A raw thought

[twinyoga]

Ok, I hope I don't increase any raw tension here, but I just have to make an observation/comment.

I read so many posts where people say that when they eat cooked food they were weak, caved in, bad. Or they start punishing themselves like they've done something terrible.

I find this very discouraging. To me, raw is a lifestyle, it's a choice, it's healthy and it's not something to punish yourself over if you aren't perfect. And what is perfect, anyway?

I so enjoy eating raw and how it makes me feel. But when I read posts where people are making it sound so difficult and the discipline is too much, then I get sad. All I know is that if we're going to eat raw and a raw lifestyle for years and years then we better be pretty easy on ourselves and enjoy the journey.

Being raw has given me a ton of energy, leveled blood sugar, a stable weight, and no concerns about calories or fat because I know whatever enters my body...is good for my body. And if my husband eats Halloween candy and I'm eating an apple, I really think the apple tastes better.

And one last thought. Maybe saying or using the title raw is too much pressure? I just tell people, including my doctors, that I eat vegetarian and it's mostly fruits and veggies that are not cooked. They have always responded, "that's great, keep it up".

Anyway, I just had to share this. It's been on my mind for a while. Thanks.

[rawpriestess]

Twinyoga,

What a beautiful post.

YES, our lives are to live, not to be critical of ourselves.

I mean afer all, do we get all upset because we slept in, or because we didn't vaccum one day, or because we got upset with our spouse?

Life happens, we may choose to eat raw food and only raw food and do it, we may choose to eat one canned olive, and that's okay.

But choosing to reprimand ourselves, or be upset about what we ate, or didn't eat, to be unhappy, that is so against loving ourselves.

I was thinking yesterday, while my life is in a pretty tense place, that I was actually enjoying the process.

I was laughing at all my own antics and those of the people around me, I was being the observer of my tenant as she was attempting to get out of a situation, that would simply be easier to just do, than to worry about, I was watching a young woman walk into a grocery store, she was very over weight and having trouble walking, and I was thinking, a few months ago, "that was me".

I have found humor and beauty in my friends, my life, my hubby, my doggin, my home, and my food choices.

I believe that food prepared with love is what we are supposed to eat, weather it be a gorgeous raw fragrant apple or a gourmet feast.

The love is the key, the love in slicing a crisp ripe red apple into thin slices, arrangeing them on a plate, and adding flecks of date pieces with warmed almonds after dehydrating.

The love of opening the door and seeing the sunshine down upon the thick green grass, all covered in early morning dew, and looking so beautiful.

The love of my man, as he walks through our gardens and picks an apple or strawberry to bring in to me, so we can share a luscious treat.

The love of my dog, who is always with me.

The love I have for myself. To take care of my body with raw foods, to take care of my emotions and my spirit by loving myself no mater what I do, even if it isn't perfect, in what I had planned or wanted to do.

[Rawtwists]

This is a great thread. I'm a newbie, but when I started this, I made sure I looked at this as an "enjoyable" and "learning" process. Just like I look at life. It is really beyond eating, it is about self-love. No matter what I do, I'm still great. I just "choose" not to classify myself as a failure or define steps in this process as slip-ups, etc. If I did that, I would be looking at this as a diet (i.e. deprivation) and not a lifestyle change. The constant beating up on myself, will not serve me or the people around me. So, I'm just not going to do it. It would derail my progress because I would focus on that instead of the accomplishments I've made.

I'm loving this, I'm loving myself. I'm making this FUN and not a chore. I'm discovering new things about myself and this journey everyday. Today, I even learned how to make Firehouse Cashews from this board! :D How exciting! I truly believe as I support and love myself through all of the different changes taking place as I take this journey, then I attract people around me to do the same. And I have. But if I beat up on myself, then why wouldn't they?

Everyday as I move further into the process (I'm on day 15 of 30 days), I give myself many praises. And if I experience anything else, I will still give myself praises and learn what I need to learn to continue and keep moving...

I just choose to look at the blessings in my life no matter what is going on.

[pearljaimes]

I love this thread ! Mainly because I was and have been apprehensive about joining a raw forum when I am no where near the percentages of raw that most people are. I eat raw whenever I can and try to make it more and more often.

