Why aren't you doing the August 30-day challenge? [Archive]

Eva

07-30-2008, 11:02 AM

I'm there doing the 100% raw thing already.

But if I were to make a choice to have other food, it would be my own. Each time I did the 30-day challenge, I ended up having something that wasn't raw, so for me it was counterintuitive to be committed to anyone other than myself. See, I'm committed foremost to my health and wellbeing and am raw by default. But I'm not committed to raw -- and then ended up healthy by default. LOL, I don't know for sure if that made sense. But that's my rationale, and it makes sense to me. :)

Veganforlife

07-30-2008, 11:05 AM

I've done 100% since day one (two years ago). So I'm on a continual challenge, although challenge is not the word I use. For me it was easy. Being Vegetarian for 27 plus years, then Vegan for 2 (or 3?) and now Raw? Easy, easy transition.

The word I choose to use is lifestyle. Raw has become my lifestyle now. And boy do I love it!

But for those that need this - DO it. It works...

Raw Yogini

07-30-2008, 12:20 PM

I usually stay around 90% but have days when I'm like maybe 50% (and that's being generous).

I was signing up for the challenges but then felt like I failed if I wasn't 100%, you know like, are these almonds really raw? What about my raw cashew butter, salad dressings, etc? I felt like I wasn't being honest or something.

fruitandveggies

07-30-2008, 12:28 PM

Rawzula

07-30-2008, 12:48 PM

Every time I started a challenge, I caved less than a week afterwards and binged on cooked food.

I eat as much raw as I can. Maybe i'll enter the challenge, maybe I won't.

shashibala

07-30-2008, 01:09 PM

I did the challenges when I first started almost 8 months ago. I went all raw in one day and never looked back! I don't need the challenges anymore since I'm always raw! :)

Eva

07-30-2008, 01:15 PM

Wow, Eva, I really just have to comment that I love your health philosophy. I've been struggling with food addiction/eating disorders/yo-yo dieting for years and I was making my diet (or my mistakes or whatever) my focus--not my health. Thank you, I think you just changed my life by saying that! Haha :D

Ha! So it did make sense to someone. Easier said than done, but sounds like some things are clicking for you. Very cool -- you deserve good health, for sure. :)

tanishamarshall

07-30-2008, 01:39 PM

Everytime I did the challenge I failed, so I am in total agreement with Eva...

annavon

07-30-2008, 02:34 PM

I actually had planned to do the 30 day change for August, but then I planned a vacation for 10 days, so I won't be able to check in. Also, I am anticipating some situations where being 100% raw will be difficult. I am flying, so bringing my own food is not really an option unless I can find a place to buy some veggies. Unfortunately, part of my trip will be in rural PA and last time I was there, the stores were few and far between and the fresh veggie selection left a lot to be desired. On the good side, at least my hosts (nuns) will be eating a vegan diet.

I am planning to do a 30 day challange in September

RawHeaven

07-30-2008, 06:30 PM

RawHeaven

07-30-2008, 06:37 PM

I don't like the word challenge in this context as I know it would set me up to fail and I would get into competition with myself which sort of defeats the purpose. I choose rather to focus my thoughts on Raw being fun, letting go, being relaxed, getting creative with the food choices and taking it one day at a time. Just sharing why I haven't participated, although I know it's a very successful tool for many and I'm not knocking it.

Anastazia

07-30-2008, 09:50 PM

I want to, but am doing RawFu's 100 day challenge, & need to spend LESS time on the 'puter & more time doin' everything else, so though I'll still be reading & commenting on ther things, I won't be doin' the challenge...
...for some reason (I think cuz I still have a long ways to go!) 100 days feels right to me...like the difference at the end of it will be much more substantial (of course!) than at the end of 30 days...

{...the fact that I'm frustrated I only lost 16lbs this challenge (due to a weird insomnia thing I have goin' on) could have something to do with that perspective, I'm sure!}

Anyways, the challenges have really helped me challenge myself...I only wish there was also room in them for sharing when we break raw, I always feel dishonest continuing the challenge (even when I get right back to raw) without being 100% up front about how I'm REALLY doing...

...yet it's also helped me just get back to raw & not get bogged down, but to focus on my health, & learn to extend grace to myself when I'm less than perfect...

...so, yea, where are there glass straws???
(oops, wrong thread...off to find that one now...)
~Anastazia~

saxmaam

07-31-2008, 07:21 AM

Hi Thick,

The July challenge was super-duper. But I'm planning to give "raw except one serving" a try, so I'm skipping the August challenge. I think it would be bogus to be in the 100% raw challenge while aspiring to something under 100%.

The "one serving" thing has to do with stuff in my pantry/fridge that I think is healthy/nutritious but isn't raw or won't be when I eat it. For example, yesterday there was swiss chard in my CSA box and it is too astringent to eat raw. I'm going to steam it and eat it with digestive enzymes.

