I hope Debbie Took won't mind me directing you to her blog

[debbietookrawforlife.blogspot.com]

I think this is a really sensible essay on easing back on being 'perfect'.

Do you sometimes worry that you should only eat half an avocado or that your protein, carb, fat ratio is wrong - or just even spend too much time thinking about food? If so then this article is for you.

Very good article! Thanks flipperjan and Debbie Took!

Very important and wise article in my opinion, coming from someone who used to look so negatively at food and it really wrecked my health.

That was an awesome blog post! Thanks!

good stuff ^_^

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

hey.. so.. umm.. i didn't read the debbie took blog

but i was interested in the topic line of " don't fret if you're not perfect'

but.. then again, what if you ARE perfect? ( like everyone here)

can you still " NOT fret"?

LOL

have a great day every BUDDY

la_veronique Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hey.. so.. umm.. i didn't read the debbie took
> blog
I'm sure that makes Debbie feel just Great.
It's difficult to believe she's 52.....not a bit of grey, and
I bet she doesn't color her hair either. May be an old picture?.....WY

That IS a great post(read it the first time around but forgot)! I like Debbie's blog a lot--very well written, clean looking and, oh, the photos!

Just realised I'm 'in' this thread!

Thanks, Flipperjan :-)

BTW, I do have a few grey hairs - it's just that they don't show much! (Yet.) The photo' was taken last year.

I'm 52 on 9/11. Most things look good, except for my calves and feet, which are those of an 80 year-old. But that's probably from wearing very silly platform shoes in the 70s. If ever I want to warn young girls of the dangers of wearing 'fashion' shoes I get out my feet.

Love, Debbie

Debbie.....Thanks for the personal update. I admire the
work you're doing....especially your in-depth articles.....WY

I'm so happy that you posted this, it was exactly what I needed to read on a day like today!

debbie

interesting article ( just read it now

yep, tis true, plants were not meant to be subservient and bow down to the whims of every human

plants have those chemicals to protect
their OWN defense system

some of those chemicals were meant to ward off pathogens

and from a plant's point of view, any entity that threatens their existence is considered a pathogen including us humans

so , it is no wonder that plants ( including fruits, vegetables, nuts) are rife with a labyrinthical maze of things to consider

its true
stressing about it will just release stress hormones and destroy health

that's silly

the whole point of health is to be happy



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2010 10:17PM by la_veronique.

That's a really great article! Love this one in particular:

"RAWGOURMET FOOD 'Transition food' is only for beginners! 'Transition foods' are high in fat. 'Transition food' will drive you back to cooked food.' (Etc.)"

Here's a perfection article I wrote recently on my own blog:

[www.fitonraw.com]

Swayze

It's interesting how the same message can keep presenting itself to you in different ways.

Yesterday I read Stu mittleman's take on this (endurance runner) He says that he applies an 85% rule. So long as that much of his diet, training etc is in place he allows himself some slack and doesn't get all hung up on it.

Since I have been absorbing this message my life has been improving daily. I am happier. That's quite an amazing statement isn't it but I am happier.

I do tend to give myself certain strict guidelines and then feel like I've failed when I don't manage to live up to them be it food or training. It's like the blinkers have fallen from my eyes - there are no raw food police around the corner - no one is going to hold up a placard saying 'loser' when I take 4hrs to do my 20 mile training run. And interestingly when I remove the whip I naturally achieve more and in a better and happier way.

Golly it takes time to learn some lessons doesn't it.

p.s. nice blog Swayze.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2010 09:13PM by flipperjan.

the way food companies are manipulating food these days with sugar, fat and salt, it you are going to make an exception, make it a raw vegan whole food exception rather than a cooked processed food exception. Not all cheating is created equal. A little indulging is ok provided it's a whole food or close to it. But some foods should never be eaten under any circumstances including cooked animal foods, and refined processed foods. YMMV.

