Hi, I am very new to raw, though I've been researching and learning a lot about it over the years. I just recently went raw (100%), about 10 days ago, and already have had some hard times with willpower. Do any of you have any strategies or pep talks you give yourself when you can feel your resolve waning or cravings taking over? Going raw is very emotional and it causes food issues and shadows from your past to surface. I'm learning that bad food habits have their roots much deeper than the actual act of eating something unhealthy. So as I run into these emotional speedbumps my mind keeps saying, "just eat that pizza, you deserve it, you know you want to, you can just start raw again on monday..."
these are terrible sabatoging thoughts when you really want to be raw and know how incredibly wonderful it is and are 100% into it. I guess my issues/emotional eating run deeper than I ever thought. So, I guess I'm wondering if any pf you long time raw fooders have tips about what I can do when I feel that dark shadow pushing me back to my cooked food addiction. Any pointers would be helpful, anything that has helped you stay raw over the months and years. Thanks in advance!! Amanda

Once I go through detox and get to certain state of internal cleaness, my body starts to react to cooked as though it were poison (headaches and feeling of general misery) and I am starting to dread cooked. I can't stay raw unless I journal and write down all my slip-ups. That way I can hold that cooked food in my hand and ask if I really want to write about it. Laziness about journaling usually wins, it's kind of like raw penance.

You need to be making a lifestyle commitment. So many people don't have the fortitude to go all the way with anything these day's, it's usually not just area in someone's life but in may area's. 100% Raw food will keep you on track if you commit to it, and everything in your life will follow suit. Please, know that I mean this lovingly and I'm not trying to be mean. Some people will baby a person into this and it's going to fail if you do it that way. Why wouldn't you want real nourishment instead of half nourishment? Do you want to be half alive? Remember, I mean this lovingly.
:O)

What I did mostly was set little goals.
For instance I would say, "I will be raw for X days this week", then I would have a cooked meal. I would plan around events (parties, planned dinners out etc). That way I knew that there was a cooked meal in my future so it was not like it was out there "I will NEVER have cooked food"

After a while, I set out a system where I would be raw for 3 days for every cooked meal. This is becuase it felt like it took about 3 days for each cooked meal to "clear out".

I did a couple of 3 day juice fasts to get things going if I got really off track.

None of this was "perfect". I stumbled many times, but just kept going. The other thing that REALLY helped was that my best friend is a raw foodist too. Getting support, sharing meals, buying each other food..that made a BIG difference.

The other thing to do is to play with recipies. If you are giving yourself something that is truly delicious and special it does not really matter if it is raw or not. Fresh homemade pesto, or , the "fridge cookies" on this website are among my favs.

After about 5 months, I did an "all raw month". This by far the most difficult, but also the most rewarding. I learned a ton about my food addictions then.

My very best to you. You can definately do this. Don't be too hard on yourself regarding "slip ups". They are information and learning possibilities...not something that you should beat yourself up over. I try to use the thought geee...that was "interesting"--not "man I am so bad!"

I was thinking today that my raw food lifesytle is simlar to my fitness lifestyle. Genearlly, I work out a fair amount. At least 4 days a week and some of those sessions are many hours (I am a martial artist). But there are times that I "take a break" or cut back on my training. This does not mean I don't live a fitness lifestyle because I always go back. I am living a raw food lifesytle. It does not mean that I "have" to eat raw ALL the time. The choice is fully mine.

Enjoy the journey. It is totally awesome!

The above responses are great!

-Sometimes....you literally have to believe something in your gut! It's not until you are sensitive enough to have very bad reactions to poor foods...that some people will make a change. For many...they have to become ill.....or diseased...before they make a change.

-All you can do...is all you can do. Identify your goals and dreams. Do not censor yourself.

-Being in touch with what you are MOST motivated to do...will win out!

-David Mason

Maybe you need some new raw recipes that are delicous. We have a few local health food markets nearby, that have deli raw food... raw pizza, falafel, hummus, cakes and deserts, dips, cookies, ...and although they are a little pricey, it atleast gave me ideas on what to make myself at home, when I found they were absolutely delicous. Creative raw delicous recipes were the key for me.

Here's a few things that helped me in the early days. I was constantly reading one book or another and looking through recipe books. It kept me focused on the goal and the reasons why I wanted to go raw. Reading the posts on this web site helped, too.

I allowed myself to eat pretty much anything I wanted and as much as I wanted - as long as it was raw. That was my only rule.

I made a list of all the reasons why I wanted to go raw and all the reasons that cooked food was unhealthy for me. This list should go with you where ever you go for a while.

You didn't say whether or not you were a veg. or vegan before going raw. I would suggest to everyone that they get very familiar with all the pain and suffering that ALL the animals go through in the farm system. Including dairy cows and egg producing chickens. Even if you think that you are doing this strictly for health reasons, it is extremely helpful to have this knowledge. You would be amazed at how easy it is to pass up meat and dairy products when you know what kind of suffering was involved in its' production. John Robbins' book DIET FOR A NEW AMERICA did it for me. I was never the same after reading that book.