I guess I'm not completely sold on the need to be 100% raw, though my mind is open to that. I'll see how my body reacts to things ...

Susan

deberaw

07-31-2008, 09:57 AM

...I SOOO appreciate this question...I didn't have an answer....but when I've done the challenge before...It worked and I felt great...I loved the accountablity and all that I learned....been on/off, high/low raw, short juice feast all the while still drawn to Raw and benefits. The biggest challenge for me is feeding 3 young boys {hubby is fine...eats what I eat or cooks for self}...and NOT putting what they eat in my mouth.......so I thought about the question and you know what? I'm signing up for the August challenge! Thank YOU!

Aleesha Sattva

07-31-2008, 11:15 AM

Anyways, the challenges have really helped me challenge myself...I only wish there was also room in them for sharing when we break raw, I always feel dishonest continuing the challenge (even when I get right back to raw) without being 100% up front about how I'm REALLY doing...

~Anastazia~

This is exactly why I've never joined another one of the challenges. Personally it felt like I was lieing and then I thought about it and realized everyone else could be lieing as well. Didn't feel like the right place to be for me because of that. I live my life with honestly and integrity and that thread doesn't honour those things about me. So since then (almost a year ago since I joined the 30 day challenge) - I've just done it on my own.

But for those of you who it works for... YIPPEEEEE and congrats to you!!!

Thick

07-31-2008, 12:24 PM

All of the negativity about how impossible it is to stay raw on this thread is exactly why we don't mention it on the challenge thread.

For me, it has been a great place to make friends--or at least people who I can pretend care if I'm raw or not--certainly no one in my real life could care less-and even encourage me to eat cooked.

When you make a connection with someone who you can look up to as being raw, then they tell you about how they slipped and ate 10 snickers bars on the way out of the grocery store parking lot last night...you not only lose respect for that person a bit, but also it loosens your own goals. The next time you are encountered with a mother in law with cake or a date passing the bread basket..you might be affected by the lack of resolve of the chalenge group-and cave in....what people join the group for is really support--not just to chronicle every detail of their own eating--that's what a journal or blog is for.

So, we leave out "honest" moments out of respect for the others who have not "cheated". Most of the time what people on boards are looking for when they tell you what they ate is forgiveness anyway--and I don't need anyone but me to "forgive" me. All the other issues for the *slipping* or bad choices are okay to discuss, of course. I am just so grateful that I have a safe place where I can start over with people who are in a similar place. IMHO, there's nothing at all wrong with keeping the vibe positive=)>

Aleesha Sattva

07-31-2008, 12:52 PM

When you make a connection with someone who you can look up to as being raw, then they tell you about how they slipped and... you not only lose respect for that person a bit, but also it loosens your own goals.

Oh please don't look up to me then... cause I am human... and in all aspects of my life... I make choices I'm not always thrilled about in hindsight. It's important that I see everyone around me as human as well... otherwise when they do fall off that pedestal I put them on... it usually hurts me more than them! http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x87/recyclinggoddess/thhangin.gif

I'm soooooooooooo glad the thread is working for those who are using it and that is is working for you Thick ;) YIPPPPEEEEEEEEE

Rawzula

07-31-2008, 12:52 PM

I'll post my progress in my blog, but not in the Challenge thread.

I'm not always online (due to my work schedule)

I actually signed up, but then pulled out, because I felt I wasn't ready.

Thick

07-31-2008, 01:01 PM

Oh please don't look up to me then... cause I am human... and in all aspects of my life... I make choices I'm not always thrilled about in hindsight. It's important that I see everyone around me as human as well... otherwise when they do fall off that pedestal I put them on... it usually hurts me more than them!

I haven't noticed you chronicling all of this humanity in any fasting threads. Maybe I've missed those posts.

I just don't think there is anything wrong with keeping the thread positive and about our common raw goal.

I'm glad that your way is working for you ,though!!!!!!!!!!!!!YIPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

Aleesha Sattva

07-31-2008, 01:04 PM

ah you must have missed them... cause there is some... recent ones too! http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x87/recyclinggoddess/thbackingout-1.gif

Aleesha Sattva

07-31-2008, 01:09 PM

just to show you i'm really human here's a few of my posts in the fasting threads:

here (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showpost.php?p=442477&postcount=995)

and here (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showpost.php?p=442233&postcount=980)!

Aleesha Sattva

07-31-2008, 01:11 PM

I just don't think there is anything wrong with keeping the thread positive and about our common raw goal.

I totally agree with ya! Just responding to you asking why we weren't in that thread is all.

(((hugs to you)))

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x87/recyclinggoddess/attachment.php-2.gif

RawMuthaTrucka

07-31-2008, 05:09 PM

hiya! Coming out of lurky-loo-dom here.

