What was your path?

[firefaery]

Out of pure curiosity, how did you find raw? I love the journey! I utimately found it because I was sick and no doctor could help me. I was medicated (without success) told to eat a bland diet and no raw fruits or veggies, and invalidated at every turn. I finally figured if I wanted to get better it was up to me.

I went to see several ND's who were useless. I just got alot of supplements that didnt' do anything. I cleaned up my diet...so now I was eating meat and dairy-just organic, lots of whole grains and some fruits and veggies. I was no better, and in fact, continued to get worse. I was ready to give up when I read Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman. It changed my life. I started having things click. I went vegan (purely for health reasons-the ethical part came later) eliminating dairy and meats and all by-products. I cut grains down to one a day and ate a TON of veggies and fruit-mostly all raw. IT was tough on me for about two weeks. Die off was uncomfortable, but my gut took THAT LONG to transition. Not long in the grand scheme of things (I had been quite sick for over a decade) but long enough for me to question the helpfullness of my new program. I stuck with it because it made sense. I got much better, but wasnt' 100% yet. It wasn't until I got rid of grains that I began to feel better (found out later that I had celiac disease)

I then started becoming more "extreme" and though that maybe if all this raw had done this much good, what would going 100% do for me? So here I am. Not there yet, but almost! My kids are raw and they are my inspiration. They are so little and respond terribly to cooked food of any kind. If it's good for them, it's good for me!

So technically we went: SAD, organic version of SAD, Nourishing Traditions, Maker's Diet, Vegan-Eat to Live, Vegan-grain free, RAW!

Anyone else?

[misslinda]

WOW, I was just thinking about this last nite...........how did this all come about? ;)


when I sustained neck and back injuries 1 1/2 yrs ago, I had put on weight and was bedridden most of the time. I was desperate to lose weight--which was my main goal at that time...........little did I know I would be developing a whole list of health cocerns.

I accidentally (thankfully) came across this site and TA DA..........I remember feeling so foreign here b/c I never joined a forum group. Prior to raw, I wa already high raw but consuming soy products and egg whites.

It's great to be home.

:)

[karenisraw]

I became a 100% raw vegan officially when I found a raw vegan restaraunt a couple of miles from my home 2 months ago. I thought it sounded great. I had previously for about 2 years before becoming officially 100%, been about 80% raw with cooked chicken once in a while. During that time I was also 100% raw along with dairy and eggs. I just kept eliminating things to lose weight and was always looking for ways to eat healthier when I happened upon the raw vegan restaraunt. That got me 100%vegan raw with a slip up once in a while.

I mostly just have a low metabolism which I am going to address with my raw vegan doctor in April.

k
:)

[bootzey]

I came vegetarianism similar to the way you decided to go raw, for health reasons. I decided to become raw for shallow reasons. I saw a woman on Oprah who was 70 years old and didn't look any older than 35. I was flabergasted. After much research the decision was made. I am very happy and satisfied. When you think about it, doesn't really make a difference why, just as long as you do.

[theresaann]

I read an interview when I was 25 with model Claudia Schiffer. They asked her what her diet was and she said ever since reading the book "Fit for Life" by Harvey Diamond, she was dropping meat and dairy and that was helping her lose weight. Back then it was all about looks-hey, I was 25!! That was about 16 years ago.

I got the book and my latent healing sensibilities (I was a medical technologist) were awakened, it made sense to me, and in the back of the book was a referral to T.C. Fry's natural hygeine home study course. I bought the course I went 100% raw for about 4 months right away (excpet beer on weekends...) When I called to order the course, T.C. himself answered the phone and we had a nice chat. To think he was THE T.C. fry. funny.

anyway, I couldn't stick with it, but I did stick with a vegetarian diet until about age 31, when single parenthood and two babies and no money was just too much stress and I ate whatever and whenever. In the last 4 years though, I've gotten back to raw, with several few week periods of 100% interspersed with months of pretty much whatever again.

last year I decided enough was enough and so far this my 5th go at 100% raw, with vegetarian, and then vegan, in between. So far I've been 100% raw again for about 2 1/2 weeks. THIS time I feel like I can stick to it. I have changed a lot of things to make that happen. I DO NOT go to restaurants that are not raw vegan friendly, I don't go to parties, I QUIT drinking alcohol completely (that was a trigger for me), and I have asked my family to pretty much PLEASE make their own food if they want something other than my raw meals.

