AFter a month or so eating mainly raw, and having lost half a stone, I had a really bad day today and just let myself eat a load of junk. I had a romaine lettuce salad for breakfast, then egg sandwiches for lunch, then some biscuits in the afternoon, then some roast chicken and chips for dinner (we occasionally get chips on a Saturday pm if we are late back from somewhere), then some chocolate.

It couldn't really get much worse. Oh, I had a cup of coffee and a cup of tea too, and I haven't wanted tea or coffee for about 6 weeks.

I have read all your posts about trying to resist cravings etc and will try to do better next time. I think I will be more strict on sticking to a food diary for a start. It's silly because we have a lot of healthy food in the house too - a constant stream of home grown tomatoes, plenty of cabbage, beetroot, bananas in the freezer waiting to turn into icecream, and some organic raspberries.

So I will start again tomorrow.

Dawn

Quote

I think I will be more strict...

I find its often easier to "spoilt it all" when you are strict with yourself, or make it a platitude.

I'm sorry for your frustration. I know from experience how disappointing and frustrating messing up can be. But it's hard to be 100% raw from the start, and for some people it isn't good, because too much, too fast can release too many toxins at once and really mess you up. The point is, that it's not the end of the world. It takes awhile to form new habits, and you need to just keep trying to retrain yourself to better choices. After eating something bad, try to notice how it makes your body feel, and how bad it feels. That is helpful, I think, to retraining one to better choices.

You didn't mess up. Just ask yourself what you really want, make it as accessible and easy and fun as possible, and keep going!

Regards,
Thomas

So here are 7 things you can do *today* to get back on track with your diet.

1- Don't Be Hard on Yourself

We're really fast at acknowledging our shortcomings, but much less at acknowledging our successes. It's very easy to beat yourself up when you fall off the wagon and never take time to celebrate all the successes you've had so far.

So don't be hard on yourself and just look at what you've accomplished, no matter how small it may look! Compared to where a lot of people are at right now, you've already come a long way.

2- Reset Your System and Fast

In my book “The Raw Secrets”, I talked about the value of occasionally fasting 24 to 36 hours, or even 2-3 days (longer fasts should be supervised).

This is especially useful to get back on track with your diet. Fasting just 24 to 36 hours will literally “reset” your system and make it much easier to start eating right again.

Don't get me wrong. I don't suggest doing the harmful pattern of binging now and fasting later. I'm just saying that a short fast might be just what you need to give your body a chance to get back to a state of balance.

You can refer to my book “The Raw Secrets” for more information. If you're unsure about doing a short fast or your health does not permit it, then simply having a couple days of mono-fruit meals (only eating one type of fruit per meal), will give you great results.

3- List Your Benefits

When you have the time, take a moment to list all of the reasons *why* you are committed to a healthy lifestyle. Why do it at all?

Unless you know the *why*, you won't know the *how*. Any small difficulty will throw you off balance.

So your homework assignment is to list at least 25 benefits or reasons for eating well (however you define it at this point) and exercising. Then put this list in a place where you can see it!

4- Recommit

Commitment is very important. It just means that you're willing to do whatever it takes to get to where you want to go.

After you've listed your benefits, take a moment to commit to your success. All it takes is *share* your list with someone else, someone who can support you (ideally, your “success buddy”!) and tell them you commit to achieving those results.

5- Give Yourself a Goal

In addition to writing your list of benefits, give yourself one to three short-term goals that you believe you can accomplish within the next 6 to 12 months.

Maybe it is to *release* a certain amount of weight. Maybe it is to lower your body fat level down to a certain percentage. Or maybe it is to succeed doing so many push-ups in a row.

Set a few realistic goals that are also a little challenging, and keep your mind focused on them.

6- Be Prepared for the Next Breakdown

No matter how well you do in life, there *will* be another breakdown. I'm not saying that you'll necessarily fall off the wagon. Maybe it will just be a period of doubt and fear. Or you'll find yourself in a situation where you're not sure how to maintain your diet.

