a bad addiction to raw?

[cherry.chops]

i know that raw is amazingly good for us, but as with everything, things need to be eaten in moderation.

so what happens when you get addicted to a raw food?
im sorta addicted to dates. I just cant resist them. Il eat them untill i feel really sick, even if i wont want to eat or im not hungry. I know there is a simple anwser to this...'dont buy them' but its not that easy when their calling my name!!

can this be bad for me (excluding the fact they are high in sugar and fat)

how can i get rid of this addiction without starting another one on some other food)
( i seem to get addicted to foods really easily wether its dates, baked beans or pasta!)

[Colorawdo girl]

eeeeeek.For me it might mean I wanted the sweet,sugary. Maybe vary your treats n sweets.Dates are def heavy sweet.

Also see my post on addiction.What do you want for your life and health? http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=48500

Acknowledging this is a great way to disappear it.Congrats on saying so here.You are on your way!

Oh and when I went raw and drank green smoothies,all craving gone. Maybe make sweeter green smoothies? Even only have dates in the G.S. balanced with greens??

[rawpromises]

Dates are my drug of choice as well. All be it a good choice but not the way I eat them. I have not bought dates this week and replaces them with figs. I seem to not eat those as much in large quanties. I wish I knew how not to substitute one choice for another without going overboard but I'm learning what I'm capable of right at this moment. Maybe in a few months dates can be my friend again but I have to work up to it becasue I know what will happen if they get in the house right now.:eek:.

[Irish_Vegan_Girl]

Geez, I thought you were me writing that post!;):o

Really tho, there's one left right now and I just don't want it. I wouldn't say that I eat them until I feel sick, but I did have a tendency to do that with other foods in the past. What you've got to realize, and what I have been trying to accomplish and progress in, is that it's not really about the dates. It can be a fixation that one develops for the dates/[insert other food] to use up emotions, I think(this has helped me immensely looking at it this way). I needed to realize it wasn't because the dates were sweet and tasty it was because (if eating them before hunger or past fullness/satisfaction) I was preventing myself from dealing with or feeling a particular emotion. Or it can be that you are procrastinating in an area of your life too.

I don't know if this is the case for you, but it seemed to be what was holding me back.

Let me know what you think of "that", and I hope you can find a balance with dates again:)

-Alva-

[Colorawdo girl]

I heard a friend say in a forum, "you want sweets? whats not sweet about your life?"

[Irish_Vegan_Girl]

I heard a friend say in a forum, "you want sweets? whats not sweet about your life?"

Well said so! That's it, it's something people try to supplement. Or by filling yourself up, it could be that there is an "empty|" or "Lacking" part in your life?

That's a good quote, thx 4 sharing it:)

[Katie P]

It definetly seems like there is some emotional eating going on.....I could be totally wrong....but I don't think the issue is dates. They can be addicting b/c they are super sweet & tend to hit that "sweet spot" so I suggest maybe getting only a few at a time that way you won't be likely to eat as many at once b/c you won't have that much to eat & you might be more apt to spread them out.
Just like everything else we don't want to eat to get full just satisfied. Food is meant to nourish our bodies & when we over eat we are malnourishing them.
Best of luck!

[katacykls]

I have found myself over eating nuts at times and I realize that it's because I'm nervous about a test or about other things that are lingering in my mind. A good idea is to do headstands for anywhere from 2-3 minutes or as long as you can hold it. Inverting the body gives you time to think things through, or to just let go and relax. Chanting-and jaw exercises might also curb your need to chomp on the dates or whatever else you are chomping on.
When I get voracious addictive like cravings now, I check to see what food grooup my body is really searching for ? So, I think about what food I've consumed throughout the day-and eat that instead. Think about it, ask yourself am I really hungry? And, if so have a large green salad; that way you will be full and wont be lured into eating a whole pound of dates/ any other food. Also, try celery sticks with mustard and drink lots of green tea and lemon water through out the day. Drinking lots of fluids lets you know you aren't really hungry when you try to over eat.

[Veronica01]

Maybe try making desserts with dates that are different so you feel more satisfied with variety, maybe you eat them a lot because you feel deprived and think it's the only way you can reward yourself for being raw. I don't eat dates plain or i know i would love to keep eating them. I made chocolate mousse last night with dates, avocado and cacao powder. It was so good. I just dipped some strawberries in it and felt rewarded after the gym. :) Or you could make brownies too and mix it up.

