Help..need motivation!!

[bananaberrie]

I have been on a raw diet/lifestyle for 3 months now. During that time I have lost 7 lbs..that's all 7 lbs. I find this very discouraging. Also, the first few weeks of raw I wanted to jump out of bed and had plenty of energy during the day, but not anymore. I have a family and they don't eat raw so I am all day having to make food for them. I'm just starting to wonder if it is worth it. Some days I just think a turkey on wheat with mayo sounds so easy and so normal. I want to eat raw, but I don't know if I want it enough, I don't feel like I am getting the benefits that I want from it.

I have noticed that mentally I am not as hyped up about eating raw as I use to be either and this makes it harder. I try to remind myself of all the benefits of eating raw, but it just doesn't seem to help.

Has anyone else gone through this before, and what helped get you out of it. And yes, I have allowed some cooked food to slip in here and there.

[Raw Angel Mom]

I want to give you a big hug ((((( for you))))).

You know i bet that your pants are dramatically lose and your skin look more radiant.

Some people, it mays seem to take time others they just drop those extra weight in no time.

About let go the attachment to lose weight but instead to focus on your health and trying to find a place to feel happy with this life style.

Are you doing 100% raw?

My main reason at first was for me to have energy. I didn't care about the extra pound. I would eat and eat. Fat, sweetner, raw gourmet and you name it. I lost all the extra pound my first month.

Please don't deprive yourself and find a place where it feels joyful to do this journey.

In the beginning our body focus mainly to heal, if it needs for you to loose the weight first, it will do that, right now it is all exciting for your body to repair the inside and rejuvenate your vital organ first.

Let go the attachment of losing the weight, losing the extra pound is a side effect of health anyway.

I understand the attachement but give a try, it will make a huge difference. Otherewise, your mind will make you discourage and wanted for you to get back to your old ways. Don't let that part of you trick you and do this for your health.

You can do this for your beauty, health, energy, balance etc..... Nothing wrong to put beauty because beauty is inside out (Radiant skin of health, radiant and sparkling eyes).

If you stop eating early, your body will be able to do more cleansing at night. Drink more water and exercise in the morning.

These are trick to help the body to speed up the process.

All is well and you are a champion already. Look of this great accomplishment that you have done for yourself. 3 MONThs of making room for good stuff. WOW.

Hang in there, you will see the fruit of your effort. Ditch that scale now and just weight yourself in one month.

Another hug for you (((((HUG)))))

[dime]

What benefits do you expect from eating raw? If it's weight loss then it's very simple -- eat less. Same principle as if on a cooked diet, except it's healthier. But I can imagine it would be kinda hard with a family around; it's not so simple to just get a break and do a fast.

Don't give up, you know that raw will always be healthier than cooked. When you come across problems just search or post on the forum, I'm sure you'll always get some great advices! :)

[bananaberrie]

What benefits do you expect from eating raw? If it's weight loss then it's very simple -- eat less.

I was expecting or hoping to loss about 10 vanity lbs, and to have great skin and more energy. Also, I tried eating less...it didn't help with the weight loss.

And yes it is challenging when you have a family to feed. My kids are young right now and I will often get them food first, even if I am hungry. This morning I made them oatmeal, I had gone and worked-out before they woke up so when I got home I was hungry, but had to get them feed and the oldest off to school. I just kept looking at the oatmeal and thinking, Really how bad could oatmeal be? I mean it is still a whole food, just soaked in hot water, what is so wrong with oatmeal? And then I wonder if I have gone too far going on a raw diet.

Raw Angel Mom, thank you so much for your reply. I needed a hug :) You are so right I do need to get over my scale obsession, I need to ask my hubby to hide it from me, but I know I would miss it so much. Funny I know.

I do need to focus on the health aspect and not the weight aspect. I have noticed that I am much more level emotionally being on raw, which is such a plus when you have small kids.

I am not 100% raw, but I do wake every morning with the intention of being as raw as I can be. Some days I'm sure I make it, but others I don't. But I think if I took the mind set to be 100% raw I would probably drive myself crazy with the small stuff, like agave, it is not raw, but used in lots of raw recipes, so if I use it one day for something then I would not consider myself 100% raw on that day and then notice all the other things like spices that are not truly raw and I would just get way to technical and drive myself insane!

Thank you again for your support it is just nice to get it out and get feedback....thanks so very much :heart

[sport]

It does work. You will get it right eventually and it will be awesome and so worth it.

