Hey my name is Lauren, and I used to be a raw vegan for about a year, quite a few years ago. ive been a vegetarian for 5 years.... i dont want any criticism here for how i live my life and no pity either... i just want encouragement. I love the raw lifestyle and how good it makes you feel. in the last 2 or 3 years, i have had kind of a lanslide in my life. lots of problems... i smoke cigarettes, and smoke bud on regular basis. i also drink wine... not bad. but i do beer thats bad.... i have never been so unhealthy in my life. my husband is taking a job where he has to quit smoking weed, so, i am trying to fix my life in the areas that i actually have control over. like what i eat. anyways, i was wondering if any of you are in the bakersfield area. bakersfield,ca.... this city is full of ignorant and uneducated people by the way, and i am a native. when people hear that i dont eat any type of meat or egg they think i am soooo weird. i lived in ventura for a few months and loved it. people were very accepting of different or extreme lifestyles. anyways. i need to get back on track. should i do it cold turkey, or slowly move back into it?


Lauren

oh and a question i had. what do you all do for birth control? use condoms? i am using a paraguard. or whatever its called. its the one they actually insert into your uterus....

Hi Lauren,

I smoked cigs, drank *lots* of beer and scotch (it helps regulate my weight ;-) and ate raw food all at the same time. About a 1 month or 2 ago I had a tooth out and had to quit smoking for 3 weeks, I figured I'd just not start again afterwards, it was pretty easy. As for drinking, my body seems to have taken a dislike to it, it seemed that it was getting harder on my body the healthier I ate. I've not quit drinking, but i only drink once every week or two (amongst my co-works and friends I'm still considered one of the most hardcore drinkers... little do they know). I still smoke pot from time to time, mainly when I have it which isn't all that often. I think pot was the least detromental of all my "bad habbits". Anyway, don't think for a second because you smoke and drink you shouldn't be raw, in fact enjoy the confusion people will go through getting to know your habbits. And don't let others tell you different!

Oh, wine and cider are raw.

I love Ventura, one of fav. socal cities. I was down there for trip at the Santa Cruz islands last november, I'll probably be down there again later this year for another SCI trip, I thinking of kayaking across from Ventura (maybe at night).

And I use condoms (more for STD prevention than birth control, but birth control is a nice benifit as well).

Have fun,
Ian.

well im married so i dont worry about that....stds i mean....haha. i am just not wanting any little josephs any time soon.... anyways, yeah its really hard. but i have been slowly putting more healthy foods back into my diet. im feeling better. i just have to quit smoking cigarettes. i mean every once in a while a smoke aint gonna kill you but a pack a day is bad!

thanks for responding.

Lauren

Hehe yeah, when I'm in LTRs I've got a preference for not using a condom (it's more fun, convenient). Fortunately I wasn't the one taking the birth control drugs, which are toxic and do take their toll on body after a while, breaks are needed. I always felt bad about that, but it was the girls choice, no pressure from me.

So what brand of cigarettes do you smoke? Hopefully you're smoking additive free cigs, companies like malbarrow and camel are including chemicals which are far more addictive than nicotine (helps maintain brand loyalty). Other brands like americain spirits, dunhill, winston, nat sherman (naturals) claim to be additive free. Also rolling you're own, where you can control the amount of tabacco (and remove some of the convenience of a pre-made cigg), helps to cut down and save money. I liked to smoke (and still do) water pipes like the hookah, which give a nice smooth smoke with lovely flavour. It's funny to think of some ciggarettes as healthier than others, there was a time when ciggarettes where marketed as a health thing!

Anyway, keep adding healthy things to your diet, don't worry about removing/quitting the bad things, yet. With time you'll find yourself ready for quitting smoking, but choosing you smokes wisely is a good start.

I've just had my first drink of alcohle in a while, some nice english draft cider (all raw of course), and got ciggarette craving after the first mouthful... hmmmm. :-L

Cheers,
Ian.

Hey joegirl. Don't knock yourself, we all have ups and downs. Welcome back. Just treat yourself right, give yourself slack and aim for your goals. Remember, food is just fuel, don't make the food itself the goal, it's all about what you do with it. Once your goals (physical, mental, emotion) are high enough the food thing will take care of itself (because you will want the best possible nourishment powering your endevours).

As for the "birth-control" I use the pull-out method. I am ethusiastic about all forms of "going raw". Just got to make sure you man has control of his bursts. According the Planned Parenthood it has a 96% success ratio with "perfect use". Of course there is a chance of pregnancy but that goes with any method (condoms break, etc.). I am prepared for that scenerio but seek to aviod it.

