Why is it so hard........................................

[razza]

Hi everyone;
I have not been raw at all. I hate to say this, but I am sooo addicted to cooked and junk food it is so hard to keep my mind focused. I seem to talk myself out of raw. Has anyone experienced this? If so how did you deal with it.
While I talk myself out of raw, I think of "Atkins: because it helps PCOS, then I think of weight watchers or a Mediterranean diet. I really feel hopeless and sadden that I cannot complete one day raw. My will power and self worth has just gone down. I have a big stomach and it just keeps getting bigger.

My menses are so out of wack; I now have it continually. Doctors are not kind and tell me to " Just lose weight". Yeah , if only it was that easy.

You know..I am not a stupid person! I have a college education. I read about the dangers of the American diet all the time. I read how maldistributed the world food is; but I still keep going back to the junk that is killing thousands of people a day. it looks so good in its pretty package or pretty commercial add or now they even have junk food adds on the net :eek:
Why do I fall for this?

Any help, tips or kind words would be greatly appreciated!

[razza]

I originally wrote that post for "Jammin' Juicy Jumpin' June Journey <30 Day Raw Food Challenge"

But I didn't want to interrupt you with my whining.. :(

[Dimond]

I personally think it's way too hard to jump from junk food to raw. I think becoming gradually healthier over time is more of a guarantee you will stick to eating healthy long-term. Years ago I started out by giving up soda. Then I moved on to finding healthier alternative snacks, alternative dairy products, etc. By the time I was exploring raw, I already was use to eating a lot of organic & vegan foods so it was very easy to become raw.

Don't beat yourself up over it. You can also do gradual things, like take one week or one month where you eliminate something until you get use to it. It's also good to make sure your home only has healthy foods and good raw substitutes for when you have cravings. As for losing weight, eating several small meals a day is quite helpful (even without changing your diet). Eliminating yeast products & dairy, even more so.

[Rawkinlocs]

Hey razza,

Yeah, it can be hard because cooked food (especially cooked junk food) is VERY addicting! They deliberately put stuff in it to make it that way (MSG, etc.)...and yes, you're right in that it's EVERYWHERE...subliminal messages in commercials, internet, bill boards, etc.

Do you live with cooked-eaters? If not, I'd suggest just getting rid of any and all tempting foods. If so, then yeah, it's tough. But yeah, as Gilmoregirl said, you can try gradually adding raw into your diet. Maybe even buy/make all your favorite raw foods and then think of a few more "healthy" cooked foods you like and "allow" yourself those items but nothing else - all else raw. I don't know if you're disciplined enough to do that (I know I'M not) but if you can, that's an option and then when you're ready, you can let those "allowed" items go.

Otherwise, again, just eat raw...as much raw as you can...every single day. The more of it you eat, the more you may find cooked foods unappealing and you end up dropping them off with not as much stress and effort.

But many of us struggled/struggle with the very same thing as you - if you read any of the books you'll find that a lot of the raw "gurus" went through the same thing - eating raw and then slipping back into the clutches of cooked food, feeling awful because of it and then finding their way back to raw. Eventually, it gets easier and you WILL have your all raw day. But don't get down on yourself, just keep on pressin on and making an effort each day...take it one day at a time and another thing...don't be like me when you DO eat something cooked and feel like, "Oh well, I already screwed up and ate ________ so I might as well eat _________ and ___________." It's best IF YOU CAN to, after you eat something cooked, IMMEDIATELY eat something raw or drink a green smoothie. I don't know if it's psychological or what, but I've found that when I do that, it kinda puts me back on track and gets the "cooked food taste" out of my mouth so I don't end up eating something else cooked right behind the first item. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But try it...might do the trick for ya! ;)

So, don't beat yourself up, just keep on keepin' on...pick up and dust off and all that good stuff!

[misslinda]

Make it realistic.


If you are eating cooked, so be it. Just add raw to it and keep doing it. For example, if you're having cooked pizza, have a nice beautiful colorful salad with it!!! Don't focus on what you can't eat.....FOCUS on what you can add to your eating and let it self balance.

Too many of us have been there....by golly, I started in 2004 and I was already naturally high raw but I had the hardest time letting go of my soy products! I felt like my the end of the world was taking place and life would never be the same.....:rolleyes:

Once your mouth,salivary glands and stomach become familar with its taste,texture and enzymes, you will naturally gravitate towards it. Your tongue will shun the hight salt and flavors......

