Preparation For Rawgust

What even is rawgust? 

Rawgust to my knowledge is where for the whole month of August you eat completely raw fruit, veg and nuts with no processed or cooked foods. However, I believe you can steam some veg (eg. broccoli, asparagus etc) without so called cooking them. 

I'm intrigued to give this a go as I want to make August a month to focus on myself and cleansing before the new academic year. In August I will try to follow a completely raw diet, as well as doing more meditation and yoga. 

Things I'm doing in preparation for rawgust: 

• Trying to cut out processed foods where possible one by one

We all love processed food ...however it's only once I sit back and acknowledge the processed foods that I consume that I realise how much my body depends on it. For example, in the morning I may have toast or crumpets topped with vitalite or jam...these are all already processed. For lunch, possibly a sandwich (bread = processed wheat), pasta (another processed wheat) and for dinner at least one component will also be processed! Therefore, I am trying to cut down to one meal a day being processed (however I do slip up...but that's only natural. This leads me onto my next bullet point...Raw Till Four.  

• Raw Till 4

Raw Till Four is basically eating completely raw until 4pm. I have tried doing this for some days in July and found it easier than I thought I would. However, like I said before I do still have slip ups. Some of the things I'll do on a 'RawTill4' day is have a fresh juice for breakfast. I'll use things such as oranges, apples, ginger, turmeric which are all great to start the day off with! Smoothies are also a good idea (however commercially bought soy milk is not raw, so opt for water/ice instead). I love adding bananas and mango to smoothies for optimal sweetness! Greens are also great to get in, in the morning such as kale, spinach, celery, cucumber etc.

• Drinking more water

Water is crucial in every day life and making sure you get enough is vital! In July I've really been trying to focus on making sure I'm consuming enough water and making sure I'm hydrated throughout the day. 

Along with this, it's important to note that sometimes when you're feeling hungry you're body may actually just be trying to tell you that you need water. Therefore, in the morning when I wake up, I try to drink a litre of water before consuming any food. Then for the rest of the day I'll try to drink another two litres or more if I'm exercising or just generally more thirsty! Warning...you will be peeing every hour...and sometimes even more than that. I'm a peeing machine when I'm hydrated (sorry if that tmi lol) but it's a fact.

• Walking more

Exercise is a great way to fill your body with natural adrenalines. This can be gentle exercise such as walking and jogging or more high intensity exercise such as weight lifting, HIIT, sprints etc. Generally I will walk around 8-10,000 steps a day. I love walking and clearing my mind, yet I also love going to the gym and pushing my body with more intense workouts. 

If I'm completely honest I haven't been to the gym for around two weeks now and I'm feeling massively out of routine. But that's ok...I haven't been wanting to intensionally exercise, however baring this in mind, I've still been averaging at least 5-7,000 steps a day without realising. In August I'm hoping to go to the gym at least 3-4 times a week, walk every day (even if it's only for 20 mins), and do a yoga routine in the morning and evening. 

• Less interaction with electrical devices

I believe that during rawgust you should try to connect more with nature and less with all of your electrical devices. Once my phone broke about a month ago, I quickly came to the realisation of how much I was dependant on looking at it at every given moment possible, or even capturing a memory. However, once I didn't have a phone I was able to appreciate the world a lot more for what it actually is, capture memories in my memory instead of a device and realise how dependant other people are on electrical devises as well. Therefore, in preparation for rawgust I've been going on walks without my phone (or leave it i my pocket but resist the urge to look at it), when with friends, not be looking at any messages or posts that have been uploaded etc. 

YouTube inspo accounts:

Here are some YouTubers that I have been watching to help me on the Rawgust path... 

1) Jack Albritton - Jack has been a raw vegan for many years now and makes videos on converting to a raw vegan diet, what to eat on a raw diet and many helpful videos on how to make sure you're getting enough sources within your diet. 

Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/RawTropicalLiving

2) Raw Kristina - Kristina is a raw vegan from America who provides a ton of raw vegan recipes and 'what I eat in a day' videos. 

Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/FullyRawKristina

3) Alyse - Alyse runs a retreat called 'raw alignment'. She has a whole playlist on eating a raw diet and makes videos about minimalism and positive thinking. 

Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzLQ_5hu5fuVSEHkMGEq7Vg

4) Adriene - Adriene has a yoga channel which I always use! She has TONS of videos to try from beginners to advanced yoga sessions. She honestly caters for all needs, whether you have a free 10 minutes or a whole hour then she'll have a video for you to follow. 

Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene

I'm not sure whether this will have been helpful at all...but I do hope that I've helped any of you guys out that may be considering rawgust! 

Lots of love,

Em x