Plan ahead. Be prepared. It takes some effort - but it is soooo worth it!
Good Luck to you. I hope this helped some.

Life Is Good!

alive!


Whatever you do - DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR YOURSELF! That's one of the biggest mistakes people make when they are making changes in their lives. If you catch yourself telling yourself that others are lucky to get to eat junk food, or that this is just tooooo hard, remind yourself that "this is just self pity and I'm not going to buy into it".

Excellent suggestions, alive! This website and all of the kind people who post on it are really helping me!

Amanda,

I totally know what your talking about. there are very challanging times that come up. Detox is a total body mental emotional physical spiritual house cleaning. it brings up weaknesses allowing you to move past them and become stronger. Emotions and will-power is tested. YOU REALIZE HOW ADDICTED TO FOOD YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN. It can be a rough road dis-attaching & un-conditioning things that are not really you becoming more of who you really are: a free, strong, magical person who is REALLY ALIVE, and experiencing life on a deeper level, LIVING more LIFE!

then the universe starts 'rewarding your discipline' three-fold, and awe, syncronicity, and laughter becomes the norm!!!

My response is a little different than the great ones above.

I was 100% raw vegan for 3 months when I went into severe detox. Hair falling out in massive clumps, weakness and fatigue all day such that I had barely enough energy to eat, use the restroom, get up and go to bed, nails snapping when trying open a drawer, spaciness all day long, etc. It was only when I re-incorporated some cooked vegetarian that I re-gained energy and the detox slowed down. I remain modified raw and allow my body to tell me when to release certain foods from my diet. After 1 1/2 years of raw - modified raw, my brown eyes are turning blue, my skin is clear, I released 2 growths that I didn't even know I had, etc. I had read to go 100% and stay 100% but that was not the answer for me as I was detoxing too fast and was not functional as a person.

Even though I'm only modified raw, I still have the benefits of being raw. Allowing my body to cleanse/detox and signal when to give up certain foods is a more gentle process that still gets me where I need to go. I have still done fasts/cleanses during this period. 2 1/2 weeks ago, I finished a 10 day water fast. My thinking and ability to perceive more clearly have improved.

So, in short, I believe the path to raw is best achieve in a gentle way. For me, raw is more than just food, it's a spiritual, physical, and mental journey.

Good luck,
Therese

experiment with recipes!!

lately i've been experimenting with raw recipes and they are turning out DELICIOUS!! i make something new every night and i can't believe how simple yet utterly delicious and HEALTHY the food is. it's encourages me and keeps me going to know that you to sacrifice as much as you think- flavor, fullness etc. it's also really really fun!! if there is something cooked that you love i can almost assure you there will be a recipe out there for it.

like today i made "marinara" and i actually think it was BETTER than store bought/cooked marinara sauce. i couldn't believe it and neither could my mother (my raw food recipes critique -she isn't raw and she LOVED it).

nedsin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You need to be making a lifestyle commitment. So
> many people don't have the fortitude to go all the
> way with anything these day's, it's usually not
> just area in someone's life but in may area's.
> 100% Raw food will keep you on track if you commit
> to it, and everything in your life will follow
> suit. Please, know that I mean this lovingly and
> I'm not trying to be mean. Some people will baby
> a person into this and it's going to fail if you
> do it that way. Why wouldn't you want real
> nourishment instead of half nourishment? Do you
> want to be half alive? Remember, I mean this
> lovingly.
> :O)


No that is not true AT ALL. You do not need to commit 100% to raw food right away. Most people don't, they gradually transition until they're at the point where cooked food grosses them out and they only LIKE raw, Don't beat yourself up over cravings - I gave in to lots of cravings when I first started, and then the cravings went away on their own. This is not supposed to be a difficult diet - it's all about pleasure.

Good luck!

People often battle themselves. for example, they slip up and eat cooked food, and then feel guilty about it. OH MY GOD! get real, you've eaten cooked most of your life, guilt is not neccessary or healthy. there is no need for platitudes or ideal perfectionism. You've all heard: nama shoyu is NOT raw, or nuts are bad for you! blah blah blah. Ive literally been told to avoid every catagory of food at one time or another! If I listened to that there'd be nothing I could eat!! Enjoy the transition, just listen to your logic and intuition not to some nagging voice in your head. and be careful to what so called health or raw guru you listen to, now days everyone is a self-described health/raw expert! YOU know whats best for YOU!!!

I agree that transition doesn't have to be quick - I have very slowly gotten to the point of simply wanting raw food more than non-raw. Most days I am at least 80% raw. I simply acknowledge how non-raw food seems to make me feel, and I acknowledge that I do not want that feeling in my life. I also notice how good raw foods seem to make me feel (and acknowledge how much I DO want those feelings!)

