concept of "listening" to one's body

[lalakis]

On this forum I have often seen people speak of "listening" to the body to get the nutrients you may need/be missing. I never understood until this past week!

It's different than CRAVING something, because I often associate a negative feeling to something like a craving.

For example this evening I was feeling very sluggish, so I tried asking myself what I wanted to eat, or if it was something I needed to eat to begin with. It was weird, I thought of the feeling after eating juicy fruit, or maybe a salad, and then nuts. I noticed I gravitated toward cashews. So I went to the grocery store and bought a small portion, probably ended up eating about 4 or 5 servings (about 100% of my fat needs! ha!) and I feel so much better. Almost rejuvenated!

It makes sense though; I dont keep nuts in my house and generally stay away from them because they usually end up being too taxing on my digestive system. In fact, I hardly ever get fat or protein from food sources anymore because I stick with vegetables and fruit since they make my stomach feel the lightest.

I think I need to add fat into my diet, but I really dont want to do it with nuts. Do you guys recommend avocado mainly for this? Or should I add oil into my diet through salad dressings?

On a side note, raw cashews are way too delicious to be able to eat just ONE serving! Who are they kidding?!?!

[Veganforlife]

Very cool! Don't you love when something comes together like that?
Hey, noticed you're from Balto. Have you been to The Yabba Pot? They're doing a 21 day challenge. Also, Skai (chef) is an awesome woman and prepares a wonderful raw menu. I posted a thread regarding the Yabba Pot. Here's the link:
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=27806&highlight=yabba+pot

WOW - you sure changed your avatar quick!!! WHOA!

[lalakis]

They are a raw saving grace for me....they ARE doing the 21 day challenge which is what inspired me to step my game up to 100% for the June challenge on this forum.

It's going so well, I feel like everything has "fallen into place" finally. The things that used to frustrate me just don't anymore. I feel like this sort of lifestyle is something that demands a lot of patience and time to work things out so that it sticks in the long run. I am SO HAPPY I am at this point after working through the things that do and don't work (I first became interested in raw foods in January of this year!)

But anyway, The Yabba Pot is wonderful. They are literally in walking distance from me. My boyfriend is fully supportive of me being raw and he often surprises me with food from The Yabba Pot when I'm at work....though he recently heard from an ex-employee that the oils/sauces they use on the supposedly raw dishes are not actually raw. I'm not sure if I feel like pursuing that rumor or just being content knowing that they have the most raw take-out/restaurant food I could ask for around here!

:rolleyes:

[Veganforlife]

Oh wow! I just ate there a couple weeks ago for the first time. Loved it! I live about 45 minutes to an hour (depending on traffic) from Balto. My son and his g/f live in Federal Hill.
As far as the ex-employee's statement. I wouldn't pursue it. I think Skai is up and up with everything. And really, how much oil does she use?
I explained who I was and she fixed me this wonderful raw plate fit for the gods with this awesome salad dressing. I loved it. Then she surprised me with a young thai coconut (which I didn't ask for) and THEN brought out a piece of raw cheezecake a friend of hers had made and asked ME to try it and let her know. It was very good. I felt good when I walked in there. And it was very busy on a Sunday afternoon.
Well, lucky you - enjoy your YP treats!

[FirstGarden]

"Listen to your body" basically means to listen to what it's telling you. Much like warning lights on a car's instrument panel, there are certain signs our body gives us. Nature has built in a measure of wisdom. A headache means that there's too much stress, toxins, etc. Time to back off or time to eat something. Or, my body is giving me signals that I'm clogged up and need to fast, or eat a lot more fruit & vegs. Or it's telling me that I need to stop fasting now. The signals can be very clear and distinct. I guess we often say "listen to your body" because we live in a world full of people who are not. :o

[PATH301]

Speak to me body - Speak to me - Hello are ya listening...LOL

When I get to hungry my hands will get really cold, especially if I've skip a meal do to work. I'll also get air build up in the form of burps if I get to hungry.
Sometimes my hands and feet will get cold - which means that I need to eat more kale, (dark green leafy plants). The same as before if I start getting any type of muscle cramps.
Of course when I get thirsty I'll crave just water or sometimes lemon squeezed in it.
I rarely, if ever get head aches - if I do drink a glass or 2 of water and I'm cool:cool:
But when it comes to my body saying hey "dude" go down to the store and buy some fruit or nuts - that never happens for me. I usually have to taste and see. Try some nuts if I like it I'll eat some more, if not I'll try something else like fruit or salad mixture until I find my crave.:D

[lalakis]

Oh you're so lucky! All this yabba pot talk is making me want to go there first thing tomorrow!

As far as the employee's comment, I didnt really take it seriously. So much information gets minconstrewed easily. I will continue to generously support that place. :)

Federal Hill is like 15-20 minutes from me, what area of maryland are you in? Im actually moving to Los Angeles this fall, where there are quite a few raw food restaurants (my fav being Juliano's), I cant wait. Plus, I wont be such a weirdo for being raw, since everyone there is ahead of the time as far as health is concerned. In baltimore, its one thing to be vegan (which most people can deal with, eventually) but RAW vegan?!?! It's really hard sometimes. Especially since I'm already really thin and have heard ED comments my entire life. I feel like In L.A., I wont hear so much of that anymore and I'll be free to be myself.

There is a place near Philly, called Arnold's Way, that I went to this past March while visiting a friend. They had everything! It was so awesome. We ate raw pizza with nut chez, nachos, brownies, fudge, basically everything I cant make myself yet! They sell flax bread and a lot of pre-made things to take home too.

I have yet to find another fully raw place that is closer than that :mad:

[FirstGarden]

Path - Your body will tell you if there's kryptonite nearby. :D

[PATH301]

FirstGarden,

Path - Your body will tell you if there's kryptonite nearby
Ya no doubt about that....LOL
I remember this one time I was fasting with misslinda, I didn't know that you had to slow down on your activities. Well I was doing some cardio by climbing a tree that day I got about 35' off the ground and BAM I had that kryptonite feeling and I just hung on for dear life, I thought for sure I was going to fell out of that tree:eek:

[FirstGarden]

FirstGarden,

Ya no doubt about that....LOL
I remember this one time I was fasting with misslinda, I didn't know that you had to slow down on your activities. Well I was doing some cardio by climbing a tree that day I got about 35' off the ground and BAM I had that kryptonite feeling and I just hung on for dear life, I thought for sure I was going to fell out of that tree:eek:

Yeah, when I was 20 years old, I was water fasting.. and after sitting I got up and "FFFFFFFFFFFFFLOP!" I fainted. First time in my life ever. I was real straight too by then. No drugs for many, many months. At that point in life, many months was heroic for me.. ol' hippie that I was. One must be careful when fasting. :cool:

[Morn]

Raw pastacious are yummy too! I like pinenuts too!

Yes avacaodos are great as well as chick peas (which can be made into hummus).

[PATH301]

Morn,

Raw pastacious are yummy too! I like pinenuts too!

Yes avacaodos are great as well as chick peas (which can be made into hummus). - your body tells you to eat these items? wow - that's cool!