don't know how to start

[j_bozon]

hi everyone! i am new here. my name is rita & i am from missouri city, texas. i am a 47 year old wife & mother of 2 grown up children. i ordered the book & dvd but i haven't gotten it yet. i have been reading the forum for quite a while already but still confused on how to go around it. i got interested in raw food because of my bad eating habits, not SAD all the time but don't know when to stop when i start eating. sadly, no success so far. but i am hopeful that this time with my falling hair due to my lupus flare up, i will have to have control. hopefully i will be 75% - 80%, somehow & will try my best to stop when i need to stop. my current weight is 136 lbs to my 5'2" height. i will continue to read the forum until my book & dvd come & i'll see what happens. thank you & good luck to all.

[MiahTay]

hi everyone! i am new here. my name is rita & i am from missouri city, texas. i am a 47 year old wife & mother of 2 grown up children. i ordered the book & dvd but i haven't gotten it yet. i have been reading the forum for quite a while already but still confused on how to go around it. i got interested in raw food because of my bad eating habits, not SAD all the time but don't know when to stop when i start eating. sadly, no success so far. but i am hopeful that this time with my falling hair due to my lupus flare up, i will have to have control. hopefully i will be 75% - 80%, somehow & will try my best to stop when i need to stop. my current weight is 136 lbs to my 5'2" height. i will continue to read the forum until my book & dvd come & i'll see what happens. thank you & good luck to all.

WELCOME! You have found a GREAT place for information and support. You can start getting your kitchen ready if it's not already ... minimally you will need a couple of good cutting boards and some sharp knives. Then from there ... good blender, food processor, dehydrator, spiralizer. You can ask specific questions on the boards and people are very helpful.

Heather

[aliciamatheson]

Welcome! You will really enjoy your book and dvd.

When I first went raw and got Alissa's book, I followed her 4 week menu plan - it has a shopping list and everything. It was so helpful in getting me started. It starts on page 61 (can you tell I have referenced it alot!) and it's priceless.

Also, come and join me and MiahTay on the monthly challenge. It's a great group of people and alot of fun.

And there are probably folks on this forum with Lupus who could give you specific suport.

Welcome!

[j_bozon]

thank you heather & alice for a very prompt reply. i have been trying to be raw these last few weeks. after clensing 5 times last year & then go back to old eating habits, i tried to learn raw food lifestyle so i have a blender/food processor, citrus juicer & spiralizer. but there might be some pre-cleansing thingy that i need to do before following the raw food. that's why i am anxiously waiting for the book & dvd. i will try to learn as much in the book then i will see you again here in this forum. again, thank you so much. more power. rita

[MiahTay]

thank you heather & alice for a very prompt reply. i have been trying to be raw these last few weeks. after clensing 5 times last year & then go back to old eating habits, i tried to learn raw food lifestyle so i have a blender/food processor, citrus juicer & spiralizer. but there might be some pre-cleansing thingy that i need to do before following the raw food. that's why i am anxiously waiting for the book & dvd. i will try to learn as much in the book then i will see you again here in this forum. again, thank you so much. more power. rita

This is my two cents... I would start eating raw and totally enjoy the food. I know for myself (obsessive/binge eating) that if I do a fast or cleanse it is VERY difficult for me to successfully break it without over indulging. So, if it was me ... I would enjoy the food and allow the raw food to cleanse me and once it is a habit for me to eat raw food then I MIGHT consider the fast/cleanse. I'm sure many would have a different opinion.

Heather

[aliciamatheson]

Rita, just jump in NOW - don't wait to get all the ducks in order (they never do get in order, do they??!!!). start eating raw now. it's the over-thinking that gets us all bogged down (or at least me).

Alicia

[Radiantly Raw]

Welcome Rita! You'll love it here, everyone is so helpful and knowledgeable! And we'll be cheering you on!!:D

I agree with Heather, do the raw foods first, cleanse later. I'm the same, with overeating. I've been raw for 5 months and did a 4 day water fast in Oct. That was as far as I could go. Now, I started a juice fast on Jan 9th which will go for 21 days. These are the only cleanses I've done so far and I've felt great the entire time and weight has been released. If I had tried the fasting, or any restricting back at the first of going raw, it just wouldn't have gone well at all.