THis time, after a decade of "decadence" I've got 30 pounds to lose, and at 41 it's a LITTLE slower coming off than at 25, but I'm committed.

Plus I've got asthma, eczema, candida issues to heal, so I'm in it for the long haul. plus I want to teach my clients how to go raw!!

long story, sorry if boring....;)

[rawpriestess]

I'll try to make this short (no snickering now, I CAN keep it short-- maybe)

10 years ago, I was in a meditation, and I had a vison, I was SAD, and instantly became a vegetarian.

then 5 years ago I was at a vegetarian cooking class, and I was sitting next to a man, who in passing said something about raw foods, and the same place was haveing a free raw uncooking class in one wee,

so I signed up and met Victoria Boutenko and her family,
I was hooked immediately I KNEW in my heart that it was where I needed to be.

but nothing ever really clicked until the summer of 2004 when I bought Alissa's book and DVD, I saw that and in January of 2005 I joined this board, and it has helped me so much with raw.

When I need support I come to this board, when I need help I come to this board, and when I want to lurk and read,-- yep, here I come.

so, that is my shrot story.

[Purl]

Ahhh, my path..let's see. I've been on and off vegetarian for 15 years (more off than on :( ) I've always been interested in nutrition, even thought about majoring in it in college. In November 2005 I started to learn about fasting for health and spiritual reasons. Then I started to learn about eating better-as I have struggled with my weight all my life. Then in Dec 2005 my 4 dc got the stomach flu and my 2 oldest DETOXED and were nearly "cured" of their autism! My ds #3's runny nose cleared up within a day or 2. We had treated him for dust allergies and a sinus infection-with NO results. I had previously asked the Dr if it could be a food allergy and he told me that the "scientific evidence does not support that." I knew I could never let them eat SAD again-so I immediately started learning about gluten/casein-free and raw. They are about 50% raw. I struggled for a cpuple fo months to get raw, then found Victoria Boutenko's 12 step book. I read it cover to cover and went 100% raw the next day. Today is Day 25.

[JinxieKat]

My path to here is a bit convaluted so I will try to keep it short too.

I started weight watchers in January 2003. A co-worker wanted to go, but didn't want to go alone. We both weighed about the same and she asked me to go with her. I did. The next meeting I went to it, by myself, and had lost 7lbs. WOW! I was hooked as I weighed 260lbs at that point, down from 275 a few months prior, and knew I needed to loose at least 100lbs.

Now, add into the fact that I have my parrots. I love my parrots, they are also notoriously sensative to chemicals, additives, etc. So I'm doing my research on healthy ways to feed parrots and I find raw food. At that point my reaction was, "Huh, interesting. No way I could do that though!", and I moved on.

Three years pass, I learn more about additives and such due to my birds. I start removing more and more processed foods from my diet and adding in more organic. I loose 60lbs with WW's, gain back 20lbs. I find myself naturally eating less meat and almost no dairy. I also find that when I turned 30 it was like this little switch went off in my body. I was getting tired easily, having major problems with my leg muscles, and some other odd issues that the Dr's could not figure out. They tried tossing medicine at me and I would only feel worse. I am also struggling with one of my macaws and feather picking. Ugh! Another exercise in fustration that noone can help me with.

That is the point I found raw again. I read alot on here, read alot on other websites. Ordered Alissa's book and jumped into the 30 day challenge for me and my parrots. Today is day 30 for me, about day 20ish for my birds. Whee!

Jinx

[yumyum]

A few years back I started having food allergies and remembered the old "Fit for Life" book that we had on the bookshelf. I cut out the starches and tried to eat fruit in the morning and a lot more salad. This went on for a few months and I lost a lot of weight (from about 202 pounds down to around 158 pounds) and then I got over the food allergies. This was in 2003.