I have been a lurker here a long time. I have enjoyed reading the challenge threads and seeing how everyone progresses. I don't think I would enjoy it quite as much if I had to read about people falling off the raw wagon. I think the positive vibe of the challenge threads keep people motivated to stay Raw (even if they have their own slip ups). I don't think by falling off and jumping back on you are being dishonest, you are just keeping your shortcomings to yourself as not to drag anyone else down with you!

So I have signed up for this months raw challenge. See you there!

oceanee

07-31-2008, 06:00 PM

Ah ~ what makes the world go round is different strokes for different folks. Both sides are equally understandable. Over the past year I have joined the 30 day challenge several times. I know physically and emotionally 100% raw is best for me yet have never managed to stay that way more than a month and a half, so in the past year I probably have been raw for 6 months.
The challenge has been a great place for support, camaraderie and accountability.. I have never gotten hung up on the word challenge itself as I am always pushing myself in some capacity. However with food I am still mastering the addiction. It is my hardest fight.
Honestly in past challenges I have slipped briefly but did not just disappear feeling guilty and dishonest. I knew I needed to stay with the support of the group and picked myself and posted.
A huge part of succeeding is the ability to dust off the guilt and shame and move forward without back tracking. That is a lesson the 30 day challenge and the raw journey does help me with. I am a raw work in progress.
I totally agree slips should not be mentioned as the mind is a powerful tool in weakening and can so easily spark some desire to a reader and lead them astray:eek: .
Hearing all the sides is so important and helpful.
Oceanee

Bananna

07-31-2008, 06:25 PM

When they first made that rule I remember it didn't get a lot of support. Now I, and many others, obviously see the value in having some safe place for support on this website.

Besides, if you need forgiveness, you can go Anywhere else on the site and get it. ....because I think more often than not, it might be more than just forgiveness we are looking for. There is a poem I once read about life.....about falling in the same hole over and over and finally you figure out how to go around it. Changing requires strategies for those pitfalls...and people doing 30 challenges might all be struggling with the same holes/pitfalls and therefore instead of being a resource, might be in the hole right beside you. At that point you can put your arm around each other. But where's the experienced pro whose helping you out, showing you how they manage to walk around that hole? ....that's where the discussion board is great, where everyone with loads of experience and can instead of being wavered themselves by your slip, can give you a helping hand.

I don't normally join the challenges cuz I don't want to join something when all I feel strong enough to do is simply join. That said, this month I feel more, and will be there with bells on!

verseaurainbows

08-04-2008, 05:51 AM

Because i eat what i want, im not trying to live up to someone elses expectation. Im vegan so im doing all i can not to harm anyone/the planet through my diet. Therefore the rest is about MY health and decisions, and i dont want to do numbers and all this "100%", "Ooh no i slipped so im only 98%!" lark...Im growing at my own pace, at the moment i eat both raw and cooked food, only a lot more raw than i used to. That feels great for me. I may increase more and i may not, whatever. Its too difficult to be "100%" being in the situation im in atm

domestic goddess

08-04-2008, 06:16 AM

I think I probably joined a 30 day challenge once. When I see them advertised, I twitch. :(

For me, the word challenge is like 'I DARE you to go raw for 30 days'.
The choice to be raw is not a hard one for me. I love raw food, it makes me feel good, so I do it. If I choose to eat something not raw (and it is a choice, peoples) I am not going to get all 'oh noes I am only 98% raw now!' I mean, really. I have bigger things in my life to deal with than that 2% non-raw thing I ate. Plus, I choose to eat the 'questionable' things like brewer's yeast, and nama shoyu that people dicker over and I eat those and still call myself raw. The whole percentage thing drives me crazy, and makes me feel like its a competition of who is better, who is more raw and if you are only 75% raw you are less 'good' than Joe Shmow who is 90%.

I see an awful lot of people 'struggling' to be raw on this board. Why is it a struggle? It is what we make it. To me, it feels like the whole percentage thing is creating alot of anxiety in people's lives. Srsly, I am not going to feel guilty about what I eat! That is eating disorder mentality. If the struggle is from lack of knowledge or finances or food availability, I can buy that. But if you have the raw available and choose cooked...why do you choose it? And is it really SO vile that you need to come here and beat yourself up about it?

I will talk about raw food eating with anyone who will listen. I am not often asked as I really just don't make a big deal about it. I never talk in percentages. I never talk all-or-nothing. You do the best you can with what you have, and you go on. Any amount of raw is going to improve your health and I believe if you listen to your body and allow it to evolve and adjust at its own pace, you will be amazed at what happens and how easy and simple it becomes to be raw.

*All of this is my opinion, and I am not trying to start anything...just my observations as a mostly lurker. Sorry, OP if I did not answer your question!

Bananna

08-04-2008, 08:18 AM

Domestic Goddess Thank you for that Amazing post!

