Does it get easier?

[lori ann]

Hello,

I have been trying to go raw for almost a year now. I eat well for the most part to the point that people do notice. The thing of it is I know we can fall off and get right back on. I also know not to beat myself up. I also read it is best just to go 100%.

However; it drives me crazy because I know why I should go raw and want to, but I am addicted to bad foods. Like today I did good to start with -had a glass of fresh carrot juice that I juiced with my machine, had a green smoothie and some fruit, but for lunch our office had pizza and I knew I did not need that pizza and tried to talk myself out of it and ate it! When I do fall off it is for bad foods like-sweets, chips and pizza. I know Lucy always says green smoothies (which is great advice :) ) I do drink them a lot, but I guess not everyday like I should.

So, my question does it get easier?

[Frugal Raw]

For me, 100% gets easier the more I do 100%. If I eat anything cooked, I have a binge reaction, which I think is caused by my body not recognizing the cooked item as food due to its lack of nutrition. Have you tried going 100% over a weekend? That way there would be no office temptations. Or, when you have a week of vacation, spend the entire week at 100%. This will help you to see the difference and curb some of those cravings.

[justinesmith]

I believe it is such a mind game that we play on ourselves ~ we know what the food will taste like so we eat it because we know we like it. Then we think ~ this will be my last one, I'll never do this again. And our mind says "Um excuse me? Did you say NEVER?? Think again baby." It's such a vicious cycle. I'll gorge myself like a tick if I think I can "never" have it again. So I am changing my thought process ~ manifesting a new destiny so when the pizza (or whatever food tempts me) shows up, I will give it no more thought to eating it than I would, say, the toaster. And I agree with Ms. Amberstorm 100%. If I even have one bite so begins the downward spiral into cooked food crap. Good luck to you......

[Shell]

Hey Lori Ann! Well, for me, it's easier to stay all raw if I am completely 100% raw. Once I start introducing non-raw foods into my diet, it gets harder and harder to say no to MORE non-raw foods, and eventually snowballs into a cooked food fiasco!! It can be difficult to resist cooked food at the beginning, but once you say "no thank you" the first time, you'll feel so good about yourself, that the next time you're tempted, you'll feel more confident in the fact that you know you can say no, and it won't be the end of the world!;) I think that like Mattye said, the longer you're all raw, the better you'll feel, and the less you'll likely want cooked food. I don't know, I mean, you have to do what you feel is right, and if it's that much of a struggle, don't force yourself into doing 100% until you feel you can....it should be fun, and not like something you HAVE to do, you know what I mean? Good luck to you!

[raweater]

What helped me quit bad foods was learning about the science of how deadly they are, for example, sugar, grains, dairy and meat are all much more dangerous than smoking for various reasons, when you see the list of terrible diseases that are a direct result of eating these foods, you'll never eat them again. Good sources are
www.newstarget.com
www.drday.com (also try to watch her DVDs, like "Diseases don't just happen" and "Drugs never cure disease", one of them is available free on http://video.google.com/ )
www.mercola.com
www.drmcdougall.com

[lavendarJ]

I love your post...at the end of the year, you provide a great opportunity for us to think about where we are in this journey and ask ourselves what struggles we continue to have, etc.

I would say that it does get easier with time but that the "time" itself is a very individual thing. I totally agree with all the many great points posted on this subject. Like raweater, I believe researching and understanding the effects of foods on my body is what led me to this raw journey in the first place and it also serves as a way to keep myself accountable.

Also, for me, the transition to raw last August ultimately meant recognizing that sacrifice was a part of the journey. I have so many friends that are on various diets - low carbs, no carbs, weight watchers, blah blah blah....- and the thing they always say is that you shouldn't have to give up what you like, you should just eat less. I disagree with this, I believe sacrifice is a part of achieving and sustaining successes in this raw journey.

What has been surprising to me is that after a year of 100% raw (this past August was my 1 year anniversary), I began to have doubts and really seriously began considering being only 80% raw. I wondered why after a whole 12 months would I began to doubt myself..but you know it's a part of the journey and I have to remember that I have a history of eating junk foods for years and years....so I shouldn't be so hard on myself for feeling wishy-washy sometimes, it is indeed a battle of mind. It's like the kind of battle that comes right before the victory. The battle that will pull out all the stops to distract you from achieving your purpose....

So what do we do? I say we continue onward and upward. We are armed with some awesome knowledge about what is best for our bodies. We recognize our doubts and fears and continue our pursuits even with fears in tow.

Okay, okay, I guess I'll shut up now; the next thing you know I'll be asking everyone to join hands and sing "what the world needs now is love sweet love":D

lori ann,
I believe in you; embrace your power and knowledge and don't beat yourself up but really just think about why you make the choices you do and determine what is best for you....I know you can do it!

[lori ann]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the responses-I love this fourm it is so helpful and keeps me going. I was so frustrated with myself today and I knew it would help to post this. Again thanks :)

[inspiredraw]

Okay, okay, I guess I'll shut up now; the next thing you know I'll be asking everyone to join hands and sing "what the world needs now is love sweet love":D

How about Kumbaya? :)

This thread has been very helpful to me and has come at just the right time: when I'm preparing for the next Raw Food Challenge. I embrace the idea of steering clear of those foods I know will sabotage my efforts because I know if I eat just one (piece, slice, whatever) it starts that downward spiral from which it is so hard to recover. This has been a major problem for awhile now.

I'm sometimes discouraged to hear that people who have been raw for a year and longer (like Lavandar) still experience cravings and/or lapses. I'd have thought one would be free and clear after being raw for so long. Oh well, nothing worth doing or having in life is easy.

[Carlsbad]

For me, most of the time eating raw is effortless, and then boom, I start thinking about cooked food. And once I eat it, no matter how sick it makes me and how disappointing it tastes, it takes me a couple of days to get out of the addiction and back to raw food. One piece of advice I have though is to make sure you are eating enough filling things, particularly in the beginning of your journey. Green smoothies and fruit are delicious, but for me they don't have the heaviness that I associate with being satisfied (a psychological habit from my cooked food days). So make sure you're eating enough healthy fats (avocados, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, etc). Even if you are overdoing it with the fats, you'll be better off eating raw fats than eating pizza. And eventually, your body will crave less fat.

Above all, be patient and loving with yourself, feed your body fabulous and filling raw foods, and remember that you have a lifetime to perfect this way of eating. Every step forward counts.

[Bananapie]

Before I got into 100% I found that I could not start the day with very sweet things because they would lead to cravings for cooked and more sweets. I would start the day with green smoothies or miso soup or left over raw dinner. For me I found that balancing the five tastes seemed to help, salty, sweet, pungent (spicy), bitter and sour. When my taste buds were all stimulated I found I had less cravings for sweets. Green smoothies daily helped as well as L-Glutamine. I also like Carlsbad advise about having lots of good quality fats in the first few months. I recently enjoyed reading Victoria Butankos book, 12 steps to raw, her new addition. The two points I found very helpful were, 1. It takes about two months to really be into the swing of it and not get as many cravings. and 2. those of us that are compulsive eaters really have a hard time doing anything but 100%. Knowing what kind of eater you are can be helpful in knowing weather you can transition slowly or go in full 100% right away.

As far as my own mental mind tricks.. I keep telling myself when I am tempted that [put food craving item here] will be there. It is not going away and some day if I decide raw is not for me it will still be in the world and I can have it later. Even a year or two from now I know that these foods will be around. I don't have to have them now. I know in my heart of hearts I do not want them in my body. This and saying good buy to the relatives that were visiting over Christmas and throwing out all their junk food helps to stay on the wagon! Thanks for everyones great input on this thread.