Well I have been transitioning for weeks now... not going to fast- about 50% raw for weeks. Now, for the last 3 days I have increased to 80-90% raw. I have had to take 3-4 hour naps for the last 3 days... I have been juicing alot too, mostyly during the day, lot of fruits!!- dinner has been a nice big salad with lots of veggies.... also have had a few lara bars... some cooked foods but not much...

So I am wondering if this is me detoxing--me having to sleep????... luckily I'm an at home mom. Kids have been in school so thankfully I have been able to sleep.

Any advice would be soo great!!! Also any idea how long this sleepiness can last? I'm 36 and been eating SAD all my life until now--- I have ALOT of cleansing to do I'm sure!!

Thanks for your time!
Sincerely,
Joanna

Sure. Extra sleep is often called for.....as are periods of sleeplessness....especially when going through a larger change. Keep your changes manageable.....and you should have manageable detox. There were periods during my transition where I often slept for 10 or 12 hours....and then slept the whole weekend too! Ha! ha! No biggie. Just get into bed with an uplifting book....and think of the health legacy you will be able to pass on the next generation (and share with those you care about).

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Thanks David!! Hey, how long should this sleepiness go on you think? I know everyone is different but just wondering- based on the above info if you could give me and idea... or maybe how long yours lasted? Thanks again!
Sincerely,
Joanna

For me? I would go through periods of just a day or two....to sometimes a whole week. Healing periods....or mixing foods in a way that you don't react well to....can certainly cause sluggishness. Hypothetically: would there be a problem if you had to get a few hours of extra sleep a day......for a whole year? LOL. My point being: no worries Joanna.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Please tell me what and the quantity you eat a typical day and I can take a look.

David,
,
Thanks so much for the insight!! I do love to sleep- so, no naps aren't a problem... but I'm sooo longing for the energy increase-- I have seen some already, but not consistent. Since I am not %100 raw now- this may be contributing to the tiredness also... I wanted to just jump in and go %100, from the start, but found it harder than I thought... especially at night-hehe... I've always eaten junk a night. You are right though... no worries, I will get there when I'm ready and a little extra sleep is good- since I feel strongly that we "heal" when we sleep! Thanks again!!!

rrraw,

Unfortunately, I haven't been journaling what I eat everyday- but I am going to start now! Probably will start posting on the dairy part of this website. Anyway, I will try and be as accurate as possible but it may not be completely right...

Yesturday-- and pretty typical for what I eat each day:

1/2 cup coffee w/ a little sugar/cream (naughty I know- but this is down from 2 cups per day!!

three meals of juiceing:

meal one- 1 large fugi apple
8 strawberries
1 pear

meal two- 2 oranges
4 strawberries
1 kiwi
8 grapes

meal three-2 med. fugi apples
1 lg. orange
4 strawberries

meal four- lara bara

meal five- large fugi apple, and two very lg. strawberries- eaten

meal six- salad with spinach, romaine, arugula, carrots, asparagus, grape
tomatoes, zuchini, squash, and a side of anne's "goddess
dressing" I lightly dip my salad items in this dressing--
organic but probably not raw dressing

meal seven- 3 pieces of cheese pizza - my family is still on SAD and sometimes the temptation overwhelms me-- naughty, naughty, I know

Thats about it I think - any suggestions rrraw?
Thanks for taking the time to help me!!
Sincerely,
Joanna

Joanna,

If you search this forum you will find this subject has come up a lot and it is a common experience. I had a long bout with it the first time I went raw. At that time, I saw a naturopath who said it happens often when the artificial stimulants (i.e. poisons) are taken out of the diet; then you can feel the fatigue that was always there,there's nothing to mask the fatigue any more.

It lasts as long as it does. Just sleep sleep sleep.

Maybe you're not naughty, maybe you're just not there yet and that's ok.

A common cause of tiredness is caloric deficiency. Are you eating enough so you can honestly say you've had enough? Would you load yourself with more fruits if you allowed yourself?

coffee can be a cause for two reasons: You're down from two cups of coffee per day and stabilizing off that can take several months. You're still drinking coffee which means you're detoxing from it.

Having many ingredients at the same time makes it difficult to digest and that takes extra energy. Fat is difficult to digest and takes longer time than fruits which together disrupts digestion. Eating less meals also puts some ease on the system

My suggestions:

- Less ingredients and more quantity in each meal. Somewhere between "all you care for" and "all you can eat" is a healthy balance.
- 1-4 meals per day
- lower animal originated fat and lessen fat overall and increase carbohydrates for sufficient calories. Carbohydrates are easier to convert to glucose, the energy you need.
- Don't mix fruits and vegetables except leafy greens which can be mixed with fruits.

Are you sleeping enough? People sleep better off coffee and that gives more energy.

It's perfectly ok to do all those things and learning new ways take time. I like having my raw meals in the morning too and cooked in the evening (when I eat cooked).


You're welcome

try to kick the coffee habit. caffeine will just make your more tired. even after you get it out of your system, you will have withdrawal which includes being tired, headaches, constipation, and who knows what else. it could take up to a week or two for caffeine withdrawal symptoms to go away so don't expect any speedy results.

as for cooked food, try to keep it vegan. cheese is esp. bad and any sort of dairy.

and the goddess dressing, i actually have some of that in my fridge right now! it is good. now that i have the bottle and read the ingredients it looks incredibly easy to make raw. i'd use olive oil for the oil, lemon juice instead of vinegar, fresh tahini and crushed garlic either mashed w/ a mortar and pestle or put in the food processor, and then some finely chopped parsley and chives. if i remember correctly, that's pretty much all it is. really easy. it would taste great raw.

pizza is really bad, not just from the cheese but also all that breading. all those cooked carbs will make you tired, esp. if you're having it for dinner. then you go to sleep and it doesn't digest. i am the same tho, eating the most unhealthy dishes late at night.

it is great that you're juicing, that'll give you energy. make sure you're drinking enough water, too. being dehydrated can make you really tired.

what you're eating sounds delicious,, but i don't know if you're eating enough and that could also make you tired. www.nutritiondata.com will tell you know many calories are in each apple etc. and maybe making each raw meal bigger could help like 2 or 3 apples instead of one.

i eat larabars, too. they're delicious. watch out for the ones w/ cashews or pecans tho because those nuts are heated during their processing. i even heard something new about all almonds are required by law to be pasteurized! crazy, huh? so i don't know if any of the larabars are even raw, but either way, it is terrible food combining and that will make you tired. maybe you could make some guacamole instead for your fat? that's good food combining. or put sliced avocado on top of your salad.

try one or two days a week having a ton of juice and water to keep you hydrated, lots of fresh fruit, 2 green salads, and no fat at all (no nuts or avocado) to see how you feel. a lot of raw foodists say that eating fatty foods, even raw, makes them tired.

here's a blog that actually has 3 articles in a row that i think will help you that discuss being tired and also caffeine. they are the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th blogs, but not the 1st one.

[www.fredericpatenaude.com]

here's another one that is short and discusses cheese and caffeine

[www.fredericpatenaude.com]

you can also sign up for lots of different free newsletters at those links. they give lots of advice and motivation and when trying to be raw, motivation is really important.

i've been researching raw foods for 3 or 4 years now and i still can't stay 100% raw even tho i have lots of experience with it and know how great it is. it's just so hard w/o motivation. when i was raw before and lasted 5 1/2 months, i had a raw buddy who helped me and made it easy, but now i'm on my own and only have ppl online to help me. it is helping me a lot esp. in this world where it is so hard to be raw unless you're in a beautiful tropical paradise. someday tho....