Help me become raw again :/

[Lilly2010]

I was raw in the beginning of the year and did it 100% for about 3 months. It totally cleared my acne and my skin was looking good. Then I thought "hmm, I guess cooked vegetable soup won't hurt". But, I was wrong, I started breaking out all over again after I ate that. I never had such bad acne before.
The vegetable soup led to rice, led to indian takeout, and now I'm sitting here eating twinkies and apple pie.

I want to go back on the raw vegan diet so bad but, I find it very difficult to do so. :(
I don't feel satisfied on it, and I feel very depressed and moody when I try to start eating raw. I can't go out to eat at raw food restraunts because the food there makes me through up and makes my stomach hurt, I have to make the food myself from scratch.
When I'm raw, I usually eat plain fruit and cole slaw..it tastes fine but, I crave pastries and something that will make me feel good inside. Because when I eat raw, I feel on edge, moody, depressed, angry, frustrated..it makes me want to eat cookies to get rid of all the pain I'm feeling on this raw diet.

I really want to get back into eating raw so bad, so I can get rid of my acne again. Can someone plz help me? Maybe give me some inspiring words.

[Traceyraw]

I am starting again too. You need to get rid of the things that tempt you. Out of site out of mind. Fill your house with raw snacks and food. Im not sure where you live but my whole foods has plenty of raw pies, brownies, cookies, and cereal. Im starting friday with a juice fast. It takes me a good 3-4 days to get rid of the cravings. Maybe start raw till dinner for 1 week. THen go 100% after that.
Try GO RAW and Two Moms in the raw for raw treats cereals and granola's.

[rawgirl00]

I agree having treats available helps get through the cravings. Most of what I eat is fresh green juice, smoothies, fresh veggies, sprouts, etc. But I like to occasionally have raw cereal, kale chips, Pure bars and other goodies.

[qwerty988]

Green smoothies fill me up and make me feel happy inside. I use bananas, pineapple, collards, spinach and kale and add a tbsp of spirulina and have this for at least one meal a day. Give them a try!

Also, massaged kale salad makes me feel happy and nurtured. Maybe it's the nutrients? I include mashed avocado and nutritional yeast -- high in fats and B vitamins, which are both good for elevating your mood I think.

For me, the omega oils and B vitamins REALLY effect my mood so I try to include them in my diet and I also take supplements. Especially B-12! I have chia seeds every day in a creamy pudding (they're high in omegas). And I take evening primrose oil which normalizes hormones and is especially good for PMS-related depression. Some people also take St. John's Wort, but I've never tried it.

I live in an area with no raw restaurants or even health food stores, and I don't own a dehydrator, so my meals are pretty simple non-gourmet type and I have to make everything myself. It's been working pretty well!

You CAN do it if you really want to! :cheer:

[michigan roman]

ive been cheating on my raw diet alot this year too with boiled potatoes or oatmeal because im sick of salads

so 3 months ago i started doing at minimum a 24 hour water fast every monday to help get tighter control on my appetite ,
if im feeling it i go farther . and when get weak feeling add juice or nut mylk like almond / hemp / sesame to go farther ,
i whip up dark greens and water in blender then strain out leaf because dark greens of huge nutrients . same with the
seed protein mylks . i call these weeklys fast ' the monday fasting club ' in effort to get friends / family to do diet improvement work ,
i start every 6pm sunday

this liquid diet span every week shrinks gut and helps get tighter control on appetie

then when i go back to solids im satisfied and feel full on salads , plus my taste buds get cleaner and it taste when i eat
cooked stuff theres not really much of a taste to it unless you sprinkle salt / herbs on it . where as raw oranges / spinach leaf / bananas / etc
taste delicious with nothing

soaked seeds like wheat / buckwheat / oats are where im trying to get to for a heavy fuel to replace cooked food full feeling ,
i keep thinking if you add the proper ingredients to wheat seed you soak in water 48 hours to make soft enough to eat you can
make it taste great . maybe tomato and garlic , maybe almond mylk , apple juice , cinnamon . trying to impart their flavors into
the wheat seed

also want to get a big dehydrator , or use oven on low if can find proper screen type tray , to make healthy flat breads from grains as they would be filling and could prepare days in advance to have laying around . a healthy dehydrated flat bread could really help alot of raw foodist stick to it imo . ive got to find the proper mesh material so i can make big oven size trays in order to quickly dehydrate soaked grain breads and i think my diet struggles shall be cured , even if by using oven the breads not 100% raw im still good with it , while in mean time working on the soaked / flavored grains project

and my mixed greens salads are super filling with avacado / mushroom / brocoli / sesame seeds / walnut / hemp / etc ,
plus experiment with dressings made of nut or seed mylks like almond or cashew . adding herbs to these filling mylks
heartifys a salad huge

and i also think qwerty makes good points

let me take a poetic shot here ;-)

" stay raw or be an ugly little mutant hearing vultures caw and rats hungry claw ,

rotting bodies made of twinkies fall , down into the food chain destroyed by dietary flaw "

sorry about that , lol

[snoops]

LOL - awesome poetry

[siennagray]

qwerty - could you elaborate on how you make your kale salad? That sounds different than most kale salad recipes I've seen. Is there anything besides kale, avocado and nutritional yeast?

