I have failed not only as a raw fooder, but as a vegetarian

[mihai_alexandru73]

Hi all I posted some questions some time ago on this forum when I still was a vegetarian/ raw fooder. Sadly I failed miserably with my attempt at 100% raw food after only 3 weeks. I went down with extreme hunger and I weighed only 71 kg as opposed to 77kg that I weigh now as an omnivore. Seeing that raw food is not as simple as I thought, I decided to stay vegan for the moment but I also failed miserably at this too. After 1 month extreme hunger came back and I was forced to return to omnivore. Before my raw experiment I was a vegetarian for 1-2 months without any real problem but I was still getting a big number of calories from animal products.

Maybe I didn't do the diets right, or I wasn't eating enough calories or I wasn't eating sufficiently enough varied food, but I felt that this extreme hunger that made me quit vegetarianism altogether couldn't be satisfied by eating vegies and fruits. Maybe I had to give my body more time to adapt, after all I had been an omnivore for 17 years before starting vegetarianism. A vegetarian sprititual master by the name of Acharya Shree recommends a very slow transition to vegetarianism, and if the transition will be very slow then you will not feel weak, loose weight, etc.

At this moment I do not know what to believe. Did I fail because I needed to be an omnivore, the transition was too fast (3 months from omnivore to 100% raw vegetarian food), I didn't do the diet right, I don't know, but I still feel guilty for eating meat and if there would be no problems definetely I'd choose vegetarianism over meat eating every day.

Now I don't feel very different, but I didn't feel too different as a vegetarian either. It was just in my raw food days that I witnessed improved sleep, which was a blessing. I needed 2-3 hours less of sleep, but this was the only difference that I could feel.

[MOTH]

Hi there,

I strongly recommend you begin monitoring your food intake. I believe that you went off the diet because your calories got too low. When this happens to us, any food can look appetizing. Do you objectively know how much you are getting in a day? Either go to nutridiary.com or go to google and download chronometer.

If you were as hungry as you describe, then it's not the diet that's the problem, you simply aren't eating enough. Even if you think you are, even if you feel full after meals, you need to objectively know how much food you need and how much you are eating. Most of us have a warped sense of how much food we need on raw because of our SAD histories and this is why some of us need to track cals in the beginning until we can intuitively choose how much food is appropriate for the body. You need to eat a lot more volume with raw food.

And don't think of this as a failure. You are ON A JOURNEY. Anything can happen.

[rawpreston]

I would agree. Options:

http://spaz.ca/cronometer/
http://www.nutridiary.com/
http://www.fitday.com/

[EZ rider]

Did I fail because I needed to be an omnivore
The number of vegans in the world and raw vegans here on this forum live just fine without eating animals.


Persevere. Learn as you go and apply what you learn. I know that I "slipped" and learned plenty on the path to learning how to make the all fresh raw vegan lifestyle work for me.

[klomasius]

The difference between those who succeed and those who don't is that those who succeed fail more times because they keep trying.

I'm paraphrasing, but this sentiment was spoken by a hugely successful person, maybe Tony Robbins or someone, not sure. but it certainly rings true for me.

My first attempt at veganism all those years back was a disaster, I just ate vegetables, nothing else! But I knew there was something to this way of living (for so many reasons) that i had another crack after doing some research (which basically informed me I needed to eat a variety of foods, with sources of fats, calcium and other nutrients).

Over ten years later and it's second nature, when someone says 'gosh that must be hard' I have to stop and think what they are referring to!

Raw vegan was more of a slower transition for me, and perhaps that's the way you should go.

Make some high calorie smoothies and make sure you get enough calories in your food, but transition at your own pace.

Take it easy, it's never all or nothing. But I can see already that your mindset is pointing you in the direction of giving it another go, so that's great! Relax, take is as slow as you need and don't be afraid to ask for help!

[Myca]

Don't beat yourself up. Your reasons for being Raw or Vegan, may be different than others who are here.

In fact, if you made it almost three weeks, I would call that a success. You had a 'slip'.

If you want to, try it again. If you are attempting for a personal reason that you feel very strongly about, remember that every day you eat Raw, is a day you succeed. If you 'fall off', so what, think about it, and try it again.

The only time you fail is when you feel that you've failed.

[rayofsunshine]

I agree, I think most of us have tried and eaten outside the raw food diet many times. Lovingly forgive yourself and start again the next morning. Cooked food is very addictive.

Make sure your are eating enough. Many raw fooders, just starting out, will eat 5 or 6 avocados a day. Alissa's talks about 1 banana for breakfast doesn't equal the cooked breakfast you used to eat. It may take 5 or 6 bananas for breakfast to fill you up in the beginning.

Great luck starting again. You can do this!

