First steps...

[GlimR]

Hi everyone~ *s* I've been reading posts here like crazy for a week now and taking in a lot of information, learning a lot and trying to build up the strength and determination I need to make this lifestyle change.
I've been "dieting" for a long time. I was thin and strong, healthy in high school, a gymnast, etc..I gained a lot of weight with my first child, and my second and third. Well......my children are all grown now and though I am almost 100 lbs less than I was 5 years ago I still have a long way to go and need to do the rest the right way. I'm married to a very supportive husband but he will not eat this way and so I will be making two different kinds of meals and that feels pretty challenging at this point.
I started 100% raw today and I'm a little scared that I might not be able to do it. I got Alissa's book yesterday and stayed up half the night reading it all...I could go on and on but I know I am ranting and running in circles...this just makes so much sense to me and feels like a natural progression to other good changes I've made...just glad to be here and appreciate in advance your support~
btw...am in florida too....outside jacksonville~ *s*

[flutterfly]

Welcome here. It is a little harder when one is raw and the other still cooked. I have been making it a game so it is fun. I will make a big salad for the both of us and something really tempting for myself. My partner is very opened minded so will try what ever I have. Wouldn't you just know she likes what I have made and eats about half.

[Mommax4]

My hubby is the same way....he's doing controlled carb...lol and somehow when I experiment he is right there eating it! I'll take it however I can get him to eat raw...

[GlimR]

Flutterfly & Mommax4~
Thank you both for your posts~ *s* That's great that your partners at least have open minds about trying things...maybe that just paves the way for deeper change. My husband is a great guy and totally supports whatever I do but has very set ideas about what he likes and what he doesn't and I am not his mother...it realy is his choice but it makes it challenging. I have always loved to cook and make/made really delicious things with whole foods. I feel a little daunted by the challenge ahead....but I was raw today~ Yeah!!! *s* Will go post my food in my journal.

[sweetgoddess]

Welcome to the forum. I am so glad you are excited about raw.
I have been making raw and cooked for 7 months and can tell you it gets easier. What helped me was making sure I made my raw food first, then their cooked food, and then we would sit down and eat together. I kept something raw and nibbly on the counter to munch on while preparing their food.
I garnished my food so it looked pretty and my cooked husband always commented on how nice it looked. Soon, they were trying nibbles. Now they eat way more raw food. So you never know what will happen.

You can do this! We will all support you here. We're cheering you on!
\ :p /\ :) /\ :D /

Blessings~

[levamssg]

Oh my GlimR-- you can MOST DEFINITELY do this. I can so relate to your situation. I'm 56, kids are grown and on their own, so it is just hubby and me.

My husband is very supportive. When I started raw he was 100% behind me, but most definitely NOT going to change his eating habits -- a definite carnivore and junk food lover. lol Well, a year later, he is eating more and more raw, likes SAD less and less, and laughs about it. One difference is I don't cook for him .. never did, so that made it a lot easier for me.

Within 4-5 months of being 100% raw, I went back to the weight I was in high school and early 20s and have maintained that weight now for 8 months. (lost 30 pounds) Doesn't matter how much, how little, or what I eat .. it just hangs in there within a pound or two either way all the time now. So, don't focus on the weight part of this -- your body will manage that for you. Focus on enjoying great food and feeling good. Alissa's book has wonderful recipes ... there are heaps of other books out there and internet sites as well.

Just go about being raw - share your food when your hubby wants a taste, ask for support when you waiver, and go from there.

Welcome to this board!

[ReneeSC]

Hi GlimR ( waves! )
I'm new here, myself, oh.. about 30 minutes or so to be exact.
But, I had to jump in here for a sec.
I hear you've read through Alissa's book, but what convinced not only ME - but my HUSBAND ( wow.. you have NO IDEA! lol ) and two teenagers .... was her video she did - same title as the book.
When you can, get THAT. If you're a visual type person, it'll do you a world of good.
Alissa takes about 4 hours to go through recipe after recipe - infront of 2 guests - and the experience of watching how SHE flings around the kitchen... was priceless.

I kid you not, after approximately 4 hours of watching her - the process - the ease - and the reactions of her guests to the food, we were hooked. ( and we've been vegan, lacto-ovo vegan, SAD... you name it...)

By the next day - and this is no exaggeration - my husband and I emptied out the kitchen of ( okay.. MOST ) everything offensive. My deep, two-sided fridge now looks like a farmer's market exploded. And, you know what... IT'S COOL! Even my teenagers think so. We even attacked the cabinets, restructured the counters.. you name it. It took us ALL DAY. ....and we didn't die...and we didn't fight. NADA!

We're detoxing at the moment - and we're tiiiiiired, but in two days I've made 6 trays of dehydrated foods, 4 dishes of fresh concoctions, and haven't cracked the oven once. I took Alissa's advice and tried to make up a bunch of things ahead so we could just graze through.. but ..also... not feel deprived ( especially the kids ).

I have multi-nut-turtles in the dehydrator now.

Oh, and my ( "You've GOT to be KIDDING ME!!!!") husband is taking zuccinni with pesto/roma tomato raw marinara sauce to work with him tomorrow. :)

We FREAKED today.. when for the first time we used the saladacco-gadget-thingy..to make "noodles" out of raw vegetables. Even though the guests on the video said that it tasted like spaghetti.... I still expected it to taste like grass.
It DOESN'T! It's crunchy, but light, no grassy/dirty taste, and.... no sugar low afterward. We actually ate LESS of a meal because it's so satisfying.

