Best Motivation???

[ShelShel]

What is your favorite motivational tool for getting back to raw and staying there???

[EZ rider]

motivational tool for getting back to raw
The last time I "slipped" it took me over a month to get back. During that time I put on plenty of flab fast and so when I had to trade my slim pants in for a fatter pair I dug around in my closet and found the biggest "tent" pants I had worn pre-raw and took them out to my front room and hung them up to look at and next to them I hung the slim pants I had just expanded out of. That "tool" did the trick because I knew I didn't want to go back to the fat pants ever again.

[rawstrength]

Set some really inspiring goal that you know you could only achieve through eating raw. Post this goal everywhere, and give yourself constant reminders of your goal. State the achievement of your goal in the present tense, for example, "I am more beautiful than ever," "I am radiantly healthy," "I am at my ideal weight effortlessly and always,"

[Dimond]

I've never slipped. I stayed raw by keeping it simple, only having raw around, having variety, no rules at the beginning (just raw & organic), supplementing with prepared snacks & meals. Basically I've let it be a fun, enjoyable, easy, delicious process.

[Bananna]

For me, it's always about how I feel....physically and spiritually...this is my catalyst for all my changes.

But I'm finding that motivation is only a part of it, and it seems that motivation itself morphs, kind of like romance/relationships...at first it's full on, super passionate...and then it changes, and....could someone more experienced explain to me what is going on here with the motivation? ....I'm struggling just to stay vegan these days.

Gilmore Girl that is very interesting....I get it, but only having raw around -I don't see that happening in my house.

[AutumnBreezColordLeavz]

The last time I "slipped" it took me over a month to get back. During that time I put on plenty of flab fast and so when I had to trade my slim pants in for a fatter pair I dug around in my closet and found the biggest "tent" pants I had worn pre-raw and took them out to my front room and hung them up to look at and next to them I hung the slim pants I had just expanded out of. That "tool" did the trick because I knew I didn't want to go back to the fat pants ever again.

This has been me a couple of times. I had to laugh and see if I wrote this at one time or not. LOL....so true!

My motivation: Finding that I have lots of strength within. Fun: when the neighbors see me they are amazed...they can tell right off that I have lost, via their comments. They don't see me everyday so they see a difference week by week. I like to feel thinner, more mobile and flexible as I did as a young whipper-snapper.
Spiritual motivation: Knowing that I am eating God's food as he intended. When I read my scriptures and study the
Word, I find that I want to please Him that much more and this is a motivation to continue eating raw food.

Of course these affirmations are real and true motivators for me too: "I am more beautiful than ever," "I am radiantly healthy," "I am at my ideal weight effortlessly and always,"

[jurence]

What is your favorite motivational tool for getting back to raw and staying there???

The scale! :P

[ShantiLove]

Well just looking to nature and it comes naturaly ;)
I love the taste of raw foods :D
Compassion for all living things.
My dad dying at the age of 53 from a heartfaliur. He was always skinny like I am but had a bad diet. I use to eat tons of bad fatty foods in hopes of ganing weight, but no luck. My father showed me that you dont need to be overweighet to have clotet arteries. It is diet not physical apperiance. That is a huge motivation :D

[MelissaO]

I look at my before pictures were I look old, fat and just plain yukkie, then I look at myself now. I remember when I had no energy and felt sick all the time, as opposed to now when I feel full of energy and while others are getting sick around me with colds and flu I am strong.

All of that keeps me on track.

[michigan roman]

the old and cheap ($10) norman walker book ' raw fruit and vegi juices " ,
available many places on line . walkers angle of seeing things made me a raw foodist forever . theres some classic paragraphs in that book , ide quote him but i gave all my copies away to friends/family .

theres this one two page chapter thats something like ' how to know what to eat and what is food ' , something like that . but in two pages he had my totally unreversibly convinced .

amazon.com i know used to sell his books .

[Green_Woman]

"It's how I feeeeeeel.... it's how I feeeeeeeeel... when I'm with RAW!!"

:D

[michigan roman]

heres link to said book =

http://www.herbalremedies.com/fruit-juice-book.html ..

[Ilse W.]

I've only been 100% since August 2. Sure for weight loss, but mainly because I was sick of having to put steroids into my eyes to counteract uveitis. I no longer put anything in my eyes and let them heal on their own.
Sometime in October I had a visit from good friends who told me ahead of time that they wanted German goulash with red cabbage and spaetzle (homemade noodles) for dinner. I put a lot of red wine into both the meat and the cabbage. I LOVE red zinfandel. I bought 2 bottles of it and not only ate cabbage and spaetzle with some of the gravy (I won't eat the meat), but also had 3 glasses of wine. The next day I could not see farther than about 10 feet in front of me. I felt like I was living in a thick fog. That cured me. It took several weeks to get back to fairly decent eyesight.

[freespirit]

- looking around and seeing the sick people in the world and being grateful that I am not one of them.

- my family history of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, alcoholism, etc...

