How do you know what percentage of raw you are?

[icelated]

Hello,

I have been raw for 5 weeks now. I eat 3 meals a day and some snacking.. I want to be 85% Raw. I think doing the math at 3 meals per day, one cooked meal would be like 66% raw? Therefore, would one cooked item be around 85 - 90% ?

Corey

[spicyfull]

Congratulations of 5 WEEKS RAW.........

[GlimR]

Do the numbers matter so much? Congrats on eating more raw....the more you eat raw, replacing cooked, the better you will feel. How are you feeling? Have you noticed any changes yet?
It's more about what the cooked food is. If it's a hamburger or milk your results will be way different than if the cooked is some steamed vegetables, see what I mean? In that case not so much the amount but the type of food.
I use non-raw things sometimes like maple syrup in a few recipes so I consider myself high raw if I have to put a label on it....trying to figure out percentages would make me crazy. Best of luck to you.

[Veganforlife]

Yes. Congrads on 5 weeks! Like Alissa says either you are Raw or not. Percentages do not matter.

[Ilse W.]

It's mostly guesswork. I agree with Lucy (and Alissa), either you are raw or not raw. My experience is that cooked food is addictive and as long as it is part of your diet, you can't get away from it and the inflammation it brings. Raw is an all or nothing proposition. When I eat "regular" food, I still eat lots of salads and fresh fruit, but I've never called that "raw" eating. I guess for weight loss it helps to add lots of raw food and call it 85%. If you eat raw for health, it's got to be the 100%.

[rawrawks]

Is that what raw (either you are or you are not) means accord to ALissa....or did she mean when you eat lotsa raw food you are raw???? That is my understanding.

Not that it matters one bit about percentages or labels even. Everyone can do what they want.

[rawrawks]

Yes. Congrads on 5 weeks! Like Alissa says either you are Raw or not. Percentages do not matter.

can you clarify or say more in detail what ALissa means by this...just curious

[Green_Woman]

Rawrawks - I would encourage you to get a copy of Alissa's book LIVING ON LIVE FOODS and read what she says, yourself. It's always better to go to the source of an idea, rather than listen to a million opinions on it. ;)


I know many people who eat 75% - 90% RAW foods and the occasional bowl of rice or cooked yam or even (gasp) popcorn... and they consider themselves to be raw foodists. :)


Labels are not where it's at, as much as we humans tend to desire those labels in order to "understand" better... although, generally, labels reflect a LACK of understanding on the part of those who need to place them on others. It's LACK of understand about an individual that makes us want to box them up!

Eat as much raw food as you can in a day, enjoy every bite, and tomorrow, eat more! :)

[rawrawks]

yes green woman...funny you say that because I finally just ordered her book.

I do not ever believe in labels of any kind or percentages either. I am fine beng a rawfoodist exactly as am and exactly as I am not. I do not think it matters one bit about how much raw n how much cooked or knitpicking about technicalites of is agave raw or kombucha or anything.

Yes I eat one raw food after another. Life is sooooo very good. Thank you.

[Veganforlife]

can you clarify or say more in detail what ALissa means by this...just curious

Pretty simple concept. But why the detailing of 80, 90, 95 or WHATever percentage? Does it really matter? Alissa doesn't think so. I don't think so. Revvell doesn't think so. And I speak for a slew of folks that feel the same way.

If I add a teaspoon of cinnamon to a recipe, does that make me 99 and 9/10ths Raw today and then tomorrow I consume NOTHING but only Raw it makes me 100% that day and then how do I factor each day into each week and into each month?

PHEW! I'm tired just typing this! It really doesn't matter. I'm amazed as to how folks dissect and question what they are eating when going Raw. Counting calories. Counting carbs. Counting sugars etc. etc. etc.! Did they do this when consuming SAD/CRAP foods? I know I didn't. Sure I went through diets where I counted this or that but felt deprived if I went "over the limit". I NEVER feel deprived now. Just the opposite. I feel very satisfied.

I personally would rather eat what my body wants and needs making sure the MAJORITY is 100% Raw. To me (and others), if I am consuming NOTHING COOKED like a meal, side dishes, or snacks, then I am Raw. A tad of this seasoning or a sprinkle of that seasoning to enhance a RAW meal is ok for me.

This is YOUR journey. Enjoy it. Don't obssess over it. Have fun!!!

[rawrawks]

thankx...ditto...I am right with you on this!!!

[Veganforlife]

thankx...ditto...I am right with you on this!!!

