What was your diet like pre-raw?

[anthony11]

I'm curious about the distribution of people who were omni/ovo-lacto/cooked vegan before going raw.

[vixana]

I didn't eat red meat or pork ...very little dairy...
I ate lots of fish and grilled chicken and still do ( One Day I will aim to be 100%) ~ so to ask me if I noticed anything would not be helpful...
but I worked out alot and mostly lived on protein shakes , eggwhites , and spray butter.....I started to feel like I could faint at any given moment and lost my "girl issues" so I wasn't well ,I started to eat like a normal person and stopped working out for a year ...during that year I felt better but I got out of shape and depressed :( ...I have studied the boards and asked many questions and I see this as the answer so we'll see....
but to answer your question I was a diet/ health /workout / freak the SAD way :cool:

[rawpriestess]

Okay,

in 1995 I went (cold turkey, so to speak) I stopped eating meat, and stopped eating eggs, but still ate some dairy.

Then in 1998 I stopped all dairy, so I was vegan.

Then in 2001 I went 100% raw for a short while. but Still vegan

then in 2004 started with dairy a little bit, very rarely, but occasionally, maybe once evrery 6 months or so, I might have something that had cheese in it, (not by choice) but I was eating out alot.

Then in 2005 !00% raw, no dairy or eggs, all vegan raw. Then when I went off raw I ate some sour cream twice on a baked potatoe, now back to raw vegan.

I really didn't keep track, I just remember what was happening in my life the days I started eating something like dairy again. They were very specific situations that happened, when I chose to start eating off my plan.

Hope this is of some use to you.

[dahgluvr]

At age 21 I went lacto-ovo vegetarian.....cold turkey so to speak! I've dabbled with going vegan, but have an issue with cheese....I was an addict! :) Now, I'm at day 10 of raw!! Woo-hoo! This feels right this time and I'm happy to find this site!

[Autumn]

Err, what's a Pescetarian?

[Universal]

Peace,

I stopped eating pork first. This was around 2002. Funny because once i cut that out (and i didn't really eat too much of it anyway) my whole tolerance for meat went down tremendously. I couldn't eat as much chicken as i used to.
It wasn't until May of 2004 where i completely cut out meats from my diet. I still ate some dairy (PIZZA!) Later that year i became a vegan with no dairy. And February 6 (Super Bowl Sunday) was my last night of eating a cooked meal. I've been raw since February 7. I've had a couple of run-ins with cooked food, maybe 5 different meals since then. But i've been primarily raw over the last 6 months, and its the best thing i've done for my Self!

PEACE
Universal

[Ginger]

I went from 100% SUPER SIZED SAD to 100% raw the day I picked up Natures First Law The Raw Foods Diet. I was about 5 months pregnant at the time even! I wasn't able to stay raw & went back to SAD about a month later due to finanatial reasons & having to pack up & move several times but I knew that raw was for me and very soon after my daughter was born I went ovo-lacto-occasional fish-vegetarian for three months & then vegan (except I do eat honey & algaes). I have been vegan ever since & swinging back & forth from cooked to raw! I no longer have the desire to eat any of my old comfort foods but I do occasionally have a cooked sweet potato.

[anthony11]

Err, what's a Pescetarian?
Someone who eats fish, crustaceans, molluscs, etc

[jenna rose]

I was vegan.

[Rawmommie]

I went from SAD to Atkins to Raw. :)

[autumn4596]

summer of 2004 I went vegetarian but I had all the junk food I wanted at the time (donuts, cookies, ice cream, cake, cheese)

february of 2005 I started going vegan
April of 2005 I was full vegan
June/July 2005 I started Raw

[sport]

I have been vegetarian for more than 30 years (I was way ahead of my time over here) and vegan for 4 years

[city]

I've never eaten SAD. Mostly chicken breast and fish supplimented with tons of raw fresh veggies and loads of fruit. I also ate wild rice (worth the cost), sprouted grain bread, raw nut butters and yogurt. Very healthy diet (except when I had a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's). I ran half marathons, cross country skiing is a big thing in our house and I also lifted weights. I still do all that. I was very healthy before and felt great. I got interested in raw food partly because I eat almost all my veggies and fruit raw and they make up at least 70% of my diet and because I ate at a couple of yummy raw food restaurants.

[ShannonColleen]

Hey Rawmommie!

I went from Atkins to Sad to Raw vegan. Ha ha, I thought I was going to be the only one mentioning Atkins!

