How to get over the addiction to cooked

[LovingLife]

Okay, I know the obvious answer is to only eat raw, but I struggle with this day after day, week after week. The longest I've been all raw is 10 days and I keep going for it -- a day or two here, 1/2 day there (for over a year now). I've seen the tremendous health benefits of eating raw, yet I never seem to stick with it for the duration.

When I first heard Alissa say on her dvd that cooked food is addicting, I thought that was odd, silly, whatever. How could that be? But it's so true. I don't crave raw foods like I do cooked. I enjoy raw food as much, but it doesn't seem to always hit the spot like cooked does (dare I say "fill the void?" because I know that when I'm craving cooked, I'm craving comfort foods -- cooked grains, potatoes, etc.)

So this is what I'm wondering. How do I get myself to view raw eating mid-day when all the stresses like I do in the mornings or evenings when eating raw seems so simple and complete? What can I do to get myself from craving that cooked food addiction?

[Veganforlife]

Do you have Alissa's book? She does explain how to transition and what food will help with that. The more you eat raw - those cravings will go. Your body will detox and you will find you will be craving raw foods more.

[Stina]

:) For one thing, I read the book "Overcoming Overeating" and applied the principles to Raw eating. I've relapsed tons with cooked food, but I've just kept practicing being Raw. I starve the problem and feed the solution. If I could be one of those people committed to 100% pure all of the time, I absolutely would be, but for me it's a process. And I'm really getting there! For one thing, I keep reading more and more books on Raw lifestyle, that keeps me motivated. Having a Raw buddy to share meals with has helped. Examining the emotional issues that drives me to pick up unhealthy food is challenging and on-going but I wrangle with it. So, I'm doing a multi-facted approach. I let myself eat anything Raw, and find that I honestly do want that morning green smoothie. I experiment and play in the kitchen with Raw food. And I'm on this board non-stop to keep the Raw momentum going and seek and share support. don't give up!

[Damzlfly]

I find that the longer I go raw, the better I feel and that helps to curb the cravings. Sure I am still tempted, especially when I walk by a bakery and smell all the yummy cookies and bread etc. BUT I know if I go back, I will loose all this positivity, my nice flat tummy, my crazy energy, my feelings that I can conquer the world..to me its not worth it. Not even for one slip up.

B4 I was raw I was diagnosed with an enormous amount of food intolerances. Well every once in a while I would indulge in something I should not have (gluten mostly) with the mantra 'just this once, it wont hurt me' yet inevitably, it did...every stinking time. I learned the hard way (days of being doubled over in pain because 'just once wont hurt' It does. It will. It's not worth it.

[Solace]

I can only speak for whats worked for me... When your coming from eating cooked food your body is not clean yet and lacking many vit/mins in it. Thats (a big part of craving );) your bodies lack of things. I found taking a green supplement is the only thing that got rid of the cravings completely- and I cook for my family EVERYDAY and still no cravings. I know once my body is clean I will no long need supplements but for now if it means the difference between RAW and NOT. I will supplement.:D P.S. I was a big time wine drinker and pasta eater. ;)

[sweepea32]

I loved your quote-"I starve the problem and feed the solution."-AWESOME!!!

thanks,

Mary

[Eva]

What if you treated it like you would treat another addiction, such as smoking? I smoked at one time, and there were certain things I stuck by when I was quitting. At first, I had a really hard time because I would quit, then break down and have the one, and the one would lead to the whole thing all over again.

These are the things that finally helped me:

-When possible, I would respond to an urge with a walk or a few-minute "time out" from life. The walk would help me by getting all those happy things like seratonin and endorphins pulsing through my vein. The time out would consist of deep breathing exercises (you can't always just take a walk!).

-Eventually I looked at it as "stopping" doing something that was hurting me rather than "quitting" a habit. This helped me to get back on the wagon when I fell off the few times. I couldn't beat myself up enough.

-I kept reminders around that made me think of someone healthy or unhealthy. A goal would probably help too. Say if you have certain things that you know are caused by cooked food (joint pain, extra weight, lack of energy), you could have just a tiny little sheet to keep in your wallet of a PICTURE on each side that reminds you of those things in a visual way.