[qwerty988]

qwerty - could you elaborate on how you make your kale salad? That sounds different than most kale salad recipes I've seen. Is there anything besides kale, avocado and nutritional yeast?

Do you know about massaging kale? You can see videos on youtube demonstrating how it's done -- basically you just massage cut-up kale with oil until it's softer and more wilted.

To that, I usually add mashed avocado, grated carrot and grated beet, sprouts and sunflower seeds and any other veggies I'm craving. I toss the whole thing with EVOO, ACV and lots of nutritional yeast.......... YUM!

[Amy Bass]

A short weekly fast sounds like a great option! I also have a list of cooked foods that I CAN eat: organic Scottish oatmeal, Ezekiel bread, etc... so if I MUST have something cooked I can choose healthy and keep limitations.

[SmartyPants]

I'm starting over again too!

What I have found is that it's best not to cheat. I can do fine as long as I am 100%. But going off just a little bit sends my cravings through the roof. I don't get those cravings as long as I don't eat just a little of the bad stuff.

[MysticTree]

Do you know about massaging kale? You can see videos on youtube demonstrating how it's done -- basically you just massage cut-up kale with oil until it's softer and more wilted.

To that, I usually add mashed avocado, grated carrot and grated beet, sprouts and sunflower seeds and any other veggies I'm craving. I toss the whole thing with EVOO, ACV and lots of nutritional yeast.......... YUM!

I do much the same but with no nutritional yeast which I can't stand and I also it isn't really raw and it's not always fortified and if it is then it isn't always the right B12 that gets added! Minefield!

[qwerty988]

I do much the same but with no nutritional yeast which I can't stand and I also it isn't really raw and it's not always fortified and if it is then it isn't always the right B12 that gets added! Minefield!

I just LOVE it, though... can't do without it! :heart:

[qwerty988]

i call these weeklys fast ' the monday fasting club ' in effort to get friends / family to do diet improvement work ,
i start every 6pm sunday

What a great idea!!! I want to join the club.

[PunkRotten]

I am having trouble too. I ahve been eating cooked foods, processed foods, etc. Couple months back I had family and friends sabotage my diet. Eating the bad foods in front of me or being in situations where I was not prepared and had to eat what was available. It takes some work to figure everything out. What you have to do is make lots of different foods. If you have abig sweet tooth make raw desserts. I do feel unsatisfied a lot of the time too like I am still hungry. Sometimes I take a handful of nuts and eat it and it curbs some of the hunger. The thing is you have to keep maing different recipes to keep yourself interested. Keep the best recipes as your staples. I have about 3-4 salads I make all the time. I make a green smoothie every morning, plus have 2 other smoothies I make less often.


I am gonna start getting into make Kefir and fermented foods. I usually make flax crackers and granola bars in my dehydrator too.

[michigan roman]

qwerty i started a monday fasting club thread in fasting section if anyone wants to use it . i just ended a 48 hour water fast on this weeks monday fast

[speltrong]

Regarding how to get back on the wagon.. I think when you're sick enough of the situation you're in, and your acne bothers you enough, you'll find the willpower to do it! That's what it takes for me.

Also, no matter how bad my craving for something is, I tell myself to eat a raw salad first, and if I still want it after that, then I can maybe have a small amount of nuts or whatever I happen to be craving. So far, that's worked out pretty well for me, and about 4 or 5 bites into the salad, I realize that I feel fulfilled.

And Georgina, I agree about the Nutritional Yeast.. yuck!!

[qwerty988]

qwerty i started a monday fasting club thread in fasting section if anyone wants to use it . i just ended a 48 hour water fast on this weeks monday fast

Yayyy! count me in next monday.

[Lilly2010]

Thanks for all your suggestions, I will definately try fasting one day a week to help my appetitie. And I do live in an area that has grocery stores with lots of raw goodies. I think if I crave junk, I'll just go to the store and buy kale chips, or something that won't break me out and is raw.

Today is my first day raw, I feel like I can stay on it if I get to eat raw cookies etc.