How has RAW been to you?

[prettybrowngrl]

Hi, all!
Havent posted in a while, but a newer member recently emailed me to ask how raw I am. She also wanted to know what motivates me and what advice i have, if any, to help her on her path to RAW. While I replied to her privately, I thought I would post here to share with others, as you more experienced raw fooders have shared with me. You have touched me, enlightened me, blessed me with priceless raw words of advice. I am thankful for this and I only hope to be able to pass this goodness onto newer members.

Please post here, how good has RAW been to you?
What have you been able to accomplish? (health-wise, habitually, ect)
What inspires you to continue on your RAW path?
Any words of encouragement or advice for newbies?
What is your mantra? ( if you have one)

[prettybrowngrl]

How has raw been good to you?:
I have only recently started raw and it is GOOD 2 ME! I am appreciating myself more, striving to be a better person daily.

What have you been able to accomplish?
I stopped eating meat. I stopped using table salt. instead, i use celtic sea salt. I stopped drinking tap water. instead, i drink pure filtered alkaline water. I stopped eating snack items. instead, I have fruit. I slowly began phasing out unhealthy things and replaced it with the better, vegan or organic item.
So far, that is my major accomplishment.

What inspires you to continue on your RAW path?
Knowing this is the best expression of love for myself.

Any words of encouragement or advice for newbies?
you are doing this for your benefit. Love yourself. be good to yourself, and do what makes you comfortable. seriously, try purging toxic things from your lifestyle and find a cleaner, greener alternative. You will realise how much good you are doing for your environment, your life, your body, your spirit, your soul.

What is your mantra? ( if you have one):
RAW is good for you. Nourish your body, nourish your spirit, nourish your soul. This is my mantra. works for me.:)

[vwinters]

I’ve lost 24 pounds in 14 days, reduced the swelling in my feet & caused my IBS to go into remission.

My mantra is “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo”.

While I’m new myself, my advice to other newbies would be, “if at first you don’t succeed, try try again.” Oh, and hang out at the raw food talk discussion forum to find support from a wonderful group of raw buddies.

http://yelims1.free.fr/Animaux/Animaux67.gif

http://www.ketoforum.de/diet-ticker/pic/weight_loss/11398/.png (http://www.diaet-ticker.de)

[Free Cannabis]

Hi,

I've been on a live food diet for about 6 years and after a few relapses into cooked foods over the first few winters I'm now pretty much totally raw. It's allowed me to break all addictions (although sweet fruits can still be a bit challenging to control the intake of sometimes) and go somw way at healing my dysfuntional brain. I think all humans have brain damage to a certain extent, after all cooked food is poison and in a young child will create hormone inbalances that create mutated DNA and a dysfunctional left brain. I feel that the food that has helped me most is Hemp - perfect nutrition.

Love and light Free

[Stina]

Hi,

I've been on a live food diet for about 6 years and after a few relapses into cooked foods over the first few winters I'm now pretty much totally raw. It's allowed me to break all addictions (although sweet fruits can still be a bit challenging to control the intake of sometimes) and go somw way at healing my dysfuntional brain. I think all humans have brain damage to a certain extent, after all cooked food is poison and in a young child will create hormone inbalances that create mutated DNA and a dysfunctional left brain. I feel that the food that has helped me most is Hemp - perfect nutrition.

Love and light Free

Why the left brain in particular? Very curious. Aware that my brain is not up to par and having faith Raw will heal it. thanks

[Beckla]

It's freed me of so many things. Sadness, guilt, size 16 pants, fights over nothing, anxiety, embarrassment. It's taught me so much. It's given me permission to smile big again. It's introduced me to new foods and tastes and a new hobby - uncooking!

[rawOrchid]

Raw doens't need amplifying... You can FEEL, SEE, TASTE, and EXPERIENCE the goodness of it in no time!

I've completely shifted my experiences, and mindset with the help of positive awareness, thoughts, love, and appreciation. I feel so much gratitude for everything I am learning, and becoming. The food is nourishing and there is no guilt!

I want to continue this way because once I got started on this path, I just want to run further and further, pursue all those dreams, become the person I am destined to be, and live with so much inspiration through higher enegy vibes that this lifestyle provides.

Anyone can talk about it, but to experience it, is really where the beauty and motivation come to life and you can thrive!

[soulstar]

How good has RAW been to you?

My food cravings are steadily disappearing. (one week with no dark chocolate! Hurray!)
I feel better when I wake up. I have more energy throughout the day.
No mucous in the morning. I can breathe better. I feel lighter.

I don't need or desire to buy denatured/processed foods anymore.
I have begun eating a larger variety of produce, particularly luscious fruits I normally wouldn't have eaten on a SAD diet. Later today I plan on having 2 persimmons blended up. They are simply delectable. :p



What inspires you to continue on your RAW path?

The support of being able to check in on this forum. :)
The way that I feel. Being able to Fit into my "thinner" clothing.
Looking forward to returning to my previous Raw Food diet inpsired weight.



Any words of encouragement or advice for newbies?

It is wonderful and optimal to go 100% raw when you start because you will feel so much better, from my experience, and more quickly.
But do not despair. If you can't seem to be able to stick to 100% just move in that direction, always increasing your raw food intake with time.
Don't give up, and visit raw food talk for support.
ALso, sign up for a 30 day 100% raw challenge on Raw food Talk and you will be able to exchange support along with many others.
Buy Alissa's Living on Live Foods Uncookbook and her DVD for new recipe inspiration!!!

What is your mantra? ( if you have one)
One day at a time.