Dont' be discouraged if not overnight 100&#37; or 80%.....sometimes in the heart of matter, we put too much pressure on ourselves and can never take the first step. Like Revvell always says here "PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD" Alissa always reminded us "RAW should be FUN."

So how will you make RAW fun and playful for you Razza?


;)

[Chickadee]

*Hugs razza* :)

You can do it. You can go raw.

How about starting with smaller goals and taking one day at a time? For example, start with breakfast. Have a raw breakfast...perhaps a green smoothie (my current favorite is banana, mixed frozen berries, and baby spinach). And then go ahead and eat SAD the rest of the day, without feeling guilty or bad. I mean consider that by having that raw breakfast you have greatly improved upon you regular diet already, it's a big step toward your ultimate goal of good health and happy life, and any raw food you consume during your day is a blessing to your body.

After a week or two of having raw breakfasts, add in raw lunch, or if that's too big a step add in raw snacks.

It's important not to carry around guilt, because it makes it so much easier to slide back to the junk for comfort.

I just have to say it again...ANY raw food you consume during your day (even if it's just replacing your snacks with fruit) is a blessing to your health and body. So instead of counting up how much SAD food you've consumed and feeling bad about it, just count up all the raw you've eaten, and say to yourself "wow, look how much I've done to benefit my health today". And know that it's the truth. ;)

[lyris]

One book that could help is 12 Steps to Raw Food by Victoria Boutenko. It explains some interesting factors like opiates in meat, bread, and cheese and has a chapter for each one of the steps for getting over cooked foods! Try it out, she's a great writer.

[livingatthetop]

This is what I have found being that I was off and on raw since 2003.

First off for me it is not realistic any more to be 100 percent.

I do follow an all vegan lifestyle.

That is what makes me happy I eat 50 percent of my meals cooked. However I eat things like a person would if they were transitioning into the raw lifestyle.

I mix it in.
Like foods such as Salmon Pate with whole wheat Pita bread

Or I have my smoothies with Soy yogurt.

Also I take out one day a week and eat completely aw.

I feel that it works well for me.

Waves to all my RFT friends hugs and kisses

[misslinda]

LATT (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)



!&*(@&%$&*(*&*_*_$###



WHat happened to you and how is your biz venture going lady?;)

[misslinda]

This is what I have found being that I was off and on raw since 2003.

First off for me it is not realistic any more to be 100 percent.

I do follow an all vegan lifestyle.

That is what makes me happy I eat 50 percent of my meals cooked. However I eat things like a person would if they were transitioning into the raw lifestyle.

I mix it in.
Like foods such as Salmon Pate with whole wheat Pita bread

Or I have my smoothies with Soy yogurt.

Also I take out one day a week and eat completely aw.

I feel that it works well for me.

Waves to all my RFT friends hugs and kisses

I agree, everyone has to find there place of reality and from there, go up a notch. I started 2004 and it took about a year with some some struggles and nailed it in begining of 2006 to accept RAW. The journey is the RAW lifestyle!!!!!:)

[lisanatoli]

Hi Razza!!!

The question should not be "why is it so hard" but rather WHAT CAN I DO STARTING NOW?

I know that I have spent many days/weeks trying to figure out my own past insane behavior, and that is just a waste of time. The best thing to do is CLEAN THE SLATE, FORGIVE YOURSELF, and LET THIS BE THE NEW BEGINNING!!

i see you have started a blog! that's fantastic. I think rather than try to figure out why it's so hard, I think you just make a decision to do ... this ... are you ready ...

30-DAY CHALLENGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D :D :D

You can let tomorrow be your DAY 1. Forget about how hard it was in the past. The past is gone. Today is a new day. Now Raw is easy!

i'm going to subscribe to your blog and we can inspire each other.

This is the NEW BEGINNING of our super-sexy new healthy lives!!! :D

[Veganforlife]

Hey there! What rawkinlocs said, if you live with cooked food eaters, that is going to make it harder, but if not, get rid of the SAD/CRAP foods. I also agree that a 30-day challenge would be ideal! Make that commitment, agree to do it with a buddy, and stick to it. Set a goal. A thirty day goal. And yes, Victoria Boutenko's book - the 12 steps, is great!
You already know how much better it is for you, the next step is actually doing it. You CAN do this.
Addictions are hard to break.
One thing that helped me with my one and only craving (chocolate) is green smoothies. They really do work. They are miracle drinks that fill you up, are already broken down so your body assimilates them quicker and they DO taste good and DO take away the cravings. Just ask the folks here that have started drinking them!
Good luck with this raw journey. You CAN do it.

