thanks for sharing that story khale it's encouraging to stay on the right track! i've been missing my old favorites soo much yesterday (pasta, cheesey pasta) but i've come so far and even though i've never had a problem with weight when i look at old pictures of myself from before raw i look different. like, more sleepy, less alive. and i don't want to go back to that! anyways. i never realized how hard it is to come off of even a one-day fast! i'm fine again today though.

yesterday!:

througout the am (kept munching): 2 kiwis, tall glass of fresh oj, 3 bananas, 2 red delicious apples, half a nectarine.

lunch: cabbage/kale salad splashed with braggs apple cidar vinigar. to help digestion !! 1 avacado, 1 banana, 1 peach.

dinner: some marinated mushrooms, bowl of tomato soup (mmm), half a cucumber, a kiwi, some goji berries & hemp seeds.


i just starting noticing this recently. my nails are a lot stronger than they used to be and something is different feeling about my hair.

It's getting quiet here.

If the thread is not holding interest we can let it go.

khale

NOOO. I am still here. Just tired and busy.

This weekend I ate good and raw except when I didn't. We went to a memorial service that served barbeque so the kids and I ate potato salad, cole slaw and rolls. I felt yucky afterwards and then we went to someone's house and had chips and salsa which was a little better. Sunday we ate some cooked at home which was vegan and better. Yesterday, Monday, I had so much mucas and I still do. Is there anything more irritating than mucas?

Yesterday I ate:

-tea*
-Really yummy carob, banana and honey smoothie
-several bananas
-few handfuls of almonds
-raw ceasar salad
-corn relish with tomatoes, red bell peppers and red onion
-tea*

im still goin' too !!

yesterday:

b-fast: woke up and had 3 kiwis and 2 bananas. went food shopping and came home and had a nectarine, anohter banana and 1/3 watermelon. mmmmmmm!!

lunch: a bowl of sprouts (bean, radiccio, mustard and something else), tomato soup, 1 banana, 1 nectarine, 1 little tomato, and some watermelon.

dinner: made more tomato soup! marinated mushrooms (my fav!!), more watermelon, snacked on dulse flakes and hemp seeds.


i love how on raw i can eat the same thing over and over and over and it wont matter! or i can just enjoy mono eating. thats how i always used to eat when i was cooked too. still kind of eating anything and everything constantly when it's in front of me though! i don't know what's with this! it's like even if i'm full i'm not satisfied unless i'm stuffing something into my mouth. i think it's the cooked food addiction. well better i'm stuffing my face with a lot of raw food then eating normally on cooked food.

The more cooked I eat the less satisfied I am with food. I want to eat and eat. I have never limmited food. On the days I eat cooked I eat as much as I want. On the days I eat raw I eat as much as I want. This has helped my transition and I maintain an optimal weight. I realize how "crazy" cooked makes me and how calm raw makes me. After two or three days all raw food I eat when I am hungry and I don't agonize and negotiate over my next meal.

My candida symptoms have been at bay for weeks now and I am on minimal supplement. Let's celebrate with a juice toast!

**clink**and congrats pakd4fun: I know that your battle with candida has been a long one

applebaby: I can get into eating the same thing over and over too (these days its spinach with oranges and avocado) but its good to break out of that if you can. some nutritionists claim that you can develop allergies that way - and almost everyone agrees that a wide variety of fruits and veggies is more nutritionally sound. not to worry though, you'll get sick of tomatoe soup and marinated mushrooms by and by.

talk later,

khale

i`m still here too!! just pretty busy. school is in full swing which means work is in full swing along with gymnastics,football,kenpo and being a wife
i`m staying high raw great to read all the different food ideas, i love to steal LOL. glad you`re feeling better kale.
patty

pakd4fun: yeah cooked food can make you feel crazy cant it. it does the same thing to me like at work i used to get soo stressed out and freak out a lot but that doesn't happen a whole lot ever now. and my emotions are so much easier to deal with.