[mihai_alexandru73]

Yes, maybe I will try being vegetarian/ raw fooder once again. But first I'll have to do a lot of research so I'll not just jump on the boat again and it will sink with me. I'll stick to omnivore for the moment, although it doesn't feel right to eat meat, at least for me... well I'll stick to omnivore because it is a comfortable position but I'll still include a lot of cooked and raw vegetables, fruits and seeds. Now I'll use a new perspective and I will judge everything with objectivity, because I know that my body can suffer if I get hypped up on either of the 2 barricades: meat eater and vegetarian/raw fooder. If omnivore is unnhealthy, I won't die from it at 17 years of age so this is a good choice for the moment... but I'll try to limit meat consumption to as low as possible.

One thing I want to know is, can you really become addicted to cooked food and animal products? If you abruptly quit eating them, will you feel hungry and feel the need to eat them? This is what happened to me.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Yeap, raw vegan food is the only food that works for me best.

I was raise eating meat three time a day. When i left home, i cut it down to once a day, then couple time a week and finally one or twice a month. The first time i try to be a vegetarian, i wasn't prepared with my family reaction or friends and went back to eat meat from pressure and buying into their fears. Then in 2000, just like that i said to myself, wait a minute there are million of people that are vegetarian because this is their religion, they give birth and work hard and are still healthy. I just quite like this. Six month later i dropped the fish. As for becoming a vegan, i tried to transition and without knowing better, i was using the soy as substitute which was a big mistake because it affected my thyroid badly. It was only in 2007 that i became raw vegan. I am not looking back with dairy. I just wished i would have known about raw vegan food in my early age, i would have avoided so much problem with my health.

It has been a long journey for me but i don't believe it was necessary and i could of done this so much sooner.

After watching a diet for all reasons and a diet for a new America, i was convinced that i was on the right path with vegan food.

I did try in 2004 to be a raw vegan. I hold on for 60 days and did the mistake to try to eat raw lima bean (which are poisonous if eaten raw, and i didn't know). I got sick and just went back on cook food (organic and vegetarian). But i couldn't forget the energy i had while i was on raw food. I did more research and found out about greens. This is the difference that i do now with this raw diet. I MAKE sure to have my greens every day. I just love my green smoothies.

Don't focus on the failure, instead learn from your mistakes and focus instead on your accomplishment. Just the fact that you have tried raw food is a great accomplishment. Who cares, that you didn't manage to stay raw? This is completely normal. Raw food is so new that it is easy to buy into fears.

When you are on raw food, don't try to count your calories and just EAT. Don't worry about the fat or sugar, JUST EAT. When you start with this journey, you need to train your mind first, and you cannot do this if you deprive yourself. I lost so much weight at first and i ate as i wanted. Now i find myself more attracted to simple raw food and not as much with gourmet.

I say bravo to you and just keep trying.

[Blazin'Jane]

I was a vegetarian for 12 years, then just dove into raw foods to see if I could do it. I thought it sounded like a good idea, but just couldn't tell how it would fit in with my lifestyle. I remember being hungry all the time for the first 10 days or so. I just kept eating. I ate lots of bananas, I recall, and made myself some raw trail mix, and oh, yes, Alissa's fudge ball recipe. Eventually, the hunger went away as my body adjusted, I figured out how to make more and more foods, and I've never really looked back. What ever your path to raw, stay on it. But do honor your amazing body---if you're hungry, eat! Just eat raw! Good luck!

[drew621]

Don't beat yourself up, and don't give. Everybody has those days. Tuesday will be 30 days raw for me, and they were tough days sometimes. And for 1 day, I ate cooked food(it didn't stay down). The next day I pick myself up, and went back raw.


In this community, you are never along.


Best of luck, and don't give up...:)

[soulstar]

Dear Mihai,

I just received this wise essay from a Raw Food coach, Karen Knowler, in my email box. It may or may not speak to you in regards to where you are in your journey. I thought it might have some value. It certainly resonates with me. I am trying to be gentle with myself as i proceed on the "Living on live Foods" journey. Karen's essay is posted below. Many blessings on your journey!

The Importance of Honouring Your Own Timing
"One of the great things about working with so many clients, past and present and both in group and 1:1 situations, is that common themes patterns and problems become even more obvious than usual.

This past month there have been many themes coming through over and over again, but the main one that I'm going to pull out of the mix is the importance of timing.

It is only too common that I come across people who want to go raw "overnight" or "now!" or "in the next month" or at least some time really soon. Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with having that kind of passion and excitement about something; in fact I wish there were more of it in this world! However, as I learned myself and as I see time and time again, sometimes these transitions take a fair bit longer than we hope, think or expect.

For my own part it took me five years to go and stay raw. Which I did for the next 5½ years, with no effort at all - but only because I was then fully ready.

