Your best advice for resisting temptation or giving up..

[hannah.isabel]

Hi everyone...
I joined the Raw challenge yesterday morning, which makes tonight my second night. I am absolutely miserable, totally fatigued and foggy and just dying to eat some of the tater tots, pasta, tofu salad, etc. that my roomates have in the fridge.
I have been eating raw on and off since February, when I went raw for 30 days and felt better than I have ever felt in my life.
I have been wanting to go raw again, and decided there is no better time than now...
unfortunately the cravings for cooked, processed foods is just killing me this time. I'd love to hear anyones tips on how to stick with it and avoid giving into all this alluring toxic waste!

[a1icia]

I'm pretty new to the 100% raw food diet so I'm no expert but what works for me is to have lots of sweet, juicy fruit on hand, plus, nut butters for when I need something more dense and rich.

When I'm done snacking on the healthy stuff, if I still have cravings, I get out of the kitchen and get busy doing something fun or interesting to distract myself and forget about it. Or, I'll journal about how great my body is going to feel down the line and the benefits of staying raw. I really have to keep reminding myself why I'm doing this, why it's important and how much better off I am without that stuff in my body.

I also remind myself that if I did give in to temptation, it's a few minutes of pleasure and then it's over. Then I have to suffer the consequences of what I consumed and was it really worth it? No. I wouldn't be happy with myself. So it's kind of a trade off. That's what I think about and it usually helps the cravings dissipate.

Also, the longer you're raw, if you do give into temptation or go back to eating cooked foods, you end up feeling so bad physically you want to go back to raw foods. I ate an egg today to see if I would feel better with more protein and I felt so sick and nauseated for hours afterward. It was awful. And I've only been 100% raw for a little over a week.

Hope this helps. I too would like to know what others do when temptation hits. This is a great question.

[spicyfull]

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=50064&referrerid=4614

[contessa20]

Honestly, my best advice is simply to tell yourself that you're going to give 100% raw a fair shot for 30 days and then stick to it. Do whatever you have to do to keep that promise to yourself -- walk away from the food, eat similar foods made raw, go for a walk, exercise etc. It's only 30 days, any of us can do ANYTHING for 30 days if we put our minds to it.

And then, of course, when those 30 days are up, commit to 30 more. Eventually you won't even have to think about it anymore, it'll just be your life not a 30 day challenge.

[seRAWnity]

I've gone back and forth a few times until I realized how I was feeling, just sick, bloated, and gaining weight rapidly. One day I ate a bunch of fries with gravy and cheese( thought that sounded sooo good), I felt so sick I wished I had thrown up (this feeling lasted over 24hours ) and I felt that way whenever I ate cooked food... so I told myself that I didn't care if I only ate lettuce..lol.. I was NOT going back...

Now I'm on my 2nd week totally raw, I feel fabulous I've lost 5lbs and have tons of energy and are in a great mood all the time..

Coming here to RFT has been a lifesaver, everyone here is great, when you think you want something you shouldn't come and scan the boards, read the before and afters, grab a handful of baby carrots, you'll thank yourself for it!!

Best of luck, you can do it!!!!

[GlimR]

EAT!! Eat a lot if you are hungry...whatever it takes...surround yourself with raw foods you enjoy. Try to think of the abundance you CAN have and not focus on what you CAN"T. Best wishes~

[ShelShel]

Don't look at this as a diet. It's a way of life. Eat whenever you are hungry...just make it something raw. Eat a good breakfast! Start your day nice and full to take on the challenges that come. Set yourself up for success and plan ahead! ;)

[ruffsongraw]

i have been raw since mid- january. mostly 100% but i HAVE cheated occassionally with steamed veggies & rice. but there are worse things to "cheat" with! that is really the only thing i still CRAVE badly.

for me this worked: i ate avocadoes EVERY day. the hi fat content REALLY helps with cravings. i mix in tomatoes and/or yellow bell peppers and cilantro. at 1st i ate 3 every day after wk. then in a few weeks it went to 2, now i am down to 1 a day and that is enough to do the job of filling me up. also we make HUGE salads with everything raw in them & i mean EVERYTHING!! and i eat a LOT of salad. we added fresh sweet corn recently and it really adds some sweetness. i never would have thought it would be goodm but it really is. be creative & think outside your old SAD box.

i cannot imagine resisting the temptations if they were right there in the kitchen! that must be very hard! with roomates you cant help it of course, but we dont have anything cooked in the house for the most part b/c i am sure i would cave in.

juiced up fruit is alos satisfying and filling. watermelons are in season now---YUM. enjoy them while you can! make lots of smoothies too.

and i agree focus on what you CAN eat, not what you CANT. and above all--notice how you feel after you eat. if you stray, then really focus on how crappy/bloated you feel and hten ask if it was really worth it?

goodluck, hang in there! it will pay off in so many ways!!

jen

[RawHeaven]

Build a relationship with your body. Do this for your body and learn as much as you can about nutrition as possible. Realize you are not your body. Your body is a vehicle of transport as you move through your life. Your body is a real trooper and it loves you unconditionally!

Love yourself. Love & accept everything you happen to do along the way. Suspend (self) judgement & criticism. Do the best you can.

[freshlight]

RawHeaven, you just wrote down my thoughts :D

[hannah.isabel]

Wow everyone...thank you so much for all the sincere responses! Posting on here makes me feel really comforted and not so isolated in my endeavors!:)
I am going to thoroughly re-read and try to apply each. Knowing that I would get some advice when I checked this site in the morning helped me stay raw last night, and I am so glad that I did.
Wishing everyone a wonderful day !

[Moretta]

Best of luck to you on your RAWNESS journey.

[Rufassa]

Don't look at this as a diet. It's a way of life. Eat whenever you are hungry...just make it something raw. Eat a good breakfast! Start your day nice and full to take on the challenges that come. Set yourself up for success and plan ahead! ;)

Yeah, plus you should plan your meals and have constant access to food. If you wait till you are hungry to look for food then you have just waited too late. If you know you have some raw lasagna or what ever at home you want be thinking "I'm starving, what am I going to eat tonight?"

Other than that I found it easier to transition on heavier foods, avos, nut dishes, etc …

[RawHeaven]

RawHeaven, you just wrote down my thoughts :D

Great raw minds think alike beautiful lady. hahaa.

[somelikeitraw]

It helps me to think that the food (and I use that term loosely here, LOL :p) I am craving has been around for years and years and will likely still be around later on if I really, really want to eat it. This approach got me off of the candy in the candy store I used to work in.

Something else that helps is creating raw versions that taste similar, if not better, than what I crave.

Finally, I ask myself why I went raw. If your why is strong enough, you can go through anything.

[Blessedw/6]

It helps me to focus on what I can eat. Go to the library and check out raw uncook books! Then scan the recipes and let your mouth water and get excited about ALL the possibilites! There are so many of them. Alissa's book has great recipes and she keeps it simple. That has helped me. You can eat raw ice cream, date nut tortes with fresh strawberries, spaghetti with yummy fresh sauce, I make sandwiches with dehydrated onion bread and let me tell you that this onion bread is better than any other bread I've tasted. I LOVE it! When you fill your mind with all the delicious things that you can eat there is no time left to think about what you can't have!
God Bless!

[GurlyGirlOne]

What helps me is eating until I'm satisfied.

Watching raw dvds, raw talks on youtube, and listening to raw interviews online also helps. Other people's enthusiasm carries me through those hard times when I can't muster my own.