-I had actual goals, and when I reached them I did really special things for myself. Things that I might want to do but do not for whatever reason... like go to the movies, out to dinner, out for tea/coffee, to NYC or a city close enough to go for the weekend.

-I REMINDED MYSELF THAT I WANTED TO LIVE A LONG, HAPPY, HEALTHY LIFE. I REMINDED MYSELF THAT MY BODY IS NOT REPLACEABLE.

I hope this was helpful, or that you find something that works for you. You are worth it! We all need to remind ourselves of that! It's soooo true!

[punkspirit]

Eva, those tips are great!!!

I will keep them and think of them if i feel that I am getting off my way!!

Thank you very much...

[protea]

Solace,
Which green supplement do you use?

[flipinwild]

LovingLife, I can completely understand what your going through because I'm there myself but I have to admit that Damslfly brought out a great point about losing the positivity, energy, all that you work for to get there. A wise man once said "the shrewd one considers his steps". If you know where you've been, what you felt when you said no to that SAD food, let that be your motivation. I plan on starting the 30 day April challenge to get over that "10" day hump. Have you considered doing it, to challenge yourself? I will be rooting for you if you can root for me.:D

[LovingLife]

Thanks to all of you for your inspiration and tips. I do have Alissa's book, but haven't read the first 1/2 in awhile (mostly go back for the recipes now). So I'll have to see what she says about breaking those addictions.

I decided yesterday to have a few days starting out of just fruits to get my mind off of the other possibilities. This is what I did when I very first started back in 11/2005 and it got me focused well. Yesterday was a success and today will be too. I can't think much further than that or I get anxious that this event or that vacation will get me off track.

Thanks too for telling me about the April Challenge. I'll be there. I'll be scared and worried that I won't be able to make it through with travelling for Easter, but you'll help me through it, right? I'm also travelling to be on QVC either late April or May (long story) sometime and will fear my eating on that trip as well. But once again, I'll face that when it comes and you'll help me through, (right? :) )

I just have to figure out where the stumbling blocks are and erode them one by one. I know when I started I really battled the mentality I had on Friday afternoons. I have 6 children (5 in school) and I was in the habit of picking them up from school, thinking "Let's celebrate that it's the weekend!" and would go home and make cookies, or buy ice cream on the way home or something like that. I had to really work on letting go of that pattern, but it's now gone. I don't even think about Friday afternoons being any different eating wise than any other afternoon now. (Good thing -- today is Friday ;) )

But I have noticed this pattern sometime after lunch that I feel like I *need* some cooked starches to carry me through the day. I found yesterday that I was just fine without them and will continue to learn that day by day until that *need* is gone.

Then I'll figure out how to get over the travelling hurdle. I've succeeded while travelling before, but tend to do worse when I don't tell people about my raw eating. Sometimes I just don't want to tell everyone what I'm doing, so I eat a few cooked things so I don't stand out. Crazy, but true. So I'll have to get past that one too.

I did write in my last Christmas newsletter about the wonders that raw eating did for my health last year. So I guess the secret is out, huh? :rolleyes:

Anyway, thanks to you all again. I'll keep plugging along until it doesn't feel like plugging anymore. Then I'll soar.............

[Damzlfly]

I just have to figure out where the stumbling blocks are and erode them one by one. I know when I started I really battled the mentality I had on Friday afternoons. I have 6 children (5 in school) and I was in the habit of picking them up from school, thinking "Let's celebrate that it's the weekend!" and would go home and make cookies, or buy ice cream on the way home or something like that. I had to really work on letting go of that pattern, but it's now gone. I don't even think about Friday afternoons being any different eating wise than any other afternoon now. (Good thing -- today is Friday )

Well! Why don't you blend up some raw banana/coconut ice cream? Or strawberry banana, or plain ole vanilla?? For that matter, you can pmake cookies the night before with the kids, pop em in the dehydrator that night so they are ready when they come home from school? YAY its the weekend!! ;)

You don't have to get rid of all your old habits, just modify them a bit.

You can do it! I'm in the April challenge too, we will all be there to support you!

