Raw food mistakes

[VeryBerry]

Can any of you share what mistakes you made is you raw food diet and how you correted them.

[sport]

I have made many mistakes but never managed to correct any.
Anything I ever tried to do with wheat berries was a disaster.
Adding the seeds of the papaya to my green smoothie ruined it.
Growing pumpkin greens the same way as sunflower greens and adding them to my green smoothie made me so sick that I had to lie down for hours.

A common mistake I make is trying something and when I find that I like it I buy a large amount and then get a bit tired of it. Less is More.

[DavidZaneMason]

Yes:

-All the nuts I ever tried (other than ones I got direct from a grower) were dried, irritated my teeth and upset my digestion. I might have cut down / quit sooner.

-I would have eaten simpler (mono-eaten) sooner.

-Hmmm....that's about it.

-David Z. Mason

[BuddyLive]

The biggest mistake I made was putting croutons on my salad after being 100% raw for 6 months. Before you know it, I was ordering baked potatoes on the side. "Then" heck, my as well have a piece of pie. So, now, I just stay 100% raw and it's easy for me. If I start craving cooked food, I go out and buy the live food I love.

(lifeonlivingfood.com)

[VeryBerry]

My mistakes so far.

1. Not juicing
I just started jucing veggies, mostly carrots, the juice makes me feel really energetic. I eat the pulp too, in a later meal.

2. Eating too much in the evening. I find when I eat lightly in the evening, I wake up earlier and feel more rested.

That is it so far. I am still learning.

[Princess Elaine]

I was trying to make a wild rice salad which called for the wild rice to be soaked for 3 to 5 days...I kept checking...and by day 5 the rice was still hard as a rock...still do not know what I did wrong...I went back to the health food store to see if it said raw (it did not)...so I still dont know what I did wrong.

Oh, something weird happens when I type an apostraphe, my cursor jumps to the bottom and a small box opens that says search....this happened a few weeks ago, too...is this happening to anyone?

Elaine

[Rawkinlocs]

My biggest mistake was trying to be too strict too soon and ending up feeling like I couldn't do raw. I corrected it by following my OWN intuition and eating what feels good to ME and allowing myself more freedom.

[vgloveforlife]

Hey Rawkinlocs-great new pic!!

[misslinda]

INTENSION. When I first [accidentally] discovered Alissa's raw site, I had EVERY desire to lose weight from being injured that time THEN recover from other health issues. Weight was more important :rolleyes:

This selfish and biased approach imposed on my body, led me to hyper-chronic struggles the first 6-10 months.

:)

[chilove]

I think my biggest mistake was not keeping enough raw food that I REALLY loved around me at all times and not planning ahead for outings etc. I learned that having LOTS of yummy raw food available to me at all times was crucial to my success during the first year.

All the best,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[Cinnamon]

As Rawkinlocs said I also tried to be to strict too soon and set myself up for cooked foods in frustration. Just eat raw, regardless of the type of foods or recipes and although I've heard this wise message many many times I still have to remind myself of it! After 3 years of doing the raw food diet (high raw) I think if I'd followed the "just eat raw" mantra from the beginning the journey wouldn't have been so difficult!

[yeahbethany]

Hmmm... I guess, along the journey, I did plenty of things that DIDN'T work...but I don't consider any of the "mistakes" per se, because they helped me learn what works and what doesn't....

And, even though my diet is very simple now, it didn't need to be as simple when I first started out, so I wouldn't call the more complex period "a period of mistakes" at all.

People here have already posted good advice. =)

[GreenPrince]

Hey Rawkinlocs-great new pic!!Yes!

RAD = Raw American Diet. RAD = abbreviation of RADIANT, glowing... !

[VeryBerry]

Rawkinlocs,

Love the new picture! :)

[Shona]

Letting myself go too long without eating. I get really hungry and then I make bad choices.

I am getting better about this now. :)

[rande]

too many nuts, not enough greens. a common mistake i think, but fixing this made all the difference in the world!

[VibinOnLife!]

