im really struggling here, i did good for about a week. pathetic i know =( i compeletely beinged after not being able to stay raw anymore, gaining some weight. im soo disappointed in myself and want to just go on a diet that will work. the frustrating thing is that i know diets dont work and its a lifestyle change that needs to happen. this is why i became interested in living raw...not to mention all the benefits. im so frustrated. i dont know what to do, the thing is that im impatient and want to be healthy fast. i know it takes about eight weeks for a habit to get "stuck." help please

add a salad or a piece of fruit whenever you think about it and don't be so hard on yourself. as DZM says create totally reachable goals, an increase of 1% raw every week or so and no pressure. you'll be where you want to be in no time. it took a lifetime to get to where you are, it may take some time to get to somewhere else. stay positive and focus on the good things that you ARE doing instead of the places where you feel you're falling short. whatever you put your energy on will grow and flourish so put that energy into the apple you had at lunch or the salad you had with dinner. go as slowly as you need to go, each step is a step forward.
good luck!

Relax.

It helped me to always allow myself to eat whatever I craved later, if I still wanted it. You have to find what works best for you. Always keep your healthy goal in your mind. It also helps me to stay full on raw. When I first transitioned I ate a LOT of food. I was always eating.

Pretty soon I found myself craving healthy foods more and other foods less.

i think one of the byproducts of our society is that we all want what we want NOW. i see many posters come here, try to go raw cold turkey struggle a bit and then presumably give up because they never post again. it's very unfortunate.

many posters here talk about the raw journey and i think that's what it is. i expect my transition to take about a year and i'm happy with little victories as i progress along this new (to me) lifestyle. every week i find some new foods and i enjoy the challenge of learning more about this incredible change in my life.

i hope you will be patient with yourself and give this the time and effort it will take to be successful.

sending you a hug
charlie

Aloha VolcomChick,

I can understand your frustration, but don't be so hard on yourself. nothing about your attempt to go raw is "pathetic"... think of how many people never even bother to try! if you fall off the wagon, don't think of it as failure, think of it as practice...you will succeed if you keep trying. Every ones journey to raw is different and the main challenge is finding the right path for you. I went "cold-turkey' because i know that if i allowed myself even a small amount of junk it would be easier for me to slip back into unhealthy habits. Most people transition slowly... i would echo the advice posted above. try to just add more and more fresh healthy raw foods to your diet each week, or each day...you will eventually crowd out the unhealthy stuff. Try to avoid measuring your success against what others have done and look at the improvements you have made. don't worry so much about what's at the top of the stairway and just focus on the next step... you'll be at the top soon enough...one step at a time. Give yourself lots of love and if you have an episode that you would consider "failure", try to learn from it, look at your patterns and figure out some small steps to move past it. you are in the right place for support... i wouldn't have come so far on this journey if it weren't for the folks here!

wishing you luck and sending you aloha,

Greg

Aloha Nui Loa,

Greg

A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices. - William James

There is no pill that can be swallowed,
There is no guru, that can be followed, - Michael Franti (Pray For Grace)

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. - Albert Camus

The above posts are great from MauiGreg...of course...and Coco...and the others. The only 'failure' is YOUR mind comparing yourself to something else. You can't do EVERYTHING all the time. But you can ALWAYS do SOMETHING - any time.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Just keep trying without berating yourself or browbeating yourself. Fall down a hundred times, get up a hundred and one. Just notice the emotions, the physical sensations, the craving, the taste of delicious fruit...

Breathe in, breathe out.

Take care of yourself. No one should berate a child learning to walk! Don't berate yourself as you take your first steps on this path. Don't berate yourself as you take your millionth step on this path.

Those who have been on this path for a long time sometimes have missteps or stumble. Don't berate yourself for your supposed lack of perfection.

Breathe in, breathe out. Notice how that feels on the physical level.

Next time you feel like getting down on yourself, use that energy to motivate yourself in a positive way. Don't beat yourself up. Take that energy and use it as POSITIVE fuel.

Have a piece of ripe fruit.


Lee

Pathetic? Hardly! You are an amazing, revolutionary, strong, conscious, health-focused human being who, despite the amazing societal and conditioning forces around her, is getting better every day at giving her body everything it needs for its optimum health and well being.

Imagine yourself 10 years from now, a long-term rawfoodie, feeling great, looking back at yourself struggling in your first few weeks. Aren't you glad you stuck with it?

