I'm 9 1/2 weeks raw and turning 42 next week. I do not know anyone else, personally, that is raw, so being connected to this forum really helps me not to feel all alone in my journey. I am not talking about it much to my friends and family. I am always trying new things and didn't want to make a big announcement two days into eating raw, just in case I wasn't going to stick with it.

But I am totally into this new lifestyle. I am reading, learning, trying recipes, and getting used to new flavors and textures of food. The more I learn, the more I am at ease about my decision, and that it is not extreme or fadist. It just makes sense.

A lightbulb turned on in my head. And to think the last diet I was following was Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle! That diet had me on some heavy-duty animal protein. I was consuming over 100 grams a day. So going to raw vegan is quite a switch. But this feels better and feels right.

I love to shop for food. I am getting better at dehydrating food, making juices and smoothies. I don't even think about meat or milk anymore. This new way of preparing food is becoming smoother and less stressful. I know there are things that I can make that I like, and I can just add new things as I become motivated to experiment more.

My son comes to visit on occasion (he is in college nearby) and his habit is to open the refrigerator door as soon as he enters the house (he would do this even if he were entering YOUR house!) and then repeat this a few times before leaving. You can imagine what he must be thinking when all he sees are grocery bags of produce and nuts, baggies of dried foods, and containers with soaked nuts and nut milk! Where are the eggs? Where is the bread? Where is the gallon of milk? Why isn't there any ice cream in the freezer???? One day he said, "Mom, sometimes I think there must be a dead farmer hidden somewhere, because it looks like you may have killed one and took all his produce!!!!" Silly boy....

But he told me the other day that he is being influenced by what I am doing. I gave him some vegetable juice (collards, basil, onion, apple, squash) and he drank it down and said, 'Hit me again'! I was shocked. And like me, he was very surprised at the pleasant, mild flavor.

I am starting to feel ready to prepare a meal for non-raw foodists. This is my quiet way of letting others know what I am up to. I will have my co-workers over for lunch in one month and I am thinking of getting some nice wooden bowls and filling them with salad, making salad dressing (I love the ranch dressing recipe in Living Cuisine), making some raw crackers,and then homemade sorbet with banana ice cream. I still have some experimenting to do, but I see no reason why they will not like this totally raw meal. The next step is to 'cook' for my parents. I am a little more worried about that.

Maybe I shouldn't be so quiet about this, but saying the words 'raw vegan' sounds really extreme. That is how it used to sound to me.

Wow, you are doing great, lovebird! 9 1/2 weeks raw all on your own, you should be proud of yourself - I know I am!

That is great that your son liked the veggie juice!

Some people, at least in my family, don't even know what raw vegan means. So, maybe it would help to say you are eating just fresh live foods to help with some health problems or because it just feels right (or whatever the reason is).

Keep us posted and I think that luncheon for friends is a great idea!

Hi lovebird!

your post about your son opening up the fridge including perhaps other people's fridge as the first thing he does made me laugh so hard

and the farmer comment and " hit me up again" was soo funny

it seems to me that most people that eat raw foods that are tasty and well prepared LOVE it whether they are raw or not

your lucky friends who get invited to your cracker sorbet salad party

that is cool that you like to host parties and shop for food

i don't like shopping at all

i may enjoy the party thing though i have only had "mini" parties with just a close friend where i made the food but i gave out instructions for the other friend to help and it seemed like it made it DOUBLY enjoyable

its fun knowing what goes into the food and when u prepare it, u get a sense of accomplishment

i think u are doing great
and its cool to read about your enthusiasm and excitement for raw foods

don't worry
you don't have to tell people

just say something like " i really love experimenting with new ideas" when you host your party

that always goes well

hey there lovebird...how are things going for you?? well welcome to the journal section and congrats on going raw for so long that is fantastic!! you are doing great....and that is awesome your son is following the lead!!! you are doing great..i am sooo happy for you!! keep up the good work
take care
lots of love
earthangel
xoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Thanks for your posts! It is very encouraging to get feedback in this journal section.

karennd - congratulations on being bold enough and strong enough to start/stay raw on you own! I'll have to check to see if you have a journal too.

la_veronique - I am glad you enjoyed the humor!

earthangel - thanks for the welcome!

