Is it really possible to go Cold Turkey?

[Daisy]

I was inspired by rawkinlocs' confessions. I have struggled with going raw for a long time. I always seem to fall off the wagon. My current diet is the worst! :(

For health reasons and weight loss I must make some sort of diet a success. And now!

I turn 35 next week and I cannot continue with my current lifestyle. It will kill me. I am extremely overweight and I have a host of health issues. I believe that a raw diet is the healthiest diet and I would love to complete a 30 day challenge.

My current diet is fast food or pizza for nearly every meal. And that is not an exaggeration. :eek:

Is it possible to go cold turkey? Has anybody gone from a complete junk food diet to 100% raw overnight? I am going to attempt to do so and I would love to hear inspiring stories.

I am really committed to making a heroic effort this time. I think the birthday coming up has shocked me back to my senses. I realize that a high raw diet is just as healthy, but for some reason I end up allowing more cooked food than raw food. I really hope that not allowing any cooked food is going to work for me.

Any cold turkey success stories?

Thanks!

[VeganVixen]

take the dive!!!! YOU WONT REGRET IT! I have sent you a p.m.!

[tracyinfo]

If your current diet is really fast food and pizza, you could very well have a hard time! But then again, others have done it, so maybe I shouldn't say that it will be hard.

I myself transitioned for 3 months, slowly increasing the amount of raw foods to my diet. They were simple things, like making sure I ate 3 pieces of fruit at lunch. Making sure I had a simple raw green salad at dinner. It was those kinds of things, that I believe, made it easier for me. I have raw for 6 months now. I 've lost 30+ pounds and two pant sizes. I had no serious health issues, but I feel great right now.

Best of luck, in whatever option you choose for yourself. Either way, keep coming back to this board for help and inspiration.

[catherinethegreat]

HI There!

I actually did make the change to 100% vegan raw diet - from a pretty bad SAD diet - a LOT of fast food - microwave dinners - lots of meat, dairy, sugar, wheat.

But....I've had experience of cutting out wheat, dairy and sugar in the past. So that was easy for me as I knew how to do that successfully and saw the positive results.

I read

http://www.rawreform.com
then found Alissa's site and Shazzies' site

http://www.shazzie.com

and read the before and afters.

I think the biggest change that helped me take the leap right away was
making the DECISION both inside my being and out.
You can KNOW in your MIND that this is a good idea - but if your being is fighting with you - it will be a struggle - you have to get ALL of you on board.

the book 12 steps to raw REALLY helped me a lot too.

AND you have to recognise that you are addicted to eating that type of food for emotional comfort....and that somewhere deep within you - thinks you NEED that food to deal with any discomfort you have in your life and in your being. If you have been eating like this for a long time - and there is an emotional componant or attachment to it - then you also need to pay attention to these emotions when they come up and learn to deal with them differently then with the usual knee jerk reaction toward the junk food.
This part of the work is HUGE in changing your life and your relationship with food.

The other day I went to the doctor and the entire thing was very stressful to me and I felt a lot of fear - powerlessness - etc...
Then all of a sudden out of "nowhere" I'm craving heavy foods - like hamburgers - with cheese - and steak - and fast foods - mexican food - etc.
I didn't connect the two for a day or two but now I can see that this was my old habit coming to the surface again in the face of fear and discomfort.

Now I have the opportunity to act on it ( which is my usual )
or really love myself and teach myself that I am safe, I am ok, I am supported by the universe, etc etc, by loving myself differently then with food.
This could be self talk - taking a bubble bath when I feel like eating hamburgers, making myself the best smoothie ever, taking a walk, doing any action that can move my minds attention away from the junk foods that won't heal me. The more I do this the less my mind has control and the less I think about that food as an option.
Also - talking on this board when there is discomfort or a craving is helpful
having raw foods around you no matter what - bringing a cooler of food with snacks in it has saved me from getting so hungry that I go binge on cooked stuff. Alissa talks about bringing her carob snacks with her when she was new to raw and it helped when she was in the company of others who ate cooked foods.

I hope this helps. For me it's been about hearing my mind tell me what it THINKS I need - and acknowledging it - and then moving away from believing it. I have TONS of PROOF in my life of how the pizza made me feel bad after I ate it - how depressed I feel when I treat myself poorly by eating that food - and how sabatoging myself by eating that food in the midst of my inner pain has only helped me temporarily....and then I feel even worse emotionally then I did before I ate it.
I also learn a TON from hearing other people's experiences that have more time then me doing this.