today i actually questioned to myself if i should actually stay raw for the long term. i'm admitting this !! it was after realizing what an impulse i've developed now to constantly want to eat. but i thought about it. when i actually weighed the two out in my head i realied the only ACTUAL reason i had to go back to cooked was comfort food .... and being able to cook and eat with my boyfriend. which i miss. BUT THERE WERE so many reasons not to (mostly beauty reasons lol). and i realized that i didn't want to !! i just need to keep going on this path for like a year then it will be different and i will be so much mroe accustomed and i will be a lot happier !! i don't want disease when i get older. anyways. just thought i'd share that.

hey guys,

I didn't post yesterday, but speaking of getting stuck in eating ruts...yeah, yesterday looked almost identical to today:

Tuesday, Sept. 11th:

AM: Raw "cereal" - chopped banana, white peach & raspberries, sprinkled w/ a few crushed nuts, with almond milk, honey & cinnamon.

LUNCH: Salad - mache, baby spinach, green beans, cucumber, tomato, basil, chantarelles (cheap at the farmer's market, woo-hoo) kalamata olives & 1/2 avocado, w/ lemon, olive oil, tahini & dill dressing

SNACK: baby carrots & salsa, grapes

DINNER: acorn squash & mango soup w/ jalepeno, cilantro & small banana

Wrote for 8 hours today, brain is FRIED. Now the other half of that avocado is calling my name, but I've already had quite a bit of fats for the day (and I think all the anti-fats ranting on this board is really getting to me). Of course, I'm not sure if I'm actually hungry for it, or if I know it's perfect right now, and will look a bit brown & sad tomorrow, despite being doused in lemon & wrapped up tight. I guess I'll give it an hour and see if I'm still haunted by its presence in the fridge...

~AshCat

I'm still maintaining a certain disinterest in food. Even with a mixed diet I've lost a few pounds this last month - certainly without trying. I weighed recently quite sure that I had probably gained as my activity level has dropped some and I haven't been as careful with diet.

I drank a quart of smoothie during the morning: spinach, banana and pineapple, and then had a very sweet cantaloupe for lunch. For dinner I had a mixed green salad with a small portion of cooked beans. I have to admit that my food choices are dictated way too much by convenience these days. I haven't been to the health food store in weeks. I'm consciously avoiding pushing my self - wanting to allow my energy level and desire to raise "organically" and withholding judgement as much as possible for me.

How are all of you feeling these days?

khale

Hi Ive had a few days away from home. I ate some cooked spicy veggies and rice at the weekend. Felt very dehydrated and bloated the next day. i have eaten a little cooked every evening since.
Today I plan to stop the cooked again.
Although i love the green smoothies and it takes the pressure out of thinking about what to eat, im probably being a little restrictive so i have decided to return to breakfastjuice lunchsmoothie evening salad plan.

Applebaby wrote

today i actually questioned to myself if i should actually stay raw for the long term. i'm admitting this !! it was after realizing what an impulse i've developed now to constantly want to eat. but i thought about it. when i actually weighed the two out in my head i realied the only ACTUAL reason i had to go back to cooked was comfort food .... and being able to cook and eat with my boyfriend. which i miss. BUT THERE WERE so many reasons not to (mostly beauty reasons lol). and i realized that i didn't want to !! i just need to keep going on this path for like a year then it will be different and i will be so much mroe accustomed and i will be a lot happier !! i don't want disease when i get older. anyways. just thought i'd share that.

I wrestle with this too!!!!
I sometimes wonder if Raw could be a stick to beat myself with!
but like you, I made the choice to be raw for health reasons and the way it makes me feel.
Nobody is holding a gun to my head!

I made this very simple choice.

I feel that as detox symptoms appear or i have a difficult day and i see my family tucking into my old favourites..... well you know what im going to say next!

Im finding it difficult at the moment but i know and trust that this will pass!

Blessings to you all

yesterday I had a horrible headache. I didn't do anything but lay around all day. I had horrible mucus, which went away in the evening. I am much better today. I was ending my period yesterday which I am sure greatly contributed to the way I felt.

I ate:
-tea*
-tahini cheese with celery. The celery was tough and the whole thing was unsatisfying but I didn't feel like making something else.
-I ate some bananas
-Sprouted, no flour english muffins* with raw butter
-tea*

Today is much cheerier.

Today was a hungry day...

