Day 19 Journal: conspicuous consumption

It's become clear that the lack of energy I often feel at this point is the result of me simply not eating *enough* fruits and veggies. I get a large energy burst after I drink a smoothie or eat a meal but what I'm eating simply doesn't stick to the ribs for very long. The fruit is very quickly processed by my body-which, yes, means that I get hungry again quite soon and if I am not in a position to eat (it's busy at work, for instance,) my energy levels can dip quite quickly.

I've been reading about people eating in excess of 30 bananas a day and such on this diet- my mind boggles at eating so much food! I'm worried I'm not getting the full benefits of the 80/10/10 diet without eating so much, to be honest. I just physically can't eat that much food! On a regular day puttering around, I'll get hungry ever 90 minutes. If I'm busy, or running around, I'll need to eat something ever 60-75 minutes. That's basically eating all day, if I take any time at all to prepare a meal instead of just grabbing a banana or some dried fruit. That's a lot.

Smoothies are brilliant for this because I can cram way more food into a pint glass than I could if I was chewing individual pieces of fruit and vegetables. However, of course because a lot of the fibre is pre-broken-down by the blender, they also pass quickly out of my stomach bag. (Which my brain *insists* on calling my Bag Of Food Holding. Thanks, brain.)

So, eating enough has been a major challenge. I feel like I am ramping up on how much I"m eating but clearly not enough. I have had bursts of the euphoric energy that is commonly talked about on this diet, but not the sustained elevation in energy and mood that I'm shooting for.

However, in terms of a simple raw-fruit-and-veg *cleanse*, this has been remarkably successful so far. I have had quite a few compliments on how my skin looks much better, which is just lovely. My muscle tone is consistent and seems to be more noticeable in the past week. I'm not sure this is a result of fat loss or just that my body does well on vegetables (well, it's pretty used to it, frankly) but I don't seem to have lost any muscle tone which is super. I've shed the majority of the few pounds I gained last year due to intemperate eating and drinking (mmm, whisky.) and that's always nice, but I'd like the energy levels to go with that.

so, over the next few days I'm going to make an effort to eat fruit until it comes out of my ears (which would be quite surprising, so let's watch! ) It's recommended for the 80% part of the diet to get those carbs from sweet juicy fruits. This doesn't not sound like a hardship. Also I am pretty surprised how much sugar carrots have, as they have never registered as 'sweet' to my tongue- but maybe I'm a mutant or something. All I know is that fresh squeezed carrot juice is insanely good and makes me feel like Popeye after I have a glass!

I've already had to packed-full smoothies today and I'm quite full right now but I have some chores to do, and I'm sure it'll wear off very soon.

Having to eat more is a problem I *never* thought I would have, and it's pretty strange to wrap my head around.