[Jackie1995]

I don't think I ate "fast food" more than 5 times in my life, and I've never eaten at McDonalds!

That said, I ate a pretty typical western diet, but light on the meat/fish/poultry, although I never avoided dairy. But I didn't eat a lot of veggies, either. Just a bit, something every day, but not a lot. Big on beans, all varieties. Fruit, some every day.

I did like my grains, though, between hot breakfasts (teff, quinoa, oatmeal, etc.), lunch (home baked bread, spelt pancakes, blue corn chips) and dinner (rice, weird Carribean roots like malanga, yucca, plaintains etc.) I sure got a lot of that in!

Well, like a lot of people, I was (still am) overweight, didn't have much energy (I sure do now, but I take very cutting edge supplements which changed my life energy-wise) and got colds at least once a year. I just thought I was "getting older" and this was natural.

What a crock of compost! I can't believe I fell for that thinking! Wow, shame on me!

This year I was scheduled for a colonoscopy, and since I had to do a heavy colon cleanse, and fast for one day, I figured when I'm done I'll just do a fast, to try to lose weight. Well, about a week prior, I did my netsearch, and found this and other raw vegan boards and information - enough to keep me reading for a few days!

So, after the procedure (yep, I was just fine, yay!) I juiced for 7 days, no oils, no sugars, no grains, no meats, just lots of veggies and a little fruit. I felt great! So, I've been with it ever since May 1st. Not just juicing, I mean just raw foods, fresh produce, and not cooking anymore.

And I ain't going back, either! This lifestyle is just TOO MUCH FUN!

Jackie

[askcassyfirst]

From the late 90s till I learned about the healing benefits of raw, I ate pretty much like the "body for life" method. Lean protein, lots of low starch veggies, limited fruit, low fat.

I also followed the candida control diet, which is what got me into the body for life program. (Pretty similar.)

I grew up a lacto-ovo vegetarian, but began eating meat in public school, and while in college really threw all caution to the wind. (Candy and coffee-a-holic.)

I detest fast food, (although I have been known to eat the occasional ice cream sundae or onion ring) and have major fear about food additives, working as I do in the natural foods industry. I have tried to keep organic since I got married in the late 90s.

Discovered raw in 2003. Since then, although not a vegan, I stay high raw. (80% or more by calorie.)

Cassy :)

[starry-eyed-doe]

I haven't had red meat or pork in probably 5 years, very light on chicken and fish. About 2-3 months ago I cut out chicken completely, and decided not to eat fish-- I did however eat crustaceans (shrimp, scallops). Then, I decided to cut back on dairy and now, here I am; on my 3rd day of RAW!

[livenraw]

Feb 2002 to Jan 2003 Atkins (lost 32 lbs)

Jan 2003 to Sept 2003 - cardio one hour 5x a week/weight training 40 minutes 5x a week, circuit training for an hour on the 6th day - maintained my weight loss and dropped another size in jeans - ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted...usually, 4 days of low carb followed by 3 days of junk food...

Sept 2003 to Dec 2004 Atkins for Life (60 g of carbs or less per day) Lost another 32 lbs

Dec 26, 2004 - May 2005 switched over to lactovo vegetarian and then tried going to 70% raw foods - maintained my weight

June 2005- beginning of July 2005 stopped eating meat and dairy completely and still stayed at 70% raw foods - maintained my weight and struggling with the last 7 lbs

July 20, 2005 to current - 100% raw foods with exercise 5x a week along with weight training. Lost my last 7 lbs and then have gone on to lose 4 more lbs...

[tames]

I voted vegan, but I was only so for 3 weeks prior to going raw. So I am detoxing from lots of cheeseburgers, pizza,chinese, cakes, cookies, and diet soda.

[Fuzzball]

I was making the rounds of Whataburger, Taco Bell, A&W (mmmmm.....frosty mug root beer....mmmmmmmm), Micky D's, Pancho's...you name it, I ate it...except Fruits and Veggies...well....I would have some but.....hmmm OOOOOh...almost forgot....edited to add.....Arby's ! ! ! Love that Horsey Sauce on my RB sandwich.

Ya think that's why I'm in the situation I'm in???

[sean lee]

Hi. I was vegan three or four years ago and lost a lot of weight but also eating cooked food at the same time.
.Before going raw, no dairy,but was eating chicken,fish, bread, honey and basically fruit and vegetables.

[VeggieMel]

I was vegan for less than a year before going raw. Before then I ate mostly fast food, diet coke and processed foods.