Hope all of this is helpful to you in some way.

*c

[Helen Of Tennessee]

I would say . . . TRY IT. If you detox to harsley, or if you find it hard, then re-evaluate and try a different plan. Maybe just try eating nothing but raw fruit up until noon each day. Once this becomes normal, then change your lunch to all raw, etc.

Or you could start cutting out food groups. Try cutting out meat (this took me 1 1/2 years!!!, but I did it. It's been 3 years now). Or try cutting out dairy, or another food group. As you cut out a food group, you'll have to sub it with some raw foods.

<>< Helen of Tennessee

[yeahbethany]

I would say to try it, as well! Just don't beat yourself up if you slip...

Alissa recommends going cold turkey, and she definitely knows what she is talking about! Her book and DVD are EXCELLENT resources for someone going raw, whether new or experienced! She even has a four week meal plan and shopping list in there, so you don't need to get trapped in the "what do I eat" place.

Victoria Boutenko and her family have been all raw for 11 years, and they went cold turkey as well, due to health issues. They are so happy they did and they are great people.

I think that you know what will work best for you... If you think that allowing some cooked food won't work for you (and it doesn't work for me!), then you know what you need to do...

The best advice I can give for someone going raw is get LOTS of support! Find someone who lives near you who is raw or is supportive of your efforts to get healthy. If that is not possible, stay connected in cyber space!

Hope this helps...
-Bethany =)

[PixieGreen]

Daisy, I quit coffee/ espresso, diet soda, sugar, dairy, meat, and all cooked food at once. I was eating absolute crap, not pizza and fast food at every meal but only because I couldn't afford it.

Going raw overnight was "unintentional." I had been researching about the raw lifestyle, ann wigmore's hippocrates diet, dr cousens rainbow diet for a few months prior, but I was putting it off because I know if I cheat it becomes *much* harder to get back on the wagon.

One day the chronic pain in my side became unbearable and I knew I couldn't delay doing a gall bladder cleanse. The day I did the cleanse is the day I went raw. I didn't feel well enough to crave cooked food or anything else, and I knew I would be drinking fruit juice for a few days after because my body was tender. So I put my pots and pans, espresso machine, packaged foods and microwave oven next to the dumpster and took a nap. When I woke up every bit of it was gone. So I committed myself to doing this for 90 days to see if I felt better [and justify the expense of getting a dehydrator, blender, processor, etc]. And YES I feel better!!!

Christa

[Daisy]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful and inspirational responses! I needed that today. :)

Transitioning slowly makes the most sense to me, too. I have been transitioning for years! (laughing) I haven't been very disciplined!

In all honesty, I expect to fail at 100% because I know myself really well. I am going to really work hard at it and I want to succeed with all my heart. But: if I fail I hope to fail to 80 or 90% raw and not back to fast food and pizza. So in a way, it could be the best failure of my life! :)

Catherine and Christa: I am so glad to learn that there are others who needed to go cold turkey! And that you have been successful in doing so. Your advice means a lot to me!

[rawpriestess]

Hi,

If you read my journal, you'll read the whole story, but here is a condensed version.

In 1995, I had a vision, nad knew that I would never eat any meat again, I had no cravings, no challenges, and I hadn't even considered this until I had the vision.

Then in 2001 I met the Boutenko family and wanted (notice the wording here ) to go raw, I did it for 3 weeks, then went off, it took me 4 years to go raw again 100%, oh I tried, and tried, but trying is NOT doing.

So, once I decided to BE raw, then I have been raw now 3 months, with only a couple of minor slips in the last month, which were directly related to my abnormally high stress levels, while meeting some very famous artists, that I have always admired. (not an excuse, just an understanding)

So, although I went raw 100% basically overnight, I had been a vegetarian for many years.

I think it might be more difficult for someone going from SAD to raw over night, but YOU could prove this wrong.

Make it your personal challenge to do it. To be the person who can say, hey one day I was eating pepperoni pizza and pop, and the next day I was eating 100% raw vegan food.

Whatever works for you, we are all here to support you.

blessings,
Rawpriestess

[fatdogs12]

I really agree here with what catherine said, most people who are overweight are eating for comfort. I have noticed myself doing the following and I really have to laugh about it. Suppose I was eating ice cream, fast food or something else. I have noticed from time to time that my stomach is really full. Just packed but I keep shoving the food in my mouth because it tastes so good.

