Hi. I have been reading books on vegetarian and vegan for about a year now. I just found this board today while searching arond at work and I think it will be helpful to have a support group online that I can talk to.

I started with "The China Study" and it went from there. I guess it has been a slow process and I'm still not fully a "raw vegan" yet, but I am pretty close. There are a few things that I eat from time to time that are not considered "raw", but soon I will get there I hope.

Being vegetarian in the beginning was truthfully was not hard at all. The idea of eating animal flesh is actually disgusting to me now and I cant do it. Giving up dairy was a little bit harder and now going raw has been kind of a challenge too. I am determined to do it. I never realized how unhealthy I was eating until a lot of the books I have been reading. Most recently I have been reading books by the Boutenko family and that has what changed me from wanting to be a vegan to wanting to be a "raw vegan".

I now have a juicer and the vita-mix blender and I use them on a regular basis. I definately use the vita-mix every day to make my Green Smoothie, but the juicer I use a few times a week. I have been interested in actually doing a juice fast to detox, but I dont know if it might be too hard for me. If there is anyone on this board who has done a juice fast who maybe I can talk it through with?

This morning I had a colonic and it was an interesting experience. I am glad I did it, but I really dont feel any different at all. I am also overweight and am hoping that being a raw vegan (and maybe with the detox/juice fast) it will help me to slim down. I am getting married in 10 months and I would like to live a long and healthy life with my future husband and not have my poor health be a burden to myself, to him, my future children, or society. I want to be healthy. I am looking for some support, success stories, recipes, and book recommendations that will help me with the journey.

Good luck to everyone and I hope to meet some great raw vegans in this message board.

welcome
patty

Welcome 2 !!!!

Hi, Welcome, and congrats on taking the raw plunge and pursuing health!
I have done a 14 day Orange Juice fast, a 25 day juice feast (drinking 4L of juice a day, and several juice fasts for shorter periods). I'd be happy to shade some light! When juicing it is definitely important to use enemas, you will see that a lot of junk can clear out, while you yourself are producing little new waste!! I have never had a colonic yet, but have heard that the first one does not normally go very deep, or make you feel very different. I believe it's best to do 2 or 3 clumped closely together.

If you are interesting in juice feasting check out www.juicefeasting.com or www.globaljuicefeast.com there is a ton of information on there as well!

You will definitely lose weight by fasting or feasting, but as you become cleaner you may need less food after a fast or feast than you did before. If you are not cautious of this, it is easy to regain weight, even on raw food. I speak from experience, but I am only slightly overweight, I'm sure it's easier to regain the last 10 lbs, than if you've come down further!

Anyways, I'd definitely recommend juice fasting on one type of fruit juice or juice feasting... Both will help you shed some pounds, and are motivating, spiritual, life changing!!!

Sunflower
Raw Food Chef and Writer
Comfortably Raw
[www.comfortablyraw.com]

Best wishes DCveggieGal. Like sunflower, I'm a big fasting advocate too, but do it when you feel your body is ready for it. Juice fasting helps with detox and healing. Juice feasting helps renourish the body and rebuilds it. I've completed 30-40 day juice fasts and wow, just felt amazing afterwards. Eating raw foods after a big cleanse is heavenly.

Your journey sounds like mine, gradually making changes and eliminating foods, changing lifestyles along the way. I never thought I'd be raw and here I am!

Good luck!

Welcome DC. Congrats on your upcoming nuptials. Pls keep in mind that your fiance chose you as a person and not your weight. So, allow yourself the time and flexibility to adjust to raw as there are so many amazing detox stages that await.

There is a great post by Bryan about raw not being just about diet. I suggest that you read that one.

Good luck and be happy. Therese



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2008 01:56AM by life101.

hi DC veggie gal

wishing you an absolutely beautiful gorgeous life with your husband