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View Full Version : From redneck to raw



Sampson
10-14-2011, 12:37 PM
Greetings raw members, i really wanted to stop in here to say hi and thanks for all the great information and reading on this site.

I am a 35 year old guy who has recently started eating more and more raw food. I grew up on a farm as a kid and got in the habit of eating very large, very heavy meals three or four times a day (meat and potatoes kind of meals). I have always been more healthy than just about anyone i know although once i passed 30 i just didn't seem to have the energy i used to have. This has lead me to start changing my eating habits to get more nutrition from the foods i eat, and i am glad to say that i have noticed a substantial increase in my day to day energy levels.

For the last couple years i have started eating much less processed foods, much less red meat, and much much more fruits, vegetables, and recently lots of fresh raw foods. I have noticed many changes in myself since i have been changing my diet, better skin, more shiny hair, more stable mood, and of course the increased energy levels which led me to these diet changes. I'm not sure i am ready to go 100% raw yet but the more raw i eat the more i seem to crave the raw foods rather than the heavy meals i used to eat which now make me feel tired if i eat like that.

I am glad i found this site which has so much good information and has been a good boost to my confidence level of continuing to increase my raw food intake while cutting out the more processed and cooked foods i once ate. I do still find it hard to satisfy my pallete with some of the raw meals but thanks to all the great recipes listed here i have a lot of new choices and variety of meal types to try out and hopefully include the variety i crave. I guess the biggest problem i am having going pure raw is that i am a 6foot 200lb guy who works hard and has been used to eating 5 or 6000 calories per day of traditional food to provide the fuel i need to keep up my strength. I also tend to produce a ton of heat and it is a bit of a joke with my friends that i have a furnace burning inside me but now that i am eating much more raw foods i find that i get cold when i relax and it is a very new feeling for me, i am usually taking off the covers in bed while girlfriends would push me away saying i am too warm but i now find myself reaching for the blanket if i curl up on the couch for an hour, very wierd for me.

I guess that is enough about me for now but i just wanted to say thanks again for this great forum and all the great information filled posts here.

Sampson

devil's angel
10-14-2011, 05:46 PM
include more peppers in ur diet . this will bring the heat back to ur body . and congraulations to u !!! so glad ur are heading in the right directions . nut meals are more dense and have more calories but i find fruit (lots of it ) is very filling and it stops a lot of my cravings . mostly oranges . but stock up on ur fruits and look into the green smoothies ... these will help out with the calories and the hungry feeling u will be getting the more raw u go . if u cant stand straight green smoothies , try adding berries to it . also look into raw power protien powder .. i found this at my local whole food store and it is packed with raw protien !!! be sure to put ur sea veggies into ur diet . this helps with b12 . good luck and welcome to rft.com
:hug

Sampson
10-15-2011, 12:33 AM
Thanks for the warm welcome Devil's angel,

When you say add peppers to my diet for more heat do you mean spicy type peppers or red, yellow, green bell peppers? I already eat a lot of bell peppers, one of my favorite sweet snacks.

I have gotten hooked on green and fruit smoothies in the last few weeks. Lots of spinach, celery, broccoli, kale, etc. with fruits like bananas, apples, pineapple, strawberries, grapes, cranberries, etc for flavor. I usually make 2 blenders full, drink one right away then sip on the other through the morning. I know i need to add more nuts into my diet as i go more raw but i need to take the time to find good ones that haven't been overly heated in their processing. I have also read a lot about the benefits of adding in seaweeds/kelp/algea but haven't gotten into that quite yet.

It sure is encouraging to read all the good posts on this site to hear real world first person accounts of how they feel on raw foods. I have always been in good shape and don't think of the raw lifestyle as something for me to lose weight with but instead something to help me keep my vitality and nourish my body as i get older. 5 years ago i would have never thought i could give up my regular steak and potato foods but the more raw i eat the more i feel like i did 10 yeaars ago and it has motivated me to keep increasing my raw intake while cutting out the remaining processed foods i still eat.


Sampson

vanessa40
10-15-2011, 08:18 AM
Your thread title made me laugh. I have only been eating this way for about a month but i am feeling so much better
Good Luck on your journey