Discouraged please help

[mary2122]

Okay so i am feeling very discouraged. This is my third day and i am just becoming confused if this is the right lifestyle for me. I amn ot planning on becoming 100% raw as of now of course but its hard for me. And i probably sound like a big baby. My cravings are out of control and i am naturally a calm and positive person and today i lashed out at my boyfriend and my dog lol. Im so moody and its not pms. I also want to try a couple recipes and then i went to get the ingredients and they were so pricey! i am currently only working part time and it upset me that i couldnt get the ingredients for the recipes. I currently do not have health insurance so i thought this was a great way to prevent sicknesses and i am SUPER interested in this way of life.

i think also i am getting anxiety about this weekend which is tons of bbqs and parties. I am 23 years old and im very social. How do u stay mostly raw in these situations..


soo im asking you all...i know many of you are very passionate about this. please convince me to stay. i really do not know anyone personally that is leading this lifestyle so i need the help from this forum. I know i am a newbie and a bit of a stranger haha but please convince me :)

[EatRaw]

Okay so i am feeling very discouraged. This is my third day and i am just becoming confused if this is the right lifestyle for me. I amn ot planning on becoming 100% raw as of now of course but its hard for me
If I was thinking like that I would be confused also. What do you want to do?


My cravings are out of control
What are you craving? Why are they out of control...are you not the one in control?


I also want to try a couple recipes and then i went to get the ingredients and they were so pricey!
We all get fired up with gourmet raw food....but there is nothing better than just simple raw food...yes...it may sound boring...but...let me tell you a little secret...Dave leans over and whispers...(when you do get the money to buy all those expensive ingredients and make all those fancy recipes...it will feel good...BUT...you'll come back down to simple. Nothing expensive about a cantalope. :) Don't get so caught up ....that you over look just how great a salad with the right dressing can be....or a bowl of grapes!! Do lash out...be happy...eat some fruit...any fruit...be simple!


i think also i am getting anxiety about this weekend which is tons of bbqs and parties. I am 23 years old and im very social. How do u stay mostly raw in these situations..
You fend for yourself :D make your own food! Your trying to hard! :D Its really simple! hehehe Make it simple for now...then next year on the 4th of July...you can blow others away with you fancy things! Collect the fancy things for now (bookmark) even have a fancy catagory bookmark with (easy non pricey) you can do it!

I'll leave you with this: "If it was easy everyone would be doing it" I'll just tell ya... "everything is not easy" but you can make it easy....won't be in the begining though...coz you going against the grain! :D

Hang in there!

Blessings to you!

dave

[tylerdurden]

A raw food lifestyle is for everyone but everyone isn’t always ready for a raw food lifestyle. Currently, it looks like you’re in the, it would be nice to lead this lifestyle and hopefully prevent illness but I don’t think you’ve truly found a reason for changing. It’s like this, everyone knows they should eat healthier but it isn’t until a doctor tells them you are going to have a massive heart attack unless you change your diet and lifestyle that they change. It’s only until they hear those words they have a reason for changing.

No one on this board can keep you on the raw lifestyle. We can give you some support and motivation but in the end it comes down to you and what you want. I think you should sit down and find a reason to have a “mostly” raw diet (I know you don’t plan on being completely raw). I real reason, a solid reason that is more powerful than any craving or change of heart you might have or feel. When you find that reason use it as your personal motivational tool. When you get a craving remind yourself, I’m committed to __(your reason)___ and a raw lifestyle is vital to my success. Say it out loud, say it five, ten, or 50 times. But first you have to find that reason for not just wanting to change but needing to change your life.

It looks like you are on the right track with trying to prevent illness but maybe you need to make it a more specific thing. I know one thing that motivates me is the fact that I never want to be a burden to my future wife. I never want her to walk in to a room and find me collapsed on the floor from a heart attack or stroke. I don’t want her to watch me wither a way from alzheimer's or dementia. I never want to see that look of sadness on her face. I’m not saying those things won’t happen but if they do I’ll be able to look in her eyes and see that she knows I did everything I possibly could to prevent what happened. Maybe that mentality can be part of you reason.

You might not find a reason right now. Your reason might not come to you until someday down the line. Dig deep within yourself and don’t be afraid of what you might find.

I truly wish you the best of luck. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

[Thick]

First of all, you can bring a big sweet watermelon to any BBQ you might be going to or a red white and blue fruit salad (banana, strawberry, blueberries). Fill up before you go!

At 3 days in it is not at all unusual to have a lot of emotional detoxing. My first week raw I re-experienced a breakup that happened 15 years ago--really experienced the physical feelings and emotions. Many things will come to surface for you to heal--it is a wonderful amazing thing...

As far as expensive foods and recipes go--just make a small individual portion of them--you might not like them anyway as it takes a while to be able to eyeball a recipe and imagine it for what it is. This time of year is a fantastic time to start eating raw food--and you can get it so cheaply at farmers markets and pick-your-own farms.

