I'm starting to want the S.A.D food what should I do to stay on living foods. I don't want to mess up.

Thanks

Hi Tadey

I'm struggling too with cravings! The only two things I have found so far which are helping are to cut out nuts because they make me binge and get sugar cravings, and to eat a whole lettuce when I get a craving. Usually I'm too stuffed after eating a whole lettuce that I don't want to eat anymore lol

Claire

More sweetness from fruit helps, too. Dates will kill almost any craving. If you need something to give you a denser feeling, I'd recommend sprouted lentils--there are a million things you can make with them, and they only take 1-2 days to be ready to eat.

Sproutpeople.com has a ton of info about sprouting, but you can go to your local bulk store and get a month's worth of lentils for dollars and cents.

Quote

Posted by: Tadey (IP Logged)
Date: March 28, 2008 09:35AM

I'm starting to want the S.A.D food what should I do to stay on living foods.

When I am faced with challenges I get into a relaxed and harmonious mental state and picture the challenge as a possible stumbling block that causes me to fall down and then I erase that image and picture myself using the challenge as a stepping stone to move forward on a rewarding and successful path. And then I acknowledge that the choice is mine to make - stumbling block or stepping stone. After I have conquered the challenge I always feel so good and so much stronger when the victory is mine.

be lighter with yourself. this is a process... you can't mess it up, you can just keep taking each day at a time. congratulate yourself for discovering and experimenting with the raw food path. how many people even have this in their awareness? we are truly blessed.

there are a million tips and tricks, and what works for some people will not work for others. the raw food path is kind of like yoga... you can't compare your progress to the progress of the person on the mat next to you. its all about being YOU, sometimes joyfully, sometimes painfully. so don't compare yourself to anyone else, or imagine that everyone is effortlessly succeeding where you are struggling/failing.

here's some things that have worked for me when I have been challenged:

set an intention. write it down. have a little mantra that goes with it. mine is this: "i now release all blocks to my optimum health and well-being. i choose to nourish myself with the healthiest food available. i joyfully let go of the old and welcome the new into my life. my mind and God's mind are one." breathe deeply and let your words sink into your body.

if/when i slip, i don't spend one iota of energy dwelling on it. what we focus on increases, so i just get back in the saddle and move forward. NO BLAME, NO SHAME. shame does more to keep us in our ruts than anything else. the only meal/bite that is important is the NEXT one, not the last one (or the last 200).

this is a process of learning about yourself. consider it a grand research project! have the detachment of a scientist observing its subject, like Jane Goodall and the gorillas. instead of going into the negative self talk ("why am i struggling? i'm lame! i'm weak! i know better! why is this so hard for me?" remain detached and observe, be interested in the proces ("isnt that INTERESTING how i just ate a piece of my daughter's halloween candy and now i have a headache" "isn't that INTERESTING that i am not hungry at all, but i still am craving a taco bell bean burrito... hmmm, my cravings must have nothing at all to do with hunger! Fascinating!" )

just notice without judgement. how does the craving feel in your body? is your stomach or chest tight, do you clench your jaw, are you antsy? take some deep, nourishing breaths into those areas and try to calm them. notice your feelings before you eat cooked foods or when you're eating them... are they ones of shame, self-loathing, rebellion, self-punishment, anxiety, etc.? does eating cooked foods help make you feel more "numb" (it does for me! nothing like a big bean and cheese burrito to totally numb me out so i stop being aware of my feelings...)

learn what your triggers are so you can think of strategies to combat them in the future. do you eat cooked food when you are feeling sad? bored? deprived? for me, deprivation is a big trigger. when i'm feeling that way, i go to the grocery store and troll the produce section and allow myself to purchase whatever i am attracted to without looking at the price. it might be the most ridiculously overpriced luxury item... a $5 dragonfruit? $10 for a small bag of rambutans? organic raspberries out of season $15/pint? why the heck not? mind you, i'm on a budget and this can't and doesn't happen often, but when i need it, i allow it.

you're not alone. you've got a lot of people right here with you, supporting you. the whole universe is supporting you on your journey. good for you for reaching out and getting support. we're here for you!

That's a beautiful affirmation maui_butterfly. I wrote it down to use in my daily meditation and prayers...changing "I choose to nourish myself with the healthiest food available" to "I choose to nourish myself, mind, body and spirt," which, to my thinking, always includes food anyway.

Everything you said is so right-on and inspiring. I especially love the part about observing as opposed to judging. Sometimes it's SO hard for me to REMEMBER to stay in that mindset. More often than not, by the time I do the gloves have already come off and I'm feeling guilty.

Even if I can't call up ALL your wonderful words of wisdom on a dime, at least I can remember the NO BLAME/NO SHAME mantra...that's easy, even for me. MUCH obliged!!!