[tinystrawberry]

i struggle with the addiction of food also. I would very much so love to be 100% raw all the time, but i just can't do it ! I'm working on it though.

[LovingLife]

i struggle with the addiction of food also. I would very much so love to be 100% raw all the time, but i just can't do it ! I'm working on it though.


You're not alone -- I don't know how many times I started and restarted my 30 Day Journal on this site. I finally deleted it because I was so embarrassed that I couldn't make it through. Maybe I just need that more lively interaction of a Challenge though.

Damzlfly -- I will still celebrate with raw foods here and there, I just didn't want to get locked into a pattern of having to celebrate with foods so frequently. We do make a lot of smoothies and the kids seem to think that's fun too.

[Conscious Midwife]

So glad you are joining the April Challenge.

I've had a similiar year to yours and now I beleive I have the RAW MINDSET, plus a few extra kitchen tools that I needed to make the switch so much easier.

I've gotten very specific with what my goals are wih respect to RAW. The primary ones are to view food as a fuel source for my temple and for me to move past the wrong relationship/ idolatry issue that I created with food.

Eating is much like sex. Imagine that if there were no fulfillment in either. Folks might not be bothered with food and then starve thereby ending our existence or the human species would become extinct due to lack of reproduction.

So yes I want to enjoy my food yet I want to put my relationship to food in proper perspective. Food is nourishment 1st, enjoyable yes, but nourishment first, so i need to be SELECTIVE! The sole purpose of SEX is to sustain the species, however, along the way given the right partner (by SELECTION) and some 100% organic cotton sheets, SEX becomes amazingly fulfilling. The added bonus with SEX is that you don't even have to want to reproduce and it's still fun.
REMEMBER WE NEED NOT BE ADDICTED TO EITHER!!!

[Morn]

My suggestion that helps me is when I am weak I try to eat the most wonderful raw things (or favorite recipes) I like the most. Also keeping a big variety of fruits, nuts, and vegetables on hand is important so you can try new recipes that sound good to you. I know when I get low on stuff and nothing in the house looks appealing that is when I am in trouble. I also often look at cookbooks in my spare time to plan which new recipes appeal to me so when I have time I will make those first (also plan to buy the ingredients I will need ahead of time).

[LovingLife]

Thanks Ayesha and Morn -- I haven't been making as many recipes these past few months -- I've been relying on mono-foods, juicing and green smoothies. But I miss using the dehydrator, so I just went into the kitchen and started soaking some wheat berries to sprout. I came up with the tastiest fruit cracker last summer and lived on them (with wheat, flax, peaches, apples, and sometimes berries). I need to start making those again.

What are some of your favorite recipes? I was on such a "try new recipes" kick for awhile and really got discouraged when I didn't like any of Alissa's Italian dishes that I so looked forward to -- like the Calzone, Pizza, and Angel Hair Pasta. I think I need to perfect my marinara sauce because it didn't taste right (or good) in any of those. I think I could eat the zucchini pasta often if I did like the sauce.

[jerseygirl1969]

You say you have trouble mid-day. Are you packing your lunch when you go to work? I've found that it is easier to have all of my meals prepared the night before work and I prepare meals that are appealing to me. If you are not preparing foods for your lunch, then it may be more tempting to settle for those cooked foods in the cafeteria or to settle with the group who is ordering take out foods.
I also eat about 6 meals per day, so I am never hungary during the day.

The other thing is, are you preparing meals that are satisfying to you? When I first went raw, I had moved cross country with nothing but a suitcase full of clothes. I had no pots or pans to tempt myself to cook. I ate the basics, salads and stuff, for a few weeks while it took time for the vitamix and the food dehydrator to arrive. Then I made recipes from Kenney & MeIngailis' RAw food real life (sorry Alissa, I just found out about you). The recipes are fantastic, though they are time consuming. What I learned was that there is so much that you can do with raw foods, the variety is endless. I found that preparing the food was just like cooking, only I don't burn anything anymore and I don't have to scrape burned oils and stuff off of pots & pans. Later, I went to Juliano's book RAW. The recipes are more simplistic and less time consuming. But I still use both and am acquiring a number of recipe books for variety.
One last thing...Take all of your cooking utensils (pots, pans, grills, etc.) and donate them to the thrift store. If you don't have them, you can't use them. And eating out gets too expensive.
Hope this helps.
JG'69

[Raw Creator]

LovingLife,
Thanks for asking this question. You've manifested some great suggestions. My addiction to cooked has reared itself fiercely these past two weeks. I'm all set for the April challenge. In reading the responses to your initial post, I've been inspired and reminded that I am not alone on this journey to wellness.

