Hi everybody, i'm so loving this thus far. Started for a few reasons, all health related but am excited about the vanity part too :O)

Just noticing that I'm so blah and fatigued. Havent even had the spirit to exercise which I normally do every day, run between 3-4 miles but just can't. I figured I'd have to modify my routine as I adjust but that has turned into not working out at all.

What's worse is i'm not able to sleep any more than I used to [which wasnt much at all]. so now i'm truly @#$%&!

Any advice? Will this pass? Please help. xoxo

You are experiencing the lack of stimulation and the lack of sedation combination that happens when eating an all raw diet. The cleaner your raw diet, the more you will feel it, but the faster your body will heal from it.

Get plenty of rest and sleep if you can right now.

What were the stimulants in the SAD diet? Certainly coffee and coke, but also animal products, preservatives, and condiments (ie spices, garlic, vinegar, etc).

What were the sedatives in the SAD diet? Wheat, high fat, grains. Bad food combining.

This will pass.

Wow, thanks Brian. Never thought about the stimulants. Um to answer your questions, I have MS so i avoid caffiene as much as able. i used to drink decaf but had 3 cups this week- bad girl. I didn't do my regular mound of 'equal' and tried raw sugar instead.

but i recenlt started eating bird a couple of years ago, hadnt since i was a teen! And am noticing a big change in my health. so i'm weaning from that.

i think the biggest stimulant was the artificial sweeteners. when i needed something bubbly i would [occassionally] do diet/caffeine free coke. BUT i'd drink it ALL like immediatly.

so you think i'm withdrawing from my sugar high and the artificial poisons?
also you mentioned my body will heal from the detox, please explain, Thanks again for the quick reply. Its good to know its a part of the process.

Check out this article called Detoxification by David Klein.

Stimulants are a low intensity toxin that the body can effectively eliminate. And what you feel when it does this is stimulation. If you cut them all out, you feel tired, but this is merely because you have not been getting enough rest on your previous SAD diet. So getting more rest and sleep now will allow your body to heal itself, though you may have to miss some work to get all the rest you need.

The cleaner you eat, that is, the more you eat fresh ripe raw organic whole fruits and vegetables, the more energy your body has for healing. For some, they don't like the intensity of the cleansing and the healing, so they slow it down by eating some cooked foods to moderate the cleanse. For me, I was feeling unhealthy before I started raw, so I allowed myself to detox on a very clean raw diet until my body was finished with the major part of the detox. However, after the detox was over, I did introduce some heavier raw foods (fat) into my diet as I still had work to do with handling all the energies and emotions that arise on the raw diet.

Bryan is certainly correct on all counts. People might experience a burst of energy from initially eating healthy foods....but this is often immediately followed (or sometimes preceded) by an initial malaise / fatigue as the body starts dumping toxins and switching blood supply to healing. Low energy, headache, disruption of sleep patterns, fatigue, ache, dry mouth, odors, emotional irritation, etc., are all quite normal, but heal rather quickly with a high, regular healthy diet (along with exercise, sunlight & fresh air!)

-We intelligently eat the best things we know...and intelligently live the highest lifestyles we know....and accept the consequences! Ha! ha! What else can we do?

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

When I drank caffeinated beverages I felt like this:

The caffeine I drank today was stealing energy from the next two days.

Unfortunately, I didn't give myself two days to recover from the caffeine I drank. I then drank caffeine the next day because I didn't have energy that day, because I had caffeine the day before...

It's almost like a pyramid scheme. You are stealing energy from two days in the future for one day of caffeine. But then it usually isn't just caffeine you are doing... like Bryan says, all those stimulants have an effect.

Just hang in there as best you can. Eat lots of fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables as you can. Bryan and David are two of our more experienced people here and they both have great advice.

Regular exercise and meditation are helpful with sleep issues.

Keep it up! You are on the right path. You may stumble a bit at first, but at least you are here.


Lee

[www.dhamma.org]

"May all beings be happy."

Thanks guys for your great advice and support. I got lots of rest thus far. Funny thing, is, well my strategy is to do raw during the week and cooked on the weekends. on monday all i could think about was what i would eat on the weekend. by wednesday there was no thought of it at all. by friday raw went so well i was nervous about doing cooked.

went to whole foods to get my raw products for next week and gt some lunch. Came home to eat and really saw the difference. embarrassed to say what i ate :O/ but i got MAJOR sleepy. it was like i went thru a field of poppy seeds- that was crazy!!! so yeah- i slept alright. Also saw how thirsty i became suddenly. normally drink a gallon of water w/lime or lemon each day. during my raw week i noticed my body couldnt tolerate as much water. i assume this is bec i'm getting enough thru fresh fruits/veggies which didnt worry me. but whe cooked, couldnt get enough water.

although my husband lsted all his concerns [so competitive- hate that] about my new endeavor, as i told him i know i have to make modifications as i go along, esp with my workout. i told him that all of this is part of embracing the journey of it all. And i must say i truly am enjoying it!!! I'm looking forward to next week which will be week 2 raw. I pray i enjoy my food as much as i did last week. i ate mostly salad from romain lettuce. this week i'm doing the same but with baby spinach. fingers crossed xoxo

Ha! ha! Yes. You'll probably go through phases too. Heh...heh. In the beginning, I could eat pounds of bananas....maybe 12 or more at a sitting. Now I can barely stand to look at the things! Ha! ha! It goes in cycles. You'll normally eat a certain way for about 2 years......and then rather suddenly wake up and want to change somehow. The important thing is that the change is always consciously chosen......whether the impetus for that change was conscious or not.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com