I share this with you firstly to put some perspective on things (yes, five years of yo-yoing for me, that's a long time!) and second of all to bring up the importance of honouring your OWN timing.

As with all things in life, whether they be moving home, changing jobs, leaving or starting relationships, generally speaking we do this, if circumstances permit, in "our own time". And sometimes this can be a fast process and other times more lengthy.

Along your raw food journey you will encounter challenges that you never knew were possible. You will come face to face with things you have been burying for years (usually using food), you will realise things about yourself that both amaze you and sometimes sadden you. You will be able to sense a potential that before you had no concept of, and while one part of you will want to reach out and grab that with both hands, another part of you will cower away at what that might mean.

All of these things and more can mess around with our mind as we try to figure out what one earth it is we really want. "To be raw or not to be raw?" That is the question!

Add to this the most common derailer and demotivator of all - fear (and fear comes lurking up at every corner) - and it's no wonder that the "overnight", "now" and "within the next month" can stretch on to become months away or even, as in my case, years.

I have a belief that goes something like this:

"The greater your fear, the larger your potential."

Ponder this for a moment in relation to your own experiences on your raw food journey so far, and see if it doesn't bring up some deeper sense of knowing for you...

One of my biggest and most constantly pressing observations is that for those of us who choose to live life "in the raw" the world is not really that brilliantly set up for us. And this can be why it feels like it's hard to play "big" or full out as the person we truly are or know we can be.

And no I don't just mean food-wise, I mean in all ways.

Indeed, the further I go on my own journey (and right now the whole thing for me has speeded right up - more later), the more I realise how incredibly important, nay imperative, it is that I only do things I love, only surround myself with likeminded people, only make choices that work for me and everyone else (and not just everyone else!), and that I am true to myself on a moment-by-moment basis.

Now, getting to this place can take time. And sometimes "time" means a long time. For me this has been 16 years and it's only really been for the past two years or so that I've been operating consistently in the way that I have aspired to for probably every single one of those 14 years previous.

Walking this path has been riveting, amazing, fascinating, challenging, turbulent and even gruelling at times, but not once have I ever felt it wasn't worth it; even though I may have sometimes wished I could have gone back!

Indeed, no other path has brought me so wonderfully and so consistently back to myself and to a place of peace that is unparalleled. There is no price that is too high to pay to feel this level of peace.

And yet, to get to this peace, we do have to struggle through the swamp sometimes. And that swamp, if you haven't already figured it out yet, is largley, if not completely, self-created. It's the world, the life that we have created through choices we made days, weeks, month and years ago and it's the canvas that we have chosen to paint, whether that be consciously or unconsciously.

Rewriting your life script takes time and energy, no doubt about it. And, although I am normally a "shades of grey" person, typically seeing subtleties in life and gradients in most things, when it comes to being "in the raw" or not, as far as I can see it, there is either a sense of moving forward with things or a sense of going back - never standing still, as life is always moving alongside us as we move forward with it, or past us, which leaves us feeling "behind" even if we thought we were standing still.

So as far as timing goes, sometimes on our journey, when things seem to be going a little fast, it is exactly the right time to pause, or to stop. Sometimes we DO need to let life pass us by a little so that we can feel cocooned from whatever growth was feeling intimidating to us. Some of us will choose a hefty chunk of bread or tub of Ben and Jerry's to work this magic, others alcohol, others some other form of "less-than- supportive" behaviour which may or may not be of the edible variety. It's all just detail, but the essence remains the same: We need to pace ourselves.

Learning when to stop, when to go, when to pause and when to leap forward is all part of the intuitive journey. Only YOU know what feels good and when. And often there is no external rhyme nor reason to this, it just feels right.

And then sometimes it can feel very wrong!

All these feelings, the good and the not-so-good, are simply signs to us as to what we should really be doing. And this can mean upping the ante in our diet, or stepping it back for a day or more, in order to recalibrate before moving on - when it feels right.

As far as words of wisdom go, if there's one thing I want to leave you with you this week, it's that giving yourself permission to be real with yourself in this way, to hear whether your whole person is giving you the green, amber or red light is to take a huge step forward in your evolution even when the outside appearance might appear to dictate otherwise.

Awareness is everything.

It's what you do with it and how you approach that "what" that really counts.

Growth is not always linear and it's not always what we think it is.

When you got at your own pace, you are only ever really moving forward, even if you choose to believe otherwise!

When you relax into this knowing, conversely, the whole journey can seem, in its own sweet and irony- laden way, to suddenly speed up and us with it! But when it's on your terms and only yours, then speed never equals "too fast", it can only ever truly be present moment perfection when you honour your own timing, precisely because it is your OWN timing.

This is where you will find your peace waiting for you too." Karen Knowler

[spicyfull]

That's Family.......And RAW as WE will wait for you.