getting started

[nikola]

Hello,
My name is Nikola.I live in Cincinnati.I have known about the raw food diet for a while,however,just now getting into it.My favorite author,Lalitha Thomas,author of "Ten essential Foods", writes about similar things that I have been into for quite some time.It is a book I recommend to all.
Anyway,I have a lot of questions such as can I still use my oven to just warm things up not over 115? What is the best way to get started.My husband and I are preparing mentally and want to get all of the equipment we need first before we start.I am a chef,so that will create a strange conflict of interest for me.I know I can deal but is it ethical for me to be making Osso Bucco for fans as I sit down to a gourmet raw food entourage? I know it will be hard just trying to shoo off my carnivorous friends and co-workers.I guess my question here is what are some approaches that others have taken with friends/family in social atmospheres? Are there any other chefs in house ????
Okay,I have to ask....Am I going to be experiencing some intense gastric effects??If so,how can I lessen them or possibly avoid them? Next,what about vitamin B12?I am also curious about a plan on starting...Is there a recommended transitional guidelined approach? A planned list would work well with my husband who is a triple virgo.Any input ,list,charts or advice would be helpful.We plan on starting at the end of the month to give us time to gather needed info and materials.I look forward to chatting and meeting all of you.Thanks,
Nikola :)

[fiddler]

Hi Nikola,

Welcome to you and your husband to this forum.
I live just just south of you in Florence, Ky.

Anyway,I have a lot of questions such as can I still use my oven to just warm things up not over 115?
I've seen this question posed on this forum before. Basically, most folks get a dehydrator to warm their food. And, most people do not go above 105, 110, 118 or whatever your magic number happens to be. Dehydrators are great for folks just beginning to transition to a raw diet. However, as you get more into this way of eating (two months or so) you may find yourself shying away from the dehydrated foods. Optimally, you're better off eating whole, ripe, unrefined, raw, organic fruits and vegetables. That means, high-water content fruits and vegetables with occasional sparce use of nuts and seeds.

My husband and I are preparing mentally and want to get all of the equipment we need first before we start
Why wait? Start immediately. Just pick up some fresh, ripe, raw, organic fruits and vegetables and start introducing more raw foods into your diet. For example, you could start eating fresh fruit in the morning up until noon to replace your typical breakfast foods. You can also start eliminating any other bad food habits such as coffee, soft drinks, red meat, poultry, tobacco or whatever else you might have acquired. Then when you get comfortable with this regiment, you could try and extend the fruit consumption from noon until maybe 2 or 3pm. Then, have a raw salad with your dinner along with your cooked food. Then, after some time you've mustered the courage to go further, start eliminating the cooked portion of your dinner meal by expanding the size of your salad.
As for Equipment: Acquire some good RAW food books and you'll see the kinds of equipment folks use on this diet. You can also query this forum as this topic has appeared quite frequently. IMHO, a good blender (I use the Ktec Champ hp3) is the most used. The Cincinnati Public Library has tons of good RAW food books. Just google for "Cincinnati Public Library" to get the link and search their catalog for "Raw Food". You'll be amazed at the number of books they have in circulation. Alissa's book is really good. I'm also doing the 80-10-10 program by Dr. Graham -- Click Here for Dr. Doug's FAQ (http://www.foodnsport.com/mambo2/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=2&id=66&Itemid=60)
Also, that's great that you and your husband are going in together. Usually, though in partnership goals there is usually one person that feels more passionate than the other. But, hopefully both of you can perservere. Certainly, life will be a bit easier if you both can stick to it. Write down your RAW goals. Really jot down on paper the basic goal things like:
1. Make a deadline
2. List the obstacles you need to overcome
3. List the rewards you will achieve by being raw.
4. Jot down why you're doing this. Maybe take a before picture and list any ailments, lack of energy, etc and use these notes for motivation.
5. Develop a game plan.
6. List the people that can help you to reach your goal.
7. Review your goals daily and/or weekly to measure your progress and to fine-tune for adjustments.
8. Keep a journal
... etc ...
There are books on setting goals you can read. David Wolfe covers goal setting in his book "The Sunfood Diet". Alissa also covers this topic too. I first learned about goal setting via Zig Ziglar -- a motivational speaker and author of "See you at the Top". Written goals really lead you to achieve.

I guess my question here is what are some approaches that others have taken with friends/family in social atmospheres?
Your husband is on board already so that makes things much simpler. Just be prepared to have food available wherever you go. Usually this is not a problem because you can just pick up a few bananas or apples and bring 'em along with you. Other times you can have salad dressing with you and just order a raw salad. Being a chef, I'm sure you're familiar with the area restaurants in Cinti. I usually don't eat out though because it is much simpler to prepare my own meals at home.

Am I going to be experiencing some intense gastric effects??If so,how can I lessen them or possibly avoid them?
Likely, you'll have some detox happening but the degree varies per person. To minimize the detox, you can make sure you properly combine your food. See "food combining principles" for more information. Also, read the many RAW books that address this topic. The Raw Life by Paul Nison is also a good book when you're first starting out. You folks might enjoy reading this book too -- at least I did and liked how the whole book's theme centered around a boxer knocking out all the opponents(meat man, cooked food man, frozen food man, etc...)

Next,what about vitamin B12?
There's lots of confusion I've found over the B12 issue. You'll just have to read the various articles and papers on this topic and decide for yourself.

Is there a recommended transitional guidelined approach? A planned list would work well with my husband who is a triple virgo.Any input ,list,charts or advice would be helpful.We plan on starting at the end of the month to give us time to gather needed info and materials.I look forward to chatting and meeting all of you.
Again, why wait? Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today? Start now, you have your whole life to figure out this stuff as you go along. Grab an apple, enjoy and begin your raw journey.

By the way, there are some RAW food potluck folks who meet in Dayton Ohio every 2nd and 4th Saturday or Sunday of the month. Recently, they had Paul Nison lecture with a dinner and it was FANTASTIC. I wouldn't mind attending some potlucks closer to home though. However, now that I've really simplified my diet according to Dr. Graham's 80-10-10 raw vegan diet I probably would just grab some whole fruit and skip all the gourmet stuff.

There are quite a few Hallelujah Acres (click here) (http://www.hacres.com) health ministers in the area too. If you haven't been to the www.hacres.com website (http://www.hacres.com) you should visit their site and read up on all of the great information provided by Rev. Malkmus and his staff. They also have a free quarterly newsletter that is excellent. Just subscribe when you visit their site.

Good luck to you and your husband on your raw journey.

HTH.

Cheers,
fiddler

[sweetgoddess]

Wow, Fiddler gave you a fantastic response to your questions, ao all that is left for me to say is welcome to the forum and many blessings to you and your beloved on your raw journey. It will amaze you!

Warmly~
Carmel

[nikola]

Thank you both for responding.I was afraid that I would not get any responses being new.Thank you.
My husband is a librarian at the Cincinnati library downtown ,so we are overflowing with books.We both have made a start,however,a slow one.We have stopped meat,cooked and some other foods.WE don't want to shock ourselves.I have been raw now for two days yeahhhhhhh.!!!!THank you again!

[sweetgoddess]

Nikola, the changes you are both making are HUGE! Way to go!