[Shirleyh]

Try to do the best you can. I know for me, I like salty foods so I always have pickles or sauerkraut around, and mustard. Find a good health food store.
Getting some good recipes help to stay raw.

Always keep bananas around. If you have a food processor, you can freeze bananas in a plastic container for ice cream.
Spirulina helps with diseases.
Learn to make smoothies or just shake spirulina in a bottle with water.
There are a few herbs that help with diseases.
Dont be perfect. Just enjoy it.

[Mary]

Razza,

As someone who is also struggling with this right now, the strategy I'm taking is to try to eat raw for breakfast, lunch and the beginning of dinner, filling up on the raw foods first... if I'm hungry after that, I'll allow myself the cooked food, but not until I've eaten mostly raw the whole day. Increase your raw intake as much as you can as you make the transition. Not everyone can go "cold turkey" off of cooked food. You'll find that eventually, your taste buds will change and you won't crave the cooked stuff as much. Be gentle with yourself and take it one day at a time... that's what I'm doing! Hang in there! :)

Mary

[Stina]

One book that could help is 12 Steps to Raw Food by Victoria Boutenko. It explains some interesting factors like opiates in meat, bread, and cheese and has a chapter for each one of the steps for getting over cooked foods! Try it out, she's a great writer.

Hi- I asked the library to buy that book and I'm patiently waiting for it to be processed for me to get my grubby little Raw paws on it. I've had such an issue with bingeing on cheese in particular, I actually thought of posting a thread about it, wondering what it is that makes cheese taste so grossly delicious when it makes me feel so ill. Thanks for sharing that tidbit of info.

[Stina]

And just don't give up....keep reading and researching. Keep hanging out here with us. Keep trying new recipes. I reread Alissa's book on a regular basis!

[PATH301]

Yep....nobody here is perfect. I prefer high raw just coz it's easier, But I've fallin off the wagon as well. Just like many here have suggested take it one day at a time. When I first started I had a great idea given to me by Rawtruth, she suggested that I get 3 x 5 memory cards and put down easy to make recipes until you get to the point where you've memorize a couple of them. Just take your time and don't put so much pressure on yourself. Plus you've got alot of people here willing to help you out:)

[145ish]

If you think your addicted to junk/fast food. Rent the DVD called "Super Size Me" It's about the addiction cycle of fast food. It does an actual 30 day minute by minute of a man that eats nothing but fast food for a month. The weight that he gains during that 1 month took him 13 months to get rid of!! The DVD may open your eyes and help you to eat more healthy.

[razza]

Hi Razza!!!

The question should not be "why is it so hard" but rather WHAT CAN I DO STARTING NOW?

I know that I have spent many days/weeks trying to figure out my own past insane behavior, and that is just a waste of time. The best thing to do is CLEAN THE SLATE, FORGIVE YOURSELF, and LET THIS BE THE NEW BEGINNING!!

i see you have started a blog! that's fantastic. I think rather than try to figure out why it's so hard, I think you just make a decision to do ... this ... are you ready ...

30-DAY CHALLENGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D :D :D

You can let tomorrow be your DAY 1. Forget about how hard it was in the past. The past is gone. Today is a new day. Now Raw is easy!

i'm going to subscribe to your blog and we can inspire each other.

This is the NEW BEGINNING of our super-sexy new healthy lives!!! :D


Thats very sweet of you to do that for me!

[barose]

It took me several years to transfer to a raw food diet. THough I didnt have a raw vegan diet in mind (havent considered it until about two months ago!) I had been slowly getting junk out of my diet.

5 years ago - fast food
4 years ago - all other forms or processed food and refined sugar
3 years ago - HFCS, MSG
2 years ago - dairy, soy, gluten, more processed foods
1 year ago - added more veggies and fruit, (50% raw) added more good fat stopped eating pork, stopped eating breads, and pastas (even gluten free)
Now - 100% raw vegan.

