Just got back from a week long vacation. There was some cheating but on healthier stuff, I avoided the grilled burgers and hotdogs, the desserts and pies, the chips, the SAD junk. I cheated on things like hummus, pickles, black beans, a few tablespoons peanut butter, and red wine. I came home and after feeling completely deprived all week I went to whole foods and bought some seaweed salad with a side of edamame and about 6 cubes of tofu. I did the same thing today. I also continued to crave peanut butter.

My appetite for raw food has become almost non-existent. It's like I don't even care to eat period. When I want to eat, it's things like peanut butter and tofu, last night I even craved tofutti ice cream and sorbet. During vacation I barely ate during the day, for breakfast I would have about 3 bananas and for lunch I would come up to the cabin and eat a couple small zucchini and some celery with hummus and that would be about it until night time.

Even fruit doesn't sound that great. Apples seem boring, oranges only sound good as a juice but I feel too lazy to clean the juicer afterward so I'm been slacking on that as well. Smoothies are good, but I like green smoothies with sweet fruit and that is not good for digestion, so I've stopped those for the past week as well.

I only crave fruit after a large vegetable meal and that is bad food combining, so then I find myself eating an avocado to try and satisfy my cravings and desire to eat, and that's not much better for combining.

I don't know what to do. I started thinking about slightly reducing raw and adding some cooked vegan into my diet, but I'm still trying to heal crohn's and it sounds not only like a bad idea, but bad timing.

I've become depressed. I feel like crying all the time, I keep tearing up and then stopping myself. I am losing all motivation, and I don't know what to do.

petrichor Wrote:
---Smoothies are good,
> but I like green smoothies with sweet fruit and
> that is not good for digestion, so I've stopped
> those for the past week as well.

What is wrong with combining greens with sweet fruit?
Is this something that you have read or personally experienced?
I LOVE MY SWEET FRUIT WITH GREENS


petrichor Wrote:
> I only crave fruit after a large vegetable meal
> and that is bad food combining, so then I find
> myself eating an avocado to try and satisfy my
> cravings and desire to eat, and that's not much
> better for combining.

What vegetables are you eating that can not be combined with fruit?
Are you eating enough sweet fruit and fat?
sounds like this may be what you require, considering your cravings for peanut butter.
You get your energy from fruit and fat. Sounds like your energy levels could do with a boost if you are too tired to clean your juicer.

How about some green based veggie juice?
That always lifts my spirits.
I would concentrate on not combining fruit and fat in the same meal but make sure you include both in your diet.

Try juicing your veggies and eating or making smoothies from fruit, with greens if you wish, see how you go.
ffx
>
>

I think this is normal, and as long as you have any amount of cooked food in your life or that you find cooked food acceptable, it may be the preferred choice for you, unfortunately, as it is addictive.

You can choose healthy foods - FRESH FRUIT AND GREENS - and your body will get used to those flavors and textures and learn to like them more than the fatty vegan cooked foods.

I hope you feel better soon. Give yourself time. Don't rush it. But also don't forget that eating cooked food is a downward spiral for most people.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2009 12:40AM by Utopian Life.

Its sound like you ate very lightly on your vacation, and perhaps you started to feel some emotions that were pent up on the inside. What works for me is to fully feel my emotions without judgment. After I feel them, they are released out of my body.

Experiencing undesirable emotions can lead to eating foods that will quell those emotions. Cooked hummus, beans, tofu, and peanut butter will all help suppress those emotions. However, if the emotions are suppressed, they fester and grow stronger rather than heal.

Given this, its easy to see why eating raw doesn't seem appealing. Who would want to experience these hard emotions? But facing and experiencing the emotions frees you from them, while eating heavy cooked foods suppresses for a later day and you are not really free.

Hi Petrichor

funny how success/failure totally depend on state of mind... for most people, eating the kinds of 'cheating' foods you described would feel like a very successful healthy diet. It just depends how you perceive it. Don't be so hard on yourself - like you say, you managed to avoid the 'junk' foods, and I bet there was a lot of temptation while on vacation.