AM: Smoothie - banana, pear, peach, spinach, coconut oil, e3live, water, ice

LUNCH: living wrap from Real Food Daily - collards, guac, sunflower seed cheese (it's supposedly in there, but I think they skimped), greens, w/ citrus dressing

DINNER: watercress w/ drizzle of olive oil&lemon, mango salsa, little bit of grilled salmon

SNACK: choco-banana nut milk - water, almond butter, vanilla, banana, cinnamon, maca, raw cacao. YUM!!

Best to everyone
~AshCat

Hi everyone

Back on course today. The sun is shining and I'm going to take my dog for a walk now.

I think i have been struggling so much this time because i have found myself in a place where i don't want to go backwards (cooked and ill health) and am not really comfortable with the level of raw i have set for myself!
I suppose its all about balance.

If I eat cooked grains or dairy then i bloat and IBS returns. Meat and fish are not an option so that leaves fruit veggies nuts and seeds.
I stopped eating meat wheat and dairy many years ago.

I'm currently just trying to let go of spicy food, cooked veggies and occasional bits of rice and chocolate (This is always my raw challenge)

I just don't get why i find this so difficult this time!
I feel so good on raw and i am still addicted to these last few items and it appears so reluctant to let go of these harmful substances.

I have let go of them in the past (2 x 6 month periods and a three month) but this time around it just ain't happening!
Its always cooked starches and 'spicy hot' that tempt me back to cooked.
I have noticed that eating one of these foods triggers a craving for the others.
Its just going to have to be 'cold turkey' for me.
I will have to resolve not to keep poisoning my body anymore and JUST DO IT!

I have taken a different approach this time (eating more fruit)
Maybe mono eating would help, i have done this quite successfully in the past.

I have also been questioning if i want to be 100%, is this realistic for me right now?
However i know that if i want to return to wellness and experience the high energy levels and calm feeling i experience whilst raw then i have answered my own question.

I'm Just GOING TO DO IT. I'm a strong determined person. Its my choice to do it.
I'm choosing wellness.
Wow thats better!

Its helped to write this and place a little perspective into the situation.
I had no idea when i started writing this post that this would come out!
Its helped me focus and given me a clear direction.


pakd4fun
The no flour English muffins you listed, Do you make these or buy them? Are they raw? Tried to google a recipe but didnt find one.

AshCat
choco-banana nut milk recipe looks good

Blessings to you all
Lorretta x

mornin glories

Loretta, I share your "addiction" to chocolate and rice (I'd have to add bread to the list too). Sometimes it is necessary to just say "No" to these things...but if the desire for them remains eventually you'll find yourself eating them again. The trick for me is to get from saying "no" to saying "I've had chocolate many times in my life and I can have chocolate again if I want it, but TODAY I'm choosing not to have it." In personal will training parlance this is an example of going from "negating will" or just saying no - to "skillful will" where you go from suppressing a desire or bad habit to negotiating with it without repression. Try it for yourself and see how it works for you.

Everyone keep pakd4fun in your thoughts and prayers. She's right in the path of the Category 1 hurricane that made landfall last night. The winds are at about 80 miles an hour and though we here in Louisiana have weathered far worse, this one is still powerful enough to cause damage. I'm gonna call her a little later and see if I can get through - we'll keep you guys posted.

My appetite was much better yesterday: I had a large banana, strawberry and spinach smoothie early, and then a huge salad with lots of raw veggies and kalamata olives for lunch and then for dinner I blanched a pound of asparagus and made a salad of romaine, red bells and sliced oranges with a tad of coconut oil for supper. I slept very well last night and awoke feeling more spry and refreshed than I have in weeks, thank the goodness.

I hope that all of you have a wonderful day,

talk soon,

khale

pakd4fun holding you in my thoughts, hope you are ok.

Khale good to hear that you feel refreshed.
I hear what your saying.
Having fun playing with 'monkey mind'!

I think my chosen phrase is, I choose wellness.
I walked my dog after writing my earlier post. I felt so good. It really did help to write my feelings down. It helped focus mm thoughts.
I feel so much clearer.
I cooked an evening meal for my family and didnt feel at all tempted to indulge.
Long may this continue.

Blessings to you all

I talked to pakd4fun today.

she and her family are fine.

khale

khale Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I talked to pakd4fun today.
>
> she and her family are fine.
>
> khale


Excellent news Khale. Thanks for the update.

