I had posted here a week or so ago because my husband and I were getting ready to do a 30 day raw experiment. He quit smoking, caffeine and all SAD eating overnight. I didn't smoke, but I was drinking coffee. Neither of us transitioned at all, which may or may not have been a wise thing to do. Nevertheless, we both have had this massive body pain for 2 days. It feels like nerve pain in our feet, lower back and legs. This a.m. it hurt to walk.... has anyone else had this? We were up a lot in the middle of the night feeling like we got hit with something huge.

On the one hand it makes me wish we had gone slower, but on the other hand it's proof of what a lot of this food we've been eating can do to you. My husband said "Is this normal? This can't be normal." I told him I know that people do get aches and pains when they go raw but just think about all of the people (including us) who are eating a certain way for their whole lives....if they don't stop eating and drinking processed foods, sugar, caffeine, etc, they might go for decades being numb to what their body is supposed to feel like. And how can fruits vegetables, green juices, etc make your body hurt on their own? This should tell us something.

Anyway, we still feel kind of bad, but so far we're sticking with it. I was so worried he would want all kinds of heavy dishes and "transitional" foods. I was beside myself making raw soups and trying to figure out what to give him. I was remembering when I was raw a while back - even though I had been vegan a while first, I was still wanting heavy foods and crackers and raw cookies. After trying my soup, he said it was really good but he preferred to have chopped salads with no dressing or salt, and green juices, nuts, whole fruits, etc, if I was ok with that. Then maybe later he would check out the cacao, Rawmesan, dried fruits and blended soups. I almost fell over. I think it's so cool that he's just eating food that is in its natural state, whereas I have been freaking out trying to season everything.

I hope that after this 30 days is up, each of us decides to change our diets at least somewhat. He mentioned he doesn't know if he could do this permanently, but then again, he hasn't felt good yet. I think we're still detoxing pretty hard. Anyway, just wanted to check in to the one place I know people understand this stuff.

As you know, it's not the "fruits, green juices, etc." that are causing your bodies to hurt. What you are experiencing is your bodies getting rid of toxins from poor quality foods/substances that you ate in the past . Yep, your bodies are telling you something. But, isn't it great to know that you are clearing that junk out and healing? People understand withdrawal from caffeine in coffee as a form of detoxing, but some won't entertain the idea that there can be detoxing from other substances. You, your husband and many others know differently.

I tried a 30 day trial of raw foods that has lasted eight months now. I felt so good after just a week and got so many other unanticipated benefits that I've just kept going with it. (It took me a few months to heal from a health issue, but I stuck with it and wouldn't go back to a SAD diet for anything.) Now it's a lifestyle, not a "Trial."

Here are three cheers for you and your husband. You are moving through the worst of it. Hang in there. It'll be smoother sailing soon.

Hip hip! Hooray!
Hip hip! Hooray!
Hip hip! Hooray!


My favorite raw vegan

I'd be careful... you're releasing a lot of toxins into your bloodstream all at once... could be quite a shock to the system...

but that's just my opinion... for some people 'all or nothing' feels like the right thing to do.

Good luck! xx



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Thanks for the support, Trive! How awesome you turned the trial into a long term thing....that's inspiring. I feel so icky right now, but I'm so hoping this is going to be a lifestyle change for both of us. It's so early to tell, and I'm emotional and look like I'm sick, which is kind of funny in a way because when I was drinking my coffee and eating bread and pretzels, I was tired but didn't look as sick. It just all has to come out, I guess.

Lisa, I actually was going to do it slowly, but figured if he was going to seriously go through with it despite me saying "Are you SURE you want to do this all at once? You're going to detox hard!" I figured I could do it too. Now I want some pretzels.