I think where raw food is concerned you have maybe fallen into the classic trap of trying to follow everyone's 'rules' - don't eat too much fruit, don't eat too much fat, don't combine this with this, etc etc... this kind of thinking will make you crazy - and starving

PS: RE:

~ apples: I agree, sometimes they do seem boring. But they're a suberb addition to a green juice

~ oranges: again, agreed I usually only ever juice them, but I never bother putting them through the juicer, I just juice them manually. It's a lot easier.

Why not get some less boring fruit? Treat yourself to some fabulous tropical stuff... mangoes, melons etc

~ fruit craving after large veg meal: yes, I get that too. I think it's a combination of not eating enough fruit earlier on in the day and then overeating food that you are eating because you think you 'should', rather than because your body actually wants it.

~ tears: why are you holding them back? let them flow, embrace that sweet release!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2009 01:42AM by lisa m.

FF - sweet fruit and greens seemed to cause problems for me, People told me it was improper combining and I did read that bananas are best alone. Banana-spinach was my favorite but it's possible bananas cause problems for me as well. It seems a lot of sweet fruit causes gas/bloating for me, especially if eaten with vegetables. Again, I've read many fruits and vegetables should be eaten alone, although there are a couple out there that can be paired up with no issues... Green juice is great but since I have a basic hamilton beach juicer I have to first blend, then strain or put it through the juicer, and it's more time consuming for both preparing and then cleaning. Green star juicer is next on my list.

UL - I realize each is different and some people are better with some cooked foods in, but I would prefer not to do that. I am trying so hard to heal, I just need to find my flow with the pure raw. I do need to be more lenient with my slip ups but I know I can do better than I have been so it's hard to accept them.

Bryan - when I was adding a lot of juices to my diet I felt myself going through emotional detox (I don't think that's what I'm dealing with now though). I would love to get them all out but sometimes it's all just too overwhelming. I've been dealing with depression, sometimes severe, since I was very young. When I am flooded with these feelings it's too much to handle for me. I have tried adding in an avocado a day but I'm trying not to disturb my inflamed intestines any more than they already are.

lisa - sometimes it does like i am following everyone else's rules. I have tried following an 811 diet though and I felt great, I just don't always have the motivation and willpower to stay with it though, but how i feel is the main reason I try to follow it. I do have a higher fat intake than most though. I don't eat much nuts/seeds but avos and oils are pretty regular.
As far as getting less boring fruit- it's really all starting to look boring, even melons. I love pineapple but I can only eat so much in one sitting. Bananas are my favorite but they don't always agree with me when I eat more than one at a time. I tried papaya for the first time recently, and it wasn't my favorite, nothing I plan on buying again soon. Even berries and cherries seem a little boring. So it's really causing problems. I've been drinking a lot of carrot/apple juice and eating an avo daily, those have been my recent staples that I crave.



I think the depressed feelings are an underlying issue, I don't think this is emotional detox. I think my diet has been slipping a bit too much to be experiencing any sort of detox, honestly. I was hoping after getting on this diet and with the beginning summer and sun exposure this would all slip away (it was bad over the winter), but I really feel like getting on anti-depressants, which I really would rather not do. But I don't want to deal with this emotion anymore. Growing up with it, every time it comes back for another round it just gets more and more tiring.

Thank you everyone for your responses (so far, more it completely welcome). Tomorrow I'm shooting for 100% raw- monomealing fruits, juices and a very small seaweed salad. If it's not raw then I guess it's just water. I really need to do this for my health, it's important to me that I do well.

I find it confusing when I have a foot in the raw camp and the other foot in the cooked camp. The way I keep from straddling the fence is to avoid the first bite of cooked. Thats it, the rest takes care of itself.

petrichor
looking back,
I valued the times that i felt low and lacking direction, as they were the times that contributed to my break throughs.
You are not failing. Its all part of the learning.
Pleased to hear that you have set a goal. Try learning to listen and trust what your body is telling you. It will be ok.
Exercise also helps

take care
ff

Thanks ff I like your positive spin on times when you lacked direction. Its like I said in an earlier post, with every new day you have a fresh oppertunity to make things right. Suz

I think a good juicer would be an excellent investment in your case. there's a lot of food that I would not be too fussed about actually eating, yet I love to juice them. you can get a Samson for about half the price of a green star, does a great job.

also, have you tried EFT? it can be really useful with depression/emotional issues.

