need support

[heatherjoy]

i feel as if i am at a crossroads. i have read a good deal about raw and living foods over the past few weeks/months and am convinced that it is the way to true wellness for me.
having said that i am still in the addictive continuum. i haven't had sugar, flour, breads, or anything like that for five years. i am however eating cooked vegetables, chicken, fish and eggs.
i'm at the jumping off point, but craving my roasted vegetables. i know my taste buds will change and that cravings are an inevitable part of recovery (been there before).

i was hoping that some of you might be able to tell me how your life/health/self has changed since going raw. what are the top two or three best things about being raw? i am looking to your success for inspiration.
thank you so much.
very grateful for this forum,
heather joy

[sport]

For me the top thing about being raw is my future absence of bad health. I am not going to get cancer or heart disease or stroke or senility. If you do not make this step and in 10 years you are told you have any of the above diseases you will give anything to be back at the crossroads that you are now at. I am determined that I will never be at a stage where I will be saying to myself "if only".

[Revvell]

Hmmm, TOP 3? Difficult. In no particular order ~

1) no hot flashes
2) I'm nicer to be around
3) have joined a community (communities) of loverly folk
4) get to eat all KINDS of delicious foods w/out concern
5) clean up consists of 1 knife, 1 cutting board, one blender container and I glass (unless of course, I drink out of the container). It CAN happen yanno! :)
6) I'm nicer to be around
7) poops happen
8) I smell better
9) no itching so far this winter
10) I'm nicer to be around
11) my food looks better at restaurants and meetings
12) save gas by not cooking
13) I'm nicer to be around
14) need less sleep; get more done
15) more energy
16) feel better
17) nicer to be around
18) breath is sweeter
19) save $$$ on shampoo, deoderant, mouthwash, etc.
20) and... I'm nicer to be around

I've got plenty more yet, that'll have to suffice for now. :D

Revvell

[levamssg]

Someone else's top 3 may not even be close to YOUR top 3 when you embark on the raw journey. We are all different. So, don't wait. Try it out and see what ends up on Your list.

but for me ...
Heaps more energy
Everything tastes SO GOOD
Daily Health - haven't been sick since going raw 1.5 years ago
Not worried about getting any major diseases
I'm living my life on MY terms and knowing I'm doing the best for my body
No weight concerns - can eat as much as I want!

[Halo Aglow]

It's hard to put them in priority...


1. Painless menstrual periods (use to be HORRIBLE, missed so much school, after I gave birth to my son I knew my period pain was equal to going into labor) and having a baby did NOT make my periods easier.
2. Easy weight balance
3. Healthier skin (I have psoriasis)

And overall... I feel better connected to the Earth, I feel like a faerie ;) , and its so much easier to keep the kitchen clean.

[TA]

What Revvell said! :D and one more:

Pain from arthritis is gone, and I'm nicer to be around.

[ella]

make yourself the biggest, most beautifully delicious salad with all your favorite fresh, organic vegetables- whip up one of alissa's yummy dressing and slather it on top and inbetween. i found, that when i have a big satisfying salad- those cravings run away with their tail between their proverbial legs. scat, i say! i feel so wonderful, and happy i had that salad instead of anything cooked. then if you truly feel you must have those roasted vegetables, go ahead! but, i really doubt you'll want them.

you have have to satisfy your nutritional needs in order to be a success on raw. listen to your body. your body doesn't crave dead, cooked food- it wants live food with enzymes, alkalinty!

top things about being raw- everyone has stated it!

everything you put into your body goes noticed. when your body receives fresh, organic fruit, vegetables it exclaims with life. you'll feel how you're supposed to feel (alive, not tired, empty and toxic). when your body gets cooked, lifeless food- what will the output be? lifelessness, toxicity? i'm certain of it!

the best way to embrace good health is to love your body. only put life into it and that is what you'll get out of it. raw, vibrant life.

[lavendarJ]