My biggest mistake...that I'm still trying to correct...is not shopping in the easiest and best way. I was so used to cooked, canned and frozen foods that I could tuck away for a while. I overshopped when I started raw and my fruits and veggies kept dying on me. Then I started shopping less and buying less at a time and ended up not having a suitable meal when I was hungry, so I'd eat cooked. I'm still trying to balance it out, but I'm getting better...especially now that I've discovered the green bags for veggies.

Oh, and also like Shona, going too long without eating.

[Missrawdiva]

Can any of you share what mistakes you made is you raw food diet and how you correted them.
At first I thought I had to have every super food that I read about in the first month.. and then I realized at the end of the month when I calculated what I had spent that I could not do that every month. I did not know that Whole Foods existed so I was ordering most of my stuff online.. spending a crazy amount of money just on shipping until I found out that I could go to whole foods about 30 minutes away and bypass the shipping cost. Also, at first I didn't do green smoothies.. and now I dont know how I went without them!

[Gosia]

Thinking that "I should eat raw" without noticing that "I prefer raw".

Gosia

[rawpriestess]

WOW, there are so many, and only so many hours in a day to respond to this thread. LOL

hummm, well, I suppose the biggest mistake I made was trying to eat just a little bit cooked, over and over and over and over and over again.

each time, I ate ANYTHING cooked, it would start me into a downward spiral of buyin eclairs and sitting in my bedroom eating them alone, taking hits of cream puffs in the back seat of a van parked in a dark alley, snorting........

well, you get the picture,

I've tried to go raw every way there is, cold turkey, %, transitoning, raw during the day, raw all week, one day to eat cooked, UGH, what works for me is to go raw, that is it, no holds bared, 100% raw, no worries, no cheats, no nothing but raw food.

otherwise, I slip back into cooked, and more cooked, and more cooked and yet even more cooked, until all I am eating is cooked, and each meal is my last supper. UGH!!!

eat raw, that's all I can do, and NEVER eat cooked again. one bite at a time.

[Indi]

My biggest mistake was after 6 months raw, deciding to be sociable and eat a baked potato (lovingly prepared by a friend.) It sent me on an instant binge!

That was 18 months ago. It took months to correct that mistake and one heck of a struggle! :eek:

[rawfigure]

eating too many Almonds ! I have corrected that now and it has made a big difference :) I have learned anything Raw in moderation.

[brwnrawgirl]

I put myself in too many tempting situations by constantly doing dinner with friends. I have to pace myself and realize it is not safe for me to be drinking and nibbling on salads as everyone around me digs into heavy duty SAD food.

[SkinniMinni]

Being too restrictive with Raw starting out, trying to limit my fat intake etc. Eating this way made it so I couldn't wait to get off this "diet" and eat things other than fruit and veggies. This time around I decided to eat raw and make things I enjoy like sauces for veggies, raw desserts, raw pizza etc. I don't have ANY desire for cooked food after one week at 100% this time, as I don't feel like I am missing anything.

I think at the start - just like Alissa says, just go raw! After a month or so, start looking at your intake of greens vs. fats etc. after transitioning off of cooked food.

[lodestar]

one big mistake was "trying to fit in" last February at a wedding dinner for my nephew. a dinner for me was expensive and prepaid for by my brother. i had a seat right next to my dad...well one dinner won't make a difference...and from then on out it was a slow steady stream of social situations and not wanting to feel isolated or singled out or bombarded with questions or appearing screwy.

well, the social aspect of raw eating is by far the most complicated. this weekend i have two functions...i am bringing salads to both...i will be fielding questions at both...i have this problem of not wanting to be a weirdo. my personality won't let me preach about raw...but at the same time i'm a real believer.

[lily]

Yep, i've made all major mistakes mentioned:

trying to be too strict -- definitely best to go the 'eat anything as long as it's raw; route;

having 'just a little cooked' especially to get through a difficult social occasion;

like lodestar, eating cooked because I didn't want to make a fuss

BUT, along the way, I've always, always, always gone back to raw AND I've also given up coffee, tea and salt -- things I thought I'd never do.