After writing my first post I decided to take the plunge and go 100% raw. I made it 5 days and started seeing the results I saw the first couple weeks I was raw (and more diligent). My face started looking younger again and my weight, which had started climbing again, dropped.

I ordered the book "Green for Life" and the Blendtec blender, which arrived last week. What a difference I feel after drinking a fruit smoothie with greens in it. Now I really feel like I am on a raw diet! It affected my appetite immediately. It is so filling and has answered my burning need for how to control cravings for processed food. Since the cravings aren't so strong, I don't have to work so hard in the kitchen to make raw alternatives. My food choices are quicker to make and simpler so I can concentrate more on living than on preparing food. It is quite a relief.

To get greens before, I was juicing them. Then I discovered that I like kale in a salad. Both of those things take a good bit of time. Now I can throw a few baby collard leaves, parsley, or kale (still experimenting) in the blendtec, add some water and frozen fruit, and in less than a minute I have a filling breakfast and an extra smoothie for the afternoon, when I get cravings the worst. This certainly does feel like experimenting!

I found a raw food meetup group in my area, as well as an alternative medicine meetup group, and I am going to meet with both soon. This should open up some new relationships. The raw food group gets together almost every weekend for a potluck. What a blessing!

I love all of Victoria Boutenko's books, including Green for Life and I absolutely love my Blendtec blender and smoothies. A lot easier to make and more filling than juices, right?

That is so great that you have found local support. That ought to really help to stick with it.

Yes, karennd, I am very impressed with the blendtec. I like the way it changes speeds and it is actually quieter than my cheaper blender. I am glad I made the investment.

Today is my 42nd birthday, raw for 78 days. I feel happier than ever, and healthier too. It feels like quite an accomplishment to have gotten a hold on my 'aging' before today! I will post a picture taken last weekend.

Here are some changes that have occured since I went raw:

1) all the white spots on my fingernails no longer exist, they look healthier and so do my toenails

2) as soon as I started drinking green smoothies (over a week now), I need about an hour less sleep each night and wake up refreshed before the alarm goes off instead of groggy and hitting the snooze button for 30 minutes

3) lost 5 lbs.

4) face looks younger - more color, less acne, diminished wrinkles around eyes

5) feel more energy pulsing through my limbs when I stretch

6) hair is silkier

7) less scummy feeling on my teeth and cleaner tongue

8) my body is more oxygenated (I can just tell, esp. when doing aerobic exercise)

9) complete change in appetite and cravings, esp. after drinking green smoothies

10) most importantly, I feel more peaceful, diminished social anxiety


The foods no longer in my home, and thus not a big part of my diet:
1) milk
2) cheese (sometimes I buy a little block of raw cheese)
3) loaves of bread
4) any kind of meat for myself (I buy it for my cats - they are raw too!)
5) splenda
6) jello pudding
7) whipped cream
8) twinkies, cookies, hard candy
9) sweet cereal
10) peanut butter and jelly
11) ICE CREAM
12) diet soda

I moved the toaster oven off of my kitchen counter and replaced it with a dehydrator. I no longer use my oven or my microwave. I use my stove to heat ezekiel tortillas (as a transitional food).

New foods that now fill my refrigerator:
1) fresh fruit (from Whole Foods, farmers market)
2) fresh vegetables (from Whole Foods, farmers market)
3) sunflower, sesame, pumpkin seeds
4) walnuts, cashews, almonds
5) wheat berries, buckwheat groats, oat groats, lentils (for sprouting)
6) ezekiel tortillas

For a decade now, I have been healing from a childhood filled with emotional and physical abuse from my mother (probably bi-polar) and a lot of isolation. It has been a long road and took a few years to see any real progress. Bodywork helped the most, but some counseling helped too. I have become a self-sufficient adult -- finally. The majority of my emotional pain is gone but still resurfaces on a regular basis in the form of feeling disassociated in group settings and lots of hurt and crying.
Before going raw in June 2007, I was developing friendships but still spent large amounts of time alone, did not pick up the phone and call friends, and did not answer my phone. I was making efforts to connect better and there was some progress.
Going raw has made it even better. During this time I have gotten closer to a male friend of mine, where sexual tension has surfaced, and this has really opened me up -- willing to be more vulnerable, feeling love and hurt in small doses (since we are not in a romantic relationship). He has been doing yoga for many years so his energy flows freely. And he is a vegan. With the way he stirs up 'my stuff' and with eating raw foods, I have reached a new place in my healing. My heart is more open to feel love for people, I am seeking connections, and my mouth has really loosened up so that I talk more and am more expressive.

