Why did you go raw?

[pinenut]

I've been a lurker here for a bit with a constant desire to go full 100% raw, but never could follow through for various reasons. I am a vegan and am probably 60-70% raw right now, but I just haven't found the motivation, yet, to committ to a full 100%. It always just got to hard and my reasons were never strong enough to committ. I'm considering doing the 30 day challenge starting in May, however, now I just met (what I'm hoping to be) a really great new man, and I don't know if the whole dating thing is going to be very condusive to sticking to a 100% raw diet. I do have about 50lbs I need to loose, and I know raw would go a long way to helping me loose that, but I know I'm going to need more than just weight loss to help me stick to a 100% raw diet.

That being said, I'd love to hear some of your stories/reasons as to why you committed to a 100% raw diet. What motivates you to stay raw? What's your story?

[ShelShel]

Fatigue. Crazy fatigue. Found out low thyroid...and now I eat raw because it's best for me...I feel and look my best...and I love raw foods. It's a lifestyle. :D

[sport]

I was healthy and feeling good at the time but when I read about the raw food way of eating it was as if that proverbial light bulb lit up in my head and someone shouted Eureka. It just made so much sense to me that this was the correct way to eat. I was annoyed that I had not realised it years ago.

[CathyA.]

Master cleanse got me to raw. It was a long journey of trial and error before that. Seriously....what keeps me raw is how much better my brain works. I was depressed, angry, paranoid, you name it. I also had no energy and my body hurt all the time. Getting out of bed was a major ordeal. LOL. Man...I was a mess. I am truely blessed to have found my way to raw.

[christinajade]

Just wanted to be healthier and did some research on raw. I got tired of all the boxed crap and found a more natural way to eat. No health problems, just wanted to be healthier.:)

[somelikeitraw]

My skin was too tight, lol! Seriously, I was very overweight and in a fair amount of constant pain all of the time. I had been feeling the need to detox and get healthy for quite some time and wasn't sure how I was going to accomplish it. Was visiting my dad and came in from the garage one day and this lady was on the tv talking about eating raw foods and I was very intrigued. Neither my dad or my husband, both had been in the room with the tv while I was outside, could tell me the name of the lady. That was pretty frustrating and the tv show didn't mention her again. A few weeks later I was in a book store and saw her on the cover of a book. Her name was Carol Alt, I had never heard of her before. Another book caught my eye, with the word detox in the title and words raw food in the title as well. Well, that book was very helpful and I was mostly raw before I knew it. I felt better than I had in nearly a decade. Long story short-ish, I let some emotional stuff derail me and went on a seriously SAD food binge for a few months. I ended up heavier than I had even been in my life. One day I just said "Enough is enough!" and started eating raw. I have been raw for over a year now and am loving it!

[Aleesha Sattva]

here's my story... http://www.timelessspirit.com/JAN08/walk.shtml

;)

[Green_Woman]

My saga: I went 100% Raw to "cure the incurable" (http://dauntlessdiva.com/2010/01/18/curing-the-incurable/)... spurred on by the incredible energy of RENEE and several other faithful Rawbie friends here, after years of back-and-forth Raw...

100% Raw Vegan Diet is incredible purifying and healing... even if I don't continue eating this way for "the rest of my life", I DO know it's crucial for me to eat this way for now - hence my 1-year commitment to 100%... and excitement about continuing to explore my intuitive side not just through diet but throughout the rest of my life, as well. :D

[Dimond]

Severe, lifelong health issues. Once I became 100%, I never really had to think about it or struggle with it since I believe it's the correct way to eat. It's a part of my lifestyle and I enjoy it.

Optimal health is really the main motivation. Not wanting to ever deal with illness, doctors, medication, etc. ever again is enough to keep me raw.

Pinenut, if you can get your new man to do the challenge with you, it would help you, possibly get him to continue raw afterwards, or at least be supportive, and be a bonding experience.

[lodestar]

why did i decide raw is best for me?

well, for the past twenty years my weight has gone up and down in a thirty pound range. one day i decided that i would only eat what the earth naturally produced not knowing there was a raw food movement in it's baby stages. the weight disappeared, but the cooked food still called to me so i would be raw-cooked-raw-cooked. then a computer came into our home and i started searching effective, healthy weight loss. i started on another forum and then stumbled onto this one where people are so helpful and friendly and kind. for the past five years i have been here off and on. my social and family engagements have been hard for me to figure out and i've never been able to maintain a raw way for longer than six months.
then in March i ate two cupcakes back to back...hardly tasting them, just before bedtime. i realized that this felt like a compulsive addiction and i refuse to be controlled by garbage food.
so here i am once again raw for more than a month. i am at peace with food. the excess weight is falling away, i have a clear vision and resolve. there is no other way for me. i will never go back. it's been a long process with a steep learning curve, but the fact is that once you have experienced this clean, freeing way for a significant length of time it's tough to ever go back for good. being a SAD eater has never been the same since my many raw food attempts. how do i know i'm done with the SAD? i will never choose compulsion, sluggish, misery again. i refuse to go there under any social pressure of fitting in. i just NEED this way too much. i am addicted to the SAD and for my own peace and sanity i will never eat that way again. period.

so, if you are looking to be at peace with food.... do this challenge for 30 days in May, but be prepared to never be a satisfied SAD food person again.

[Katie P]

Master cleanse got me to raw. It was a long journey of trial and error before that. I am truely blessed to have found my way to raw.

Same for me too! I did the master cleanse for 21 days & for some reason (I guess my body was telling me) I didn't want to put anything cooked in my body. I felt clean & just opted for the raw life. To be honest I didn't know anything about it, so I went & researched & fell upon Alissa's website :) Thank goodness :)

Before raw I had PCOS & just couldn't find anything that made me feel good & energized until raw. Now I wouldn't go back for anything!!!!

[VeganMainstream]

Shelshel.... did you find that raw helped your thyroid problem? Do you still have to take medication for it?

[Vaclare79]

I went raw last year because of a serious acid reflux episode. I could not eat anything or drink even plain water without it bothering me.. I did research and some family members knew already about raw so I looked it up. I felt good on raw although I'm not 100% like I was during the previous year. It did help my skin, no break outs and other things were better within my body. I'm returning to raw because it is THE BEST way to go. I'm just having a little trouble getting there. :)