A Rant

[OCGirl]

I have been lurking or otherwise reading these forums since 2006 or 2007. In that time I've seen a lot of people come and go, but there is a trend which bothers me so much I just have to say something.

When I first started reading these forums, the questions and discussions centered around Alissa's book - her information, her recipes, her advice about how to go and stay raw. Occasionally other ways of eating raw, other philosophies, would be mentioned, but it was almost always in passing. Sometimes people came up with new and exciting recipes (like a mock coffee raw smoothie), and these were a welcome encouragement to those who wanted to experiment.

Now, however, it seems that Alissa's material is rarely referenced (and maybe I'm just not reading enough of the posts), and worse, that the purpose of this forum, which I understood to be established in support of those seeking to live raw as Alissa so beautifully outlines for us in her first book, no longer seems to be the focus. It makes me sad, because when I first came here, and first read her book, the simplicity of going raw and the enthusiasm people had for using and sharing her advice were a tremendous draw to me. Now I read about 80-10-10 and find multiple links to other raw food teachers whose programs have lost the simplicity of what I found in Alissa's "Living on Live Foods."

I hope that wherever any one of us may be in our journey with raw foods, we can return to the simplicity of eating raw.

[MysticTree]

A agree with you. There is much on here from fasting and enemas to other raw food programmes - none of which are in Alissa's first book.

[gabriele]

This constant obsession with fasting in my opinion indicates an eating disorder. It's a desperate attempt to control weight and cravings. It's not normal to go all month or all year just drinking water or juice. This should be about raw "eating", not denying oneself food. It's contrived and extreme. All the "detox" symptoms that come from this are your body screaming out for nutrition, not "detox".

[OCGirl]

I'm all for fasting, not that it's something I've been successful with, but do think it can be a legitimate part of a healthy lifestyle.

My struggle has been that I want to hear from people who are actively applying Alissa's teachings, and can give feedback about the transitions. Certainly being 100% at 6 months is different than after 12, etc.

And my intent wasn't to deride other raw food teachers or programs, but simply to say that Alissa is why I'm here, and I hope it's why most of us are here, to practice this lifestyle together and be an encouragement.

Thank you for your gentle responses.

[HeatherAnne]

I think it a beautiful thing that this forum is here for those of us striving to live the raw lifestyle. I, too, ventured into the raw world thanks to Allisa. Funny though, how big the raw spectrum gets the further you get into it. By learning of and practicing the benefits of fasting, juicing, colonics, supplements, etc. my health has been enhanced. I'm thankful for all the raw food teachers out there, and all the sources I've learned from - including this forum (and dear Allisa).

[tiggerbounce]

For me, the Feb Challenge is about what is in Alissa's book. I just do not use a ton of recipes. Man, I love her corn chips made with the frozen corn. I mean seriously like them and keep frozen sweet corn on hand as much as possible. Heh. I have not met a raw chip I enjoy more. Period. Overall, I really enjoy just plain fresh produce. I have not read Alissa's book recently as it is still boxed from our recent move, but it seems like she carried fudgeballs and made chocolate tortes and veggie wraps, but for the most part kept it simple. The recipes were an aside to her day. Maybe I misinterpreted that, but that is my take on it. That is where I am now. I just really like the basics and any complex recipes are a little something extra for fun.

I am starting to lose weight, which I am so grateful for since my thyroid was/is a mess and I rejected the meds a long time ago. But I can tell you, even falling off the wagon and being run over by it multiple times, my health will never be the same. It is night and day. I honestly do not know how I would be had I not found this site so many years ago. I have focused on the health, and hopefully now I will be able to shake off this extra me. Even when I am not posting, I often browse Alissa's book or raw recipe books and try to find ways to incorporate more and more raw into my families day. I am usually on the hunt for simple raw recipes without extra fancy ingredients.

Not sure if that is the sort of result you were hoping for or the type of eating plan you were referring to. Just thought I would throw it out there. Hopefully, after 30 days in February, I will have some more tangible results for you. I wish I had blood tests from before the fast as we will be doing (hopefully) a wellness clinic in about 2 months and I could have compared. I have my own cholesterol and blood sugar monitor and after 30 days of RV the results for myself and my husband were jaw dropping when he tried it a couple of years ago. (He tried a month with me after he got his bloodwork back once and it scared the beejezis out of him. But he shunned the idea that rv was responsible for his then normal blood test results after 30 days rv. Silly man. :) )

As many fruits and veggies as I care for and plenty of nutrition. This seems to be working for me.

I do go to other sites and sometimes I am really turned off by the teaching or line of thought presented there. Often though, I am able to glean some wonderful tidbit of information anyway. Some "ahah!" moments. I enjoy other people's viewpoints and also browse some heated threads with some amusement because no one wants to be flexible. It was browsing Freelee and Harley's site that I discovered banana whips. Very good stuff! I like them and find them to be good energy. I did actually go on a rant on an anti-raw site once. Their "scientific date" was hokum. They actually tried to convince me that hearsay can be used as a scientific fact and empirical evidence. The end result? A few months later I stumbled across their site doing a search and decided to visit. Still anti-raw, but at least they were citing their inaccurate information after that.

