long term raw?

[3boymom]

Ii am wondering: I have had two friends be raw for a while, lose a lot of weight and then gain the weight right back and quickly, as soon as they stopped their raw journey. Are the benefits of raw foods only available at the 100% level? It seems almost impossible to maintain 100% raw 100% of the taime and my sanity in the world. I am looking for concrete experiences and feedback, please

[Rawkinlocs]

When you say they "stopped their raw journey", just how far back did they go into their old eating habits? Did they perhaps stop eating 100% raw but decided to incorporate some healthy cooked foods or did they go all out and just go back to eating high fat, greasy, fried foods or did they start eating lots of bread, lots of starch (potatoes and rice), junk food, etc. or perhaps dairy products?

If the latter, then that would explain why they gained it back. I know that our forum here is for the support of being raw and that Alissa recommends 100% raw, but I can tell you that I am not 100% raw 100% of the time. Sometimes I do eat cooked foods BUT, I make sure that I eat more RAW than cooked and more OFTEN than cooked (in other words, I'm mainly raw, with the occasional cooked thing). With that, I have NOT gained my weight back. However, during a period when my raw journey took a little detour once and I started eating the MAJORITY cooked food with small amounts of raw here and there and eating my old ways rather than eating more healthier choices, yes, I did gain my weight back.

So, I think it really depends.

But eating all raw, all of the time is possible but it's understandable that not everyone can nor will do this. It has to be IN you to do so. I've found this out. You have to set your own boundaries and goals that are right for you. Some do very, very well being 100% raw at all times and some do not. But whatever you decide, we're here to support you in whatever the raw portion of your diet is! :)

[lavendarJ]

I am a rookie in this journey but here's my two cents. I am first wondering what you define as raw. I have met some people who say they are raw but eat things that I personally don't ..I now make it clear that I am a raw vegan (some people do raw meat and other things but I choose not to)... these are the questions that come to mind when reading your post:

what does a typical raw day consist of for your friends?
how were their eating habits before?
what is the purpose of them eating raw- what are their motives?
why did they stop eating raw?
in what ways did their eating habits change when they stopped (what did they start eating)?

This is just my opinion. I think that embracing this lifestyle is very much different from using it as a dietary purpose. I have some friends who have seen me and and now want to eat raw for 10 days or a few weeks so that they can lose weight. When I first began this raw journey at 100% (August 1 2006) my goal was to embrace something that I believed could be the answer to what was best for my body's needs.

After years of many diets and losing and gaining weight here and there, being bloated, suffering from severe constipation..I gradually began to search for something that would be permanent for me and not a quick fix. It has been a process. It started out with the basic things that people do, cut down on junk food, then cutting out all white things, then cuttting out all processed foods, then cutting out all meats and then I began searching the net for articles on eating fruits and veggies and I discovered this site in January of 2006. It "clicked" with me. I began fasting and concentrating on what I really wanted for my life and then last August I just knew that it was time to embrace raw at 100%.

What I would say about it seeming impossible as you state, is that the decision to embark upon this raw journey is not just the physical act of purchasing fruits, veggies and nuts. I do believe that it involves a mind set that must be changed. It involves becoming proactive and and advocate for your life. By this, I mean understanding the absolute benefits of what you put in your body. Some might disagree, but I believe sacrifice is a huge part of it...the palate has become used to the junk foods, the fried and cooked foods, otherwise, we wouldn't have the cravings. Sacrifice must be a part of it meaning that there will come a time when I believe that we must simply accept that the foods that we were used to -that pleased the palate-are not pleasing to our body systems. I recognize that while I was pleasing my tastebuds with the foods I used to eat, I was also killing myself slowly - clogging my arteries, compromising my heart, forcing my poor liver and kidneys to work overtime and had completey shut down my colon. The process of eating was never meant to be a major undertaking on the body system.

When you begin the raw process, it is a major overhaul for the body system if you have been eating lots of junk food for a period of years. The body will undergo a major cleansing and begin to address the most pressing issues in your body first. If your friends have been eating a 100% raw diet for any extensive amount of time and then decide to go back to strictly eating however they ate prior to raw then of course, the body will react to that by gaining weight. Your body will go back to it's old habits quicker than you might imagine, you have to remember if you've eaten junk food for years and years, it is going to be a process. I would say that for any of us who choose a raw life, we must first be clear about our motives and why we have embarked upon this journey in the first place..it is a choice. It is not a quick fix. It is a process that can be rewarding in so many ways.

Aside from losing almost 100 lbs (lost about 20-25 before going 100%), I have gained so much confidence and knowledge. I am empowered and my body's own best advocate. I have learned how to listen to my body. Even when I stumble (for example, eating one of my old favs-popcorn) I know what is best for me. Being in the know is completely freeing.

