just a suggesstion, maybe you could bring slices of apple or pear in ziplock bags to work to snack on. this helped me alot. but i know its different with you because of your t1d.

perhaps you could find something else besides nuts that will not disturbe your bs.

i really admire you, karen. i know it was hard for me to adapt to this lifestyle. i can not imagine how hard it would be if i had kids, pets, a real job, and t1d.

you are my new hero! i love you! stay strong!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2007 07:55PM by pihourova.

Thanks, Camille for the pats on the back and the encouragement!

I actually do bring lots of fruit with me to work, but the nuts are just so tempting. ;-)

Of course, I still have to take insulin for the fruit too. But I don't want to eat too many nuts, I know that's not good for me. Ah well, it is a stage I am going through I think as they are getting less tempting over time - just like I no longer crave the raw olives.

This should be so natural, shouldn't it - eating raw foods? But we have been so messed up by processed foods that we don't know how to eat and we have to retrain ourselves. But we can do it!

ABSOLUTELY! WE can do it. i did it. and so can you. and its so very special that you do it, because you are setting the standard for your kids, the next generation and thus helping to create a better future for us all!

Yes, sometimes I think that if I truly heal that that will set a great example for my kids that they will never forget! Thanks!
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You know, I figured out one of my problems with nuts. I just need to take my insulin with them and just eat maybe one small handful a day. Doctors, etc., always act like you shouldn't have to take insulin with nuts, but I do and I just should count on doing that so they don't make me feel bad.

Well, I did as much preparatory work the night before last night and this morning went much better! We left the house earlier and the drive was less stressful, as my daughter wasn't worried about being late. So this time my blood sugar was 160 when I got up and then 130 after I drove my daughter to school (it went down, instead of up - yeah!).

Made a yummy salad last night with mesclun green, green beans, pine nuts, olives, bell pepper, baby tomatoes, parsley, zucchini, and squash. Then I put some of the olive juice in my small food processor and added some of the previous veggies (except for the greens), added a tiny bit of olive oil and blended it for my dressing. Then I ate half of it last night and I think I will save the other half for tomorrow night. Tonight I am planning to use some pineapple and mangos chunks I bought recently to make green smoothies. If I have leftover I will drink them tomorrow for lunch also.

I declined a lunch invitation at work for an Italian place to celebrate the wedding of someone at work I don't really know and who isn't in my group. It could be hard to find something raw there, so I think I will just pass.

i felt socially isolated at first for this very same reason. i did not want the temptation. nor did i want to explain that i had eatten ahead of time because i am raw.

but now, i pretty much accept all invitations. i am no longer tempted and i have no problem telling people i am raw. the most common question is, "dont you miss this food? or How do you do it?"

i respond, it no longer looks like food to me!

That sounds good, but then I feel like I would feel weird sitting there not eating while everybody else is eating. It's not the temptation, so much, as the standing out as weird and the looks. I mean, why go to eat out if you aren't going to eat?

Maybe the way I feel will change. I mean I have only been raw for 2 months - maybe after 2 years I will have a whole new perspective. :-)

i completely know what you mean. trust me, that weird feeling goes away.

you become more and more comfortable as time goes on.

and, sometimes people actually look up to you for it. there are not many people in this world brave enough to take this risk, and some, intelligent people admire this. this is where you will discover a new phase of raw. the phase where people admire you and ask you questions because they can see the postitive effects. and then you have those who antogonize you because they are not open to see the change because they fear the reality that they are killing themselves with their lifestyle.

but, its all good. because in this way, being raw vegan, helps you see the true character of others more clearly.

Camille, how long have you been eating 100% raw foods? You may have said before, but I have forgotten. So, when do you think your perspective changed?