Hey guys. My place looks like a hurricane hit it!! LOL. What a surprise. We had a nice day. The hurricane was nice. Lots of crazy wind. My husband and I had a romantic morning before the kids got up. We built a new barn in the spring and it was wonderful to look out my bedroom window and see my old horse standing in his stall. We don't lock him in there, he was choosing to be there. We don't even have gates on the stalls. My husband got a day off of work and it was is nice. Had a crappy cooked (but vegan) breakfast. Since we have chickens we feel obligated, somewhat, to eat there eggs. I think I will be using them mostly for the dogs and cats food someday. Thanks for your concern guys.

Loretta, I loved your post. I can see me where you are in the future and it is so inspiring to read about your revelations and obstacles. Thanks. I am glad you are learning your way through.

Khale, your spirit seems great. You are so upbeat. It seems like you are getting back to your old self. A more improved old self.

Sorry Loretta, The no flour english muffins are like ezekial and not raw. They are not Ezekial (I don't recall the name) and didn't sit well with the kids and I like the Ezekial bread does. So far I have not felt ill affects from Ezekial products.

I can't recall what I ate yesterday. I had tea and kombucha. I had spinach dip with veggies and parsley salad. I do remember I stayed raw except for my usual tea.

Hi everyone,

I haven't posted in waaaaaaaay too long and I feel awful about it! I've been reading all of your posts but haven't had the time nor the energy to post my own...

I have been extremely tired lately. Like to the point where I feel I have narcolepsy (slightly exaggerated)! I can't figure it out. Last time I was raw I had so much energy I couldn't sleep and for the last week I'd say, I have been so exhausted I can hardly keep my eyes open at 8pm (I'm usually up until 1am or so). I'm also having issue with keeping my blood sugar levels normal. I keep having dizzy spells, etc (I'm not diabetic-just sensitive I think?).

Anyway, I am eating about 95% raw still and having what I consider to be normal cravings-luckily I don't have most of the crap that I crave so having it be totally unaccessible is great!

Any suggestions for something that might be a good fix for the popcorn/salty snack food type cravings? Those are the worst for me! I miss salty roasted peanuts! How silly....

I'm glad to see everyone's progressing and learning so much. And again my apologies for being a slacker on posting!

Good to see all of you.

I can detect a certain turn in the weather here - just a touch of Fall - my favorite time of year.

Yesterday I drank a quart of cantaloupe mylk and then chunks of the fruit throughout the morning. At lunch I had a large mixed herb salad with avocado and fresh oranges *squished* in as dressing. For dinner I made a raw "chili" that came out tasting quite good. I didn't follow any particular recipe and used carrots, mushrooms and zucchini as the base with tomatoe, fresh cilantro, ripe jalapeno, just a dash of balsamic vinegar, cumin, chili powder and a tsp or so of evoo.

wishing you all a happy and productive day,

khale

Fall is fantastic. The best time of the year in the south IMO. Maybe everywhere. I always make life changing decisions in the fall. It's a good time to set things straght before the winter sets in. My fall resolutin will be to get back to my exercise routine. I was exercising for years until I went raw then slacking turned into getting out of the habit.

I have been very busy troday and will be tomorrow. I had a little dairy yesterday and today and now I have thrush. I guess I can never have dairy. I feel such a strange mourning for foods I say good bye to. I remind myself that I am one of the lucky people who is sensitive enough to feel the things that hurt me and able to discover what I can do to thrive. I look around and I see sick people everywhere. I am lucky my body tells me not to eat dairy. I will be thinking this when I go to my daughter's birthday party at Jason's Deli and I stay vegan. I am too exhausted to remember food intake. The middle kid emotionally drained me today.

pakd4fun Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
I will be thinking this when I
> go to my daughter's birthday party at Jason's Deli
> and I stay vegan.

at least they have a somewhat organic salad bar
patty

Hi Everyone

pakd4fun wrote
I had a little dairy yesterday and today and now I have thrush. I guess I can never have dairy. I feel such a strange mourning for foods I say good bye to. I remind myself that I am one of the lucky people who is sensitive enough to feel the things that hurt me and able to discover what I can do to thrive. I look around and I see sick people everywhere. I am lucky my body tells me not to eat dairy.