[kaleboy]

are you getting a good amount of leafy greens each day ?

[bananaberrie]

are you getting a good amount of leafy greens each day ?

Maybe not, I make myself a green smoothie everyday, but I'm not a big salad eater. I did however end up folding and eating what I made for my family last night for dinner and when I woke up this morning I was craving a salad.

[sport]

You should try to ensure that you g=have eaten your fill before you cook or serve for the family to reduce temptation.
It will get better and there will come a time when you will not want what the family are eating.

[modernmonkey]

Reducing fat, 100% raw and/or increased exercise may be your answer to getting over the plateau. Or a cleanse.

[bananaberrie]

Reducing fat, 100% raw and/or increased exercise may be your answer to getting over the plateau. Or a cleanse.


Good ideas, I have thought of an tried some of them. I did reduce fat for a couple of weeks, but no change, maybe I didn't do it long enough. I don't feel like I could increase my exercise right now, I am already doing cardio 3-5 times a weeks and strength like yoga and such also 3-5 times a week. Plus I have 3 small kids, so I get a lot of exercise in general :) I would love to do a cleanse, and I plan on doing one as soon as I wean my toddler, because part of me thinks that either quitting nursing or a cleanse might be the key to helping me get rid of whatever my body is holding on to that is so hard to let go of.

I guess that leaves going 100% raw. Can you use agave and honey ad still be considered 100% raw?

[Psychalone]

I have been on a raw diet/lifestyle for 3 months now. During that time I have lost 7 lbs..that's all 7 lbs. I find this very discouraging. Also, the first few weeks of raw I wanted to jump out of bed and had plenty of energy during the day, but not anymore. I have a family and they don't eat raw so I am all day having to make food for them. I'm just starting to wonder if it is worth it. Some days I just think a turkey on wheat with mayo sounds so easy and so normal. I want to eat raw, but I don't know if I want it enough, I don't feel like I am getting the benefits that I want from it.

I have noticed that mentally I am not as hyped up about eating raw as I use to be either and this makes it harder. I try to remind myself of all the benefits of eating raw, but it just doesn't seem to help.

Has anyone else gone through this before, and what helped get you out of it. And yes, I have allowed some cooked food to slip in here and there.

Fiest of all, in terms of weightloss...you may not need to lose anymore weight, normally when fasting or on raw foods you continue to lose weight until eventually it stabalizes. However if thats not the case then you may want to examine your style of raw food diet. There are many ways to do it and one of the main reasons people fail is because they choose a way that isn't complimentary to health. Would you mind sharing your typical raw diet?

As for actual motivation... Well that would require some knowledge of the unconscious mind. If you have some time I HIGHLY recommend checking this out
http://thunderwizard.com/page49/podcast.html
Click on "The Lay of Allwise the Dwarf Part 1" If you're short on time skip up to 18:00. Basically this guy explains how the unconscious mind workss using Norse Mythology. He talks about how addictions work, how to change behavioural patterns and such. If you have the time I highly suggest you listen to it.

For me personally...well i'm a bad example because I work in an "unorthodox" way, but something that has helped me is immersing myself in the "raw food world". I often watch raw food videos, read articles, post in forums, etc to keep my mind on it and it's benefits (although eventually it just becomes a part of you). The concept of the 30 day challenge is actually rather favourable because it usually takes 30 days to build and reinforce a new habit. Usually when you try to eliminate an addiction (like cooked food) you don't try to focus on the negative, you don't say "I'm NOT going to eat cooked food", because that doesn't work, the unconscious mind doesn't understand negatives, so instead of trying to eliminate an old habit you merely reinforce a new habit that conflicts with the olf habit. For example when you focus on raw foods naturally you're weakening your connection to cooked foods because you're not giving it attention. The law of energy is that it goes where your attention goes. If you give your attention to cooked foods, whether it's good attention or bad attention, you're giving it power. So the trick is to give your attention and focus to the habit you want to reinforce, raw foods. Now obviously this is hard when everyone around you is into cooked foods, so you have to have a good amount of control over your mind. This is why spending time on forums and watching videos helps because your giving your attention into the subject of raw foods.

