bulimia, raw, and falling off the wagon....

[1bigfamily]

So I was reading a thread on here about falling off the raw wagon.....

Been there. Stayed there. Haven't figured out how to leave there. I have only been 75% raw for awhile now because my eating disorder started rearing its ugly head and I haven't figured out how to do this with out purging when I eat SAD. For now I have given myself permission to eat SAD once a day but I do so want to be 100% raw. :( My biggest problem seems to be that I really really like the taste of SAD and I don't have time or resources to make all of the yummy stuff on here. We get foodstamps right now so I can't buy online and the only decent health food store here doesn't even know what raw is. They only sell raw agave nectar. Has anyone been here before?

[Eva]

For now I have given myself permission to eat SAD once a day but I do so want to be 100% raw. :( My biggest problem seems to be that I really really like the taste of SAD and I don't have time or resources to make all of the yummy stuff on here.

I would recommend seeing if your local library has either Alissa Cohen's "Living on Live Food" or Victoria Boutenko's "Twelve Steps to Raw".

Both do a really good job of helping you get to 100%. Why 100%? Because the cravings go away much more quickly. If you keep eating something SAD every single day, you are accidentally your own biggest enemy when it comes to your cravings.

Even if you can't get the books soon, I would really, really recommend making a commitment to a week or two weeks or even a month raw. Come here for support! And you really don't have to make the fancy stuff. It's been a couple weeks since I've made anything other than a salad of some sort or other than just fresh fruits and veggies. No big deal.

[Random]

I don't eat a lot of fancy stuff. I've never bought agave, cacao, coconut oil or any of the other hard-to-get (and expensive!) ingredients. I'm also on a tight budget and tend to buy seeds as opposed to nuts, although I do like to have almonds on hand for fancy desserts. Sunflower seeds and flax seeds are both VERY cheap and are staple foods for me. I soak the sunflower seeds before eating them, and I run the flax seeds through the coffee grinder to make flax meal. I've had to make a few concessions to be able to eat this way. For one thing, I don't worry too much about my almonds...if they say raw, that's good enough for me. I do all of my shopping at a regular grocery store. I buy mostly conventional produce because organic is out of my price range right now. I do try to buy organic strawberries and spinach, and sometimes grapes if they're affordable, but that's about it. I also eat frozen blueberries without worrying too much if they've been pasteurized.

Do you have a blender or a food processor? I find that with a blender and a food processor, I can make delicious recipes. I try to meet my cravings for both salty/savoury and sweet. There are a few recipes that I almost always have in the fridge:

sunflower spread/dip: soaked sunflowers, garlic, sea salt, black cracked pepper and lemon juice run through the food processor. It has a taste that reminds me of hummus. I love it!

tomato soup: tomato, garlic, sea salt, pepper, splash of olive oil and fresh herbs (I love either basil or cilantro) run through the food processor. Then I heat it gently on the stove until it's warm to the touch and add a few chopped tomatoes on top. I could eat this every day!

apple pie: this isn't an every day occurence, but I probably make it about once a week. The crust is made from dates and almonds run through the food processor with a pinch of sea salt and then pressed into a pie pan. The filling is made from chopped peeled apples mixed with a syrup (syrup is made in the blender from a whole peeled orange and dates). This is just sooooo delicious. The first time I made it, I ate absolutely nothing else all day!

Hope this helps!

[juliesvoyage2]

Thanks for the recipes. I do have a silly question- what do you mean by soaked sunflower seeds? Do you keep them in the shell and soak them? How much do I use?

I totally understand being on a budget. I went from a career with a salary and benefits to being a student and Graduate Assistant, who makes $4000 a year, before taxes are taken out of it. I have basically been living raw for years without knowing it, but now I am doing it. I don't make anything fancy. I eat salad and fruit and veggies, and I tend to buy whatever is the cheapest that I can get the most of for my $. It may not be the perfect way of doing it, but it works for my budget.

Coming here for support is free, which is great. :) Hang in there. You can do it!

[Random]

I buy shelled sunflower seeds and just soak them overnight in water.

[1bigfamily]

Thanks for the recipes and tips. I thought I had looked for Alissa's book at the library but they didn't have it. I will have to check again. I may be remembering wrong. I am seeing a therapist about the bulimia so hopefull that will help me too. I am going to come back on here more often to get the support I need.

[Robison]

So I was reading a thread on here about falling off the raw wagon.....

Been there. Stayed there. Haven't figured out how to leave there. I have only been 75% raw for awhile now because my eating disorder started rearing its ugly head and I haven't figured out how to do this with out purging when I eat SAD. For now I have given myself permission to eat SAD once a day but I do so want to be 100% raw. :( My biggest problem seems to be that I really really like the taste of SAD and I don't have time or resources to make all of the yummy stuff on here. We get foodstamps right now so I can't buy online and the only decent health food store here doesn't even know what raw is. They only sell raw agave nectar. Has anyone been here before?