I do think that people can be really hard on themselves. I have been vegetarian for nearly 15 years and have always felt good about myself for that. Becoming raw was just another step up I wanted to take to keep myself in great health, physically & mentally. If I was beating myself up about not eating raw the way I think that other people think I should I would suffer mentally which would inturn eventually harm my body physically. So I just wanted to join, meet newpeople, get some encouragement and motivation and live healthy and happy.

PS - twinyoga - my husband and i play off of each other when he is eating junk while I am savoring something yummy & healthy. He almost always wants a bite of mine where I would never want to eat what he does sometimes.

[Callie]

this thread is a godsend at a time when i really need it. yesturday i had some hypoglycemic trouble i guess because i ate a lot of grapes and some pineapple (does anyone else notice this?) but i ended up going crazy just to eat anything and everything that would make me feel better and balanced. i felt so off. and I have been feeling frustrated by eating junk because i wanted to go straight 30 days without a mistake. but the truth is, being without a mistake is not the biggest victory...the biggest victory is still being here thirty days from now..still moving forward and choosing to forget about the things that lie behind me. SO thank you all for a wonderful thread and I hope that everyone here embraces the grace that is available to us to live this wonderful life. it's not about legalism, it's about love:)

[Cinnamon]

Excellent post my raw sister! Just as we've been talking about in our PM's lately. I love the way you said what you tell others about how you eat... that you "eat vegetarian and it's mostly fruits and veggies that are not cooked."

That is such a great statement to use, no one can argue with that! I think I'll borrow that one from you!

And I so agree we should not be so hard on ourselves... it is all a process in this journey. I am really trying to stop beating myself up when I "slip up" in my raw eating plan and remember I am doing great for me and have no one to please anyway!

I too feel wonderful eating this way, there is no turning back now. I am treating myself and my body with love and respect and one of the ways I do this is through the fabulous fresh fruits and veggies I eat each day.

Let's all pat ourselves on the back a little more often too!

[Kris]

I really love this post! It seems that, not only do we fear the judgement of others, we really love to pass judgement on ourselves. And as much as I think this forum is a place of love and learning, we can be as hard on ourselves here as anywhere else.

I have thought about this many times, when making so-called "mistakes" or "slips" with raw food. Although I have eaten barely any cooked food lately, my previous attempts to go raw turned into disastrous battles with my compulsive eating. And I've been wondering, is it better to struggle and fight against cooked food to the point that I "break" and end up binging on cooked junk food, or is it better to "allow" myself to eat some baked potato once in a while if I desire it?

In terms of principals and philosophy, I suppose it might be better to set hard and fast "rules" for myself, and be proud that I didn't "break" them. But, in practice, it seems that, FOR ME, a little cooked potato or steamed broccoli during my transition is much less destructive than a cycle of binging. Although I can go for weeks on end without eating anything cooked, it's important for me to feel that I'm living this lifestyle out of love for myself and a desire to be as healthy as I can, and not out of an irrational need to rate or judge myself as a success or a failure based solely on what I choose to eat (and believe me, I'm good at that).

I really love the phrase "conscious eating," as so much of the eating in my life has been unconscious and compulsive. Raw food has taught me to be inside myself while eating, and to do it for the right reason -- hunger. Though it seems obvious, it's huge progress for me. And I'm not going to let a little potato stand in my way.

[tvillemom]

How beautiful!! Thanks for posting this! It is allllllll so true. I have to remind myself everyday that the way I eat IS a choice! When I eat the right foods, I feel great, when I stray, I really do feel bad. I'm off to make dinner.....Thanks again for the beautiful post.
Wendi

[dreamrawalwz]

Thank you for posting htis! My mindset about it lately has been wrong. I was thinking "ok, just make it through today..." and then "only have xxx food today and nothing else" i was thinking of the food itself, not the lifestyle and health it can bring to me. I have been fortunate enough to find this lifestyle while I'm young and shouldn't take it for granted. You just made me think again :) I should be focusing on the lifestyle as a whole (sorry if i'm being redundant) the yoga, calming effects, just taking better care of myself. :p

[ReneeSC]

Is really is all about choices. Some are harder than others, right?

There are times, when our bodies are still flailing around trying to find the stasis point, and we might feel like we're totally out of control. The fact is, we aren't. It's a feeling - it might feel overwhelming, but it's still a feeling.

