I need help...

[dallasaj3000]

Where is the post that Spider Man did on Idealism & Realism?

[Revvell]

Looks to me as though it has been disappeared. http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5297

:cool:

[dallasaj3000]

I found it and I understand where the author is coming from. I asked myself why so many people wanted to go 100%...was it for the health, beauty, etc. Then I thought once you acheive 100% for a period of time what will you do next?

The basis of my questions come from seeing many before and after pictures of tremendous weight loss and then reading that a few months down the line they are almost back to their original weight.

Are we choosing this diet to loose weight quickly only to gain therefor putting this in the fad diet category? Or are we using some of the principles to gradually change our life style and maintain health? A lot of introspection as showed me that I will not be a 100% raw vegan all my life. I still want to travel and taste the different cultures of the world.

I feel like raw food is excellent! But it is being "marketed" as a fad and not as telling people "look, our health is fading and our asses are getting bigger and passing away because we have lost the principles of using raw foods!"

I originally posted in the "I want to loose 75 pounds are more..." thread, but I beleive I have changed my mind for the better for me! Unfortunately I was making a choice for right now and not for my LIFESTYLE!

I still want to loose about 150 lbs, but I am going to take the steady route of not losing weight as rapidly and change to a 75-85% raw LIFESTYLE. Incorporating a lot of organic fruit and veggie juicing, exercise, water, and the other 15-25% of my LIFESTYLE will be all other foods in moderation.

I charge many other people, especially those wanting to lose weight, to do a little introspection yourselves (not saying you haven't already). But are you going raw because you want to lose weight quickly or because you want to be 100% for the rest of your life?

[angelandarose]

But are you going raw because you want to lose weight quickly or because you want to be 100% for the rest of your life?


I feel that is a personal question which can't be answered black or white. We are all evolving and changing and growing in all aspects of our lifes including diet. What might be 100% right now to loose weight may turn into 100% for life OR it may turn into someone being so intune with their body that they do what feels good to them regardless what others think and do. If everyone put their energy into themselfs for themselfs then no one would be going around worried who's doing what and how much % Raw. This is a personal journey and one that is not the same for everyone and each person's motivations to be Raw are uniqe and their own.


Love,
Angie

[Mommax4]

I feel that is a personal question which can't be answered black or white. We are all evolving and changing and growing in all aspects of our lifes including diet. What might be 100% right now to loose weight may turn into 100% for life OR it may turn into someone being so intune with their body that they do what feels good to them regardless what others think and do. If everyone put their energy into themselfs for themselfs then no one would be going around worried who's doing what and how much % Raw. This is a personal journey and one that is not the same for everyone and each person's motivations to be Raw are uniqe and their own.


Love,
Angie

I agree! It is a complete and different journey for everyone. Some might end up on the same road but I bet they got there for different reasons.

I personally chose raw because after a vacation to Austin, where we ate vegan at the Whole Foods Market and walked 4 miles a day, I felt better better than I have in a long long long time. So I came home and started back to my old ways, and went right back to feeling horrible 24/7. This made me send a long e-mail to my doctor and start researching vegan, which in turn led me to raw.

Weight loss will be a great fringe benefit, but I want to feel good and that from the start has been my goal. I have already lost 5 lbs and I haven't even been 100% like my original goal. I have been blowing it at dinner, and have noticed how my body feels after I blow it.

When you make anything about a "diet" you quickly lose weight and then go right back to your old ways and gain it back. When you approach it as a lifestyle, a true lifestyle it becomes habit.

[Autumn]

Even though I need to lose weight, I am doing this for life. If I thought of this as a "diet", it would be much easier. I would just go raw for a month or two, lose the weight, and return to being a cooked vegan. However, as I know this is something I want to transition to for the rest of my life, the change is much slower.

On the flip side, when someone asks me, "SO, you are never going to eat *name of food* again?" I reply, "I don't know. I only know that I'm not going to eat it *today*." Soon the "todays" add up to the tomorrows, and weeks and months.