Blessings,

Elena

[chilove]

Hi all,

Great thread! Here are my responses:

Please post here, how good has RAW been to you?
Going raw has been the start of an amazing transformation for me. I healed from several major chronic health problems including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, depression, panic attacks, obesity, chronic bladder infections, irritable bowel syndrome, and hormonal imbalances.

What have you been able to accomplish? (health-wise, habitually, ect)
I now have enough energy to live an exciting, fulfilling life. I work, go to college full time, have a raw coaching practice and still have enough energy to enjoy spending time with my partner and playing with my companion animals. I exercise and meditate regularly, two things I've always wanted to do but never felt good enough to. I feel a much deeper sense of spiritual connection to Source and all living beings.

What inspires you to continue on your RAW path?
The amazing health, mental, emotional and spiritual benefits that I've recieved from eating raw.


Any words of encouragement or advice for newbies?
Stick with it!!! You can do it!!! If I can overcome a junk food addiction, ANYONE can! The benefits are SOOOOOO worth it! Give it time, experiment with different approaches if you aren't getting the results you want. Don't give up!!


What is your mantra? ( if you have one)
Perfect mental, emotional, and physical health IS our birthright!!! We are not here to suffer, we are to be radiantly healthy and happy. Raw food enables us to be who we are really meant to be.

Blessings,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[mershwista]

Raw is extremely difficult and does NOT get easier as it goes along. There are many benefits, but you need an incredible amount of willpower and support. You probably will not practically be able to maintain a 100% raw diet....especially if you have a desire to keep your friends.

The thing that works best is to eat MOSTLY raw.

[prettybrowngrl]

Bumping......... Just bumping...:p

- and thanks guys, for you input so far. It is most appreciated. :)

[Tom]

Hi

I was nearly 100% raw for eight months. I lost too much weight and was becoming more prone to viruses. I had to give up raw and I was able to gain twenty pounds in three months. I feel healthier now but I still believe that we should all be at least 75% raw. I just don't believe most people can live on an all raw diet. I wish I could.

Tom

[mikeshafer]

I've been 100% raw for 25 days straight now and will be concluding my quest into the raw life on the end of the 30th day. I have gone from 212 lbs to this morning's weight of 187.2. That alone is INCREDIBLE for me, but I have not yet experienced a huge surge in energy that people talk about, nor have I cured my headaches (which was my real goal). I have self-diagnosed myself with chronic sinusitis (will be seeing a doctor next week) but was hoping that a raw diet would cure this pain I've suffered for six years now.

I'm enjoying losing 0.8 lbs/day but I feel overall weaker and less energized, and I still crave cooked foods. Even this morning I bought my girlfriend a bowl of hot chicken soup and I was so tempted to dive in, but I am going to hold out for another five days. I think in the future I will stick to more raw foods, such as raw breakfasts (love smoothies, haven't tried green lemonade yet but will when I get my juicer). I'll revert to eating cooked lunches, but have more fruits as snacks and probably keep most of my dinners raw or at least vegan.

That is, unless there's a huge benefit in the next week that I have not yet seen. People keep claiming all of this high energy, but I haven't felt it yet.

[mershwista]

Mike, I think it has a lot to do with each person's metabolic type. Some people's bodies respond better to carbs, others protein and others mixed. Those who experience the surge of energy from the raw diet are likely carb types.

[Morn]

Funny I ran across this thread today cause today officially marks the half year mark of being raw. I copied this list from my journal from day one to see how many things I wanted to accomplish on this diet that I have obtained already.

How has raw been good to you?:

Improved health
Better Relationship with God
More energy and not being tired all the time
Weightloss and drop in clothing sizes
Food addiction broken
Return of Self Esteem
Snoring gone
The ability to do physical exercise and not want to die
My husband being proud of me and attracted to me again
As I have taken off the weight, my heal spur hurts a lot less and my joints and knees don't hurt anymore
My digestive system is quicker & I am a lot more regular (mostly daily now) and before it could be up to a week to go.




What have you been able to accomplish?

More physically challenging workouts, sprouting, losing weight, etc.


What inspires you to continue on your RAW path?

To get into better health and to lose more weight. I would like to be around 130 pounds. If obtained, that would be a 100 pound weightloss for me.

Any words of encouragement or advice for newbies?

Yes, I think the key to raw eating is to eat lots of variety. Don't eat the same things everyday or you will be burned out. Also keep a well stocked pantry/refrigerator and a Lara Bar (or healthy snack of some kind) in you purse for those emergencies of when you can't get to healthy good food.

What is your mantra? ( if you have one):

I can do all things through Christ that gives me strength!

[mershwista]

Great job, Morn! It's inspiring to hear stories like yours.

One thing that raw has done for me that I ought mention that I didn't is that on mostly raw, I do not get menstrual cramps. When I am not eating mostly raw, I get the most awful menstrual cramps, and because I refuse to take any traditional medicine for them and can't always get a hold of black cohosh, I was often left unable to do anything but lie in one place for a large portion of at least one day of that time of the month. Sorry if that's TMI for the guys...I tried to spare the details.

But it's also easier to refrain from emotional eating, which I will admit is a struggle for me.

[Morn]

Thanks Mershwista! Yeah for some reason it is easier for me also not to run to food for emotional reasons now. I wonder why that is?

[mershwista]

I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that when we overeat, we are either punishing ourselves or escaping something. And to do something good for our bodies, eg eat healthily, we are not doing either of those. Also, things like refined sugar and fried things can be addictive.