Hello - new here nd enjoying a lot of discussuions, interesting to see so many helpful souls.

Like many, I am pulling some carry on baggage from lingering ED; long history of on and off again relationship with food. years of starving or bingeing have me out of whack with my bodys signals, this causes me to do a lot of second guessing

ive been mostly (about 90 percent) raw for about a month. I make exceptions for family night and special events, will eat some cooked, but still vegetarian.

Nonetheless, ive made some good changes ie usually have breakfast now, and eat way more fruit and veg than i have in my life. i aim for organic, but sometimes its not...

here is the gist of what im struggling with now: while I have had a few days of feeling like i am living on rocket fuel, for the most part I dont feel quite right, eps after eating. i feel bloated but hollow. not satisfied. i may have even put on a few lbs, tho i am mindful of how much oil (avocado and olive) i consume and am not going overboard with the nuts.

has anyone else lived in fear of food and eating that can help to guide me though getting back in touch with bodys signals, i think i am still hungry after meals -- what does full feel like and should I feel full after eating.

has aqnyone else struggled with body signals and overcome the doubts

bizarre question, i know!

any help feedback etc much appreciated.

I remember when I first started eating raw, and I couldn't get that full feeling that I got with cooked foods. No matter how much I ate, that feeling of a brick in my stomach never showed up. And this took some getting used to. Its a different feeling, having a full belly, but not that old full feeling.

But over time, as I ate more raw foods and less cooked foods, I got used to the new feeling of full.

Also what happened when I first went raw was that I was always hungry. My stomach couldn't hold that much raw foods, and I would digest that raw food so quickly. Plus my body was loving all the raw foods, and it was always asking me for more. This feeling of being hungry all the time took about a year or so to go away.

Also, having a belly full of cooked foods would make me feel less of what was going on in my body, and this feeling never happens with eating an all raw meal. So where I could get emotional comfort from foods, with a heavy meal like a pizza making all my negative emotions just disappear, well, this never happened with raw foods. So I needed to find alternative ways to deal with my emotional energy on raw foods. Doing yoga and meditation really helped with this for me.

My own experience in transitioning lies on finding transition food or raw foods that are appealing to ME. The most important thing an aspiring 100% raw food person can do is to find an all-raw breakfast that works and is satisfying....then find an all raw lunch.....then find all raw snacks......and then find an all-raw dinner that works for YOU.

Instead of trying to change your habits by changing your mind - simply identify (through research or intuition) the things which are satisfying to YOU. You don't have to justify those things to anyone else - if YOU feel they will work for you. This is a great secret to health that some appreciate rapidly - while others are always trying to impose an outside regime that never quite satisfies.

-Just some thoughts.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

I would just like to echo the above post - probably the best advice you can get.

Also take your time - don't try and force the pace - it sounds as if you are doing really well.

Feeling bloated but not full - well that may be done to cetain food combinations that you are making.

I am not very experienced at all but eating fruit first in the day works best for me. When I am 100% raw which is not all the time - I eat nothing but fruit untill midday or later then I move on to salads, nuts what ever.
Fruit digests very fast if it lands in an empty tummy - if you eat it with or after other foods it can't digest as fast and you can get bloating. this might be one reason for your bloating. Another for me is sprouts - I cannot tolerate them at all - I get huge painful bloating - but most people seem to be fine with sprouts - this is my experience.

So as DZM says - work out what is right for YOU and go at the pace that suits YOU.

the very best of luck to you

Prana,

I really appreciated you sharing that it took a year or so for the feeling of being hungry all the time to go away. I've been eating almost 100% raw food for eight months now and find that I am eating all through the day to feel full. Even so, I am normal weight. I would like to have more normalized eating times, though. Hopefully, your experience will be that way for me.


My favorite raw vegan

I think the problem you have may be simply that "raw" food isn't really enough.
I have been eating mostly raw food for 5 years or so however I feel I have an advantage over 95% of raw foodists. My introduction to the whole process included an explanation of what creates nutrition - which in a word is - minerals - in the soil. There are so few farmers, nutritionists or anyone who understands this principle. Simply said, minerals create vitamins, enzymes, protein and bioavailable minerals in plants. Without minerals being replenished in the soil, getting these things is a hit or miss process. Raw food in itself is definitely a step in the right direction, but realistically it is only about 20 or 30% of the whole picture! You can eat raw food and still not get the full value of food. Real food with minerals, if you've ever eaten it, is unmistakable! Rudolph Steiner's programs and colleges were based on this principle. Go to [remineralize.org] and hear how people are growing food on rocky soil, with added minerals, and getting vegetables twice the normal size, with all possible nutrition, and insect resistance as a side benefit!
I am scouring the web to find sources of minerally dense foods. So far, I have found (and absolutely verified) only two: [Lifeforce.com] and [avena-originals-nutrition.com]. Avena has the best supplements I've ever used, I have been using theirs for 12 years, with excellent results. Aside from the website above, here is a site about the doctor who formulates 90% of their products. I think you will be impressed! [squidoo.com]
Enjoy!

Thank you for all your help and feedback to date. Im still trying to get my "feel" for things. Granted, i don't get the highs and lows i did before, but, much as I hate to admit it - am a little larger than when I first began; my clothes are uncomfortable and ive noticed a definite increase in the size of my stomach and thighs.

im torn because, while I feel better and dont have the xtreme highs and lows I am used to, weight gain of any sort is very demoralizing to me, and lets be honest, a fat body isnt a healthy body.

Am going to carry on and look to make some modifications that get me where I need to be. Im afraid that the banana in my smoothie every morning is the cause of the gain, in which case, well....lets hope it doesnt get to that point. :-)

Will keep you all posted.

it sounds like its the nuts or oils. on days when i eat nuts or a lot of oils i don't lose weight. if you stick to only fruits and veggies you will lose weight and restart the detoxing process. eating heavy foods stops the fast detox process.

The Raw Lion 440 pounds to 225 pounds!