Slip's in life...

[Zuzu]

Do any of you find it hard to get back on track once you "fall off the wagon"? :rolleyes:

[tracyinfo]

I don't find it too hard. I find that I actually like raw food. I enjoy making smoothies with all different fruit/greens combinations. I also love salads (I always have).

After eating cooked food, I don't feel guilty, either. I also will try making some "gourmet" raw dish every couple of weeks. When I first started my raw lifestyle, I would make these gourmet type dishes like every other day. Now, just weekly or bi-weekly. That helps me.

Peace.

[vegankristen]

Can I tell you!!!.. I have had so many experiences with being extremely gung-ho about something and doing it intensely for a few months..then as soon as I slip once...that's it!.. the chain is broken and I end up being totally incapable of getting back on the wagon. Hence the fact that i've been attempting to go raw for about 2 years. Hopefully this story will help (I've been waiting to tell it) :

Recently, i've made a really great discovery. It turns out that, the more constraints you put on yourself, the more one part of you is dying to break free from them. I had been raw for about 3 weeks (vegan for 2 years), and one weekend, all i wanted was some Carob Peppermint Soy Delicious, and i was so angry that I just couldnt have it. I felt like i was playing along with someone else's rules. So, I decided that before I had a chance to combust and fall off the wagon for a third time, I would loosen the rules around my lifestyle to make room for the mistakes. I decided that I would go back to just being vegan , but definitely cut out sugar and wheat.

So, I went to the store to buy what I WANTED; the place is filled with vegan muffins, wraps, sandwiches, cakes, cookies and candies. They also have plenty of wheat-free items, like cookies and bagels, etc. Yet, when i had scored the whole store and was ready to check out, I realized that my basket was filled with fruits and veggies. The only things not raw was a carton of soy milk and a quart of the ice cream i had been craving.

Turns out that i was just fighting myself b/c of the pressure I had put on myself to stay raw. I never used the soy milk, but I did eat the soy ice cream to find out that it didnt taste as good as it used to. When i loosened the rules and let my body decide what i wanted, all of the processed food was simply unappetizing and I could feel how they would make me ache by just looking at them. For a beginner, the All or Nothing route could lead to major slip-ups...give yourself some leeway and you'll find that naturally, everything will fall into place.

Kristen!

[DotfromOz]

...It turns out that, the more constraints you put on yourself, the more one part of you is dying to break free from them. ... For a beginner, the All or Nothing route could lead to major slip-ups...give yourself some leeway and you'll find that naturally, everything will fall into place.


The rest of your posting is great, but what I've quoted above is truly right-on for me, a raw "newborn" at just over a week of 100%.

:p I honestly found myself fixating at one point over whether or not I wanted to use Bragg's LA's (which I've used only a couple of tablespoonfuls of so far) as someone had told me it's not entirely raw. Then, there was the "Is my ocean salt that says it contains lots of minerals and is not heated to extremely high temps as good as genuine Celtic Sea Salt?" worry. I finally decided that I definitely deserve leeway on things that might constitute around .5% of my food intake for a week!

I haven't messed up...as yet, knock wood...on being 100%, but if I do, I'll remember your excellent advice, VeganKristen, and hope I can be more forgiving of myself than I might otherwise have been.

[DotfromOz]

I just lifted this from a posting of Kristi's on another thread after she had been to one of the Boutenkos' seminars. Seemed to have a lot to say here, so here 'tis.


Victoria gave us each an index card. On one side we were told to write 3 reasons we want to be raw. i.e. to get off medicines, to have more energy, to be at a healthy weight......etc. on the other side she had us list 7 questions.

1. How long have you been on raw food?
2. How do you feel?
3. No, please tell me more about how you feel on raw foods.
4. Read the 3 main reasons you are on raw foods.
5. Are those goals still important to you?
6. Do you realize that eating this (whatever you are wanting that's non-raw) will jeapordize your efforts?
7. What's the alternative to eating that?

The idea is to 1. carry this card with you for whenever you are contemplating eating something non-raw. 2. Give this card to a trusted friend(s) and call this friend when you are about to go off raw. They will ask you these questions and engage you in a dialog that will make you stay raw.

Even though this is a "before the fall" sort of thing, I thought that the first 5 could help get a person back on the wagon as well.