Jump in and thrive,
Raw Creator

[LovingLife]

Raw Creator -- It helps me, too, to know that there are others still striving on the path to rawdom. And just knowing that this April challenge is around the corner has helped me a lot today when I've been making things for my daughters' party. Still raw! :)

JG69 -- I'm a stay-at-home-mom so I'm around my kitchen all the time which can be doable if I'm prepared and have plenty of raw options available to me. I have disposed of many cooking utensils, but have held on to some because my family (and dh) still desire some cooked. Their raw ratio has increased though. My oldest dd is 17 and I'd love for her to be raw, but she's so stuck in her habits that she's progressing slowly with it. She does see the tremendous benefits I get in alleviating my allergies and asthma though. She knows it works.

My youngest child is 4 and he's been diagnosed with wheat and dairy allergies, as well as has pretty severe asthma. We help each other, and even though he's not all raw, he is avoiding a lot of foods that are causing him problems and I'm trying to get him to enjoy more raw foods. He's mega-picky, but he'll drink my green smoothies, so that's a great benefit.

So I am surrounded by cooked foods, but I'm getting stronger in avoiding them. It's more my thought process that's a problem (lying to myself that this or that will be fine to eat) than the foods available (although I'm sure if it weren't around I'd be less tempted at times).

I'm really doing great right now though -- the end of day 2 and I'm feeling great. No detox symptoms except for getting tired and worn out last night a few hours before I usually go to bed.

I just know I have to change my thoughts on being in this for the long-haul. I've developed this pattern of viewing it as temporary and that's hindered me. But I'm working on that.

Oh, the last thing I wanted to say (I've been thinking of this all afternoon) is even though the health benefits (and there are many) are my biggest boost from eating raw, I think the best mental benefit is just feeling in control of my eating and in control of my life. Nothing cooked can compare to the value of being in control!!

[Morn]

Thanks Ayesha and Morn -- I haven't been making as many recipes these past few months -- I've been relying on mono-foods, juicing and green smoothies. But I miss using the dehydrator, so I just went into the kitchen and started soaking some wheat berries to sprout. I came up with the tastiest fruit cracker last summer and lived on them (with wheat, flax, peaches, apples, and sometimes berries). I need to start making those again.

What are some of your favorite recipes?

Well everyone's tastes are different but I love making raw grawnola with nuts, apples, raisens, oat groats, cinnamon, honey.
I like the refried bean recipe that is on this site (very filling)
Loved the Raw cheesecake recipe that was on this site as well as RP's brownies with the storebought frosting recipe
Vegtable sushi (or nori rolls)
Blueberry pie out of Alissa's book
I liked Alissa's Marina sauce recipe (I know there are 2 in the book so I don't know which one you tried). I will say however, once I made it and it was incredible and the second time I made it, it wasn't that good, the third time I made it, it was wonderful. All I can contribute is I think that I used different sundried tomatoes, and different kinds of tomatoes each time. You know how sometimes you get good tasting produce and sometimes not so good. Maybe that is what happened to you.

Good luck! Those crackers you made sound wonderful!

[KatK]

Green smoothies have really helped me curb craving cooked food. I have more energy since starting to drink them, too.

[Conscious Midwife]

So glad you are joining the April Challenge.

I've had a similiar year to yours and now I beleive I have the RAW MINDSET, plus a few extra kitchen tools that I needed to make the switch so much easier.

I've gotten very specific with what my goals are wih respect to RAW. The primary ones are to view food as a fuel source for my temple and for me to move past the wrong relationship/ idolatry issue that I created with food.