What you are experiencing is all part of the process. You go forward. You have a relapse. You're more tuned in to your body, so you end up feeling terrible (more terrible than you did when you were eating SAD and would abuse food, i reckon...). You learn about your triggers. You get up, dust yourself off, and go onward.

It is so important to be gentle with yourself, because getting down on yourself will only feed the negative cycle. If you check in with yourself over the past week when you were "raw with a relapse" you'll probably notice that you learned a lot of things, and that you consumed more fruits and vegetables in that one week than you did in an entire month on the SAD. Your body is grateful to you, I'm sure!

The only bite that matters is the next one, not the last one. Welcome back to your path!

I really know how you feel. I went for 6 monthes and got back into eating my old way during the holidays. Not much of a holiday with how so very sad I felt. It seemed no matter what I did I could not get myself back to eating raw foods. I really did'nt know what to do. The harder I tried to get myself back the more I ate the wrong foods. It was like an alcholic. Eating is a habit we have learned for so long and to change that habit is very hard. You need to be kinder to yourself. Relax and perhaps read some information on this raw diet. Try to remind yourself just why you want to eat raw foods. It is hard to break away from old intrenched habits but it is possible. We are very strong when we want to be. This is much more than a diet it is a lifestyle. There are many more aspects in this lifestyle that need attention as well. be kind to yourself keep striving towards your goal You will make it.

hi volcomchick

listen to these peoplesszz

they know what they are talking about

luv these people!!

they are great

Sometimes we need a little crisis to set us in the right direction. Use this to move forward, it sounds as if you are ready.

Read a good raw food book. There are so many, some have recipes, some are lifestyle, detox, some are about raw spirit too. So many great books to motivate you wherever you are starting from!

Natural Hygeine is a fascinating topic too, gives you a new understanding of your body and takes a lot of the fear of diseases away.

Go grab a nectarine and good luck!

thanks everyone, you all are very supportive and i truely appreciate it. that's what i am going to do from now on, focus on the positive rather than my downfalls. you all have made a very good point, once i become a long time raw..i will look back on this as my attempts to become where i will be. i agree, reading a raw food would seem to have only positive affects and keep me motivated. i really appreciate all of your kind words in attempt to motivate me. once i become raw and have no more back-tracking i will have all you to thank.

Hi!

I find that just coming on this site every day to read the new posts really helps to inspire me and motivate me to start new the next day. Had another 100% raw day yesterday

I also agree about focussing on the positives. I read something about that the other day and am trying it. so...instead of starting the day with "I'm so fat, today I am not going to binge, I am not going to eat chocolate" etc, I am trying something like.. "I want to be raw and I know that I can do it, I want to be healthy and I know that I can do it, I want to treat my body well today and I know that I can do it, today is going to be great!".

Not sure yet whether it will work but it sure beats having a go at myself every morning!

Claire

Hi Volcomchick and Claire,

Congrats on another raw day! Focusing on the positives will definitely take you far. When I just relaxed and allowed myself to think positively about myself... when I allowed myself to not believe the negative thoughts and self-doubt, I became a completely new person. It becomes a beautiful cycle... a healthy positive diet/lifestyle promotes healthy positive thoughts which reinforce the benefits of a healthy positive lifestyle...and so on, and so on.
You can be sure that being positive will work, and it feels so much nicer than beating yourself up for things that are already in the past.

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change."
-not sure who said that but it's a great quote.

Soon enough you will both be on these boards inspiring others with your success.

Aloha Nui Loa,

Greg

A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices. - William James

There is no pill that can be swallowed,
There is no guru, that can be followed, - Michael Franti (Pray For Grace)

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. - Albert Camus

i am going to take it day by day. im going running and am going to eat raw today. setting goals for myself each day seems less overwhelming than assuming i will be eating raw for the rest of my life. day by day seems much better, and in no time i will look back and wont have to worry about making sure i will be eating raw..it will just become my new and improved lifestyle. i found this meaning for temptation- tempation is something that seems enticing, but is in fact a lure towards what is not right

If you don't know what to do, try doing nothing....until you know what to do.

To quote Thich Nhat Hahn,....."Don't just do something.....Sit there."

Love,
Paul

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

Try new things! Find new fruits, nuts, vegetables to love. Learn to sprout. Learn some raw gourmet recipes. Don't think about the old, the binging, and the sacrifice--think about the new, fun, fresh and exciting!

