Hi Everyone!

[Songflower]

I've been trying and trying to "stick" to eating raw, without much success. I did really well for awhile in December and was starting to feel great, then some emotional things took place and I haven't been able to get back in the groove again. I joined another rawfood community, thinking it would be supportive, but found I was out of my league and felt VERY out of place! I just didn't feel like I could really be myself there. I'm very shy initially, but once I get to know people am very friendly and outgoing...:D
I've heard wonderful things about this community and how supportive it is! I'd really like to make some new raw friends, as I live in a rural area in Kansas, where the concept of eating raw is about as common as pigs flying....;)
I have several health issues I'm dealing with, both mental and physical. I am sooo tired of being sick and tired! I'm not new to the concept of raw, as I first learned of it back in 1993 when I fighting a battle with liver disease and living foods helped to heal me. I haven't taken care of my body since then and now, at 37, am REALLY paying the price and am desperate for change! I'm going to be 38, April 10, and don't want wish to waste anymore time feeling bad and not living at my full potential! :)
Bare with me, I'm new to posting threads, (hee, I wasn't really sure how to do this one ;O) so I'm learning as I go along...
Thanks for listening :o

[veraleeveralee]

Hi Songflower!

I first started learning about and attempting to follow a vegan lifestyle when I was a graduate student in 1985! That first experiment for me lasted about 12 weeks, and my health benefited greatly. The regime I was trying to follow turned out to be too strict for me (eating only 2 meals a day, no snacks, rigid rules for combining foods).

It was 20 years before health problems forced me to try again. It's so hard for me to believe that it took me that long, because it seemed like eating only plant-based food had always been on my mind. I had gained almost 100 pounds in those 20 years and I was suffering from severe joint pain all over my body. I went to a renowned rheumatology department at a major medical school, but they couldn't diagnose me and wanted to give me some pretty serious drugs just to see if they would work. I refused to take them and tried vegan food again. That time I followed a plan with much more freedom, allowing myself to eat when and what I wanted, as long as it was completely vegan. I only managed to stick with it for about 6-8 weeks, but my joint pain completely went away and has never come back, despite my return to the SAD diet. I also stopped having hot flashes and lost most of my body odor; those two things came back a few weeks after I returned to sad.

Finally, two years after that and more desperate with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, severe depression, etc. etc. , I tried a high-raw diet for a few weeks and was shocked and amazed at the fast results. Nevertheless, between depression and anxiety and pure addiction, I didn't stick to it for very long at all.

Now I'm just starting the 30 day April challenge. I'm telling you all that to say that I think it's not unusual for it to take a few tries to really be determined to make this lifestyle change. Some people are wired a certain way or have certain structures of support in their lives and may do it all at once. Others of us take longer, and maybe multiple starts and stops, to make it. At least that is the way I'm looking at it. I'm 45, so 37 sounds like a lovely age to me! Actually 45 is a lovely age too.

When I read about the results people are having by eating food in its natural state, as close to the way God created it as possible, I am so encouraged. I want very much to lose all this weight I carry around-- wait--- no--- I saw the phrase "weight released" on GirlSmiley's signature, and when I e-mailed her about it she said that she got the idea from RawPriestess-- I LOVE this phrase! So I'm going to say I want to RELEASE all this excess fat that drags me down, together with the negative emotions and all the toxins that reside in that fat. But I don't want the release of the weight to be the main focus. I want to focus on nourishing my body and finding a way to live a whole life. The life I have been living is toxic in so many ways, emotionally and physically, that it's really a miracle I am even alive. This is what I think tonight at 2:40 A.M. EST: Whether we are 45, 37, 23, or 78 years old, this is the life we have been given, this is the body we have to live in/through, and what is it worth if we don't find our way to health and wholeness and celebration? I'm convinced that raw food is a major tool in the quest for wholeness, and I am so excited about starting this challenge. I intended to start today, but I didn't get the food bought until this evening, and I REFUSE to beat myself up about whether it's April 1 or 2 or any other fixed date. I'm starting NOW and if I give in to pressure and eat something unraw, well, then I REFUSE to consider it a defeat-- I am determined to simply continue to move toward health and wholness by nourishing myself with the healthiest food I can find.