I must disagree that this lifestyle is being marketed as a "fad diet". From what I've read (and I've read a *considerable* amount of information on the subject in the past 4 months), it is purported as anything *but* a fad diet!

<<Then I thought once you acheive 100% for a period of time what will you do next?>>

Relax! Enjoy! Celebrate! Love my life!

[sport]

I do not need to loose weight and was very surprised when I joined this group to see so much emphisis put on weight. For me it is totally about health and feeling good. I do not have (or never had) a health problem. All this means that I have no short term goals so this move has to be a long term goal. I am only 95% raw for about 4 weeks but expect to be 100% within 2 weeks as my new equipment is due to be delivered and already I feel better than I ever had before so I am here for the long haul.

[angelandarose]

I do not need to loose weight and was very surprised when I joined this group to see so much emphisis put on weight. For me it is totally about health and feeling good. I do not have (or never had) a health problem.


I would say that most people who focus on the weight loss it 'IS' a health problem for them. It is for me. I started out at 255lbs, my weight was my biggest health problem. Loosing weight for me is all about health and feeling good.

;)

Love,
Angie

[sweetgoddess]

Dallas, you said.....


The basis of my questions come from seeing many before and after pictures of tremendous weight loss and then reading that a few months down the line they are almost back to their original weight.

I have read most of the raw websites and read many raw books and I have not come across this. Where are you seeing this?

A lot of wonderul perspectives have been shared here in response to your questions.
I would like to add that raw food is physical. Most of what is involved in weight-loss is emotional and mental. The work in those areas has to be done.

Angie said "weight loss it 'IS' a health problem"
So true.

Best wishes to you ~

[Carlene]

Angie just hit it on the head. Weight loss is a health issue and raw seems to work for many of us where nothing else had. The 75 pound thread was started because everytime someone mentioned weight it was put off as if changing to raw to achieve weight loss was not politically correct.

Why is it wrong to want to use raw to lose weight? Regardless of the diet you choose to lose weight if you stop it and start eating as you did fat you will regain the weight, so in that respect no diet is successful. The difference with raw is that it can be a lifestyle, and a promise. Do not criticize those of us who have entered this to lose weight or threaten us with failure if we don't change our attitude and pretend weight isn't an issue.

Someone earlier said in another thread that you wouldn't criticize someone with cancer for going raw to cure that, or diabetes. Well, obesity will kill you also, so you tell me what is the difference. I would have to say going raw for any other reason besides health would make this more of fad diet.

For me, I am 100% and am looking forward to a lifetime of raw and health. I have embraced raw and do not need the excuse that I will not be able to do this for life so I don't have to do it today.

[sweetgoddess]

Why is it wrong to want to use raw to lose weight?

How ridiculous that anyone would be made to think that, or feel like that.
Going raw to lose weight, to lose our false bodies is a tremendous gift to ourselves.

The reasons people choose to change their lifestyles are so varied and there is no wrong or right.
Our own personal way, our personal opinions, our personal beliefs, are the right ones-only for us.

Eating the fruits of nature is never a fad, regardless of the reasons. It is a natural truth. Nature cares not for reasons.

To everyone who is changing to a raw food lifestyle to lose your false body and for any other reason~may your way be blessed.

[angelandarose]

Regardless of the diet you choose to lose weight if you stop it and start eating as you did fat you will regain the weight, so in that respect no diet is successful. The difference with raw is that it can be a lifestyle, and a promise.

Oh YES! I tell you the minute I nibble on SAD foods my weight loss stops and if I continue to nibble I start gaining. This has been the easiest 'diet' to make a lifestyle. I have been on this almost 5 months now. WAY longer than any other diet that I tried to make a lifestyle. I can also see me doing this into the future and for the rest of my life.

And sure I am in this to loose weight but getting the weight off is very important to my over all health.

Love,
Angie

[sport]

I accept your critism of my remarks about the weight loss issue. I started on a vegan chat line and found that the important thing to everyone on there was saving the animals where as I wanted to talk about the food and health issues. Here the talk is about the things that I am interested in even if the motives may vary. Yes we are all in this for the same reasons (health) and I am very glad to have found this site

[dallasaj3000]

for all the introspective comments. When I read through that article, and experienced some incidents(sp?) this past week, it made me think about how I had approached diets/lifestyle changes the last few go arounds.