I really do identify with that feeling you describe of mouning for foods you say goodbye to! I also constantly remind myself that i am one of the lucky people sensitive enough to feel the discomfort of harmful substances. I have a choice and my body reminds me if i make the wrong one!
I must admit that some days i am still seriously wound up by the whole thing too!

I have spent so many years (16) excluding and combining various foods in order to takle serious IBS issues that by the time i reached raw vegan, (although i felt that i had finally found the answer) i had also 'run out of steam' with the whole ilness / exclusion diet thing, then i had detox to deal with too.
However, the new energy levels and general wellbeing i have discovered gives me the incentive to keep trying to find mt way through.

mono eating fruits till lunch.
green based juice
fruit smoothie snack
large salad with avacado, raw nut loaf or sweet baked potato (if i feel i 'need it') will be my diet for the next 3 days, see how i go.

I was looking through one of my old diaries.
I noticed a peice about telling myself i could have a sweet baked potato in my eveng meal if i wished, (that appeared to help me to stay raw during the day. by the time i reached that point didnt actually want the potato

Hi Everyone

pakd4fun wrote
I had a little dairy yesterday and today and now I have thrush. I guess I can never have dairy. I feel such a strange mourning for foods I say good bye to. I remind myself that I am one of the lucky people who is sensitive enough to feel the things that hurt me and able to discover what I can do to thrive. I look around and I see sick people everywhere. I am lucky my body tells me not to eat dairy.

I really do identify with that feeling you describe of mourning for foods you say goodbye to! I also constantly remind myself that i am one of the lucky people sensitive enough to feel the discomfort of harmful substances. I have a choice and my body reminds me if i make the wrong one!
I must admit that some days i am still seriously wound up by the whole thing too!

I have spent so many years (16) excluding and combining various foods in order to tackle serious IBS issues that by the time i reached raw vegan, (although i felt that i had finally found the answer) i had also 'run out of steam' with the whole illness / exclusion diet thing, then i had detox to deal with too.
However, the new energy levels and general well being i have discovered gives me the incentive to keep trying to find mt way through.

I was looking through one of my old diaries.
I noticed a few lines about telling myself i could have a sweet baked potato in my evening meal if i wished, (that appeared to help me to stay raw during the day. By the time i reached that point didnt actually want the potato, so I'm going to try and reemploy that tactic!

mono eating fruits till lunch.
green based juice
fruit smoothie snack
large salad with avocado, raw nut loaf or sweet baked potato (if i feel i 'need it') will be my diet for the next 3 days, see how i go.

Blessings to you all

Hey everybody,

I've been busy with a visit from my parents for the past few days...

I got the expected passive aggressive critique as far as raw is concerned (mom: "there's nothing left of you!), but they've actually been relatively supportive. Last night we all (mom, dad, brother, boyfriend, me) went out to Real Food Daily, a vegan restaurant w/ some raw. Of course, I TOTALLy intended to just get the raw wrap...but, uh...

Well, it's my first real cooked debacle in 7 weeks raw. I was raw all day up to that point, with a green smoothie & a salad w/ 1/2 an avocado for lunch. Then for dinner, I totally caved to the Basic 4 meal. Blanched chard, steamed squash & cauliflower, some sort of random japanese beans, and plain tempeh with a bit of vegan BBQ dipping sauce. Honestly, it tasted amazing & comforting, and I didn't feel badly afterwards. My boyfriend & I talked it over later, and decided that for the sake of the longevity of our raw lifestyle, we're going to designate saturday night as a healthy, cooked, vegan cheat. I think if I have that to look forward to, I can do raw potentially indefinitely...

Today I did eat much lighter, probably from being so full from the previous night's dinner. I had fresh apple/carrot/cucumber/ginger juice for breakfast, a few turkish apricots & some mango for lunch. Then dinner was...DUM DUM DUM...at a steakhouse. Thanks, Mom & Dad!!

My newly raw roommate joined us, and I think giving her pep talks is the only thing that kept me going. Not that I wanted meat (they did a table side presentation of the different cuts, and I was suprised at just how HORRIFIED I was), but I did love me some hash brown & creamed spinach & asparagus w/ hollandaise, once upon a time.