Wow. I wonder if anyone actually read this far.

Oh, um, Welcome to the group. :D

[spicyfull]

I wish you everything you need to Stay RAW.....Welcome to MY World....

[Veganforlife]

Oh welcome! You have certainly come to the right place! First - purchase Alissa's book, then commit to a 30-day challenge. I mean really commit. And then see after 30-days if you don't feel on top of the world!
I have cured two major health issues by going raw. Migraines and a dead thyroid. I was at my wit's end. I too was sick of being sick.
Welcome again!!!

[punkspirit]

WELCOME!

and as far as I know this is really the nicest forum arround:D

[laurabfig]

WELCOME!

and as far as I know this is really the nicest forum arround:D

Ditto that!

It is truly the best place for support.

And with the internet, you can order a TON of supplies and raw food staples and have them delivered right to your door. So even living in a rural area, it can be done!

Best wishes!

[Songflower]

Hi Everyone!

Thanks so much for the warm welcome and words of encouragement! I was pretty vague in about my health issues and wanted to share a little bit more...Any words of support or suggestions are warmly welcomed...

I have been struggling with chronic, clinical depresssion for most of my life. It's been very isolating, as most people just think I'm lazy, it's all in my head, etc...Trust me I've heard it ALL! I know meds are not the answer for me, I've always known that. I've tried to "fight it" on my own, with lil' success. I'm the type of person who fools everyone into thinking I'm ok and apparently do such a good job, that people are always "shocked" to find anything is wrong with me..."Oh you're so pretty, you're smart, you have so much going for you, why should you be depressed, I don't have time to be depressed, etc." Yeah, but I'm miserable and have been for years now. I self-isolate as well and have suffered from social anxiety/anxiety for as long as I can remember....I haven't lived much of a life, because most of my life has been fear based. I have a long history of not maintaining relationships, because I don't think I'm good enough to be someone's friend. Funny thing is that I always make good friends, I just eventually back away from them, self-isolating, due to depression, telling myself that when my life is in a better place, I'll get in contact with them. A very lonely road and I've lost contact with so many wonderful people. The choices I've made, based on very, low self-esteem, have brought me to the point I am now...Living with my Mom, no job (afraid), no money, and virtually no friends. There is a long history of mental illness in my family and I'm SOOO tired of it! I don't want to struggle with this anymore, I want to know what it's like to feel good in the morning (and get up in the AM, that's always been a battle too) feel genuine happiness and not have stomach aches, allergies, headaches, constipation, and body aches...I want a famliy someday...(My biological clock is tick-tocking!)
I've struggled with stomach disorders most of my life as well. I had liver disease, which nearly killed me, but thankfully, I learned about "living foods" and it saved my life! So, I am very familiar with the concept of "raw" My problem is "sticking" to eating raw; and I haven't done so in the years since.

I have a life to live and I'm so ready to get out there and live it! I just need a little healthy support along the way. <3 One day at a time...I'm sorry to sound like such a downer, I am just at my wits end and so very tired of living in fear and not having a life...I know that living foods, commiting to living foods, will help to turn my life around...:)

Thank you once again for allowing me to bend your ears XO

[veraleeveralee]

Dear Songflower,

I can so relate to your story. Depression is such a painful condition that I always want to find the ONE element that will end it for good. Unfortunately I've come to the conclusion that it multi-faceted and requires attention to lots of factors. This is very hard to manage since that's one of the main symptoms of depression, inability to manage multiple things.

I know for me that food and exercise make a noticeable difference. There has also been a flurry of articles in the media about new research that shows our brain chemistry is much more affected by our interaction with other people than was previously known. So if there's any way to develop some new relationships or strengthen some existing ones while you are trying to improve your diet again, that might be worth the energy.

Mostly, I'm learning to try to be kind to myself. It is difficult, because no one can really understand what is happening if they haven't been through it, so sometimes it makes more sense to keep it to yourself. I find if I can stop beating myself up and try to love myself more, it helps.

Hopefully the support of this board will also give you a boost, though it can't take the place of people you see in person.