It's an ongoing, learning experience and a process of transformation on many levels...

lily

[juliebove]

When doing recipes I tend to make too much food. Sometimes it sounds like the recipe will make such a small amount, it doesn't seem worthwhile to take the time to make it. So I'll double or triple the recipe. But then sometimes the end result is so rich I can only eat a bite or two then I don't want any more. Like nut cheese. I wind up wasting a lot of food.

Sprouts are another thing I keep making too much of. I have to keep reminding myself that it only takes a small amount of seeds to make a large amount of sprouts. Even when I ordered the seeds, I ordered waaay too many.

Corn chips were a mistake. I tried a variety of recipes and all of them came out smelling and tasting horrid. It annoyed me to go to all the trouble of making them and cleaning out the dehydrator only to have something inedible.

Adding too many things to a dish. I seem to prefer really simple food with no dressings or sauces. For lunch today, I had three kinds of sprouts on a plate, accompanied by a nut mix I made. I ate each of these things separately. So while I like sprouts, I find that when I mix them into something, I don't like the finished dish. I've tried eating them on salad, making them into a salad or making hummus with sprouted chickpeas. I didn't like any of those things. Same thing for corn. I like corn cut off the cob. I've tried making salad with it by adding other things. I like that too, just not as much as I like the plain corn. I think I'd like it better to have a pile of corn, some cut up peppers and a sliced tomato, than to make it into a salad.

[rawyogi80]

Great thread. I'm learning alot still, but so far some mistakes,

Too many nuts (I think from craving something dry and dense)
Too many dried fruits (too dense in sugar, sending my blood sugar out of balance)
Just a bite of this healthy bread (sending me on a carb binge)
Social situations, where you 'just have a bite' (again, triggering..)
Eating SAD diet portions on RAW, bad!

All of these have pretty much been mentioned. I cut down the nuts, to just a handful a day (during lunch), also upped the greens! (I noticed you don't have the cravings, with all that green goodness inside you), Cut out dried fruits (condensed sugars do not do well with me), and learning to eat mindfully and in small portions (and gaining so much more energy!). Another modification I made was for evening meals, I just have fruit, and the difference has been amazing.
I still haven't figured out how to graciously say no in social situations and I'm constantly fielding questions. My friends think it's just a phase I'm going through, and my parents discouraged it because of lack of protein. But I think the best way to stay strong so far has been through all the research I've been doing (I'm now reading Raw Knowledge, and Achieving Great Health, both highly recommended, and it's amazing what a strong base of knowledge does to your level of dedication) and also through the online community. None of my friends are remotely close to raw or vegan!
Much more to learn though =)..

[Veganforlife]

Mistake? Not having gone raw years ago! But that's how we learn, by our mistakes...
Like John Lennon said, "There are no problems, only solutions."

[James Smith]

Rawyogi,

If you have fruit in the evening, when do you have the salad? What's your daily menu? I'm more interested in the times and the types of food, not the specific dishes.

Thanks.

[rawyogi80]

Hi James,

am- Lots of water, then about 20 min later Green smoothie
noon- Large salad usually with some raw nuts, tea
Pm- Fruit meal (mono meal if it's late)

I've experimented with alot of diff. times/types of eating, and this works best for me, once again it's so based on your indiv. needs. Fruit meal in the evening works so well, because I go to sleep with my digestion complete, and I wake up with so much more energy and need less sleep. My noon meal is the largest and when I need it the most during the day. I also try to fast once a week to cleanse my body, usually with veggie juices.

[VeryBerry]

Rawyogy,

I eat a little like that too. Luch had always been my biggest meal even before raw, when I eat lightly in the evening I sleep so much better and wake up more refreshed.

[Zuzu]

My biggest mistake was trying to be too strict too soon and ending up feeling like I couldn't do raw. I corrected it by following my OWN intuition and eating what feels good to ME and allowing myself more freedom.