We each ended up eating a chopped salad w/ romaine, spinach, artichoke hearts (not raw, but at that point, sue us), onion & tomato, with balsamic vinaigrette on the side. No filet. No potatoes. No, gulp, souffle. YAY US!

Sounds like everyone is doing well...We're down to the wire on the original goal of the thread!

Best,
AshCat

Ashcat wrote:

"We're down to the wire on the original goal of the thread!"


...and yes we are.

I'll have to admit that there's been a slight shift in my focus lately. This doesn't mean that my interest in raw plant food nutrition is any less - this has actually become fairly stable - it only means that I am less interested currently in discussing it or keeping lists of my food consumption and etc. There are just other areas of concern/interest that are looming a bit larger lately. I consider this natural, but a bit awkward when you've initiated something for a certain duration and then find yourself petering out before the deed is done.

But, in spite of all my best intentions, I find myself being pulled in another direction, which, subjectively speaking, is not at all "other" than what has motivated me to transition to a predominately raw plant food diet in the first place. It's all connected.

I hope that you guys will excuse me if in the last two weeks of our experiment I am less regular in my posting. I am still keeping up; still reading all of your posts and cheering you on from the sidelines. Just for awhile I may be a bit more quiet than is usual.

khale

Khale, Do what you gotta do. Good luck.

Ashcat, I think your cheat night is a good idea. That is how we transitioned and it has worked well for us. I am so proud of how far we have come in a year.

When You make diet changes because you are sick and those changes help you feel better it is almost like you are being forced into the lifestyle change. It can be frustrating but also you are thankful that there is a natural cure for what is making you ill.

I had a great weekend. We had a great time at Jason's Deli. The weather was fantastic and we sat on the patio. I am so sorry I haven't been keeping track of my food. I had some cooked tomato soup and non-raw condiments (artichoke hearts, pickled okra, ect.) but other than that I have remanied raw. Some highlights are spinach and banana smoothie, apple stuffed dates, tomatoes stuffed with avocado, parsley, celery and pecans; pesto stuffed mushrooms. Oh I did have some alcoholic cyder. It was good but made me sneeze.

Everyone have a great day!!!!!

GUESS WHAT.

you know how sometimes raw foodists eat cooked food again and have such a bad experience they go back to raw and have even more incentive to stay with it? that's me. for some reason i ate cooked food ALL weekend, i thought it would just be like before i was raw, and i got soooo sick. my last cooked thing (pasta &tomato sauce) was last night and i still feel queezy from it. it wasn't at he first bite, but after a few days of overeating cooked food i felt just terrible. i was NOT expecting that. and hey i am back on raw again today. i am feeling a lot better but still feeling sick from the cooked. i didn't realize that after 2 months of raw it would have this kind of affect on me. i guess my body was cleaner than i thought.

TODAY:

am: was still full and disgusted from cooked food night before that i just had a tall glass of fresh oj.

lunch: kale & spinich salad with pine nut/garlic/lemon juice dressing. nectarine.

dinner: a few olives. made a big bowl of bruschetta and ate it with some kale leaves. i LOVE kale, i don't even know why! it's just so hearty. it's like my bread substitute.

also had collectively about a handful of almonds and 1/4 hemp seed.


i never expected of myself that i would want to do that (eat cooked food for days). and once i started i didn't even have intention of going back to raw but guess what here i am because i made myself sick. and here i am, with new reason and appreciation of why i went raw in the first place.

not to mention, the raw food tastes soo much better. i forgot how bland and flavorless cooked food is and how you need to add so much sugar/salt.

Isn't it cool how your body tells you what it needs and what is bad for it?

Yesterday I ate:

-tea*
-big salad with butter lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, bell pepper, onion, leftover stuffing from stuffed tomatoes (avo, parsley, celery, tomatoes pecans) mushrooms, olives and shitake vinagrette*.
-three bananas
-almost tuna by Alissa Cohen (mungbean and alfalfa sprouts, sunflower seeds, almond butter, onion, celery and seaweed) on ezekial bread* with veganaise* ( this "tuna" was fantastic). I should have made more.
-tea*

* means not raw.