Is there a tipping point?

[futureboy]

I've done raw for 30 days straight... I lost 28 lbs in that time, but I still had headaches and was still tired. So I started up again a few months ago, and I've been around 80% raw for the past two months... and I was 100% for 14 of the last 18 days. I've been 100% raw for the past 3 days (restarting always...). Essentially, I've been mostly raw for a few months now, but I still am not experiencing any crazy benefits of the raw diet, other than weight loss. (people keep commenting to me how thin I'm looking) Note that I do feel BAD when I eat cooked food now -- my head will start hurting, my stomach will feel bloated... and I'll feel like I gained 10 lbs instantly. But I'm not feeling super energized every day or full of life and happiness.

Anyway, I'm curious if there is some tipping point... some point where I'll wake up and it's like a light has gone off? And I'll feel crazy happy and excited about the day and about living and about everything associated with raw foods?

How long will this take? I'm doing my best to divide & conquer the detox process, which I still have yet to experience: I work out at least once/day, I'm doing bikram yoga, and I've even done a few days of oil pulling in the morning.

It seems a lot of people on this board will go raw and then 3-4 days later they act like they're on top of the world... and here I am chewing down on raw chocolate, nori rolls, etc. but not really that stoked about it and not too excited to eat them.

(I do admit that the Pure Food & Wine restaurant in NYC I visited was absolutely amazing and if I could make dinners that tasted THAT good, I'd happily eat raw every day)

Maybe I should take a raw food class in the SF Bay Area?

[DavidZaneMason]

Opinion (please disregard if obvious) but eating raw is not a cure-all....of course. It is a tool - a very powerful one - to move you toward healthy goals....that REQUIRE and NECESSITATE eating raw. Choose the right goals....and eating healthy falls/comes into play with little discipline......because there is an inherent baseline of real MOTIVATION.....and a feeling of moving toward some larger goal. You cannot have poor....or no goals.....and have long-term healthy eating. Just my thoughts.

-David Z. Mason

[agumble]

Also remember that there may be quite a few changes going on inside your body that aren't apparent yet. I had abnormal liver function tests for months before raw, and after a month of 100%, they came down back to normal. This is something I would've never known had it not been for the blood work, and it's a pretty drastic health difference. Try to be patient and keep it up.......I know it's difficult, but it'll be worth it in the end.

[beppa66]

1) I'm curious if there is some tipping point... some point where I'll wake up and it's like a light has gone off? And I'll feel crazy happy and excited about the day and about living and about everything associated with raw foods?

2) It seems a lot of people on this board will go raw and then 3-4 days later they act like they're on top of the world... and here I am chewing down on raw chocolate, nori rolls, etc. but not really that stoked about it and not too excited to eat them.

3) I do admit that the Pure Food & Wine restaurant in NYC I visited was absolutely amazing and if I could make dinners that tasted THAT good, I'd happily eat raw every day

4) Maybe I should take a raw food class in the SF Bay Area?

Hi there, sounds like you are frustrated. Everyone is totally different and what works for one person doesn't always work for the next. And what one person experiences doesn't hold true across the board.
Here's my thoughts on your questions based on "my" experience.
1A) YES. There was a day when everything sort of clicked and I felt insanely better and was in love with life. It was like a fog had lifted. I do think there is a tipping point (great book by the way)

2A) I went through a horrible detox the first 4 days I gave up coffee, alcohol, meat, cheese...everything. Went 100% cold turkey. And honestly, by day 5 it was like someone lifted a piano off of my back. I had energy again, I was smiling for no reason, my depression had lifted, and I had absolutely zero symptoms from MS.

3A) Pure food and wine...oh, you are a lucky duck. (no pun intended) I bought their cookbook, which is excellent! I think it's called raw food real world. However you said something which is quite telling, you said "here I am chewing down on raw chocolate, nori rolls, etc. but not really that stoked about it and not too excited to eat them" Why are you eating something your body isn't happy with? If there is one peice of advice I can lend it's try to listen to your body and what it is saying to you.
If it's saying "ick, I'm sick of Nori"...LISTEN! The other day we ate popcorn at the movies and my body kept saying "cucumber juice" and I finally listened, even though mind you I'm not a fan of cucumbers. But my body was instantly happy again.

Do you have PH test strips? If not they are a great tool to use during the day/week if you are feeling "off" it might be because you are hovering on the acidic side.

4A) A raw food class would be a great thing to try, especially if you find you are missing more gourmet fare.

Good luck to you.
I hope you get things worked out.
Blessings!:)

[maui_butterfly]

how can you say you're not experiencing the "crazy benefits" of a raw food diet when you lost 28 lbs in 30 days!!!!! that's a crazy benefit, baby.

the way i figure it, when you eat raw, you are giving your body the energy it needs to heal you. it prioritizes. for you, the first thing it did was "dump that weight". the thing its doing now might be "detox the liver", and you might be feeling the effects of that. and however long it takes until the body in its infinite wisdom says "okay, we've taken care of the big projects, now we have a surplus of energy here, give the guy some extra energy!" is how long it takes, and for every person its different.

as for those people who spend 3 days eating raw and feel like they are on top of the world, haven't you experienced that sometimes too? its a roller coaster. you're up! you're down! it's effortless! it's a struggle! i'm 100% raw for 2 months and it's freakin' easy! i'm 75% raw today and it feels like all i can do not to phone the pizza man!

[dalimeindacoconut]

With any permanent change you make there are always varying levels of thoughts/feelings. When you continue on whatever path you are on in the long run (and that is what this is) there is a pay off. The pay off is a very small price to pay compared to what others have to pay not watching their health. You have already reversed lots of possible diseases that you could have inflicted on yourself due to eating SAD. You are doing fantastic. Just sounds like you need to spice things up a bit, keep it fresh, take that class. Change it up and start focusing today on all the good changes that have happened. There are so many people who don't choose personal growth. That is a HUGE change and the most important one. I have known very wealthy people who had all the money in the world and it is because of lack of self-discipline and personal growth that was their demise. Money can't save anyone. Personal growth can. It can't be bought. It has to be earned and you are earning it with every ray of emotion. Just wait for the next ray of sunshine to beam down on you as you are about to step directly into it because you've earned it! I'm working on earning it too!

[futureboy]

Hey folks, thanks again for your advice. I'm 195 lbs today (down from 228 when I started... yuck!), I just had my morning hemp-protein green smoothie, and I had a raw chocolate cacao nib truffle for breakfast... feeling pretty excited actually! I'm looking to take the raw class, looking to trade in my car for something more fun, and I'm off to London on Monday for work. Life is good!

Crazy weight loss when I did raw the first time (28 lbs in 30 days) was a great parlor trick, but I still was feeling tired all the time and didn't have any euphoric life energy that everyone else seems to have. But that time I didn't have green smoothies, I was still drinking welsh's fruit juice, and was not working out. This time around I'm eating a lot, working out, and really pushing myself by trying to make new dishes. And it's such an easy subject of conversation--I can talk about raw for hours. :) I just hope some day that I hit that tipping point where I have so much energy and am so happy... here's hoping!

I understand there are a lot of good things going on underneath the hood, and that those changes won't be reflected externally for a while (perhaps months). And I know that if I hold the line, stay the course, it will produce results.

[EZ rider]

It sounds to me like you have made some progress with raw foods and noticed that you feel worse when you eat cooked. Also it sounds like you have experienced some detox as many of us have on the way to cleaning up our bodies. I think maybe that when you are jumping in and out of raw foods / cooked foods you are prolonging the detox "zone" and getting frustrated. Good luck I hope you figure it out and make a decision one way or the other that works for you.

I think the "turning point" is reached when your body has eliminated enough of the toxins and healed enough of the health issues that you begin to feel good again.

[futureboy]

I'm definitely leaning towards a primarily raw foods diet. I think down the line I might still make exceptions for sushi since it's not that bad compared to everything else, plus if I'm eating 100% raw the rest of the time I'm still eating better than 99% of the American population.

God my coworker is eating a bagel with butter right now. Partially it smells good and I want to have a bite, but I've reached the point where I know I will feel terrible if I bite. God I almost feel like it's disgusting me being around that smell... looking at how horrible his skin is and how UN-nutritious that food is.

Look at me! I'm starting to sound like a raw vegan hippy! Soon enough I'll be talking about spirits and life forces. I like the idea of being an Executive Raw Vegan. :)

[Sunluvva]

Futureboy

Well done on your transition so far. You have done so well getting over that 1st difficult period.

Just wanted to let you know that here in the UK we have fewer raw resources than the US but it is still just as easy to be raw. You wont find many of the large health/wholefood stores that you have there but there are 1 or 2 in London itself, not sure exactly where but easy enough to find out on the uk rawfood webite.. heres the link.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfooduk/
There also seems to be more and more uk classes and sites etc.

Well done and good luck with the move.
Denise

[deegarry]

I hope you visit these websites, they give me reason to keep going raw!~

Variety of recipes
http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/RawRecipes.htm

Great Raw food links!
http://www.geocities.com/garyorlando@verizon.net/index.html

food combining chart
http://www.yahwehsaliveandwell.com/fccfront.html

Food in season by state
http://www.sustainabletable.org/shop/eatseasonal/

rawfood meetup everywhere
http://rawfood.meetup.com/

printout of raw food combining chart
http://www.alderbrooke.com/chart.htm

Videos on why we eat SAD
http://z12.invisionfree.com/FLF/index.php?showtopic=2343

Bryans info on raw
http://www.rawgosia.com/articles/bryan_yamamoto.html

[ferg]

Well, not all cooked food is the same... there is a big difference between eating a hamburger versus some lightly steamed veggies...

So, what are you eating when you eat cooked? that will make a huge difference in the way you feel.