When you get Alissa's book, she explains that it's really hard to restrict yourself even further and have great results.

Give yourself time on the raw foods before you go there. And Alicia is so right!! Just do it, things will line up from there!

[spicyfull]

I wish you everything you need to Stay RAW........Welcome to MY World.

[j_bozon]

gosh, you all are so awesome. thanks so much. it's very inspiring to see that somebody is not only reading your post but taking their time answering them as well. this is really gonna help me with my raw journey. can you believe it, now that i have been feeling some symptoms of lupus, i have been praying to God to guide me & help me through this journey in my life. as we always say, "to work & to pray" i think going raw is my part of working & you guys are all God's instrument in answering my prayer. i am happy to report that after 3 staigth days of going raw (i don't know how much percentage of raw i should say, i have green smoothie & raw soup but i still drink decaf with lots of cream & agave nectar) my falling hair has started to stop. my numbing arms up to my hands are no longer bothering me overnight. my husband is skeptical about raw food but i explained to him that if he doesn't have time to read what i'm reading then he should just support me with whatever i'm doing. so he can help me go through it. i may not be posting a lot or acknowledging your posts but be assured that i will stick around catching up on my reading & learning more about this forum. God bless & cheers to all. rita

[aliciamatheson]

Yahoo! That's great, Rita.

Don't worry about percentages of raw - just do the best you can....and the husband will come around after he sees how much better you are feeling.

Keep us posted. Alicia

[shashibala]

HI Rita, Welcome! Don't worry about doing it "right" at first. Just eat plenty of good raw foods. Don't be hungry. Many of us use lots of avocados at first. They provide good fats and are very satisfying. I also liked to have raw almonds around in case I got hungry for something that wasn't a fruit or veg. I am cutting back on them now, but at first they really helped me. My experience with overeating is that as soon as I eliminated cooked grains and starches such as, baked goods, bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, and beans, my overeating just stopped on its own. I also was much less achy. This way of eating can be very gourmet if you love to prepare food, but it can also be so very simple if you run out of time.
Best wishes to you!!!!!!!!!!

[StarFire]

Aloha and Welcome to RFT!!! did you get your book yet?? How exciting!! You will loooove the book and DVD! I'm so glad you got these two tools - they will truly help you on your journey...

blessings and enjoy the ride!!

RAWk on!! http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/welcome.gif

[tanishamarshall]

I didn't read everyones post so hopefully I'm not repeating anything buy I would suggest getting started with green smoothies, maybe exchanging your breakfast for the smoothie, you can search the forum for green smoothie recipes. Once you receive the book and DVD, I'm sure you'll be well on your way.

What is a green smoothie?

Green smoothies consist of some kind of Leafy Green (Kale, Collard, or Spinach etc...) and fruit. For a beginner it is suggested that you use 60% fruit and 40% leafy greens then as you get use to green smoothies you would flip flop and do 40%fruit and 60% greens. Leavy greens are high in chlorophyll the darker the leaf the more chlorophyll present, also greens contain a large amount of nutrients, calcuim, B6, Thamin, Folate, Mangenese, etc...

Green smoothies have been known to help control cravings and it does just that.

[ambermum]

Hi there!

My name is Lyn and I also have Lupus. You may already know this but just in case you have come across it, please steer clear of alfalfa in its various forms as there is a compound in it which exacerbates SLE. It's something to do with it being such an immune system stimulant. I was diagnosed in 1995 but never had a bad flare (butterfly rash and all) until 2004 when I discovered Supergreens and started making green drinks with it regularly. After about 2 months, I had this major flare and only then did the penny drop - the second ingredient in Supergreens is alfalfa. Since then I've used wheatgrass and barleygrass powders to make green drinks with no problems at all. Kamut would also likely be fine. It's a shame that the strength of the alfalfa makes it damaging to those us who need to support but not overstimulate our immune systems. Good luck on your raw path!