Even later when I'm not hungry I get the taste of something in my mouth and even though I am completely full I eat that too. The thing about giving up food is mostly psychological in my experiance. Most believe believe that it tastes soooo good or would feel so good therefore they need it. That is the logic that allows people to eat it (even if it's subconsious). If you first give up the idea that you need to eat great tasting foods and that you need to always eat when you are hungry your swtiching diets will be much easier.

However I think going cold turkey is about the equivilent of eating out everyday for a long time with no exercise and then trying to go for a 10 mile run. It's a lot and it's not easy (that is not to be negative), so if you do go cold turkey you have to understand something: You cannot go for perfection or you will destroy yourself when you fail and considering everyone (mostly) slips from time to time that will circumvent the whole point of the diet!

I think it is much more effective to look at your cumulative results. If you go cold turkey and then eat out 1 time, don't get mad at yourself, that is why most of the people in the US who diet end up gaining back the weight. Just be patient with youself and understand that you have been eating this way for a long time. Compare your results to previous eating patterns rather than an ideal that you are prone to fall short too from time to time. In that you can see your progress.

Also by believing that you need to change your diet I think you will create too things. A desperate belief that you need to change and anxiety that you might fall off. Ironically these beliefs work on both end of the spectrum and usually against you on both ends.

- Matt

[nobletroll]

I went from a very SAD diet to 100% raw and it lasted 3 weeks. I have been on and off for 10 months but am still eating much more healthy then I was ever doing before. I think you have to decide that this is something your going to do even if you fail and fail. Its an addiction and you have o figure out what are your triggers and how to handle them. I was somewhere around 380 when I started when I weighed myself 3 months in I was 325 and have stayed there as I have been struggling. I have seamed to gotten my motivation with the hot weather so will see. But I say try cold turkey if that doesn't work try something else. The one benefit of the 3 weeks of 100% I can remember how good I felt and that has motivated me when I have not been doing so good.

[Daisy]

Thanks again for the support!

Matt,
I have the exact same experiences. I eat to satisfy oral/psychological cravings and not to satisfy hunger. I like the 10mile run analogy! I am supposed to go 100% today (Tues) but I already ran into an obstacle that will postpone it until Weds. The obstacle... no time to stock the house with raw food! I am so disappointed in myself for not being better prepared. I think I am subconsciously sabotaging myself already!

nobletroll,
In my opinion going from very SAD to 3 weeks all raw is a major accomplishment! I would be so proud to make it 3 weeks all raw. Good job! I also weigh over 300 and your weight loss is very motivating. There is a group just starting the 30 day challenge... want to participate? I could certainly use a buddy who struggles with the same things as me. Here's the link http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3355

[Daisy]

I survived my first day. Barely! It was a real struggle mentally, but I made it through it. I bought some food for tomorrow so hopefully it will be a better day. Going cold turkey is really, really tough! :)

[Helen Of Tennessee]

Yea Daisy!!!!

For me the first day is the hardest!!!! Let us know how day 2 goes. I haven't looked over in the journal area, but are you journaling? (I'll go look, if you're not, you might want to).

<>< Helen of Tennessee

[Daisy]

Hi Helen, Thanks for the support! :) I am not journaling yet. It seemed really complicated the other day when I first joined this site. I hope after a few days of raw (and free of junk food and diet colas) that I will be able to focus better and get a journal started. :o

[rawruh]

may i recommend checking out sadtoraw.com if you haven't already, the women who set it up started out at over 300 pounds, i think?

also, just a wee warning, that you don't treat this like another diet, which if you make a mistake you fail and then give up, and that whole cycle begins!!! this is a whole journey of love for yourself. and once you are on you can't go back. believe me, once you know about raw food, and it's magic you are already half way there, because the truth of it won't leave you alone. but it takes time, it's not about will power, it's about understanding yourself. and if you fail, it's okay, its not a race. actually you can't fail, you only learn more about yourself and the way your mind plays tricks. be patient. i wish you luck with cold turkey, it's probably easier than battling for years on and off, but understand it's for life, it's not a diet. if you treat it like a diet, it will be very bad for your health, because raw diet makes your body more senstive and therefore sad food becomes much more harmful!! seriously! i think you should read every single book on the subject and have a raw buddy, or coach, a qualified one, like Alissa Cohen or the women from www.rawschool.com to help you.

i also recommend a great book called Eating Less, by Gillian Rilley, which isn't about raw, but about addiction to eating, it's brilliant, she knows her stuff.

