feel great this morning–I’m not hungry or thirsty so I’m going to wait until I feel one of those things before doing something about it!

In other words I’m not going to have a specific time in the mornings to start eating or drinking–I’m going to wait for the urge.

As for eating my ultimate goal is to finish by 2pm–this is mainly to stop the waking up to go to the bathroom thing!

It might take me a few days to get there, but I will!

Have a great one, Quantum Eaters!

Love, Karmyn

BTW, This afternoon we have friends coming over to stay with us for a few days–it’s going to be interesting explaining my new way of eating with them. They’re 100% lfrv already.

February 21, 2010 at 7:32pm

Bananas are only 75% water–only a tiny bit more water than boiled rice (69% water)!

I think the higher the water content of a fruit the better it is for us as our second most important nutrient is water (the first is oxygen).

Today everything I ate was water rich. I started my day with tons of watermelon (10am). I had some more at 11:45am.

Around 2pm I ate some persian cucumbers.

I tried eating an avocado at 3, but it wasn’t quite ripe so I ended up eating some Hawaiian papayas (I ate 3 small ones, I think).

So by 4pm today I was done for the day!

I wanted to finish eating a little earlier but I had to pick up friends from the bus terminal and they needed to take care of a few errands–no big deal!

I didn’t have time to track my calories but at this point I don’t think it’s necessary so I won’t bother. So long as I stick to water rich foods, who cares?

Unlike bananas it’s almost impossible to overeat water rich fruits (sorry I think I overdosed on bananas during my raw food transition and I’m hating the cavendish ones–the other varieties I can tolerate if in a food bind, lol).

Watermelon = 92% water

Cucumbers = 95% water

Papayas = 89% water

I don’t think I had any water to drink …

Anyway I’m still making great progress and I will update everyone tomorrow!

Goodnight Quantum Eaters!

Karmyn

P.S. I told my friends about my new system and they were supportive!

This morning I woke up around 6:15 am (not because of my “alarm clock,” Andrew) because I had to go to the bathroom!

I think this was because I finished eating at 5:15pm yesterday instead of 4pm. Lesson learned!

Today I finished eating at 4pm with some nice cherry tomatoes.

I started the morning at 9am with a huge bowl of watermelon chunks. I also drank some water around 8am because I took a walk and needed to hydrate!

Around noon I made a Savory Veggie Stew (don’t worry, it’s 100% raw, lol) and ate that.

2pm I ate an avocado. I also snacked on some cherry tomatoes

by 4pm I was satisfied and now I’m DONE.

I’m loving this new system! Every morning I wake up and I look smaller. This system is great for melting fat. Even my boyfriend sees the difference in my body each morning.

I don’t have a scale in the house, but I’ve already lost over an inch of my waist! And that’s my “problem area”

I’m AMAZED at how great the rest of my body is starting to look!

The best part about this is I don’t feel hungry in the evenings anymore!

Other benefits:

I’m sleeping MUCH better

I have more energy and motivation

I’m seeing much better results from my workouts

I’m MELTING fat off my body!

I have 10x the amount of patience I used to have with Andrew (a little hard to have patience with a toddler when sleep deprived, lol)

I can go on and on …

As for calories I’m averaging about 1000 a day with NO CRAVINGS for cooked food or any other junk!

The only side effect I notice is that I get headaches at night, but I think this is some type of detox (I felt similar when I was pregnant with Andrew).

All I have to do to make them manageable is to lay down and close my eyes–I think the headaches are my body’s way of telling me to REST.

It is worth it!

It may seem a bit silly at first but once you realize just how important having a great night’s sleep is it really starts to make a lot more sense!

I mean if humans can go days without having any water, then we shouldn’t have any problems going 16 hours without it especially since we’re eating plenty of water rich foods during the day.

Plus I still drink a few glasses of water during the day.

I feel very hydrated, I go to the bathroom a dozen times (only during my waking hours, thank goodness!), plus I’m maintaining Andrew’s milk supply!

I’m LOVING this!

February 19, 2010 at 3:18pm

I ate very simply today.

I had a MASSIVE bowl watermelon for breakfast this morning, for my second meal I ate two small avocados (even this was too much as I felt nauseous afterwards) and I finished the day about 45 minutes ago with a large bowl of cherry tomatoes.

Although I ate so little I feel like I ate like a QUEEN!

I also drank about 4 glasses of water.

Besides feeling a little tired (it was hot in the house last night so I wasn’t able to fall asleep until 1:30am and then Andrew, my “alarm clock”, woke me up at 5:30am).

Now unless I feel like having any more water in the next 45 minutes (I know I won’t want any more food), I guess I’m done for the day!

Right now Andrew and I are sitting on our front porch on a mattress from his room. I’m THINKING of sleeping outside tonight as I know I’ll sleep so much better out here than in the house.

I’m going to need a tent or at least a mosquito net in order to do this!