Sorry, long post and I think I have rambled. LOL Just do your thing and what is comfortable for you and bypass the posts or parts of the forum that do not appeal to you or fit into your goals. I do not mean that in a mean way. Just do your thing and let the other stuff be background noise for you. Post what you feel is right and others will follow.

Yeah....now I probably need to go make some of those corn ships and salsa and guac. Dang it!!! :) Oh, and her onion dip. Seems like a potential snowball effect here.....

where is that dang box with my raw books??????

[Traceyraw]

I love Alissa's book and website. This is where I first fell in love with raw. With anything its a learning experience. I am just learning how to make raw work for me now. Angela Stokes is a great raw food inspiration who started from Alissa.

[adobegirl]

I lurked here for a while before I joined as well. I actually read Starfire's (I think that is her name) blog in the beginning and got so much motivation and humour and encouragement. I also have Alissa's book (and am so thankful that her book helped me really understand raw foods. Even when I was raw several years ago, I didn't have understanding about it like I do now) and I do still make some recipes from her book, but I've found as I gain awareness and knowledge, eating simple works better for me, my mind and my body. I eat salads and smoothies and juices, etc, with a gourmet meal thrown in here and there instead of all the time like I did in the beginning. I've done fasting and juicing and colon cleansing/hydrotherapy well before I went 100% raw. I do think it's nice to have a place to talk about everything that pertains to raw and a healthy living in a easy to read and post forum.

I wonder if on a lot of people's journey, they have discovered similar and that's why the posting has changed some?

I also noticed that while Alissa posted in the beginning here, she doesn't seem to post now. I'm not judging either way, but I'm guessing (and could be completely wrong) that everyone's journey has led them to a lot different place than they were before.

I'm just thankful to have a place I can come to read and get encouragement on my journey. Some days, I do go back in time and read old posts because it's what I need at the moment and some days, I'm thankful to find other posts in the present that relates to what I am dealing with now.

I hope you will find peace in your journey. Be well. :heart :heart

[bluedog]

I can't help but think that the discussion ventured away from the "just eat raw" principle because that alone wasn't working for people. Troubleshooting the problem of why that alone wasn't working then opened up other discussions of high fat vs high sugar, enema,s, juicing/fasting, etc. These other discussions also make it obvious that eating disorders/obsessions don't necessarily disappear with a change it eating. Anyhoo. "Eat raw" is a great principle when it works; and when it doesn't, it's great to have explanations as to why. :)

[MysticTree]

I can't help but think that the discussion ventured away from the "just eat raw" principle because that alone wasn't working for people. Troubleshooting the problem of why that alone wasn't working then opened up other discussions of high fat vs high sugar, enema,s, juicing/fasting, etc. These other discussions also make it obvious that eating disorders/obsessions don't necessarily disappear with a change it eating. Anyhoo. "Eat raw" is a great principle when it works; and when it doesn't, it's great to have explanations as to why. :)

I think eating raw is basically very sound. When people complicate things is when it gets problematic. Humans have a tendency to over complicate things as if complicated is somehow better.

KISS - always!

[Revvell]

I think eating raw is basically very sound. When people complicate things is when it gets problematic. Humans have a tendency to over complicate things as if complicated is somehow better.

KISS - always!


What she said.

[ReneeH]

Absolutely what she said... Just to add a thought...Alissa is not against fasting or the section wouldn't be on this site at all. She also gives attention to juicing in RFFE. I personally LOVE both books and have tried to revive the spirit of focus on Alissa's books with threads about her recipes and more recently a thread about recipes I've unexplored. Those threads are still here...Alissa even made one a sticky do that it wouldn't get lost. Just click on the link in my signature line.

I for one would LOVE to see Alissa more on the forum, but I also know that she has more things going on in her life right now that she didn't have going on in the infancy stage of this site. It's not that she doesn't want to be here. She told me that this is her "baby"...Mama's just a bit busy right now. :)

Instead of ranting, try doing something about it yourself!!! Feel free to start a thread of your own featuring recipes from LOLF!!!! there are almost 300...surely you'll do one never done before.

Tootles!
Née

[MysticTree]

Alissa is not against fasting or the section wouldn't be on this site at all.

This is true although she doesn't seem to be wholehearted for it either.
Q&A #4
http://www.rawguru.com/i6.html


(http://www.rawguru.com/i6.html)

[ReneeH]

Well, it depends on what the person is using fasting for. The article mentioned problem areas when people use fasting the wrong way, like trying to get too strict with themselves. Cleansing and detoxing through fasting is a good thing. I've never heard Alissa say that it wasn't. I like the threads here that give support to that. Moderation is the key with anything.