Good advice~ ;)

[eve]

i'm glad for this thread because i've only been raw seven days and want to learn from the mistakes of others :p

actually, i found recently that i LOVE raw cashews. problem is, i read in alissa's book that we should "soak and sprout" nuts (otherwise we're not getting the nutrients anyway), and i assume these store-bought raw cashews weren't soaked or sprouted.

i hope i didn't do my body any damage ...

[James Smith]

I have a question re: salad at lunch, fruit for dinner. Isn't the fruit meal bigger? Fruit has all the calories. Or are you talking bigger by volume? Or are you eating so many vegetables that they have more calories than your fruit?

[James Smith]

You can soak the nuts yourself. I do it with almonds. I've also tried it with sunflower seeds, but what comes out is difficult to eat because they become too mushy.

[Sunshine9]

Many of the things mentioned above. I will also add

-Not exercising enough

-Thinking raw food is the answer to everything

-Not eating enough greens

-Trying to repress emotions that started to surface the longer I was raw, and using nuts & dried fruit to numb out

My experience is : Exercise is key to health. Raw food is not the cure to everything. Green juice is essential while our minerals even out. Be ready for the emotions because they will come up, and we will have to deal with them.

and finally...I find I have to always remind myself to

enjoy it. love it. be raw because you want to be raw. It isn't for everyone, and we're all very lucky to be able to go for it. find joy and gratitude. it's just food...

[Sharon in Colorado]

Don't know if they were mistakes as I really didn't know any better, and thought I was doing the right thing at the time, but I guess as I get wiser it's just common sense to me now.

1) Dehydrating sweet things too low so that they become fermented and bitter tasting. Now I crank that baby up to 130 or so for the first couple of hours to seal it, and then turn it down to 115.

2) Using olive and flax oils like there's no tomorrow, and thinking that it's a raw food item.

3) Putting almost everything under the sun in my smoothies, believing that it was somehow going to heal me of something. Wheat germ, oat bran, nutiritonal yeast, green powder, vitamin C powder, flax seed and/or meal, flax oil, lecithin, soy protein powder, etc. Now the smoothies I make are all fruit or fruit and greens, are affordable, taste better and don't weigh us down afterward.

4) Making full amounts of new recipes especially those that contain high priced ingredients, that take a week to produce, and not knowing how it will turn out. Sometimes I still do that, instead of halving it.

5) Throwing out dehydrated stuff that I get sick of instead of giving it to the dog for treats. I still forget to do that, too.

6) Believing that raw food alone will heal me. Not understanding that my body is doing the healing, not the food, along with other factors like activity, sun, fresh air, etc.

7) Believing that the "fun" foods like cacao nibs, olives, maca, etc. are essential - now understanding that they are foods to enjoy when I like to, but they are not conducive to health.

8) The belief that muscles are built during a work-out, when they really rebuild during rest and sleep. And that sleep is really essential in the healing process for detox and rebuilding.

9) Believing that my cholesterol will drop significantly eating anything as long as it's raw. I now know that I cannot just eat jars of almond butter and expect the results I want. I actually do have to have some discipline! :o

10) That more freedom in eating raw at the start is essential to get over that initial hurdle, after eating cooked food. But also knowing that after that initial period, getting out of habitual eating of non-fresh 'raw' foods is just as important.

[eve]

You can soak the nuts yourself. I do it with almonds. I've also tried it with sunflower seeds, but what comes out is difficult to eat because they become too mushy.

thanks james!

how long do i soak? do nuts sprout (if no, please let me know what sprouts and what doesn't - seeds, grains, etc.)? alissa's books says to soak daily and then pour the water out and leave them in the bowl with a paper towel covering them - does that mean the nuts should sit there completely dry (or do i just drain the water off, which inevitibly leaves some small moisture)? for how long?

as you can see ... this is all new to me. i've never sprouted anything before in my life! in the grocery store, i normally stay far away from sprouts because of my experience with alfalfa sprouts as a kid (they were gross to me).

thanks!

[swingbolder]

6) Believing that raw food alone will heal me. Not understanding that my body is doing the healing, not the food, along with other factors like activity, sun, fresh air, etc.

I completely agree.

