Would you like to be crazy?

[Sharon in Colorado]

...............................

[flutterfly]

Very interesting to say the least. It would be wonderful if we all would be like that. I fall down so many times. Get off into the cooked. See my skin age within days.Then I try again. I don't like the idea of putting myself down for falling because that takes away self esteem but I hate to see my skin look older than it needs to look. So here I am agin picking myself up. Thanks for the wonderful link.

[Helen Of Tennessee]

I would love this simplicity.

Here is Janie's website:

http://www.ringlet.org

She is one who is on the discussion and said the most.

I believe Nora also eats similar to what these ladies are discussing:

http://www.rawschool.com

I'm hoping to get to this point. I've tried but have failed over and over again, so now I'm starting to try "recipes" of raw foods. I hate to prepare the foods though. I have ingredients now to make some dehydrated crackers and breads and that's how far I gotten. They are sitting in my pantry - unprepared. It's easier to grab an orange and eat it, but then again it's easier to grab into the chip bag and eat it. :mad: I like stuff easy but I want it to be a healthy choice and hope I can eat like Janie or Nora.

<>< Helen of Tennessee

[VeganWannaBe]

Thanks for sharing Sharon ... I pray to be that focused on raw! What an amazing post ... btw ... my thoughts are that the "others" are definitely the crazy ones!

[Curtis]

Nice post, thanks! Well let me see which seems crazier, munching down on the should or rump of a cow or eating an apple. :D

[VeganWannaBe]

LOL Curtis!
That is soooooooo true!

[Sharon in Colorado]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies.

Helen, you and I seem to be in the same boat. Always wanting to get to that point, and slipping here and there on our way. And, like you, I realize that in my transition, I need mokre prepared raw foods for now. I've realized a few things on my many attempts at raw:

1) The most important thing is the beginning. If I don't start, it doesn't ever happen. The first 3 days doing all raw is essential. The super-strong cravings for trigger foods subside and leave me with more manageable, controllable cravings. Get over those first 3 days and I am on my way. After the first 3 days, take another 21 to form a habit. Incorporate a goal like getting a certain amount of water every day, excercising a certain amount, eating something juicy for breakfast, or whatever, for 21 days straight. Then for the next 21 days, incorporate another habit or two. These ideas I credit Jenny Silliman from her healthseekers newsletters. Here is the link: http://associate.com/groups/healthseeker/read/?


2) All raw, not high raw. In my many attempts and different styles of trying to go raw, I stay raw longer when I do it at once and all raw. I use the term all raw because I don't like to think of it as 100% as I have used some non-raw condiments in my salad (like dressing). If I'm high raw, and include things like breads or cooked vegetables, it doesn't take long for me to slip off and stop eating my fruits and veggies, and eating more cooked. High raw has never really worked for me.

3) Keep it to myself. I used to tell everyone and his uncle about my diet. Then I slip and next thing you know they see me eating a bagel and cream cheese. That just doesn't work for me. I try not to even discuss it with my family. Last time my child asked "mom, I thought you were eating raw" when they saw me eating a bean burrito....much to my annoyance at myself and the innocent question.

4) Not dwelling on slip-ups. If or when I give in to something cooked, I try not to dwell on it. Heck, I don't even put it in my online journal because I then I DO start to dwell on it and it makes me feel guilty and ashamed of myself. I enjoy the food and try to forget about it. I believe creative thinkers and writers tend to overthink things they do and their feelings. At least that is me. While I'm the first one to admit that I'm not perfect, it surely doesn't help *me* to dwell on and on about my mistakes. Besides that, mistakes are stepping stones to success. Take what I learned about myself when I screw up and move on with renewed knowledge about how to take care to avoid the same situation: "Next time I have a really strong craving, this is what I'll do: drink a lot of water, make myself something filling like guacamole on flax crackers, go clean something, read to the kids...etc."

Again these are things that work for me. It may not be a system for everyone, but I thought I'd share!