I used to eat sugary roasted peanut butter every single night, as a vegan, even once every other night as I started going raw. Now I never eat the stuff (it stinks, too!)

wow, thanks for all the suggestions guys! you rock. I'm going on almost 3 weeks raw now (100%) I came into raw from a vegan diet, and a month previous completed a 40 day juice fast. I guess I'm realizing that my "cravings" for certain unhealthy cooked foods are really "cravings" for an emotional feeling that I associate with the food. I tell ya going raw is the ONLY way to gain insight on food addictions. STAYING raw is a GREAT way to permantly change that relationship. I'm coming closer to the source of what drives my cravings and threatens to push me off track. Its hard to see that when you are immersed in it, so thankfully I discovered raw and am distancing myself from it all enough to finally reflect a little. Thanks for all your awesome suggestions, what great support!

Hi Amanda,

I wrote an article about how I succeeded on the raw foods diet.

Hi Brian I just read your article and am definately relating to what you said about trying to ground by eating lots of fats. I have been raw for almost 3 months now and I have a daily sitting practice. I've noticed since I've been raw that I've been eating lots of avocado and nuts and I have shed quite a few tears so reading your article about the opiod factor in wheat has given me a deeper understanding of why I'm eating what I'm eating and I'm very glad to hear that the fats won't allow me to avoid what's coming up emotionally. Thanks very much you've given me a bit more understanding of what's happening in my world.

gassho

I just came up with a new incentive plan last night. I'm going to pay myself to go raw. I was thinking about the things people will do for money, and I got to thinking that I could use money as a good incentive to go raw.

I'm already kind of doing that, I decided I get to buy a new book every month I put an effort into raw but it's just too easy to fall off the wagon and forgive myself and say I still put in the effort.

Soo...
Every day I'm 100% I get $1.
Every day I fall off the wagon and get back on I get $.50
and if I totally fall off and binge I get nothing.
If I go non-vegan (which I almost never do) then I loose an aditional $1.
Social situations don't count in the above reconning.

So that is how I am going to get my book money.

Yes, I know it's so much like being a kid again and earning your alowance, but that is exactly who I am trying to reach, my inner raw child, who doesn't understand nutrition.

The problem I'm having with not eating cooked food is this: sometimes I get caught without any organic raw food around. And I know that whatever I eat, I will end up with a headache and other sicknesses. So, I think if I'm going to pay for it anyway, I may as well be really bad and have my former favorite food: pizza.

I was having HUGE pre-menstrual cheese cravings this past week. I had the pizza because I was caught without enough good food), Then later in the week, I had two blocks ("8 servings" each) of raw goat cheese (one of these was in one day!), and half of one of raw cow cheese ("4 servings".

Any idea why I needed cheese so bad?

To butterfly imagines, et al,

IMO there's 2 reasons why people CRAVE cooked foods. One is that they might need more diversity in their raw food diet to be able to get enough of all the essential nutrients. The other is just simply that they have the HABIT of eating those foods.

For example, if it's a deficiency thing, a craving for CHEESE could (possibly) mean a deficiency in calcium. Being post- menstrual, calcium is a concern for me, so I eat 1/4 cup unhulled sesame seeds every day. They take a long time to chew, but I really like them. According to www.nutriondata.com, 1/4 cup sesame seeds has over 1/3 of the RDA for calcium - more calcium than 1 whole cup of whole milk. I also try to eat oranges every day - 5 oranges supply 1/4 of the RDA. Pak choi also supplies a fair amount of calcium - 2 cups supply 14% DV, or 14% of the RDA.

If your craving is simply habit, that's a mind thing. You have the power to change your thoughts at will. You are motivated already by your knowledge of how bad you feel after you eat the cheese. So when you feel the thought of cheese coming into your mind, you can consciously replace the thought of the taste of the cheese with the thought of how bad you will feel after you eat it.

You can add other negative thoughts about the cheese by adding more reasons to be motivated not to eat it. For cheese or any animal product, I agree with Alive. Diet for a New America by John Robbins is a great motivator for staying away from all meats and dairy products. You will learn about the suffering caused by eating those foods. That is a very high motivator, for some reason even higher than knowing how bad you feel yourself. It's one more thing you can consciously make yourself think about whenever you want cheese.

Another mind thing you can do is train yourself to associate the cheese with something really disgusting (not hard to do when it comes to eating an animal or animal product). For cheese, I always think of SNOT! I used to love pizza and lasagne for that gooey, stretchy, cheese. But now, whenever I look at it, the thought of snot pops right into my mind, especially knowing it comes from another animal's body.

For meat, I always picture in my mind the poor suffering animal (would I allow it and others to suffer and die just for me?), and I also think of road kill.

I like Lillianswan's idea too about rewarding yourself when you do well. You can help train your mind with positive reinforcement.

Self control is really only control of one's thoughts, because without the thought to do a thing, you will not do it. Yoga and meditation are really helpful in developing that.

Hope this helps. Best wishes, -Ally



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2006 08:50PM by Ally.

Thank you Ally, well said and to the point.

It is amazing how much our bodies and emotions can dictate our thoughts and emotions (energy in motion). I think self discipline is exceedingly important, awareness and discernment of ones thoughts and actions is needed to be free from past conditionings, addictions, emotional holes etc... I really believe in the creative potential of people's minds/spirit... one good thought/ association/ action leads to even better ones!

"Nothing happens till something moves." Einstein