Prepare for success and envision different things that could potentially be challenging. What would you do in those moments? Take a moment to think about that and discuss it with your coach or someone who supports you.

7- Get Coaching and Support

Even the best athletes in the world have their own coaches. How do you think that you will make it without one?

A good coach will not only push you to get beyond where you want to go, but will also support you in the process and celebrate your successes with you.

Without coaching and support, it will be much more difficult to make your list of benefits come true.

If you can afford it, having a personal health coach will make a tremendous difference for you.

[www.fredericpatenaude.com]

Don't worry about it. There's nothing to "spoil". The worst thing you can do is start identifying with your lunch. Just start fresh tomorrow, but stay optimistic and don't get down on yourself. It takes a long time to form a habit, especially one like eating mostly raw foods when it's so contrary to how we've all eaten in the past.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/2006 02:05AM by Arvydas.

Thank you all for your support. I ate mostly raw today.

Innervegetable (?) your post had some interesting ideas. I think find the reasons and goals quite hard, as it takes such a while for everything to really take effect. I'm glad I've lost a bit of weight as that way I can see that there is some change. Otherwise, I haven't had any noticeable detox symptoms, and sometimes it's hard to believe it is really good for me.

My mine reason for doing it is that I think I have bipolar disorder (although not officially diagnosed), and I really want it to help with my ups and downs. At the same time, that's one reason why I find it hard to stick to it. For instance the night before last I was feeling really manic and couldn't relax or settle at anything. then yesterday I really slumped and felt so depressed that I just couldn't motivate myself at all. Of course it's at times like those that I need to watch what I eat, but it's so hard to see if it is really making a difference

Hey humbug,

Don't worry about it. Concentrate on what you learned instead. IMO the journey really does have as much value as the goal.

Someone recently suggested reading the book, "Diet for a New America", by John Robbins, the Baskin-Robbins heir. I agree that it's a great book to read if you want to become a committed vegan.

Innervegetable mentioned that you should "be prepared for your next breakdown". Good advice. I used to do that by keeping frozen veggies in the freezer to eat whenever I went off the wagon, instead of the more starchy stuff I'd blown it on in the past. I'd add some nice steamed veggies to a great big salad, and voila - a lot less pain the next day!

Give yourself a pat on the back and a hug for coming as far as you already have!

Best wishes, -Ally



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/2006 07:39AM by Ally.

Sounds to me like you have blood sugar problems if you think you're bipolar.

Manic depression, or bipolar disorder, is just a name doctors made up to sell people drugs.

Most of the time, it's faulty blood sugar metabolism and endocrine stress. Do some searches on google about balancing blood sugar and insulin response. It'll help massively with cravings, too.

It's impossible for us to know whether s/he has blood sugar regulation problems or is manic depressive, but they certainly aren't the same thing! Anyone that is truly bipolar will tell you that. If you think you are, you should see a doc.

I don't believe that.

I used to be pretty darned bipolar. I'd never know how I would feel from day to day. Euphoria, or deep depression today? Hmmmm.

If she's getting cravings for starches and sweet stuff, and heavy mood swings, chances are the blood sugar is imbalanced somehow.

By the way, I didn't say they were the same thing. I said blood sugar and endocrine disruption is often the cause of it. It's at least a factor.

I can't understand how a depressive person would feel compelled to eat a chicken or an egg. It depresses me immensely to think about how those poor chickens are treated, tortured, and killed and those things are not food to me. But if you can learn something from your trangression and it helps to keep you from repeating it, that's a good thing.

I wouldn't beat myself up over the rest of it.

Just to add, in response to later posts, I started a thread about depression on the health section a few weeks ago and that explains about the doctor, if anyone can be bothered to read it.

I agree with the sugar stuff and know that that is my biggest problem. Bipolar is pretty dramatic highs and lows though, to the extent that it interferes with your life in more ways than one.

And I'm female.

Thanks
Dawn