Here's a link to a free subscription

[www.emofree.com]

Hi Petrichor --
I too am struggling with the heightened emotions when I go all raw. I have a lot of things I am struggling with in my personal life, and when I go all raw, so are my emotions. I realize that the #1 reason I still eat cooked is to stuff these emotions. I am calling a therapist today to try to help me with my struggles, and hopefully then I will be more able to surpass this obstacle to my quest for optimum health and vitality. Good luck to both of us!!!

One thing I do that works to keep motivated is I will spend about 1/2 hr before a meal reading a good book or article on exactly what effect good raw living food has on the very cells of my body,then during the meal,chew slowly,and kind of meditate and appreciate that what you are consuming is all good for those cells,and give thanks that you have this knowledge where millions dont.

Hope this kind of thing helps you.

Vinny

Hi there,
Just wanted to add a tidbit...
Are you getting enough salt in your diet? It's really important to have about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt per day. When our sodium is low, our bodies will often crave sweets, carbs, protein, etc. Consciously add a high quality salt (I use Himalayan sea salt) into your diet and see what happens. Low sodium levels in the blood can also contribute to feelings of sluggishness, mental and physical, and depressive states. I try to add a pinch of salt into most of the things I eat. Try it and let me know how it affects you.
Shawna
mydailyrind.com (this is where I am blogging my raw journey)
www.gotgreensrevolution.com (this is my family's site where we share information about green smoothies and other raw food topics)

I wouldn't add salt as a health measure. Eat some celery, melon, or tomatoes.

<<have you tried EFT?>>

I have not, I have heard of it though, I will do some more research on it to find out more on what it's about.

<<I realize that the #1 reason I still eat cooked is to stuff these emotions. I am calling a therapist today to try to help me with my struggles, and hopefully then I will be more able to surpass this obstacle to my quest for optimum health and vitality. Good luck to both of us!!!>>

I do the same thing, only I try to keep it as raw as possible so I try to eat an avocado later on throughout the day to slow down the detox. I find that this has helped when doing mainly juices throughout the day and the emotional detox is overwhelming. Good luck to you!

<<One thing I do that works to keep motivated is I will spend about 1/2 hr before a meal reading a good book or article on exactly what effect good raw living food has on the very cells of my body,then during the meal,chew slowly,and kind of meditate and appreciate that what you are consuming is all good for those cells,and give thanks that you have this knowledge where millions dont.>>

I have done this at times as well- just bought a raw book yesterday to read, educate and motivate myself. Hopefully this will give me a swift kick and get me on track with high raw.

<<Are you getting enough salt in your diet?>>

Honestly, I think I get too much salt some days. My tastebuds haven't yet changed enough so anytime I have bowls of salads or vegetables there is typically salt, tamari, or seasoning on it, IMO too much (flavor is good to me but I am still trying to get rid of swelling in lower legs and feet and I notice a difference after eating a salty meal at night).


UPDATE

I did almost entirely raw yesterday although I did have two cans of coconut water (probably heated when canned) and I had a small seaweed salad from whole foods, which I'm assuming was soaked but I doubt whatever small amount of oils/salts were in the salad were raw. I also had strawberries for breakfast and grapes in the afternoon, juice in the evening (carrot, celery, spinach, parsley, lemon) and a four mashed bananas with a tablespoon of raw cashew butter.

I still am having problems with appetite. I probably only had a 16oz. container of strawberries before becoming full and had to stop eating/didn't care to finish. No appetite all morning (several hours after strawberries, still felt bloating and abdominal fullness), so I drank the coconut water (36oz) closer to lunch time and then had the small amount of seaweed salad that afternoon. A few hours later I had half a bag of grapes and once again didn't care to finish the rest. The juice was about 12oz and then I got sick of it, and the banana-cashew butter mash kept me "satisfied" until late hours of the night.