It was actually a real moment of truth for me because I do want to be healthy, and happy. I know that my health and happiness walk hand and hand with my spirituality, well-being, and etc.

I came to the conclusion that I want to enjoy life to the fullest and enjoy raw to fullest along with foods from my childhood, and from around the world. It's my personal choice to not be 100%, b/c I felt like I would some how miss out on these things I've been wanting to experience for so long. I know I can still enjoy these foods without going overboard b/c once I started juicing I still enjoyed SAD foods, but I didn't overeat b/c I was so nourished from the raw foods. My body finds a happy equilibrium. My health problems are fading, my skin is glowing, and the pounds are melting away. It makes me happy knowing that I am treating my body well.

In no way did I mean to offend anyone by the questions asked in the original post. I meant them as questions I asked my self. I went raw for sometime before just to lose weight and ended gaining it back and then some once I returned to eatind atleast 50% SAD Diet. These questions really put it all in perspective for me.

[Sweet lips]

I found it and I understand where the author is coming from. I asked myself why so many people wanted to go 100%...was it for the health, beauty, etc. Then I thought once you acheive 100% for a period of time what will you do next?

The basis of my questions come from seeing many before and after pictures of tremendous weight loss and then reading that a few months down the line they are almost back to their original weight.

Are we choosing this diet to loose weight quickly only to gain therefor putting this in the fad diet category? Or are we using some of the principles to gradually change our life style and maintain health? A lot of introspection as showed me that I will not be a 100% raw vegan all my life. I still want to travel and taste the different cultures of the world.

I feel like raw food is excellent! But it is being "marketed" as a fad and not as telling people "look, our health is fading and our asses are getting bigger and passing away because we have lost the principles of using raw foods!"

I originally posted in the "I want to loose 75 pounds are more..." thread, but I beleive I have changed my mind for the better for me! Unfortunately I was making a choice for right now and not for my LIFESTYLE! Sweetlips here - I am the one that started the 75 pounds or more thread, and perhaps you misunderstood the thread, yes, it does talk about 75 pounds or more as the title, but it was far more than that - did you read it. :confused: It was not about just weight loss, it was more about support. Quote - Do you have any special needs or is there any thing that at that weight loss thought that frightens you, or that you are concerned about.
The thread also provides for ways to assist one, which is a special need to work from the inside to outside -

1. If we will journal
2. Keep in touch
3. Follow the thirty day challenge
4. Share honestly (if you eat whatever, you share, and not hide)
5. Any medical problems (of course have yourself check by your physician if you are not aware and then work to abate them)
6. What are you fears (ie- will this work this time, what can I expect, what will so and so think, will I be accepted, will I be rejected if I change) Fear, what ever the thought process is, is real to the person who is experincing them and should not be taken lightly
7. Developing short term goals
8. Exercise and weight loss go hand in hand, one need only to walk a short bit to get started or if that is problem, let's agree to do something
9. Hinderences to this process
10. Why the support.

This by no means eliminates anyone from the support, or particaption, this is merely a tool to assist those who feel that they have a large volume of weight to lose, so if you have tips, suggestions, support and love, please feel welcome.

I still want to loose about 150 lbs, but I am going to take the steady route of not losing weight as rapidly and change to a 75-85% raw LIFESTYLE. Incorporating a lot of organic fruit and veggie juicing, exercise, water, and the other 15-25% of my LIFESTYLE will be all other foods in moderation.

I charge many other people, especially those wanting to lose weight, to do a little introspection yourselves (not saying you haven't already). But are you going raw because you want to lose weight quickly or because you want to be 100% for the rest of your life? The use of the language- "You charge " IS INCREDIBLY CONDESCENDING I still question did you read the thread? Many people who have volumes of weight to lose, have done incrediable introspection on themselves and sometimes the messages that they receive are not the most postive, and please don't come off so judgemental because you have received your answer - read through the thread, and read the point to help people get to where they want or in case of the need to lose weight for health reasons, to do so.

