I need help

[Giaya]

I am having a serious problem with going Raw. I start off and feel so excited. The morning of the first day Raw I feel great, but as the day goes on I start feeling bored with Raw, which is crazy because there is so many recipies and such a diverse choice in veges and fruit but still the same I get bored and start feeling depressed. Then Ill eat SAD again and then get really depressed. I have been dealing with depression and 20 extra pounds for a couple of years and I have serious allergies and I am believed to have candida, so I know Raw would heal me and help me but I just dont know how to win against myself. Its like my own self is ruining my future and I dont know how to break the cycle. I have bought Alissa's book and DVD's and have made a couple of dishes and theyve been wonderful but its this selfdestructive behavior that has me by the throat. If anyone can give me any information or if you can help me with personal experience, it would be greatly appreciated.
Oh, tomorrow I start a new job and the environment I will be in will be very accepting of a raw lifestyle, which will be great but I was also curious what would be a good Raw meal to bring to work. I will be working twelve hour days with an hour long break. Again any help will be greatly appreciated

Giaya

[lavendarJ]

Just wanted to tell you to hang in there and that we are all rooting for you. I know how powerful the cravings can be... I am telling you some of the foods in the SAD lifestyle are actually addicting.. I am sure you probably know that white sugar is in almost every known SAD type of food....I have read many books about the deadly and powerful addiction of sugar and I am a believer, but change will happen as you cleanse more and more you will lose the desire for that, and I think you will develop much healthier habits (if you are like me... I used to eat a lot of times when I wasn't even hungry, just a bad addictive habit)...Just remember you've got to be willing to fight, it might get ugly but you will survive, be stronger, happier and healthier and more in touch with what is best for you...I really believe that.. I don't have Alissa's book yet but based on what everyone has been saying I can't wait until I get it to start reading it. Here's an idea, think of some of your favorite SAD foods and post them and ask if someone knows how to make a raw version, that might be a tool that will help you make the transition...I've seen recipes that I wouldn't have never thought could be prepared raw on here, so chances are that someone will have recipees for things that are favorites or things that you might not want to let go of....Wishing you the best :)

[Giaya]

Thank you for your words of kindness. Im starting a new day today, at a new job and Im working on my thought process and working on becoming tuned into what my body really needs. Again thank you.

Giaya

[sweetgoddess]

This is unfamiliar to you, and the mind does not like change. Habits and thought patterns literally create grooves in our brains that have to be undone...or rather replaced.
One thing that will do this for you is experience. Keep going. Keep creating raw experiences and eventually they will replace the old, familiar grooves. This is a process and you have to allow yourself to go through it without judgement.
Keep your fires of inspiration fanned, create a visualization of where you want this to take you and use that visualization often. In the moments you do not do what it is you wish you had done, instead of critisizing, see if there was a message or something constructive you can learn about yourself in the experience. JOurnalling is great for this, for looking back and learning and seeing your own growth.

Gather knowledge, read others stories and struggles, experiment with raw food to find what dishes or foods you love. Find a raw buddy. Learn more about the mind and how it works, or about habits and how to replace them. NLP is interesting to learn about. Refill your motivation cup often!

This is a journey. For myself, it is not something I started and then did without any bumps. It has been a year long journey for me so far and I am not finished by any means. The journey never ends. But it does get better and better. You will find many stones in the path--but bless them because you learn the most from getting to the other side of them.

You are making an effort. Bless that, it is great!

Warmly~
Carmel

[sport]

I think that the thing that helped me the most was the thought that it is an addiction and it is trying to pull you back into its grasp. I wanted to say to cooked food that I was in control of my body and I would do what I wanted and needed. Eventually the cooked food gave up the battle and I had won.

[DrPr]

One thing that helped me with going raw was doing it MY way instead of trying to strictly follow recipes and other people's methods. That way, I eased into it without a lot of stress or feeling that I couldn't do it the way I was "supposed to". As I get more used to raw eating I will allow the education I gain from other people to seep into my way of doing things here and there, at my own pace.

There are always a million experts out there and it's easy to get caught up in thinking that if we don't do what they say, we are wrong. I have no blender (not even a hand one), no juicer or dehydrator, no uncook books, and I don't have the budget for some of the specialty items some raw-foodists talk about. The only recipe I've made is taboule. But I'm doing just fine following my own path and taking in knowledge from forums like this. Don't stress yourself out!

You can get great information and support from the knowledgeable people here, but if you feel stressed, perhaps that's a sign that you are trying to do something that is more right for someone else than for you at this moment. I would say you should go at your own pace and do what works for you.

[newyearspromise]

Ok, I have not been 100% raw for even a whole week (have been about 75% on and off for the past year or so...), but this is my secret, and I am finding raw really easy:

I have found 3 foods that I LOVE, that I would not be able to eat if I were to go back SAD (or wouldn't probably eat, anyway...) I LOVE dehydrated sweet potato chips, I LOVE raw icecream, and I LOVE raw chocolate balls. I ate the chocolate for dinner tonight, along with a salad. And it was GOOD for me, totally healthy to have for dinner. And cacao nibs make me feel better than any cup of coffee would. They give me this burst of energy that is just like a large cup of coffee, but it's a better quality of energy, because it doesn't make me feel jittery and I don't crash afterward. In fact, the energy is so awesome that it makes me want to go work out.

Key point: Find some foods you love and latch onto those while you re-cast yourself into the raw/living foods lifestyle. Create a routine with how you eat, too. For example, I eat mostly dried fruits for breakfast. They are easy to grab and go as I am leaving the house. For lunch I come home and have fresh, cut-up fruit and veggie salads. This is really working for me...I don't know why exactly, but it's just this routine thing...

Hope that helps...I know everyone is different, but maybe something I said will work for you. :)

[Giaya]

Thank you so much for all your responses. You all are right, I know I have to stop stressing and just be. The last thing that is going to help me is getting all worked up. I did have something happen last night. I got home late from my new job which is wonderful and so supportive of me going Raw, and I didnt have any money and no Raw except an apple, which I could have eaten cause I wasnt really that hungry, but I made spaggetti instead. Oh my goodness, after I ate that I got the worst stomach ache and I got so sad and depressed about everything. Now early that day I had eatan only raw and felt so happy and courageous with life, but the moment SAD got in my body I was weepy and upset about life. It was really an amazing moment now that I look back. Slowly my body and mind are seperating themselves from the SAD world in general and the universe is giving me power I never thought I had. Again thank you so much for responding to my email.

Giaya