Eating is much like sex. Imagine that if there were no fulfillment in either. Folks might not be bothered with food and then starve thereby ending our existence or the human species would become extinct due to lack of reproduction.

So yes I want to enjoy my food yet I want to put my relationship to food in proper perspective. Food is nourishment 1st, enjoyable yes, but nourishment first, so i need to be SELECTIVE! The sole purpose of SEX is to sustain the species, however, along the way given the right partner (by SELECTION) and some 100% organic cotton sheets, SEX becomes amazingly fulfilling. The added bonus with SEX is that you don't even have to want to reproduce and it's still fun.
REMEMBER WE NEED NOT BE ADDICTED TO EITHER!!!


HMMMMM STILL WORKING THROUGH THIS A YEAR LATER:eek:

[RawSinger]

I'm currently about 90% raw. Of course we all know that 100% raw is the healthiest way to go and I support everyone who maintains that and I support everything that Alissa and this website advocates. I know many might get mad at me for saying this but ultimately, you have to do what's best for you. I know that the greater percentage of raw food in your diet, the better, but I'm not ready to give up all cooked food right now. I allow myself two cooked meals a week and I don't beat myself up about it because that's tiresome and pointless. I may get to 100% eventually but for now, I allow myself a little wiggle room until I'm ready to give up cooked food completely. The way I see it, it's better to be 90% raw consistently, than to be 100% some weeks, 60% other weeks, then 40% for a few days.

[RawHeaven]

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[RawSinger]

Crystalzgoneraw-

I respect your point of you but I don't see myself as addicted to cooked food. When I first became involved with raw food I was 100% raw for 3 weeks straight. I then decided that I didn't want to give up cooked food entirely. I knew I was capable of it because I did it for 3 weeks but I didn't want to. Any addict is capable at any time of giving up there drug but if they don't want to then they will never succeed. This is just my personal opinion.

[shakti17]

I think some people may be addicts and some not.

am so glad this thread has been re-posted again, i first read it last night, and i do not think it "coincidence" that i just turned on my computer and it was at the top of "new posts"

i am an addict. when i was a kid i was addicted to chewing gum....in my twenties i was a pothead and drank alcoholically (all while eating very high raw - ha!:o )

i am definately addicted to cooked foods. if i keep anything cooked in my house i will eat it. this morning i have been eating ezekiel bread and ghee (yum) instead of the fruits and veggies i have.

what's up with that? especially because i intended to have a full raw day. i put the bread in the freezer last night, but i took it out this morning! i need to keep no cooked food in the house, which i often do.

anyway, i just think some people are addicts!

maybe we need to start a cooked food anonymous thread!

i tell myself i am ok with the cooked i eat, because it is "healthy" cooked, and i do eat a lot of raw - heck i TEACH raw food prep as my job! but the truth is, i have really struggled to give up that bit of cooked.

it comes down to - just accept you eat some cooked and it s ok, like you rawgirlfm,

or make a decision to go all raw and do it!

my problem is - each day i tell myself - i will eat only raw today - and every day break it - and that causes some turmoil inside me which is blocking my manifestations etc

i could go on and on.....

[oceanee]

Retraining the mind is not easy . For years we have been told so many incorrect food details.To retrain it takes concentration, daily mantras,support through Raw talk and so much more. I know I am a cooked food addict and have been on the raw journey since July. The longest I have made it is 1 1/2 month at 99% raw. I felt amazing, healthy,happy,in control, positive and in tune in such a calm balanced way. I was telling myself every day I was an addict and NO when I had something tempting come along. I also stayed away from situations I thought perhaps I could not handle. Then I made a small slip, the stress of work over came and now I am 50 % raw as I aim to get back full swing. I do not do well with leeway....I need clear cut lines for if there is a vague line I will abuse it eventually. I realize I keep testing myself and know I am meant to continue learning until I get it . I keep a book, a journal with a long list of my personal reasons to be raw....to beat the addiction, to be healthy, to fight cancer., to be free of depression, to have loose jeans again....etc etc ! It is all personal for each one of us. I also feel as time goes on I beat myself up less and that is huge. This site is a great means of ideas, support, strength and nonjudgment.
We all share a common goal and we will together make it!
Oceanee