[rawyogi80]

Hi James,

It's true that while many raw foodists advise that you eat fruit in the morning, I've found that the green smoothie in the morning works better for me. I also like having fruit in the evening since I love fruit, and it's like a treat at the end of the day. In regards to it being heavier than salad, I believe that fruit requires little to no digestive energy when eating alone, or even better just one type of fruit. I only eat small quantities as well. Eating fruit in the pm also satiates me from its natural sugars, and I don't crave anything sweet afterwards as I would after a salad meal. This way of eating, just works for my body, I think it's largely trial and error and some good guidance from fellow raw foodists and books.

[Ariannah]

WOW, there are so many, and only so many hours in a day to respond to this thread. LOL

hummm, well, I suppose the biggest mistake I made was trying to eat just a little bit cooked, over and over and over and over and over again.

each time, I ate ANYTHING cooked, it would start me into a downward spiral of buyin eclairs and sitting in my bedroom eating them alone, taking hits of cream puffs in the back seat of a van parked in a dark alley, snorting........

well, you get the picture,

I've tried to go raw every way there is, cold turkey, %, transitoning, raw during the day, raw all week, one day to eat cooked, UGH, what works for me is to go raw, that is it, no holds bared, 100% raw, no worries, no cheats, no nothing but raw food.

otherwise, I slip back into cooked, and more cooked, and more cooked and yet even more cooked, until all I am eating is cooked, and each meal is my last supper. UGH!!!

eat raw, that's all I can do, and NEVER eat cooked again. one bite at a time.

I hear you. I don't have long enough heels on my shoes to do slippery slopes.

[Ariannah]

one big mistake was "trying to fit in" last February at a wedding dinner for my nephew. a dinner for me was expensive and prepaid for by my brother. i had a seat right next to my dad...well one dinner won't make a difference...and from then on out it was a slow steady stream of social situations and not wanting to feel isolated or singled out or bombarded with questions or appearing screwy.

well, the social aspect of raw eating is by far the most complicated. this weekend i have two functions...i am bringing salads to both...i will be fielding questions at both...i have this problem of not wanting to be a weirdo. my personality won't let me preach about raw...but at the same time i'm a real believer.

Oh man, do I ever hear you! I hate being noticed at all in my difference. I have fewer social functions that involve eating, but my desire to just blend in with the woodwork got me in deep trouble. The cravings run so deep, and for me, getting past them is something I simply am having a hard time with.

[IamLoved]

My biggest mistake was forgetting how awful I felt and how bad I looked once I had been raw for a long time and thinking that since I felt so good (100% raw) then a little bit of SAD food would not hurt me. As many others have mentioned this is a very dangerous slippery slope and it has taken almost a year of struggling to get back up and start fresh. I highly recomend keeping a journal and recording how bad you feel when you eat cooked, the changes you are experiencing, ect. Also the first time around I did not take before/during/after pictures. I am taking those now. I think it is really important to have that picture to look back on. That way if you have lost say 30 pounds but still need to lose another 30 pounds and are discouraged you can look at that picture of you before and say, well I'm not where I want to be, but I'm not where I used to be either. I think this helps.

[VeryBerry]

Missionary mama,

I completely agree with you! I have been keeping a food dairy past few weeks. It is helps me fine tune my diet. I also take a note of how much I sleep, how I feel in the morning & how much I exercise. Its really helped me stop eating too much in the evening. I looked at the diary entries and I could see clearly that everytime I did this I woke up feeling tired.

[sungoddess]

I am still relatively new, and still learning from my mistakes. But I made the mistake of seriously overeating fat in the first 3 months, and not intaking enough greens. Just today I didn't eat enough greens, though i had some, and I just binged on dulse flakes.... weird huh? It was so clearly a nutrient/mineral need because I only wanted dulse. I am sure that if I had been keeping the green intake high, I wouldn't have gone nutso.

Also,
being too hard on myself
eating too fast and not taking time to enjoy my food (current struggle)
going too long without intense aerobic exercise
not sleeping enough

balance is nice.... :) meaning, not too much fat, or too much sugar