[rftm0115]

yeah. like you said, don't buy them. :p you have to resist the urge. if they call you, tell them to hush and to leave you alone.

raw vegan foods are great and packed with nutrition. my concern is that you have an addictive habit you need to break for the sake of yourself. you mentioned that you fear trading up your addiction to dates for another food. it might not just be about dates.

so one addiction at a time. resist the dates. find any way you can to avoid them until you break this addictive habit. it's fine to have them, but if you feel eating them makes you compulsively eat them even when you are full, then you must avoid them at all cost.

any additional food put in the body regardless of how healthy, when the body cannot and will not handle anymore (no hunger), it becomes toxic to the body.

if you want something that's available at the store that carries dates, send someone else if you know you can't resist them or buy a little bit. don't stock up!

i've never had dates myself. :p

[cherry.chops]

thank you for all your replies.
art girly- i cant drink smoothies! id love to be able to though, and thank you for the thread link

I only eat dates at work. my local tesco have 12 medjool dates for £1. i think thats why i buy them, because their so cheap (not to mention so soft, gooey and yummy!) there is a little fruit store across the road for me which sell them, but there more expensive so i dont buy them!

i do tend to over eat alot. esp in the evening (more so if i have cooked food)

theres alot of things im not 100% satisfied about in my life, but as far as i can remember ive always been a greedy little pig (although im not overweight). if there is something in the house that i like, il eat it all.

its not all types of dates though. Just medjool and helawi (esp medjool)

i do go through phases of having certain foods all the time, but this date thing has been going on since the beginning of winter and its time i kicked it.

(please tesco, DONT get anymore dates in!)

[T-Bird]

Do specially buy raw dates?


I've heard that you can't be sure of the processing of dates at the store.

[MrsJ]

Omg omg omg frozen medjool dates and bananas.

My heart be still. (drools)

[mattshor]

how long have you been raw?

I say give yourself a break. If your body is demanding dates right now, maybe it knows something you don't. I've gone through periods where all I wanted was: ______. After a couple of meals of it, or once I'd really stuffed myself a few times I found the feeling passed and there was something else that I wanted. In the meantime, vary up your other meals a lot, try new foods. If there is a deficiency that your body is trying to correct, then if it finds a new source for the same nutrient then the cravings may subside.

[RawHeaven]

Cherry Chops, I believe you're creating a problem where none exists. You are simply transitioning. Your body may need exactly what are in the dates right now. Give yourself some breathing room, take a deep breath and enjoy your dates.

Using myself as an example, in the 2 years I've been a raw foodist I've gone through various stages of enjoying certain foods exclusively and perhaps it would appear that I was overindulging to someone else. I used to eat 7-8 avocados a day in my first 6 months. I cannot even imagine eating that many now. And I went through a stage of eating raw chocolate pie every day and making raw banana ice cream every night. Alissa's mock salmon (yummy!) I ate every single day for a full year - sometimes two batches. I only eat 1-2 avos a week now and don't even make the banana ice cream anymore. I think there's a fine line between emotional eating and listening to your body. Perhaps it's the latter for you. If it's not and your date love affair is, in fact emotionally grounded, still take a deep breath and give yourself a hug. Eventually you will transcend it. It's a process. Enjoy your dates. Put some ginger root in the center of them. mmmm mmmm good. Take care.

[green jeanie]

sounds like you could be experiencing insulin resistance

dates are high sugar and would trigger that but also are high mineral which is often the root cause.

[cherry.chops]

green jeanie- am type 1 diabetic anyway, one reason i want to stop eating them...because there too high in sugar.


Im more conscience of things now. ive read a few things which have helped me.
i havnt had any this morning, and im not interested in having any.

I think i just need to avoid them all together because i know that i wouldnt be able to have 1 or 2.

i have been raw well...80-95% raw for a couple of months but 75% raw around 4 months.

i think it could just be one of these 'phases', i hope so. i will resist dates now and just fill up on greens that i havnt been eating much of recently.


thank you for all of your input and advise, you all have been very helpful xx