After a while, I let my eating habits go bad again. Not super fatty fast foods, just a lot of bread, frozen dinners, that sort of thing. I didn't feel like fruit and ate less and less greens. In 2005 my mom got diagnosed with cancer, and I took over the household in quite a few areas including the garden. I went a bit nuts trying to make everything into this dream of "perfection" while I was hoping mom would get through it okay. She was operated and she is fine now, without needing chemo or radiation, thankfully. Shortly after she was declared well, my extreme garden adventures got me crooked arthritis hands and my food allergies had returned.

So, in september 2005, I started with the salads and fruit again, and this time I looked for a support group online. I found a diet group but they wanted me to do weightlifting, and bodybuilding stuff. Something I don't do. I'm just not ready for that. That group was also angry with me, when I posted about health foods. They thought I was nuts and annoying. So I left. Then I found a site that said people who ate 75 percent raw food, were considered raw foodists. I was intrigued. I was 75 % at that time so I started reading up, looking for a support group. Then I discovered the magic of raw, and as I got hooked on raw and healing, so did my mom. It's like a second chance in life.

I am 38 and I no longer have the crooked arthritis hands in the morning. My strong tower like neck has somehow slimmed down to being normal. Even when I was thin, my neck was pretty thick, and I never ever thought it was possible to change that. I thought it was just genes. I love seeing my "new" neck in the mirror now. I have lost weight after having gained againg and I'm back down to about 158 pounds now. The fat on my body has changed from being sort of heavy and dense, to being light and fluffy. (Good fats instead of bad fats.) The dark bags under my eyes are shrinking. The lines in on my cheeks are dissappearing. The tired triangle I had across under the eye, cross the cheekbone, is starting to fill up and look like the rest of my cheek. I'm starting to look like a normal person, and not a sick person. There's more, little things that mean a lot, but I'll stop here.

I still have a long way to go, and dark circles to get rid of, more weight to loose, and emotions to work on, because to me, this is as much about emotional clean up, as physical stuff. But I can't imagine I'll ever give up on raw. I have to keep going, because the alternative is unbearable.

All the best to everyone.

[rawfigure]

I could write a short story on my Journey to Raw, but unlike RP I could not keep it is brief....

So I became Raw almost overnight due to an ongoing problem (were talking Years here) od Digestive issues and hypoglycemia. I did not do much in the way of transition (except for still getting off the coffee, but that is another story..) I just got sick and tired of it and when my twinee told me she had been Raw 3 months and said it would help me, I was there the next day. I downloaded The Raw Detox Diet, read it in one week end, then I found Alissa's Book and site and I have been here since that first day.

I will never go back to my low carb, low fat high protein diet..never never never ....

[firefaery]

Wow! What great replies! It's so cool to hear how so many of you have healed unintentionally with this diet. My kiddos are off the autism spectrum now too, ever since I trusted theor innate wisdom and allowed them to be raw. Very cool. Keep 'em coming!

[fiddler]

Hello all,

My raw path came from SAD --> Fit For Life --> SAD --> Body For Life --> SAD --> Body For Life --> SAD --> Hallulujah Diet --> SAD --> Hallulujah Diet --> RAW.

Thankfully, I've boarded the right train this time. Visit my blog in my signature should you be interested in reading more... I've still got lots to learn and am still growing on this journey...

[squidly]

Moved from Sydney to a country town and gave up red meat when I saw all the animals every day. Over a period of 10 years gave up all meat and then went vegan (95% of the time) and during this time have come across raw but never really took hold of me.

Christmas before last I ended up in hospital with a bacterial infection and when I came pit pulled out some old raw books, searched the web - found ALissa, ordered the book / DVD a year ago and .........

although I know raw is where I want to be I still struggle terribly with the journey but I am making progress. I am an emotional / binge eater and although high raw never managed to stay 100% for more then 10 days....my journey is far from over though and raw is where I am going / am!!

[Rawmommie]

I bet I can't do better than RP! ;)

My path. Well, technically, it started when I was about 8. I decided I wanted to be a vegetarian when I saw all the cows in the fields on one of our family road trips and found out what they were for. Unfortunately, my mother said that I wouldn't eat anything but grilled cheese, so she told me I couldn't continue.

fast forward YEARS of being overweight and SAD eating. I was up to 268 after my daughter was born and wanted to lose weight. I did Atkins and it worked pretty well, got me down to 195-200, but I could not lose anymore. I know Atkins is looked down upon, but this is where I began to see food differently. I was trying to eat more *naturally*. In my mind, that was meat, vegi's, and fruits.