I'm learning to STOOOOOP! ( yells to myself ).. and THINK... through the process... justify reasons to EAT WELL ... and finally make that choice. It's caused me to sit for different lengths of time and just stare off into space as I'm thinking ( sometimes struggling through my own thought processes ).. and come the the unanimous inner conclusion ( mind, body, and spirit ..... " a cord of three is not easily broken" ) ... a.k.a.. decision to do what I already knew to do in the first place but cycled through a little bit of game/set/match of inner ping pong.

Ya know, I've noticed something else, too. I've noticed that within myself ( maybe I'm wired differently ), I've actually engaged in an inner conflict of food choices ON PURPOSE.
The entire time I was wondering to myself.. "Who would choose to fight with themselves over food???" Ummm.. me, I guess. LOL
I actually felt myself choose the fight rather than to choose to do the right thing from the get-go. It was so very subtle ...this choice I felt myself make... almost impreceptible... However, I definitely felt myself do this a few times. That was a really revealing feeling, but it was also rather embarrassing to catch "me" .. maybe for the very first time.... consciously choose to take the harder route.

I came to the conclusion that the true reason why I did that was because "myself" (..flesh portion ).. really WANTED to do that wrong thing, but the few checks and balances I had in place thwarted it enough to begin the struggle. And, also, that it REALLY wanted "its" way, though my mind understood that wasn't right.. "myself".. decided to fight it out anyway as sort of a "well.. fine.. I'll just scream a bit.. cuz I want to have a temper tantrum" ( nothing like wholesale revelation on the Internet.. ugh )... Where did I get this propensity?

Here's where I am at the moment; putting an axe to the root.

[kmik]

I totally get what you're saying, and yes, we shouldn't go nuts when we slip up.. cuz like someone said TimmyC said (I must've missed the original post) "Going raw is like running a race. If you fall, you don't need to start over, just get up and keep running."

And for many of us, this is a choice, and we freely make it...

But I'm not in that group. For me this is a necessity. I must stay raw. I am addicted to cooked foods and junk foods. I'm like a druggie or an alcoholic. I can't say "Oh, it's ok if I take just one little bite, I'll be good tomorrow!" For me it's "If I take one bite, I risk completely losing control!"

I've lost 50 lbs, and I have at least another 50 to go. Fortunately with my obesity I did not have any serious health issues... yet. But this is my life. I can't take a casual attitude. I have to be firm and strict with myself. Not that I beat myself up if I do slip, but that I constantly remind myself how serious this is.

So if you see someone being "hard" on themselves, please do not let it discourage you. They may be in my group, those of us that are desperate, and this is our last resort. Nonetheless we're happy to be here, and rejoice in having found such an amazing new lifestyle... but like I said, this is serious, and sometimes we might share our feelings on the board in a way that reflects our desperation.

[levamssg]

I'm in the same group as Kmik ... cooked food is an addiction, and to have just a bit of it would be catastrophic to my raw lifestyle. So I simply don't have any, ever.

I think everyone has to walk this road the way it suits them ... be raw for whatever reasons inspire them ... and not worry about what others think or how others are doing it.

That is what is so great about this board -- there is support for however you are making this journey, and however you need to express it.

[TimmyC]

Amen! Twinyoga

[Sharon in Colorado]

I just tell people, including my doctors, that I eat vegetarian and it's mostly fruits and veggies that are not cooked. They have always responded, "that's great, keep it up".




That is great. I think the term raw tends to turn certain people away.

I used to beat myself up too, but don't do it anymore. Just move on, keep moving forward.

I agree with the others, a little bit of cooked sets me off. I can eat an olive or something like that, just have to stay clear away from any cooked grains/starches.


My mother tells me to eat this or that in "moderation". I told her I can't live moderately. Not everyone can do that!

[berrienoire]

Amen! Twinyoga

Gargantuan DITTO!!! ;)

[misslinda]

I believe that food prepared with love is what we are supposed to eat, weather it be a gorgeous raw fragrant apple or a gourmet feast.

The love is the key, the love in slicing a crisp ripe red apple into thin slices, arrangeing them on a plate, and adding flecks of date pieces with warmed almonds after dehydrating.