[Sharon in Colorado]

Maybe you can try transitioning into cold turkey? Sounds kinda amusing, but if you take a few weeks to wean off the meat, dairy, and sugar, then the last week just go cold turkey with the rest it may work better than going from one extreme to the next. Often that doesn't last and if you stumble, you'll stumble hard.

[sweetgoddess]

Daisy, if you would like help setting up a journal, send me a private message. I would be more than happy to help. Its easier then it sounds!

[Daisy]

rawruh, ("because the truth of it won't leave you alone") so true! Thanks for reminding me that its not a diet but a lifetime. I believe that but I get focused on the daily food struggles and forget. :)

sharon, the past two days cold turkey have been extremely difficult. I have been trying to reason through whether or not this is the right approach and if I should back off a little and transition into raw, like you mentioned. I won't feel bad about it if I do, but I was hoping going cold turkey would be easier. Ha, ha! Fooled myself, didn't I? :)

sweetgoddess, Yes! I would like help but I'm not ready yet. I'll pm when I think I'm ready. Thanks for the offer! I took my "before" pictures yesterday and I had nightmares about it last night! I can't face putting them up for public display just yet. :(

[vegankristen]

I have been trying to go 100% for about 3 years now. So far it's been about a month and a half and I am totally confident that I won't have any problems this time. I definitely agree that it is almost all psychological.

I had a bit of a headstart due to the fact I've been vegan for over 2 years (due to ethical, not health reasons), and I had no problem whatsoever going from SAD to a complete vegan diet. I am very passionate about being vegan and I think that that had a lot to do with the fact that I haven't had a craving for any type of animal product since the day I said "no" to a bite of my friend's Egg McMuffin. It all has to do with how "into it" you are. If you firmly believe that going raw will help you...keep those thoughts in your mind, even if you slip up now and then. It's just like they say, "try, try again."

Someting that really helped me stick with raw this time, was finding out what my most common craving was, and having raw substitutes for that on hand. My biggest craving is chocolate. When I started out, I kept a hazelnut spread I made on hand and would add organic cocoa powder to it and spread on a banana when i had cravings. Today I got a shipment from Nature's First Law that included raw cacao nibs and agave nectar. I blended them in a coffee grinder....it was so good! I felt like I was cheating! The fact that I can go raw and still enjoy chocolate and other sweet treats (ex: banana ice cream, i love!) made it much easier to stay raw. There is a raw substitue for almost any type of food.

Good luck to you and I hope you stick with us wacky people on this board! The support can really pick you up when your down!

Phew, that was a long one.
Kristen!

[swingbolder]

>>Today I got a shipment from Nature's First Law that included raw cacao nibs and agave nectar. <<

How do you prepare your raw cacao? I have some nibs in the fridge and don't know what to do with them.

I wish I had some advice to offer the original OP. We're all in a different place wrt our raw journey. Alissa suggests going cold turkey, Storm and Jinjee from the Gardendiet.com suggest a slow transition from SAD. I was very ill when I went raw so that was my motivation to go very high raw from the get-go. I was literally fighting for each breath (asthma). I think that as long as you make raw your ultimate goal then you will find your way -- probably with lots of twists and turns and bumps along the way.

[Mieke Benton]

I did.
It works for me to set up a time frame.
I first decided to just do it. First I reached for a week, then a month, then two months, then 6 months.
I am at 3.5 months. I lost about 30 pounds in that time and do feel much more healthier and look great!
People and customers in the store where I work they all notice it and start asking questions, daily!
I am eating 100% raw, or at least 99.9% and 00.1% maybe not but I do not know because they say things like raw cashews are not realy raw and things like that.

On easter I decided to eat a piece of ham. It was a very interesting experience. The ham stayed for the longest time in my body, and the raw foods are moving fast it digest immediatly. I felt my energy dropping down and did not feel that well. Stomachache. I just felt the difference very well.
After that piece of ham I spiontaneously went back to my 100% raw foods.

I did lost about 30 pounds and weigh now 137.5.

If you change from fast food to raw, it will work very well if you motivate yourself daily. You will feel the change on all levels. Physicaly, emotionaly, mentaly, energeticaly. Your life will change and do not let this scare you!
It will transform and you will be able to be a powerful example for others.
You will feel good and ohters will want to know how they also can feel good.

