Ok, so I'm going to start by giving a little background and some confessing.

I'm a 28yo female standing at 5'4" and weighing in at 158 lbs.

2 years ago, at the height of my pregnancy I weighed in at a whopping 206 lbs. During those two years I struggled with my weight bouncing from 176 to 165 and back. I am battling chronic back pain, sciatica, and fatigue... Was always loaded up on some kind of pain killers and guzzling down mc donald's iced coffees just to be able to function. The main staple of my former diet was WHITE RICE... White rice with EVERYTHING. Carbs carbs carbs galore.

March 7th of this year I joined a local gym and started an exercise regimen. I did the shakes, the vitamins, the supplements and 10 weeks of this crap brought me from 172 to 160. I recently discovered raw foods on youtube surfing the internet for the next diet fad bandwagon to jump onto.

I hate(ed) vegetables. Getting me to eat a plate of raw veggies is like trying to get me to go to the dentist. It just wasn't going to happen. But, my desire to lose this horrid weight superceded my distaste for eating greens. Then I started reading more into the health benefits of eating raw. This further piqued my interest and reinforced my resolve to attempt raw foods.

I dipped my feet in slowly, by starting off with green smoothies made of spinach, cucumber, honeydew, mint, and kale. I found it a little hard to swallow since it was ... well.... fibrous. But I got used to it and now my body actually craves it. I love this mix because it gives me sort of a head buzz in the morning. I am almost done with my first week of being 75% raw.

I woke up in the middle of the night and started binging on kettle cooked chips. and m&ms. Well, I'd say I had about 20 chips and a fist full of mini m&ms. It felt so good. AT THE TIME. I went to sleep like a baby with a stomach full of carbs and chocolate. I sure paid for it this morning (or at least i think this is why) I felt SUPER lethargic, dizzy, and just downright nasty.

I want to be more committed to being raw, but what should I do about these crazy midnight cravings? I can't get rid of all the junk food because my husband and children still maintain a "normal" diet. Ugh. I'm feeling restless... And I feel like no one understands me at home. My husband is not exactly a pillar of support as he has tried to "sabbotage" my weightloss efforts on several occasions, taunting me to eat a Tommy's Chilli Cheese Burger.


HELLLLLLLLLLLLLP!!!!

Hi, rawbewbie82,

I'm a 55yo female standing at 5'4" (like you) and currently weighing 132 lbs, although I'd like to lose about 10 or 12 more pounds. Similar to you, I was at 162 when I started eating a raw food diet, although I was maybe 95-100% raw.

Rather than seeing this as "the next diet fad bandwagon to jump onto," from the start I did a lot of reading and chose it as a "lifestyle." That mindset has helped me tremendously.

It's totally understandable, both that you had a midnight binge on junk food and that you felt crummy the next morning. My husband eats lots of junk that I must (or rather, choose to) avoid (e.g., baked desserts, roasted peanuts, candy bars); however, he has gradually been incorporating more and more raw food into his diet with no pressure from me. Anyway, I know what it's like to have to avoid foods that are often in view and easily accessible, but bad. It's harder at first, but gets easier - at least it has for me.

As a side thought... Can you try making a deal with your husband, that you won't criticize his food choices if he'll not sabotage yours? (Perhaps he feels threatened by your success and potential for greater success? I'd want to understand his reasons for behaving that way in order to help him change to be more supportive, hopefully.) Naturally, you'll find understanding and support on this forum, but at the very least you shouldn't have to deal with sabotage at home.

Anyway, as to cravings... my advice is to eat more fruit throughout the day. When I hear a strawberry cream cheese croissant calling my name, I eat a mango - which I actually prefer to pastries. If I think of "cheating" in some other way, I eat a banana or two and that puts the brakes on. Basically, if you're hungry... EAT. Just be sure to have raw stuff you like. When John eats ice cream, I put a banana and frozen blueberries in the food processor and make a fruit sorbet. It's healthy and tastes heavenly! There are ways to cope.

I know that lots of people have rules about not eating at night - and that's great if you have the willpower, but I don't. When I get into a "denial mode" of not eating when I feel hungry, THAT'S when I'm most likely to binge. At least for me, a pre-emptive strike is the best strategy. My best weight loss has been when I have been 100% raw and lowfat (i.e., VERY sparing with nuts and avocados). However, I eat LOTS of greens and LOTS AND LOTS of fruit!!!

Good luck and welcome to the site.


My favorite raw vegan

Thank you for the great advice Trive!

Today I will alternate green smoothies with a piece of fruit and see what happens.

Sounds like you need more "Protein." because you seem to be having sugar spikes at night often happens when exercising and eating raw. Have a spoon full of raw almond butter on some celery and you will be surprised that the hypoglycemia will stop which is why you are spiking....spiking equals binge eating. Just a thought.

My mom has breast cancer and had been trying to go the natural way, so we bought the 10 day program family pack (can bring 1 friend of family member with you) for Brenda Cobbs Living Foods Institute, in Georgia.
Her tumor was getting too bad so we decided to go through with Chemo.
So now we have this package that we won't need, but need to sell to help pay for our hospital bills.
You would have until August of 2012 to use it.



Insert description from Brenda's webpage-
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This course includes Hands-On Recipe Preparation and Daily Classes on the topics of Emotional Healing, Herbs, Essential Oils, Superfoods, Hydration, Positive Mental Thinking, Stress Management, DNA Reprogramming, Cleansing and Detoxification. Also included are Organic Meals, Colon Cleansing Supplies, Training Manual, “Living Foods Lifestyle®” Book, & course completion certificate.


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The best way to do raw is to transition slowly...never make yourself feel like you are denying yourself! Find raw dishes you LOVE, not just ones you can tolerate. Definitely get yourself a great raw food recipe book such as this one: [astore.amazon.com]

[fresherthanlife.com]