[FEELIN'GOOD]

I don't have a doubt that the 'others' are crazy... and I used to be one of those 'crazy' people. We have to remember, cooked food is a drug... I am an addicted to cooked food crazy person who realizes she was crazy and is now in the process of changing her habits. I admit, I was brain washed to believe grilled chicken breasts were the way to go... I ate that and cooked green beans for years! Now that I know what I know, I don't crave those foods anymore... I still have a problem with Spinach Dip from Costco... Nachos and Cheese with peppers, cheese bread, and twizzlers. No meat at all... Once you see them as body parts and the diseases they are responsible for, the urge just went away. The smell even makes me ill now.

After reading about Alissa and checking into this way of life, I believe in my heart that this the way to go. I have read books on all types of diets, and never believed 100% in them as I do this one! I'm not there yet, but I know where I want to be!

[Helen Of Tennessee]

Hi Sharon of Colorado,

You have some great tips there!!! Thanks for sharing them :D

<>< Helen of Tennessee

[Rawkinlocs]

Sharon,

I LOVE what you wrote in your last post with all the tips and your way of thinking! Very encouraging and inspiring! thank you, thank you, thank you :)

Curtis, you are a card! That was funny :D

[tglasco4]

That would be the ideal I believe. It would be the goal. Like the bible says about Christ in Romans 10:4 "4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." The word end in greek is the word "telos" which means goal. So that to be like Christ was the goal of the Law. In this same way, to be able to eat simply of wholesome raw foods is the goal. But some get there in months, some in years, some never get there (nor want to). I have been high raw for 6 months before I started the 30 day challenge. I have never had a problem in that time falling back into cooked. But that is not the case for everyone. I do believe though, that if we are patient with ourselves, firm in our convictions about raw and consistent in seeking to maintain the lifestyle, eventually we will probably end up like jules. Which would be a great thing, but definitely we wouldn't end up there at the same time or even in the same timeframe. Let us continue to grow and as one of us reaches that plateau, let us cheer and encourage as the rest of us are coming down the path. To make a long story short, yes, I would like to be that crazy!

Peace.

Todd

Todd

[Melissa]

Don't the photos of that luscious Hawaiian fruit look delicious? That's part of my struggle...We moved from NYC to PA three years ago and I'm ambivalent about being here, and my cooked food urges get intense when I feel sorry for myself. Sometimes I feel so alien here, compared to NY...This really is white-bread America here, big time pork and cow eating, junk food, casseroles. Until going raw, my solace was Wegmans supermarket where I would buy gourmet foods (cheeses, olives, breads, sweets, etc.) that comforted me emotionally and reminded me I'm a NYer and not "one of them" but made me sick, sick, sick. Now my eating has REALLY taken me out of step with the folks here. I think it comes down to this for many of us: We have to embrace being different and not care what other people think. I'm trying to let go of judgements towards myself and others in terms of what they eat, and instead focus on the self-love that I'm trying to enact with my diet. I've lost ten pounds and the pain of my fibromyalgia is starting to ease. I've been putting on Aretha and dancing around the house -- THAT'S the joy inside that is struggling to bubble up again from beneath a lot of pain and sadness. I'm not sure how long I'll make my home in PA but --in terms of raw food eating--"if I can make it here, I'll make it anywhere" Hee hee.

[Wrecked Spark]

Well said. Thanks for this post.

And if that's what we term crazy in this topsy-turvy world of ours, then SIGN ME UP.

I think I'd look damn fine in a straight jacket. ;)

Hee hee

Cheers,
Wrecked Spark

[Sharon in Colorado]

Melissa I feel a little bit like you. We moved from California to Colorado and sometimes I feel different here. My parents grew up in New York, so I have a little bit 'o the Big Apple in me.

Fortunately though Colorado Springs is with the times and has several natural food resources. I can even get a case of organic oranges for about $20. I found out about this through some connections I made with raw food interests. It helps to find people in your area, you can form co-ops and go in on cases of produce, etc. I posted my info in a raw food connections/potluck site and people contact me through E-mail.

[Sweet lips]

Being crazy suits me just fine. I too believe that being 100% raw is the reality for me. I can't do a little cooked at all, it is like being a little pregnant- eventually, it will become all cooked and iceberg lettuce raw. I have really fooled around with this thing and unlike the many things I have given up in my life, I went cold turkey and it looks like cold turkey is the way for me to be raw! :p