I need help! I am trying to do the raw food diet, but keep slipping up!

some issues I'm facing:

-I'm overweight and have blood sugar problems, so I can't eat all that fruit or I'm hungry all day. I try to eat vegetables, but going from a SAD diet to this, makes vegetables a bit unappetizing.

-I'm allergic to anything whose fruit is a drupe - almonds, coconuts, avocados, etc. I won't die or anything, I just get hives and bad anxiety if I eat those. So that doesn't leave alot left over I can eat!

-I live in an area (Rochester) that doesn't have wonderful raw food resources.

Help! Yesterday I ate an apple for breakfast, some Ezekial cereal for snack (oh I can't eat dairy either, so I use that Oat organic beverage) and then some summer rolls from the grocery store and then all he!! broke loose and I went completely insane and ate half a reuben sandwich and an ice cream cone (even though, again, I can't have dairy!).

How do you people do this???

Opinions:

-Do not hold yourself up to some arbitrary standard of what raw is. There is no 'inventor' of the 'raw food diet' and there are no raw food police! Ha! ha!

-There are hundreds or perhaps 1000's of varieties of fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts. But the REAL key is to analyze the level of raw foods that you eat right NOW and are completely comfortable with at THIS stage of your life....then make a plan to stretch (not rip or tear!) from there. Perhaps a 1-2% increase in over-all raw food intake is a nice slow progression.

-It did not (in my case) take 1-2 months to put me in the condition I was in......more like 20 years. I gave myself a generous amount of time to make the transition (1.5 years in my case). I don't think 6-12 months is an unreasonable figure. 2 years would be better! Ha! ha!

So: Stick with the fruits and vegetables that you LOVE...and that work well for you. Always eat before you leave the house and always bring a snack bag. Always stay full (but with healthy foods). Eat a VERY WIDE variety of raw foods. Take a supplement if you are concerned.

-The whole process is to become more conscious of the food you eat - and to better choose....rather than feel 'compelled'. If you try to make changes too quickly or too radically......it is natural to reflexively return to poor food choices.

-Support yourself! I certainly support you 100%. You are asking the intelligent questions....and the wonderful folks on this board (including myself) will help you.

-Somewhere between all-raw and a Reuben sandwich.....you will find the level that is right for YOU.

-What do you think?

-David Mason

I agree, take your time and work towards a better diet at a pace that you feel comfortable with. You should ENJOY moving towards these better foods, so do what you can to make it fun! Focus on how much you enjoy raw foods when you do have them, be it once a day or once a week! Put your focus on your successes and build on that which is easiest for you, and you'll be moving along in no time!

Regards,
Thomas

David Mason has the best advice!

I also would chime in that adding liquid rawfoods is a good way to transition to a healthier diet.

Raw fruit and/or veggie juice is easily digestible/absorbable even if your digestive system is compromised (as yours seems to be) and it blasts you're body with nutrients. Also, because your sensitive to sugar, try adding a dash of coconut oil, hemp oil, or olive oil to your sweet meals, juices, or smoothies, this helps slow the metabolism of the sugar, and also sustains the energy longer. This helped me overcome hypoglycemia)

Eventually, by drinking the juice of plants (green juice is amazing!) your body becomes better and better at digesting the plants/fruits (rawfoods) and real fiber. Real fiber is something absolutely void in cooked food!

Start out by mixing the vegetables you like, in a form you like, with healthy cooked foods like brown rice, hummus, veggie burgers, cheese - whatever it takes at first to get you eating more vegetables. Even in cooked form, something like steamed kale & spinach will stablize your blood sugar - if you can't stomach the idea of plain steamed greens, add bacon to it if you have to, or add tomatoes, add tahini, whatever makes them palatable to you.

Once you have your blood sugar stabilized, you'll find your cravings start to disappear, and you'll naturally start to gravitate towards more vegetables and healthful foods.

I think it would be really hard to go cold turkey on this diet if you're used to the standard American diet - it's a process, so give yourself time to adjust. Take baby steps, whatever you're comfortable with. I could never eat something that didn't give me absolute pleasure, nobody can - but to get to the point where you perceive sprouts as pleasurable and a chicken quesadilla as gross - that takes time. And you'll get there eventually, don't worry!