Hey everyone! I've been searching through the posts here for a very long time and I've been researching the raw vegan lifestyle for a while now. I tried going fruitarian when I was in high school, but my friends thought that I was trying to be an anorexic and so did my mom, and my mom made me stop. Since then, I've been researching raw veganism, and I know that it's right for me. A couple of weeks ago, I started doing 2 raw meals and one cooked meal and after about a week, when I would eat the cooked meal I would get chest pains, muscles pains, a stuffy nose, and I would just feel horrible afterward. I didn't know what was going on then, but now I know that my body was trying to detox. Today will be my first full day of raw veganism and I'm so excited! I'm going to use this forum to keep myself accountable and I know I'll do well!

So far today I've only had a fuji apple and some water. I'll update the rest as it comes along.

Thanks for reading this, and thank you for the help in advance because I know I'll need it!

-keepingfaith08

Hi keepingfaith--

Welcome! Sounds like you've done your 'homework' and are truly committed. You'll find lots of friendly support here.

Keep us posted, and remember, don't hesitate to eat enough raw food to supply all the nutrients you need and stave off hunger. I find if I try to skimp or put off eating too long, I pay for it later with hunger and cravings.

Sharrhan:


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lol I should've read your post before work this morning I ate some peanut butter crackers because I was so hungry. I had that fuji apple and it filled me up for a couple of hours, and then I got hungry again and gave in to the temptation of peanut butter crackers lol.

Well, when I get home I'll be eating some mock spaghetti lol. I bought a spaghetti squash and some champagne tomatoes and a couple of cucumbers. I'm going to chop up the cucumbers and the tomatoes and then mix it with the squash! I can't wait!

-keepingfaith08

Ok, so today was definitely not raw. This is gonna be harder than I thought..

keepingfaith08--
Don't worry about 'mistakes.' It's the 'onward/upward' progress that counts. When we start transitioning to raw, we all eat some cooked food from time to time. In fact, you may find at first that 100% raw is too challenging for your system as you detox. It's an individual matter. There's no one 'right' way to do it. I've been at this for 25 years and I still do dietary things I regret from time to time.

You will eventually figure out the delicate balance between being kind and lenient toward yourself and being self-controlled and disciplined, and then from that point you can start adding more and more raw food until you're 100% raw.

:-)

Sharrhan:


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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2009 11:45PM by kwan.

Thank you, I really appreciate that

I think in order to get my body ready for it, I'm going to do like a 15-day water fast. It'll jump start my weight loss again, and it'll help me be completely ready for raw foods. Today will be my first day!

keepingfaith--
You might want to try a juice fast instead of water. Water fasting is usually pretty tough, especially if you're a newbie. I've been a raw foodist for 25+ years and I hardly ever do water for more than 3 days. A couple years ago I did 14 days, but I was resting on a camping trip. You might find that water fasting will accelerate detoxification to the point that you will be extremely uncomfortable and weak. Juice fasting, on the other hand, most people can handle and still move around, exercise, and work and play. Just something to consider.
:-) Whatever you decide, more power to you! We'll be here to support you.

Sharrhan:


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Maybe that's what I'll do. Why am I so bad at this? I definitely had more peanut butter crackers. They're screaming my name every time I come to work, and it annoys me so much that I can't fight back. I know I want to feel better, I know I need to be 100% raw, why can't I make myself do this?? Ugh.

>Maybe that's what I'll do. Why am I so bad at this? I definitely had more peanut butter crackers. They're screaming my name every time I come to work, and it annoys me so much that I can't fight back. I know I want to feel better, I know I need to be 100% raw, why can't I make myself do this?? Ugh.

Oh listen, I've been there too, berating myself for being 'weak' and giving in too easily to cravings. Look at it from a different angle. You're doing what only a tiny fraction of the population of earth is capable of doing: awakening, evolving and consciously changing to a more enlightened and health-giving diet. You deserve a pat on the back!

Sharrhan:


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you need to eat more raw foods to fill your needs. try a variety of foods or perhaps a green smoothie. When you are full of raw foods the peanut butter crackers screaming your name will become fainter. Just keep on keeping on and eventually you will become comfortable with eating all raw food. fresh juice is good but you don't need to fast fasting is very harsh and you don't learn how to eat raw foods when you are fasting.

keepingfaith--
Here's something that might really help put things into perspective. Go to www.rawschool.com and read Nora Lenz's bio about how she went raw. She goes into detail about what she ate from the very beginning, when she really had to eat a LOT of raw food (not always well combined at the beginning) in order to stay raw. You'll be inspired when you see how far she's progressed. Also you might get some good menu ideas.

Another idea is to check out raw recipes. I think the website I'm trying to remember is called www.giverittomeraw.com (? am I right folks ?).

Just keep keeping on and you'll get there. :-)

Sharrhan:


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thank you! I looked at those sites and I put them in my bookmarks!

How do you make a green smoothie? I've been wanting to try one, but I'm not sure how to make one..