::looks around room::

who are you calling ditto? LOL!!!

life is too short to fret over small things. A friend one said:
"Don't sweat the petty stuff and don't pet the sweaty stuff!"

LOVE THAT!

[rawrawks]

didnt say idoit I said ditto....hahahahahaha......tooo funny.

[RawKnitster]

A person could go crazy trying to do the math. How would one go about calculating a percentage anyway? Is it based on quantity? Would that be measured in cups or by weight?

I read a book by another raw food expert that says the calculation is done by dry weight. You would need to remove the water weight from the food you eat before you can do any calculations. That means 1 pound of fruit or greens which is about 80-90 percent water would only count as 1.6 to 3.2 ounces. Grains and meats have very little water to remove, so if you ate one pound of fruits/greens and 3 ounces of grains or meat you can count yourself as 50% raw.

[BethMO]

Although I get what everyone is saying I would still like a better answer to this question because alot of people on the net post things like I am ?% raw and I would like to understand it better (I hate math and stink at it) but for those of us just getting into raw it would be helpful to make certain we continue to increase raw and keep learning plus it is helpful if someone just looking into raw asks you how much do you eat raw and a % would be a helpful thing...anyhow just me wondering as I had thought about asking this same question the other day and forgot! :p

[Revvell]

When I'm 100%, I'm 100%. When not, it doesn't really matter. :cool:

When someone asks me that, I have a variety of answers ~ 100% so far today ~ or not; on what day? at what time?

There's no REAL way to calculate w/out making yourself crazy. It's all guessing.

[rawrawks]

I say "I am mostly raw" or "high raw" because thats easy and accurate. The rest just doesnt matter for me.

[Aleesha Sattva]

i'm raw. i don't do percentages... that's like saying "what percentage of oxygen did you consume today?" - depending on the pollution in the air, where i was, blahblahblah...

as for reading what other people are saying about being X% raw... who cares really? this is YOUR journey... and if you 'allow' yourself to eat cooked foods because someone else says they do... then you are missing the boat.

the boat, by the way, (the raw boat) takes you to a place of health, weight release and a glow you've never experienced before!!!

[rawrawks]

OH MY.. I love it....keep it coming the virtues of ALL RAW cuz I dont wanna miss the boat. What I have experienced has been profound but i want all the profoundness not just some of it!!!

Oh, shucksees I dont know how much oxegyn I consumed today....hahahaha

[Biff]

"Do I feel healthier?" That really is the main question for me. Sometimes I am 100%, sometimes I am not. I do have steamed veggies and brown rice (and sometimes even popcorn) and I was able to get off all of my medications and feel great.

So the main thing is that this is for yourself, and remember that each person has their own health issues that they are trying to overcome. Focus more on feeling healthy and once you are there, you will know which foods you eat makes you feel best, and which to avoid. For some people, that is 100% raw. For me not about percentages, but it is definitely lots of green smoothies, fresh fruit - and staying away from dairy, wheat, and all animal products. And if I stick to that, I can still eat veggie soup, steamed veggies, brown rice, and not have any asthma or allergy symptoms.

I used to focus on percentages, but I found out what works for me, and don't need to focus on numbers anymore. It is much easier for my lifestyle, feel wonderful, and the main thing is that I am healthy once again.

My personal opinion is that if everybody in the U.S. gave up animal products, caffeine, dairy, wheat, white sugar, most salt, alcohol, and smoking, that most health issues would go away. This is much easier than 100% raw and for me I get the results that I was looking for.

[icelated]

First, i would like to say thank you for all the replies! I have been a vegetarian for over a decade now. I never ate any meat. However, the transition to Raw has made me feel way better. I think the dairy, and High fructose corn syrup was a big factor.

I usually eat all raw ( green smoothis, salads(veggies) , nuts,fruit, sprouts, wheat grass, etc.. and at night i have some steamed veggies or a baked potato or yams. Thats usually it for cooked food. I will not worry about percentages.

Thank you,
Corey

[RawKnitster]

Percentages are arbitrary. There are no fixed rules on how to do it. Depending on how the percentage is arrived at one person's 85% could be another person's 50%. If you want to estimate it to keep track of your progress use whatever method you like. :)

However, I highly recommend going all the way and kicking anything cooked to the curb.

[zina]

Rawrawks -
Eat as much raw food as you can in a day, enjoy every bite, and tomorrow, eat more! :)



Thank you Green woman ...that will be my new daily affirmation....:)

[Green_Woman]

Thank you Green woman ...that will be my new daily affirmation...

Deeply welcome. :)