The main thing I've learned--

The pride, pleasure and encouragement you get from abstaining from (insert temptation here) far far exceeds any 5 minute pleasure you might have gotten from eating it. The pleasure and esteem lasts all day--while the food..only 5 minutes and then it ruins my whole day..and week..and so forth..

If you need a friend to talk with, please don't hesitate to write me=)>

[mary2122]

Thank you all so much. I REALLY appreciate everything. Last night I was really thinking about giving up...i was just so hungry and im not in control of my cravings. This morning i woke up very hungry and craving carbs. I think one of my problems is that I do not have a lot of fruits and veggies in my house right now so i need to stock up.

I really appreciated each and every response.

EatRaw- thank you for being honest with me. I needed that. your right, i really do not NEED gourmet raw. I went to a bookstore last night and looked at raw food cookbooks and i really wanted to make many of them but the ingredients were pricey. But i need to just go back to the fruits and veggies because you are right...they are not expensive. I just want to find a way for me to enjoy them more. thank you.

Tylerdurden- your totally right. My reason right now is to prevent illness and I have a thyroid disorder that causes me many symptoms. Even though I am active and even my SAD was pretty healthy...i keep gaining weight. I have heard great things about the positive effects of this lifestyle of thyroid patients. I also have a strong passion for being as healthy as possible. Im a big environmentalist and it always makes me angry how people start making changes AFTER we have problems. So i dont want to do that to my own body. Thank you :)

Thick- watermelon sounds great!!! and thank you for letting me know that you experienced those emotions as well. Like i said im probably the most cheerful person...my boyfriend was not used to me yelling at him for no reason like that haha. I think that just scared myself too. Thank you!

[jane b]

I don't know how useful this will be for you, but I spent a lot of time in transition before finding myself going more and more raw. Not just food transitioning, but also a LOT of educating myself about what's out there. I live in an area where I'm just about the only one doing raw, and that's why I found myself over here, so I could have someone else to talk to about Raw.

Tim vanOrden is a Raw runner, and he pretty much sticks to what's available in most supermarkets. He's not that much into the "superfoods," and those are the things that are usually expensive. He has a recipe for his favorite smoothie and it includes both hemp and flax seeds in small quantities. Hemp might be a problem to find, but even Walmart carries flax seed.

There have been a few discussions on this forum about the cost of going Raw. Now I'm the first to admit I'm the Queen of the Deal, but even I've been amazed at how much I'm NOT spending on meat, milk, eggs, bread and all those other things I was eating before. Check out some of the other threads for some money saving ideas.

One final thing, and I'm sure you've heard this a zillion times before, but a lot of times when you think you're hungry, you're actually *thirsty.* Try drinking a nice cool glass of water when the cravings start. It might help, and it sure couldn't hurt.

Now, if you'll all excuse me, I need to go not cook dinner. Baby zuch fettucine with a nice walnut basil pesto. Too bad DH will insist on me giving him some.
;)

[apb1172]

Hey Mary! I hope you are feeling better now.

I just wanted to share a few things with you that help for me. First of all, I started RAW in May and I have yet to have a 100% raw day. I have had a lot of 100% vegetarian days, but the all raw is still a challenge for me in my mind. BUT this is what I do to keep myself motivated and keep RAW in the forefront of my mind. KEEP TONS OF FRESH FRUITS AND VEGGIES IN THE HOUSE!!!!! If you can't see them then you will think of eating something else. When I have a frige full of good stuff, then that is all I want to eat!

I don't know where you are, but if you have a Trader Joes in you area, you can find a lot of "pantry" items at a great cost. By pantry I mean, agave, honey, sea salt and such. Where I am, we have local health food co-ops. See if you have anything like that in your area. Just remember that it is entirely possible to be a fat unhealthy vegetarian as well so I stick to the outer perimeter of the store even at the health food store. Look for farmers markets in you area and another GREAT idea would be to grow your own food! Check out http://www.communitygarden.org/ and see if there are local community gardens in your area or perhaps you have a yard that you can use. If you have limited space you could also look into container gardening or just grow lettuce inside so you always have greens. Like another poster said, you would be surprised how a dressing can "make" a salad of just different greens.

Superfoods like chia, goji berries, cacao and such are all pretty expensive, but with some research, you should be able to find them in bulk quantities at decent prices. However, superfoods are a personal choice. Honestly, it doesn't get more super than fresh raw red bell peppers to me though...

When you get crabby or feel cravings, get moving! Don't sit there and wade in it, shake it off because no matter how intense your cravings or crabbiness are, they will ALWAYS pass. By the time you have made it around the block once or twice, the craving or crabbies should be gone.

Me personally, I measure my success partly in how many anti-inflamatories I take for my knee pain. Even with my off and on RAWness, I am taking significantly less pain medication for my bad knees than I was when I started.