I cannot say enough about how much it means to me to have increased mental health since going raw. The first two weeks of eating raw were really tough. I had more of a emotional detox than a physical one. I experienced intense fear for several days. It was horrible! But then it subsided, and now.... what can I say.... I feel so happy. Not long ago I would still get thoughts of not caring if I live or die, and when the pain was bad dying sounded much easier. That doesn't even cross my mind now.

I know these statements sound too definitive -- I was this and now I'm that. What I am saying is my overall response. Before raw I ate some healthy food too and now I don't always eat only the good stuff. Before raw I had happy days too, and after raw there are some days that I feel a bit blue. But overall there is a noticeable trend in the right direction, enough to say with certainty that things are different now.

Here's a recent pic:

Wow, lovebird, that is so impressive and congratulations on sticking with it for over 11 weeks now! You are really in tune to your body and the changes that are happening. I was reading your list of changes and thinking, you know I think that has changed for me too but I hadn't thought about it. It's gradual and it sneaks up on you sometimes and you just start to take for granted the less scummy feeling in the mouth, for instance.

I agree that the raw diet really helps with the emotional balance too, although we can go through rough patches during a detox sometimes. I feel less prone to flying off the handle. It's nice to feel more in control, isn't it?

I had my first bad effect from eating cooked food last Sunday. Being a raw foodist is really starting to feel official!
For my birthday my son took me to our old favorite - Outback Steakhouse. I have not been there in a long time and have not been eating meat regularly for over 3 months. I had the meal I used to always have, their steak special with baked potato, salad and bread. I also had a beer which was really hard to drink with everything else. Then we topped it all off with the seven layer chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. I was so full.
I didn't get ill to the point of making trips to the bathroom. But my entire abdomen, first near the top and later near the bottom, was mildly on fire. That is a horrible description, but frankly I do not know what words to use because I haven't felt this before.
It was like my digestive system as a whole was mad at me! I couldn't sleep from the discomfort and couldn't eat much the next day. Then by Tuesday I was almost back to normal. It felt like a warning to me. And besides the large amount of cooked food, the high fat content and excess carbs, I think it was the beef that really did me in.

We've all been there. It's a good learning experience, right?

I remember Victoria Boutenko in her Raw Family book talked about them going out for a cooked meal (at Red Lobster, I think) after being raw for a couple of months. She had made the reservations before they had gone raw and then they thought it would be a nice treat, so they still went. Boy, did they regret it and decided never to do that again...

Glad you're feeling back to normal now.

Wow! I just want to say lovebird your story is really inspiring! I am so happy for you. When I read what was in your fridage it made me feel so good (not sure why, but I love when people have an abundance of healthy foods in the fridge.) Anyway, you have inspired me to keep going and trying my best. Currently I am in another country going to college, and it is really hard being raw, but you have really helped. Thanks again!

Mario

Hi Mario - Nice to hear from you! I hope you find some good ways to make eating raw a little easier. I am finding that smoothies really simplify things. There is less food prep involved. Also, I just joined a raw foods meetup group and the young guys in the group really like superfoods. They call it the 'real' fast food. It sounds like it is an assortment of powders that are chock-full of nutrition. One guy likes to experiment and mix different ones together in a smoothie. One of them smelled and tasted like popcorn!!!!!! Anyway, they say they can have one of these smoothies, and it doesn't take a powerful blender, and then they only need a salad later in the day. So there is a lot less focus on food prep. The only thing about it is I think it might be somewhat expensive.

Next Wednesday is my 3 month anniversary for being raw. I am so proud of myself!!!! It has become a real lifestyle change, which is evident by the way I feel terrible when I eat too much cooked food. After my last post I had a nine day stint of birthday celebrations, and ate cooked food seven of those days. I can't say I am proud of that. But I like a couple of things that came out of it. I was getting slowly pulled into the all cooked diet, and if I had continued I would have 'forgotten' all about raw. But, as planned, after the last celebration (a friend taking me to dinner kind of thing), the next morning I had a green smoothie, ate raw for lunch, had a salad after work. Then, still feeling deprived of greens and a little tempted with late night snacking, I made a savory green smoothie. It was not particularly tasty but I was still drawn to it and glad I drank it. It gave me a feeling of satiety that other things don't. Then I was right back to eating raw. Every time I do this, within a couple days I drop a couple pounds which I think is 'waste water' and this makes my face look better. And other physical signs show up too. It is really easy to go back to raw since the results are so good.

I am starting to identify myself as a raw foodist. I haven't said the words yet, but I am telling my friends that I went, or am going, to a raw foods potluck. This is a good first step for me. Virtually everyone gives some mildly negative feedback as they comment why they don't eat raw. It doesn't bother me too much, because I KNOW that I look and feel better, and it is only going to get better. And it is not my job to convert others. I am just happy to be me in front of them. I've got you guys on this forum and the local raw foods group and my own personal experience. I feel like I am doing this right because my desire to eat raw is in line with actually eating raw, so I don't have to worry as much about acting contrary to my decisions. That is a little hard to explain, but maybe some of you understand it. I guess another way of putting it is I am not hyping myself up to change my behavior, or pushing myself with guilt. That is what I am used to doing whenever I try to change eating habits. Somehow this is working out differently.

My next challenge was a friend coming over last night to watch a movie. Luckily she didn't bring a pizza with her like she planned, and I had some sun tea, a nice spinach salad in a big wooden bowl and some homemade salad dressing made with raspberries, oil and vinegar, a few mint leaves, and a little onion. Here is where I made a mistake -- I felt like I should have some bread/butter and cookies to go with it, to keep her comfortable. It had been a few days since I ate any processed food, so I thought I would go ahead and have some. Well, I had some and some more and some more, and then some more. And once again I didn't feel so good! I was a little disappointed but I try to look at it as the very first time I had someone over to eat and so it is not a surprise that I stumbled a little. I just didn't think it was time to bring out the raw crackers and cookies. I don't think they will be tastey to someone who doesn't eat raw. I barely like them myself - at least the way they are turning out at this point.

Sounds like you are on a rawsome journey! ;-)

Is it possible to be Dr. Jekyl AND Mr. Hyde at the exact same time??!! That is how I am feeling this week. Coming off a stint of eating cooked food was not as smooth as I thought it would be. The BIG MISTAKE was buying cookies/crackers/bread to have in my house. The Mr. Hyde in me ate it until it was gone. This is what I will have to face if I feed non-raw friends in my home and feel I should offer familiar cooked food on the side. But the Dr. Jekyl in me has progressed in drinking more green smoothies every day and my stomach doesn't get upset anymore when I drink them. I think about greens a lot. And I chose to have 2 quarts of green smoothie for the last two days.

Last time this happened, the only way I got off cooked food was to just say No to it. I also succeeded by socializing less. It is a back-and-forth game as I balance real life situations and getting established in my new lifestyle. I still think I am making progress. When I went to a restaurant with co-workers on Monday, I got a salad and asked for avocado in place of the chicken. There was no extra charge. So I am getting better at making special requests in restaurants.

To help encourage myself, I wrote down all the things I have accomplished so far. One notable thing was that I have a raw breakfast every single day, and every day I make a raw lunch (occasionally I end up eating out). Then I listed the things I have not yet accomplished and picked 3 top priorities.

The winner for spot number 1 was getting my intestinal flora more balanced. I am plagued with Candida overgrowth symptoms - sinus headaches, itchy skin, and cracks on the sides of my mouth. I am not being aggressive at this point by doing a cleanse of some kind. Although I probably should, I do not feel knowledgable enough or motivated enough. So for now I am eating more blended greens which contains nutrients and fiber, and I plan to start eating some fermented food. I was thinking of making Rejuvelac and using that for the liquid in my greens smoothies. It is mildly tart and may not be noticeable in the vegetable-fruit blend.

In this whole process I am testing the pH of my saliva upon rising, on occasion. It has not budged. I believe that as my health improves the pH will rise. It is currently about 5.7 in the morning. I would like to get that to 6.6 or 6.8.

Hi lovebird, what are you using to test your saliva ph? My kit only gives a range of ph and it usually reads the same thing!