Yeah, after a year or two I imagine I will be more comfortable and secure about all this. After all, then if I mention it and if someone asks how long I have been doing it - then it will sound more like a lifestyle and not just a short term fad I am 'trying out'.
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I used up my dandelion greens, parsley, pineapple, and mango in green smoothies last night but it was not tasty at all. ;-) Bitter. So I added frozen blueberries, bananas, and strawberries until I got it sweet enough to eat. You know, it wasn't green at all. It was brown. :-( Tastes good, but yucky look. I wonder if anyone else's green smoothies has ever turned out brown.

I ate one blenderful last night and then made another blenderful with the rest of the greens and fruit and I am eating them today for lunch.

I lost another couple of pounds and was down to 103 this morning. You know, maybe that is why I crave nuts after I get to work in the morning. It may be time to adjust my 24 hour insulin down another unit because I lost a little more weight. So my bs may be crashing in the morning and I am eating some nuts to keep my bs up and then I eat too many. Maybe, maybe not. I'm going to try not to eat anything tomorrow morning and test this theory to see if my bs is crashing. If so, I can adjust my 24 hour dosage from 10 down to 9. I sure hope so. To think, years ago one doctor started me at 30 units and then I was at 20 units for quite awhile. I can't attribute those reductions to a raw food diet though. Just to going to a good endocrinologist that helped me fine tune what dosage I needed.

I am going to that CranioSacral Acupuncturist today at 3. I am so looking forward to it. My upper left back is hurting right now. We will see if his treatment helps that.

i have only been raw since may. but that "weird" feeling went away for me last month. i do not think it is the time line aspect. for me, anyway.

for me, i just had the light bulb go on over my head sort of thing. its all in the mind. i just try not to bring too much attention to it, but if its unavoidable, i certainly do not try to justify myself. this is my choice and i do not have to justify it to anyone. if they have legitimate questions, i answer them. but if they are lecturing me on things they know nothing about, i simply smile and say ok, we will see who is right in 20 years. and i make a joke. i make light of it. its a delicate balance. but i mastered it quickly, as i am a very observant person and i enjoy anlysising others.

and for this reason, i am now having people ask me all sorts of really good questions. one of my friends, who was very against me doing this in the beginning, made the comment today that, "Camille is going to live to be 120 years old!" and she was NOT being sarcastic.


going out to eat with others is a social thing for me. i go to hang out. but i usually eat at home, unless they are able to make me a fruit bowl or something.

ok, so let us know how your theory turns out. i would be very curious if this is the reason you are craving nuts.

also, let us know how your treatment for you back goes. i wonder if it really is detox? i wonder how you would find out for sure?

Thanks, Camille. I look forward to that change in mindset. I like your response of 'we'll see who's right in 20 years'. ;-)

I have tried raw foods a few times before, so I am not secure in it yet this time. But I will be!

My blood sugars did not crash Saturday, even though I didn't eat until 3 in the afternoon (a test my endocrinologist taught me). It started at 150, rose to 165 and then fell to 135. So, I don't need to adjust my 24 hour insulin dosage downwards yet - darn. ;-) I am still stuck at 10 units. Oh well, that's still good.

I think I have been craving and eating nuts so much partially because I haven't had a colonic in a few weeks!! Those really help take away the cravings. I am going for a professional one tomorrow night, so that should really help.

That CranioSacral Acupuncturist was awesome! He really studied my body, my chakra, and my CranioSacral respiration. He found so many important locations to put those needles in - more than any previous acupuncturist and I have been to several. Some felt like they were hitting a nerve, but in a good way - tingly and electric. He said I am sensitive to everything - and boy, that feels like it is so true.

He said I might be sore, so to drink a lot of water to detox. My upper left back is better, but the right side of my neck is a little sore. But that is good because that is where I feel like my Epstein Virus lives sometimes and I want to get it out of there. ;-)

Thanks, Annie. I'm glad you are enjoying my posts!

glad your acupuncture went well. maybe you can just go cold turkey from the nuts after your colonic. good luck with that. hopefully ebv will get out of there as well

sending you well wishes for happy life and better health.

Thanks, Camille. I am not ready to go cold turkey on nuts, yet. But I am cutting back. So, you don't eat any nuts I am guessing? Do you eat any seeds?
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The professional colonic last night was good. She recommended no nuts (and not some other foods as well, but nuts were the only ones that I eat that were on the list) for the rest of that day. It was different than the last professional colonic I had. This one was a closed system, the other one was an open system. This person said all the injuries that have occurred have been with the open system and she wants them outlawed. This lady has done and taught colonic hydrotherapy for 30 years and is working with an association to get requirements in place for certification in all the states. She was very knowledgeable. She could tell me what was coming out - like bacteria, yeast, virus, mucus, gas, gall bladder stones, etc.

I had to stop at the grocery store later and I felt something leaking out and I rushed to their bathroom and it was mucus and some had escaped already. Then when I got home I felt an urgency again and I rushed to the bathroom and some mucus had escaped and then a very big loose movement came out. Good thing I made it home before that happened! So, now I am leaning towards just doing it myself in the future. It is cheaper and I will be closer to a bathroom afterwards. Besides, I'm not sure she got out anymore than I usually get out at home.

She usually says no raw food the rest of the day, but since I am raw vegan she suggested juice or smoothies. I felt like treating myself, so I had a big frozen fruit smoothie. It was definitely good.

My daughter tried the raw food diet again, her idea not mine, and lasted for a day. I did suggest she include her boiled egg yolks at breakfast though this time, and she did. I don't think she likes a big enough variety of raw foods to be able to do a raw food diet right now. But last time I told her that before she tried it, she said I wasn't being supportive. So I didn't say that this time.

If she decides to branch out on the foods she eats (more types of veggies and fruits and some raw nuts and seeds) at some point, then she could probably make it work. She got hungry and nothing raw that she likes looked good to her. She eats better than most teenagers with her vegetarian diet though and her diet may be one of the reasons she no longer has eczema too. She did enjoy the fruit smoothie I made her for dessert. She laughingly told me the next day to slap her the next time she says she want to try the raw diet. I told her I would do a virtual slap and we practiced a fake movie slap right then. We both laughed. I then told her the only thing really bad in her diet right now is the chips, so if she ever decided to improve her diet she should just try to replace those with something else. At least I buy her the more natural chips with no additives and preservative.

hello karennd and all

i have enjoyed reading this thread and i wish you continued success with your battle with t1d. i have battled the disease for over 30 years with pretty good success and i find the more raw i am the better control i have. one thing that you may want to try is a product called gymnema sylvestre which is a capsule of herbs sold in health food stores. it was developed in madras, india in the 70's and if taken 15-20 minutes before a meal will inhibit the rise in blood sugar. i am using it with success.

another product i have not used yet, as i only found out about it is prickly pear.this is a cactus popular as a food in mexico and it lowers post-meal blood sugar by up to 50%. i am going to try it and will let you know the results.

good health to all
charlie

hi karen! no , i dont eat seeds or nuts. my taste for them has completely vanished. not sure why.

sorry i dont have much time to write. my dad is visiting me and i have not seen him in almost 2 years. but i just wanted to check up on you.

love and luck to you

camille

Hi, Charlie, thanks for your suggestions. I totally agree with you in that the more raw I eat, the more control I have. I mean, my blood sugars aren't perfect now that I am eating 100% raw - but they were a total disaster on cooked food.

I have tried gymnema sylvestre before and it didn't seem to help. Yes, please let me know if the prickly pear helps. Is that in supplement form?

Hi, Camille, thanks for checking in! The nuts are less appealing since I had the colonic and I am eating very few now. Once you are back, please let me know if you eat any fats - avocados, coconut, olive oil, etc. Have fun visiting your dad! It must be nice to see him after 2 years!

Well, I messed up on a salad I made. I put fresh thyme in it, which I've done before. But usually I run my fingers down the main stem to just put the small branches and leaves in the salad. I don't know why I did this, but this time I broke up the entire thyme branch (and I used a bunch of them - it's a big salad I was planning on eating for a couple of days) and now I feel like I am eating twigs. Yuk! I am spitting some of them out. Hee hee. Oh well, live and learn...

hey karen! still here!

i do eat avos, olive oil, coconuts, coconut milk. they feel so good. but nuts and seeds are difficult for me to digest for some reason. i consider myself a fruitarian now, actually. and i feel better and better everyday.

however, this is what i feel is right for me. may not be right for others. but at this point i am only craving juicey and fatty fruits. and i am thriving. everyone is commenting on how different and happier i look.

maybe after the thyme sits in the salad over a night or 2, you can remove the twigs and have still have the flavor of the thyme without the twigs, if you have not already thought of this.

love

camille

ps things are not going so great with my dad. our relationship has completely changed. its like we are on 2 different planets. we used to be best freinds.

wish me luck and send me positive energy. please

as i am always doing so for you

Positive energy coming your way!!! Hopefully, the fruitarian diet isn't causing the riff and I hope you two can find a common ground.

Sounds very healthy. Do you also eat the fruits that we sometimes classify with vegetables, like tomatoes and cucumbers? Sorry, for being so nosy. :-)

That's a good idea on the salad. I didn't eat on it last night or today for lunch, but I will try it tonight and pick out the twigs if I have to.
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I skipped going to lunch yesterday with a big group at work. It was for somebody that is getting married. I did contribute to the group gift though. I wasn't sure I could find anything raw to eat at the restaurant, so skipping was easier.

Someone on another diary reminded me of Matt's saying that I like "It is what you leave out of your diet completely without cheating that heals you".

So, I want to brag on what I haven't eaten at all for 2 1/2 months now:

dairy
cooked food
sugar (except the natural fruit in sugar)
grains
meat
processed food
fast food
pop
tea or coffee
wine

And this is with the temptations of what my kids and hubby eat at home and with me cooking for the kids and picking them up Taco Bell once a week. Yea me! ;-)

Congrats Karen! I am so proud! you have come such a long way. i cant believe i have known you for this long already. time flies.

i do eat tomatos and cucumbers. and, no, you are not nosey! you share with me, and i share with you. i am thriving on fruitarian. i love it.

thanks for the positive energy. i really need it now. me and my dad have not seen each other in 2 years and we have spent the entire time having heated, emotional arguments, that end up making both of us cry. and i dont know why. he used to be my hero. now i look at him as a person who just does not understand me at all.

its such a shame that after all this time apart, and after all those years of being a daddy's girl, i am now looking at man who i can not connect with . i get him. i understand him. but he can not get me.

please send me some positivity!!!! i am always sending it to you my love!

camille

Positive energy being sent your way! And I am so sorry to hear that your dad and you are arguing. I used to be daddy's girl too, so I can relate. He died when I was 32, right after I married my current, 2nd, and last husband. I'm afraid if he was still alive that he would think I was weird and not 'get' me. But, then again, who knows - he might have been juicing and making green smoothies right along with me. I hope your dad can learn to accept you as the unique wonderful person you are!

I went to an ice cream social for our Sunday School group and didn't eat anything. I feel like that is easier to do (than not eating at a restaurant out with people) since it is outdoors and not a whole meal. I ate on a fruit/raw power smoothie on the way to the social and let my hubby drive. I wasn't tempted by the ice cream. In fact, it was kind of chilly outside for ice cream and that is what I used for my excuse. Some interesting topics of conversation came up. One couple has a sister who has had cancer return and is now doing the Hallelujah Diet and is having good results. One person talked about iron and how hard it was to bring iron levels up and I mentioned that dairy blocks iron. He was surprised but a scientist in the group agreed with me. Overall, it was very fun.

hey you! glad you got a small victory at your ice cream social for our way of life!

thanks for the energy. and i am sending it to you as always.

my dad is leaving 2 days early. because its jsut too much stress on me for him to be here. it was his decision to leave. but it saddens me so, especially considering this is the first time i have seen him in 2 years.

i just wish i could stop crying.

i hope i'm not pushing my way in here but i have to say my heart is going out to you. i'm so sorry to read about this. i've been reading your posts for a couple of weeks and i have taken positive energy from both of you and hopefully i can send some back along with my love.

all my best
charlie

thank you charlie. i am sending you love and energy as well.

karen, i hope you dont mind me posting a message for charlie on your diary thread.

love and positivity to you both!

camille

That is definitely fine, post away and join in charlie! I am sending positive energy to you both.

I am so sorry you have been crying, camille. But, maybe it will be cleansing and good for you in the long run.

btw, have you ever read The Journey? i thought it was a good book and she believed you had to go through some intense crying sometimes to heal.
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I think the raw food journey is helping me to get my sense of humor back. I mean, I have always joked around and had a sense of humor. But with the turmoil we go through with my son sometimes I forget to use it with him. Lately, he and I have been joking back and forth more. It's been nice to connect with him on a fun level at times, instead of just making sure he does his homework and grounding him.

oh karen, i love to hear this. i am so happy you are able to connect with your son like this.

i will check out the journey. do you know the author?

Brandon Bays. I bought it at Barnes & Noble.

She has a more recent one called "Freedom Is" that I have not read.

The Journey was about a lot more than crying, but that was one of the things I remembered. It was a fun, pretty quick read.

I had some more thoughts about the 'eating raw makes you more sensitive' line of thought that Matt & Fred tell us.

Thinking back to what Dr. Joel Robbins taught me, I really think that as we are getting 'more sensitive' our body is actually becoming more vital and healthy. Okay, so this cooked food eater can live in a polluted environment and not notice any problems. But, actually, his body is not healthy enough to try to get rid of the toxins so it deals with them the best way it can - by suppressing them. Those toxins might be causing chronic disease issues or cancer might be growing slowly beneath the surface but isn't noticeable yet.

The raw food eater gets sick in the polluted environment. He walks through the pollution and has diarrhea or throws up when he gets home. But the reason is because his body is so healthy that it has the energy to actually eliminate the toxins to try to keep itself clean.

This is the same reason, Dr. Robbins said, that kids with eczema often 'grow out of it' but then develop asthma. While they were young and vital enough, the body was trying to eliminate the problems through the skin. Once the body becomes overwhelmed and not so vital, it suppresses the problems and asthma develops later.
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Major yelling at home last night. So stressful. Sometimes I hate my life. Raw food is helping me to deal with the stress better and not join in on the fighting as much. A night like last night would normally have driven me to cooked food. This time it just upset my stomach and I didn't eat much. But I can't change everyone else, so I am trying to change myself and set an example.

hi karen

now i feel bad for you. both of you seem to be so positive about life and eating raw and you both have challenges now. hopefully things will be better for you both soon...i do encourage your attitude karen...good for you to try and turn a negative into a positive.

i read this somewhere and i send it to you both now...


The flower that follows the sun does so even on cloudy days.

I'm sorry, lacombe, I didn't want to bring you down. :-(

Thanks and I love that quote. Very nice.

We all have challenges, right? No one's life is perfect. I read about a parable once where everybody wrote down their problems and put them in a basket. Everybody was going to draw out a problem and switch their problems for someone else's. (I am probably not remembering this right) But, then when people drew a problem, they didn't like it so they put it back in and pulled out another - still bad. Until they finally drew their own problems and they were happy to keep their own rather than switch. My problems are not great, but they are not horrible either and I wouldn't want to switch with anyone. :-)

Last night there was no yelling, whew. So life was pretty peaceful. Yea!

As per my usual, I ate fruit at lunch and salad at supper. Although Tuesday I had lunch with someone in the work cafeteria and had a salad with olive oil on it. I think I ate too much of that salad last night though as I woke up with a high blood sugar and a little bit of an upset stomach. I tell you, I see all those pretty veggies at the store and I always buy too many and then I eat too much because I don't want them to go bad. :-)