Inspite of your comments - I sincerely wish you well in how ever you choose to lose your weight - for many of us, it is our desire to find ourselves in the midst of our struggles and be victorious in the struggle. You titled you thread - I need help, answer this: What is it that you need or what is it that you are looking for?

For me, being raw and losing weight will release me from my dis-eased body and along the way, my health, my life will be the better for it.

[dallasaj3000]

...the thread that was posted earlier about idealism vs. realism. I searched the website and couldn't find it, but once I did I wrote about how I felt about it on this same thread.

I was not talking down about anyone's intentions on this site, or talking about the reasons why they came here whatsoever. I was merely journaling about my feelings after the article and wandering how others came to their own conclusions about raw.

I mentioned the "...75lbs." article because I had recently made a post there, and I was ultimately retracting the previous statements I had made in that post do to some serious thinking.

Losing weight is dear to my heart. My health is dear to my heart. Myself-esteem is dear to my heart. I don't want this to be another diet I go on and make the mistake of losing the important principles. These are the decisions I made for ME, not anyone else on this board.

I beleive people started taking offense to it and thought that I was criticizing them. That was never my intentions. This was only mentioned for a discusion.

Thanx!
dallasaj3000

[sweetgoddess]

Hi dallas.
That thread was removed. Of course, discussion and exploration are wonderful, but we dont support having fear-based articles, or articles against raw, since this is a raw board we all come to for support, encouragement, upliftment and inspiration.

I am glad that you hold you're health dear to your heart and you're post was very nice. Thanks.

And as far as not wanting this to be another diet........my own personal experience with raw has been quite the opposite. It has freed me from a lot of that diet conditioning I have had my entire life. I have tried many diets, and could never discipline myself to do them longer than a week to 2 at the most.

I have been working on a raw lifestyle almost 7 months now. There is no measuring, counting, depriving, weighing, artificial sweetners etc. There is pure, true, living, energy, enzyme infused foods that immediately prooved their incredible benefits. The most unexpected changes happened, and only some were physical.

But then, only you're very own experiences can proove anything to you.

You mentioned losing the important principles. I can't envision eating the foods nature provided us with interfering with principles, only enhancing them, but again, only your own experience will matter there.

Are they very personal or can I ask what those are for you?

Blessings~

[Carlene]

Dallas:

Ditto to what SweetGoddess said. I'm approaching two months 100% now, and like SweetGoddess it is so much beyond dieting. I could not do 75% raw and succeed, so all the power to you if you can. 100% simple is so easy, and unlike every diet I have tried I do not sit around waiting until I can stop it nor do I obsess over what I'm going to eat next. Even if I can't do 100% for the rest of my life, I will always have raw and know how to quickly get healthy, but for now I can't imagine going back to cooked food. As long as I eat enough I never have cravings. The few times I thought I needed something else, I ate more fruits and nuts and by the next day was happily raw. That has never happened for me before.

The other benefit is how healthy I feel. Even as vegan I never felt this healthy.

Oh yeah, another great thing that has never happened for me before is that I can see myself thin. And I can see it by the end of this year. So instead of thinking about how many months I have been dieting, I look forward to when I can say I've been raw for a year and can truely enjoy the new me. That's not a diet, that's a new life.

[dallasaj3000]

Great posts. I truly understood where you were coming from.

The principles I was talking about incorporating into my life were from the raw vegan lifestyle. The principles I have learned from this way of life for the past three years have been truly eye opening.

And as far as the article goes...I never got that he was bashing raw food. He actually still is a 75-85% raw vegan himself, which is primarily what he is promoting. If you go through the article you'll see that he was talking about being a fruititarian, a natural hygeinist, etc... His progression through about 30 years of dietary experimenting in which he found what was good for himself.

Post "I vs. R" article I did some introspection myself, and I realized which lifestyle made ME feel 100% healthy and vibrant. Which of course will be different for everyone.

Best Wishes on YOUR Journey; No matter which path you take!
dallasaj3000