I'm still getting over salmonella, and that picture caused my appetite to go from zero to -10 (haha) .  I don't think I even want to know what the layers between the steak are made of...

I've wanted backyard chickens for a long time, and reading your account just makes me want them more!  It's too bad it's illegal to keep them in backyards where I live.  I feel like I'm really missing out, not being able to try fresh chicken eggs.  But on the other hand, if I ever get one, at least I will know the appropriate things to feed it

What kind of routine are you starting Dorothy?  Right now I do low to moderate intensity cardio every day (for me, it's more of a mood booster than a workout), and I weight lifts every other day.

I finally managed to get some better quality sleep last night though!  I'm very thrilled about it.  I had most of my carbs in the evening, but also, instead of going to bed early, I forced myself to stay up later so that I wouldn't be tossing and turning.  I didn't increase my carb intake either. 

Do you do any intermittent fasting at all?  It's something I'm interested in starting, but I'm not sure how to schedule my workouts around it (for example, do I exercise after I eat, or before?)  I'm hoping IF will enable me to keep my carb intake lower, because spreading meals out is getting very hard.

Jessica, what do you think about Jinna just coming off of a mostly raw vegan diet that included lots of carbs where she couldn't sleep on that either? She hasn't done low carb yet really for any length of time from what she said and is not too thin (needing to lose weight) from what she says. When I eat carbs at night if I'm going to have trouble at all that's when I will have trouble sleeping because of the sugar racing through my veins.

Oh dear,  I think there was a bit of confusion with what I was saying.  When I had trouble sleeping previously, I was on a high fat raw diet and I limited my fruit intake.  I think my carb intake then was about 120-150g.  I sleep fine when my carbs are in the 200g range.  Now I'm having trouble sleeping again and my carb intake is about 80-100g.  I tried eating some carbs before bed, but it didn't help overly much.  It's hard because my first meal of the day is at 8am so I really had to spread out my meals and I was feeling pretty hungry.  I googled the issue online and some people said that the insomnia would eventually go away.  I'm going to try this for a few more days before I up my carb intake. 

My diet was all over the place before, but I tried to maintain about 80% raw, focusing on nuts, veggies, fruit, eggs, coconut oil and salmon.  I also just recently went to visit my parents (who live in a different city), so for almost the entire time, I had cooked foods.

I notice that I had trouble sleeping when I first embarked on a high fat raw diet (almost vegan, except for eggs, so the basis of my fats were from nuts).  Now it has returned again.  Today, I'm going to have a bit of carbs before bed to see if that helps, and if not, I'll up my intake tomorrow.

   Thanks for the kind words everyone

   The toothpaste I'm using is free of fluoride so I don't think that's the cause of the sensitivity.  Luckily, my teeth have been a lot better lately.

    I'm already used to making my steaks really rare, so switching to completely raw muscle meats has been pretty easy.  I just eat it right out of the fridge.  I tried raw marrow (bison I think) and that will take some time getting used to.  The first time I had it, I had it cold (which I didn't care for).  Room temperature was a bit better.  I also tried that raw cat food (vension, with heart and liver) and that was alright, though I mixed it with the raw beef.  I've always loved trying new foods, so trying things raw is like a natural next step.  I think getting into raw organs will be harder though.  I've considered trying insects too (crickets specifically), but I'm not ready quite yet.

    For the past two days my meals have been:

   Breakfast: papaya and coconut water smoothie with coconut oil, and then a few bites of goji berries

   Lunch: bone marrow, 1 tbsp of venison cat food, raw beef (I have no food scale, so I don't know the weight)

   Snack: green juice with apple, celery, beets, carrots, ginger

   Dinner: coconut meat, raw egg yolks, raw beef

   I've been having about 60-80g of carbs a day, and I'm thinking that is not enough for me.  From reading various posts, I heard that not enough carbs can make it difficult to sleep, and I've definitely been having problems sleeping the past few nights.  I have energy for exercise, but my mind is foggy from tiredness.  I'm going to add more fruit in the coming days.  Would it help to eat some fruit before bed?

   Also, I've been feeling pretty cold today (the temperature was 18C which is pretty warm).  Specifically, my hands and feet were kind of icy through the morning and early afternoon.  Is that normal?
 
   One more question: I'm interested in losing weight, and I was wondering, should I eat until I feel 100% full, or just until 80-90% satiety?  I've struggled with weight for most of my life, so I sometimes find it hard to read my body's signals.

   Thanks everyone for your input!  I'm very excited about this journey 

Hi,

   I've been lurking around the forum, reading posts for a short while, and I've decided to create an account to get a sense of what I should be doing next.  I'm actually a very shy person (online and in real life) so to even make this post kind of has my heart beating in nervousness.  I suspect I won't be making very many posts, but I do want some guidance.

   Anyhow, about me:  I'm 26, and I'm not really experiencing any major health problems, other than sluggish bowels.  I feel like things are okay now, but there's this persisting feeling that things could be better.  I've struggled with weight for a long time, so I'd be interested in losing weight, but mostly my primary goal is to maintain a good state of health and be as free of diseases as possible.  My family has a history of colon cancer and heart attacks.

   Currently, my diet is about 90% raw and looks like this:

Breakfast: Fruit & Veggies smoothie with papaya, blueberries, greens and vegan protein powder (because my bf is a wannabe vegan - I know, it's a disaster waiting to happen)

Lunch: Salad with greens and a home made dressing of soaked almonds, coconut oil, ginger, garlic and lime juice

Snack: Veggie smoothie with a mix of juiced and blended veggies sweetened with an apple

Dinner: Salmon sashimi, and a young coconut with raw eggs blended in

   I usually do an hour of exercise a day ranging from light to moderate effort and I weight lift every other day.  I'm just wondering what you guys suggest my next step should be?  I'm thinking my best bet is maybe to phase out the nuts, and try some raw steak tomorrow?

   Also, the piece of steak I have has been sitting in the freezer for months.  It is from a local farm and grass fed, but.... is it too old?  Or should I just go by the smell?

   From my reading, I've noticed that there are some people that use raw dog/cat food, which I presently feed my pets with.  Should I use some for myself and take the plunge, or just ease into it more slowly?  I notice that their raw food smells really good to me, but the texture of it kind of freaks me out....

    Any advice would really be appreciated, thanks