Hi everyone. I am a 21 year old female who has never known what its like to really be healthy. I am about 5'8" tall and I weigh as of this morning 285lbs. I actual peaked at 290 the other morning and thats when I knew that I had to stop making excuses for why I am still not getting healthier. My Mom had the gastric bypass and I never want to do anything that drastic to my body, although I am still really proud of her and how much she has accomplished-it just isn't for me. I don't know if I am going to be able to stick to completely raw vegan right off the bat , but I am going to try my hardest. I am like a heroin addict when it comes to food- I know that what I am doing is killing me but I keep telling myself just one more hit. I will try to keep this thing updated with my thoughts/progress/ponderings more for myself then anyone else, but any advice or encouragement is greatly appreciated. I have always been the meat eater in my family but I just can't stomache the thought of eating animal products lately it makes my stomache turn everytime I think of it. I know that I will be doing a vegan lifestyle until I can be a hundred percent raw. My amazing husband supports what I am doing even though I do not think he would ever just eat raw or even become a vegatarian,so being on this site with other like-minded persons will really help me stay motivated. I have been reading other posts and I am inspired to make this change a reality. Good Health to Everyone.

welcome

When I started eating raw my weight was well over 360 pounds. I have had my ups and downs with food and am finally feeling confident at eating raw foods.
What books have you read? I especially like Victoria Boutenko's 12 steps to raw and all of Ann Wigmores books. I love Tanya Zavastas books too.
I hope you have the best of luck in your changes
Love
Pam

I am really really new to everything. I haven't read anybooks yet, but plan on heading to the ol'library today and checking as much as I can out. I've heard and seen alot of people mention the 12 steps to raw so I definitly want to check that one out. Thanks for the suggestions. I just woke up today (I am work overnights so I usually sleep away my mornings.) Another reason I want to get control over me eating habits-I have no energy for doing things. I want to be a fun person not a sleepy person.

hey - i really send you tons of support - this is the best thing you can do - i'm launching my 30 day trial today with the hopes that the results will be so good i'll never go back to the SAD diet.
i'm calling it VB day - for victory body day - feel free to post!
love and best regards,
tania

I use to do night/graveyard shifts, not so fun.
Just start out one step at a time. I would start with some green smoothies because they are so filling and easy to make. I usually have some bananas and a pound of strawberries blended with some spinach or kale. I am finding the green smoothie is easy to digest and helps so much in transitioning to raw foods. Don't make it to hard for yourself. Here are some encourageing sites showing some changes in people who are eating raw foods, I especially like clents story in the dolphin doctor. Enjoy!!
[greensmoothierevolution.com]
[www.rawfoodinfo.com]
[www.dolphindoctor.org]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I have been telling my family about why I wan't to do this, and they are supportive but they think it is just going to be another diet or something I am going to quit within a couple days. I know that this feels like the right thing for me to do, so no matter what they all think I am doing it. I didn't get to the library yesturday so I am going to go today. One problem I know that I am going to run into is that there aren't very many organic anythings in my town. We have a farmers market in the summer but right now its only things from the grocery store, and when I went shopping yesturday I couldn't find a whole lot of organic things. So far today I feel pretty good. I just have to keep telling myself that if I mess up I just have to learn from my mistakes and get right back into it. I think that posting little journals here is great. It gives me something to refer back and being able to see what other people are going through really is awesome.

Okay I will not be going to the library today as I woke up at 4ish and it closes at 5pm. I really need to adjust my sleep schedule so I function more of normal business hours.

Don't worry about the organic at this time. You will still experiance the benifitts from eating raw and you can eventually work towards organic.
I enjoy green smoothies I just get a bag of frozen strawberries from the grocery store and a bunch of spinach and toss a banana or two. I blend it all up with a little water. Its simple and tasty.
Have a good day
keep up the positive motivation.
Love pam

Just getting home from work around 6:30amish. Im actually pretty upbeat from what I normally am. I even took my little crazy dog to the bark park yesturday before work and we both had a good time. I wonder if I could ever switch her to raw as well? hmmm something to think about. I do realize that dry kibble is not something that used to roam wild for dogs to hunt down lol, but one step at a time. I did however have a pet rat once and instead of feeding her the rodent pellets I fed her dog food and she grew at least twice as big as my friends rat from the same litter. She was better then a cat I think in some respects, don't tell my cats I said that though.

Welcome Promises19! I have been at this raw thing for almost 2 months now and truly believe it will help me to finally achieve the weight that I want to be at. My energy level is higher, I feel good emotionally, and am excited about what is to come. I have lost about 20 pounds (240 to 220) and just signed up with a gym to go along with my new lifestyle. Just stay positive and keep a lot of raw food around, especially in the beginning, to munch on. I am on dailyplate.com as well because it is an awesome place to track what you eat, they calculate the calories for you...really helpful. Good luck! Erin

Hi thanks for the positivity everyone. Today had been really good for me. yesturday I had this weird sensation in my head like I had been drinking to much water or something but I took I nap before work and I felt a lot better besides from a slight headache. I still need to get to the library... procrastination is one of my goals to work on.

I don't know if this is from my serious change in diet, but the skin on my face is starting to look pretty awful. Yesturday I was pretty much sticking to raw except I had two slices of tapioca bread with a tbls of apple butter-it was a weakness I know but I am not counting it as a failed day because I can only fail if I give up my lifestyle change entirely. I think I am going to hit the hay now. Good Morning Raw Fooders and Good Night.