Cooked Addiction

[RawMistress]

How can I deal with this mind blowing addiction?
I get so stressed because my body calls out for such junk food.
Cakes with butter cream, bread, pasta.
I am really pulling my hair out! My food addiction is just so out of control.
I feel myself spiraling out of control!
I even get these "bad" thoughts in my head and I know its from this sugar running threw my vains.
I cant afford extravagant foods at this time, so now I am trying it with basic foods.
Please tell me how you got threw this!
I am sitting here crying beacuse I dont know what to do anymore!

I want to lose weight and be a healthier me!
I want to walk without heavy breathing.
I dont want to be ashamed of my body anymore!

thanks,
Kathy

[FloridaPatty]

drink every day. Raw chocolate with the new flavored liquid stevia sweetners. You could also use yacon syrup or agave syrup. Sometimes I add ground cinamon. Seems to help with any sweet cravings. Also Alissa has some awesome fudge/chocolate balls in her cook book.

Just remember - raw chocolate is a super food.

[StarFire]

yep... raw chocolate... I also love agave syrup and will drizzle it over Alissa's raw rye bagels, over celery sticks with almond butter and agave, or apples with a tiny bit of agave...

and of course - fudge balls.... or coconut oil fudge, there are a lot of wonderful raw treats that will help you in times of need!

no worries -- it's all a journey - you will find your balance in time... just try to substitute with a raw treat when you've got those cravings...

sooooo... plan ahead - make yourself some treats and then -- wait for those cravings to hit... and then... EAT!!! and enjoy!!

oh I almost forgot -- RAW CHEESECAKE.... RAW ICE CREAMS!!! RAW COCONUT ICE CREAM WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS (RAW CHOCOLATE OF COURSE!!)

we've all been there -- you CAN do this girl!! YOU CAN DO THIS!!!

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/cheer1.gif ... you can do this!! ;)

[Michaela Lynn]

Hi,
After years of transitioning I am now finally raw. I love cacao too but even more than that I love, love, love, and attribute much of my own success to a simple and amazing tool called "The Work" developed by a woman named Byron Katie (www.thework.com). The Work takes the focus off the physical addiction and takes you right into the stressful thoughts that are fueling the drive to whatever you are addicted to. Katie says that through this process her chain-smoking addiction "quit her" rather than the other way around. Her book "Loving What Is". Is how I got started. I've found it in many public libraries. I highly recommend this resource. It continues to bring me daily peace of mind.

Blessings,
Michaela

[Ginger]

Kathy, maybe instead of jumping in 100% you could start by eating fruits and salads before each of your regular meals so you end up eating less but not forbiding yourself anything? Try to fill up as much as you can and eat less & less of the cooked stuff. As a discipline, make a green smoothie and a big vegetable juice each day no matter what. Then just phase the less desirable stuff out naturally as you start feeling better instead of trying to force your way there on willpower alone.

[Ginger]

aslo.. When you give in to your addictions they get stronger, you give them more power. Every time you resist you take back your power and over time the addiction fades because with enough resisting, the habit, as well as the cellular memory is ereased.

[maui_butterfly]

I love, love, love, and attribute much of my own success to a simple and amazing tool called "The Work" developed by a woman named Byron Katie (www.thework.com). The Work takes the focus off the physical addiction and takes you right into the stressful thoughts that are fueling the drive to whatever you are addicted to.

I'll second Michaela's recommendation of "The Work" of Byron Katie. A truly amazing route to emotional freedom (and guess what follows? raw with ease!). stress and negative self talk creates a vortex that will suck you into exactly what you are trying to avoid. release from these things gives you a clear headed space from which to operate. The Work has given me that.

[subbacultcha]

Sorry to hear you are having a hard time.
Maybe what you could do is make sure you eat your favourite raw foods every day to remind yourself that raw food is so much better.
Mine is mangoes so I start off every day with a mango smoothie! Gets the day off to a good start.

[Bananna]

I agree with everyone, although I would like to add that you should pay attention, really close attention, to how food makes you feel, for the full 12-18 hours it's in your system....

I've kicked many a bad food because I decided to gorge on it and it made me feel literally sick...and arthritic and foggy and tired and nauseous...and zitty. Once you realize these are foods that DON'T love you back they really lose their shine.

I can gorge on fruit and vegetables untill I'm stuffed to the brim and I never feel sick or any of those things. I feel light and great and energetic.

I'm going to look into the work idea myself, sounds interesting!
...but so far for me, it's been a food by food elimination....or more truly replacement.

[Cinammon]

RawMistress - I kind of know how you feel. You hang in there, and take it easy on yourself. xx

Rasiaca: just to say: loved the phrase, 'foods that DON'T love you back.' Will try to remember it, and use it!

Love

Cinammon

[KatK]

Try RP's brownies when you're craving sweets?

http://rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=32313

[shashibala]

When I first started I ate chocolate in the evening. Every evening for 2 weeks. They weren't raw, I know. The evenings were the times when I felt tempted, so I needed something to satisfy myself, especially before my daughter was raw and was still cooking up Indian food for her dinners! I bought good quality chocolate bars like "Green and Black" that are 70% chocolate. A few pieces of that chocolate did the trick for me.
Another strategy that might help is to allow yourself to have a cooked treat at a specific time. Like maybe on Friday evening you can plan to have a piece of cake. This is tricky because actually having it might wake the addiction and get you off track, but if you are going to eat the stuff anyway, it might help for you to feel that you are in control of it. Sometimes the idea of giving things up "forever" is too painful.In that case short term commitment can help. Like one day, then one week, then one month..... I have had many painful moments letting go of foods that were my security blankets when I needed comfort.
It will be worth it! I wish you all the best.

[MiahTay]

Green Smoothies - I always have some in the fridge for my afternoon "binge time" so that I don't think I just drink :D . And also I always have a batch of fudge balls of some sort in my fridge for the sweet cravings that still pop up.

Heather

[kiropa]

or you can go a bit more extreme and do a fast and/or cleanse. sometimes taking the offending thing out of the equation is the path of least resistance (after the first three days). we obvioysly can't abstain from food, but you can safely juice fast or mastercleanse for a week, 10 days, more. just a thought. that is what works best for me -- but i am an all or nothing type of personality. we do feel your pain. raw is healing. commit to whatever you decide for 24 full hours. the food will still be there. if you really think about it, you don't NEED it. something in you may want it. but, a 24 hour commitment is sometimes all it takes to veer to the right path.

[RawSweetie]

Rawmistress~~ First of all....**HUG** **KISS**


It's going to be ok. In my opinion, the intense frustration and upset you are/were going through can be a gift...a signal that you and your body have just freakin' had enough. It's like maybe you're hitting a necessary bottom, so that you can bounce back with fresh efforts, more workable strategies for what YOU need and for how going raw works for YOU.

Please be gentle with yourself here. The foods you mention are so EXTREMELY addictive. I am not a fan of jumping in 100% percent, but that's just me...I like the suggestions proposed so far for you. Try to just have trust that the raw treats are A-ok for you to make and INDULGE in right now, for as long as you need to, in order to stave off that horrible obsession. I have raw chocolate alot! I just made a raw cheesecake and it's nice to know it's in the fridge and I kind of help myself to it whenever I want to. I made the delicious cheddar cheese spread that's on the forum and I eat it with a spoon. I have some cashew/honey spread that is so rich and delicious. I always have to have some of these things around.

Hang in there. Take it one step at a time. :)