Went to a vegetarian fest yesterday and listened to a talk from someone (Ellen Livingston) in my area who studied with Doug Graham and is into the 80-10-10 approach. Bought and read her book last night. She offers coaching and I'm thinking of trying it. On one level, it makes total sense to me, but I wonder if I could stick with it over the long haul. Anyway, I'm thinking of jumping into it as a cleansing method, but wonder if it's smart or dumb to be back into raw for only one week and then so quickly do 80-10-10. Have others here with health issues gone straight into that approach? I figure it will eithet kill me or cure my woes.

Made a huge mistake at that veg fest. I'd eaten fruit for breakfast and hoped to find some decent food at the festival, but it was all wheat based hot meals or cookies. Amazing how unhealthy vegetarian foods can be. I was unprepared and hungry and found some wheat-free Indian based vegetarian foods, so I went with that. Had several bites when the spices hit; must have been an extremely hot pepper hiding in there. So hot I was practically in a panic for water. Never understood how anyone could enjoy such hot spices. And no messages from them to warn us diners. Had a smoothie later for dinner and it did not sit well, which I suspect was the fault of those damn spices.

Ugh. Fast or juice feast today maybe? Feel better.

I think you should do whatever feels most comfortable and doable for you. Don't waste your time and money on something you won't be able to sustain but if coaching and following a strict protocol is something that works for you then why not go for it?

Although it's not for me, I'm pretty impressed with the track record of a fruit-based raw vegan diet here. When you look at the favorable reviews on Amazon and listen to Prana, Cherie, Tamara, Rawgosia and others tell their experience, it's hard to argue that the diet isn't both sustainable and energizing for a wide variety of folks who have tried it. That said, if you are detoxing, it's going to be unpleasant to an extent regardless of which road you take, assuming the diet you are going to is more healthy.

Apart from the vegfest indulgence, what type of raw vegan diet are you coming from? What is a typical day's menu plan?

Paul

Hi Paul,

I'm new, just getting back into raw. I had gotten into it in the past but had jumped straight into a detox class, but I don't think I was mentally prepared for it. I think, down deep, I still wanted my old lifestyle back and was hoping the detox classes would fix some issue and let me return to my old ways. Back then, I had no plan at all; I kept trying to be a raw foodist but eventually burned out.

In the past week, I've been eating all fruit in the mornings then switching to salads for lunch and dinner, but my salads are definitely high fat - avocadoes, olive oil, nuts. I'm in a better place mentally - I no longer want to return to that old lifestyle (I know all too well where that leads to), but I've got a lot of cleaning up to do. I think the coaching might be helpful. I suspect I'd fail if I tried to do it on my own.

I'm a writer, and most of my writing is nature based, and reading about the 811 approach speaks to me, as it shares the same philosophy that I've been writing about. But I'm just coming off a cooked, omnivorous whole foods diet and although I'm enthusiastic now, I know there are some mountains to hurdle. Just last night I was watching a movie, and the central character was good at cooking, eventually opening up a restaurant, and the scenes with all those old favorite comfort foods didn't help me at all.

For me personally the 801010 approach is too restricting. But if something about it is resonating with you, then maybe it is the path you should go down. I usually find if something stands out, a message comes to me from the universe (like things aligning for you to hear that talk)then it usually means something.

Just try it! If nothing else it's a cleanse and you can add more things back into your raw diet when you are done.

Jimtoo,

Thanks. I'm either going to disqualify myself or limit my input to general detox when switching from an omnivorous to raw vegan diet as there are others on the Board with first hand experience on 811 (some of those folks I mentioned in my prior post).

As a general strategy though, for me I prefer cold turkey to doing it gradually. It might be more unpleasant upfront but it will over more quickly and has a better chance of success - for me -. I think SAD foods are addictive and the more room you can put between yourself and them the better even if it means a little more withdrawl. Also, as Coco said, a short period of juice fasting or water fasting may help speed/ease the transition. Best to you in your endeavors!

Paul

try everything that makes sense to you. life is an experiment. even experienced people are living life for the first time, so no one really knows what they are doing in that sense. follow your heart.

811 is pretty cool. some of the most content people i have met swear by it. not to mention they seem to be the most beautiful/ healthy of the raw bunch based on my experience with who i have met, and what i have heard/read.

Hi Corathegreen,

I've been thinking about that synchronicity, too. The last time I was into raw, I don't remember hearing anything about 80-10-10. Maybe it just wasn't popular within my raw community at the time. Now it's all I hear about, then I decide to check out my local raw foods meetup, and the founder is 80-10-10, and I read her book and the similarities are amazing between some of her nature-based thoughts and what I've been exploring in my own work.

I just worry about going too extreme too quickly; those restrictions go against my rebellious nature of doing whatever I want, a nature that has caused me a lot of harm. Maybe I have to turn that around, and start rebelling against modern society and its unhealthy ways.

Just remember, when it comes to your rebelling against restrictions- if you mess up, all is not lost. Just go right back to raw without a thought. Sometimes people tend to mess up and think "screw it all, I suck!" and go off to eat Macdonalds with a cloud of shame hanging over them. That is an extreme example of course, but it's a self destruction thing I've seen in myself and others... it's just a good tip to remember that it's a path, not a destination. You wander off the path sometimes while exploring in the forest *I know I do!* and sometimes you get cut by a vine or something in the process, but you can head right back to the trail and keep going. I find my raw food experience is better viewed that way, vs when I used to try for 100% and then hate myself when I couldn't get immediately there.

Well, I've been boycotting McDonald's and other fast food joints since the 1980s; my weakness has been towards lattes and scones at coffee shops, a deadly combination. I've been off coffee for years, but only about about a month since my last scone.

Only one week back on mostly raw, and 100% today. Not really sure what my goal is, but I guess I'm trying out 80-10-10 as a cleanse and then who knows. No work this week, so it's a good time to start.