Again, all the best!!

hey josephsgirl

my son, who's been raw for ~ 4.5 years, told me lately, that he've heard one raw doctor say that for some people it is better to move slowly/instinctively into raw, that it can take few years even...soooooo..just listen to U'r body, & try to sastisfy U'r cravings from the healthy department....& U'll do better and better...only for some, it is a simple process, ...many of us find out, from the experience, that we have to find/invent, our own way.....
LOTS OF LOVE, Basia

thanks you guys for responding!!! yeah i am slowly coming back. thing is, (i was telling my husband and hes very supportive of this lifestyle. even though hes a big meat eater ) i told him i was at work and i took a good hard look at myself in the mirror, and realized my youthful look is so gone, and im only 23. im 5'4 weigh 140, 130 on a good day but yes, i want my health back and my body back. i used to feel so good when i ate healthy even if it was only vegetarian. i am still a vegetarian now, but i consume way too much fried foods(dont cringe...) and before, they used to make me sick! but yes, i am happy for people with likeminds.

i had a question. do many of you dye your hair? i know chemicals are bad, expecially when they are right next to your head...lol but i like my hair black. we have a lassens here in bakersfield. they have all sorts of natural beauty products including hair dye.

oh i want to try a durian. but a good one. would you find these at an asian market or an indian one???

lauren

sodoffsocks,

i smoke marlboro ultra lights. i guess i quit this weekend. havent had a cig since sunday morning, saturday i had 3 or 4, im a pack a day-er and i really want a smoke sooooooo bad its not even funny. i am trying so hard. i keep looking up health articles on the web to encourage myself. and the fact ill have lots more money to spend on exotic food and of course, im a chick...so more money for clothes... :B

anyways, i guess if i do ever breakdown and buy a pack or bum a cig, ill buy winstons. my friend actually smokes them.... i wish i could smoke without the bad effects. aaaaagh im frustrated right now. im lucky though in a way, im so broke i have 5 bucks in my bank account, and i dont get paid til friday, well, im forced to quit. makes it easier on me, i dont even have a choice hahaha

thanks for all your support.

lauren

Hi Lauren,

something about lights/ultra-lights always made my throat itch like crazy.

Anyway, well done!! on cutting backing! The physically addiction of nicotine is only 3 days, you're almost at the three day mark! Keep yourself busy, productive and avoid booze (something about booze alway makes my want to smoke). Revel in the power of not smoking! Feel good for it!

Peace,
Ian.

im doing good with this. my husband and i broke down and bought a pack of cancer sticks. so i did well. i only had 2 yesterday, and none yet today. thats good for us. thanks for the support. oh and they are winstons! not too bad...hopefully ill be done with them forever by the end of this month. i dont know if i can quit smoking bud.... does anyone have any raw marijuana brownie recipes? oh by the way, the bud i get in homegrown and organic. haha i know it sounds funny, but its true. anyways, any pot recipes; lemme know...

Ha. I was smoking the past few years even when raw and even when 100% raw and people couldn't understand that at all.

But I did quit -- because of how it affects the teeth and gums especially. I quit a little over 2 months ago and it has made me less compulsive somehow. I think every addiction we shake off helps make us a little less compulsive overall.

Another great benefit -- besides the obvious social benefit and cost -- of quitting smoking is that I can SMELL so much better now, and I know that I am literally coming to where I can enjoy my raw foods MORE...!

My method of birth control is staying at home.

well im married, so staying at home....hehehe. leads to other things...

hahaha

pulling out in time saves nine (months that is)

Just made that one up.

josephsgirl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> does anyone have any raw marijuana brownie
> recipes?

Fairly simple one I like (but I've not had it for ages) is approx equal parts dates and walnuts, in a food processor with the bud...

Over here in the UK I'm the editor of a raw magazine and a couple of issues ago we had a page of Cannabis recipes by someone called Free R. Cannabis, here's one of them for you:

Quote

A Rawrie is like a cookie, but it's raw, so it's a rawrie. I used to make my rawries with dates, nuts and carob. Very tasty, but a little bit to rich and sweet for my liking. Now I make my rawries with pumpkin and fig. I soak these overnight and then pass them through my 'Green Life'with the blank plate. I mix in some Hash (about ΒΌ gram per cake) and some lecithin. Lecithin is a fat mataboliser and the use of it makes the cakes far more potent. Sunflower seeds are also high in lecithin, so I think I'm going to use some of these in my next batch.
I always like to shape any rawries, cakes or burgers into love hearts, as that's what its all about.. LOVE. I then dehydrate my rawries at 105 degrees Fahrenheit in an Excalibur dehydrator.

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

thanks guys! oh btw pulling out doesnt always work. how do you think i got here??? hehehe. good ol mom and dad....


Lauren

LOL

We use the diaphragm -- have been using it for 12 years -- works like a charm! We have two kids -- and that was when we MEANT to. We also have condoms, for when the moment strikes you and you're not in a place where the diaphragm is, um, handy.

Quit smoking, it's the only way!

You crack me up!