Help...Please...Someone...Any Ideas?

[ShelShel]

Hello everyone. :o
I keep trying...and nothing seems to take. Last year I was 100% raw for months and months and after returning to cooked foods for the winter...I keep trying to get back to raw with no luck at all. :eek:
I have currently gained back 15 pounds and I'm so upset that nothing fits anymore. I need help. Can anyone suggested anything that would help?
Please!!!!

[being]

I can empathize... :o

I gained back a solid 30 lbs once I stopped 100% raw, and this after a fabulous 6 month experience too....

All I can say is it takes the 3 Ps.

Patience.
Perserverance.
Practice.

I'm still not 100% raw 100% of the time. It's not like changing laundry soap, straightforward and essentially painless!

You just take it one day at a time. Today, I am eating raw. I don't think about yesterday, I don't think about tomorrow.

Today, right now, this moment, is all there is.

There is no other answer, and it's (deceptively) simple.

Many people find adding lots of greens into their daily diet, like green smoothies, really helps with transitioning and cravings.

I have found the less I focus on the food, the easier it becomes.

I don't know what else to say, except you are not alone :) None of my clothes fit anymore either, and I know how frustrating it is.

Just take it one day at a time, take a moment to think of things you are grateful for, and give yourself a hug.

Raw foods are a wonderful way to fuel your body, and those 100s of millions of cells are rejoicing each time you give them living energy :D

[Stina]

A few loving suggestions:

Consume mean greens- green smoothies, green lemonade, salads, wilted salads, sauerkraut, etc.

Get a Raw buddy- someone to hold you accountable.

Read Victoria Boutenko's 12 Steps to Raw Foods

Find a means to express the emotional blocks tied in with food.

Love from the Oregon coast, Stina

[Nurse in the Raw]

You can always juice fast to jump start you back into raw.

[VeroP]

For me, reading the literature and the whys and wherefores is really helpful. Also, I dislike being duped and feel duped by the food and pharmaceutical industries, so it makes me shy away from their products. Alissa's book and recipes is wonderful and certainly helped us to transition with some delicious choices.

When you went raw the last time, how did you do it? Transition into it or 100% immediately? How are you attempting it this time?

What seems to stop you? Is it cravings? Lack of support?

[Veganforlife]

Two words: Green Smoothies.

You start drinking these for breakfast and before you know it the cravings and cavings will subside. For real! These are amazing drinks that fill one up, help with the cravings and all, are easily digested and assimilated throughout the body the moment it hits your tongue.
Read the below mentioned book...

[Bobbie]

As everyone else said - lots of greens. As many as possible.

Juiced and blended into green smoothies or energy soup.

Green Smoothies - 40% weeds/dark leafy greens blended with 60% fruit
Energy Soup - 6 cups weeds/baby green sprouts/sunflower greens, 2 cups beansprouts, 2 tbs seaweed, 1 apple, 1/2 avocado. 1/2 cup herbs improves the taste.
Other Soup - greens, lettuce, herbs, carrots, celery, garlic, onion, tomato

They really do get rid of cravings.
Try as hard as you can to have blended greens every day and don't worry about what you're eating - you'll stop wanting cooked food and junky raw food.

[trugoddess]

Lucy is soooooooooooo right about the Green Smoothies reducing cravings. If I have smoothies for breakfast and lunch, sometimes I forego dinner completely because I'm just not hungry.

[rawchocoyotita@yahoo.com]

I gained around 20 pounds too after a surgery. My clothes didn't fit me either. It seemed as though I was returning to the same person I was before going raw. I began with upper respiratory infections and weight gain. That was enough to get me back on track.
I started my first morning just eating the fruits I enjoyed the most. Then it was time for lunch, I had a great big salad and raw tortillas and an avocado. Before I knew it it was time for dinner - and after that meal it was my first day raw!
You can do! You already know how - just do it again! And before you know it - it will be another year for you and being raw!
Try not to concentrate on your frustration because as Alisa says - whatever you focus on will expand. Concentrate on how good you felt being raw.

[ShelShel]

Thank you everyone. :o How inspiring all your answers are.
Actually, that's it, the first time I allowed myself the chance to go raw gradually. Breakfast until I felt comfortable, then lunch and eventually dinner. But now I know what being really raw feels like and I don't want to transition slowly, but cold turkey is a bit harder than I realized. :p
I will totally start the green smoothies tomorrow morning! Thank you for the recipes, words of encouragement and sympathy...and everything. You guys Rawk!
I know I can do this...one meal at a time. Thanks.

[beppa66]

I would recommend taking a tsp of coconut oil in the am & pm. Helps you feel satiated and reduces the cravings for sure. And if you can try to replace the self talk "I CAN'T" with "I CAN". Celebrate the small daily successes and forgive yourself for the inevitable slips. Best of luck. BIG HUG!

[Raw Jewelrylady]

A bunch of great suggestions. Also, I think coming to the board when you can & just read, look at raw food photos, learn new recipes & having fun trying new foods also helps.

Blogging/journaling is another great tool.:)



RJL

[Davylp25]

RAW RAWKIN RADIO... EPISODE 1 AND TO NOW.

Watch youtube raw food prep videos.

See how easy it can be...

Start again from a new angle.

[eachpeachpearplum]

So many of us can share your story. For me cooked food is unfortunatly an addiction; saying that knowledge is power and is what helped me get back on trac.

I would like to second the Green Smoothies also the books that have REALLY helped are Victoria Boutencos NEWLY REVISED 12 steps to Raw Food and her green smoothies book Green for Life published just last year; the 12 steps book really packed a punch as I THOUGHT I had read it all.

We are here for you and we dont judge!

Cheers,

EPPP

[cherries]

I had problems over the winter as well, now I'm getting back on it as well, hurray!

My advice: Keep everything as simple as you can, eat mostly fruit and dump the nuts and sprouts if they give you indigestion.