~lanie

"Beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing lies a field. I'll meet you there." ~Rumi

right on, lanie, i'm glad that was helpful to you. i used to beat myself up and demand so much "perfection" from myself. made me miserable and paralyzed. i have found a major turnaround in my life that coincided with my raw journey... i came to the conclusion that i am a perfect being, and that everything that i have gone through in the past, and everything i am going through now, is exactly what i need to experience at exactly the right time for me. my mistakes, missteps, unskillful actions, along with my triumphs and successes -- all perfect. (the same goes for everyone else on the planet.)

as a result, i am so amazingly gentle with myself now, and my life works so much better that way! whenever i hear myself saying "i need to do this" or "i should do that" i see if it feels better to say "i choose to do this". incredible how powerful that tiny switch is.

best regards to you!

ME TOO
I WANT A DOUBLE CHEESEBURGER,FRIES,AND SUGAR TO WASH IT ALL DOWN WITH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well, tell yourself you can have it tomorrow if you still want it. then think of something really nice to do for yourself today that doesn't involve food. get a massage, go for a walk, spend time with a friend, or as a last resort just lock yourself in the house and give your neighbor your car keys and tell them in no uncertain terms that they should not give them to you until tomorrow.

i find that if i can separate from my cravings for 15 minutes, an hour, or a day, they lose their hold on me. ESPECIALLY if i do something else to be kind to myself. but at the very least, if you decide to have your burger with a sugar chaser tomorrow, be CONSCIOUS about it. that means plan it, decide that it is okay for you, eat it, and enjoy every bite of it. because when we feed the unconscious cycle of eating it just gets stronger.

good luck!!!

The above posts by Maui and the others is spot on. The only thing that can EVER fail is YOUR individual goal-setting ability. Set smaller goals (with timetables) and keep them. If you fail, you are not being HONEST about what you are truly PREPARED and MOTIVATED to do on a daily basis...for the rest of your life. Start small and you can speed up. Identify what you TRULY want. If you truly want the cooked food - eat it and be happy. If you truly want the healthy food - eat it and accept any social or other consequences that go with it....and be happy. Learn to avoid the underlying problem of internal inconsistency. WANTING one thing....and DOING something else. Just some thoughts.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Well said maui_butterfly, well said. You're SO right. It's all for the greater good.

Blessings & Peace,

~lanie

"Beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing lies a field. I'll meet you there." ~Rumi

maui butterfly, I like your Jane Goodall idea! Great way to have fun with practicing non-judgement towards yourself (and others). Plus, she is a great lady.

Ew.. !

Anyways.. Dont give in to the plastic food, its NEVER worth it

Get out and about, step away from the kitchen/house

Go for a walk/run/ or do something creative--paint,draw,dance.. something to take your mind off

Get hungry, come back and make a lovely raw feast, make it lovinly and enjoy it slowly.

Long term things to curb addictions

Green smoothies

Coconut oil

Add some Spirulina

Give it a go for a few weeks, the cravings will vanish!

All the best! x

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Raw since March 2007

http://rawveganlondoner.blogspot.com/

What you know and what your body knows are two different things. You've read the
raw food books and you know logically how good raw food is for you, your body
doesn't know anything about that, it just knows that it is being deprived of
food that it is addicted to, and it will send strong signals for it's old foods
that will overide the logic of raw food. You have to train your body, to like
the new foods.

I think that it is actually useful to give in to the cravings (as long as they
are vegan or almost vegan) but make it an unpleasant experience. Overeat the
food until you are wanting to throw it up and then continue to force yourself to
eat it. I've heard the advice that if you really want to get over cravings, eat
nothing but that food that you are craving for a week, and you will never want
that food again. But I think that it would be dangerous to do this with a lot of
foods. If you ate nothing but bread for a week, you would have horrible
constipation, if you ate cheese for a week, you would get a heart attack, ect.

My problem was cookies, for a week or more ALL I could think about was cookies,
so I overate them (24 oatmeal creams in 4-5 hours). I was able to wolf down the
first 6 in no time, but for the last 6, I needed 2 glasses of water to get them down
and I didn't really want to swallow them, it was a struggle to eat them but I
made myself eat them all before I ate something savory to cut the sweetness. I
haven't thought about oatmeal creams since, and if I do it is with a little bit
of repusion.

I think it was better to overeat the cookies and be done with the cravings for a
awhile rather than fight them. This is also why it might be a bad idea to force
yourself to eat raw food that you are not really craving, you have a bad memory
of it - i.e. don't finish that green smoothie if you made too much and you are full
and you really don't want it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2008 01:24PM by Lillianswan.

davidzanemason Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
Identify what you TRULY want. If
> you truly want the cooked food - eat it and be
> happy. If you truly want the healthy food - eat it
> and accept any social or other consequences that
> go with it....and be happy. Learn to avoid the
> underlying problem of internal inconsistency.
> WANTING one thing....and DOING something else.
> Just some thoughts.
>
> -David Z. Mason

David, beautifully said, especially the part about accepting the consequences of your choices!