Oh my goodnesssss!!! Today, I am happy to say that I've been 100% raw! I got urges to eat some peanut butter crackers and also some oreos (I don't even know why, I hate oreos), but I didn't give in!!! I'm so proud of myself! Now I just have to make it through like 11p and go to sleep, and I know that I'll have been one complete day 100% raw!!!

:-))))))))) Way to go!

Sharrhan:


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Hi keepingfaith! Congrats on making the decision to follow the raw path. Don't get down on yourself for not being ready to jump into 100% raw immediately. A slow transition is usually best for your body & mind to prepare and adjust. And it's funny how eating raw is probably the most simple way to eat, but mentally it can be really difficult. This is my third time attempting to eat raw and both times before I was completely raw for months and then slowly went back to regular vegan. I'm trying to figure out why, and how I can stay raw this time. We are all still learning and growing and we have to allow ourselves to make mistakes and learn from them!

Ok, so I haven't really been raw lately. It's been about a week since I've been on here. My friend just moved in with me, and she a pescatarian (the only meat she eats is fish) and I've been eating fish as well. This is so frustrating!

Ugh, I just want to lose weight, and that's not happening... I'm so overweight,a and I hate the way I look, and I just want to be able to look decent. Does anyone here have any like daily diet plans for raw food that they used when they lost weight?

keepingfaith, just dust yourself off and hop back on the wagon. I found green smoothies alot of help losing weight. have you analyzed what you eat to see if you are eating too much raw vegan fat etc.?

also one thing i find is really common is the simple statement

"i start off raw most of the day untill evening and have a cooked dinner"

honestly if you are going to eat something cooked do it early in the day .. that heavy cooked dinner is sitting in your guts at the end of the day when you are less likely to be up and moving and buring calories

sometimes its just as important how we eat as to what we eat

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Hi keepingfaith! What you are experiencing is totally normal. Transitioning to a raw vegan diet & lifestyle is a huge change from what most people are used to. It doesn't happen overnight and that's ok! So you had some cooked food in the past couple days. Even if you're just eating a couple raw things throughout the day, it's still adding up to something better than before, and it's still getting your mind and body used to eating raw! My advice is to build upon each day and focus on the positive, not the negative. Celebrate each raw meal or snack instead of getting down on yourself for eating something cooked. Try to make each day a little more raw than the day before. Above all, listen to your body's signals. It will tell you what foods make it feel best.

I lost a good amount of weight eating raw, and I was at a normal weight when I started. What works for me is making sure I'm getting tons of greens- green smoothies are awesome, as jgunn said. Fruit is your friend, too, especially before/after workouts and for an energy boost. I try not to eat too much raw fat (although I do eat some every day). I have never found that raw fat keeps me from losing weight, I just feel more energetic eating less of it. Of course you may find that eating completely differently works better for you!

Best of luck and I hope you stick around! This is a very positive and informative place to be, I have learned so much from everyone here

Hey, I'm back! Thanks for the encouragement everyone Ok, so I think I've made a discovery, for about a week, I didn't have any type of gluten at all, no wheat or anything like that. Then, when my friend came, she bought like the Boca chicken nuggets and all this soy stuff, and the only thing different about it from what I was eating was the gluten. I've been increasingly depressed the last couple of days and I don't know why. I've noticed myself just going back into the old me, the bad tempered, irritable, depressed person that I never wanted to be in the first place. When I started eating mostly raw, I started not having so many depression problems, but when I started eating gluten again, it all came back full force, as well as a LOT of stomach pain when I'm digesting. Does gluten make your stomach hurt and make you depressed if you're intolerant to it?

The way I have done it for the past month, as a newbie also, and been pretty successful so far,I like to think, is never limit your fruit and veg intake and carry snacks around at all times, seeds and dried fruits, so you are stronger to resist cravings. Don't focus on the body and how you feel you look, focus on growing energy and goals you can achieve in your life now you have greater energy levels. I haven't had any wheat products for a month and feel stronger emotionally and have more energy than I have had in a very long time. Someone posted that green juices help cravings and this helps incredibly because you are getting a hit of nutrients. Try for one every day, make it a habit. Fill up on raw like you never have on cooked food. It will only help. Best of luck! I start most days with a spinach and 4 bananas smoothie with some added almond powder. I realise I am new to this too, but I thought you might gain a little from what I have learned so far.

What type of blender do I use for this? I have a really cheap blender and when I tried to make a green smoothie with kale and berries, it still had pieces of chopped up kale in it. I guess I should've expected this, but I mean, which type of blender should I get. Keep in mind that I'm a college student on a limited budget..

people talk about the vita mix and the magic bullet being good. dont know their expense

i have both and they are both handy in their own ways i use the magic bullet for quick on the go smoothies and chopping things up its a great little tool

i love my vitamix i think id marry it if were possible

i now pronounce you wife and juice ... hmmmm.....

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist