What percent raw are you? (50%)

[Adrian]

Just curious what percentage raw are most of you. I am still way off, trying to read and learn as much as I can about raw foods, and eventually when my funds are right, I want to take some raw classes, and buy the equipment needed to make the foods. For now, I try to eat lots of salads, fruits for breakfast with lara or raw bars, and green smoothies. I add hemp seeds to salad, and hemp protein powder to smoothies sometimes. I can't wait til I am able to make the transition to 100% raw. Right now I strive for a minimum of 50% raw each day.

(Change the percentage in your title when you respond)

Thanks to all that respond!! ;)

[Lay-Lay]

So happy you are taking this raw journey. I am 100% raw. Have you thought of taking the 30 day challenge. It is a awesome opportunity only need hands or feet to get started, no equipment needed. Do you have Alissa's book?

[eatyourbroccoli]

lets see...im raw except for my bumblebars, hummus, and little things sometimes like shredded coconut, almonds, etc (the "is it TRULY raw? who knows..." foods)

:)

i consider myself a raw foodist, and if someone wants to get technical i say im high-raw.

[Adrian]

ILRF-I can't seem to find the post with the info for participating in the 30 day raw challenge. Do you know where it is??

And I don't have Allisa's book yet, although I have about 5 or 6 others. I just received 12 steps to raw foods yesterday, and I am reading that, very interesting and informative.

Did you say that you don't even need any equipment to participate in the raw challenge??

Thanks.

[Lay-Lay]

Here is the August challenge:

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17914&highlight=august+challenge

Put Alissa's book on the top of your list. It really keeps things simple.

No you need no equipment. I mean fruit and vegetables, to eat them you need what? Just hands or whatever to get them from the fruit bowl to your mouth. Everything else is a raw foodist luxury. Put them on your "Wish List" in order of importance to you.

I now have most of the fancy gadget, but it took myself three years to get them. Just get them as you can. Make friends and family aware of the things you want so they know what gifts to get you would love on special occasions if you comfortable doing so. But to get started you don't need much if anything. Use what you have and get the rest when you can.

[Graciebeliever]

To my knowledge and my best efforts I am 100%

I started day one 100% and today is day 54 for me :)

Cravings YES, Temptation YES , cave ins? ZERO!

some nasty emotional detox but you great people helped me stay the corse!

Yeeha!

[Coriander74]

I'm pretty sure I am 100%... I do have a few remaining prescription meds that I still take, so I'm not as raw as I wanna be LOL

YES Come on down to the August Challenge :D

[Nini]

As far as I know, 100% baby!!!!

And feeling groovy!!!

:) :) :)

[juliebove]

I've always hated math so I can't give you a percentage. But even before I knew what a raw diet really was, I'm sure I was eating more than 50% raw. I just love raw veggies! Always have. Had to make some changes when I discovered I was allergic to dairy, eggs and almonds as they were sources of protein in my diet. Added in sprouts, pumpkin seeds and increased the amount of other nuts I was eating. Also recently bought a dehydrator and have finally had some success with it outside of doing things like making raisins and dried mushrooms. Some days I am totally raw, other days not quite. I don't really stress over it. I still love cooked hummus (didn't care for the raw version I tried at all) and popcorn. There are still some things that are not raw that I do eat on occasion.

[Jul]

I'm still new to this (3 weeks Tuesday). I've been eating 100% raw with the exception of one meal out with friends once a week. I've got to say the 3 cooked meals I've had have all been spectacular! I don't know if we picked great places to go, or my taste buds missing it. But when I'm at home, I've had no temptation and I still have to cook for my husband and 2 kids.

Also I've ended up congested and tight chested after each meal - not so bad as to need my inhaler - but enough to remind me this is not what my body really wants!

Jul

[Adrian]

I will have to purchase Alissa's book and strive to make the Sept Challenge. It's so hard when I still have to cook for my family. But, hopefully it will work out for september.

So with the challenge, just eat raw and log in on the forum and say what you eat, address any issues, and motivate others. (Is that how it goes??)

Oh, and is it true that once you go raw, you don't eat the same quantity of food as we did when eating all cooked foods??