If you are doing it, will you have a journal? I would love to hear your story.

I am going to Europe for 5 weeks and I will decide to eat some cooked foods that I realy want to enjoy. But I will have to find the balance to keep eating most raw. I trust myself that it will work out great!

I keep you informed.

Mieke

[vegankristen]

I have the cacao nibs that are already peeled. I figure that they need to be ground up and mixed with a sweetener to really enjoy them as chocolate, so i stick them in a coffee grinder b/c i wanted to try it with agave before i had to run back to work. It tastes just like dark chocolate!..and you only need a little bit of agave. Unfortunately, the cacao was still pretty coarse after putting it through the grinder. I suspect the only way to get a fine powder is to use a mortar and pestal! Tonight I'm going to put them in the food processor with some frozen bananas to see if it grinds them up sufficiently. I'll let you know how it is!

Kristen

[swingbolder]

>>Tonight I'm going to put them in the food processor with some frozen bananas to see if it grinds them up sufficiently. I'll let you know how it is!<<

Thanks! Looking forward to hearing your "report." :)

[vegankristen]

So, i've made the banana ice cream, and this is the first time i've made it in a processor instead of my Champion. It made the ice cream melt a bit, so it's now in the freezer to harden. Processing it did chop up the cacao nibs into much smaller peices almost like thick flakes, so it created more of an ice cream with chocolate bits rather than chocolate ice cream. It's very very tasty, but i would ultimately like to completely blend in the chocolate which means it would have to be in a much finer powder. But i found out tonight that my roommate gets half off at a gourmet kitchen store in our city....morter and pestal, here i come!

Hee he!
Good luck with your cacao!
Kristen

[Daisy]

Yum! I will have to try the chocana ice cream myself. :)

Right now my biggest craving is greasy food. I am so happy to not be eating it because I feel better, but my mind is screaming for it. Fries mostly. I will have to try and find a raw fry-substitute! :o

Mieke, you are so brave. I don't know if I could trust myself to eat some of my favorite foods and then go back to raw (yet). Maybe in time I will be able to. (?) Have a great trip!

[VeganVixen]

Yum! I will have to try the chocana ice cream myself. :)

Right now my biggest craving is greasy food. I am so happy to not be eating it because I feel better, but my mind is screaming for it. Fries mostly. I will have to try and find a raw fry-substitute! :o

Mieke, you are so brave. I don't know if I could trust myself to eat some of my favorite foods and then go back to raw (yet). Maybe in time I will be able to. (?) Have a great trip!


fry substitutes are SO easy........


Slice 1lb. jicama so it looks like fries.

Combine in bowl with:
1 T onion powder
2 T olive oil
*sea salt to taste
1 T paprika

[swingbolder]

It's very very tasty, but i would ultimately like to completely blend in the chocolate which means it would have to be in a much finer powder.

Thanks for the report. Maybe you could make a chocolate syrup of sorts in the blender out of cacao, soaked dates and soak water, then add it to the banana ice cream. I dunno, I'm just brainstorming here. Maybe I will try this over the weekend.

[Daisy]

Raw fries! Wow and thanks! :D Do I dehydrate them to warm them up?

I was wondering if a chocolate syrup would work, too. But I am not very creative and couldn't figure out how to make the syrup! :confused:

[tracyinfo]

Daisy, for a chocolate syrup, perhaps mix a spoonful of carob with a spoonful of raw honey or agave. It's worth a try.

[Daisy]

Well, I crashed and burned on Saturday. I think the only thing raw that I ate was some shredded lettuce on a taco pizza. :(

Going 100% raw without transition turns out to be much, much more difficult than I imagined. I really admire everyone who has been able to do it!

But all is not lost. Karma was in full swing and Alissa's book and DVD arrived in the late afternoon. Yay! :) She is so inspiring and I feel recommitted to raw again.

So for anyone wondering if cold turkey is possible - Yes! It is because there are people here who have done it and have been kind enough to share their stories. But it turns out that I am not cold turkey material. :)

[Helen Of Tennessee]

Hi Daisy,

You tried it; now you know you're a transitional person. So now you can go on from here. I can tell from your posts that you are determined, so I'm sure you'll suceed. Don't get frustrated when you fall off the wagon. It's not uncommon. Just get back on. It could be smooth sailing for you, or it could be a lot of ups and downs. You just know in the long term, you'll be where you want to be.

<>< Helen of Tennessee