I've been raw for three months now, except for coffee. I've lost a lot of weight and feel better but so far it hasn't had any effect on my addictions to coffee and smoking. Also I have trouble with depression which has lessened since I've been raw but I still have some. Any suggestions?

Wean yourself slowly to the point where you only do 1/4 cup caffeinated coffee. Smoking -- same, get to the point where you smoke one cig a day over the course of the whole day (1 puff, put it out, etc.). It'll start to get more annoying than it is worth. When I drink a fruit and kale smoothie I get energized and don't miss the coffee. I find the best thing for depression is exercise. Ginseng is also a nice all around brain booster. Good luck!

You could switch to yerba mate. It is less acidic than coffee, more nutritious, and is also pretty high in caffeine. It would be best to get off the caffeine, but this may be a good starting point where you gradually limit your intake. Drinking fresh juices, smoothies, or wheat grass shots are an even better idea. I really love kombucha drinks, they makes me feel very energized. I often put a tablespoon of maca (a root from the Peru) in my morning smoothies. It is an incredibly energizing herb, which is known to boost the libido. That may also help with your depression.

The smoking addiction is a tough one to break, but I think the best way do it is cold turkey. You are going to have to come face to face with your addiction. Just don't cave in! You can do it. Just have faith that each time you don't cave in you will be closer to the point when you won't even want cigarettes anymore. I used to smoke when I was younger and I stopped this way. Now even the thought of smoking seems completely strange and unappetizing to me. You will get there, especially after you begin to really feel the effects of the raw food lifestyle.

Exercise is also very important and will help you feel better overall, whether it is going for a walk every day or picking up a new activity



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2008 03:20PM by Joanne81.

i`m trying to think what helped with my 25 year addiction to cigarettes. i quit many many times LOL i was an expert at quitting. one time though it finally just stuck. i think when you keep concentrating on health and well being and you eat great and exercise and do the mental exercises to clear your mind and become more peaceful the urges to stop smoking will be greater and nag at you more. it just seems to be the natural progression. you will still probably have withdrawals because you are physiologically addicted to the well over 200 chemicals that are in a cigarette but hopefully your mind/body connection will overpower that. it takes about 3 days for the nicotine to leave your system, after that alot is just habit and hand to mouth fixation. it takes about 3 weeks to break a habit and the same amount of time to acquire a new one. google what is in cigarettes, pics of lungs of smokers, that sort of thing to put bad images and true info in your brain for ammunition. good luck. i`ve been smoke free for a few years now and it really is freeing.....plus i smell better
patty

Yes. Review your long term goals. If YOU think it is necessary to quit these habits because of YOUR health goals....then write down your worst habits.....and set short-term goals with timetables to cut down and eventually eliminate these habits. Make your processes do-able and small. I quit all the things you mentioned. But eating raw is only one gift to ourselves. Eliminating / changing the mentality that gives rise to addictive behaviors is the main thing....and much more umm.....thorough.....then simply changing one's diet....even if that diet is as healthy as all-raw. Heh...heh. Eating all-raw does NOT simply cure eating disorders, compulsive issues, control issues or addictive behaviors.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

davidzanemason Wrote:
--------------------- Eating all-raw
> does NOT simply cure eating disorders, compulsive
> issues, control issues or addictive behaviors.
>
> -David Z. Mason

amen david! i`ve witnessed many times that peeps think raw is like some magical pill and if they start all their problems will dissolve.
patty

Try taking it one addiction at a time. I tried quitting alcohol and cigs simultaneously and didn't get it done because it was too much. I found that going in steps while adding healthy habits and routines was much more realistic. Patience is everything.

Thanks for all the good suggestions. I do remember reading in one of Victoria Boutenkos books that people tend to quit smoking spontaneously after going raw , I think Alissa Cohen said something like that also, but I need to do more it seems. Is all flax seed sold raw, by the way? I usually buy it already ground and it doesn't say on the package ...Bob's Red Mill is the company.

caffeine is a drug and it inhibits the bodys ability to absorb iron,
Spiders on drugs experiment-spiders were given differant drugs Heroin, LSD, pot,
speed,` coke, the web weaving pattern was looked at, Pot nice pattern, lsd ``nteresting pattern, coke some pattern speed some pattern, most eradic web ``weaving pattern `where spiders on caffein.
`wacth your web.

The spiders on drugs thing is fake.