First of all, I want to say how much I appreciate this group being here and all the help, information and support you all provide. I belong to a couple of raw food groups online and this, by far, is my favorite. It is the one I look forward to logging onto each day. There is so much love on this site. Many people have differing opinions, but everyone is respected. Is this what unconditional acceptance feels like? :-) How nice to know there is somewhere I can go when feeling down, frustrated, sick, happy or healthy!

That being said, I'll get to the "meat" of my post. I have come to realize that we are all on a continuum - from SAD to high raw. We may start out at different points on the scale, and may move up or down the scale throughout our lives, and that's okay.

When I first learned of the concept of eating raw, I joined a class where the message was - Go 100% from the beginning and you'll feel so good you'll never want to go back to cooked. There was so much pressure to incorporate as much raw as possible into our diets (or maybe that's just percieved pressure and my own personality kicking in...) So, I felt guilty everytime I wanted a hot meal or a piece of bread. I made it 4 days doing 100% raw, then broke down and made some pasta. I decided this raw thing wasn't for me, "I'll just stay vegan." But it's hard to unlearn a lifetime of cooking with butter, dairy and eggs. So, it was - "vegetarian, definitely." But then I went out for dinner with friends and the chicken potstickers sounded so good I just had to order them....

And each time I "slipped up" I felt guilty, like I was falling off the wagon, doing something wrong. I thought, "Am I doomed to a life of heart disease and overweighted-ness because I have no willpower???" Why couldn't I realize that I had to 'eat to live, not live to eat'? And I SOOOOO live to eat. I love eating. It is one of the most pleasurable things I do each day. The smell, the taste, the feeling of satiety - what could be better? (I know, I know - superb health and living a life of abundance...but that spaghetti is calling my name!)

But now, having found the support I need in this group and seeing that it is not just me struggling through this strengthens my resolve. There are raw-foodists, fruitarians, people who have been raw for 10 years or raw for 10 days, people who still incorporate some cooked food into an otherwise raw diet...

Information in this day and age is widespread, varied, contradicting and instantly available. Almost every "proven fact" can be disproved with another "proven fact". I think it all comes down to this:
- gather as much information as you can
- gather information from as many disparate sources as you can
- make your decisions based on what rings true for *you*
- observe what happens
- adjust when needed
- realize that we are all learning, things may change, and we are all exactly where we need to be at this moment in time.


I don't know any of you, but I love you already,
Zuzu

I feel that all the good intentions in the world will not waive the body's requirement for vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids.

Some of these are easy to meet without even trying. Others, much less so. So I will advise caution and discretion.

I love everyone, too, but I love the people who don't eat animals or animal products more.

I think slipping is on everyone's journey. I used to be a total nazi and think I would never, but I have..and I hear everyone saying " I told you so"..do not worry, it gets easier and its easier to stay 100% as the time goes by.

I've also noticed that there seem to be ways to replace the "pleasure" of cooked food/sugar/junk in one's life, that have nothing to do with food, like meditation and focusing one's energy on self-betterment, etc....

ThomasLantern,

You are right. I have noticed that when I do choose to eat cooked/prepared food it is either because I am not thinking about the choice I am making, just absentmindedly putting food in mouth or I am depressed, angry, frustrated, or bored and a small voice in my head whispers, "I just don't care right now."

It is hard to break out of the routine and habit of consuming food for "comfort" reasons, but slowly I am doing it. Every time I eat cooked food, thinking it'll make me feel better....and then end up sick instead, the body takes one more step in retraining the mind. I feel like I am turning a corner recently. Choosing raw foods is becoming more of a natural inclination. It doesn't feel like this is something I am imposing on myself as punishment, it's becoming a treat instead.

I think it takes time to get to this point, it takes listening to one's body and truly choosing to be well.