For now, I usually get hungry in the morning unless I eat alot of fruit, which I don't mind. I am at the point where I am turned off at the thought of cooked breakfast foods (Uugghhh). So breakfast is definitely a meal that is always raw for me :D

[stiletto]

I'd have to say about 90% on some days and 100% on others. I have had a few beers here and there. Also, if I go out to eat, I never REALLY know what's in my salad dressing or what not... I have 90% raw bars now and again from Organic Food Bars and don't worry too much about the 10% cooked. I'm not a maniac about it and so, it has been pretty easy. Actually it has been wonderful.
Best of luck to you. Take it one meal at a time.
Ciao,
Stiletto

[Lay-Lay]

Great! That is how it goes.

I cook for my dear husband too as well as many others here too!

Your on your way. I will be cheering for you!

[Pierre]

The answer depends on the answer to the other question. Assuming that they are raw (the frozen blackberries have to, but I don't have a blender yet), the cooked part of my diet is açaÃ* (AFAIK I'd have to go to Belém to get it raw), a Subway sandwich or two a month, and an occasional piece of chicken.

Before going raw I might have been 50% raw with all the fruit I ate.

[Crazy Healer Lady]

I strive for at least 85% raw, but in reality it varies from 70-90%. On very bad days, it is 50%. I am now addressing my addiction to nut butter and honey sandwiches ;) LOL

True you don't need fancy gadgets! I need a juicer to be on the Hallelujah Diet, and it cost me $25 at Liquidation World (it's a good juicer). A blender is nice, and cost me $50 at Superstore. Because I was jonesing icecream very badly, I bought an icecream maker that I use to make oat, rice, or almond cream.

None of these are necessary, but are fun perks and can make it easier.

[berrymarymac]

I am mostly 100%, except on special occations and outings. I'll eat something that might have something in it that isn't raw. So I'd say I am very close to 100%

Some mornings I have Manna bread, which is sprouted/living bread. So not raw, but still living.

[rawpriestess]

100% plane and simple,


I mostly eat fruit, an occasional raw dehydrated meal, but that's it.

[Joyful Mary]

99% - I use cashews that aren't truly raw, a non-raw soy sauce powder, and non-raw carob powder. These items I use very sparingly, as I just can't work their raw conterparts into our tight budget. I substitute other ingredients for them when I can. I don't sweat the little things like canned black olives in a salad that someone else lovingly prepared for me when away from home, either. Raw is such a delightful way to eat! Every bite is yumm, yumm, yumm! I haven't desired cooked foods at all since I made the switch nine months ago. Raw is awesome!

[pomegranatebliss]

I have been at 75% for my first two months raw, with the goal to do at least one 30 day challenge at 100% when I'm ready, and to eventually settle around 90% if I decide that 100% is not right for me.

Right now, I am concentrating on healing old eating disorder behaviors. I don't want to start out at 100% with so many things being taboo. The way I am doing it, I am naturally healing my emotional side of things, and that is naturally taking me toward choosing higher raw percentages with no problems. I have to make peace with my food emotionally...this way raw is not something restrictive or something to rebel against. On the contrary, I'm loving my clean diet and the way it makes me feel! And I've been permanently leaving behind lots of my old problem foods without using just sheer willpower as I did in all of my past "diets." I just don't want them anymore. They're not worth the way they make me feel. This time, I'm not on a diet and I'm nourishing myself with all of my wonderful raw foods.

I started being overweight in the fourth grade. I started heading toward anorexia at age 13, then was bulimic from 14 - 23. I stopped purging after a lot of counseling but never stopped the binging part. Compulsive overeating put me in the high-200 pound range twice. I'm now turning 36 in December. That's a long time to struggle with weight and eating disorders. That's a lot to put my body through. I figure, if I need to be 75% raw for a few months to heal so many years of self-abuse, that's totally okay. What matters is that it's finally healing once and for all, and I'm finally seeing past the illusions of the old way of being.

