Recently, Mike J. asked if I’d be willing to give some detail on my typical diet these days. He is embarking upon CRON and felt an affinity to my approach, including the trend toward higher raw. I agreed to make another “day in the life” post. As promised, here it is.
There is always a temptation when composing such a snapshot of your diet to do just that (i.e., compose, fib a little) or at least pick some stellar day from the last month. I assure you such is not the case here. I have quite randomly chosen yesterday. Although the corn on the cob was a treat, the third of an avocado, which used to be, has become a daily standard this summer.
What follows may disappoint some, as it is neither 100% raw (gotta have those beans) nor an example of extreme CR. On the other hand, my family will surely find comfort that I’m not starving myself. 
| Breakfast |
lima beans (yep), banana, butternut squash, soy nuts, flax seeds, pomegranate juice, spirulina |
| Mid-morning |
plums, rice protein powder |
| Lunch |
konjac pasta with broccoli, onions, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, brewer’s yeast, corn on the cob, collards, 3 oz red wine |
| Afternoon |
peach, 1/2 mango, 1/3 avocado, lettuce, chicory, dandelion greens |
| Dinner |
konjac pasta with tomato/mushroom sauce, onions, garlic, peppers, beet, turnip, green beans, summer squash, collards, kale, beet greens, mustard greens, tomatillos, 1/2 cucumber, 3 oz red wine |
| Evening |
lima beans, carrot, red cabbage, apple, blueberries, strawberries, sunflower seeds, cacao powder, spirulina |
I eat all the fruits and vegetables raw. The lima beans, of course, are cooked, as are the tomato/mushroom sauces. And, the brewer’s yeast and rice protein powder probably do not qualify as “raw” either. The cacao powder supposedly does. The coffee, consumed throughout the day, is also non-raw. I am comfortable with this balance.
Just for giggles, since everyone is always talking up their “percentage” (as if they’ve really calculated it), I ran the numbers. About 500 calories of the almost 2100 were from heat-processed foods, putting me at 77% RAW.
The macronutrient profile for yesterday looks pretty typical for me:
click image to be taken to the details
Most nutrient levels are off the charts! The only ones requiring supplementation are vitamins B12 and D. I also take others like herbs, resveratrol, etc..
Addressing Mike’s request for a little CRON history, I started at the beginning of 2001, still a lacto-ovo vegetarian. I devoured (pun intended) the seminal work on the topic, Beyond The 120-Year Diet, during the holidays (a gift from my father), and it set the wheels in motion.
My BMI, for what it’s worth, is at the lower end of the healthy range (a little less than 20). I exercise daily, either 30 minutes on the treadmill at 5 MPH (4 days) or upper-body work on the Bowflex (3 days). Sometimes both. On weekdays, I get up early and squeeze it in before work. According to Tony’s method, I am practicing at least 8% CR, possibly up to 18.6%, depending on how I categorize my activity level. On the email lists hosted by the Calorie Restriction Society, as in the raw food community, the (f)utility of assigning a percentage and how best to do so is a frequent debate. Some just say, take in as few calories as you can without adversely affecting quality of life (QOL), all the while tracking your nutrition. By that measure, what I do is not at all strict; I’m never hungry, so I could eat less. But, damn, the summer bounty is just so good! 
CRON Resources:
Kitchen Food Scale
Tanita Body Fat Scale
Vegan Done Light
Nutrition Software – I like DietPower for its ease-of-use, graphing, goal setting, metabolic rate tracking, etc.. Try it free for 15-days and see if you agree. Then remember this tip to get your discount:
