How long before you felt 'normal'

[Bananna]

By normal, I don't mean socially, Ha!

I mean, how long did it take for you to no longer think about or put much effort into the brain change....the battle?

...and to make it a more accurate 'study', I suppose I would need to know what strategy for becoming raw you implemented, what you think made it easier or harder.

I guess I just would like to have an average gage of what I am up against. I have been raw two times before, the last time I was 100% for two weeks. I think it will be easier this time, because that path has been beaten down a bit already once.

Thanks,
Anna

[sport]

I think that it will be entirely up to yourself.
You must stop seeing it as a battle. The best thing is to just change your self image and think of yourself as a Raw Foodist. It will be easier to become it if you see yourself as it.
You are what you want to be. I am a Raw Foodist and so are you.

It was easy for me because I was locked up for the first week at The UK Center For Living Foods and I did not have a choice in what I ate. When the week was over I was raw.

[Bananna]

Hmmmm.
That reminds me of when I quit smoking. I didn't have any trouble with it at all. Nothing! And I attributed it to being a 'non-smoker' so it was just a 'non-issue'. There was nothing To fight.
I felt so flattered when you called me a raw foodist. Aw! Ok...this helps,
Thanks,
Anna.

[EZ rider]

For me raw was natural and that has been the key from the start. When I found this forum on July 24th I "bought in" to the discussion here about whats natural for the body and whats not. By Aug 1st when I joined the challenge I had already started feeding my body with foods that were natural the way God made them. It all became very clear that people are causing many of their own health problems, especially degenerative ones, by cooking their foods and other practices of modern life. After that there was no battle for me there was only putting the right fuel into my body for optimal health and feeling good. This board and Alissa's book have been very helpful in assisting me on my journey.

[Bananna]

So there was no struggle at all? What about when faced with your old favorites....
Anna.
As an aside, I think I have a wheat allergy, as everytime I eat enough of it I get a pounding headache and need a nap.

I guess I am suffering badly right now from 'last supper' syndrome, since I went raw this summer....so I wonder how many last suppers I've had....it's amazing, I figured out I've officially been overweight for a decade of my life, which was originally, just some post preg, baby fat. I know this is effecting me heavily now....I also yo-yo smoked for a total of a decade. There is something about doing something bad for an entire decade that resonates deeply enough with me that it feels....well rattling....
Love all your posts by the way.
Anna.

[RawHeaven]

It's been a 20 year journey for me...evolving from a vegetarian to a vegan and now raw vegan.

What really catapulted me to this lifestyle however is in finding it necessary to heal myself after experiencing a bodily trauma. After baring witness to the cycle of multiple operations, hospilizations, being fed every drug known to man and horrible food (the irony) it became the only thing I could do for myself before I further deteriorated and was driven crazy by traditional medicine. After going deep within my soul in my darkest moments, this was the answer that came to me...to consume only raw foods to heal myself. And I have.

What made it easier? I've fasted for almost 100 days this year and after each fast, the only foods I felt I could eat were raw. I've had my detours every now and then, some of which I've openly shared on this forum. But I feel great, alive and better than I ever have in my entire life. I feel like this is how I'm going to eat for the rest of my life and my body is in agreement.

As far as being "normal" in the social context, ha ha ha, never have been and never will be. I'm a born rebel, my Mom tells me I kicked a nurse in the face when I took my first breath and made her laugh. I'm still kicking. Right on!

[EZ rider]

So there was no struggle at all? What about when faced with your old favorites....When I went on the August challenge I started juicing a lot. A lot increased in just a few days until the juice was about 80% of my all raw diet and I kept that up for the 30 days and beyond and then I slowly moved the balance more toward solid foods. Now I'm about 20% juice and 80% solid and still 100% all raw (119 days). I think the initial juice % when I started allowed me to break old habits without a lot of effort as I really like juice and when I started to increase my % of solid foods in my diet it occurred very naturally and without trying or even conscious effort.

[justinesmith]

Hey Anna ~ what I found is that when I am faced with my old favorites I try to find a good raw substitute. Also, anytime I have "indulged" in an old favorite, it never (and I mean NEVER) tastes as good as I remember it and my body indulges me by giving me severe diarrhea (sorry TMI?). For some it's a struggle and for others it isn't ~ we're all different. I try to remember everyday that nothing cooked tastes as good as raw feels. Good luck on your journey! :D

[IamLoved]

Hello,

I second the juicing. I truly beleive that carrot juice has been the key for me staying raw.

I first went raw in 2005 and I juiced every day. I went through 50 lbs of carrots a week! We went on a one month trip and I took my juicer with me because I knew how important it was to me. SO healthy and good for you too! Eventually I forgot about juicing, got too busy, I don't know what happened, but I went back to SAD and then struggled for the next 2 years to try to go all raw again. It was not until I remembered the benefits of juicing and made the connection that I was able to go raw and stick with it for more than a couple days and get in the right mindset again.

Good luck to you.

[EZ rider]

I second the juicing. I truly beleive that carrot juice has been the key for me staying raw.I really like fresh made juice and carrot juice is the mainstay of the juicing part of my program.

To clarify my post above when I said my present program is about 20% juice and 80% solid foods I am referring to juice as the liquid that comes out of the juicer with little or no fiber in it and the 80% solid as foods that have their fiber still like blending and eating a salad etc.

[DavidZaneMason]

Just a thought/opinion:

-You cannot 'beat' old favorites or temptations - you can only have NEW favorites......that excite you.....and that you know are fueling YOUR goals & dreams. When eating healthy is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY in your mind.......a no-brainer.....then you will surely find the motivation.

-David Z. Mason

[Bananna]

ok, so how do you go to thinking it is absolutely necessaryfrom thinking it is healthy and great.
Were there certain articles or books that motivated you? I mean I am motivated right now by weight loss, and youthful beauty...and I want to be an inspiration....so largely by my ego I suppose. But also because I have always wanted to live to 100 or more....maybe that's an ego thing too. And also because I have to be a leader not a follower. Oh my....I am realizing I might have ego problems, lol.
Also, I do have health issues...and I want to heal them. And I have been raw long enough in the past to know what a high it can bring.
I don't have a juicer, but I do love smoothies...they are definately a new favorite of mine, as is the raw choc pudding.
I need an awesome salad dressing or something :)
Thanks for all the replies guys, this is all very interesting to me...
Anna.

[IamLoved]

Anna,

One book that I really loved is 12 steps to raw by Victoria Bortenko (I think I got that right) She talks about how every time we eat SAD we lose enzymes and when we don't have enough enzymes our bodies start shutting down and we get diseased. It is very interesting. Also reading success stories really inspires me. Alissa has some really great ones in her book, which I also recommend getting. It is a really great book. You get a lot more than what you pay for.
David Mason ir right too, about finding new favorites. Before I went raw I had never had a mango, persimmon, young coconut, and many others. Find new things that you love to eat.