After spending a few years struggling to not lose, I started getting sick. (I believe it was all the dairy products) I was diagnosed with fibro and Chronic fatigue. Nothing I did helped. I was reading a post on a bulletin board from someone who mentioned raw and had a link to Shazzie's site. I found her journal and started to read it. I never looked back! I started eating high raw the next day (took me a few weeks to give up ranch dressing). That was November 1st, 2004.

My Fibro and chronic fatigue were gone almost immediately (within a month) and they have never come back! I feel wonderful! It's been an amazing journey and changed my life.

[mandarin honey]

About a year ago I was watching the Food Network and there was a program on about raw food. I was very interested so after the program I search the 'net to get more information. I came across Storm and Jinjee's site. I looked over the site and put it in my favorites to go back to later. It stayed in the back of my mind but I didn't look into it any further. In September of 2005 I realized that I needed to be in a better state of health so I started to research it again. That's when I found Alissa's site and a few others.

About 15 years ago I went on a 2 week (which turned into 3) cleasing, which consisted of eating only uncooked fruits and vegetables and drinking only fresh fruit and vegetable juices. I felt wonderful but went back to my old way of eating. I had no idea at the time that it was connected to a raw lifestyle that didn't have to stop after 2-3 weeks.

[Nenyath]

I have always been very spiritual and have felt a very strong affinity for unicorns, some call it being otherkin but it is just who I am.
feeling like that I have always felt bad about eating meat but I never were able to give it up. I used the excuse of that while I was in this body I needed meat but then I would at least only buy organic. Then there were the problem with my figure, sometime during my childhood I started gaining weight which caused teasing which caused me eating more. Worst were it while I were teenager for I never fitted in and I never could wear what was modern at the time and again, it caused me to eat more. When my weight was it its worst, I were an exchange student in New Zealand (being in a foreign country for a longer period often results in gaining about 10 kg or 22 pounds) and I weighted about 240 pounds and were so ashamed. I had promised myself that I would NEVER come over the 100 kg (220 pounds) and now I had. It caused me to go on diet almost the minute I got home (South Beach Diet). I found that it helped me initially but it was not natural for me and I felt like I denied myself all the time, not funny! By the diet though and the natural causes, I lost all I had gained in NZ. I have tried to diet more or less since, just eating less and less fats though not eating healthy at all, often not getting the nutrition that I need. I remember when I met my mate for the first time, he feels the same as I spiritually, and I told him how I would love to only have to eat fruit. At this time Iat I needed meat and all that. Then the past year or so I have felt very tired often and sometimes I felt like not eating, other times I would overeat and sometimes on the wrong things which would make me guilty and only more tired. Then 3 weeks ago I stumbled over raw and it just clicked inside me, this rang true to my body AND spirituality! So here I am, 2 weeks 95% raw (95 because I have to taste the old food still to confirm that it is not good lol). So far I am not much more energic but I realize it is detox so it is fine, my stomach is feeling great, except when it's hungry and I have lost 5 kg and now weight 90 kg (198 pounds).

I can really feel now what my body wants and what it would rather do without so this is THE path for me..

Fly forever free,
Nenyath

[solarliving]

I had actually been to the Optimum Health Institute 6 Years ago to see my Hypnosis teacher do a seminar on parts therapy. I knew that most of the people were there to heal, but I didn't realize the raw food diet was part of the program. I remember my teacher telling a story about his wife. She went for a routine physical and they told her she had breast cancer. She said, "No thanks, " and left. Apparently the Hospital was trying to get her to come in for treatment, but she just ignored them. Finally she gave in and when they checked her, there was no sign of cancer. This story had a huge impact on me about the healing powers of the mind.

Last march I saw Carol Alt on T.v. talking about the raw food diet and I became curious. That day I found this website and I have been here since. At that time I had just quit smoking and I was feeling bad, very tired. After I started eating raw, I felt so much better. The biggest change I have noticed is I don't feel hypoglycemic anymore. Yay!