I’m still here, and haven’t fallen off the band wagon, yet! There wasn’t much to report for days 9 and 10. Still continued to have energy, no issues whatsoever. My desire towards a raw food lifestyle continuing to increase. Then came day 11. The morning started out fine with yet another delicious smoothie. I had leftover raw chili for lunch and another smoothie mid-day. I had 6 massages to give and by the afternoon felt I needed some more fat and protein. I forgot to bring any kind of snack mix, nuts, and my coconut butter too. I felt lost without those. The cravings began! In particular for something sweet. Typically with sugar cravings it is usually a nutrient deficiency.
The 5 most common causes for sugar cravings:
1. Dehydration
2. Protein imbalance
3. Complex carbohydrate imbalance
4. Exhaustion
5. Lack of Primary Food (to be explained further below)

So I went through the list in my head. I’ve been drinking a TON of water, probably 120 oz/day in addition to my smoothies! I have been adding a hemp protein powder as well as Maca and Blue-Green Algae to my smoothies and feel like my protein levels are good. Vegetables and greens are FULL of complex carbohydrates, as well as the maca! Exhaustion and fatigue….I’ve been feeling great, lots of energy until now so what’s up? It could be not sleeping great the night before due to my coughing son. I still got my 7 hours, maybe just not solid. So that’s something. But I can usually handle one night of not so great sleep with out my cravings being all over the place. Now onto Primary Food, one of my favorite topics. Primary food is the “food” that nourishes our soul. Our careers, physical activity, relationships and spirituality all fall under that category. These are often more important than the food we put in our mouth. How can we have optimal health if one of these primary foods is out of balance? Again, I went through the list. Career, I love mine!! Physical activity, pretty darn good. Relationships…overall wonderful, though my husband is traveling and had been home for quite awhile. So I suppose I missed him and was craving a little love, but that shouldn’t tire me out so much. And spiritually I feel very satisfied, especially when I get to help improve my clients’ energy through out the day listening to peaceful music. Okay so what’s left? I came home to have a “just ok” dinner. Raw Sunflower Pate and a cuke, romaine, avocado salad. The dressing wasn’t my favorite, but it filled me up. I was still having cravings all over the place. Crunchy, salty, COOKED, and sweet, sweet, sweet. I couldn’t figure it out, but came to the conclusion that I’m just so ready to be done with this challenge and have some healthy cooked foods! Ding, Ding, Ding!!! I woke up this morning, menstruation began. The ‘other’ most common cause for cravings and exhaustion, PMS!!! It’s amazing how every month I seem to forget what’s coming. My cravings don’t typically take over like that, but I guess with all this cleansing going on in my body, it’s bound to be different this month. So I don’t know if I have any great answers ladies for getting your PMS cravings in check. Other than a healthy, hormonally balanced body. And when giving in to those cravings, try to reach for the healthiest version of what you are cravings. In addition, try to look at the most common causes for sugar cravings before giving in. And don’t put yourself down when you do give in, enjoy it to the fullest, remember the 90/10 balance and love yourself up. That’s all for today!