And the carob powder mixed with honey... tastes like CHOCOLATE. ( doin' the happy dance! )

The banana fruit leather - the best!
dried pineapple? puuuleeaassee.. who needs sugar?

Yes, you can do this. Talk amongst yourself ( lol ) and find your impetus ( your reason for doing this )..so that you can pep-talk yourself through.

I feel awful right now ( been through this before on a citris cleanse ), but - I've eaten REALLY well in two days, and my body doesn't feel heavy or lardy..

We're not 100 percent raw ready at the moment; we think it'll take us a bit of time to reach up to that level, but when we're ready, look out!

I can now leave my precious husband alone in the kitchen. Sounds awful, doesn't it? But, as wonderful as he is, he's NO cook. And to think he had it right all the time.... no oven!

Don't give up on him! He might surprise you! These foods we've been making for the last few days really DO taste THAT good! ( and my taste buds are all polluted! ).

The woman at the health food store who sold me the book, the video, the saladacco, the mortar/pestal/suppliments ( yeah, that was bucks, but .. we've been through 20,000.00 in health costs in 3 years... DROP IN THE BUCKET in comparisson )... said that even HER husband isn't ready to understand all of this yet, and she still "cooks" for him also, but it's EARLY in the game for her -and you - so.. don't lose hope!

Her husband LOOOOVES the raw desserts she makes ( and takes to church pot-lucks in public - with RAVE reviews from the unsuspecteds ) - so she's reeling him into this with his sweet tooth.

Make some "stuff"... see if you can catch him sneaking it. LOL

Renee... okay.. that last burst of energy just did me in for the night, but it was nice leaving it on a "high" note.

[GlimR]

Renee~
Thanks for such a great post~ *big smile*.......sounds like your family is doing awesome!!! I am doing great too.......today is day #16 I think, have lost 12 lbs...feeling good......husband is doing his own food thing but that is ok,,,,,hopefully life is long and he will make some changes when he is ready. He had melanoma 3 years ago...has been clean since after lymph node surgery.....I know this would be so good for him....but all things in their own time, right? *s* Anyway.....off to work but wanted to thank you for such a great post!!

[LadyCraft]

I'm new here too. I live alone with a couple of cats, so I don't have to worry about haing cooked food around right now. When I go home for Christmas... well, I hope to be strong then.

I ordered Alissa's book, but received the message that they've run out of the first printing (yay for Alissa...boo hoo for me), but the next printing is scheduled to ship in September, and I'll get my copy then. I can hardly wait!

This forum seems to have a lot of people on it who have been there-done that- and are willing to share and support us newbies. I'm glad we're here. :)

[twinyoga]

What a fun message, Renee.

GlimR, you'll be fine. I have twin babies and my husband to feed. I'll make a meal that is part raw, part cooked. The kids eat a combination, my husband will eat mostly the cooked and I eat the raw. But it's really easy.

You can check out my journal to see what I do. And I'm sure your husband will love raw desserts. Mine does.

[GlimR]

Hey guys~
You know it hasn't really been hard at all.....am into my third week 100% raw and it has been ok as far as food prep goes...I was talking to my husband last night about how easy this has been. I have no cravings so far really...I did have a fleeting moment of sadness yesterday that I won't ever eat a tuna sandwich yesterday....when I read something in the book about dulse being used to impart a fish taste as a tuna sub. But overall I am loving this wol...it is really what I've alwasy imagined but was unable to put into practice.

It has all really been a very natural progression for me and so a very easy transition. I think more than than really "wanting" any cooked foods are the cultural and social implications......but so much of what we feel is based on our attitudes and perceptions and I choose to be very glad about this and not put stumbling blocks before myself.

I am excited as can be to see what the coming months will unfold for me...I feel like I am coming out of a cocoon...I always wanted to be a butterfly.......well.....a faerie really but a butterfly will do~

[ReneeSC]

You're doing maaaarrvelous! I've heard of your awsome weightloss in the past year or so ( Atkins, right?), and .. as you've already felt, this'll be your smooth take-off path.

I'm sorry to hear about your husband's melanoma. :( I'm glad he's clean now, though. Yes, he'd do WONDERFUL on this type of diet, but like many men who watch their women do "weird" stuff... he'll just eat and watch for a while.
That's okay, we get to experiement with 'em. :)

I am BOWLED over by my husband... last month, we got "into it " over diet around here.. I'd HAD it. After he finally realize how sick our daughters really were, especially our eldest ( 15 ), he consented without an argument, but only after he'd heard it from multiple doctors. Even then, he couldn't consent giving up wheat-based products and such. After yesterday, ( bad stomach day for the eldest), we're thinking we nailed down wheat flour as a problem... so.. out the door that goes, too.

I didn't even have to explain to him the cost of her intestinal suppliments ( Hallelujah Acres and a ProBiotic ) .. he didn't even ask me. ( first time that's happened! ).

Yeah, you're right, without the emergency element we had here, he's a bit more laid back about the entire thing ( your huband ).

Have you made him any deserts yet? How about chewable candy? ( dried fruits )?