My personality wouldnt let me eat one SAD meal a day. For me it would start out like that, but soon it would be like 5 SAD meals. What has worked for me for ever is something I learned when I lost weight while following Body for Life. I ate according to the plan during the week but was allowed one day to eat whatever I wanted.

Although I dont follow the Body for Life diet anymore, I still use a lot of stuff from the book. I will probably allow myself days to eat whatever I want on Raw too. I know it's not the worlds best idea but it keeps me from going back to eating crap everyday :D Last night I made some Guacamole and it was so rich my stomach felt bad. I cant imagine what a slice of pizza is gonna do.

[srsarri]

I stopped falling off the wagon when I sat back and started looking at RAW as a LIFESTYLE and not a Diet! people dont stick to diets because at the beginning of the diet there is a goal, and most think that once that goal is reached its ok to stop and everything will remain the same (which is not true, it is why people yoyo diet).

Once you decide on the raw lifestyle (something you follow long term or forever), you gain so many wonderful things, energy, great hair, great skin, a sense of freedom, being comfortable in your body, 1 day of binging on SAD food can take all that away from you. LITERALLY!. you need to start all over, you feel that icky feeling in your stomach (the SAD hangover).

Thinking like that really helped me. I took raw really seriously, it was my only way. I always felt like I had no purpose before RAW. Never happy, could never occupy myself, never felt good in my own skin. After going raw, I love my body even though it is not what I want it to be. I love it because it feels good. I can honestly say if I gained 15lbs and still felt this way, I would not worry about the weight! (I went into this only to lose weight, but then everything changed) RAW h as helped me find a true interest! It helped me figure out that I am really into natural health and Nutrition of all kinds! I spend time that I would have normally been bored and mad about learning about nutrition! It is great!

I know I did not resolve the cost of food here, but I found that when I had a better mindset about RAW, I was more eager to find ways to make it happen! I dont have much money at all, and im happy with an apple which I wasnt happy with before I had a mindset change!

Again, im sorry if I didnt help at all with this, you got me thinking and I went with it! :confused::eek:

[ShantiLove]

It is good to hear that you are seeing a therapist. You should be gentle on yourself. Like srsarri said, raw is a lifestyle, and it will happen when you are ready. Most of the "raw gurus" recomend taking it easy and go raw gradualy (like you are allready doing :-), then your body and mind has time to ajust.

Raw dont need to be expencive or exotic. Cheap stables could be:
Seeds: sunflower seeds and flax are the cheapest, but sesame and pumkin seeds are also in a good price range. Lots of great fattyacids and protein.
Fruits: Appels and bananas, and anything there is in season.
Vegies: Carrots, cabbage (at the moment), cucumbers, squash/zuccini, tomatos and go for what is in season, ex. corn at the moment ;-)
Dried fruits: raisins are a cheap alternative to any dried fruits in a recipy.
A good coldpressed virgin oliveoil and you are on to a good start.
All of this you can get at a regular supermarked. It can be really simple to eat raw, it should be ;)
Fresh herbs are great and somthing you can grow at home yourself, watercress is easy, cheap and packed with vitamines and minerals. Foraging is great (and free) too. Nettle is a great herb full of minerals and nutriens, both dried or fresh (if juiced or blended ;-). Young dandelion leaves for a salat ? Maby even get into sprouting ?
Check the internet for lot of free recipies, so you dont need to buy books right now. Youtube has a lot of demos on how to prepare a lot of the dishes, a great place to hang out. There are also a lot of rawfoodes who makes great blogs with a wealth of informations and recipies.
And most important be creative :D

[RawHeaven]

Thanks for the recipes and tips. I thought I had looked for Alissa's book at the library but they didn't have it. I will have to check again. I may be remembering wrong. I am seeing a therapist about the bulimia so hopefull that will help me too. I am going to come back on here more often to get the support I need.

Depending on your library you can also request that they purchase a book that you think would benefit the public. I have done this with a few raw books that are now in circulation. It took 9 months but I think this has more to do with California being broke than anything else.

In case you can't get your hands on your book of choice, you can also find great tips on this site as far as recipes are concerned and other raw food sites if you google them have recipes posted. I used to also go to Borders or Barnes & Noble and spend some time perusing what they had in stock. I also agree going 100% really does help, but do the best you can. I struggled with food bingeing for many years prior to becoming a raw foodist and eating 100%helped me heal this. I enjoy food on a much different level that would take paragraphs to explain.

Your progress is so inspiring, just keep it going and do your best. It seems to me that you've already come a very long way. We sometimes lose sight of just how much we've accomplished when we keep our sights set on something outside of ourselves. You're amazing now. Just stay present and take it one day at a time is my sincere advice. Sending you good thoughts!

[1bigfamily]

I just let out a sigh of relief after reading all of your responses. Thank you. :) I need to take it one day at a time. I'm going to try and find Alissa's book. :)