My Raw Milk Diet: What I Did + How I Did It

I’m excited to talk about my raw milk diet cure experiment. One of my favorite discoveries on my real food journey is raw milk. Last year, I was absolutely tickled to learn what a nourishing food milk could be under the right circumstances. You know when you read a piece of information and it just, you know… clicks?

My Raw Milk Diet Cure Experiment - What I Did and How I Did It

Well, reading about raw milk was a real “click” moment for me. I don’t know why. It just made pure and utter (udder?) sense to me that raw milk could really do a body good.

So I spent some time perusing Realmilk.com, reading about the benefits of drinking real raw milk. And I was immediately taken with these decades-old stories of people who had been cured of a variety of ailments by going on an exclusive raw milk diet for several weeks.

The idea of going on an all raw milk diet was very alluring to me, but I chocked it up as impossible since I didn’t think it was practical for me to consume only raw milk day in and day out.

There is so much information about the milk diet, so today I just want to do an introduction to explain what the raw milk diet cure experiment actually is, because it’s a little more than just chugging milk all day.

Raw Milk Diet Cure Experiment Philosophy

Here’s the basics of the raw milk diet philosophy:

– Raw milk is a balanced, nutrient-dense food. It provides everything the body needs to rebuild and heal. Its liquid form is easily absorbed and digested by the body.

– Raw milk should be taken in adequate quantities to provide the body with plenty of nutrients and rebuilding material, generally at least four quarts (one gallon) each day.

– Milk should be taken in small amounts, sipping throughout the day to ensure proper digestion and assimilation of nutrients. No gulping large glasses of ice-cold milk, please.

– Rest is highly recommended to ensure the body is focused on healing rather than expending energy. Someone who is ill should have complete bed rest for most or all of the diet.

– Warm baths for relaxation, circulation and detoxification are also recommended.

– Light exercise can be added to further improve circulation and body composition if you’re up to it.

My Raw Milk Diet Cure Experiment Adventure: Fun Facts

Here’s a bunch of fun numbers from my raw milk diet cure experiment from the 23 days during which I only drank raw milk (no food whatsoever!):

Total Raw Milk Drank in 23 Days:

About 24.75 GALLONS of fresh raw milk! Or, nearly 60,000 calories on milk alone. That’s almost 99 quarts or just over a gallon every day.

So, on average, this is what I consumed every day (based on whole milk on FitDay.com):

2,520 calories
136 g fat
189 g carbs
135 g protein

49% fat (mostly saturated)
30% carbs
21% protein

What about…

… weight changes?

Being that I’m a 5’4″ woman of average weight, who exercises for about two hours a week (at most, and not even that much while on the milk diet), has a normal or even slow metabolism (I used to gain weight on 1,600 calories a day!) and essentially has a sedentary desk job, most nutrition calculators would recommend I eat about 1700-2100 calories each day to maintain my weight.

So, if we’re going to succumb to the calorie counting theories, I should have gained about 3-5 pounds on this diet. However, I lost about 2-3 pounds. Read more about the milk diet and weight loss here.

… basal temperature?

My starting basal temperature was about 97.5 degrees F (taken first thing in the morning, underarm/axillary). This is slightly low or normal depending on which expert’s advice you seek. However, while on the milk diet my basal temp rocketed upward and has remained that way since. Is this linked to why I lost weight rather than gained? Maybe so…

… bed rest?

Well, I wish I could have gone on bed rest. What a healing ritual that would have been! But, alas, my household duties, my work, and my kids couldn’t be left to their own devices for over three weeks, so bed rest wasn’t really an option. I did, however, try to prioritize sleep and daily downtime.

I spent extra time in bed when I could, and tried to minimize my stress (easier said than done!). I did do some mild exercise during the milk diet, though I really tried not to overdo it at all. If I do the milk diet again I think I will take this concept of bed rest more seriously. I probably won’t exercise at all, and try to limit more of my other activities as well. I think this is an important part of the healing process.

… digestion?

I experienced very little of the typical bloating during the milk diet, but I did have problems with staying “regular.” So I deviated from the plan a little (which doesn’t include supplements) and took magnesium and vitamin C throughout the last 10-12 days of the diet to help move things along a little, so to speak. Read more about the milk diet and digestion here.

… cravings?

This was so phenomenal. I had very few cravings on the milk diet. Occasionally I longed for some solid food like fried eggs with cheese, a burger or maybe a steak, but never enough to bother me.

Amazingly, I had no cravings for sweets or even chocolate–and that’s my number one indulgence! Having no chocolate cravings through PMS was so unusual for me I never thought it would happen. So, I’m pretty certain that’s a testament to the milk diet if nothing else is! Read more about the milk diet, cravings and hormones here.

Any other questions for me?

C’mon, I know you’re wondering about something. If so, ask away in the comments below! Or, you can send me an email and I’ll be sure to answer all your questions in the posts following my break.

My Raw Milk Diet Cure Experiment: What I Did and How I Did It