I doubt I would have went from eating pizza one day to raw vegan the next. You dont have to take as long as I did, but maybe set small goals every one to two months.

[Frecs]

Why is it so hard? Because we are food addicts but unlike alcoholics, we can't obstain from food.

Why is it so hard? Because food is our friend, our lover, our comforter.

Why is it so hard? Because being fat is a shield to protect us from having to actually live our life--without the fat, we might actually be able to do all the things we've always dreamed of doing and that IS SCARY AS @$%&.

Why is it so hard? Because we've been dysfunctional eaters for so long that learning a new way to relate to and eat food is a major project.

I see a number of people have encouraged you to take it a step at a time...gradually build up to 100%. That may be good advise but it is not the advise I'm going to give you. If you had your hand in a fire and was getting burned, I wouldn't calmly suggest that you gradually move your hand away from the fire. I truly believe that the best way to break your food addiction is to break your food addiction -- 100% right now.

First, clean out the crap...I mean cooked/processed food from you house.
Second, stop looking at food ads...flip the channel...and speak an affirmation to yourself...go for a walk if you can't trust yourself to not raid the refrigerator/pantry.
Third, make a list of the things you always wanted to do that being fat has kept you from doing. Make a plan to start living those dreams. When you are tempted to eat SAD, refocus off the food and onto the dreams you are working toward.
Fourth, accountability. Make yourself accountable to someone. Being part of the challenge is one way to do that but even more, you need at least one person that you will allow to hold you accountable for what you eat and for working toward to life goals. You are not allowed to lie to this person about what you eat....

Can you succeed? Sure. If you want it...I mean REALLY WANT IT and are willing to do the hard work to make it happen. This isn't one of those infomericals that promise you can eat whatever you want and take a pill and all your dreams will come true. NOPE. You will have to work hard, hold tight through the cravings and temptations, and decide that feeling GOOD and LIVING is much tastier than SAD ever could be.

[SchoolOfRAWk]

Atkins is deadly, and not good for anything, health-wise. It is anti-health. The China Study is a great book to read, too.

I would also suggest 12 Steps To Raw Foods.

Also, I am getting back on raw after a bit of junk cooked. It IS hard. We train our bodies quickly. That can work FOR us, too! :-) Have a fridge stuffed with tasty raw so you can wake up and start eating. NEVER allow hunger pangs to set in. You'll feel less addicted very soon. Smoothies and avocados, you name it. Just start when you wake up. I'd be ravenous right now, today, and unable to think straight or eat raw, but I drank a DELICIOUS smoothie this morning, a quart, and brought fruit to work with me. So good! I'm in control now, and will make tuna salad for nori rolls tonight. Cannot wait!

[xinmywayx]

It is HARD, I agree. But I don't think it is just eating raw food that is the hard part, it is all the food I am not eating that makes it hard! I feel like eating salads and green smoothies would be a piece of cake if I was able to follow them with cake!

[barose]

Have a fridge stuffed with tasty raw so you can wake up and start eating. NEVER allow hunger pangs to set in. You'll feel less addicted very soon. Smoothies and avocados, you name it. Just start when you wake up. I'd be ravenous right now, today, and unable to think straight or eat raw, but I drank a DELICIOUS smoothie this morning, a quart, and brought fruit to work with me. So good! I'm in control now, and will make tuna salad for nori rolls tonight. Cannot wait!


That is key (everything you wrote!). I only got cooked food cravings when I was hungry. After I had fruit, a salad or made some yummy recipe, I was like "chicken who??"

[English Tracy]

It is hard to change bad eating habits acquired over many years.

One of the main problems for me is not being very organised and not having enough raw foods handy when I get the munchies. Alissa says in her book to prepare lots of food in the beginning or at least have things like fruit handy.

I had a good day yesterday until about 5 pm and then I was scouring the kitchen looking for something 'naughty' to eat!! I had to make a real effort to do that as I'm currently recovering from a foot operation and can barely walk!!!!

One thing I've learned is not to beat myself up over my 'falling off the raw path'. I do my best and I'm certainly much better than I was in that respect.

Tracy

[livingatthetop]

Everthing is going great.I overwhlemed myself a little however I am taking one thing as it comes.I had to get a job just to finance everything I am doing .However it is fun and exciting I can't wait to unvail everthing to you guys.Thanks for the support.

Sincerely Shernell