I know the social aspect is probably the hardest part of the raw foods diet. I was lucky to have already been a "loner" before starting so I was already used to it, but even so it's still a challenge. Being on forums like this talking with likeminded people, I find, helps a good bit. I would highly suggest you look into finding or CREATING a raw food group in your area.
http://www.meetup.com/
is a great source for either finding or creating local groups based on interest. If you can find even one or two other people in your area who are also into raw foods it can mean the difference between success and delayed success (cause you know you'll eventually succeed XD). But to have other people, a support group, and even people to go out to raw lunch with :) it's great to finally have others who you can share this journey with.

That being said, don't worry so much if you have some cooked food here and there. Whats important is that you pay attention while you are and question why. Without giult, without shame, ask yourself "why am i eating this?" "WHat am I gaining by eating this?" Once you have a greater awareness raw foods will become a natural evolution.

I think the key is to listen to your intuition, listen to your body. Don't get caught up in dogma. Experiement and find what works for you.

ALl that being said, I think the biggest issue you raised was how you described the turkey on wheat, feeling "normal". Perhaps for the time being you should try some "transition foods". FOr example if you take an avocado and mash it with some flax seed oil and dill and pepper and make some sprouted essene bread you have something that tastes almost exactly like egg-salad on bread/pita. There are raw pies that tastes better then cooked pies, you can make nut milks, make tacos using romaine leaves as seen here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnY-5FZ1XmU

Get your creative juices flowing, experiment and try to find some fun combination of raw foods that remind you of cooked foods. Here's a great place to get started
http://www.living-foods.com/recipes/

Try some of those and then once you've tried some, try making some of your own and have some fun with it. When you prepare raw food in a way that appeals to one's cooked food addictions (not just putting fruit or lettuce on a plate) you can share it with the whole family. Using a dehydrator to make things like raw breads and raw crackers and raw burgers, using blenders to make a whole arrangement of fun freshing smoothies... raw food doesn't have to be "boring", you can still run your creative energy through food while keeping it raw.

Lastly you may want to try supplementing with ACTIVE (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showpost.php?p=654536&postcount=4) enzymes. I can assure you if there's extra weight to be lost, enzymes will accerate it.

Best of luck on your journey; may you find your path.

[bananaberrie]

Psychalone, thank you for your post. You have given me a lot of good advice to chew on. In answer to you question about my daily diet it goes about like this:

As soon as I wake up I drink lots of water then I eat fruit and more fruit.
About 9 or 10 I make a green smoothie.
For lunch either a salad or veggie sandwich on raw flax bread.
Snack raw grawnola and maybe some dried mango or dark chocolate (I know..Not raw)
Dinner is sometimes a salad or zucchini noodles w/ raw tomato sauce or broccoli w almond butter sauce...really it just depends on what sounds good.

But I think you and Raw Angle Mom both brought up a point that keeps resonating with me. I have the wrong goal in mind. I started that raw journey to be healthy, but also had a goal weight in mind. I feel like health wise I am making great steps towards my goal, but weight wise I am just frustrated. I have let my "goal weight" become my focus and it really should not be. I look at myself and I am happy with the way I look, but I have set a goal weight and can't seem to get there as quickly as I thought I could. I still want to reach that number I have set for myself in my head, because..well because that was my goal. I just need to let it go. Perhaps the goal weight is not where I am suppose to be.

Thank you for the time and effort you put in your response to me. It has helped.

[modernmonkey]

I didn't realise you were nursing. That may have a HUGE impact on appetite and weight retention.

My weight plateaued too and I knew I was eating way too much raw fat and not enough fresh. I did The Master Cleanse (10 days) just recently and lost a further 9lbs, but better than that it has strengthened my desire to be raw and STAY raw, keeps me focused on fruit and veg and cured any doubts whether or not I should include some cooked foods in my diet. A juice fast is an alternative.

[Stina]

What is your height and weight?

[bananaberrie]

What is your height and weight?

5 ft 1 in tall or short depending on how you look at it :) Before I started exercising in August of 2010, I always weighted 115, not matter what. I never dieted and eat whatever always weight 115. A week or two after starting working out I GAINED 3-4 lbs. So after being raw I have lost about 7 lbs bringing my weight to 111-112. I am not by any means overweight, but also not skinny either.

[bananaberrie]

I didn't realise you were nursing. That may have a HUGE impact on appetite and weight retention.

My weight plateaued too and I knew I was eating way too much raw fat and not enough fresh. I did The Master Cleanse (10 days) just recently and lost a further 9lbs, but better than that it has strengthened my desire to be raw and STAY raw, keeps me focused on fruit and veg and cured any doubts whether or not I should include some cooked foods in my diet. A juice fast is an alternative.

