Is it always hard

[rawererin]

I have to say, as many posts that I read about cravings, and falling off the wagon, is it ever easy?

[StarFire]

well... this is a very hard question - because for each person the answer will be different. Each experience is so unique - and we are all so very different individuals that - well - this cannot be answered in 'generalities'...

but since you asked... here is my 'humble opinion'...

it depends on where a person is and how badly they want vibrant health. Cravings come and go -- difficult situations come and go (and by difficult I mean - family gatherings, holidays - Company dinners or events - things like this).

but if a person is SERIOUSly wanting to finally put an end to all the yo-yo DIEiting... and an end to the feelings of low self esteem, or the health issues they may be dealing with... and if they have truly reached that point where -- they are willing to 'own' their power and GO FOR IT...

then - they will simply 'suck it up and just 'DO IT'.

and please don't think I'm being glib - truly I'm not -- cuz lord knows I've had my ups and downs -- in's and outs -- but the bottom line is -- I REALLY REALLY want to be healthy - I REALLY REALLY want to allow the REAL me to shine out of this body... I'm done with all the abuse I've put myself through and I'm ready to OWN MY POWER....

so does it get any easier??? ... I would have to say - "yes it does!" As you walk this path --- and you learn how to navigate on this journey -- it will get easier ... If you have the desire and your intent is to succeed - it will get easier!

blessings on your journey...

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/thawwaherst.gif

[StarFire]

i just read this on your post...

the flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all...

I'm sure as that flower is going thru all the stages it takes to break thru and blossom... it knows that -- it's worth it to push thru!!

rawk on!

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/lotusbloomsj6.gif

[Bananna]

Well I agree with everything Starfire said....but I remember thinking for years now that I was serious. Really Serious. But I just kept spinning my tires....or so it seemed. (Really I wasn't) It was more of a two steps forward one step back.

I first heard about a raw food diet when I was in my early twenties and vegan and I thought "that's absolutely crazy, too extreme, unnecessary, and what about spaghetti sauce?' lol, *exact thought* ...I also squelched the person who was telling me about it his new found interest with one look! Whaddaya do?

But see, I kind of now feel like I have been raw for a long time, because I have stabbed at it enough times that I have learned the pitfalls, and I have strategized around them, and I have experienced the benefits, the glowing skin etc, that the whole picture is something I know, albeit in pieces.

I have only been raw for...4 days now, but something's different about this time. I am truly SO SICK of feeling sick that it's just non-negotiable, like...I just see sickness when I look at cooked food. Lifeless, achy pain...everything I hate, all rolled up into one nice instant reaction. I don't feel like it's irrational anymore...but truthfully, for those I haven't 'broken', I am a bit embarrassed to proclaim raw food forever. I found myself today just saying, 'well for awhile, or forever' to my brother in telling him about it because he was trying to convince me to try lactaid. I still feel like it's a bit of a stigma...but oh well, I'm sticking with it because soon I know that the proof will be in the pudding anyway...

Generally though, I feel like I am a raw foodist, just like I am a non-smoker, or a brunette or someone who has a hard time shutting up ;)

[Raspberry4]

Yes it gets easier. Especially when I stopped listening to other 'experts' who said 100% all or nothing in the beginning. I felt like a 'failure' if I slipped. Now I just feel crummy if I choose SAD so I avoid that situation for the shear discomfort of it. I have learned to do what is best for my body and not to be perfect, but raw has done so much for me that I am so grateful for finding it and focus on that. I have to say that purchasing some uncook book and trying recipes really helped (I like Alissa's, Rawvolution, and Any Phyo's best) . I do not feel guilty anymore about eating raw dessert either. And, I feel like I have 'fixed' myself of my Fibromyalgia by eating raw - more so than all the doctors who pushed pills on me (which I never took anyway). The point is, I focus on what raw has done for my body and spirit, and the smell and taste of raw. Do I get cravings? Sure. But I also got cravings when I ate SAD. I just learn to deal with them and make sure there is plenty of raw fruits and veges available at my fingertips. It is a matter of choice and like Starfire says - "I really want to be healthy" too. Good luck to you on your raw journey. :)

[Eva]

The more confident I am within myself and my own decisions, the easier it is for me. I'm finding that I'm becoming my best self these days in terms of feeling real compassion, wanting good things for myself, fighting for them, really wanting good things for other people, feeling good, liking what I see in the mirror, thinking clearly and going toward my dreams.