Alissa provides the section on this site to support those who choose to fast. It's mentioned here:

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?44148-Fasting-Disclaimer

"This fasting section was provided by Alissa for the purpose of having a separate area designated for those partaking in a fast and need support in that. We did not always have a separate section for fasting when this forum first started...it came later."

The ones who choose to fast take full advantage of this support that Alissa has provided. It would be nice to see more who are not fasting start more discussions based more on Alissa's recipes, but we can't fault the fasters for keeping their threads alive. :)

[adobegirl]

Renee, I love your recipe threads where you've tried recipes you haven't tried before from Alissa's books. The picture threads always make me want to go make bunches of stuff! They never look as gorgeous as other people's stuff though, lol. :)


Mama's just a bit busy right now. :)
That's kind of how I thought it was as well. I think all of us go through different stages in our journey. It doesn't mean we don't still care about the things from before. We are just in a different place. I think all of us are maybe (and hopefully) in a different phase of our journey than we were a few years ago. :heart :heart

[ReneeH]

Aaaahhh!!!! Thank you AdobeGirl!!!! That's so sweet of you to say!!!! I've been quite busy myself, but doing unexplored recipes has definitely been on my mind to continue to do. So, stay tuned! :)

[Raw Angel Mom]

Renee, you have brought up so many Alissa's recipe, i love your thread too.

I love and honor Alissa for being flexible and a great support to all of us.

Without question, her books, her DVD and even her teaching course, has been mentioned by many and including myself.

Anyone that start a raw food journey, must have Alissa's DVD at the very least. Her works and this board has been a great resource to me and many.

So, why don't you jump "Adobegirl "in in the board instead of lurking and mention about Alissa's instead.

Just a thought

With love and sending you blessings!

p.s I used to think that fasting was none sense and it would completely disturb the balance of your body but fortunately, many has shared their experience and i started to pay attention. After two years of searching and trying gentle detox, i became a believer in fasting and i feel it is a must too if you want to heal deeper. Alissa's board has brought me to this level and i am so grateful for her. Alissa's work (books, dvd and teaching) has helped to stick to raw and to be more creative with raw food. It is a great thing that Alissa allows more flexibility in her site because we can all learn from one another. So all is well.

[OCGirl]

Keep it simple. Absolutely.

[adobegirl]

So, why don't you jump "Adobegirl "in in the board instead of lurking and mention about Alissa's instead.

Just a thought

I'm really trying to do more than lurk. :) I did finally join and now I post when I can. I wish I had more time to make gourmet raw recipes. I'm an "overwhelmed in real life" raw foodist, lol. For instance today- Earlier today I realized that I bought just too many cucumbers and tomatoes and they had spots on them, getting ready to rot. So I cut out the bad spots until they were good, sliced them up with onions, cut up fresh basil and added garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, olive oil and acv. That was dinner (with flax crackers). It wasn't what I was planning on having that for dinner, though I wasn't sure what I wanted for dinner. Here lately, I struggle with thinking past the next 5 minutes due to stuff in my life, so it wasn't that I planned for something else for dinner, it's just what happened. :wuv

I think that's why I love seeing those threads with pictures. Maybe it's the same as someone looking at porn, I don't know, lol. I just love seeing all the pictures of the raw food creations. They make me smile.. and drool. :drool:

:heart :heart

[bluedog]

Keep it simple. Absolutely.

OCGirl, did you go from 179 to 134 on raw? That's impressive (either way)! What's a typical day for you?

[Raw Angel Mom]

You are very efficient and so creative, wow. I did that too, bought produce that weren't fresh, now i look at the date on the package. I am sadly not much a picture poster but like you, i love looking at others creation. Maybe this year, i would make more effort for this.

All the best to you and thank you for your thread!

[Chincha]

I think it a beautiful thing that this forum is here for those of us striving to live the raw lifestyle. I, too, ventured into the raw world thanks to Allisa. Funny though, how big the raw spectrum gets the further you get into it. By learning of and practicing the benefits of fasting, juicing, colonics, supplements, etc. my health has been enhanced. I'm thankful for all the raw food teachers out there, and all the sources I've learned from - including this forum (and dear Allisa).

I agree 100%! While I LOVE Alissa's book and her teaching, I know that her way may not be the most optimal way for everybody - we are all different. While some people on this forum are raw for quite a long time and have discovered a way that is best for them and it happens to be Alissa's way, there are others who are starting out, needing guidance and while it is great that this forum revolves around Alissa's teachings I think it's right to talk about other styles of raw food eating. Whether that be talking about their benefits or downsides. After all we're in here with a quest for optimal health and weight and not to create a dogmatic environment. I might be wrong in understanding this forum, but I like looking at it as a loving, open community willing to share different points of view.