The love I have for myself. To take care of my body with raw foods, to take care of my emotions and my spirit by loving myself no mater what I do, even if it isn't perfect, in what I had planned or wanted to do.


RP, your words always feel like a cozy warm down comforter---350 thread count :)

Debbie this was a great thread started.....why should we ought to feel like were being punished for eating raw? I find myself constantly doing cognitive restructuring b/c of the learned thought patterns. Thank you for the reassurance gals! :)

[Autumn]

I said in a recent post that I "caved" while celebrating my wedding anniversary. I said it because that is what it felt like to me. I didn't just eat some steamed beans, I ate a LOT of cooked food, not even marginally healthy cooked food, and drank nasty drinks (NOT alcohol, but just junk). So, to me, it was something I should have never done, because usually it makes it so much harder to do what I need to do. Luckily for me, I felt AWFUl the next day, which made it easier to get right back to RAW.

[shakalover]

i'm really enjoying this thread. i, too, have been feeling kind of harsh toward myself, kind of restrictive, and that's not loving behavior toward myself. i need to be gentle with myself and remember that this is a life process. each day i'm growing and this raw food journey is just part of my whole experience. it's important that i enjoy this. i wish that for you all too.

[Raw_Medic]

Twinyoga,
I think your post was definitely needed, especially for me. Sometimes I forget that raw food is a gift I give myself. I recently had a slip and it was very hard for me to not get down on myself. Then I remembered what Veggeeemom said once that she never starts over, she just continues on her raw path when she slips (similar to TimmyC's race analogy). Thanks for reminding me of all of this.

Ursula

[TimmyC]

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7543&highlight=marathon

There's the thread and this is what I said:

......another way to look at it instead of calling it starting over is saying you're continuing along your raw journey. Who cares that you slipped. Pick youself back up, and continue. No one is going to think anything less of you.

It's like if you are running a marathon, and you stop running, do you go back to the begining to start over, or do you just start running again so you can finish? I guess if this is short term, then yes I'd start over, but if it's the long term lifestyle change that you want, I'd just continue on......


Tim
__________________




Twinyoga,
I think your post was definitely needed, especially for me. Sometimes I forget that raw food is a gift I give myself. I recently had a slip and it was very hard for me to not get down on myself. Then I remembered what Veggeeemom said once that she never starts over, she just continues on her raw path when she slips (similar to TimmyC's race analogy). Thanks for reminding me of all of this.

Ursula

[Raw_Medic]

Thanks Tim :)

[kmik]

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7543&highlight=marathon

There's the thread and this is what I said:

......another way to look at it instead of calling it starting over is saying you're continuing along your raw journey. Who cares that you slipped. Pick youself back up, and continue. No one is going to think anything less of you.

It's like if you are running a marathon, and you stop running, do you go back to the begining to start over, or do you just start running again so you can finish? I guess if this is short term, then yes I'd start over, but if it's the long term lifestyle change that you want, I'd just continue on......


Tim
__________________


LOL, now I can quote the actual quote :D

[Universal]

Peace to everyone,

I just wanted to chime in and add-on to what a marvelous post this was. The thought process that occurs with people beginning this lifestyle, as far as being strict, overly strict, etc. This is a great way for people to not THINK but to FEEL their way through this journey.

I'll never have to (at least i'm striving to get to the point where...) worry about looking at a piece of fruit and saying, "i've had too much of this.. i really don't wanna eat it, but hmm. i just don't know" Again. Its about letting it flow. Don't second guess your self all the time, because that's what eventually causes people to fall back on their paths. Its like reaching a fork in the road and having two choices (regardless of who you are and what condition you're currently in concerning your food choice or lifestyle choice). It could be raw food vs. cooked food, or an orange vs. a mango, nuts vs. avocados, jogging vs. weight-training, etc etc. What one ought to do is rather than sit and take time contemplating and THINKING about your choice, FEEL your way to the choice. Trust your instincts, and go with them.

Someone else mentioned something, not in these direct words, but it led to my thought that there is a hand of support for everyone regardless of your situation. Whether you're morbidly obese and have no other choice, or your not quite obese but on the route there and you want to make a change before the problem gets too worse, OR in my case you're young and yearning for the Knowledge on this lifestyle so that it can be properly applied the RIGHT way by learning from others experiences.