If you do want something cooked, I have found two routes for dealing with the cravings:

First, I swear by baked potatoes. They're not optimal, but they're certainly not evil. Or try some steamed veggies, or veggies cooked in a basic sauce--a healthy cooked meal is better than eating pounds of candy from the bulk store.

If you are dealing with terrible and intense cravings--falafels were really tough for me to get rid of--go ahead and indulge, mindfully. Eat slowly, chew well, don't stuff yourself, pay attention to taste, how your body feels during, immediately after, and later afterward. Is this still something you still want to be putting into your body? I used to have a lot of anxiety problems, and fried foods and rice/pastas have a definite connection with that anxiety for me. In time, mindfulness will help you conquer your cravings.

Most importantly, DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP!!! Take small steps and be positive. Small steps may be frustrating at first, but at the end of the month when you look back, you will see definite and unshakable improvements. =)

volcomchick8797 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> im really struggling here, i did good for about a
> week. pathetic i know =( i compeletely beinged
> after not being able to stay raw anymore, gaining
> some weight. im soo disappointed in myself and
> want to just go on a diet that will work. the
> frustrating thing is that i know diets dont work
> and its a lifestyle change that needs to happen.
> this is why i became interested in living
> raw...not to mention all the benefits. im so
> frustrated. i dont know what to do, the thing is
> that im impatient and want to be healthy fast. i
> know it takes about eight weeks for a habit to get
> "stuck." help please



Hi volcomchick8797:

I think sometimes it's easy to just be too hard on ourselves. Don't forget, raw is not a deprivation, it is a journey, try to enjoy each step of the way and not expect to change everything all at once.

For me, I just started with breakfast. And take some time to experiment. Try different things - smoothies, fresh whole cut-up mixed fruit, mono-fruit, juice, fruit soup.... When you find that breakfast is so enjoyable that you wake up looking forward to it, add something else - maybe start each evening meal with a salad, or plan several fruit or veggie snacks through the day. Or one raw recipe or whole meal per week - whatever works for you.

If at any time you feel deprived, maybe you are going too fast. Sometimes it is better to take a step back than set ourselves up for failure. I still cook regular food for my family, and for me it took a long time to re-learn my preferences for the smell of foods. A big fresh salad has a much more subtle smell compared to a big garlicky lasagna, that fills up the whole house, but I can finally say the cooked smells have become much less appealling to me. But for a long time, I would have filled my plate mostly with salad, and had a small piece of the cooked food. That's ok, I was moving in the right direction, and you will too.

Sapphire

ive begun focusing on the positive rather than the negative and ive realized that even when im eating SAD, im consuming more fruits and vegetables than before. you all are right with saying that i should go at my own pace. i know that i could eat a raw breakfast already...been eating smoothies or some variety of fruit. lunch is easier than dinner. i could eat raw fine for dinner if i didnt have temptations. my boyfriend gets off around dinner and that used to be our meal together. now he is eating the SAD food which smells and looks oh so good while im sitting next to him eating raw foods. but after reading the postings, i realized i should think about how this new change in lifestyle is going to better my future and how the food im consuming is filled with nutrients. thanks everyone, i will go forward viewing my eating habits as fuel for my body that is top quality. you all have really changed my mindset and i truely appreciate it. i am going to look at my journey towards becoming raw as being exciting. one major reason i would like to go raw is not only to lose weight, but get rid of my headaches and migranes. i dont understand...i drink my daily serving of water and still have migranes that come on a daily basis...they are soo painful. when im not working or going to school, all i do is sleep to try to relieve my pain. im tired of wasting my days away and taking pain medication. well, i tend not to take pain medication anymore for my migranes since it's an everyday thing and i dont want to be taking pills everyday. i also have this growth on my anckle that im worried about. i dont have insurance, so ive been putting it off. its been there about 5 months...started off the size of a pea, now its about the size of a plum. my boyfriend was getting worried and i finally scheduled an appointment thats coming up this week. it would just be nice to be one of the success stories where the body heals itself. thanks everyone, you've all changed my mindset and i have a new view to becoming raw. once im successful, i will be so exstatic and blossemed as you all have. sorry for rambling on and on

Everyone here has listed great ideas.

Another thing that really helps me when all I can do is think about cooked food--I come online and find something inspirational to read. It helps me stay motivated and focused. =)