- the spiritual high and the energy I feel literally coursing through my body

[RawKnitster]

My motivational tools are books. Raw books by Alissa Cohen, David Wolfe, Gabriel Cousens, Matt Amsden, Victoria Boutenko, Renee Loux Underkoffler, Jeremy Safron, and Alex Ferrara. There are more that I check out from the library and may add to my collection later.

My all time favorite books that I find the most motivational are David Wolfe's "The Sunfood Diet Success System" and "Eating for Beauty". Also "Nature's First Law" which brought me to raw in the first place and has brought me back from cooked several times. Since I went raw (again) last May, SDSS has a prominent place on my desk where I see the cover every day.

I also have to give credit to RawFoodTalk. Would I have stayed raw this past 7 months without RFT and the cyber-friends I've made here. Maybe, but RFT has made it a lot easier and definintely more fun.

Saturate yourself in knowledge by reading as many raw books as possible. When you think about slipping, surround yourself with the books and read raw recipes until you find something you want to try.

[ShelShel]

These are all wonderful ideas! Thank you for all your suggestions and sharing. I think I can relate to the two different pant sizes. :rolleyes: I'm going to do this! I think I'm also going to get some pics developed and tape them all over the house. Just to remind me of how great raw works! :D
Then I'll read some inspirational books, keep coming back here for great ideas and know I'm doing the best I can.
Thanks again ya'll!

[klomasius]

Usually it's for the boundless energy, diminished need for sleep, increased concentration and mentation, better vision, et. etc. etc.

Right now what's keepig me motivated (though it's really easy for me at the moment) is fitting into a damn bikini for my holiday! hehe... how vain!

Hope you find your motivator. :)

[curlygirl82]

It's a process, I think. On good days, though - and most days are good! :) - I don't even really need motivation. An in law at the family gathering today (very, very, very SAD), said affectionately how much she hates me and my motivation. I said that I really don't need motivation, because I know how good I feel when I'm raw and how bad I feel when I'm not. It's as simple as that for me. Plus, now I'm remembering how I used to feel before raw - just AWFUL - and I thought that was normal. I never want to feel that way again. I'm grateful everyday for raw and how it's changed how I feel, how I think, how I love.
It's also almost becoming a spiritual discipline for me, honestly. I feel so much more connected to ... everything when I'm eating this way, that I don't want to lose that by eating cooked/non vegan.
Also, I'm starting to look at the SAD diet and how severely unhappy everybody is. It's not normal, folks. THAT's mass hysteria! I'm starting to not even recognize all that SAD food as "food" anymore - but a very harmful, consciousness-altering lifestyle.

[SheLovesToEat]

What is your favorite motivational tool for getting back to raw and staying there???


WOW! great thread....

i would have to say the scale for one... knowing that the more raw i eat the less likely i am to gain weight. if you have a big appetite then raw is the only way to not gain weight.

the thought that i am eating loads of plant food makes my head feel good.
and eating all those fruits and veg makes my body feel good.

i have been on and off of raw and raw always feels better. when i have fallen off raw for whatever reason.... i am always thinking that i need to get back to it. when i do..... it just feels so much better.

i am very high raw ...like maybe 95% becuase i use some condiments in my food prep...and other bits of things i feel help me. the bulk of my diet is LOADS of raw fruits and veg. but i wouldnt call myself 100% because
i am doing raw my way and its working for me.
wouldnt want to raw police after me. LOL

i manage to mostly stay on track because raw just feels so much better.

[pixelkatt]

I can totally relate to the quote about taking a month to get back into the swing of things.. I decided to "go off raw" for Christmas and I'm just getting back.. It hasn't been a month but it's been a huge struggle getting back.

I have to say my inspiration is..
1) this site.. it's kept me motivated, interested and inspired and I am so thankful for that!
2) old pictures of myself really help, lol..
and ...
3) and this one just happened recently for me, after being SAD, coming back to raw was like coming home for me. That was THE BEST feeling in the world. This is where I'm meant to be. :)

[shashibala]

This Christmas was my first slip away from raw since I started over a year ago. I nibbled non raw stuff for about 4 days. I felt terrible!!!
I was bloated and unhappy and my depression returned with a vengeance.
Today has been my first day of all raw since the debauchery began and I'm already recovering! For me it took making a bunch of great raw foods. I made hummus, a raw sunflower seed dip, onion bread, and a raw key lime pie!!!!
The pie was delicious and I ate tiny slivers throughout the day. The more raw food I have ready, the better I feel. I hope to do a short fast, but I found that I
couldn't go right from eating cooked food to fasting. I need to step down slowly. I need to allow myself to eat, but only raw foods.
The motivation for me was how bad I feel so quickly and the scale. In those few days I gained 10 pounds!!! It's not the calories. I simply didn't eat enough in that many days. The whole equation changes on cooked foods!

[pixelkatt]

For me it took making a bunch of great raw foods. I made hummus, a raw sunflower seed dip, onion bread, and a raw key lime pie!!!!

