Hello
I'm new here and also new to raw food. I started a couple of weeks ago after reading the raw food lifeforce book - by natalia. I haven't been doing anything fancy, just a green juice in the morning then salads for lunch and dinner. A bit of fruit in between times. I've felt fine but have gradually become constipated - any sugestions? I've also been quite depressed and very cold. Then, last night I had a really terrifying dream, and even after I woke up I couldn't shake it off. Today started with my green juice, but have been eating all sorts of rubbish all day and now I feel awful. I started eating this way because I have been a lifelong dieter and I just can't face dieting any more. I need to lose about a stone (14lbs) and I also want to look younger and wonderful - (I'm 51). I'm not a very good cook and not really interested in food, so eating raw seemed perfect for me, no cooking, nothing much to think about and look and feel good aswell. I ate mainly fresh fruit for about 3 months in the winter, I loved it, and lost weight a bit, but eventually the weight loss stopped.I'm worried eating this way will slow my already damaged metabolism down even more.

Any advice would be much appreciated.
Many thanks
Vicky (UK)

Set smaller, lifetime goals (with timetables) that allow you to make changes slower....at a pace that is right for you.

-Write down the top 10 foods that YOU think are the healthiest things you could eat. Make a second list of the top 3 WORST things that YOU think that you eat or do. Make your goals centered around incorporating the former....while setting a no-nonsense timetable of small goals to cut down/eliminate the latter.

-After eating all raw for over 8 years (all fruit the past few), my own experience is that far from doing damage.....you will experience excellent health......after doing the research.....and making PERMANENT but VERY SMALL choices on a daily basis.

-Just some suggestions.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

What are you worried about?

If you eat ripe fresh food in sufficient quantities, exercise, get fresh air, good thoughts you will be O.K.

Hello again.

David - Thank you for your sugestions, I will start applying them.

Global results - thank you for your imput, but my question is really is feeling depressed, cold and having terrifying dreams the inevitable consequence of eating raw - if so why? If not, why is it happening to me?

Thanks! x

Maybe you are not getting enough calories? I feel cold when I'm juice fasting or not getting enough calories. Maybe you can take in more calories and use exercise to burn excess calories for weight loss instead of restricting your caloric intake too much.

Your body may be telling you to transition more slowly.

Also, I don't know how much weight you've already lost, but periods of weight stabilization are quite normal. Your body will release more weight in time. I don't think it's healthy to lose it all at one time. Let your body heal and adjust before you expect more weight loss from it. I had some rapid weight loss when I first went raw, then I plateaued, and now I'm losing again but more slowly than the initial weight loss. I'm happy with this because my skin is not loose from the sudden weight loss. My skin's elasticity seems to be keeping up with the rate of weight loss and I don't have the loose skin that some dieter's have reported.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2008 10:07PM by roxeli.

I agree with roxeli. Whenever I get cold, I need more nuts and avacados, bananas ect. Do you have a hydrator? Crackers, essene bread cookies...all enzymes still in tact with a dehydrator. I got one off the internet for 35.00 it works great!
As for the disturbing dreams, sleep is fitful while your body adjusts to all of the detoxing stages. My suggetion would be bananas with almond milk before bed.
As I posted elsewhere, our body goes through a 'healing crisis' during regeneration of the cells. Allow yourself time to heal. Try not to make weight loss the focal point, make 'healing' the focal point...the weight loss will follow.

Vicky, It sounds like you're pushing yourself too hard to be 100% raw too quickly. I did that in the beginning and my body/mind completely rebelled. I was detoxing and yo-yoing and then decided to be easier on myself and allow my body to tell me when to eliminate certain foods from my diet. It's easier that way because you aren't mentally and physically challenging the dietary choices that you are consciously making. If you know in your mind what is "right" but your your psyche and body are not in agreement, it's a no-win situation.

It's like when you are a child and a parent tells you that you have to eat such and such or you won't get any dessert, etc. It's like saying if you don't do what I command, you don't have justification to be happy. The child either complies unhappily or is a robot, really.

I agree that raw does bring out emotions, etc. If you are depressed, it may be that you are angry about something or someone. Consider looking at that. Also, you may want to try something herbal like Valerian tea. It may also be a hormonal imbalance. My sense is that you have alot of conflict within and need assistance to overcome the pain. I like Ayn Rand's book, "Atlas Shrugged". The concept is to acknowledge the pain but only to go through it and go on to a higher self.

Good luck. Therese