I am so clear inside and out on raw. The longer I do it, the better I/it get(s)... Feeling confident and like I deserve great health, it's easy to keep doing what I do and easily jumping over the obstacles.

I also have gone out to eat twice in the last week with no problem (breakfast and dinner)!!! I finally have developed strategies that are working, and I am not missing out in the least!

But just two months ago on this nearly one-year journey, I was "falling" and beating myself up about it. It IS easier now.

[jacsam]

At some point it just becomes what you do. It's just the way you eat.

[EZ rider]

My experience with cravings since going all raw is that they are like waves. Every once in a while a wave comes along but each time they seem to be a little lower. Each succeeding wave gets weaker. After 6 months all raw I am still feeling an occasional craving but they are farther apart and less intense as time goes forward. I find the cravings easy to dismiss when compared to how good raw feels.

[lore-ah]

What a great thread, I needed some inspiration this morning. Thank you everyone!

[Carlsbad]

I haven't found that it gets easier not to slip, but I have found that raw is really easy to get back to. Before, on any diet, I would slip and plunge headlong into a hedonistic gorgefest, and then realize how miserable I had been on my diet and how happy I was pigging out, and I would completely bail on my diet. With raw, if I slip, I physically feel so gross and in pain (my stomach HATES cooked food!) that it completely cancels out any pleasure I got from the cooked food, and I can't wait to get back to raw food, which makes me feel SO GOOD! Raw food is delicious, it makes me so happy all the time, it gives me loads of benefits like weight loss and clear skin and no bloating, and I just love how I feel after eating it--light and satisfied and nourished instead of poisoned.

And I will say that I believe that the longer I eat raw, the easier it will get. I know the cravings are part of the addiction, and as I feed myself raw for longer, my body will eventually let those cravings go. It's a process, so I'm just being patient and nourishing myself as best as I can.

[subbacultcha]

Eating raw became easy for me the moment I stopped thinking of it as a conscious effort and started thinking of it as just the way I eat. I tell myself that if I want the odd bit of cooked food I can have it...but the fact is, if I don't feel like I'm denying myself it, I don't want it.

[rawfoodmommy#1]

Yes, it does gets easier but I think sometimes cravings are a way for our body to say: you are missing some nutrition. so maybe finding the replacement or finding what you are missing in diet would be the key to stopping the cravings. For example a while ago all the sudden I would crave chocolate and I found that if I gave in and ate the cooked chocolate, my cravings would not go away and I would feel so awful inside of me, so in my opinion my body did not need the chocolate but some other nutrients.

[Bananna]

I agree with subbacultcha...well said!

[RawSweetie]

I am new to raw--2 months or 2 weeks, depending on how I look at it. :)

I'm about 80% raw (I think these percentages are a little silly) and I am committed to being GENTLE with myself. I really, really, really want all of the benefits of raw, and they are starting to happen. I just need to do this in a way that is peaceful for me, while making forward progress. My growth as a raw fooder doesn't follow a straight line, necessarily, but it is MY OWN path. For example, I went from SAD bread to no processed bread to sprouted wheat bread, to SAD bread again briefly, to realizing that I can't tolerate gluten very well, so now it's gluten-free bread when I feel I really want it, which right now is once a day, more or less. My body feels GREAT without the gluten and wheat! Coming up soon I will buy a dehydrator, and then the gluten-free raw breads and crackers will stay, and the processed breads will go at last. And I'm ok with not being 100% raw, 2 months into this. I focus on how exciting it is to learn, to experiment, to have fun with this journey. The big thing for me is TRUST in myself. I am my own guru, in the end. I'm also finding a pattern with myself where, whenever I start to feel that cranky "this is too hard" feeling, I'm on the verge of learning something new and extremely helpful, that makes it easier--like when I was feeling deprived and I learned how to make the date nut torte, the lemon pie, fudge, taco meat, and cheddar 'cheese' spread, all in one weekend. Voila! No more feeling like this was hard. Recently, I've been feeling under raw duress b/c of the cold, and I finally made a soup, which I ate warm and which was soooo good. Very psychologically satisfying, which I needed.

This has all gotten so much easier for me over even this short time. I know it's my responsibility to pay attention to my needs and to keep this a joyful experience. I may not ever be 100% raw, but I'll enjoy wherever I am today and see what happens. My spirit and my body will guide me to what's right.

[rawererin]

thanks so much everyone for your replies, they really did help. :)