Ditto to what everyone has said.... I am currently cleansing in preparation for transition to "live" eating. I am certainly no expert and did fall of the wagon after 18 months of healthy eating. I made the choice to use food as my comfort for crisis. I had a lot of things going on and once I moved back home and decided to stay and help my mom and dad with family issues it was just the right excuse to eat unhealthy again. Food has always been something that I used as a coping mechanism. I did learn something though from my decision to regress versus progressing... I learned that once you have come into knowledge of something and a true enlightenment has occured there really is no turning back. Sure, I went back to eating the unhealthy stuff but my conscious would not let me rest. I know it sounds a little goofy to some but for me, this became true. The problems with constipation worsened and the fibroid issues re-developed. I had to really look at myself one day and I thought 'I am contradicting my spirit.' I mean how could I really expect to achieve balance in all areas of my life and be blatantly contradicting and harming my body temple? I was sitting there killing myself with full knowledge of it. I just decided to be real with myself. I have some friends who try to lie to themselves and say that they don't eat certain things because they are nasty. I think that for me, honesty works and I simply accept that yeah-those french fries used to taste good and leave it at that. I recognized, accepted and internalized important truths about food and eating. What helps me to stay grounded is understanding that:
1. Everything that taste good is not good for me (its sickening when i think of all the dyes, chemicals, preservatives and other toxins in commercial food)
2. We should eat to live - I recognize that for me, it is important to understand the very act of eating is not always about pleasuring the palate but more importantly about feeding and energizing the body, mind, and spirit
I "know" that now and there is no way out of it, I can't "not know" it because this knowledge is embedded within my being and I am accountable for living according to what I know is right and when I choose not to my body holds me accountable (bloating, constipation,lethargic,etc). I finally stopped saying to myself "why can't i just eat like everyone else"....I know so many people who anything that looks good, smells good, walks or talks and to date, always get a clean bill of health. But I cannot worry about that. I need to only do what I know is best for me and my health and try to empower others. I feel so happy to be on this site and I hope I am not too long-winded. My family and friends are currently unable to relate to what I am trying to do and so hopefully, I can be an example. This site will serve as a great tool for educating me and others about what it means to live healthy and eat for life. :D

[Gosia]

My top three, in random order:
1) No more yeast infections
2) No more gum problems
3) No more having to drink coffees in order to be able to work without falling asleep

Make it four
4) Better looks! (clearer skin, more youthful appearance, better body shape, nicer hair and teeth, softer skin)

All the best,
Gosia.

PS After going all-raw, cravings go away pretty quick. Later, the trick is not to fall into the same old habbits. I found that it is important for me to realize and accept the fact that all my cooked-food "cravings" originate in my mind. So, the best is not to engage the mind.

[heatherjoy]

thank you all so much for sharing the gifts of raw foodism.
please keep 'em coming everyone.
much appreciation,
heather joy

[mbf]

Hi and welcome ! I know those crossroads you mentioned, I pitched a tent and camped out there for few days myself !

My top 3 are:

1.Severe reduction in PMS !!
2.Free of coffee after 23+ years of horrible addiction ! I could not function without coffee and never left home without it, hit every strabucks in my travels...so I am saving lot's of money too !
3.Overall good feeling and well being !

MBF

[LeanGreenMachine]

Wow, lavender, you sound like my kind of friend! You are very mature and enlightened and I agree with you, when something feels right, you know it. Then when you go against it, you feel that.

The strange thing is, ten years ago, I felt that low carb made sense, now I'm so turned off by loads of fat and cheese and meat...and this happened before I found raw. I found raw in trying to get away from all the heavy stuff. Weird how life leads you to many places.

[Cinnamon]

Top 3 or so... let me see as there are so many positives!

1. No acid indigestion, if I eat even some steamed veggies or a baked yam I am in pain from the acid reflux and IBS symptoms for days.
2. Blood sugar stable at under 100 consistently for months now.
3. No more migraines (need I say more... if you have ever suffered from them as I have for 25 years this is motivation enough to stay on raw!)
4. Weight goal met and easily maintained for over 1 1/2 years now, I know I will never have a weight problem eating this way.
5. Hair growing quickly, thicker, and much more healthy than ever before.
6. Increased energy for everything in life especially increasing my daily exercise, less need for sleep, and no moodiness at all. Very even personality now... some might even say that I am "nicer to be around!"

[veggie]

1. Noticing weight loss
2. Reduction in cravings and more control over food
3. Desire to exercise and energy to exercise
4. More alert
5. Not as fatigued
6. Clearer mind
8. No PMS!
9. Regular BM's
10. and MUCH MORE!

If you still feel the need for cooked veggies, try dehydrating them. It gives the feel of a cooked meal. Sometimes it's more psychological in terms of texture of food.

It's so worth while, in fact, I'm currently wondering why it took me so long to go raw!

[PRIL]

hey i am starting raw tommorrow we can be buddies, i dont have a computer at home right now because i like laptops so we gave ours away. I feel lonely and angry when i eat well like this, i am going to see a couselor also to ask why i feel this way ( i go because my insurance pays lol) but you can find a way to work through it.

[PRIL]

my hair is extremely thin will it grow faster

[heatherjoy]

thank you all.
i'm going to cut and paste all of your "answers" into a word document, print it out, and carry it around for reading when the addictive voice starts yelling.
i'd like to journal it too; will look into how to do that. is it through this site/forum?
love and peace (and hoping to actually embody that when i go raw),
heather joy