Krefcenz

flipperjan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's
> like the blinkers have fallen from my eyes - there
> are no raw food police around the corner - no one
> is going to hold up a placard saying 'loser' when
> I take 4hrs to do my 20 mile training run. And
> interestingly when I remove the whip I naturally
> achieve more and in a better and happier way.
>
> Golly it takes time to learn some lessons doesn't
> it.

yup

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Wow, if I can ever run 20 miles in 4 hours, I will be on top of the world!!!!!!!

No kidding, right? If I can ever run 20 miles I'll be darn happy! The only running I do is around the house and yard after the kids!

- sorry Krefcenz - I sort of took that as read. I didn't think I would have to spell it out - my mistake.

thanks coco and suncloud, it's lovely to hear you say that and helps me too. You see I train with a bunch of people who do sub 3 hour marathons so I do feel like a bit of a tortoise sometimes. My big break through though is by genuinly feeling good about my OWN achievements.

hey flipperjan

that's interesting what u said

if i felt defeated because there are so many people who perform in certain areas better than i do, it would not be a fun way to live

to be perfectly honest though, i am actually THRILLED that there are so many people that i can learn from who really ARE so superior in performance to myself and it leaves me breathless in admiration

doesn't mean i admire that person just because of their skills
character matters the most

but if one is enamored to a certain sport, hobby etc.

it is EXHILARATING to watch, learn from, get tips and advice and be incredibly inspired by those who are performing in ways that are magnificent!



keep up the good work

i'm sure other people look up to you and wish they could be like you

flipperjan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Do you sometimes worry that you should only eat
> half an avocado or that your protein, carb, fat
> ratio is wrong - or just even spend too much time
> thinking about food? If so then this article is
> for you.
It's a cute article about how people fret when it
comes to food. I think fretting about food is good for the
Soul....keeping one pointed in the right direction.....WY

Agree to some extent, WY (and I love your article too, Swayze!).

I'd worried that a couple of posters on my blog were misunderstanding the article, that is, thinking I was saying that we shouldn't go for perfection.

I believe we should all be aiming for perfection, in food - and everything else, and that in fact is what life is about (won't go into that here!), but that we're all on a journey (this phrase is now such a cliche but so true) and it can be counter-productive to keep beating ourselves up for not having achieved perfection yet, when we're doing so well in, perhaps, non-food areas of our lives, or, if not doing well in those areas, could focus on those more rather than our diet.

Also that 'rules' about 'how' to do the raw food diet are mostly just the opinions/preferences of certain vocal human beings. That is, being raw is really not that complicated!

Wow, I am of an intirely different mind than that, I don't aim for perfection and that's not a value I instill in the children either. That "Always do your best!" philosophy is surprisingly damaging to the developing self-image. We are valuable, lovable, wonderful human beings whether we excel at something or not, whether we "try our best" or simply show up and do a good job (and have a good time doing it ). Aiming for perfection is, in my mind, setting up a false sort of reality, one full of stress and pressure. A certain amount of friction and dynamic tension can be very good in life but this ideal of perfection? Not so, not so...
Then again, I read a lot of child psychology so I may have a very different perspective on this.

Have a good time, enjoy your life, act in a way that fills your heart with joy. All these things with an eye towards what's healthy, of course, but gently, with ease and pleasure. Life is a journey, not a destination.

interesting coco

i think that if one enjoys life

one automatically does one's best

sounds counterintuitive for sure

but i think its true

like even if you had to do something REALLY boring

like cleaning out the garage for instance

if one made a way to make it FUN or had a great attitude about it

or was dancing and singing while cleaning out the garage

it would be an effortless thing ( kinda)

and one wouldn't be haunted by

is this my best? is this my best?

then again, i think its a LOT different when you are collaborating with other people on a project with strict deadlines

sometimes it might just be plain painful and no amount of kidding oneself will get rid of that feeling so it is necessary to just forge ahead regardless of emotions and having "fun" so as to keep the project cohesive, running smooothly on schedule and have the final outcome be gleaming

sometimes , just gotta swallow the lumps

but i also decided that this too was an attitude thing

i mean, if i weren't feeling too hot

its probably because i had a not so great attitude towards something

but really, if i just switched my attitude

the same dungeon like task can turn out to be quite a scintillating adventure