You know I'm still struggling to be 100% so maybe I will try this.. My problem right now is I don't have a lot of groceries stocked (my fault totally) and am planning on making a grocery trip either Thursday or Friday so will definitely make an "uncooking day", lol.. I did make my usual miso gravy which I add to cabbage salad and that has totally hit the spot, but I'm needing something more I think..

Oh and I got a juicer for Christmas so made my first attempt at juice tonight!!! carrot juice!!! I was so excited! At first I was worried because no juice came out and I couldn't figure out what the heck I was doing wrong only to find out that I had to lower the spout.. :D duh! So that was great motivation!

Also, I am doing my first 30 challenge with rawfoodtalk in January. I've done one but it was by myself. So that's motivation too right? Lots to be inspired by here.. :)

[irishserra]

I get more motivation from coming here to the Raw Food Talk boards than anywhere else. Scales, energy, skin...they're all awesome boosters, but haven't yet been enough to get me to stay raw. Every time I fall off of the wagon, so to speak, I log back on here and check out the before and afters, followed by the personal experiences chronicled on this site and I feel inspired to go for it.

It's great to have 24/7 access to people who have shared my experiences and can be cheerleaders.

Thank you all!!:D

[pixelkatt]

ditto.. :) ↑

[Bananna]

I was talking to my daughters about an experiment we are doing this coming year (an exercise in extreme frugalness...sort of a financial fast, lol).

I said 'it's only for One year' ...one of my daughters said 'hmmm, that's not that long, really it's only like 12 long days'.

I thought...12 long days of raw....that sounds rather easy.

[freshlight]

You deserve the best,-so just give yourself the best things ever and feel good. The freedom is yours

[ShelShel]

It's a new year tomorrow! That's great motivation for me too! :) A fresh new year to do it the right way. All raw...all the time. woohoo! Let's go peoples!:D

[EZ rider]

I hope everyone made it through the holidays without any "slips".

If anyone "slipped" I recommend using the opportunity as a learning experience.

[Lady Green Jeans]

The desire for maintaining health and to keep smiling when I see myself in the mirror.

[marysmit]

I watched my dad slowly loose both legs to diabetes. I too have diabetes. I've lost 120lbs slowly through the last few years, but still have 50lbs to go. After some of my 12.5 hour shifts my metarsal in my foot hurts, that's where my dad's problems began. I am young and have a child to raise. I am off insulin but have to acheive optimal health. I believe being raw is my best option for meeting my goals and avoiding the problems my dad suffered. So far after 3 whole days I'm thrilled, not hungry and feeling great. Mary

[LotsaRaw]

Marysmit,

CONGRATULATIONS on releasing 120#'s!!! What an accomplishment! RAW should definitely be your icing on your goals, both health-wise and weight wise! Looking forward to hearing about your success!

Jen

[bsqmurphy]

Here's what I do:
- Read my journal entries before RAW & immediately after - it brings it all back how awful I felt before and how quickly I felt sooooo much better!
- Read RAW books & uncook books; re-read Alissa's book
- Come here to RFT and read before/after stories, look at b/a pics, and read posts just like this one full of encouragement.

I hope this helps,
Bri.

[Bananna]

when I quit smoking I took some advice and made a list of all benefits I would be getting, all the things I would be walking away from....'they' (my government's anti-smoking campaign) said whenever you feel weak, read the list.

The essence of that list is firmly engrained in my head...I could give it to you right now, likely in entirety. It was just a simple piece of paper in my pocket or purse. It REALLY helped me get through those rough patches.

I am thinking this would work really well for Raw too. It changes the way you think, what you think, it rewires your brain. But like learning anything, repetition is key, and so reading the list multiple times a day, in the beginning many multiple times is best.

Everyone's list would be different...for ex. marysmit's list includes diabetes/not losing limbs...which would hold a different weight for her, than it would for someone else, etc.

I think I'm going to try it for raw...I was thinking about this today, so thought I'd put it in this thread too.

[ShelShel]

New motivation for me! :p
I have a new part-time job at a dance studio! I'll be taking two dance classes again and have you ever tried to fit into a leotard...20 pounds overweight!?!?!?! LOL :eek::o:D I start tomorrow, but am hoping with raw and all this new exercise...the pounds will melt off like...well like coconut oil melts! Teehee.

Congratulations to everyone who finds motivation to improve their lives, the courage to live their dreams and the strength to do what is best for themselves and their bodies!

I'm going to be relentless in pursuit of my health, happiness and ideal weight this fresh new year! I did it back in 2006 by eating raw and I can do it again!

Who's with me????? Good for you!

[lori ann]

shelshel,

I am sure you will do this. I have struggled with this as well knowing it is what I need to do. I started my fresh start this past monday and I am on day three right now. What motivates me is this board, books about raw Alissa's being the best of course and I work at a doctor's office and see all the health problems people have and all the meds that they are on. Good luck to you!!

[Seeria]

I haven't been eating raw long and am only up to 50% but I can see where somethings simply are not appleaing anymore. Fried foods especially, darn near made me puke.