Yep, I'm nursing my toddler. I would like to think this has a lot to do with my very slow weight loss, but don't want to be too disappointed if it doesn't. My kids are 6,5 and 2. So I have either been pregnant, nursing or both for the past 7 years! So I am VERY ready to be done with it all and have my body back.

[modernmonkey]

My children are 13 and 10 and were both breast fed. I went from a UK 8 to a UK 16 with my first pregnancy. (I thought I could eat whatever I wanted and I did). The last 13 years has been a journey to reclaim my body, I have taken some bad detours with Weightwatchers and binge-eating but I have always been moving in the right direction. I am really seeing my body come back on raw (only money will sort out the droopy boobs), it is achievable and time is a major factor also. I'm a UK 8 again, Whoop!

[sport]

I think that your body is telling you that it likes the weight you are at now. I am about the same height as you and weigh 110 lbs and think that I am skinny. I work hard at keeping all the weight that I have.

[bananaberrie]

I think that your body is telling you that it likes the weight you are at now. I am about the same height as you and weigh 110 lbs and think that I am skinny. I work hard at keeping all the weight that I have.

I'm beginning to think you are right. I just made many changes to my diet and expected to see more results, and I had my "goal." Okay, this is going to sound a bit ridiculous, but the actor that played Kate on LOST was my fitness goal. She has muscles but is also thin. I realize how insane this sounds. So I found out what her BMI is and then what I would need to weigh to have the same BMI and made that my weight goal. Which is 105-107. Before I went raw I enjoyed decaf coffee every day with cream and raw sugar. I also really loved breakfast breads, scones, muffins ect and I enjoyed them with liberal amounts of butter. So I just thought that going raw I would loss faster having taken these things out of my diet.

Anyway, your right. I just see other who are losing 20 lb in 2 months and wonder what going on with me. I still wonder if part of it is breastfeeding but I don't want to wean too soon just to find that out. My daughter had about another months or so and then I will actively wean her. Guess I'll find out then. But until then I will just enjoy where I am at, and the 7 lbs I have lost and wonderful health I have brought to my body :dance:

[bananaberrie]

My children are 13 and 10 and were both breast fed. I went from a UK 8 to a UK 16 with my first pregnancy. (I thought I could eat whatever I wanted and I did). The last 13 years has been a journey to reclaim my body, I have taken some bad detours with Weightwatchers and binge-eating but I have always been moving in the right direction. I am really seeing my body come back on raw (only money will sort out the droopy boobs), it is achievable and time is a major factor also. I'm a UK 8 again, Whoop!

Awesome! Congrats on getting your body back! I know what you mean, after kids some things will never be the same. I was working out the other day and was in the side plank position. I wanted to see what my stomach muscles looked like so I did...big mistake. I realized I had loose skin hanging slightly to the side. Yikes! It is not noticeable when I am just standing, but I guess my muscles being flexed in that position...not good. Hope I didn't get too personal on that one :)

[Raw Angel Mom]

Raw Angel Mom, thank you so much for your reply. I needed a hug You are so right I do need to get over my scale obsession, I need to ask my hubby to hide it from me, but I know I would miss it so much. Funny I know.

I do need to focus on the health aspect and not the weight aspect. I have noticed that I am much more level emotionally being on raw, which is such a plus when you have small kids.

I am not 100% raw, but I do wake every morning with the intention of being as raw as I can be. Some days I'm sure I make it, but others I don't. But I think if I took the mind set to be 100% raw I would probably drive myself crazy with the small stuff, like agave, it is not raw, but used in lots of raw recipes, so if I use it one day for something then I would not consider myself 100% raw on that day and then notice all the other things like spices that are not truly raw and I would just get way to technical and drive myself insane!

Thank you again for your support it is just nice to get it out and get feedback....thanks so very much


Impressive, you are doing fantastice and you are without a doubt on the right path. You got a beautiful attitude and believe in you.

If you decide to do the 100% raw, don't worry about those little details such agave, raisin etc... what matter is to get your spirit and mind into it and always focus on your accomplishment. If you have doubt or don't feel comfortable about the purety of certain food, just take extra enzime. It is always a good practice to do raw or not, because sometime our produce aren't that fresh unless we pick them directly from the tree or our garden.

Congratulations with your raw journey!

[Stina]

What weight do you want to get down to?

[bananaberrie]

What weight do you want to get down to?

105-107...originally, but I'm starting to rethink that :)