You can be an athlete or you don't have to be an athlete, the lifestyle will STILL work for you when you realize that it is YOUR lifestyle! Do it YOUR way! If YOUR way is 90% raw and you want to eventually get to 100%, set your goals and manage them YOUR way!
I can go on for days on this..



GREAT POST! Keep the positive energy flowing

PEACE
Universal

[yeahbethany]

Twinyoga, thank you so much for this beautiful post!

After almost two years raw, I'm really learning the meaning of this, and it is helping me stay sane. Thanks for articulating it so well.

[Rawma]

Twinyoga,
It's as if you read my mind and wrote my words! So great to see that others have the same thoughts. I do agree that, as kmik says, some people really have no choice and the addiction is what it's all about. Fortunately, for me, I do not have an addiction to cooked food and I don't have any health issues that I am aware of. I just choose to eat this way. If I eat Sad I have no problem eating raw the next day. I do want to eat 100% raw but I am on a journey to get there. It's a choice everyday and everyday I feel better when I eat raw.
I have been on every diet known to mankind and I don't want to be on a diet anymore. I feel more in control eating raw than eating any other way so raw makes my life actually easier. I love it when people say to me that it's to difficult and I say "yeah its really difficult to eat a banana!"
Just my thoughts and thanks for the thread!
Lisa

[Rawadventures]

Oh goodness, this thread is wonderful! I have been in the same situation with many others and beat myself up plenty of times over "eating wrong", "caving", being "bad", etc. When Timmyc said what he said about looking at the raw diet as a marathon and just to get up, not to start over (I know, the quote is listed above but I just am paraphrasing) then that really seemed to hit home for me. I think I started over 700X in a three-four week period! :eek: I can honestly say that although I am very conscious of what I eat and although my goal is to maintain the raw lifestyle at 100%, I no longer am hard on myself if I eat something I would prefer not too or have said that I "wasn't going to eat". Of course, later on when I feel horrible, I know it is because of the bad choices I have made in my life of eating raw!

Anyway, this is a thread I will come back and read over and over, especially when I do feel down or bad about something I have eaten! :rolleyes:

Anyway, enough rambling about this thread, but it is an awesome one!

[raeannasun]

That's just what I needed to hear today!!! Thank you for reminding that this choice should not be a burden, but an enjoyable journey! I still feel upset when I fall into temptation and cave and eat cooked food (and many times it's bad cooked food!) I can see that it could easily become something that people just give up because they get tired of fighting that cooked food addiction! I however do not plan on giving up!!! It may take me a long time to get to a place where people like Alissa and others are, but I'm willing to keep trying!!!

[karotw]

I am greatly appreciative of this topic. As with most things in my life these days I am walking a fine line of balance between knowing that, due to my addiction, eating food other than raw is not in my best interest and trying to not beat myself up for making a mistake or falling into my (Very powerful) cravings. . . .

I am one of those people who is, indeed, addicted to cooked food. . .food in general, really. . .yet I also greatly benefit from being kind, gentle and loving to myself with regard to what I'm putting into my body.

You all have such wonderful insights. . . . and I am grateful for the individual responses, as well as the general overall feeling of acceptance and love that has come across on this thread.

Today, right now, I'm enjoying my journey : )

Many blessings!

Karot

[truthseeker]

For me it's not that I feel guilty, bad or like I've done something wrong. It's that I know the next day I WILL feel like garbage, my body does like a mini detox EVERYTIME I eat cooked food. And I hate feeling that way come the following day. I do enjoy cooked foods that I eat when I do, but I eat them with that voice in the back of my mind warning me what I'm in for as a result.

Here are some things that happen:

My stomach hurts (sometimes before I even get up from the table, but always for the rest of that day)
the next morning I get morning mouth SO BAD!
bad breath
sweating...a lot for about a day or 2
pimples (the VERY next day)
I start menstruating (most of the time the next day, not always)

I look at it as a new discovery and learning about how my body works and what affects these things have on me.....these things encourage me to stay raw. As a result I have become more aware of and pay more attention to other subtleties in my life and everything around me. It's like I got a massive tune up and I'm a LOT more sensitive to everything.

Some times my DH jokingly tells me that eating so healthy is going to kill me ;)