It's all happening on its own. I'm releasing so much old emotional stuff, my spiritual practices are so much clearer and simpler, and I'm loving my raw food so much that the non-raw content of my diet is slowly being replaced. I'm still overall at 75% but I have some higher-raw days and I know that I'll end up around 90%. When I'm ready. I don't look at 75% as being "not enough." I see it as 75% better than where I was, and heading strongly in the right direction! :)

[Veganforlife]

100%. I jumped in close to four weeks ago head first. Prior to that however, I had been Vegan and prior to that Vegetarian. I have no desire to have any cooked foods. This is such a natural transition for me. I don't miss potato chips, M&Ms and junk, because I had done without them for so long. However. I must tell you all, if Alissa were to state that M&Ms and potato chips were a healthy, stable food, you better believe I'd chuck all my fruits and veggies and live on them solely! :eek:

[crunchyquest]

I'm hovering around 75% right now. I think I'm going to do the 30-day challenge in Sept, too. :)

=Marie=

[Toni in OR]

I would say that most days I am 95% raw. I will occasionally indulge in b-day cake and ice cream (but with 8 siblings-6 still living with Mom and Dad, 4 kids, and 8 nieces and nephews b-days happen a-l-l the time around here, we had 3 this week alone, plus one more birth!). If we go out I will usually get a salad but I wasn't vegan or even vegetarian before this and it is still hard for me to pass up a good steak (no flames please ;) ).

My dh wouldn't be so supportive of my raw lifestyle if I didn't give myself some grace to eat SAD everyonce in a while. Plus, then he would be able to bless me with a DQ Blizzard every so often. :o

[dreamrawalwz]

Day 163 100% raw

[Joyful Mary]

It's all happening on its own. I'm releasing so much old emotional stuff, my spiritual practices are so much clearer and simpler, and I'm loving my raw food so much that the non-raw content of my diet is slowly being replaced.

This was my experience exactly. I decided to eat mostly raw, but ate some cooked when it really called to me. Soon I just didn't want it anymore because I felt so 'yuck' when I ate it. Raw is so beautiful!

[TP]

Most days I am 100%. I eat an occasional SAD meal when going out to eat, family gatherings, special occasions, etc.. Next week I will be on vacation in Maui (for the first time) and will strive to eat as much fruit (pineapple) and raw as possible but am prepared to indulge in some SADness (if it seems really good, or at the Luau). This is what works for me.. Couldnt tell you what the percentage is factoring in the occasional SAD meal.. Most times when I do eat a SAD meal, I find myself trying to remember/memorize how gross I feel afterward so that I wont do it next time..

[DeeRawGirl]

Its so amazing to read all the responses and the progress so many have made here! After two failed attempts at going raw, I'm at it again! Started this last Sunday and have been wavering. I'll make it one day 100% and then, the next day I'm at 75%.

I've struggled with anorexia in the past and for the past 10 years compulsive overeating, so this is a challenge for me. But, I MUST press on as my health demands a radical change! I want to make sure I'm the best mommy I can be for my 18 mo. old daughter.



You're doing great! ;)

DeeRawGirl
Knoxville, TN
(I'm looking for others to "team up with" in my area...)

[lissomllama]

100% all the way, no failures and never turning back! :D

[sport]

As far as I know I am 100% and if I am not it is unintensional.

[jiujitsugirl]

100% yup and never looking back cooked food does nothing for me, its only been day 14 but i know myself im stuborn ;)

[EmeraldGlow]

Day 28 and 100% raw. I had one slip up about the second week and that didn't feel good at all and now I'm raw 100% raw for life! I don't have a dehydrater for those gourmet things though. I just eat real simple, fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts! I'm loving every minute of it. :)

[Adrian]

It is great reading all of your responses, and your motivation. :)

I was 100% raw today, (CHEERS!!) :D

Not to bad, I had 3/4 of a cantalope for a late breakfast, with a light sprinkle of sea salt.

A think organic chocolate coconut raw bar for snack

No lunch really.

Appetizer before dinner was 16 oz. of Green Smoothie.

Late dinner was a salad that I make from time to time, and its pretty good-I have enough to last me a couple of days, but I just get tired of chewing it
:(

The salad is Ross's going away salad on pg 163 in The Raw Food Gourmet. It is a great salad, and I've made it about a month ago for travel. I kept it in a cooler in the food storage containers on ice, and had it for 3 days. YUMMY!
Has anyone had it yet? I guess I should keep a Journal of my raw days and see how I do, huh?? Just have to figure out how to do that.

I probably should have drank more water today if there was anything I should have done differently.

[mcasburn]

Two months at about 85% (some days were 100, some days were 65) and am now on the August challenge. I still drink white wine and so can probably only claim 98% even for that... but I'm not a strict purist.

The longer I do it, the more the cravings subside and the more I crave raw foods. Not everybody can dive in 100%, and a gradual transition is working very well for me. A lot of people, however, have to do it full-bore from the start. What you need is what you need.