Today I am craving fat and salt, specifically pumpkin seeds, which I have to stay away from or I will further damage my ulcerated and inflamed intestines. No fruit sounds appetizing, therefore I brought only 2 bananas to work with me and figured I'd stop at the grocery store to see what "looked good" in the produce section. Can't think of anything yet.

My BMI has slinked down to 16.8, which is lower than it's been for probably 6-7 years. Still dealing with diarrhea from Crohns, bathroom trips have increased but movements have slowed down and most trips usually involve sitting in discomfort for 20-30 minutes feeling like I have to go, but never fully emptying (this even wakes me up at 3 or 4 in the AM). Occasional blood. I know the reduced calorie days are going to cause imbalance and malnourishment, so this worries me, but I'm afraid to eat anything including what I crave because even mono-mealing fruit seems to cause the abdominal fullness and gas.

My family has not only supported but encouraged my change in eating habits, but they have noticed the gradual weight loss and they know I still have problems with crohns symptoms, so now not only are they becoming concerned but I am too...


Sorry again for the long post, just wanted to provide as much info as possible.

Your bananas and cashew butter won't digest well, and probably caused your stomach upset the next day. Eat fruit alone. If you eat fats, eat them in limited quantities and later in the day!!

Also, WF's seaweed salad has fish in it. I don't know if you're trying to be vegan/vegetarian or not.

The banana and cashew butter was mainly so I would eat something, it is the only thing that sounded appetizing and had calories. I did eat it later in the day (for dinner), as I typically try to do with fats.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I feel bad for bringing negativity into this forum. I'm just losing hope and becoming concerned.

I know you will experience some of these symptoms when transitioning from cooked to raw, but they should not persist past a couple of weeks. How long have you been raw?

I noticed there is a big difference between 100% raw and 70% raw in terms of how you feel and emotions. 100% is definitely a heightened state. I felt way better on 100% raw foods, but I also had intense cravings for cooked foods. I know that I was not eating enough greens though.

As for the lack of appetite you will go through that as well when transitioning. This again should only last 1 to 2 weeks normally. Also what was your diet before raw? That will also matter. Did you eat alot of processed food or were you vegan? If you keep going back and forth you're body will not adjust so make the commitment and don't cheat yourself.

A couple of things to think about

*eat more dark leafy greens, you need to eat around 2-3 lbs a day to get your nutrients and minerals. If you feel you can't eat them plain then just make them into smoothies. According to Victoria Boutenko you should also vary your greens, so don't just each spinach all the time. Change it up to kale, collard greens, lambsquarters, etc.

*I never heard you can't combine green vegetables with fruit (I blend all kinds of stuff, drink it and I'm fine), but if that is giving you problems listen to YOUR body and experiment with different recipes.

*try to eat more, you're not going to have energy or feel too great if you hardly eat anything. While on 100% raw I ate anywhere 3-6 lbs of food a day. I know it's hard, but if you can't find something you like and eat it in one sitting try to split it up. Otherwise get a stronger blender and blend it. Vita-mix has some fantastic blenders so invest in one, they're AMAZING!

*summer is here, if you don't like apples experiment with other fruits. Shop around for exotic fruits and vegetables. There are plenty of fruits and vegetables to chose from.

*think about if you are ready to eat full raw at this point? It does not sound like you are. Start slowly with breakfast and then just do raw breakfast, then do raw breakfasts and dinners. Then lastly do lunches and incorporate snacks throughout the day. Or eat normally for a month and come back again later. Trying to do raw on vacation is TOUGH and now you're trying to compensate for loss of time and nutrients.

In any case, I noticed I feel best when I eat 50% fruit 40% greens and 10% seeds, oils, and other fats. This may not work for everyone though so experiment.

Also might want to consider some vitamins at the beginning.

- OutsideTheBoxExperiment



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 07/01/2009 03:21AM by OutsideTheBoxExperiment.