Lastly, don't forget to keep coming here with questions. This board is such a resource for ideas on what to eat and how to prepare it so it remains interesting to you. HTH Best of luck to you!

[Aleesha Sattva]

my suggestion... hold off on all those expensive ingredients and super foods. i bought all of them when i went raw and i still have lots sitting in my cupboard ... start off with fresh and allow your body to just go with the flow. ;)

you can do anything you set your mind to!!!

[mary2122]

jane B- thank you so much for your kind words. I think i just came into this not know much about it and it just overwhelmed me. I still need to learn a lot but im excited to learn everything now. the first day of ANYTHING is overwhelming so i need to realize that i am not going to come into this knowing what im doing. but that is why i love this community. Your right...it really does not have to be expensive at all. I think i just picked up a lot of the recipe books and i was like wow i never heard of this ingredient and i couldnt find coconut oil and what not. thanks so much!

apb- thanks for the response! its great to know that you still are not fully raw. i always feel guilty when i eat something cooked but really i am doing my best and i have to make the transition gracefully. I LOVE LOVE trader joes...i just bought agave syrup for 2.99 there i was surprised....also their organic veggies are cheap. and the customer service is awesome :) i need to calm down with wanting the superfoods, im already doing my body a favor by eating raw...i can buy superfoods when i have a better job haha. thanks and i am going to check out the community garden website...that is a GREAT idea!!!!!!

Aleesha...thank you for your response! it is sooooo nice to hear that it doesnt cost a lot of money to be on this....i used to do weight watchers and i had to leave because i couldnt afford the meetings and all of the weight watchers food...but with this...heck i can grow the food for free! nature's gifts :) thank u!



Everyone...i have started a blog and video blog about my journey ...check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYwMQpHkrNg

http://marysbeautifulworld.blogspot.com/

[Raw Angel Mom]

This journey could be exciting as much it could be overwhelming and scary.

When something doesn't go as plan, there is a tendancy to go back with what we know where it feels safe (cook food).

I would say work toward building strong ground with this diet.

Do you know that i have tried to quit dairy before and the reason i went back is that i thought, if i crave so much for, it must be that i need it. And all of that pressure about having bad teeth, losing our hair etc..... Well about two months of being raw vegan, i started to have craving again, and then i saw "A diet for all reason" DVD. I can assure you that after watching this, i so wished i would have quited dairy years ago. Beside this DVD, i recommend to you to get the China Study. This is something else that will built strong ground.

What do you do to deal with your emotions? Comfort food is commonly used to cope with daily life and is a sort of anti-depressant. Which we all know leads to illness.

So may i strongly suggest to you to try to come up with a plan to deal with your emotions or stress or worries. It could be something as simple as 5 deep breath and affirming three time a positive affirmation such "All is well", "I am safe", etc... You can get Louis Hay book, she has some neat affirmation.

This is a journey, and be proud of you. Because you are trying and as far as i can read from your post, you are doing great even though you may not feel that way. Focus always on your accomplishment and don't you dare letting guilt get in the way. I feel that guilt is more toxic then the food itself because it gets you hook. If you make bad choice down the road, don't make excuse neither judge them. In time, you will wake up and say, well i don't want that anymore.

You are doing good and congratulations for making room for the good stuff.

All is well.

[DeborahB]

Some excellent advice has been offered here!

I am a student and manage great with raw food.
I've been raw for over 2 years and have found that the longer I'm raw, the less I need to eat.

I use lots of seeds that can be bought cheaply.
I make sunflower seed cheese (sunflower seeds, lemon juice and a dash of sea salt all mixed up in my coffee grinder), burgers (ground seeds, mixed herbs, chopped celery and tomatoes formed into burger shapes and dehydrated for 1 - 2 hours) and fillers for lettuce wraps (same as the burger mix but with spinach added and not dehydrated).

There is a great website called www.goneraw.com with lots of recipes.

With regards to comfort eating, find a substitute.
That substitute could be a good hearty tea, eating dates, relaxing your feet in a foot spa, munching on raisins...
Meditation is a great tool to use for so many reasons and always calms my brain and gives me confidence.

Whenever I have cravings I find that making a salad with heaps of flavours in lessens the cravings. Meditation also helps.
When I first started out I gave myself one day a week that I called "Craving Sunday". If I got a craving in the week I would tell myself I could have on Sunday. Usually the craving had gone by then.

Good luck Mary.

Here is something I received via email today:
Right here, right now, in this moment, with no judgement on yourself for anything in the past, you can begin right now to do your best towards yourself. You don't have to reach rock bottom to make the decision to start the upward spiral. What a feeling of freedom it is to know you can launch skyward at any point :)

[Aleesha Sattva]

Right here, right now, in this moment, with no judgement on yourself for anything in the past, you can begin right now to do your best towards yourself. You don't have to reach rock bottom to make the decision to start the upward spiral. What a feeling of freedom it is to know you can launch skyward at any point :)

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I love this!