I know that 100% raw is the healthiest, but I am finding this so hard! I have Depression, which I despise, but I find my addiction to junk food outweighs my desire to be happy... I keep relapsing, I stay raw for two days, then relapse, sometimes its because I am really hungry, at stuck at a bus stop where there is only sweets to buy.
If I ate one 'munch' food a day, like a chocolate bar, would I still feel depressed, have serious fatigue & bad skin? Even if I ate loads of fresh fruit & veggies??
What percent of raw-unraw would I still feel really happy at?

I find raw food, really restricted, there is not much variety because I only like fruit & veg.

Is organic chocolate ok?

Please help =)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2008 05:58PM by meao.

Sorry you are dealing with this, I can truly relate.
I don't think your 'addiction outweighs your desire to be happy' - i rather truly believe you are doing the best you can, given the circumstances.

Can you maybe try to not be so hard on yourself...?

And re food: Maybe it would help to focus on adding in the good stuff, rather than trying so hard to NOT eat XYZ? It really helped me a lot in the beginning. Lots of greens, and fruit. maybe transition more slowly?

Only you can allow yourself what's okay. And if you decide to allow it - then enjoy it whatever it is

Also: in the beginning you may hit some detox. I sure did. I am dealing with depression also and cant stress enough how important it is (for me) to go slow! When detox is too fast I can really hit rock bottom. Combine that with blood sugar roller coasters and it may be dangerous for me. It really helps to remember that this is temporary detox and that those feelings are NOT to be trusted adn they wont last forever.

And dont underestimate the greens... Green for Life by Boutenko is a great book. Those greens can really take away those chocolate cravings!
There is also raw cocoa nibs that can take the edge off. But greens really cured that one for me.

Hang in there!
Nibs



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The greatest of follies is to sacrifice health for any other kind of happiness.
Arthur Shopenhauer

My best advice is to find new and delicious things to occupy that space in your head where you daydream of banquets etc. Try raw recipes, gourmet for the cravings you're battling--it sounds like you could benefit greatly from making raw chocolate!

Also, I'm fortunate enough to live near an Asian market--everything is super cheap, and it's full of all kinds of exotic fruit. Try durian, sapotes, cherimoyas, young coconuts, I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for new and different fruits!

Also, the simpler and more wheat/meat/dairy/preservative free the items you do choose to binge on, the better you will feel. Once you've been raw for a bit, the complexity of a simple baked potato will astound you. Or steam some veggies and make a warm raw curry sauce. These things, I find, don't suck my energy nearly as much as, say, white bread. It may help to ease the osciallations between diets.

Any increase in the amount of raw foods in your diet is wonderful, so if you are at a point where you have to have just one cooked meal a day, that's fine, too. When you do indulge the non-raw moments, my advice is to do it as mindfully as possible. Make sure it's something you REALLY want to do, and pay close attention to how your body feels, because it will tell you. Also, try to stop eating when you are full.

Don't beat yourself up for slipping, just climb back on the wagon. Everybody falls off from time to time, and sometimes you get run over by the wheels in the process. In the case of raw, though, the benefits outweigh the struggle exponentially. =)

Opinion:

-Its less about an empirical number...and more about a PROCESS. For someone eating 10% all-raw in their life...increasing this number steadily....at even 1% per month...ensures a lifetime of ongoing improving health. Do you see what I mean? It doesn't matter what goal you set....so long as you set CONSCIOUS goals of volition and motivation. As a matter of fact...in THIS process....the smaller the goals...the better. Just my opinions.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Don't worry about being 100% straight away. It took me 4 years of transition to get to 100%...

Rob

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

A quick semi-aside. If you put raw (meaning the fuel that is designed to be burned) fuel into a car engine, it burns best.

But, ultimately, if the engine is burning efficiently enough and hot enough, you could throw granite, tree bark, or the hair from the barbershop floor in there.....and it will burn quite efficiently and well.

Doubt it not. When you are truly Truly being yourself, you can be the Omnivore that you were designed and you needn't concern yourself with what the "designer" meant to go into your tank.

You, effectively, take over the reigns from the designer and....can fuel with anything, including your own love, pain, joy, kindness....


With True Love,
Paul

[www.oneillpaul.com-a.googlepages.com]

I'm sorry to hear that you are struggling, and about your depression, but I think the fact that you are striving to do something good for yourself is a real act of love. Do take it easy on yourself - there's no point in beating yourself up about not being "perfect". (Especially since none of us are, or ever can be!)

About snacks, how about always keeping some fresh fruit, dried berries, nuts, stuff like that with you? Also, for those chocolate cravings, you could try Larabars - they're much healthier then candy bars. For awhile I was throwing a handful of cocoa nibs in my green smoothie every morning and that kept the chocolate cravings away, while I was in a craving phase.

Are you taking care of the rest of you? Drinking lots of water, getting exercise, fresh air, having the support of friends/community, doing fun stuff, etc..

Like David said, it's a process. (And like my therapist said, "Progress, not perfection."

Hang in there. You will definitely find the right balance for You.

Emily

I think organic, fair-trade dark chocolate can be part of a healthy diet. Don't beat yourself up and try to eat as much raw as you are comfortable with.

Wow, thanks guys! You are all so lovely & helpful, I am applying all that you have said & I am scrawling on some bright post-it-notes; Progress not perfection!

<3 thanks so much =).

Raisins are helping me in a big way right now. I having been craving sweets, especially all the little pieces of candy that I used to munch on every day and raisins seem to really work.
Just my two cents. You will find what works for you in time, just try everything you can think of and eventually something will stick for you as a delicious raw snack.
I make fruit smoothies(I just don't like the green ones yet but I'm still transitioning) every night and bring them to work with me in a big jug that I drink all day. That keeps me full and happy and takes away the cravings. I find that as long as I'm full I can stay on the raw bandwagon. If I don't prepare and let myself get to the point where I'm really hungry then I give in to cravings.
Good luck!

Meano :

From my experience I have found that cravings are a sign that your body is requiring something which is not present in your diet. I have experimented with my own diet alot and after reading and listening to many different sorces found that including high amounts of greens or chlorophyl into the diet can remove the cravings all together.

The simplist way to do this is to just include green juice into your diet on a daily basis in what ever quantities you can handle ( the more the better ).

100% does not equal "perfect."

Just do the best you can without beating yourself up. When you get in bed at night, acknowledge that you did the best you could for that day and let the rest go.

Try to be kind to yourself.

I try and keep foods around that I like and love. I try and fill up on food that makes me feel good about me and what I am doing. I try and let it go when I eat something that isn't optimal.

Sounds like you are on the right path, just don't beat yourself up as you walk along it. And, it is a walk. A very long walk, not a sprint.

I hope this helps.

Lee

Okinawan centenarians ate very little RAW and they were arguably the healthiest people on the planet. One wonders though, if they would do even better if they were raw. (maybe 10% better? I don't really know. Nobody does.)

Personally I suspect that at least mostly raw is the best, if the balance is not cooked at high temps and is largely unprocessed. No fast food french fries with oil that has been through 100s of cooking cycles or potato chips, things like that. But lightly steamed veggies/brown rice should not pose much of a problem, if any.