I wish you and your friends well in your journey and hope you and/or your friends will continue to strive toward this journey.

[Rawkinlocs]

That was beautifully put "J"!

[lavendarJ]

I just finished typing and I see that RAWKS must have posted while I was typing:D ...

Listen to Rawks...she knows her stuff, not long-winded like me:o

[aililiu]

i know it seems bizarre to think about, being 100% raw for the rest of your life.... but do the 30 day challenge and see how you feel :) i didnt think going raw would last for me but... it helped me GAIN my sanity. im not going back :)

[Coriander74]

Lavendar, you are one of my heroes :D

[Morn]

[QUOTE=lavendarJ;306837
What I would say about it seeming impossible as you state, is that the decision to embark upon this raw journey is not just the physical act of purchasing fruits, veggies and nuts. I do believe that it involves a mind set that must be changed. It involves becoming proactive and and advocate for your life. By this, I mean understanding the absolute benefits of what you put in your body. Some might disagree, but I believe sacrifice is a huge part of it...the palate has become used to the junk foods, the fried and cooked foods, otherwise, we wouldn't have the cravings. Sacrifice must be a part of it meaning that there will come a time when I believe that we must simply accept that the foods that we were used to -that pleased the palate-are not pleasing to our body systems. I recognize that while I was pleasing my tastebuds with the foods I used to eat, I was also killing myself slowly - clogging my arteries, compromising my heart, forcing my poor liver and kidneys to work overtime and had completey shut down my colon. The process of eating was never meant to be a major undertaking on the body system.

When you begin the raw process, it is a major overhaul for the body system if you have been eating lots of junk food for a period of years. The body will undergo a major cleansing and begin to address the most pressing issues in your body first. If your friends have been eating a 100% raw diet for any extensive amount of time and then decide to go back to strictly eating however they ate prior to raw then of course, the body will react to that by gaining weight. Your body will go back to it's old habits quicker than you might imagine, you have to remember if you've eaten junk food for years and years, it is going to be a process. I would say that for any of us who choose a raw life, we must first be clear about our motives and why we have embarked upon this journey in the first place..it is a choice. It is not a quick fix. It is a process that can be rewarding in so many ways. .[/QUOTE]

Wow Lavender J - this is good stuff!

[codajess]

I think it really depends on what they were eating when they went off raw.

I think my body did change after i went off raw last year after 5 months of mostly 100%. I went back to eating cooked vegan and gained 18 pounds within 2 months, which made me the heaviest i'd ever been. I'd always been at the higher end of the normal weight range for my height but never overweight like that. Now I'm struggling to lose it. I'm finishing up the cooked foods in my apartment (mostly canned beans and frozen veggies, nothing horrible) and I am trying to get back into raw. I think being high raw wouldn't be a problem, since yes, it is hard to be 100% raw all the time in this world.

On cooked foods I have to keep my calorie intake lower than what is technically starvation (below 1200) in the nutrition world to lose weight or to even stabilize.

When I was raw, I didn't lose weight but I did stabilize and I was eating a lot of olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, avos, and things like that without tracking anything.

I think that'll be my biggest challenge this time. For the past few months I've tracked everything I've put into my mouth and i'm going to want to do that when I get back to 100% (or mostly raw. I don't think i'll be as strict as I was when going out for meals with people or things like that) for fear of gaining this weight i've worked SO hard to lose (like i said, my metabolism is nothing like it was pre-raw, and the calorie intake vs. calories burned weight loss is NOT what it should be since then.)

Regarding the depression, you did say it's circumstance based so I imagine the best raw is going to do for you is help you cope a little better, or maybe stabilize your moods a bit. If it's not a chemical imbalance raw isn't going to be able to make it disappear or heal it.

Sounds to me like you're doing wonderfully! :)

[rawsurfer]

lavendar said it beautifully. i never take the time to fully articulate my thoughts into writing like that, but if i ever did then that would be part of them. when i went raw i was overwhelmed by the health benefits of doing so. i gave up all my favorite foods on a whim and havent looked back. i am so glad i didnt. i refuse to eat cooked food and i will fast for weeks before doing so unless i am confronted with absolutely extreme circumstances. i have really embraced this as a way of life and i think that that is a huge part of sticking with it. i wish you peace and success on your journey.

[3boymom]

Thanks-you everyone,

I asked and I got what I needed and wanted. I go by my intuition and the waters have been muddied by what others have been saying. My gut says that I have never felt better than I do now, so that it the bottom line. I LOVE the idea of sacrifice because it matches what my gut has been saying about retraining. I will continue on...and on... and on....