After signing up for the 'challenge' and 'failing' the first day out, despite Seriously pent up motivation. I decided to eat and think Exactly this way....no struggle, enjoy my fruit, enjoy my salads, if I eat something cooked, that's my choice too.

So thanks...

Thick

08-04-2008, 09:30 AM

I understand the healthy need to not stress out about percentages. I have joined the challenge just to know what it felt like to be 100%--I'm not promising that I will never eat anything cooked again.

It's sad to me Bananna, that you wanted to increase your rawness, and gave up after one day.You don't have to be perfect..I just wish you were where you wanted to be.. Success comes, not from never falling, but from getting up every time you fall.=)

And, my intention with this thread was not to attack people who were happy with their way of eating. I asked--If you are not yet where you want to be with raw, what is your reluctance to join the challenge? So please guys, don't be so defensive and offensive..I'm glad you are as raw as you want to be=)>

Rawzula

08-04-2008, 10:25 AM

I just eat as much raw as I can. I drink 2 green smoothies a day.

I'm not ready to sign up for a challenge right now.

Bananna

08-04-2008, 10:25 AM

Well in my eyes the challenge is about trying to 100%/perfect for a month...I guess I could stay there even if not 100% and omit my discretions....but I don't know, it just doesn't seem....something. I don't know.

My pent-up motivation was Not lost however....it absolutely Did kick me into a Very high raw diet. Since then I have been eating two full meals of fruit a day and a giant salad as well. I'm ok with it....I'm just going to continue doing it this way untill I find sufficient replacements for those foods I am still eating that are cooked. I just haven't gotten around to it, have exams coming, no time to play with recipes and stuff.

I promised myself I would eat fruit for breakfast everyday, and also have a giant salad everyday. It has been easy because I have developed a penchant for both :)

....so don't be sad! I have been wandering around, in and out of raw for a full year....trust me, I Know that the key to success with anything is just to keep working at it.

Emma-Liza

08-04-2008, 11:06 AM

This is just to say....what I like about the challenge.

Rawkinlocs' sign up sheet always says

the purpose and main goal is to eat ALL RAW for 30 days. Sometimes you may slip, sometimes you may consciously decide to incorporate a little bit of cooked food...all your personal choice BUT...we do NOT discuss cooked food, even slip ups here in the challenge threads.

I deeply appreciate that disclaimer, and I take it to heart. I am still using the almonds and cashews I got from WF. I just found out my almond butter isn't really raw. I have more "truly raw" versions of all of these ordered and on the way. I use some nutritional yeast and occasionally, I have had to resort to a commercial salad dressing.

This doesn't keep me from doing the challenge because I am aiming for 100%. The nonraw foods will be replaced seamlessly with raw, because I'm establishing these habits and tastes. I'll probably always use nut yeast, it has B12 and also can be considered a living food. Same for miso. I wouldn't discuss this on the challenge thread, but I don't hide it. You'll see these things occasionally (like, if I say I had Rich Cheddar Sauce, you know I had the nut. yeast). No one has ever said, aha, you aren't 100%! ;)

I love the challenge thread because I am so new to this. I literally got up the first few days knowing I could have fruit or salad, but not knowing else to fix. Despite cookbooks and this wonderful site, when I stood in my own kitchen, it was hard.

Being on the challenge thread is like holding hands with others as we cross this new territory together. I can see exactly what others ate, and they can see what I ate. We can get obsessive if we want. And I tend to want. :) It's typical for me when I'm new at something.

Nowhere else on this site would I be welcome to post every single thing I ate every single day! If I don't do the challenge in the future, it won't be because I felt pressured to be perfect or to lie. I don't feel that way now.

"100% Challenge" perhaps is a semantical obstacle for some. Maybe I've got it wrong, but I don't think perfection is the point. Perfection is a worthless goal, because it is unattainable; I see it more as working on a completeness or whole-heartedness about the way I take care of myself, specifically, with my food choices.

Raene

08-04-2008, 11:22 AM

I definitely have to agree with someone who said that when she signs herself up she usually fails. I'm the same way...right when I say "I'm 100%" then I slip up. Funny enough I AM 100% 99.9% of the time...but just labeling myself seems to set me up for failure.

sherilynn

08-06-2008, 11:33 PM

I think its a good idea. I'm in ..... thanks for posting.

Fuzzball

08-07-2008, 12:32 AM

I'm just now getting back to thinking about a raw lifestyle...I have been getting emails and such for quite some time as I ate SAD.....

I have a friend that is pushing me quite a bit..and I KNOW I need to do it...

First I need buy in from my family cook.....next I need to make it happen...

We'll see how things progress...but basically it's just that it's not easy....

Wow...just noticed this: Welcome, Fuzzball.
You last visited: 08-17-2006 at 05:40 PM

Wow...that's a long time...nearly two full years....yipes.....where did the time go??